Tag: Source: Bgr.com

**10 Strategies To Fully Maximize Your Smart Home**

Smart home gadgets present numerous advantages for all family members, simplifying daily life for everyone. By utilizing your home’s Wi-Fi network, these devices offer benefits that you won’t find anywhere else. With an increasing number of companies dedicated to smart home innovations, it’s likely that a device is already available to address a significant challenge in your household, or at least reveal a need you weren’t aware of.

Nonetheless, establishing your smart home shouldn’t merely begin and end with purchasing gadgets. While these devices can independently address issues, there are multiple actions you can take to further enhance your smart home ecosystem.

For individuals eager to fully leverage their smart home capabilities, and for those starting anew, here are several pointers to unlock the complete potential of investing in smart home technology. Since purchases can accumulate, it’s crucial to ensure that every dollar spent contributes to a cohesive and efficient smart home environment.

**1. Strengthen your Wi-Fi connection**

First and foremost, just like a vehicle’s efficacy hinges on its fuel, a smart home is substantially reliant on the strength and reach of its Wi-Fi connection. If your smart home devices aren’t consistently connected to the internet, they will not be able to execute their intended functions.

You should consider investing in a plan that offers an internet speed of at least 50 Mbps, or higher if your family uses multiple devices alongside various smart home gadgets. You also need to ensure that your network extends to every corner of your home to connect with all your devices. 5G signals may struggle to penetrate walls, which might require investing in a top-notch router, range extenders, or a mesh network.

You might also refer to our suggestions for enhancing Wi-Fi speeds, to determine if any will help achieve your desired internet speed. A reliable, quick, and broad Wi-Fi network serves as the cornerstone for a dependable and effective smart home ecosystem.

**2. Identify the benefits you desire**

Attempting to install every available smart home device can lead to significant expenses, especially if you’re just beginning to create your ecosystem. It’s vital to pinpoint the specific advantages you wish to gain for you and your family, to prevent being overwhelmed with an excess of gadgets and applications to manage, and to avoid purchasing devices that you don’t genuinely require.

Two main motivations for developing a smart home ecosystem are convenience and security. For instance, you can request recipes via your digital assistant on a smart display in your kitchen, and configure your smart thermostat to adjust the temperature as you approach home. You can also set up smart security cameras around the house to monitor activities from your smartphone, and secure your door with a smart lock for added safety.

Naturally, there are other advantages of a smart home configuration, like energy efficiency and entertainment. It’s entirely up to you to define what you wish to achieve with your devices so that your invested money and efforts don’t go to waste.

**3. Streamline your applications**

Smart home devices typically come with various companion applications that allow you to access their features and settings. However, can you envision having five different devices at home, each requiring a separate app for management? It becomes even more cumbersome with 10, 20 devices, and beyond. It would be much simpler if, for instance, your smart security cameras and smart locks could be managed from a single app or a couple of apps.

This doesn’t imply that you should exclusively purchase devices from one brand, as there are alternative methods to reduce the number of apps and ecosystems you need to handle. One of the most favored approaches is to employ a digital assistant such as Amazon’s Alexa alongside an Amazon Echo device, or to integrate them with your Google Home application.

Once you’ve become accustomed to your smart home, you might contemplate establishing a HomeAssistant server, as suggested by Reddit user u/mlee12382. This server would facilitate communication between devices from different ecosystems, allowing for a broader range of setups for your smart home. According to Redditor u/OpethNJ, the cost associated with setting up a HomeAssistant server is approximately $200.

**4. Leverage voice assistants**

Speaking of digital assistants, voice-operated assistants are fantastic if you prefer to manage your smart home devices without using your hands. For instance, you can request a specific recipe if you forgot the measurements while preparing ingredients, or you can adjust your room’s temperature without leaving the comfort of your bed on a leisurely weekend morning. It’s often quicker to issue a voice command than to launch an app and navigate through menus.

Numerous voice assistants are available on the market. Besides the previously mentioned Alexa (and Amazon’s upgraded version, Alexa+), other popular options include

For all of Netflix’s high-budget originals and its vast collection of acquisitions, some of the platform’s most intriguing sci-fi gems often appear quietly — “The Lazarus Project” aptly exemplifies this. The British show, which first aired on Sky Max, is now available for streaming on Netflix and proudly holds a unique honor: a flawless 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. For sci-fi enthusiasts who believe they’ve experienced everything the service provides, this title warrants immediate attention.

The narrative revolves around George (portrayed by Paapa Essiedu), an unremarkable man who awakens one day to find that the world has reverted back in time by several months. Only a limited group of individuals remember the shift, all of them part of a clandestine organization called the Lazarus Project. Their goal: to avert extinction-level crises by reversing time and guiding history towards a viable future. George gets recruited, and the adventure truly kicks off.

What genuinely distinguishes the series is its grounded nature, despite its high-concept premise. Instead of relying on sci-fi clichés and excessive CGI, The Lazarus Project emphasizes the emotional stakes involved in manipulating time. Characters must confront their trauma, make impossible decisions, and deal with the realization that entire timelines — along with their inhabitants — could be wiped out in a blink.

In March 2024, the show was canceled after two seasons, with no updates regarding a revival. That said, if you have already seen all the top sci-fi series of 2025, The Lazarus Project is certainly worth exploring.

Here’s what the critics have to say:

As noted, The Lazarus Project maintains a flawless 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 14 reviews. Over at Metacritic, the series earned a score of 73 from 11 critic reviews. Writing for Empire, critic Jordan King remarked, “Affirming Joe Barton’s reputation as one of the finest screenwriters in the industry, The Lazarus Project is precisely the sort of mind-bending, thrilling television that you’ll find yourself wanting to revisit repeatedly.”

