Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/935472
EdTech Show Daily Thursday, February 8, 2018 1 6 W3C Launches Work to Improve Web Advertising Experience Large numbers of websites are funded in part or wholly by advertising. The largest web advertising company reports quarter- ly revenues of over $25 billion. Website owners receive a percentage of that rev- enue in exchange for carrying adverts. Commerce, advertising, financial transactions and the security and infra- structure needed to support them was not part of the original web design. The advertising industry has developed meth- ods to track viewers, some of which many consider to be overly invasive; as more users run software to block adver- tising, however, publishers of web pages see their revenue falling and have started to use more invasive adverts and in greater numbers, damaging user's per- ception of the web. The W3C is launching a Business Group on "web advertising by design," for core web platform capabilities that can better and more efficiently support key web advertising use cases. This new group will be co-chaired by W3C Members Nielsen and Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). Although the advertising industry has taken a number of steps to improve, including both guidelines for controlling the sizes of adverts and work on reducing click fraud, solutions integrated into the Open Web Platform are needed: Advertisers need reliable informa- tion about how many people saw their adverts, and control over audience to show them to people interested in the products and services offered. Ad networks need reliable analytics for advertisers; to know what sort of ads to deliver to any given person on any par- ticular webpage, without compromising the person's identity or privacy. Website owners need to pay their hosting bills and to afford good quality information and services for their visitors. Makers of web browsers, search engines and other technologies need to be able to offer good performance and a good experience. We need to continue to have organi- zations that can rate websites and provide aggregated visitors analytics, both for advertisers and website owners. Adverts, like other web content, must be accessible, not least because of legislation requiring sites to be accessi- ble, but also because the web is for everyone. Third-party advert-blocking soft- ware needs to be overcome by a web platform basic facility letting users limit the adverts they see, have control over the subject areas, in a secure and private manner –although there may be a market for extended capabilities of third-party add-ons. Users need to be confident adverts are shown securely, without malicious code or viruses, even when interactive. In addition, there are new work opportu- nities at W3C: ability for a webpage to report back when a particular region has been scrolled or swiped into view, optionally being visible for a specific amount of time; anonymous, private, secure credentials held in user-selected third-party wallets; and web payment methods allowing technologies for less intrusive in-ad purchase systems. For more information about W3C's web advertising work, see the newly-formed W3C Business Group at www.w3 .org/community/web-adv/ or contact w3t-pr@w3.org. TSSI Facilitates Effective Management of Returned Goods Technology Solutions & Services, Inc., (TSSI), headquartered in San Bernardino, California and founded in 1999, is an R2- certified, full-service, reverse-logistics company specializing in remanufacturing solutions for consumer electronics, IT and mobility markets. The company provides economical cosmetic and functional refurbishment solutions in the Americas, within close proximity of client core mar- kets in the U.S. TSSI's strategic locations provide clients with a fast return-to-mar- ket advantage. TSSI provides a host of customized services specifically designed to manage refurbished products through to final disposition. These services include screening, testing, repair, data collection and reporting, as well as envi- ronmentally friendly disposal practices. The U.S. based company has two large production facilities just across the border in Mexico. By focusing labor- intensive operations in Mexico, TSSI provides clients with high quality, low cost labor very close to core resale mar- kets in the U.S. In addition to low costs, clients receive finished goods more quickly because the product never goes overseas. The entire process is quite sim- ple. Clients only interact with locations in California and Texas. TSSI partners with manufacturers, retailers and distributors in order to help them effectively manage returned goods. From a returned asset management per- spective, the mobile industry seems to be where the PC industry was over 20 years ago. Since TSSI has already experienced the evolution of asset management in its own PC group and manages returned assets for brands such as HP and Lenovo, the company is able to offer knowledge that brings mobility partners that same maturity more quickly, thus optimizing the financial recovery associated with this type of goods. TSSI brings exceptional value to its clients because its services are designed to maximize recovery on goods that many people perceive as undesirable. These negatively perceived goods can be, poten- tially, positive and tangible assets on a company ledger. TSSI's services can be separated out or bundled together on an as-needed basis to suit the unique require- ments of each individual client. Some clients only require broken glass LCD/LCM service while others may want whole phone refurbishment, kitting and fulfillment services. As product returns continue to have an increasing impact on a client's bottom line, clients are faced with a growing need to maximize rev- enues from returned goods. TSSI strives to proactively provide clients with rev- enue-maximizing solutions to their unique asset recovery needs. For more information, visit www.tssius.com. Trinseo Performance Plastics Takes Technology Products to Market As consumer technologies evolve, prod- uct developers and designers need to con- sider materials that they may not have considered in the past. Plastics have emerged as an important solution to vari- ous new-product challenges in that they enable properties such as portability, durability and appealing aesthetics while allowing additional characteristics such as biocompatibility, ignition and chemi- cal resistance, and/or various degrees of transparency. Trinseo, a global manufac- turer and compounder of performance plastics, has been helping customers find just the right solution. According to Trinseo material sci- entists, ideally, plastics should be select- ed upfront, when an application is being designed. It is important at an early stage to gain an understanding of how a product will be used as well as the criti- cal mechanical and aesthetic character- istics necessary to prevent delays in commercializing the product (including obtaining required regulatory approvals) and provide the best chance of success when it is ultimately introduced to the marketplace. Take for example, a property such as color. Color can address a number of usability and consumer acceptance issues. Color not only makes products more attractive, but also can provide important indicators of function. Color has long been known to impact emotions. While bright, vivid colors can tend to be attractive and invigorating, cooler colors such as blue and green have a calming effect. Color can also alert a customer to proper usability. For example, what is the top; what is the bottom? Opposing colors can provide this clue. Instructions can also be indexed with color to ensure proper understanding. One of the challenges from a materi- als perspective when considering the property of color is to create parts that are "of true color" consistently. Trinseo offers a solution to customers with its acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) – its MAGNUM™ ABS Resins – which are produced using the company's pro- prietary mass polymerization technology. This method of production results in exceptional whiteness in the base materi- al, which is ideal for achieving colors that are as vivid or as light as they are meant to be. Whether pure ABS is used or if it's blended with polycarbonate (PC) for additional performance properties, the Trinseo material provides a distinct advantage. For more information, visit www.trinseo.com. Your Weather Anytime, Anywhere Introducing La Crosse Technology ® 's new Remote Monitoring Professional Weather Station system that offers a combination of quality engineering, design and functionality. The innovative system's display receives and transmits data wirelessly for optimal accuracy with built in Wi-Fi by connecting to multiple sensors and has enhanced features when connected to the La Crosse View ® App. Sensors in this system include a wind speed sensor, a rain sensor and a temperature and humid- ity sensor, bringing you your backyard weather anytime, anywhere. The display acts as a command center for all elements of the system, featuring a large LCD panel with brightly colored numbers and graphics and an adjustable kickstand, making the display easy to read from any angle in the room. The intuitive button design, located at the top of the sta- tion, allows you to effortlessly navigate through the display for adjustable screen brightness, easy setup, sensor data and setting alerts. The built in Wi-Fi module is programmed to send all sensor and display information directly to its servers, which is maintained by a team of skilled technicians, quickly processed and sent to you and your network of friends via the La Crosse View App. While gathering, processing and sending your systems data, the Wi-Fi module also communi- cates directly with the NWS servers for weather information and NIST servers for precise time and date information, based on your zip code. Through extensive research and dedication by La Crosse Technology's Continued on Page 21