| Nest app update makes it easier to monitor home automation components Nov 15th 2013, 07:17, by Juan Carlos Torres Home automation has been a long-time fantasy of geeks and while the fascination has somewhat given way to other trends, some, like Nest, have kept the torch alive. Now the company is rolling out an update to its Android and iOS apps that makes it easier for users to manage their Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest Protect smoke alarm whether at home or far away. 
The biggest and probably the most long-awaited improvement to the Nest Android app is support for different screen orientations. It is always annoying to use an app on a tablet that is stuck in portrait mode. It is even more jarring when an app supports both landscape and portrait modes, but not consistently. Such was the case with the Nest app, which previously forced users to switch to a landscape orientation to get to some settings, even on a phone. Thus the apps has been completely redesigned to be useful in whatever orientation, situation, or device you may be using. A lot of the other improvements in this new version is related to the Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide alarm These include automatically calling emergency services should an incident occur or providing first aid and emergency instructions in case of an event. The app now provides the results of previous Nest Protect tests, both those done manually and self-tests made by the system, to ensure that the user is up to date on the monitor’s hardware status. 
The Nest app is available for free on Google Play Store, but, of course, you need to own one of the home monitors to have any use for the app. Updates will roll out automatically like any other Android app update and user action is not needed. Download: Next on Google Play Store
VIA: The Next Web |  | Chrome for Android update aims to ease online checkouts Nov 15th 2013, 06:39, by Juan Carlos Torres Google has just rolled out a double release of the mobile version of its Chrome web browser. While the latest stable version of Chrome for Android contains a variety of stability and bug fixes, the improved Autofill form feature takes this release’ spotlight. 
First and foremost, Chrome for Android, which is now updated to version 31.0.1650.59, is kept up to date with the latest Android version by adding printing support from the browser on Android 4.4 devices. While originally only available on the Nexus 5, Android 4.4 has started to roll out to the more recent Nexus devices. Google has even put up new factory images on its support page. But the highlight for this release is the improvements to the Autofill system for forms. The Chrome web browser on the desktop is able to store information such as names and addresses that you use in forms, which is then synced to other Chrome browsers. It can even store credit card information, of course, at your discretion and risk. This feature is now snaking its way, slowly and surely, to Chrome for Android as well. This will make things like checking out items from online stores faster and easier, as you have less information to type in using virtual keyboards. At the moment, very few retailers use this on their mobile websites, but Google is working on quickly resolving that. The latest stable Chrome for Android is now up on Google Play Store. Chrome Beta for Android users may already be enjoying these features, but Google also has a treat for them. There’s nothing major in the new 31.0.1650.60 version of the app, though, but the source code changelog is available for browsing for those interested. SOURCE: Google (1), (2), (3) | | FCC Speed Test Android app launched, runs in the background Nov 15th 2013, 05:52, by Juan Carlos Torres The US Federal Communications Commission, lovingly known as the FCC, has just unveiled its FCC Speed Test app that will enable users to reliably assess their mobile broadband speeds. It’s even released as open source! That is all well and good, at least you read a bit of the fine print. 
The FCC Speed Test app is described as an open source, crowdsourcing program. That last part is due to the fact that, aside from simply telling you about your mobile Internet performance, both 3G and Wifi, it sends the data back to the FCC as part of its Measuring Broadband America program that will help consumers, service providers, and the government gain an insight into mobile network performance throughout the whole country. In fact, the FCC plans to launch next year interactive maps that will do just that, in a more presentable and visual style. That alone might not be much of an issue except for the fact that the app will periodically run in the background to test network speeds, whether you know it or not. The implications of this is quite myriad, but the more immediate concern is data usage. The FCC promises that not more than 100 MB a month will be used by the app for its testing purposes. Fortunately, they also provide a way to change those settings, which, of course, are all enabled by default. 
The biggest promise that the FCC makes, however, is that the no personal or uniquely identifiable information will be collected, that all data will be anonymous. It’s not like other companies or speed test tools do not do this as well. But given the government’s rather stellar track record, the question is how many users will use the app? And consequently, if too few users participate in this data harvesting mission, the FCC’s assessment of the nation’s mobile broadband situation will hardly be representative or reliable. SOURCE: FCC | |
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