Home & Consumer Tech

Smart Home

Home Assistant, IoT, baby monitors, automation

11 episodes

#2232: One Remote, Three Streams: Building a Sane Media Setup

A renter juggling six remotes and brittle integrations finds a simpler path: fewer devices, cleaner software, and accepting that Netflix won't play...

home-networksmart-homehardware-reliability

#2220: Podcasts Across Rooms Without Home Assistant

Daniel's multi-room audio setup keeps breaking. We explore whether Snapcast, Volumio, and Mopidy can deliver reliable podcast playback across Raspb...

multi-room-audiohome-labsmart-home

#2124: The Flashlight You Actually Need

Most cheap flashlights fail when you need them most. Here’s what to buy instead.

emergency-preparednessbattery-technologyhardware-durability

#2095: Bluetooth Finally Beats Wi-Fi for Whole-House Audio

Wi-Fi audio sync is a mess. A new Bluetooth standard called Auracast fixes it with simple, seamless broadcasting.

wirelessaudio-processinghome-network

#2091: Solving Problems That Don't Exist

From a $400 juicer that can't run without Wi-Fi to a toaster with more computing power than Apollo 11, we explore absurd gadgets.

smart-homehardware-engineeringproductivity

#2002: Home Assistant's Stability Problem and Its Future

We explore why Home Assistant is so fragile and brainstorm a stable-by-design future for the platform.

smart-homedistributed-systemsfault-tolerance

#1941: Why You Can't Zigbee-Wi-Fi Your House

The "mesh" promise fails when you hit the coordinator bottleneck. Here's why multiple hubs don't work like Wi-Fi.

zigbeesmart-homenetworking

#1934: Why Pro Routers Still Won't Touch Your Light Bulbs

Your Wi-Fi 7 router handles everything except smart home radios. Here’s why the “one box” dream is still stuck in 2026.

smart-homezigbeewireless

#1900: Why Physical Media Is Back (And Streaming Still Sucks)

Streaming 4K is a lie. Here’s why your Blu-ray player is still essential.

audio-qualityvideo-generationhome-lab

#1770: The Smart Home Tax Is Bankrupting Enthusiasts

Home Assistant's flexibility has become a liability. We explore the usability crisis and the fragile architecture of modern enthusiast smart homes.

smart-homearchitectureprivacy

#1760: Why Sloths Keep Dying on Roads and Power Lines

Sloths are getting trapped in cities, but a simple rope bridge is saving hundreds from highways and power lines.

urban-planningsustainabilitysloth-conservation