Techmamas

Sunset Dream House: Fireplace 2.0, Internet TV, HP Media Server and ePrinters

I am a big fan of Sunset Magazine, They always present recipes, trips and decorating tips that I aspire to. I have also toured Sunset Dream Houses (houses where Sunset works with the developers to design and decorate the house) and always leave with great ideas. But, while I have a healthy dose of the "geek" gene, I don't have the "decorator" gene - even if I do have an eye for knowing what looks good. So I like to leave decorating to the professionals.

That is why I was thrilled when HP offered me a chance to tour a local Sunset Dream house before it opened to the public. The Sunset Dream House I toured is in Los Gatos, CA and it is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday starting today (July 23) through August 15, 2010. I suggest everyone stop by because it is not only a beautiful remodel, but also a house that has something pushing TechMama into a techy frenzy: Family Media 2.0.

When I arrived at the house I was greeted by Kathi McCalligan (Sunset Home programs Director), Gordon Van Zuiden of cyberManor and Josh Schoonmaker  from HP. Josh is involved with the HP Smart Home program. I originally became fascinated with HP's vision of the home after seeing the HP technology at the Disneyland Innoventions Dream Home. I appreciate that Ann Finnie from HP supports my smarthome obsession and was kind enough to invite me to the tour. 

We all sat down to discuss the house design and technology. Of course, I asked for all the details and here are some highlights from our discussion:

• The Sunset Dream Home was designed as a seamless integration of technology and design. 
• Technology, now part of the tools needed for school, social, entertainment and more, should be a seamless experience in the home. 
• There are sophisticated technology systems in more expensive homes, but there are also more budget friendly options providing enormous value in smaller spaces.
• Sunset brought together traditional and new technology, connecting TV to the network and antique photos with digital photo frames. 
• Technology is presented with a "real family lives here" vision rather than as science fiction.

Here are the schematics  (below, implemented by cyberManor) of the technology behind the Sunset Dream House in Los Gatos and a description of the technology from the cyberManor website.

"cyberManor integrated and deployed the HP (www.hp.com) and Control4 (www.control4.com) family of hardware and software products to provide a seamless, reliable, and easy to use method for the control of the electronic home entertainment, lighting and comfort equipment from several in wall keypads, touchscreens and universal remote controls."

   

Fed Up With Dropped Calls, Excited To Hear About AT&T's At-Home Cell Tower

My morning routine after I drop my kids off at school is to come home to my "home office" (a.k.a tiny desk at a corner of my bedroom next to piles of unfolded laundry) and make my morning business calls.

No matter what type of fancy smartphones or headsets I have tested, nothing can overcome something that is worse then the "blue screen of death". And that is the plague of the dropped calls caused by (shriek) dead cell zones. So far this morning EVERY call I made included a call back to the person I was talking to because of a dropped call. My cell service is AT&T and while it worked great while in Paris, for some reason cell coverage in my sunny California house is not so sunny - in fact it is "the big grey cloud" of my day. While AT&T prepares for a battle to improve their poor coverage, I am:

• Sweating through conference calls wondering if I will drop off.
• Losing time because conversations are broken off while in the middle of discussing important subjects.
• Wondering: While being interviewed by reporters as "a technical savvy mom resource", I wonder if there are thinking that I must have a phone from 1999 because the calls keep dropping.

In reality, different cell companies have different areas where their coverage is strong and their coverage is weak. A friend of mine that has a cell coverage from a different company gets *no* coverage at all in his house - but full coverage if he walks out his front door. So the real question is "What really causes bad cell coverage quality?" Is it the service provide or is it relative to how close you are to a cell tower? This is something I have been thinking about for some time.

This morning I saw an article in the New York Times that made me think there is hope for my home cell coverage. The article was titled "Bringing You a Signal You’re Already Paying For" about the news that AT&T is to offer at-Home Mini-Tower. I wonder if this is what I need to improve my cell coverage?

Here is more information about the AT&T Mini-Tower (called the AT&T 3G MicroCell™):

"The size of a couple of decks of cards, these mini-towers act and look like Wi-Fi hot spots at cafes, and redirect cellphone calls from congested cell towers to home Web connections."

