Live Lids creates a cap that comes with an LCD screen where the logo or image of a team would traditionally be stitched.

For $75, those who like to switch allegiances among teams (or sports) can purchase this wearable screen.

The advantage is that this hat features a USB port on the underside of the brim where it can be plugged into a computer and uploaded with up to 100 different images. Why limit yourself to sports messages?

The cap comes pre-loaded with 20 images of the customers choosing. It’s supposed to be able to hold battery charge for 10 hours.

Bosch Siemens Hausgeräte (BSH) presents the Home Connect automation app at the IFA 2014 Global Press Conference-- a first app of its kind able to control connected appliances from multiple brands.

Created as an open home control platform, the Home Connect app connects to appliances and the internet via wifi, with mobile networks allowing for remote connectivity. The company does not detail how granular appliance control is (beyond simple on/off commands), but the IFA presentation shows appliances switching on automatically at times when electricity rates are cheapest.

BSH also plans to pair HomeConnect with other home control systems, before integrating it into a larger automation service.

The HomeSeer HomeTroller home automation line get cloud-based remote control with myHomeSeer, a service available in either free standard or paid premium versions.

According to the company myHomeSeer differs from similar services by being able to adjust performance according to user location-- it provides a direct system connection when the user is at home, and shifts to a secure cloud-based connection when one is away.

HomeSeer automation systems are compatible with industry standards and Z-Wave products from the likes of Cooper, Schlage, Kwikset, Baldwin, Yale, GE, Honeywell, Leviton, Linear, Everspring, Evolve, Fibaro, FortrezZ, Aeon Labs and RCS.

According to the NPD Group mobile devices help drive awareness in home automation products and services, as 88% of mobile device owners are aware of automation devices compared to 78% of overall consumers.

Further on, 81% of home automation product owners are smartphone or tablet users.

The NPD study covers 2200 US residents, but such findings should be of interest even for us Europeans.

Customers get a wireless means of bridging Lutron Caseta wireless dimmers, Pico remote controls, Serena remote-controlled shades and 3rd party home automation devices to a new Lutron app via the Smart Bridge Pro.

Previously the Caseta dimmer lineup was only compatible with the Staples Connect DIY home automation system.

The Smart Bridge Pro requires professional installation (takes less than 30 minutes, Lutron says) and uses Clear Connect technology. It connects directly to wifi routers and in turn controls devices via RF signals.

A single button press pairs the bridge with the Lutron iOS/Android app for simple smartphone-based lighting control.

Nest announces the availability of an updated version of the popular "learning thermostat" in the UK as part of "aggressive" expansion into the rest of the European continent.

The Nest has been available in N. American territories since 2011, but European release has been delayed by heating standard differences. Thus the UK Nest package includes an extra component-- the Heat Link, a wireless water boiler controller able to account for the residual heat effects, switching the boiler off before it actually reaches desired temperatures.