Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Thursday, October 29, 2009

GazoPa Finds Images Similar to Uploads, Links, or Drawings [Image Search]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/A32WLXOY7tA/gazopa-finds-images-similar-to-uploads-links-or-drawings

Hitachi-powered image search site GazoPa (boy, they're really out of web names, no?) is a fairly robust engine for finding same or similar images. Its differentiation comes in hunting similar videos, digging through Flickr, and letting you draw your search.

Yep, you can use GazoPa's simple drawing tool to roughly outline the type of image you're looking for, and GazoPa will use its search prowess to find, well, something akin to what you scribbled. As you can see from the test result below, it knows the basic shapes and color tones you're going for, but we don't have to worry about CyberNet overtaking collective human intelligence just yet.

For images you're passing on a URL or upload for, GazoPa seems a lot more serious and useful. Hover over an image to get a good deal of info, or to perform another similar search for that picture. The Flickr integration is very useful, allowing for Creative Commons licensing filters, and video search worked for a quick Google demonstration frame I uploaded.

GazoPa is free to use, no sign-up required.

GazoPa [via TechCrunch]

Google Voice AIR App Keeps Voicemail and SMS on Your Desktop [Downloads]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/rQXJy_F6ePw/google-voice-air-app-keeps-voicemail-and-sms-on-your-desktop

Adobe AIR: If you'd like to keep quick access to your Google Voice voicemail and SMS messages handily in place on your dock or taskbar, a cross-platform app gives you exactly that by packaging up Google Voice's mobile site.

Just like on a mobile browser, Voice's interface is surprisingly spry for such a pared-down site, but it's also lightning fast running on a desktop or laptop. The app allows you to play and pause voicemail messages through your system's audio, set up calls with your hooked-up phones, and run through your contacts and search your SMS and transcription history. With Google Voice no longer requiring a new number, this little app might be a nice introduction to the service for those who don't want to commit to keeping a browser tab open all day.

Google Voice Desktop is a free download, works on any system with Adobe AIR installed.

Google Voice Desktop Application [R.stoeber Group via jkOnTheRun]

PicTranslator Turns Your iPhone's Camera into a Language Translator [Downloads]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/ILuvCxYNpL0/pictranslator-turns-your-iphones-camera-into-a-language-translator

iPhone only: Whether you've found yourself in a foreign land or you just need a little help with a foreign-language menu, snap a pic with PicTranslator and let it translate for you on the fly.

As you can see in the demo video, it works about how you'd hope. You just take a picture of the text you want translated, choose the language you want to translate from, and let PicTranslator work its magic. Once you know the (hopefully correct) translation, you can even ask PicTranslator to help you pronounce the foreign-language version.

By default you get one language with the $1 purchase of the app, but you can also purchase other language packs inside the application for roughly $1 each. I tested out the app with a Spanish menu, and the translation was fast and impressively accurate, especially when I narrowed it down to specific items.

PicTranlsator will set you back $1 in the iTunes App Store, works with the iPhone only.

PicTranslator [iTunes App Store]

VMware Fusion Updates with Excellent Windows 7 Support [Downloads]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/WOOKlJtFNSY/vmware-fusion-updates-with-excellent-windows-7-support

Mac OS X only: If you're looking to run Windows on your Mac, you've got a few options. If you want to run Windows 7 on your Mac, complete with Aero, Flip 3D, and 64-bit support, try the new VMware Fusion.

I've been aching to run Aero and other nice Windows 7 eye candy in my Windows 7 virtual machine for a while now, so upgrading to Fusion 3 has been a nice improvement to what was already a really nice 2.0 release

The catch, of course, is that VMware Fusion isn't cheap. You can try it for free, but if you decide you want to keep using it, it'll set you back $80 new, $40 if you're upgrading. It's up to you to determine whether that's worth it to get Windows 7 up and running on your Mac in all its full Aero glory.

Update: Reader Chris points out that Aero support is only offered with a minimum graphics card of the NVIDIA 8800 GT, so unfortunately it's still not for everyone.

VMware Fusion 3 [via VMware Fusion Blog]

PhotoJoy Turns Your Pictures into Screensavers, Collages, and Desktop Widgets [Downloads]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/mBzAnlSJtbA/photojoy-turns-your-pictures-into-screensavers-collages-and-desktop-widgets

Windows only: Photo gallery application PhotoJoy turns your digital pictures into collages, desktop widgets, or 3D screensavers with just a few clicks. It's the type of application that your mom would like.

Once you've installed the application and selected photo folders to add to the gallery, you can choose from a number of PhotoToys, which are just desktop widgets that show off your photos in various ways, you can activate a collage of photos on your desktop, or you can choose from one of the screensavers to show off your photos while you are away from your PC. You can browse through the web site and find more collages, widgets, and screensavers if the ones that are built in don't appeal to you. PhotoJoy is a free download for Windows only.

PhotoJoy [via TinyHacker]