The Dos and Don'ts with the Mi Smart Scale

If you had just purchased a Mi Smart Scale, please observe the DOs and DON'Ts with your new smart device

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cCloud - "The Popcorn Time for Live TV" streams HBO, ESPN and 50 other live channels for free

If Popcorn Time is the “Netflix for pirates,” a service called cCloud TV is the “Popcorn Time for live TV.”

The recently-launched service by the name of cCloud TV allows users to stream live TV channels for free across various devices, including desktops – Windows and Mac alike – iPhone, Android, and a plethora of other devices, according to a post on Reddit.

According to BGR News, "There is nothing legal about cCloud TV, a service that pirates live television stations and allows users to stream them to a wide range of devices for free. That won’t stop people from from using the young service for as long as it can keep its servers up though, and the team behind it announced on Sunday that users can now stream more than 50 channels of live TV content including HBO, ESPN, AMC, TBS, Showtime and more to the iPhone and iPad.  And best of all, perhaps, is the fact that users do not need to jailbreak their devices or even install any apps, because cCloud TV works right from your web browser."



The new service, which appears to have close ties with the notorious Popcorn Time, is being dubbed “Popcorn Time for Live TV,” according to the post, which, incidentally, has been posted by a Redditor with the name “Popcorntimelive.”

cCloud TV basically live streams a number of television channels, including the likes of HBO, ESPN, Sky News, Showtime, Comedy Central and several others, and allows users to view them across a number of devices, and the list of supported gadgets covers almost every possible technological means that you would have at your disposal.

When you land at their homepage, you are presented with an option to select your platform, which includes Desktop Flash OTA, VLC, Custom VLC, Smartphone (for iOS and Android), Tablet (higher resolution), Mac Safari, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and various others. The full list is pretty exhaustive. Next up, you get to select the available channels, with the list sitting at a staggering 50, and more being added as you read this. The channels aren’t some remotely-familiar ones either; as we noted earlier, cCloud TV has the likes of HBO, VEVO, CNN, Aljazeera, MTV, Fox Movies, FILM Zone, Discovery; just to name a few.

It’s the holy grail of piracy: live TV, streaming to any device for free. And now it’s finally here, though it’s impossible to tell how long cCloud TV will manage to keep its service running, considering how proactive broadcast networks have been in pursuing services that could potentially impact their revenue streams.

In the meantime, however, people without a pay TV package now have access to more than 50 channels of live, streaming television.

The cCloud TV service works right from a web browser, and it’s available on a wide range of devices including computers, tablets, Roku boxes and even Nintendo’s Wii U. Now, the people behind the service have announced that cCloud TV also works on the iPhone and iPad.

To access cCloud TV, there are no hacks needed. You don’t even need to install an app — simply navigate to this link on your iPhone or iPad, and choose “smartphone” from the list of devices. You’ll then be presented with a list of all the channels available to stream, and tapping on one will open the video feed.

Here are some of the channels that can be streamed live right now for free:

• HBO
• Showtime
• ESPN
• AMC
• CNN
• TBS
• MTV
• TNT
• Comedy Central
• FX

The quality of the streams varies and some of them cut out frequently, but the team behind the service says it is working to improve streaming quality and to add additional channels.

Like what Astif of Redmond Pie said:

"Before you get all excited about it, heed this; cCloud TV and its likes fall into the category of piracy, plain and simple. They are streaming live TV through unfair means just like paid movies and music is available on torrents for free, and just because it’s streaming, doesn’t make it legal. In fact, it would be interesting to see how long this service can keep its servers up"

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Xiaomi's New Smart Products - Mi Smart Weight Scale

With efforts to create a holistic smart ecosystem, Xiaomi has added a new product in its catalog of smart devices – the Mi Smart Weight Scale.

The Mi Smart Weight Scale is the company’s latest addition to connected health devices catalog which includes the Mi Band, the Mi Air Purifier and the iHealth Smart Blood Pressure Monitor. The Mi Smart Scale is a Bluetooth connected personal weighing scale which can track your weight down to 50g. That’s crazy accuracy for a personal scale if Xiaomi’s claims are in deed true.

