Latest News

New ELK Wireless Recessed Door Sensor And Glass Break Sensor Coming Soon

It has been a while since there have been product announcements from ELK, but it looks like we have 2 new sensors on their way, designed to work with the latest 2-way RF transceiver.ELK-6023 Wireless Recessed Door Sensor: a 2-way recessed door sensor,...

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INSTEON Announces Connectivity to Nest Learning Thermostat

INSTEON announced they now support the popular Nest learning thermostat via their INSTEON Hub product.  I'm not sure if this is the result of the Google buyout (and relaxing API access), or if INSTEON has a partnership with Google/Nest Labs.
 
Either way, this is pretty interesting, and I'm sure more and more packages will support this thermostat.  See below for the full press release.
 

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Plum Website Is Now Online, Pre-Order Discount Ending

As previously announced, Ube has renamed their company/product line to 'Plum'.  Their website is now online, and it looks like the pre-order discount is expiring in a week (price going from $79 to $89), so if you have any interest i...

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Leviton Launches Universal Z-Wave Dimming Switch

Leviton announced an updated Vizia RF+ VRMX1 Universal Dimming Switch today.  The switch supports the latest LED/CFL lighting, as well as halogen and incandescent bulbs.  The new switch also incorporates the 4.5.4 Zensys Z-Wave library.  See below for the full press release, or check the Leviton Vizia RF+ website for product details.

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Homeseer Technologies Announces Android TableTop Touch Screen

Homeseer just announced they are now offering a tabletop Android touch screen.  Customized to run HSTouch upon boot-up, the unit seems to feature average specs, but it does look pretty nice and price isn't bad either ($149 with coupon TT-20)....

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Savant Systems Introduces All New Smart Series Line

Savant's Smart Series products are available to order now, and installations through Savant integrators will begin March 17, 2014.  Read below for full press release.

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Control4 Announces Support for 5 Manufacturers of Surveillance Hardware

Control4 just announced that they are now able to integrate with 5 'leading' manufacturers of surveillance hardware thanks to these companies adding support for Control4's  Simple Device Discovery Protocol (SDDP), not to be confused with Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP).  The companies are:

• LILIN
• Planet
• Channel Vision
• QNAP
• SnapAV

 

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Project Update #29: How Plum is Securing the Internet of Things

It's disappointing whenever we hear about yet another security issue with devices/service we use every day.  But one of the advantages of this type of exposure is that other companies will sometimes pay attention and learn some lessons.
 
It looks like Plum (formerly known as Ube, personally, I still can't get used to this name) is using this opportunity to share their security strategy in a KickStarter update.

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Belkin WeMo Home Automation devices contain multiple vulnerabilities (CERT ID 656302)

It just keeps getting better.  Mike Davis @ IOActive posted a document about several major security issues discovered within the Belkin WeMo platform.  It's so bad CERT actually posted a bulletin about it.
 
While I don't want people's homes to be compromised, I can't say I'm surprised, considering how many people are trusting internet based services to control all aspects of their home, or punching holes through their firewall for remote access to alarm systems, etc.
 
See below for the CERT bulletin.

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Kickstarter Security Notice, Change Your Password!

I just received this notification in my Inbox. If you have a Kickstarter account or campaign, you need to read and heed the following message:  Kickstarter, for those of you who don't know, is a crowdfunding site for projects of all kinds includi...

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