YOON C Lee, a Samsung Electronics Co executive, is giving a tour of his US home in Oakland. He shows off his living room and foyer, then takes a look outside to check the garden. He considers turning on the sprinkler system before deciding the plants have enough water.

The thing is, hes not actually in California. Hes 8,000 miles away with a reporter in a Seoul conference room. Lee, a tall, 49-year-old, is at a huge table fiddling with a Galaxy S5 phone thats streaming live video from the US.

This is Samsungs next big bet as it works to build a future beyond mobile phones, where earnings are tumbling. Lee and his colleagues are trying to create another hit from whats known as the Internet of things, technology that stitches together phones, cameras, sprinklers and roads. If they succeed, the effort could propel sales of the companys electronics, appliances and chips for a generation; if they fail, the troubles will likely deepen.

Imagine if all the dumb things around you can be connected, said Lee. For Samsung, this is a big new opportunity, a huge paradigm shift. It will benefit us across all businesses.

Samsungs Internet push comes just as Apple Inc, Google Inc and dozens of others are sizing up the same opportunity. Techs giants are all vying for leadership and collaborating where necessary. The market for the Internet of things is projected to hit US$7.1 trillion by 2020, according to the research firm IDC.

In a sign of how seriously Samsung is taking the effort, the company is transferring about 500 engineers from its mobile-phone division and allocating them largely to the Internet initiative, according to people familiar with the matter. The shift also reflects recognition that the Suwon, South Korea-based company needs another hit after smartphones, they said, asking not to be identified discussing internal matters.

This is a must-have market for Samsung, said Neil Mawston, executive director of the research firm Strategy Analytics. The Internet of things will be too big to ignore.

The mobile-phone unit is faltering as Apple offers bigger screen iPhones similar to Samsungs marquee Galaxy range and Chinese newcomer Xiaomi sells stylish phones at low prices. In the most recent quarter, Samsungs mobile profit tumbled 74 per cent, dragging net income down by 49 per cent from a year earlier.

The Internet of things represents the third revolution in information technology, after the PC and the Internet, Michael Porter and James E Heppelman wrote in this months edition of the Harvard Business Review. Its implications go beyond the increasing number of smart, connected products in the world and are much more than simply a way to transmit information, they wrote.

With more everyday things connected to the Internet, products will have expanded capabilities and the data they generate may change how companies compete and the boundaries of competition, Porter and Heppelman said.

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How to shut of your sprinkler system for the winter? NYPLANTINGS
http://youtu.be/TcQPJMb3gkY Irrigation shutdown Manhattan sprinkler blowout using air pressure to blow out water from sprinklers #newyorkplantings drip irrig...

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How to shut of your sprinkler system for the winter? NYPLANTINGS - Video

Van West Great Home for Sale | Arbutus area | $2,210,000
5 bedrooms Den, 5 Washrooms. Quality custom built home has been totally renovated within 2 years in the most prestigious Arbutus area. 1 minute walk to school. Current owner added new sprinkler.

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Van West Great Home for Sale | Arbutus area | $2,210,000 - Video

URBANA An agency that provides emergency care for children from families in crisis temporarily closed on Thursday after a water pipe broke.

Crisis Nursery Executive Director Stephanie Record said that either a sprinkler system or a pipe in a wall burst at the facility at about 2:45 p.m.

We are waiting for the folks from FE Moran to assess the situation because they are involved with the sprinkler system, Record told The News-Gazette. We have people working here to clear the water.

Record said that seven children and 15 staff members were at the Crisis Nursery at the time of the incident. Nobody was hurt.

We followed our evacuation procedures and took all the children to the Presence Covenant Medical Center emergency room, Record said. Then we contacted the families. Everybody has been reunited with their families.

As a result of the water pipe burst, the Crisis Nursery will be closed until at least 4 p.m. Friday. At that time, a decision will be made about reopening the facility for the weekend.

The Crisis Nursery is dedicated to the prevention of child abuse and neglect. It provides 24-hour emergency care and shelter for children from birth to age six in crisis situations. The facility cared for 850 children in 2013.

What should parents do if they find themselves in a crisis during the next 24 hours while the facility is closed?

They can still call our crisis line, 337-2730, and we can problem solve with them, Record said.

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Crisis Nursery temporarily closes after water pipe breaks

The city of Seattle says a Belltown bar and nightclub has a laundry list of violations, including lacking an automatic fire sprinkler system.

It filed court documents on Nov. 14 asking a municipal court judge to require the Ampersand Lounge to pay civil penalties or even shut down until it is in compliance.

The city also cites a pattern of violating the Seattle Fire Code, including going over capacity.

I'm very frustrated with city, fire marshal, and police, manager Dhiresh Tewari said. There are more problems that they need to take care of rather than this Mickey Mouse [business].

KIRO 7 was the first to show Tewari the citys complaint.

It states that the business has failed to install an automatic sprinkler system, as required in a Notice of Violation from the Seattle Fire Department from 2012.

They're saying basically in this that they've given you time, KIRO 7 said.

No, we need more time! Tewari said. This is a $200,000 investment.

The city also states that the lounge is only allowed to have 94 people inside but has, on several occasions, allowed hundreds more, including approximately 300 people on Oct. 12, 2014.

