EyeRing finger-mounted connected cam captures signs and dollar bills, identifies them with OCR (hands-on)

Ready to swap that diamond for a finger-mounted camera with a built-in trigger and Bluetooth connectivity? If it could help identify otherwise indistinguishable objects, you might just consider it. The MIT Media Lab's EyeRing project was designed with an assistive focus in mind, helping visually disabled persons read signs or identify currency, for example, while also serving to assist children during the tedious process of learning to read. Instead of hunting for a grownup to translate text into speech, a young student could direct EyeRing at words on a page, hit the shutter release, and receive a verbal response from a Bluetooth-connected device, such as a smartphone or tablet. EyeRing could be useful for other individuals as well, serving as an ever-ready imaging device that enables you to capture pictures or documents with ease, transmitting them automatically to a smartphone, then on to a media sharing site or a server.

We peeked at EyeRing during our visit to the MIT Media Lab this week, and while the device is buggy at best in its current state, we can definitely see how it could fit into the lives of people unable to read posted signs, text on a page or the monetary value of a currency note. We had an opportunity to see several iterations of the device, which has come quite a long way in recent months, as you'll notice in the gallery below. The demo, which like many at the Lab includes a Samsung Epic 4G, transmits images from the ring to the smartphone, where text is highlighted and read aloud using a custom app. Snapping the text "ring," it took a dozen or so attempts before the rig correctly read the word aloud, but considering that we've seen much more accurate OCR implementations, it's reasonable to expect a more advanced version of the software to make its way out once the hardware is a bit more polished -- at this stage, EyeRing is more about the device itself, which had some issues of its own maintaining a link to the phone. You can get a feel for how the whole package works in the video after the break, which required quite a few takes before we were able to capture an accurate reading.

Gallery: MIT Media Lab: EyeRing

Continue reading EyeRing finger-mounted connected cam captures signs and dollar bills, identifies them with OCR (hands-on)

EyeRing finger-mounted connected cam captures signs and dollar bills, identifies them with OCR (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hooked unveils Critic's Choice, continues to deliver user-centric suggestions

Ed. Note: Josh Munoz is one of the critics who participates in the critic's choice panel.

Hooked, the Android application that looks at your gaming habits and suggests more of what it thinks you'll like, has launched a critic's choice section of their app, featuring suggestions from various writers throughout the blogosphere.

What does this mean for the end user? Well, in addition to the normal, player-centered suggestions you've always received, there'll also be a new category, the Critic's Choice, that features a rotating lineup of games, along with a short description and the website the writer writes for.

All in all, it's just another way to try and do what Hooked wants to do best: bring the best game suggestions to their users in any way possible.

We've got the full press release and download links after the break.

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Business Mobile phone Systems with regard to Customer Service ...

The most important things very good customer service does helps your customers to trust anyone. It can be difficult creating a relationship connected with trust having someone anyone deal with only briefly when shopping. Even so, if the interactions with your company are invariably pleasant, are going to left experience good regarding their experience. That, coupled with an excellent product, creates a relationship involving trust. Customers rank rely on high in terms of making their particular decisions and feeling including they can trust you to accomplish them suitable can make a significant difference in your product sales.

Jonathan Winchester recommends a very more bold variation from the ?spare badge in the office? option. This can be explained over the following section. Expect to blush!

Whilst working on the coaching project with an elderly project director of an IT solutions business, conceptual flexibility come forth as one of the improvement areas. In addition, this firm had aspired to create a foray in erstwhile USSR for three years. They tried traditional business models such as joint efforts, local partners etc; on the other hand because of volatile political situations, they were can not enter the current market. For the same reason, even company employees were being uncomfortable together with spending prolonged durations in the united kingdom. While training the challenge manager, a fully different strategy was researched?a system connected with stationing the team people by turn to the state worked as a compromise in addition to turned out to be a new hugely successful model. Nowadays the business interactions established in the region have been profitable and the ability of the boss to think along with has paid for fruit.

You could find these jobs by intricate with hiring agencies or even freelancing sites. When you register with an organization, they match up you using the best career available dependant upon your skills and experience. Joining with a become a freelancer website translates to you will face stiff rivalry from other job-seekers, which is often difficult ahead of establishing a good reputation.

