Tech Talk-A Compilation of Technology News 1

1. How about wearing a computer today?

It might be not long before you start wearing a computer just as you put on your shoes, watch and jacket. "As general computing systems become smaller, we are reaching a point at which it becomes conceivable to don these devices easily," Andy Fagg of the computer science faculty at the University of Massachusetts has been quoted by online Science Daily as saying.

Fagg, who is developing a wearable computer, said such a device offers access to information and communication resources at any time during walking hours. "It isn't about being able to write a paper or send an e-mail while you are grocery store. It's about having digital assistance as you go about your life," he added.

Fagg's aim, ScienceDaily said, is to teach the computer to "notice" a user's routines and offer information accordingly. For instance, if the computer notices that he enters a conference room at a particular time, "it should figure out he is going to a meeting and pull out appropriate documents, including minutes of the last meeting, and notes from related discussions."

Another example offered by him: "I could tell the system I'm going to be cooking a certain recipe for dinner. The system will know what I have in the kitchen cabinets at home. If I drive near the grocery store, it wakes up and whispers, 'Don't forget to stop at the grocery store, and by the way, you need these three items for the dinner you want to cook tonight.'"

One current challenge, Fagg said, is teaching the computer to interrupt him - politely. "The machine should present information at the appropriate time, and in the appropriate way. I don't care what I need at the grocery store if I'm sitting in my office," he pointed out.

"Nor do I want it to convey information visually while I'm driving the car, although it's okay for it to occasionally whisper in my ear." It is possible to make wearable computers because microprocessors are getting smaller every year, Fagg was quoted as saying. Commercial wearable systems are already available, he says, although they are aimed at very specific industrial markets.

"The systems are becoming more stable and more comfortable," Fagg said. "Ultimately, a lot of the bulk will be gone." ScienceDaily said while some might see a wearable computer as a bit of a pest, Fagg sees it differently: "The machine doesn't nag you after the fact, when you've gotten home and forgotten to buy a gallon of milk. It reminds you to pick up the milk when you're still in a position to solve the problem."

2. E-slates for blind students

The low-cost gadget helps students learn independently

For 90 per cent of the 191 million blind in India, who so far could not afford education because of expensive software or slow methods of teaching, this could be good news. A cost-effective e-slate called Braille Writing Tutor (BWT) has been developed as part of an ongoing effort to disseminate the technology in developing countries like India.

The researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, in collaboration with Mathru School for Blind in Bangalore, have successfully tested the feasibility of the e-slate that was presented at the second International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Development last week. “This particular e-slate costs around Rs1,500 whereas the devices available in developed countries cost between Rs15,000 and Rs1 lakh. And this is a low power and a robust device,” said Tom Stepleton, one of the researchers of the project.

“The e-slate mimics a regular slate and stylus and interfaces with a computer running the software tutor. The tutor monitors a student’s writing and provides immediate audio feedback using text-to-speech synthesis that is tailored to the skill level of the students. It not only introduces the student to new concepts of learning but also enhances existing skills. It can also act as a diagnostic tool to help identify some challenging areas for the student,” explained Stepleton. The student learns dots, practices dots, letters, words, sentences and numbers, and mathematical calculations.

“A student can learn through the e-slate independently, as the software introduces a series of exercises on basic Braille writing curriculum. For instance, if a student writes ‘a’ incorrectly, the tutor assigns more exercises to practice ‘a’. If performance drops below threshold level, the voice reminds of how to write that letter by speaking a sequence of dots. This addresses the problem of shortage of trained teachers,” Stepleton described.

In developing countries, Braille is always written with a slate and stylus. Using these tools, Braille is written in reverse, from right to left, so that the page can be read from left to right when flipped over. “For blind students learning to write Braille in the reverse manner can be a formidable process. They must learn mirror images of all letters, which doubles the alphabet letters.

Feedback is delayed until the paper is flipped over and then read, so it may take significantly longer to identify mistakes and correct them. And the students may not be able to receive individual attention and guidance needed to learn. The e-slate solves all these problems,” he said.

3. Laptops for Rs 15,000 soon

Allied Computers International (Asia) Pvt Ltd is all set to rollout a laptop with a seven inch screen for Rs 15,000 by May/June 2008. According to its promoter, Hirji Kanji Patel, this would be equivalent to the Pentium 4 technology but will be ultra low on voltage. The company also plans to start 20 level 3 multi-brand chip-level laptop service centres across India by April 2008.

According to Patel, who is an NRI from UK, there is a huge market for the repair of laptops and ACi's centres would act as vertically integrated service outlets for all leading laptop brands.

4. Nokia launches new GPS enabled handset

World's largest mobile phone maker Nokia on Thursday introduced a new handset enabled with GPS and navigation functionality to cash-in on the 30-billion dollar Global Positioning System (GPS) market.

