May as well address all these topics as they were in the previous eMail.
Regarding smart Plugs? I bought one of these and I'm finding it incredibly useful.
There are so many custom rules you can set for the Plug including interaction with other compatible devices.
For example if the motion sensor on the Netcam detects motion you can set things up so the Smart Plug is turned either on or off depending on your requirements.
Another example, suppose you have Smart Bulbs installed then you can set the Smart Plug to be swiched on or off depending on the status of the Smart bulb which in tern can be triggered by a motion sensor or any other sensors connected into the system.
The "Wemo" is the name of the system I'm using but there are others, I decided to stick with Wemo as the control App seems largely accessible.
Regarding bulbs? I take your point on board and like you I don't use light myself however I do like to know whether lights have been left on or off and take action accordingly so "Wemo" is incredibly useful for that alone.
At present I only have two Bubls installed but I will be getting more this week.
I don't intend on installing all new Bulbs at once and this is done quite deliberately, so I may label each new bulb as its put into place on the "Wemo" App for the purposes of identification.
The next "Wemo" device I'll be purchasing is the "Wemo Maker", this little beauty is a DIY tinkerers dream, buy what ever sensors you like, wire them to the "Wemo Maker" and then let your imagination run wild with the possabilities, have the App alert you to cupboard doors which are slightly ajar for example, be alerted to noise outside that you wouldn't normally hear etc.
The speakers. I've decided to buy a Bose Soundlink Mini II for the particular purpose of pariing with my Echo Dot, at present I'm using the B&W T7 for this however I do want a USB charging speaker so I can fully integrate everything into my system -I have a USB Power hub and the more devices I can run from that at any one time then the better -.
And your Jawbone Jambox? Well I don't feel a little bit sorry for it and my admiration is felt for that sledge hammer of yours.
Yes I'm sure many people like those Jambox things but I never have, I've always thought them terribly overated so there we are.
On 20/03/2017 5:22 AM, Gordon Smith wrote:
I have one one of these, and also one of the larger SoundLink 3 speakers. There is little to choose between them actually, although I think that the larger speaker has a much more rich and detailed sound. But I only wanted the smaller one for my bedside table, so that suits me just fine. I happen to like a very base-rich sound anyway, so the fact that Bose delivers that suits me fine. That having been said, I also own a Bowes & Wilkins T7 speaker, of which I have a very high opinion. I am fortunate that `I can comfortably listen to the sound of any of these devices, and enjoy what I’m hearing. To be utterly honest, although interesting from a technical perspective, the fact that the Bose devices do not support all of the codecs which undoubtedly give the T7 the edge when listening with compatible devices such as Samsung Smart phones, I don’t notice any difference wen I listen using any of my smart home devices, so it really doesn’t worry me. I invested in 3 speaker systems because of the fact that my smart devices are permanently switched on. Therefore, I would have problems pairing the same speaker with multiple devices. Logical, I think. So what the hell, you only live once! My next investment will be a power bank, I think, although I am now also seriously looking at the smart devices now available for the home. or me, the jury is still out when it comes to lighting. My lights are so rarely used, with the exception of my outdoor 2 KW spotlight which I had installed last week. Therefore, I’m not convinced that the investment in smart bulbs would be particularly prudent at the moment. However, what does attract my interest, very much so actually, are smart plugs. These are just like standard plugs, except for the fact that they have the ability to be controlled remotely. And it is that fact which interests me. There are times when it is good to switch things off totally. OK, call me a lazy sod. But sometimes I just can’t be bothered to do it. Obviously there are devices such as video equipment, telephonic equipment etc. which needs to be running 24/7. But I’m sure I could cut down my power consumption per quarter if only I would get myself into the habit of switching off unnecessary devices. So that is something I’m looking into. Anyway, back to the topic under discussion. Speakers. The most pronounced difference between the T7 and the Bose equipment is, as Dane rightly says, the base output. The larger version still has the Auxiliary button. But the Mini is a little more intelligent. One could argue that there’s a case for retaining that button. That would permit you to leave the auxiliary device plugged in, and quickly switch between devices. But that isn’t a very compelling argument in my view. What, after all, is the difference in terms of physical effort between removing a plug and pressing a button? Yes, it must be oh! So! Tiring! Having to perform that little extra hand action! ;-) Anyway, my conclusions are that each device has its merits. Each device plays my audio books and music, plus the sound tracks to my movies on my smart phones. Ergo, each device works as intended when I bought it. I’d give all of these three devices a five star rating. Not so of the latest JawBone products, I’m sorry to say. My old JamBox proved to be incompatible with the modern BlueTooth® era. It just kept on crashing. One day in the not too distant past, I became so frustrated with that device that I quite deliberately and intentionally smashed it into several thousand little fragments. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to get along too well with my 28-pound sledge hammer. The hammer came off best, and all that was left of the JamBox when the hammer was restored to its home in my garage was a tangled mess of twisted metal, splintered plastic and some paper-thin insulating material. The silicone surround was ripped from the device before it met my hammer. Anyway, it’s bye bye JamBox, every dog has its day! ======================================== My compliments and kindest regards Gordon Smith: <[email protected]> Accessibility & Information Technology Support Specialist. Mobile/SMS: +44 (0)7907 823971 ———————————————————— On 19 Mar 2017, at 09:56, Dane Trethowan <[email protected]> wrote: Hi! I saw the Bose Soundlink Mini II for the first time today and I came away satisfied with what I'd heard. I owned the original Bose Soundlink Mini speaker which I thought to be very good, a little bass heavy - as Bose products are - but an incredibly powerful sounding unit for the size. The Soundlink Mini II sounds very similar though the mid range seems to have a little more presence which adds to the subtlety and the charm of the sound. Its worth noting the differences between the original Soundlink Mini and newer model. The Soundlink Mini didn't have a TTS - Text To Speech - module built-in whereas the Soundlink Mini II does and one of the nice features here is that - when powered up - the soundlink Mini II tells you what device it has paired with, something that no other Bluetooth speaker I've ever owned has done - I don't think even the Jawbone Jambox did that - so a very nice touch particularly if you plan to use the Mini II with multiple speakers. The Mini II can be charged from a USB power source - whether that be a power adapter or powerbank - whereas the original Bose Soundlink Mini could not, you had to carry about the 12 volt AC adapter. Build quality is about the same, the nice rugged alaminium body though I'd still recommend a carry case or rubber sleeve if you plan to carry this beast about. The original Mini had a dedicated Aux-In source button whereas the button has disappeared on the newer model, connecting a patch cord to the Aux-In socket automatically switches the source to that mode. The Mini II has a microphone so can be used as a convenient hands free speakerphone with your paired device, unfortunately I wasn't in a position to try out this feature. The Bose Soundlink Mini II still comes at a premium price of nearly 300 Australian dollars but you certainly get what you pay for with this little mite if you're wanting a powerful sound. I still have a few gripes with Bose and one of the main being the decision by Bose not to use AptX decoding on any of their speakers, something that IOS users probably won't bother about but Android users are probably used to by now, having AptX makes all the difference if your passion is to listen to music with all its detail and perhaps the thought from Bose is that - with such a speaker as this - you can't hear all the detail?
