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Chris took us back in IFA History:
In 1928 the time finally had come for the world premiere of television, after many years of intensive research and development around the globe, with Germany as focal point. The venue: the 5th “Grosse Deutsche Funkausstellung” in Berlin, today known as IFA the number one global show. The screen, developed by Denez von Mihaly, was as tiny as a postage stamp, just an inch and a half, square, with only 30 lines and 900 pixels. Von Mihaly received the first license “to build and operate” a television station from the German Post.
Henry in Atlanta, Georgia listens on WGKA 920 AM asked:
Calling to see if you know of any app for your iPhone that would allow you to open your garage door instead of having to use your traditional garage door openers.
There are apps that will open your garage door for you, there are even apps that will open your garage for you as you’re getting to your home. The catch is that you won’t be able to download the app and just have it work with your current garage door opener, you will have to install something, usually just a kit that works with your current hardware.
Some devices will let you just tell Siri to let you in, some work with an app, some work with location services. You could even skip your iPhone and get an Automatic for your car.
Automatic is a device that plugs into your car’s OBD port and gives you information about performance, fuel usage, driving habits, and it turns your car into a smart car by having it do things like share its location and open the door for you.
You asked about iPhone apps though, so have a look at LiftMaster’s own MyQ, Nexia Home Intelligence, GarageIO, or Gogogate.
Just remember that the biggest issue here is not what app to get, but what hardware do you need to attach to the motor that is currently doing the work.
Just remember that the biggest issue here is not what app to get, but what hardware do you need to attach to the motor that is currently doing the work.
Nexia works with ZWave devices, LiftMaster has its own Liftmaster Internet Gateway, which is what the MyQ uses. Different brands won’t necessarily play nice with eachother, so make sure that what you get is what you’re likely to want to keep, otherwise things can get expensive.
Some devices like GarageIO’s play nice with IFTTT, which is nice since you can set a permanent recurring recipe that will make sure your garage is closed every single night without you have to check, or have it open when you approach your home, or even turn on your lights AND set your preferred temperature, AND open your garage door, if you want your home to be ready for you when you walk in, but the more things you want to automate, the more cash you’ll need to spend.
The price range is wide, from $50 dollars if you already have certain compatible systems and just need an internet gateway, to several hundreds if you don’t, so check and see what will work with whatever device you have doing the work today. You may get lucky and get what you want for a fairly low cost.