5 Easy Steps To A Smart Home

Preface

Are you feeling overwhelmed and confused with all the new smart home technology changes going on today? Would you like to understand the benefits and value it can provide? Would you like to find ways to make your life easier? Are you worried it will be too complicated and cost a lot? If so you have come to the right place. I understand as I was just like you once and It can seem quite confusing and daunting to try and figure things out all on your own. It’s tough to get started if you don’t know where to go.

With a smart home, you can save time, money, and energy. You can feel more secure with more comforts and less stress. The truth is smart home technologies are readily available in the market today and not something of the future. You just need to understand where to go and what to do. I will provide you with the tools, tips, and tricks to start the next evolution of your smart home life. My goal is to try to help you by teaching you some of the new and exciting technologies available in our day. Throughout this book, I hope to provide you with enough information to allow you to intelligently decide what things will work best for you, your family, and ultimately improve your quality of life.

When I was younger I had a great passion for Art, Music, and the ability to create things. I also had a strong interest in technology. Back in the 80’s when the first personal computers from IBM, Compaq, and Commodore hit the market I immediately felt the need to have one. They had some IBM machines at my school and my first computer was a Commodore 64 and cost around $500. It is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest selling single model of all time, with independent estimates of 10-17 million units.

While in high school I took lots of art classes and really enjoyed creating things. After I graduated I investigated the option of Art as a career. I met with various colleges and counselors and I was brought to the reality that art is a very competitive field and often the pay is not that great. Ever heard of the starving artist? Next, I considered my other passion which was technology. Eventually, I chose a technical institute and pursued a track in computer engineering. I learned all about microprocessors, printed circuit boards and how personal computers worked.

While taking courses on the fundamentals of digital information I also learned about hardware designs. I eventually built up several PCs (Personal Computers) of my own by buying up the individual components and assembling them as a single unit. I learned about various operating systems and how they can communicate using digital languages. I had a great feeling and sense of accomplishment to build and create something that would boot up Windows and I could use for my own benefit. I eventually built several more machines and was able to sell them to my friends. After college, I decided to enter the field of wireless communications. I learned all about different radio frequencies as well as new and emerging wireless technologies.

In 1995 the internet had just gone commercial and Amazon and eBay were born. The internet was the new trend and the dot-com bubble was on the rise. At that time the internet was still new and less than 10% of the US had access to it. Also in 1997 the initial wireless standard for eight-oh-two-dot-eleven (802.11) was introduced promising to increase mobility and to remove the need for a wired connection. Jump forward to 2016 and now most Americans have the internet. You can use it for weather, job searches, Facebook, banking, shopping, and many other things. Wireless connectivity is now a commodity and is now available for many types of electronics devices.

Schools are now moving to Google docs with everything online and distributing laptops instead of textbooks. If you do not have internet access you will be hard pressed to complete your school work unless you want to go sit in the McDonalds parking lot to get free WIFI. As we transition from a manufacturing economy to a more informational economy, our time becomes more important. As the old saying goes you either need more time or money and in our day time is money. Time allows us to follow our dreams and do the things we want. Just like things were for the Internet revolution, smart things and automation are becoming the next evolution of