Dave Zatz 
Thanks to a pulled page at iMore, we learn that a number of Apple HomeKit products are now available for order, with others on tap… including a new player in this realm: Elgato. Will this be enough to smooth the rough edges and finally start pushing home automation beyond the geeky fringes, into the mainstream?
Now:
As one of the bazillion WordPress bloggers, I’m always on the lookout for tools to improve my efficiency. And, sadly, Microsoft’s surprising new OneNote plugin isn’t one of them. While Microsoft does seem to have intelligently integrated picture attachments into WordPress (including the Media Manager), the rest leaves something to be desired. The initial linkage is a kludgey exercise. Fortunately it’s just a one time thing — so, though it lacks polish and may seem somewhat arcane, the directions can be followed by most that first time. I was more concerned with the slightly dirty HTML and slow Notebook/Page lookup in brief testing.
@Dragooon57 We have to land Win10 on XB1 before we'll get background music, so a little later.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) May 29, 2015
Given Microsoft’s strategy to deploy Windows 10 across all computing devices, including computers and smartphones, I guess it’s not entirely surprising they intend to similarly unify the Xbox One onto the platform later this year. Whether or not this translates into a less crazy user interface remains to be seen, but it does seem highly likely that background music streaming will be one compelling benefit of migrating to the new operating system. It’s a feature I’m surprised we haven’t seen more – and something I periodically have appreciated from the WDTV Play and Amazon Fire TV.
Amazon has launched a Kindle for Kids Bundle. The Bundle packages a third-party back cover (in your choice of five colors) and two-year SquareTrade warranty with an existing entry-level, touch-screen, ad-free Kindle … for the same price that Kindle alone would have cost (without ads): $99. Beyond its standard e-reading capabilities, Amazon is also pitching Kindle FreeTime features such as reading achievement badges. But I wonder if there’s much of a market amongst parents and their budding readers for a single function device like this? I’d handed down a former Kindle to a friend’s daughter, but Dad tells me it was pretty quickly superseded by other multifunctional tablet gadgetry. Hm.
By way of the Trademark office, we see that TiVo’s brand makeover continues. Whereas the earlier 2015 visual tweaks were logo-centric, and perhaps merely a test, TiVo recently passed 6 applications thru the USPTO showcasing significantly modernized rendition of their classic thumbs up/down iconography as an update to prior art filed way back in 1999. Use of these buttons, … Read more
Via trusted sources, we’ve learned that TiVo is poised to launch Cox On Demand services… nearly five years after an announced partnership that many have assumed to be dead. So while the various players dicker over the capabilities and implementation of a CableCARD successor, TiVo once again strikes a deal to build a custom solution. I’m not sure what’s in … Read more
By way of a TiVo media blast and discussions I’ve had with Plex representatives, we now know the rumors are true. Plex lands on TiVo Roamio, Premiere, and Mini hardware next week! And, fortunately, the Plex experience is not buried within the Opera TV Store, residing alongside Spotify and an also soon-to-be released iHeartRadio under Music & Photos. … Read more