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At CES 2014, devices that help control and monitor the home are encroaching on the esoteric gadgets that once dominated the electronics show. A case in point is Iris, a cloud-based home management system from Lowe's that can alert you when your child arrives home from school or enable you to remotely control your thermostat, lights, and other home electronics from a smart phone or tablet.
As explained by Lowe's, the Iris Hub, which is connected to a home's broadband router, captures signals put out by smart devices. It's also compatible with Wi-Fi devices. A starter kit costs $179 and Lowe's claims you can install it yourself in an hour. E-mail, text, and voice call alerts are free but if you want more advanced services such as live streaming and voice commands, there's a subscription fee of $9.99 a month. And unlike the iPhone's Siri, Iris can't find you a burger joint or hotel.
For more news from the show, check out the Insider's guide to CES 2014.
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