Translator APP

So I have this idea that I will probably never make, but I would like to share it.

With all the new technology that is coming out in portable devices I would like to see a Translator app. My idea is to be able to use the cameras on cell phones and OCR technology to translate on the fly. I am not sure how the tech this would be accomplished. The current thinking is that you would need to an internet connection and up load the image to a server for the translation. This would be a good work around until Cell Phone processing power is increased enough to handle it.

He is what I envision; take a picture of something like a menu in a restaurant. The picture gets uploaded to a server and optical recognition software strips the words out and then overlays them back on the image.

Original Picture:

Picture After OCR:

All recognized words are highlighted yellow and words that were not recognized are highlighted blue. From here you can translate the words to various languages.

Translated words:

The translated words pop up over their highlighted counterpart. In this scenario I translated English to Spanish, but the done in reverse. Imagine being in Mexico and your phone was an on the translator. I know there are plenty of apps that translate typed text to you. There are also apps that use OCR technology to pictures of text into editable text. I have not seen one that combines the two technologies together.

Tell me what you think. Is there app out there that already does this? Do you think this is a good idea?

Government Scrambles to Fix an Unfixable Issue.

If you have been anywhere near a TV, Radio, or Internet news site you have probably heard the word ConFlicker. I’m not here to talk about this internet terror itself, but I am here to talk about the actions that people are taking. As the title of this post says, the state is scrambling to fix an issue that cannot be fixed. What I mean bythat statement is that although ConFlicker can be stopped technically, it was built to thrive on societal ineptitude of internet culture by means of social engineering. 

The infections scheme is based on Social Engineering concepts. A time honored tradition of thieves, rouges, and conartists. Social engineering has the power to make people accept totally believable, yet factious, stories which gain information and confidence of victims to further the personal greed of criminals. I would like to say that this rare, but with AIG, Madoff, Enron, and Katrina scandals in the news I believe it is more common place now than ever before. Here in America, our society is built on the fact that you’re innocent until proven guilty. I believe that is the correct way to view the world, but this leads us to trust the good in people and hinders our skepticism. This innate idea to trust sometimes blinds us to the reality that there are harmful people, whose only intentions are to steal our identities and money.
Enter Conflicker, a computer worm that infects your unpatched computer through visiting bogus websites setup by hackers. Most people who visit these malicious websites are steered there through cleverly disguised social engineering techniques such as spam emails, hacked accounts social network accounts, and variety of other unassuming methods. 60 Minutes recently did an episode that showed how a hacked Facebook account was used to direct friends of that account to infect websites. As soon as I saw that computer generated Facebook message from the hacked account it sent warning signals off to me, but probably 90% of people would have clicked the link. This type deception is the true danger of Conflicker and other virus like it. The major way the virus is effective is if your unpatched computer is tricked in to visiting an infected site.  
You might be wondering what all this has to do with government. As much as the government tries to patch all their machines and cut internet usage to their workers this will not be enough. Conflicker, while nasty, is not the issue, it’s the methods that spread Conflicker that need to me addressed. Until we start teaching internet users to be savvier or law enforcement can eliminate the threats at the source, Conflicker is just the means of this attack and not the solution for stopping the problem.

So what are we to do about this threat???  It is a two pronged solution, education and punishment. I will not go into punishment here, but I’ll only say that most of these cyber attacks come from Russia and China which we have few options for recourse even if we know who is the criminal. Education, Conflicker is not a technical issue; it is a computer/internet education issue. Patched computers with updated antivirus software are at little to no risk. The systems that are at risk are the ones that do not patch the OS or the Anti Virus protection is outdated. This is why we need to better instruct people why they need to keep their Antivirus up to date. We need to show computers users how to keep their operating systems patched. We need to educate people on what to be suspicious of when they receive emails, IM’s, text messages, tweets, etc…. The power these hacker are given is because overall society of internet users are oblivious to simple, but crucial steps to deter criminals. This is not saying that by teaching the mass how to be safer on the internet will end all problems. There have been and will always be people that prey on the uneducated, the less fortunate, and trusting. 
For> more information on Conflicker or a means of scanning your computer to see if you are infected 

For more information on Conflicker or a means of scanning your computer to see if you are infected read Adrian Kingsley-Hughes – “The ‘no bull’ guide to Conficker”

Tally Talks

Just an idea

Would anyone be interested in an every other month get together, for 2ish hours, where you would have 3 or 4 people give a 15 minute speech/lecture on a tech type topic and Q&A afterward? Think TED, but local Tallahasseeians giving mini-lectures on technology topics they find relevant. It could be anything they want it to be as long tech play a role in it.

