So even the big boys of home automation/control are adding iPod compatibility. Crestron is claiming that the CEN-IPOD (get it?) is the first 2-way iPod interface, truly replicating the iPod experience on any Crestron touchpanel. Well, ok… if you mean that the iPod player is virtually on the screen and you’re controlling it… but the [...]

It's not the prettiest UPS on the market, but this UPS offers something others don’t in the same price range. The APC Back-UPS HS 500 not only provides the availability to protecting data lines. It also offers battery backup to home networking devices such as routers and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephones. It is [...]

I just stumbled across this new little gadget at SmartHome.com that can turn your cell phone into a traditional form factor telephone. This is great for the person that doesn’t have a land line and uses their cell phone for hours at a time — no more overheating cellphones near your head. Besides the standard [...]

Why more movie studios haven’t jumped aboard and released WMVHD discs is something I’ll never understand. Toshiba’s HD-DVD is going to be using the VC1 codec and word has it, the player will be using Windows CE. So, if movie studios release WMVHD discs now, we can legally buy HD content today. I did some [...]

For those of you looking to Wi-Fi every area in your house, On-Q has the product for you. The On-Q Wireless Access Point, PART #364711-01, is an attractive in-wall wireless access point (I usually place my fugly purple and grey Linksys access points in a closet). The On-Q wireless solution is geared towards new construction [...]

SAVICON has the right idea, take a Viewsonic v210 (they call it the ‘E-Pad’), write a custom application for it in C#.NET, and a server to communicate with (The Entergrator Media Server), and you’ve got yourself a pretty “entegrated” system. The Entegrator comes bundled with the E-pad and offers a compact and simple to use [...]

I just got word that Russound has introduced the long awaited UNO-TS2 color touchscreen interface for their multisource/multizone systems (CAV/CAM). It features a 3.75-inch high resolution display that uses their RNET platform, so you can get feedback from your CAV/CAM, ST2 Smart Tuner or SMS3 Media Server in realtime and in full color. It’s not [...]

In my previous post, I went over how I created a weatherproof Wi-Fi camera rig. I decided to write a separate entry about how I got Wi-Fi signal to the camera during the construction process of my new home. This project was installed about a year and a half ago and has been functioning since. There [...]