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Show Summary:
Tech Abilities is back in the studio and Serina, Andy and Jeff talk about Smart Devices. From Smart Switches, Smart Thermostats, Smart Smoke and Gas Detectors, Door Bell Cameras and the Google Hub. But is the Apple Home Kit App good enough?
Check out this entertaining and informational look at the devices watching you and putting some convenience into your life. How did we get by without it? Hmmm.
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Full Transcript:
Tech Abilities: Hey Portal, You Watching Me? Smart Home Devices and the Smart Shadow Enters the Thought Bubble
Serena Gilbert:
It’s called the Facebook Portal. Does anyone here trust Facebook?
Andy Munoz:
Other than the fact that we’re tech nerds …
Serena Gilbert:
Nope, I don’t think I’m going to upgrade, and both of you did in a week.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, an accessible thought bubble.
Serena Gilbert:
Do you have a smart phonograph, Jeff? What the heck is that?
Andy Munoz:
Google’s your friend, look it up.
Serena Gilbert:
So, you want a smart shadow.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah.
Andy Munoz:
Having these smart devices, they are truly game changers.
Serena Gilbert:
Silver.
Andy Munoz:
Space gray.
Jeff Thompson:
Gold.
Andy Munoz:
I smell smoke. Is your Nest going off, Jeff?
Serena Gilbert:
See what happens when you tell me I’m getting fat?
Andy Munoz:
I said you could grow into that Blind Abilities t-shirt.
Jeff Thompson:
Boom, music comes on and six sheets of toilet paper pop out.
Serena Gilbert:
Exactly.
Serena Gilbert:
All right, you guys ready? I’m not going to count down. I’m going to make you look for when we start [inaudible]. Good luck.
Andy Munoz:
Three, two-
Serena Gilbert:
No.
Andy Munoz:
One.
Serena Gilbert:
Nope. All right, I will count down. I’ll be nice. Three, two, one. Welcome back to Tech Abilities. This is Serena Gilbert and I am, of course, joined with Jeff Thompson and Andy Munoz. Jeff, how are you?
Jeff Thompson:
Sorry.
Serena Gilbert:
Apparently, Jeff is choking.
Jeff Thompson:
I’m doing great, Serena. Glad to be back.
Serena Gilbert:
We haven’t been around for a while now, but we are back and we’ve got a great episode. Andy, how are you?
Andy Munoz:
I’m good. I’m good. I’m actually glad to be back.
Serena Gilbert:
And, Andy’s not choking for the record.
Andy Munoz:
Nope. No choking here.
Jeff Thompson:
Ouch.
Serena Gilbert:
Ouch. You’ll be okay, Jeff. You’re a big boy. Have you guys heard about the latest news about Facebook?
Jeff Thompson:
Oh, do tell. Do tell.
Serena Gilbert:
Apparently, they have a new smart device coming out called the Facebook Portal.
Jeff Thompson:
I’m got a feeling somebody’s watching me.
Serena Gilbert:
Right?
Andy Munoz:
Cue the Michael Jackson song. There we go.
Serena Gilbert:
Perfect timing, Jeff, as usual. Everything about it is ironic from the name of it to all the press surrounding it. It’s called the Facebook Portal so theoretically I know what they were going for there. It’s like you’re in the same room, but does anyone here trust Facebook?
Jeff Thompson:
How about you, Andy? Do you trust Facebook?
Andy Munoz:
You know, can you trust anything, honestly?
Jeff Thompson:
Right.
Andy Munoz:
Yet, we still use it. The way I look at it is I don’t put something out there that I don’t want somebody to know ’cause even with locking it down and doing all that stuff, there’s people, they want it … Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Don’t put nothing out there that I don’t want nobody to see.
Serena Gilbert:
The weird thing about Facebook is there’s already a theory that we think Facebook listens to us when we’re not in it. We’ve tested this. Start talking about childcare and all of a sudden, you’re going to have every childcare center ad in your newsfeed that you ever wanted to see.
Andy Munoz:
Yep, yep.
Serena Gilbert:
There’s something to it. I really do think that there’s something that they’re listening to. Imagine putting that in your living room where they’re not only able to listen but see what you’re doing.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, we could really paint this into a corner if we want to, but when you look at other companies such as Target and Home Depot and various other ones on the internet that have had hacks exposing people’s identification and personal information, it’s inevitable that stuff like this is going to happen, I imagine. It seems like when something like this happens to Facebook, it seems like it really gets a lot of attention.
Andy Munoz:
Usually, if you have a big name and something happens … We’ve all got these high expectations so then they lose credibility, but it really can happen to anybody.
Serena Gilbert:
Well, let’s hear about the specs on this Facebook Portal and then tell me what you guys think about it too. It’s funny when you think about it. There’s two different versions. There’s the standard one. It will be $199. The Portal Plus, as they call it, is a much larger screen and then it’s an HD. That will be $349. Both of them say that the camera essentially will follow you as you’re talking to somebody or video chatting with them.
Serena Gilbert:
They initially said that no data was going to be stored and that everything was nice and secure. They then came back and said, “But, wait. We will the information to target ads to you.” Yeah. So, the camera’s following you in the room and they’re targeting ads at you. Still like it? I don’t know.
Andy Munoz:
Regardless of whether you like it or not, there’s just no getting away from it because you get the ads even on Facebook itself. I can go right now and I can do a search on Amazon for smart home devices and I guarantee you as soon as I click into Facebook, it’s going to show me what I last searched for. For me, it’s more or less going to be about what all can it do? What are all the different features? What’s going to sell it to me that’s going to allow me to really overlook that targeting commercial stuff to me?
Serena Gilbert:
You’re not taking it off your Christmas list yet?
Andy Munoz:
I wouldn’t say I would take it off. It doesn’t matter what you do, you’re not going to get away from that stuff. As much as you’d like to, as much as I’d like to, it’s there. At this point, again, it’s going to go back to, what are the features? What’s going to make me want to buy this thing that I can’t do with another device?
Serena Gilbert:
Yeah. Jeff, you have this on your shopping list?
