Ecobee3 Lite review

The Ecobee3 Lite is a decent smart thermostat that costs less than most

Most thermostat makers now have at least a single entry in the smart-home category, with some already on their second- and even third-gen products. All are vying to provide consumers with smarter, simpler controls for home heating and cooling. The new Ecobee3 Lite isn't the company's first such device, but it does mark the brand's attempt to hit a much lower price point. With a $169 MSRP, it costs $80 less than the original Ecobee3 as well as the Nest, and is $30 less than the Honeywell Lyric. But in order for the company to hit that price and still keep the flagship model relevant, some features had to go.

How modern tech saved my 'Dragon's Lair' arcade game

In the early 1980s, the arcade was still the place to play the newest and best video games. Sure, consoles existed, and were just starting to give arcades a run for their money -- and were even starting to shed their wood-grain home-furniture look for a more modern feel. But home play still lacked the arcade's mystique. As attendance began to dwindle, game makers started looking for a hook; something incredible and new that would lure people back to the arcades to spend their quarters.

Watson's melt-in-your-mouth Moroccan almond curry

'Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson' is a collaboration between IBM and the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. As part of an ongoing series, we'll be preparing one recipe from the book until we've made all of them. Wish us luck.While it's no great surprise to see Watson conjuring up unusual flavor blends, I was surprised to find such subdued in this Moroccan almond curry. On paper the recipe looked to be leaning toward bland, but its clever combination of all the elements worked. Traditional Moroccan lamb curries have intense flavors highlighted by garlic, onion, sometimes ginger, cinnamon and then sweetened with honey and dried apricot to balance lamb's strong taste. Here, though, Watson prescribes small amounts of cardamom, cumin, turmeric. All told, the recipe is comprised of four separate parts, which you'll later pile together. These include: the curry-braised lamb, a pea puree, green salad and plain old basmati rice. This is a great choice if you want to show off for guests, and yet it's easy too: Because the meal is broken up in stages, much can be done the day before. It's also mild enough that even the pickiest eater will find some joy in the dish. I fed it to a couple kids under ten and they both ate it up.

A month with Nest's latest smart thermostat

Nest's programmable thermostat has just turned four, and the company marked the anniversary with the debut of its third-generation device. Four years ago, thermostats were still boring blocks stuck to your wall and while programming them was already possible, it was always a painful process. Once you'd fixed your temperature schedule with an endless collection of up- and down-arrow keypresses for Sunday through Monday, that selection remained fixed, with the very thought of changing the schedule leading to cold sweats. Typical configurable settings included a schedule for cool, heat and occasionally vacation mode. I've lived with one for ages and it has run faithfully, always following the schedule I made when I first set it up many seasons ago. I've coveted the Nest thermostat since launch and so, when I was recently offered an opportunity to use the newest version at home I jumped at the chance to see if it would really make a noticeable impact on my world.

A month with Nest's latest smart thermostat

How I nearly became hooked on a $335 laptop bag

When I was first approached about checking out the WaterField Designs $335 Rough Rider messenger bag, it occurred to me that I've never written about something as decidedly non-technical before. Let's face it: When I plop down my case and begin unloading my work stuff, my focus has always been on the contents, not the vessel. But once the bag arrived, I realized this San Francisco outfit doesn't just peddle any old type of gear; its handmade leather goods (crafted in the US, to boot) are something truly special. Still, coming from a world of ultra-padded messengers, I was worried if it would be quite good enough to do the job. So I broke up with my cushy day-to-day bag and switched to this all-leather interloper to see how I'd fare.

WaterField Designs Rough Rider messenger bag

CES 2015: The year cars got truly smart

CES 2015, like last year's event, had a very large auto presence, perhaps even a banner year for CES. Expect it to grow again next year; in fact we wouldn't be surprised to see it start to run over into other halls. Not only did the likes of Ford, GM, BMW, Audi and Hyundai have a presence, but we also saw a new prototype launch and the very first glimpse of the new Chevy Volt. Imagine that, a week or so before the Detroit Auto show, the North American International Auto Show, and yet we got a very significant car teaser. Of course, it's no surprise that CES is getting so much attention from automakers; cars have become synonymous with tech and CES is still the pre-eminent tech show. Jump in to the post and let us walk you through the highlight reel.

