Lackuna.com

by Vishal Mathur of Think Digit

The iDevice isn’t limited to humans anymore! In an extremely innovative initiative, the Redapes organization is now deploying Apple iPads at various zoos across North America. The idea is to possibly create another medium by which the apes can communicate, and evolve that into something bigger, if the orangutans do like it! At the moment, activities include getting them to identify objects shown on the display, use FaceTime for dates (!!!) and even choose what they want in the next meal. The initial indications seem to be good, because the apes particularly the young ones, are taking to the device with a lot of excitement. Mr. Zimmerman explained how they are looking to expand on this idea, and their plans on building this into a medium of interspecies communication.

We spoke with Mr. Richard Zimmerman, Director @ Orangutan Outreach about how the concept came into being, how the apes are taking to the idea, and how this can be expanded further. Some may argue that this does not affect our daily routine or our lives, but the idea and concept seem too interesting to ignore. Read on to know more.

Dozens of people turned out in Middleborough, Mass., this week to curse a new anti-profanity bylaw.

Many at the protest shouted curse words and carried profanity-laced posters.

A strong majority of residents voted for the bylaw, which makes public cursing a non-criminal offense punishable with a $20 citation.

“The language that is coming from inside this building — saying that we are going to use the force of government to control your speech — is way more offensive than any particular word,” Adam Kokesh, who opposes the law, said.

By ALICJA SIEKIERSKA, The Ottawa Citizen

The Ontario Court of Appeals has overturned a decision that ordered a lawyer to personally pay $72,000 of the cost of court proceedings between Russell Township and his two clients.

Instead, Russell Township will now be on the hook for $25,000 of lawyer Kenneth Bickley’s legal costs incurred to have the ruling overturned.

In Sept. 2011, Ontario senior judge Monique Métivier ordered Bickley to pay 40 per cent of the $180,000 cost of court proceedings between Russell Township and his clients Howard Galganov and Jean-Serge Brisson.

The two men had argued that a township bylaw requiring both official languages on commercial signs violated their right to freedom of expression.

For anyone that’s traveled abroad, it’s apparent that other countries do their best to accommodate foreign language visitors.

No matter how much they try however, it seems you can’t go for too long before you find an example where they may fall a little short in meeting their desired goal.

Since it’s the thought that counts, you can’t help but chuckle to yourself and make note of it to tell your friends about back home.

The following is a short list of some examples:

New technology is bridging the gap between the deaf and hearing worlds.

For years, engineers have tried to find ways to translate sign language into spoken words, and vice versa. Now, a new project may have cracked the code with a prototype device called MyVoice–a concept device that reads sign language and translates its motions into audible words.

Titles are a dynamic part of any creative work, especially when it comes to movies.  They can be easy, literal, straightforward (Titannic) or symbolic, dramatic, creative (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).  Regardless, the objective of a movie title is to summarize in some way what that film is about, be it literal or otherwise.

Of course, what some titles mean in one language, isn’t always easily translated into another language.  This is especially true when people try to translate the title without any knowledge of what the movie is about.

The following is a list of some of the worst movie title translations ever to get Lost in Translation.

Ackuna (http://www.ackuna.com) the free community-based website that provides a free, more accurate language translation alternative to Google Translate and other machine translators, has recently undergone some design changes.

For those of you unfamiliar with Ackuna, once you register, you can post text you need translated into any language. Other users, if they know that language, can help you out and post their translation. Other users can vote those responses up or down, or leave comments about them.

For people who translate, there is a badge and ranking system, so it encourages them to provide accurate help. You can also choose to follow members, and create your own little communities within the system. The new design now features clearer and easy to follow instructions on how to use the site.  The sidebar also features recent activity by users and a current news feed for the site.

For more information on Ackuna, visit Mashable and The Pulse Network, or simply visit www.ackuna.com!

Business Language – is it all just mumbo jumbo?

Business language. It’s a constant bugbear of office life.

“Let’s have an all-hands meeting to get some valuable face-time and de-layer the table stakes!” your boss may say.

You on the other hand nod and smile, while secretly thinking “What the…?”

The rise of this type of corporate jargon has left many employees not only confused, but disgruntled as they try and work out what on earth these terms actually mean. And even when they manage to decifer this type of office gobbledygook employees are loathe to use them for fear they’re not using the terms correctly.

With that in mind, we thought we’d come up with the five most popular corporate jargon phrases and have a bit of fun at the same time. So read on – by the time you’re finished you’ll be able to identify the right “window of opportunity” to slip them in – or better still not use them at all!

#1 – Blue Sky Thinking

Ahh, “blue sky thinking”, officially the UK’s most unpopular business phrase according to the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB). Essentially it suggests the emptiness of the skies, like when someone embarks on it they are thinking without preconceptions. However, if you’ve got a manager who likes to use this phrase it’s probably first up on your meeting buzzword bingo sheet. Do workers even need to dabble in a bit of blue sky thinking anyway? If you’re a creative person you probably do it without needing to be told to do it. It’s a classic example of a pointless piece of workplace jargon.

Obama Bad Translator

Voice algorithms spot Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s is a devastating disease for those living with the condition and currently there is no cure.

Diagnosis can also be slow as there are no blood tests to detect it.

But now mathematician Max Little has come up with a non-invasive, cheap test which he hopes will offer a quick new way to identify the disease.

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Language Technologies are the Missing Piece in the Puzzle in Europe’s Digital Agenda

On 19 June 2012, over 160 key players of the Language Technology (LT) industry met in Brussels for the first LT-Innovate Summit.

The event showcased new technologies in LT, fostered investment opportunities, but most importantly, it successfully conveyed the message that Language Technologies are the missing piece in the puzzle of the EU’s strategy for the Digital Single Market.

Philippe Wacker, Secretary General of LT-Innovate stated: “A multilingual infrastructure is as important for Europe as a broadband infrastructure!

“Making content produced in any language available to 500 million Europeans is the real opportunity in the decade ahead.”

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