However, most of the reviews from customers who purchased the Tao Digital Keychain frame gave a lot of warnings. Glad I did my research. Sometimes I ignore the reviews but there were just too many to ignore. The reviews ranged from the chain breaking, the Tao can’t hold a battery charge, buttons falling off, dim display, and more!

It’s adorable and clever, but may not be ready for primetime. If you consider buying one, do your research and read the reviews first before you make your decision. As of this writing, Amazon had the TAO Digital Key Chain frame on sale for $19.99! A super deal.

SmartHomeGadgets will keep you posted on whether TAO works out the kinks!

The X10 Mini Controller is easy to setup!

• Plug the power cord into any wall outlet (make sure it works).
• Set the slide switch on the top of the Mini Controller for the Modules you want it to control (unit codes 1 through 4 or 5 through 8).
• Using a small screwdriver, choose one of the 16 letters on the Mini Controller’s House code dial.

All X10 modules have a similar red House code dial. The Mini Controller and all the modules it controls need to be set to the same House code letter.

How to Use the X10 Mini-Controller

Turn a Light or Appliance On
Press and release the TOP of one of the 4 number keys for the unit code of one of your control modules.

To turn all lights on (i.e. all lamps connected to Lamp Modules or Wall Switch Modules set to the same House code), press the TOP of the All Lights On/All Units Off key. This key does not affect Appliance Modules.

Turn a Light or Appliance Off
Press and release the BOTTOM of one of the 4 number keys to turn a specific Unit code off. To turn off all modules, including Appliance Modules, press the bottom of the All Lights On/All Units Off key.

Dim or Brighten lights
Press and release the TOP of the number key for the Lamp or Wall Switch Module you want to Dim or Brighten (Appliance Modules cannot dim or brighten). Then, press the TOP of the Dim/Bright key to Brighten or the BOTTOM of the Dim/Bright key to Dim. Hold the key until the desired light level is reached.

The X10 Mini Controller is a nifty X10 gadget for about $15.99.

The PictureBook Pocket Digital Photo Album stores up to 500 files in the 64 MB on-board memory. It features an automatic slide show and is compatible with most memory card. You will need a rechargeable battery too!

Now you can showoff your family photos everywhere you go with the PictureBook Pocket Digital Photo Album.

The Socket Rocket can change your light switch flipping habits forever! Start controlling those light fixtures remotely, or automatically with the X10 Mini-timer.

The Socket Rocket is easy to use and it’s compact so it fits in smaller, tighter spaces. There are no code wheels to bother with either. Here’s how it works:

1. Screw the SocketRocket lamp module into the the light fixture socket.
2. Screw a light bulb into the SocketRocket lamp module.
3. Turn on the power (flip the light switch to ON).
4. Send a code from any X10 Controller. Send the same code three times.
5. When SocketRocket receives the same code three times, it will turn on the light to let you know it has learned the new code.

That’s it. You are done! Just remember to keep the power to ON all the time. Now you can sit back on easy street and use your X10 remote or X10 Mini-timer to switch the light OFF/ON.

Get your own Socket Rocket.

This past holiday season, I got my parents a Smartparts SP8EM 8-Inch Digital Picture Frame. With no computer in their home and so many far flung family members, I figured The SmartParts Digital Picture frame was the perfect gift (and the price was fantastic!) The frame is made of genuine wood, giving it that old-fashioned look.

It frames a hi-definition LCD display that looks great.

The best way to give a digital picture frame gift is to load it up with digital photos. Tearing open the box, I completely ignored the instructions and dug right in. I fumbled through loading up the pictures one at a time from a memory card and don’t recommend using that method at all!

Instead, I connected to my desktop computer where the my digital photo “pot of gold” resides. Installing the OptiPix Pro software from the frame was easy and quick. With OptiPix Pro software, you can optimize and transfer photos to the frame. It allows you to store up to 2000 photos on the built-in 128 MB, maximizing your memory space.

Naturally, I was skeptical and concerned that the photos would not look good after this optimization. Boy was I wrong! The photos look delicious!

It was simple to optimize the photos with the OptiPix Pro software and transfer them to the Smartparts Digital Picture Frame. I gave the gift with 45 digital photos onboard. What can I say? I’m lazy.

My parents love the Smartparts Digital Picture Frame, but complained that there weren’t nearly enough digital photos onboard! It turns out that they set up the Digital Photo Frame on the kitchen table and watch it while eating dinner.

Now they have plenty to look at! Hundreds in fact. I only hope that’s enough to tide them over for awhile. They use the convenient remote that comes with digital frame.

Oh, and did I mention another cool factor? The Smartparts SP8EM 8-Inch Digital Picture Frame has a built-in music player. You can load up those MP3s and play music while a delightful slide show displays your collection of digital photos.

Features

• 8 (measured diagonally) 800 x 600 TFT Color LCD screen
• Picture Playback
• MP3 Audio Playback
• Built-In Memory Card Reader Compatible with Most Common Digital Memory Formats – Memory Card Reader Accepts – Secure Digital (SD); MultiMedia Card (MMC); Extreme Digital (xD); MemoryStick (MS); Compact Flash (CF)
• 128 MB Internal Memory

Smartparts SP8EM 8-Inch Digital Picture Frame is the perfect compliment to any room in the house!

The X10 4-channel Remote Keychain Credit Card Controller is the perfect solution to a creepy problem!

The X10 Credit Card Controller is convenient, as the name implies. It is as small and thin as a credit card, making it easy to stick in your purse or pocket. Better yet, you can easily attach it to your key ring, making it readily available to turn the lights on inside the house, while you are still outside the house. It works up to 100 feet away.

How Does the X10 Credit Card Controller Work?

