Smart Home Automation

This is now the most hot new thing nowadays. It is one great use case for this Internet of Things (IoT) craze they were talking about.  Even Apple is trying to get into this via that new "Home" app they bundled on iOS 10. Basically, the concept is connect everything to the internet. Either direct or through a "hub". The latter is best practice because obviously, you need some kind of centralized command and control.

I recently installed Samsung's SmartThings product at my home and loved it. Pairing of the devices is very easy, even with the third party Z-Wave Smoke/CO alarm from First Alert. Creating routine is the best. Routines like if your phone (and your partner's phone) leaves the house, it will set to "armed (away)" mode. Disarm if at least one of the phones enters the house. Don't know yet if there's a huge battery drain on my phone but its something I need to watch out for.  Similarly, there are routines for going to sleep and waking up and the "armed (stay)" is the option for it. You can create custom routines so the possibility of home automation is endless.

I still have ADT at my place and considering if I still need this. I'm paying like $$ monthly subscription which looks like the SmartThings does the same thing. For example, the ADT systems simply sends alerts which the SmartThings is intended to do so. How about police and/or fire dept you ask? ADT never calls the police or even the fire department. It's still the homeowner's responsibility to contact them. Yes there is this button on their terminal to reach out to police/fire dept but I wonder if this is even working or not. This is a condition if you're at home though. Don't want to test it of course. Nevertheless, its no different from dialing 911. 

ADT offer a service that when the alarm is triggered, some security guards will come by the place.  This is for another extra $$ on my monthly bill. I wonder what is even the turnaround on this. But once they confirmed its not false positive, they are the ones to call 911. This is a condition if you're not really at home though.

One advantage of my ADT right now is I have them install a garage door gadget. This has always been my problem where most often we forget to close the garage door ;) . Until I figure out how to add this to the SmartThings, I keeping the ADT for now. 

But then again, leaving both alarms is not bad and they actually complement at each other. I place the SmartThings  sensors on doors/windows that don't have ADT sensors. At the end of the day, what matter's most is protecting the family (wife and kids) specially when you're at home. Plus the SmartThings is more than just alarm function anyway. Its making the home smarter and/or automated for things that we forget (e.g. forget to turn off the lights or some appliances). It supports z-wave third party devices such as locks, smoke/co alarms, lighting, cameras, etc.

To learn more about this Samsung SmartThings, hit their website. They also list in there multiple third party z-wave sensors compatible with their product.
https://www.smartthings.com

This SmartThings product also connects and can be controlled by Amazon's Alexa.
https://support.smartthings.com/hc/en-us/articles/205275404-How-to-connect-Amazon-Alexa-with-SmartThings

XBMC/Kodi on Amazon Fire TV Stick

Finally a solution to my need of having XBMC (now renamed as kodi starting on version 14) on a small, cheap, fanless gadget. Checkout this wikipedia what is Kodi (formerly XBMC)

Some background. I was using HTPC that runs windows 7 edition to record tv shows. Checkout my old post on the equipment used to accomplish this. Overtime, I find myself annoyed by the sound of the HTPC's fan and the requirement of the HDHR not properly receiving signals. Just imagine your favorite show not being recorded because the antenna signal somehow got interrupted. Also the difficulty of troubleshooting why the HTPC powering on without any scheduled recording was a challenge. I tried using XBMC on windows and even used NextPVR. Still, the wake up issue and the loud fan is a turn off.

2014 is when Amazon released Fire TV and eventually the Fire TV Stick. This runs Fire OS which is android-based. Many thanks to the folks in the open source community and XBMC Foundation for being able to develop XBMC/kodi on android platforms and great thanks to Amazon for producing such great and open product.

To setup, first you need the Amazon Fire TV Stick. You can buy one from ebay that is already installed with XBMC but what is the fun in that. It will be cheaper if you do it yourself. Just buy your own Amazon Fire TV Stick and install XMBC/kodi because there's no need to root the unit. Its as easy as installing an app (e.g. apk) on the platform also known as side loading.

I don't need to repeat what others already posted therefore will simply provide the links below instead. That will give full credit to the authors of those pages. There are youtube videos on these links as well. You can find also lots of folks posting instructions on their own youtube pages too. 

XBMC install instructions on Amazon Fire TV Stick:
http://kodi.wiki/view/Amazon_Fire_TV

Afterwards, launch xbmc/kodi and install the USTV VOD addon:
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=188490

If you feel the need to discover what XBMC/kodi has to offer going forward, checkout their page:
http://kodi.tv/

Enjoy!

Update as of July 4: Another good addon to XMBC/KODI is Genesis. Its got a lot of good stuff ranging from latest tv shows and movies. However, not all source are available particularly the latest movies. Its all streaming therefore you don't keep a local copy. That to me you are not copying it. However, read up all the disclaimers though. Its available from SuperRepo. Here's instruction how to add it: https://superrepo.org/kodi/addon/plugin.video.genesis/

Samsung pay royalties to Microsoft per android device they make

You read that right. Checkout this official news from Microsoft posted way back in September, 2011.

