That was Then... This is Now

RFID and GPS technologies can provide many benefits to business, especially in the areas of inventory management, logistics, and marketing. Many consumers, however feel threatened by the potential intrusion and loss of privacy. Typically it is quite easy to discard the "tag" if one can find it and if it does not have GPS capability it cannot "follow you home." However a promotion for laundry detergent by a Brazilian company may go to far. Here are some outtakes from the Advertising Age article: Starting next week, consumers who buy one of the GPS-implanted detergent boxes will be surprised at home, given a pocket video camera as a prize and invited to bring their families to enjoy a day of Unilever-sponsored outdoor fun. Of course, Brazil has a high crime rate, and not everyone is going to open the door to strangers who claim to have been sent by her detergent brand to offer a free video camera. Bullet has thought of that. If the team tracks a consumer to her h...

PC Magazine has a feature on the 10 Best Beach Cameras . If you are going on vacation, any of these would make a good travel companion. All of the models here can capture still images and video in up to 10 feet of water and are very rugged. Some of them can go as deep as 33 feet below so you can even go scuba diving with them. One model even records full 1080p HD video in up to 10 feet of water. You can then upload your footage to YouTube or Facebook without having to convert it. I want it.

One of the ways the Internet has changed everything is by providing a means where anyone can publish anything about anyone. Instantly. It doesn't even have to be true. It can be rumor or speculation. It can be hate filled. It may involve photos taken out of context or private in nature. And there seems to be no "accountability" for incorrect information either. Before the Web, we typically only saw this type of irresponsible publishing in the supermarket "tabloids" as it concerned celebrity gossip. However with the growth of social networking sites, blogs, and personal web pages out there, the Internet has become a potential trap for everyone regardless of what they do. What's worse, once something is published, it's virtually there "forever" and may affect everything from high-school graduation, future employment, and potential relationships. The New York Times has this published this excellent piece on Internet privacy." The W...

According to Gregg Keizer, ComputerWorld, Microsoft will extend Windows XP downgrade rights until 2020. With 74% of business PCs running XP, the move is proof that XP is the OS that won't die. Microsoft announced on Monday that people running some versions of Windows 7 can "downgrade" to XP for up to 10 years. The move is highly unusual for Microsoft. In the past, Microsoft has terminated downgrade rights within months of introducing a new OS. Read the article here .

Even this blog finally succumbed to the LeBron James trade madness. The owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dan Gilbert, issued a statement publically condemning LeBron's actions and criticizing his play in the NBA playoffs. Was it deserved or just sour grapes on the part of the owner? I'll leave that for the sportswriters and fans to decide. However, if you are going to "call someone out" you should do it in a font other than Comic Sans! Read more about it on CNN . I'll just say that it's too bad that the Indiana Pacers were never in the running!