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Huawei Ascend G710 press render leaks out, details still sparse
Huawei has released plenty of devices between CES and MWC, but there are surely more in the pipeline as press images of a Huawei Ascend G710 leaked out today. Like so many devices nowadays, the G710 is going to have a 5-inch display, but this one will purportedly have just 720x1280 resolution. That's quite a bit lower than the previously-announced Ascend D2 from Huawei, which has a full 1080P panel. The G710 will have capacitive keys at the bottom of the screen though, which leaves physically more space on the screen than the D2.
The only other known spec is a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, which is a Huawei staple lately. No other specs, availability or pricing is coming out on this one just yet, but we would be surprised if it ever hit the U.S. market.
Source: @evleaks; Via: Engadget
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Can your breath identify stress?
Feb. 27, 2013 ? The perennial stress-buster -- a deep breath -- could become stress-detector, claims a team of researchers from the UK. According to a new pilot study, published February 28, in IOP Publishing's Journal of Breath Research, there are six markers in the breath that could be candidates for use as indicators of stress.
The researchers hope that findings such as these could lead to a quick, simple and non-invasive test for measuring stress; however, the study, which involved just 22 subjects, would need to be scaled-up to include more people, over a wider range of ages and in more "normal" settings, before any concrete conclusions can be made, they state.
Lead-author of the study, Professor Paul Thomas, said: "If we can measure stress objectively in a non-invasive way, then it may benefit patients and vulnerable people in long-term care who find it difficult to disclose stress responses to their carers, such as those suffering from Alzheimer's."
The study, undertaken by researchers at Loughborough University and Imperial College London, involved 22 young adults (10 male and 12 female) who each took part in two sessions: in the first, they were asked to sit comfortably and listen to non-stressful music; in the second, they were asked to perform a common mental arithmetic test that has been designed to induce stress.
A breath test was taken before and after each session, whilst heart-rates and blood pressures were recorded throughout. The breath samples were examined using a technique known as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and then statistically analysed and compared to a library of compounds.
Two compounds in the breath -- 2-methyl, pentadecane and indole -- increased following the stress exercise which, if confirmed, the researchers believe could form the basis of a rapid test.
A further four compounds were shown to decrease with stress, which could be due to changes in breathing patterns.
"What is clear from this study is that we were not able to discount stress. It seems sensible and prudent to test this work with more people over a range of ages in more normal settings.
"We will need to think carefully about experimental design in order to explore this potential relationship further as there are ethical issues to consider when deliberately placing volunteers under stress. Any follow up study would need to be led by experts in stress," Professor Thomas continued.
Breath profiling has become an attractive diagnostic method for clinicians, and recently researchers have found biomarkers associated with tuberculosis, multiple cancers, pulmonary disease and asthma. It is still unclear how to best manage external factors, such as diet, environment and exercise, which can affect a person's breath sample.
"It is possible that stress markers in the breath could mask or confound other key compounds that are used to diagnose a certain disease or condition, so it is important that these are accounted for," said Professor Thomas.
The researcher's initial assumptions are that stressed people breathe faster and have increased pulse rates and an elevated blood-pressure, which is likely to change their breath profile. They emphasise, however, that it is too soon to postulate the biological origins and the roles of the compounds as part of a stress-sensitive response.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Institute of Physics.
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Journal Reference:
- M A Turner, S Bandelow, L Edwards, P Patel, H J Martin, I D Wilson, C L P Thomas. The effect of a paced auditory serial addition test (PASAT) intervention on the profile of volatile organic compounds in human breath: a pilot study. Journal of Breath Research, 2013; 7 (1): 017102 DOI: 10.1088/1752-7155/7/1/017102
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/VO5eyWUaM6s/130227225636.htm
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Drummer Questlove of the Roots to release memoir
NEW YORK (AP) ? Drummer-producer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson of the Roots is adding "author" to his resume.
Thompson announced Wednesday that "Mo' Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove" will be released June 18 by Grand Central Publishing.
