Replaced my Linksys router with an eero 3 pack after also testing Luma mesh surround Wi-Fi, faster wireless in every room has arrived!

The eero 3 Pack is available at Amazon, Best Buy, or eero for ~$500 USD. The Luma 3 pack is available at Amazon, Best Buy, or Luma for ~$400 USD. Backstory It's been 3 years since my family moved up to 802.11ac with the careful decision to go with the Linksys EA6900 AC1900 Dual-Band Wi-Fi router.…

Aug 21 2016

First look at Ubiquiti mPower Pro power strip, home lab pricing, enterprise features, uncertain future

Ever wonder if there's an affordable power strip that you could add to your home network that would give you insight into the power usage of up to 8 devices, and allow remote power on/off operations? If you're willing to tolerate a bit of initial setup pain that requires a back-level Java and a…

Aug 17 2016

Netgear XS708T managed 8 port 10GbE switch unboxed, noise and power draw measured - suited for Xeon D cluster

What do you look for when you're trying to build a 3 node test/demo cluster, with each Xeon D system blessed with two copper 10GbE ports each? Product Page - XS708T – ProSAFE® 10 Gigabit Smart Managed Switch, Model / Version: XS708T How about a relatively quiet switch that doesn't burn…

Jul 31 2016

Cisco SG112-24 unmanaged 24 port gigabit switch unboxed - efficient, fanless, and surprisingly affordable

How does a 24 port metal-bodied compact switch from Cisco sound? Quiet! Yes, no fans, always a good thing for home labs. Cisco Its compact size also makes this a nice choice for more user group demonstrations, to be announced soon. Unmanaged, efficient (as you'll see in the video), and silent. Just…

Jul 31 2016

Smart doorbell owner heard audio from other house thanks to a weird bug

It's been a bit of a rough week for IoT. On a recent Home Gadget Geeks podcast, I was lamenting the fact that home WiFi routers don't yet have a way to isolate all your cloud connected IoT gear off onto their own subnet, since such consumer tech tends to eventually succumb to various firmware…

May 14 2016

First Look at the FLIR ONE Thermal Imaging camera for smartphones and tablets

It looks like you have JavaScript disabled. Click here to view the video above.[audio removed] I'm wearing socks on a carpet. FLIR ONE is sensitive enough to easily see my footprints. FLIR has been known for decades in the thermal imaging industry. I remember going to a fire station with my son's…

Feb 6 2016

Free SolarWinds VM Monitor works nicely on Windows 10 to monitor your VMware ESX 3.5 right through ESXi 6.5

I recently rebuilt everything in my home lab, based on the Supermicro SuperServer SYS-5028D-TN4T. My workstation, my datacenter, it's my everything, all in one, saving cost and power. Fully backed up of course, including offsite sync of the most crucial data. I've found it super handy and useful to…

Nov 4 2015

First look at Infinio Accelerator with SuperServer cluster shared Synology iSCSI datastore

I recently saw Scott Davis, CTO of Infio, speaking at the Virtualization Group - Boston. It was held right at VMware's location in Cambridge, MA, right near Boston. It's the same place Scott used to work actually. He did an amazing job bringing the audience through a brief history of computer…

Oct 22 2015

Close look at the Floureon LCD Display Power Meter

Recently, I decided it'd valuable to me and my readers to know exactly how much the electricity costs to run my all-in-one efficient SuperServer Workstation, given it will be left running 24x7. My trusty CyberPower 1000PFCLCD UPS keeps my office running through frequent power blips, and handles…

Aug 14 2015

My ecobee3 HomeKit WiFi thermostat with remote motion and temperature sensors makes cents for my home

Updates to this article appear below. Order The ecobee3 with homekit is available at Apple Store, Amazon, Best Buy, ecobee shop, Home Depot, and Lowe's. Review If you have multiple members of your household that are home at various times of the day, then you likely have some familiarity with…

Jul 19 2015

Featured on “Home: On #038 – Insteon Revisited, with Paul Braren”

April 20 2022 Urgent Update - Insteon ceased all sales and service operations abruptly in mid April of 2022, as covered by arstechnica here. Their abrupt closure left customers without access to their hubs to change any settings, myself included. While smarthome.com hasn't been taken offline yet, I…

Dec 12 2014