Snakeoil OS: The Blog

In late March 2018 AVTech Media Ltd (UK) purchases Home Tech Network from TEN Publishing Media. The latter is the owner of Stereophile and AudioStream. As it always seem to be, a takeover usually brings about changes, and unfortunately some people were let go in early Apr (e.g. the editor for AudioStream).

And here’s a comment from Michael Fremer in one of the discussions talking about the layoffs (Source):

Fremer is echoing the sentiments of the majority I’m afraid. Computer Audio is dying.

Nobody seems interested in Computer Audio any more. Why? Then it dawned on me - Fremer’s notion of computer audio is not the same as mine.

The trend looks clear to me - more and more people are moving away from computers and drifting more towards consumer products, e.g. SoTM. The reason? The latter just works.

Sure I may well be quoting Fremer out of context here, but for me I really do find Fremer do not get computers, and he is not the only one .

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Akira is a very refreshing/interesting movie. The plot is cutting edge back in it’s day. So is its merchandise - it is one of the rare BD releases with 192 kHz audio.

The Japanese call this the Hypersonic effect, and in my opinion the audio track is really really good.

I cannot remember if my version is RAW or TrueHD, but if it’s the latter, it’s also the only movie I like with this codec. Personally I am never impressed by TrueHD and always prefer the clarity I can get from DTS HD Master. Unfortunately with the new 3D audio thing it looks like Dolby has won . But I digress, let’s go back to topic of this post.

As I was saying - futuristic. Everything about Akira is always on the cutting edge. So when I was in Hong Kong earlier this year, I snapped up 30^th anniversary CD immediately.

Imagine my surprise when I read the liner notes!

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I’m still a noob when it comes to Home Assistant.

My first attempt to control the XiaoMi Yeelights was via IFTTT . This solution is simply too rigid - every action has to be set via a IFTTT applet. While this solution works the whole experience becomes rather clumsy as the phrases are more or less fixed. It just does not feel like a smart way of doing things.

Next I tried to control the Yeelights using XiaoMi wireless switches. This method worked extremely well but at the end of the day this is not voice control. Folks have to locate the switch, and know action to do turn the lights on/off or change the brightness. This is not my goal for the ultra house. I want to be able to use my voice to turn things on/off and not be tied down to hard coded phrases.

The user experience has to be good. And I found it via Google Assistant Home Control. Check out the video below.

My slow Internet aside (high latency), it’s the best user experience I have found so far!

This article will allow you to do the same for your home. Click the second page to find out more!

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In our previous Home Automation tutorials - our Home Assistant traffic traverses through the Internet un-encrypted.

This means anybody can intercept the data and peek into the contents. Because everything is in the clear, the API password that’s embedded in the URL is also exposed to the public.

I’m perfectly fine with that, most people will consider this a security risk.

Securing web sites used to cost a lot of money - domain names and SSL certificates can cost a lot of money. Times have changed. Thanks to LetsEncrypt and DuckDNS, SSL protected websites are no longer for the rich.

There are two main reasons to encrypt your HomeAssistant assistant:

1. All communications back to your Home Assistant to and from the Internet will be encrypted.
2. With SSL - you can now link your Home Assistant setup to Google Home (Home Control). This opens up some of the home controllable devices to the greather Google system - and is a lot flexible than IFTTT.

Sure devices like YeeLights can already be connected directly to Google Home. However, personally I reckon it is far better in the long run to centralise everything in Home Assistant, then expose the things you want into Google.

Even if you are not fussed with security, #2 alone justifies the effort to secure your Home Assistant. In this tutorial we will show you how to create your very own domain and to how to use LetsEncrypt certificates to secure your Home Assistant server.

Linking Home Assistant setup to Google Assistant will have to discussed in another time.

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