Iterate Weekly - Issue 178
This week we're talking about Brilliant Smart Switches, Gen Z's ideal companies,solar panel walkways, California Forever is on hold, and Twisters!
Welcome to issue 178 of Iterate Weekly.
Hope you’re all doing well. This is just a friendly reminder that you can always reply directly to these messages or leave a comment on the Substack post. Feedback is highly encouraged and I’m happy to answer any and all questions that come up.
Thank you as always for reading!
Brilliant is back from the dead to make smart hubs
As much as I love all the smart lights and switches in my house, it can still be a pain in the butt sometimes to adjust things.
Sure, you can use voice control for a lot of it but you still often need to whip out your phone, go into an app, and then possibly tap a few more buttons to get to what you need.
A company called Brilliant (not to be confused with the smart glasses company) is back from the brink of extinction and hope to provide a viable solution to those of us who may be getting overwhelmed by our smart homes.
Their primary product is the screen/smart switch you see above. It’s basically a tiny tablet that is designed specifically to control your smart home devices. In theory, it should be plenty powerful to do so and doesn’t waste any processing power doing other nonsense.
No, you may not want to look a screen every time you turn off the lights, but having one of these say at your entryway could be a easy way to control what you need to control upon entering and exiting your home.
The new owners of the company plan to keep the current trajectory and they have some upgraded smart panels in development now. My current setup of Philips Hue Smart switches has been fine in some instances but also kinda finicky in other rooms. Something like the Brilliant panel should make things more intuitive while also being easier on the eyes.
I’m definitely keeping a lookout for the new product and it could be part of my 2025 smart home setup if it delivers on its promises.
🎓 Education/Productivity/Work
Gen Z doesn’t want to work in tech anymore
I honestly thought that all young college graduates still wanted to work at “fun” tech companies. Maybe not the old-school tech companies of years past but surely still companies releasing bleeding edge products with hip office spaces or fully remote arrangements. Right?
No, apparently I’m wrong. According to Business Insider, more Gen Z jobseekers are hoping to land roles in the healthcare and government sectors. I guess I’m not as in touch with today’s youth as I thought I was…
That chart above is pretty telling. OK, NASA and the FBI seem like pretty cool places to work, but aside from that I’m surprised. I suppose the allure of established healthcare and government agencies is strong because job security is far more likely. As we’ve learned in the past few years, traditional tech jobs may not be as stable as we once thought.
And kudos to new grads who want to work at companies who are truly making a difference in people’s health rather than just making the latest piece of tech people don’t need to buy.
♻️ Health/Environment/EVs
Solar panels you can walk on
I have a feeling that literally everything will be solar panel at some point within our lifetimes.
Until that’s the case, a company called PV Floor is releasing solar panels that can be placed on walkways.
It’s a pretty smart setup. If you’re going to have paths that aren’t shaded, why not throw some solar panels on them? The key here is not making them feel any different to walk on than other tiles. Those panels above look super slippery to me. I can see them being a death trap on a rainy day, but I could be wrong.
Of course, there are still plenty of rooftops that should probably have solar panels installed first before we’re all walking on them all day, but I still love this idea. Taking it a step further, I love the idea of maybe making patterns with these panels. Rather than a straight black path, maybe there is more of a checkerboard or companies recreating logos in solar panels. Obviously it won’t be as efficient as having a full slate of panels, but the design ideas for heavily trafficked paths could be fun.
🛍 Grab Bag
California Forever utopian city on hold for now
I’ve really enjoyed following the “California Forever” saga over the past few months.
For those who aren’t aware, this is the push for billionaires to create a new Utopian city in a relatively remote corner of the Bay Area. In theory, it seemed great. New public transportation lines, high-density, somewhat affordable housing, etc.
But of course there is another side to the argument and a group of local residents who are against the new city have been fighting back. And apparently their efforts have worked. The group behind California Forever have agreed to remove an initiative from the November ballot in Solano County.
While it’s certainly a blow to the organizers, the plan isn’t totally dead yet. Instead of a likely loss in November, they will go back to the drawing board to see if they can improve the plan and put it to vote in 2026 instead. At least that’s what they’re saying at the moment.
I can understand both sides of the argument here. Maybe this plan would make more sense in another part of California that would be more receptive to change? On the other hand, it really is a unique parcel of land that is one of the last underdeveloped parcels within the confines of the Bay Area that could somewhat easily be connected to the rest of the existing infrastructure. And the plan, while ambitious, is more thoughtful than a lot of the other suburban sprawl plans seen in this part of Northern California.
Come on now, with a name like California Forever did we actually think this would resolve quickly? I’m sure we’ll hear lots more about this topic between now and 2026.
💬 Quote of the Week
"The waking mind is the least serviceable in the arts."
-Henry Miller
🎥Content Review
Twisters
Hey, we still have a bit more summer left! Why don’t you go enjoy a silly, fun, summer action movie?
Yep, I recently checked out “Twisters” the sequel to the mid-90s classic “Twister”. Any sequel that just adds an “s” to the original title gets bonus points in my book.
I’ll be honest, I was never a huge fan of the original. Maybe it’s because I’ve never lived in a Tornado-prone area but the thrill/fear of twisters like this never connected with me.
But this movie was still a lot of fun! Glen Powell steals the show for sure, but the rest of the ensemble cast is decent. And the special effects of seeing big tornadoes is just cool.
Go watch it now before summer ends and movies like this get put back on the shelf until May!
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
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