Nest is a well known name in Smart Home technology, but so far we've not had any of their products in the New Home Tricks house.  All that's about to change, as we've now installed the Nest Cam Outdoor!  Here I take you through the unboxing and setup process.

Following the addition of some new bedroom furniture, we had need to add a little brightness to what could otherwise have been a rather dull space.  Thankfully, the right lighting helps, and the right smart lighting helps even more.  We've added a Philips Hue 'Bloom' to our Smart Home setup to improve things, and here I take a look at what it is, and what it does.

We've recently had a new boiler installed.  This means our Tado smart heating system can now do some clever things that it couldn't do with our old boiler.  This includes heat output modulation and combi boiler hot water pre-heat control.  Read on to understand what this jargon actually means!

Philips Hue Sync is a great way to synchronise your lights with your PC or Mac for games, music and movies.  If you use your PC or Mac for any of these, then the tool could be a great way to enhance your entertainment experiences.

Philips have updated their Hue app, and this is a major version update. Released as 'version 3' of the app for iOS and Android, the app brings a new design, and several new features. Here, I explore what's new, and give you a tour of the updates included.

Here, I explore how you add your Philips Hue system into Samsung Smartthings.  I look at the setup process, how to control your lights, and how to create Smartthings 'Scenes'.  Read on for more details of the overall process and how well the system works.

Here, I run through an overview of the Samsung Smartthings App.  I'll run through the main sections, and give an overview of how to use it to control devices, review your dashboard, and automations

Today, I have a bit of a different post to share.  A recent Gizmodo article uncovers the volume of data your Smart Home shares with the manufacturers, and calls into question just how useful a Smart Home actually is. So, is our privacy further under attack?

Things change fast with technology.  The last time I looked at using Cortana Voice control with Philips Hue, there was no direct integration.  Thus, I was reliant on a third party app.  Now however, official support is available - thus it's time to take a fresh look.

In this post, I want to share with you my latest attempts at controlling Philips Hue from my Windows PC.  This is a bit of a challenge, as there's no official native app available from Philips.  Instead, I've had to find alternative ways to do this, and today I want to share my latest attempt.