Monday Rundown: Backflips Into Pants

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[box_light] It’s Monday, and if you’re new to Quarterlife Man (welcome), you’re new to the Monday Rundown. The Monday Rundown is a compendium of  randomness compiled over the course of each week. Enjoy… [As always, if you've seen something crazy or have a suggestion, email us or tell us on Twitter (@QuarterlifeMan).] [/box_light] [divider]

––Awesome Leadoff Video:

I think we have a new Olympic sport… pants jumping.

Backflip into pants. For. The. Win.

(Ed. note: Yes, this video is from 2008. We know we’re late to the party, but that doesn’t make it less-awesome.)

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––Your Future Phone Knows Where You’re Going…

…before you do. That’s creepy slash cool slash still creepy.

Basically, researchers at the University of Birmingham have created an algorithm that uses data grabbed by yours and your friends’ smartphones to serve ads and special offers. Do you normally go out on Thursday nights? Maybe you grab coffee before a evening church service? Your phone will know, and you’ll get an ad or special Starbucks/insert-coffee-shop-here coupon.

When predicting where people would be 24 hours later, the makers of the algorithm were less than 20 meters off, on average.

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––Taking Obama Out-of-Context

It’s taken partially out of context, but still–––that’s a wow-worthy statement. I understand every entrepreneur has gotten help along the way (had a good teacher, etc.), but COME ON. To insinuate that I did not assume all risk by leaving a great career to be the owner of Quarterlife Corporation… well, that’s just crazy.

In every venture, somebody takes all of the risk. It’s usually a founder, then some venture capitalists, but is it our elementary school teachers? I don’t think so.

More: Obama Holding Campaign Fundraisers in Switzerland, France, Sweden… and China?

More: Obama Tells Fainting Crowd to Get Help From ‘Paralegals’ … Obama Throwback Gaffe: “I’ve Now Been in 57 States”

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––Indoor-Based Navigation. Praise God.

Check this out:

IndoorAtlas, an app in development, uses magnetic sensors already in a user’s smartphone to triangulate their location–––in places GPS technology normally can’t reach.

[box_light]Indoor Atlas’s technology works by analyzing the magnetic field inside a building. The structure of a building causes disturbances to the Earth’s magnetic field. Once these disturbances are mapped, people can be pinpointed within them through their phone’s magnetometer. Indoor Atlas’s product arose from research findings that showed the signature magnetic field within buildings was sufficiently varied and stable to be used for navigation, says company founder and computer science professor Janne Haverinen.[/box_light]

This. Is. So. Awesome.

I have vivid memories of stumbling around Las Vegas for the first few days of my trip last year. Specifically, making my way from the south tower of The Venetian, through The Palazzo and into the north end of the resort. It had an Italian theme… that must’ve been why it was so confusing. The entire time, I was clamoring for an indoor mapping system. Now, it seems we’re on the verge of an indoor-based map boom:

[box_light]The market for indoor location technologies is beginning to explode (see “The Indoor Positioning System Era“). Google Maps first launched an indoor “My Location” feature last November, partnering with large retailers, airports, and now museums to upload floor plans. Other companies, such as Nokia and chip maker Broadcom, are also developing their own technologies, and Apple and Microsoft are following Google’s indoor mapping endeavor. Bruce Krulwich, a mobile industry analyst at Grizzly Analytics, has tracked at least 40 startups focused on indoor positioning globally, and IMS Research predicts there will be at least 120,000 indoor venue maps available to consumers by 2016 (see “Bringing Cell-Phone Location-Sensing Indoors,” and “Using Wi-Fi for Navigating the Great Indoors“).[/box_light]

(Story: Mashable)

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[box_success]Thanks for reading. Check back next Monday for more of the Rundown and, as always, tweet us (@QuarterlifeMan) if you have any suggestions![/box_success]

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