Sunday, February 26, 2012

"Toys like spy glasses and laser tag sets...could actually perform serious surveillance"

"Toys like spy glasses and laser tag sets have been transformed... because of the addition of technology that records daytime and night vision video, the spy glasses ...could actually perform serious surveillance"

...“'We know that kids are going to play with technology, with iPhones and iPads and Android devices,' said Chuck Scothon, senior vice president for marketing for Mattel’s North America division. 'Our job is to not necessarily avoid that, but if you can’t fix it, feature it.'

"... More than a third of children 8 years old and younger use mobile devices like iPads or smartphones, a recent study from Common Sense Media found, and about a quarter of children ages 5 to 8 multitask with their digital devices most or some of the time.

"While toy makers have tried to modernize their products for years, this is the industry’s most aggressive integration of tech.

"... most toy makers had a disappointing 2011.

..."And the main item retailers could not seem to keep in stock last year was a tablet computer for children, the LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer.

"So Mattel’s new Barbie has a lens in her back; children point the doll at an image, and press a button on Barbie’s belt to take a photo. The image then appears on the front of Barbie’s T-shirt. The photos can also be downloaded to a computer.

"'The future of play is trending towards a seamless integration between a physical toy and digital add-ons,' said Laura Phillips, senior vice president for toys and seasonal merchandise at Walmart, in an e-mail. “This innovation is extremely important to keeping kids engaged and keeping toys more relevant.”

"Toys like spy glasses and laser tag sets have been transformed. Now, because of the addition of technology that records daytime and night vision video, the spy glasses made by Jakks Pacific, called Spy Net Multi Vision Goggles, could actually perform serious surveillance. And Hasbro’s Laser Tag of yore, when children ran around and pointed toy guns at one another, has been replaced by children pointing iPhones instead. Players place the iPhone in a gun, and the iPhone display — via an app — shows live video of whatever is ahead overlaid with graphics. When the trigger is pulled, lasers appear."

- Above excerpts from "Go Directly, Digitally to Jail? Classic Toys Learn New Clicks," By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD, Feb 25, 2012, New York Times Barbie, Monopoly and Hot Wheels for iPad Generation - NYTimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/business/barbie-monopoly-and-hot-wheels-for-ipad-generations.html?_r=1&sq=go%20digitally%20to%20jail&st=cse&scp=1&pagewanted=print

 

IMAGE selected by Steve Gilbert 20120226

Photo of "Semitic Babylonian Contract-tablet. Inscribed in the reign of Hammurabi with a deed recording the division of property. The actual tablet is on the right; that which appears to be another and larger tablet on the left is the hollow clay case in which the tablet on the right was originally enclosed."1906, Photograph by Messrs. Mansell & Co., L.W. King - H.R. Hall, History of Egypt Chaldea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, XIII.C, London, 1906.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Semitic_Babylonian_contract-tablet.jpg/512px-Semitic_Babylonian_contract-tablet.jpg

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Semitic_Babylonian_contract-tablet.jpg

Permission "This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired."

1 comment:

  1. Here's some good news for all your iPad owners! GotoCamera, the world's leading surveillance, monitoring, and security service with over 100,000 customers from over 180 countries, has come out with a free iPad app for their customers. All that one needs to do, is set-up an account with them and hook up a webcam to monitor their home, office or business. Once the account is set-up, you can access your cameras (snapshots and videos), view and manage your camera footage stored on the GotoCamera servers, and change your motion detection settings. The best part about this service? - It's FREE!

    ReplyDelete

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