By Phil Hollows
Hello fellow Friday lovers!
It’s that time of the week again, where we bring you a quick roundup of some of the things happening in our crazy digital world.
It’s interesting. Sometimes, we read articles or see reports about the most amazing advancements happening in the world of science or tech, and think “What does that have to do with me?”
Then we realize: Those scientists and engineers creating “Transformer style” robots that morph into furniture and can go get you a coffee? They might eventually be the same robots sent in to rescue people, or assist first responders, during the next Superstorm Sandy!
That’s why the FeedBlitz team thinks it’s so important to keep abreast of the mind boggling advancements and innovation happening in our world.
We hope you feel the same.
So, without further ado, here’s another edition of FeedBlitz: Rewind the Week.
Skype to Break Language Barriers with Translator Tool
Probably the only thing left that can keep people apart in this connected world we live in is a language barrier. And Microsoft, who purchased Skype back in 2011, are working to fix that problem.
Called Skype Translator (I mean, what else would they call it?), is set to help people communicate by providing voice and text translation between folks from different parts of our world, speaking different languages.
It’s still in the early stages of development, but early testing is showing promise. And the translation software seems to be ‘evolving’, the more it learns, the better it gets.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said, “Say you teach it English. It learns English,” he said. “Then you teach it Mandarin. It learns Mandarin, but it becomes better at English. And then you teach it Spanish. It gets good at Spanish, but it gets great at both Mandarin and English — and, quite frankly, none of us know exactly why.”
Creepy.
These Tween Girls Created an Android App for the Blind
Here’s one for the ‘feel good’ books. A groups of really bright and clearly very empathetic girls – 6th graders! – have beat over 1200 other applicants to win the Verizon Innovative App Challenge by creating a sort of navigation app for blind students.
The app is called Hello Navi, and while it doesn’t register if obstacles are in one’s way, it does provide ‘turn by turn’ directions, to help visually impaired students get to class faster.
And as if winning wasn’t enough, the girls also had the opportunity to meet not only President Obama, but Bill Nye the Science Guy and Kari Byron from MythBusters!
I imagine their parents are pretty proud.
A 3D Printed Cast That Can Heal Your Bones 40-80 Percent Faster
3D printing is one of those technology advancements that 100 percent relates to what I was speaking about above. Sure, it’s cool. Sure, there’s always going to be “that guy” who decides to print a bunch of guns.
But a cyborg’esque style cast that will help people’s bones heal faster? Sign me up.
If you (or your child) has ever worn a cast, especially in the summer, you know how horrible they are. They’re hot. They itch. But not this cast.
Its honey-comb like design allows skin to breathe, and allows doctors to finally get past the old fashioned plaster (or fiberglass) cast to apply ‘ultrasonic drivers’ for vibrational therapy (known to help speed healing).
Called The Osteoid, it’s just a prototype right now, but “future production will enable each individual to have a custom-fitted cast.”
The Key Points in Mary Meeker’s Annual (and Prophetic) “Internet Trends” Presentation
Mary Meeker, if you don’t know her, is a former top tech analyst at Morgan Stanley, and currently a partner at VC powerhouse Kleiner Perkins.
And in case you’re questioning her credibility? More than a decade ago, she foresaw the rise of two little companies – Google and Amazon.
She delivers an annual Internet trends report. And tech geeks everywhere wait for it with bated breath. Geek or not, there is excellent information in here for anyone doing business on the web. Enjoy.
Have a safe and happy weekend everyone!
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