Jeff Thompson:
No, I don’t have it on my Christmas list yet, but I should get that started. The thing is, with all these different devices and ecosystems out there, I’m starting to wonder if someone should start with one ecosystem and stick with just one such as yourself. What benefits does the Facebook Portal have over your Amazon Show?
Serena Gilbert:
I don’t think it offers anything different because they both do the video chatting. The screen does appear to be a little bit larger on the Facebook Portal. I think that the entry-level price on it is cheaper because the Amazon Show is, I believe, $229 and the Facebook Portal would be starting at $199. There’s a $30 difference there.
Serena Gilbert:
It’s really funny because I saw the ad on Facebook, of course, and the comments … I just had to read the comments ’cause they were so funny and everyone’s like, “So, why can’t I just FaceTime?”
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, right?
Serena Gilbert:
You’re offering me a speaker that you say I can make all these calls on, I can just do that on my phone already, so what’s the point? ‘Cause they’re not boosting that it has this awesome sound quality, they’re not advertising that it’s smart. I guess it will have Alexa built into it. Sorry, guys. It will have the ‘A’ lady built into it, but why would you spend the money on a third-party device to have the ‘A’ lady when you can get that straight from Amazon anyway?
Andy Munoz:
The other part of it too is you can actually video chat via Facebook Messenger just depending upon what device you’re using. If I’m sitting at my computer, I’ve already got a 19″ HD display so why would I want to invest in something different other than the fact that we’re tech nerds and we like to know these things and we never know when we’re going to run across something where we’re maybe going to have to maybe troubleshoot something like that. That would be maybe its sole purpose.
Jeff Thompson:
Well, I think that Facebook is coming late into the game in this. The newness of the new products coming out, everyone wanted to experiment or explore these new gidgets and gadgets and now we all have probably multiple ecosystems in our house. You might have a Google or Amazon or an Apple device going right now. Is it time right now to add one more to the mix that we have in our house? That sometimes I think it’s not doing exactly what I thought it would. So, I think people are being desensitized from the thrill of it all, the newness of these types of gadgets and Facebook is just a little late into the game.
Serena Gilbert:
Yeah, it always makes you wonder, is there really room on my shelf for one more smart device? Where would I even put it?
Jeff Thompson:
I wonder what we’re going to have to say to invoke the Facebook Portal, “Mr. Senator,” or “Yo, Zucker.”
Serena Gilbert:
You say, and does this sound at all familiar, “Hey, Portal.”
Jeff Thompson:
Really?
Serena Gilbert:
Yeah, which those of us who are super lucky enough to have HomePods …
Jeff Thompson:
Super lucky.
Serena Gilbert:
Super lucky.
Jeff Thompson:
Super.
Serena Gilbert:
Super-
Jeff Thompson:
Lucky.
Serena Gilbert:
… lucky. We know what the wake word is for that. Very similar.
Jeff Thompson:
It’d be funny if it was Mr. Senator. Yes, Senator. Yes, Senator.
Andy Munoz:
What kind of responses does it give if you call it the wrong name?
Jeff Thompson:
I have no idea. It’s not out until, what, November? Mid-November?
Serena Gilbert:
It says November. It doesn’t even have a specific data, it just says November. I predict … I think this is going to be a big, huge flop for Facebook. I think this is going to be a lot of lost money because who knows how many they’ve already produced. They’ll probably sell maybe 100,000 which is nothing when there’s how many billion users on Facebook?
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, plus the fact when I looked it up. I think ten things came up when I did my search, nine of them were about, “Is this a good idea? Should they pull the plug now? Should they save their costs? Are the stocks falling on Facebook?” and, “Do you trust Facebook to secure this information that it’s gathering?” I don’t know. I don’t think it’s going to be on my Christmas list, Serena.
Serena Gilbert:
I know one thing that I keep trying to get you to add to the Christmas list, but I don’t know if you will.
Jeff Thompson:
What’s that?
Serena Gilbert:
Remember? I told my bestie that you wanted a HomePod.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh! And you want to go to CSUN.
Serena Gilbert:
You know it.
Jeff Thompson:
That’s coming up. That’s around the corner.
Serena Gilbert:
Better get to planning.
Jeff Thompson:
The more we talk, the closer it gets.
Serena Gilbert:
There’s a really good Christmas gift right there. Andy can go too.
Andy Munoz:
Hey.
Jeff Thompson:
There you go.
Serena Gilbert:
We’ll get in all kinds of trouble. It’s in Anaheim this time.
Jeff Thompson:
Someone’s got to run that Colorado show out there though.
Serena Gilbert:
We’ll be okay.
Andy Munoz:
We’ll survive.
Jeff Thompson:
A new device that’s out from Google is the Google Home Hub … Yeah, the Google Home Hub.
Serena Gilbert:
The need a better name for that one.
Jeff Thompson:
I was wondering if this was the answer to anybody out there that has collected a few devices, one for their Google Home that works on their … One works on the Amazon Device. If this is the answer that will solve some of the problems of bringing everything together.
Serena Gilbert:
How does the Hub work? I don’t fully understand it.
Jeff Thompson:
Okay. A hub is also known as a bridge and what it is is a central location device that actually can control all the different smart devices that you have located throughout your house. If you have smart plugs, smart switches, smart doorbells, smart thermostat, you can actually connect them up all to one spot, which is a hub and then access that.
Jeff Thompson:
Typically, what people do is access it through an iPad or something so they have one control. From there, you can set up groups, you can set up different modes for things to be on that come on at certain times, go off at certain times. You can group lights together, you can have full control over all these devices in one location rather than using the TP app, the WeMo app, and the Nest app and figure out everything else. You can actually tie them all together and that’s what a hub/bridge does.
Jeff Thompson:
The HomeKit app, that app was put out, is something that was trying to become a bridge in your wi-fi system to tie all these together. Now, you’ve got to remember that everything has to be able to reach the wi-fi system. You might have a plug or a switch far enough away where your wi-fi isn’t that great, so you’ll have to do an extender. Whereas, you can get pretty elaborate. You can go into the Z-Wave system, which actually every device that’s hooked up becomes a little transmitter too so it can chainlink all these together so it can reach a further distance.