The book includes the rap musician's run-ins with "celebrities, idols and fellow artists," including Stevie Wonder, KISS and Jay-Z. It also tackles "some of the lates, the greats, the fakes and the true originals of the music world."
The Roots are the house band for NBC's "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon." They have released 12 albums and are a favorite of music critics.
Thompson, 42, has been a producer for Jay-Z, D'Angelo, Erykah Badu and John Legend. He has four Grammy Awards.
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Online:
http://theroots.wpengine.com/
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/drummer-questlove-roots-release-memoir-184928130.html
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Italy parties seek way out of election stalemate
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's stunned political parties searched for a way forward on Tuesday after an inconclusive election gave none of them a parliamentary majority and threatened prolonged instability and a renewal of the European financial crisis.
The results, notably the dramatic surge of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement of comic Beppe Grillo, left the center-left bloc with a majority in the lower house but without the numbers to control the upper chamber, the Senate.
Financial markets fell sharply at the prospect of a stalemate that reawakened memories of the crisis that pushed Italy's borrowing costs toward unsustainably high levels and brought the euro zone to the brink of collapse in 2011.
"The winner is: Ingovernability," ran the headline in Rome newspaper Il Messaggero, reflecting the deadlock the country will have to confront in the next few weeks as sworn enemies are forced to work together to form a government.
Ratings agency Standard & Poor's said on Tuesday that policy choices of the next Italian government would be crucial for the country's creditworthiness, underlining the need for a coalition that can agree on new reforms.
Pier Luigi Bersani, head of the center-left Democratic Party (PD), has the difficult task of trying to agree a "grand coalition" with former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, the man he blames for ruining Italy, or striking a deal with Grillo, a completely unknown quantity in conventional politics.
The alternative is new elections either immediately or within a few months, although both Berlusconi and Bersani have indicated that they want to avoid a return to the polls if possible: "Italy cannot be ungoverned and we have to reflect," Berlusconi said in an interview on his own television station.
For his part, Grillo, whose movement won the most votes of any single party, has indicated that he believes the next government will last no more than six months.
"They won't be able to govern," he told reporters on Tuesday. "Whether I'm there or not, they won't be able govern."
He said he would work with anyone who supported his policy proposals, which range from anti-corruption measures to green-tinted energy measures but rejected suggestions of entering a formal coalition: "It's not time to talk of alliances... the system has already fallen," he said.
The election, a massive rejection of the austerity policies applied by Prime Minister Mario Monti with the backing of international leaders from U.S. President Barack Obama to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, caused consternation across Europe.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble put a brave face on it, saying "that's democracy".
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo was more pessimistic.
"This is a jump to nowhere that does not bode well either for Italy or Europe," he said.
A long recession and growing disillusionment with mainstream parties and tax-raising austerity fed a bitter public mood and contributed to the massive rejection of Monti, whose centrist coalition was relegated to the sidelines.
Projections by the Italian center for Electoral Studies showed that the center-left will have 121 seats in the Senate, against 117 for the center-right alliance of Berlusconi's PDL and the regionalist Northern League. Grillo would take 54.
That leaves no party with the majority in a chamber which a government must control to pass legislation.
"THE BELL IS RINGING"
On a visit to Germany, President Giorgio Napolitano said he would not comment until the parties had consulted with each other and Bersani called on Berlusconi and Grillo to "assume their responsibilities" to ensure Italy could have a government.
He warned that the election showed austerity policies alone were no answer to the economic crisis and said the result carried implications beyond Italy.
"The bell is ringing for Europe as well," he said in his first public comments since the election.
He said he would present a limited number of reform proposals to parliament, focusing on jobs, institutional reform and European policy.
However forming an alliance may be long and difficult and could test the sometimes fragile internal unity of the mainstream parties.
"The idea of a majority without Grillo is unthinkable. I don't know if anyone in the PD is considering it but I'm against it," said Matteo Orfini, a member of Bersani's PD secretariat.
"The idea of a PD-PDL government, even if it's backed by Monti, doesn't make any sense," he said.
