ReadWriteWeb

At this point there's probably nothing in geekdom, no matter how arcane, that hasn't ended up on someone's skin. "In" someone's skin, to be precise. From ASCII art, to xkcd comics, to video games, to binary, to parts of your childhood you just can't leave behind, there are entire sites like Geeky Tattoos now devoted to nerd ink.

Back in 2010 we put together our first list of the 30 best and worst Web tech tattoos. Here's our latest compilation, including an augmented reality tattoo, HTML tags, Javascript and C++, Debian, Wordpress, Google, Microsoft, RFID, QR codes, even Bill Gates' face. If you have work that's better, or worse, show it off in the comments.

Avis, the global car rental company is testing an RFID technology that will enable it to keep 5,000 of its cars at the parking lots of client businesses. Clients will be able to use a PIN with their mobile devices and pick up a car kept on their own premises.

Avis teamed up with RFID manufacturer I.D. Systems of New Jersey to launch the technology and will roll out the service in the US and Canada next month.

China's inland and maritime rivers and canals are now part of the Internet of Things. The Chinese maritime authority has outfitted cargo and passenger ships with RFID chips and has placed RFID readers at strategic locations.

Now, keeping track of the identify of ships, their speed and what they carry is automated, at least for a segment of the populous country's water traffic. Almost all waterways Grade IV and higher have been equipped, according to the People's Daily.

Back in the salad days of ecommerce, I worked for a website that sold cars. Sounds a little odd but it worked, though not well enough to best its competitors, one of whom absorbed it. As the only marcom guy there, I was approached often for the inevitable side-projects my co-workers were launching. One gentleman was leaving in order to start his own company and wanted to hire me to edit his web copy. To this day, I am proud that I was able to master my expression as I looked over his draft. His company was an online dry-cleaning service. Go ahead and re-read that last sentence. It was the dumbest idea I had ever heard and it remains my hallmark for dumb ideas to this day.

Now we are in a new era, that of the Social Web. But just as we take our positive qualities with us through time - intellect, compassion, inventiveness - we also take our dumbness. Today I came across two ideas - one a process, the other a product - that shot me back in time to the moment I first read about online dry-cleaning. Both, horribly enough, are food-related; and both are profoundly dumb.

Photo by Ed Schipul

Bonnaroo, one of the music festivals that have helped to move rock music from the club to the Garden of Earthly Delights, has announced it will be using RFID chips in the entrance wristbands to prevent counterfeiting.

Like all RFID tech, it requires readers to scan. Those readers will be at all entrance points to the festival. If a band lacks a working RFID chip, the wearer will not be allowed in. The festival is also allowing festival-goers to use the bracelet for a lot more, however.

Updated after the jump.

Every Thursday evening PT we shine a spotlight on the Internet of Things, which is when everyday objects are connected to the Internet. Today we look at one of many companies making 'things' happen in the evolving Internet of Things. Based out of Cambridge, MA, the aptly named ThingMagic makes a range of RFID (radio frequency identification) products. Last July, ThingMagic started a campaign which caught our eye: 100 uses of RFID, a blog series which ran over 100 business days. At first we were a little skeptical, but when we checked in at the end of November the mission was nearly complete. All 100 uses are now available on the ThingMagic blog, covering a range of industries - healthcare, banking, cycling, prisons, swimming pools, and more.

RFID chips are tiny microprocessors that are embedded into real world objects. Data from the chips is read by RFID Readers, which is what ThingMagic specializes in. Over the 10 years of its existence, ThingMagic has diversified its customer base and was eventually acquired last October.

Every Thursday evening PT we review Internet of Things developments from the past week. Internet of Things is a term for when everyday objects are connected to the Internet. It's becoming an increasingly relevant trend for the Web and media, so we want to keep you updated with the latest news. Tune in every Thursday evening for our updates.

This week's stories include a big IoT investment by chip maker Intel, two French cities building smart cities, RunKeeper's platform for exercise and health data, and more. Also we continue the countdown to the Internet address apocalypse!

Eight months after we wrote about a keyless test, the Nordic Choice Hotel chain has become the first to implement a 100% automated check in and departure system at a major hotel. The Comfort Xpress Hotel in Oslo now allows guests to reserve, check in and check out without ever having to deal with a pesky human.

Using a system developed by Ariane Systems, guests check in prior to arrival using the "Allegro web/mobile check-in platform." They click a link received via email or text and establish check-in time, manage room preferences, update their profile and pay.

Every Thursday evening PT we'll be reviewing Internet of Things developments from the past week. Internet of Things is a term for when everyday objects are connected to the Internet. It's becoming an increasingly relevant trend for the Web and media, so we want to keep you updated with the latest news. Tune in every Thursday evening for our updates.

This week we discuss the impending Internet address apocalypse, RFID's sweet spot, why the U.S. is behind China on IoT, emotional sensors, and more!

As the Internet of Things slowly becomes a commercial reality, led by industries such as food and logistics, the underlying technologies (RFID, sensors, QR codes and more) become less important than what is done with the data. As Bo Begole, Principal Scientist and Manager of Ubiquitous Computing at PARC, put it to me recently: "the algorithms are more interesting now than the sensors."

Begole's group at PARC (Palo Alto Research Center, a subsidiary of Xerox) puts more emphasis nowadays on technologies such as predictive analytics, context engines and "Behavioral Ware". It's much more about the software, than the sensors.