February 25, 2026 Reading time: 2 minutes

For quite some time now, whenever I read someone talking about AI for app development, I can separate them into two very distinct groups.

The first group consists of the gurus, the snake oil salesmen: "AI is going to eat you alive," "My girlfriend, who can't program, made an app in two days and earned €5,000 in a week," "Computer scientists have no future"... Of course, this is always accompanied by a "Check out my course where I explain it all" or "Follow me to learn more (I'll sell you the course later)."

Then there's the other side of the coin. Those who warn about reality: emphasizing the importance of the human factor. Those who talk about security, or the false sense of time saved (highlighting the time that has to be wasted reviewing the machine's hallucinations), or that all that glitters is not gold. They aren't pessimists, they don't want to rain on the parade: they simply have their feet on the ground.

The worst part is that in my social circle, especially in non-technical circles, followers of the former are proliferating. "I saw a video where they do such and such," "AI can do this for you," and things like that. Just last year, I gave several talks in primary schools about technology, and not a single kid wanted to be a computer scientist: all those who were even slightly interested had a cousin or uncle living in Dubai who made a living with cryptocurrencies, AI, and similar paraphernalia. Ironically, they didn't seem to be model students, it has to be said.

That said, to conclude, I would recommend caution to those non-technical entrepreneurs. Don't be seduced by fairy tales or promises that sound like science fiction. It's true that AI is bringing about a radical change, an unimaginable boost to productivity, and an alteration of the classic computing paradigm like few others have ever seen. But let's not succumb to FOMO, let's not give in to those who urge us to jump on the bandwagon that might be the wrong one. Let's act sensibly and try to do a little research before giving a voice to those who seek to spread misinformation for their own benefit.

January 29, 2025 Reading time: 5 minutes

You've probably seen some small pipes on some terraces in bars or similar (especially in summer, of course) that spray a thin layer of water, and that help to cool the environment. The idea is cool, and it's something that's not expensive to prepare if you want to set something up on your terraces, pools or wherever you like.

First of all, I'm going to tell you the basics of the matter, then I'll explain how to "automate" it without the need for home automation and, finally, how you can make it as pro as possible, and link it to your home automation center.

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January 29, 2025 Reading time: 8 minutes

[Have you read part 1 of this guide? Click here to start from the beginning!]

And we end this "little" "quick" guide to home automation by touching on something basic but with a lot of potential: the functions of Home Assistant itself. This software has various options that will make our lives easier, and some of them end up being quite useful. In addition, we can use various integrations that will provide us with a certain added value to our home automation center.

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January 28, 2025 Reading time: 23 minutes

[Have you read part 1 of this guide? Click here to start from the beginning!]

There are many things to connect via Zigbee to our Home Assistant, but WIFI always takes the cake, both for ease and compatibility. And since it doesn't need a hub, we can add devices from the first minute. There is also an added handicap: there are many devices that are designed to be used with their own app, and which usually go via WIFI. That's where Home Assistant gives us one of its best assets: unifying the software.

Let's remember that one of the disadvantages of using gadgets via WIFI is the possibility of saturating our network. It didn't take long for me to have problems with my router (the one that came by default with my provider, Lowi), and I solved it by adding mesh devices. I'll take advantage and talk a little about them, because they are little known and they have worked very well for me.

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January 15, 2025 Reading time: 10 minutes

[Have you read part 1 of this guide? Click here to start from the beginning!]

In plain English, and to make ourselves understood, the Zigbee protocol is a mechanism for various devices to communicate with each other. It's like talking about WIFI or Bluetooth, since Zigbee is another one of many. It is not usually very well known in everyday life, since its use is mainly focused on home automation, security and industrial issues.

Personally, I like to use Zigbee devices in home automation issues, although there are devices that use other protocols, such as radio frequency, WIFI or even Bluetooth. Each protocol has its advantages and disadvantages, but in my opinion Zigbee is the ideal one for this field. If you are not going to have many devices in your system, WIFI is not a bad option either, but in my case I had problems with my router, which was choking with so many connections.

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January 12, 2025 Reading time: 3 minutes

Since I was little, I have dreamed of developing my own video game. When I was 5 years old, I was given a NES with the Popeye video game, with the promise of having one of those machines from the bars at home. Obviously, I was fascinated: not by that title itself (although I played it a lot), but by others that I was able to play later, such as Super Mario Bros., Operation Wolf, DuckTales or Isolated Warrior, among others. It was clear to me that I wanted to work making video games.

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