For his part, Berlusconi won a boost when his Northern League ally Roberto Maroni won the election to become regional president of Lombardy, Italy's economic heartland and one of the richest and most productive areas of Europe.
For Italian business, with an illustrious history of export success, the election result brought dismay that there would be no quick change to what they see as a regulatory sclerosis that has kept the economy virtually stagnant for a decade.
"This is probably the worst possible scenario," said Francesco Divella, whose family began selling pasta under its eponymous brand in 1890 in the southern region of Puglia.
Berlusconi's campaign, mixing sweeping tax cut pledges with relentless attacks on Monti and Merkel, echoed many of the themes pushed by Grillo and underlined the increasingly angry mood of the Italian electorate.
But even if the next government turns away from the tax hikes and spending cuts brought in by Monti, it will struggle to revive an economy that has scarcely grown in two decades.
Monti was widely credited with tightening Italy's public finances and restoring its international credibility after the scandal-plagued Berlusconi, who is currently on trial for having sex with an under-age prostitute.
However, Monti struggled to pass the kind of structural reforms needed to improve competitiveness and lay the foundations for a return to economic growth. A weak center-left government may not find it any easier.
The view from some voters, weary of the mainstream parties, was unrepentant: "It's good," said Roger Manica, 28, a security guard in Rome, who voted for the center-left PD.
"Next time I'll vote 5-Star. I like that they are changing things, even if it means uncertainty. Uncertainty doesn't matter to me, for me what's important is a good person who gets things done," he said. "Look how well they've done."
(Additional reporting by Barry Moody, Gavin Jones, Lisa Jucca, Steven Jewkes, Steve Scherer, Catherine Hornby and Massimiliano Di Giorgio, Annika Breidthardt in Berlin. Writing by Philip Pullella and James Mackenzie; Editing by Peter Graff)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/italy-parties-seek-way-election-stalemate-020012577.html
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Video: Doctor: Most people don?t survive assault weapon wounds
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Acid attack victim gets face transplant
BOSTON (AP) ? Loved ones knew it was her at the hospital when they saw her teeth.
Carmen Blandin Tarleton's face was unrecognizable after the lye attack, burned away in the frenzy of an estranged husband's rage.
Nearly six years later, the Vermont nurse is celebrating a gift that has given her a new image following a full facial transplant this month.
Doctors at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston said at a Wednesday news conference that the 44-year-old's surgery included transplanting a female donor's facial skin to Tarleton's neck, nose and lips, along with facial muscles, arteries and nerves.
"I know how truly blessed I am, and will have such a nice reflection in the mirror to remind myself what selfless really is," Tarleton wrote on her blog Wednesday.
She did not attend the news conference but watched it during a live web broadcast. The hospital said it was not releasing a current picture of her.
Tarleton's sister, Kesstan Blandin, shared a statement from Tarleton that said she felt "really good and happy."
"I want to convey to the donor's family what a great gift they have given to me," the statement said. "...I feel strong and I am confident that I have the strength to deal with whatever comes my way."
The Thetford, Vt., woman suffered burns on more than 80 percent of her body and was left blind after her attacker beat her with a baseball bat and doused her with the industrial strength chemical in June 2007.
Tarleton, who once worked as a transplant nurse, has undergone more than 50 surgeries since then. The operations included skin grafts and work that has restored vision to one eye.
The latest surgery took 15 hours and included a team of more than 30 medical professionals. The lead surgeon, Bohdan Pomahac, called her injuries among the worst he's seen in his career.
"Carmen is a fighter," the doctor said. "And fight she did."
Pomahac's team has performed five facial transplants at the hospital. He said his team's latest patient is recovering well and is in great spirits as she works to get stronger.Before the transplant, Tarleton drooled constantly because of scar tissue in her mouth. She also couldn't turn her head from side to side or lift her chin.
Pomahac said Tarleton was pleased when she saw her new face for the first time. Her appearance will not match that of the late donor's face, he said.
"I think she looks amazing, but I'm biased," the surgeon said with a smile.
