Your mood caught by computer - Technology - www.smh.com.au

"Your mood caught by computer
December 26, 2004
The Sun-Herald


Scientists have developed a computer that can determine a person's mood simply from the sound of their voice.

They are now negotiating to sell the technology to a range of possible users, from car manufacturers to the makers of computer games and even reality television shows.

"When you are depressed or sad, the pitch of your voice drops and your speech slows down," said Dr Christian Jones, chief executive of Edinburgh-based Affective Media, the company behind the high-tech product.

"We betray our emotions in dozens of subtle ways. Our recognition system uses 40 of these.

"It ignores the words you use and concentrates exclusively on the sound quality of speech.

"It can tell your emotional state the very first time it hears your voice."

Dr Jones said car maker Toyota was already interested in using the technology to present road information in such a way that matched a driver's state of mind.

The on-board computer would become chatty for bored drivers or more calming for angry ones, Dr Jones said."

Merry X'mas Eve everyone!

Last night at about 10pm I finally finished my painting which I'm giving to Lisa for X'mas. It's taken about 5 months on and off (mostly 'on') nad is the first painting I've done in five years, and it's certainly the one I've spent the most time trying to perfect.

Here it is :



...I'll try to get a better photo of it this afternoon.
2moro morning I'll go over to Lisa's early (like 8am early) and we'll make our super-salad which is our contribution to her familys' xmas lunch. We're probably going to have some vino and stay over, but should be a great day.

Better go... all the best.

Single-serving coffee can heats itself
from USA TODAY

Convenience is about to take on new meaning in the coffee aisle: single-serving coffee in a can that heats itself.
Chef Wolfgang Puck says the self-heating container 'will expand the way people drink coffee.'
Beginning Jan. 2, consumers can buy a 10-ounce container of Wolfgang Puck gourmet latte at the store and heat it by pressing a button. No electricity. No batteries. No appliances.
"It will expand the way people drink coffee," says Puck, the celebrity chef with a growing empire.
How does the can do it? A single step mixes calcium oxide (quicklime) and water. It heats the coffee to 145 degrees in six minutes — and stays hot for 30 minutes.
It sounds like a technology used by soldiers to heat Meals-Ready-To-Eat. But MREs mix magnesium iron oxide and water and need several steps. This is one-step and self-contained.
Puck's latte hits stores at a point consumers are willing to pay a premium for quality products that save time.
Puck — owner of Los Angeles eateries Spago and Chinois — knows trends. He's licensed his name to WP Beverage Partners, a beverage firm. WP has linked up with OnTech, a technology specialist, that designed the heating process.
Nestlé has tested a similar technology with Nescafé in Europe, and smaller companies have tested it in Asia.
"This will change the way people drink coffee," says Jonathan Weisz, CEO of OnTech. He insists that the technology is child-safe and eco-friendly. The technology also could be used to heat tea, cocoa and soup products. By mid-2005, it will be tested on foods from rice to fish.
Kroger is so convinced the product will be a hit, it will offer it in all 2,530 stores — and negotiated a deal to be the only seller until mid-February.
"There's nothing like it on the market," says John Spalding, who oversees all coffee sales at Kroger.
The coffee in its recyclable, single-serve container will retail for about $2.25. While that's less than a Starbucks latte, will American coffee drinkers trade in their Starbucks grandés for Puck's cup o' joe? One marketing consultant says, don't bet your coffee money on it.
"People won't believe that something from the grocery store will be in the same ballpark with Starbucks," says Steven Addis, a brand expert.
Starbucks won't comment on the Puck coffee, but spokesman Alan Hilowitz says, "Starbucks is about great coffee and a relaxing experience."
The Puck brand could attract time-pressed commuters, Addis says. And, perhaps, cold-weather football fans.
OnTech also plans a line of self-heating coffee later next year under the Hillside Coffee private label — a name it licensed from Procter & Gamble. OnTech plans to distribute the coffee through QVC next year and at major hotel chains.
"We've never had retailers calling us and demanding a product," says Bob Groux, CEO of WP. "We do now."

Near Berlin, a former zeppelin hangar has been transformed into Europe's largest covered leisure resort (five million cubic metres).
Tropical Islands offers 850 sun-loungers on its two beaches, waterfalls tumbling into tranquil lagoons, a rainforest, sunrise projected on to a 450ft long screen, speakers disguised as boulders broadcasting bird song and insect noises appropriate to the time of year and day ... and best of all, workers trained to "use smiles to enthuse stressed and winter-wearied Europeans".
Price is €20 for four hours, plus €1 for every hour over that. It is hoped that Tropical Islands will boost the local economy in the former communist east, where unemployment is around 20 per cent.
Could this sun-kissed leisure at home be the future of tourism?

EPIC

Epic is a 'future documentary' done in flash about the changing state of media..

http://www.robinsloan.com/epic/

...goes for about 8mins. Watch it, it's quite thought provoking.

...some mirrors:

http://www.broom.org/epic/

http://www.lightover.com/epic/