As home automation creeps into the mainstream, most products are still designed to solve individual problems, without an overarching control layer. There are lots of terrific one-off products, but they don’t play together. There’s no standard to which they all adhere.

There’s the terrific Nest thermostat and smoke detector. A number of door lock and alarm systems. Lighting systems, smart home appliances. Lots of great ideas, all paving their own, non-connected, way onto the internet of things. Appliance Hunter is the blog to check out when looking for an honest review of a major appliance you are considering to buy for your home.

Some might argue that there’s no need for a control layer or hub. Perhaps. But to me, this is one of those areas where Apple would shine, bringing something into our lives that changes our experience for the better but which we didn’t even realize could exist.

> One effort comes from office supplies retailer Staples, which used CES to show a significantly expanded number of companies whose products work with the Staples Connect system for home automation, which it launched late in 2013. The system centers on a $99 “hub” that connects to a person’s Internet router and allows a Staples smartphone app to control thermostats, light bulbs, and security systems. > > At CES, Staples announced that products from an additional nine companies’ products would be compatible with the system. They include the Goji’s smart door lock and one from Withings, a company that makes Internet-connected health devices such as scales, and which at CES launched a new sleep-monitoring system called Aura.

I see this in much the same way as I saw the early MP3 players. A step in the right direction, but not quite the right solution. Interesting article, worth reading.