Hive takes on Philips Hue with colour changing light bulbs
Hive, the smarthome subsidiary of British Gas, launched its first Active Lights back in June, instantly making it a major smarthome player. The ability to control heating and lighting from one app and using one hub makes it incredibly simple and accessible.
Today, the company has announced two new lightbulb models to add to the range and increase your lighting options.
- Hive Active Light: Connected bulbs make Hive a major smarthome player
The first is a colour changing bulb which covers full RGB and white colours, leaving you to choose any colour you can think of to set the right mood. Like the original Active Lights, Hive is offering the colour changing bulbs with screw and bayonet fittings to cater for all British homes. They’re available now for £44 a bulb, £159 for a three bulb starter pack with a Hive Hub, £119 for a three bulb pack or £179 for a five bulb pack.
The other new bulb is a cool to warm white which can change from warm white 2700K to daylight cool 6500K. Both new bulbs are A+ energy rated and 240 and 230 degree bean angles respectively to help prevent shadowing. The cool to warm white bulbs are available now for £29 per bulb or £119 for a starter pack with a Hive Hub.
There’s still no GU10 bulb, so spotlight users still can’t join the party, but the addition of the new bulbs make Hive even more competitive in the smart lighting space.
Honeywell Lyric T6 smart thermostat will make your home toasty warm when you’re on your way home
Honeywell has launched the Lyric T6, the latest in its range of connected thermostats, joining the evohome and and Single Zone. The new model has Apple HomeKit integration meaning you can control it using your voice and Siri, or through Apple’s Home app.
It also packs in geofencing technology, so it can detect when you’ve left the house or are on your way home, based on the location of your smartphone. When the last person leaves for the day, the Lyric T6 will automatically switch to an energy saving mode and then kick into action when it detects you’re within a predetermined radius.
- Which Honeywell heating system is best for you? Evohome vs Voice controlled vs Single Zone Thermostat
If you know you’re going to be in and out the house a lot and don’t want your boiler to be constantly stopping and starting, you can set seven day or daily schedules.
You can also control the T6 when you’re out and about and even on holiday via Honeywell’s Lyric app. As long as you’ve got an internet connection, you can control the temperature of your home to help save money on energy costs.
Because the Lyric T6 supports Apple HomeKit, it can be included in any of your ‘scenes’, so can, for example, come on the same time as some connected lights and a coffee machine when you get home so you can sit down and relax.
It can also let you know if the temperature inside your home becomes extremely hot or cold and even learn heating cycles to automatically adjust the temperature without you having to worry.
The Honeywell Lyric T6 is available now in two variants: the T6 has to be fixed to a wall while the T6R is a wireless version and can be placed anywhere around the home. Both are available online or through plumbing and heating installers.
ICYMI: Roller coasters will be recommended by urologists
Today on In Case You Missed It: Researchers at Michigan State created a lifelike 3D model of a patient’s kidney, with stones inside, and took it on a roller coaster after the man said the crystals cleared after riding Big Thunder Mountain. Turns out, the model backed it up and now, doctors will probably start recommending folks with smaller kidney stones ride roller coasters as treatment. The inner child of every adult just did a happy dance.
NASA believes the Hubble Space Telescope spotted erupting water plumes on Jupiter’s moon, Europa, which would be amazing if it turns out to be true. And the company formally known as Snapchat may have unveiled its new sunglasses with video camera inside on Friday night, but we’re still not over how similar the design is to old standby Persol.
In case you’re interested, the GeekCon Space Invaders video is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Mattel won’t sell a 3D printer for toys this holiday after all
If you promised your teen a Mattel ThingMaker this Christmas, you may want to find something else that’s just as cool ASAP. A spokesperson told Engadget that the company won’t be releasing its toy printer this fall like it originally planned. Mattel has pushed back its debut to fall 2017 to give it enough time to further enhance both the $300 device and its companion app.
ThingMaker is the modern version of Mattel’s Creepy Crawlers from back in the ’60s. Its companion app gives you stock figures to choose from, but all bets are off once you hit edit. You can design warriors with dainty umbrellas, T-rexes or robot-insect hybrids, and then print them out as custom figures.
We got the chance to take a closer look at the 3D printer at Toy Fair earlier this year, where we noticed that the available designs were pretty generic. Now the company has a year longer to add more choices and make sure your kids — and you, because you’ll definitely use this too — can create unique toys they can’t buy from stores.
Here is the company spokesperson’s full statement:
“After much consideration, Mattel has decided to move its Thingmaker/3D printer launch to Fall 2017. At Mattel, we pride ourselves on delivering best-in-class products and the additional time will allow us to enhance the digital functionality to ensure we deliver the most engaging end-to-end experience for all family members. We are grateful for the excitement around this product and look forward to exceeding expectations in 2017. For more information/updates on product avail visit Thingmaker.com.”
