Wow - this commercial on TV just got me. Super sweet awesome stuff. Well done, as always, @Google.
IBM’s Watson Competes on Jeopardy
Beginning yesterday, February 14th, a two match competition was launched for IBM’s latest computer machine genius, Watson. Over three days, ABC will show the Watson Jeopardy matches where it competes against Ken Jennings, who holds the record for 74 wins straight on the show, and Ken Rutter, who won a record $3.25 million.
Watson is powered by IBM servers and uses 15 terabytes of space to store its data. It is not allowed to search the web for answers during the game. Watson uses complex algorithms to understand the question being asked, dissect it, and then apply it’s top 3 most logical answers. As you watch the show, there’s a small window that displays these answers and Watson’s confidence in them. If one of the answers is above the “buzz-o-meter” threshold, then Watson will ring in.
Watson is by no means perfect. Once yesterday, Watson echoed the same incorrect answer as Ken Jennings had just provided. It also provided a partially correct response for an answer inquiring the name of the anatomical oddity a gymnast had and it said “leg.” The correct response was “missing a leg.” Watson was unable to provide shall we say “common sense” in knowing what was considered odd.
Regardless, I was cheering for Watson. Yes, I must admit that it seems a bit odd to cheer for a machine versus a human, but there’s something quite endearing about Watson. I gather that I’m not alone in this as one answer yesterday mentioned “Boston Rob” which led to Watson’s correct response of: What is Survivor? The audience rejoiced in unison that this machine would know of something as human as a TV show.
Yesterday’s show ended Round 1 with Watson and Ken Rutter tied with $5000. I’m anxious to see how Round 2 finishes out today.
If you get some time over the next few days, check out Jeopardy! You will not be disappointed.
Who’s the fastest typer? Check out typeracer.com.This concept reminds me slightly of my senior year in high school when I worked as a computer apprentice for my county school system. I can clearly recall my coworkers and I would often having typing competitions <geeks, I know> using the Mavis Beacon software we were supposed to be installing in the Elementary schools <rebels! ha!>. Ahh, memories!
Remember the Milk
Ever since I purchased my Sprint HTC Evo, I’ve been on a quest to find the best to-do task manager that I can utilize via the web + phone. I’ve tried teuxdeux.com and the Things application, which are both great in their own right, but neither ever quite satisfied what I was after. However, there’s a chance that I finally may have found it, thanks to the folks at lifehacker.com {awesome site, by the way!).
Best To-Do Task Manager to date: rememberthemilk.com
Remember the Milk allows users to create multiple lists online or offline. I think the offline feature is phenomenal considering that I spend a lot of time on planes that do not always have Wi-Fi! You can set priorities, generate tags, define locations, and assign time / date deadlines. Another feature that I really like is that you can share tasks with other Remember the Milk users. Thus, I’ve already created a “Home” list that I can send over to the hubby :)
The only downside that I’ve found so far is that RTM’s web-based service is FREE but not their phone applications. If you download the app to your Android OS phone / iPhone / iPod Touch, etc, you will be given a 15 day trial. Upon the conclusion of the trial, you will need to purchase Remember the Milk Pro for $25/year in order to continue using the application on your device. I have an inquiry out to the RTM team as I’m curious if I would have to spend $50 total {{ Evo ($25) and my iPod Touch ($25) }} or if it would be a flat $25 yearly fee. In the interim, I’ve decided to access RTM via the web on my phone as a free workaround.
Nevertheless, the koolest feature of all to me is the integration with Google and Twitter. Now, that my phone is running the Google Android OS, I find myself being pulled more and more towards integrating my life with Google applications, which has been a great thing so far. I seriously cannot imagine life without Google Calendar aka GCal now. It’s become a major lifeline of mine! To incorporate RTM’s Google functionality, I’ve installed two extensions into Chrome. By doing this, I’ve added the RTM tasks feature for both Google Calendar and GMail. The Twitter feature is great as well. You can send a direct message to Twitter to have a task added to your list while on the go. All in all, it’s a very simplistic, yet excellent task and time managing tool, that is boasting well over 2 million users! Check it out!
Update: I heard back from RTM and here’s the scoop - “Upgrading to Pro applies to your account entirely, so you can use any of our mobile services that require Pro with the same account.” That’s a plus.
What’s the latest trendy accessory need? Headphones.
It seems there’s been a barrage of celebrities including Lady Gaga, Dr Dre, Snoop, and more, endorsing headphones lately. Who is the latest celebrity to join the list? Jay-Z! Skullcandy, who is known for producing amazing sound quality headphones, has teamed up with Jay-Z to bring a new headphone to the line-up known as: “RocNation Aviator.” Monster and Dr Dre who has been leading the category with ‘Beats by Dr Dre’ now has some stiff new competition. Not to forget, Diddy who also just recently released headphones with Monster called ‘Diddy Beats.’
Check out the RockNation Aviator Headphones here: www.skullcandy.com/RocNation
Available now for pre-order.
“I‘m so tomorrow,
The Audemars are yesterday,
Which means your on time delay,
So even if I slow it doooown,
My sound is fast forward” …
While watching Jim Cramer’s Mad Money on Friday, I became super excited, but not for an awesome stock tip as you may think! Check out the bottom right corner of my TV screen shot above: ‘Download the CNBC Real-Time Android App.’ Kool, huh? I quickly grabbed my new HTC Evo that runs the Android operating system and scanned the barcode, which opened my browser to download the CNBC app. Isn’t technology amazing? I love it!
8.26AM: I have my HTC Evo 4g phone in hand! Woot woot!
6.42AM: I’ve arrived at Sprint to get the HTC Evo!!
Tune into your emotions - all 80 of them!
“
| — | Check out: stereomood.com . You can choose from approximately 80 moods and activities on this free radio site that will play songs based on how you feel or what you’re doing. A few options are: road trip, just wake up, feel like crying, candlelit dinner, dressing up, spring cleaning, etc etc. Pretty kool stuff! |
It appears as if Apple did not enjoy HTC getting a leg up on them with the Evo and is rumored to launch their own dual camera phone. Check it out:
brit:
A front-facing camera. FINALLY.
Sprint’s HTC EVO 4G Phone unveiled at CTIA
Announced at CTIA this week was the HTC EVO 4G phone from Sprint. Wow! On paper, this touchscreen smartphone is off the chart! Inevitably, this is the first ever 4G phone in the US. What’s 4G, you ask? 4G is the successor to the 3G and 2G cellular wireless standards. In terms of Sprint’s 4G Mobile Wimax, it’s up to 10x faster based on approximate download speed comparison of 3G’s 600 kbps vs. 4G’s 6 Mbps. In other words, this phone will have lightning fast data speeds in 4G areas. Sprint has launched 4G in several markets already: Baltimore, Atlanta, Vegas, Chicago, Austin, etc, and more are scheduled to launch by summer.
Here are a few of the HTC Evo highlights:
- 4.3-inch Touch Screen
- Two Cameras - an 8.0 megapixel auto-focus camera with HD-capable video camcorder and a forward-facing 1.3 megapixel camera
- “Leap” to Multitask
- Kickstand
- 4G
- Built-in Mobile Hotspot - Allows up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices to share the 4G experience
I am long overdue for a phone upgrade and now between the HTC Evo and Nexus One, I’ve got a lot of tough decisions ahead of me. What phone should replace my infamous BlackBerry Pearl remains to be seen.
Decisions, decisions …
