Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
GOOG-411 Google's Free Talking Phone Search
GOOG-411 (or, more completely, 1-800-GOOG-411) is a new beta service offering from search engine megacorp Google. Just say what you want, and Google does its best to hook you up with it - for free. That's right - your 411 is free.
(GOOG-411 - Just ask for what you want via cellphone)
GOOG-411 is a fully-automated local search service; just dial the number, and tell the service where you are (city and state). Then, say the general category of what you want (for example, "restaurants"). Then, state your food preference (say, "pizza"). GOOG-411 uses voice-recognition software to determine your needs.
Once it has this data, GOOG-411 searches through Google's regular local search information to find what you want, and then let you decide what sounds good over your phone.
Once you've made your choice, GOOG-411 will connect you to the business and even provide you with a Google map and directions via SMS or email.
I've tested this service in relatively noisy environments (like airports) and the voice recognition seems to work very well, despite being a beta program.
I'm constantly looking for my favorite science fictional devices in the real world, and GOOG-411 is testing a key enabling technology for the holy grail of PDAs, the joymaker from Frederik Pohl's prophetic 1965 classic The Age of the Pussyfoot.
The list of predictions associated with the joymaker is impressive:
- List of callers on joymaker
- Use joymaker as credit card
- Administer medications with your mobile device
- Voice mail on joymaker
- Virtual kiss via tactile net
The joymaker was shaped somewhat like a small scepter - it had no display and no keyboard. It had a voice-activated interface and full voice-recognition. Eliminating the need for a display and a keyboard is a key advancement - you can't use regular Google - even from a cellphone - when behind the wheel of your car, for example.
...the programmed software includes procedures for translating most normal variations of voice, idiom, accent, and other variable modalities into a computer-oriented sim-script and thence into the mathematical expressions on which the computers operate.
(Read more about Frederik Pohl's joymaker)
GOOG-411 seems to be bringing us closer to the age of the pussyfoot.
Find out more about GOOG-411 Google Local Voice Search.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 8/23/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Communication ")
Will Whales Be Our First Contact?
'He had piloted the Adastra to its first contact with the civilization of another solar system.' - Murray Leinster, 1935.
NYC/Dublin Portal Fails To Meet 'Guardian Of Forever' Standards
I am the Guardian of Forever.
Holobox? Who Doesn't Want A Home Hologram?
'...there appeared standing upon the disk, the image of a man...' - Edmond Hamilton, 1928.
EBS-260 Handjet Free Hand Dot Matrix Printer
'McKie held a chalf-memory stick over the dusted surface.' - Frank Herbert, 1964.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Mechazilla Arms Catch A Falling Starship, But Check Out SF Landing-ARMS
'...the rocket’s landing-arms automatically unfolded.'
A System To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'...points and patches of light... sliding all over their faces in a programmed manner that had been designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
Robot Hand Separate From Robot
'The crawling, exploring object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
Hybrid Wind Solar Devices
'...the combined Wind-Suncatcher, like a spray of tulips mounted fanwise.'
Is Optimus Autonomous Or Teleoperated?
'I went to the control room where the three other men were manipulating their mechanical men.'
Robot Masseuse Rubs People The Right Way
'The automatic massager began to fumble gently...'
Solar-Powered Space Trains On The Moon
'The low-slung monorail car, straddling its single track, bored through the shadows on a slowly rising course.'
Drone Deliveries Instead Of Waiters In Restaurants?
'It was a smooth ovoid floating a few inches from the floor...'
Optimus Robot Can Charge Itself
'... he thrust in his charging arm to replenish his store of energy.'
Skip Movewear Arc'teryx AI Pants
'...the terrible Jovian gravity that made each movement an effort.'
'Robovan' Name Already Taken - Elon, Try These
There are alternative names that are probably in the public domain by now.
How Old Are Tesla Designs?
You be the judge.
Is Your Autonomous Tractor Safe?
'The field-minder finished turning the top-soil of a two-thousand-acre field.'
Smart TVs Are Listening!
'You had to live -- did live, from habit that became instinct -- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard...'
Police Drones In China Would Like To Have A Word With You
''OVERRIDE,' the City Fathers said suddenly, without being asked anything at all.'
Oh Great (Part 2), Fence-Climbing Robots
Please, no stingers.
