One of the projects leads of the Apple iPod has come up with a novel design for a household thermostat. Tony Fadell’s Nest thermostat has the brains of a smartphone and the looks of a product made by Apple. Instead of complex programming steps, the device learns from every day use. It can be controlled from an iPhone or iPad and through a computer. It will be interesting to see if this product really catches on. Optimal adjustments to the temperature in a home can potentially save a lot of energy. There also seems to be ample R&D and funds behind the product. Just purchasing the domain nest.com was probably quite an investment. The Nest thermostat should be available for sale late this year for $249.
By now many people are using their smart phones to wake up every morning instead of a traditional alarm clock. In the case of the iPhone, there are numerous applications that enhance this with images, weather updates, and other features. The Lark alarm goes much further by including a wrist band that can softly wake you by slightly vibrating. This is particularly useful because it will typically only wake up the wearer of the wrist band and not the sleeping partner. It also includes a sensor and » Continue Reading
Developing a new product is a costly and time consuming enterprise. It requires countless hours of research, prototype creation, and plenty of funds for materials and legal fees if attempting to patent the idea. Quirky has come up with a different approach. They have a network of over 30,000 volunteers that can help influence to improve and eventually launch a product. The process starts by someone submitting an idea. The concept is then presented to the community for feedback. The best ideas are selected to move on to actual product development, design, and branding. » Continue Reading
The current mainstream method of learning in a classroom is centuries old. In the last few decades technology has been changing these long standing methods. Salman Khan seems to have sped up the change with his Khan Academy. Salman started producing videos for his cousin in 2004. Some years later in 2009 he quit his job in the finance industry to dedicate himself fully to the Khan Academy. He has authored over 2,000 videos that have been watched over 35 million times. The lessons topics cover math, finance, biology, » Continue Reading
It seems that more and more we have to deal with an ever growing amount of digital information. It is increasingly difficult to manage things like pictures, bookmarks, notes, and other digital tidbits. Evernote provides a clever way to organize it all. The system is composed of a main application that runs on a computer and supporting plugins and apps that run on mobile devices. For example, lets say that you come to a website on your computer that you want to remember. Yes, it can be bookmarked, but often it is difficult to search through the default bookmark systems in most browsers. » Continue Reading