Saturday, October 29, 2005
Eureka moment for 'Thinking cap' dawns
Scientists have developed a 'thinking cap' that can read your thoughts and stimulate your creative power, which may eventually help paralysed patients to move robotic arms, or help sufferers of motor neuron disease to type out words on a virtual keyboard.
The device, called a brain-computer interface, detects activity in certain brain areas linked to movement, and uses the signals to mimic that movement in a virtual world. All you have to do is just to think about an activity, like walking or playing.
"Just thinking about movement activates the same neurons as actually moving," Nature quoted Gert Pfurtscheller of Graz University of Technology in Austria, who has been working on the device for around four years, as saying.
The technology detects brain waves by using electrodes placed at strategic points on the scalp; they are positioned over brain areas known to be involved in moving specific body parts. The computer can then distinguish between signals corresponding to different types of movement. By picking up on these bursts of nerve activity, it can decide whether you are thinking about moving your hands or feet, and react accordingly. The scientists tested the device by asking participants to navigate a virtual-reality studio called the Virtual Cave. The subjects sit in a square studio wearing three-dimensional goggles, which project a scene such as a street, complete with pedestrians and buildings. The computer then chooses a task for the participant: either walking forwards or moving their hands. It tells the user what to do
through sound cues.
If the person is asked to think about walking, and they do so in a way that can be picked up by the cap, the virtual character steps forwards. If they fail, the character stays still. When asked to think about moving their hands, staying still rewards successful volunteers. If they fail, the character takes a step backwards.
The scientists hope that the virtual device could help those who are unable to move to interact more easily with others, and it could even enable stroke patients to regain movement by allowing them to 'exercise' their brain's motor centres.
"If they think of moving their hand and they see a hand move, it reinforces the thought," said Pfurtscheller, adding that strengthening the mind might lead to better motor control.
The device, called a brain-computer interface, detects activity in certain brain areas linked to movement, and uses the signals to mimic that movement in a virtual world. All you have to do is just to think about an activity, like walking or playing.
"Just thinking about movement activates the same neurons as actually moving," Nature quoted Gert Pfurtscheller of Graz University of Technology in Austria, who has been working on the device for around four years, as saying.
The technology detects brain waves by using electrodes placed at strategic points on the scalp; they are positioned over brain areas known to be involved in moving specific body parts. The computer can then distinguish between signals corresponding to different types of movement. By picking up on these bursts of nerve activity, it can decide whether you are thinking about moving your hands or feet, and react accordingly. The scientists tested the device by asking participants to navigate a virtual-reality studio called the Virtual Cave. The subjects sit in a square studio wearing three-dimensional goggles, which project a scene such as a street, complete with pedestrians and buildings. The computer then chooses a task for the participant: either walking forwards or moving their hands. It tells the user what to do
through sound cues.
If the person is asked to think about walking, and they do so in a way that can be picked up by the cap, the virtual character steps forwards. If they fail, the character stays still. When asked to think about moving their hands, staying still rewards successful volunteers. If they fail, the character takes a step backwards.
The scientists hope that the virtual device could help those who are unable to move to interact more easily with others, and it could even enable stroke patients to regain movement by allowing them to 'exercise' their brain's motor centres.
"If they think of moving their hand and they see a hand move, it reinforces the thought," said Pfurtscheller, adding that strengthening the mind might lead to better motor control.
World’s first comp-free wireless camera
After a summer-long delay, Eastman Kodak Company has begun shipping the first digital camera with Wi-Fi wireless technology to e-mail photos directly to friends and family without a computer.
Users of the new EasyShare-One, priced at $599, can send photos directly through a Wi-Fi transmitter at home or work, or pay $4.99 per month to connect the camera with any of T-Mobile USA’s 6,000 hot spots at stores, airports, hotels and other establishments.
However, subscribers to other Wi-Fi services will not be able to connect an EasyShare-One to those wireless accounts.
The camera boasts 4 megapixels of resolution, 3x optical zoom, storage room for up to 1,500 photos and a 3-inch touch screen — big enough for the camera to double as a portable album.
Users of the new EasyShare-One, priced at $599, can send photos directly through a Wi-Fi transmitter at home or work, or pay $4.99 per month to connect the camera with any of T-Mobile USA’s 6,000 hot spots at stores, airports, hotels and other establishments.
However, subscribers to other Wi-Fi services will not be able to connect an EasyShare-One to those wireless accounts.
The camera boasts 4 megapixels of resolution, 3x optical zoom, storage room for up to 1,500 photos and a 3-inch touch screen — big enough for the camera to double as a portable album.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
iTunes competitor slashes song prices
A leading Australian music download provider has slashed its prices to AU$0.89 per track in an effort to deflate the local launch of iTunes Music Store.
DestraMusic.com, which powers the on-line music download sites of retailers such as Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Chaos Music, ABC and more, will sell songs for AU$0.89 cents each until the end of November, down from AU$1.89 each. The Apple iTunes Music Store sells tracks for AU$1.49. DestraMusic.com music files are sent as copy-protected Windows Media files, which means they're incompatible with iPods.
