Hasta La Gadget!

eBay is clearly not putting all the eggs in one basket: the company’s been trying to reach more and more audiences with things like its flourishing one-day delivery service and a portal for 3D-printed products. As part of this growth, the online marketplace behemoth is now officially launching My Gadgets, a feature that allows eBay users to easily determine the value of items in their device portfolio — you know, in case you’re looking to clear out the old and make way for the new. eBay says the newly minted hub will be able to display the individual and collective value of stuff, with prices being based on its own “unique data on current sales trends and prices for both new and vintage electronic items.” The link to eBay’s My Gadgets is down below, so head on over if you’re looking to build a little gadget database for yourself.

Filed under: Misc, Internet

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Source: eBay My Gadgets

Many have grown comfortable with the targeted ads that populate the modern web and expect companies to keep track of their online activity, but UK firm Renew took things one step further earlier this summer. It began tracking real world traffic on the streets of London by recording the MAC addresses of the phones that passed by some of the many public recycling bins it operates in the city.” Today, however, the City of London Corporation demanded that the tracking stop while a determination is made by the Information Commissioner’s Office whether the technology complies with the UK’s Data Protection Act.

The bins themselves are equipped with WiFi and screens that display a rotating series of ads, and this summer, a dozen of those bins began to record the MAC address of any nearby phones with WiFi turned on. Doing so allows Renew to determine repeat passers-by, how quickly pedestrians are moving so that ads displayed on the bins can be better targeted to the surrounds foot traffic. However, owners of those phones were not notified that their handset’s MAC addresses were recorded. For its part, Renew explained in a blog post that the tracking was done on a trial basis and MAC addresses were anonymized and aggregated so that personal information was not recorded. Quartz reports that during the first month of tracking, over one million unique devices were recorded, however, and that over 100,000 phones were identified during the trial’s busiest day. What say you, dear readers: want trash cans tracking the surrounding foot traffic in the name of serving you ads targeted to your tastes?

Filed under: Misc, Mobile

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Via: The Telegraph

Source: Quartz

“Big things ahead?” Well, it looks like HTC’s earlier tweet wasn’t a cheeky hint at the upcoming 5.9-inch One Max; but rather, it was a tribute to the sheer scale of the new “Here’s To Change” global ad campaign. The company has just confirmed that it did indeed sign Robert Downey Jr. for a two-year deal, which includes starring him in the ads as well as getting his creative input in the process. Given CMO Ben Ho’s promise to make the company’s voice louder, it’s no surprise that he’s spending the same amount as last year’s worldwide sales and marketing budget — about $1 billion — on this campaign alone, according to an HTC spokesperson. Not bad for Ho’s first big act since he joined the company towards the end of last year.

We were also told that the entire “Change” campaign should cover the span of 24 to 36 months, during which it’ll be split into three phases. As part of the first phase, come Thursday a whacky two-minute TV ad will begin to air in key markets, featuring Downey and his fellow actors blurting out what “HTC” could stand for — “Humongous Tinfoil Catamaran,” “Hipster Troll Carwash,” “Hold This Cat” and more — in order “to invoke interest and talkability amongst consumers.” Interestingly, you won’t find many mentions of any HTC phone in the first full ad, but the subsequent phases of the campaign will eventually focus on the mobile features. There’s no word on the timeframe for each phase just yet due to all sorts of variables.

It remains to be seen whether Downey’s contribution will help drive sales numbers, something that HTC desperately needs to just about survive these days. Perhaps an Iron Man special edition One could be considered? Yes please. Anyhow, press release after the break.

Filed under: Misc, Mobile, HTC

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Source: YouTube

We imagine the Air Force is none too pleased that Space Fence might shutter as soon as September 1st due to budget constraints, according to leaked memos obtained by Space News. Space Fence, a powerful system of radars that track satellites and space junk orbiting the Earth, performs 40 percent of the Air Force Space Surveillance Network’s observations. It can detect objects as small as a basketball up to 24,000 kilometers away and can constantly beam info back to the planet with no human input. It’s no surprise then that the airmen called it a “critical defense system” when they tried to save the project in July — an endeavor they failed if this info turns out to be true. Before anyone worries about unmonitored celestial debris hurtling toward Earth, know that a plan to build a more advanced Space Fence replacement exists. The only reason why it’s not in the works is because it has yet to secure funding, leading this editor to think that someone really needs to get started engineering a money tree.

[Image credit: NASA]

Filed under: Misc, Alt

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Source: SpaceNews

Google’s Web Lab exhibition has had a decent run at London’s Science Museum, but all of that web-linked hardware is being packed up for good after the doors are closed this Sunday. Google’s hoping that at least some of it will live on, though, and has teamed up with research and design firm Tellart to open source two of its most popular experiments. Those include the Universal Orchestra, which lets you control a robotic band from the convenience of your web browser, and the Sketchbot, which is a robotic arm that can sketch your face in sand. Of course, since they’re open source, you can put your own twist on the projects if you have some other ideas, and Google notes that it’s providing software-only versions as well for those lacking the necessary hardware skills. You can see both in action in the videos after the break, and find all the code you need to get started at the source links below.

Filed under: Misc, Google

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Source: The Chromium Blog, GitHub