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  • Wink Sends Demand to Users: Pay $5 a Month or We’ll Disable Your Smart Home Hub.

    Bymacjeff

    Ransomware?  We think so!!!

    The Wink Hub which was sold at stores like Lowes was never as good as the competitors.  I would rank the ISY from Universal-Devices as the best SmartHome hub on the market followed by the SmartThings hub by Samsung.  Sorry Apple- I can’t even list HomeKit in the top 10.  I bought a Wink Hub years ago to control a smart bank that Santa brought my kids that only worked with Wink.  I also purchased a smart egg tray (no laughing) that would not only tell you when you were out of eggs but which ones were the oldest to be sure they were used first.   Well both those products no longer function so my hub is useless.

    Wink claimed on the box there would be no fees.   Now, they are blackmailing their customers with a notice to pay up by July 27th or we will cut off your service.   The company claims in the small print, hidden so no one would ever read it, “Wink reserves the right to interrupt the Services with or without prior notice for any reason or no reason” and that Wink has the right “to change and/or eliminate any aspect(s) of the Services as it sees fit in its sole discretion.”   We, along with many others, feel that what they are doing is way beyond the scope of changing their services. This is basically a Ransomware for the people who bought their products.

    Pay $5 a month ransom or we will stop your product we promised no hidden costs from working.

    We can’t tell you what to do, but I can tell you my Wink Hub went into the trash a week ago and I will invest my money into the ISY from Universal-Devices .   In addition to Insteon, Z-Wave, and Zigsbee support, they have been hard at work creating links (over 80 right now) to other SmartHome products like swimming pools, smart irrigation valves, and Roomba vacuums to their system,  More devices seem to pop up every week.   Invest your money in something that works and has potential to grow and not a system that has already reached its limits.
  • |

    HomePod update adds Ambient Sounds, multi-user support, and Handoff

    ByRSS Feed

    Earlier today, Apple released iOS 13.2 to the public. That new software adds plenty of new features to the mobile operating system, but for owners of the HomePod there is quite a bit coming to the smart speaker along with that software update.

     

    Apple on Monday released new software for the HomePod smart speaker alongside the iOS 13.2 launch. With it, Apple is adding the majority of new features that the company announced earlier this year but delayed until the fall. The new software is free, and it’s available to download and install now.

    So here’s what’s new. First, Ambient Sounds. This will bring the “soothing sounds of ocean waves, forest birds, rainstorms, and more” to the smart speaker. It’s pretty straightforward, letting folks use the HomePod as a background noise device if they want, or something to help them fall asleep at night.

    Next, multi-user support. With this update the HomePod can discern between different voices, understanding each individual in a family. This means they will be able to listen to their own music, including playlists, radio stations, and more.

    The HomePod now supports Handoff. With this feature, owners will be able to quickly transition things like a phone call, music, and more to the HomePod from their iPhone. The standard scenario is something like this: walk through the door to your place while you’re listening to music on your iPhone. Simply walk up to the HomePod, put the phone near it, and the music will automatically transfer to the smart speaker and start playing from that.

    The new update for the HomePod is available now. It will install automatically after you’ve updated your iPhone to iOS 13.2.


    Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2019/10/28/homepod-handoff-user-update/