Welcome to the BYTE, where we serve up the latest home and tech news from the last week for you to sink your teeth into.

This week’s BYTE includes some new data to actually enjoy, a wrap up of the tech convention, countries renewing their way into the future, getting to the core of smart homes, and some traditionally older home products getting a redesign. Enjoy!

Generally

Bringing Home The Bacon

The U.S. Census Bureau released new data on household incomes, showing the fastest growth since 2007, 5.2% to be specific.

Tell Me More

This is really good news. It shows incomes are recovering meaning more spending and that’s good news for everyone. The report also showed a decrease in poverty, which is a big deal because that hasn’t happened in many years. In addition to all this great news, the wage gap is continuing to close, not closing quickly but closing none the less, which is better than the alternative.

Gadgets And Gizmo’s Aplenty

Showing Off The Latest And Greatest

IFA 2016 has come and gone and we now know all of the best products about to hit the market. Features from this year included a fridge than will send you picture of the inside so you don’t forget something at the supermarket, an oven that lets you bake your steak to medium-rare without having to watch time or temperature, retro fridges that look like old VW minibus (our favorite), and washers that have a trap door for that sock you accidentally forgot to throw in.

Take Notes

Costa Rica Can’t Stop

Costa Rica is on a quest to run the country on 100% renewable and they’ve done that for over the past two months. In 2015 Costa Rica ran on 100% renewable energy for 285 days. This is very impressive, however not exactly replicable in larger countries since 80.27% of Costa Rica’s power came from hydroelectricity produced by the countries strong river systems. Keep up the good work Costa Rica.

All Under One Apple

With the new IOS 10 update from Apple, the company redesigned the Home app in an attempt to put all your smart device controls in one place. This is the first real stab at something like this from a big company and so far it seems to be working pretty well. The app helps with setting up your devices and categorizes them by rooms for convenience.

Trying To Make It Stick This Time

Wallpaper is back. Well maybe, but it is definitely becoming more popular. There are several new companies popping up and selling modern designs with easier installations, trying to “change the way people look at wallpaper.” The facts back them up as well. The market has been growing each year since 2011 and doesn’t look to be slowing down.

Totally Unrelated

The Triple Spiral

15,000 Dominoes. 25 hours of work. One spectacular tumble. This might just be the best way to spend 2 minutes to get the week going.