Five Linux home automation clicks

By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols for Linux and Open Source 

Google's Nest for your home

Google thinks its move into the home with the acquisition of Nest for a cool $3.2 billion is well worth the cash.

Why? Forrester Research analyst Frank Gillett stated, "Google's acquisition of Nest affirms the growing strategic importance of the idea of the connected home. It also shows that Google increasingly believes in hardware/software solutions, such as Nest has built, rather than just building operating systems for other manufacturers to implement in smartphones, Chromebooks, and TVs."

So what in terms of gadgets did Google get? Well, for now, not that much. At this time, Nest only offers a smart thermostat, the $249 Nest Learning Thermostat and a smart smoke and carbon monoxide detector, the $99 Nest Protect.

These devices may not sound that exciting, but with remote smartphone control and the Theromstat's ability to control "smart-grid heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) devices," Nextmarket expects Nest to sell 200,000 units a month in 2014. For the HVAC business, this is big business.

As for Nest Protect, I predict it's going to have a great future for one reason alone: No low-battery chirps. Hallelujah!

Google is also expected to add a lot more devices to Nest's Internet of Things (IoT) family

The Return of Chumby

Chumby, one of the first home IoT devices powered by Linux, or by any other operating system for that matter, appeared in 2008. This product went unsupported for over a year, but recentlyChumby, a cute touchscreen gadget that looks like an alarm clock, has risen from the grave.

During its hiatus, you could still use a Chumby as an Internet music player, and yes, an alarm clock. Today, the company promises that it has over a thousand applications. Some of theseapps — a San Diego Zoo Webcam? — are not really apps at all. Others, like a bandwidth monitor that lets you see what your internet connectivity looks like from your router, are more interesting.

Accessing these new apps wil run you $3 a month. The old Chumby models will work with the new services. If you want a new one, the Chumby One, which looks like the old model, will run you $79.99. The Chumby 8, which is more streamlined and comes in red and black costs $99.99.

Ivee: Talk-to-me home automations

The Ivee Sleek by itself doesn't look all that impressive. Looks aren't everything.

Once you connect the $200 Ivee to your wifi network, you can use it not only to tell time and listen to music, but to control other smart devices such as those from iControl; Staples Connect; Lowe's Iris ecosystems; Nest thermostats; Locktron and Goji locks; and Belkin and Philips Hue smart lights

Ivee's more than just a control center for your house. You can use voice commands to not only run your other devices — "Turn on the A/C." 

Ninja Blocks for DIY fans

Say you don't want a ready-made device — this is Linux after all — No worries! The $199 Ninja Blocks is built around a BeagleBone Single Board Computer (SBC). It includes an Arduino-compatible controller as well as sensor inputs for devices such motion detectors, locks, temperature and humidity sensors. The package also supports wifi and 3/4G

This package provides wifi control of sensor inputs like motion detectors, contact closures, temperature and humidity sensors, and pushbuttons. With the Ninja Blocks application programming interface (API), you can take readings from a variety of devices and send them orders either over a wifi connection or from a smartphone.

Make no mistake about it, Ninja Blocks is for someone who's both a programmer and knows his orher way around devices. If that's you, I think you may just love this gadget. If it's not, tryworking with a Raspberry Pi SBC first. If you have fun with that and you're ready for a challenge, check this device out.

The Linux-powered WeMo Crockpot

Yes, I said a crockpot, and that's what I meant! The $130 Linux-powered WeMo Crockpot makes a mean beef stew. Of course, this device is only part of Belkin's WeMo home automation family.

WeMo is the technology behind a family of devices, all of which can be controlled from any Android or iOS powered smartphone or tablet. Besides the crockpot, which has me hungry now, you can also use WeMo to control lights, cameras, and other electrical devices.

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How to check your OneDrive for Business storage space

By Ed Bott

This week, Microsoft began rolling out a very big OneDrive for Business update. If you’re a subscriber with an Office 365 business plan that includes OneDrive for Business, your storage allotment is now 1 TB, a 40x increase over the previous 25 GB. (The original announcement was back in late April.)

To verify that your OneDrive for Business storage has received the update, sign in to Office 365 and check the Storage Metrics page, where a bar in the upper-right corner shows how much space is in use and how much is available.