Toshiba's Virtual Fitting Room doesn't have menswear

Toshiba was demoing its Virtual Fitting Room at CES this year. The premise is simple: Stand in front of a large display while your image is projected on it. Using a Kinect for motion tracking, Toshiba's software is able to superimpose various outfits onto your reflected self. Hold your right hand up to change outfits and your left to snap a selfie, which the software then throws up as a QR code so you can grab your pic. Typical of this type of virtual thing, the clothes tended to wiggle about and were a bit ill-fitting, but they were women's outfits, so we'll give them a break there. We can see practical applications for trying clothing combinations without having to use a dressing room if you're in a hurry, for example. Though, we don't think using it for sizing would be useful at all, which is a large part of a fitting room's job.

Toshiba's Virtual Fitting room doesn't have men's wear

Audi's latest Q7 supports Android Auto and CarPlay

It seems Audi's Q7 is brand agnostic, at least in the Android vs. Apple battle: It hasn't yet chosen between Android Auto or CarPlay. The demos at CES this week are set shoulder to shoulder with Audi's HMI (Human Machine Interface) connected to either an Android device or an iPhone. Using the MMI knob -- if you've been in an Audi before -- is as intuitive as you remember, but instead of navigating through the factory system, you're now going to be using your phone interface. Once you've selected either CarPlay or Android Auto from the main menu, the phone's interface takes over. The steering wheel includes a button to activate Siri or Google Now for voice input and the wheel will scroll you through either system's menus. No surprises here as far as functionality, but the fact that the carmaker began to support both almost as quickly as heavyweights like Pioneer is an impressive feat. Look for this in Audi cars starting with the 2016 Q7 when it starts hitting showrooms this year. We look forward to couples everywhere finally settling the "Apple is better/Android is better in a car" question once and far all.

The Maserati of the future has cameras and displays instead of mirrors

QNX has become something of a staple for us here at CES, wowing us each time with new and more compelling auto gear packed inside the finest cars. This year's no different, as QNX has shown up with a flat blue Maserati Quattroporte GTS that has received a complete technological overhaul. What's most impressive to us is that the rearview and side mirrors have been completely gutted and replaced with cameras and displays as part of its ADAS (advance driver assistance systems) demonstration. Unlike typical car mirrors, the cameras on the QNX car are able to easily reposition when reversing, for example, offering you a safer view.

The Maserati of the future has cameras and displays not mirrors

The most beautiful tablet you'll ever own comes with an Audi Q7

Audi teased its tablet at last year's CES, but then went completely quiet until its press event at this year's show. The quick demo we were treated to focused on how well the tablet is integrated into the Q7; the specs were clearly an afterthought. Audi has this dead right: Sure it's a 10.1-inch tablet being driven by a Tegra 4, but we didn't care about that at all. We were wowed by its beautiful design, and how well thought-out every little thing is. For example, the matte display is designed to reduce micro vibrations passing through the car -- and as we saw in a demo, they are incredibly distracting. The display was also tested to ensure that during an accident, it wouldn't shatter -- from your face hitting it -- and have the shards cause further injury to the people in the car. The tablet's housing is a solid piece of beautifully sculpted aluminum with curved corners and smooth edges.

The most beautiful tablet you'll ever own comes with a free Audi Q7

BMW's autonomous i3 learned how to park and forgot how to crash

BMW is at CES this week demonstrating some of its newest advances in the field of highly autonomous driving. If you remember, last year we were taken to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and sped around the track in a tricked-out driverless 4 Series. This year's theme remains essentially the same, though rather than focusing on high-speed driving and drifting, the German automaker has slowed everything down. We were invited to a hotel's rooftop parking area where a couple BMW i3s were parked at either end of the space. One would demonstrate 360-degree collision avoidance and the other fully automated parking. They both did a very impressive job.

BMW's autonomous i3 learned how to park and forgot how to crash

Audi's vision of the future includes watch-controlled cars

Audi's vision of the future includes watch-controlled cars

Audi's press event this morning began more like a best-of tour or a walk down memory lane covering every year Audi has been at CES. This year's showing then rolled on to focus on its Prologue concept car, which appeared dramatically onstage at the touch of an as-yet-unannounced LG smartwatch. Audi's Ulrich Hackenberg then went on to discuss the A7 piloted-driving car that drove itself from San Francisco to this show; that's more than 550 miles. If you were around for Audi's event last year, you'll likely remember the Audi tablet, which was announced, but never really shown or detailed in any meaningful way. That tablet will finally make a real appearance in the 2016 Q7 and enable passengers to control car functions and infotainment while driving. We'll have more details on everything Audi has to show soon, so in the interim, have a peek at the gallery for a few more shots.