Jeff Thompson:
Interesting stuff once you get interesting stuff once you get into the high-end of homes, but as for affordability and everything, I think Google Home Hub is an idea. It might be something that works good for you, but I think HomeKit really has the advantage here in wi-fi in the future. If you’re just talking about adding some conveniences to your house and not really going into the major planning of a full day operation of automation going on.
Jeff Thompson:
Shades open. Lights on. Mood setting. Thermostat adjust and someday turn on stereo system. Play phonograph. Set the mood. The possibilities could be endless. You can do some of that with HomeKit, but yeah. Basically, that’s was a hub/bridge does. It ties everything together under one physical device that you can access and control everything.
Serena Gilbert:
I’m just so distracted because I’m pretty sure you said phonograph.
Andy Munoz:
He did say phonograph.
Serena Gilbert:
What the heck is that?
Andy Munoz:
It’s a record player.
Serena Gilbert:
Do you have a smart phonograph, Jeff?
Jeff Thompson:
I’m just saying, yeah, there probably is one. You can get one to skip and …
Andy Munoz:
Yeah, you can get it to do some scratchin’. Scratchin’. You know? You know?
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah.
Serena Gilbert:
Yes, Jeff. You are definitely the old man right now.
Andy Munoz:
Well, it’s funny because my kid’s now into buying vinyls and I’m like, “Why are they even still making those,” and come to find out yeah, they’re making record players again.
Jeff Thompson:
I have two record players and I collected albums back in the day and I still have them. They’re popular again. It’s kind of neat.
Andy Munoz:
It’s kind of interesting how technology’s going full circle.
Serena Gilbert:
Jeff, for the young ones listening to our podcast, what’s an album? You going to tell them that? No, I’m just kidding.
Andy Munoz:
Google’s your friend, look it up.
Serena Gilbert:
On your smart speaker.
Andy Munoz:
Ask the ‘A’ lady, she’ll tell you.
Serena Gilbert:
I am curious, because this is all about smart devices, if we could go around, I guess the virtual table and let’s hear about what smart devices you have in your home right now and what you like, what you don’t like, maybe, if you’re on the market for a new one. We’ll start with you, Andy.
Andy Munoz:
Okay. So, right now, I don’t have any. I’m in the market. I’ve got a pretty archaic thermostat. The thing is huge, but the problem is I can see the numbers, but I can’t see how it programs. I certainly want something that I have a little bit more that I can do with it then having to rely on somebody else to set it up.
Jeff Thompson:
What you’re saying is you want to be the master of your own domain.
Andy Munoz:
There you go.
Jeff Thompson:
There you go.
Serena Gilbert:
Seinfeld reference.
Andy Munoz:
Primarily, I’m just looking for a thermostat. Ceiling fans would be nice.
Serena Gilbert:
They make smart ceiling fans?
Andy Munoz:
Yeah, they make …
Serena Gilbert:
I didn’t know that.
Andy Munoz:
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
Serena Gilbert:
That would be really cool.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh, yeah. They invented the ceiling fan right after the phonograph. When I was looking up the Google Home Hub, the GHH, they claim that it can connect up to 5,000 different devices. So, that probably includes the phonographs and let’s see, what came out right after phonographs? Ceiling fans, Serena. Yeah, there’s probably a smart gidget or gadget out there for pert near anything.
Andy Munoz:
Oh, yeah. When I was working with Apple, I got a guy that called in that was setting up a smart garage door opener.
Serena Gilbert:
Now, why do we need that? I really don’t understand that. What does it recognize your car when you drive up to it?
Jeff Thompson:
Well, when you have your smart Amazon Drive in your car, you can then just say, “Open, sesame.”
Serena Gilbert:
Oh, my God.
Jeff Thompson:
Lower the drawbridge.
Serena Gilbert:
Secret passcode, right? I really don’t understand what a smart garage door would do that a regular garage door … You push a button and it opens. What else do we need it to do?
Jeff Thompson:
You have to actually move your arm to push the button.
Serena Gilbert:
I get it because … We laugh at how lazy this is making us ’cause we don’t have to leave our couch to turn the light on or off or adjust the thermostat, but it truly does open up accessibility for tons and tons of people with disabilities that have mobility impairments or maybe even a cognitive impairment where it just makes a life a lot more independent and affordable. Before, doing something like this would be thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars, now they can just get it right on the market.
Andy Munoz:
Or, even just the simple fact that you either make some sort of adjustment cosmetically or what have you so that it could be used or you stay reliant on somebody to help you with that. Having these smart devices, they are truly game changers. For the rest of us, yeah, it makes us lazy.
Jeff Thompson:
As long as your wi-fi doesn’t get knocked down.
Andy Munoz:
Yeah, that too. Yeah.
Serena Gilbert:
I was just thinking that. I was just about to say, “Until somebody hacks it.” Then, it will drive you crazy.
Jeff Thompson:
One of the concerns I would be looking into is if I was going to get the Canary or the HomeSafe alarm system that hooks up to your wi-fi and is a smart device, that, just like the bridge and the hub, are these connected to just your wi-fi or if someone cuts your wi-fi cable, will it give you an alert through cellular or run off the cellular?
Andy Munoz:
I believe that they do because actually my brother-in-law just made some changes. He gave up his business-class wi-fi and went back to residential and they bundled it all and got the security system. Yeah, if the wi-fi goes down it then does go to cellular.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh, that’s nice.
Serena Gilbert:
Yeah, ’cause we have a Honeywell Lyric. With got it for free from our home owner’s insurance company and they gave us four of them. What it is is you put anywhere that there’s water that could possibly leak and it’s connected to wi-fi. It also puts this obnoxious, loud beeping sound A, when there is water that it detects and B, just when the battery is dying.
Andy Munoz:
Does it go onto the floor?
Serena Gilbert:
Well, you can do it two different ways. We have one on the hose of our washer and it’s got this cord that you can wrap around it that if it detects the water then it will set off the alarm. Or, you can just set it on the floor and you don’t need the cord then. As soon as it detects water it will start beeping and it will send a notification to your phone.
