When Good Tech Goes Bad

Anyone who knows me knows I am all about technology.  Well tonight I had one of those moments where I wanted to throw my computer out of the window.  I am exaggerating of course.  I love my computer,  we've been through a lot together.  Well, I admit I have had my eye on some of the younger models but none-the-less I have remained faithful.

Recently, I had downgraded from Windows 8.1 back to Windows 7.  Having said that, I had to re-install all my programs to bring it back up to where I needed it to be.  This was a mere month ago.  One of the main reasons as to why I made the decision to downgrade was the fact that I felt that my PC (which is about 2 years old) would run a lot smoother with the older operating system.  Windows 8.1 worked perfectly fine, however I just thought that I would get more out of it performance-wise if I went back to Windows 7.

To clarify, my computer is only roughly 2 years old.  It still has plenty of reliability left in it.  Granted that could be considered a dinosaur by computer industry standards, yet I am going to assume you know what I mean. 

With my work, I work with a lot of multimedia.  I record and edit audio, I render video, I create 3D and also 2D animation, I stream music, stream YouTube/Twitch, write blogs/articles, plus much more.  Needless-to-say, my home PC needs to be better darn good to keep up with everything that I need to do on a daily or even a weekly basis.  Aside from all this, I rely on my PC to house my artificial intelligent program Denise.  Who is in charge of my home automation and even my home security!

Despite my optimism for my computer ability to handle all my multimedia, unfortunately that is not reality.  Granted some of my animation and home automation dealings is probably more than the average PC user but still, it isn't anything too bad. 

Now, from what seems out of nowhere, my computer no longer wants to play nice.  I render video, it doesn't respond.  I stream a YouTube video, it doesn't respond.  I attempt to do my work and create an animation video IT DOESN'T’ FREAKING RESPOND!!!!  This seemed to have happened out of no where.  I did not contact a computer virus so it is not that.  A computer with my processor and ram should handle the task I need it with ease, not freeze up on every instance.

To make sure it was not my configuration, I ran a complete diagnostics, virus and malware check, and proceeded to tune it to optimal performance.  It only slightly worked and the performance did not improve much.  So, I am thinking it may be time to get a new computer. 

To do some test, I created a small animation with 4 characters.  I did not even animate the characters to move, they just stood there.  Still, my animation program says NOT RESPONDING.


I am so frustrated right now.

My Home Security Is Cooler Than Yours

A few weeks ago I had a small situation where a stranger waltzed into my home in broad daylight while I was home.  (Read about it on my blog)  I had already been working on details for securing my home at the time however that particular situation forced me to move forward even further.

In the video below, I show a partial demo of what will happen if someone breaks into my home.  Home security is something that is top priority in my home automation setup, however I have been reluctant to show off my security system.  Only a fool would put their setup online, it would make it that much easier to bypass.  This is the reason as to why I am not showing how this is done.  Regardless, when it is finished it will be extremely cool.

Samsung Opt’s Out

So it has been a few weeks since my last post.  It appears as if my blog post have been filled with nothing but post about home automation and technology the past few months.  According to my blog, it was no secret at the end of 2013 early 2014 I was determined to automate my home.  However in six short months, things have changed dramatically.  In recent months, there has been an enormous spike in popularity when it comes to home automation.  So much in fact that it seemed my efforts to control my home with automation seemed less impressive than if I were to achieve success a mere year earlier.  I saw this spike in home automation coming however I felt that having my artificial intelligent program control my home was unique, therefore separating itself among the other home automation systems.  In a measly six months, having Denise control my home is no where near as special than it would have been if I succeeded in early 2013.

Now, there are such systems like Lowe’s Iris (a proprietary pay-per-month home automation service), Castle O/S, plus others with more on the way.  The competition is getting so vast that having Denise control my home seems to get lost in an ocean of competing H.A. competitors.

So what now?

I had already succeeded getting the majority of my hardware and software setup to where I did have a decent home automation setup.  I only had to buy one or two more pieces of hardware to make it 100% complete.  I guess you can say I just didn’t have it in me to fully display my setup since it felt like the same exact thing that others were doing.  That is, until I thought up of an alternative home automation setup that was clearly better, and different from all the others.

Last year I had seen a YouTube video of a man controlling his home automation setup strictly from his phone using Google Now.  It was quite impressive at the time since no one was doing anything like it.

The man used Google Now and a program called Tasker to perform the automation in the video. 

I was on Facebook one evening taking a break from researching the Samsung’s Galaxy Gear watch when someone posted the video above on my newsfeed.  I had since forgotten about the video so seeing it again made me think.  What if I could do the same thing but from a Samsung Gear?  I quickly started to research the concept.  It appeared as if doing this was possible with a Gear 1 watch since it had an Android operating system.  I quickly began to search to acquire one on Craigslist. 

I found someone selling one that was apparently “new in box” so I contacted the seller and agreed to meet up with them.  The seller was a nice lady who said the watch was brand new and never used.  It even had the plastic still on it.  I purchased the watch and took it home eager to begin my new project.  When I arrived home I was greeted with a surprise.  It appears as if the woman did not sell me a Gear 1, it was a Samsung Gear 2!!!!  This was a cool find however it did not work in my favor since the Gear 2 did not come with an Android operating system, so rooting and hacking it posed a problem.

I did what seemed like a ton of research and finally, I was able to find a way to make the Gear 2 work on my rooted LG Optimus L70.  I won’t go into detail but basically getting the Gear 2 to work on a non-Galaxy phone tricks the Gear 2 into thinking my LG phone is a Galaxy phone, when it is clearly not.     

There was another issue.  The Gear 2 worked for the most part with the exception of one or two features that did not work at all.  Luckily, S-Voice on the Gear worked so I felt that there was hope in the project coming to life.  I wanted this project to be something different, so using Google Now like in the video was not something I wanted to do.  I wanted to use S-Voice.  However it appears as if I had hit another roadblock since the S-Voice on my LG crashed when I would try to launch the program.  There was no way to get around it, if I was going to try and make this work I needed a Galaxy phone to pair with the Gear 2.

I reached out to the PR firm that runs public relations for Samsung.  To make a long story short, I described what I wanted to do and explained that if I was successful, it would be great promotion for both the Galaxy and also the Gear 2,  In a nutshell, I had asked them to send me a Galaxy.  I felt if I was successful the project could possibly reach viral status since it was unique.  I had also informed them to keep that in mind if they needed the Galaxy to be returned, the Galaxy would have to be rooted since that was the only way it would work with my software.  Rooting voids the warranty so it wasn’t likely they would want it back.  I made sure I was upfront and clear about that.

After less than 24 hours later, I heard a response from the Samsung PR team and they unfortunately said that they were unable to fulfill my request for product.  It was extremely unfortunate since I thought that getting this to work would be a very cool project to show off to everyone.  I was even willing to write an article and make a video demo of it all working if I was successful.  Unfortunately, it does not appear that I will be moving forward with this project since I do not own a Galaxy phone.  I am not angry or upset with Samsung, after all I was asking them for a $500 device.  I just wish I had not gotten my hopes up that I was going to get my home automation setup to be controlled by a smart watch.  Now, it seems as if this project has reached its end before it had even begun. 

So, what am I going to do now?

My Home Can Now Talk To Me

For about a year I have had my eyes on a small device called The Ubi.  Essentially The Ubi is promised to be a computer without a computer.  The device can do such things like setting alarms, notification of temperature, connecting calls, sending text messages, and even controlling home automation devices.  However what is really cool is the fact that The Ubi can (from what I assume) Google different questions that the device is asked.  For example, if I ask the device “What is 2 plus 2?”  The device will respond with the correct answer.  Or if I ask the device “How did George Washington die?”  The device will respond with the correct answer.

Some of you may be thinking, doesn’t your Denise program do the same things?  In short, yes.  However the difference between these two devices are that A.) The device can be used without having the computer on 24/7.  B.)  Can connect with my phone to call or text people from my contact list.  Other than that, that is where the majority of  the differences end.

My Ubi is already on its way to my home and I cannot wait to get my hands on it. 

This was the initial video I saw when I first learned about The Ubi.  Apparently this video was featured during their Kickstarter campaign.

Daytime Intruder

The other day I so happened to experience something that took me completely off guard.  A random man whom I did not know barged into my home in broad daylight.

It was roughly 9AM and I was working at my desk which is located in my living room.  By that time of day everyone in my house is gone except for me since I work from home. 

As I was sitting there working I noticed the sound of my someone opening my screen door.  This was nothing new and assumed it was a delivery man dropping off a package.  A moment later I heard my door open and a strange man waltzed his way into my home.  I got up from my desk and faced him when our eyes met.  When he noticed me standing there looking at him I could see the fear in his eyes and he walked out and closed the door behind him not saying a single word.  There was no way I was going to not do anything about his intrusion so I ran to the door and opened it to confront him.  He started to back away and said "I'm sorry, I have the wrong house.  I am looking for my cousin."  This was a clear violation of the sanctity of my home and the look on my face was a clear indication that I was furious.  I told the man "You are lucky I did not shoot you."  He apologized again and reiterated that he had the wrong house.  At this point there was nothing I else I could do and simply said "Don't come back" and then closed the door behind me- locking it this time.

This ordeal makes me very upset for several reasons.  The first thing is that I normally do not leave my door unlocked, especially during the day.  However on this day when my wife left for work, she did not lock the door and I also did not attempt to lock it behind her. 

Second, what is the point of all my technology when something like this can happen?  I have already publicly indicated that I am working on fully automating my home.  At this point in time I have almost all of my equipment however have been reluctant to publicly reveal my security system.  I will say this, I have motion sensors all over my home and when the house detects that everyone has left, it turns those motion sensors on automatically.  If someone opens a door, breaks a window, or somehow finds their way inside, I will know.  I am taking it a step further and plan on getting my home to contact the police, thus saving time in hopes that they will catch the intruder in the act.  However as cool as that may sound, it proves irrelevant if the door is not locked behind the person leaving.  Not only that, none of my security measures proved effective since the house knew I was home.  The features do not work unless I leave or when I lock up for the night.

Since this ordeal I have been replaying the situation in my mind.  I keep wondering if this man truly made a mistake or if he was combing my neighborhood trying to open doors.  I feel it is doubtful the man was trying a home invasion since he was alone.  However if it came down to it I do have the means and will to protect myself.

Still, this has forced my hand and I going to move forward with automatic locks.  I will not reveal which model I will be purchasing (I’m not even going to mention the one I am going with) however I wanted to share some of them with my readers.

This seems to be one of the more simple auto locks called Lockitron.

This is the August Smart Lock.

This is the Kevo Bluetooth Door Lock.

These are just a few of many electronic locks on the market which can be access through the home owners smart phone.

I refuse to allow this highly avoidable situation ever happen again weather I am home or not.  Granted I am still reluctant to show off my security system in fear someone may use it against me, I also refuse to show which autolock I will be purchasing.  Regardless, this is all very cool and gives me piece of mind.

However if all my security measures failed, I still have my firearm.

UPDATE: Denise Turning Off A Lamp

Despite my lack of recent updates, I have been working on my home automation project.  Fairly recently I received a few Belkin Wemo devices.  These are Z-Wave devices that allow a smartphone to turn on or off whatever is plugged into it.

I thought that these Wemo devices would be a cool addition to the project overall.  However it seemed as if I had run into a problem since there was no windows-based application to control them.  Apparently the Wemo devices are solely controlled by a smartphone application.  It was a minor setback for a moment or two until I discovered a workaround.

 

After reading up on the Wemo a little bit, I discovered that the Wemo is compatible with the IFTTT service.  It appears as if I can control the device by using a specific recipe within IFTTT.  For this particular test, I set it up to where the device- which was plugged into a lamp, would trigger by simply sending an email to a specific email address.

It worked.

)

Artificial Intelligent Assistant On Xbox One

It is no secret that I have come up with some really cool and innovative things for Denise as of lately.  This particular project, was beyond cool.  It is also no secret that I am a huge video game advocate.  So why not intertwine the two together?  Yup.  So that is exactly what I did. 

Originally I had come up with the concept of getting Denise to co-host a Twitch stream with me while I play Xbox One.  However there was a problem with that.  Later today, the Xbox One will be receiving a crucial update to the console that will allow the Twitch app to broadcast gameplay.  (Currently, it only allows viewing)  Along with that, I knew that in the coming days and even weeks that there would be a massive amount of talk, broadcast, and YouTube videos about Twitch broadcasting on the Xbox One.  So that idea was out.

