Texas Instruments has created a family of chips that lets you connect your devices to the internet without much ado. The TI SimpleLink chips connect directly to the existing ecosystem of cloud partners that TI has signed up, making it easy to prototype a product and get it running along with an app. One version comes with a programmable ARM-based microcontroller while the other offers Wi-Fi only. It reminds me of what Electric Imp is doing with its Wi-Fi modules, and may signal trouble for the startup, whose chips are inside popular products like Lockitron locks and the Rachio connected sprinklers.