RSS Feeds
|
US Edition
Babblebaby
|
Defamer
|
Gizmodo
|
Kotaku
|
Lifehacker
Apple has been working in new multi-touch technology that combines touch interfaces with input from the camera and the microphone. For example: this will allow you to select text in the iPhone, say "copy," go to another application and say "paste" to make this task really easy. The most intriguing part, however, is the use of a camera in laptops and desktops.
This tiny GPS system from Kapten shuns the current preoccupation for large, high-detail touchscreens... it has, in fact, no screen at all. There're a bunch of led-lit icons at the top, indicating car-, pedestrian-mode and so on, but that's it. All navigation requests and instructions are made by you talking to the Kapten and it talking to you. It's apparently aimed mainly at pedestrian users, and measuring 7.4 x 4.3 x 1.3 cm is small enough to slip onto a key ring. Somehow there's a Bluetooth chipset in there, alongside an MP3 player and FM radio, and it packs 4GB of internal memory. Sadly, the only instructions it'll utter will sound like "Tournez à droite, dans 100 metres" since it's being released in France next month for around US$220, and there's no info on whether it'll move outside the land of the moody pout. [Navigadget]
Treo 800w users can finally do voice dialling over their Bluetooth headsets with this software update pack. One caveat is that you'll need to have the TREO800w-1.03-SPNT as your current "Software Version" under your About screen, so if you... Read More »
The previously good Voice Dial jailbreak app for iPhone has made its way onto the App Store, complete with US$25 price tag. Voice Dial isn't to be confused with iSpeak, another voice dialing app that will probably hit the App Store sometime.
If you're covering an event and already carrying a huge gear bag with a laptop, camera, emergency Cliff bars and all the rest, QuickVoice is a welcome replacement for a standalone digital voice recorder. We like QuickVoice as a late addition to our favourites for its pause feature, which allows you to start and stop recordings without creating a whole new clip.
The Sierra Nevada Corporation claimed this week that it is ready to begin production on the MEDUSA, a damned scary ray gun that uses the "microwave audio effect" to implant sounds and perhaps even specific messages inside people's heads. Short for Mob Excess Deterrent Using Silent Audio, MEDUSA creates the audio effect with short microwave pulses. The pulses create a shockwave inside the skull that's detected by the ears, and basically makes you think you're going balls-to-the-wall batshit insane. The MEDUSA can also "produce recognisable sounds" and is aimed primarily at military uses, but New Scientist revealed there are other uses in the works, too.
Google has just released a new version of their maps application that supports voice recognition search on the BlackBerry Pearl. That means Pearl users can load Google Maps, hold a side button, say "pizza, i said PIZZA...PEE ZZ UH" and have the application magically find tacos in your immediate vicinity. This upgrade doesn't look to be automatic, so hit the link to have Google text message your phone for the "experimental" update. [Google Maps via Gear Diary]
Sure, a Knight Rider GPS system is cool if you're in your 40s and remember watching the show when it was first on, but what about people looking for a GPS navigator with a more contemporary cultural reference? How about GLaDOS from Portal, one of the best games of the last few years?
In our endless coverage of robots with extremely specific functions, here's a model that analyses the cadence of human voice and transforms the speech into a multi-instrument song—providing a sort of hyper-personalised soundtrack, the ultimate mix tape, if you will. Unfortunately, the robot lacks a mixer, synthesiser and whoopee cushion, so it's not getting all that close to reproducing our mad-melodious vocals. [via BBGadgets]
The popularity of the hideous Dalek Sec Hybrid Mask last year proved once again that Dr. Who fans are a loyal bunch. Soon, these fans will be able to strike fear/laughter in the hearts of their enemies once again by donning this dapper Dalek voice changing helmet. Naturally, you will be able to run around yelling "EXTERMINATE" with the classic cold, robotic tone—but you will also be able to play back recorded Dalek phrases or activate the exterminator sound. But before you get too excited, check out the image after the break to see how un-cool you will look wearing it.
