Since the introduction of Pay-TV, service providers and content creators such as movie studio have struggled to maintain security of their content while at the same time trying to offer viewers the flexibility to access contents from anywhere.  The main solution has been to offer a propriety set-top box for each point of access – a box in every room.  That has worked for the past few years but the increase in mobile technology has thrown up another challenge; viewers want the option to access the same Pay-TV content on their mobile devices, thus removing or by passing the access control set

iControl is now offering the Netgear STS7000, a Google Android based tablet that can manage their “iControl Connect” solutions. It is ZigBee and Z-Wave compatible, therefore you can access and control your home automation systems such as security, energy management and lighting, through it touchscreen interface.

It is quite ironic that Nod has nothing to do with your head but its meant to use on your finger as a gesture control device. Developed by a company with the same name, Nod allows you to control your home appliances with the simple gesture movement of your hand; similar to those you would use when playing an Xbox or Wii game. The Nods tuchless capability allows you to interact with TV via your set-top box to control whats on your screen.

Digitization and rapid developments in digital technology has made it possible to collect data on almost anything; this includes biological, physical, mechanical, structural and atmospheric. It also made it easier for us to quantify and connect all of these items so that they communicate, to us or among themselves.  This is where IoT (Internet of Things) comes in, its concepts has raised hope and fears about its possibilities. A major fear is; can we trust the technology to protect our privacy?

Femtocell is not a technology many of us talk about neither do we hear about it often; however, the solution is slowly gaining popularity among the masses as an alternative to other in-home wireless technologies.  In 2013 the global femtocell market was worth approximately US $304.8 Million; by 2020, this amount is expected to reach US $ 3.7 Billion, according to Allied Market Research.

TP-LINK has release a new wireless home router, called the N600 Universal Wireless Dual Band Entertainment Adapter (TL-WA890EA). It offers dual frequency of 2.4GHz each with speed of up to 300Mbps, enough bandwidth to stream HD video, music and online gaming.  At less than US $60.00, you can network most of your home entrainment devices to it; there four ports enough for your Smart TV, Game Console, Set-Top Box and Blu-ray Player. It has WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) switch button and a web interface for easy management.

Last week EDF officially opened two of their new UK energy plants; West Burton Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Power Station and the Teesside Offshore Wind Farm. Both plants are part of a £3.5bn investment in the UK energy sector over the last three years. Part of this planned investment is to extend the lives of 15 nuclear reactors, build a new gas storage facility and a new nuclear power station.

Research done by Parks Associates found that over 50 per cent of North American tablet and smartphone users are interested in paying for support services that will protect them from software virus, identity theft and loss, despite only a small percentage experiencing these problems.  Titled “The Evolution of Tech Support: Trends and Outlook”, the study looks at the changing dynamics of the tech support market.

Home automation company MyLiveGuard, has extends its home automation and security solution to include Android base devices.  Now, owners of these devices such as Android televisions can include them in the list of manage devices. With an Android TV device and MyLiveGuard a homeowner is able to use a smartphone to remotely view the activities in his/her home from anywhere in the world, provided there is an internet connection.

Vodafone has joined a global trend to be the next telecom operator to offer home telecom and entertainment services.  They have partnered with Entone to use their video networking platform EnterLink to offer the service.  According to Entone, Vodafone will be working with Entone and its system integration partner Divitel in the Netherland.