Nerdy awesome shit we want

[DaGaffer]

If you're going to those lengths then personally, if I were you, I'd get them wired to your local light switch using twin and earth, with their own supply, and do the "smart" thing from the lightswitch. That way, you're not tied into any one system, and if the smart bit fails (or you want to change systems), you can just control them directly from the mains.

Well that's not "cool" is it? Will probably do that.

 

[Scouse]

Looks like the Nest isn't turning out to be awesome.

Nerdy, and shit, yes. But not awesome.

 

[Bodhi]

Sod your smart bulbs, I want one of these!

http://gizmodo.com/sonys-new-light-wants-to-be-the-brain-of-your-smart-hom-1752802470

 

[Tom]

Well that's not "cool" is it? Will probably do that.

It's just common sense really, imagine if you wired them all in with low voltage cable from a point from your lighting ring and later decided they were a load of crap that should be replaced with standard units. You'd have to rip everything out. Better to use twin and earth, slightly more money and a bit more plaster to knock off, but at least it gives you more options.

 

[DaGaffer]

It's just common sense really, imagine if you wired them all in with low voltage cable from a point from your lighting ring and later decided they were a load of crap that should be replaced with standard units. You'd have to rip everything out. Better to use twin and earth, slightly more money and a bit more plaster to knock off, but at least it gives you more options.

Since the whole extension is essentially a new building (only about 25% of the kitchen is inside the current footprint of the house) there's no worries on the plastering side; I just need to give the brief to the electrician in time. Kitchen floor plan has taken longer than I expected as my missus is determined not to have a "boring" kitchen; which is why I can only finalise the electrical and plumbing requirements now.

 

[soze]

Yet it would be ridiculously cheaper to buy an amazing PC and an amazing laptop

So far the UltraBook is $999 so you would struggle to get a better laptop for a lot less. And unless the Core costs more than a Case, Processor, Memory, Storage, Motherboard and a Power Supply then again I doubt you will build a PC cheaper (I ignored the graphics card as both will need one).

Plus it is cool. Each key has custom RGB lighting. Each key!

 

[Tom]

I think you'll have to do a lot of thinking about how you'll connect these to the mains. If it were just halogen lights then I'd run twin and earth to each block of cabinets, all controlled from a big multi-way switch (so I could turn blocks of lights on or off as I wished). But what if your smart lights use 240V power supplies that expect to go into a 13A mains socket? Will you want a 13A socket in every cabinet, being hit by jars of peanut butter and bags of rice? I don't know, whch is why research is required. But if that's the case, then if it were me I'd plug the power supply into a local socket and use the twin and earth in your walls in place of whatever wiring comes with whatever system you choose (presuming that's possible, I don't know how many conductors these systems use) - so basically instead of having 240VAC across those wires, you've got 12VDC across them. It'd be overkill if that's all you ever planned to do, but at least if you changed your mind you could go back to traditional mains voltage lighting.

Then you need to know if you're going to run them from the lighting ring, or the mains ring. Your electrician will be the one to ask about that.

 

[Gwadien]

So far the UltraBook is $999 so you would struggle to get a better laptop for a lot less. And unless the Core costs more than a Case, Processor, Memory, Storage, Motherboard and a Power Supply then again I doubt you will build a PC cheaper (I ignored the graphics card as both will need one).

Plus it is cool. Each key has custom RGB lighting. Each key!

It sounds to me like you're basically buying a PC to plug into a shit laptop to use as a monitor, makes little sense to me...

Also, does the 'PC' part boost the laptop or completely over-ride the spec of the laptop?

It's a bit like with the prospect of the Steam OS, there's companies out there literally buying pre-built LAN PCs and sticking their logo on it and sticking another $100 ontop of it.

 

[soze]

It sounds to me like you're basically buying a PC to plug into a shit laptop to use as a monitor, makes little sense to me...

No you are buying a high spec Ultrabook with standard Graphics. That has the capability to connect into Desktop graphics card to let you pay games. If you want a Ultrabook and want to play games it is a real option and makes more sense than have two high end machines.

 

[Gwadien]

No you are buying a high spec Ultrabook with standard Graphics. That has the capability to connect into Desktop graphics card to let you pay games. If you want a Ultrabook and want to play games it is a real option and makes more sense than have two high end machines.

