GPS Tracking Could Improve Children's Health
2255494312_08066d86ab_b 1.jpgIndiana University School of Medicine wants to track teenage kids, and insists that it is for their own good. In a study with a ridiculously small sample size of 15 teenage girls, researchers used GPS equipped cellphones to track the girls' every move.
The reason? Not, as we would expect, in order to pass the information on to the parents, but to identify health risks. The idea is that the cellphone would know when its owner is, say, behind the bike shed and deliver a cajoling "don't smoke" text message.
A noble aim, to be sure, but once the kids get used to this tracking, we're sure that other, less wholesome uses will be found. Targeted advertising is the most obvious, but how long until this wealth of GPS information is hacked? Leaked records of a teenager's whereabouts would be anything but good for their health.
By Charlie Sorrel EmailApril 04, 2008
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Jumat, 13 Februari 2009
Researchers: Adults 31 and Older Hate, Fear Cell Phones
Researchers: Adults 31 and Older Hate, Fear Cell Phones
After surveying 75 people in one area, a research firm has concluded that adults over 30 years old are luddites who hate their cell phones with a fiery passion.
Bowen Research conducted the interviews mostly in San Francisco and classified 40 participants older than 30 as "quite vehement about [their phone,] have problems they can't solve, and feel the phone does things randomly by accident." Some complained that text messaging requires them to "think too much" because they have to spell words correctly.
The other 35 participants were ages 30 and younger, and they "generally have no problem with their phone interface."
The study also found that the under-30 participants used at least 50 percent of their phones' features, while the 31-and-up group used about 40 percent of their handset features. Quite an astounding disparity.
Bowen Research is selling its study for $5,000 to anyone who wishes to peer into groundbreaking research suggesting that young'ins are generally better with technology than older folks.
I'm sure my 32-year-old friend Trisha would be interested in buying this study. Let me just call her and hope her teeth don't fall out and she doesn't curl up in a fetal position and cry, "The horror! The horror!" when her phone rings. Oh, wait -- she lives in Sacramento. Maybe this study won't apply to her. Read More ..
After surveying 75 people in one area, a research firm has concluded that adults over 30 years old are luddites who hate their cell phones with a fiery passion.
Bowen Research conducted the interviews mostly in San Francisco and classified 40 participants older than 30 as "quite vehement about [their phone,] have problems they can't solve, and feel the phone does things randomly by accident." Some complained that text messaging requires them to "think too much" because they have to spell words correctly.
The other 35 participants were ages 30 and younger, and they "generally have no problem with their phone interface."
The study also found that the under-30 participants used at least 50 percent of their phones' features, while the 31-and-up group used about 40 percent of their handset features. Quite an astounding disparity.
Bowen Research is selling its study for $5,000 to anyone who wishes to peer into groundbreaking research suggesting that young'ins are generally better with technology than older folks.
I'm sure my 32-year-old friend Trisha would be interested in buying this study. Let me just call her and hope her teeth don't fall out and she doesn't curl up in a fetal position and cry, "The horror! The horror!" when her phone rings. Oh, wait -- she lives in Sacramento. Maybe this study won't apply to her. Read More ..
Google Introduces Non GPS for Cellphones
Google Introduces Non GPS for Cellphones
Google has obviously hired somebody away from Microsoft's Naming Department for its new My Location service. It's a non GPS location technology which uses cell tower info and databases to work out the user's position, presumably similar to Navizon's tech.
To use it, bring up Google Maps on your phone and hit zero. That's it. Your position is shown on screen, and for directions, Google Maps will autofill your start location. The accuracy varies: According to Google, the software will pinpoint your position to within one quarter to three miles, but an advantage over GPS is that it works indoors.
And of course, with this will come ads. But, being Google ads, you're brain will likely filter them out and you won't even see them, just like the ones on the web. My Location will work initially on the Blackberry, Symbian S60, Windows Mobile, and some Motorola and Sony Ericsson handsets. It will not work on the iPhone. Read More ..