Serena Gilbert:
When we changed our wi-fi, we never put them back on the new wi-fi ’cause I frankly couldn’t remember how to do it. When we changed our router out and had to get a new wi-fi network put up, it sent emails to me saying that they were offline. That’s really cool because your hot water heater could be leaking for days and you’d never know. Ours is in the basement. We don’t go down there but maybe once a month.
Jeff Thompson:
That’s neat. That’s less invasive. There’s a more invasive one that actually goes right into your plumbing system. You cut the line and you put this device in there and it will notify you if the pressure drops. If you’re on vacation, your lines should have no open valves so there should be a constant pressure and if that pressure drops significantly, then it will give you a signal and notify you that there’s been a change, possibly a leak, that could really devastate your home.
Serena Gilbert:
Yeah, that could save a lot of money. Imagine if you came back from vacation and there were six feet of water in your basement.
Jeff Thompson:
Swimming pool, yeah.
Serena Gilbert:
Yeah.
Andy Munoz:
Well, I was talking to somebody that they were out of town, but their son was there. He didn’t realize it, but there had been a leak. So, their basement flooded and, on top of it, they ended up with a $5,000 water bill. That was in the course of three weeks.
Serena Gilbert:
Oh, my God. I would cry. Oh, my God.
Andy Munoz:
Yeah, it was pretty crazy.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh, wow. I think a lot of these devices, like you’re saying, for someone that has a speech impediment of some sort or something, that there’s alternative devices now that through your wi-fi, making the home smarter. We just usually think about these devices that we’re using today, but a lot of these switches and commands that we’re using are pretty versatile and available to other people. Like you said, it used to be tens of thousands of dollars to make a home accessible for someone with a disability that it may help them open a door or turn on lights as you said, but now, these devices are stuff we buy off the shelf.
Jeff Thompson:
You can get the Hue lights and dim your lights and do other things and the switches and put everything on a timer. My driveway lights … I have a WeMo light switch that my driveway lights come on when it gets dark, sunset, and goes off at a certain time. Then, I have some lamps in the living room that come on at the same time and go off at the same time. I have three switches working like that, plug in switches and one light switch. I like that automation because kind of get it. The lights come on. Oh, it’s dark out, if you can sense that. If someone comes over, the house isn’t just totally dark.
Andy Munoz:
Well, it’s nice especially in today’s society, you definitely want to have those lights on on the outside. You don’t want people creeping up on your house. For me, I look at the negative side of that just because it is real. You definitely want to make sure that you have some light so your house can be seen, and I think it detracts from people wanting to do anything to it in a negative manner.
Jeff Thompson:
Plus, when you’re away from home … When I was in England, I could actually turn the lights off or on just from a flip on my phone, from the app.
Andy Munoz:
Right.
Jeff Thompson:
Something to remember about some of these home devices, it seems so great. Hey, just put a light switch in, but to put a light switch in with the WeMo and other ones, you do need all three wires there. You need your positive, your negative, and your neutral wire.
Andy Munoz:
Right.
Jeff Thompson:
Typically, a house that was built pre-90s, I believe, somewhere around there, switches were interrupters. So, they only ran the hot wire down to one side and to the other so when you switch is down, it breaks the connection. Lot of houses either had them drop down from the ceiling or they came up from the basement. The switches were not the place to run all the wires. They ran those to the lights above and just dropped down the ones.
Jeff Thompson:
That may be a problem if you want to add a light switch or a dimmer switch, but you will need to have all three there. If you don’t, then you have to have an electrician come in and run a neutral wire up and facilitate it that way. So, that could get expensive.
Andy Munoz:
Right. It’s good just to know that in general.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh, for sure. It also might justify spending the money for a smart light bulb where you can control that specific light bulb or a group of light bulbs with a command from an app or a voice command directed at one of your personal devices such as an Amazon, Google, Apple device, your smart speaker device.
Jeff Thompson:
Another device that I’m kind of interested is the Look or Nest makes a product, a couple other people make these products, they’re cameras on your doorbell. When motion happens at the front door, you’ll get a message on your phone that says, “Motion at front door,” and that solves the problem of thinking, “Why do I need a camera at the front door?” Well, the camera does give the indication that there’s motion, which then triggers the notification that you’ll get, but these two need the existing wire that the previous doorbell used because they need a transformer. So, that’s something you want to look into.
Jeff Thompson:
If you don’t have a doorbell, then you’ll have to install this pre-wiring beforehand. If you do have one, you have to make sure that it’s 24 volts running to it because all these devices do need a power source to be running. Just beware, when you’re thinking and considering and buying these products, read the small braille.
Andy Munoz:
Love it. Love it. Small braille.
Serena Gilbert:
Oh, man. Isn’t all the braille small?
Jeff Thompson:
There is jumbo braille for people with neuropathy.
Jeff Thompson:
Serena, what kind of devices are you working with?
Serena Gilbert:
I have a WeMo plug. One thing I wanted to share with you guys is that, if you have Amazon Prime, there’s been a few times just in the last few months where they sent out a deal where you can get a smart plug or a smart light bulb for only $10. We bought one when they did that and, sad to say, it’s still sitting in the package because I need two and I’ve just been too cheap to buy the second one for my lamps downstairs.
Serena Gilbert:
It was summer when I bought them, so I was like, “Oh, we never need the lights on anyways.” Now, it gets dark at like 6:15, 6:30 and it would be nice to just go on my phone and turn them on or use the Echo to turn them on.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, I noticed and that’s how I’ve got … I don’t know why I’m coughing.
Serena Gilbert:
You’re just getting too old over there.
Jeff Thompson:
Geez, you’re sticking with this one.
Serena Gilbert:
See what happens when you tell me I’m getting fat?
Jeff Thompson:
I didn’t say that. I know not to say stuff like that.
Serena Gilbert:
Would you like to share what you said?
Jeff Thompson:
I said you could grow into that Blind Abilities t-shirt.
Serena Gilbert:
No, you said I’m going to grow into it because of the shake that I had.
Jeff Thompson:
Why don’t you tell the listeners what you put in your shake tonight?
Serena Gilbert:
Shameless plug for Five Guys Burgers and Fries. I had a shake and I added Oreo to it and Oreo cream and Double Stuff Oreo. I see nothing wrong with that.
