The Bare Truth About Smart Home Tech (From a 25-Year Veteran)

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In this episode of Technical Difficulties, we sit down with Richard Gunther — longtime smart home expert, podcast host, consultant, and one of the most respected voices in connected home tech. Richard has been deep in the smart home world for more than 25 years, starting with X10 and HomeSeer and evolving through Insteon, Amazon Alexa, HomeKit, Home Assistant, and everything in between.

We cover A LOT in this conversation, including:
✔️ The smart home devices Richard actually trusts
✔️ Why he ditched Amazon Alexa for Apple Home
✔️ His very honest take on Home Assistant
✔️ What AI gets wrong about smart homes (and what it should be doing)
✔️ The most overrated and underrated smart home tech today
✔️ His early days with X10, Insteon, media center PCs, and CES
✔️ Why manufacturers still don’t understand the “smart kitchen”
✔️ Real-world smart home fails that will make you feel better about your own setup
✔️ The future of smart home automation — and why we’re not there yet

Whether you’re a smart home hobbyist, a DIY tinkerer, a Home Assistant power user, or someone trying to make your tech actually work, this episode is full of insights, laughs, and blunt honesty.

🎧 Listen to Richard’s podcasts:
Smart Home Show → https://smarthome.fm

Entertainment 2.0 → https://thedigitalmediazone.com

📱 Follow Richard:
Mastodon & Bluesky: @RichardGunther
About Me: https://about.me/richardgunther