NEWS : TECH (NFPC)

Pentagon Develops Reddit for the Military

Last to join the party, I've just recently started using Reddit. What I thought was a bunch of disjointed information has turned out to be an interesting source for work and fun. That kind of crowd-sourced information is making its way to the military through a Pentagon-created site called Eureka. The new site will join the group of military-friendly social sites under the label "milSuite," which resemble Facebook, YouTube and Wikipedia and only carry unclassified material.

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The site is projected to go up in mid-July and will only be open to military members to share information, content and ideas to solve problems through a group effort. Users will be able to post stories or tag ideas to have others vote them up or down. The deputy director of the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate, Jim Benn, says that the formal method of gathering ideas can miss things because, “not only are we working the problem, we’re working the budget and policy issues that surround the problem.” He also mentioned that an external force is sometimes needed to bring issues to the forefront. The hope is that this project can do it efficiently, using its best and brightest source.

via Defense News

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'Popchilla' Robot Could Help Autistic Kids

Teaching children with autism spectrum disorders how to interact with others can be hard –- usually one learns that with other people, but it's difficult to quantify.

Seema Patel, CEO of Interbots, thinks she has a solution. It's a toy stuffed animal called Popchilla that is connected to an app called Popchilla's World that runs from a mobile device. The toy, a small robot stuffed animal (it looks like a chinchilla) moves and shows facial expressions. The app is a game that rewards children when they get the right answer as to what feeling the robot is showing.

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Popchilla's World, for instance, walks a child through the process of brushing teeth (using the touch screen). The stuffed animal  -– a "digital puppet" -- that goes with it will have expressions that show it is happy or unhappy. Patel told Discovery News the idea is to get children with autism spectrum disorders to move from practicing on a touch screen to interacting with people in the real world.

Initially, the toys would be sold to parents and therapists. It currently works with iPads and iPhones but Patel said the company is working on Android and PC versions.

There are some features of the puppets that might initially look odd -- for example, the eyes glow in the dark. Red means anger, blue means sad, green means happy. Even though it makes the puppet look possessed, the glowing does serve a purpose, Patel said. It draws the child's attention to the robot's face, something that autistic children can have a real problem with.

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While there are no peer-reviewed results demonstrating Popchilla's effectiveness, Patel said the company is embarking on a six-month study at Carnegie Mellon University. Popchilla is also being used in an ongoing study at the Orelena Hawks Puckett Institute exploring the use of social robots to improve attention skills in children with autism. The results of the latter should be out next year, she said.  

Photo: Popchilla at the Consumer Electronics Association Line Show in New York. Credit: Jesse Emspak

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Translation App Ready For 2012 Olympics

In science fiction movies everyone either speaks English or has a universal translator. Now the iPhone has one that works for 23 languages (all of them human, so if an alien shows up you're still out of luck).

The app is called VoiceTra4U-M. It translates voices from 13 languages and text from an additional 10. The application was designed by the Universal Speech Translation Advanced Research Consortium, or U-STAR. It's being rolled out in the App Store in time for the London Oympics, when millions of people from various countries will (one hopes) be having lots of friendly conversations.

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The app works in two modes: face-to-face (where you speak into the mic and it spits out a translation) or during a phone call. It works on an iPad 2 and iPhone 4G models.

There are limitations: chat time is only an hour and it's designed to work best with travel-related questions and answers ("How much is it to get from Grand Central to Wall Street by taxi?") rather than more complex exchanges about say, postmodern literary theory. By making it available during the Olympics, the designers hope it will gather lots more speech and vocabulary data and learn to do better translations.

The translation is offloaded to remote servers, which introduces a slight delay in the conversation but reduces the amount of computing power needed by the phone. That does put limits on the number of people who can talk at once, since there's only so much traffic that the servers can handle (at least for now). But that could change in the future.

HOWSTUFFWORKS: How Universal Translators Work

The app is also on an open platform, so in theory any country could set up a server and start supporting another language.

Google, introduced Conversation Mode for its popular Google Translate last year. The app was last updated June 20, to version 2.4.2. The Google app is reportedly not quite as accurate, however.

Whatever limitations VoiceTra4U-M has, it's better than a fish in the ear.  

via New Scientist

Credit: Chris McKenna / Wikimedia Commons

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Google Launches 5 Major Products

Wednesday's spectactular "Project Glass" skydive was the biggest surprise at Google's I/O conference in San Francisco, but not the only one. Google also introduced a round of humbler products and services.

Android Jelly Bean: This 4.1 update to the 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" version of Android introduced last fall brings a performance tune-up and three noticable new features. Its voice recognition will work offline, unlike Apple's Siri. A Google Now personal-assistant app can provide personalized answers and tips based on your calendar and contacts (if you don't mind Google peering that closely into your life). And you'll be able to respond to, not just acknowledge, the notifications that appear at the top of the screen--say, sending a "running late" e-mail when Android reminds you of an imminent meeting.

DNEWS VIDEO: Gadgets and Gizmos

But unlike Apple's iOS upgrades, you won't get Jelly Bean until your phone's manufacturer and carrier ship an update. (The only exceptions: the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus "pure Google" phones.) I asked all four carriers when they'd ship "JB"; only Sprint replied, with an odd suggestion that I ask Google.

