Matt Paligaru

 If you’re like me, you’ve probably grown to hate your router, loathe your range extender and wonder why you have so many Home Automation hubs doing unrelated jobs. The Almond+ takes care of all of those, capable of acting as a router or range extender and a Home Automation business rule hub for connected Z-Wave and Hue compatible devices. The best part it’s all done through the hardware or an app and only takes a few minutes. Check it out.

 Around one year ago, I was introduced to Eurocom. I had never played a minute on their laptops but I was hooked immediately. With their user and upgrade friendly hardware and professionally driven designs, Eurocom have become one of my favourite manufacturers. With the new Monster 4, that success continues on. With a sturdy case design, beautiful 1080p displays and ability to take on all of today’s challenges, the Monster 4 packs a mighty roar with a mid range price tag. Check it out. 

 It’s almost Father’s Day and it’s time to plan what you’re going to be grabbing your dad, grandpa or whomever you buy your gift for! Let us help you out with a few gifting ideas. In this first of many Father’s Day blogs, we take a look at gift ideas to encourage dad to cook outdoors more. Is it a new set of barbecue tools? Furniture? Maybe a new barbecue itself? Here are a few things to consider when you go gifting for dad this year.

 2016 is going to be the most exciting year for the wearable yet. We’ve already seen brands like Fitbit improving their brand by putting all of their new features forward. We’re going to have wearables that help us de-stress by encouraging better breathing and then there’s Microsoft Band 2. The Microsoft Band 2 looks to go above and beyond its competition by offering features that nobody else does. In addition to the usual run of notifications and trackers, Band 2 is the first wearable that flexes to offer help with your sleep, on the golf course and in the gym in the same package. Find out more about my experiences with Band by reading onward.

 A few days ago, we delved into some great mother’s day gift giving ideas. On the flip side, there are some terrible and very impersonal gifts you could get mom this year. With many years of previous bad gift giving, I have some advice to pass along. Please read about 10 seriously uncool Mother’s Day gifts this year.

 Did you know that Mother’s Day is on May 8th this year? Check your watch or phone for the date. That’s how many shopping days you still have left. Stuck on gift giving ideas? Check inside for some cool gifts to get mom this year, with some input from my wife (a techie,) my coworker (a non-techie) and a few other moms with different interests.

 Having owned a Dyson canister vacuum for many years, I didn’t think it was possible for something to perform better than the one I have. However, the DC66 outperforms it and is about half the size of DC28. Finding more dust and dirt in places after I’ve previously vacuumed is just the start. Read on to find more about this compact, yet powerful release from the Dyson family

Sleep is such an important part of our lives even though we may not enjoy getting it with so many things to do and see. Regardless, there are ways to maximize the quality of your sleep in what little time you are in bed. In this final edition of the Smarten Up series, we discuss the values of colour with sleep as well as what smart home technology you can use to help you rest and wake up refreshed better.

When your little one’s close to arriving and it’s time to think about buying a baby monitor, you have a few different ways to go. In this edition of the Smarten Up series, we take a look at whether to go video and audio (or just audio) and taking a modernized look at the the traditional baby monitor. Not only can you use monitors to peer in on whether your baby’s ok, but some even offer Air Quality and Room Temperature real time readouts. Read on to find out more. 

One of the keys to sleeping comfortably at night is making sure that your room and your body are the right temperature. In this edition of the “Smarten Up” series, we look at the idea of using a smart thermometer to help you make sure that your room is a great temperature for you to fall asleep in. What are those optimal temperatures exactly? What makes the Ecobee 3 Thermostat a good choice for your home for this purpose? Read on to find out.