Hasta La Gadget!

It hasn’t been long since former CIA technical analyst Edward Snowden leaked a cache of top secret documents which alleged that the NSA was obtaining user data from major internet companies. The companies named in those documents included Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo, among others. Most of these companies denied knowing about the PRISM program. Its no secret that the U.S. government does make requests for user data under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or FISA. The companies aren’t allowed to disclosed what sort of requests have been made under FISA. These three companies have petitioned the government to allow them to reveal FISA requests to their users, so that they can provide more transparency to the users.

Rob Bell, Yahoo’s General Counsel, wrote that withholding information about such requests “breeds mistrust and suspicion — both of the United States and of companies that must comply with government legal directives.” Colin Stretch, Facebook’s General Counsel, wrote in a statement that the company believes there’s more information that the public deserves to know. He also said that the information will help foster an informed debate on whether or not the government backed security programs “adequately balance privacy interests when attempting to keep the public safe.” It remains to be seen if the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court decides to allow companies to make government data requests public.

Facebook, Google And Yahoo Petition To Reveal FISA Requests original content from Ubergizmo.

The NBA has announced that it is going to install motion tracking cameras this season in all arenas. This is being done to provide fans, players and coaches with improved stats and data. NBA is using Stats’ SportVU motion tracking system, which basically uses a six camera setup to collect various types of data. All 30 NBA teams will use the system to calibrate and measure movements of all players and the ball on the court.

For targeted and detailed analysis of both teams and players, the system will generate a continuous stream of data that’s based on factors such as ball possession, player separation, speed, and distance. The data will be used by NBA Game Time app, nba.com and NBA TV to provide fans with detailed breakdown of every game and to enchance the statistics that the league currently offers. The algorithms that are used to collect data will constantly be refined, they’re already able to identify certain plays as well as defensive rotations. Previously only 15 teams were using this technology, so the database wasn’t comprehensive. Now, the data about every team and every player will be collected every night, thus enabling the NBA to offer a more comprehensive database to both teams and fans alike.

NBA To Install Motion Tracking Cameras At All Arenas This Season original content from Ubergizmo.

Back in 2011, Google acquired Motorola Mobility, and fast forward 2 years, Microsoft acquired Nokia’s cellphone division. Both are huge acquisitions and they are of some pretty established companies, but is it possible to think who got the “better” company? Well according to brand specialist, Kontera, they believes that Microsoft’s purchase of Nokia was a better one compared to Google’s purchase of Motorola.

This is not based on the opinion of an analyst as Kontera’s executive VP of marketing and action products, Ammiel Kamon, found that through the correlation of content that consumers viewed online, about 2 billion content items analyzed daily, it was found that consumers engaged more with Nokia compared to Motorola. “In a nutshell, Nokia is a significantly stronger global brand. It has tremendous recognition value, and that brand strength is a spark that can translate into sales and market share, given strong products and distribution channels.”

Kamon goes on to state that because awareness of Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform is lower than that of iOS and Android, the acquisition of Nokia is a “game changer” for their marketing strategy.  Of course given that Microsoft plans to drop the Nokia brand from future handsets, we’re not sure how this will play out, but what do you guys think?

Analyst Thinks Nokia Makes A Better Purchase Than Motorola original content from Ubergizmo.

If there is one thing about concepts that everyone absolutely loves, it would be this – the apparent ability to perform the seemingly impossible at that point in time, without being limited by any kind of laws of physics or other perceived ceilings. It allows one to think out of the box, and then retroactively work on the solution to what we have today. Case in point, the Mab cleaning system from a certain Adrian Perez Zapata, who happens to be a 23-year-old Colombian college student with the dream to make cleaning house a simple task.

This particular concept would see a spherical hive of small flying drones into your home, where the “hive” itself has been specially designed to work as not only a charging station for the drones, but also as one of the options for you to dispose of your home’s refuse. The drones would not fly around as and when they please, but rather, will be released at pre-programmed times, so that they need not get in your way when you just want to relax in the living room without any more disturbances. The moment these drones take to the air, they will perform multiple trips around the home, ensuring that grime and other kinds of dirt are removed from their supply of cleaning fluid that is obtained from a reservoir located atop their hive. Of course, this remains but a concept at the moment, so it might never even be realized in this generation.

Mab Cleaning System Concept original content from Ubergizmo.

When it comes to learning programming, so far we’ve seen camps set up that will teach kids how to program, not to mention that there are various books, classes, and online resources where one can pick up the necessary skills, but what about learning how to program through a board game? That’s the concept behind the board game called Robot Turtles. It was designed by the CEO of Google Comparison, Dan Shapiro, and the board game will introduce programming concepts to the player while playing like a regular board game where players have to move the turtle pieces on the board. (more…)

Robot Turtles Is A Board Game Designed To Teach Kids Programming Concepts original content from Ubergizmo.