Ideas:

• Photography and how you use the web to show your work.
• Digital creation through Photoshop.
• How to get more followers on Twitter???
• How to use Twitter to advertise and market.
• The benefits of using open source technology.
• How to Partition a RAID 0 disk array.
• Using Web 2.0 Technologies and Social Media to be more efficient.
• How to edit music with Audacity. Using technology to enrich church.
• How to setup a Media Center PC in your Living room.
• What makes a good password and how to keep your information safe while on line.
• Spam and Scam how to protect yourself from phishing.
• How to start a podcast.
• Whatever………….

 

With the presenters permission we could film it and create a Channel on Youtube to share these presentations.

If you think this might be something that you are interested in please let me know by commenting below or Twitter me @verticalgambit

One way Web 2.0 social media could help federal, state, and local government.

There are so many ways for government to waste money, but learning a little from social media websites, like Facebook, governmental offices could learn to solve problems through crowd sourcing existing staff from around the nation. The government has a wide range of technologies that it uses from Mainframes to SQL servers to Helpdesk software. Even though government agencies are very diverse, most have core sections (Finance and Accounting, Human Resources, Legal Department, Information Technology, and Specialized Staff found within the different divisions of government) that have similar technology support needs.

Technology Support Needs:

1. Server Teams:
   

   1. Email
      

   2. File Storage
      

   3. Active Directory
      

2. Database Engineers:
   

   1. SQL
      

   2. Oracle
      

   3. DB2
      

3. Programmers:
   

   1. Java
      

   2. VB
      

   3. HTML
      

   4. SQL
      

4. Network:
   

5. Client Helpdesk Support:
   

   1. PC support
      

   2. Phone Helpdesk
      

With tightening budgets and layoffs, CIO’s are fighting a delicate balance of low staffing and still keeping a high level of customer service to the end users of the technologies they support. One way that could help with this dilemma is to have a social media website for government technology staff to bounce ideas off each other. If you look at websites like Facebook and Twitter, you will see that in today’s world, most questions can be answered by asking your friends online. With government there are issues that arise when looking for answers online. The first is that government has many policies when it comes to privacy. You cannot just ask, “What is the best way to encrypt Health information” to the general public.

Another issue is environment. The public sector has a lot more flexibility when it comes to install applications within a production environment. Purchasing requirements is another issue with government. There are times, which even thought the software you have been recommended will do the exact job you need, you cannot purchase it because of money or the company is not on the government approved vendor list.

Even with all the restriction put on the public sector there is still the opportunity to use the functionality of social media sites to enhance technology support within the government. I purpose that the government build a password protected, Facebook like, site where government employees can discuss issues with others government employees. A good example of where this could really work is within the core technology support areas.

A Government Technology site could not only help solve problems with common issues quicker, it could also save tons of money in time and resources. Let take for example email. This is the life blood of most communications within the public sector. By having 60 or 70 dedicated government email specialist from around the nation all in one group you could solve common issues much faster than calling a vendor for support (although I am not saying get rid of the vendor). Not only could you solve issues faster, but you can also help prevent them by discussing best practices with people that understand the constraints of government.

This only one way to integrate Web 2.0 in to government, there are many other applications that can be used to help organize and solve issues.

Amendment 2 proves we are still not there.

This blog is in response to a Facebook comment about my Twitter status.

November 5^th I made this comment on Twitter, “I am SO HAPPY about the Presidential election. I am sad about amendment 2. It hurts my heart that we can’t accept people for who they are.”

My Twitter account auto changes my Facebook status to match.

Later that morning I received this response within Facebook, “You know JP, it’s not always about accepting people for who they are. It’s also about the ways people would take advantage of it. I think that same sex couples have certain rights, but I don’t necessarily with the marriage.”

Below is my follow up comment and I believe it states my feelings and beliefs on the subject:

Please do not take my statements below the wrong way, because they are not meant to be mean or argumentative. I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinions, beliefs (religious or moral), feelings, and system of life they choose to live. Also, I know that my opinion is no better or worse than anyone else’s. Here are some of my feelings/thoughts/opinions on this issue.

Maybe I should have said, “I am SO HAPPY about the Presidential election. I am sad about amendment 2. It hurts my heart that we still don’t allow equal right for all humans.” But I feel saying, “that we can’t accept people” is a true statement too.

Acceptance is defined by Webster’s as: “an agreeing either expressly or by conduct to the act or offer of another so that a contract is concluded and the parties become legally bound”

To me the fact that 65% percent of Floridians voted to legally ban marriage between anyone except a man and a woman is not acceptance.

I do want to point out one thing I do not agree with you on. I believe your statement, “It’s also about the ways people would take advantage of it.” is the same type of statement that was said when it was purposed for women to vote, equal pay for equal work, or blacks not to be slaves. Again, I am not accusing you of that, just saying words like those have been heard in the past when something is not socially acceptable, but social norms change.