 

Picture credit: New York Times via Associated Press

Link to more information about the AT&T 3G MicroCell™

Update: After bringing this topic up on Twitter, one of my followers (John L Painter) discussed the Wi-Ex zBoost as a good product to improve home cell coverage quality in Maine.

Forget About the iPad, I Want the Clothes Folding Robot

I was reading Guy Kawasaki's Twitter stream today and what do I see on one of his posts?

Hark - it is something I have been waiting for ever since I became a mom....Yes, A Robot that folds clothes!

Here is the link to the post from Alltop - Holy Kaw (that saw the video on Geekologie.)

Forget about the iPad, I want one of these:

More on the Apple iPad Debate, Why Moms Should Demand Open Web Standards

It is finally a beautiful sunny day so why I am online right now? It is that geeky side of me that has been glued to the online tech sites since the release of the Apple iPad. But not because of the iPad. I posted about the Apple iPad features which I think are a great fit for those using Apple gadgets and software already. My son has a Apple MACBook and iPod so the iPad would make a great addition, allowing him to enjoy the media he has on his iTunes, start finally reading eBooks, web browsing on the go and subscribing to online newspapers to read the news.

But what I have not seen discussed much by family bloggers is the Apple iPad's lack of flash support. I posted with my thoughts on the Apple iPad features including the lack of Adobe Flash support. To get some feedback I also tweeted ( TechMama ) about it - hearing that others were also confused. JessWeiss replied back to me with "I find the omission odd, anti-web-ish myself ". From a mom's perspective, the lack of Adobe Flash support on the Apple iPad means that there will be online content my son would not be able to access - including some of his favorite YouTube videos, CNN videos that he is now watching for news, online gaming sites and more.

I am Not so upset about him not being able to access some of the sites that the Wired Gadget Lab post pointed out. But kids can access inappropriate sites in many ways, Flash or no Flash. Internet Safety education and controls will still be an important step before any child uses any device with Internet access.

This all leads to the answer of why I am sneaking some time online while my kids are busy playing on this sunny weekend afternoon. The lack of Adobe Flash support on the Apple iPad has brought on a very interesting discussion about open web standards by the top tech minds, summarized nicely on TechMeme. For me, this is better then celebrity gossip and may even top my obsession with celebrity red carpet dresses..

Ok, I am a real geek..

Talk about geeks - Robert Scoble wrote a post today titled "Can Flash Be Saved?" on his blog Scobleizer that summed up the debate: "Adobe’s best hope is to get Android to support Flash and Adobe’s best hope is that developers ignore the iPad and ignore the iPhone, or, at least, build better experiences on the Android and Google Chrome platforms that include Flash". Click HERE to ready the whole post on Scobleizer, it provides a developer perspective to the current debate. He is a dad that seems to be spending his sunny weekend day the same way I am.

As a mom who is a PC user that also supports a household with numerous Apple products, I just wish everyone would stop going off in their corners and using applications with different web standards. I am tired of broken links.

I am giving tech companies a time out; You are leaving your customers confused and backing them into cyber walls. Please just adopt some open web standards already! Let gadgets communicate with  applications across the web. I will be happy and thrilled to pay for content over the web - as long as I can just get some open standards already.

My Kids Are Awake With Access to Tech, But Pretend Play Is Still King

This morning I opened up the New York Times and read the article by Tamar Lewin called "If Your Kids Are Awake, They're Probably Online". Later I saw the New York Times article had made it to Techmeme.

While reading the article I took a moment to look at what my kids were doing. Were my kids using any technology this morning?

So I decided to review the morning's activities: After my 10 year old and twin 6 year old boys ate breakfast, they went into our living room (affectionately called the "bouncy room" because sofa pillows are used for forts and jumping) for some pretend play before school. They had rolled up paper for swords and were pretending to fend off the "bad guys". A few nerf guns sneaked their way in, but had no bullets so they ended up being a prop as well. When it is was time to leave, my boys put on their little yellow rain boots and rain jackets and went to school.