You?re able to swiftly change a new service style, activity or way of meet a perceived require, personality or even disposition, but nonetheless remain inside company?s expectations and rules.

The public?s perception about the position of customer service staff has changed over the years. In the past, they?re just frequently viewed as the past resort whenever an questions or complaint is needed. Currently however, the obligation that these reside operators possess is bigger along with multi-dimensional. Their duties have gone past answering beeps, offering the right strategies to queries, and taking requests. Their jobs go additionally beyond the complex and hardware aspects of the job. Right now, more than ever, the highest challenge they have making customers think satisfied with their services. It is just a tough call, but one that may be mastered through education, knowledge, and self-discipline.

Problem dealing with skills needs to be on top always during a customer buyer encounter. Customers find customer service because they employ a need the company provides and in get to keep your customer satisfied, the ability to solve their own problems immediately by wondering the right issues is a sure-fire approach to provide a remedy.

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Netflix CEO Lashes Out at Comcast Over Net Neutrality [Net Neutrality]

Last month, Comcast made a controversial decision to exclude their TV-on-demand service for Xbox 360 from data caps. That's sparked many complaints from users of other TV services over the implications for net neutrality—and now the CEO of Netflix is wading in. More »

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Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning Terminology ...

Like any niche business, this one of Disaster Recovery Planning and Business Continuity Planning has its own jargon and terminology. Often for people new to thinking about and considering how their company can be best protected in the event of a disaster, this jargon becomes overwhelming.

So to help clear the air and keep things simple, lets review some of the key terms of our industry ??? hopefully making it easier for you to discuss Disaster Recovery Planning and Business Continuity Planning with your colleagues.

Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP): refers to the recovery of IT services following a major hit or service interruption.

Business Recovery Planning (BRP): a superset of DRP and refers to the recovery of IT and all other aspects of the business. This includes everything from finance to administration to engineering to manufacturing.

Business Continuity Planning (BCP): includes BRP and highlights vulnerabilities that might cause losses to your business and plans for the continued conduct of your business. These vulnerabilities can include things such as poor security procedures following a disaster or the lack of effective backup procedures.

Emergency Response Planning (ERP): includes all aspects of DRP, BRP, and BCP but adds evacuation planning, medical aid, and security issues.

Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP): refers to the preparations and institutions maintained by the United States government to ensure survival of federal government operations in the case of a catastrophic event.

This is a brief primer of some of the key terminology that is integral to understanding how you need to prepare your business in the event of a disaster. By clearly understanding this basic terminology, you are ready to take the next step and start considering how to best approach protecting your business.

About KingsBridge

KingsBridge offers private businesses and government organizations a unique combination of industry knowledge and cost-effective disaster recovery / business continuity solutions. KingsBridge products and seminars provide the tools to assess possible threats and create tailored plans which mitigate risks and minimize losses in the event of a disruption to business. Kingsbridge is headquartered in Ogdensburg, New York, with offices in Ottawa, Canada and Burlington, Vermont. For more information visit us at www.DisasterRecovery.com and visit our blog at http://blog.disasterrecovery.com.

 

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AOL Radio

AOL, announced late last year that its AOL Radio streaming music would be powered by Slacker Radio (Free, 4.5 stars) in order to improve the music listening experience. The new "AOL Radio powered by Slacker" combines several of our favorite Slacker features while keeping several legacy America Online music aspects, and adds an eye-catching new interface that borrows elements from the Slacker iPad app (Free, 4 stars). AOL may have lost some identity in the move, but the tradeoff results in an all around better service?even better than Slacker Radio's own in some ways.

Don't think that AOL Radio's Slacker Radio implementation means that you can't listen to tunes at Slacker.com?you most certainly can. There are, however, subtle difference between the AOL Radio and Slacker Radio experiences that may make you prefer one over the other. Both are very good, but both finish just behind Spotify (Free, 4.5 stars), the current Editors' Choice pick for paid streaming music services.

Fresh, New Look
The first thing you'll notice when you land on the page is the revamped design. The old and cluttered AOL Radio interface is replaced with a gray and white color scheme and a layout that resembles the Slacker Radio iPad app. The top of the screen features a station's name in the upper-left corner; the upper-right has Facebook "like" and posting options, and a drop-down box for tinkering with options (you can also add Twitter compatibility in account settings). A column on the left houses the various Slacker Radio genres (ranging from Rock to Spiritual to Comedy), as well as custom stations. A history bar lets you quickly see previously played tracks at a glance?excellent if you caught the tail end of a song and want to discover its title or artist.