Tewari said he didnt recall the event. He said the club will not be going over capacity again.

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City cracks down on Belltown bar, citing safety issues

By Saja Hindi

Reporter-Herald Staff Writer

Loveland Fire Rescue Authority Lt. Bobby Bartlett, right, and facilities employee Melissa Ashland, left, try to move water out of a hallway Tuesday at the Loveland Police Department after water burst from a sprinkler in the K-9 storage area of the building. (Jenny Sparks / Loveland Reporter-Herald)

Firefighters responded to water bursting from a sprinkler Tuesday afternoon at the Loveland Police Department, 810 E. 10th St.

The water was coming from a sprinkler pipe in the K-9 storage room, a room used to store equipment and supplies for the dogs, which set off the fire alarm. Officers except for 911 dispatchers evacuated the building, while firefighters went in to contain the water and turn off the sprinkler system valve.

"Because the weather's warming up, this is pretty typical," Battalion Chief Jason Starck said, noting that it's most common in commercial retail stores.

Starck said his assumption is that the pipe froze and once the temperature started to rise into the 30s, the ice began to melt, which could have led to the sprinkler head bursting.

Firefighters checked and found no fires in the building, so they started to secure the water and locate the valves, which is more complicated than it sounds in a building as large as the Police and Courts building, Starck said. The valves aren't always in the same place as where the water is spraying.

The flow of water was about 70 gallons per minute, according to Starck. Lt. Jeremy Adent described it almost like a waterfall or downpour.

"Everything was just wet," he said.

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Police department drying out after sprinkler bursts

Blossom

Your smart garden options are growing, and Blossom, a new irrigation controller designed to compete with the Rachio Iro, hopes to stand out from the crowd. Like the Iro, you install Blossom using your existing wires, then control your sprinkler system remotely via an app. But Blossom is promising increased range and durability.

Blossom, the product of a new California-based startup of the same name, further differentiates itself from the Wi-Fi-only Iro by adding weather resistance, in case your controller is outside, and by broadcasting its signal via Power-line in addition to Wi-Fi. Power-line networking transmits signal through the wiring in your home, passing information between the controller and a bridge that plugs into your network. The bridge translates for the router, so the system can talk to the cloud. In theory, the signal strength isn't reduced as much by distance or location as it is when a controller relies solely on Wi-Fi.

Blossom

Adding cloud connectivity to your sprinkler system allows Blossom to help you take weather into account when planning your watering schedule. You can set things up manually if you'd like, or simply indicate the type of plant in each zone and let Blossom go to work. By watering based on this plant and weather data, Blossom claims it can get your plants the moisture they need while saving you an average of 30 percent on your water bill.

You can pre-order Blossom now via the Kickstarter campaign that launched today. It'll retail for $179 and can cover up to 12 zones. That's a good price compared to the 8-zone controller from Rachio that costs $250. Rachio also sells a $300 16-zone model. Early birds will get an even better deal, with a limited number of Blossoms available for as little as $89.

Blossom plans to ship in January of 2015, whether or not they receive funding. At first, the product will be offered only in the US, but the company plans to expand internationally late in 2015.

The system will track when sunset happens for you. Blossom

You can interact with Blossom via the iOS or Android app; the app will work with both phones and tablets, or you can use the browser interface from your computer. Get things rolling and you can name each zone and give it a picture. Turn each sprinkler set on and off with the push of a button, then schedule them individually yourself if you'd like. Blossom even has a time option simply labeled "sunset" which I'm hoping means it'll give your yard an automatic sprinkle at the golden hour, changing the time accordingly as the seasons progress.

As mentioned above, Blossom can automate these schedules based on plant type, which is an especially nice feature. App screenshots show five levels of moisture to pick from, starting with "Ultra Eco" and working up to "Very Wet," and you'll be able to tinker with the specific settings of each one.

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Blossom lets your sprinklers know when rain's coming

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo -

The cold weather that we've seen hasn't just been bad for people and pets, it's been bad for pipes too.

And it's not just plumbing - sprinkler systems can be affected by the Arctic chill as well.

Many large buildings such as Eastside Church of Christ in Colorado Springs have sprinkler systems.

The church shares a building with Pike's Peak Christian School and has a system that serves both.

The Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) says that maintaining the sprinkler system is the way to avoid damage that could cost you thousands of dollars in case of a break and that there are things that you should look for.

"Exposed sprinkler pipe. Also, look for any indications of cracks within the pipe or any moisture that has built up. And check the temperature. If the temperature is under 40 degrees in the attic, there's a good chance that you're exposing those pipes," said Kris Cooper, the Deputy Fire Marshal for the Colorado Springs Fire Department.

CSFD said that they received around a dozen reports of frozen sprinkler systems during the last cold snap.

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Don't forget sprinklers when it's cold

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Some city officials are questioning the decision a former city building official made to waive a sprinkler system at a new local business.

Andre Messner, the citys new chief building official, said when he first noticed that The Big Biscuit, located at 139 N. Belt Highway, did not have a sprinkler system, he thought it was an oversight by the city and that an architect did not include them in the plans.

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Officials question decision to waive sprinklers