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Is there a smart home in your future?

About 25 years ago, a coworker and I brainstormed about designing home automation into new home construction. I think one of us did a paper on it for business school, or maybe we worked on it together; I can't remember. What I do remember is that I couldn't stand accounting and quit the MBA program. Maybe that explains why I only got to be a CEO for seven months.

At the time, computer and network technology was all big iron, so robust, cost-effective home automation was a long way off. Nevertheless, we had hopes and dreams, and one of mine was to someday build my dream home with lots of cool technology built-in.

Fast forward 25 years. My wife and I are near completion of a custom home. We put our hopes and dreams into this house, which my wife designed. Our architect and builder had a mastery of every aspect of the process, except for one: smart home technology. That kind of left me in charge of dealing with that aspect of the home.

Since I'm somewhat of a computer geek, I didn't have too much of a problem with that. After all, I knew what the technology was capable of, I knew the tradeoffs, and I knew what I wanted. I also knew when a contractor was blowing smoke up my butt, which came in handy.… Read more

Boston Acoustics reboots itself with colorful new product line

Boston Acoustics today launched a new series of home audio products for the fall, along with a new logo and slogan ("Play Smart") designed to reinvigorate the storied brand. The trio of new product announcements are as follows:

TVee Model Two (September 2007, $400): Add Boston to the parade of brands offering a single-speaker audio solution. Instead of a virtual surround solution offered by the likes of more expensive models from Yamaha, Philips, Nirotek, and Polk Audio, the modestly priced TVee (Television Entertainment Enhancement System, pictured above) is more in line with that of earlier Zvox and SoundMatters … Read more

T-Mobile prepping VoIP service?

T-Mobile may be extending its Hotspot@Home service to offer voice over IP for fixed-line users.

The company is working with Linksys to make a router that integrates home phone lines into the service along with providing VoIP service over cell phones, according to recently filed documents with the Federal Communications Commission.

In June, T-Mobile launched its Hotspot@Home service, which allows T-Mobile cell phone subscribers to transfer calls seamlessly between the T-Mobile cellular network and a Wi-Fi hot spot in the home. The service is being offered for an introductory rate of $9.99 for a single cell phone. … Read more

iPhone app: uPhoneHome

A few weeks ago, we told you about Leaflets, an iPhone-friendly portal that presents a series of small Web applications on a single page. It turns out there are many more portals like this out there, and uPhoneHome is one such site. Instead of having to sign up to use the site like you do with Leaflets, uPhoneHome doesn't require a log-in at all. You can go ahead and add all kinds of iPhone-friendly Web apps to this page (everything from Facebook to Meebo), and arrange them by date added, categorically, or even alphabetically. The one downside is that … Read more

How to make Google all nice and cuddly

Want a conversation starter? Just toss a pillow that lists off terms like "Orlando Bloom," "podcasting," and "bankruptcy" onto your couch, and your guests du jour will likely be so curious that they won't even notice you forgot to dust the top of your TiVo box.

This is, for the record, the Google News Cushion from Spring Design & Art. Those seemingly mismatched list items are, in fact, the top ten Google News searches of 2006. The company also sells a few other years' worth, too. (What do you want to bet the '… Read more

Denon unveils new AV receiver line

Denon is certainly one of the heavy hitters in the AV receiver market, and its full 2007 AV receiver line has now been announced. In general, you can expect Denon's receivers to be pricier than similarly equipped competitors, but in many cases, Denon is trying to justify the price premium with premium features. For example, all the receivers from the AVR-3808CI to the AVR-5308CI feature Denon's new graphical user interface, which replaces the old blocky-text look. Denon is also stressing networking functionality, which is available on the same receivers with the GUI and allows you to you play … Read more

The problem with hotel rooms: Where's the innovation?

As I sit in a hotel room and write this, I can't help but think that most hotels are behind the curve. As I sit on this king bed, I'm looking at a 27-inch standard-def TV and a couple of old-fashioned telephones. There's no DVD player and the video games available to me on the TV are played with the help of a Nintendo 64 controller. Am I missing something? I know I'm not staying in the Ritz-Carlton or some other fancy hotel, but come on! Can't I get something innovative?

Are your experiences the … Read more

Velocity Micro gives us a sneak peek at its mystery Home Server

We don't know its name, what it will cost, or even what its right side looks like, but you can add Velocity Micro's new mystery product to the list of others coming out this fall with Microsoft's newly finished Windows Home Server software. According to Velocity Micro, its Home Server will come in several different configurations, but across all of them it will feature a Conroe-based CPU and a high-end chipset. The idea is to limit bandwidth bottlenecks and account for future third-party software add-ons that may demand more than the basic system requirements of Windows Home … Read more

Windows Home Server off to production, gets new partners

Right on schedule, Microsoft announced that its Windows Home Server software is off to the presses. This clears the way for HP, Gateway, LaCie, Medion, and now Iomega and Fujitsu Siemens, (both also announced today, the latter in Europe only) to begin selling their Home Server-powered hardware later this quarter.

If you're unfamiliar, Windows Home Server is Microsoft's attempt to solve the growing problem of fragmented media collections. Through an easy-to-use interface, you can organize and manage access to your media files (or any other kind of data) from one centralized location, rather than having to look through … Read more