Why not just buy a high-spec laptop with high graphics if you need something portable? :S

 

[soze]

Why not just buy a high-spec laptop with high graphics if you need something portable? :S

I had a Alienware 14 inch gaming laptop and it was about 3 times as thick and 4 times as heavy as an Ultrabook so it never left the house.

 

[smurkin]

Looks like the Nest isn't turning out to be awesome.

Nerdy, and shit, yes. But not awesome.

Its not the first time an update has messed up the thermostat - happened last year where daylight saving made the entire schedule wrong by an hour. Fortunately this latest bug hasn't affected mine.

The smoke alarms are proving somewhat unreliable - I have 4 and had to return 2 - one smoke sensor failure and once network failure - still, to their credit they replaced them out of warranty very quickly.

 

[Deebs]

Its not the first time an update has messed up the thermostat - happened last year where daylight saving made the entire schedule wrong by an hour. Fortunately this latest bug hasn't affected mine.

The smoke alarms are proving somewhat unreliable - I have 4 and had to return 2 - one smoke sensor failure and once network failure - still, to their credit they replaced them out of warranty very quickly.

Still prefer Z-Wave to control my house. No issues whatsoerver with my raspberry Pi and Razberry

 

[old.user4556]

Fujifilm have released the flagship X-Pro 2

FUJIFILM X-Pro2

Looks fantastic. Compact body, weather sealed, 24.3 megapickles, proper exposure "triangle" controls on the top of the body, filter-free X-Trans 3.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-0UiPYYH70

 

[Tom]

I may buy one of these for fun:

Ricoh Theta S boosts resolution, introduces Google Street View integration

I quite enjoy taking spherical images on my phone, for upload to Streetview (I post images of trails that the streetview car didn't get to, so that other people can decide if they're worth cycling on). I just wish it had a little bit more video resolution - the "ball" type cameras are all Kickstarter-style devices that don't fill me with confidence.

 

[Scouse]

I think you should donate to this guy @Tom so you can get his circuit that turns lights on when it goes dark - it's both nerdy and awesome


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7dV1PNPxAk

 

[Tom]

Is that guy still going, lol thought he'd be dead by now.

I bought the Ricoh, will let you all know if it's any good.

 

[Lamp]

I'd like to build my own particle accelerator

I want too see if a black hole can be created when two pigs-in-blankets collide at 99% of light speed.

 

[Moriath]

Sir Clive Sinclair to launch handheld ZX Spectrum with 1,000 games

Cool i want it

 

[Tom]

Why would you want a Spectrum you philistine? C64 > Spectrum

 

[Moriath]

I had a speccy when i were a lad and my parents were making the buying choices. So its my history im reliving

 

[Tom]

Your parents deserve a slap for not buying their child a proper computer

 

[old.user4556]

Pentax have announced a full-frame camera! It's called the K-1. Loaded with features, fully weather sealed, magnesium body, 36.4 megapickles (Sony sensor) - love that articulating pop-out screen.

Here's a nerd taking us through it:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POGMyAfsnjM


Very affordable price of £1600 which is taking Canon and Nikon head on. I'm a mirrorless guy now, but this is the perfect rugged adventure camera.

 

[TdC]

*erect*

 

[ECA]

Pretty nice for the price.

Anyone else waiting to see what the Vive price is in a week or so before deciding between oculus and vive?

 

[Lamp]

I want one of these but I haven't drunk enough to justify buying a £200 laptop bag.

Its crushproof, watertight, atmospherically controlled, and can withstand the blast from an IED

I do need it.

 

[Moriath]

But your not crash proof or able to survive an ied. So after your dead they can look at your internet history at all the pron sites you visited.

 

[Lamp]

I'll change my password to pa55w0rd. They'll never hack that.

 

[caLLous]

DJI Inspire 1 Raw Edition with Zenmuse X5R 4K MFT camera starts shipping March 28

Do want.

 

[Moriath]

DJI Inspire 1 Raw Edition with Zenmuse X5R 4K MFT camera starts shipping March 28

Do want.

How many acronyms in one link