It's my life, you're just along for the ride!

Google’s Real-Life Babelfish Will Translate the World

The tough thing about translation: You need someone who actually speaks both languages. Easy for Spanish to English, not so much for Swahili to Inuktitut. In the Plex by Steven Levy illustrates how Google’s machine translations will revolutionize human communication. It was no coincidence that the man who eventually headed Google’s research division was the co-author of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, the standard textbook in the field. click below for more

via Google’s Real-Life Babelfish Will Translate the World.

We could feed you a line about the final frontier or exploring strange new worlds, but we’ll just give it to you straight: the X-Prize Foundation has teamed up with Qualcomm to design the Tricorder X-Prize, a $10 million competition designed to boldly go where no contest has gone before. Sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves. The most recent addition to the ambitious X-Prize stable is aimed at producing a mobile medical device, similar to those used on Star Trek, that can “diagnose patients better than or equal to a panel of board certified physicians.” Said device would allow regular folks to “quickly and effectively assess health conditions, determine if they need professional help,” and then decide on a plan of action. The Tricorder X-Prize competition is still in the planning stages and should be ready to launch sometime in 2012. Full PR after the break.

via X-Prize reveals plans for tricorder competition, suspiciously lacking Nimoy endorsement — Engadget.

To promote the new, smaller version of its signature beverage, Coca-Cola transformed a crowded highway into an outdoor theater in Bogotá, Colombia.The company, already widely recognized for its various attention-grabbing, smile-inducing guerrilla marketing tactics, built a screen and hired models to hand out Coke Minis and other standard theater fare such as hot dogs, nachos and fries. Passersby were prompted to tune into a radio station to hear the accompanying soundtrack.We think it’s a fitting promotion for a brand whose purported mission is to “spread happiness.”

via Coca-Cola Transforms Crowded Highway into Outdoor Theater [VIDEO].

Apple doesn’t currently make or market an iPhone 4G but given recent North American marketing shenanigans by the carriers, they might just get one sooner than anticipated. There was a time when 4G applied to really fast, really next generation mobile connectivity, like fully implemented voice/data LTE approaching 100 Mbps. Then Sprint launched Wi-Max as 4G. Then T-Mobile rebranded HSPA+ as 4G. Then Verizon deployed early stage LTE as 4G. Then AT&T rebranded their slower HSPA+ as 4G. 100 Mbps got shoved aside, and 21 Mbps, even 14.4 Mbps became “4G”. Canadian carriers, which had previously called their 14.4 Mbps and even 21 Mbps HSPA+ networks “3G” have recently rebranded them to “4G” as well so as not to seem old and outdated. (For more on what all these terms mean, check out our networking glossary.)

No doubt it’s easier to change a name than change a network, and easier to slap the letters 4G onto a phone than actually getting a real, power efficient, lightning fast 4G radio into one. But that’s no excuse.

Verizon is arguably the closest with their early stage LTE deployment and phone like the Thunderbolt that don’t get great battery life but do get amazing speeds.

My counterpart over at Android Central, Phil Nickinson has done a review of the Verizon LTE HTC Thunderbolt (and also told the carriers to kindly cut out the 4G smoke in our eyes), while PreCentral.net’s Derek Kessler has just reviewed the AT&T HSPA+ HP Veer 4G.

The iPhone isn’t expected to go LTE until 2012 but iPhone 5 might just go HSPA+ this fall. (14.4 or 21 Mbps, who knows?) And guess what, AT&T will probably call it “4G”…

…Especially since the CDMA version on Verizon will still be “3G” EVDO Rev A for another generation.

That’s a huge competitive advantage, but hugely confusing for users.

via Will AT&T create an iPhone 4G before Apple does? | TiPb.

The word circulating among news outlets is that a single dog was involved in the Osama bin Laden raid. According to the UK Sun, dogs (typically German Shepherds) involved in Navy SEAL operations are usually strapped with armor and cameras to sniff for explosives, attack armed foes and provide valuable intel for soldiers.

Heavily armoured hounds – equipped with infrared night-sight cameras – have been used in the past by the top-secret unit.

The war dogs wear ballistic body armour that is said to withstand damage from single and double-edged knives, as well as protective gear which shields them from shrapnel and gunfire.

It’s been previously reported that a company called K9 storm has a government contract for these poochie vests, which come in both knife-proof and camera-mountable models.

Also, you think these dogs get PTSD? [UK Sun]

via The Navy SEAL Team 6 Dog Is a Bigger Badass Than You#!5798745/the-navy-seal-team-6-dog-is-a-bigger-badass-than-you.

Singer Beyonce recently dropped by PS 161 Pedro Albizu Campos middle school in Harlem, New York, to help teach the dance routine for her song “Move Your Body.”The song — a remix of “Get Me Bodied” — and accompanying video demonstrating the dance steps are a part of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign to end childhood obesity.If we had gym teachers like Beyonce back in the day, we would have all probably been much more keen to change into sweats and hit the linoleum.

via Beyonce Surprises Harlem School, Teaches Kids To Dance [YouTube Video of the Day].