Google has obviously hired somebody away from Microsoft's Naming Department for its new My Location service. It's a non GPS location technology which uses cell tower info and databases to work out the user's position, presumably similar to Navizon's tech.
To use it, bring up Google Maps on your phone and hit zero. That's it. Your position is shown on screen, and for directions, Google Maps will autofill your start location. The accuracy varies: According to Google, the software will pinpoint your position to within one quarter to three miles, but an advantage over GPS is that it works indoors.
And of course, with this will come ads. But, being Google ads, you're brain will likely filter them out and you won't even see them, just like the ones on the web. My Location will work initially on the Blackberry, Symbian S60, Windows Mobile, and some Motorola and Sony Ericsson handsets. It will not work on the iPhone. Read More ..
Mobile Browsing Still Popular on Not-so-smart Phones
Mobile Browsing Still Popular on Not-so-smart Phones
We've seen reports indicating iPhone owners use their handsets to surf the Web far more than they talk. And we've seen surveys in which iPhone owners said they've been mobile surfing more than they ever were before. Also, the iPhone has also been selling like crazy. What does this all add up to?
Somehow, it doesn't add up to the iPhone (or other smart phones, for that matter) being the most prevalently used device for mobile browsing. An NY Times post on Thursday cited a report from AdMob, a major mobile advertising service, that said just as much ad traffic was coming from typical mobile phones as smartphones. Eh?
That's just a barometer of actual mobile browsing since it's based on ad traffic -- but AdMob hosts ads on 5,000 mobile sites, so it's a pretty strong indicator. Are non-smartphone owners trying to prove to their peers they don't need to pay upward of $80 a month to enjoy mobile internet? I couldn't stand surfing the web on my old Motorola RAZR, but I guess I have pretty high standards.
The Mobile Web: It’s Not Just for Smartphones [NY Times] Read More ..
We've seen reports indicating iPhone owners use their handsets to surf the Web far more than they talk. And we've seen surveys in which iPhone owners said they've been mobile surfing more than they ever were before. Also, the iPhone has also been selling like crazy. What does this all add up to?
Somehow, it doesn't add up to the iPhone (or other smart phones, for that matter) being the most prevalently used device for mobile browsing. An NY Times post on Thursday cited a report from AdMob, a major mobile advertising service, that said just as much ad traffic was coming from typical mobile phones as smartphones. Eh?
That's just a barometer of actual mobile browsing since it's based on ad traffic -- but AdMob hosts ads on 5,000 mobile sites, so it's a pretty strong indicator. Are non-smartphone owners trying to prove to their peers they don't need to pay upward of $80 a month to enjoy mobile internet? I couldn't stand surfing the web on my old Motorola RAZR, but I guess I have pretty high standards.
The Mobile Web: It’s Not Just for Smartphones [NY Times] Read More ..
Mozilla: Firefox Mobile to Arrive in a Few Weeks
Mozilla: Firefox Mobile to Arrive in a Few Weeks
Mobilefox_2There's one key feature missing from the iPhone and every other browser-equipped handset: Firefox. Fortunately, Mozilla has confirmed that the first alpha version of Firefox mobile will be available in the coming weeks.
Mozilla CEO John Lilly told the San Jose Mercury that his company has been working toward an open-platform mobile browser similar to the current desktop version of Firefox.
"We want to make sure that the Web on mobile is more like the Web than what the mobile industry offers today, which is closed, separate networks and not a very good information-getting experience for the user," Lilly said. "The first thing is to bring Firefox to mobile devices. We’re working on that, and we’ll see some alphas in a few weeks."
This sounds quite exciting. Think about how much Firefox add-ons would enhance your mobile browsing experience. What'd be really cool is a touchscreen version of All-in-One Gestures, which allows you to program custom mouse gestures to execute commands such as spell check, switching windows, opening a new tab and so on.
What do you got for us, Firefox? We'll have to wait and see in the coming weeks. Read More ..
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