Connected Living
Work from anywhere with Avvenu
I have to confess. I have been trying to find an application that will allow me to have access to all my files anywhere in the world, but especially from beach resorts on Ibiza. I was walking around the DEMO exhibition floor and right there was the answer to my beach problem: Avvenu's "wherever, whenever" mobile content access and sharing solution. I can access the files (including photos) on my home office computer or laptop from any connected device such as a mobile phone.
For example, if a client wants to review a contract that I have been working on in my home office, but I happen to be on the beach, I can simply use my mobile phone to allow my client to gain access to the latest draft of the contract. Obviously, the computer that contains those files has to be turned on and connected to the Internet. There is no Mac version yet which is too bad. I could really use this application right now.
To find out more, go to http://www.avvenu.com.
Posted by Esme Vos at 06:14 PM | Comments (0)
Remote home monitoring for the family
A very cool and useful application I saw today on DEMO is the iControl Networks "My iControl" home security and remote monitoring system. I have not seen anything like this. You can monitor your home from a remote location, not just view images of what's happening around the premises via a video camera, but also monitor the thermostat of your house. iControl has a central box to link all of the monitoring devices and a portal you can access anywhere via a web browser or cell phone to see what's happening in your home. It's great for monitoring vacation homes, garages, boats, businesses.
I am beginning to see a lot of remote monitoring applications but mostly for large apartment buildings and offices. For example, in Corpus Christi, Texas, the city has deployed a municipal wireless broadband network for, among other things, remote gas meter reading. In the Netherlands, large housing cooperatives are installing devices that allow the local utility to read electricity and gas meters. You can imagine how much time and money this saves everyone. It won't take long before iControl or a similar application will allow homes to be connected to the local utility office, whether it's for gas, water or electricity.
Posted by Esme Vos at 05:57 PM | Comments (0)
Connected Living at DEMO@15!
After the first session at this year’s DEMO@15! there is a great deal in the Connected Living space to write home about, and this is just the beginning of the two-day conference that provides a peak at the best technology products coming to market. Despite the fact that DEMO includes a large number of enterprise-only products and solutions, there are plenty of technologies and products that can be applied to the home if not explicitly designed for it.
For example, iControl Networks provides a great solution for home control and monitoring using IP, RF and Powerline. With three components: the networked box, the wireless sensors to be applied to doors and windows throughout the home, and the web-based interface for remote monitoring, iControl provides a fully functioning, always on glimpse into what’s happening on the home front. The product will be available this summer
with an introductory package for $399 including a camera, the gateway, 4 sensors, a lamp dimmer module, and a key chain remote. There is also a $9.95/mon charge to connect the service. These guys are onto something.
I have to say, Motorola has really surprised me this time. They showed a very cool capability to access and play all your digital music (in MP3 format) and commercial-free radio (through their iRadio channels) with their iRadio product. You can control music via any factory standard, plain vanilla car radio or BlueTooth-enabled cell phone. Music is controlled and shifted using the pre-set stereo buttons or your cell phone, which automatically pauses the music when you get a call. You can also play your MP3s to your home stereo, which they showed streaming from a ROKU box.
So, in a follow up conversation, I learned that your music collection can be stored on a PC, laptop, or any other storage device, and for the iRadio application the music is actually downloaded onto your mobile phone, via Blue Tooth or USB 2.0.
Although Motorola estimates that this capability will be included in most automobiles within the next 5 years, for now the user needs to buy several component parts. First of all there’s the stereo converter in the car, which will probably be offered for $50-$75. This must be installed in the car which will probably cost another $25-$50, unless you happen to be a home installer type. Finally, there’s the monthly radio charge, which according to Motorola could be as low as $5/month. Unfortunately, iRadio is not currently available, yet. The iRadio product/service offering will have customer trials in Q2 2005 with a mainstream launch in Q4.
Finally, Mediabolic is back with a new offering that enables products that connect your digital media to your TV set. The company expects this new player to reach consumers in multiple form factors including PCs, consumer electronics devices and even built-in to TVs, allowing wireless distribution of music, video, and photos. The reference design for Mediabolic’s Network Media Player will be available in 2 months time, with actual product available in September for the holiday buying season.
Posted by Katherine Noesen at 01:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack