wireless – chmod 644

Matter matters: implementing yet-another smart home standard

July 20, 2026 at 6:00pm by windracer

I’ve worked with a lot of different technologies and vendor ecosystems since I first started tinkering with home automation in 2011. It started with Z-Wave devices and ADT Pulse but expanded to include Google Nest, Amazon Alexa, HomeSeer, Homebridge, and Ring, with additional forays into things like HomeAssistant and Node-Red, plus a proliferation of new Z-Wave Plus and WiFi devices (I’ve never dabbled with Zigbee though).

My current system is built around HomeSeer on a HomeTroller Pi with an 800 Series Z-Wave hat, so adding new Z-Wave devices is easy. Devices that use WiFi, however, typically require using the vendor’s specific app, like Tuya, Kasa, or SmartLife, and then I have to use an additional plug-in for HomeSeer in order to be able to control them there. It gets complicated.

Matter is a new communications standard for smart home devices hoping to simplify that complicated sprawl. A Matter-enabled device will work with any Matter-enabled hub, can connect to multiple hubs at the same time, and most major vendors (like Apple, Google, Amazon, etc.) are adding Matter support to their devices.

Ring Battery Doorbell

July 18, 2026 at 5:26pm by windracer

It’s funny that I’ve been using Ring products since 2021 when I put in the alarm system (and then moved to all Ring cameras in 2025) but still did not have Ring’s original product: the doorbell.

I guess timing is everything … during Amazon’s Prime Days event last month I noticed our everyday normal doorbell was coming out of the wall (bad grip into some crumbling cement for the lower screw) and the light had burned out. It still worked but since Amazon had their 2nd generation Ring Battery Doorbell on sale for $50, well …

Tablo TV OTA DVR

October 26, 2025 at 9:16pm by windracer

I’ve had a hate-hate relationship with the regional sports networks (RSNs). Before cutting the cord on my Spectrum cable, I could watch the Rays and Lightning on Fox Sports Florida, and that continued for a while after I dropped Spectrum (and TiVo) for YouTube TV in 2020. Fox Sports then became Bally Sports in 2021 and then in 2023 YouTube TV dropped the RSNs completely (which made it hard to watch my local sports without cable). In 2024, Bally Sports became the FanDuel Sports Network and I ended up buying a separate streaming subscription so I could watch my local hockey and baseball teams for last season. Now in 2025, the Lightning announced a partnership with Scripps Sports that moved the hockey games off of FanDuel to local broadcast (on Channel 66 – The Spot) and streaming (which does not include YouTube TV, just DirectTV and Fubo). Argh! Since I still don’t want to go back to cable (although this was almost the straw that broke that particular camel’s back), my only option was, amazingly, trying OTA broadcast television.

TabloTV I haven’t watched TV over an antenna since I was a kid in the 80s … my parents never got cable, we were strictly a local channels household. In this modern age of multiple TVs, wireless streaming/casting, and mobile devices, I couldn’t imagine hooking up an antenna to a single television, so I started looking at options and came across the Tablo TV DVR for OTA (which ironically is also owned by Scripps, the same company now broadcasting my Lightning games). After doing some more research, reading some reviews (like this one), and planning the setup, I purchased a 4th generation, 2-tuner/128gb model on Amazon for $70, along with the Channel Master Omni+ 50 antenna for another $70.

Tempur-Pedic Ergo Smartbase

July 6, 2025 at 9:33pm by windracer

After almost 30 years of having a queen bed (and 10 years of owning our current queen mattress from Casper), we finally upgraded to a king-sized bed with a new Tempur-Pedic TEMPUR-ProAdapt mattress and an adjustable power base. The TEMPUR-Ergo Smart Base might not be the typical kind of tech gadget I write about here, but it has USB-A and USB-C ports, WiFi, and is controllable via an app, so it qualifies! 🙂

Canon MF455dw

March 20, 2023 at 7:13pm by windracer

It’s been 9 years since I bought a new laser printer. I typically don’t replace my equipment until it’s either broken or having too many problems to deal with. My Canon imageCLASS MF4890dw has been chugging along faithfully since I bought it back in 2014 but it recently fell into that “too many problems” category: the ADF has been squeaking and jamming regardless of my attempts to clean it, replace the rollers, etc.; one of the flatbed cover hinges broke back in 2020 and while I was able to replace it, last year the plastic slot that holds the hinge in place cracked so now the cover won’t stay open on it’s own (and the hinge pops out when I open it); and finally despite replacing the toner cartridge and cleaning, it’s been printing black lines down the left side of each page. That was enough to push me over the edge to look for a replacement.