Don’t have that page bookmarked? No problem. You can get to it in either of two ways.

If you have the OneDrive for Business sync client installed on your Windows PC (it's included by default with Office Professional Plus 2013, Office 365 Enterprise E3, Office 365 Midsize Business, and Office 365 Small Business Premium), right-click the program’s icon in the notifications area at the right side of the taskbar and click Manage Storage on the shortcut menu.

That opens the dialog box shown here:

Click View OneDrive for Business Storage to go directly to the Storage Metrics page.

If the sync client isn’t installed, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to Office365.com using your Office 365 Small Business, Small Business Premium, Midsize Business, or Enterprise (E1/E3/E4) credentials. (Note that the $4/month Exchange Online accounts do not include OneDrive for Business.)

2. Click OneDrive in the blue navigation bar at the top of the page. That takes you to your OneDrive for Business page. If this is the first time you’ve used this service, you’ll need to go through a quick setup step first.

3. Click the gear icon in the upper-right corner and choose Site Settings.

4. On the Site Settings page, under the Site Collection Administration heading (near the bottom of the second column), click Storage Metrics.

For an overview of all Office 365 business plans, see this master page.

Note that OneDrive for Business is not included with Office 365 Home (previously Home Premium) and Personal subscriptions. If you’re a subscriber to one of those plans, you’ll get 1 TB of storage at OneDrive.com instead. That upgrade is due to arrive in July.

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Beast Sensor On Indiegogo Tracks Your Weight-lifting In Real Time

Techcrunch

Mike Butcher

In recent years hardware has appeared to track your gym workouts. PushStrength and GymWatch are both devices that will measure your reps as you grunt and build those muscles lifting weights.A new kid on the block is Beast and it’s currently trying to raise $60,000 on Indiegogo.This little device differentiates itself by being suitable for all exercises (not only a few) and by displaying results in real-time. In theory this creates more motivation and prevents you do the wrong movements as you lift Developed in Milan, Italy, the sensor is magnetic and can be attached to barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells or gym machines and to the body itself for performing free body exercises with the Beast Vest. It then links to a smartphone app to record the data.The Beast shows you in real-time how much you are pushing yourself by lifting weights, using a machine or performing bodyweight exercises. You can chose to visualize speed, power or strength and monitor your performance while working out. On the accompanying app, you can review your results while resting between each set and get indications about how to make your training more effective. For example the Beast App accesses all your data to suggest the optimal weight to use or the number of reps to perform to reach your training goal faster.

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YouTube, like Netflix, is now publicly shaming internet providers for slow video

YouTube, like Netflix, is now publicly shaming internet providers for slow video

Zachary M. Seward

Quartz 

videos blur, buffer, or won’t play altogether, YouTube is now pinning the blame on your internet service provider.
“Experiencing interruptions?” reads the message in a blue bar underneath choppy video, as seen in the above screenshot. Clicking “find out why” brings you to Google’s new website, where it displays video playback quality for internet service providers (ISPs) in various countries. It’s like a report card for your delinquent ISP.​

Google, which owns YouTube, has a strong interest in deflecting blame for poor video quality. The US government is considering new “net neutrality” regulations that could affect how information, particularly data-heavy streaming video, flows through the internet. ISPs would like to see more of the responsibility placed on video services like YouTube and Netflix, which account for a growing portion of internet traffic.
YouTube’s new notification is similar to one Netflix recently displayed to customers. “The Verizon network is crowded right now,” it said, for instance, when video playback was slow. Verizon called the message “deliberately misleading” and threatened legal action. Netflix defended its finger-pointing but stopped doing it last month.

The YouTube notification is more subtle, but the intent is the same. In Google’s view, ISPs are responsible for maintaining the capacity to deliver high-quality video streams. Internet providers argue that crowded networks are inevitable, and video services should find less congested routes for their data, including direct connections that ISPs charge money to set up. Video companies have derided those “fast lanes” even as they sometimes pay for them to improve quality of service.

Curiously, though, Google and other technology companies have been relatively quiet as the US Federal Communications Commission moves closer to rules that would explicitly allow those fast lanes. That’s a stark contrast to four years ago, when Google played a central—and controversial—role in drafting net neutrality regulations.