Jeff Thompson:
Plus, some ice cream, right?
Serena Gilbert:
Milk, with sugar.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, so I’ll repeat it. You’ll probably grow into that t-shirt.
Serena Gilbert:
This is not helping you. You’re going to get some hate mail from all the ladies out there.
Jeff Thompson:
If anybody else would like to grow into a Blind Abilities t-shirt, email us at info@blindabilities.com.
Andy Munoz:
Yeah.
Serena Gilbert:
Oh, my goodness. Not very nice, Jeff.
Andy Munoz:
But, it is funny.
Serena Gilbert:
I’m telling my bestie on you.
Jeff Thompson:
You do have a HomePod, right?
Serena Gilbert:
I do. If anyone’s ever listened to me on any podcast, they know I absolutely adore that HomePod.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, I hear it is good sound. So are the Sonos. The Sonos are pretty good and with the smart device built into those too. The thing is, with API on those since it’s not a true Amazon device, you only get partial use of the full functionality of what you’ll get out of an Amazon device like the Dot or the Echo. Sometimes you forget that you only get that limited usage out of them. I wonder how much the Facebook Portal will have?
Serena Gilbert:
It’s probably the same API that they have on the Sonos because the Amazon’s got to give you some reason to buy theirs. Why would you ever buy the Amazon one when the Sonos clearly sounds way better sound-wise. There has to be some incentive.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, just be aware when you’re buying these devices what they connect up with. Some connect up with more than one platform. It might connect up to Amazon or it might connect up to Apple, but just check that out.
Jeff Thompson:
With the HomeKit app in your iOS device, that application is your hub, your bridge, and that might be the thing of the future, using your wi-fi. Whereas the hub, it just may be …
Serena Gilbert:
I feel like it’s another way for them to get you to spend-
Jeff Thompson:
More money.
Serena Gilbert:
$100. With me, ’cause I have the HomePod, I have the Amazon device, I’m trying to be smart about the devices that I choose since we don’t have a smart home yet where either I can find some that work with both or depending on where the device that I’m buying is going to be, it works with whatever is closest to it.
Andy Munoz:
Definitely some strategy into it.
Serena Gilbert:
Yeah. One weird thing that I noticed when I did get the HomePod is, for some reason, and I don’t know if it’s the way that Apple’s system is so locked down, but the devices that say they’re compatible with HomeKit, they’re never the ones … They’re always more expensive it seems. The ones that are compatible with the Amazon devices, there’s so many of them that the price has come down on them. When you look at the ones that say HomeKit, it’s like upwards of double the price for the same functionality.
Andy Munoz:
I’m guessing you’re right that Apple is so locked down with everything that they do and you don’t have a lot of choice as you do with Amazon or Google. A lot of the coding and development and stuff that goes into all that stuff is open source. Not to dog Google in any way, shape, or form by saying this, but their standards are more open than what you get with an Apple. I would venture to say that you’re right on that.
Jeff Thompson:
When I first started down this path of adding smart switches and smart plugins, outlets to the house, I went with WeMo and I stuck with it. It seems to be doing good and just lately, I got an update and now the WeMo switches, the smart, mini WeMo switches, are able to work with the HomeKit, which is the native app in your iOS device titled, “Home,” H-O-M-E.
Jeff Thompson:
The new ones that you get, they’ll have a little code on them and you just scan it and it will register right into your application of your HomeKit and boom, there you go. That is very similar to my Nest Protect because all I did there was scan in the product and boom, it was connected up into my app, which just makes it very nice.
Jeff Thompson:
In the app, it does incorporate that these devices can now be synced up together. I have them synced up with my Amazon device, my google device, my iPhone. I can make my iPad, which stays at home basically, as the hub. By me invoking the HomeKit as my hub, do I really need a Google Home Hub? Do I really need a central device? I think I’m okay.
Andy Munoz:
I guess if you look at it from most people’s perspective, we want it with generally a handheld device. Let’s face it. There’s times that we’re not going to be in our home, when we want to be able to have that remote access, that remote control. I think that the hubs are a nice thought, but I don’t know how realistic it is.
Jeff Thompson:
Serena, you had mentioned that you were considering a basement remodel. Have you thought about incorporating the smart home features?
Serena Gilbert:
It would be nice kind of thing, but yeah, we haven’t officially done that. All I really want in the house right now is a smart thermostat because I really struggle with what temperature it is in the house. The house is only two years old. I meant the builder if they could put in a smart one for me and then I just spaced it. I regret that.
Serena Gilbert:
I really have to rethink it ’cause I know that my husband would like a doorbell camera at some point. It’s like do we go with Ring; do we go with Nest because I’d like it to just all be the same brand just to make life easy.
Jeff Thompson:
I have a Nest Protect and that’s a smoke alarm that mounts to the ceiling. If I buy another Nest Protect, they communicate with each other and announce their location. In a case of an emergency, you will know where the smoke is coming from.
Speaker 4:
Emergency. There’s smoke downstairs.
Jeff Thompson:
If I do get a Nest thermostat, that too will connect to the family of Nest products. If there is a fire, it will shut off the furnace so you don’t have the air blowing around and flaming the fire … Flaming? Wafting the flame.
Serena Gilbert:
Good job. Your old brain worked.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh, it may not be as quick as a Millennial, but it’s wiser.
Jeff Thompson:
So, having items from the same family, the same Nest products in my situation pays off for me. I would also like to mention that the Nest Protect, the smoke alarm that’s in the ceiling, has a glowing light on it and it comes on when it senses motion. So, in the middle of the night, if you walk past it, it will glow brighter.
Serena Gilbert:
That’s cool.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, so that’s a neat little feature that will help family members as well. Serena, you mentioned the doorbell with the camera. Now, some people may say, “Why do I need a camera when I can’t see who’s out there?” However, the camera senses motion and then it will send you a notification that there’s motion at the front door.
Serena Gilbert:
That’s very cool.
Jeff Thompson:
I see the benefits in that as well.
Jeff Thompson:
Now, a friend of mine, just to be fair, has the Honeywell thermostat.