Throughout time minorities (woman, people of color, types of religion and now sexual preference) have been persecuted for being different. When most people look back on this persecution, they think it is absurd that people could have missed the mark for sooo long. I see amendments like this in the same way. It is not a gay marriage issue; it is a human equality issue. I just think that we should respect all humans and all humans should start out being equal in the eyes of the law. It is not a crime to be gay (anymore) and it should not be against the law for gays to marry. Again this is not me saying that you are wrong or that I am right. It is just how I feel about the situation.

I do respect your opinion and believe that you have as much right to that opinion as I do to mine. Thank you for sharing your view. As seen by the Amendment 2 vote, my opinion on the issue is in stark contrast to the opinion of majority. Also, my thoughts above, I believe, somewhat go with your second comment about, “Most people will win those freedoms they seek.”

I will say that in light of the recent presidential election, America electing its first black President, I am excited to see how far we as a society have come in the last 150 years. I still hope that we as humans can reach true equality amongst our peers before another 150 years passes.

I Have Questions, Do You Have Answers?

I have not had a chance to update my Blog in a while and wanted to get something up. I was trying to think, “What can I blog about?”

I came up with nothing. Soooooo, I thought I would pose a few questions and see if I can get some ideas about what to write.

What is your favorite online video (YouTube, Hulu, Veoh, etc…) service?

Do you use a similar micro blogging service to Twitter (Laconica, Jaiku, Pounce, etc…)? If so, how do you use it?

Do you use an online storage site for storing things like files or backups? What site?

What is your favorite online image storage website (Flicker, Picasa, Photobucket, Shutterfly, ect…)?

Is there any online technology that you would like to know more about? I love researching tech, so if you have something that you want to know more about or something I can blog about that people might find interesting please let me know.

Mail Goggles. Don’t Drink and Email

 

For all those people (like me) that think Google is hilarious, well they have done it again. Google has launched Mail Goggles. 

 

The officail line from Google 

“Google strives to make the world’s information useful. Mail you send late night on the weekends may be useful but you may regret it the next morning. Solve some simple math problems and you’re good to go. Otherwise, get a good night’s sleep and try again in the morning. After enabling this feature, you can adjust the schedule in the “General” settings page.”

Basically this service will deter Gmail users from sending emails in a less that sober state. Once you turn on Mail Goggles, if you attempt to send an email between the hours of 10:00PM to 4:00AM (default time) you will be prompted to answer five math questions wi Emailthin a set time limit.

Unless you turn into Steven Hawking after a Guinness or two, this means it will be harder to send that late night drunken email telling your boss what you really think.

Although this has to be one of the funniest things I heard in a while, I do think this type of precaution can make the Internet better in the long run. Imagine if you are on your favorite forum and they implement this type of functionality. Imagine how many of the eight years old Trolls out there would be out of luck if they had to answer simple math questions.

New College Graduate Desperately Seeking Progressive IT Environment.

Until about three weeks ago, I had never heard the word millennial used in the context of referring to a specific group people. I first heard the word when I was in an hour long IT session, Web 2.0 Technologies. The presenter used the term millennials to describe college students who will be entering the workforce looking for the same functionality they use on the web to help solve business problems. Like most cliché technology words (solutions, beta, streamline, The Cloud, ect.) I’ve heard over the last three years, I did not pay this one any attention. Now, everywhere I turn, this word is working its way in to the business vernacular. It seems now that word is really starting pick up some steam. It will not be long, if it has not happened already, before we see Rick Sanchez twittering and talking on CNN about millennials.

If you are not sure what a millennial is then, join the club. Millennial is another name for Generation-Y. Depending on where you look you will find different number, but basicly millennials are anyone born between 1977 to 1998. These are today’s teens to early thirty something’s that have grown up in the internet age. Some key attributes of this group are the early adoption, multitasking, no brand loyalty, and the need for on demand services. Most millennials care more about functionality, simplicity, user collaboration while appearance is secondary.

A recent article I read in Computer World magazine, Vol. 32, Number 38 (September 22nd 2008), pushed me to write this post. The publication dedicated two pages about how “Millennials Demand Changes in IT Strategy.” This article talks about a new generation of internet savvy users who are more likely to work for companies that take advantage of progressive web 2.0 technologies. It the same regard, companies that have strict policies are likely to lose talented young workers.

Herein lies the problem, if you are an upstart business with minimal data restrictions building a mobile and dynamic environment, attracting young talented workers is easy. There are many pitfalls for government funded state organization . The major issue for this type of change is security. Government organization cannot sacrifice security for usability. There are so many restriction that have been legislated on government agency to protect information it is virtually impossible to get anything done due to the fear of being sued or in violation of outdated government mandates.

