Always looking on the bright side of life
After 2 years of research and development, I am pleased to announce that we are launching CallGenie, the “Skype for the Elderly” solution that plugs into a television. Continue reading “CallGenie – “Skype for the Elderly””
My mother has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and is being maintained in her home with the help of carers who visit her twice a day and family members who visit her on a less frequent basis. More and more she is having trouble operating her television and is struggling to figure out how to fix things when they don’t work the way she expects them to. In this post I describe how I use a Logitech Harmony Hub to remotely control my mother’s television. Continue reading “Using a Logitech Harmony Hub to remotely control an old person’s television”
I’ve finally succumbed and installed my first Philips Hue smart light bulbs. The timing was right as I’ve just redecorated our family room and the lighting in that room has always been a bit uninspiring. Continue reading “Philips Hue Lighting, Apple HomeKit and iOS11”
When I heard that Logitech was bringing out a HomeKit-compatible version of its Logitech Pop Smart Button I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. Continue reading “Review of the Logitech Pop Smart Button”
This post describes how to use Homebridge and Home Assistant to extend Apple HomeKit to enable it to support complex automations using motion sensors and switches. These automations create powerful solutions to address security and safety problems in the home. Continue reading “Using Smart Lighting and Motion Sensors to improve safety and security”
If you are a regular reader of this blog you will know that I’ve been trying to automate the Skype Solution for the Elderly that I’ve been building for my elderly mother who has Alzheimers. I want to be able to call her from my own home using Skype and a Mini PC installed in her house will automatically answer the call and switch my mother’s television to the correct HDMI input so that she can see and hear me. Continue reading “Home Assistant and Harmony Hub – the ultimate Skype Solution for the Elderly?”
I recently wrote a post about a trial to automate the Skype Solution for the Elderly that I was building. My aim was to find a solution that enabled a person to make a Skype call to an elderly relative and remotely control their television to play the audio and display the video. The trial was very successful and worked brilliantly for me with my mother who has Alzheimers. However, Continue reading “Automating Skype for the Elderly using Harmony Hub and IFTTT”
This post discusses a potential solution that provides Skype for the elderly and anyone else who wishes to maintain their independence once they start to lose their mobility. For this group of people it is vital that they engage with their family and friends wherever they are in the world. Continue reading “Skype for the Elderly | Solving the Problem”
I’ve been gradually adding smart technology to our home over the last few years. This has been driven mainly by a desire to improve the comfort and security of its occupants. However, I’ve also managed to reduce the gas and electricity bills in the process. This is my first post describing the smart home technologies I have implemented so far and focuses on Smart Heating Control. Continue reading “My Smart Home – Smart Heating Control”
I recently switched my broadband supplier from Sky Fibre to BT Infinity 1. I now get 51Mbps downloads coming into the house and 10Mbps upstream. As BT streams its premium TV channels over the internet, I decided to do everything possible to make sure the maximum download speed is available to every device in the house. I would also like to be well positioned to take advantage of 4K (Ultra HD) broadcasts when I upgrade my television equipment. Continue reading “Using Powerline Networking to Optimise Home Broadband and WiFi Performance”