Automated Home

We’ve covered some in-depth Loxone Case Studies already, but here’s something really easy to digest.  The Loxone guys have put together a quick 90 second video showing their Miniserver set up to control lighting ‘scenes’.  With home automation systems like this you get much more than the ability to just remotely turn lights on and [...]

  UK Distributors RGB, have just opened a Savant Experience Show Home to demonstrate how Savant has brought the familiarity of the Apple user interface to home automation. The system powering the central London Show Home is based on a Savant SmartMediaPro12 modular matrix switch/controller fitted with cards for 8 zones of audio and 10 zones of [...]

Here’s another video from Apple based Home Automation company Savant Systems.  This latest tour of their Soho apartment shows the technology integrated across the home.  Using the iPad to control itunes for whole house audio plus extensive lighting control too.  ’True Image’ provides a photo of the apartment and touching the lamp in the photo controls that lamp. [...]

Yes yes, I know you’ve heard it a million times before but we love Plex!  One of the best new features over recent months, PlexSync is used with the many mobile devices in our family, it’s such a fantastic way to take your media with you. Here’s a scenario, it’s Friday afternoon and you know you have [...]

Perceptive Automation have released beta v6 of Indigo, their Home Automation suite for Max OS X.  Amongst a raft of new features there’s now support for Z-Wave devices and they offer a free trial version of Indigo 6 beta (trial period extended from 30 to 45 days during beta).  Read on for all the new features. [...]

Amongst a huge raft of other announcements, Apple have just launched their latest iOS device, the “iPad mini”. With a lower cost and a smaller form factor more of these may find their way onto our walls and into our laps for home automation system control.  Here are the details… iPad mini Aluminium Body, 7.2mm [...]

A few years ago a new Apple announcement meant very little in the home automation world.  But now that the smartphone is increasingly becoming the preferred interface to our homes, a new iOS device is a more important event.  Tim Cook and the rest of the Apple generals are on stage right now so here’s our cheat sheet of hightlights from [...]

Forbes magazine recently took a tour of the Savant Experience Center in New York to check out their Apple based Home Automation system.  Everything from lights, curtains, climate, TV, movies and music is controlled from iPads and iPod Touch remotes. The master bedroom features a rear projection setup that beams multiple TV images onto the curved glass wardrobes.  Else where [...]

French start-up Netatmo have just launched a new personal weather station for your iPhone or iPad.  The system comprises of a mains/usb powered indoor station and an outdoor battery powered module all communicating wirelessly via Wi-Fi to the free iOS app.  Netatmo provide a subscription-free cloud service to hold your historical data and they aim [...]

We are always on the look out for some cheap wall mount action for our iPad and this looks just the ticket – particularly if you’re not the worlds greatest DIYer. The £15 Koala Mount attaches to your wall with removable 3M Command strip in seconds and will hold all current iPad models along with many other [...]