06-08, 16:00–16:50 (EST5EDT), Rocky Linux (BallroomB)
Amazon, Apple, and Google all have some spin on it, But they are all highly guarded walled gardens that track you, trap you, and in the end hold you hostage. I found a FOSS one that even the other less geeky members of my living arrangement are actually okay with.
My childhood dream was to be able to say "Computer, Tea, Earl Grey, hot." and have it comply. My first attempt in 1996 used an elaborate setup of X10, Macintosh PlainTalk glued together with AppleScript. It was an unwieldy beast, but it worked for very narrow definitions of worked. The grown up reality though is something only the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation could invent.
During the "COVID Years" I started to play with Home Assistant and its Open Source integrations. I will talk a bit about Home Assistant, my setup, and how I got an (almost) FOSS home. I still can't ask for tea, but at least it's not a Nutrimatic Drinks Dispenser!
Ian Geiser has spent decades in an uneasy relationship with computers. He is a veteran of the UNIX and, KDE vs Gnome wars, used a VAX, and installed Slackware using repurposed AOL floppies. His favorite things are C++, voiding warranties of gadgets, and long walks not on the beach.