The Mi Smart Scale connects to the Mi Fit app, and in turn can track the weight of a family (up to 16 people!).

Don’t worry about breaking it either, it’s got a tough tempered glass for both sleek looks and strength.

The Mi Smart Scale comes in White color only with rounded edges and Mi logo at the center. White LEDs are used to show the weight. It remains to be seen if Mi Smart Scale goes beyond tracking weight like monitoring BMI (Body Mass Index) or HRM (Heart Rate Monitor).

An extension to the Mi Fit, the scale connects to your phone via Bluetooth, similar to your Mi Band, and shows all your health data on your phone.

The Mi Smart Scale connects with your smartphone via Bluetooth, enabling you to track weight, BMI and other sorts of data using its accompanying Mi Fit app. It has a precision of 50g (1.8 oz) and can track weights between 5kg to 150kg (11lbs. to 330 lbs). The scale features a glass platform and LED display, which remains hidden until stepped on.

The Mi Smart Scale has all the bells and whistles you would expect from a smart balance device, being able to track weight down to 100g precision as well as track your weight and BMI using the Mi Fit App directly to your smartphone. The scale itself will display your weight via a tastefully hidden graphical LED display that only pops up when you are using it.

The Unboxing!

Packaging is made in the traditional style of Xiaomi, no different from the packaging of other products. Box made from paper carton, with the square-shaped MI logo in the middle.

Due to the use of glass in this product, there are limitations on the treatment of the packaging, with fragile handling indicated on the box.

Also on the side of the packaging box is a description and technical data for your info. You can see that they need 4 AA size batteries, and to communicate with smartphones using Bluetooth 4.0 for data transfer to the Mi Fit app.

Quality of packaging is sufficiently high!

The thickn walls of the package protect the content during transportation.

Inside the box is a "Getting Started Guide" and 4 AA size batteries.

Visually the Mi Smart Scale look very expensive. With ultra-white tempered glass, clean smooth surface, flowing lines angles, black MI logo in the middle, the designers really did a good job on this device.

On the reverse side of the scales, plastic, pleasant to touch and non-slip surface. Also, there are four non-slip feet and a battery compartment.

On the back side is also the manufacturing information about the device.

Some users report that the battery compartment is difficult to open, in fact, we did not have problems with the opening.

After opening the battery compartment, we see the switch the measurement units in English Pound, Chinese Pound and KG.

Before using the balance must be set on a flat horizontal surface.

After installing the batteries, the scale will automatically turn on and start loading. You will see a welcome "Hello", using LED technology display

If you have already installed the Mi Fit App previously for the Mi Fitness Band, you may want to get an updated version which will have the added functionality to work with the Mi Smart Scales. Now You can follow not only the sleep phases and steps, calories burned and now, your weight.

To bind the application must stand on the scales and the application click "Snap."

Setting up with Mi Fit App

When you first start you may be offered to update the firmware of the Smart Scale. By agreeing to the application, Mi Fit firmware will update in a few seconds.

Synchronization can be made only during the weigh-in, but any other time. Your results are stored in memory, up to 800 measurements, and only after the connection to the smartphone are automatically synchronized.

The program interface of the Mi Fit can see the index BMI (Body Mass Index). With the height and target set stored previously on the Mi Fit during setting up, it will assess the body mass index, and thereby indirectly assess whether you are overweight or underweight.

Note  - The screen layout for IOS and Android may varied slightly

After the Mi Fit firmware upgrades, you'll now see a Mi Scale option available for setting up

Choose your Gender type

You'll need to step on to the scale to confirm the weight

Then, confirm the pairing with the user profile

You can also choose to add your other family members

Further instructions on how to use the Mi Fit Smart App

Conclusion
Xiaomi continued development in the field of fitness, health and sports. Following the Mi Band and Mi Fit app, Xiaomi has released a smart weight Mi Smart Scale. Beautiful and elegant design, with attention to the detail, precision in weighing, and all synchronization done in one app.

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