Episode 436: Can Alexa (and the smart home) stand on its own?

Episode 436: Can Alexa (and the smart home) stand on its own?

Author: Stacey Higginbotham, tech journalist August 17, 2023 Duration: 58:03

Amazon’s head of devices, David Limp, plans to retire as part of a wave of executives that have been leaving Amazon in the last year. Also, next year Alexa and the Amazon Echo will be 10 years old, which prompted us to take a look at the role Alexa and the Amazon Echo have played in the smart home, along with what has and hasn’t changed. Our concerns about the state of the smart home are perfectly illustrated by this review of the Mill composting system created by Nest co-founder Matt Rodgers, and the news that Masonite is now selling its expensive smart door at Home Depot. There’s positive news as well, as the FCC releases its Notice of Proposed Rule Making for the IoT cybersecurity label. Y’all have 30 days to comment, so get on it. Then we talk about Microsoft’s discovery of a new set of vulnerabilities affecting industrial equipment, and a new company that will become a secondary source of Z-Wave chips. Kevin also shared his review of the Homey Pro smart home hub, which is expensive but allows users to control their devices locally. Finally, we answer a listener question about what light bulb a woodworker should use in a lamp he’s trying to build.

The Masonite smart door is on sale at Home Depot. Image courtesy of Masonite.

Our guest this week is Mariusz Malkowski, founder and CTO of Trident IoT, who tells us about the company’s origin and what it means for the Z-Wave community. He also explains how Matter will work with Z-Wave, and the importance of bridging between the two standards. We discuss the future of Z-Wave, including the plans for Z-Wave Long Range and planned security upgrades. We then cover how Trident is going to build Z-Wave chips, but also how it will focus on building or integrating other smart home radio protocols into devices, and will act as a Z-Wave certification house as well. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guests: Mariusz Malkowski, founder and CTO of Trident IoT
SponsorsSkyhawk

  • David Limp’s departure from Amazon inspires a smart home reckoning
  • Are expensive doors and compost services the future of the connected devices?
  • The Homey Pro is an expensive hub with privacy in mind
  • Why a new chipmaker could boost the Z-Wave standard
  • Trident IoT is building a new type of chip company

The post Episode 436: Can Alexa (and the smart home) stand on its own? appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.


For anyone trying to make sense of a world where everything from your thermostat to a factory floor is getting smarter, The Internet of Things Podcast-Stacey On IoT offers essential context. Veteran tech journalist Stacey Higginbotham, who brings her experience from Fortune, and co-host Kevin Tofel break down the weekly flood of news, separating genuine innovation from mere hype. Their analysis spans the entire connected ecosystem, diving into the gadgets in our homes, the sensors transforming industrial workspaces, and the complex enterprise systems tying it all together. This isn't just theoretical; it's a practical guide to the business and technology decisions shaping our networked future. You'll hear from a range of voices that have built and critiqued this landscape, including pioneers like Vint Cerf, insightful commentators like Om Malik, and practitioners from companies such as Amazon, AT&T, and IBM Watson. Listening to this podcast provides a crucial framework for understanding the real-world implications of connectivity, whether you're an industry professional, a curious developer, or simply someone wondering how all these "smart" things actually work-and what they mean for privacy, security, and daily life. It's the clear-eyed conversation you need to navigate the ever-expanding Internet of Things.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

The Internet of Things Podcast - Stacey On IoT
Podcast Episodes
Episode 437: Goodbye and good luck [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:53
This is the final episode of The Internet of Things Podcast, and to send us off after eight years, we don’t discuss the big news of the day such as Arm’s planned IPO, a new display option from Brilliant, or new gear from…
Episode 435: How Honeywell is approaching TinyML [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:26
This week we make a big announcement about the podcast and newsletter. Get ready! Then we talk about the issues with Matter and who’s to blame. We lay out the challenges that both we and The Verge have highlighted with T…
Episode 434: So many new hubs, and a primer on LPWANs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:19
This week’s show kicks off with a surprising revelation from Kevin, who has decided to swap out his smart home platform. He explains his choice, which also may represent a theme of sorts, as we see more and more high-end…
Episode 433: Tracking air quality with the IoT [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:54
This week we didn’t see a ton of news, yet we managed to talk about several big trends in IoT. We started with an update on Amazon’s planned acquisition of iRobot, and Amazon dropping the price by 15%. We explain why and…
Episode 432: How to make IoT more consumer-friendly [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:55
This week we dig in on two topics that will make the internet of things friendlier for consumers. The first is the newly announced cybersecurity label plan from the White House that will create a way for consumers to see…
Episode 431: Why Josh.ai added ChatGPT to the home [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:10
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Episode 430: The theme of this show is wearables [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:30
This week’s podcast focuses on wearables, from hearing aids to mixed reality headsets. We start the show talking about the potential future of Apple AirPods as a hearing aid or an additional health-focused wearable. And…
Episode 429: Why Roku wants a smart home OS [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:00
This week we learned a bit more about streaming provider Roku’s plans to build a smart home operating system. This is in addition to all of the new smart home devices the company has developed using Wyze hardware. Becaus…
Episode 428: How to add ChatGPT to the smart home [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:02
This week’s podcast tackles Kevin’s real-world experience with the Google Pixel tablet and speaker dock. He liked the tablet, but as a smart home accessory it’s lacking, which is what we had originally anticipated. But i…
Episode 427: What it takes to put LTE on the moon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:02
We start this week’s show with a review of DeviceScript, a limited subset of the TypeScript programming language, built by Microsoft to bring a more modern programming option to connected device programing. Kevin downloa…