Friday, March 19, 2010

Dial Zero Connects to Customer Service Humans [Downloads]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5497192/dial-zero-connects-to-customer-service-humans

Dial Zero Connects to Customer Service Humans iPhone/Android/BlackBerry: When you're driving or traveling, that's when you don't want to wait on hold or talk to an automated phone system. The Dial Zero mobile app has a database of buttons and phrases that will cut to the chase.

There are online databases, like GetHuman, and even apps like previously mentioned Fonolo that promise to patch you right into where you want to be in a customer service tree. Dial Zero is a less complicated mobile app that has a database of more than 600 companies and the buttons to hit, or phrases to say, that gets you to a real customer service representative right from the get go. Explore around, and you'll be amazed at the vast variety of schemes and phrases in place: hit 0, hit 7, say "Speak to someone," or try to say "I need help," without sounding too desperate.

Dial Zero is a free download for iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry phones.

Dial Zero [NextMobileWeb via Daring Fireball]

Cablevision bumps Comcast to the back, 3D sports at home starts next week

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/cablevision-bumps-comcast-to-the-back-3d-sports-at-home-starts/

Just as Comcast leapfrogged DirecTV's 3D plans, its claim to the first live HD 3D event has been stolen away by Cablevision, which will broadcast a Rangers/Islanders NHL matchup Wednesday, shown both in a special viewing party in the Theater at Madison Square Garden and on iO TV channel 1300 (if you already have a 3DTV but not Cablevision then keep an eye on your channel guide as, like the Masters broadcast, it may be shared with other networks.) While this is probably just the beginning of another FCC battle over who it will have to share the broadcasts with, MSG is just focusing on keeping a trend going since it was one of the first to jump on HDTV production of NBA and NHL games way back in 1998 and plans to keep 3D broadcasts coming over the next year with more games and concerts. Production is being handled by 3ality Digital, previously responsible for the BCS game that turned some of our preconceived notions about 3D with its BCS National Championship broadcast a little over a year ago, which plans to use 5 cameras from a lower angle than usual to resemble the perspective of the actual players -- minus concussion-inducing blindside hits to the head. Anyone willing to host a viewing party? We're totally down to bring snacks... if you'll cover our 3D glasses.

[Thanks, William & Vinny]

Cablevision bumps Comcast to the back, 3D sports at home starts next week originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP Slate Priced At $540 With June Launch Date According To Leaks [Hp Slate]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5497174/hp-slate-priced-at-540-with-june-launch-date-according-to-leaks

HP Slate Priced At 0 With June Launch Date According To Leaks Well, they've succeeded in coming in at under $630, but even so the €400 ($542) price rumored for the Slate is still too much when it's coming up against the $499 iPad.

The price comes via the Spanish Clipset site, so isn't confirmed or anything—though they are saying it'll support Flash, run on an Atom chip and will have a USB port, memory card reader and webcam (albeit on the back.)

Launch details seem to suggest June, or "before September" for Europe. [Clipset via Engadget Spanish via Engadget]

Millward Brown found that less than 15% of ads 'went viral' - depends on how you define "viral" whether it's 15% or 0% http://bit.ly/9HAAX1

Video: Fastest Book Scanner Ever Captures Flipping Pages with High-Speed Camera

Source: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-03/video-blazing-fast-book-scanner-captures-flipping-pages-high-speed-camera

The technology blows away the competition by scanning 200 pages a minute

A new super-fast book-scanning technology could make publishers cringe even more than when they heard about Google Book Search. A University of Tokyo researcher has developed a "book flipping scanning" method that does exactly what it sounds like, digitizing 200 pages per minute, according to IEEE Spectrum. The Japanese researchers hope to enable a digital library for Japanese manga comics.

The scanner's camera runs at 500 frames per second, and captures rapidly flipping book pages in two modes. First, a regular line shines on the page to capture text and images. The second mode then manages neat the trick of reconstructing the curved, distorted pages in their original form. A laser device projects lines onto each page that the system can use to recreate the 3-D page model and correct the deformed lines.

Google's own proprietary book-scanning technology seems to use some sort of infrared camera to capture the 3-D shape of book pages, but the book lies flat and the page-turning mechanism is unclear. Other book scanners boast of capturing about 50 pages per minute, which is four times slower than the new method.

Masatoshi Ishikawa -- the University of Tokyo researcher behind the book-scanning marvel -- previously developed the fastest robot hands in the East, so he's probably not too worried about tiring out human hands by flipping book pages.

Miniaturized versions of this technology could eventually find their way into our smartphones for completely legal digitizing delights. Or it might combine with the robot hands to bring Short Circuit's Johnny 5 to life.

