Real-time speech translation for the mobile phone

Instant universal speech translation. Who doesn't know it from science-fiction series like Star Trek? But on the Mobile Voice Conference in San Francisco it appeared that this is already possible in particular situations. The company Novauris showed a software application on a mobile phone that is able to instantly translate generally used phrases. In addition, the company Fluential reviewed a system that is able to provide real-time interpretations in a hospital. These two applications are not fully developed yet, but both companies announced that they are technically ready to launch a related commercial product.

Over the past years it appeared that the complexity of different grammar and word forms made it hard to realize accurate universal translations. Novauris and Fluential didn't manage to translate all speech, but they created software which can translate quickly enough so that users are able to speak with each other at a relatively normal speed. As a result, the translation happens automatically when the user's meaning is clear enough. If it's less obvious, the application will show a standard phrase and ask the user for confirmation before it actually speaks it to the other person. This makes the conversation easier and more clear for both speakers. As a result, the software is especially useful in situations with language barriers where communication problems have to be overcome.

The software will be developed for all kinds of smartphones, like the iPhone, Windows Mobile and soon the Android OS. It is generally expected that the commercial product will be available in 2011. A comparable test with speech translating software is shown below:

Predict the future with Twitter

Predict the future with Twitter. Is this really possible? According to computer scientists it is!

For example, Twitter appears to be very suitable to predict the successfulness of new movies. Scientists developed a computer system that analyses the appearance pace of movie tweets, in order to map out the ticket sales. It turned out that looking at tweets on Twitter appears to be even more effective than using prediction sites like the Hollywood Stock Exchange. Lately, the system predicted that the movie 'The Crazies' in America would provide 16.8 million U.S. dollars in the first weekend. It turned out to be 16.1 U.S. dollars...

According to the computer scientists, this technique could also apply for any other commercial product. As a result, this might be especially interesting for businesses that doesn't make use of prediction markets yet. Moreover, it is possible to analyze trends, which can be extremely useful for marketing purposes or even to predict the results of the Dutch elections.

Twitter itself could also contribute to the commercial success of companies. Keeping the opportunities of the prediction service in mind, companies could influence the prediction results by tweeting about their own products. Fortunately, this is not so easy, because they have to maintain the balance between tweeting and spamming. However, this kind of manipulation of prediction results should not be underestimated. But for the time being, could anyone suggest who is going to be the new Dutch Prime Minister?

My enemy's enemy is my best friend

This week Google has announced its cooperation with Adobe. Google mentioned that it will integrate Adobe Flash in its web browser Chrome, and there are also plans to provide its operating system Chrome OS with Flash. This decision of Google shall not remain without consequences, since main competitor Apple has recently pointed out the approaching end of the Flash technology.

Apple

According to Apple, Flash is a technology which is too heavy and unstable for its iPhone and Ipad. As a result, Apple refuses to add the Flash plugin on its main devices. The company argues that new technologies like HTML5 and CSS3 offer the same possibilities, without these disadvantages.

Google

And now Google has made the remarkable step of integrating Flash into its web browser Chrome. The software is pre-installed, so it is not necessary for users to install the newest version themselves any more. According to Google, the main advantage is that users always have the newest version of Flash.

Rivalry

However, Google's decision can also be seen as a response to Apple's attitude towards Flash. Google's operating system Chrome OS is based on the similarly named browser. This means that devices with Chromes OS will be Flash integrated, while Apple devices like the Ipad do not support Flash. As a result, the cooperation with Adobe might help Google in its competition with Apple.

Adobe

During this rivalry between Google and Apple, Adobe benefits from the new opportunities. Together with Google it tries to integrate Flash successfully into the Chrome web browser. On the other hand, the relationship between Apple and Adobe now perhaps becomes critical. However, Adobe itself has its own striking view on the situation: My enemy's enemy is my best friend.