Two sharp guys from Amazon Home Services came to my home, analyzed my Wi-Fi, got my thermostat online, demonstrated Fire TV and made smart-home recommendations … for free.
Julie Jacobson
Julie Jacobson is founding editor of CE Pro, the leading media brand for the home-technology channel. She has covered the smart-home industry since 1994, long before there was much of an Internet, let alone an Internet of things. Currently she studies, speaks, writes and rabble-rouses in the areas of home automation, security, networked A/V, wellness-related technology, biophilic design, and the business of home technology. Julie majored in Economics at the University of Michigan, spent a year abroad at Cambridge University, and earned an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a recipient of the annual CTA TechHome Leadership Award, and a CEDIA Fellows honoree. A washed-up Ultimate Frisbee player, Julie currently resides in San Antonio, Texas and sometimes St. Paul, Minn. Follow on Twitter: @juliejacobson
Julie Jacobson's Latest Posts
Why Crestron’s New Fee for Lutron and Vantage Integration Makes Sense
Here’s how hard Crestron works to fix building- and home-automation problems with third-party subsystems.
Crestron Imposes $500 ‘Lutron Tax’ on Integration
In the interest of ‘user experience,’ if Crestron dealers want to integrate with Lutron or Vantage lighting controls, they must pay $500 for a license.
Icontrol, Alarm.com Respond to Antitrust Suit: Honeywell Defines Smart-Home Market All Wrong
In its lawsuit to stop Icontrol from being sold to Alarm.com and Comcast/Xfinity, Honeywell defines the relevant security and home-automation market way too narrowly, defendants claim.
Corian Countertops as a ‘Wireless Charging Surface’? Well, Not Exactly
Corian makes it sound like you can just drop your smartphone on its “wireless charging solid surface” to juice up your mobile device, but it’s not as elegant as it seems.
Honeywell Sues to Block Icontrol, Alarm.com Merger on Antitrust Grounds
Two dominant SHaaS (smart home as a service) providers Icontrol and Alarm.com are being sued by competitor Honeywell to block a proposed merger. Combined company would control 70% of the market for interactive security and home automation.
The End of HDMI Switching as We Know It (and Other ISE 2017 Themes)
CEDIA Tech Council reviews ISE 2017, with insights on HDMI over IP, video compression, voice control in Europe, and a litany of home automation “standards.”
Simple Fix to Make HDBaseT Work (Again) on Samsung TVs
This “permanent workaround” should restore HDBaseT to working order for Samsung TVs affected by an auto-update earlier this year.
CEDIA Integrators Talk Sales Commissions, Millennial Slackers, Service Contracts
Leslie Shiner led CEDIA’s marathon “Work Smarter, Not Harder” workshop at ISE 2017, where she and top integrators shared tips on human resources, operations, sales and service.
ISE 2017: NuVo Bolsters Ecosystem for Whole-House Wireless Audio, Including New DSPs
At ISE 2017, Legrand’s NuVo bolstered its Player Portfolio ecosystem with a slew of audio products including its first soundbar and powered shelf speaker, plus multizone amp with DSP settings for each zone.
Use These Amazon Alexa Networking Instructions to Scare off DIYs
These directions on how to Alexa-enable Linksys routers and mesh-networking devices make it all sound pretty scary.
Top 5 Home Tech Trends and Opportunities for 2017: From Voice Control to VR
CE Pro presents the Top 5 trends for home-technology integrators to watch for 2017: voice control for home automation, virtual reality and augmented reality, device discovery and data collection, new models in tech deployment, and fiber in the home.
