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 ")
Huawei Pura X Folding Phattie Phone
Why can't we get more innovative phone configurations?
Positioned Cybertrucks With Free Starlinks WiFi In LA
'Several thousand of them formed the positioning grid on the rubble pile.' Vernor Vinge, 1999.
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.
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
Russians Create Robot Tank Platoons
'The remotely-operated robot tank is an old idea...'
3D-Printed Exoskeleton Learns From Your Hand
'...small electric motors at the principal joints worked the prosthetic framework by means of steel cables...'
Smartwatch Powered By Slime Mold
'Living protoplasm incorporated into the Ampek F-a2 recording system...'
Unmanned Boats Attack At Sea
'The autofreighter smashed into the boat...'
Carpentopod Walking Table
'Twoflower's Luggage, which was currently ambling along on its little legs...'
Iron Drone Raider Counter-UAV Operations
'You've got an aggressive machine up in the air now.'
SpaceX Rocket Shuttle Point-To-Point On Earth
'He came to as the ship went into free flight, arching in a high parabola over the plains...'
Quaise Uses Beams Of Energy To Dig Geothermal Wells
'The peculiar quality of this light, which gave it its great preeminence over all other penetrating rays...'
Robots Repair And Modify Themselves
'The overworked leg motor would have to cool down before he could work on it...'
Waymo And Tesla 'Autonomous Cabs' Are Piloted By Remote Drivers
‘Where to, sport?’ the starter at cab relay asked.
Robot Janitors Get To Work
'A few mechanical cleaning devices crept here and there...'
Robots Learn To Install Charged Batteries Into Themselves
This is nothing new for science fiction fans!
Robot Rabbits Entice Pythons
'That little robot rabbit knew what it was talking about...'
LLM 'Cognitive Core' Now Evolving
'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'
Has Elon Musk Given Up On Mars?
'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.'
Bacteria Turns Plastic Into Pain Relief? That Gives Me An Idea.
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
