7 Home Assistant features I wish I’d started using sooner
A listicle of seven Home Assistant features the author wishes they had started using earlier.
John Cox
Blogs · @wyome
Tagged smart home · everything
4 smart home sensors you should put in your basement, crawl space, and attic
How-To Geek runs down four sensor types worth tucking into a home's neglected corners: water leak detectors near pipes and in basements/attics (paired ideally with an auto shut-off valve), humidity sensors to catch mold-prone dampness before it spreads, temperature sensors to expose poorly insulated areas prone to frozen pipes, and combined infrared/mmWave presence sensors for automating lights and catching unwelcome critters in attics or crawlspaces. It's a practical shopping-and-placement guide, naming specific products like the IKEA Klippbok, Aqara hygrometer, IKEA TIMMERFLOTTE, and Everything Presence One, with a closing reminder to keep batteries fresh since these devices are only useful when powered.
mui Board Store
I don't see a saved article here to summarize. This appears to be product marketing copy for the mui Board Gen 2, a wooden smart home controller with a minimalist design and Matter platform integration. If you'd like me to summarize an actual article or piece of journalism about this product or topic, please share that content and I'll provide a brief summary explaining its main argument or findings.
Anker's MindBase: Your Smart Home's Secret Brain!
Can an AI brain really take over your smart home? The truth about Anker's latest hub will surprise you.
I've used IKEA's new smart home devices for 8 months—here's the 5 I would buy again
They're good because they're good, not because they're cheap
Stop using the same DNS for every device (do this instead to block ads and boost speeds)
Argues against using a single DNS provider for every device on a home network, instead recommending a tiered approach: ad/tracking-blocking resolvers like NextDNS or AdGuard for smart TVs, family-filtering DNS like OpenDNS FamilyShield for kids' devices, performance-first options like Cloudflare or Quad9 for phones/laptops, and a self-hosted sinkhole (Pi-hole/AdGuard Home) to quarantine chatty, insecure IoT gadgets. It's worth keeping as a practical, device-by-device DNS configuration guide rather than a generic "switch your DNS" tip, including caveats about devices bypassing custom DNS and restrictive filters occasionally blocking legitimate work sites.
Apple Home recently got better in three ways, here’s what’s new
Rounds up three concrete Apple Home improvements that shipped during the iOS 26 cycle, ahead of the bigger Siri-driven Home overhaul expected with iOS 27: Adaptive Temperature, which uses on-device intelligence to auto-adjust supported smart thermostats (first implemented in Aqara's W200) based on sleep schedules, arrival prediction, and away status; Apple Home Key paired with Ultra Wideband on Aqara's new U400 lock, enabling precise presence-based auto-lock/unlock; and iOS 26.2's multipack pairing feature that lets a single setup code enroll several identical accessories at once. Worth keeping as a practical snapshot of incremental Home/HomeKit upgrades and specific Aqara products to check out.
I changed 13 settings on my TV to dramatically improve its performance - here's how
Modern smart TVs function as full computers with operating systems and internet connections, requiring optimization beyond basic use. The article provides thirteen practical adjustments—from disabling motion smoothing and switching to filmmaker picture modes, to clearing cache, updating software, and disabling tracking features—that can significantly improve picture quality, performance, security, and privacy. For best results, the author recommends using external streaming devices like Roku, enabling wired Ethernet connections, and periodically cold-booting the TV, while noting that privacy controls and accessibility features can be enabled with minimal trade-offs to functionality.
A Legendary Hi-Fi Company Just Breathed New Life Into Its Older Speakers
Marshall's new Heddon is a $300 wireless hub that enables multi-room audio grouping and Wi-Fi streaming for its existing Bluetooth home speakers using Auracast technology, supporting services like Spotify Connect and AirPlay. It works wirelessly with the brand's third-generation speakers (Acton III, Stanmore III, Woburn III) and can connect older models via wired RCA outputs, while also featuring RCA inputs for streaming vinyl records throughout the home. The Heddon is available now with promotional discounts: half off when purchasing one speaker, or free with the purchase of two or more.
Calm Tech Is the Trend Your Brain Has Been Waiting For | Moss and Fog
Calm tech is a design philosophy that treats user attention as valuable rather than something to extract, prioritizing quiet defaults, minimal notifications, and quick interactions over constant engagement. The Mui Board, a wooden smart home controller with a hidden dot-matrix display that only appears on touch, exemplifies this approach by staying unobtrusive until actually needed and offering straightforward control of everyday functions without app complexity. The piece argues that this emerging trend represents a backlash against notification fatigue and represents the future not as screenless technology, but as technology that respects your time and presence in physical spaces.
