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Speech recognition outfit Nuance will unveil its plans for Spinvox, the troubled voice-to-text firm it bought for $102.5 million in December, at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February.

For now, Nuance has placed the firm in a new voice-to-text division run as general manager by Seattle-based John Pollard, EMEA marketing director Alan Ranger tells paidContent:UK. Pollard was CEO of Jott the note-taking service Nuance also bought in July.

—Does that mean Spinvox’s leadership is out? CEO Christina Domecq and co-founder Daniel Doulton remain aboard “at present”, Ranger says: “It’s still fairly early. It’s down to them what they want to do.” As for Pollard: “He’s acting as the leader of the combined acquisition.”

—Will Nuance retain Spinvox’s controversial overseas transcription centres?: “It depends entirely on the contractual obligations of the customer. Everyone who had a contract with SpinVox still has one with Nuance. All those commitments that were made, we’ll continue to honour them.” How about after they expire? “No decision has been taken – we’re trying to ensure it’s business as usual.” Private call centres were used by Spinvox in new territories, so that human operators could aid machine transcription until Spinvox’s software learned to understand local dialects itelf. Nuance acknowledged in its December announcement that the combined company would “comprise full and partial speech automation”.

—How will the acquisition affect staff?: “It’s too early to define what will be used where, as it’s a new division. Will any of Spinvox’s Marlow staff be moved to Nuance in the U.S.? It’s network technology, so it doesn’t matter – we’ll let the talent be where it wants to be and work around them. I can’t see us centralising technology anywhere at the moment.” Nuance also has three UK offices, headquartered in Bracknell.

—What does Nuance’s Spinvox integration look like?: “We’re very pleased. There are greater synergies than first thought. It’s become part of Nuance’s new voice-to-text division – we’ve created a new category. We’re known for our capabilities in speech recognition – the one thing Spinvox had achieved in a relatively short team was the internationalisation of the service, the ability to scale up to handle millions of messages every day. They had hosting facilities in Europe that we didn’t have.”

—Have Spinvox’s debts been paid?: “We bought the company on a debt-free basis – we paid a mixture of stock and cash.”

Related

• SpinVox Shareholders Get Virtually Nothing After Debt Payback
• Nuance Confirms Spinvox Acquisition For $102.5 Million
• Interview: Christina Domecq, CEO, Spinvox (Pt 1): Managing Through The Crunch
• Interview: Christina Domecq, CEO, Spinvox (Pt 2): Cashflow-Positive In 90 Days
• SpinVox Paying Staff In Stock To Save On Costs

EA Mobile plans to announce tomorrow at a press event in Montreal that Tetris has been downloaded on to mobile phones 100 million times since 2005. That’s a tremendous number, considering that every single one of those downloads was paid for.

EA said it has been building the mobile version of Tetris since 2006 for Blue Planet Software, which manages the licensing rights to the popular block-stacking game. Tetris first released a mobile version in 2001, but its big success came on the portable Game Boy platform in 1989. EA gained mobile rights to Tetris after buying Jamdat in December 2005 for $680 million. Today, the game’s biggest growth is occurring in mobile, EA said in a release.

The Tetris brand is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, having been originally created in 1984. The game was invented by Russian-born mathematician Alexey Pajitnov, and first became available in mobile with the help of Japan’s G-mode.

Adam Sussman, VP Worldwide Publishing for EA Mobile, said the game’s history lends itself to being the biggest franchise in mobile gaming. “Our strong relationship with Blue Planet Software has enabled us to optimally adapt Tetris to the ever evolving handset market while keeping the true spirit of the game alive. 100 million paid downloads are testament to this,” he said. Today, EA claims that today Tetris is on “every mobile platform.”

Filed under: Car Buying, Convertible, Performance, Maserati, Luxury

The weather outside may be frightful, but fret not, because summer is coming soon…ish. And when it does, you’re going to want the right set of wheels. With that in mind, the good folks over at Maserati North America have revealed the pricing for their new GranTurismo Convertible (also known as the GranCabrio overseas) so you can start saving now. And save you will if you want to get your hands on one, because it sells for a princely $135,800 (MSRP, before taxes and additional fees).

If you’re wondering how much it costs to lob the roof off a GranTurismo and replace it with a triple-insulated retractable soft top, consider that the standard coupe starts at $117,500, for a difference of – carry the one, divide by the square root of pi – $18,300. When you consider, however, that the convertible comes standard with the larger 4.7-liter engine from the $121,500 GranTurismo S, the additional cost of open-air motoring comes out to a somewhat more manageable $14,300, which may or may not make it easier to justify to your spouse. Details in the press release after the jump.

