Google Adding ‘Word Lens’ Camera Translation and Conversation Mode to Translate App [iOS Blog]
Google today announced a forthcoming update to its Google Translate app for iOS that will bring instant camera-based translation and automatic language recognition to Apple’s mobile devices. This will be Google’s first update to the translation app in nearly a year.
The updated translation app improves upon the current text recognition feature by incorporating the real-time translation technology that Google acquired with Word Lens last year. Instead of capturing a photo for translation, users can point their phones at signs, menus and other text and immediately view overlays containing the translated phrases.
At launch, this Word Lens feature will support a limited number of languages (English to and from French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish) with additional languages expected in the future. It also will work even when there is no available Internet connection.
Google has also added a new real-time conversation mode that is available for the first time on the iOS platform. Previously incorporated into Android, this real-time mode improves the flow of a conversation by automatically detecting the languages being used by the participants. Once language identification is complete, users can speak at a natural pace without needing to tap the mic between each side of the conversation.
Google is rolling out the Translate update across its platforms with the iOS version debuting in the next few days. Google Translate is a universal app and available for free in the iOS App Store. [Direct Link]
AcDisplay hits version 3.0, adds Lollipop support and more
AcDisplay, or Active Notifications as some of you may know it by, has just been updated to version 3.0. After few months in development, the popular open-source lockscreen replacement now offers initial Lollipop support and comes with a polished up Material Design user interface.
As well as bringing the app in line with the latest Android OS, AcDisplay has been patched up with a ton of minor and major bug fixes and plenty of under the hood changes. Although, one or two bugs may still persist in the beta-ish build for Lollipop. Android Jelly Bean 4.1 and 4.2 support has also been updated, but the API is proving to be a severe limitation on these Android versions.
The video below give us a little look at what the latest app version is capable of.
You can download the AcDisplay v3.0 APK from the GitHub source right now, or wait a little while until the update appears on the Play Store.
The Project Ara Developer Conference Keynote starts at 11:00am ET today and you can watch it right here
The 2nd Project Ara Developer Conference is taking place this week, and you don’t want to miss the keynote which starts at 11:00am ET. With the release of the Ara Modular Developers Kit (MDK), we are that much closer to seeing a consumer product. The keynote could bring us the news as to when, plus a whole lot of other useful information. We have the live stream for you right after the break.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Come comment on this article: The Project Ara Developer Conference Keynote starts at 11:00am ET today and you can watch it right here
Google finds a big new home while it waits for its ambitious London HQ
Google wants to build some extravagant new offices at London’s King’s Cross, but after putting those plans on ice, the firm seems to be looking at other options. It had already agreed to rent half of a 350,000 square foot site at 6 Pancras Square, but CityAM reports that it’s now taking the other half too. The offices, set to be completed later this year, will be a far cry from what Google originally envisioned. The company had planned to build its own, 950,000 square foot offices at a different site in King’s Cross, complete with roof-top running track, swimming pool and connected cycling ramps. But apparently the project wasn’t ambitious enough and Google’s architects have been told to go back to the drawing board. It’s now delayed until at least 2017 — that doesn’t mean the project has been abandoned completely, but while those plans are in flux Google is clearly settling for plan B.
[Image Credit: BNP Paribas]
Via: Business Insider
Source: CityAM
Google finds a big new home while it waits for its ambitious London HQ
Google wants to build some extravagant new offices at London’s King’s Cross, but after putting those plans on ice, the firm seems to be looking at other options. It had already agreed to rent half of a 350,000 square foot site at 6 Pancras Square, but CityAM reports that it’s now taking the other half too. The offices, set to be completed later this year, will be a far cry from what Google originally envisioned. The company had planned to build its own, 950,000 square foot offices at a different site in King’s Cross, complete with roof-top running track, swimming pool and connected cycling ramps. But apparently the project wasn’t ambitious enough and Google’s architects have been told to go back to the drawing board. It’s now delayed until at least 2017 — that doesn’t mean the project has been abandoned completely, but while those plans are in flux Google is clearly settling for plan B.
[Image Credit: BNP Paribas]
Via: Business Insider
Source: CityAM
Microsoft introduces new colorful Comfort Headset earphones
Alongside today’s reveal of the Lumia 435 and 532 smartphones, Microsoft has also quietly announced a new set of earphones recommended for those devices, the Comfort Headset.
GoPro Shares Tumble After Apple Granted Remote Control Camera Patent [Mac Blog]
Shares of personal camera maker GoPro fell 12 percent as trading volume doubled yesterday following the publication of a recently awarded Apple camera patent (via Bloomberg). Apple was granted US patent no. 8,934,045 yesterday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a remote control camera system powered by a wrist-worn device.
Originally filed by Kodak in 2012 and subsequently acquired by Apple in a much larger patent deal, the patent details a remote digital camera system that can be controlled by a smartwatch or phone. In its description, the patent seeks to addresses a wind resistance flaw present in select GoPro cameras that may lead to image artifacts.
According to Dougherty & Co. analyst Charlie Anderson, the GoPro stock plunge was led by investors concerned that Apple may encroach on the extreme action-adventure camera market currently dominated by GoPro. Investor reaction to this patent appears to have been overblown, however, as Apple patents a variety of technology innovations, most of which are not used in consumer products. And in this case, the technology wasn’t even Apple’s to begin with, making it even less clear whether the company has any intention of following up on it.
This album comes on 12 ‘dead’ formats including MiniDisc
We’ve reached the point where even the less than perfect ideas of years past are being mined for nostalgia. No, I’m not talking about acid washed denim’s resurgence (ugh, why?), but that of derided music mediums like the MiniDisc and 8-track. Next month, British musician and producer Trevor Jackson’s experimenting with Format, an album spanning 12 different err… formats, each with one song per physical object. Meaning, the release is going to be spread across three sizes of vinyl (12, 10 and 7-inch), CD and mini CD, reel-to-reel, USB, cassette, VHS, MiniDisc, DAT and 8-track. It isn’t exactly practical, but it represents another way that artists are expanding beyond a box-standard MP3 download to get their music out to fans. Format‘s not quite the most outlandish example we’ve seen, OK Go’s DNA album still holds that title, but it’s still pretty cool when you stop to think about it. How’s that? Well, it chronicles the varying forms of physical media that music’s graced over the years.
The album releases by way of The Vinyl Factory — the label perhaps best known for housing Massive Attack and Pet Shop Boys, among others — and is comprised of remastered and re-edited tracks from Jackson’s deep archives. If you can’t scrounge up all the necessary equipment to listen to it, don’t worry: the album’ll release digitally and on vinyl in March.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Via: The Verge
Source: The Vinyl Factory
Russia starts banning Bitcoin websites
You’d think that a collapsing rouble, plunging oil prices and with trade sanctions at every turn, Russia would have more important things to deal with than Bitcoin. That’s why it’s such a surprise to see the nation’s equivalent of the FCC banning five websites related to the cryptocurrency. In addition to two Russian-language pages, the blacklist includes the “main” Bitcoin foundation website, the Bitcoin wiki and London-based Bitcoin exchange Indacoin.
Filed under: Internet
Via: GigaOM
Source: Coinspot (Translated)
Accessory of the Day: 66 Audio BTS+ Bluetooth headphones, $49.99
Here’s a set of Bluetooth headphones that are perfect for exercising without sacrificing audio quality. Lightweight and long lasting, the 66 Audio BTS+ boast clarity as their calling card and the astoundingly positive reviews all agree. The best part? These won’t break the bank. Grab a pair for just $49.99 (Prime eligible), today.
Join Prime and get this deal with FREE two-day shipping!
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