The ‘Silicon’ layer of the modern home. This category explores local-first integration strategies, severing cloud ransoms through tools like ratgdo and Envisalink, and establishing encrypted local control through Homebridge and MQTT.
If you want to check your security cameras or disarm your VISTA-20P while you’re sitting at a restaurant three towns away, you need a “Home Hub.” In the 2026 “Silicon” landscape, you have three choices: an iPad that never leaves the house, a HomePod, or an Apple TV 4K. In 30 years of technical installs, I’ve … Read more
In 30 years of security, the biggest change hasn’t been the sensors—it’s been the data. If you want a professional-grade home that respects your “iPhone real estate” and doesn’t charge you a monthly fee to see your own front porch, you need a local server. For my money, the Synology 4-Bay Plus Series (DS423+/425+) is the only way to … Read more