6 creative ways to use NFC tags that feel like magic
NFC tags are cheap programmable stickers ($15–$20 per pack) that can be placed around your home to automate repetitive phone tasks with a single tap, eliminating friction from daily routines like bedtime sequences, work focus modes, cooking with recipes, guest Wi-Fi sharing, laundry reminders, and car music setup. The author argues that while individually small, these automations collectively reduce phone unlocking and task-switching throughout the day, and the physical tap provides psychological satisfaction that voice assistants don't match. At roughly $1 per tag, the low cost makes experimentation practical for identifying which automations would most benefit your personal habits.
How to Decorate Your Christmas Tree Like a Pro
Rather than discussing holiday magic philosophically, this practical guide offers specific strategies for making Christmas tree setup and takedown easier, from investing in a quality tree stand like the Krinner (which one person can operate alone) to stringing lights vertically for better coverage and leaving the back of the tree undecorated if it's against a wall. It also includes concrete storage solutions such as using winders for lights and keeping ornament hooks attached, plus a surprisingly effective hack of wrapping the tree in a fitted sheet before removing it to contain needle mess. The piece combines product recommendations with time-saving tricks to reduce the genuine frustration involved in holiday decorating.
Hai’s New Smart Showerhead Brings Spa-Level Water Pressure Home
Hai's new smart showerhead with aromatherapy infusions promises spa-like luxury for under $300, featuring improved water pressure, water usage tracking via a Bluetooth app, and dissolvable scent tablets in three varieties. While the showerhead itself performs excellently with strong pressure and a useful mist setting, the infusion tablets dissolve too quickly to deliver a meaningful scent experience and cost nearly $2 each, making them an expensive add-on that the reviewer suggests skipping in favor of the showerhead alone.
Wireless Vinyl: How I Got a Record Player Connected to Our AirPlay Music System [Updated]
The author describes a DIY solution for playing vinyl records wirelessly throughout a home using modern AirPlay-compatible speaker systems, since no manufacturers offer AirPlay-ready turntables. By combining a standard turntable with a built-in preamp, a Bluetooth audio transmitter, a Bluetooth receiver, and Mac software utilities (Line-In and AirFoil), he created a system that routes vinyl audio from a game room turntable to speakers in multiple rooms across the house. While admittedly a workaround, the setup successfully enables the nostalgic experience of playing physical records on demand anywhere in the home.
HomeKit Weekly: How to create NFC automations for HomeKit using Shortcuts and $1 tags
NFC tags offer a faster and more reliable alternative to the Home app or Siri for controlling HomeKit devices, costing less than $1 per automation. The author walks through creating NFC automations in the Shortcuts app (rather than the Home app) by scanning a physical tag and linking it to HomeKit scenes or accessories, then demonstrates practical use cases like silently triggering a bedroom lamp or white noise machines without unlocking your phone or waiting for app sync delays. Since NFC tags work with all existing HomeKit accessories, they function essentially as portable physical switches controlled by tapping your iPhone.
The Best Smart Home Sensors for Alexa, HomeKit, and SmartThings
This guide reviews and compares smart home sensors across four categories—motion, temperature/humidity, and door/window sensors—testing models from brands like TP-Link Tapo, Philips Hue, and Aqara. The sensors can trigger automations (like turning on lights when motion is detected), send smartphone alerts for security monitoring, and support integration with major platforms like Alexa and Google Home, though most require a compatible hub to function. The guide highlights top picks in each category based on factors like alert speed, app usability, price, design, battery life, and automation reliability.
Solar Solutions & Solar Panels for Home, Business & Utility-Scale, Photovoltaic Systems | SunPower
I can't summarize this text because it's marketing material describing SunPower's services rather than an article that argues or reports on something. It reads as website copy promoting their solar and battery products, not a news piece or analytical essay worth summarizing for reference.
OpenDNS | Providing A Safer And Faster DNS
OpenDNS is a DNS service that improves home internet speed through optimized routing and data centers, while providing content filtering and parental controls to protect against malware, phishing, and inappropriate content across all household devices. The service emphasizes ease of setup and reliability as core features for consumer users.
Fox's Drive - MyFox.com
MyFox.com offers smart home security and automation solutions for connected living.
Wink
This is marketing material for Wink, a smart home hub platform that consolidates control of devices from multiple brands (Nest, GE, Philips, Honeywell) into a single app. The service offers automation features called "Robots" that let different devices trigger each other (like unlocking a door triggering lights to turn on) and "Shortcuts" for controlling multiple devices simultaneously. Wink's main pitch is simplifying the fragmented smart home landscape by allowing different manufacturers' products to communicate and work together through one interface.