AllThingsD » temperature

Honeywell Sues Nest Labs Over Thermostat Tech

Lauren Goode — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:32:47 +0000

Honeywell International Inc. has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Palo Alto-based Nest Labs, alleging that Nest, maker of a “smart” digital thermostat for the home, infringes on seven of Honeywell’s patents related to thermostat technology. The patents referenced specifically pertain to the thermostat’s mechanical user interface, controller interface, inner design and “simplified methods for operating and programming a thermostat.” Also named in the suit is Best Buy, which sells the Nest thermostat.

From iPods to Thermostats: Nest CEO and Founder Tony Fadell Speaks! (Video)

Kara Swisher — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:02:43 +0000

When Tony Fadell left Apple for good in March of last year, the man who has been dubbed the “father of the iPod” said in an interview that his “primary focus will be helping the environment by working with consumer green-tech companies.”

Fadell has kind of kept that promise with the recent launch of Nest, his new start-up that is focused on super-smart, well, thermostats.

Before you drift off to dreamland at the thought of being even slightly interested in the mundane household device that you fight over with your family (along with the remote), Nest is indeed in keeping with the idea of making the home more digitally aware.

With a wheel user interface, a Wi-Fi connection, sensors aplenty and an ability to learn your behavorial patterns, Nest is a temperature-taking version of an iPod.

And it’s also pretty, clad in simple brushed stainless steel, and pricey too. And, also like most Apple products, it is selling like hotcakes.

Here’s the always affable Fadell talking about why he moved in this unusual direction, although he gives up little info about Nest’s funding:

[ See post to watch video ]

Mobilized Doesn't Work Well With a Fever, and Apparently Neither Does Your iPhone

Ina Fried — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 18:50:38 +0000

Mobilized took a trip to Tahoe this past weekend, but ended up being laid up most of the weekend with a cold. With a bit of a fever, the agenda became lots of indoor time and napping.

But, from a friend and former co-worker, I learned that the iPhone also doesn’t like it when it gets too hot.

Joris Evers, who now does PR for McAfee, was in Mexico City last month, sitting outside when his iPhone warned him that things had gotten too hot for comfort. It displayed a warning message and told him (in several languages) that the only thing it was willing to do was make an emergency call. Otherwise, it was waiting until things cooled down.

It also turns out that the iPhone, like Mobilized, likes talking about itself in the third person.

Evers said it was warm, not hot, though he was in the direct sun. His laptop was willing to work, despite the conditions.

“I guess iPhones need sun protection in addition to screen protection and fall protection,” Evers mused on his personal blog.

Earth, Air, Firewater

John Paczkowski — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 07:01:08 +0000

Fire safety tip: never try to douse a grease fire with water. Especially if it breaks out in John Kanzius’s laboratory. Because the water there may already be burning.

While refining a radio-frequency cancer therapy he’d developed, Kanzius noticed that the treatment, which uses high-energy radio waves to destroy cancer cells that have been “tagged” with nano particles, had another unexpected application as an alternative energy source. Turns out if you point the Kanzius “Non-Invasive Radio Wave Treatment” at a bit of saltwater, it will burst into flame–one whose temperature reportedly exceeds 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Apparently, Kanzius’s invention–which uses just 200 watts of directed radio waves, not quite enough electricity to light three 75-watt light bulbs–breaks down the hydrogen-oxygen bond in the water, igniting the hydrogen.

“This was an experiment to see if I could heat saltwater, and instead of heat, I got fire,” Kanzius told WPBF. “You could take plain saltwater out of the sea, put it in containers and produce a violent flame that could heat generators that make electricity, or provide other forms of energy. If I were to be bold enough, I think one day you could power an automobile with this, eventually.”