Nest introduces ‘instaclips’ and new features for Apple TV and Android TV

Alphabet's Nest is a home & design company that makes high-performance HD cameras for indoor and outdoor surveillance. In what appears to be an upgrade to integrate users' home camera feeds with Android TV, and Apple TV, Nest has introduced an update to its app platform that will allow its users to stream Nest Cam feeds directly to their Apple TV units, while introducing a new video clip creation and sharing feature called "instaclip." Other improvements like activity notifications and a tweaked user interface also arrive for iOS 10 with Nest version 5.9.

According to a blog post on Thursday, instaclips can be used to capture and share impromptu holiday moments with friends and family. Powered by subscription service Nest Aware — a requirement for instaclips to work — the feature automatically detects potentially interesting action to create a short clip viewable in the Nest app.

Tapping on the "clip" icon generates a clip while pressing and holding the same button lets users customise a clip's length. Instaclips can be uploaded to a customer's online archive, or stored on their iOS device for sharing.

In addition to instaclips, iOS users now get snapshots alongside activity alerts, a feature previously limited to Android devices. Those with Nest Aware are also to receive short video clips viewable within a notification pane. The app also includes a new button that switches Nest Cam video feeds and history between fullscreen and portrait viewing modes without forcing users to rotate their iPhone.

Finally, fourth-generation Apple TV owners can download the new Nest tvOS app to access to live Nest Cam video feeds on the big screen. The app supports multiple homes linked to a single account and is capable of displaying four live camera feeds on a single screen. Nest Aware customers also have access to history archives with activity indicators.

Nest on Thursday said Apple TV functionality was "coming soon," though the app and service appear to be live in the tvOS App Store.

Source: Nest 

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Google buys API management company Apigee for $625 million

The tech giant Google has acquired the rising API startup Apigee in a $625 million deal. Both companies reached an agreement this past Thursday, September 8. Diane Greene, Senior Vice President of Google's corporate branch, published a post with the announcement back on Thursday at the Google Cloud Platform Blog.

Most recently, the Alphabet subsidiary bought the cloud software company Bebop back in late 2015, the cloud video startup Anvato, and the enterprise-focused platform Orbitrera on August for $100 million.

The search giant Google has slowly but consistently been gaining presence in the corporate services industry with the announcements of various tools. The California-based company wants to compete with the likes of Amazon and Microsoft.

In an interview with Recode following the Apigee purchase, Greene stated she was excited about the integration of her division finally fitting into place at Google and the significance of their work with the tech giant.

"The addition of Apigee's API solutions to Google cloud will accelerate our customers' move to supporting their businesses with high-quality digital interactions. Apigee will make it much easier for the requisite APIs to be implemented and published with excellence," said Greene.

Apigee's customer base lists big names in various industries, including Walgreens, AT&T, Live Nation, First Data, Burberry, and Bechtel. The API management startup is responsible for developing the supporting structure for some of Walgreen's core services like prescription refills and photo printing.

Google intends to put Apigee in the front line of digital interaction solutions for businesses in the future. Meanwhile, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft continue to be the lead providers in the cloud enterprise services industry.

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Google's Chris Urmson Quits Self-Driving Car Project

Chris Urmson, who was instrumental in building Google's self-driving car project, said on Friday he is leaving the team after seven and a half years.

Alphabet Inc's Google had named Urmson chief technical officer of the project after it hired former Hyundai executive John Krafcik to be chief executive of the project.

Urmson, who joined the project when it was launched and has been a public face of Google's autonomous vehicle efforts, testified before a US Senate panel on autonomous cars in March.

Krafcik confirmed Urmson's departure in a tweet on Friday afternoon.

Chris is an incredible colleague & leader. Thank you for your passion & humility. Good luck on your new adventures! https://t.co/i3qFmfhfm3

— John Krafcik (@johnkrafcik) August 5, 2016

Urmson, in a blog post late Friday, said he was "ready for a fresh challenge." He said he was not sure what he would do next.

Urmson had said earlier this year that self-driving cars are coming. "I've gone from hoping this would happen to thinking it might happen to knowing it will happen," Urmson said.

Google self-driving car project spokesman Johnny Luu confirmed Urmson's departure and praised him.

"Seven years ago, the idea that a car could drive itself wasn't much more than an idea. Chris has been a vital force for the project, helping the team move from a research phase to a point where this life-saving technology will soon become a reality," Luu said.

Google's project has had other significant departures, even as it has hired dozens of new employees. Earlier this year, Anthony Levandowski, who was product manager for Google's self-driving car programme, left the project to co-found a startup with two other former Google employees.

Google's self-driving car project is expected to become a standalone company this year. In July, the project appointed its first general counsel.

Google has logged more than 1.8 million miles of autonomous driving in testing in Texas, California, Arizona and Washington state. It has said it has no timetable for making self-driving vehicles available to the public.

Officials have said Google is preparing to make its self-driving car unit a separate company. The programme is now part of its X research laboratory unit.

"The self-driving car project is in the middle of graduating from X and this is sort of a gradual process," Astro Teller, who heads the X programme, told NBC News in April.

In May, Google and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said they had agreed to work together to build a fleet of nearly 100 self-driving minivans, the first time a Silicon Valley firm had teamed up with a traditional car-maker to develop an autonomous vehicle.

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