Skeptics Corner: Brilliant Tech Smart Home Panel

Wink Relay Panel Redux

With a name like Brilliant I hope that they're not overselling.  It is good however to see another company taking the charge in offering a permanent screen-based solution to cover SmartHome needs.   Wink made a SmartHome touchscreen panel several years back which began it's life at about the same price at the 2-switch panel by Brilliant ($300).  But it was no long for this world (as it only worked with Wink).

Versatility and Conflict

Brilliant has seen the light of progress and has made a switch panel with far more features that the Wink panel.  Each panel includes a full screen, switches, sensors and a camera (with a privacy cover).  But it is the back end compatibility with all sorts of SmartHome hardware companies that will (hopefully) allow it to win the day.  Alas, even if you can get past the exorbitant price (starting $249 for the single switch), you may struggle to find this device as applicable in a home full of children who probably love tech at least as much as you do. 

This is probably the first smart-device that will not get broken due to being dropped out of a car seat on to the parking lot blacktop, but it will not go unnoticed in your home.  Its hard enough to keep kids from playing with the light switches that you have explicitly labeled to not be touched (so that the lights stay powered).  This screen absolutely needs to have some kid-proofing, or lock out pin, or something to manage the access it inevitably offers to tiny fingers. A wise person once said, "You've built a great tool, now tell me how it can be abused".

Baring the child-aspect and the cost, I can appreciate the utility of a readily available screen.  I do tend to carry my smartphone with me throughout the house, out of necessity as I run my business from my home.  But I cannot express the aggravation that I've experienced when I have forgotten my phone (or one of them) upstairs.  At one point I put an old tablet downstairs on the TV cabinet so that if i did neglect the phone upstairs I had something down there.  Not everyone is willing to carry their phone with them all over the house, especially into the restroom.  But I'd wager that once the price point comes down that this tool might find a place in many homes that have shifted to Smart.

Tesla Model Y is the Model X of the Model 3

Y? Tesla Y!

Thursday, March 14th, at 8:20 PM (PDT) Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla announced the latest edition to the line up of electric vehicles that has been a long time coming.  This most recent vehicle completes the line of vehicles' whose model names spell out the word S3XY (sexy).  The announcement comes on Pi Day (March 14, or 3.14), but also culminates the 11th anniversary of Tesla's first vehicle release; the Roadster.

A Re-iteration of an Iteration

The Model Y met with great fanfare to those fans in the audience, but was met with disappointment by shareholders on Friday, March 15th.  Tesla stock dropped 5%

For ages Tesla has struggled to impress those who would short its stock, even getting Musk into trouble when he attempted to combat the practice.  But the trouble lies not in the fickle stock holder, but in the perception of the thing.

Y = X of 3

The model Y is the Model X, but the Model 3 version.  Its obvious on multiple levels.  The oddly curve nose of the Model 3 is apparent on the Model Y.  The much taller roof on the Y mirrors the X.  Although there are definitely no gull-wing doors on the Y, the added seats and even the pattern of the seat position is similar to the X.  The mere fact that the Model Y is priced similarly to the X as a version of the 3 (10-20% more) is yet another comparable factor. 

An Unfair Comparison

Investors and Fans might well be disappointed by the presentation of the Model Y if they compare it to the presentation given by Musk in the debut of the Tesla Semi truck.  That show demo'd more than than just a new tractor / trailer combo, but the updated version of the Roadster.  The Roadster 2.0 is definitely much more "sexy" than the Model Y, despite it's offerings.  

In this day of instant gratification, online sales of motor vehicles, and persons of power using twitter as their billionaire platform, is it any wonder that reactions and comparisons are made so hastily? The model Y was an inevitability, not merely to fill the position in the proposed term (sexy), but as a way to complete the line-up.  Tesla now has one of each; the Luxury sedan, the SUV, the Standard sedan, and the Crossover.  Most manufacturers, if they even have an electric vehicle, have one at this point.  The serious competition is yet to come and Tesla isn't just on the bleeding edge, they've manufactured the edge.

Tesla Supercharger V3 vs. A Gas Pump

Filling the Tank (Battery)

How long does it take to gain a full tank of fuel, be it Gasoline or Electricity? 
Well, Tesla is boosting the fill rate of it's Superchargers to a much greater capacity starting this week. They claim that a Tesla Model 3 can get up to 1000 Miles of Range per Hour of Charge.  A Model 3, has at the most a range of 325 miles, so the new charger can fill the battery in about 20 minutes.

Is that good?

The video at the top of the page is only 2.5 minutes long and it started at 9 gallons out of a possible 25.6 gallons.  So lets say that it actually took only a total of 4 minutes to fill the whole tank from empty.  The video was of my Chevy Avalanche and it could get about 500 miles of range on 25.6 gallons. So that means that the fill rate of Gas Station is 7500 Miles of Range per Hour of filling (charge). 

What does this mean?

The result is that Electric Vehicles will need, yet still a faster charger than this new improved Supercharger V3 to compete with Gas Stations on fill speed. Although, compared to the prior Supercharger V2, which only charged at a maximum of 500 Miles per Hour of Charge, this is an improvement. 