All of this "pretend play" happened in our house that is full of technology. We have multiple laptops including my 10 year old that has his own laptop, iPod and Nintendo DSi. My twin 6 year olds have Leapfrog moblie gaming units and their older brother's hand me down Nintendo DS's. The TV in our family room may be 10 years old, but it still works great. We have Direct TV DVR's and a Nintendo Wii. We have multiple Nintendo racing, sports and Mario Bros Wii games with lots of accessories and just recently purchased the Tony Hawk Thride game and accessory board. My 10 year old has a simple cell phone that is "Pay as you Go" with no data plan but ample calling and texting. His friends have the Sony Playstation and they enjoy playing Lego Star Wars. We only have one TV in our family room, but multiple computer screens in our house.

The New York Times article "If Your Kids Are Awake, They're Probably Online" brought up some very interesting discussion points about how much time kids are spending on technology each day:

Took A Study Break, But Now I am Back....

Whenever I stop posting for awhile it is usually either because I am away at a conference (and busy covering it live via Twitter) or taking a study break. The holidays came about at the same time a fabulous opportunity to join the Traveling Geeks trip to Paris. So I went to Paris. I mean come on, Paris and hanging with a top notch group of Geeks all in one trip?

I still gathered information for a holiday tech guide but decided to hold off posting for some very good reasons. While reviewing the vast amount of technology options open to families I realized there was lots of terminology and features that I needed to better understand before I shared my favorites with anyone. I wondered what is the difference between an ultra-portable and thin & light PC. What are the advantages of a SSD (solid state drive) versus a regular hard drive? How do I choose a processor when choosing a computer? What do I need to know about video graphics cards? What other features are most relevant when choosing a computer? What other technology is not only new but relevant/useful for families versus a luxury item?

I realize many don't spend time pondering those questions, but I did. To my families dismay I spent every free moment when I was not playing with my kids during winter break scouring the web for buying guides, information, buying relevant tech magazines, reading about the new technology coming out and understanding better the technology that is already here.

With over 40 pages of data gathered, I decided to put it all together in one big cheat sheet. I realized after CES that my research only covered the best of 2009 - so some of it is already out of date. But I also realized that while many of the technology discussed at CES is available now - there is also an equal amount that has not launched yet.

To make things even more complicated, some of the technologies coming out will take some time to be adopted in the mainstream by families. An example of that is 3D Televisions. While I think anyone buying a new TV should think about buying one that has the "option" to run programs/movies that are 3D compatible (many new 3D TV's have controls that turn the 3D on or off) - I don't think consumers that were not shopping for a new TV will do so because of 3D. Not yet of course...

I decided to not look for any sponsors for this CES so I could just set my own schedule to take it all in (my trip was paid for all by TechMama herself). Starting next week I will post with what I learned about technology features from my obsessive study break and the exciting, bizarre, cool, relevant and downright "so thankful they finally invented that" technology from CES.

Shopping Tech? Here Are Some Black Friday & Cyber Monday Tips

I shared many times over Twitter that although I am a "TechMama" my laptop needs replacing. I am a heavy computer user and my computer is over 2 years old. So this weekend I will be looking online for Black Friday Sales 2009 and Black Friday ads like many others. One of mom friend's computer died but she is waiting for this weekend to buy a new one. Other moms I know are looking for technology as holiday gifts for their families. Holiday time is the best time to buy technology as the new "gift" (my slogan). So for those getting their sneakers on to shop for Black Friday Sales ads, here is where to go for online Black Friday Sales 2009 and some things to think about before you go. Some sites even offer printable coupons to bring along to the store. I will be posting throughout the weekend with hot technology and toy gift ideas.

NOTE: Gizmodo posted with a good point - there are some items that can be found online at the same or better prices then BlackFriday prices, so best to do some comparison shopping online. At the same time, many manufacturers are having big sales this time of year, so finding deals will not be a problem. PC World posted that Black Friday doorbusters are for suckers.