The new handset 'Nokia 6110 Navigator' has been priced at Rs 20,869 and would be available in the Indian market by the end of this year, a company statement said.

Apart from the new phone launched today, Nokia also has other GPS-enabled phones such as Nokia N95, Nokia N95 8GB, Nokia N82 and Nokia E90.

Nokia 6110 comes with pre-installed maps of eight cities including Delhi & NCR, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The users would also be able to download maps of over 150 countries on their phone.

The features of new handset include integrated maps, routing and navigation available with the click of one-touch navigator key.

5. HUMANWARE'S NEW VICTOR READER TALKING BOOK PLAYER FOR NISO AND DAISY BOOKS

At the ACB convention in July 2007 HumanWare, the world's leading supplier of the Victor Reader line of CD-based digital talking book players, unveiled its first flash-based portable talking book player, the Victor Reader Stream. The Stream is the result of extensive research in terms of design, usability, and user testing. The Stream is designed to play NISO Z39.86 books, DAISY books and MP3 books and music. NISO Z39.86 is the format that will be used for the new NLS digital talking books.

NLS is the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped which is transitioning its four‑track cassette talking book service to a new digital service. The new Victor Reader Stream will be able to play downloaded NLS NISO books as soon as NLS authorizes the player to do so. NLS NISO books are encrypted and any digital player must be authorized by NLS with a decryption code to play the NLS books. HumanWare has discussed the player authorization process with NLS. The development of the web form and NLS operational procedures are currently under way. As soon as NLS concludes this process, Victor Reader Stream users will be able to register for NLS download book service through a simple web form on the NLS web site. Once the patron is registered for NLS download book service, HumanWare will be able to supply him/her with the required software decryption code to install on the Stream. The decryption code will be sent from HumanWare through a simple e-mail attachment.

NLS also announced that it will further expand its digital service in 2008 to begin sending digital recorded books on special cartridges mailed to its members. Included in the Stream package is a short USB cable to allow the future book cartridges to be connected to the Stream and copied to the Stream's SD memory card. For users who prefer to play the cartridge directly on the player, HumanWare will sell an optional book cartridge holder that will clip to the back of the Stream. As with download books, the cartridge books may only be played on an authorized Stream player equipped with the decryption code.

As the newest member of the family of Victor Reader digital talking book players, the Stream offers the same powerful and simple to use user interface made popular by the Victor Reader Classic+ and Wave players used by thousands worldwide. Stream users will find the well known four‑arrow navigation keys of the Classic+ and Wave allowing book navigation by chapter and section without the need to memorize complex key combinations. As well, the Stream's telephone-style keypad provides advanced book navigation functions such as entering bookmarks, or jumping directly to a specified page or heading. The Stream also has the popular Key Describer feature of other Victor Readers, allowing the person to press a key anytime to announce its function.

The Stream is an ideal companion to the future NLS player because it does everything the NLS player will do, but in a pocket‑size package. Once the player is authorized, not only will the person be able to play and navigate the NLS books on cartridges but can also have access to the NLS download books. The Stream has a USB port to connect to the computer so the person can transfer downloaded books from the PC to the Stream's SD flash memory card.

In addition to the ability to read NLS books, Stream will also play recorded DAISY 2.02 books from other DAISY producers, including RFB&D. However, every day more and more books and content are becoming available in non-recorded electronic text formats. Stream also has built‑in computer text‑to‑speech to listen to the text portion of full text/full audio books or the text-only books such as those from Bookshare. The built‑in speech also provides access to text files transferred from the computer. Indeed, the Stream combines the best features of the NLS player together with the award-winning Victor Reader CD and software players to make Stream the most powerful NISO and DAISY player in the HumanWare family. As an advanced player for recorded audio, e‑text NISO and DAISY, and plain computer text, Stream is truly the complete solution in the palm of ones hand for all the work, school, or leisure reading needs.

But what about MP3 books and music? As an MP3 player, Stream will not only play the books and music but, using the built‑in text‑to‑speech, it will also announce the book, album and track names. And rounding out its versatile book reading capabilities, Stream will support the popular commercial recorded books from Audible.

Weighing in at only 6 ounces and measuring 4 ½ x 2 3/4 inches, this little player does it all. Consider a player that is not much bigger than a pack of cards that will have the ability to play NLS downloaded books and book cartridges, but will also play RFB&D books, Bookshare books, MP3 books, Audible books, computer e‑text, and MP3 music files.

Finally, the Victor Reader Stream also has a voice recording capability for students and professionals who may want to record audio notes, meetings, or lectures. Recording is possible via a built‑in microphone or external microphone connection. For listening versatility, the Stream will allow the user to vary the playback speed and listen through headphones or a small built‑in speaker.

The best news of all ‑- priced at only $329, the Stream is the best buy for a NISO and DAISY player offering so much performance and functionality at such a low price. Visit http://www.humanware.com for complete product information or call toll-free, 1‑800‑722‑3393.