Rather than intensely lobbying the government this time around, Google and Netflix seem to be focused on a public relations campaign. Both now regularly report how well their services work  on a wide range of internet providers. Netflix’s ISP Index covers 20 countries; Google’s Video Quality Report is available in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Google has also started labeling some ISPs as “YouTube HD Verified,” a sort of Good Housekeeping Seal for streaming video.

The message of these reports is clearly that ISPs are responsible for whether your video playback is smooth. “You may be prompted to view the report if you’re experiencing poor playback on your computer (such as frequent rebuffering or fuzzy video),” Google explains on a new page in YouTube’s help section.
It’s not clear exactly when Google started displaying the ISP-blaming notification bar. Google’s press office is closed for Independence Day weekend and didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.

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iWatch Talk Heats Up After Apple Hires Away Another Luxury Watch Exec

iWatch Talk Heats Up After Apple Hires Away Another Luxury Watch Exec

As America waits to have its collective wrist chaffed by the awesomeness of the iWatch, Apple poached the sales director of Swiss luxury watchmaker Tag Heuer, heightening the excitement.
Already the topic of endless conjecture, the iWatch is expected to drop in October, offering it up as a readymade holiday must-have. The snagging of Patrick Pruniaux, a high-profile executive, will no doubt get the Apple-hyping industrial complex frothing at the mouth, even as the company continues to decline comment.

Adario Strange recapped the latest maneuver, which happened on Friday while the rest of us were getting drunk on America:

"Our sales director left yesterday because he took a contract from Apple to launch the iWatch," Jean-Claude Biver, head of LVMH's luxury-watch division, which includes Swiss brands TAG Heuer and Hublot, told CNBC on Friday."

This is hardly the first such move for Apple. As Reuters reports:

"Apple has plucked several executives from the luxury sector in recent months. Burberry ex-Chief Executive Angela Ahrendts started as its new head of retail and online sales in May, and former head of French fashion brand Yves Saint Laurent Paul Deneve was hired last year to work on special projects."
Earlier this week, Apple applied for an iWatch trademark in Japan.

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Google Is Hosting A Virtual Camp For Underprivileged Kids

Google Is Hosting A Virtual Camp For Underprivileged Kids

Madeline Stone

Business Insider

You won't need sunscreen or bug spray at Google's version of summer camp.
According to DNAinfo, Maker Camp, a collaboration between Google and Maker Media, is a free online program that will teach kids how to make rockets and other gadgets without leaving their home.
Kids 13 years and older with a Google+ account can log onto the network and use Google Hangouts to chat with instructors, who will guide them through science and robotics projects.

Kids who don't have Internet access or who want to complete the projects with friends can participate at a number of libraries, schools, and museums across the country. There are four New York-area locations hosting the program this year, including J.H.S. 157 Stephen A. Halsey, a tech-focused school in Queens, and Harlem's Urban Tech Club.

This is the third summer the camp has run. In the past, they've completed projects like a prosthetic cyborg and awesome robot keychains. This year's projects include a soda bottle rocket and iridescent sneakers.
All of the materials used are things that can be easily purchased at the store.

"We are trying to make sure that kids have a chance to get involved in some fun innovative summer activities that supplement what they do inside the classroom," Google spokesman Ray Gobberg said to DNAinfo.

The program begins at 11 a.m. PST each Monday through Thursday starting July 7. It runs through August 15.
On Fridays, campers go on virtual field trips. On the schedule are visits to Jim Henson's Creature Shop and Denmark's Legoland park, as well as a Google Hangout with the team building Google's self-driving car.
All of these adventures will take place from the safety of the computer screen.
 "We take them to places that are very hard to see," Gobberg said.

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Van Gaal leads Dutch into World Cup semifinals

Van Gaal leads Dutch into World Cup semifinals

By MIKE CORDER

Associated Press 

SALVADOR, Brazil (AP) Louis van Gaal made the call, and Tim Krul made the saves.
In another move that will only add to his reputation as a tactical mastermind, the Netherlands coach led his team into the World Cup semifinals after bringing on Krul with seconds remaining in extra time.
Moments later, Krul saved two penalties in a 4-3 shootout victory over Costa Rica, making the Manchester United-bound Van Gaal again look like a football genius.
''It worked out,'' Van Gaal said Saturday after his team played Costa Rica to a 0-0 draw through extra time. ''That was beautiful. I'm a bit proud of that.''

