Stacey Higginbotham (formerly Sr. Editor at Fortune) and co-host Kevin Tofel discuss the latest news and analysis of the Internet of Things. Covers Consumer IoT, Industrial IoT and Enterprise IoT. Guests include Vint Cerf, Om Malik, and people from Amazon.com, AT&T, IBM Watson and more.
Stacey Higginbotham (formerly Sr. Editor at Fortune) and co-host Kevin Tofel discuss the latest news and analysis of the Internet of Things. Covers Consumer IoT, Industrial IoT and Enterprise IoT. Guests include Vint Cerf, Om Malik, and people from Amazon.com, AT&T, IBM Watson and more.
Stacey Higginbotham (formerly Sr. Editor at Fortune) and co-host Kevin Tofel discuss the latest news and analysis of the Internet of Things. Covers Consumer IoT, Industrial IoT and Enterprise IoT. Guests include Vint Cerf, Om Malik, and people from Amazon.com, AT&T, IBM Watson and more.
Nov 23 2016
57mins
Apr 22 2015
40mins
Oct 05 2017
51mins
Dec 21 2017
44mins
Jan 17 2019
59mins
Aug 27 2015
41mins
Nov 19 2015
36mins
Apr 15 2015
38mins
May 12 2016
41mins
Jun 21 2018
52mins
Mar 30 2017
51mins
Nov 30 2017
50mins
Jan 22 2016
42mins
Jul 23 2015
44mins
Jul 20 2017
46mins
Sep 21 2017
45mins
This week Kevin and I discuss the aftermath of the big Google event, covering the new devices, the focus on ambient computing, and changes to the Nest subscription and Works with Assistant programs. From there we cover a new smart lock backed by Lennar Homes and Walmart, a new light bulb from LIFX and more security exploits. We hit on some industrial and enterprise news with an overview of Hitachi’s recent conference. Finally, we answer a listener question about what to include when selling a smart home.
The Level Home smart lock hides the electronics inside the door and deadbolt. Image courtesy of Level Home.Our guest this week is Azhar Hussain, CEO of Hanhaa, a company that has created a tracking device for mail, a mobile network operator, and a way to plug sensor data easily into Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. We spend most of the time talking about the creation of the ParceLive service which provides subscribers with a postcard-sized device that customers drop into packages before they mail them. The device tracks the package and has several sensors affixed to it that can track temperature, humidity and more. We talk about creating a sustainable company, the future of Wi-Fi in a 5G world and the engineering challenges associated with building the ParceLive product.
Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Azhar Hussain, CEO of Hanhaa
Sponsors: Nutanix and HiveMQ
Oct 17 2019
1hr 2mins
Dec 14 2017
53mins
Apr 18 2019
58mins
Apr 19 2018
46mins
This week Kevin and kick off the show on a serious note, pointing out that the U.S. is approaching China in terms of the number of people per every IP camera. We draw a line between that fact and the surveillance capabilities that Ring allows through the Neighbors app, before offering a smidgen of hope in the form of a new federal law. We then jump to the title topic — our annual gift guide that features 10 presents that won’t disappoint. One of them, the Philips Hue Sync Box, is the topic of a review from Kevin. After that, we hit a security flaw in Blink cameras, a new Ring light, and Google’s new alarm clock feature. We close by answering a listener’s request for funny smart home mishaps.
This week’s guest is Dr. Irene J. Petrick, senior director of industrial innovation in Intel’s IoT group. Petrick has conducted hours of research on the industrial IoT and the efforts companies are making to transform digitally. She talks about her newly released research as well as the skills that manufacturers believe their employees need today and in the future. I think those manufacturers are short-sighted and Petrick and I spent a lot of time discussing the shift from transactional business relationships to ecosystems. You’ll enjoy the show.
Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Dr. Irene J. Petrick, senior director of industrial innovation in Intel’s IoT group
Sponsor: Cirrent
Dec 12 2019
59mins
Amazon is bringing its services closer to the edge with a new product and deal with Verizon, but it’s not the only cloud provider signing a partnership with a carrier. We also discuss Resideo’s executive change and a new smart home hub concept crammed into a thermostat. From there we talk about our confusion with the new Wyze door lock, disappointment with Ring, a crucial service going down, an FBI warning, and why Kevin is unplugging his Wink hub. We end by answering a listener question about how to transfer between smart hubs.
The new Wyze lock is $89 but doesn’t have a keypad. Image courtesy of Wyze.This week’s guest is Felicite Moorman, CEO of Stratis IoT. Moorman’s company provides the infrastructure for smart apartment buildings, so we discuss the up and coming trends for connectivity in multi-family housing and how to optimize for security. We also talk about the questions residents should ask when they lease a smart apartment, and what rights they should have. Moorman also explains how smarter buildings can help increase sustainable living and her faith in younger generations. Enjoy the show.
Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Felicite Moorman, CEO, Stratis IoT
Sponsor: Cirrent
Dec 05 2019
51mins
This week Amazon announced several new services ahead of its re:Invent event next week including news about Alexa Voice Services and the IoT elements of the cloud. We also touch base about Wink’s latest problem and try to explain the kerfuffle on lightweight IoT encryption. In smaller news bits, we talk about Wyze killing its person-detection feature unexpectedly, NB-IoT trackers from See.Sense and Flok, Google’s Ambient Mode coming to phones and Black Friday deals. We then review the Philips Hue Smart Button and the RoomMe presence detection devices from Intellithings. We end by answering a listener question about ways to remotely track his parents’ medicine adherence.
The Flok is one of several upcoming trackers that will rely on NB-IoT. Image courtesy of Flok.Our guest this week brings us back to where we started, with Sarah Cooper, GM of outcome-driven engineering at Amazon Web Services, coming on the show to talk about how Amazon plans to compete in the industrial and enterprise IoT with cloud and on-premise services. She talks about the latest news, the architecture required for the IoT, and the three laws of building a connected service. Plus, she explains why containers and serverless computing matter so much for the internet of things. You’ll learn a lot.
Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Sarah Cooper, GM of outcome-driven engineering at AWS
Sponsors: Legrand and Schlage
Nov 28 2019
1hr
We kick off this week’s podcast with Kevin’s struggles to get his Google Home to talk to Wink. Then we unpack some of the standards news out from the ZigBee Alliance and the Open Connectivity Foundation, which is introducing OCF-over-Thread. From there we do a quick update on Ring, talk about a new smart grill from Weber, a new way for Alexa to control your TV, and updates to Eero’s Wi-Fi. We then talk about my experience with the Nanoleaf Canvas lights. One of us had a better experience than the other. We end with an answer for a listener who bought low-cost Wi-Fi bulbs and wants a remote to control them.
The new Weber SmokeFire pellet grill has smarts provided by June. Image courtesy of Weber.Our guest this week is Alex Yang, the COO and co-founder of Tuya. Tuya is an IoT platform that provides everything from connectivity to help building out sales channels for end products. Brands such as Energizer, Walmart’s Merkury Innovation, and more use Tuya’s platform to connect their devices. Yang talks about Tuya’s founding, its multi-country headquarters, and its privacy policies. He also shares details behind the recent appointment of former GE CEO Jeff Immelt to the Tuya board and some details about its new deal with SmartThings. Enjoy the show.
Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Alex Yang, the COO and co-founder of Tuya
Sponsors: Legrand and Afero
Nov 21 2019
53mins
Wyze makes some of the most reasonably-priced smart-home gear on the market and said earlier this month that it was planning a smorgasbord of new products, which Kevin and I detail in this episode. We then cover low-power wide-area networks with news that Twilio’s NB-IoT network and boards are now generally available and news that Amazon has joined the LoRa Alliance. From there we cover a security flaw, the longevity and reliability of connected home devices and a story about automation and jobs. We close with talk about a fitness company raising $55 million and another attempt at delivering wireless power at a distance. We then answer a question about who should swap out their Nest account for a Google Account.
The Whoop 3.0 fitness band is a compelling device with a pricey service.Our guest this week is Michele Chambers Turner, senior director Google Smart Home Ecosystem, who explains why Google had to kill its Works with Nest program and what it means for users. You’ll also learn how Google thinks about privacy, that it doesn’t keep device state data and how it cordons off home data from its advertising network. We also talk about the local SDK and making it easier to add devices to the Google Home network. It’s an essential episode for Google fans.
Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Michele Chambers Turner, senior director Google Smart Home Ecosystem
Sponsors: Legrand and Afero
Nov 14 2019
57mins
This week on the show, Kevin and I started with a discussion of reports of how smart speakers can receive remote commands from a hacker with a laser. We then shifted gears to talk about company research showing how much data your smart homes are sending and a brand new network product from Firewalla. Cortana’s pivot to productivity gets a mention, as does Kevin’s take on Google buying Fitbit. From there we reviewed the Twinklys smart lights, talked about new Ecobee features, smart apartment deals and the open-sourcing of Google’s Titan chip. We then answer a listener question about smart garage door opener alternatives for Chamberlain’s MyQ product.
The new Firewalla security device is now also a router. Image courtesy of Firewalla.Our guest this week is Lee Odess, vice president of strategic partnerships at Allegion. We start off talking about smart edge capabilities that could be used to make schools, offices and other spaces safer. Then we discuss how smart home device manufacturers have changed their goals when trying to create partnerships. Before, the focus might be on marketing on one-off features, but manufacturers are becoming more sophisticated. Find out what’s new, and enjoy the show.
Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Lee Odess, vice president of strategic partnerships at Allegion.
Sponsors: Legrand and Afero
Nov 07 2019
58mins
This week Kevin and I lamented about the future state of Wink. Its status is almost dead. We also discussed Apple’s renewed interest in the smart home, Google’s rumored interest in Fitbit and Microsoft’s certain interest in improving its credentials for edge IoT. We also talked about security vulnerabilities enabled by smart lights, why you shouldn’t connect a phone to your rental car, and Wi-Fi getting a long-distance boost for the IoT. Particle raised $40 million, Google Home gets a new interface, Alexa can now add dimming to routines, Tile talks to Google Assistant, and a new smart button from IKEA hit the FCC. We also answer a listener question about smart pools.