However, if you compare the Supercharger to nearly any other charger for Electric Cars in the US, the best in Electrify America at 1500 Miles per Hour of Charge.  The only vehicle that can handle that high input is the Porsche Taycan.

What remains to be seen is how quickly other electric vehicles adopt this faster charging.  Many manufacturers do not worry about fast charging since the bulk of EV Drivers charge at home.  This is mostly useful to those who take long road trips or who commute longer distances.  And if the EV ever can get solid, universal adoption it will have to meet the needs of most drivers.

Samsung Galaxy Fold

An Interesting Start

  Samsung definitely is making what I would call Sony-headway here.  They're not the first to make a dual-screen folding phone, but the name of the device seems to suggestion that it was a serious rush to get it to market as soon as possible.  It is neither polished nor beautiful, but it is at least an interesting start.

Features

  Many features are touted in this debut, probably to keep the customer from noticing the odd fold when the phone is closed.  That fold of the screen is awesome in concept, but in implementation it probably has several iterations to go.  The screen cannot be folded flat as of yet and because it appears that Samsung does not want the phone to be extra bulky, the folded phone has a triangle shape.  I can't help but think that some users will not be able to get this odd shape out of their head.  I feel that it may either be a sticking point for me or I will ignore it completely.  My initial thought was, " I can't wait until this flop-of-a-phone is available on the second-hand market so that I can have it for < $500 and claim that I was one of the crazy, first-iteration buyers." 

It is clear from the debut demo that Samsung intended for this to be a combo phone+tablet.  In a sense the flagship-ness of it could, if successful make it the new Galaxy Note.  The focus was on the tablet of the phone.  The presentation twice shows the capacity of the new phone to perform three tasks simultaneously, Video, Chat and Google search. As far as being a productivity or social ideal, I think they may have well stepped into a new realm.  But what remains to be seen is how people use it. 

Use-Case

I like the concept for a fold out phone, but how will users use it?  One of the key mentions in the demo was in regard to keeping the weight down.  The battery in particular had been split up in the device, but still maintains its longevity.   Personally, I do not like using a device with a screen that is larger than 8-inches.  It eventually becomes too hard to manipulate in my hands and with higher weight devices, my hands become tired.  I have never had this issue with my Pixel XL, it is just small enough and light enough to not encumber my uses.  However, it's screen size isn't large enough.  Although I have tried larger phones, like the Galaxy Max, this phone is almost too large for my pocket and so I have not continued in it's use.   The Galaxy Fold however, may fit the bill for the size of most pockets.  The Galaxy Fold may well be the perfect size to accommodate  both pockets and tablet use. 

Conclusion (for now)

I look forward to getting my chance to use this phone, even if it's just in a Mobile Store.  The price tag is a bit steep, even for a 24-month, interest-free payment plan [est: $83 / month].  I also look forward to the next 2 to 3 iterations of this phone, presuming it finds a market.  

It is truly a good first step.

Watch the Unveiling via CNET

My Bathroom Audio Solution

Audio in the Bathroom

I have been seeking a "good" bathroom speaker.   There are many options and functional aspects to consider when it comes to mixing water and electronics.  In this article I plan to hit these points while explaining how and why I got to the conclusion that  finally reached (somewhat accidentally).

Crappy Speakers

I, like I believe many of my fellow Americans, wish to continue my audio listening experience as I go through my day. This includes the time when I am showing.  Many times I have wanted to have access to a video experience while showing, and there are solutions to this question, but none that are possible to implement smoothly and evenly. 

While there are many possible ways to get audio into the bathroom, there is no simple method that I had found until recently.  Initially, I had thought that I would want a speaker that would hang from the shower head or stick to the wall of the shower.  There are several problems with this solution.

Firstly, most shower speakers sound terrible, they have no bass because, to overcome the noise of the shower, they must be loud and tinny. The only decent solution is to install good speakers in the bathroom.  Secondly, most people are not willing to spend the currency to install great speakers in the bathroom, because they will so rarely be used to their potential, the solution is left mostly to the wealthy.  The third issues is power.  As we probably all know, water and electrical power do not mix well in the hands of carbon-based life.  Portal devices that have that terrible tin-sound are often battery powered.   And plug-gable devices must remain near an outlet, which are often scarce around faucets. The final issue is that outside of disuse.  Speakers that sit in a bathroom will likely get mold or corroded over time due to the high moisture content of the room. 

Smartphone in a Bag

Another consideration includes a plastic locking bag to contain a mobile phone, but there are yet more issues to overcome in this concept.  While it is entirely possible and quite inexpensive to purchase a sealed plastic container for one's smartphone, the interoperability of said device is terrible.  It's hard to press the buttons and human hands rarely handle wet plastic deftly.  Of course the bag could be mounted a wall or hung like a lanyard from the shower head, but alas, the ever-presence of video is then lost if one turns about for any reason.  Additionally, sound works best when it has access to whichever medium your ears are currently submerged, usually air while showering. A bag has a strong tendency to block the audio causing it to sound muffled.


In short there are two sides to this problem.  Either deal with terrible audio quality or spend some serious coin to install a proper system that will resist both moisture and disuse. 