Package Plans
AOL Radio offers the same packages as Slacker Radio; in fact, you can no longer listen to music without signing up for an AOL account. AOL Radio offers three listening plans for music fans. With the free, basic plan you can skip a maximum of six songs per hour and must listen to audio advertisements. Those ads may prove a minor annoyance to free account holders, but they're nothing compared to the ads that Spotify serve, which sometimes appear?mid-song.

The Slacker, err, AOL Radio Experience
The new AOL Radio is Slacker Radio with a few tweaks. If you have a Slacker Radio account, you also have an AOL Radio account. When I visited the site, I was automatically logged in with my Slacker Radio credentials. You can dive into the deep catalog by selecting one of more than two dozen pre-made stations or keying in an artist or song title into the search engine. If you go the search engine route, AOL Radio will cull a tightly-programmed station. I fine-tuned the experience by clicking the "Ban" icon to prevent a song from playing; clicking the heart-shaped "Favorite" icon gives a song extra weight, causing Slacker to play it more frequently. Clicking "My Stations" loaded my custom station without a hitch. Clicking the "Afropunk" play button launched my created station, sending Lenny Kravitz' "Always on the Run" to my ears.

AOL Radio differs from Slacker Radio in a few ways that may not be obvious to casual users. You can't, skip to the beginning of a track (effectively rewinding it), create playlists (though you can listen to playlists created on Slacker Radio's page), or shuffle tracks. Slacker Radio diehards may consider these deal-breakers that keep them returning to Slacker.com, but others may not notice the omissions.

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Proenza Schouler PS1 iPad Case

This Italian-made iPad case costs more than most versions of the iPad.? The leather Proenza Schouler PS1 iPad Case measures 8.5″ X 11″ X 1.5″ inches.? It has a large zippered compartment for the iPad and a large front pocket with snap closure and decorative straps.? It’s available in red, black, nude, military (green), orchid, [...]

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Samsung will unveil the next Galaxy phone May 3rd in London

After months of rumors Samsung has officially announced the world will meet the next Galaxy phone in London on May 3rd with this invite, first received by Dutch site Tweakers.net. While most speculation will immediately focus around something we're expecting to arrive as the Galaxy S III, the BlackBerry World-spoiling invite we received is conspicuously devoid of details like name or specifications. While we'll keep the address of the Samsung Unpacked event to ourselves, the only other information included is the date / time (2PM ET) and the address for a live stream on Facebook. The original Galaxy S and GS2 are already million unit sellers many times over since first launching two years ago and have led the Android pack for most of this time, so what will Samsung do to top itself this time? (Answer: not 3D, and it's probably a little too late for another Continuum-like gimmicky split display.) There are just 17 days left until we find out for sure.

Samsung will unveil the next Galaxy phone May 3rd in London originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Apr 2012 03:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Heavily Armored iPhone Case Can Stop A .50 Caliber Round [Cases]

It might add almost five pounds to the weight of your phone, but this armored iPhone case with one-inch of thick steel plating on the back is promised to stop a .50 caliber round. So what you're really paying $650 for is peace of mind. More »

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Klipsch Gallery G-17 Air

Editors' Note (4/11/2012): After the most recent version of iOS was released, the previously mentioned issue of interrupted AirPlay streams was cleared up. We have since tested and confirmed this, and as such have revised the review and score to reflect that improvement.

As AirPlay speaker systems increase in number?most of them still being referred to as "docks" despite a lack of an actual dock for an iPhone, iPod, or iPad?a few things are becoming increasingly clear. Almost all AirPlay docks are black, and the Klipsch Gallery G-17 Air is no exception. They are all pretty expensive?the G-17 is a hefty $549.99 (direct). For the most part, all AirPlay docks thus far offer quality audio, ranging from booming bass, as with the Audyssey Audio Dock Air ($399.99, 3.5 stars) to superb high fidelity sound, as with the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air ($599.95, 4 stars). The G-17 sounds excellent, and as of the most recent iOS update, has resolved the streaming issues we experienced in the past.?