DestraMusic.com's price cut has been the most extreme reaction from Australia's established music download providers, with most cautiously welcoming the iTunes launch as a boost for the nascent industry as a whole.
Soundbuzz Australia general manager Paul Buchanan says he expects the entire music download market to expand, citing anecdotal evidence from international record labels that show sales increases of between 25 and 50 percent across the board in markets where iTunes has launched. Buchanan has, however, ruled out any price cuts, saying his company would ''not have any kneejerk reaction to iTunes". Soundbuzz powers the music download sites of Telstra BigPond, Optus and Creative, and currently sells songs for AU$1.49 from its own site, www.soundbuzz.com.
While price cuts have been limited to DestraMusic.com, other music download providers have been quick to point out their advantages over iTunes. A spokesman for Telstra BigPond Music has spruiked that their service is "locally owned, locally produced, locally focused -- not a rebadged overseas site".
"BigPond Music is differentiated by its strong commitment to promoting Australian and independent artists," Telstra BigPond spokesman Craig Middleton said.
DestraMusic.com CEO Domenic Carosa has pointed out that his company's sites include music from SonyBMG, with artists such as Pete Murray, Rogue Traders, Franz Ferdinand and Australian Idol performers on the download lists. The iTunes Music Store launched without the support of SonyBMG locally.
DestraMusic.com is also planning on introducing music videos to its site before Christmas this year. Unlike iTunes, which charges AU$3.39 for each of its music video downloads, DestraMusic.com will only allow users to stream music videos while on the site, but will not charge any money.
Until the launch of the official iTunes Music Store yesterday, Australian iPod owners had been unable to legally buy licensed digital music as most of the other on-line providers used the iPod-incompatible Windows Media format. Copy protected Windows Media files, however, can be played on most other players, such as models from Creative, Samsung, JNC and more recently Sony. iPod owners have been able to use DestraMusic's free download site for unsigned and independent artists, MP3.com.au. MP3.com.au sends its music files as unprotected MP3s.
DestraMusic.com, which powers the on-line music download sites of retailers such as Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Chaos Music, ABC and more, will sell songs for AU$0.89 cents each until the end of November, down from AU$1.89 each. The Apple iTunes Music Store sells tracks for AU$1.49. DestraMusic.com music files are sent as copy-protected Windows Media files, which means they're incompatible with iPods.
DestraMusic.com's price cut has been the most extreme reaction from Australia's established music download providers, with most cautiously welcoming the iTunes launch as a boost for the nascent industry as a whole.
Soundbuzz Australia general manager Paul Buchanan says he expects the entire music download market to expand, citing anecdotal evidence from international record labels that show sales increases of between 25 and 50 percent across the board in markets where iTunes has launched. Buchanan has, however, ruled out any price cuts, saying his company would ''not have any kneejerk reaction to iTunes". Soundbuzz powers the music download sites of Telstra BigPond, Optus and Creative, and currently sells songs for AU$1.49 from its own site, www.soundbuzz.com.
While price cuts have been limited to DestraMusic.com, other music download providers have been quick to point out their advantages over iTunes. A spokesman for Telstra BigPond Music has spruiked that their service is "locally owned, locally produced, locally focused -- not a rebadged overseas site".
"BigPond Music is differentiated by its strong commitment to promoting Australian and independent artists," Telstra BigPond spokesman Craig Middleton said.
DestraMusic.com CEO Domenic Carosa has pointed out that his company's sites include music from SonyBMG, with artists such as Pete Murray, Rogue Traders, Franz Ferdinand and Australian Idol performers on the download lists. The iTunes Music Store launched without the support of SonyBMG locally.
DestraMusic.com is also planning on introducing music videos to its site before Christmas this year. Unlike iTunes, which charges AU$3.39 for each of its music video downloads, DestraMusic.com will only allow users to stream music videos while on the site, but will not charge any money.
Until the launch of the official iTunes Music Store yesterday, Australian iPod owners had been unable to legally buy licensed digital music as most of the other on-line providers used the iPod-incompatible Windows Media format. Copy protected Windows Media files, however, can be played on most other players, such as models from Creative, Samsung, JNC and more recently Sony. iPod owners have been able to use DestraMusic's free download site for unsigned and independent artists, MP3.com.au. MP3.com.au sends its music files as unprotected MP3s.
Google turns to libraries
Tony Sanfilippo is of two minds when it comes to Google Inc.’s ambitious programme to scan millions of books and make their text fully searchable on the Internet.
Under the Print Library Project, Google is scanning millions of copyright books from libraries at Harvard, Michigan and Stanford along with out-of-copyright materials there and at two other libraries.
Google has unilaterally set this rule: Publishers can tell it which books not to scan at all, similar to how website owners can request to be left out of search engine indexes. In August, the company halted the scanning of copyright books until November 1, saying it wanted to give publishers time to compile their lists.But publishers aren’t submitting all their titles, and many of the titles Google wants to scan are out of print and belong to no publisher at all.
