ie8 fix

home

Hawking and Z-Wave let you automate your home remotely

So I've been working on a review of Hawking's HomeRemote wireless home automation system, but I'm stuck right now, waiting for a firmware upgrade. But I thought I'd give you a preview of what I've seen so far, because it's pretty interesting stuff. We first got wind of this Home Automation System at CES 2007, in the Z-Wave Alliance booth. The Z-Wave Alliance is a consortium of companies committed to making interoperable, wireless home automation products that are based on Z-Wave, a wireless remote control standard. Z-Wave-based products use a low-frequency radio signals to … Read more

Bike-mounted speaker for mean streets

Even in this day of permanently affixed earphones, some people insist on enjoying their music the old-fashioned way, in the open air. And cyclists are no exception.

The only problem is that some speakers created specifically for bike frames are, as colleague Jasmine France would delicately put it, fugly. iHome, however, is trying to remedy that with its "Bike to Beach Bicycle Speaker" for the iPod.

The sleek design of the $100 " iH85," as it's also known, makes it look something like a rifle scope. But MobileWhack says it's supposed to add brawn to … Read more

T-Mobile's HotSpot@Home lets you makes calls via WiFi

T-Mobile has just rolled out a service called HotSpot @Home that allows you to use a WiFi-enabled cell phone to make calls via a wireless network. You'll still use the phone with regular cellular airwaves while on the move, but once you're in range of a T-Mobile Hotspot or a pre-configured WiFi access point, the phone will know to automatically switch over. The best part? Call minutes made via WiFi aren't deducted from your plan. That's right -- as long as you're within range of a wireless broadband network, you'll have unlimited calls. An … Read more

What Is The Digital Home and What Does It Mean to You?

As it's Saturday here on The Digital Home and not too much is going on except sun bathing and lemonade sipping, I thought I would ask you, the loyal electronics lover, what you believe the Digital Home really is and what it means to you.

So, without further ado, fire away in the comments and let's try to get a discussion going. My favorite comments will be posted tomorrow.

Thanks!

Future Implications On The Digital Home: Adults Only Video Games

Each Thursday here on The Digital Home, I will be discussing a current topic of interest that may have serious implications on your home in the coming days, months or years. The topics may range from groundbreaking new products to government legislation to adults only video games -- our topic of interest today.

In a setback for Take-Two Interactive, the company's Manhunt 2 video game has been banned from sale in the UK because of its ESRB Adults Only rating. Even worse for Take-Two, Best Buy and Wal-Mart -- two significant video game retailers -- have historically banned Adults … Read more

Digital Home Interview Series: Dick DeBartolo

In a new series that will be featured each Wednesday here on The Digital Home, I will be interviewing industry experts and icons to talk about how they made their rise to the top and what The Digital Home means to them.

In the very first installment of the interview series, I had the opportunity to talk to "MAD's Maddest Writer" Dick DeBartolo. With a career that spans more than forty years of comedy, gadgets and TV, Dick the longest running writer for everyone's favorite comedy magazine, and is one of the most renowned gadget lovers … Read more

Trekkie travels galaxy for home theater

There are Trekkies, and then there are Trekkies. Gary Sekulow falls into whatever category he wants.

Many others have tried to replicate various parts of the seminal show's sets, but Sekulow wasn't satisfied with reproductions--so he went after the real thing in building the ultimate Star Trek home theater. He bought two original bridge consoles at a Christie's auction last year, just a sample of the appointments that complement the centerpiece captain's chair from the first three seasons of Star Trek: Enterprise, according to Electronic House. Various other pieces come from the sets of the movies … Read more

Try out Windows Home Server for free

You can check out our slide show, posted last week, for a rundown of the main features of Windows Home Server. We don't want to award anyone before the final product is out, but we'll say that we came out of the closed beta very impressed. We suspect it will take a while for the non-tech-savvy to really grasp the benefits of Home Server, but thankfully, this week Microsoft threw the doors open to the general public to download and check out its newest Home Server release candidate.

Go here for the download. You'll of course need … Read more

5 Necessities for the Digital Home

As I sit here and think about what I should discuss first, I forgot all about the things you will need to begin the task of creating your very own digital home. So, with that in mind, take a peek at this list of five necessities you will need to begin your quest.

1. Electricity. Seems a bit obvious doesn't it? Sorry, it's a long list.

2. A Home or dwelling place. OK, so maybe this is a cheap one, but trust me, The Digital Home will do you no good unless you have a home, apartment, basement, … Read more

Welcome to the Digital Home

Let me guess: right now you are sitting in a chair reading this on your vivid LCD monitor while a computer is roaring underneath your feet. Within twenty feet an HDTV is standing by just waiting to be turned on. In your pocket is a digital music player, and your home theater system is ready to go whenever you flip that HDTV on. Right next to your monitor is your brand-new digital camera, and downstairs is that great new touchscreen remote you've been researching for the past couple of weeks. When you want to watch some movies, you flip … Read more