Phil Hawthorne's Blog

Home Automation has been an overly-priced luxury reserved for the rich, famous, or nerds. Now Google is stepping up to finally ditch the old lightswitch.

Hands up who’s seen Iron Man? I gotta say I loved Iron Man, and I especially loved Jarvis (I assume that’s how his name is spelt) the computer which runs the home of Tony Stark. Where we are technologically today, a system should be able to be created that could act almost exactly like Jarvis, turning lights on/off when we forget to, opening blinds etc.

Being the nerd I don’t claim to be, I’ve had a look into home automation technology, and I’ve gotta say, it sucks. There are a couple of home automation systems around. Most are expensive. Unless of course you’re lucky to find some gear on clearance at your local hardware shop.

From what I’ve seen, most of the systems today use your power lines to communicate. This means for each appliance you want to control, you have need to have a “receiver” which acts like a switch, either turning power on or off to the connected devices, by transmitting a signal through your power lines. This works great for lights. I myself have 2 lamps beside my TV, and 2 Sony sub woofers controlled with this technology. An IR receiver module allows me to press “watch movie” on my Harmony remote, and presto the lights, sub woofers and TV all turn on together. I’ve also got it setup so I can turn off the router which is outside when it freezes.

This is using X10 technology. And its pretty slow. The reason being behind the cables transmitting the signals. Power Lines were never meant to carry anything more than power through them, but now we’re seeing home Ethernet connections being run through them, as well as other systems. This is achieved by the use of AC power in homes. Unlike electricity in your car which is run off a direct current (DC) battery, your home 240v lines use Alternating Current (AC). Now I’m no electrician, but from what I can tell on how it works, the X10 sends its signals through your power lines in between the different currents. This is where the signal can get lost, or take some time for the current to switch before it can send out its signal.

The technology has been around for years, but in the same time we’ve watched our mobiles evolve, Facebook and Twitter have been born, and the tech world has changed a lot, except for home automation.

Don’t get me wrong. The current technology can do some pretty cool things. You can hook up light sensors, curtain controls, and even sprinkler systems, all to be controlled wirelessly. And take it one step further, and plug your computer in with a transmitter, and you can have the house open and close blinds in the morning, water your garden every third night (unless it’s rained, it can detect that), and turn off lights that you may have accidentally left on when you go to sleep. If you’re interested, Google HAL Home Automation.

Engadget reported back in May this year of Google’s announcement of Android@Home. Instead of using power lines to communicate, the technology looks like it’s going to use WiFi and perhaps RFID (Near field communication) chips. Googles example showed that lights could be turned on and off based on calendar events, a CD with an RFID chip that would send the track details to a mobile device near it, etc.

Engadget seemed a bit disappointed that Android@Home won’t be using existing home automation standards, including Z-wave. To be honest, I don’t know much about Z-wave, but I’m not against Android@Home having its own standard. I would rather Google be the one to implement this standard, than a garden walled company like Apple.

From my understanding, WiFi controller modules would be placed on your appliances. A control unit (probably your Android mobile, or a PC running some software) will send a signal over your WiFi to power on/off these devices. I think we’ll definitely need to see IPv6 rolled out on these puppies, as a lot of devices would be fighting for IP addresses (even if the addresses were limited to a local subnet).

So I am eagerly awaiting Android@Home. I think there’s definitely a market to be had in home automation, and a lot of powerful things can be done with it. We just need to make it accessible and efficient enough to work for the masses.

Final thought for the day… Isn’t it good to see Google using their powers for good, while Apple claim everyone is copying them, and suing everyone who threatens them. My war on Apple continues…

This week has been huge for social media networks Facebook, and Google+. With the battle lines now being clearly drawn, Facebook and Google are set to be at war for the best Social Network.

The evolution of the Social Network

Love them or hate them, but social networks are becomming more and more a part of everyday life. From seeing what your old high school buddies are doing,  tagging your close friends with you at the local bar, to tweeting questions to celebrities, TV Shows and Politicians.

This week has been an enormous week for the social media phenomenon. Google+, the answer to Facebook from Google (and the successor to Google’s Buzz) was released to the public. A timely release, with Facebook announcing major changes to its social network, on top of the new changes already rolled out this week. So let’s start it off by going through the three main social media networks today…

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I’ve always been pretty sus on advertising, and always take everything that’s offered with a grain of salt. After all, the purpose of advertising has one aim, to take the money out of my pocket, and put it into the advertisers.

Caption reads: Forget that ethics shit, let's make some money

In the past couple of years, in Australia at least, we’ve seen the introduction of multi-buy specials in our supermarkets. Buy in bulk, and save. Well at least that’s what we’re supposed to think. Everyday we’re bombarded with marketing and special promotions. From the latest specials at the supermarket, to the latest and greatest vehicle technology. But how dumb do companies really think we are?

One thing I’ve come to learn recently, is that information is power. And this is especially true for marketing and advertising. It’s amazing how in this digital age, how free we are to give out our personal interests, what we buy, where we go, all for free to advertisers.

I think a lot of people are naive, or plainly just don’t care. But perhaps if they knew how much a company or advertiser knows about you, they’d be scared. Facebook, something which almost anyone online now uses, is a massive marketing engine. People hear how much money Facebook is worth, but I honestly don’t think people make the connection as to why Facebook is worth so much. Most people would say it’s because everyone uses it. Others would say it’s because the people who created it are smart, and not everyone can create Facebook (true – but not the reason). The fact is Facebook is worth billions if not trillions of dollars because of the information and access to the people that use it (you and me), and the ability for advertisers to market to the people they exactly want to. (continue reading…)

Apple came back from the brink of fiscal disaster with the iPod, and has been a marketing powerhouse with its newer products ever since. Technology players have tried desperatly to keep up with Apple’s growth and market share, and seem to be banking on 3D technology being the next ‘big thing’.

The definition of Sexy! Now you can be a nerd for watching TV on the couch

There’s no doubt about how fast technology is moving. Our mobile phones have replaced buttons with larger touch screens. The T9 predictive text has been replaced with full QWERTY keyboards with Microsoft Word style spell checking capabilites. Virtually every phone sold today has a x mega pixel camera built right into it. There’s definetly no denying that mobile phones have come a long way, and I would personally have to say this is all thanks to Apple and their iPhone.

Apple have been a marketing powerhouse since the release of their iPod music player in 2001. With the company facing fiscal disaster, the iPod saved the company. The companies revolutionizing technology, coupled with the marketing brains and spin, has kept Apple afloat, and one of the technology leaders it is today.

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Australians awaiting the launch of Samsung’s new 10.1 inch tablet may be forced to wait, as Apple this week launched legal action to prevent the sale of the iPad2 killer in Australia.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs targetting Samsung's new 10.1 inch tablet, for being better than his iPad2

It’s no secret I love my iPhone. But I am very, very quickly beginning to hate the company that makes it. I’m going overseas in a couple of months, and have been looking for a tablet to buy to take with me. I don’t want to lug a laptop around with me, and a tablet seems like such a better alternative for skyping and watching videos.

The iPad has undoubtedly started the tablet race, and the iPad2 was a great improvement on the first model. But like everything, there must be competition.

I’ve been turned off Apple products recently. Not because of the quality of the products, not at all. I’ve been really turned off by what the company has become. It’s an ugly, jelous, controlling corporation, that has nothing except its own self preservation and profits in mind.

When the iPhone came out, Apple sold themselves as the underdog. They created a smartphone, that was cheap enough for the general consumer to get their hands on. When the iPhone 4 and Facetime was annouced, they talked about Facetime being an open protocol that virtually any device will be able to communicate with. 10 months on, and still only Apple products support this “open” protocol. Sorry to tell you Steve, but Facetime wasn’t anything new in 2010. I had a phone in 2007 that could video call, and I didn’t need to be on WiFi to do it. Perhaps someone should sue you for trademark infringement?

I’ve already mentioned it, but perhaps Google has a case to sue Apple, for its complete rip off of the Android notifications system.

Maybe it’s the fact that if you want to create an app for the iPhone, or any iOS device, you need to own a Mac. Oh, and you have to pay US$99 a year just for the access to the SDK. Now we’re paying for the use of the Apple brand.

Infact you know what it is. It’s Apple’s arrogance that is what really puts me off. They force you to pay a fee, and use their computers to develop for their devices, then they slug you 30% off your revenue in the App Store. You have to use iTunes with your iOS device. No choice charlie. They don’t like you jailbreaking and installing your third-party applications on your iPhone, even threatening that doing so will void your warranty and destroy your device, but have the nerve to completly rip ideas from jailbreakers, and market them as Apple’s own creations and ideas. Multitasking, MMS, copy-and-paste were all on the iPhone before Apple decided to put them in. Hell, Apple even argued that a phone doesn’t need MMS, and copy-and-paste would be too complicated.

But I digress. I’ve been eagerly awaiting the Samsung 10.1 inch tablet, which recently launched in the USA. Not to be confused with the bulkier, and discontinued 10.1v which was available exclusivly on the Vodafone network, this new tablet is a serious threat to the iPad2. Apart from being an open-based system, using Android, this tablet is lighter and thinner than the iPad2. It will support Flash like most Android devices, and if you like to customise a device just the way you want to, then Android is for you. The tablet was due for an Australian release in on 11 August 2011, but Apple has filed an injuction with the Australian Federal Court. claiming the tablet breaches patents for its iPad.

The Tablet that has Apple scared

Samsung has agreed not to sell the device in Australia until the results of the August 29 hearing. Samsung has also given Apple access to three of the Australian model tablets, saying that the specifications of the Australian model differ from the US model, and hence there should be no issue with the US model stock being put on hold because of IP infringement.

Apple has become too big for their own boots. Restricting our use of their devices, access to the iOS platform, and charging for almost every part of having to own and use an iOS device. From the good and underdog guys that released an affordable smartphone, the company has turned into big bad brother, and is doing anything it can to stop competition ruin its empire.

Android all the way! Apple, you’ve lost another customer thanks to your arrogance! My next phone will undoubetdly be an Android device. Where I’ll be free to use my phone as a USB hard-drive, watch AVI videos, download and choose my own SMS alert tones, and not have to be threatened about changing the operating system of the device I PAID FOR.