Microsoft Research wants to automate your house, introduces HomeOS

Ever wondered if you could control your house's climate, security, and appliances -- along with your PCs and peripherals -- using Microsoft software? That day may soon dawn, as its Research arm has started testing its home automation software, called HomeOS, in twelve domiciles over the past few months. The budding system views smartphones, printers and air conditioners as network peripherals, controlled by a dedicated gateway computer. The project even has a handful of apps in play, which perform functions like energy monitoring, remote surveillance and face-recognition. This growing list of applications, available through a portal called "HomeStore", will allow users to easily expand their system's capabilities. So how does it all work out in the real world? Head past the break, and let Redmond's research team give you the skinny.

Continue reading Microsoft Research wants to automate your house, introduces HomeOS

Microsoft Research wants to automate your house, introduces HomeOS originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 02:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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American Idol Power Rankings: The Top 5

We are down to the final five.

With the elimination of Elise Testone this week, American Idol kicked off its home stretch on season 11, meaning this is an ideal time to line up the remaining contestants in a Power Poll and ask readers who they think will win.

5. Hollie Cavanaugh: She's made a living in the bottom three for weeks now. A perfectly strong voice, deserving of a place in the top five, but next Thursday night should be it for her. Lacks a personality or anything distinct to go with the vocals.

4. Joshua Ledet: We rank him fourth, but wouldn't object to him winning the whole thing. The talent is there, but, to many, so is some yelling and a bit of over-acting. But if you like theatrics, Ledet is your man.

3. Jessica Sanchez: Responsible for the single best performance of the season, her cover of Whitney's "I Will Always Love You." Has a lot of Pia Toscano in her. We mean that as a big compliment.

2. Phillip Phillips: He just can't win, people. Seriously, it would make like five straight handsome white guys who play guitars. The talent is there, the consistency is there, and we feel bad holding David Cook and Kris Allen against Phillip. But we need a change.

1. Skylar Laine: And let's hope Laine benefits from that change. She's fun, she's eccentric, she has her own sound. Her cover of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" is what American Idol is all about.

WHO DO YOU WANT TO WIN?

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Correspondents' Dinner: Obama targets Romney, GOP at 'nerd prom' (Los Angeles Times)

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LG gives away 2,000 specially modified phones for the blind

Skipping on the LTE, HD IPS screen or dual-processor is usually not a recipe that will land your phone on the pages of Engadget. But, these LG-LU2700Ss are not just any unspectacular flip phone. The handset has been specially modified for use by the blind and visually impaired. The manual is printed in braille and, rather than require the constant mashing of buttons, the phone is controlled primarily through voice commands. 2,000 of the devices were given away as part of the company's donation program. Now if only they would mass produce them, LG would earn some serious cred.

LG gives away 2,000 specially modified phones for the blind originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 20:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lane Becker On How To ?Plan Serendipity? In Tech And Business [TCTV]

Lane Becker has been a familiar figure in the Silicon Valley tech scene for years, as the co-founder of startups such as Adaptive Path and Get Satisfaction, and an advisor at early-stage venture capital firm Freestyle Capital. Becker added "New York Times Bestselling Author" to his list of descriptors, when the book "Get Lucky: How to Put Planned Serendipity to Work for You and Your Business" which he wrote with his Get Satisfaction co-founder Thor Muller debuted at the number six spot on the NYT's best seller list.

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Coldplay, Rihanna's Official 'Princess Of China' Video Due In May

Rihanna-starring clip currently making the rounds is actually taken from Coldplay's live show, spokesperson confirms.
By James Montgomery

Coldplay's Chris Martin and Rihanna
Photo: Getty Images

By now, you've probably seen the video for Coldplay's "Princess of China." It stars Rihanna as a Shiva-esque deity who waves her (many) arms back and forth in time with the tune but strangely does not actually feature Coldplay themselves.

The clip began making the rounds earlier this week and was not only touted as the "official video" but earned raves from fans of both acts. There's only one problem: It is most definitely not the actual "Princess of China" vid.

In fact, it's part of Coldplay's live show, a video they play during their performance of the song (as several Coldplay aficionados have been pointing out on YouTube). Just to clear up any confusion, we reached out to a spokesperson for the band, who told us in no uncertain terms: "It isn't the official video. ... It is, in fact, a clip that the band are using during their performance of the song on tour."

So there you have it. Of course, this raises the question of just when the real "Princess of China" video will premiere. After all, going by photos RiRi previously tweeted, the clip was filmed back in March. So, once again, we went to Coldplay's rep, who told us that the "Princess" video is still a few weeks away from debuting.

"It won't be finished until the third week of May," the spokesperson said. "It's going to be a minute."

