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Sci-Fi

Submission + - Does This Headline Know You're Reading It? (hplusmagazine.com) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: "Not yet, but it could." German artificial intelligence researchers are combining JavaScript with eye-tracking hardware to create "text 2.0," which "infers user intentions." Unimportant words also fade out while you're skimming the text, and a bookmark automatically appears if you glance away. It can pronounce the words you're reading, and reading certain words can trigger the appearance of footnotes or even translations, biographies, definitions, and sound effects or animations, almost like the truly interactive books in Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age. "With the help of an eye tracker, Text 2.0 follows your progress and presents effects just in time," the researchers explain in a video. Meanwhile, DFKI has already created a free "Processing Easy Eye Tracker plugin" (or PEEP) to manipulate windows with what they call "gaze-controlled tab expose," while there's speculation similar technology may be adopted by Apple. Apple has already purchased Tobii's eye-tracking hardware, and "Whether these are for internal research only or for a future product, Apple is characteristically not saying.
Patents

Submission + - Amazon 1-Click Patent Survives Almost Unscathed (patentlyo.com)

Submitted by Zordak
Zordak writes: Amazon's infamous "1-click" patent has been in reexamination at the USPTO for almost four years. Patently-O now reports that "the USPTO confirmed the patentability of original claims 6-10 and amended claims 1-5 and 11-26. The approved-of amendment adds the seeming trivial limitation that the one-click system operates as part of a 'shopping cart model.' Thus, to infringe the new version of the patent, an eCommerce retailer must use a shopping cart model (presumably non-1-click) alongside of the 1-click version. Because most retail eCommerce sites still use the shopping cart model, the added limitation appears to have no practical impact on the patent scope."
Games

Submission + - Previews of Civilization V (ign.com)

Submitted by c0mpliant
c0mpliant writes: IGN and Gamespot have released a preview of the recently announced and eagerly awaited Civilization V. Apart from the obvious new hexagon shape of tiles and improved graphics, the article goes on to outline some of the major changes in the game, such as updated AI, new "flavors" to world leaders and a potentially game changing, one unit per tile system. No more will the stack of doom come to your cities doorsteps.

Some features which will not be making a returning will be religion and espionage. The removal of these two have sparked a frenzy of discussion on fan related forums.

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"Most of us, when all is said and done, like what we like and make up reasons for it afterwards." -- Soren F. Petersen

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