Slashdot is powered by your submissions, so send in your scoop

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×
Apple

Submission + - Finally, Apple TV's carpet matches the drapes (thetechblock.com)

thetechblock writes: "Cupertino’s revamped Apple TV was all but drowned out at last week’s media event, not because it was underwhelming, but because it had the misfortune of sharing the stage with the event’s main act: the iPad 3. But as impressive as the new Apple TV is — and with an A5 chip that can handle 1080p streams, it’s certainly impressive — I’m more interested in the iOS-like interface Apple rolled out along with it."
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft shows off universal translator (extremetech.com)

MrSeb writes: "Microsoft Research has shown off software that translates your spoken words into another language while preserving the accent, timbre, and intonation of your actual voice. In a demo of the prototype software, Rick Rashid, Microsoft’s chief research officer, said a long sentence in English, and then had it translated into Spanish, Italian, and Mandarin. You can definitely hear an edge of digitized “Microsoft Sam,” but overall it’s remarkable how the three translations still sound just like Rashid. The translation requires an hour of training, but after that there's no reason why it couldn't be run in real time on a smartphone, or near-real-time with a cloud backend. Imagine this tech in a two-way setup. You speak into your smartphone, and it comes out in their language. Then, the person you’re talking to speaks into your smartphone and their voice comes out in your language."
Technology

Submission + - SXSW: Marketing agency uses homeless as Wi-Fi hotspots (ibtimes.co.uk)

An anonymous reader writes: Marketing agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) has launched a controversial charity scheme at this year's South by Southwest festival, in which homeless people are being used to provide Wi-Fi hotspots.
The project, Homeless Hotspots, seeks to address people's need for a high-speed data connection at the festival in Austin, Texas, by issuing the homeless with T-shirts that say "I am a 4G hotspot".

Comment Re:As a Philadelphian who rides SEPTA Daily... (Score 3, Interesting) 805

Considering how many people in Philadelphia have criminal convictions, I don't feel like playing therapist to baby-momma-drama. It's easier to just shut them down. If you want your bars back, then step off the subway and talk on the platform and get on the next train.

Comment As a Philadelphian who rides SEPTA Daily... (Score 3, Interesting) 805

I can tell you with what joy it is to live in a city where listening to B-grade hip hop music on tinny cell phone speakers is the norm. That you can't stop, but when I have to be subjected to a very lengthy screaming match between baby-momma and her baby-daddy, with a push of a button I can cut that nonsense out. If you want to do that nonsense, then get off the train at the next stop and have your bitch fest there.

I can't do much about the panhandlers that pass through the trains hocking bootleg DVDs, scented oils or begging for quarters, but I CAN do something about the chaff of society who can't keep their Jerry Springer drama to themselves, and so I shut them down with a jammer. If an emergency crops up, I turn the device off.

Television

Submission + - A brief history of the TV remote control. (technologizer.com)

harrymcc writes: "TV remote controls certainly aren't the most high-profile of gizmos, but they're among the longest-lived and most pervasive. And they've evolved a lot in their sixty years. I've compiled a quick guide to notable models, from 1950s's Lazy Bones to the first infrared model to the first universal remote (designed by Woz!) to Peel, a new remote that's actually an iPhone app."
Microsoft

Submission + - The case against Ballmer (businessweek.com)

UnknowingFool writes: Greenlight Capital President David Greenhorn publicly called for Microsoft to replace Ballmer. Under Ballmer's 11 year tenure, the stock price has stagnated around $30 per share; this is weak especially compared against other tech giants. During this time, MS has seen its problems like the Vista debacle, the failure of costly products like the Zune and Kin, and the exodus of top management like J. Allard. Besides the core products of OS and Office, MS has not expanded into new markets and met with financial success.

While MS is still extremely profitable, investors want growth. Tech analysts see MS as increasingly reactionary rather than proactive in new markets and trends. Inside MS, there has been a growing dissatisfaction with Ballmer if the posts at mini-Microsoft are representative. Personally I think Ballmer is a decent manager which is fine if he was COO. As CEO, I think he's lacked the vision and direction that MS needs.

Microsoft

Submission + - Windows 1.0: The power of DOS, plus tiled windows (networkworld.com)

jbrodkin writes: "I'd always wanted my own working copy of the elusive Windows 1.0, and after a few failed attempts I got one working in a virtual machine (I had to downgrade from the latest version of Windows Virtual PC to an earlier version to get it started, but that's another story). With 416K free memory, we were able to cruise through Reversi, take a look at the first version of Notepad, as well as the now-defunct Microsoft Write, and create a "masterpiece" in Microsoft Paint. Eventually, applications started crashing, but a simple reboot got it working again. All in all, a nice tour through computing history. Anyone have a copy of the first Macintosh OS they want to send me?"

Slashdot Top Deals

UNIX was not designed to stop you from doing stupid things, because that would also stop you from doing clever things. -- Doug Gwyn

Working...