The donor's family wants to remain anonymous now, but released a statement through a regional donor bank saying that her spirit would live on through Tarleton and three other organ recipients.
In 2009, Tarleton's now ex-husband Herbert Rodgers pleaded guilty to maiming her in exchange for a prison sentence of at least 30 years.
Police previously said Rodgers believed his wife was seeing another man and went to her house to attack him. Tarleton mistook the intruder for a burglar at first and told him he could have whatever he wanted. Then Rodgers launched into a fury, fracturing one of Tarleton's eye sockets and breaking her arm with the bat.
He had brought lye with him in a squeeze bottle and he poured it on Tarleton.
When police arrived, the brunette's heart-shaped face already was distorted, her skin turning brown. She was trying to crawl into a shower to wash away the chemical.
But now, the mother of two daughters talks about forgiveness and has a newly-published book called "Overcome: Burned, Blinded and Blessed."
"Forgiveness is about helping ourselves, not the people who hurt us," read an image on a website Wednesday that promotes her book.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/vt-lye-victim-gets-face-boston-hospital-142851289.html
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Pratt rules out worst-case cause for F-35 blade crack: sources
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pratt & Whitney is 99 percent sure the fan blade problem that grounded the Pentagon's 51 new F-35 fighter jets was not caused by high-cycle fatigue, which could force a costly design change, according to two sources familiar with an investigation by the enginemaker.
Company engineers have concluded that a 0.6 inch-long crack found on a turbine blade in the engine of an F-35 jet at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida was almost certainly caused by lesser issues, such as high heat exposure or a manufacturing problem, that would be easier to solve, the sources said.
"They're 99 percent sure that it's not the worst-case scenario of high-cycle fatigue," said one of the sources.
Flights of the single-engine, single-seat F-35 fighter could resume as early as this week if the Pentagon accepts the findings of Pratt, a unit of United Technologies Corp
The Pentagon announced the grounding of all F-35 warplanes on Friday after an inspection revealed a crack on a turbine blade in the Pratt-built jet engine of an F-35 jet being tested at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
It was the second engine-related grounding in two months of the $396 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter built by Lockheed Martin Corp
Military officials are eager to resume test and training flights as soon as the engine issue has been resolved.
It was not immediately clear if the Pentagon would order a one-time inspection of all F135 engines built by Pratt for the new F-35 fighter, or whether the incident would result in a new recurring inspection requirement. Some inspections of the other 50 fighters already in use by the Pentagon were underway.
Pratt began detailed tests of the engine on Sunday evening at its Middletown, Connecticut facility after the blade assembly was removed from the Florida test plane and shipped north.
Pratt spokesman Matthew Bates declined comment on any specific results or conclusions, but said the company was making good progress in its investigation of what caused the crack.
"We have made significant progress ... and believe we're very close to determining root cause," Bates said.
One defense official said it was premature to speculate about the cause of the crack until the full battery of structural tests had been completed.
The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said Pratt was expected to deliver a comprehensive analysis of the test results to Pentagon officials no later than Thursday evening.
Two sources familiar with the investigation said the fan blade tests would include a "destructive" test that would cut into the turbine blade to better understand how the crack developed.
Engineers believe the crack is either a "creep rupture along a grain boundary" that was caused by prolonged exposure to high heat, or that it was caused by an anomaly during the metal casting process, the sources said.
The F-35 program, initially meant to start operating in 2012, is overdue and well over its original budget, but defense officials say it is making progress. They argue that the current grounding -- and a separate issue involving the plane's temperature control unit -- are normal occurrences during the development phase of a any new warplane.
The delays are causing problems for countries like Australia, which was due to buy 100 of the radar-evading F-35s, but is now considering whether to buy 24 more Boeing Co
(Reporting By Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Paul Tait)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pratt-rules-worst-case-cause-f-35-blade-023634920--finance.html
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Filmmakers call on government to save dying HK cinema | South ...
The city's filmmakers have urged the government to act fast to revive the declining local film industry or face the demise of Hong Kong cinema.