Germany orders Facebook to stop collecting WhatsApp data
Germany has ordered Facebook to stop collecting WhatsApp data from users and delete all the information it has already collected. The Hamburg regulator said the social network hadn’t properly notified the nation’s 35 million WhatsApp users that it recently started gathering their data. “Facebook has to ask for their permission in advance. This has not happened,” said Commissioner Johannes Caspar.
After purchasing WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014, Facebook said it would never sell “personally identifiable information” from users or otherwise change the app’s privacy policy. Late last month, however, it announced that WhatsApp would share phone numbers, profile data, status messages and more with its parent. That prompted critics in the US like the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) to accuse it Facebook of “lying” and violating an FTC order.
This is the first time a government regulator has waded into the dispute, though. Caspar said he was concerned that Zuckerberg and Co. could upload users’ WhatsApp contacts to Facebook, even if they’re not on the social network, a violation of German law. He added that even though Facebook hasn’t done that, “[this] is cause for concern that the gravity of the data protection breach will [be even more serious].”
Europe, and Germany especially, have strong privacy laws and frequently clash with Google, Facebook and other tech companies over the issue. Just last year, for instance, German courts ordered Facebook to allow pseudonyms instead of real names, something it has fought for a long time. Following the decree, Facebook told the New York Times that it had complied with European law and was willing to work with the Hamburg commissioner to deal with the issue.
Via: New York Times
Source: Hamburg Privacy Commissioner
Engadget giveaway: Win an EGG speaker system courtesy of KEF!
Kef has been bringing high-resolution audio to music enthusiasts for decades, covering both the wildly expensive variety and more affordable versions. This week, we’re giving away the EGG bookshelf speakers, which include a built-in amplifier, a digital analog converter (DAC) and 96kHz/24-bit USB input. There’s also an optical connector for high-res TV listening and Bluetooth with aptX support for high-resolution wireless streaming. These speakers are aimed at providing crisp, clear, full sound via the proprietary Uni-Q driver array, which the company describes as “sit anywhere” technology. The unique, rounded design and quality output make these a great addition to any home audio setup and one lucky reader will get a pair to take home. All you need to do is head to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to three chances at winning this high-resolution sound system from Kef.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
- Entries are handled through the Rafflecopter widget above. Comments are no longer accepted as valid methods of entry. You may enter without any obligation to social media accounts, though we may offer them as opportunities for extra entries. Your email address is required so we can get in touch with you if you win, but it will not be given to third parties.
- Contest is open to all residents of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec), 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so direct your anger at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
- Winners will be chosen randomly. One (1) winner will receive a pair of KEF EGG digital HiFi speakers (Frosted Blue, $500 value).
- If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Make sure that the account you use to enter the contest includes your real name and a contact email. We do not track any of this information for marketing or third-party purposes.
- This unit is purely for promotional giveaway. Engadget and AOL are not held liable to honor warranties, exchanges or customer service.
- The full list of rules, in all its legalese glory, can be found here.
- Entries can be submitted until Sept. 28th at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
Ofcom wants your help mapping Britain’s mobile networks
Ofcom already has a handy online tool for checking mobile and broadband coverage across the UK, but sometimes the bigger picture can hide the little differences. In addition to the regulator’s own data and that supplied by providers, Ofcom wants to build a more detailed map of mobile network and WiFi performance using crowdsourced, user data. To that end, it’s launched the Ofcom Mobile Research Android app, which runs in the background and collects data on call reliability, signal strength, connection speeds, app use, and of course, location.
Ofcom has put out a call for volunteers to download the app and document their mobile experience, with both numbers and the occasional questionnaire. Not only will their data be used to improve the coverage checker, but also in various other Ofcom projects, such as a report on quality of service across networks, due out next spring.
Beyond any battery drain concerns you might be having, Ofcom is keen to stress that all data is anonymised and only top-level information on app use is recorded — the regulator will know you used the YouTube app, for example, but not what you watched. Ofcom is also out to research the habits of users, you see, to “understand how current trends are likely to affect future demands.” As you’d imagine, pushing the privacy aspect is key to getting people on board with the project, because it’s hard to create a “nationally-representative dataset” when only three phones have the app installed.
Via: ISPreview
Source: Ofcom (1), (2), Ofcom Mobile Research (Google Play)
Honeywell Debuts New HomeKit-Enabled Lyric T5 Smart Thermostat
Honeywell has introduced the Lyric T5, its latest Wi-Fi-enabled thermostat with support for Apple’s HomeKit platform.
