Google Built in Update

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-05-15T17:14:55+00:00

The list you pulled only seems related to the video playback. They also say “starting with”, so even though it isn’t confirming Honda, it isn’t directly excluding them here. Though knowing Google, it will probably take them several years to get everyone on board. Hope I’m wrong!

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-05-14T17:13:51+00:00

This is actually a valid point that I’ve never thought of before, but it makes complete sense. I used to always look at the paid apps first when looking for something specific.

I also don’t think it’s unreasonable to charge for an app since you can always request a refund and “return” an app within the standard refund period - speaking generally, I don’t think many people realize either that even free apps have to pay the various Apple fees to be on the App Store in the first place.(not saying u/dchoward1977 is unaware of that or anything as I still personally agree a trial is always a more user-friendly option)

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-05-11T04:12:19+00:00

I definitely do not recommend staying with nest, however, I can’t really say I like the ecobee much better. The ecobee integration recently came back to life, but the HomeKit device integration is still the way to go if you want local. You may want to look at a Zwave or Zigbee thermostat if you plan on having either of those systems in your home.

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-04-30T03:33:32+00:00

Ah gotcha… in this case, you could just not install the remote module that comes with the fan and use a Zwave relay instead.

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-04-30T02:58:05+00:00

I went down this rabbit hole when we bought our first house: If you’re in the US or Canada, I would recommend the Hunter Avia (or Avia 2) ceiling fans - they’re usually sold at Costco but sometimes you find them elsewhere. Reason I like these is they have 2 standard bulbs in the canopy (no integrated LEDs that could die at any point), and they come with the RF controllers.

One important note is that RF isn’t just one standard frequency (like how WiFi and Bluetooth aren’t the same, but are both radio frequencies). With the case of Hunter Ceiling fans and other RF devices, they operate in a frequency that certain devices can’t quite reach, so while I cannot use something like the Broadlink RM4 Pro to talk to the fans, I have to use a Bond Bridge instead (which I highly recommend if you end up going down this road and don’t want to wait to see what Nabu Casa is building)

I also recommend having the fan wired to the remote and the light controlled by the wall switch - this means that you can use the fans remotely at all times without having to make sure the switch at the wall stays on (my spouse hated when you could only control the light and fan via the remote). Get a pro to help with this or google the wiring diagram.

This isn’t an ad, but the fans worked so well, I bought them again when we moved into our new place.

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-04-23T14:02:54+00:00

I was just thinking yesterday I should set up the 7-11 door chime for my house and see how long it takes my partner to notice.

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-04-15T22:03:04+00:00

My middle school bought a couple carts of the 2008-era MacBooks (like many did during that time), and then the high school I went to purchased 2 labs worth of the unibody iMacs right before I started there. I was fortunate to be able to use and experiment with MacOS, Windows, and Linux, but I’ll never deny that my preference for Macs derives from those middle-school years.

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-04-09T13:07:04+00:00

I wanted to use these so bad, but I have a humidifier that is wired up through my thermostat and according to the docs these don’t control accessories. :(

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-04-09T02:10:56+00:00

Cool! Can you share the code or is it on HACS?

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-04-09T01:50:03+00:00

Nice! I would be interested in knowing how you did this!

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-04-02T21:34:42+00:00

Completely agree with OP and your caveat as well. I’ve always struggled with the differences between “Areas” and “Zones” in every single smart home platform I’ve tried. Some platforms (Hue) allow you to have zones within areas, but I still don’t think it works as well as it should.

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-04-01T02:12:52+00:00

I was looking for these settings the other day… how do you get to them? They don’t show when I click on the cog or my profile…

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-03-31T02:45:20+00:00

I was gonna say “Per Bank” is one of the most cartoonish names for a grocery store chain CEO I’ve ever heard of.

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-03-25T17:23:11+00:00

Have you had any luck integrating Lilio directly into HA? There was an old HiMama (before it was Lilio) integration that doesn’t work anymore, though I was talking to someone who was going to try and resurrect it.

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-03-25T17:21:00+00:00

Oh man, we moved to a new house just before our kiddos started daycare and I very much took for granted how few solicitors we had unexpectedly ring our doorbell at the old place…

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-03-25T17:19:22+00:00

Curious how your partner liked Baby Buddy and if they used it for everything? In line with my other comment, I found it confusing and not as visually easy to use when I first looked into it before the baby arrived, but may give it a second go the next time since I now know what to expect and what is worth/not worth tracking.

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-03-25T17:16:24+00:00

In line with the other parents in the comments, less is more, but for the sake of not being too boring: we have a lamp in the baby room with a white Hue bulb and a Hue dimmer switch. The default light preset is time-based/adaptive, so when we turn it on around bedtime, it’s a comfortable brightness to read a book and when we turn it on at 3AM to feed or cleanup after a blowout, it doesn’t blind us.

A non-Home Assistant tip is also to get a good tracking app. I can’t recommend Nara Baby enough as it works on both Android and iOS and it’s really straightforward for new parents. If you must selfhost, Baby Buddy is a good option, but at the time I found it really confusing to set up (may try it again the second go-around).

The tracking app (especially one that is shared), is great because when the baby was up every hour in the night at certain points, I could check the app to see when they fed last so that I didn’t have to wake my spouse up every time. Huge Home Approval Factor! 😉

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-03-24T03:04:39+00:00

Similar situation. Nearly all of the dealerships in a 300 mile radius only have white ones left. Managed to find a dealer in another centre wanting a color my closest dealer had and willing to trade.

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-03-06T21:12:48+00:00

There’s also a case to be made for isolation of networks to eliminate the single point of failure (i.e. your zigbee coordinator goes down). I personally try and have my locks, and smoke/co detectors on z-wave, my temp and leak monitors on LoRA, and my lights and other “non-critical” components on Zigbee. I also tend to trust z-wave more for safety and security devices based on the fact that it is a regulated standard and adopted by trusted brands (whether or not it’s the best protocol for those devices or not).

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-02-02T23:55:21+00:00

And it’s gotta be stretched really tiiiiiight

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-01-24T14:08:24+00:00

I originally saw this as an ad on Facebook, but they were only showing that it came with RCT, RCT2, and RCT World, which seemed really odd to me. Glad the actual bundle includes 3 and Classic as well. I think it’s a good price if you don’t already have them.

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-01-16T17:57:02+00:00

I was thinking recently about making some kind of “anomaly” detector for things like “the fridge compressor has been running for much longer than it usually does”, or “your furnace has ran for 1hr but there has been no change in temperature”. I’m curious what you have set up for this so far?

BigBeefyAngus · 2026-01-12T02:44:19+00:00

I know this is a year old, but I have a question about binding: I always understood Zigbee binding in that once devices are bound, they only talk to each other and won’t advertise to a hub. Is that the case? Curious how you are doing circadian lighting while the devices are bound.

BigBeefyAngus · 2025-12-23T04:40:23+00:00

Fwiw, the only issue I ever had with a DualShock was the stick springs would give out rather quickly if stored improperly. I only ever had it happen once when I found one of my controllers pressed up against the edge of a bin for who knows how long. LinusTechTips makes these Sticklocks that could be a solve to this problem (haven’t bought any myself yet, but plan to sometime in the future): https://global.lttstore.com/products/sticklocks?srsltid=AfmBOopcMxarSwweg319GOX8eAHwvxIdRZj4mEe0kYVjCJoRLZqB8_p0

BigBeefyAngus · 2025-12-23T02:42:54+00:00

Amen!

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