AT&T's Digital Life and Drive platforms are joining forces so you can tap into your home security and automation set up straight from your car.

Inside the AT&T Drive Studio. AT&T

Today at Mobile World Congress, AT&T announced that its Digital Life and Drive platforms now work together.

Digital Life is a dealer-installed, fee-based home security and automation service that provides live monitoring as well as remote access on Android and iOS devices and computers. You have the option to choose from a handful of packages for customization, but you can also opt for a whole-home solution since the available hardware ranges from security cameras and door and window sensors to garage door openers, thermostats and smoke detectors.

AT&T's Drive initiative has locked down partnerships with Audi, BMW, GM, Ford, Tesla, Nissan, Volvo and Subaru. Its goal is to explore opportunities to inject AT&T tech into the connected feature offerings of these brands.

With this new partnership, Digital Life subscribers (with a compatible car) will be able to access the app on their vehicle's control panel or via voice control so they can check in on what's happening at home without having to grab their phone. Theoretically, then, you should be able to tell your car to open the garage door, rather than fishing around for your controller or the AT&T Digital Life app.

This sort of third-party integration is appearing on the smart-home scene with increasing frequency. Consider the Works with Nest initiative and its partnership with Mercedes-Benz. When you and your Benz are closing in on home, you can program it to trigger your Nest Learning Thermostat to switch to Home mode.

Given the sluggish smartphone market, AT&T has been working to secure new integrations and this Digital Life/Drive partnership puts that effort on full display. AT&T said that it added 800,000 wireless cars in the fourth quarter of 2014 and has plans to lasso roughly half of new US cars in 2015 and over 10 million by the close of 2017.

AT&T's Drive Studio is located in Atlanta, but you can check out an interactive demo of this new partnership in action here at Mobile World Congress 2015 in the Innovation City at stand 3A31. Be sure to check out the rest of CNET's MWC 2015 coverage.

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Now you can access AT&T's home security service from your car

It seems that everyone from home security leader ADT to the broadband and cable providers like Time Warner want a piece of the smart home. The logic goes that these companies already have existing relationships with millions of customers and importantly, have hardware in the home. Why not just layer on additional services like home energy management, lighting and thermostat controls and security?

Well apparently theyre not the only enterprise player with similar logic. In December, US Cellular announced its new home automation and security service called OnLook. Whats interesting about US Cellulars move is that it doesnt have existing home infrastructure. Rather,the company has the ability to move data over cellular networks and relationships with mobile phone customers.

Weve seen other cellular providers begin to get interested in IoT and the smarthome. Last fall, Spains Telefonica rolled out a modular IoT platform called Thinking Things. Its not quite a smart home system as much as something an early adopter would savorstackable blocks with sensors for temperature, humidity, and ambient light that can move globally with Telefonicas cellular network.

So whats at play here for the cellular providers? At a basic level, no one wants to be a dumb pipe and the cell providers dream of selling services atop their networks refuses to die (Remember Verizon VCast?). So if US Cellular can figure out a way to build services on its network, theyd love to do that.

But more realistically, companies like US Cellular, and AT&T, which has its own cellular and WiFi powered smart home offering Digital Life, look at their existing customer base and wonder if theres an opportunity to sell to that group, particularly because of US Cellulars strong understanding of mobile. Most of these systems from cellular and telco providers are semi-closed systems that have been engineered to be pretty resilient and stable, even if the closed systems is irritating in that it walls off integration with third party devices.

I wrote recently about how ADT and Life360 are trying to leverage Life360s existing relationship with millions of families through Life360s mobile location sharing app. ADT wants access to those families in order to use Life360s mobile app to provide a better user experience not just for its security services but for additional connected home services.

Similarly, US Cellular is in a position to try and leverage its relationship with mobile customers and its access to mobile broadband to roll out its own smart home service. The service itself includes a home control panel along with door/window sensors, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide sensors, a smart thermostat, a motion sensor and lamp/appliance modules for connected lighting/appliance control. The packages range from $99 to $199 a month and require two year contracts.

To my mind, these are still very pricy packages. AT&Ts Digital Life starts at $40 a month but gets progressively more expensive as you add and install more devices. For someone already paying $50-$100 per month in cell service, doubling that monthly bill seems like a hard sell. I think that gets even more true when you consider that smart home platforms from the likes of SmartThings, Lowes Iris or even Nests burgeoning platform only have hardware costs right now and arguably allow for an open ecosystem of better connected devices.

