Automation will take away more than 100,000 jobs within 20 years in the UK
You shouldn’t fear immigrants taking your job, you should fear robots. A new study by jobs search engine Adzuna suggests that more than 100,000 of current job vacancies will be fully automated within the next 20 years.
The results are based on the study of Oxford University researchers, looking at which jobs would basically be given to robots before 2035.
Wink home automation hub gets water sensors with leakSMART
Water damage is a big deal, in fact, it's one of the most reported claims for home insurance, behind only fire and lightning, and wind and hail. Now with home automation products increasingly gaining market share and mainstream acceptability, that problem can be reigned in to a certain extent. No, it won't prevent extremes like Hurricane Katrina, but if a pipe springs a leak then you can get a jump on it.
Wink, makers of a home automation hub that is compatible with many third-party devices, is getting its first water sensors thanks to leakSMART, one of the more prominent manufacturers in the business.
Amazon Echo now works with Vivint home security and automation
Of the countless product announcements that filled the Consumer Electronics Show it was easy to miss many things. One announcement came from Vivint, which produces home security and automation products. The company unveiled that it planned to work with Amazon Echo to allow customers to control its products by voice.
It hasn't taken long as the integration becomes available now. Products include smart door locks, an automated thermostat, cameras, smoke detectors, a tocuhscreen control panel and a doorbell camera. You'll need to get an estimate on installation, but that part is free when they put the system in. It also has 24/7 monitoring, just as any alarm system should have.
Is home automation in your future or are you using it now?
Home automation gets touted by some as the future, but it's really the now. A seemingly endless list of products are on the market and they allow the user to lock doors, turn lights on and off, open and close shades, there's even a crockpot that can be turned on and off from anywhere.
For a while now I have been controlling some lights with Amazon Echo. It's mostly good, but every once in a while the hub between Alexa and the bulbs needs to be reset. I've also been using the Mivatek Smart Plug to control another light. Therein lies the problem -- a lack of these things working together. Most are trying to, but the integration isn't there yet.
Young people don't consider automation issues when choosing a career
Indeed -- the world’s largest job site -- has just launched a new research study that determines that almost half (49 percent) of young people in Britain are not taking the issue of job automation into account when choosing their career.
Furthermore, Indeed’s study reveals that 17 percent are not aware of the industry trend towards automation and the effect it will have on future employment both at the low and high end of the skills market.
Enhance your home automation with the Mivatek Smart Plug [Review]
Turning lights on and off remotely may seem lazy, and honestly it is, but it's also strangely satisfying. Not moving from the couch while things in your home are turned on and off is a priceless feeling and there is an increasing number of products on the market that aim to provide that satisfaction.
The problem is the lack of cohesion in the market, as different lines are proprietary, at least to a certain extent. That's slowly changing, but we'd like to see the process sped up a bit.
Logitech Harmony adds even more home automation control
Home automation is a catch phrase these days, though some of it is not quite ready for prime time. But things are improving all the time with new products being released at a rapid rate. Logitech's Harmony brand of remote controls has been at the forefront of controlling these devices.
Now, after adding things like the Nest thermostat, the company is announcing compatability with even more devices. This time around it's adding ZigBee and Z-Wave.
Home automation gets another boost as MivaTek launches solutions to secure your home
The Internet of Things is everywhere these days, and has become almost unavoidable. Reaction can be a bit mixed, ranking from calling it SkyNet to embracing the technology. It doesn't always work as planned -- I'm reasonably certain that one of my colleagues here could turn off my lights (don't get any ideas guys).
Now MivaTek aims to fix those problems with new solutions for both home and business. Included are security cameras, water leak sensors and monitoring for disruptions to the alarm system. More importantly, it can keep track of health and send help if needed.
The history of home automation from the beginning
That's a broad topic for a headline, and one that could fill a book. It dates back much further than people think. Thanks to today's modern technology and graphics, we don't need to write that book. It's all laid out before us in a nice infographic that shows the highlights of what you need to know about how we arrived at things like Harmony, Nest, Philips Hue and more.
The concept of home automation has been around for a long time but the technology just wasn't there. Many science-fiction writers included it in stories, Ray Bradbury famously among them.
Logitech Harmony remote gains new home automation integration
If you haven't used a Harmony remote then you're missing out. The device can control almost any object in your home theater. Lately it's been adding more home automation features as well, and the latest update enhances that aspect of the universal remote.
"We’re proud to celebrate the continued expansion of our smart home compatibilities with the integration of four great new partners into the Harmony ecosystem, and we hope you’re excited about the new possibilities coming your way. Now, homes with Harmony can control even more devices and create brand new Activities combining smart home devices in unique ways", Logitech announces.
Nitro Pro 10 arrives, gains batch automation tool, PDF Portfolio creation
More than 18 months since its last major release, Nitro has launched a major new version of its award-winning 'Acrobat alternative' tool for creating, editing and converting PDFs, Nitro Pro 10.0.
Version 10 introduces a new Batch Processing tool for repetitive tasks, plus adds drag-and-drop support for creating PDFs and copying pages between documents. It also adds PDF Portfolio creation, PDF/A conversion, and wider support for various cloud-based storage services.
BetaNews exclusive: Home automation beta test opportunity from Betabound by Centercode
Home automation and the "Internet of Things" are the next frontiers for the technology world. Now that Wi-Fi is ubiquitous, the landscape is set for smart homes more than ever before. What used to seem like science fiction has become a reality. You can now turn on lights with products like Belkin's WeMo switch or monitor your pets with a Dropcam Pro camera. Heck, with products like the Nest thermometer, your home can actually learn from your behaviors.
Today, Betabound by Centercode is offering BetaNews readers an exclusive opportunity to apply for a beta test of an exciting new smart home system. Will you be selected?
Nest grows its home automation integration, Dropcam now in use
Home automation and the Internet of Things have become popular topics today. Users either love it or fear it, the latter thanks to very real security problems which have been discovered. Nest is no stranger to problems, thanks to its Protect issue from not long ago, but that hasn't stopped the company from moving forward, adding further integration.
The latest move is to partner with more home automation products in an effort to make everything play nicely together. The company, known for its smart thermostat, has joined forces with Whirlpool, Jawbone and LIFX under a program it calls "Works with Nest". It has also been working with home automation makers to get better integration.
Top business and IT process automation trends for 2014
Enterprise technology as we know it is changing. Several years ago, significant improvements in IT were viewed by the business as "nice to have" but not essential. Today many companies use their IT enterprise to deliver differentiated customer service, business intelligence (BI) and a more efficient supply chain. Still, some organizations lag behind. In fact, many businesses continue to rely on a loose federation of siloed applications and disconnected manual tasks to support their most critical operations.
Smart businesses recognize the short-sightedness of this outdated approach. These companies view IT infrastructure as a source of important competitive advantage core to business development. They use their enterprise to maintain -- and enhance -- their market position. Today IT success is business success. They are inevitably connected.
FastKeys is an ultra-versatile PC automation tool
When writing about new programs we’ll normally start with a general outline of what they do, but FastKeys ($9.99) makes that unusually difficult. It’s a highly versatile Windows automation program with support for several time-saving technologies, but how these are used is very much up to you.
The program could be a simple Start Menu replacement, for instance; move your mouse to the top edge of the screen and a basic Start menu appears. This starts off with just a few links (Office, system applets, Documents folder, a few web shortcuts, shutdown options), but can easily be expanded to add more.
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