A tiny startup is winning the race to power the smart home

For me it isn't about replacing the ultra simple UI of something like a light switch, or getting a bunch of notifications. All of my automated light switches act exactly like regular light switches when you use them that way. But when I come home late at night to a dark house and hit the light switch just inside the door, not only does the laundry room light come on, but so do the lights on the path between the laundry and the kitchen. And when I'm watching a movie in the dark and hit pause, the lights between the movie room and the bathroom come up about 1/3 of the way (enough to find your way but not to blind you). It's completely unobtrusive, and generally does obvious stuff. It's a luxury for sure, but also very helpful. I agree I don't ever want to be getting 15 notifications a day from my house. I only want a notification if something exceptional happens and needs attention (e.g. I got one the other day reminding me to replace the furnace filter -- that's helpful and makes my life easier!).

Its ridiculous how many companies are keeping the human in the feedback loop of the internet of things. Sending notifications to a phone is not automation.

Just imagine if your traction control system only alerted you to your loss of traction, or if your hvac system just told you it was too warm, instead of those systems acting autonomously to rectify their conditions.

The killer apps of the internet of things will not notify humans of changes in stimuli, but will take corrective actions taken in response to those stimuli.

But, its no surprise. Because, when the only tool you have is an iPhone, everything looks like a push notification.

That's because it is.

"Journalism is printing something someone else doesnt want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell

Pretty much...