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Inference at the Edge: Running a Large Language Model Chatbot on Consumer Hardware

Mike ConnellyArtificial Intelligence, Technology

Large language models can now run entirely on consumer laptops, with no cloud connection required. We explore how hobbyists and open-source developers are deploying instruction-tuned, locally optimized LLMs on standard hardware and what that means for privacy, cost, and accessibility. The practical tradeoffs between model size and response quality are what make this shift more consequential than it first appears.
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Proposal: Potential JellyFin Native tvOS App Including User Experience Ideas

Mike ConnellyConnected Home, Technology

Jellyfin has no native tvOS app encompassing both on demand and live TV. What follows is a detailed UX proposal for what that native tvOS app could look like, covering navigation architecture, user profile selection, the media player engine, and a screen-by-screen breakdown of each tab. Continue reading Proposal: Potential JellyFin Native tvOS App Including User Experience Ideas

How To: Lutron Caséta Lighting Control System Review

Mike ConnellyConnected Home

Lutron’s Caséta sits at the entry point of a residential lighting control lineup that segments by device count, coverage area, and whether installation is DIY or professional. Based on our home deployment, we explain switch selection, installation, and integration with Apple HomeKit and Google Assistant. We also present an honest look at where the system’s device and range limits matter in practice. Continue reading How To: Lutron Caséta Lighting Control System Review

How To: Watch Movies in Your Honda Pilot or Odyssey Using Android TV

Mike ConnellyAutos, Connected Home

The 2018 Honda Pilot’s rear entertainment system accepts HDMI input but cannot directly play video files from a USB thumb drive. This article walks through five rejected solutions, including Chromecast and tethered smartphones, before settling on a low-cost Android TV set-top box. This setup works without an internet connection, letting kids watch libraries of movies on long trips. Continue reading How To: Watch Movies in Your Honda Pilot or Odyssey Using Android TV

Sonos One & Sonos Beam (Part 2): Review of Voice Services Including Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant & Apple Airplay 2

Mike ConnellyConnected Home, Music

Sonos speakers support Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Siri simultaneously, letting users mix and match voice assistants independent of their music source or smart home platform. Here, we explain how that flexibility works in practice and what it means for households split across competing ecosystems. A Sonos owner can run an iTunes library, a YouTube Music subscription, and Apple HomeKit controls from a single speaker while still asking Google a question. Continue reading Sonos One & Sonos Beam (Part 2): Review of Voice Services Including Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant & Apple Airplay 2

Sonos One & Sonos Beam (Part 1): The State of Smart Speakers

Mike ConnellyConnected Home, Music

Amazon Echo and Google Home are designed primarily to deepen their makers’ advertising and data businesses, while Apple’s HomePod functions as a local iPhone extension. This article examines what each major smart speaker is actually optimized for, and why that distinction matters when choosing one. The Sonos One costs nearly twice as much as an Echo but delivers meaningfully better sound for listeners who prioritize audio quality. Continue reading Sonos One & Sonos Beam (Part 1): The State of Smart Speakers

How To: Configuring MPV for Best Video Quality Including 4K Upscaling

Mike ConnellyConnected Home

This article covers the current recommended graphics stack for MPV across Windows, Linux, Android, and Apple platforms, with specific configuration settings for 4K upscaling. MPV has no native Metal backend, so Apple devices running macOS, iOS, and tvOS have historically been limited to OpenGL, a graphics API Apple deprecated long ago. However, Mac users can now route Vulkan calls through MoltenVK via Homebrew, yielding measurable performance gains over the deprecated OpenGL path. Continue reading How To: Configuring MPV for Best Video Quality Including 4K Upscaling

Nvidia Shield Android TV: 2017 Hardware & Shield Experience 5.1 Review

Mike ConnellyConnected Home

The Shield TV continues to be an anomaly: in 2017, it is by far the most powerful media streamer and a capable gaming platform though not as advanced as the Xbox One or Playstation 4, but costing nearly as much. While Google focuses on stripped down Chromecast devices and Chromecast-enabled TVs, Nvidia singularly showcases the advanced functionality of Android TV including DVR, media serving, gaming, and now smart home capabilities. Continue reading Nvidia Shield Android TV: 2017 Hardware & Shield Experience 5.1 Review

Line 6 Amplifi 150 Guitar Amplifier Review

Mike ConnellyGuitars

Line 6’s Amplifi 150 strips out the physical knobs and replaces them with an iPad app that controls over 70 amp models, 100 effects, and 20 speaker cabinets via Bluetooth. Here, we examine the remote app workflow and the hardware limitations discovered during testing. The amplifier performs differently in home practice versus live contexts, and the app-dependent control scheme is the reason why. Continue reading Line 6 Amplifi 150 Guitar Amplifier Review

iPhone 7 Plus Camera Review

Mike ConnellyPhotography

The iPhone 7 Plus is the first iPhone to carry two rear cameras: a wide-angle lens at f/1.8 and a 56mm telephoto with true 2x optical zoom. I examine what each change actually delivers in aperture, low-light performance, image stabilization, color accuracy, and optical zoom. Portrait mode is the reason most people will consider the upgrade, and this review tests it against real shooting conditions, including artificial bokeh at close range. Continue reading iPhone 7 Plus Camera Review