Very soon this governmental inability to progress forward is going to lead to a bigger issue than security. It was hinted in the Computer World article that the lack of hiring young talented replacements will come to a head as soon baby boomers start retiring. This mass exodus of institutional knowledge coupled with the fact that most of the talented college graduates are not looking to work for the government is going to crush the public sector within the next ten to fifteen years. As the pace of information moves steadily faster and faster, government Information Technology departments are doing all they can to stay afloat. With budget crises across the county, any type of progressive projects or recruitment within State and Federal government IT is limited. The fact is that millenials, who may be able to find solutions to upcoming technology issues, are going in to the private sector because of the antiquated policies of government. This is the basic “Catch 22″ that need a solution now, not later!

What are your thoughts on the state of Government IT or millenials?

2008 Florida Government Technology Conference

I will be going to the today and tomorrow. The theme this year is “Government IT Saving Green by Going Green” (see banner below)

Currently I am schedule to see five “breakout sessions” and hopefully one Keynote tomorrow.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm	Web 2.0 Technologies Joe Clark Florida State University, Center for Teaching and Learning
2:15 pm – 3:15 pm	Business Mash-Ups Kevin Parker Serena Software

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

8:30 am – 9:30 am	The Rising Threats and Vulnerabilities of Businesses and Organizations Through the Use of Social Engineering with Basic Hacking Skills Denise Stemen Supervisory Special Agent with the FBI Cyber Division Infraguard and Agency for Enterprise Information Technology
	The ITIL Journey: Tales from the Road (Alterative Class) Coleen Birch itSMF Local Interest Group

 

9:45 am – 10:45 am

Proven Integration Strategies for Government John Jamieson Hewlett Packard

 

1:30 pm – 2:30 pm

Business Intelligence Trends & Successes: Government Dashboards and Visual Presentation of my Key Data Guy Cavallo, Microsoft Corporation

 

Hopefully I will be able to blog a little about them all. Also, I hope gets some pictures from the vendor exhibit hall floor. Today I am going to sit in on two of my favorite topics, Web 2.0 and Mashups. I am really hoping that there will be some interesting material covered that I can take back and introduce to my management. I suspect that since this a government conference there will not be any Bleeding Edge Technology shown, but maybe I can see some established Web 2.0 tech being used in a way that is conducive my government agency’s directive.

 

For more information on the Florida Government Technology Conference 2008 please visit the website: http://floridagtc.com/index.cfm

A conference program that list the schedule of all activities and Keynotes can be found here: http://floridagtc.com/conferenceProgram08.cfm

 

Google Releases GAudi

Google Releases GAudi

The new service uses speech recognition to index the contents of audio and video. Basic it will scan select YouTube video channels and turn the voices in to searchable text and lets the user jump to the right portion of the video where these words are spoken.

This is how Google describes how to use Gaudi (Picture or my screen shots, Text is all Googles)

Searching for videos:

To find a set of videos, simply type a query in the search box and press the “Search videos” button.

A The results of your search will appear in the left column.

You can refine your search using channel filters, the active filter showing in bold. A channel filter corresponds to one or more YouTube channels. In the context of the US election, you can choose videos from the McCain channel, the Obama channel or from all YouTube political channels.

For each result, we provide a thumbnail of the video, its title, the time since it was published, the duration and the number of times the query terms are mentioned (i.e. spoken) in the video. By clicking on a result, the video will be displayed in the right column.

Watching a video:

Once you have selected a video, it will appear on the right side of the screen, in the embedded YouTube player, with the list of mentions. Google Audio Indexing enhances the YouTube player to display mentions of the query terms as yellow markers on the player timeline. For space reasons, we cannot always display all the mentions on the timeline. The top 10 mentions are displayed as a list under the player. To read the transcript for a given mention, just mouse over the corresponding yellow marker. To listen to the corresponding audio, just click on the marker: the player will automatically jump to the right time in the video. You can also click on the play button located on the left side of the mention.

Searching inside a video:

With Google Audio Indexing, you can also restrict your search to the content of a given video. By default, the “Search inside this video” uses the same query term as the video search.

To search for a different term, just type your query in the text form under the video player and press the “Search within this video” button. The mention results are displayed underneath. The yellow markers on the timeline are updated accordingly and you can access the information just like before, using mouse over.

While this is not a new concept, this technology combined with YouTube is a very powerful combo. Currently, you can only look at YouTube videos that have political content pertaining to the presidential race. I think that if this can be release as standalone application it could have significant impact on transcribing for podcasters, advertiser, radio host, and other speech based media. Currently GAudi has been released within Google Labs (which is Google real version of Beta). For more information on GAudi please visit http://labs.google.com/gaudi/static/faq.html