I've never particularly loved Amazon, either as a retail behemoth or as a hardware and software company, but despite that I still probably get more excited about new Kindle releases than I do about most other gadgets at this point.

Some of that is because I rely on my Kindle for distraction-free reading and because I'm constantly highlighting things and taking notes, so even minor improvements have a major impact on my day-to-day experience. And some of it is because the Kindle's relatively limited tech has left it without a lot of headroom to shove additional ads or other paid add-ons; they include lockscreen ads and "special offers," but they can be permanently turned off with a nominal $20 fee, and even when you don't turn them off, they don't degrade the device's performance or intrude on the actual reading experience. This isn't to say that Kindles are perfect, just that it's rare that I am roughly the same amount of annoyed by a software platform's ads and tracking than I was a decade ago.

Enter the new 12th-generation $160 Kindle Paperwhite , which like most Paperwhites is the Kindle that most people should buy.

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I've never particularly loved Amazon, either as a retail behemoth or as a hardware and software company, but despite that I still probably get more excited about new Kindle releases than I do about most other gadgets at this point.

Some of that is because I rely on my Kindle for distraction-free reading and because I'm constantly highlighting things and taking notes, so even minor improvements have a major impact on my day-to-day experience. And some of it is because the Kindle's relatively limited tech has left it without a lot of headroom to shove additional ads or other paid add-ons; they include lockscreen ads and "special offers," but they can be permanently turned off with a nominal $20 fee, and even when you don't turn them off, they don't degrade the device's performance or intrude on the actual reading experience. This isn't to say that Kindles are perfect, just that it's rare that I am roughly the same amount of annoyed by a software platform's ads and tracking than I was a decade ago.

Enter the new 12th-generation $160 Kindle Paperwhite , which like most Paperwhites is the Kindle that most people should buy.

Read full article

Comments

I've never particularly loved Amazon, either as a retail behemoth or as a hardware and software company, but despite that I still probably get more excited about new Kindle releases than I do about most other gadgets at this point.

Some of that is because I rely on my Kindle for distraction-free reading and because I'm constantly highlighting things and taking notes, so even minor improvements have a major impact on my day-to-day experience. And some of it is because the Kindle's relatively limited tech has left it without a lot of headroom to shove additional ads or other paid add-ons; they include lockscreen ads and "special offers," but they can be permanently turned off with a nominal $20 fee, and even when you don't turn them off, they don't degrade the device's performance or intrude on the actual reading experience. This isn't to say that Kindles are perfect, just that it's rare that I am roughly the same amount of annoyed by a software platform's ads and tracking than I was a decade ago.

Enter the new 12th-generation $160 Kindle Paperwhite , which like most Paperwhites is the Kindle that most people should buy.

Read full article

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Like Lee Hutchinson, I have a garage. The door on that garage is opened and closed by a device made by a company that, as with Lee's, offers you a way to open and close it with a smartphone app. But that app doesn't work with my preferred home automation system, Home Assistant , and also looks and works like an app made by a garage door company.

I had looked into the ratgdo Lee installed, and raved about , but hooking it up to my particular Genie/Aladdin system would have required installing limit switches . So I instead installed an OpenGarage unit ($50 plus shipping). My garage opener now works with Home Assistant (and thereby pretty much anything else), it's not subject to the whims of API access, and I've got a few ideas how to make it even better. Allow me to walk you through what I did, why I did it, and what I might do next.

Thanks, I’ll take it from here, Genie

Genie, maker of my Wi-Fi-capable garage door opener (sold as an "Aladdin Connect" system), is not in the same boat as the Chamberlain/myQ setup that inspired Lee's project. There was a working Aladdin Connect integration in Home Assistant, until the company changed its API in January 2024. Genie said it would release its own official Home Assistant integration in June, and it did, but then it was quickly pulled back, seemingly for licensing issues . Since then, no updates on the matter. (I have emailed Genie for comment and will update this post if I receive reply.)

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Like Lee Hutchinson, I have a garage. The door on that garage is opened and closed by a device made by a company that, as with Lee's, offers you a way to open and close it with a smartphone app. But that app doesn't work with my preferred home automation system, Home Assistant , and also looks and works like an app made by a garage door company.

