Welcome Summer! 

Whether you're enjoying a "staycation" or planning to travel, we wish you a safe and happy season.  If you have any safety needs or entertainment "wants" in or around your home, let us know if we can help.  Now is a great time to add a sensor on the pool, update your door locks or enhance your monitoring features to keep an eye on your home while you're away.  If you're staying home, maybe it's time for some outdoor speakers or lighting control?  As always, give us a call to schedule a free consultation to discuss your ideas. 

In this edition we address: Are you caring for an elderly parent?  Learn about Life Beacon and enjoy knowing that your loved one is safe without tethering them to a home phone line.

We're looking forward to the Summer Olympics and celebrating by hosting Demo Days, a series of events sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association.   Watch your inbox for your invitation for this July 20th & 21st event.  From there...we're gettin' ready for some football!

We hope you enjoy this month's edition.  Let us know  what you'd like to see featured - we want to be YOUR Technology Advisor.  And remember, we love social media, but keep your travel plans to yourself (that goes for your teenagers too!)  Stay safe!

 

 Recently, I had to deal with the loss of my stepmother. More importantly, my father had to deal with the loss of his mate of 26 years. At 79, my father is slipping both mentally and physically and now requires my help in his day-to-day affairs. When my stepmother was alive, even though she was legally blind and had severe diabetes-related illnesses, the two of them managed to take care of themselves. I also had comfort in knowing that if something happened, one of them would be in a position to call for help. To make matters worse, my father lives in Dayton, Ohio, four hours away. I had some decisions to contemplate:

• Should I consider Assisted Living as a solution?
• Should I move my father closer to me?
• Should I look at PERS Units (Personal Emergency Response)?

continue... 

Showroom Spotlight - "Listen and You'll See"

2-Channel Audiophile Demo Room

 "Listen and You'll See" boasts Bowers & Wilkins of their Diamond Series Loudspeakers.  Powered by a Classe Delta Series Stereo Preamp/Processor and Amplifier, our 2-Channel room with its custom acoustics, provides an unparelled listening experience. 

The Assisted Living option has to be the last resort for me; only contemplated when my fear for his safety is greater than his right to live in his home for as long as he can. This was the first promise I made to him!

Moving my father closer to me would certainly make my life easier while looking after his affairs but at the expense of moving him out of his home of 26 years and away from his friends and neighbors. This seemed like too much to ask.

I am in the Security and Electronics Industry, so naturally the Personal Emergency System seemed appealing to me. First, let me explain how most of these systems operate. A traditional Personal Emergency system works very similar to a garage door. A wireless transmitter sends a signal up to 100 feet received at a main receiver unit, typically located in the bedroom, and relays an alarm signal using the phone line to a central monitoring facility. The central monitoring facility dispatches the emergency responders and notifies the client's family. Some units have a voice speaker/microphone that allows the dispatcher to speak to the client if they are in the same room as the receiver unit. The problems with these units, especially the ones seen on TV are:

• Phone lines are going away in favor of Cellular and VoIP/broadband based services.
• People are not limited to 100 feet from their bedrooms. The units may not work while they are in back yard or shoveling snow in the drive way.
• With the exception of the bedroom, not being able to speak to the central monitoring facility can lead to accidental false alarms dispatching emergency medical personnel.

My problem was solved when I recently got the opportunity to field test some new technology for a product called Life Beacon. Life Beacon is like the traditional Personal Emergency systems seen on TV except for three important differences:

• The Life Beacon uses Cellular service and does not require a phone line. This also means that when the responders call they are talking directly to the Life Beacon transmitter (pendant or wrist watch) and communication is not restricted to just the bedroom. Additionally, they can conference the client's family in on the phone call!
• The unit has built-in GPS tracking so it even works out doors...or at the grocery store. The unit even lets you know when your loved one leaves the immediate vicinity of their home. You can go on line and locate your wandering parent at their last known GPS location any time you want.
• The Life Beacon sends text messages and/or emails to loved ones on any alert condition you set up in the software.

I am happy to announce that this unit is working great for my father and we are releasing the service for our valued clients. New features coming include medicine tracking and reminders to help insure medications are taken correctly.