1992 Smart Clapper vs Philips Hue - ClapON/ClapOFF
Linus Tech Tips
·Linus Tech Tips
·2019-05-06
·
1,981 words · ~9 min read
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Hey Siri. Alexa. Hey Google. I can't get the answer to that on HomePod. Sorry, I'm not sure
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about that. Sorry, I can't help with that yet. Do you ever find that your modern conveniences are
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just not that convenient? Well thankfully there's a better way. Meet the Smart Clapper, a smart home
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device from before smart home and internet of things were the biggest bullshit buzzwords.
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It requires no smartphone to operate, sets up in less than 30 seconds, and is exactly as stylish
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as you'd need something that sits behind your couch to be. Remember, zero design budget means
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more money in your wallet for avocado toast. The Smart Clapper is great for home security too.
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As long as your hands are still free, you can activate it in less than a second and wired
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connectivity means it's always reliable. It's so simple a dog can use it, and it
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even works for a dog.
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It even works in a power outage. Oh, why would I? So get your Smart Clapper today for just $30
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or like a lot less if you want to get a cheap knockoff on eBay. In all seriousness though,
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I still haven't really bought into the whole smart lighting thing. So in today's video,
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we are actually going to be comparing a vintage, still in package, the Smart Clapper
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with a Smart Clapper. So let's get started.
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Let's see how they stack up.
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You're going down.
1:42
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All right. So this video wouldn't be complete without an unboxing of the Smart Clapper.
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This is fantastic.
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I actually don't think this is the original Smart Clapper,
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but based on how old everything about this packaging is
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from its two color print,
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so you can see they couldn't afford more than blue.
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Oh no, wait, no, they've actually got some different hues.
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Hues in the packaging.
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They've got some red, pink, purple, blue.
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No, no, nevermind.
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Okay, so it's got color.
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Maybe it's just that it's faded.
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So between the cheap looking packaging,
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the like old crappy looking logos,
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like that has gotta be like vintage 80s,
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and the legitimately yellow plastic.
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Oh wow, you can see it gets a lot of its color back.
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So what is this thing?
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The sound activated on off switch that's smart enough
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to control two different appliances
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at the same time.
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Yes, my friends, this is the smart appliance
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that predates smart home.
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Instructions and warranty.
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If you're honestly stupid enough
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that you can't operate a clapper,
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then you should probably just not have electricity.
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Oh, no way.
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It doesn't have a ground plug.
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Oh, that's kind of lame,
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but it does have a home and away dial.
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And that is not a binary dial.
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That is a spectral dial.
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So you can be like a little bit home, or mostly away,
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actually, I suspect it doesn't work that way.
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I may actually need the instructions, dammit.
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James here is gonna be helping me co-host things
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as we compare the smart clapper,
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I'm on team smart clapper.
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You're on team clap.
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I am on team Hugh.
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All right, so let's get started here, shall we?
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We will each present arguments for our side.
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for our side of the equation.
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And we're going to allow the audience at the end
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to let us know, just like a rap battle,
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but with no rap and not cool, who won.
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Hey, speak for yourself.
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This is gonna be pretty easy.
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All right, you know what, mister?
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This is gonna be easy.
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I'm gonna let you go first.
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No, no, no, no, no,
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because my goings are responses
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to the limitations of your clapper.
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Limitations?
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No, no, no, no, no.
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You go first.
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I'm ready to receive your argument.
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Okay, well, let's say that your partner is asleep
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and you wanna turn the lights off without waking them up.
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Can you do that?
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Let's find out.
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I'm not actually sure.
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But in the meantime,
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I've actually got an argument for you.
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I can set up the clapper in less than 15 seconds.
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How long did it take you to set up your hue BS?
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Zero, because A-Prime set it up for me.
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No, you have to give a real response.
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How long does it take to set this crap up?
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If you only plugged in the bridge
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and then, like, hooked up a light, like, two minutes.
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But if you wanna do some custom stuff.
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So I beat you by eight times.
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Mm.
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But you get far less than eight times the value.
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Allow me to demonstrate the soft clap.
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A little too soft.
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Soft, flaccid, whatever term you want.
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Shut up, it can't hear me.
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Maybe that's the three-clap socket.
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No, that's the two-clap socket.
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Okay, hold on a minute.
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Okay, hold on a minute.
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Hey, wait a second.
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Does this factor into your setup time?