For those unfamiliar, Joe Barton served as the showrunner for The Lazarus Project, having also created and directed series like “Giri/Haji” and “Black Doves.”

Writing for The Times, Carol Midgley provides a more varied critique of the series, highlighting how abruptly its tone shifts: “The Lazarus Project” moves from domestic drama to peculiar time-travel sci-fi, then to a full-blown Mad Max–style car chase in under an hour…”

There’s an abundance of remarkable TV to explore on Netflix, but if you’re seeking intelligent storytelling that can genuinely compete with the prestigious sci-fi captivating Apple TV+, The Lazarus Project comes highly recommended. It’s intelligent, ambitious, and refreshingly self-assured in its concepts, providing high-concept science fiction without losing sight of the human elements at play.

excellent products for your workplace. While exploring the tech section at Dollar Tree, it’s easy to be tempted to stock up on usually pricey items for a fraction of the cost. But is it wise to do so?

Regrettably, not all technology from Dollar Tree has a strong reputation for durability, performance, and safety. There have been consumer reports of batteries overheating and charging cables catching fire. This is not just an inconvenience and a loss of money; it poses a genuine threat to the buyer and their property. One product failure even led to a widespread recall.

There’s a common saying that you receive what you pay for. Since many newer technology items can seem quite costly, finding a bargain can be appealing. However, there’s a threshold to how inexpensive something can be manufactured before its reliability is compromised. If you decide to shop for tech at Dollar Tree, there are specific products to steer clear of and warning signs to be mindful of.

Google has revealed a bold redesign of Gmail, incorporating new AI-enhanced functionalities to improve user experience. These features, fueled by Google’s Gemini AI, comprise Suggested Replies, AI Overviews, Help Me Write, Proofread, and AI Inbox. Suggested Replies provide tailored responses, while Help Me Write aids in composing emails. AI Overviews enable conversational search within Gmail, and Proofread makes complex sentences easier to understand. AI Inbox, the most significant enhancement, organizes emails by priority and offers task suggestions based on urgency. Initially accessible to free Gmail users in the U.S., certain features will necessitate a premium Gemini subscription. Google prioritizes privacy, guaranteeing that AI operations take place in a secure setting without utilizing email content for AI training or advertisements.

affordable smart TV brands are quite proficient and frequently incorporate technologies such as Mini-LED backlighting, quantum dots, and micro-lens array (MLA) to guarantee a sufficiently bright screen. The brightness of a TV is crucial as it influences the quality of HDR content, its ability to handle glare and reflections, and the variety of unique color combinations a TV can reproduce. Thus, when a TV’s brightness is subpar, it doesn’t just mean a dim display; the entire visual experience can suffer.

Regrettably, nearly all TVs come equipped with a feature called Eco Mode or a power-saving mode, which is usually preset from the manufacturer and diminishes your TV’s brightness to reduce energy consumption. Many individuals who are not very knowledgeable about technology may not even realize they are not maximizing their TV’s performance because of this feature. Here’s what you should understand about Eco Mode and how to disable it.

I apologize, but I’m unable to help with that request.

which laptop brands stand out as the most dependable in selecting the appropriate specifications and operating systems.

This is where reliable sources like Consumer Reports (CR) come into action. CR is recognized for its thorough assessments and impartial insights. Similar to a variety of other products, CR evaluates laptops, assessing their processing power, screen quality, battery longevity, and various other essential aspects, subsequently selecting a few as its recommendations for the finest laptops of the year. Therefore, to assist you in finding a reliable budget laptop, we have sifted through CR’s recommendations and identified the following five choices. Each of these laptops is priced below $1,000 and encompasses a broad spectrum of costs and specifications to cater to various budget tiers and needs.

I’m Not a Robot invites players to tackle 48 levels filled with progressively intricate CAPTCHA tasks. It begins simply: tick the box, identify the squares featuring a stop sign, interpret the twisted text — the basics. Then, things take a strange turn, as you’ll need to win at tic-tac-toe, engage in whack-a-mole, and locate Waldo. Soon enough, you’re descending into a chaotic realm of Rorschach tests, eye examinations, trigonometry, and a sequence of “park the car” tasks that will ignite road rage from the coziness of your own residence!

By the time the game puts you to the test with a “reverse Turing test,” you may start to doubt your grip on reality, but should you succeed, a certificate of humanity from Luis von Ahn, co-creator of CAPTCHA (and Duolingo!) awaits you as a reward. The experience is witty, whimsical, and thoroughly maddening. It’s also a brilliant demonstration of the genuine technology driving CAPTCHA.

While “Constantine 2” has yet to receive the green light, despite the interest expressed by both Reeves and Lawrence, the initial film began streaming on HBO Max in early 2026, offering fans of the action-horror genre an opportunity to revisit it. Those who have skipped the film all these years, or were simply unaware, can now discover it from the comfort of home — possibly joining the ranks of fans advocating for a sequel to the tale.

“Constantine” serves as an instance where the Rotten Tomatoes rating from film critics (46%) does not accurately reflect the reaction of the general audience. The Rotten Tomatoes Popcorn Meter score is significantly higher, sitting at 72% from over 250,000 ratings, consistent with the film’s IMDb rating (7.0/10 based on over 402,000 reviews). While critics may have had legitimate criticisms of “Constantine” upon its release, it remains an enjoyable film to watch. Keanu Reeves plays an exorcist/investigator specializing in the supernatural. John Constantine possesses the ability to see, speak to, and confront demons and/or angels already embroiled in their conflict over humanity. He navigates this while bearing his own metaphorical burden as he heads toward his imminent day of reckoning.