Tech

I didn’t go to SXSW this year, in fact i’ve never been , but like many I’ve been reading the news about what’s expected to do well this year.

One of the start-ups that caught my attention among the buzz was Sticky Bits.

Sticky Bits is a new startup. It’s a way of digitally tagging real world objects, kind of like graffiti for geeks only more socially acceptable.

“Every place and object in the world has a secret past: who lived there, who passed by, who touched it. The secret lives of objects are filled with such details. If only you could make them talk.”

Sticky Bits Vs QR

A few of us at iCrossing are quite interested/excited about the rise in popularity of QR codes in the west, hoping it will gain similar popularity that it has in countries such as Japan. I’ve seen QR codes being used more in offline advertising such as on the back of products (Pepsi cans), in pieces of DM and on some billboards too.  However, it still seems to be taking off very slowly. I think there are 3 reasons for this;

1. Lack of access to QR code scanners (a popular one is QuickMark, the ‘Lite’ version is free on the iPhone)
2. Unfamiliarity with QR codes (we are far more used to seeing barcodes)
3. Limitations of media you can attach to a QR code (typically a link to a website)

I think Sticky Bits has addressed a few of the issues above, increasing its chances of takeoff.
Read more…

This morning Bing senior engineer, Marvel Beets announced that they would start using Google’s Page Rank algorithm to return results in Bing.

As of next week when people perform a search using Bing the results will be processed and returned using Google’s Page Rank algorithm rather the Bing’s own Clippy.

“You have to be able to admit when you’re wrong” Beets said, “you can’t argue with the numbers, they just do search better”

Bing has tried multiple strategies to usurp Google but has now decided to refocus on delivering a more user-friendly search experience, based on the Google index.

Beets commented: “We are very proud of our search efforts and Bing has been a catalyst for real innovation in the sector. We knew from our own internal research that what users want is easy access to adult content, and we delivered. We’re excited to push on with the development of an even better search experience, but based on Google’s market-leading algorithm.”

Asked to comment a Google spokesperson simply said “Google FTW!”

Many users are worried about the lack of competition this move will bring, but Google insists they have no need to worry: “We have a long history of keeping users best interests in mind, we provide several ways for users to remain in control of their private data including never going online or moving to a forest.”

Yahoo has not commented on the matter and when trying to reach CEO Carol Bartz we got the following out of office: “I am currently on leave as Yahoo are no longer in the search game please contact either Larry Page or Sergey Brin with your query.”

Update: Please goto the latest blog post for the number search results chrome extension

They say the simplest ideas are the best. If that’s true, then this Chrome extension is the best one ever built.

Inspired by Ben’s recent post on the top Chrome SEO extensions, I created a simple Chrome extension that will number the organic search results in Google.

This can be useful for quickly checking a ranking without having to count your way down to the result. For the next version, I’ll add Yahoo and Bing, plus some other search result enhancing functionality.

You can download the extension here. For updates, please check back on the extensions homepage.

Any feedback is welcome.

This map shows the popularity of different mobile browsing platforms country by country, with some interesting results.

Apple’s dominance can clearly be seen, with the iPhone and iTouch accounting for over half the market in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany and Japan.

The Android platform has its largest share in the US and the UK, but has a much weaker share in other countries. This could change in the near future as new phones emerge that run Android, such as the Nexus One.

Docomo and KDDI are the largest mobile phone operators in Japan, and account for 12% of the mobile browser share platforms.

Canada seems to like the iPhone and iTouch, with 86% of mobile internet users using this platform to access the internet.

I don’t claim to be an avid Apple fan, although I have owned numerous iPods and currently use an iPhone which i’ve been very impressed by. However, like many people, my curiosity and liking of gadgetry tech drew me towards the events that were to be announced yesterday night by Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs.

In case you haven’t already heard (most have!), Apple have announced the release of a new product, the ‘iPad’. It’s expected that it will be released in the UK June or July time. There’s still lots of people wondering what exactly it is/does, hence me writing this post.

What is it?

Apple say…

“Our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price”

On first impressions you could mistake the iPad for an oversized iPhone.  Apple are aiming to gain market share from the likes of netbooks (those underpowered mini laptops) and Ebook readers already on the market such as Amazon’s Kindle.

What does it do? Read more…