You can control up to four sets of lights and appliances that are already connected to an X10 Lamp or Appliance module. You can also brighten and dim lights that are connected to an X10 Lamp module.

• To control X10 modules set to Unit Code 1 on Housecode A, for example, press the first ON or OFF button.
• To control X10 modules set to Unit Code 2 on Housecode A, for example, press the second ON or OFF button.
• And so on for Unit Codes 3 and 4

You can also switch to another Housecode:

1. Press and hold the first (top) ON button. The red LED blinks once. 3 seconds later, the LED
   blinks the current setting: 1 blink for Housecode A, 2 blinks for B….. 16 blinks for P.
2. Release the first (top) ON button.
3. Press and release the first (top) ON button the appropriate number of times for the Housecode you want to set. Once for A, twice for B, etc. The LED blinks for each press.

Easy right? You can’t go wrong with the convenient X10 Remote Keychain Credit Card Controller. It is inexpensive so you can get one for everyone in the family. Just remember to change the CR2032 Lithium 3V battery!

Don’t be left creeping around in the dark!

You may have heard the term “smart home system.” Smart home systems allow you to control and manage your living environment from devices such as keypads, telephones, handheld remotes, touch panels, or voice recognition. These devices allow you to control a preprogrammed CPU that connects various subsystems in your home. You can think of these systems as a home network, with many devices networked together to provide you with a more convenient and efficient lifestyle.

Home networks can be complicated and have special requirements such as structured wiring. This provides a base for all the subsystems in your home. You have wiring for devices such as telephones, television, and audio that runs to a centralized hub. The centralized hub also connects other services, such as computer networks and security systems. Structured wiring allows you do such things as plugging your telephone into a jack or plugging one computer into a jack to be instantly connected to another on the network in the same home.

Automating all this activity takes a little more work. Using structured wiring as a backbone for its connectivity, an intelligent controller links all your various sub-systems together through interfaces and protocols. This, in turn, allows you to control and/or monitor everything that the controller is linked to.

Controlling your environment is fun, exciting, and costly. Many new homes today are built with home control systems in mind, and have the proper wiring installed before the walls go up. If the walls of your home are already up, rewiring is a major project that requires careful planning and professional installation.

To get started with low cost home automation, X10 devices or INSTEON are a good choice.

• Remotely control lights and appliances
• Preset your household lighting schedule
• Built-in buzzer alarm clock
• Security mode turns lights on/off at a slightly different time everyday to give your home a lived in look

This X10 Mini Timer is an upgrade from the previous mini timer. You control up to eight X10 lights or appliances.

I own the previous X10 Mini Timer which has a slightly different look than this one. As a proud X10 Mini Timer owner, I can tell you that I have not turned a light on or off in years – the X10 Mini Timer does all the work for me. It’s convenient and I don’t worry about walking into a darkened house when I get home. My favorite feature is the security mode. If I have a light set to turn off at 11 PM, the light really turns off any time within the hour of 11 PM. Every day it’s different.

The X10 Mini Timer is also convenient to keep next to your bed in case you need to get up in the middle of the night. You can turn lights on downstairs before you even get out of bed. Much safer then groping around in the dark.

With the backup battery power, your programmed times are protected for up to 48 hours in case the unit is without power.

Oh, of course you’ll need X10 Lamp and Appliance Modules to enable your lights and appliances to work with the X10 Mini Timer.

The X10 Mini Timer was surprisingly easy to setup. If you do not have X10 lamp or appliance modules already set up, the complete setup will take you a little longer.

But it’s so worth it!

No messy wires or anything and INSTEON is X10 compatible.

You can set up the INSTEON Holiday Lighting Starter Kit in less than five minutes. This INSTEON remote kit controls any connected device remotely using a simple “Plug and Tap” setup process.

To control “linked” devices, just tap one of the RemoteLinc’s buttons on or off, or you can hold a button to brighten or dim. Each of the six ON/OFF buttons on the RemoteLinc can be set up to control every light or just one light in your home remotely to create dramatic lighting scenes.

As a bonus, the included ApplianceLinc can control any load type, so you can remotely control anything from the spooky smoke machine in your entryway to a mechanical Santa waving to your neighbors from your rooftop.

Best of all, the INSTEON wireless remote kit can be used all year long. So, when you put your holiday gear away, you can use your INSTEON wireless remote kit to conveniently turn lighs on and off throughout your home!

Get yours – INSTEON Holiday Lighting Starter Kit

• Lights
• Appliances
• Audio equipment
• Video equipment

Besides being convenient and fun, the 5-in-1 Learning Remote is perfect for someone who is not able to be mobile due to physical restrictions.

And, this Learning Remote has a sensible layout of all the buttons. It’s easy to learn. The Remote works with your existing X10 system and transceiver to control up to five devices. You can control just about any light or appliance in your home, even if they are in another room. (If you don’t have an X10 system, all you need is the Transceiver Module and any lamp or appliance module or wall switch to get started!)

With too many remote controls in my living room, I decided to go for the Learning Remote to solve the problem. For starters, the remotes I have include the Palm Pad remote for lights and appliances, DVD, TV, and cable. Way too many! Sitting down to actually watch something also meant lining up the remotes for the individual devices.

The day the Learning Remote arrived, I couldn’t wait to set it up. The instructions are straight forward. I started with the lights. I already had my transceiver and lamp modules set up so I was able to easily set the this Remote for the same house code. And voila! it worked.

On to the next step which took a little more doing. I decided to conquer the cable box first. I went through each device. The setup was simpleI really like this new remote and plan to get another one for another room in the house.

I would recommend the 5-in-1 Learning Remote to anyone who has lots of things to control around the house. Oh, the 5-in-1 Learning Remote doesn’t control your kids – for that you are on your own.