Welcome warmly, or coolly depending on the weather, the Nest Lab’s newest creation:  the Nest!

The new company from Tony Fadell, the designer for eighteen iPods at Apple, launches the sexy wall item, the Nest Learning Thermostat, in November for $249.

The Nest, for all intensive purposes, thinks about how the user likes their temperature. All that is required is for the energy-minded to continue to turn the thermostat up and down according to when they leave the home, or go to sleep, or the seething summer heat requires A/C, or the frigid pre-November snow asks for more warmth ASAP.

As the consumer manually sets the Nest thermostat, like they normally do (we are not talking about the complicated and convoluted programming that nobody spends the time doing), the Nest remembers, reasons and then begins to program the thermostat’s temperature for you.

It learns.

In fact, Fadell believes the Nest learns so thoroughly that he says users will save up to 30% off of their utility bills when Nesting.

And let us not forget the minimalistic and gorgeous body of the Nest. Fadell, the iPod designer, knows how to carve out a sexy piece of tech, and the Nest is a prime example. The round face is black bordered and inside is either digitally blue or orange, depending on a rising or lowering of the temperature.

How hard is it to operate? Well, just twist the Nest left or right to plus or minus degrees, like you would any other traditional thermostat.

The Nest is money saving sexiness!

September 1st was the day.

Facebook Messenger has long been a trick to the trade of up keeping various friendships, regardless of busy schedules, contrasting time zones, and imposing work queues. The free “Facebook Messenger” App mobilizes the instant messenger everyone is using incessantly!

There is even a way to use the App to message people who do not yet have Messenger via text too.

Though the App has been around for a few months now, its newest version is causing quite a stir, as the overtly necessary “copy and paste” function is now included, and there are added abilities to link to addresses and numbers easily.

Where is everyone? The App tells all.

Shared location from Facebook lets you see where everyone is dwelling, or moving to, or stopping to use the restroom (yuck, I know) so that group trips become easier to congeal (though the personal tracking creeps me out, personally; Big Brother, anyone?).

In short, the “Facebook Messenger” application is intuitive and runs smoothly to not only provide for a near infinite number of running conversations with anyone and everyone on Facebook (from anywhere, folks!), but there are a number of other useful features as well.

Putting a working mobile App into play allows for the use of smartphones, iPhones, and their touchscreens to easily transmit embarrassing pictures, videos, and get alerted by the phone’s notifications of each equally embarrassing response.

The “Facebook Messenger” App is also the choice messenger by the Dark Knight’s arch nemesis, the Riddler!

Enjoy!

The Roku 2 XS is the newest TV streaming component to hit the shelves this month, and Roku, the original device company for Netflix, has spared no expense.

When it comes to TVs and you–the consumer’s–system, folks, small and thin is sexy.

Roku has beautifully crafted their newest streaming device to rival the Apple TV, but at a cost of less than ninety-nine dollars. And it is smooth, silky black, and shaped to be roughly the thickness and overall size of a hockey puck.

That’s right, a hockey puck!

But do not let the size fool you, the Roku 2 XS is packed to the gills with all of the streaming capable goodness that one could imagine. The XS unit contains an HDMI, A/V Out, Ethernet, micro-SD (for expanding memory for future games that could come available), and a USB for its connections.

CNET has declared the XS the best streaming box on the market for less than a hundred bucks. And it comes with dozens of video and audio channels that include Amazon Instant Video, Pandora, Hulu Plus, Crackle (though this does not stream in HD yet), sports channels (including MLB, NBA, and the NHL), and of course, Netflix.

The Netflix interface on the XS is superior to all other models (even the great Sony), as the menus are HUGE and easy to maneuver. The XS box has specialized in being intuitive to consumers for years now, and they have perfected a Mac-like interface for half the Mac-price.

Any TV can connect to the Roku 2 XS, and it is wireless as well, if there are no wires to be found for the Internet.

And it comes with a blue-tooth Wii-like remote that plays the “Angry Birds” game that comes with the XS for free! Simply pull back on the gorgeous remote to ease back the birds’ sling and go to town on the Angry Birds’ pigs.

The third installment in Future Games of London’s hit “Hungry Shark” series offers up a fun way to get out any frustration on the iPhone or Droid. Simply fire up the free “Hungry Shark Part Three” App, and let the tilt-a-phone touchscreen controls guide a great white to chomping onto anything that could resemble food from a shark’s point of view (and this includes people, folks).

The intuitive game controls allow phone tilting to move the vicious-looking shark about in the water, as it scours the floor for scampering crabmeat, or the surface for bikini-clad appetizers. The gameplay takes a little getting used to, and care is needed because the great white can be beached, which will slow down the toothy predator and hurt its health.

The “Hungry Shark Part Three” App’s HD graphics are beautiful. The animated people that haphazardly run away, the vitreous water backgrounds, and the baby white shark that grows into a gargantuan great white, after consuming a steady diet of swimmers and sea creatures, are all impressive to the eye.

