Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
⚡ Build fully functional apps with AI using Emergent. No backend setup, no infra to manage.
Try it here: https://app.emergent.sh/landing/?utm_shift=redirect&via=513f8a
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Smart homes were supposed to be the future.
Hollywood promised us houses that just worked.
Instead, we got disconnected apps, broken automations, voice assistants that fail basic commands, and a graveyard of abandoned smart home gadgets collecting dust in drawers.
So what happened?
In this episode, Caya dives into the hidden history of smart homes — from 1970s protocols like X10 to Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread, Matter, Alexa, HomeKit, and the modern chaos of incompatible ecosystems.
We break down why smart homes feel so unreliable, why even simple automations fail constantly, why companies keep abandoning devices, and why the “Hollywood smart home” turned into a maintenance nightmare for normal people.
But this isn’t just a rant.
After weeks of testing, rebuilding, and going way too deep into the rabbit hole, Caya finds something that actually works: a local, open-source setup built around Home Assistant and local AI.
This video is part history lesson, part tech breakdown, and part warning about the future of connected devices.
Because maybe the biggest problem with smart homes…
was never the technology.
--
Recommended videos:
youtu.be/CFol4HFxVec?si=8G8QgcW4nQ-Uqzrc
youtu.be/b0SuSzFlJh4?si=5e_OttRUTWofoPRA
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Follow us
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/slidebean
Instagram: instagram.com/slidebean
Caya
X (Twitter): twitter.com/cayahere
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/caya
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📚 Sources & References
Survey on smart home frustration
digitalinformationworld.com/2025/02/new-survey-shows-that-most-americans.html#google_vignette
Crestron TPS-6000 documentation
ia801904.us.archive.org/8/items/manualsbase-id-169834/169834.pdf
History of Crestron touchscreens
strata-gee.com/building-on-a-33-year-legacy-of-touch-screen-leadership-crestron-launches-80-series-its-most-advanced-version-yet
X10 / Powerline communication explanation
digikey.com/en/articles/power-line-communications-a-viable-consumer-link
IoT funding boom data
cbinsights.com/research/iot-corporate-funding-deals-q3-2016
Lowe’s Iris shutdown coverage
cnet.com/home/smart-home/lowes-pulls-the-plug-on-the-iris-smart-home-platform
WiFi / Zigbee / Bluetooth spectrum overlap
researchgate.net/figure/Wi-Fi-ZigBee-Bluetooth-abd-BLE-spectrum_fig1_265602069
Amazon Alexa Zigbee support docs
developer.amazon.com/en-US/docs/alexa/smarthome/zigbee-support.html
Phoebus cartel history
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoebus_cartel
Home Assistant 10-year history
home-assistant.io/blog/2023/09/17/10-years-home-assistant
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#SmartHome #HomeAssistant #Alexa #Matter #Zigbee #HomeAutomation #IoT #TechExplained #ArtificialIntelligence #OpenSource #HomeKit #SmartDevices #Slidebean #FutureTech #TechHistory #Emergent #VibeCoding #NoCode #AIAppBuilder
⚡ Build fully functional apps with AI using Emergent. No backend setup, no infra to manage.
Try it here: https://app.emergent.sh/landing/?utm_shift=redirect&via=513f8a
----
Smart homes were supposed to be the future.
Hollywood promised us houses that just worked.
Instead, we got disconnected apps, broken automations, voice assistants that fail basic commands, and a graveyard of abandoned smart home gadgets collecting dust in drawers.
So what happened?
In this episode, Caya dives into the hidden history of smart homes — from 1970s protocols like X10 to Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread, Matter, Alexa, HomeKit, and the modern chaos of incompatible ecosystems.
We break down why smart homes feel so unreliable, why even simple automations fail constantly, why companies keep abandoning devices, and why the “Hollywood smart home” turned into a maintenance nightmare for normal people.
But this isn’t just a rant.
After weeks of testing, rebuilding, and going way too deep into the rabbit hole, Caya finds something that actually works: a local, open-source setup built around Home Assistant and local AI.
This video is part history lesson, part tech breakdown, and part warning about the future of connected devices.
Because maybe the biggest problem with smart homes…
was never the technology.
--
Recommended videos:
youtu.be/CFol4HFxVec?si=8G8QgcW4nQ-Uqzrc
youtu.be/b0SuSzFlJh4?si=5e_OttRUTWofoPRA
--
Follow us
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/slidebean
Instagram: instagram.com/slidebean
Caya
X (Twitter): twitter.com/cayahere
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/caya
--
📚 Sources & References
Survey on smart home frustration
digitalinformationworld.com/2025/02/new-survey-shows-that-most-americans.html#google_vignette
Crestron TPS-6000 documentation
ia801904.us.archive.org/8/items/manualsbase-id-169834/169834.pdf
History of Crestron touchscreens
strata-gee.com/building-on-a-33-year-legacy-of-touch-screen-leadership-crestron-launches-80-series-its-most-advanced-version-yet
X10 / Powerline communication explanation
digikey.com/en/articles/power-line-communications-a-viable-consumer-link
IoT funding boom data
cbinsights.com/research/iot-corporate-funding-deals-q3-2016
Lowe’s Iris shutdown coverage
cnet.com/home/smart-home/lowes-pulls-the-plug-on-the-iris-smart-home-platform
WiFi / Zigbee / Bluetooth spectrum overlap
researchgate.net/figure/Wi-Fi-ZigBee-Bluetooth-abd-BLE-spectrum_fig1_265602069
Amazon Alexa Zigbee support docs
developer.amazon.com/en-US/docs/alexa/smarthome/zigbee-support.html
Phoebus cartel history
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoebus_cartel
Home Assistant 10-year history
home-assistant.io/blog/2023/09/17/10-years-home-assistant
--
#SmartHome #HomeAssistant #Alexa #Matter #Zigbee #HomeAutomation #IoT #TechExplained #ArtificialIntelligence #OpenSource #HomeKit #SmartDevices #Slidebean #FutureTech #TechHistory #Emergent #VibeCoding #NoCode #AIAppBuilder
