App idea for someone: make a simple alarm.<p>I have a few Nest devices, and they all do motion detection. If I'm away for a few days, I'd love an alert if my Nests detect someone in the house. It could alert me to check a security camera, and then to call the police.<p>It could do fancy stuff, like only alert me if I'm not at home by checking my phone's location. Or perhaps you could set off the fire alarm to try and ward off intruders.<p>I imagine alarm systems are on Nest's roadmap. I'd be worried if I was ADT.
Obligatory link to a Python script you can use today: <a href="https://github.com/smbaker/pynest" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/smbaker/pynest</a><p>I use this to turn my Nest's away mode on and off when my iPhone leaves my home wifi (I live alone, and in Phoenix, so this helps my power bill quite a bit).
This page has been up for a few months I think. Nest has always had an API, it's just been unofficial. There's plugins to hook it into all the major home automation hubs/systems, and open source packages for integrating it into your own code. I used it to make mine voice controlled and to put this together on a touchscreen -- <a href="http://i.imgur.com/C9yNLkP.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://i.imgur.com/C9yNLkP.jpg</a>
I personally will never buy a Nest or any home automation devices that _require_ any external service(s) to control and function.<p>OTOH, I'm probably not part of the target market, as I'm perfectly happy futzing around with Vera* and VLAN/VPN/SSH tunnels.
This was announced in September: <a href="https://nest.com/blog/2013/09/25/calling-all-developers/" rel="nofollow">https://nest.com/blog/2013/09/25/calling-all-developers/</a><p>When that happened, I immediately filled out the form asking for more information. And I have heard not a single peep since then. I've actually been assuming that since the Google acquisition, this project may have been shelved. Is there actually a sign of life? The submitted link doesn't seem to have any new information.
Let's hope their security is good... or we may see headlines like this in the future:<p>"Hackers gain control of networked thermostats, thousands hospitalised and injured"
Top of hackernews:<p>* How not to write an API<p>* Nest is launching an API<p>Kidding aside, I'm excited to see interesting uses of Nest's API in the near future.
I went with ecobee thermostats (ecobee.com) because it already has a rich API. It doesn't have motion detection like Nest, but it does have a very useful web interface and a decent app for iPhone and Android. Since I work from home and have a stay at home wife with two young children, the motion detection was not a selling point for me. I wanted something a bit more Cisco router and less Apple Airport Extreme. I've been very happy with the 3 that I have in my house. My only complaint (and this is true of all connected thermostats) is that it relies on the company's infrastructure. If ecobee goes out of business, I lose much of the utility of the devices, though they don't turn into bricks.
It's because the DIY hobbyist is catching up: <a href="http://dalybulge.blogspot.co.uk/" rel="nofollow">http://dalybulge.blogspot.co.uk/</a>
Shameless plug: I'm building an open platform to enable you to build amazing devices without Google in the middle. If you are interested, you can learn more about it at nitrogen.io or <a href="https://github.com/nitrogenjs/service" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/nitrogenjs/service</a>
My roommate bought a Nest about 6 months ago and I haven't seen any real potential or usefulness out of it. It doesn't actually add functionality to my HVAC system, just more ways to complete what simple function my old thermostat could do -- with more points of failure.