| SpechJammer gun gives loudmouths a dose of their own medicine to keep 'em quiet Mar 1st 2012, 20:56 Silence is golden, so there are plenty of times when it'd be awfully convenient to mute those around us, and a couple of Japanese researchers have created a gadget that can do just that. Called the SpeechJammer, it's able to "disturb remote people's speech without any physical discomfort" by recording and replaying what you say a fraction of a second after you say it. Why would that shut up the chatty Cathy next to you? Delayed auditory feedback (DAF) is based on an established psychological principle that it's well-nigh impossible for folks to speak when their words are played back to them just after they've been uttered. SpeechJammer puts the power of DAF in a radar gun-style package that uses a directional mic and speaker, distance sensor and a trigger switch to turn it on, plus a laser pointer for targeting purposes -- so you simply point and shoot at your talkative target, and enjoy the silence that ensues. Piggy, your new conch has arrived, and this one can make Jack keep quiet. SpechJammer gun gives loudmouths a dose of their own medicine to keep 'em quiet originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Mar 2012 16:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  Technology Review |  arXiv.org (PDF) | Email this | Comments | | This Week in Facebook: Offers, Ads and Timeline for Pages Mar 1st 2012, 20:13 Facebook's gently unveiled a raft of changes to its policies to boost advertising on the social network. It unveiled Timeline for pages, meaning that companies can now start uploading baby pictures and changing the cover photo every day. While adverts have been traditionally restricted to the right-rail of the site, now they'll be jammed in at will -- including in your mobile app (which the company conceded it wasn't "monetizing"), timeline and log in / out pages. Advertisers will also have access to a reach generator: once your brand reaches a set (unspecified) number of fans, you can pay to contact up to 75 percent of them with your adverts each month. Finally, there's offers: a way for businesses to share discounts and promotions with users that can then be whipped out at the store on your cellphone, which is certainly cooler than slicing out sections of the penny saver. [Thanks, Chris] Continue reading This Week in Facebook: Offers, Ads and Timeline for Pages This Week in Facebook: Offers, Ads and Timeline for Pages originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Mar 2012 16:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink ZDnet | Facebook | Email this | Comments | | NSA builds own model of Android phone, wants you to do the same Mar 1st 2012, 19:54 The NSA decided it wanted to have its own go at producing a secure Android smartphone that could encrypt communications to levels necessary for national security. Project "Fishbowl" constructed 100 handsets from off-the-shelf components that were secure enough that staffers could use them without speaking in code. All conversations are conducted across an IPsec VPN with a secure, real-time transport protocol for encrypting the voice at both ends, with the VoIP server being housed inside an NSA facility. It's part of a program to get handset makers to build this kit so the Information Assurance Directorate doesn't have to navigate the interoperability hurdles between each company's tech. The agency has launched a how-to for any manufacturer looking for a large Government contract to produce Fishbowl phones on a larger scale, although they'll probably have to change the name to something more threatening like MK-Ultraphone or the Phoneadelphia Experiment.NSA builds own model of Android phone, wants you to do the same originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Mar 2012 15:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink MIT Technology Review | NSA | Email this | Comments | | Google puts ITA acquisition to use again with new airline reservation system for Cape Air Mar 1st 2012, 19:32 It may be starting out fairly small, but Google has just made its first push into the airline reservation business. That comes courtesy of its 2010 acquisition of ITA Software, which has already resulted in the Flight Search service and OnTheFly app, and has now also produced a new reservation system for Massachusetts-based Cape Air. That may not look all that different from other airlines' systems on the surface, but Google says that there's plenty different going on under the hood, noting that it was built "from scratch using modern, modular, scalable technologies." That last bit is perhaps the key one, with Google further noting that the system is "built to scale to support airlines of all sizes." In other words, it seems safe to assume that Google has its sights set a lot higher than small regional airlines. Those interested in trying out the system or booking a New England trip can do so now on Cape Air's site linked below. Continue reading Google puts ITA acquisition to use again with new airline reservation system for Cape Air Google puts ITA acquisition to use again with new airline reservation system for Cape Air originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Mar 2012 15:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink PC World | ITA Software Blog, Cape Air | Email this | Comments | |
