Smart Home Blog

I would like to wish Happy New Year to every reader of Smart Home Blog! More interesting gadgets, controllers, smarthome systems in the new year! Stay tune!

Yours sincerely,

Michael Stepanov 

RUF-Cinema allows to turn your bed into media center. A home cinema rack fitted between the two headboard bolsters offers enough space for items such as a beamer, DVD player and games consoles.

This multimedia bed looks very attractive. But I’m not sure that it’d be good idea to have such kind bed.

Dupon offers probably the easiest way to get home smoke alarm (only Snapalarm may be simplier). Just screw its Screw-In Self-Charging Smoke Alarm into any available light socket and turn on the light for two hours each week to charge it. The backup power is good for 30 days in the event of a power cut.

This cool gadget retails for just $29.99 and comes with a 10 year guarantee.

[via Ubergizmo]

Lagotek demonstrated the first home automation gadgets which use SideShow. SideShow is a new feature of Windows Vista that allows small bits of PC-based data to be displayed on and controlled through auxiliary displays like remote controls and digital picture frames and doesn’t affect PC’s desktop at all.

Lagotek is planning to release its new version of its Home Intelligence Platform (HIP) specifically for Vista Media Center Edition. Users will be able to control their home through the MCE interface, and naturally control their MCE-based A/V system as well. A/V control has been missing in the earlier versions of the HIP system. HIP works with wireless music systems like the Squeezebox, IP-enabled video cameras, and Z-wave lights and thermostats, while Z-wave RF mesh networking and 802.11g keep it all connected.

Well, it sounds very attractive but let’s see the first release at least.

[via Engadget]

The iPhone Dual-Mode Internet Telephony Kit for Skype is not a product of Apple as you can think. It’s a new handset for VoIP from Cisco. It can be plugged directly into the ethernet jack. Just for $180 you may own a stylish phone which makes calls via Skype and traditional landline without PC.

Philips already announced its version Skype-phone which doesn’t need PC. I cannot compare functionality of iPhone and VoIP841 but Cisco phone definitely looks more attractive.
[via GigaOM]