A Thermostat That Learns

Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers two former Apple executives who led iPod and iPhone developments are its creators. Taking their cue for the simplicity of the iPhone, the Nest thermostat is an easy to install  compatible replacement for your old-school thermostat. Think of it as efficiency through a smarter design that learns every time you adjust a heat or cooling setting. In about a week, it begins making the changes for you, and over time learns your needs for better energy efficiency, without you having to program it which has been the large drawback leading to the lack of installation of other “smart” thermostats.

The Nest Labs DYI  kit even includes a screwdriver for self installation however if you if you’re not handy, just contact your local HVAC company to the quick install.

The circular screen lets you how long it will take for the zone to reach the desired temperature, so you don’t have to overcompensate in order to get warm or cool quicker.

Nest has two unique proximity sensors. One activates the screen as you approach, so it won’t run down the internal battery when you’re not in front of it while second one detects your occasional passes through the room. This determines whether you’re home or away. If you’re away, it will automatically adjust settings to save energy.

It comes with built-in Wi-Fi, so it can link in to your home network, giving you the power to log into it from an iPhone, iPad or Android phone, and do it from anywhere in the world. The learning happens the whole time, so if you’re regularly adjusting the temperature on your way home from work, it will figure that out and start doing it for you.

The Nest’s initial price is $250 but we expect that price to come down over time. It can be bought online at their site NEST Labs or soon at Best Buy.

Cell Phone Battery Life Tips

Try lowering the brightness or backlight of your screen of your cellphone.The vibrate mode uses a lot of power, disable it if not needed. Disable push email or constant email checking or set interval longer. Reduce the number of email accounts and or their frequency checked. Avoid using the cell camera’s flash. Turn off the Bluetooth, Wifi, GPS functions if you do not always use these features. Download applications and music on your home computer and synch to your cell phone. Disable background applications like Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

Additional Apple Tips

Apple’s iPhone section has a page with additional battery life tips. Some of the more useful ones are turning off notification, Push email, lowering screen brightness, turning off Wifi, location services, and Bluetooth. Turning off sounds made when unlocking and sending e-mail will also help battery life. Applications that constantly run, such as Facebook, Pandora, and Skype also drain the battery. OS 4 or newer users can turn off background tasks.