RFID tags in Kid’s Pajamas

InformationWeek had an article in the July 18th issue on how RFID tags were being inplanted into kid’s pajamas. A company called SmartWear Technologies is supplying Lauren Scott California with the tags. The idea of course isаto notify parents if their child roams outside the zone protected by SmartWear’s system for RFID notification system especially in case of abduction. The catch is you have to purchase the $500 RFID reader from SmartWear. However, one analyst commented that the system could end up like GPS applications and the price will tumble. SmartWear may look to license the technology to a security company like ADT, the article reported.

Sounds like location tracking is the next logical step. Will there be an RFID/GPS hand off so that both interior and exterior perimeter tracking can support personalized system for families that want to keep tabs on their kids?

In a related story in RFIDInsights, theme parks are issuing RFID braclets as part of general admission.

Google Earth, MS Virtual Earth - Why so much press? Follow the money

Is it viral marketing or tens of millions of dollars in PR? You can not pick up a business magazine, local newspaper or listen to the radio without seeing or hearing something about Google Maps, Microsoft Virtual Earth, or Yahoo Maps. I’m beginning to be suspicious. At first I thought it was just "us" who were enamored with the "cool" maps on Google. But the mainstream media is spending way too much time covering this. Could it be that since Google has a market capitalization in excess of $81 billion that is catching the attention of everyone?

Data point. I get a call from a producer of the Frank Beckman show on WJR Radio (760 AM radio) in Detriot. He wants me to be on Beckman’s show to discuss Microsoft Virtual Earth. What? That’s my first reaction. How did he find Directions Magazine? That’s my second reaction. How much? That’s my third reaction. Is Microsoft paying for the PR to address the fever pitch among the media that Google is stiring? Is Google dumping millions of dollars on PR to thwart the Microsoft machine? And where is Yahoo and MapQuest? Are they next? I have a source that says that lots of money is being spent, so don’t think this is all just fun and games and Google just "happens" to get good publicity from the new toy for searching for a satellite image of your house.

Think about it.

 

Google Maps Lead Speaks

The lead engineer of the Google Maps project, Lars Rasmussen talks about the project’s history (Google acquired his company Where 2 last October - I didn’t know that!), his hope that Earth and Maps will merge and the general state of affairs at Google in article from ZD Australia. His main message in a talk to Web engineers in Sydney was that programmers use the power of each different browser, not stoop to the “lowest common denominator.”

Virtual Earth Coverage

MSN Shows Off Forthcoming Search, Mail Deliverables
Expect “an MSN Virtual Earth search enhancement called “Eagle Eye,” due out this fall, that is designed to give a panoramic, very fine-grained zoom view.”
PC Magazine

Oops! Microsoft’s Earth falls flat
“Еthe fact is that Microsoft came to market six months late with a second-rate product.”
Globe and Mail

Microsoft Attacks Google Earth
“Analysts said that MSN Virtual Earth is an attempt by the company to regain the ground in search that it has lost to Google.”
Red Herring

Review: MSN Virtual Earth 1.0
“Microsoft’s entry into advanced interactive mapping shows a lot of promise.”
PC Magazine

Microsoft’s Maps Product May Not Reverse Drop in Market Share
“[VE] may come too late to reverse a slide in market share for its MSN search engine.”
Bloomberg

Celartem Sheds Add-ons

Celartem, which owns Extensis and LizardTech shed a few add-ons to a third party developer. The Photoshop Plug-ins and QuarkXPress XTensions will soon be supported by independent software developer, onOne Software, a company built by former Extensis staffers. Says the release, “Celartem, Inc. is selling these products to refine its existing product lines focusing on digital content management and distribution - GeoExpress, Document Express, Portfolio, Font Reserve and Suitcase.” LizardTech saw two of its more senior staffers leave in recent months, prompted me at least, to wonder if further change was afoot. The company was at full power at the ESRI conference and its rubber lizards were everywhere!