The sound effects are excellent and add realism to the mayhem, as the swimmers scream that there is a shark and run away with audible splash sounds. The music emanates the suspenseful creepiness of Jaws.

This installment of the “Hungry Sharks” App features many challenges for the ferocious eater. There is combo eating, for more points, enemy sharks (that will make you swim with the fishes when you starve to death), numerous levels of exciting play, a blood bath, and even dangerous oil slicks to dodge.

Have fun feeding!

The geniuses at Cheaphotels study the pricing trends of 2 and 2.5 star hotels, so that you, the consumer, can benefit from a decent night’s stay in an actual hotel (flee-bag motels and bed-buggy alleyways are left out of this site’s database). And remember people, vacations or hotel gift certificates make excellent gifts!

With the Summer 2011 Budget Hotel Report, the ridiculously easy-to-use Cheaphotels system has compiled a guide to pricing the thirty top August destinations in the US.

The nightly rates of the hotels are averaged to provide the interested vacationer with a look at just where the buck will be busting with the most value, and it also breaks down the six most popular US city destinations further, using specific neighborhood rates.

For instance, users can visualize their trip’s stops at Times Square as being temporary ones because it is the most expensive place to stay, whereas the hotels in Jersey City or Long Island are nearly a hundred dollars cheaper per night. And staying in Santa Monica more than doubles what the cost would be in a hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

The Budget Report is in-depth, useful, and accurate. Cheaphotels.org is a great way to plan a trip in the States or around the world, because the top destinations on this gorgeous earth are given, as well.

Be smart, and save some loot easily!

The word “Cloud” keeps popping up everywhere in the computing world, and out of it, and it is not in reference to the weather, people!

As a rumored disc-drive-less MacBook Pro (Techland) from Apple has just surfaced, I felt it about time to sort out the infamous “Cloud” that Apple, Google, and Amazon seem to be forcing upon us, the consumer.

The “Cloud” is actually not that hard to wrap your head around; simply put, it is a virtual hard drive for data on the Internet.

What does that mean? Well, using the “Amazon Cloud Drive” as an example, users can upload any files (for example: documents, pictures, mp3 music, e-books, and videos) from the computer hard drive to the “Cloud” virtual drive online.

Amazon gives their users 5GB of space for free (more space starts at twenty bucks a year for 20GB and goes up to a thousand bucks for 1TB per year).

The benefits of a “Cloud” drive are that users can access their files anywhere, from almost any smart device, and the consumer’s own hard drive, on their Mac at home, can be wiped clean to gain more space. As a backup, the “Cloud” can also ensure that a fried hard drive or exploded CD-drive will not be the demise of precious files.

The “Cloud” is part of a growing trend in eliminating moving parts from consumer computing technology. Hard drives (which are mechanized, folks, if you did not know) are being replaced with solid-state memory (think of SD camera cards, but bigger), and with the MacBook Air, and possibly their next MacBook Pro models, Apple is leaving out disc drives altogether.

If there are no discs, then there is only streaming (like the easily rented movie source Netflix) and downloading, which Apple just used to exclusively provide their newest operating system, OSX Lion. There is nothing to break, scratch, or lose.

The downside to “Cloud” is rarely discussed, but should be obvious:  users have to be online to use it. If the Internet goes down–and it does do that, does it not–then one is left stranded without their sacred Word documents, or their even more holy iTunes library.

And then there are the security threats. Even with a Mac, it is hard enough to keep hackers out of one’s personal computer. But do you really want to depend on Amazon’s “Cloud” (for example) to protect all of your most coveted and life-long work and files on the Web? Large companies, like Sony, get hacked all the time, and it is not yet safe to trust these with your life savings, so to speak.

As a backup, “Cloud” serves a great purpose (if you can trust the “Cloud” people with your passwords), but as the only way to keep your vitals I think the “Cloud” could blot out the sun and ruin the potential day with calamity.

This incredibly small and light lantern’s base fits in the palm of the hand, yet provides enormously bright LED-powered light while it deters insects for a 15 x 15 foot radius.

Does it work?  Well, yes it does!

This lantern is small, gives off a good amount of light on my deck but is not overbearing and is the best thing that I have ever witnessed for getting rid of the vampire-sickly mosquitoes and their friends.

I spend a great deal of time outside, especially in the summer months, and because I live on an island there are myriad armies of bugs constantly trying to harass or worse (drink blood).

Off, Tiki torches and fires might slow the onslaught, but the ThermaCELL lantern is the only truly effective means to keep away the bad guys.  The company even boasts that the Outdoor Lantern keeps at least ninety-eight percent of the awful mosquitoes, black flies and no-see-ums (which I have no idea what those are) at bay.

The ThermaCELL Mosquito Repelling Outdoor Lantern has even been used by the US Army to drive away the nightmare-ish flesh-eating (or at least annoying) desert bugs.

