Microsoft has big ideas and plans for the connected home but with most ideas you need support and partnerships to make them a reality. Since last year I have noticed that the relationship between Microsoft and Insteon has grown and Insteon it seems has become a key partner in Microsoft’s connected home strategy, something they have been working on for some time.
Microsoft Windows 10 comes out this year and Microsoft has been releasing snippets about this new operating system. They said Windows 10 will support the broadest range of devices ever – from PCs, tablets and 2-in-1s to phones to Xbox and even the Internet of Things. This week the windows blog share some of the new features of the system, so I thought I would share with you some of what I think will benefit the connected home.
One of the Achilles of the Windows platform in the connected home is the lack of support especially on the Windows phone platform. An app for the Windows phone seems to be an afterthought for connected home solutions providers. Well, this is about to change because Insteon one of the market leading home automation suppliers, has release Apps some windows based apps to manage and control Insteon devices.
In March, Microsoft launched its new look Windows 8 operating system, now they have decided to enhance the sound quality with Dolby Digital Plus. According to Dolby Laboratories, its Dolby Digital Plus was selected by Microsoft for the upcoming Windows 8 tablets and PCs. All PCs and tablets licensed to run Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro and Windows RT editions will be able to enjoy Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 channel and Dolby Digital two channel encoding.
Buffalo Technology LinkStation network storage family has been extended with the addition of the V-Series range of Network Attach Storage (NAS) solution. The new line consists of LinkStation Pro. LinkStation Pro Duo and LinkStation Quad. As Standard there is connectivity for the Apple range of handheld devices, automatic backup and the ability to access your LinkStation from anywhere in the world from a internet connection.
Bluetooth has upgraded it’s BTW (Bluetooth for Windows) to version 6.4. This new version it to facilitate better interaction between Bluetooth devices – that are based on the windows operating system, and to help drive more advance Bluetooth functionality into a wider collection of consumer connectivity applications. Included in BTW 6.4 are two new profiles that extend Bluetooth enabled devices to communicate with other devices.
QNAP Systems expanded their Turbo NAS lineup with the addition of the TS-419P desktop and TS-419U rack-mounted NAS servers. The TS-419P and TS-419U feature 4 hot-swappable SATA hard drives with up to 8TB of total capacity and supports 2.5" or 3.5" hard drives, giving users more flexibility in selecting drives for installation. The TS-419P and TS-419U feature a Marvell 1.2GHz CPU and 512MB DDRII memory which provides sustained high performance with lower power consumption.