The open-source smart home platform Home Assistant is kicking the cloud to the curb - in name at least. "We are renaming Home Assistant Cloud to Home Assistant Link, because we hate clouds," founder Paulus Schoutsen told The Verge in an interview ahead of today's announcement . "Big tech ruined the cloud, so we're out."

The move is part of a long-term strategy Schoutsen and his team have been pursuing to make Home Assistant a mainstream smart home platform. Schoutsen says most users find the powerful platform after hitting the limits of mainstream options like Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Apple Home. But it has a steep learning curve, and …