accuracy
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Facebook enlists help to verify ad data after inaccurate reports
Facebook reported on multiple occasions late last year that it had been misreporting both ad video views and Instant Article stats. To help smooth things over with marketers, the social network explained today how it plans to be more transparent about advertising data going forward. First, the information that Facebook sends to its partners will be subject to an audit by the Media Rating Council (MRC) to verify its accuracy.
FTC finds 'Shark Tank' connected breathalyzers are inaccurate
Accuracy is a big issue with wearables and all sorts of connected devices. Despite marketing claims of "government-lab grade testing," the Federal Trade Commission found that Breathometer's app-connected breathalyzers weren't as accurate as the company promised. Government regulators said the company didn't have the scientific evidence to back the claims it was pitching to consumers who were looking for a way to stay safe after drinking.
Google offers Floor Plan Marker app to businesses so they can improve indoor mapping
Are folks still getting lost in the faux marble expanse of your airport or shopping mall, even after you've uploaded the floor plan to Google Maps? Then maybe it's time you went the extra mile and improved indoor mapping using the official Floor Plan Marker app. It instructs you to walk around the "entire surface" of your place of interest, while gathering position data from GPS, public WiFi signals and cell towers. Once added to Google's database, this extra info will allow the familiar blue dot to function on your customers' Android phones even when your actually-concrete building gets in the way of their satellite signal. The app's already available at Google Play, so go ahead -- make the schlep now so that others don't have to.
Ask Massively: Some games I apparently just keep buying edition
During my week-long ordeal without power (or, you know, any of the other conveniences of the present century), Ms. Lady and I finally decided to spring for a PSP. It's a system that I've long been looking forward to owning, mostly so that I can pay for games that I already I own. Seriously. Sure, it's either an enhanced version (Persona 3 Portable) or old favorites that I can play on the go (Xenogears), but I'm still paying money to own games already in my collection. And yes, I'm looking forward to buying a Vita just to buy a remake of Persona 4. This is apparently what I do now. Moving along from my tendency to re-buy what I already own, it's time for this week's edition of Ask Massively. We're going pretty meta this time around, much like last week, talking all about avatars and cross-site issues. As always, questions can be left in the comments or sent to ask@massively.com for inclusion in a future edition.
Ball-throwing robot seal has a talent for basketball, embarrassing humans (video)
You pick up your first tan leather roundball at the age of 9, you practice religiously for a decade before you can even feel worthy of calling yourself a basketball player, and then you find a video online of a robotic seal that can shoot better than you after just a few weeks in the lab. Yep, some Taiwanese know-it-alls have put together a robo-seal that converts 99 percent of shots (admittedly with a toy ball launched at a toy hoop) within a three-meter range. It's basically just an articulating arm with stereo vision for some good old depth perception, but it's sophisticated enough to maintain its killer accuracy even if the target is moved from its spot. That's more lethal that Shaq or Karl Malone's elbows ever were. Video's after the break, skip to the 1:05 mark if you don't care about the details of how it's done.
Microsoft seeking to quadruple Kinect accuracy?
Hacked your Kinect recently? Then you probably know something most regular Xbox 360 gamers don't -- namely, that the Kinect's infrared camera is actually capable of higher resolution than the game console itself supports. Though Microsoft originally told us it ran at 320 x 240, you'll find both color and depth cameras display 640 x 480 images if you hook the peripheral up to a PC, and now an anonymous source tells Eurogamer that Microsoft wants to do the very same in the video game space. Reportedly, Redmond artificially limited the Kinect on console in order to leave room for other USB peripherals to run at the same time, but if the company can find a way around the limitation, it could issue a firmware update that could make the Kinect sensitive enough to detect individual finger motions and inevitably lead to gesture control. One of multiple ways Microsoft intends to make the world of Minority Report a reality, we're sure.
Droid doesn't. Have touchscreen accuracy, that is...
Now there's a nicely-documented fact that you can throw back in the face of that annoying friend of yours who got a Verizon Droid and who keeps saying "It's just like an iPhone!" According to a report cited on AppleInsider this morning, the touchscreen accuracy of the iPhone is much better than that of three Android phones: the Motorola Droid pushed by Verizon, the HTC Droid Eris, and the new Google Nexus One. Why is that important? Well, when you're trying to tap a link on a website, for example, chances are very good that you're going to be successful on the iPhone and not on the Android phones. The tests, performed by MOTO Development Group (no relation to Motorola), measured touchscreen accuracy with a simple test. On each device, a drawing app was launched and a tester drew straight diagonal lines in both directions across the screens with a finger. iPhones showed straight lines in situations with both light and medium finger pressure, while the Android phones showed zig-zag wavy lines across the screen. MOTO stated: "On inferior touchscreens, it's basically impossible to draw straight lines. Instead, the lines look jagged or zig-zag, no matter how slowly you go, because the sensor size is too big, the touch-sampling rate is too low, and/or the algorithms that convert gestures into images are too non-linear to faithfully represent user inputs. This is important because quick keyboard use and light flicks on the screen really push the limits of the touch panel's ability to sense." Several user comments on the MOTO site validate the findings. Have any TUAW readers been able to compare touchscreen accuracy on an iPhone and an Android device? Leave a comment below. [via AppleInsider]
Scattered Shots: A PvE gem and enchant guide for Hunters
Welcome to this week's edition of Scattered Shots, which is dedicated to shiny things and dust.So by now you've seen our normal dungeon gear guide, our heroic dungeon gear guide, our reputation gear guide, and our holiday gift guide. Between all of them, you should be able to put together a nice solid set of gear that should let you tackle 10-man Naxxramas pretty easily. But grabbing the gear is the easy part. To go the extra mile, you need to grab those gems and enchantments. Let's look at some of the best gems and enchantments you can take along to secure your place in the DPS charts in Naxxramas.
Apple Matters does the math on Think Secret's accuracy
I'll admit to being just as interested in what Apple has up their sleeve as the next guy, but I've always harbored a chip on my shoulder towards the rumor sites. The constant 'anonymous' sources who wind up all too often being as clueless as they are nameless have always irked me, and James R. Stoup at Apple Matters decided to take Think Secret, one of the largest rumor mongers out there, to task to see just how accurate they've actually been.Mr. Stoup did the math that was a long time coming and surveyed Think Secret's reports on Apple products between January 05 - September 06. You should really check out the results, as he did a bang-up job detailing everything he found, but to summarize: James found that Think Secret's accuracy can get pretty black and white; either they nail it or they couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a wrecking ball. He also discovered some patterns in terms of which kinds of products Think Secret typically nabs correctly, concluding that they have a fairly good batting average with Mac hardware and iPods, but their 'inside scoops' on software tend to represent that aforementioned wayward wrecking ball.Take a look at James' post for the real (and thorough) details of his findings, but don't think he's trying to bash the rumor gurus, Think Secret or otherwise. After all, what Apple fan doesn't hold at least some place in their heart for rumors of what shiny new thing Apple might have coming up? I think James' investigation should serve at least as a reminder that rumors are exactly that: rumors, and not much more. One is merely rolling the dice when reading these sites and building up hopes of a fancy new [insert name here] or a product revision.With that said, we'll be sure to stay on top of the latest gossip to make sure y'all can decide whether the latest iPhone or media center rumors could be worth that extra wait.
