What iDon't, Droid Does Part 2

Last month I wrote about Verizon's new advertising campaign targeting Apple's iPhone. The campaign isn't straight forward however, and the phone has yet to be shown in plain view. Instead the teaser campaign has concentrated on promoting it's use of the Google Android operating system.



The ad does not feature the campaign URL (www.droiddoes.com),the countdown in non-recognisable numerals, or the previous tagline - "Do you wish you had a robot sidekick that moved at light speed and lived in your pocket? Input your e-mail and Droid will notify you when compromise has been deactivated." All in all, very strange.

Augmented Reality: Daft.ie iPhone App

Back in August I wrote about my mate Tim's company MercuryGirl, who are developing an Augmented Reality layar for the Layar browser system.

Just last month, however, a new layar arrived the iPhone 3GS, from Ireland's leading property search site Daft.ie. The layar allows users to search through the site's entire suite of properties, for sale, to rent or to share, through a visual, location-based augmented reality interface. Pretty cool!

Basically, as you view your location through your iPhone's camera, properties within view, that are available, are indicated by blue dots on the screen. The size of the blue dot, with larger dots appearing close to you, indicate how near a property is. The dot at the the centre of your screen will show an image of the property, and give a summary of the property detail including; the address, the rental price, and a summary of the details e.g. “single bed, studio apartment".

If you then press the image you can see any photographs and directly contact the advertiser. The service utilises all Daft.ie sale, rental and shared properties listed on their site. With all new listings automatically updated as soon as they go live on the site.

The Layar app is free to download here.

Facebook: Communicate With The Deceased

Facebook recent redesign has brought with it the usual plethora of complaints, praises and oddities. As one would assume, there are already multiple Facebook groups denouncing the changes and calling for a reintroduction of the "Old" Facebook - which if we all remember was the one that people complained about. In fact I have even seen a number of so called 'hacks' to allow you to make your account look like it hasn't changed.

These, however, are all things that we could have seen coming. Nothing in it is too surprising. What is surprising and something I'm sure no one in Facebook had even thought of, is the inundation of emails to Facebook Towers from angry users who have been asked to reconnect with deceased friends!

Facebook have hit several high profile headlines with there introduction of a new sidebar box that highlights friends that you haven't communicated with in a while, and tries to encourage you to connect with them, either by messaging or poking. Unfortunately the new ‘reconnecting’ service has turned into a minor PR catastrophe. Matters did not improve when Facebook’s head of security responded with a solution - requesting proof of death such as an obituary or news article.

All of this, of course, comes on the back of Facebook's introduction of the option for family and friends to ‘memorialise’ profiles of members who have died. Effectively all sensitive information is removed and the profile becomes a static memorial.

Online fraud involving the deceased isn't new. Identity fraud is a major problem in most countries and the people involved are continuing to find security loopholes to steal identities. In light of the Facebook security request, it is difficult to believe that anyone would have difficulty forging an obituary or news article.

This is, however, an important are to consider. especially with the unprecedented amounts of personal data stored and published online through Social Media. According to CIFAS, the UK’s fraud prevention service, during the first quarter of 2009 there has been a massive 74 per cent increase in deceased identity fraud compared to the same period in 2008. So remember, it's extremely important to know who you give your details to, and what they intend to use them for.

Apple To Place Ads In OS

I read about this over on Brand Republic, and almost thought it was a joke of some kind. Apparently Apple haves filed a patent application for a new operating system (OS) which has embedded advertising. Basically the patent application states that the operating system would require users to interact with ads before they could use any of the applications on their computer.

In and of itself this is not information that can be considered either positive or negative. Obviously there are an awful lot of questions that would need to be asked first; would this mean a very reduced price?, would it only happen for a set amount of time?, what if you were not online? etc.

Having said that, an extremely important thing to consider is that as this is OS based, it covers a huge range of hardware from laptops and desktops to iPods and iPhones.

One source has indicated that a possible mechanic to the system would be that users could receive a free operating system upgrade in return for accepting the ads. Logic would also dictate that users would be happier to fill out certain information for the service, and it would ensure extremely targeted ads.

Tilt-Shift Soldiers March On Paris

To be honest there's not much to say here - just watch. This is one of the best examples of Tilt-Shift cinematography that I've seen.



Credits:
Photography: Albrecht Gerlach
Production: Tatiana Pereira @ Alta Media Productions
Camera Assistant: Tom Chabbat
Sound: Camille Michel
Canon 7D & 5DmkII for rent in Paris: photocinerent.fr