2y ago

Google just made it a lot easier for people to begin automating their smart home

www.engadget.com

Google just made it a lot easier for people to begin automating their smart home | Engadget

Google has really tried to go all in on automation since the rollout of its redesigned Home app in May. There's been the introduction of a new script editor, Nest Cam Indoor integration and, now, a whole slew of new routines to use. The company has announced 18 new routines — half starters and half actions — immediately available for Google Home users.

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Oh boy, I'm looking forward to going all in on Google Home only for it to be deprecated in three years!
(Hey folks, Home Assistant is pretty cool and you can run it locally on an old laptop.)
- Homeassistant is fun and all but it falls down for complex automations for me
- Seriously though.
  Just got word that Pixel Pass, introduced less than 2 years ago that had an every-2-years upgrade program, has been cancelled.
  They didn't even have it long enough to give people the main benefit. So don't rely on Google to keep anything new going these days.
- Is home assistant a piece of software? Do you have a link, it's not a very searchable name
  
  Yes it's software for managing IoT stuff, tons of addons and plugins for just about everything.
  https://www.home-assistant.io/
  
  Here you go: https://www.home-assistant.io/
  You would need to do some pre-planning before going ahead with this and it's not as simple as Google Home for sure. For example, my household went all in on Zigbee lights and switches so we had to get a Zigbee antenna to connect to our old laptop running Home Assistant and make sure all our cool LED smart lights and other cool gadgets were compatible, etc. I'm also tagging @ISometimesAdmin who did a lot of the networking stuff in case he wants to add anything.
  I'm attaching an image of my dashboard setup for my room, just as an example of what can be accomplished. (This may not federate to Lemmy so I will self-reply with a link if necessary) This shows my and my household's location, the downstairs Sensi thermometer climate (which can be controlled), the light controls, temperature/pressure/humidity which is a little Aqara sensor from Amazon, and the Air Quality comes from my Winix air filter which can also be integrated to Home Assistant. You can really do a lot.
  
  Yea, it's not hard to search for it.
- Doesn't even need an old laptop, mines running on a Pi3
Are they finally starting to add features now, after they spent the last 2 years removing all of them?
- That's why you should use home assistant instead
Can I just send them pictures of my asshole and be done with it?
- Yeah seriously. Have the AI figure out whether I have 37 or 36 lines ans their average length.
I regard "smart" as an epithet I want to avoid in appliances. Light switches, thermostats, refrigerators, and all the rest seem to work great without adding internet connectivity, security breaches, corporate surveillance, and vendors removing functionality, or ending support to turn the appliance into e-waste.
- It helps to separate the technology from the companies. We don't need Google, Amazon, or any other company to make use of network connected technology. It doesn't have to be internet-connected, either. You can have a completely automated home with no more risk of intrusion than a standard locked door already has from a well-placed boot.
  
  And given Nest's affinity to giving your data to the police I see no reason to buy their gear regardless of how easy it is to use.
  https://petapixel.com/2022/07/27/googles-nest-will-provide-data-to-police-without-a-warrant/
The updated UI is a vast downgrade.
- The one thing I used the app is now not possible and I have to set up or edit a routine instead as a shitty workaround that takes five times longer. What the fuck, man.
Home assistant is still better for automation. I only really use the Google Home app because it has a nicer UI for controlling stuff.
- Also, it's stupid you still can't use the nest hubs SOLI Chip to perform motion automations. Get it will still bring up that screen every evening when you get close to it
I'm surprised Google is still going forward even though Amazon basically abandoned home automation entirely.

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