[via IEEE Spectrum]

All URL Shorteners Are Not Equal; Pick a Speedy and Reliable One [URL Hacking]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5496415/all-url-shorteners-are-not-equal-pick-a-speedy-and-reliable-one

URL shorteners are great for minimizing URLs in a Twitter message or keeping links clean in an email, but as convenient as they are they do introduce an extra point of failure. WatchMouse, a monitoring organization, highlights the best.

A Dutch web-monitoring company, WatchMouse, monitored popular URL shortening services for a period of one month and then analyzed the results. They found a significant amount of variance in the quality of services with 100% uptime and low latency on one end and shaky uptime and long latency on the other.

Shortening service Snurl, for example, had the lowest uptime of any of the services. Only Goo.gl and Twt.tl had 100% uptime. Latency was an issue for many of the shorteners but none quite as bad as Facebook's shortener Fb.me—nearly ten times as slow as the fastest shortener, Goo.gl.

At the moment Google's URL shortener is clearly dominating the market with perfect up time and extreme responsiveness—learn how you can use Goo.gl without a Google account or Google Toolbar here—but since it may not always be so WatchMouse set up a publicly accessible monitoring page to track URL shortening services. You can read the article at the link below or jump to the current monitoring stats here.

URL Shorteners Make the Web Substantially Slower; Facebooks' fb.me is Slowest [WatchMouse via Mashable]

All Giz Wants: A Google Set Top Box That Doesn't Suck [Google]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5496708/all-giz-wants-a-google-set-top-box-that-doesnt-suck

Google's upcoming set top box has great pedigree: It's Android-based OS, Sony and Intel are building the guts and design and Logitech doing what Logitech does best (input devices). So please, please, please don't screw this up.

Right now we know very little. We know it's Android-based and will have the Chrome web browser. We don't whether it's going to be the full Chrome browser, the Webkit-based mobile browser on Android or some hybrid of the two. Roku's CEO understandably tried to pump up the potential price of a Google TV, saying that it would cost $200+ if it were entirely browser-based, like ChromeOS, compared to the $80 of his own machine. But hey, couldn't this thing cost less with Intel and Sony's scale of manufacture, and ads subsiding the entire thing?

So we're left filling in the holes ourselves. Here's what we want.

The Googly features

For it to be a Google set top box as people imagine it, it really needs to have access to Google's resources. That's the reason why a heavy gmail and gcal users would get an Android phone versus any other phone.

• Really good YouTube support: Many devices support YouTube, like TiVo or Boxee or the PS3 (via the browser), but none are really as good as watching something on your computer, believe it or not. It's mostly down to the input device. If Logitech can make a remote/keyboard that has all the correct buttons and shortcuts for YouTube, this'll be a winner. And of course, you'd be able to buy/rent Youtube hosted hollywood movies through the device.
• Gmail, Gchat (including voice and video, so this requires USB webcam support), Gmaps, Gdocs, Picasa, GReader and all the other supported apps on Android. This theoretically shouldn't be a problem, since there will be some sort of Chrome browser on board. It's just a matter of making a comfortable 10 foot interface (and keyboard, if you're going to be typing) so it's not just WebTV 2010. This is a worrying point, since Google's always done data driven design analysis, which has turned out useful, but not very slick, interfaces.

• Android apps: Google has limited access to their Android Marketplace for devices that run Android (tablets, the Nook) but aren't actually Android phones. Lessen the restriction so we can get some of the 30,000 Android apps onto the platform and this'll be THE set top box.

General media set top box features

Having YouTube and a browser on your set top box is fine, but set top boxes are for TVs, aren't they? And what you really want to do on your TV is watch video, which is why Google needs to step beyond just hooking up their own products to the box and expand into other video delivery.

• Hulu, plus support for various segmented online streaming video, like cbs.com, abc.com and Daily Show/Colbert Report websites. This shouldn't be a problem provided Google also has Flash support on their set top box Chrome browser, but you never know these days
• Netflix Watch Now!
• Local streaming: Google may want everything streamed from the ~~web~~ cloud, but not everyone has the pipes to support full quality video. So local network streaming, yes please
• Good codec support: A corollary of local streaming, but in order to watch all the proper codecs, containers and so forth (DivX, XviD, h.264, MKV, etc) you'll have to support them. This isn't a problem anymore, since just about all the network streamers are hopping on board with the latest file types
• Media Center Extender: Being able to act as an extender to Microsoft's Windows Media Center—which lets you have access to cable TV, but without having have a fat box next to the TV with CableCARD support—would bridge internet video well with traditional broadcast video. It also means paying Microsoft money to license the tech, if Microsoft will even allow Google the privilege. But having all those features PLUS what amounts to a TiVo experience in one box would make this a must buy, assuming the price was low enough.

