Four early employees of Nest Lab, acquired by Google last year, have opened the first brick-and-mortar store dedicated to the Internet of Things. Located in Palo Alto, the software-powered store, b8ta, currently has 60 items, some available at Best Buy and many heretofore only available online. The category range includes: connected home, electric transportation, smart toys and sensory augmentation devices. In a twist, b8ta's business model relies on manufacturers paying a monthly subscription fee to be in the store. The Los Angeles Times likened the relationship to slotting allowances charged by grocers.

Bricks-and-mortar retailers continue to face stiff competition from online merchants and peer-to-peer traders, leading many to turn to technology to lure shoppers back into stores. In a survey commissioned by Zebra Technologies, 96 percent of retailers indicated they were ready to make changes to bring the Internet of Things into their operations. The reasons for this are clear: IoT promises to provide retailers with a more intimate relationship with their customers, the opportunity to perform analytics on their customer base, and detailed tracking and monitoring of their stock and assets.

The U.S. public sector must set a national strategy for developing the Internet of Things if the technology is to reach its fullest potential, a think tank said Wednesday. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation's Center for Data Innovation in a new report urges policymakers around the world, and particularly those in the United States, to craft national strategies for the emerging IoT landscape. Likening it to the public sector's involvement in the development of the Internet, CDI says IoT technologies will not have as transformative an impact if it is left to private industry to cultivate them.

Congress should consider the Internet of Things -- the rapidly growing network of devices, objects and sensors -- as it debates whether to help law enforcement access encrypted communications, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said Wednesday. Within our lifetime, citizens will be in regular contact with millions of microprocessors, the Republican congressman told a small audience on Capitol Hill. (Gartner has predicted 21 billion devices will connect by 2020). "Will they be connected or completely vulnerable?" Issa said. "Will they be encrypted? Will there have to be a backdoor? Those questions and more very clearly fall within the debate we have to have in Congress."

Officials with the ZigBee Alliance a year ago announced that the group was unifying the various application-specific versions of its wireless specification into a single standard in hopes of accelerating interoperability between the billions of devices that make up the Internet of things. The alliance in February 2016 will begin certifying products for ZigBee 3.0 after announcing Dec. 16 that the unified standard had just been ratified by the 425-member group. The move is important not only for the millions of ZigBee-enabled products that already are on the market but for the larger push in the industry for greater communication and interoperability …

Controlling a whole house from a smartphone may sound like science fiction, but it's more feasible than you might think. Thanks to price cuts, advances in tech and better software support, Internet of Things (IoT) technology is no longer just the domain of the early adopter. These six products are an ideal starting gift for people interested in getting their home connected to the future. The thinking thermostat. Nest learns the house temperature patterns, setting it at similar temperatures every week and detecting when the home is empty. Nest is also controllable via Wi-Fi. Warm the house up before arriving home, or switch …

Apple and Samsung can start worrying now. Huawei has unveiled its IoT strategy and the extent of its ambitions. Amongst the highlights are a TV kit that provides latest-generation Apple TV functionality, with Siri-like voice navigation through content. That will be available for around £30 (Y226), or one fifth of the price of Apple's offering. However, Huawei's version supports 4K video out, and a memory card slot, unlike Apple's, and is much smaller: - the "set top box" part is around the size of a wallplug. The strategy is based on a stack of open source code and protocols, silicon …

Food Lion is giving shoppers a way to save money by using the Shazam application to listen to a location’s music, in an innovative mobile coupon experience that also leverages beacons. The grocery store chain is providing its in-store shoppers with a modern couponing experience, streamlining the process as well as making it an interesting experience. While the store’s music plays through overhead speakers, mobile device users allow the Shazam app to listen to the audio which then brings them to a page providing a wide range of product discounts.

Wearables are atop gift lists this year as Fitbit continues to grow and Apple is expected to sell six million Watches in the next month alone. Wearable-renting company Lumoid says it receives at least one new wearable device each week saying they “sometimes can’t keep up, especially now with the holiday season coming up.” There are more wearables on the market than ever before but experts like Good Technology’s John Herrema say manufacturers aren’t prepared to keep such a massive scale of users secure. “Generally, it’s going to be the next platform that tens of millions of people are using and the volume will be very …

The U.S. government will start requiring owners of consumer drones to register their aircraft. The move, which has been expected, comes shortly before thousands of drones are expected to be given as holiday gifts. The Federal Aviation Administration, which is responsible for aircraft registration, has rushed to bring in the rule as an increasing number of aircraft pilots report near-misses with consumer drones being flown illegally. Under present rules, drones must remain under 400 feet in altitude, within line of sight of the operator, more than five miles from airports and away from groups of people, stadiums and major sporting …