Reading Time: 3 minutesThe movie Die Hard is an action thriller. It appeared in the cinemas 35 years ago, in 1988 (by Twentieth Century Fox, Gordon Company, Silver Pictures). The protagonist The protagonist is the one and only Bruce Willis. He plays John McClane, a New York City police officer who joins his Read more
Reading Time: 3 minutesA windows PC is for me the heart of the home cinema. It has the power to handle everything related to home cinema including gaming. Its use is easy, and most people know how to use it. The main parts of the Home Theater PC (HTPC) are the case, the Read more
Reading Time: 3 minutesSmart home market According to Earthweb, the world smart home market amounted to 98 billion USD in 2020 and is expected to reach 495 billion by 2028. The smart home market is generally dominated by big companies such as Google Nest, Amazon, Samsung Smartthings, Apple HomeKit. Nevertheless, there is a Read more
Reading Time: 3 minutesStudying at McGill In autumn 1981 I started my MSc in the Institute of Oceanography at McGill University. I flew from Athens to Montreal a few days before the release of the first IBM computer running MS Dos, on the 3rd of August. This day was marked by the famous Read more
Reading Time: 5 minutesElsewhere in this blog (see posts here, here, here, and here) I presented a general overview of smart lighting systems. I also touched upon their usefulness and effectiveness when considering automations. In this post I list the steps that one must follow for smartening his/her home lights. Smart home enthusiasts Read more
Reading Time: 3 minutes NFC technology The Near Field Communication (NFC) technology allows us to wirelessly transfer data between two devices that are less than 4 cm apart. Our phone has an electronic reader which reads the data stored on NFC tags. We first need to download the NFC Tools app, which is Read more
Reading Time: 4 minutesContinued from post here. The following issues must be also considered when setting up a smart lighting system: wireless protocol brand compatibility battery duration of accessories malfunction and customer support compatibility with smart home platforms and price. Wireless protocol As described in an earlier post, smart light devices Read more
Reading Time: 4 minutesContinued from here Turning lights on/off We have installed and named all lights/ accessories and allocated them to the available rooms. Now we must turn them on and off and adjust their color and brightness to fit our mood and/or the time of day. We do this using six methods. Read more
Reading Time: 3 minutesContinued from post here For all smart light brands, the brightness and color of installed lights as well the behavior of accessories (e.g., motion sensors, remotes) are controlled with an app. Generally all apps are user friendly and guide you through a step-by-step instruction set. Thus, the average user Read more
Reading Time: 2 minutesThe movie The adventure, crime movie The Sting directed by George Roy Hill, was released in 1973. It has a top-of-the-line cast: Paul Newman and Robert Redford are supported by Robert Shaw, Charles Durning and Eileen Brennan. It is a masterpiece. The atmosphere is excellent. The scenario is marvelous, with Read more