THE WEEKEND IN TECH

June 27-28
Two worlds collide, computing for the price of a date, hoverboards and more tech trends form the ‘Weekend In Tech’.
1. Red Bull And Destiny – The Future of Marketing
Activision has announced a new deal with Red Bull that gives exclusive DLC (Downloadable content) to players of the popular online video game Destiny. With the purchase of a Destiny branded Red Bull, users will soon earn bonus XP as well as an exclusive mission in the upcoming online expansion pack: The Taken King. But while many Destiny players are currently upset with the cost of the upcoming DLC and the resulting interview with designer Luke Smith, it’s taken focus away from this rather interesting marketing tactic. This new Red Bull promotion sheds light on the potential future of marketing and tech trends. And it’s something savvy marketers should really watch.

The Red Bull Destiny promotion represents the integration of offline and online. The brand is literally pulling customers offline into 7-11 stores in order to unlock an exclusive experience back online. And it’s just a glimpse at a possible future for brands and businesses. As more and more consumers engage in games online and on mobile, brands can’t ignore the opportunity that this tech trend is presenting. It’s time to capitalize on this behavior.
Take the mobile wallet as an example. Consumers receive digital content online, which is stored in their mobile wallet. This then provokes them into a brick and mortar store for redemption. Mobile wallet content has brought them from the online world into the offline world, and in direct contact with a brand. It is safe to say that we can expect the two worlds to continue to merge through campaigns like this one from Red Bull. Mobile Wallet marketing is also an easy, quick, and effective way for others to do the same. It’s a great example of creativity capitalizing on consumer behaviour, rather than fighting against it.
Source: Forbes

 
2. Computing For The Price Of A Date?
After releasing the Jide Ultra Remix through a successful Kickstarter campaign, Jide announces their next venture – the Remix Mini. The Remix Mini will aim to be the cheapest computer on the market, in order to accomplish the goal of giving computing access to everyone in the world. But how?
With a price of just $20 for Kickstarter backers, Jide is aiming to go to market with a final retail price of under $30. Of course, with a price this cheap comes some downsides: low computing power being the biggest. Jide’s Remix Mini will be offering an unnamed quad-core 1.5GHz chip with 1GB RAM, 8GB eMMC storage, a H.265 FHD hardware decoder, Bluetooth 4.0, and HDMI 1.4. But that’s not the point.
As you can tell, computing power is not the main focus of the Remix Mini. Rather, the focus lies in the OS. Jide have created its own custom Android OS for desktop computers. First available on the Jide Ultra Remix, this OS has full desktop features such as a dedicated taskbar, a built-in file manager, and multiple window support. Android Authority described it as “an OS that looks a lot like Chrome OS but has full Android app support and features baked right in.”
The Remix Mini is great for anyone on a budget. Take your existing keyboard, mouse, and monitor and get a full computer set up for the same price as a date. Keep an eye out for the launch of the Kickstarter campaign to grab your Remix Mini for just $20.
Source: Android Authority

 
3. Lexus Explores A Different Type Of Transportation
Last Wednesday, Lexus revealed that they are headed ‘Back To The Future’ with their latest creation: a real working hoverboard. If you haven’t seen it, check out their short teaser here. There has been a lot of speculation as to how this hoverboard works (if at all), and Lexus have been working very hard to keep everything a secret. But as the saying goes, “if there’s a will there’s a way”, and thanks to the Spanish website El Patín, the location in the background of the video has now been found in Barcelona, Spain.
El Patín reports that the construction started about a month ago and the facility is guarded 24 hours a day. They were also able to gain some insight as to how the hoverboard works. “This new board uses a magnetic levitation to achieve amazing frictionless movement over permanent magnets, that means you can only move with it over those pieces of metal (at least for now). The smoke you can see in the video is due to the liquid nitrogen cooled superconductors that this vehicle uses.”

While it may be far from a real, go wherever you want, working hoverboard, it’s technology we all dream of becoming real. And with a company like Lexus giving it a shot, maybe it isn’t as impossible as it seems. Or like the promo video said, “there is no such thing as impossible, it’s just a matter of figuring out how.”
Source: Mashable

 
4. Disney Makes A Move In ‘The War On Selfies’
You better bring a friend to take your picture at Disney because selfie sticks are no longer allowed. Disney announced the official ban of selfie sticks inside its theme parks after numerous attempts to accommodate them.

Originally, people were not allowed to bring them on rides but could have them throughout the park. But after a roller coaster in Disney’s California park was down for an hour because of someone’s absolute need to take a selfie. Disney has decided to ban them all together. As of July 1st, Disney parks all around the world will be checking bags for selfie sticks upon entrance. However, Disney is not the first place to ban selfie sticks, the Cannes festival alongside some museums were the first to strike in the war on selfies.
Source: The Verge