What is IFTTT IFTTT stands for “If This Then That”. Basically, it is a application that allows you to configure your smart devices to perform tasks based on the condition of other smart devices. This is the foundation of IoT (Internet of Things) and home automation. So, let’s get started! Installation Once installed go ahead and create an account. I found it easiest to simply use the Google setup since most of my devices are registered using that account. Once you have created your account you can begin adding what are called Applets. Applets are simply tasks that you specify for your smart devices. You can either search the pre-made Applets or create your own. Let’s walk through the very easy process of creating our own Applet. Creating an Applet Creating an Applet is simple. You choose a condition (“This”), then choose what happens if the condition is met (“That”). For example, the Applet we will make will turn on the living room and dining room lights when the Roomba begins it’s scheduled cleaning job. In other words, if the Roomba begins a cleaning job (“This”) then turn on the living room and dining room lights (“That”). Pretty simple, right? Click “Continue”. Next, click on the highlighted “That”. Again, search for the desired service. In this case, we’ll search for the service that controls my living room and dining room lights, Philips Hue. Congratulations, you have completed the setup of your first home automation Applet! All that's left is to give it a good ol' fashion trial run!
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These past 7 weeks of assembling the bones of Home Tech Talk have been interesting. I've learned quite a bit about what it takes to prepare content before actually launching it on a live site. I chose the topic of technology for the home, with a specific focus on smart technology, because of my interest in this rapidly growing sector.
I've always been fascinated with the concept of artificial intelligence and the internet of things, so now that it can be applied at a fundamental level within the home I have begun to try it out for myself. Of course, it didn't hurt that Iron Man came out around the time I began developing a real interest in these things. I'm not gonna lie, I was REALLY hoping to be able to re-name my Amazon Echo's trigger word from Alexa to Jarvis (along with millions of others, I'm sure)! That was the first bit of inspiration. The other bit was the realization that a lot of people aren't terribly familiar with how this stuff all works; which I discovered after showing it to my parents. There are all kinds of tech sites out there providing reviews, product comparisons, how-to guides, and so on. It's helpful stuff and I use it ALL the time! The problem is, if you go to these sites there is a LOT of fluff content to sift through in order to find what you're looking for. The idea of Home Tech Talk was to cut through all that tech "noise" and focus on a more specific kind of technology. So what now? The course for which I built this site is coming to a close, so what of the future of Home Tech Talk. Well, my desire would be to continue to build on this very basic foundation that I have now. However, this requires a fairly substantial time investment, creating written tutorials, launching a YouTube channel for video tutorials, purchasing more gear for product reviews. But time, at the present, is a very precious commodity. I hope to continue creating bits of content over the next few months, perhaps through this coming Summer, in order to have enough to publish a site with at least a little teeth. But it may be a side project that will have to wait until my education is finally wrapped up in the Fall. Regardless, I will continue to enjoy all the new technology in home automation, I'll continue to build up our home automation, and hopefully, be able to share and interact on it with the rest of world through Home Tech Talk. But only time will tell! There are a lot of commentators out there on the world wide web who provide insight, analysis, reviews, and the latest news on emerging technology. I'm into tech. I openly admit that I’m a complete sucker for the latest consumer gadgets that hit the market (which seems to happen more and more frequently these days). However, I have a particular fascination with the emergence of what has been coined the Internet of Things, or IoT. There are myriads of applications of this new form of technology in which devices and sensors are able to ‘talk’ to each other. However, I find a particular fascination with the most practical application, from a consumer standpoint, the automation of our homes.
As someone who has an interest in technology and automation, I’m always looking for ways to incorporate “smart” devices into my home without breaking the bank. Perhaps you have heard of some of these devices, such as the Amazon Echo, the Nest thermostat, or the Roomba vacuum. These are some examples of smart home technology. While growing in popularity there are very differing opinions out there regarding these new “smart” devices, the ethics of allowing big tech companies to “listen” through their devices and allowing them to gather all kinds of data on the people who use them. I would like to use this site and blog as a platform to provide technical reviews, tutorials, news, and discussions specific to “smart” technology in the home. This would encompass everything from “smart” devices, IoT, networking, media servers, and more. Home Tech Talk provides insight for people interested in technology, IoT, and home automation, and are looking to incorporate “smart” tech device into their home without breaking the bank. Unlike a lot of other tech review websites, Home Tech Talk specifically addresses technology to improve your home automation, providing reviews, tutorials, and a format to discuss the pros and cons of emerging smart technology. Learn a little more about who is behind Home Tech Talk here. Over the years the method through which we view media entertainment has transformed. We went from video tapes and VHS players, to DVDs, to Blu-Ray discs, to now instant streaming applications. The problem is that some have accumulated substantial libraries of movies on DVDs and Blu-Ray discs, like myself. What would be great is if there were a way to gain access to all that content the same way we do on streaming platforms like Netflix. Turns out, there is! It's called Plex. Plex is a media server platform through which you can gain access to all of your media (movies, TV shows, music, photos, etc.), and the best part is, it's FREE! All it takes is storage device large enough to store all of your media and a computer. Let me walk you through my personal setup. Components
Overview Here was my process in a nutshell: First, set up a storage device for where all of the content will be stored. Second, rip DVDs and Blu-Ray discs and save the files on that storage device. Third, download and install the Plex Media Server software. Finally, configure and organize the server's content. Storage For storage you want to find a device large enough to store all of you media, with room to spare. It's always better to have more than enough storage than not enough storage! I learned this the hard way as I am quickly running out of space. My current set up consists of a 2TB Western Digital Network Attached Storage (NAS) device. This is basically just an external hard-drive that can be accessed through your network. You could just use a regular external hard-drive, but I happened to have this one prior to my media server setup. However, I am quickly running out of storage space with 2TB. One thing to keep in mind is that a typical DVD movie will generate a file size between 3-7GB, while a Blu-Ray movie will generate a file size between 25-40GB! At that rate my 2TB NAS will be able to handle about 60 Blu-Ray movies, but that doesn't account for all my photos, my TV shows, my music, or person/drone footage. All that to be said, if you have a lot of movies I would recommend you err on the larger side as you will continue to add content in the years to come. Getting Content onto the Storage Device In order to get my movies and TV shows onto the storage device I had to purchase Blu-Ray disc drive for my computer. I used this to rip (basically copy) the content from the disc and create a file on my computer. To do this I used a free software called MakeMKV. The process is fairly straight forward: insert the disc into the Blu-Ray drive, open the software and select the drive as the "Source", and run the software. The software reads the disc and produces multiple options for what you can copy to file. I selected the largest file size only, as I don't need all the other options taking up precious space. Once the copying is completed I moved the file to proper directory on my NAS (I had one labeled Movies, one labeled TV Shows, and so on). I repeated this process for all of my movies and TV shows. Keep in mind that this process can take quite some time, so I found it best to run it while working on other things. It probably took me about two weeks to copy 35 movies and about 15 seasons of various TV shows. Downloading and Installing Plex Media Server Plex is a free service (with the option to upgrade to a premium service) that provides a streaming platform for media, such as movies, TV shows, photos, music, etc. The installation is pretty straight forward. Download the package that fits your computer's configuration (32-bit vs. 64-bit), then run the downloaded setup file to install and setup the media server. Once installed, the software will prompt you to create folders for you media, such as Movies, TV Shows, Images, etc. These folders will point the server to the location of those particular files on your storage device. After the software updates the folders your content will begin to populate. This content will then be available from any device on your network as long as it has the Plex app installed. To access outside the network there are a few additional configurations necessary. |
AuthorNick Austin in the creator behind Home Tech Talk. ArchivesCategories |