I’m a big fan of routines — digital routines, that is, because they’re a convenient way to launch a series of actions without having to set everything up manually each time you want to do something.

Smart locks can be great when you need to give someone temporary access to your home and don’t want to hand over a copyable key, or you just want to be able to use your smartphone for access to your pad rather than digging through your purse or bag for your keys.

You probably know you have to wipe your old computers and smartphones clean before you sell, donate, or recycle them. After all, you don’t want to give whoever ends up with your secondhand gadget access your documents, login credentials, or any personal information.

Amazon, wanting everything and anything you do to have Alexa integrated into it, announced a smorgasbord of new stuff today. Some of it is interesting; some of it is just an update of the same smart home gear you already have. (Also interesting, don’t get me wrong, but you probably aren’t likely to buy a new Echo Dot if you’re satisfied with your current setup.)

Though more router manufacturers are making routers easier to set up and configure — even via handy little apps instead of annoying web-based interfaces — most people probably don't tweak many options after purchasing a new router. They log in, change the name and passwords for their Wi-Fi networks and call it a day.

If you're looking to kick your smart home sound system up a notch, here's a fun way to do it. With a little extra work and some RFID technology, you can build your own card-driven jukebox that's sure to impress at your next party.

It's tempting to turn your Amazon Echo or Google Home into an alarm clock. You may already have a smart speaker sitting on your nightstand, and the ability to switch off the alarm or get an extra 10 minutes of snooze time without lifting a finger (or even opening your eyes) is a huge plus.

Apple's Home app makes it easy to control all your smart home tech right from your iPhone, but because this is Apple we're dealing with, it also comes with some restrictions. The biggest drawback is that Home only works with a small subset of HomeKit-approved smart lights, switches and other gadgets.

One of the biggest limitations of Google Home, Google's voice-controlled speakerbot, was that it couldn't tell anyone apart so all your requests were centered on one Google account. But thanks to its latest update, now it can recognise up to six people.

Whether it's poorly reported stories of hacked Samsung TVs, sadly hilarious tales of hacked teddy bears, or even more bizarre claims about wiretapped microwaves, real, fake and overblown accounts of all the things that can happen with the devices we choose to connect to the internet dominate the news. We've brought this stupid future on ourselves.

You can purchase a smart lock that you control with your phone easily enough, but it's much more fun to actually make one yourself. YouTubers Hacker House make one with a Raspberry Pi.

I wanted dimmable lights in my apartment, but like most people, my lease won't let me mess with the electricals. I thought I was stuck until I found the the Philips Hue Dimmer Switch. It's cheap, gives you instant dimmable lights with little setup, and leaves the door open to cooler smart home gear in the future.