Industry professionals issued the call in the light of Ang Lee's latest Oscars victory as best director. Taiwan-born Lee thanked the city government of Taichung, west-central Taiwan, on Monday for raising NT$50 million (HK$13 million) to help build the site where most of his winning work, Life of Pi, was filmed.
Compared with Taiwan, the Hong Kong government lacked flexibility and vision in its support of the movie industry, allowing a rigid funding framework to get in the way, local players said.
Culture-sector lawmaker Ma Fung-kwok, a former film producer, said Hong Kong was unfocused in its support, a problem that was shown up by Lee's case. "The [Hong Kong] government is not enthusiastic enough."
The government supports film projects and related work through its Film Development Fund, which offers grants to small and medium-sized productions. Since 2007, the fund has backed 22 film productions and 79 related projects as of October last year, approving funding of HK$320 million.
Film Awards Association director Tenky Tin Kai-man said the government could be more proactive in its support.
"But the industry needs to be clear about what we want, so that we can change the current support framework," Tin said.
Canto-pop star and award-winning actor Leon Lai Ming has reservations about excessive direct government support.
Lai, who is the Hong Kong Entertainment Ambassador this year, said the city need not follow Taiwan in terms of funding.
"If a young woman can splash out HK$600,000 for a flat when Cheung Kong [sold its Kwai Chung hotel suites], there is definitely money in this town," he said at a press conference to announce the Entertainment Expo which begins on March 18.
"To what extent can the government help the film industry? A good film project will always attract investment," he said.
?
Source: http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1159288/filmmakers-call-government-save-dying-hk-cinema
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Buffy's Mom On 'The Following': Kristine Sutherland Guest Stars (VIDEO)
Yep, that was Buffy's mom on "The Following."
Kristine Sutherland, a.k.a. Joyce Summers to legions of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" fans, appeared in the Monday, Feb. 25 episode of the Fox drama as Agent Parker's (Annie Parisse) mother in flashbacks to the time the agent confronted her parents 15 years after fleeing a cult.
Post-"Buffy," Sutherland's other TV credits include "Comanche Moon" and "One Life to Live." "Buffy" creator Joss Whedon recently revealed that killing off Sutherland's character was one of the toughest deaths he's ever written. Hey, at least she's alive (in a flashback) on "The Following."
"The Following" airs Mondays at 9 p.m. EST on Fox.
Related on HuffPost:
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Debug & Iterate team-up podcast: The future of human interface
Marc Edwards of Bjango, Guy English of Kicking Bear, Loren Brichter of Atebits, Sebastiaan de With of DoubleTwist, and Rene Ritchie of Mobile Nations talk human interfaces of the future, including Siri, Google Now, Kinect, Leap, MYO, Project Glass, iWatch, Oculus Rift, and more!
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Why Cardinal Keith O'Brien is stepping down
Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Britain's highest-ranking Catholic leader, resigned. Cardinal O'Brien also will not be attending the conclave in Rome.
Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien speaking to the media in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2010. Cardinal O'Brien resigned Monday Feb 25, 2013 amid allegations of misconduct.
(AP Photo/Scott Campbell, File)
EnlargeCardinal Keith O'Brien, Britain's highest-ranking Catholic leader, says he is resigning as archbishop in the wake of misconduct allegations and will be skipping the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI.
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The cardinal said in a statement Monday that he will not attend because he doesn't want media attention focused on him during the important session in Rome.
Experts said the decision not to attend the papal conclave is unprecedented; never before has a cardinal stayed away from a conclave because of personal scandal, according to Vatican historian Ambrogio Piazzoni, the vice prefect of the Vatican library.
The Vatican confirmed that O'Brien had resigned as archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh. It was accepted under the code of canon law due to O'Brien's age; he turns 75 ? the normal retirement age for bishops ? on March 17.
He said in a statement that he is in "indifferent health" and that he had offered his resignation last November. A church statement says the pope accepted O'Brien's resignation on Feb. 18.
"Looking back over my years of ministry: For any good I have been able to do, I thank God. For any failures, I apologize to all whom I have offended," he said.