The other, weirder, component to this rumor is that Sony wants to embed this Android set top box tech in its TVs and "appliances", which is vague and broad. TVs are obvious, since the easy way of making your TV brand more worthwhile is shoving software components that let it do much more than just be a TV. The appliances bit might be something as simple as a small LCD-based kitchen computer, or a set top box of their own, or even putting this inside their PS3. All our wishlist items stand for Sony's version too, except it also comes with an item about Sony not proprietarying it to death.

Making Water Run Uphill, With Lasers [Water]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5496727/making-water-run-uphill-with-lasers

Making Water Run Uphill, With Lasers Researchers at the University of Rochester have discovered how to make liquid overcome gravity and flow upward along a silicon surface. The essential ingredient, as always: lasers.

The scientists achieved the curious movement by using short laser blasts to carve imperceptible patterns into the silicon sheet. That alone prompts the water molecules to climb upward, without any additional aid:

Unlike a straw, though, there is no outside pressure pushing the liquid up; it rises on its own accord. By creating nanometer-scale structures in silicon, Guo greatly increases the attraction that water molecules feel toward it. The attraction, or hydrophile, of the silicon becomes so great, in fact, that it overcomes the strong bond that water molecules feel for other water molecules.

Thus, instead of sticking to each other, the water molecules climb over one another for a chance to be next to the silicon. (This might seem like getting energy for free, but even though the water rises, thus gaining potential energy, the chemical bonds holding the water to the silicon require a lower energy than the ones holding the water molecules to other water molecules.) The water rushes up the surface at speeds of 3.5 cm per second.

A fun party trick, but are there practical applications? Actually, yes! This could be the first step towards new heat regulation strategies for computers. Instead of fans, we may see liquid cooling systems thanks to silicon that can pump its own coolant. That method would be more energy efficient, cost effective, and most importantly a heckuva lot more lasery.

As has been pointed out in the comments, the image above is an optical illusion and here for illustrative purposes only. [University of Rochester via CrunchGear]

Invisibility Cloak Project Becomes More Realistic [Science]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5497136/invisibility-cloak-project-becomes-more-realistic

Invisibility Cloak Project Becomes More Realistic Invisibility cloak project is back on! It's from a different team of scientists that were using silver-plated nanoparticles in water though, with these latest Harry Potter enthusiasts using photonic metamaterials to change light rays.

The idea is to cloak an object and disguise it with the use of light rays, like a "carpet mirror", as described in the Science publication by Tolga Ergin, a scientist from the German Karlsruhe Institute of Technology working on the project.

Using polymer crystals with minuscule rods, Ergin found success with his "invisible cloak," making it invisible to light wavelengths:

"By changing the thickness of the rods, you can change the ratio of air to polymer.

Since the refractive index of air is about one and the refractive index of the polymer is about 1.52, in principle, we can get any refractive index between those two numbers"

Anyone looking at the object assumes the area is flat, and that there's nothing hidden there—and it could theoretically hide any object, even a house. There are obviously limitations involved with the science, not least the length of time it takes to create the 3D cloaking structure. [BBC]

Dell rolls out Vostro 230 Slim Tower, Mini Tower desktops

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/18/dell-rolls-out-vostro-230-slim-tower-mini-tower-desktops/

They may not be quite as sleek as their latest laptop counterpart, but Dell's two new Vostro 230 desktops are both at least fairly compact and, most importantly, cheap. Available in both Slim Tower or Mini Tower form factors, the desktops start at just $389 or $299, respectively, but can of course be upgraded significantly from there, including processors up to a 3.0GHz Core 2 Quad Q9650, a maximum 4GB of RAM, up to 2TB of storage (from two 1TB drives), and your choice of NVIDIA GeForce G310 or GeForce GT220 graphics (in addition to the standard integrated option). Hit up the link below to configure one for yourself.

Dell rolls out Vostro 230 Slim Tower, Mini Tower desktops originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia's Design by Community makes smartphone concepting a multiplayer game, with limits

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/18/nokias-design-by-community-makes-smartphone-concepting-a-multip/

Nokia's community blog has opened up the crowdsourcing floodgates, at least in theory. For "Design by Community," users will be able to vote on smartphone features via a series of sliders, although within an arbitrary point allotment system. A new poll opens next week for size and shape, followed by materials, operating system (Symbian or MeeGo being the only choices, unsurprisingly), and so on in the weeks that follow, with the last poll starting April 26th. After that, a concept sketch will be voted on and later rendered -- but no plans to ever have it made into an actual retail product (boo). We can't exactly say we understand all the selections here: why is a touchscreen keyboard less ambitious than T9 text entry? Does saying capacitive is more ambitious than resistive serve as a subtle hint of trends to come? What in the world is the difference between hot key and one touch? It's interesting to see how X6, N900, N97 all come out as a Perfect Mixes, while last year's E75 and the more recent C5 all straddle the "less than ambitious" line. Oh, and just so we're clear... a 5-inch, 21:9 ratio display without touchscreen but with a touchscreen keyboard is a perfect mix. Go figure.

