Nolan Kienitz Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 Google is reaching out ... into our homes ... via the NEST T-Stat. Google Buys NEST Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Morrison Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 I bought a "Nest" and I love it. It emailed me the other day to tell me that my boiler ran for 131 hours last month. I love how tech-geeky it is almost as much as I love how much money it saves me and how much control it gives me over the heat. I'm also OK with Google knowing how warm it is in my living room and when. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 I'd be worried about them knowing how hot it is (was) in the bedroom! Brother Kurt is working on a similar device as we speak, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Morrison Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 He was, but it didn't pan out. So I bought the nest. They're expensive, though. I think Honeywell also has a model that has most of the functions of the Nest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark P Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 A penny stock called "Nester" was up 1900% after investors confused it with the Nest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 I just had expenses paid to give advice they ignored. The Chinese business people wouldn't listen, and this marginalizes them to nothing. It was fun while it lasted. I didn't have any money in it, so no pain. The Nest is flat out cool, and the Honeywell is a kluge compared to it. We will all have one, (and don't forget their smoke alarm). Think smartphone that controls the home environment and pays attention to lifestyle habits. Its the first step most people will make in connecting to the internet of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 Skynet OT-OF!!! M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neal Lewis Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 That's all great, but the one Nest I've seen in a house, I couldn't figure out how to operate it!! I'd prefer an old Honeywell round T87 any day, with the mercury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garet Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 Well I'm glad you mentioned the smoke alarm. I was just about to put out a report that said some smoke alarms are missing. Now I realize the gizmo on the ceiling wasn't part of the Nest thermostat. I've got a Honeywell wireless T-stat an like it just fine. I wasn't looking for a 'cool gizmo'. I just wanted to be able to turn the furnace back up from vacation hold in time for the house to be warm when I get home (actually, by the time the WIFE gets home). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Raymond Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 That's all great, but the one Nest I've seen in a house, I couldn't figure out how to operate it!! I'd prefer an old Honeywell round T87 any day, with the mercury. Got 3 of those in my place. I set them at the start of the heating season and turn them off at the end of it. I'll admit I bumped one of them up a few degrees during the polar vortex, but that was a significant event. I don't really see the need for programability with so little need for adjustments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 One thing the Chinese engineers did enlighten me on is the efficacy of control systems. I never cared either until they paid me to learn about it and gave me the equipment to play with. I would bet a dime all you techno geeks that don't care would have your opinions turned 180 degrees, if you knew what I know now. Managing energy consumption with feedback loops and tools that learn is pretty amazing. Don't knock it til you've tried it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 Tools that learn.......T-X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 The Singularity. It's coming for YOU, Mr. O'......[:-dev3] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inspector57 Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 I like simplicity and stand alone tools and equipment when I can get it. It is frustrating and sometimes down right scary when my whiz bang smart phone goes down and I can take a credit card, find an address, or even call somebody to help. I carry a flip phone in the truck just in case. Now your telling me if I drop my phone I might freeze to death too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolan Kienitz Posted January 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 ... slight drift here ... I was at a ham radio testing session tonight (I'm one of the Volunteer Examiners for our local club) and one of the other VEs was telling me about dropping his smart phone into his pool while cleaning this past week. He's tried rice, slight oven warming and such for 5 days and it appears he is "without" communications ... err, at least via cellphone. His ham radio is working fine ... [^] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 ... slight drift here ... I was at a ham radio testing session tonight (I'm one of the Volunteer Examiners for our local club) and one of the other VEs was telling me about dropping his smart phone into his pool while cleaning this past week. He's tried rice, slight oven warming and such for 5 days and it appears he is "without" communications ... err, at least via cellphone. His ham radio is working fine ... [^] Yeah but he wouldn't be packing a ham radio while cleaning the pool now would he. And if he did he might be telling St Peter about how he dropped it in the water. [] Those old time thermostats are trouble-free and perfect for stay-at-home folks. For people on the move, they are keeping empty houses warm and wasting fuel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottpat Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 The nest works like a conventional thermostat if the internet or local network goes down... The smartphone part is nice and needs the internet but it is great to be able to turn the system on from bed when my bride decides its time for a hot flash or it is a little chilly in the abode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 ... slight drift here ... I was at a ham radio testing session tonight (I'm one of the Volunteer Examiners for our local club) and one of the other VEs was telling me about dropping his smart phone into his pool while cleaning this past week. He's tried rice, slight oven warming and such for 5 days and it appears he is "without" communications ... err, at least via cellphone. His ham radio is working fine ... [^] Hee hee, I have a flip phone too. This one has outlasted all of its predecessors. I keep a cup of water for my dog in one of the two cup holders in the console of my truck. When I'm driving I usually keep my phone in the other holder. About two weeks ago I got home and as I was getting out of my car reached for the phone and got a wet hand. Whoops! Apparently, as I was looking for some change in the bottom of the cup holders so I could give the girl at Starbucks the exact change, I'd move the water cup to the other holder and hadn't returned it to the one it was supposed to be in. Then after answering a call as I was driving I unconsciously put the phone where I usually put it except this time it was into a full cup of water. I'd been driving home in rush hour traffic so that phone was immersed in that cup of water for about an hour. I figured it was toast so I couldn't hurt it if I tried. I got out my clock makers screwdrivers and started tearing it down into all of it's various components. Then I put all of the pieces into a cardboard box and taped the box to the front of a small forced-hot-air electric heater and punched some holes in the other side to allow the air to flow through the box. I dried/cooked those parts for a couple of hours. Shut off the fan, allowed everything to cool down and reassembled the phone. It worked. The little screen showed some moisture on it and the clock on the outside didn't work but the phone itself worked and all of the other functions. I was happy. Over the next few days the fogginess disappeared from the little screen and the clock display returned. It's working fine now. My wife couldn't believe I'd done that. She'd purchased the insurance for the phone and had extended the policy whenever it came up for renewal. She wanted me to just go to the phone store and get a new phone. I can't figure out how to use her smart phone, what the hell makes her think that if I get one of my own I'll be able to figure the damned thing out and won't break it like I did all of I had before I got t his one? Nope, this thing is like a mini battle tank. I'm keeping it until it finally dies or I do. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Hockstein Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Pretty soon almost all items we use will be smart. I predict that in the near future the glass of water at your table will send a signal to the waiter that it is empty and needs to be refilled. The scary part is that Google will know that you are thirsty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Skynet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted January 19, 2014 Report Share Posted January 19, 2014 There it is. It's today's 'front page' online news. This relates to my concern about google making inroads into my house. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted January 19, 2014 Report Share Posted January 19, 2014 Inroads into your home? Dudely, they're way deeper than your home. Hockstein is right. The internet of things is right around the corner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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