[Source: Maserati]

Continue reading Maserati NA prices the GranTurismo Convertible at $135,800*

Maserati NA prices the GranTurismo Convertible at $135,800* originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Months after Verizon Communications began issuing warnings to accused file sharers, the company has acknowledged that multiple offenses could result in a service interruption.

“We’ve cut some people off,” Verizon Online spokeswoman Bobbi Henson told CNET. “We do reserve the right to discontinue service. But we don’t throttle bandwidth like Comcast was doing. Verizon does not have bandwidth caps.”

What this means is that Verizon, one of the country’s biggest broadband providers, appears to have adopted an approach to illegal file sharing that sounds very similar to one promoted and pushed heavily by the music industry.

In December 2008, the Recording Industry Association of America stunned the digital-music world by announcing that it would no longer file lawsuits against individuals accused of file sharing. Instead, the RIAA said it had “agreements in place” from a group of major Internet service providers that would adopt a “graduated response” to copyright infringement.

The RIAA said a graduated response would start with a warning. A notice would inform a customer that he or she had been accused of illegal file sharing. If the person continued, the ISP would send more—perhaps more strongly worded—warnings. When it comes to chronic offenders, the RIAA has tried to convince ISPs to suspend or discontinue service.

But a year after the RIAA made its announcement, not one major ISP had acknowledged supporting the RIAA’s plan. The question raised by Henson’s statement is whether Verizon has quietly signed on. An RIAA representative declined to comment.

While Verizon did not disclose how many customers’ service it has cut off, Henson said the numbers are small. She added that litigation in this area is down significantly and that the number of subpoenas or court orders Verizon gets “are isolated and not at all widespread.”

But Henson also noted that what’s really important about this is that issuing warning letters is proving to be effective. Verizon has been sending letters to DSL and Fios broadband subscribers since last April and warning them that they—or someone in their household—may have been illegally downloading copyrighted content.

Can a simple scolding e-mail turn illegal downloaders into model Internet citizens?

“We’ve found that we don’t have to warn most people a second time,” Henson said. “Most people stop. Or they tell whoever is doing it to stop.”

Henson said a lot of people are unaware that someone in their house is downloading copyrighted material—most notably music, movies, and games—until they get the warning e-mail. “You get a teenager doing it, and the parent gets the e-mail, and they tell them to cut it out.”

Verizon says it isn’t actually monitoring what its customers download on the Internet. Rather, copyright owners are capturing Internet Protocol addresses and requesting that Verizon send out e-mail warnings. Henson, who did not disclose how many such warnings Verizon has sent, was careful to note that her employer does not give information about its users to copyright owners without “due process,” which means that Verizon must receive a court order before it would hand over any contact information. She also adds that if customers believe they’ve received a warning notice in error, they could contact Verizon.

Once a warning e-mail is received, just how many customers jump ship to another ISP or seek ways to mask their IP addresses (to circumvent detection) isn’t known. But at least one reader who sent us his warning e-mail claimed that he’s been scared straight.

I’m “stopping cold turkey,” said the reader, who, not surprisingly, wishes to remain anonymous. “With Netflix at $10 a month, it’s not worth it for me to risk a possible big fine. I’m going legit.”

Below is the text of the e-mail the reader received, edited to protect the customer’s anonymity:

Date: Sat, 16 Jan 2010 10:06:57 -0500
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Notice of Claim of Copyright Infringement

Dear Verizon Online Customer:

We are writing to advise you that Verizon recently received a notification from a copyright owner of a possible copyright violation that appears to involve your Verizon Online account (the “Complaint”). The work(s) identified by the copyright owner in its Complaint are listed below.

We are contacting you because our records indicate that the Internet Protocol (IP) address provided to us by the copyright owner was assigned to your service on the date and time identified by the copyright owner. While this activity may have occurred without your permission or knowledge by an unauthorized user, or perhaps by a minor who may not fully understand the copyright laws, as the primary account holder, you are legally responsible for all activity originating from your account.

