Last week, I picked up two Nest Audio Speakers on sale at Best Buy for $79 each. That price seams reasonable for what you get – an ok speaker with built in Google Assistant, standing at only 7″ tall. I’ve read a lot of reviews on Nest Audio and most seem to believe the soundRead more
Construction continues on our new home and many of the design and construction decisions have been made. We’re still about 6 months out from completion, but we’ve been steadily buying stuff in preparation for the move (fridge, lights, furniture, etc.). Part of the move-in preparation is figuring out the network. I could go with anRead more
We’re still 9+ months away from moving into our new home, but it’s never too early to start thinking about the network requirements. It’s likely that I’ll go overboard.. ok, I WILL go overboard. But, the geeky, tech guy in me wants to create an enterprise level network and I’m getting increasingly giddy about it.Read more
It’s time. My wife, mom, and I are building a house together. It’ll be a 8-10 month process, but it’s time to make it happen. There are a handful of financial and personal reasons behind the move. On a personal side, mom is aging and living alone. She’s been hinting at wanting to live with myRead more
I was digging through Amazon this morning for good President’s Day deals on smart home gear and I found a few worth noting. Please note: My home doesn’t include any Alexa products, so I’m not adding anything from the Amazon brand here. I’ll only add products below that I have experience with and feel confidentRead more
I just ordered an Arlo Pro 2, two camera set from Amazon. It’s currently 48% off, so it’s a no-brainer. In the next few days, I’ll have a full post of why I picked the Pro 2 over newer models and other brands – hint, IFTTT. I’ve been an Arlo user for many years andRead more
I haven’t been a huge fan of Arlo over the years, but my opinions are shifting. Of course, the prices for their products are still nuts. I can’t imagine what the profit margins are, but it is what it is. I’ve only used the first Arlo cams and have experienced every issue you can thinkRead more
Thanks to the lure of of Black Friday deal ($199 instead of the usual $229), I now have a Google Nest Hub Max (is that really the name? Ugh) sitting in my living room doing its thing. Although it’s not amazing, it is about what I expected with a few positives and a few negatives. Read more
This site is ’bout to get real. Product vids, experience vids, and a steady flow of blogs – it’s all on the way. MySmartHomeGear will soon become a regular resource for gear and home automation content. The scope will stretch far beyond smart home products to include other interests like home theater and photography. ThanksRead more
A few interesting updates with the November Android Update.. The Pixel 4 gets its first update with the release of 3 patches.. keyboard update smooth display improvements – I can only assume this is related to the 90hz refresh management issues reported from various sources camera quality improvements All Pixels (excluding 2016 models).. Google AssistantRead more
