Almost every smart plug, camera, TV and robot vacuum looks up domain names before it talks to a cloud server. If those lookups go through a DNS server you control, you get a running list of what each device contacts and how often, and you can block domains for selected devices only. Pi-hole is a free DNS server built for exactly this, and it runs w
The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero published the details of its Warm Homes Loan Scheme on 27 October 2026. The government-backed loans cover solar panels, home batteries, heat pumps and a few other clean energy upgrades, with no upfront cost and the payments spread over several years. Some of the loans are interest free. The scheme
A Raspberry Pi in a DIN-rail case is nothing new, but this one comes with a full set of plug-in I/O modules. On 27 October 2026 CNX Software described the Synergy Logic SLM-RP4, an industrial controller (PLC) built around a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B. It costs $249, with I/O modules sold separately.
Camera software running on an ordinary Windows PC can be the way into a whole network. On 27 October 2026 security company Huntress described several incidents from September and October in which attackers got in by compromising a camera management program, a Windows client used to view and manage video from cameras and recorders.
Baseus has a new camera for people who cannot drill into an outside wall. On 27 October 2026 Digital Trends reported the launch of the PrimeSentinel W1, a camera that sticks to the inside of a window and watches the street, garden or driveway through the glass. It costs $69.99 and went on sale in the US the same day.
The Connectivity Standards Alliance has published three short documents on Zigbee 4.0 in October 2026: a Benefits one-pager on October 15, a Features Overview on October 21 and a Features Deep Dive on October 27. None of them is a new specification. They are the first plain summaries of what the alliance actually changed in Zigbee 4.0, and they say
SwitchBot launched the AI Art Frame 2 on October 27, 2026. It is a battery-powered picture frame with a full-colour E Ink Spectra 6 panel, sold in 7.1, 13.3 and 31.5 inch sizes through SwitchBot's own shop and Amazon in the US, Canada, the UK and Europe.
Jetson Home, the US and Canadian company known for its Jetson Air heat pump, announced two new products on 27 October 2026: Jetson Water, a heat pump water heater, and Jetson Charge, a Level 2 EV charger. Both use the same app as Jetson Air. Reservations opened the same day with a refundable $50 deposit, and installations start in early 2027.
Matic launched the Matic Serene on 27 October 2026, its first new robot vacuum since the original Matic appeared in 2023. The new model has one headline change: noise. Matic says the Serene runs at 52 dB on its highest suction setting, about as loud as a running refrigerator. It costs $1,695 in the US and is available now.