What the heck is up with Wink? We still don’t know.This week’s guest is Massimo Russo, managing director and senior partner at BCG, who came on the show to discuss why incumbent businesses have an advantage in the internet of things. We discuss how existing businesses can take advantage of their data and expertise to offer services that startups just can’t. We also talk about when to partner up with startups and tech firms, and how that can make your businesses even more successful. In the coming era of competing and cooperating, businesses will have to figure this out. Enjoy and Happy Halloween.
Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Massimo Russo, managing director and senior partner at BCG
Sponsors: Nutanix and Afero
Oct 31 2019
58mins
This week Kevin and I start with an update on Tuya full of a variety of news the company announced at a conference held this week in Shenzen, China. From there we discuss two updates with the maker of Philips Hue light bulbs that means you won’t need a hub with SmartThings or Google Home devices. On the Google front, we chat about builders ditching Nest, missing Google Actions, a new hack, and an updated machine learning board. Nvidia hits our radar this week with machine learning at the edge, as does Shine’s smart toilet device. Kevin shares his review of the Nest Mini and we answer a listener’s question about smart holiday lights.
The Shine Bathroom Assistant cleans and detects leaks. Image courtesy of Shine.After all that, join our guest Rose Eveleth, journalist, and creator of the Flash Forward podcast for a discussion about the role science fiction writers play in shaping our understanding of technology, We talk about the role fiction should have in setting tech policy, the different types of sci-fi and where stories should help guide our understanding of tech. It’s a deep discussion that ends with a few book recommendations. I hope y’all enjoy it.
Hosts: Kevin Tofel and Stacey Higginbotham
Guests: Rose Eveleth, journalist, and creator of the Flash Forward podcast
Sponsors: Nutanix and Afero
Update on 10/24/2019: In the podcast, we mistakenly noted that the new SmartThings integration with Philips Hue bulbs doesn’t require a hub. Because the SmartThings Hub doesn’t support Bluetooth, a Philips Hue bridge is still required.
Oct 24 2019
1hr 1min
This week Kevin and I discuss the aftermath of the big Google event, covering the new devices, the focus on ambient computing, and changes to the Nest subscription and Works with Assistant programs. From there we cover a new smart lock backed by Lennar Homes and Walmart, a new light bulb from LIFX and more security exploits. We hit on some industrial and enterprise news with an overview of Hitachi’s recent conference. Finally, we answer a listener question about what to include when selling a smart home.
The Level Home smart lock hides the electronics inside the door and deadbolt. Image courtesy of Level Home.Our guest this week is Azhar Hussain, CEO of Hanhaa, a company that has created a tracking device for mail, a mobile network operator, and a way to plug sensor data easily into Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. We spend most of the time talking about the creation of the ParceLive service which provides subscribers with a postcard-sized device that customers drop into packages before they mail them. The device tracks the package and has several sensors affixed to it that can track temperature, humidity and more. We talk about creating a sustainable company, the future of Wi-Fi in a 5G world and the engineering challenges associated with building the ParceLive product.
Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Azhar Hussain, CEO of Hanhaa
Sponsors: Nutanix and HiveMQ
Oct 17 2019
1hr 2mins
In this week’s episode, we start off with speculation about wearables and why we might put the internet of things into clothing. From there we speculate on whether IoT is the new asbestos. I did this show from ARM’s annual tech conference, where I tried to explain some of the big news from the show, such as ARM opening up its instruction set and the creation of a new automotive consortium. From there we cover the new Tile sticker format, the new Linksys security feature that uses wireless signals instead of a camera, and more fallout from Ring’s marketing agreements with municipal police departments. We also talk about Google’s new streaming music feature, a semiconductor deal in the industrial IoT and a bad security flaw in older D-Link routers. We then answer a listener’s question about what tech features she should include while building a new home.
Innit provides the backend tech and data for Mars brands on Google Lens. Image courtesy of Innit.Our guest this week is Kevin Brown, CEO of Innit, a company trying to build a back end operating system for food. The company has products that serve consumer packaged good brands, it’s embedded in appliances and also offers apps for consumers. Brown and I spend most of our time talking about how the rise of Amazon, and technology more broadly, will affect the way consumers choose what to eat and where they buy their food. We also talk about how to make the idea of food as medicine more palatable for people. It’s a quick segment, but it may make you excited about the future of food.
Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Kevin Brown, CEO of Innit
Sponsors: Nutanix and HiveMQ
Oct 10 2019
53mins
Oct 03 2019
57mins
Sep 26 2019
1hr 1min
Sep 19 2019
56mins
Sep 12 2019
56mins
Sep 05 2019
56mins
Aug 29 2019
54mins
Aug 22 2019
55mins
Aug 15 2019
49mins
Aug 08 2019
50mins
Aug 01 2019
52mins