[Thanks, Pratik V]

Nokia's Design by Community makes smartphone concepting a multiplayer game, with limits originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Marvell pitches $99 Moby Tablet as textbook alternative

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/marvell-pitches-99-moby-tablet-as-textbook-alternative/

When chipmaker Marvell told us its technology would power $99 smartphones, we took the company at its word. We weren't expecting a sub-$100, 10-inch tablet PC, however -- and we definitely weren't expecting Marvell itself to build it. Marketed at students looking to lighten their textbook load, the Marvell Moby will be an "always-on, high performance multimedia tablet" capable of full Flash support and 1080p HD playback -- thanks to those nifty Armada 600 series processors -- and supporting WiFi, Bluetooth, FM radio, GPS and both Android and Windows Mobile platforms for maximum flexibility. No release date has yet been announced; like the OLPC, Marvell will introduce the Moby in pilot programs at participating at-risk schools. While it's far too early to say if the Moby will be the universal educational e-reader Marvell hopes (that depends on software), it's certainly an intriguing device for the price, and we'll admit we're a touch jealous of those kids who'll first get to try one.

Marvell pitches $99 Moby Tablet as textbook alternative originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 and 470 specs and pricing emerge

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/nvidia-geforce-gtx-480-and-470-specs-and-pricing-emerge/

We're only a week away from their grand unveiling, but already we've got word of the specs for NVIDIA's high end GTX 480 and GTX 470 cards. Priced at $499, the 480 will offer 480 shader processors, a 384-bit interface to 1.5GB of onboard GDDR5 RAM, and clock speeds of 700MHz, 1,401MHz, and 1,848MHz for the core, shaders and memory, respectively. The 470 makes do with 446 SPs, slower clocks, and a 320-bit memory interface, but it's also priced at a more sensible $349. The TDPs of these cards are pretty spectacular too, with 225W for the junior model and 295W for the full-fat card. Sourced by VR Zone, these numbers are still unofficial, but they do look to mesh well with what we already know of the hardware, including a purported 5-10 percent benchmarking advantage for the GTX 480 over ATI's HD 5870. Whether the price and power premium is worth it will be up to you and the inevitable slew of reviews to decide.

[Thanks, Sean]

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 and 470 specs and pricing emerge originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PowerColor jumps on the Eyefinity bandwagon, breaks off a wheel

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/powercolor-jumps-on-the-eyefinity-bandwagon-breaks-off-a-wheel/

Sure, the Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition is the latest and greatest in desktop multi-monitor solutions, but if you happen to be hexaphobic (or financially challenged, perhaps) you'll need something a wee bit smaller. To that end, PowerColor just introduced the Radeon HD 5770 Eyefinity 5. With a whole one less mini-DisplayPort than its heftier cousin, the Eyefinity 5 has all the mid-range muscle of a regular Radeon 5770 -- down to the megahertz, we checked -- but has five independent display controllers for that wrap-around HD monitor matrix you've always dreamed of. Whether the 5770 can actually run games across five monitors is another question, but we expect that reviews of just that functionality will surface (along with pricing, availability, dongles, and everything else that wasn't in the press release) well before you count to seven.

PowerColor jumps on the Eyefinity bandwagon, breaks off a wheel originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP Slate priced at â¬400 for June launch, Atom CPU confirmed?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/hp-slate-priced-at-400-for-june-launch-atom-cpu-confirmed/

Reputable Spanish publication Clipset has the first concrete report on pricing and internal specs for HP's Slate. Seemingly obtained from HP itself, the €400 ($546) price tag positions the Slate a notch above netbooks and bodes well for the expectation that it'll undercut the iPad's entry level pricing. Straight currency conversations are inadvisable in such situations, so we'll just have to wait until official stickers for the iPad in Europe are known or HP announces US prices for the Slate. Further info includes an Atom CPU, Flash support, USB connectivity, a memory card reader, and a back-mounted webcam (see it after the break). The launch of this Windows 7 device is slated for June, while retail availability in Europe is said to be expected at some point "before September." It's not clear what all that means for the US, but we doubt HP will be making its home turf wait longer than the rest of the world. Rest assured, we'll be reaching out to HP HQ before they've had their first cup of green tea to find out.

Continue reading HP Slate priced at €400 for June launch, Atom CPU confirmed?

HP Slate priced at €400 for June launch, Atom CPU confirmed? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 06:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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