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When was the last time that you have been involved in a phone conversation where you wondered if the person you were speaking with was truly paying attention? If you have spoken to me on the phone anytime recently, then I know you have felt that feeling. The “Jerk-O-Meter” is exactly the device that people like me want to keep on the down low. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are at work developing software for cell phones that would analyze speech patterns along with voice tones to rate how engaged people are in a conversation. Time to brush up on your listening skills.
(Thanks Veronica!)
Oh, happy day. The uber-expensive Nokia N90 cell phone is finally shipping after a few delays due to Nokia wanting to get this one “just right”. This one is a high quality clamshell smartphone featuring Carl Zeiss optics along with a very noticeable swivel display which gives it an almost camcorder-like feel. The phone supports 3G and Bluetooth 2.0 as well. Also not to be missed is its 262,000 color high resolution screen, as well as exterior 65,000 128x128 display. No carrier has picked this one up yet, so if you want it, expect to pay around $700. Yowza.
Read More 
|InfoSync
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Japanese Prototype Automatic Door Takes Complicated Leap Forward
Posted by Alex Grahmann Categories: Misc. Tech,
A new design for automated doors revealed on Japanese websites this week show a complicated system of sliding strips that open just far enough for the individual person passing through the door. Using visual sensors on the ends of each of the panels, the mechanism slides the door open and closed around the shape of whatever needs to enter or exit. Reportedly better for keeping out environmental hazards such as weather, dust, and pollen, and keeping in things such as air-conditioning, the demonstration video proves only that it’s capable of letting in people carrying fun punching bags and keeping out Japanese men. For anyone who’s ever hurt themselves by walking straight into a malfunctioning door at a grocery store or mall, this new design offers about 60 times the reasons to be a little more careful.
Watch the Video (.ram) | Japanese Demonstration
Read More | We-Make-Money-Not-Art
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This should come as great news for everyone with an auctioneer in the family: Japanese cell phone maker NTT DoCoMo is preparing to release a new cell phone that allows the user to slow down the speech of incoming callers to nearly half their original speed. The system will activate with the touch of button and will digitally stretch the incoming audio. There is also an automated limit to the slow-down that kicks the audio back to normal to avoid conversational overlapping.
Here’s hoping that the slowed audio sounds better than a similar feature on iPods that allows the slowing of audiobooks. In a recent experiment with my iPod, the audio stretcher, despite not having to deal with real-time speech, made my Harry Potter reader sound like he was getting smacked by a digital hammer in order to get him to slow down.
Read More | T3
Nowadays it’s expected that any type of software that is released will get hacked by someone. Well, it seems hackers have made a very impressive hack to Mac OSX, which will allow it to be used on a PC. The better part to this is:
- Of course PC hardware has always run cheaper than its Mac counterpart
- The hacked version of OSX, named OSx86, runs faster on a PC than any G4 or G5 around
OSx86 is designed to run on Apple Computer’s next generation of hardware, which some call “MacIntels” and others “MacTels” because the machines will run on Intel microprocessors rather than the PowerPC processor used in current Macs. The hacked version of OSx86 is based on pirated software, which came from copies of the operating system sent to participants in the Apple Developer Connection. The ADC participants also received MacIntel computers for testing and development.
Read More | Wired News
iPod Has Minimal 1.6% Market Share in South Korea
Posted by Alex Grahmann Categories: Corporate News, Portable Audio / Video,
Despite recent news of Apple’s iPod player and iTunes service performing beyond expectations around the globe, South Korea continues to stand out as a noticeable exception to Apple’s market dominance. In recent market analyst data from GfK, the iPod holds a measly 1.6% share of MP3 player sales in South Korea. The weak iPod numbers, released by IDG News Service, reflect the popularity of other MP3 players produced by South Korean manufacturers such as Digitalway and Cowon Systems. The top seller on the list is Reigncom, creator of the iRiver brand, with 30.8% of all MP3 player sales.
Read More | Playlist
Microsot Limits 3rd Party Xbox 360 Accessories
Posted by Jesse Easley Categories: Accessories, Corporate News, Xbox 360,
With all the talk of theXbox 360 pricing and how Microsoft could possibly make profit and still sell the 360 at a decent price, some new information has come along to kind of answer that question. Back in May when Microsoft started to reveal information about the 360, they also said there would be some specific requirements for3rd party accessories. Now, they are following up this statement by instituting a new royalty policy. This policy falls into place for quality reasons as well as this will allow them to make money off of the 360. Basically,3rd party manufacturers need to officially license their products by paying a fee to Microsoft along with royalties. Microsoft is so serious about this, they are even implementing security measures into the 360 only allowing licensed products to actually work with the system.
“Microsoft has made it very clear that it’s all about profitability” with this generation of console, said IDC analyst Schelley Olhava. “Maybe this is a way they are looking to make additional revenue off of the Xbox.” But, she said, the move could also be intended as “a way to ensure quality products make it out the door,” reasoning that makers willing to pony up a share of the proceeds would be the kind of companies that make more reliable gear.
Read More | News.com
Rockstar Release Hot Coffee Patch
Posted by Jesse Easley Categories: Action, Corporate News, Mods/Hacks, PC,
Rockstar has released an un-patch patch which will disable and remove the possibility of using the infamous “Hot Coffee” patch in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PC). This comes shortly after the ESRB changed the rating of the game from “M” to “AO”. You can download this patch from the News Section of Rockstar’s Home Page. Read more to go there.
Read More | Rockstar Games
Do you ever have that problem where you are listening to music and nobody notices because they don’t understand that your frenetic movements are really intricate dance movements and not a massive seizure of some sort? Well then the iBeat earbuds are for you - they feature Elwire connectors that light up the cord and can either steadily illuminate the night, or pulse in time to the music. Now nobody can miss the fact that not only are you listening to music, but because you can afford glowing headphone wires you are probably listening to music on an expensive iPod (or are at Burning Man). As much as this idea seems cool in a few ways it just seems to be screaming out either “Mug me!” or “I’m a candy raver” to every one you see when you go grooving around late at night sporting your new iBeats.
Ok - that post title might be a slight exaggeration because the object in question is technically running NetBSD not Linux, but still - some creative *NIX geeks at Technologic Systems have designed the first NetBSD powered toaster. The toaster; which is on display now in the NetBSD booth at LinuxWorld Expo in San Francisco; features a 4 line LCD, USB keyboard, 10/100 ethernet port and a RS232 serial port for the external console. Not only does the NetBSD toaster feature the ability to run embedded applications but it can actually toast bread while it’s at it. No longer will geeks be longing for a way to program and make toast at the same time with this truly Jetsons-like convergence device.
Read More | Technologic Systems via /.