On the one hand, Sanfilippo credits the programme for boosting sales of obscure titles at Penn State University Press, where he works. On the other, he’s worried that Google’s plans to create digital copies of books obtained directly from libraries could hurt his industry’s long-term revenues.
With Google’s book-scanning programme set to resume in earnest this fall, copyright laws that long preceded the Internet look to be headed for a digital-age test.
The outcome could determine how easy it will be for people with Internet access to benefit from knowledge that’s now mostly locked up, in books sitting on dusty library shelves, many of them out of print.
‘’More and more people are expecting access, and they are making do with what they can get easy access to,’’ said Brewster Kahle, co-founder of the Internet Archive, which runs smaller book-scanning projects, mostly for out-of-copyright works. ‘’Let’s make it so that they find great works rather than whatever just happens to be on the Net.’’
To prevent the wholesale file-sharing that is plaguing the entertainment industry, Google has set some limits in its library project: Users won’t be able to easily print materials or read more than small portions of copyright works online.
Google also says it will send readers hungry for more directly to booksellers and libraries. Many publishers’ remain wary.
“To endorse Google’s library initiative is to say it’s okay to break into my house because you’re going to clean my kitchen,’’ said Sally Morris, chief executive of the UK-based Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers.
“Just because you do something that’s not harmful or (is) beneficial doesn’t make it legal,’’ she added.
Morris and other publishers believe Google must get their permission first, as it has under the Print Publisher Program it launched in October 2004, two months before announcing the library initiative.
Google has deals with most major US and UK publishers. It scans titles they submit, displays digital images of selected pages triggered by search queries and gives publishers a cut of revenues from ad displays.
Under the Print Library Project, Google is scanning millions of copyright books from libraries at Harvard, Michigan and Stanford along with out-of-copyright materials there and at two other libraries.
Google has unilaterally set this rule: Publishers can tell it which books not to scan at all, similar to how website owners can request to be left out of search engine indexes. In August, the company halted the scanning of copyright books until November 1, saying it wanted to give publishers time to compile their lists.But publishers aren’t submitting all their titles, and many of the titles Google wants to scan are out of print and belong to no publisher at all.
On the one hand, Sanfilippo credits the programme for boosting sales of obscure titles at Penn State University Press, where he works. On the other, he’s worried that Google’s plans to create digital copies of books obtained directly from libraries could hurt his industry’s long-term revenues.
With Google’s book-scanning programme set to resume in earnest this fall, copyright laws that long preceded the Internet look to be headed for a digital-age test.
The outcome could determine how easy it will be for people with Internet access to benefit from knowledge that’s now mostly locked up, in books sitting on dusty library shelves, many of them out of print.
‘’More and more people are expecting access, and they are making do with what they can get easy access to,’’ said Brewster Kahle, co-founder of the Internet Archive, which runs smaller book-scanning projects, mostly for out-of-copyright works. ‘’Let’s make it so that they find great works rather than whatever just happens to be on the Net.’’
To prevent the wholesale file-sharing that is plaguing the entertainment industry, Google has set some limits in its library project: Users won’t be able to easily print materials or read more than small portions of copyright works online.
Google also says it will send readers hungry for more directly to booksellers and libraries. Many publishers’ remain wary.
“To endorse Google’s library initiative is to say it’s okay to break into my house because you’re going to clean my kitchen,’’ said Sally Morris, chief executive of the UK-based Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers.
“Just because you do something that’s not harmful or (is) beneficial doesn’t make it legal,’’ she added.
Morris and other publishers believe Google must get their permission first, as it has under the Print Publisher Program it launched in October 2004, two months before announcing the library initiative.
Google has deals with most major US and UK publishers. It scans titles they submit, displays digital images of selected pages triggered by search queries and gives publishers a cut of revenues from ad displays.
Software that turns writings into 3D images
Scientists have developed a software that can turn written languages into 3D images. Researchers led by Pierre Nugues at Lund University in Sweden have developed the software called 'CarSim' that analyses eyewitness accounts of an incident - in Swedish - to determine the positions of the vehicles and people involved, reports New Scientist.
"It is able to cope with potentially ambiguous statements like 'it overtook without signalling' by looking at their context to work out what the word 'it' relates to," the report said.
The software can interpret everyday written language, used to turn descriptions of an event such as a road accident, into 3D images.
The researchers hope it will help people visualise a complex chain of events such as the build-up to an accident, or as a training aid to teach drivers about safe driving.
"It is able to cope with potentially ambiguous statements like 'it overtook without signalling' by looking at their context to work out what the word 'it' relates to," the report said.
The software can interpret everyday written language, used to turn descriptions of an event such as a road accident, into 3D images.
The researchers hope it will help people visualise a complex chain of events such as the build-up to an accident, or as a training aid to teach drivers about safe driving.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
A Personal Thought on Google Talk
Yet another product from Google, and yet another killer application. I have used this and the sound quality is simply awesome. Beats every other voice call application on the internet. However, its still early days and only time will tell if Google Talk can last the competition.
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