Hasta La Gadget!

Human-machine interaction — the term sounds so clinical, yet it’s the most important relationship we need to foster in the 21st century. Which is why the venture arms of Samsung, Intel and Spanish telco Telefonica have sunk considerable funding into Expect Labs’ voice recognition software, an investment the trio announced earlier today. The startup’s prescient tech, known as the Anticipatory Computing Engine (or ACE, zing!), aims to guesstimate a user’s actions or information needs by listening in on and analyzing real-time conversations. It’s understandable if the prospect creeps you out — it should — but the end goal isn’t to invade a user’s privacy (though the data mined would be significant), it’s to anticipate and assist.

That three major corporations with stakes in computing, mobile and home electronics would want to proactively invest in Expect Labs’ tech is a no-brainer. Apple, Samsung and Google all already offer voice navigation services (to varying degrees of success) on smartphones and the potential for current smart TVs (defined by their internet connectedness) to get smarter and change channels or record programs independently would do well by their slack-jawed worshippers. What’s more, practical applications for ACE aren’t some far-off prospect; the tech could easily make its way into Samsung’s next Galaxy S flagship. And then every other machine in your life not long after…

Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Home Entertainment, Software, Samsung, Intel

Comments

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Expect Labs

With the release of the latest ThinkPad design from Lenovo, legacy users may notice a change in Lenovo’s design language. This Lenovo ThinkPad S431 takes much of what fans of the ThinkPad line have seen in models released over the past several years and makes tweaks to continue with a design evolution. Here with the ThinkPad S431, a 14-inch LCD display also fits inside a 13-inch frame and a bit of touchscreen technology is employed to control Windows 8.

This machine works with a 180-degree open angle on its display, allowing users to work with the keyboard and/or the touchscreen and Windows 8 in a variety of ways. This notebook works with 3rd generation Intel Core processor options and up to 8GB of memory. Also under the hood users will be able to keep 500GB of files, this allowing for students and entertainment users to store media to their content.

Lenovo appears to be moving toward a cross between small business users and budget thinkers this week with the ThinkPad S431. This release marks the first time that a Lenovo ThinkPad notebook is offered at a price point under a thousand dollars. Starting on the 21st of May, this machine will also be the first ThinkPad to be offered under nine hundred dollars and eight hundred dollars as well, coming in at a cool six hundred and ninty-nine dollars MSRP.

This machine will join its cousins in the ThinkPad line revealed earlier this year at CES and between then and the release of Windows 8. Have a peek at the timeline below to see additional insight on the Lenovo path from here into the future. Things are getting bendy, touchy, and ready for Windows 8, that’s for certain.

Lenovo ThinkPad S431 eases legacy look for Windows 8 touch is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Intel and Samsung have invested in a startup company by the name of Expect Labs, which offers an alternative to Siri and Google Now, but the only difference is that the software constantly monitors users’ voices to deliver content in real-time, rather than delivering content on command like in Siri.

You’ve probably never heard of Expect Labs, but it’s a company that you should definitely keep your eye on. Intel, Samsung, and Telefonica all have invested in the small startup, and they join the likes of Google who have invested in the company in the past. Specific dollar amounts have not been disclosed as of right now.

The marvel behind Expect Labs’ Siri alternative is that the software constantly listens to and analyzes your conversations as they happen, and if it notices that you’re asking a factual question to a friend (like, “what time does the White Sox game start?”), it’ll pull up relevant information right at that moment without having to search for it.

Of course, it’s surprising why big companies are eyeing this kind of technology. More and more companies are getting into voice control software, and if it could offer something as revolutionary as what Expect Labs is cooking up, it could change the way voice control works. Of course, privacy is a big concern here, especially when the software listens in to your conversations at all times. Nonetheless, Expect Labs is looking to expand its team, and they didn’t go into detail as far as the future of the company, but it seems they have some big plans coming up.

[via TechCrunch]

Intel and Samsung throw cash at Expect Labs’ smart Siri alternative is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Intel has confirmed that it will be providing chips to Google, as the internet search giant will soon be introducing Android based notebooks in the market. This isn’t Google’s first foray in the notebook market. The company has released a number of Chromebooks in the past but they haven’t gained much traction. The latest offering, Chromebook Pixel, hasn’t been able to make waves as well despite its impressive build quality and amazing display. The company hopes that its Android based notebooks won’t suffer from a similar fate.

The Android notebooks will have touchscreen displays and are going to be powered by Intel Atom processors. Google is aiming for a new price point, it is expected to price these touchscreen notebooks at approximately $200. It remains to be seen how much of an effect this price point will have on sales of 7″ tablets that are similarly priced. An Intel executive believes that it is unlikely for Windows 8 based notebooks to be in this price range, but it all depends on how Microsoft prices Windows 8. For Android notebooks, a $200 price is possible because the software itself is free for OEMs. No specifications or release time frame of these notebooks has been given.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Dell Vostro 5460 Touted To Be Thinnest And Lightest 14-Inch Notebook To Date, The Great LivingSocial Password Robbery,

At CeBIT last month, we managed to get a hands on of the Intel Haswell prototype, and here we are with additional information concerning this computing device. This Haswell-powered North Cape prototype from Intel is able to pull one rabbit from its seemingly bottomless proverbial hat, that is, to have its 13” 1080p display adjust itself to a 11.6” display whenever it is detached from the keyboard base, as you use it like a tablet device.

Fret not, this prototype is not that advanced where it is capable of changing the molecular structure within to shrink to the desired 11.6” size, but rather, the display will introduce letterboxes by adding a virtual bezel to expand the current one. Whatever touch input in this expanded area would be disabled too, to keep in line with the overall feel of the device. While this would result in less viewing and touching real estate, it ought not be too much of a bother with Windows 8 apps that have been specially optimized for situations such as this. Would you be interested in this Haswell prototype when it finally rolls out officially to the masses?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: The Great LivingSocial Password Robbery, Sony Xperia Tablet Z U.S. Pre-orders Begin,