The Lyric T5 has a square, glossy black design with built-in touchscreen controls for adjusting the temperature and other settings, or the smart thermostat can be controlled at or away from home with an iPhone or iPad using the accompanying Honeywell Lyric app [Direct Link] from the App Store.
Meanwhile, like Honeywell’s more expensive Lyric Round smart thermostat, HomeKit support enables the Lyric T5 to be controlled with Siri voice commands or through Apple’s new Home app on iOS 10. The Lyric T5 is also compatible with Amazon Alexa-enabled devices and Stringify, with other partners to follow.
The Lyric T5 can help homeowners save money by entering energy saving mode when someone leaves the home, based on the location of their iPhone or iPad via geofencing technology. Likewise, it can detect when the first person returns to start making the home comfortable ahead of time.
Like the Nest, ecobee3, and many other smart thermostats, the Lyric T5 is able to learn a home’s heating and cooling cycles, enabling it to bring the home to the optimized temperature at the requested time. There is also the option to set up the thermostat on a more traditional seven-day schedule.
The thermostat’s other features include auto changeover between heating and cooling mode, filter change reminders, and extreme temperature warnings.
Lyric T5 will be available in October for $149 online and at select retail stores. Honeywell products are typically available at, among other places, The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Ace Hardware, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart.
Tags: HomeKit, Honeywell, Lyric Thermostat
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Spotify Launches Infinite ‘Daily Mix’ Playlists Showcasing New and Old Music
Spotify has announced the launch of “Daily Mix,” a new intelligent playlist system — in the vein of Discover Weekly and Release Radar — that puts together a “near endless” collection of songs for users every day (via The Verge). The songs include a mix of music and artists they have listened to previously, as well as new music based off their interests.
When Daily Mix is updated each day, Spotify will introduce “between one and six mixes” to each user, mostly depending on how broad their music tastes are. Each mix avoids specific labels and instead opts for visual album clues as to what’s inside of each, with four album covers providing context of the songs within each playlist. Matt Ogle, leader of music discovery and personalization at Spotify, said “we found that the mixes were much better received when we leaned back and let people describe them themselves.”
Image via The Verge
It uses the same basic approach as Discover Weekly, selecting songs based on your listening habits. “But that’s where the similarities end,” said Matt Ogle, who helps lead development of music discovery and personalization at Spotify. “In a lot of ways it’s the opposite of Discover Weekly.” Instead of trying to take the work out of finding music that’s new to you, “Daily Mix is trying to take the work out of hitting a button and always hearing music that you love.”
Instead of the refresh that Discover Weekly and Release Radar get each Monday and Friday, respectively, users might notice that Daily Mixes are much more subtly altered. Songs within playlists might be added or removed, specific mixes could get swapped out for new collections, “but it won’t be a complete refresh of songs each time.” Ogle compared Daily Mixes to radio stations, because of the way each mix sticks to specific themes and moods instead of throwing a bunch of random genres together.
In mid-September, Spotify announced that it has reached over 40 million paid subscribers, in contrast to Apple Music’s more than 17 million paid subscribers confirmed earlier in the month. Apple continues to bolster various aspects of its streaming music service, most recently introducing “My New Music Mix” and “My Favorites Mix” into Apple Music as the company’s answer to Spotify’s weekly curated music recommendations.
Users worldwide on the Spotify iOS [Direct Link] and Android apps should start seeing Daily Mix playlists today, whether they have a paid subscription or not. The company noted that new users will gain access to Daily Mix “after approximately two weeks of listening,” and a rollout to additional platforms is coming soon.
Tag: Spotify
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BBC iPlayer will require BBC iD registration and account from early 2017
The BBC has confirmed that users of BBC iPlayer will be required to log into the service using their BBC iD accounts from early 2017.
For many years, the service has been completely open and free-to-use and while the latter will continue – save for a Television Licence now being required in the UK – it will be locked to user accounts.
Some believe that this will enable the Beeb to ensure that only those that pay their Licence Fee can use iPlayer, or even to chase those who don’t, but the corporation states that it does not currently plan to use log in or personal account details for enforcement purposes.
Instead, it says that it wants to make the service more localised and personal to viewers. BBC iD accounts now require postcode details, so the broadcaster plans to use them to ensure its programming and features suit users directly.
You can already sign up for a BBC iD account, which is used to personalise other areas of BBC content, including the homepage at bbc.co.uk. Around seven millions accounts have already been registered and they are likely to work with the new iPlayer from day one.
All forms of the app will require log in from early 2017, including those for Smart TVs, games consoles and mobile devices.
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