That said, the likes of Digital Life and OnLook are unlikely to be selling to the individual. Rather theyre targeting the family thats concerned about safety and energy savings. And most importantly, the family that sees the appeal in a one stop solution thats been tested and where all the devices work seamlessly together.

Will consumers trade their favorite devices for one ecosystem that works well even if the monthly cost is a bit high? Its early days in the smart home but we may just see families favor these one stop solutions from cell and telco providers while individuals go for their favorite point applications and build their own ecosystem. Im sure US Cellular would be more than happy just to get a chunk of any smart home family market that comes to fruition.

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Everyone wants a piece of the smart home

THE CSIRO have given Australians some tips on keeping their rainwater tanks maintained and healthy.

Australia is the driest populated continent in the world, and yet our water consumption per person is among the highest on the planet, the CSIRO have said.

For Australians, water is scarce and how we manage this resource is a concern for us all, so it's no surprise that people are looking to install some form of water catchment for their property.

The CSIRO said recent data shows that 26% of Australian homes have already installed a rainwater tank and an overwhelming majority reported that they are positive about the tanks.

However, it's important to know that the installation of a rainwater tank isn't a set-and-forget scenario, CSIRO said - There are some maintenance tasks that are unavoidable if you want to keep the tank healthy and efficient.

Top 5 tips for maintaining your rainwater tank

Get your mind (and the leaves) out of the gutter - every 3 months

Mozzie mesh - every 3 months

Spend some quality time getting to know your water quality - every 6 months

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CSIRO's tips for maintaining your rainwater tank

LEBANON The new 84-room Best Western Premiere Boulder Falls Inn hotel is on target for a June opening and is looking for 75 to 100 employees, according to Robert Mullins, director of business development for Samaritan Health Services.

Construction is on target for us to be open in time for the June 5 commencement at COMP-Northwest, Mullins said.

Work is being done by T. Gerding Construction began putting up walls on the three-story, $8 million, 65,000-square-foot hotel in August.

Construction will actually be done and cleaned up by early May and then we will have staff training for several weeks, Mullins said. Thats also when all of the furniture and fixtures go in.

Mullins said Boulder Falls Inn LLC is its own business entity but has partnered with Best Western and is its first premiere level member in Oregon.

The premiere designation is because we are offering an upscale environment in our rooms, suites, restaurant and bars, Mullins said. We also offer amenities for business travelers, access to SamFit and to the Samaritan Conference Center.

Mullins said the complex will also include a heated outdoor pool, which will be constructed this coming summer.

Mullins said a March 11 job fair will be held at the 12,000-square-foot Samaritan Conference Center, 605 Mullins Drive, across from the Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital and north of the new hotel.

Were looking for individuals ages 18 and older, preferably with experience, but we are also willing to hire someone who has an upbeat personality and is willing to be trained, Mullins said.

Bartender applicants will have to meet OLCC regulations, Mullins noted.

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Lebanon hotel nears completion

Capitol Heights, MD (PRWEB) March 02, 2015

LONG FENCE introduced a new and improved website on Feb. 9. "This upgrade will increase our web traffic, which is the direction we are moving towards," said Brett Crouse, of LONG FENCE. "This is the up and coming technology that we need to stay ahead of the industry and keep our potential clients aware of our brand and products."

After deciding that the companys website needed a renovation, LONG FENCE gave its entire site a facelift to make it both more aesthetically appealing and functional. The renovated site features a new home page with a background that rotates between pictures of the company's past projects; a new, straightforward navigation bar that makes it easy to browse all of their quality products on the site; and -- best of all being a responsive site, allows its users to view the content of the site on any device.

All together, the enhancements make it easier for the consumer to view images of products which will inspire their own ideas of how their landscapes may benefit from a LONG FENCE quality product. Free estimate forms for any commercial or residential product can be submitted directly from any device. LONG FENCE quality products include: fence, decks, gazebos, patios, ironworks & railings, awnings, irrigation and so much more.

"We didn't have a mobile version of our old website so this is a great opportunity to better serve our customers," said Crouse. He also explained that many of the company's visitors have viewed the site via their mobile devices, and that it was time to give them a better user experience.

LONG FENCE hopes that visitors will interact and have a better experience on the new website than they have before, choosing to explore all the different products and services the company has to offer.

About LONG FENCE

LONG FENCE offers a wide range of product solutions for residential and commercial industries. Since 1945, LONG FENCE has been offering quality products and services. To learn more about their fences, decks, hardscaping, railings, guardrails and more, visit http://www.longfence.com.