The Accidental Answer: Insignia Voice

I came upon the solution, albeit a compromise, when Best Buy was having a sale on it's in-house brand Insignia.  Insignia produces some of the most capable and inexpensive Google Home Speakers.  For the price of a Google Home Mini you can get a large, portable, bass-capable, alarm clock speaker.  I grabbed 2 of the larger battery-op devices when Best Buy was having a 75% off sale. 

These units are portable, have decent sound that includes bass, can be controlled by your voice, and are reasonably priced.   I was looking for more ways to up my whole-house audio game and discovered the value of the speaker was so much greater than anything that Google directly offered.  While Google does have some interesting designs, the Insignia speaker is a strong competitor, even if it isn't as pleasing to the design-eye.

Now when I want to continue my audio experience in the shower, I unplug the speaker, and carry it into to the the bathroom.  I can talk to it for music or begin casting to it from any player device.  It can easily get loud enough to blast over the noise of the shower at 50% volume. 

Admittedly, I have not tested the full extent of the audio experience.  I rarely spend more than 30 minutes in the bathroom.  But I am told that the speaker can last up to 5 hours before it needs to be reconnected to a power source.   This solution is a great compromise, between installing a costly system in the bathroom and terrible audio.  In fact it is neither poor quality, nor high cost.

Last thoughts: Uninterrupted Audio

I'd like to make a comment regarding the concept of casting audio from a smartphone to a speaker.  While there are probably hundreds of good waterproof speakers on the market, most of them are Bluetooth-based and accept primarily audio from smartphones, there is an inherent problem that I have discovered in doing that.   I want uninterrupted audio.  Wi-Fi connected devices, particularly Google Home audio via Wi-Fi have an advantage over Bluetooth in that they do not include notification sounds in the stream.  Smartphones use Bluetooth to send notifications, the Wi-Fi connection that this speaker uses does not include any notifications and thereby no interruptions.   Yes, it does support Bluetooth too, if you want that.

Get Outta My Head: Micro LED TV

Samsung's Micro LED (Modular) TV

I'm not going to say, "I told you so", because I am just grateful that such a thing came into being.  It was going to happen eventually, and it only took 22 years.  Granted, the concept in it's physical format is real -- expensive, but I am certain that it will come down in price to the point where the cost is negligible.

History

Back in the mid-90's when I was first in College at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Hitachi and Sony both approached the school with a proposal and grant money.  The sum was on the order of $5,000,000 if some engineering group could figure out how solve the problem of air bubbles in the Liquid Crystal Display forming process.   No one at the school developed a viable solution, to my knowledge, but it got me thinking about the future of display technology. 

I designed the first concept of what I was certain would be possible in 2000 when I began my elective courses in Electrical and Materials Engineering.  By the end of 2002 my thesis stated that it was possible to develop a circuit to control the electroplating of organic polymers onto silicon (the early days of OLED).  This tech concept led me to postulate on what would eventually become what the MicroLED TV is today.

Idea

The scope of the idea that I had was that at some future point, we would have modular screens all over our homes and that if one module broke, it could be easily replaced with a trip to the corner market. People would pick them up or replace them as needed, not as a full piece of equipment.  The modularity would allow consumers to use anywhere from one to hundreds and swap them in and out of whatever unit they wanted at the time.

If anything, even if know one every recognizes me for having the forethought, just the mere fact that a 20+ year-old prediction came to fruition is enough for me

Like an Elephant, Google Home Never Forgets

Google Home Never Forgets

This might be a good thing, and it might be a bad thing, but so far I haven't had many problems with Google Home... until now.

I recently moved a bulb from the Entryway of my home to my office.  I have installed this lamp in the entryway so that I could change the lighting color at the door for Halloween (the kids loved it).   However, after I changed the name of the bulb from "Entryway Light" to "Office Torch", the name stayed in Google Home.

Long have I been familiar with how to "sync my devices" in Google Home, as it is much faster to merely ask Google Home to do this for me, than to manually take the action in the app; yet this does not appear to make the update.  Alternatively, I've renamed the devices several times, and also I've removed and powered down the devices for more than 30 seconds.  In one case I forgot that I had remove a bulb and it sat out and un-powered for more than a day.  None of these actions has allowed me to remove the old titles from the devices.  Of course I could just stop using Smart Home devices, but that's not the point.

Naming Schema

Google Home is getting Smarter every day.  I'm certain that they are getting a MASSIVE amount of data from all the people connecting their apps to the software.  It works quite well and I quote enjoy using it. But it's not perfect and it always needs more work.

Currently, I've discovered that Google Home has some trouble distinguishing between the ROOM and the DEVICE.  An example is as follows.

-- Room: Office
-- Device: Office Lamp
-- Device: Desk Lamp
Say: " Ok Google, turn off the lights"
Response: "Ok, turning off 2 lights"

It seems to be able to comprehend multiple meanings, such as "lamp", "light", "bulb", and other items in the room the are classified as illumination devices. 

Next Steps

Like many of my blogs and activities, this is far from over.  I will likely be posting more about my adventures in Home Automation.  But at the very least, I'm glad I got this far....