Copyright work(s) identified in the Complaint:

Copyright infringement level: 1
Notice ID: XXXXXXXX
Title: XXXX (XX)
Protocol: BitTorrent
IP Address: XXX.XX.XXX.XXX
DNS: pool-XX-XXX-XXX-XXX.XXXXXX.XXXX.verizon.net
File Name: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
File Size: XXXXXXXXXX
Timestamp: XX-XX-20XX XX:XX:XX UTC

Copyright infringement is a serious matter that violates U.S. copyright law and subjects infringers to criminal and civil liability. It also violates our Acceptable Use Policy (http://www2.verizon.net/policies/acceptable_use.asp) and Terms of Service (http://www2.verizon.net/policies/tos.asp). If you, or someone using your Internet connection, are engaged in the conduct alleged by the copyright owner, we urge you to stop (and ensure that anyone else who might have access to your Internet connection also stops).

Protecting Your Privacy: The copyright owner has not asked Verizon to identify you, and Verizon will NOT provide your identity without a lawful subpoena or other lawful process. However, if the copyright owner does issue a lawful subpoena or other lawful process that seeks information about your identity or account, Verizon will be legally required to provide the requested information to the copyright owner.

If you have questions regarding this notice or would like to view Frequently Asked Questions about copyrights and piracy, please visit us at www.verizon.net/copyrightfaq.

We appreciate your cooperation on this matter.

Sincerely,

Verizon Online

This story originally appeared on CNET

Intel’s Reader, developed by a dyslexic Stanford graduate, is a powerful device for dyslexic and visually impaired readers, allowing them to scan entire pages of text to audio for immediate playback or later review.

The book-sized device is capable of capturing text from a variety of sources, ranging from restaurant menus to academic journals. That scanned text can be magnified and read on the device, listened to via on-board speaker or headphones, or exported to MP3.

Intel’s Reader packs a high resolution camera and an Intel Atom processor, allowing it to quickly and accurately capture massive amounts of text.

The Intel Reader made its debut at CES and will be available for around $1500. It’s not cheap, but it could be a life changing gadget for the 55 million people whose reading is challenged by dyslexia or vision impairment. [Intel via Fast Company]

If the numerous complaints regarding AT&T’s network over the years (particularly when the iPhone is in question) is any consolation of the network’s status, it could use a revamp in certain markets.

According to a rumor intercepted by the gang at BGR, AT&T leaders have been meeting with regional executives to explain changes in the network.  For starters, the focus appears to be on getting the network ready for “unannounced devices” that will use “heavy data.”  Tethering was said to be addressed as well, with the current tethering policies set to change once the network is able to “sufficiently handle the load.”

I’m not a psychic by any means, but I’d venture to guess that the combination of Android and webOS devices slated to land on the carrier in 2010 are the “heavy data” devices that they’re referring to.  Or…to take a complete stab in the dark…could it be Apple’s iTabletSlatePadComputerWhatever?  Sure, TheStreet.com thinks it’s coming to Verizon, but AT&T is a possibility. 

Let the speculation begin!  What do you think?

Via BGR

Rolls-Royce announced today that Torsten Müller-Ötvös (try pronouncing that) will join the company as its new Chief Executive Officer. He will replace Tom Purves at the end of March 2010. Purves will retire after 25 years service with the BMW Group.

Torsten will continue to report to Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Group Sales and Marketing and also Chairman of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

“Torsten has many years of solid experience in the fields of brand and product management as well as marketing. He is the perfect candidate to lead Rolls-Royce Motor Cars into a period of expansion – having not only a successful track record as a manager, but also a feel for the unique attributes of a traditional brand.”

Purves succeeded Robertson as CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in July 2008.

– By: Omar Rana

The one-man stealth plane of the future is on the horizon–and it’s named after a conspicuously cute bird. NASA scientists will officially unveil their design for a hover-capable, electric-powered aircraft, nicknamed “the Puffin,” on Wednesday at an American Helicopter Society meeting in San Francisco.

On the ground, the Puffin is designed to stand on its tail, which splits into four legs to help serve as landing gear. As it prepares to take off, flaps on the wings would tilt to deflect air from the 2.3-meter-wide propeller rotors upward, keeping the plane on the ground until it was ready to fly and preventing errant gusts from tipping it over. The Puffin would rise, hover and then lean over to fly horizontally, with the pilot lying prone as if in a [hang] glider [Scientific American].

The Puffin stands 12 feet high and has a wingspan of 13.5 feet. In theory it can cruise at 150 miles per hour and sprint at more like 300 miles per hour [Gizmodo]. The craft is electrically propelled and runs on rechargeable lithium phosphate batteries, which would theoretically allow it to soar as high as 30,000 feet before its batteries would begin to run low and it would be forced to descend. But scientists are confident that the Puffin’s range could be increased as batteries improve over the coming years.