O'Brien has said through his spokesman that he is contesting allegations made Sunday in a British newspaper that three priests and a former priest have filed complaints to the Vatican alleging that the cardinal acted inappropriately with them.
The Observer newspaper did not name the priests, but it said their allegations date back to the 1980s. There were no details about the alleged inappropriate behavior.
The one-sentence Vatican statement issued Monday made no reference to those allegations.
A Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said Sunday the complaints had been channeled through the office of the papal nuncio ? the Vatican's ambassador ? in London.
"The pope has been informed, and the question is in his hands," Lombardi said.
During a briefing with reporters at the Vatican last week, Piazzoni was asked about the campaign to keep Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony away from the voting because he covered up sexual abuse by priests.
Piazzoni said while in the past some cardinals have been impeded either by illness or by interference from their governments, none has stayed away because of a stain on his own reputation.
He noted that any decision would have to be approved by the full College of Cardinals, given that the main duty of a cardinal is to vote in a conclave.
"The thing that characterizes a cardinal is to be an elector of the pope," he told reporters.
Winfield reported from Rome.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/oDi4Z0k8DmQ/Why-Cardinal-Keith-O-Brien-is-stepping-down
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Google Glass is an all-knowing virtual assistant ? is your head ready?
You may have recently spotted some goofy-looking headgear gracing the brows of the Google founders ? and a few supermodels, too. While it may seem like a cyberpunk fashion statement that just got too literal, Google's Project Glass, a wearable camera/display combo, may well be the future of human-machine interaction.
"One thing that we're really excited about and working hard on is transforming the way that people interact with Google," said Scott Huffman, Google's vice president of engineering for Search, showing off a video demonstrating the search engine giant's new sensation. "From the stilted one-keyword-at-a-time conversation, to more of a natural conversation ? like a human assistant."
Make no mistake, Huffman isn't talking about a virtual assistant along the lines of Apple's Siri, which responds to your questions. He's talking about a way to interact with a search engine ? and all its associated products ? that includes it gathering so much data about your life and habits, it will start anticipating your needs. Cool? Yes. Creepy? Maybe that, too.
"If you think about a good assistant," Huffman told me, pausing to correct himself, "a great assistant ? they don't interrupt you every few minutes." He described his own assistant, someone who doesn't interrupt him often, but certainly knows when she should give him a gentle reminder or a sharp kick.
"It's the opposite of the experience on your phone today," Huffman pointed out, referencing how disruptive our smartphones can be. Not only are they not capable of prioritizing our notifications, but they're mostly incapable of anticipating how the priorities themselves change depending on where we are ? or what time it is.
Though Google's improved experience will span all manner of devices ? "We're trying to think of it as ... your assistant is ubiquitously with you," said Huffman ? it's Google Glass that has everyone talking.
Under development in the Google X Lab ? that mysterious skunkworks where self-driving cars, neural networks, and other quirky yet ambitious projects are being dreamed up ? Glass is the most provocative way in which this assistant, your main touchpoint with Google, might interact with you.
A small display lives on a frame that resembles eyeglasses. It is connected to a camera, microphone, bone-conducting speaker, and more. Thanks to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, the device communicates with other gadgets, such as your smartphone, as well as the good ol' Web.
"OK, Glass!" ? with a command like that, you can prompt the device to take pictures, record video, initiate video chats, provide directions, send messages, search, translate and more. Cards resembling those seen in Google Now ? Google's response to Apple's Siri ? may occasionally appear in the tiny display, meant to remind you of a dentist appointment, provide updates on an upcoming flight, and so on.
A concept video released by Google about a year ago left some people under the misconception that Glass provides an augmented reality experience, where information is overlaid across a field of vision. Instead, as a new demo video confirms, Glass is significantly less disruptive. You actually have to glance up at the display.
Google's intent with Glass is to provide you with all the information you need, before you even think of a question, but without being a nag. Sound too crazy? Not for Google, says ... Google.