Nexus 7: This tablet seems aimed not at Apple's iPad but Amazon's Kindle Fire, the only Android tablet to win many buyers. Like the Fire, the Asus-built Nexus 7 features a seven-inch screen, gives prominent home-screen play to a media catalog (Google's Play Store) and will sell for $199 when it ships in mid-July.

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The 7, however, features a sharper 1280-by-800 pixel screen than the somewhat plain Fire, can run far more apps than the limited catalogue in Amazon's Appstore, and sports a front camera. After trying one this morning (I'll have a full review later), it makes the Fire look old.

How can the company make money on this device? It isn't. Google's Andy Rubin told AllThingsD's Ina Fried that it's selling the Nexus 7 at cost.

Nexus Q: This $299 spherical gadget, due mid-July, puts YouTube clips and Play Store music, TV shows and movies on your stereo and TV. You control the Q (unlike most gadgets, made in the United States) with an app on an Android devices, which makes it easy for visitors to guest-DJ if you wish.

But the Q doesn't run regular Android apps, so there's no Netflix. It costs three times as much as an Apple TV, six times the cheapest Roku player. Plus, the review unit I set up this morning vanished from a home network before I could play anything on it.

Google+ Events: For years, I've wondered if Google would take on Evite by shipping its own invitations app. Now it has. Google+ Events lets you craft artsy invites like Pingg but also allows guests to share photos on your event's site in real time.

But event hosts must use Google+, and that year-old social network hasn't exactly been making a dent in Facebook's dominance. And the first version allowed complete strangers to stuff your calendar with spammed invites, freaking out high-profile G+ users like Wil Wheaton and Robert Scoble.

HOWSTUFFWORKS: How Google Works

Google Docs offline: Google Docs is a fine little word processor, but you've needed an Internet connection for it. Now you can work on a document offline, if you run Google's Chrome (just shipped for Apple's iOS) and enable this feature from the gear-icon menu on your Google Drive page. This feature will come to Google's spreadsheet and presentations apps later.

This overdue addition makes Google's "Chromebook" laptops running Google's Chrome OS more relevant. It's also a minor godsend to reporters dealing with flaky Wi-Fi at tech events.

Credit: Rob Pegoraro/Discovery

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Adieu French Internet: DNews Nugget

Adieu French Internet: Before the World Wide Web, France had its own national internet, Minitel, where people could chat online, buy and sell goods and surf porn, ah bien sûr. Indeed, France was the first country in the early 1980s to go "online." But on Saturday June 30, France Telecom will pull the plug on Minitel and the domestic services it has provided the country for the last three decades. Hard to say how many people will miss it or even know it's gone.

via France24

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Apple Stashes Your Siri Voice Requests

While Zooey Deschanel's adorkable quest for rainy-day tomato soup and Samuel L. Jackson's reminder to put the gazpacho on ice might lead you to believe that summoning Siri is just a fancy flight of epicurean whimsy, consider this: What happens to all those verbal requests?

Think again if you believe they just evaporate into the ether. Actually, Apple processes and stores the voice requests and commands on a remote server were they remain. For how long, you ask? Apple won't say.

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No big whup if you're just asking Siri to find organic mushrooms for your risotto, but what if your tête-à-tête with Siri was a little more sensitive? Say, for example, you were using Siri to organize a subversive political protest or perhaps you work for Apple's rival company. Now, all of a sudden, Siri's secret stash doesn't sound so footloose and fancy-free.

Last month Technology Review reported that IBM asked its employees to give Siri the cold shoulder in fear of sensitive company information being leaked to Apple.

"We found a tremendous lack of awareness as to what constitutes a risk," Jeanette Horan, IBM's chief information officer, told Technology Review. "We're trying to make people aware."

However, Apple said there's no reason for concern.

"This data is only used for Siri's operation and to help Siri improve its understanding and recognition," said Apple spokeswoman, Trudy Muller.

HOWSTUFFWORKS: How the iPhone Works

Benevolent intentions aside, ensuring the protection and privacy of voiceprints will likely increase as more smartphones continue to be equipped with voice recognition applications.

James Glass, a senior research scientist at MIT, says that the best way to keep voiceprints anonymous would be to disconnect voice recordings from a user's phone number.

"It would mean that it would be harder for systems to personalize to your voice and queries, but some people might prefer that option if it gave them more privacy," he said. "This is the position I would advocate for, as it is similar to how some apps ask permission to use your location right now."

