a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

Honeywell heats up its connected home efforts with Lyric, an intelligent round thermostat

Jun10
by on June 10, 2014 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Gadgets

Lyric Product Photography
Honeywell today announced the launch of a new smart thermostat, the first in a family of connected home products. The $279 Lyric features a round shape, a display and smart features for saving energy. If a round, smart thermostat reminds you of the Nest, I can guarantee you’re not alone, but Honeywell has been in business for 125 years and making round thermostats since 1953. In all likelihood, Nest’s success probably gave Honeywell more of an incentive to invest in smart home products, but it’s hardly fair to call Lyric a clone. “We invented round. We’re happy to reinvent round,”…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: 
a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

Salesforce launches a platform to bring enterprise-focused apps to wearable devices

Jun10
by on June 10, 2014 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

google glass attendees
If the growth of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) was a sign of the smartphone revolution, what is the equivalent for adoption of wearables in the workforce? How about an enterprise-focused developer platform for wearable tech apps — because that’s exactly what Salesforce has introduced today. The enterprise software giant has unveiled Salesforce Wear, which it claims is “the first initiative for wearable computing in the enterprise,” and the Salesforce Wear Developer Pack, which gives the 1.5 million developers enrolled on its Salesforce platform the tools to build the aforementioned enterprise apps and services. “Wearables are the next phase of the mobile revolution,” said Daniel Debow, SVP…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: ,
a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

As Asia becomes key for Facebook, it’s going all out to simplify marketing for brands there

Jun10
by on June 10, 2014 at 11:23 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Asia

Facebook thumbs up
Facebook’s Preferred Marketing Developer (PMD) scheme started in the US as an attempt to build a community of developers who are experts at social marketing. The aim is to help connect brands and advertisers with developers who build tools on top or alongside Facebook’s native tools, which can help to make their marketing campaigns more engaging and comprehensive. Badges are awarded to firms that develop the “highest quality products” that build on top of the social network. What these developers provide to various firms depend on what is required. Now, Facebook is increasing its efforts to push the PMD scheme in Asia-Pacific. Kiran Raghavan,…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: ,
a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

Tencent closes 20 million WeChat accounts in China linked with prostitution

Jun10
by on June 10, 2014 at 10:33 am
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Asia, wechat

Tencent-WeChat
Tencent revealed today that it has shut down a whopping 20 million accounts on its WeChat messaging app, as they were linked with providing prostitution services. It has also closed 30,000 public fake accounts. Assuming the accounts were active, this takes away quite a significant chunk of WeChat’s current monthly active userbase which just passed 396 million. China started a crackdown on the messaging app industry late last month, targeting accounts which are determined to spread rumors and information related to matters including terrorism and pornography, as well as those involved in fraud. Weixin — the version of WeChat offered in China…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: , ,
a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

You can now register a .uk domain and save your visitors three keystrokes

Jun10
by on June 10, 2014 at 9:43 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider, Product Launches, UK

It’s always been a little bit odd that if you want a French domain you get .fr and if you want a German domain, you get a .de Web address, but if you wanted a UK domain, you were stuck with .co.uk – an altogether more unwieldy answer. Well, from today that’s no longer the case – you can opt for simply .uk and save your visitors three button presses. To celebrate the occasion, Nominet, the UK’s domain registrar, rolled out a 10,000 square foot welcome sign to passengers arriving on flights bound for Heathrow, London. Adding some celebrity pizazz to proceedings, renowned tech aficionado and…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: ,