Gary joins me for a catch-up as we kick off the first show of the year, covering a wide range of tech, smart home, music, and CES news.

We start with a look at what (and what hasn't) made waves at CES so far, including experimental laptops, solid-state battery breakthroughs, EV tech, and some genuinely interesting smart home announcements.

I also share updates on recent projects, including:

• A Raspberry Pi + e-ink display now working as a dynamic mixer label system
• MIDI and synth visualisation projects using Python and LED displays
• A new wavefolder sound pack release
• New tutorials, including first videos on the Korg Opsix
• An in-depth interview with John Lehmkuhl (Korg sound designer & Unify creator)
• Plus a quick mention of the recent synth quiz and answers

Gary dives deep into smart home automation, AI, and MCP (Model Context Protocol), showing how AI can directly control real-world devices. We also discuss:

• Home Assistant as a smart home abstraction layer
• Matter, Thread, Zigbee, and where things still fall apart
• Presence sensors, humidity-based automation, and energy-efficient heating
• Air quality sensors (CO₂ & PM2.5)
• Robot vacuums that climb stairs
• Philips Hue spatial awareness
• Multi-person presence tracking sensors

We wrap up with thoughts on solid-state batteries finally becoming reality, what this could mean for EVs, phones, and wearables, and what we're hoping to see next from NAMM.

🎵 Also mentioned: A new synthwave track "Synthetic Skies" — created using the Korg Multi/Poly and a classic string ensemble — now out on YouTube, Spotify, and all major platforms.