As for my stance on Siri, I'm taking a hands-off approach. After all, a wise man once said, "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." Seems like I'm not the only one who thinks so.

via Technology Review

Credit: Oli Scarff / Getty Images

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Obamacare? I'm Moving to Canada: DNews Nuggets

Obamacare? I'm Moving to Canada: After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Obama's healthcare mandate was constitutional, Twitter lit up with people saying that they were moving to Canada to get away from socialized medicine. Here are couple of examples: "I'm moving to Canada. Obviously the United States doesn't know what they are doing anymore. This used to be a great country... Pretty sad." And "That's it. I'm moving to Canada #sodissapointed #scotus #healthcarereform." My personal favorite: "I'm moving to Canada, the United States is entirely too socialist." via BuzzFeed

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Web App Tracks Exploding Colorado Wildfire

The Waldo Canyon wildfire that exploded into Colorado Springs this week created Jerry Bruckheimer-esque scenes. The fire has already claimed about 300 houses and displaced thousands of people. A local computer programmer hoping to help just released a Web-based app that organizes the onslaught of fire-related updates.

TOP 10: Social Networking Sites

Colorado Springs resident and 20-year-old computer programmer Robbie Trencheny lives about five miles from the fire. He told CNN's Amy Gahran that as an avid Twitter user he wanted to make it easier for residents to keep up with news about the fire. So he and another programmer, Scott Siebold, spent less than an hour coding a Web-based app to do that.

"We figured we'd use our tech skills to help, since not many people in Colorado Springs have the skills to do this quickly," he told Gahran.

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The result is the Waldo Canyon Fire Tracker. Instead of an app that you have to download, it's a Web page that displays tweets containing hashtags such as #WaldoCanyonFire in the middle, posted photos on the left column and official messages to the right. Preferences can be set to show or not show retweets, to pause the updates, and enable sound to indicate new tweets. Official updates will ding no matter what your sound preferences.

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I loaded the app about an hour ago and so far it's been interesting to watch, and it's easy to see how this page could be more useful than downloadable apps like HootSuite or TweetDeck that allow you to track a hashtag. With TweetDeck I'm only able to get a single column of #WaldoCanyonFire tweets.

The Waldo Canyon Fire Tracker isn't perfect. In Chrome, the center column tweets started bleeding into the right-hand column with official messages and enabling sound didn't always work. That said, for spending 45 minutes coding while the fire only got closer, it's still a potentially helpful app. The programmers told CNN they're going to continue working on it and might add pages for other fires in the state.

PHOTOS: Western Wildfires

Beyond this Web-based app, there are several other real-time applications that help users track wildfires. The Geospatial Multi-Agency Coordination Group (GeoMAC) is an Internet-based mapping app that shows fires nationwide in its viewer. You can jump to a specific fire and zoom into satellite images. But nothing really conveys the enormity of this natural disaster like the photos being posted to social media sites. See this.

Credit: A photo of Waldo Canyon wildfire invading Colorado Springs that appeared in a new Web app that tracks it. Credit: Twitter user @ZombieStephi

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Sleep Mask Mimics Brainwaves, Lulls You To Sleep

NeuroDreamer: $90 pledge

Taking a moment to relax and get some rest is vital to everyday functioning in humans...someone needs to tell that to our brains. Coming down after a long day is hard for a lot of us, and if you prefer to solve this problem with technology, a new Kickstarter project may be worth checking out. The NeuroDreamer is a sleep mask that uses light and sound to mimic the brainwaves that occur when you're falling asleep. The fading lights and ambient music coax the brain into turning off for the night (or for a few minutes) by enhancing the natural way our body calms down.

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Constructed from cotton and memory foam, the mask is described as an “entrainment” device. According to the website, “entrainment” is the the process of externally presenting brainwave frequencies to the brain, allowing it to synchronize to those frequencies.”

Using light and sound, the mask creates brainwave frequencies that match the natural activity that happens in the brain when we are falling asleep. Binaural beats in the music and synchronized light are controlled through a microcontroller in the mask. Three buttons on one side of the mask control the type of music played, volume and brightness of the lights.

While the need for a good night’s sleep or just a few minutes of relaxation is universal, the NeuroDreamer is not. Anyone who is sensitive to flashing lights (strobe lights, cameras, etc.) should definitely avoid the mask because it may cause seizures. Check out its Kickstarter page, a pledge of $90 or more gets you a mask once production starts.

via Kickstarter

Credit: Mitch Altman

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Life-Like Sculptures Made Of Paper

Being that they look like severed heads mounted on a wall, I think I'd have a hard time displaying one of these in my home.

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But even if Bert Simon's uber-realistic sculptures are a little creepy, there's no denying his artistry. And the best part about them? They're made of paper. So maybe I would like to hang one of these on my wall. As long as I keep reminding myself: They're just paper. They're just paper.

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Simon, a Dutch artist, used sophisticated face-tracking technology to map his models. Data was then fed through special computer software to create printed pieces of paper that could be cut, folded and glued into three dimensional sculptures.  

To complete one paper figure, it takes Simon about about three days.

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The question I keep asking myself is, if I were to have one of these on my wall, what person would I choose? It would have to be some wild-haired poet warrior with a protective and encouraging presence -- someone I would want looking over my shoulder. However, because I wouldn't want the mounted head of a living person on my wall, the person I'd choose would have to be dead (assuming there's a way to make a 3D replication with old photos and sculptures.)

I got it. He'd be perfect: Walt Whitman. What person would you choose to make into a mountable, paper head? Let us know in the comments below.

via Inhabitat

Credit: Bert Simon

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