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Google’s Nest acquires home automation hub Revolv

Oct24
by on October 24, 2014 at 7:12 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Google

Nest announced today that it has acquired Revolv, the maker of a hub device for controlling your smart home appliances. As part of the deal, the Revolv product is going away. Existing customers will continue to receive support, but the company doesn’t plan on selling new devices. Revolv data will remain separate from Google. The Revolv team will join forces with Google’s Works with Nest program. When I reviewed Revolv last fall, I found it to be an impressive gadget that offered a user-friendly experience for controlling multiple devices. Google acquired Nest for $3.2 billion earlier this year. Months later, Nest turned…

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Hands-on with Basepro, a laptop stand with a built-in hard drive

Oct24
by on October 24, 2014 at 6:34 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Gadgets

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Using laptops for our daily work keeps us highly mobile, but it does so at the sacrifice of hard drive storage and ergonomics. Crowdfunding project Basepro is trying to tackle both issues at once with its laptop stand, but after spending some time with a prototype, I found that it only solved the storage issue. Basepro is an anodized aluminum wedge with space for a hard drive inside and a four-port USB 3.0 hub along the edge. The hard drive is powered via USB, so you won’t need an extra power cable for the stand. Currently on Indiegogo, Basepro’s drive-less…

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How 21 big tech companies got their names

Oct24
by on October 24, 2014 at 6:11 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider, Roundups

Names
The expression ‘what’s in a name’ – or the slightly more poetic ‘a rose by any other name’ – means, essentially, that a name doesn’t matter. It suggests that it’s the attributes of a person or object that will dictate what it truly is and how it is seen by the world. However, in the world of brands and big business, this isn’t necessarily the case. Company names need to encapsulate something personal but trustworthy. Or have to, at least, offer some relative merit over other options. Why is Nike (originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports) called Nike? Because it’s named after…

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Apple’s iTunes download sales have fallen sharply in 2014, reports the WSJ

Oct24
by on October 24, 2014 at 5:32 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

Apple’s acquisition of Beats Electronics and the associated Beats Music subscription service may have raised eyebrows in some quarters, but the move makes all the more sense when you consider this report from the Wall Street Journal. Citing “people familiar with the matter,” the WSJ reports that digital music sales on iTunes have fallen from between 13 percent and 14 percent globally since the start of the year. This is in contrast to the 2.1 percent dip it reportedly experienced in 2013. The growth and sheer number of of on-demand music-streaming services such as Spotify, Rdio and Deezer is evidence…

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Amazon snuck an app store into its main Android app over a month ago

Oct24
by on October 24, 2014 at 5:14 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

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Amazon’s Appstore doesn’t have nearly the same popularity on Android as Google’s own offering does. Besides the fact that many of the apps are redundant with access to Google Play, it’s inconvenient to need to download a secondary marketplace. But you can now access Amazon’s app catalog without needing the Amazon Appstore. As TechCrunch spotted, it turns out the retail giant quietly integrated a full-fledged app store into its regular shopping app for Android over a month ago. Basically, when you open the normal Amazon app, you’ll see a category called “Apps & Games” in the menu, where you can view Amazon’s full selection of…

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