Jasper Cillessen had started in goal for the Dutch team, but Van Gaal made the decision to pull him after 120 minutes of scoreless football and replace him with Krul.

The Newcastle goalkeeper, who really only touched the ball twice all game, saved the second and fifth penalties, and guessed the correct way on all five.

''We thought it all through,'' Van Gaal said. ''We all thought that Tim Krul was the best keeper to stop penalties. He is taller and has a longer reach. We prepared for the Costa Rica penalties just as we prepared for our own penalties.''

In the semifinals, the Netherlands will face Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates in Sao Paulo on Wednesday.

Although Krul made the decisive stops in the shootout, it was Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas that was the star of the match.

Navas made a string of saves to keep the attacking Dutch scoreless for 90 minutes of regulation time and 30 minutes of extra time.

His night, however, will forever be overshadowed by Krul, and by Van Gaal.
''I never saw something like that,'' Costa Rica midfielder Celso Borges said of the goalkeeping change. ''But they were right, he did his job.''

Van Gaal has made several inspired changes at this year's World Cup in the team's five straight wins. He brought on Klaas Jan Huntelaar against Mexico and the Schalke striker had an assist and scored a stoppage-time penalty to win 2-1.

Against Chile, midfielder Leroy Fer scored within a minute of coming on to break a 0-0 deadlock. Another substitute, Memphis Depay, scored the second in the 2-0 victory.

On Saturday, Navas had kept his team in the match with some excellent saves. And when Wesley Sneijder twice beat him late in regulation and again in the second half of extra time, the woodwork made the stop.
Sneijder hit the post with a free kick in the 80th minute and then sent a curling shot over Navas and off the crossbar before the penalty shootout

At the end, however, Navas could not stop any of the four Dutch penalties as veterans Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben, Sneijder and Dirk Kuyt all scored.

''Of course you want to stop the penalty,'' Navas said. ''But they shot better and I could not stop them.''
Navas couldn't, but Krul could.

''Tim stopped two penalties,'' Van Gaal said, ''and it doesn't get better than that.''

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China's scalpers force Oculus to suspend Rift sales

China's scalpers force Oculus to suspend Rift sales

With over 100,000 developer kit sales logged in its docket, it's fair to say interest in the Oculus Rift is high. While we wait for the inevitable release of the consumer model, scalpers in China snapping up developer versions at such a rate that the Facebook-owned company has been forced to suspend sales in the country. According to comments made by an Oculus representative on Reddit, the VR specialist was seeing "extreme reseller purchases," which were presumably sold at an unhealthy markup and took stock away from legitimate developers. While the company's DK2 headset is making its way to buyers, it's considered an in-development version of Rift and isn't intended for consumers.
How bad was the reselling in China? "We were forced to suspend an entire country from purchasing," says this Oculus employee. "I'll let you put two and two together." The good news is that the company is making it a priority to look into an alternative sales process, allowing Chinese developers to create slick VR experiences for the rest of us when the Rift finally gets its public release.

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RoboHow is translating the internet for robot use

RoboHow is translating the internet for robot use

Michael Gorman

Engadget

RoboEarth. No, it's not a lame SNES game from 1994, it's a cloud network that lets robots learn from the actions of other bots. It started over three years ago, and now, a new, related project has sprung from that initiative at the Institute for Artificial Intelligence at the University of Bremen in Germany. Called RoboHow, it seeks to translate info on the web meant for human consumption into something our electromechanical helpers can understand. Imagine a future in which you ask your house robot to whip you up something new for dinner; RoboHow would ingest your chosen recipes from Epicurious and turn them into instructions said bot can execute.

Of course, that means more than just turning English into bot-friendly 1's and 0's. RoboHow has to make explicit many parts of complex procedures that humans can simply infer -- like how to turn on an oven, or where to find needed ingredients. The plan is to eventually enable robots to search the internet for info or instructions they need to complete assigned tasks without external (read: human) intervention. For now, people have to identify, demonstrate and feed RoboHow the right data, as bots left to their own devices would inevitably grab bad or incomplete information. So, it seems that our future robot overlords still need us meatbags around... for a little while longer, at least.

