Nest, a company of ex-Apple employees who saw their former employer redefine pointless gadgetry in the 21st century (I'm specifically referring to the iPad here), is giving a much-needed face-lift to something useful: the common household thermostat. According to their ad, Nest's thermostat is kind of like a TiVo for climate control, using a range of sensors and local weather data to predict what temperature your house needs to be. The Nest can also be controlled from your Web browser or iPhone, which sounds ridiculous, until you consider things like the remote-controlled gas fireplace in my dad's old house. Anyway, I saw climate-control systems like this at the Solar Decathalon in D.C. a couple of years ago, but the Nest has a cleaner, simpler design (no surprise) and good reviews from both The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. And you don't need to live in a house made from recycled Mountain Dew bottles to access this technology, which is a definite plus for most people. Maybe they could offer a two-for-one with the Present seasonal clock. Second video after the jump explains more about the technology. Via Co. Design.