The Official Smarthome Blog – All Things Home Automation

The DaysAgo Digital Day Counter is the first and only digital day counter that attaches to a variety of surfaces with a magnetic backing and counts up to 99 days. It’s a simple gadget that is reusable, versatile and helps save money. You can use it on food containers to let you know how many days ago you opened it, closed it, tried it, sauced it, grew it, etc. It’s also good for baby food, expressed milk or formula, pet heart worm medication, litter box refreshment, aquarium/cage cleaning, reptile feedings, flea collar replacement, medication & vitamins, insulin, health regimens, beauty products, contact lens solution, exercise routines, plant watering, weeding and fertilizing gardens, furnace filter changes, water filter replacements, oil changes, roach hotels, and all other time-based projects. Read More

Hands-On Research:
My ten-year-old daughter is starting to become independent but still needs a bit of reminding when it comes to homework, taking vitamins, and cleaning her rabbit’s cage. I gave her the Days Ago Timer to stick to the metal base of her cage, and when it says seven, she cleans the cage. Then she comes and tells me “Mom, I cleaned Lilly’s cage without you having to tell me!” What a helpful product!

Think about all the things a child’s hands touch over the course of the day. Now think about how often a child rubs their hands on their face, puts them in their mouth or touches things around your home that you also regularly touch. It’s no wonder why people get sick so often if you think about it. The easiest way to curb this is by washing your hands regularly and doing so for at least 20 seconds. The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention says that washing your hands for at least 20 seconds is the easiest way to keep oneself from both getting sick and spreading germs. To help aide in teaching this healthy habit SoapTime® has created the SoapTime ABC on Base to help teach children the proper amount of time to suds their hands while washing.

SoapTime has taken in to account that most children probably don’t have the attention spans for something like regular hand washing which is why they have made it a multimedia learning experience. The way this works is that when the ABC soap bottle is snapped on to the included Smart Base® and then depressed to give out soap the 20 second hand washing experience will begin. Once the head of the soap is pushed down it will light up for 20 seconds and when it stops the user will know that they have washed their hands for the proper amount of time. Along with this the Smart Base has 6 unique songs it will shuffle between as well as teaching its users how to say “hello and goodbye” in Spanish, French and Chinese. However, if the music gets to be a little too much a volume switch on the base can turn off the music leaving simply the soap bottle to display its LED light show for 20 seconds.   Read More

• Pass IR signals through doors/walls to control hidden AV components without line of sight
• CFL Resistant mini surface-mount IR Receiver accepts signals from up to 40 feet away
• Two included IR emitters stick directly onto your AV equipment – supports up to six IR emitters
• IR receiver and IR emitters work with existing remote controls
• IR Receiver works in most lighting environments and is CFL resistant
• LED status indicators on connecting block

The Vanco 280731 CFL Resistant 1×6 IR Repeater Kit is a great way to control your home theater components that are located inside of a media cabinet or in an AV equipment closet. Most AV components are controlled via an infrared (IR) remote control that requires a line of site to work between the remote control and the component(s). So components located behind closed doors can’t be controlled unless the doors are open, which defeats the purpose. An IR repeater kit solves this problem. The mini surface-mount IR receiver is the only item that needs to be visible. It receives IR commands from your remote, passes it through the connecting block and distributes the signals out through the IR emitters. This system allows you to keep a cable or satellite TV receiver, stereo receiver or amplifier, CD player, DVD player, Blu-ray player, or virtually any component controlled by an IR signal behind closed doors so you can use your remote control like normal.   Read More

• Professional sound from sleek and stylish headphones that are built to last
• 50 foot wireless range
• Delivers up to 17 hours of listening time from a full charge
• Sync up to four sets of headphones from a single audio source
• One-touch controls conveniently placed on the outside of each earpad
• THUMPP Enhanced Bass option

Hands on Research
If you are anything like me, you have to have music with you where ever you go. I listen to all different platforms of music from Classic Rock, Rock, Punk, Reggae, Pop, R&B, Hip Hop and Rap and have been using these headphones to enjoy all of them. The passive noise isolation offered by the SYNC do a great job in keeping the music in (even when cranked up to 11) and the cluttered noise of the outside world out. The bass hits well and sounds even heavier with the THUMPP Enhanced Bass activated. The voice of each artist and each instrument I have listened to are very clear, smooth, and concise. Aesthetically, the SYNC headphones come in a beautiful high gloss finish and the stylish S on each can is lit with an LED. I prefer these headphones versus it’s competitors because they take a simple yet somewhat flashy approach. The head band and each ear can is lined with a very comfortable padding and covered with an extremely soft leather. One feature I loved about these headphones is that they are wireless and feature a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery, which means you won’t go through endless amounts of AA or AAA batteries. If you are traveling or using these headphones for long periods of time and you run out of power, don’t worry, the SYNC also boasts a 3.5mm input that you can use the included cable to plug in and pick up where you left off when your battery ran out.
If you are as much of a fan of music as I am, you can’t go wrong with these headphones.
Keith M. – Smarthome Product Testing