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Forget selfies -- make way for 'dronies'

By Doug Gross, CNN

- Forget selfies. Those are so 2013.

Make way, instead, for a new way so show your handsome, or lovely, mug to the Internet -- a budding Web movement that combines high-tech geekery with the human desire to be seen.

Call them "dronies."

As personal drones find their way into more and more hands, folks have begun using the personal, unmanned aircraft, kitted out with video cameras, to add a little flare to the Internet's ubiquitous "look at me" self-shots.

"Let's be honest, selfies aren't going anywhere," said Alexandra Dao, a community development manager at video site Vimeo. "But the dramatic reveal aspect adds another level of interest."

There may be no such thing as a "dronie expert" just yet. But Dao does claim the distinction of coining the term.

About two months ago, she saw that a friend had commented on a video posted to the site by tech entrepreneur Amit Gupta. It was shot on San Francisco's Bernal Hill, starting with a closeup of Gupta and two friends, then panning up and out to show the San Fran skyline.

The friend "proclaimed it a new kind of shot," she said, "and I jumped in with the suggestion of 'dronie'."

A few more dronies popped up the following day, leading Dao to begin collecting them on a new Vimeo channel.

From there, it started the march to becoming a Web trend. A Web trend with a silly name? Sure. But, hey ... it's no "owling."

iReport: Remote aerial photography

Twitter got into the action last month. At the Cannes Lions advertising festival in France, the social-media service garnered some free publicity using drones to create scenic Vine videos of employees with other festival attendees.

The first was of "Star Trek" actor and social-media star Patrick Stewart, who appears in a new Twitter documentary.

Twitter's not alone. As these things go, some early Web celebs are emerging in the dronie world.

The Works family, Josh, Jessa and their son, Jack, sold all their stuff and took off on a permanent road trip in their Airstream bus in 2011. (Both parents have jobs that let them work from anywhere). They're documenting the trip with often stunning photos on Instagram and, somewhere along the way, got their own drone.

Voila! The "first family" of dronies is born.

There was the one three weeks ago from Camp Creek in Oregon, where the drone flies up to showcase the towering trees in the site's old-growth forest. Or their first, a vertigo-inducing zoom-out on Vance Creek Bridge in Washington, the second-highest built bridge in the United States.

It remains to be seen whether dronies will become just another flash in the pan on the fast-twitch Web, or a more enduring Web presence like the venerable animated GIF.

Dao says she's seeing some momentum.

"I've definitely noticed more interest in using drones for photography and filmmaking, even amongst my friends," she said.

"Drones just open up so many possibilities for interesting compositions and they're a lot more accessible than some of the professional equipment that filmmakers have had to use in the past to get these kinds of shots."

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Things You Feel WHen You Get a Bad HairCut:

Things You Feel WHen You Get a Bad

 HairCut:

When it comes to bad haircuts, there are two things that every person can agree on: A) When they happen to you, they’re more awful than anyone else can imagine, and B) they must be stopped at all costs. Those, plus the fact that your stylist never means just one inch when they say that’s all they’ll trim. Seriously, never. But, unfortunately, as long as there are salon chairs to be sat in, there will inevitably be bad haircuts. And each time someone falls victim to one, they’ll probably most likely feel a mixture of all of these emotions:

 “Nononono, you’re cutting too much!” 

Way too much, always too much

“I have to pretend that I love it.”

 To spare your hairstylist your sad, sad tears.

 “Maybe I can fix it.”

 You can’t. You shouldn’t.

“How am I supposed to replicate this style after I wash my hair for the first time?”

 Straighten it, curl it or some weird combination of the two? Wand it? UGH.

“How long is it going to take to grow back?”

 It’s been, like, 17 minutes since it was cut and it’s still just as terrible. Time is torturous.

“No one look at me.

 Or look at me, but just know that I already know what you’re thinking and I’ve thought it 50 times already just today.”

“Maybe I can make hats my new thing.” 

Yeah, that’ll work.

“Eh, I guess it isn’t so bad.”

 From a precise angle and in a specific light. The important thing to remember is that it could be so much worse.

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