SGS2 with Go Launcher EX

Changing the default launcher called TouchWiz on SGS2 is fairly simple. It's one benefit in using Android phones that you can customized it. No need to root the phone. Simply download and install from Google Play Store any launcher app.

Before the Android ICS 4.0 came out, I was using launcher pro. You can check a previous blog I did last year (2011).  But since the introduction of android version 4.0 on my SGS2, the Launcher Pro always crashes. I found out that its not compatible anymore with the Android ICS version.

I found Go Launcher EX and believe to be far better than Launcher Pro. One I can mention is the number of transition effects available.Checkout the video I made.

Apple vs Samsung: California court

The jury from the California court awarded almost all claims in favor of Apple. Damages? $1 billion. Engadget breaks down the infringing patents damages. 

Here were the patents argued:

Utility:
'915 - Pinch to zoom gesture
'163 - Double tap zooming and centering gesture
'381 - Bounce back effect when reaching the end of a page

Design:
D'305 - ornamental design of the homescreen (e.g grid-style icon layout)
D'677 - ornamental design (e.g. rounded corner and speaker placement)
D'087 - ornamental design (e.g. rounded corner and home button)
D'889 - ornamental design  (e.g iPad rounded corner)    (Apple lost this one)

More details of these patents from BGR

One juror gave an interview with CNET describing why he decided in favor of Apple.
The jury foreman also gave interview to CNBC who is telling the same thing the juror interviewed by CNET.

Samsung will obviously appeal. Source: AllthingsD via PhoneArena

Copying intellectual property rights is never right. Especially if those ideas were patented. However, utility patents can be considered invalid by the court. You need a patent lawyer to explain this further though. Here's an article from Bloomberg about the slide-to-unlock gesture considered invalid from U.K. court.

The three utility patents above are basic/standard functions available on all devices. Not just on Android smartphones alone. Even Microsoft Windows 8 RT will have those. With regards to the trade dress, its a battle of who owns the square with rounded corners. That grid-style icon is already available from other phones (e.g. palmpilot, blackberry, etc) even before iphone was released. Also, isn't the Microsoft Windows desktop have grid-style icon layout too?

The industry is definitely in for a ride as this is not the only tribunal Apple filed lawsuits.

Apple vs Samsung court drama

Aren't you tired of this Apple vs Samsung court drama? I am. From the latest court decision in South Korea court, both are found to be infringing each others patent. Source: WSJ via Phone Arena

The Judge at the California court advised both parties to talk. CEO of both companies did meet but no resolution was made.  Source: CNET

Even if there's already a ruling, it does not stop there because they move to appeal the ruling. Never ends.

From an end user perspective, its probably best not take sides. Just enjoy the gadgets you have and do not bash your neighbor's choice of gadget. My 2 cents.

Balikbayan Telecom and Internet Resource

Balikbayan is a terminology use to describe Filipinos around the world going back to the Philippines either for short visit or permanent. "Balik" stands for come back and "bayan" means country.

If you are in for a short visit, how can you get in touch with your family abroad from the Philippines? You can use skype with a computer but you need internet access to use it. Yes you can get a MiFi on a stick but the drawback is you carry that laptop and mifi everywhere. Following are what I find useful during my visit.

First, grab yourself a gsm, internet-capable smartphone that is unlocked. Second, buy a SIM for local carriers. I used Globe Telecom myself as the features I found useful at the time of this writing are from Globe Telecom. Checkout their websites for more details.

Unlimited Calling from Philippines to International destinations from your smartphone
Checkout Globe SUPERIDD feature for prepaid phones.You pay only Php149 for 24hrs of unlimited calling to at least 3 international numbers while Php1999 for 30days to at least 10 international numbers.

To register, just text
SUPERIDD 149 to 888 ; for the 24hr plan
SUPERIDD 1999 to 8888 ; for the 30 day plan

To make a call, dial:

12808 + country code + area code + phone number

To check list of available destinations, just text
SUPERIDD LIST to 8888

To check status, just text:
SUPERIDD STATUS to 8888


Note: As of this writing, this is a promotional feature by Globe Telecom that runs until December 2011. Checkout their website if it is extended or made permanent. Also, this feature is available to non-smartphone. A regular cellphone will do if only unlimited phone calls is what you're after.



Unlimited Internet access from your smartphone
Checkout Globe Telecom SUPERSURF feature for prepaid phones. You pay only Php50 on 1 day use and Php220 for 5 day use

To register, just text:
SUPERSURF50 to 8888 ; for the 1 day feature
SUPERSURF220 to 8888 ; for the 5 days feature

If your phone is Blackberry, just text:
BBMAX50 to 8888 ; for 1 day feature
BBMAX220 to 8888 ; for 5 days feature
BBMAX599 to 8888 ; for 30 days feature

Again, checkout globe.com.ph for more info.