The Puffin has the potential to revolutionize the way we transport ourselves from place to place. With its small engines, light weight, and battery power, it could provide a way for us to take to the skies as the streets get more clogged with cars. And this electric aircraft also has military applications. The Puffin is 10 times quieter than current low-noise helicopters, making it suitable for covert military operations. The electric motors are not just quiet and efficient, they also generate less heat–making them less likely to show up on thermal sensors and also requiring significantly less cooling air flowing over them. This reduced aerodynamic drag gives the Puffin a speed boost that aircraft with internal combustion engines don’t get.

Researchers plan on finishing a one third-size, hover-capable Puffin demonstrator by March. But Brien Seeley, president of an independent flight test agency that hosts the annual Electric Aircraft Symposium, says the designers still have work to do. Said Seeley: “In my opinion, a mass-marketable version will need conventional seating, cup holders and a short runway for glide-in, view-ahead landings—but opening up people’s imagination is the first essential step” [Scientific American].

Related Content:
80beats: A Chitty Chitty Bang Bang For Everyone! New Flying Car Takes to the Sky
DISCOVER: Light Flight
DISCOVER: Who’s Flying This Thing?
DISCOVER: How to be a NASA Mission Controller
DISCOVER: Have Scramjet, Will Travel

Video: NASA

See update below. GeneralEmergency writes “I was performing a Google search on the phrase “this website has been closed” recently, and the sixteenth result was a link to http://vxbinaca.beevomit.org/party_van/ where you get treated to the following (which you may want to read before clicking):

Guess I’m in big trouble now! I’ll let you know if any suits show up on my doorstep!”

I actually don’t believe this is a honey pot at all. Just a bogus threat tactic. It’s the same message that goes up on every file sharing site that eventually gets taken down. Four years ago, we wrote about the same message on the front of Grokster’s site. It’s a blatant (and bogus) scare tactic, and pretty ridiculous as well. It is a bit silly that (1) the FBI and NSA allow their names to be posted with the RIAA and MPAA (2) that they imply just visiting the site is somehow illegal and worthy of being logged followed by a “visit” and (3) that they somehow think this is effective. Update: As pointed out in the comments, the particular site singled out above is a hoax… but really isn’t all that different from the site that actually did go up on the Grokster page…

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Manoj Nair of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has devised a new possible method of detecting a deadly tsuami long before the wave crests to dangerous heights. And, in a bit of good news, much of it is already in place.

In a new study in next month’s Earth, Planets, and Space, Nair modeled the massive 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean and found that a tsunami picking up steam as it moves across the ocean emits a tiny electromagnetic signature of of about 500 millivolts. That’s enough to have an effect on the communication cables that stretch across the ocean floor, carrying internet messages and phone calls. The electromagnetic signal “is very small compared to a 9-volt battery, but still large enough to be distinguished from background noise on a magnetically quiet day,” said Nair [Daily Camera].

Nair says this kind of system could be a lower-cost alternative to the bottom pressure arrays that directly measure large movements of water. “What we argue is that this is such a simple system to set up and start measuring,” Nair says. “We have a system of submarine cables already existing. The only thing we probably need is a voltmeter, in theory” [Wired.com].

Oleg Godin, one of Nair’s research partners, said any small improvement could make a huge difference. “If you detect tsunamis in the deep ocean — and that’s what we’re working on — meaning far from shore, you have hours, certainly tens of minutes, to warn people,” he said. “If people are well educated, a 15-minute warning is enough to save everybody” [Daily Camera].

Related Content:
80beats: South Pacific Tsunami Kills More than 100 People
80beats: Geologists Find One Cataclysmic Tsunami in Every 600 Years of Thai Dirt
80beats: Haiti Earthquake May Have Released 250 Years of Seismic Stress

Image: flickr / epugachev

Dads say the darndest things….Massachusetts Senator-Elect Scott Brown called his daughters “available” in an awkward moment during his victory speech on Tuesday night. Brown thanked his wife Gail and daughters Ayla and Arianna for their help on the campaign, before letting men across America know that his girls are “available” and ready to please.

A visible embarrassed Ayla told her father that Arianna is taken, to which the Republican replied: “Arianna is definitely not available, but Ayla is.”