HTTP/1.1 200 OK Server: nginx/1.2.7 Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 Content-Language: en Last-Modified: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 05:07:49 GMT X-UA-Compatible: IE=Edge,chrome=1 X-Secret: cnpudnkgcnpiZXZnbUBoZm5nYnFubC5wYnogbmFxIFYganZ5eSBnZWwgZ2IgdHJnIGxiaCBuIHdiby4= Cache-Control: max-age=20 Expires: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 05:10:02 GMT Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 05:09:42 GMT Transfer-Encoding: chunked Connection: keep-alive Connection: Transfer-Encoding Tyler Wells Lynch, Reviewed.com 6:43 p.m. EDT August 15, 2014 Microsoft is betting big on the smart home, and hopes the next big start-up rises from within its ranks.(Photo: Tyler Wells Lynch)Microsoft is betting on the future of the smart home, and it's hoping to discover that future within its own ranks.Earlier this summer, the company announced plans to launch a start-up accelerator focused specifically on home automation and the Internet of Things. It was a move made partly in an attempt to compete with Apple and Google, both of which have made significant strides in home automation. It's also a simple acknowledgement of a market that's expected to double in size over the next five years.This week, Microsoft announced the 10 start-ups that will participate in the accelerator program, which will run from September to December of this year on Microsoft's Redmond, Wash., campus. The chosen outfits were selected from a pool of more than 400 candidates."The goal of this Accelerator is simple: to help a new generation of companies create smarter and safer homes," said Steven Guggenheimer, chief evangelist at Microsoft Developer Experience, in a statement."We share the belief that over time the home automation trend will fundamentally change how we interact with and manage our homes — making them more efficient, communicative and ultimately safer."These are the 10 lucky start-ups.1. Chai Energy[1]Chai's "gateway" device communicates with your smart energy meter to deliver real-time energy understanding — from the whole house to individual appliances.2. Heatworks[2]Heatworks is the world's first fully connected water heater. The…

HTTP/1.1 200 OK Server: nginx/1.2.7 Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 Content-Language: en Last-Modified: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 05:06:28 GMT X-UA-Compatible: IE=Edge,chrome=1 X-Secret: cnpudnkgcnpiZXZnbUBoZm5nYnFubC5wYnogbmFxIFYganZ5eSBnZWwgZ2IgdHJnIGxiaCBuIHdiby4= Cache-Control: max-age=20 Expires: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 05:07:42 GMT Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 05:07:22 GMT Transfer-Encoding: chunked Connection: keep-alive Connection: Transfer-Encoding LG Electronics' new 55-inch Curved OLED TV (Model 55EC9300) is available beginning this month at various retailers nationwide. Suggested price: $3,499.(Photo: LG Electronics)Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misstated what the acronym OLED stands for. It is organic light-emitting diode technology.The holy grail of TVs is becoming more attainable.LG Electronics is bringing to market the first full-sized OLED (organic-light-emitting diode) HDTV aimed at mainstream consumers.OK, the new super-thin and curved 55-inch display still costs $3,499.99. But that's quite a reduction in the introductory price of a new OLED, compared to the $15,000 and $16,000 price tags on LG's first two models.This new display, available for pre-order now on BestBuy.com [1]and in Best Buy stores Aug. 24 is less than one-sixth of an inch thick — the thickness of a few credit cards.The price is "still at the high end of a 55-inch (high-definition TV), but not as lofty as the first-generation models were," says Tim Alessi, LG Electronic's director of new product development. "We think the demand is going to be considerable for this model."About a decade ago, OLED began being held up as the eventual holy grail of TVs because the technology produced the most realistic images, with rich blacks and colors that pop."OLEDs still make for astonishing TVs, with great picture quality, (and are) more energy efficient and extremely thin," says Veronica Gonzalez-Thayer, an analyst with IHS Technology.But LED-backlight LCD TVs also have improved, she says, making it difficult for OLEDs to differentiate themselves in the TV market and "justify their…

HTTP/1.1 200 OK Server: nginx/1.2.7 Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 Content-Language: en Last-Modified: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 17:00:32 GMT X-UA-Compatible: IE=Edge,chrome=1 X-Secret: cnpudnkgcnpiZXZnbUBoZm5nYnFubC5wYnogbmFxIFYganZ5eSBnZWwgZ2IgdHJnIGxiaCBuIHdiby4= Cache-Control: max-age=20 Expires: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 17:03:41 GMT Date: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 17:03:21 GMT Transfer-Encoding: chunked Connection: keep-alive Connection: Transfer-Encoding A self-folding, crawling robot in three stages.(Photo: Seth Kroll, AP)Say goodbye to those clunky, nuts-and-bolts robots. The robots of tomorrow will be as flexible as paper. That's what researchers from MIT, Harvard University and Cornell University hope.A team of researchers from MIT and Harvard has been working on "origami robots" made out of shape-memory polymer and paper that can fold themselves up into programmable shapes and move on their own, looking like something out of a Transformers movie. Alongside the researchers led by Cornell University's Itai Cohen, whose team was studying origami-folding techniques to control physical properties of any thin material, the scientists are trying to expand the limits of robotics."Our goal was to produce a complex machine that could fold itself without human help," said Sam Felton, a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University's School of Engineering and the lead author of the report published Thursday in the journal Science.The robot combines origami and electrical engineering. The polymer assumes shapes along flexible creases when it receives different electrical signals. The heat from the electrical signals activates the polymer, starting the folding process. The approach can be used to create a wide variety of structures and machines, Felton said.The method allows researchers to quickly produce complex robots that can be customized by size and function and integrate electrical components while flat, said Robert Wood, a professor of engineering and applied sciences at Harvard. The stiffness from the folds makes the robots strong for their weight."The big dream is to make robots fast and inexpensive," said Daniela Rus,…