What people want ... and what they don't know they want
"Our role is to understand user needs in terms of our search products and make sure that we're developing a search experience that meets and exceeds expectations," Jon Wiley, Google's lead user experience designer for Search, told me in mid-December. To get a sense of how that was going, Wiley said, the company conducted a little human-nature study.
Wiley's team gathered up a group of folks "from all walks of life" and installed specialized software on their mobile devices. Throughout the day, this software prompted the study participants with a very open-ended question: "What was the last bit of information you needed?" The point of the study wasn't to trace the flow of data through the participants' handsets. Wiley's team just wanted to know what sort of information ? simple or complicated, mundane or exciting ? people were hunting for at any given moment.
The study not only allowed Wiley's team to better capture the sorts of queries that people don't ask a search engine ? "Why is my daughter being mean to me?" ? but also the context in which all these questions arose. Where were people when they needed to know these things? What time was it? What were they doing? By gathering these details, the team could attempt to understand the contexts of searches (even the helpless ones) in our day-to-day, human trudge.
One day, Google could perhaps provide all that information without prompting. After all, a diligent user of Google Now already gets flight information, traffic alerts, and other details automatically ? just based on itineraries, daily travel patterns, etc. But with Glass that information could always be front-and-center at the very moment it's needed. What if you're late for a flight? Checking for its gate information by reaching for a boarding pass, pulling your phone out of your pocket, or finding an airport information board wastes precious seconds. Glass could put the information right in front of you without delay.
The more information we share with Google, even just so that Google can better understand our data needs, the more privacy concerns will be raised. Google is already no stranger to privacy lawsuits and legislation, so how much more heated will things get when the company introduces eyeglasses that know as much ? or more ? about you than you know yourself?
Perhaps even more importantly, Google Glass is one of the first digital technologies capable of recording the world around you constantly: Will that cause discomfort for others? Will they start to avoid you once you're wearing a device that allows you to take photos or record video without even the slightest warning? And when will Google Glass data be brought into the courtroom for a divorce case, a robbery, or worse?
Despite its magical promises (and ominous portents), Google's creation may remain out of reach for a while ? until late 2013, at the very earliest. Google's currently only allowing select individuals to participate in the Google Glass Explorer program. This first publicly available Glass edition costs $1,500, and comes with an invite to a special pick-up event and more. In order to be part of the Glass Explorer program, you had to pre-order during Google I/O 2012 conference last June or make it through the recently announced #IfIHadGlass application process.
Nerd alert!
While the general public waits for the latest Google gadget to become available though, there's been plenty of criticism of Glass' appearance ? "these specs look like the freaky science fiction concept they are," Gizmodo's Mario Aguilar declared.
And the behoodied Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, not exactly a fashion icon himself, is among those concerned about how he'll look wearing Glass on his face, reports Ryan Mac. The Forbes' writer witnessed an exchange between Zuckerberg and Google co-founder Sergey Brin after an event at the University of California on Wednesday.
"How do you look out from this without looking awkward?" Zuckerberg reportedly asked. "You know, how are you supposed to use these this without breaking eye contact?" (Neither Facebook nor Google chose to confirm that this conversation occurred.)
Still, Google seems to be working hard to ditch the belief that only the nerdiest of nerds will don Glass. The New York Times' Claire Cain Miller reports that Google may be in negotiations with eyewear seller Warby Parker "to help it design more fashionable frames" for Glass.
The company also collaborated with designer Diane von Furstenberg during last year's New York Fashion Week and brought Glass onto the runway.
?I am so excited to introduce Glass to the fashion world and use this revolutionary technology to give everyone a unique perspective into fashion," von Furstenberg was quoted as remarking, while Google co-founder Sergey Brin added that "beauty, style and comfort are as important to Glass as the latest technology."
Until Glass is publicly available ? and until we discover whether this groundbreaking virtual personal assistant is worth bending a fashion rule or two ? the last words on the subject go to actor LeVar Burton. Speaking for Geordi La Forge, a character he played in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," Burton tweets: "#ifihadglass It would be a downgrade."
Want more tech news or interesting links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.
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