Google introduces Goggles software

Here’s quite an interesting piece of software coming from Google. As mentioned in the official Google Blog, the Mobile World Congress at Barcelona bore witness to a prototype version of Google Goggles. This software displayed the possibility of incorporating Google’s machine translation and image recognition technologies.

A video was provided in the blog to explain the mechanism further. In the video, the way to use Goggles was shown. A picture of a text of German menu was instantly translated into English text, via this software. The technology works by connecting the handset’s camera to an optical character recognition (OCR) engine. It identifies the picture as text and then translates that text into English by means of Google Translate.

Presently, this technology can function just for German-English translations. It is not fully equipped to face all the languages yet. Nevertheless, this software can hold a lot of potential in the future. Mobile phones incorporated with this software will be able to translate signs, posters and other foreign text immediately into the users’ language.

Ultimately, Google is planning to come with a version of Google Goggles that can translate all the 52 languages presently compatible with Google Translate. But for this to happen, viewers will have to wait for some more time.

Google unveils virtual glass elevator that lets you fly around the world

Google has unveiled a virtual glass elevator that lets a person fly around the world.

The Liquid Galaxy project is an interactive booth with wraparound LCD screens.Screens show synchronised views via Google Earth and you can use a six-axis mouse to move your way through air and water.

The video was taken by Mashable staff at a live demo by creator Jason Holt at TED.

"With the Liquid Galaxy, we could fly through the Grand Canyon, leap into low-Earth orbit, and come back down to perch on the Great Pyramid of Giza without even breaking a sweat." -Holt on the Google Lat Long Blog.

The Parisian Love

Google Joins HTC to Create Chrome Based Google Tablet PC

In their constant strive to outperform and eclipse Apple's gadgets, Googlehas provided a possible peek at what their rivaltablet computer may look like. To develop the tablet, Google is reportedly teaming up with Taiwan-basedHTC, the same company it worked with to create its Nexus One phone.

The images, which popped up this week on their Chromium site, reveal a glimpse at how Google's OS would work on the tablet. The photos were reported to be developed by Glen Murphy, the company's UI lead on its OS and browser. It features a configurable keyboard, zooming functionality, and resizable windows that can be altered by dragging your fingers across the screen.

The Google Chrome tablet concept designs showcases a range of touchscreen tablet PC features, including:

• A range of touch-screen keypad configurations, including a split keyboard with keys assigned to left and right hands

• Different methods of launching Google Chrome applications

• Tabs presented along the side of the screen of the Google Chrome interface

• Creating multiple Chrome web browsers on screen using a launcher

Although intended to show off the OS, these images could suggest how the tablet itself will look and function.

 

This video of Google's tablet shows the use of hand gestures with the Chrome OS. Click on the link above to see how the user interacts with the multi-touch touchscreen in a way, similar to the Apple iPad, using similar gestures to resize and interact with windows and launch applications. It is rumored that the device would possibly include a 5 to 10-inch screenand an on-screen keyboard.

Chrome v5.0.317.0: Another reason to ditch Firefox

Do you still use Firefox? I am still a Firefox fan, however the latest release in the Dev channel for Google Chrome has me really excited. One of the best extensions for Firefox was one called NoScript — a really easy way to make sure browsing stays secure.

Javascript is a vital piece of the web today — but at the same time, it’s another tool that hackers can use to steal your information through what’s called XSS (Cross-Site Scripting).

Google Chrome v5.0.317.0 now officially supports NoScript-like behavior, where you can prohibit all javascript from running, except the scripts you explicitly authorize. This new version also lets you selectively choose which cookies, images, plug-ins and pop-ups are allowed as well.

At first, this feature feels like Windows Vista — asking you if you want to allow scripts every time you click on something — but it doesn’t take long for your exemption list to become fairly robust.

Google Chrome is almost irresistible now — I can’t think of any reason, other than Firebug, why I should use Firefox anymore. Can you think of anything Google Chrome doesn’t do well enough to switch from your current browser?

Google Nexus One receives official multitouch support; software upgrade

Google’s Nexus One Android-based smartphone has officially received multitouch support today as part of a significant over-the-air software update.

In addition to multitouch support — absent from the software on popular Android phones such as the Droid, Hero and Cliq, but possible nonetheless — the Nexus One receives Google Goggles, a visual search app that uses the phone’s camera to identify things, as well as suggestions and night mode for Google Maps.

Multitouch support is now available in the browser, image gallery and maps, bringing the Android phone more in line with the Apple iPhone and Palm Pre. (Until now, Apple intellectual property was said to be the hurdle facing Google.)

Google insists that it was waiting for Android 2.1 to address users’ requests for the feature, allowing for devices with bigger displays and faster processors before turning on pinch-to-zoom capability, said a Google spokesman to ReadWriteWeb.

Finally, the firmware update includes 3G improvements that address issues reported by users.

ZDNet’s own Smartphones & Cell Phones blogger Matthew Miller downloaded the update and said the new multitouch capabilities brings him back into the fold after using the Dolphin browser.

For the full list of updates, see Google’s Nexus One announcement.

Want to learn more about Google Goggles? Here’s a video: