MSKYNET, a company that allows businesses to create and analyze the usage of 2D barcodes called SPARQCodes, launched a service today that helps local businesses connect their customers with their online presences, such as Facebook, Twitter, Gowalla, and Foursquare. MSKYNET raised $550K in seed funding back in August.
SPARQCodes are very similar to normal QR codes, but differ slightly because they link to a URL instead of embedding their payload data in the QR code itself. The new feature, which is called ‘Connect N Share’, is very straightforward — it makes it easy for businesses to generate QR codes that link to the business’s presence on Twitter and/or Facebook. The idea is to direct customers who are waiting in line or for their food to scan a code that they see on the wall, which leads them directly to the business’s Facebook page.
Setting up your QR code printout using the new feature is actually pretty slick. First, you type in the name of your business — the web app will try to automatically find the matching Facebook and Twitter accounts (you can tweak this if it guesses wrong). Enter your address, and it will try to pair it up with your Foursquare, Gowalla, and UrbanSpoon accounts. Add a logo, hit ‘Build it!’, and you’re done. The site will spit out a printout with your QR codes, directing visitors to your business to scan them.
Businesses with more substantial social media presences can direct users to a list of sites that are relevant — a restaurant might also include Yelp in their mini-portal, for example. Founder Jesse Chor says that the company is mainly targeting small businesses and franchises, which tend to value a social media presence, but do not usually have the technical expertise to make their own QR codes.
There is one caveat to this: customers will have to log into your Facebook or Twitter account to like or ‘follow’ the business if they are not logged in already, so the experience may not be as seamless as ‘checking in’ via a smartphone’s native Facebook application for example.
The codes and the analytics that come with them will be provided free of charge, but businesses will have to pay to include additional social media services that may crop up over time. Chor also stated that MSKYNET will charge for “customer retention programs,” in the future, but did not elaborate on what they might be.
MSKYNET is far from the first company to offer QR code analytics (see here for a good list of other services), and it isn’t the first to target local businesses either — Google has its own business-facing QR code features, too, as do some other QR code companies.
i tested it and i like it. It stuff like this that makes peoples's life easier. I like the fact that it goes straight to whatever app is relevant, an address turns up your Google maps, an event pops up your calendar, an app directs your to your appstore. very smart and efficient. tracking aside, it does provide anyone(free) with a tool for creating just the QR code where previously other QR code generators falls short. It lets you use not just web addresses but fields for you to create events/ maps etc.
do give it a spin.
Manifold Clock from Studio Ve on Vimeo.
A wall mounted clock with a manifold that connects the two hands to create a 3D movement. At any given moment the manifold is located in a different position and different parts are seen. As the hour can be understood according to the traditional location of hands, a new reading of time is created. Available for purchase from Studio Ve:
studiove.com/projects/manifold-clock
Digital interactive magazines are here to stay.
With the advent of iPads and other touch screen tablets, content is going to see new light. Right now we already have editorial content for the iPhones and Andriods, interactive and updated in the background. Even so, they are not that popular yet and I'd attribute that to the small screen. Why settle for that when i can view them in their full screen glory on my monitor? Examples below shows work for the iPad. and frankly, they blew me away. I can suddenly see the potential of such detailed motion on the go. File size might be an issue tho not anything major.
I think i might just get an iPad. If anything, it'd be quite nice to play tower defense on that large display.
VIV Mag Interactive Feature Spread - iPad Demo from Alexx Henry on Vimeo.
VIV Mag Motion Cover - iPad Demo from Alexx Henry on Vimeo.
VIV Mag Featurette: A Digital Magazine Motion Cover and Feature for the iPad from Alexx Henry on Vimeo.
We can paint with lots of things, but how about light? Light Painting or Light Art performance photography are those kind of images that play with lights and get straight from the camera, no computer manipulation at all, not even cropping or adjusting.
Those incredible light art photos presented in the post is from TCB (or Twin Cities Bright). He is combining photography, graphic design, and performance to create a unique identity that allows magic and the supernatural to occur on a daily basis.
The coolest thing about him, though, is that on his website, TCB will show you the secrets behind his work. He even has step-by-step photo instructions on how to create these modern-day masterpieces.
very nicely executed
Coolest place to stay and see the Northern Lights
Where is the coolest place to stay and see the Northern Lights? Our vote goes to Hotel Igloo Village Kakslauttanen in Finland. The Northern Lights can be seen anywhere above 60 degrees north latitude but this place is special and these pictures show...
Hotel Igloo Village Kakslauttanen, Finland Surrounded by Lapland's exotic and stunning scenery, Hotel Igloo Village Kakslauttanen offers 31 first-class log cabins in Lapland. Hotel Igloo Village Kakslauttanen is located in the Saariselka fell area amidst beautiful Finnish Lapland scenery in the vicinity of Urho Kekkonen National Park along the road leading to Nordkap and the Arctic Ocean. Just look at these pictures to see how stunning this place is...
Imagine yourself sleeping in an Igloo made of Snow. It is totally quiet. Lights inside ice illuminate the Igloo. These make the atmosphere so exciting that never get bored of marvelling it, until you fall to deep, comfortable sleep in your warm down sleeping bag.
When sleeping in the Glass Igloos the customer is able to marvel the amazing northern lights and the millions of stars in the sky. The experience is also unforgettable when there is a snowstorm.
Kakslauttanen is a cool place for seeing the Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis, as in the area there are not so many electric lights outside and it is north enough so that the probability of them is very high from late August to late April.
Here is a map of the area and its amenities...
10 Best Places to Live for Escaping World Conflict
Where would you be the safest if World War 3 broke out tomorrow? Perhaps it’s a grim subject, but safety and distance from world conflict can be a motivating factor in your choice to expatriate. At the very least, conflict around the world can weigh heavy on the soul, and it’s nice to know there are some places still left in the world where you might be left in peace. Thus, we’ve assembled a list of the 10 best places to live if you want to escape world conflict.
10. Switzerland
Switzerland’s long history of neutrality and its tucked away location among the valleys of the Alps still make it a safe bet, even despite having a high number of bordering nations. It helps that neighboring Austria is also considered a neutral nation.
9. Costa Rica
Costa Rica has a stable democracy, a disbanded military and a national policy of neutrality. It also ranks highly on the Global Peace Index, Happy Planet Index, and Life Satisfaction Index. Although it sits in the middle of a tumultuous region, there are far worse places to sit in peace as the world goes down in flames all around.
8. Papua New Guinea
There are regions of Papua New Guinea that are still being discovered for the first time. The canopy covered, mountainous nation contains some of the most isolated places in the world. Tuck yourself away in a nook here and it may be one of the few places left where you can completely insulate yourself from the outside world.
7. Canada
Canada is the second largest nation in the world, yet it only shares a land border with one other country– the U.S.A.– and it is a peaceful border. That means there is a great expanse to escape to, if need be. Furthermore, Canada has few world enemies, ranks consistently high on the Global Peace Index, and is relatively homogeneous.
6. Seychelles
Aside from being safely isolated from the rest of the world in the middle of the Indian Ocean, this beautiful island nation is a great place to forget about your worries. Isolation is the key here. And conflict is as transparent as the water.
5. Finland
Finland has a long history of desiring to stay out of international conflicts, is recognized as neutral and always ranks in the top 10 of the Global Peace Index. It’s northerly location also typically means the remote areas of this country are a perfect place to disappear.
4. Tuvalu
Isolated in the middle of Micronesia, Tuvalu is among the safest and most remote places in the world. It is the third least populated country on Earth, and the forth smallest. There are only a few places more distant from the world’s strife than Tuvalu.
3. Iceland
Iceland, of course, has no borders, has remote locations, is stable as a country and has virtually no world enemies. Its people are happy and the nation always ranks highly on the Global Peace Index. If world conflict erupts, Iceland is one of the few stable nations in the world unlikely to get caught up in the middle.
2. Bhutan
Landlocked among the Himalaya mountains, Bhutan is one of the most isolated nations in the world. It also showcases one of the most stable balances in the world between moderization and retention of ancient culture. Its religious population believes in peaceful resolution to all conflict, and although it sits in a troubled region, it remains protected by its geography.
1. New Zealand
New Zealand might be the most isolated and expansive fully developed nation in the world. It shares no borders, sits relatively distant from any other nation, has no real national enemies, has a safe democracy and a diverse landscape with many remote places to hide away within. Furthermore, it ranked #1 on the Global Peace Index in 2009.
Astonishing face figures made out of clothes
Who would have thought that a pile of clothes could be art? Artist Bela Borsodi was the one that came up with the idea of folding shirts, jackets, dresses and other clothing into different face expressions. Every part of a garment is used to express parts of a face. Collars form mouths, sleeves and pockets creates eyes and buttons or zips add details to the face. While some are making faces out of clothes, others are creating sheep out of rotary telephones.
Scientists extract images directly from brain
12 Dec 2008
Researchers from Japan’s ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories have developed new brain analysis technology that can reconstruct the images inside a person’s mind and display them on a computer monitor, it was announced on December 11. According to the researchers, further development of the technology may soon make it possible to view other people’s dreams while they sleep.
The scientists were able to reconstruct various images viewed by a person by analyzing changes in their cerebral blood flow. Using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine, the researchers first mapped the blood flow changes that occurred in the cerebral visual cortex as subjects viewed various images held in front of their eyes. Subjects were shown 400 random 10 x 10 pixel black-and-white images for a period of 12 seconds each. While the fMRI machine monitored the changes in brain activity, a computer crunched the data and learned to associate the various changes in brain activity with the different image designs.
Then, when the test subjects were shown a completely new set of images, such as the letters N-E-U-R-O-N, the system was able to reconstruct and display what the test subjects were viewing based solely on their brain activity.
For now, the system is only able to reproduce simple black-and-white images. But Dr. Kang Cheng, a researcher from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute, suggests that improving the measurement accuracy will make it possible to reproduce images in color.
“These results are a breakthrough in terms of understanding brain activity,” says Dr. Cheng. “In as little as 10 years, advances in this field of research may make it possible to read a person’s thoughts with some degree of accuracy.”
The researchers suggest a future version of this technology could be applied in the fields of art and design — particularly if it becomes possible to quickly and accurately access images existing inside an artist’s head. The technology might also lead to new treatments for conditions such as psychiatric disorders involving hallucinations, by providing doctors a direct window into the mind of the patient.
ATR chief researcher Yukiyasu Kamitani says, “This technology can also be applied to senses other than vision. In the future, it may also become possible to read feelings and complicated emotional states.”
The research results appear in the December 11 issue of US science journal Neuron.
[Source: Chunichi]
holy shit.
the skype brand. thats how you do it.
Eric Liao
Eric Liao