I then began thinking of ways I could seriously get Denise to interact with me and also the Xbox One.  In a previous video I showed earlier in the week, I had showed Denise launching Xbox Music, Smartglass, and even streaming videos to the console itself.  While cool, I wanted more.  So, I came up with this.

This was just day one.  I eventually will have her much more integrated with the console and also Windows 8 itself.  There are a lot of people out there who write, blog, and even make videos about their video games but I highly doubt many people are doing things that are as cool as this.

Hey Microsoft! Here I Am!

It is no secret that Microsoft is in development of Cortana.  She is the Microsoft version of a virtual assistant that is set to rival Apple’s Siri.  As innovated as that may be, it is not a reality in March 2014 and is still considered unreleased.

On Friday I happened to see a tweet from Microsoft urging people to share innovative, creative ideas, and projects that they have come up with while using Windows 8.  Microsoft had encouraged anyone who wanted to participate to use the hashtag #iCreatedThis and used an example of a 125-building campus being run from a single laptop.

Naturally, I knew that I wanted to contribute by making a video showing off some of the cool things I have done with Denise on my Windows 8 machine.  Cortana is bound to be cool when the program is actually released, however this is now and I have already integrated my artificial intelligent virtual assistant with Windows 8.  To take it a step further, I decided that I would also integrate the program with my Xbox.  Here is what I came up with….

When I finished the video and posted it I knew that it was really cool.  However I did not expect the massive amount of cool and innovative creations that people would come up with in the days following.  After a day or two I realized that it was likely that my tweet, hashtag, and also my project would be overlooked since Microsoft has millions of followers on Twitter.  I did not think if it as a total loss though, I had created something cool and no one could take that away from me.  Granted I did not create Denise herself, but I was the one who programmed her to do what I got her to do.,

Then out of nowhere, I received a tweet from Microsoft.

So I guess the people at Microsoft did see my project.  Granted that this may have simply been a social media strategist just randomly responding to tweets but still, I saw it as a small win.

Regardless, it is cool.  However the best thing is yet to come.  When I get the program fully integrated with my home, being integrated with only my Windows 8 machine won’t be so impressive.

Good And Bad Of 24 Hour Home Surveillance

In 2014 security cameras are just about everywhere.  In fact, you are likely to be filmed more times during the course of a regular day than you probably realize.  Aside from protecting highways or even businesses, security cameras are a great way to look over the home since not all of us can be there 24 hours a day.  Granted that a security camera system cannot prevent thieves from taking valuables, however it can catch them in the act and make it a lot easier for authorities to catch them.

What a lot of people do not know if that security camera systems are not always fool-proof.  Many people believe that their own personal setup will act as a gateway into their home that will ultimately be for their eyes only.  Unfortunately, that is far from the truth. Anytime you put something on the internet you leave yourself venerable to hackers.  Take for example the case of a family who's baby monitor was gained access by a hacker back in 2013.

So in reality, who is to say that having a security camera in your home is actually productive?  Despite the risk, many people around the world are still putting their camera feeds on the internet virtually unaware of the dangers.  If a private video feed that is supposed to give a homeowner piece of mind is accessed, wouldn’t this make potential burglars job easier since they have an idea of what is in the home?

Regardless, there are pros and cons to the entire thing.  This is something that I have been thinking of doing.  However after hearing about horror stories of people accessing private video feeds, I am thinking it might be better if I simply have security cameras outside my home versus inside and focused on valuables that I want to protect.

Denise With Windows 8.1 And Xbox One Integration

In December I had made a video showing Denise giving my #PS4 voice commands.  Since then I have received a new Xbox One.  Naturally, I wanted to get Denise to be fully integrated with Windows 8.1 along with a Xbox One integration.

How would this be possible?  Windows 8.1 already comes with a decent Win 8/Xbox One integration.  What would be the purpose of integrating the two even further?

 

Who cares?

I just want to do it to see what happens.  If I am eventually wanting a full integration with Denise and the Windows 8.1 operating system, a integration with Xbox One is essential.  I am no where near completion of my full integration of Windows 8.1/Xbox One however I made a video describing and showing off some of the results that I have thus far.