Serena Gilbert:
Is the Honeywell app accessible?
Jeff Thompson:
He says it is, however, he doesn’t use voice over but he tested it and he says it is. I haven’t put it through the rigors, but it’s $100 cheaper and Honeywell is a good product. It has high ratings on it as well. However, being in the same family and interconnecting as such, I think Nest makes a good line of product that really should be considered. Plus, Nest is owned by Google, right?
Serena Gilbert:
Is it?
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah.
Serena Gilbert:
[inaudible] conspiracy.
Andy Munoz:
I have to say though, I’m with Jeff on the whole … Usually, if I buy a brand, that’s usually what I like to stick to and keep it consistent. A lot of it, I think, has to do for me about what the previous experiences have been. If I bought something like a Samsung TV and it’s worked well for me, I’m going to be more inclined to go back out and buy that same brand just because I’ve had that good experience and I trust it. I think too, part of it too is if they can communicate with each other in some way, shape, or form, all the better.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, safety first. That brings up home security systems in your house that hooks up with wi-fi from doors to windows. I’m starting to wonder how many devices you can have connected up to your wi-fi system before it becomes over-weighted or strained. That’s probably where a hub comes in because it would take that load. Until you get to that point, I think that’s when you start wondering about a hub.
Jeff Thompson:
I just want to use the apps that each thing comes with. Set it up one time and move on. I don’t want to have to pull that out all the time and say, “Honey, let’s set the mood lighting for this movie,” or have all my Christmas lights on my iPad so I can spell words or have special designs going across. That’s not my bag. I just want these devices to work out of their own app. I just think the HomeKit, the home app, will suffice for most people that are venturing into the smart home devices.
Andy Munoz:
Well, because I think too we all have this thing where we generally know when we’re going to be home and when we’re not unless you have something where you’re out of the norm, you have a function that you’re going to go to or what have you. In my house, I generally know who’s going to be home and when they’re going to be home. To be able to say, “All right, yeah, let’s have a heat come on at this time. Have it shut off at this time,” that kind of stuff is super convenient.
Andy Munoz:
Because right now, it’s one of those things where because I can’t program it the way that I want and my wife isn’t able to program it, she’s [inaudible]. It’s just an archaic thermostat. There’s times she’ll say 8:30 at night, “It’s cold.” I have to turn it up because yeah, it shut down when it really should have been on. There again, it would be nice to have something where definitely have that control and to be able to do that and know that it’s going to be consistent.
Jeff Thompson:
Serena, do you want the Amazon Bathroom where you walk in and the lights come on, the toilet seat heats up, and boom, music comes on and six sheets of toilet paper pop out?
Serena Gilbert:
If you can find a way to heat my floor in my bathroom, I’d be happy.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh, they have that.
Serena Gilbert:
I don’t know if I need the toilet seat heat. I’m okay. But, I was thinking about what you guys were talking about and I was just thinking of the cost savings with that. Just the heat alone to save it … ‘Cause right now, our heat’s just either off or on. Then, we all know the theory behind how long it takes to raise the heat so many degrees. It’s more expensive then to keep it steady.
Serena Gilbert:
Then, there’s also the cost savings of if you own your house. Especially with the smoke detectors that you have, Jeff, I’m sure you’re saving money on your home owner’s insurance too.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, that’s great, Serena, because if you contact your insurance company you can find out so much more about what you could be doing to your house for safety-wise that will ultimately save you money in the insurance policy premium.
Serena Gilbert:
It’d be totally worth it.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh, yeah. You want to tell them you have a smoke alarm. Don’t call them and tell them you don’t have any.
Serena Gilbert:
What do you mean you didn’t have one? Hold on a minute. We need to raise your premium a little bit.
Jeff Thompson:
Back pay. It’s just really nice that there’s devices out there that we can implement into our lives. Like you said, Andy, just make it more convenient and … Especially the doorbell. I’m really intrigued about that, the camera. I was the one that would always say, “Why do I need a camera? I can’t see blah, blah, blah,” but that it alerts you, you know?
Serena Gilbert:
Some of them have it where you can speak to them.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Serena Gilbert:
And, hear the sound.
Jeff Thompson:
That’s a neat alert. You know someone’s at the front door.
Andy Munoz:
Yes, I was just going to say, “And, they have no idea that you’re not even home.”
Jeff Thompson:
Right. I’m going to get one before trick-or-treaters come out. This will be fun.
Serena Gilbert:
Scare them. Oh, my goodness. Well, it will especially help during the holiday season when you’re expecting your Amazon packages ’cause if there’s sound with it too, there’s pretty distinct noise when the UPS truck pulls up.
Jeff Thompson:
I think if you do it right … We should appeal to all the truck drivers that deliver packages to wear little bells on their shoes so we know it’s them.
Serena Gilbert:
It’s like a code. That reminds me though. I was watching Shark Tank a few weeks ago and there was a business on there and they didn’t get a deal, but it was a smart device that it was a box that the driver would scan the code on the package, it’d open up the box, they’d put the package in there, and then it would close back up again. They didn’t get a deal for obvious reasons because, frankly, the UPS drivers probably aren’t going to scan it. They’re just going to sit the package on top of the box and keep going.
Serena Gilbert:
It did bring up an interesting thing though. If they could have licensed that to UPS or FedEx or USPS, made it part of their flow, that could really curb porch pirates.
Jeff Thompson:
I got a question for you guys. What device isn’t out there yet, but you would like to have a smart device as?
Serena Gilbert:
Oh, you know what I’m going to say as my son always says when I ask him questions. I want my smart self-driving car.
Jeff Thompson:
That’s coming.
Serena Gilbert:
But it’s not accessible. There’s too many laws.
Jeff Thompson:
They’ll probably have a little screen to open the door and it will be like, “Everything’s accessible except you can’t get in the door.”
Serena Gilbert:
Yeah. You have to put in this passcode that’s on this touchscreen.
Jeff Thompson:
They’ll have a Captcha.
Serena Gilbert:
God, I hate those things. Then, you try to listen to it.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh, yeah. Four seven three apple two orange W.