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LONG FENCE's Revamped Website Has Finally Launched

Stonehearth Lets Play: Alpha 8 Gameplay: Part 7 - Completed Fences!
Let #39;s Play Stonehearth Gameplay Alpha 8! In this walk through, I will go over some of the new gameplay features of Stonehearth Alpha 8! For more information ...

By: BAStartGaming

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Stonehearth Lets Play: Alpha 8 Gameplay: Part 7 - Completed Fences! - Video

By Dow Jones Business News, March 02, 2015, 02:11:00 PM EDT

By Ryan Knutson and Sam Schechner

Mark Zuckerberg is trying to mend fences with the telecom industry.

Facing criticism from carriers that say Facebook Inc. is hurting their business models, Mr. Zuckerberg struck a conciliatory tone Monday, saying the only way to expand Internet access around the world is if carriers' revenue grows too.

"It's really important not to lose site of the fact that the real companies that are driving this are the operators," the Facebook CEO said at the telecom industry's main annual conference in Barcelona.

The comments appeared to address concerns that Mr. Zuckerberg's crusade to extend the Internet to billions more people is at odds with Facebook services that undermine operators' revenue from phone calls and texts.

"It's expensive work," Mr. Zuckerberg said Monday of efforts to build cellphone networks. "The only way we can accelerate that is if we can grow the operator's business faster."

Mr. Zuckerberg was joined by executives from three operators-- Telenor Group, Millicom International Cellular SA and Airtel--who have been giving subscribers free access to Internet.org, an app developed by Facebook that includes access to local content like weather and health information, in addition to a slimmed down version of Facebook.

Christian De Faria, the CEO of Airtel Africa, said the company's relationship with Facebook has improved over the past year. The Internet.org app has helped acquire new customers.

Last year, it was "like the beauty and the beast," he said, hinting that Facebook was playing the role of the beast. Now, he said, "the beast is becoming more human."

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Zuckerberg Moves To Mend Fences With Telecom Industry

FENCE heights at Grafton Public School have come under scrutiny from P&C members who say they are a safety risk for students and the school.

Belinda Philp, a P&C member and mother of two Grafton Public School students, has questioned the safety of the school fences and said there is a risk that students could hop the fences and run on to the busy road quite easily.

"Some students are at a risk of running from school," Ms Philp said.

"If they get over the fence on Oliver St, there are parked cars and obstructions of drivers' visions.

"The kids could easily run on to the road unseen and there wouldn't be enough time for drivers to adjust. It is very dangerous.

"Having a taller fence would be safe for everyone involved."

Ms Philp says that she had been in discussions with Grafton Public School principal Will Randall but he was not interested in the issue during those talks.

"I have raised this issue several times with Will but nothing has come of it so far," she said.

"If they think that half a million dollars for a fence is a lot to spend; how much do they think a child's life is worth?

"You can't put a price on it, but there is no way I'm accepting half a million."

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Grafton Public School fences under scrutiny

Photo by Pete Salisbury

Construction on the Imperial Beach Palm Avenue McDonalds location has begun by demolishing portions of the existing restaurant.

Posted: Monday, March 2, 2015 12:43 pm

Imperial Beach McDonalds Remodeling Underway by Pete Salisbury Imperial Beach Eagle & Times |

After a million dollar renovation, a larger McDonalds will rise in place of the old one at Palm Avenue and Florida Street this summer.

The project will demolish portions of the existing 3,100 square foot building, add 1,800 square feet, the play area will be relocated within the building while adding a new drive-through aisle with two order-points behind the building. Vehicular ingress and egress will be through two driveways on Palm Ave. and one on Florida Street.

City recommendations to make the project pedestrian-friendly have been incorporated in the plans by providing a canopy over the drive-aisle while the driveway will be surfaced with decorative paving and be screened and separated from the Palm Ave sidewalk with landscaping and a block wall to minimize impacts from vehicle lights. The existing McDonalds sign will stay.

Employees at the Burger King Restaurant across the street said they have had an increase in customers since the construction began and are working on ways to keep them coming back when the remodeled store opens.

Posted in News on Monday, March 2, 2015 12:43 pm.

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Imperial Beach McDonalds Remodeling Underway

Demolition Derby 2015 -Redneck Rumble Highlights Winners
Some of the highlights and the results of each of the 6 classes ran in Sturgis, Ky at the Redneck Rumble 2-7-15.

By: coreytucker3

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Demolition Derby 2015 -Redneck Rumble Highlights & Winners - Video