Cody Taylor

cstrep writes “Eight years ago, Opera introduced Mouse Gestures as a way to speed up your interaction with the browser, and focus on what’s important: Content. In 2005, Voice Navigation was introduced, and more recently we’ve worked with Nintendo to create a browser that takes full advantage of the ‘Wiimote’ and later, the touchscreen in the DSi. Today Opera introduces Face Gestures, a revolutionary technology designed to make interacting with Opera easier on computers with cameras. Face Gestures lets you perform frequent browsing operations with natural and easy to make face gestures. By using an internal technology dubbed ‘Face Observation Opera Language’, we are able to recognize pre-determined facial expressions and match them to commands on the Opera browser.”

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After Stephen Colbert won the vote in NASA’s contest to name a new module on the International Space Station, NASA found itself in a tough spot. According to Reuters, “Contest rules stipulate that the agency retains the right to basically do whatever it wants,” but it may not be all that easy. At first NASA floated the idea of naming the new module’s toilet “Colbert.” But Last Thursday Congressman Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., urged the agency to respect the people’s wishes. And Colbert turned up the heat on yesterday’s weekly show: “So NASA, I urge you to heed Congressman Fattah’s call for democracy in orbit. Either name that node after me, or I too will reject democracy and seize power as space’s evil tyrant overlord. Ball’s in your court.”

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“New! Gmail Autopilot” links appearing at the top of your G-mail. I’m sort of less impressed by this than the previous years.

Happy April 1st =)

SpuriousLogic sends in a link from Scientific American to a study by Swedish and US researchers that reaches the surprising conclusion that there may be a link between autism and vinyl floors. “Children who live in homes with vinyl floors, which can emit chemicals called phthalates, are more likely to have autism, according to research by Swedish and US scientists published Monday. … The scientists were surprised by their finding, calling it ‘far from conclusive.’ … The researchers found four environmental factors associated with autism: vinyl flooring, the mother’s smoking, family economic problems, and condensation on windows, which indicates poor ventilation.Infants or toddlers who lived in bedrooms with vinyl, or PVC, floors were twice as likely to have autism five years later… than those with wood or linoleum flooring. … Several scientists who did not participate in the study cautioned that it has too many limitations to draw conclusions, but they suggested that new studies be designed to look for a connection between autism and indoor air pollutants.”

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My new iPhone 3G is on the way after finding a deal on a new one at HowardForums. I also have been using the T-Mobile G1 since last October, but as I mentioned in my first Clash of the Titans article I am going to discuss the HTC Magic since it is the Android device without the keyboard and I am trying to stick with touch screen only devices…

Google on Tuesday is expected to announce more details of its venture capital fund, including a 0 million investment in the first year, according to a report Monday on The Wall Street Journal’s Web site that cited people familiar with the matter.

Chinese music-lovers will be offered more than one million songs for free after Google launched a free music download site in China this week in a bid to tackle the internet piracy menace in China.

YouTube has been moving to bring in legitimate, licensed content from TV networks and movie studios for some time, inking deals with the likes of CBS and MGM. Professionally produced content is going to become the focal point of the site, as Google plans to launch a major redesign within the next month.

bowman9991 writes “Paramount Pictures are so confident about the box office potential of the upcoming Star Trek reboot directed by J. J. Abrams that they’re already working on a sequel. They’ve hired Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof to write the screenplay. We’re looking at a possible 2011 release for the next Star Trek movie with the same cast. Now that they’ve committed themselves, let’s hope it lives up to expectations.”

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