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We’re having a spectacular fall out here on the West coast. The leaves are turning orange and red, the heat is gone, and I’ve got a great list of new gadgets and appliances available at Best Buy this month.

Adding wireless coloured light to your home is a relatively new concept, with a lot of new players out there. There are the established brands like Philips Hue, which have commanded a premium on the market, partially because they have brand recognition for being first, and partially because they’ve made a great product. MIPOW PLAYBULB is an entrant into the market that offers a lower cost way to put wireless coloured lighting into your space. I have three products that we’re looking at today, read on to see how they fared in my home.

  Soon you will no longer be able to buy regular incandescent light bulbs because they are too energy inefficient. The great thing about the “smart lighting” options from Philips is that they are extremely energy efficient. They can also be fully controlled using your wireless network. The control of the lights is so flexible it provides an amazing set of options for energy savings, for convenience and for enjoyment. So if you are upgrading your lighting, “Smart” lighting is a fantastic choice.

Just because you’re parents of a toddler doesn’t mean you can’t have a space just for yourself. Chances are the living room, playroom, backyard, even kitchen, is dominated by kid stuff. But once your little one is old enough, it’s time to claim back the space that is rightfully all yours: your bedroom.

  The Internet of Things will ultimately change all of our lives for the better, and the Philips HUE lighting system is a great place to start. Imagine being able to control every aspect of your home with your Smartphone or tablet, and even have aspects of your home control itself based on a set of rules that you can customize. Philips Hue can take you there and do much more. It makes your lighting fun and convenient, while adding a lot of utility that can make your house more secure.

I have always thought smart home gadgets are a bit gimmicky, until I broke down and installed a few. I am now a convert as they are not only practical but so convenient they can actually improve your quality of life. For instance, I have a keyless lock in my home so I never worry about carrying around keys that I can lose. If I have friends or family that arrive when I am not there, I can let them in remotely until I show up. It’s great!   HUE is Philips line of smart home products that is all about lighting that can be controlled using your Smartphone or tablet. It brings the Internet of Things to reality and there are so many excellent ways to use HUE lighting products. Let’s explore just a few to give you an idea how they can improve life at home.

What is IFTTT?  It stands for “If This Then That” and is a web (and now app) based system that features over 165 different participants.  Through the use of “recipes,” you can create cause and effect style actions that see a one IFTTT participant work with another.  Major companies like ESPN and Nike are involved, as are smart home product makers like NEST and Belkin. Let’s take a look at what you can do with IFTTT!

Thanks to all of the different options out there, smarthome technology can be applied to every room of your home. Lights, thermostats, garage door openers and keyless entry are just a few of the things you can enable your home to do “smarter” than before. With so many options, where should you get started? I am going to help you think that through!

We all know that tablets are great multi-purpose devices. They connect to your home Wi-Fi network. The bigger display lets them show more information, making them better than a smartphone for things like reading or web browsing — yet they’re still portable enough to carry around the house with you. They have the power to play video games and the battery life to last all day on a charge. All of these attributes make tablets ideal as the hub of one of the hottest high tech trends: the connected home. Your tablet can do everything else it does, plus offer the connectivity and apps to be your smart home companion.

    Logitech’s “Harmony” wheelhouse has always been universally controlling home entertainment systems, and have been king of that hill for a while. They recently made a smart move (no pun intended) expanding their remotes beyond home entertainment into the entire home. The Harmony Ultimate Home and Home Control remotes bring the home of the future here today in convenient easy-to-use packages.