The Outdoor Lantern has a European inspired design that resembles the old oil lanterns with a hunter-green casing and handle.  The frosted-globe walls give off a pleasant light, while the repellant mats provide for hours of outdoor partying whether you’re on a deck, a boat or camping.

This little gadget works by mixing a tiny butane cartridge (that is included) with a repellant mat (also included) that fits snugly on the top of the lantern.  AA Batteries allow for the LED lights to brighten up the night, but the repellant function does not require them to be in there.

Once the butane is in place, the Outdoor Lantern is set to give off an invisible bug deterrent that lasts for twelve hours (per cartridge)!

These Outdoor Lanterns from ThermaCELL can be found at Amazon.com, Bass Pro Shops and in most outdoor equipment stores for anywhere from twenty to thirty bucks, and believe me it is worth every penny!

Many Apps, for many quote-unquote smart phones, offer up the locations of various (let’s call them) places around the user’s location.  Thumb up the App and watch as cheap Gas Stations, even cheaper Restaurants and enticing Attractions form on the screen and supposedly guide the user accurately toward their limitless potential offerings.

They do not do it anywhere near as well as the powerhouse Google and the new “Google Places” App.

The problem for the predecessors lies in the fact that many of the small location-based applications do not update their servers nearly enough, and the persons searching desperately for a damn good cup of coffee or a donut while traversing the mean streets of New York at midnight are then often brought to a bad end.

I say this from experience after walking miles to phantom Dunkin Donuts locales in Astoria, Queens last week (my girlfriend and I made it out alive, but the donuts were hard to come by).

The “Google Places” App is simplicity itself.  All of the resources of Google have been fully utilized to offer up accurate locations of Coffee, Bars, Hotels, ATMs and more on the free App!

Cue up “Google Places” and let it “locate you”.  It determines your address and shows off the myriad Starbucks (and also real coffee houses) for miles.  Pressing onto one shows their address, their picture, reviews, detailed information about what it is exactly and directions (that go through Google Maps accurately!).

This is a must have!

Who would not want to avoid roaches the size of tomcats and pricing minimums that require a Rolex just to leave your car parked (not even sure if I am even exaggerating here)?

The BestParking web site is a specific parking search engine that accommodates 18 cities and 79 airports.  Select Daily or Monthly groupings and then search by Neighborhood, Address, Cross Street or Attraction.

And why does anyone park at the ridiculously horrid $20-$30/day parking garages, anyway?  It is true that they avoid costly tickets and allow for the humans to freely hike the concrete jungles, but why does everyone pay them so much for so little?

Many times these lots get their business because nearby parking is just so damn hard to find.  That is where BestParking comes in.

Whether one is driving from Midtown to the outermost edge of New York’s Brooklyn Heights, or leaving the rental car awning at the Chicago Midway airport in search of a morsel or tasty beverage, the chances are that the traveling car will need a parking destination in the urban sector.

Where is parking that does not cost a donation to the organ division on the Black Market and does not require back-ending poor defenseless vehicles on the sidewalks while parallel parking (I say this from experience)?  BestParking is the answer.

A quick click will load up a Google-like map with tags of nearby parking facilities and their prices.  It allows for users to specify every detail imaginable in an intuitive search, like whether or not you want an on the street spot or a lot or garage to rest your Vette.

There is also a free BestParking App for nearly every smart phone, and even some not-so-smart phones!

LivingLofty allows for social butterflies to become social acolytes and philanthropists, while, simultaneously, food and drink and good cheer is consumed in abundance.  Where does one go wrong here?

LivingLofty’s motto:  RSVP for a cause.  This company’s function is to allow their online users access to exclusive events, and all of these send charitable donations to worthy causes while discounting the fare for those who sign up to attend the swinging shindigs.

Group purchasing discounts highly desired social gatherings, and at the same time promotes networking from like-minded individuals that have the same taste in the gathering itself or the cause that the events donate to.

The LivingLofty web site allows anyone to sign up for free to see and RSVP in the events (and users can even link the service to their Facebook as the Log In).  When one RSVP’s to an event, a discounted cover is charged and then they are all set for the lofty living (pun intended, people).

The LivingLofty launch event, for instance, was titled “The Party For Japan in the East Village” and cost two dollars to enter (which is listed as a four dollar value).  50% of all RSVP monies go to the selected charity for the LivingLofty event, so the money collected from those who attended the “Party” in the East Village (of NYC) was given to the Red Cross for Japan relief aid.

Businesses get various influxes of consumers through LivingLofty events and the number of people that have already paid bolsters their numbers, while the members chow down on succulent prime rib or tasty California rolls knowing that they contributed to a good cause.

Each RSVP on LivingLofty sends a portion of the proceeds to a charitable cause, extends a social atmosphere that is electric with networking possibilities and showers members with the extensive discounts that the partnering venues provide, in terms of fastidious food, decadent drink and entertainment.

Live it.  Give it.  Just be sure everyone is LivingLofty.