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Oh, wow, does this thing even work?
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Oh, no, no, no, no.
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I'm in away mode.
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I'm in away mode.
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And no.
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No, it doesn't work.
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Hold on.
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Okay, okay, okay.
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Reliability.
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Soft clap demo.
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This is stressing me.
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Oh.
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Yes, okay.
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Hold on a second.
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That fast setup.
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Oh.
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So there's a-
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Allow me to demonstrate the soft clap.
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There we go.
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Very unlikely to wake the wife.
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Okay. I'll hear your next.
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Argument now.
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I live in a loft.
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That would wake everyone up.
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Do you mean to tell me that the clapper only works
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with lamps and other lights that plug into the wall
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and not, say, overhead lights
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or maybe even completely wireless lights like this?
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The clapper can work with that light.
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Because the clapper can work
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with anything that plugs into a wall.
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Psych, that was just me.
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Okay, is your-
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Okay, but in all seriousness,
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I don't know.
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I'm gonna put that down.
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Okay.
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I always kind of wondered
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why these things didn't take off.
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Well, Mr. Fancy Pants.
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Should've read those instructions, eh?
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The clapper has an indicator LED
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for each of the two outlets
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indicating whether it is receiving power or not,
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aiding you in diagnosis.
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Nice.
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What's your point?
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Hit me.
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What can your Philips Hue do
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that counters that fantastic feature?
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Well, it tells me which ones are reachable or not.
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Right on there.
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Plus, the most important thing at LTT, it's RGB.
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Wait, are you getting that?
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Bring that over here.
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Bring that beautiful beast over here.
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I wanna, I wanna make you hold it just for the shame.
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True rigaba.
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Okay.
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Raise your hand if you'd rather use Hue.
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Granted, it can do RGB,
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but as we've discussed many a time on this channel,
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sure, RGB is a cool feature.
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Lots of people like it.
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But...
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Not everyone is willing to pay extra for it.
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And with the clapper,
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you can control many devices at once
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with an inexpensive extension cable.
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There we go.
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Okay.
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So there's a cost argument to be made here
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because I, with just one clapper
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and an inexpensive power squid,
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can control three lights at once,
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up to 400 watts, according to the box.
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I don't think you can control anything.
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Boom!
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I got served.
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See?
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So if I was in bed with you.
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No, bring the hand.
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Leave the hand.
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And we were like, you know what?
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I'd like to do some light reading right now.
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Let's see who's quicker on the draw.
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Go.
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That's right.
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What if you only want it partway?
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Why would I want that?
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Because you want some mood lighting.
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You know?
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Is that right?
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Dim the lights to 50%.
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Yeah. Look how long that takes.
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He's consulting the literature right now.
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The clapper uses a wired connection.
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So if your Wi-Fi is out, it'll still work.
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If your Wi-Fi is out,
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Hue still works with your normal light switches.
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You can turn them on and off.
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It just displays the normal yellow light,
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which means it's more versatile than the clapper
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because you can attach it to lights
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that you don't plug into the wall,
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like the overhead light, and still use it.
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The clapper's more about speed.
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So I challenge you to another quick draw.
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Okay.
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Because we have to assume that you don't actually
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have your Hue app open all the time.
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So first of all, let's have the lights on.
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It's time to go to sleep.
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Who can turn out the lights faster?
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Hey, Google, turn the lights off.
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Ready, set, go.
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Hey, Google, turn the lights off.
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There.
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Not fast.
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You're right.
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You win on the speed count.
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Calories burned is a whole different metric.
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Keep in mind, you can get Hue accessories
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that are physical switches.
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How much is Philips paying you?
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Ugh, sorry.
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I would actually still argue
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that assuming that yours wasn't actually manufactured
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in the late eighties or early nineties
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and is broken now,
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that there is still room for this kind of technology.
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I would love it
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if as kind of like, a...
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gesture control feature of
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Philips system or a Google home type system you could configure
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Like double claps or triple claps and you could have that be like
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You know three claps for movie time or like two claps for turn everything off or whatever the case may be
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but I
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Think as much as I'm a bit of a Luddite when it comes to smart home technology
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And honestly this still holds a fair bit of appeal for me. James has definitely made his point. Ah, you see this
13:16
You're grounded mister
13:21
It was the ground
13:26
Now go to your room
13:29
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So thanks for watching guys
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14:32
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14:34
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