Serena Gilbert:
You’re like, “Are you in a call center doing this?” I don’t understand.
Jeff Thompson:
I know it’s crazy. It’s like, “Gosh, I had good hearing until I heard that.”
Andy Munoz:
If you’d get you a tin can that would sound so perfect.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah.
Serena Gilbert:
I hate those things.
Jeff Thompson:
I was on a website today. I know this is off topic. I was on a website today. It was all about accessibility. It’s supposed to be an educational accessibility thing and all this stuff. It was really interesting. I was actually intrigued with the layout and stuff and they had a Captcha that was inaccessible. It’s like, “Really? You did all this and now that.”
Andy Munoz:
Somebody did not think that through.
Jeff Thompson:
No.
Serena Gilbert:
#accesibilityFail.
Jeff Thompson:
They have accessibility in their name.
Serena Gilbert:
Did you send them an email?
Jeff Thompson:
No.
Andy Munoz:
Wow.
Jeff Thompson:
I got off of it and I just sat there for a minute thinking, “That’s so stupid.”
Serena Gilbert:
You didn’t make your trademark noise? Andy, what’s the smart device that you’re hoping for?
Andy Munoz:
Wow. That could be plenty but something that would open up my dryer and pull out my laundry and hang it up.
Serena Gilbert:
Oh, so you want the robot from the Jetsons.
Andy Munoz:
There you go.
Jeff Thompson:
That’s be Judy wouldn’t it?
Serena Gilbert:
Just your luck ’cause wasn’t George always getting all this technology failing for him?
Andy Munoz:
Yeah, she malfunctioned one day and she did a bunch of different weird stuff that was all backwards.
Jeff Thompson:
I think for a device that I’m looking forward to and I hope they have it someday, is really a personal assistant, but not a physical one that would actually do things for me but you know how you think of to-do lists and you think of all this stuff? Something that follows your thought like that. When you wake up the next day, it’s like, “Jeff, remember the garbage.”
Serena Gilbert:
You want a chip implanted in your head.
Jeff Thompson:
Just call it the thought bubble or something.
Serena Gilbert:
Thought bubble.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, an accessible thought bubble. Just like, “Lori told me three things yesterday. What was that?” “Jeff, you weren’t listening where you?” I want that companion, that thing that actually helps me move along.
Serena Gilbert:
Jeff, all you have to do is win the Powerball and then you can just pay someone to follow you around for the rest of your life.
Jeff Thompson:
But, I think this would help people. We’re talking about old age, but people who have memory issues and stuff. That seems to be a prominent thing in today’s world. Everyone knows someone that might be going through it or someone that is affected by it. Something that could shadow you, your shadow. If your shadow could talk, it would remember.
Serena Gilbert:
So, you want a smart shadow?
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah. Do you guys think that’s far off?
Andy Munoz:
Time wise maybe. I don’t know. Technology’s so rapid that anything’s possible at any given point. I think, for me, it’s even pointless half the time for me to put stuff even as reminders ’cause I just ignore them.
Serena Gilbert:
I’m the same way.
Andy Munoz:
For work and stuff, obviously, I pay attention to my calendar and that sort of thing, but outside of that, I’ll say, “Yeah, I put it in my calendar. I’ll do this, that, or the other.” It’s like it’s there but nine times out of 10 I’m just going to blow it off and ignore it anyway.
Serena Gilbert:
I have a reminder on my phone right now that’s 19 days old but I still didn’t do it. Like, “Oh, I’ll just ignore it and it will pop back up in a couple weeks.”
Jeff Thompson:
Avoid shakes from Five Brothers.
Serena Gilbert:
Five Guys, get it right.
Jeff Thompson:
Avoid shakes from Five Guys.
Serena Gilbert:
You guys don’t have Five Guys up in Minnesota?
Jeff Thompson:
No. We only got three guys. We’re working on it.
Serena Gilbert:
You don’t know what you’re missing. You don’t have Dutch Brothers. You don’t have Five Guys. God, how do you live?
Jeff Thompson:
Well, you’re in the fastest growing city in the United States right now.
Serena Gilbert:
It’s ’cause we’ve got all these Millennials. They love it here.
Jeff Thompson:
Really?
Serena Gilbert:
That’s why we’re getting all these cool home deliver things. We just got Prime Now here. We can get Whole Food delivered in two hours for free.
Jeff Thompson:
That’s awesome.
Serena Gilbert:
Yeah.
Jeff Thompson:
How big is Cold Spring?
Serena Gilbert:
Old Spring?
Jeff Thompson:
Colorado Springs. How big is Colorado Springs?
Andy Munoz:
The general city is like 400,000, but then you’ve got the surrounding areas that make up more and we’re probably closer to 650 to 700,000.
Jeff Thompson:
Really?
Serena Gilbert:
I think they said by … Do you remember what year it was, Andy? Maybe it was like 2050, which sounds far away, but it really isn’t if you think about it. We would actually be bigger than Denver technically.
Andy Munoz:
That’s what they’re saying.
Serena Gilbert:
Yeah.
Andy Munoz:
It’s ridiculous to think because when you go to Denver, you go to downtown Denver and you see all the big high rise buildings and stuff and then you come to Colorado Springs and you look at our downtown. It’s like no comparison. I think the highest building we have is maybe 20 stories.
Serena Gilbert:
I don’t even know if there’s a 20-story one, honestly. If there is, then it’s one of the hotels.
Jeff Thompson:
Which leads into is Colorado Springs going to be a smart city?
Serena Gilbert:
I don’t think we will. Just politically, our city and then the other city, there’s another small city that’s in between Denver and Colorado Springs called Castle Rock, our two cities had the option to be part of the light rail system that’s in Denver and they refused. Every time that it comes back up, they keep resisting and keep refusing because they don’t want light rail here for some reason. I don’t get it.
Andy Munoz:
Smart city means that you have to have some intelligence and Colorado Springs operates on the motto, “If it doesn’t make sense, do it.”
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, it’s really neat here because we do have the light rail running right through Fridley and it’s neat. Even our buses and our light rails now have wi-fi while you’re on them.