I had looked into the ratgdo Lee installed, and raved about , but hooking it up to my particular Genie/Aladdin system would have required installing limit switches . So I instead installed an OpenGarage unit ($50 plus shipping). My garage opener now works with Home Assistant (and thereby pretty much anything else), it's not subject to the whims of API access, and I've got a few ideas how to make it even better. Allow me to walk you through what I did, why I did it, and what I might do next.

Thanks, I’ll take it from here, Genie

Genie, maker of my Wi-Fi-capable garage door opener (sold as an "Aladdin Connect" system), is not in the same boat as the Chamberlain/myQ setup that inspired Lee's project. There was a working Aladdin Connect integration in Home Assistant, until the company changed its API in January 2024. Genie said it would release its own official Home Assistant integration in June, and it did, but then it was quickly pulled back, seemingly for licensing issues . Since then, no updates on the matter. (I have emailed Genie for comment and will update this post if I receive reply.)

Read full article

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Like Lee Hutchinson, I have a garage. The door on that garage is opened and closed by a device made by a company that, as with Lee's, offers you a way to open and close it with a smartphone app. But that app doesn't work with my preferred home automation system, Home Assistant , and also looks and works like an app made by a garage door company.

I had looked into the ratgdo Lee installed, and raved about , but hooking it up to my particular Genie/Aladdin system would have required installing limit switches . So I instead installed an OpenGarage unit ($50 plus shipping). My garage opener now works with Home Assistant (and thereby pretty much anything else), it's not subject to the whims of API access, and I've got a few ideas how to make it even better. Allow me to walk you through what I did, why I did it, and what I might do next.

Thanks, I’ll take it from here, Genie

Genie, maker of my Wi-Fi-capable garage door opener (sold as an "Aladdin Connect" system), is not in the same boat as the Chamberlain/myQ setup that inspired Lee's project. There was a working Aladdin Connect integration in Home Assistant, until the company changed its API in January 2024. Genie said it would release its own official Home Assistant integration in June, and it did, but then it was quickly pulled back, seemingly for licensing issues . Since then, no updates on the matter. (I have emailed Genie for comment and will update this post if I receive reply.)

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Some electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are set to get less affordable from next year, it seems. As expected , the incoming Trump administration has set its sights on killing off the IRS clean vehicle tax credit, according to a report in Reuters this afternoon.

The clean vehicle tax credit was overhauled as part of President Joe Biden's signature climate legislation. Until then, the size of a plug-in vehicle's tax credit was based on its battery capacity, with a credit of up to $7,500 available. But from 2023 the rules changed , requiring a certain amount of domestic production to qualify, as well as adding price and income caps to address criticism that the tax credit mostly subsidized the already-wealthy.

Far fewer vehicles are now eligible for the rebate at time of purchase, particularly after the US Treasury Department got tougher about Chinese content , although a loophole means that none of these conditions apply to leased EVs.

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Some electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are set to get less affordable from next year, it seems. As expected , the incoming Trump administration has set its sights on killing off the IRS clean vehicle tax credit, according to a report in Reuters this afternoon.

The clean vehicle tax credit was overhauled as part of President Joe Biden's signature climate legislation. Until then, the size of a plug-in vehicle's tax credit was based on its battery capacity, with a credit of up to $7,500 available. But from 2023 the rules changed , requiring a certain amount of domestic production to qualify, as well as adding price and income caps to address criticism that the tax credit mostly subsidized the already-wealthy.

Far fewer vehicles are now eligible for the rebate at time of purchase, particularly after the US Treasury Department got tougher about Chinese content , although a loophole means that none of these conditions apply to leased EVs.

Read full article

Comments

Some electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are set to get less affordable from next year, it seems. As expected , the incoming Trump administration has set its sights on killing off the IRS clean vehicle tax credit, according to a report in Reuters this afternoon.

The clean vehicle tax credit was overhauled as part of President Joe Biden's signature climate legislation. Until then, the size of a plug-in vehicle's tax credit was based on its battery capacity, with a credit of up to $7,500 available. But from 2023 the rules changed , requiring a certain amount of domestic production to qualify, as well as adding price and income caps to address criticism that the tax credit mostly subsidized the already-wealthy.

Far fewer vehicles are now eligible for the rebate at time of purchase, particularly after the US Treasury Department got tougher about Chinese content , although a loophole means that none of these conditions apply to leased EVs.

Read full article

Comments