Design
The rounded, glossy black piano finish of the Gallery G-17 Air is striking, as is the horizontal array of drivers?two 20-watt woofers in the middle and two 10-watt tweeters on the far left and right ends of the front panel. A small Klipsch logo and a remote sensor are the only other things on the front panel. All of the controls are located on the small right-hand side panel?Power, Volume, Input Select, and Wi-Fi, which is used for inital setup. The back panel houses the power cable connection, a 3.5mm Aux input, and a USB connection. You'll need a Phillips head screwdriver to attach the glass stand to the speaker unit (screws are included), but the G-17 is also wall-mountable. Also included with the G-17 and its stand: a rubber cover for the input panel on the back, a black cloth grille cover in case you want to hide the awesome looking drivers, a remote control, the power supply, an owners manual, and?seriously?white gloves, so your fingertips don't smudge the glossy black surface when you move the system.

The included remote can be frustrating to use?depending on the angle, and strength of the Wi-Fi signal, adjusting the volume can be a very delayed process. When the signal is good and the audio is streaming smoothly, the remote, which is a simple, thin, black plastic controller with membrane buttons, works fine. It has Power, Volume, Play/Pause, Skip Forward/Backward, and Input Select buttons.

Performance
The Gallery G-17 offers fairly powerful, refined audio performance for its size. There are four drivers but no subwoofer, and the net result is a audiophile-friendly flat response, devoid of booming deep bass but quite capable of articulating low frequencies well. Kick drums sound tight, not thunderous. Lower register stringed instruments sound pleasantly resonant, not overly boosted or booming. John Adams' modern classical piece, "The Chairman Dances," sounds neither overly bright nor rumbly. Instead, the G-17's response favors mid-range frequencies, occasionally allowing high frequency percussion hits, like wood blocks, to pop out from the more commanding force of the stringed instruments. At maximum volume on deep bass tracks, the G-17 doesn't distort, but this is partially due to the lack of booming bass pushed out by the speakers. Still, many systems that have no subwoofer try to reproduce deep bass frequencies with the result of distortion, and the G-17 avoids this problem. The Knife's "Silent Shout," at maximum volume, doesn't sound as thumping as it would on a system with a sub, but it does not distort either, and the bass frequencies are still well represented. Basically, the G-17 offers a nice, smooth response throughout the frequency range that doesn't exaggerate the lows or ignore them. Fans of accurate response over booming bass will be pleased.

Because AirPlay relies on Wi-Fi, it's dependent on the bandwidth of the local network. The more tasks being completed on the Wi-Fi network, no matter how un-taxing on the bandwidth, like sending an email, the more likely the stream is to pause, or stop completely. We have since tested the Klipsch Gallery G-17 Air again with the new version of iOS and experienced little to no interruption in the stream. This is a vast improvement over our initial tests of the speaker, and we have revised its score accordingly.

Apple is reportedly choosing to either switch to or include Bluetooth streaming into the AirPlay feature. Even a year or so ago, Bluetooth streaming was still a weak audio solution, with very little bass and low bit-rate fidelity. But recent developments have strengthened the audio quality greatly, as evidenced by recent Editors' Choices, the portable Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile Speaker ($299.95, 4 stars) and the fantastic JBL OnBeat Xtreme ($499.95, 4.5 stars), which shows up as an AirPlay device on an iPhone or iPad, but uses Bluetooth. As of the most recent iOS update, AirPlay and Bluetooth seem to be similarly reliable.

The Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air remains at the top of the list of AirPlay docks, in terms of audio performance, with the Klipsch Gallery G-17 close to the top with the most recent version of iOS. The streaming issues have been resolved, and it's now about as functional as a Bluetooth speaker, with excellent audio quality.?

More Speaker reviews:
??? Klipsch Gallery G-17 Air
??? iHome iD50
??? House of Marley Bag of Rhythm Portable Audio System
??? Zvox Z-Base 220
??? iLuv ArtStation Pro iMM514
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GM: Explosion at battery research facility ?unrelated to the Chevrolet Volt?

One person was hurt at the GM research site in Michigan during ?extreme testing on a prototype battery? unrelated to the Volt ?or any other production vehicle,? the company said.