I didn’t do a ton of research this time … I have been really happy with my Canon printers so I just looked for the latest revision of what I already had. Canon’s MF450 series has a few models that are all very similar, the primary differences being the inclusion of a fax, and print speed. There wasn’t much of a price difference for the top-of-the-line model (and it was readily available) which is why after reading a few online reviews, I selected the Canon imageCLASS MF455dw.

Apple TV 4K

May 10, 2022 at 9:09pm by windracer

Apple TV 4K Back in early 2020 (pre-pandemic!) when I left TiVo and cut the cord, I switched to YouTube TV and Amazon Fire TV Sticks as my media streamers. They’ve been working fine, but recently I’ve tinkering with integrating HomeKit into my Homeseer setup (using Homebridge, a post will be coming soon on that) and wanted to try using an Apple TV as a HomeKit hub. Thus, I’ve replaced the 4K Fire Stick in the family room with a 32gb Apple TV 4K.

2022 Toyota RAV4 Prime

April 1, 2022 at 9:30pm by windracer

Toyota RAV4 Prime

At the end of February my (until now) trusty 2013 Toyota Highlander had a sudden and unexpected engine failure which, no longer having a working car, sent us on a stressful week and a half of decisions, research, and frustrating shopping (it is really not a good time, supply-chain wise, to be buying a new car).

I’ve been driving Highlanders (well, two of them anyway) since 2003. Now that my daughter is off at college (and almost done, at that) I knew my next vehicle was going to be downsized: we no longer needed the cargo capacity, V6 engine, or towing capacity of a large SUV, but still wanted an SUV (or crossover). Since I am pretty fond of Toyotas (we’ve owned two Highlanders, a Camry Hybrid, and a Prius) I was already considering the RAV4 as my next car.

I won’t go into the details of that stressful time but suffice it to say we had a stroke of luck near the end of our ordeal and wound up with our fantastic new SUV: the 2022 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE.

Building the Altair-Duino

September 13, 2021 at 7:35am by windracer

It’s been over two years since my last classic computer kit build and I was getting that itch to add more blinkenlights to my collection. Chris Davis’ Altair-Duino kit has been on my radar since last December when I saw it on episode #797 of Steve Gibson’s Security Now! podcast (which also introduced me Oscar Vermeulen’s excellent PiDP-8 and PiDP-11 kits) and I decided it was finally time to pull the trigger.

I went with the Standard kit over the Pro due to its smaller footprint (more flat instead of the boxier acrylic case) and, though the VT100 emulation calls back to my days as a VAX lab monitor in college, I probably wouldn’t really use it that much. The kit actually arrived the last week of July but I just recently had some time to sit down and build it in an afternoon.

Onkyo TX-NR96 receiver

June 11, 2021 at 11:00pm by windracer

It’s hard to believe I’ve had my Pioneer Elite VSX-24TX for over 21 years. That’s probably a personal record for me using a single piece of electronic equipment. It’s served me well over the years, but alas recently it’s been having problem (the outputs weren’t working reliably, it would take a few power cycles to get them to click in) so I figured it was time for a replacement (it’s so old it doesn’t even have any HDMI jacks, just component and S-Video!).

Since I skipped the Blu-Ray era (never bought a player) and last year cut the cord and left my TiVos for streaming, I really don’t have any video equipment connected to my primary TV. The old DVDs I still own I could play on a PC if I needed to (but honestly all of that stuff is available via streaming now anyway) and the old Wii is connected to a TV in the guest/exercise room (but that’s hardly used as well). The receiver is mainly for audio: surround in the family room for movie watching or playing some vinyl, and a second zone outside by the pool for playing music while swimming (or having a party, once that becomes a “normal” thing again).

My primary requirement was multi-zone, plus modern extras like voice assistant support, Bluetooth, networking, etc. After performing my normal online research and comparisons, I selected the Onkyo TX-NR696.