Hello, Computer

We purchased an Amazon Echo some months ago, and in the ensuing time we've picked up two more Echo Dots. At first I thought it would be a bit of an uphill climb with my wife to convince her of their utility, but as it turned out, the more features I added (Alexa skills, IFTTT applets) the more useful they became and the more she came to like them. I don't think it would be fair to say that she finds them as useful as I do, but it's interesting to see how the value of home automation seems to have a sort of network effect. As you add more to the network (devices, capabilities), the value of the overall automation network increases.

I plan to experiment with some new capabilities when I roll into my holiday break, but I'm also cognizant of the inherent security risks that come with a more "connected" home. Many of the IoT vendors still follow fairly poor security standards and practices, so make sure you know what you're connecting to your home network.