‘Internet Button’ Causes Web-Connected Reactions in Any Device

Spark’s newest device can control hot tubs, mood lamps, and confetti shooters remotely
The Internet of Things is becoming as fast reality. In 2010, the idea of connecting electronic devices to the Internet was only explored in incubation. In the following four years, a myriad of companies—spearheaded by Nest—developed products that connect to the Internet, sync with other devices, and complete programmed tasks.

Next, rather than rely on pre-programmed commands, consumers want to organize their own devices’ systems and capabilities. Spark’s newly-released Internet Button will allow users to do just that.

Spark Internet Button 2.jpgAt the core, the Internet Button holds a Photon, a postage stamp-sized hackable Wi-Fi module for interacting with physical things. Users programming on Spark’s Core system can connect essentially any device with a Photon to the Internet. The Internet Button uses If This Then That (IFTTT), which relies on triggers to cause “reactions”; for example, if you misplace your phone, you can push a button, which calls your cell. IFTTT offers two reactions: it can either publish an event (which communicates to the Internet once something happens to the device) or call a function (which triggers an action in the physical world).

In order to make IFTTT less daunting to beginners, Spark chose to package the technology as a button. As Spark CEO Zach Supalla tells The Next Web:

Our goal is to help people create the next generation of connected products. Everyone comes in a different points. A lot of the people we sell to are already makers, they have some level of knowledge. We wanted to make it easier for people who have zero knowledge and still want to start building things, so we decided to create a button. The thought was that we could boil down the tech into a toy but make it really powerful.

Spark Internet Button 3.jpgSince its launch in 2013, Spark IO has been in the business of Internet connection. Its 2013 Kickstarter raised over $500,000 for a first-generation Wi-Fi-hardware connector. With its newest product launch, Spark has energized an open-source movement of makers to build products connected to the Internet of Things.

What commands are people programming? A select favorite include:

If my coffee finishes brewing then post on Slack (If Spark then Slack)
If my hot tub reaches the right temperature then send me a text message that reads “It’s hot tub time!” (If Spark then SMS)
If the weather improves then change the colors of a mood lamp (if Spark then mood lamp)
If my team wins then create a celebration with a confetti shooter in my front yard….

http://www.psfk.com/2015/02/spark-internet-button-ifttt-internet-of-things.html

Cisco, with its multitude of networking technologies, is leading in the world of networking. But even with its success, the company’s CEO John Chambers announced his commitment on making the company the “number one IT company.“

On Thursday, Cisco ended its business with Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference after sensing a weakness in their earnings with the companies; Cisco explains that things will improve quickly and securely with a possibility profit of $ 19 trillion and with the confidence of company being computerized.

“It is the most fundamental change. You’d almost call it the second generation of the Internet,” stated Chambers.

Emphasizing some more on the cloud, Chamber claimed the company will continue to get itself wrapped up in every event, constituting a new stage of change in this digital world no matter what the new tech rears its head in the future; be it something that will be favorable to the company, or not.

“We’re back in vogue,” Chambers quipped. “It’s like the 1990s all over again.”

Chambers indicated with emphasis that the Internet of Things was merely not “just a fringe topic” at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show this year , but it happened to be the most important topic discussed in the forum .

Cisco’s own publicity at CES was a little subdued this year, although the Internet of Things is the center of attention of the networking giant today.

Cisco will supply the technology for Charter’s upcoming next-generation video platform which was announced as Chambers made an appearance with Charter communications CEO Thomas Rutledge. Cisco had earned its publicity at the trade show along with a partnership with Vodafone-owned Kabel Deutschland (KD), Germany’s largest cable operator, performing as the foundation for KD’s many video services. The contract includes an agreement that KD’s future video service will utilize Cisco-branded connected devices to set up a “video-hub for the home.”

“Every person, your home, your car, the way you do healthcare, your sporting activities will become connected,” Chambers had stated in January. “It’s disrupt or be disrupted.”

theguardian.com – Next-gen tech
Connected spaces: the next step for the internet of things
The internet of things is too screen-focused. To be truly revolutionary, machines must link up to make our environments work harder for us
Xbox’s Kinect system is an example of how IoT can be used to create more connected spaces. Photograph: Graham Turner/Guardian
Anthony Baker
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Throughout 2014, the internet of things (IoT) was undeniably one of the most popular and widely discussed topics in our industry. Manufacturers, companies, brands and agencies have been exploring its merits and pitfalls, trying to decipher what it means for the digital industry and for society as a whole. CES 2015 fuelled the trend even further. Everyone wants to know where the next big disruption is going to happen, and how to capitalise on it.
The basic principle behind IoT is to connect every possible electronic device to the existing internet infrastructure. The goal is to allow “things” to tap into the unlimited resources of the world wide web, making them smarter and more useful. Beyond that, it means creating a huge amount of new data gathering points – data coming in from virtually everywhere.
According to Gartner and ABI research , there will be around 26 to 30 billion devices wirelessly connected to the internet by 2020 (some sources putting the number closer to 50 billion). That’s a lot of data being harvested from devices spread across the world.
In theory, IoT makes a lot of sense. It is easy to imagine how bringing a myriad of sensors and appliances online can produce many benefits: in our homes, workplaces and cities, resulting in new functionality at our fingertips. Nest’s Thermostat and Smoke Detector , or wearable smart wristbands like Nike’s FuelBand or Jawbone’s Fitness Trackers are good examples of IoT devices that already exist.
Related: The internet of things is as important as the world wide web
Microsoft has been working for years on the concept of the connected living room with its Kinect and Xbox devices. Even more ambitious, Apple’s HomeKit and Healthkit , and Google’s Fit , aim to create connected device ecosystems to change the way we manage and share data. And there are already connected city initiatives deployed in Chicago, Rio de Janeiro, Helsinki and Singapore striving to collect, manage and share data about the local environment, security, transport and finances.
The range of devices primed for connectivity is huge. But there is a catch.
The current IoT approach is fine for mobile interaction behaviours, but it’s not going to change the fundamental way we interact with the digital environment. It still counts on the mobile device and the digital screen in general. It’s still replicating behaviours that we have adopted and now see as normal. These interactions still require us to rely on screen interfaces, to trigger actions, to tap here or there, to load this site or application.
But the connectivity concept resonates way beyond the mobile device and the digital screen; it transcends all kind of environments: body, home, city, industry and the environment. If we chose, the connectivity phenomenon could take us to a far more interesting place: connected spaces.
Consider everything that can be connected in a space: it’s far more than connecting wearable devices and phones to a few gadgets or screens. It is about a fundamental change in the information flow direction. Most of us have some kind of device, most of them with some level of connectivity capability. Environments can detect our devices and react to them on many different levels. The more connected spaces are, the more information is available, and so ​devices can react better, faster and more accurately.
The beauty about this fundamentally different way of thinking about connectivity, is that it makes our environments, our urban spaces, work harder for us. It can power completely new ways to interact with our environment; interactions that go beyond the screen, wearables and simple connected “things”.
Connected spaces can truly change the way we interact with our world. As the intersection between the digital and the physical continues to blur, our environments could really start to create more accurate, engaging and useful experiences. Buildings detecting our presence, querying our phones for details we want to publicly share, tapping into public services and welcoming us with the right information.

http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/2015/feb/05/connected-spaces-should-be-the-next-step-for-the-internet-of-things