Serena Gilbert:
Very nice.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, we’re not a bustling city anymore, but it’s a big area. I think two-thirds of the population of Minnesota is located right in the twin cities, Saint Paul-Minneapolis and the seven-county area. It’s nice that you get those little amenities like that but I always thought Colorado Springs was a … Well, it’s not Denver. It’s a quaint little town. But, wow, number one in the United States for growth.
Serena Gilbert:
Real estate too.
Andy Munoz:
It’s really been in just the last several years. It’s just really kind of just took off.
Serena Gilbert:
Well, a lot of it is the people from Denver have moved down here so they’re still making their Denver wages. So, they move down here and we’re buying Colorado Springs waged houses and then that’s driving it all up, but then they’re still commuting to Denver for work. That’s contributing to the traffic problems too. The commute’s about an hour, hour and 10 if you go early enough.
Andy Munoz:
Yeah, if you go early enough.
Jeff Thompson:
They need to get that tunnel.
Serena Gilbert:
I still want my hyperloop.
Jeff Thompson:
That’s ready to open up, isn’t it?
Serena Gilbert:
No. There’s a test track in L.A. it’s either two minutes or two miles. It’s probably the same difference, but they’re going to open that up and let people actually be able to test run it. Like, regular people.
Jeff Thompson:
As opposed to the irregular people?
Serena Gilbert:
Hey.
Jeff Thompson:
No, I think it’s really neat that smart cities are coming about. A lot of devices are happening. A lot of transportation things like you want the car and I think everyone’s been thinking about that and dreaming about that and wondering. Now, we say it’s right around the corner, but that’s a long ways to that corner sometimes.
Serena Gilbert:
You know, it will be interesting though because you just told me the NFB conference next year is in Vegas. Vegas is testing a… Lyft is testing a whole fleet of driverless vehicles on the strip there.
Jeff Thompson:
So, beware.
Serena Gilbert:
That would be interesting.
Andy Munoz:
Stay off the sidewalks.
Jeff Thompson:
Tap widely.
Serena Gilbert:
But they’re safer than human drivers you guys. The accidents they have are only when the human does something to it to cause it to happen.
Jeff Thompson:
Well, I think ideally it’s all going to be safer when there’s more and more of them because they’ll be able to communicate with each other just like my Nest will be able to communicate with things. Those cars will communicate with the other cars so it will almost be like a light rail once you get a stream of them going in a sense.
Serena Gilbert:
The only thing I worry about is because obviously to get where you’re going it’s reliant on some sort of GPS. So, you know there’s a couple things that go with that. When the network’s down, what happens to the cars? Or, when you’re like my house where you weren’t on the GPS for two entire years, where does it go? Does it stop somewhere and say you’re there when you’re really not? Those are things they’d have to definitely fix.
Jeff Thompson:
From smart devices, smart houses, it will be interesting to learn more about smart cities and smart automobiles. Probably by next show we could get a smart host.
Serena Gilbert:
I guess I’m coming down off my sugar high.
Andy Munoz:
She’s thinking, “I smell smoke. Is your Nest going off, Jeff?”
Jeff Thompson:
Maybe the wi-fi went down and the house is burning.
Andy Munoz:
Uh-oh.
Serena Gilbert:
Oh, my goodness. I could just see a comic right now where there’s a drawing and there’s clearly smoke and fire, but the person’s just looking at their phone and it says they are like, “Nope. Smoke detectors say that there’s no fire.”
Serena Gilbert:
Well, I have had tons of fun talking with you guys. Hopefully, we’ve got some ideas for our Christmas list right, Jeff?
Jeff Thompson:
Mm-hmm. CSUN.
Serena Gilbert:
Still haven’t sold you on the HomePod have I?
Jeff Thompson:
Well, I’m going to be here to look under my tree or I’ll just listen under my tree. Maybe it will tell her how to set it up too.
Serena Gilbert:
But, it’s Apple. It just works, right?
Jeff Thompson:
Oh, yeah.
Andy Munoz:
There you go.
Jeff Thompson:
I have to say that I sit amongst an orchard of Apples.
Serena Gilbert:
You’ve got every color Apple there is.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh, by the way, what color is your iPhone X?
Serena Gilbert:
Silver.
Andy Munoz:
Space gray.
Jeff Thompson:
Gold.
Serena Gilbert:
You got a pink one, Jeff?
Jeff Thompson:
No, I didn’t get rose gold. I got gold.
Serena Gilbert:
Are you sure you didn’t get rose gold?
Jeff Thompson:
Well, I don’t know. I got the case on. I’ll never know.
Serena Gilbert:
Exactly. I just find it so funny with the last podcast we did how much you guys specifically said, “Nope, I don’t think I’m going to upgrade,” and both of you did in like a week of each other.
Jeff Thompson:
I walked into the Apple store. That’s what went wrong.
Andy Munoz:
Yeah, I walked into the Sprint store with my son and there we go. I have to run guys. I do have an errand that I need to run.
Serena Gilbert:
That sounds awful suspicious considering that it’s like 10:00 at night.
Andy Munoz:
Got to go to the pharmacy.
Serena Gilbert:
I don’t even want to know, Andy.
Serena Gilbert:
Anyway, I enjoyed talked with both you guys and I can’t wait to record the next episode and until next time, bye.
Andy Munoz:
Peace.
Jeff Thompson:
Bye-bye.
Serena Gilbert:
Get off the phone.
Andy Munoz:
I want to thank you for listening. Be sure to follow Tech Abilities on Twitter. That’s @AbilitiesTech. A big thank you to Jeff Thompson for the beautiful music. Once again, I want to thank you for listening. We hope you enjoyed. Until next time, bye-bye.
[Music] [Transition noise] -When we share
-What we see
-Through each other’s eyes…
[Multiple voices overlapping, in unison, to form a single sentence]
…We can then begin to bridge the gap between the limited expectations, and the realities of Blind Abilities.
Jeff Thompson:
For more podcasts with a blindness perspective, check us out on the web at www.BlindAbilities.com, on Twitter @BlindAbilities. Download our app from the App Store, Blind Abilities. That’s two words. Or send us an email at info@blindabilities.com. Thanks for listening.