Where to go: This Wall Street Journal article confirmed my list of what sites list Black Friday Sales 2009: "Where to Find Black Friday Deals". I have already been following Black Friday Ads, BlackFriday.info and the BlackFriday Twitter account. Mashable posted about how social media is used to find Black Friday deals (including Facebook). The New York Times byte blog posted with more online Black Friday 2009 sites to follow such as CheapTweets on Twitter. I did go into an Apple store to ask about around Thanksgiving and they said there will be a sale. By going on the Apple website I saw that the Apple sale day is November 26.  I also follow many computer manufacturers on Twitter and have seen lots of deals through Twitter: SonyElectronics, HP News, HP_IPG , Dell, Dell Outlet, Toshiba Laptops. The big retailers like Staples, Radio Shack, Best Buy and online retailers like Amazon Twitter Deals and NewEgg also share deals.  I also go to their websites and signup for newsletter updates which sends deals to my email inbox.

What to consider: My recommendation is to sleep in and shop online. The New York Times reported that retailers will extend Black Friday. Other articles said that the high end items are not the main items on sale. So my suggestion is to decide on your needs and what alternatives fit with those needs.

How to choose the right technology gifts: I have been looking at all sorts of technology and I can honestly say that in many situations there are more then one "perfect" fit. The first step is to identify what your needs are then start to look for overall technology solutions. Then review online buying guides to understand what features you should be looking for. My favorite online buying guides are on CNET, Laptop Magazine buying guides, DPreview and reviews on gadget blogs like Ubergizmo, Engadget, Gizmodo, TechieDiva, Gear Diary, Boy Genius Report, Gear Live and of course TechMamas. My favorite shopping site is Cool Mom Picks. Bing.com also has links to guides such as "Laptop buying guides".

NEED A NEW HOME COMPUTER? Do you need another computer for your kids to do their homework? Then consider desktops if the computer does not need to be mobile or laptops for mobile use. I was just quoted recently in an article by Laptop Magazine on Netbooks for Kids. Netbooks are a great alternative for mobile use - but I suggest having a docking station with a bigger screen for home use. Older kids may be responsible enough to have their own laptop, especially if their homework requires computer use. Tablet PC's may also be the right fit because of their flexible screens. Desktops are the most budget friendly and will have bigger screens that not only are easy on the eyes for homework, but if the Deskop has the right features can be used to watch videos, movies or even TV shows. There are also lots of accessories that compliment home computer users such as backup drives, media smart servers, home wireless servers, wireless keyboards & mouses, webcams and more. There are many printer options these days including the HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web.

Guest Post: A New Believer in Surround Sound

I invite moms who work at companies to share their information about technology from the "moms" perspective. On my search to learn more about the digital living room, I thought it would be interesting to hear from a mom who works at Dolby Laboratories, Inc.

**Guest post by Robin L. Selden – Senior Vice President, Marketing, Dolby Laboratories, Inc.

Before I joined Dolby I have to admit I was completely sound ignorant. I never really understood what a quality surround sound experience could be like in my home.

I’m not a complete novice when it comes to technology – I came to Dolby with more than 20 years of experience in the PC technology and digital media industries – so why did I have PC speakers (though they were nice) attached to my beautiful 50” plasma HDTV? 

I knew what good surround sound was like in the movie theater. My family is a huge fan of the movies and my husband and I often go with our 17 year old daughter and 15 year old son to watch the epic films on the big screen.  But we also rent a lot of movies at home and I knew that it never sounded quite like the theater.  So after I heard a fantastic demo at Dolby of a crystal clear 5.1 home theater setup, it finally hit me… I could have a similar surround sound experience in my home.  And not just with movies, but with video games and sports too!

The entire family was involved in developing our surround sound plan. We started by deciding which room would be dedicated to the home theater setup. We rearranged a big space in the house that previously doubled as an office and exercise room, and moved the HDTV to the middle of the room as the centerpiece. With the help of some Dolby experts, who were thankfully at my disposal, we selected a high-end audio video receiver (AVR) (with Dolby Volume to curb the “turn that down” family feuds) and a high-end 5.1 speaker system that looked gorgeous and fit the space well.

But what about aesthetics?  To figure out where the speakers should go, I used Dolby’s Home Theater Speaker Guide to aid in my husband and my rounds of discussions about the back left and right (surround) speakers in particular. He wanted to mount them on the wall.  I did not.  So we ended up putting them on stands, but positioned them far enough away so they would neither be an eye sore nor compromise the experience. 