An explosion during "extreme battery testing" Wednesday morning of a prototype energy cell at a General Motors battery research facility in Warren, Mich., injured one person and did major structural damage to the building.

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At the heart of the explosion was a lithium-ion battery, according to a fire department official cited in local news reports. The morning blast did not, however, involve batteries that power the Chevrolet Volt, the new plug-in hybrid car whose batteries caught fire weeks after a crash test, General Motors said in a statement.

But the flap over the Volt battery fire has left some insiders feeling more than a little peeved and defensive at the amount of news media attention being devoted to what they say is an almost inevitable, if not routine, event in the business of battery research and extreme testing.

"The whole reason they have these labs is precisely to do this kind of aggressive testing ? anticipating the worst thing a consumer could do with this product," says one expert with direct knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the explosion, who asked not to be named. "This is going to turn out to be a mountain out of a mole hill. Yeah, we're doing a lot of testing. That's what we have to do. Sometimes things explode."

?The incident is still under investigation by GM and the Warren authorities," the GM statement said. "Any information or discussion of the nature of the work in the lab or cause of the incident is entirely speculative and cannot be confirmed at this time. The incident was unrelated to the Chevrolet Volt or any other production vehicle. The incident was related to extreme testing on a prototype battery.?

Despite criticism of the Volt by conservative pundits, a follow-up investigation by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration concluded the new car was no more prone to fire than any other vehicle.

"The debate over batteries recently really hasn't been about safety so much as about their longevity," says Tom Turrentine, director of the plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle research center at the University of California, Davis. "I think we are mostly over the hump with battery safety. But there's no question that battery labs are notorious for explosions when they're testing."

Lithium-ion batteries are attractive to automakers because they can hold so much power ? about four times the amount of energy a conventional lead-acid battery. Even so, earlier lithium-ion batteries used in other commercial applications burst into flame on occasion. Laptop computer manufacturer Dell Computer recalled millions of batteries after a handful of its laptops burst into flames several years ago.

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Alleged ASUS teaser wants us to 'Experience the Infinity,' fails to explain how

This isn't the first time a mysterious bit of video has come our way with the promise of something new and fabulous from ASUS. The latest such clip comes from a third party, so take it with a hefty pinch of Morton's. It shows some slow motion footage of a drop of water falling into a bigger body of H2O, then a message emerges from the resulting concentric waves telling us to "Experience the Infinity." Whatever that means, it'll be "coming soon" -- next week, apparently, as the video finishes up touting Milano Design Week, which starts on April 17th. Is the video legit? Will some fabulous new device make its mark in Milan? We've no idea, but it certainly has a style similar to other teasers we've seen from the Taiwanese firm. You can make up your own mind once you've watched the vid after the break.

Continue reading Alleged ASUS teaser wants us to 'Experience the Infinity,' fails to explain how

Alleged ASUS teaser wants us to 'Experience the Infinity,' fails to explain how originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Apr 2012 14:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sharp rolls out high-res IGZO LCDs destined for tablets, laptops and monitors

Well, a week (or two) is a long time in the technology industry, and despite that joint venture with Sony heading south, it's not all bad news for Sharp. According to a press release from the panel maker, it has begun production of the world's first screens based on IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) technology. These screens are said to promise twice the detail as existing panels of similar transparency, which also translates into a hefty 90 percent reduction in power consumption, reports PC World. Sharp did kindly share some sample specifications, such as a 7-inch tablet display touting a 1280 x 800 resolution equaling 217 ppi, and a 32-inch 3840 x 2160 screen at 140 ppi, to give you an idea of what we can expect. There's no indication yet as to any devices where we might see them showing up, but as the firm claims it's ramping up production "to meet market demand" we guess we'll find out soon enough...

Continue reading Sharp rolls out high-res IGZO LCDs destined for tablets, laptops and monitors

Sharp rolls out high-res IGZO LCDs destined for tablets, laptops and monitors originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Apr 2012 17:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jittergram, 1-Bit Camera, Wavii, and More [Iphone Apps Of The Week]

Your camera will be set up for pictures of any style with this week's iPhone apps of the week. Between 80s style photos, homemade GIFs, and customized filters, you'll be a snapshot machine.

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