Related Artists

• Rihanna
• Coldplay

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You Can Finally Play Google Map's Labyrinth Game [Games]

Google first teased us with a demo video of its map-based Cube game way back in January. But instead of having it ready to kill time during the cold winter months back in February, the game has only just been released this week. Finally. More »

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The Wanted Take Shots At 'Scary' Christina Aguilera

'She's a total bitch,' Tom Parker says of Aguilera, who supposedly snubbed the Wanted during an appearance on 'The Voice.'
By James Montgomery

The Wanted
Photo: Derek Storm/ Splash News

Any die-hard fan of the Wanted can surely list innumerable reasons why the rippling, randy group is totally different from any of their Boy-Band predecessors — they are British-Irish, they sing about booze, etc — but here's one we've just become aware of: They are totally unafraid of speaking their mind.

That's because, in an interview with New York radio station Now FM, they went off on "The Voice" chair-sitter Christina Aguilera after she gave them a less-than-friendly reception during their appearance on the show last week. And we mean they really went off.

"She's a total bitch," Tom Parker spat. "She might not be a bitch in real life, but to us, she was a total bitch. She just sat there and didn't speak to us. Wouldn't even look at us."

"She was quite rude," Siva Kaneswaran added. "Who does that?"

The Wanted were also asked to compare their interactions with Aguilera on "The Voice" with an earlier meeting with "American Idol" judge Jennifer Lopez, when Max George planted a kiss on J.Lo and then the boys openly pined for her hand in marriage backstage. And, as you can probably expect, they definitely preferred one experience to the other.

"[Aguilera] was a bit scary, to be honest," George said.

Then, when asked about smooching Lopez, he laughed: "Yeah, well J.Lo's hot, Christina's nothing special."

Snaps all around. It bears mention that perhaps Aguilera was just having a bad night, because following the show, she also caught heat for snubbing Justin Bieber. At press time, reps for the Wanted (and Aguilera) had yet to respond to MTV News' request for comment on the burgeoning beef, but we suspect we're going to be hearing plenty more from both camps in the days ahead.

Were the Wanted's comments out of line or justified? Leave your comment below!

Related Videos

• MTV First: The Wanted
• Exclusive: Follow The Wanted Around NYC!

Related Photos

• The Wanted Take Over NYC, MTV News Tags Along!
• Behind The Scenes Photos From The Wanted's "Chasing The Sun" video

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Sensu Artist Brush Capacitive Stylus Review

If you enjoy painting on canvas, you might find that you also enjoy “painting” on an iPad. Or if you’ve never painted before, doing so on a tablet is fun and way less messy. I am a doodler and don’t claim to have any talent whatsoever. I just enjoy drawing cartoons and thingamabobs whenever I’m [...]

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TomTom's new sat nav: perfect for your van down by the river

If you're prone to hitting the road in a trailer or camper, you probably know that the road isn't exactly made to accommodate to your less-than-dainty vehicle. In a bid to express its deepest sympathies (and, you know, make money), TomTom is unveiling a device made specifically for caravan owners. In addition to offering the standard TomTom Live features for keeping up to date with traffic and weather reports, the Go Live Camper and Caravan includes warnings for narrow roads, low bridges and the like, and it also highlights the nearest rest stops and other points of interest for road trippers. And because you probably trade in that motorhome for a smaller set of wheels on occasion, TomTom lets you switch to a different profile, complete with customizable specifications for size, weight and speed. The Go Live Camper and Caravan will set you back £349.99, and as the price indicates, it's currently only set up to handle roads across the pond.

Continue reading TomTom's new sat nav: perfect for your van down by the river

TomTom's new sat nav: perfect for your van down by the river originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 02:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Johny Hendricks pals around with NASCAR bad boy Tony Stewart (PHOTO)

Two weeks before making his Fox debut against Josh Koscheck, Johny Hendricks stopped by the track to check in with NASCAR's finest. Here he is showing a beard that awesome cannot be contained in a helmet while talking to Tony Stewart. Do you think Stewart, a well-known problem child on the racing circuit, gave Hendricks some trash-talking tips? Tell us what he said in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

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President Obama test drives a Sphero on Boulder visit

President Obama was in the Centennial State last night, hyping up an enthusiastic crowd at the University of Colorado at Boulder's Coors Events Center. Of course, he couldn't help but take some time to check out some some of the local innovation. The President took a few moments out of his busy schedule to play around with the smartphone-controlled Sphero RC ball, declaring "how cool is that," before demanding that the crowd, "give me some space to drive my ball." He also tossed out some superlatives like "terrific," after nearly driving it into a woman's flip-flop. Now that's a solid endorsement, if ever we've heard one. In the end, though, it didn't last long -- the guy's got a country to run, after all.

Continue reading President Obama test drives a Sphero on Boulder visit

President Obama test drives a Sphero on Boulder visit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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