Recommended 5.1 speaker placements for your home theater:

HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web: World's First Web-Connected Printer

I dropped the kids off at camp this morning and headed to the HP Reveal press conference to hear a briefing on a *mystery* product. As someone that loves mysteries, I could not wait to get there and find out what it was. I missed the press conference because of camp drop off timing, but I did demo the product and talked with the HP Marketing/Engineering staff - who were all very eager to hear what moms would look for in the product. Luckily I had another mom blogger with me to also discuss ideas ( @Vdog).

And the mystery product is....."The world’s first web-connected printer:  HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web".

Here are details from their press release:

"HP introduced a category-changing product and an entirely new web-based printing platform with HP apps. Powered by touch, the HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web – the world’s first Web connected home printer – allows people simple access to popular and personal online content PC.

Additionally, HP apps allow people to connect instantly with fun, informative and personal content. People can easily access these Print Apps via the printer’s 4.33-inch touchscreen – the largest LCD touchscreen of any all-in-one inkjet printer on the market – to print maps, coupons, movie tickets and more from their favorite web sites including USA TODAY, Google, Fandango and Coupons.com."

What does this mean for moms/parents/kids? Basically the new printer allows the user to access the web for select applications on a touchscreen and then print via wireless - without using a computer. The applications need to be developed for the Photosmart with TouchSmart Web, similar to the applications that are developed to use on the iPhone. The target is for the printer to launch this fall. The HP App Studio (SDK -developer kit) will be available in the beginning of the new year after the launch. This will allow the people to create their own applications. The target retail price for the United States is $399.

The printer does not have internal storage so it is not a replacement for a computer. What it does offer is the time saving functionality to print directly from the web from one gadget (the printer) via the house wireless system. The Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web also includes PictBridge, Ethernet, USB, Bluetooth, as wells as CF, SD, and MS-Duo slots. The extra slots allow users, for example, that use SD flash cards in their digital cameras to insert them directly into the printer for printing pictures.

More technical details will be released soon. 

ASK TECHMAMA READERS: WHAT APPLICATIONS WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE ON THE HP PHOTOSMART WITH TOUCHSMART WEB?

Here are some of the pictures I took at the HPreveal:

 HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web:

 

Vdog is displaying a picture printed on the HP Photosmart with TouchSmart Web.

 

Here is a close-up of the front of the printer with the touchscreen for web access.

 

The HP Photosmart with TouchSmart Web can also scan, copy and fax (for faxing, the printer must be hooked up to a phone line).

This is a picture of the touch keypad input screen.

This picture shows the coupons application.

 

And here is the coupon that was printed at our demo.

The ink cartridges are in separate colors.

Photo tray that can handle many different types of paper (including photo and laser).

Here is an example of the screen to choose crafts to print.

 

You can also view movie clips (video streaming) from the Touchscreen. This picture is of the Monsters vs Aliens video that played screen during our demo.

PRESS RELEASE:

Free Online Safety Service From Norton Makes It Easier To Keep Kids Safe Online

**Guest post by Marian Merritt - Symantec's Internet Safety Advocate

I have three kids who love the Internet in all its forms. The oldest is just 15 and the youngest is 7. Like a bunch of bumper cars, their online activities occasionally dent the family rules for being safe online. Sometimes they forget what we’ve discussed or they are into things I never dreamed would capture their interest. It feels like I’m always a step behind knowing what they are going to download or visit and then protecting them from the mistakes they might make.

The youngest one doesn’t understand why I’m concerned about her using search engines when she was taught how to use Google and Yahoo at school. (How do I know the “safe search” settings haven’t been tweaked?) The middle child, 13 years old, wants to game online and has no problem downloading cheat codes or visiting sites with gaming tips. He rolls his eyes when I lecture about visiting these “who knows who runs them” sites and downloading files. And of course, my oldest is into all the normal teen stuff: social networks, chatting, Skyping with her friends,and YouTube. So I admit it, I need some help here.

Norton has just launched a great and easy to use service that should make my life a lot easier. It’s called OnlineFamily.Norton and is a simple way to give me the insight I need into my children’s online activities but without the usual associated headaches of traditional web filtering or parental control software. And, during the introductory period (through next January 1^st) the service (a $60 value) is entirely free!!