Techspot.tv

Siri Inspires Technology’s Aural Evolution

David McClelland — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:28:02 +0000

Apple Siri

It’s still only a matter of weeks since iPhone 4S day but already I find myself wishing that Siri, Apple’s all-hearing personal assistant, might be magicked somehow into the majority of my other household devices and appliances as well. While Apple’s genial Genie is likely to stay locked-up inside its lamp for the time being, we’re beginning to see evidence that when rubbed the right way it has enough power to cast its voice recognition spells upon my alarm clock, television and even my motor car.

Apple’s reinvention of voice recognition has invigorated a technology that for many consumers had become stale and gimmicky, notorious for its unreliability. However, the iPhone 4S implementation of Siri has finally turned VR into something genuinely useful and a lot of fun, something that (mostly) just works.

Sure, many are frustrated with the seemingly simple stuff that Siri can’t do quite yet: turning on or off Bluetooth and Wifi would surely be quick and easy wins, and UK users can’t wait for the maps, shops and services to be properly integrated.

Nevertheless, setting reminders, leaving quick notes and sending an ‘I’ll be home late’ text message are all easily achieved, as are many other basic tasks.

Sirious Conversation

What differentiates Siri from its competitors is that, in a stroke of PR genius so obvious you wonder how nobody else managed it, Apple has succeeded in giving a handset a character with a sense of humour, hiding easter eggs within the app that (for the first few weeks anyway) are a hit at the pub with non-Siri owning friends.

Fundamentally, the Siri experience is more akin to conversation than to bland command-response exchanges experienced in other attempts at VR. I await with interest to see how future updates to the Siri vocabulary are announced and are received: perhaps Siri could simply announce its own new features?

Just how easily this technology has integrated into my life became apparent when I received a Revo AXiS internet/DAB radio alarm clock to try out last week. There’s no denying that the AXiS is a well-crafted piece of kit; it includes an iPhone dock, integrated Last.fm app and an excellent colour touchscreen interface. Only a few weeks ago I’d probably have been frothing at the seams at this nifty bit of bedside table nirvana; however, right now I must confess that I find it somewhat lacking.

You see, a touchscreen is now no longer enough to get me excited: I need to be able to talk to my tech and for it to talk back to me, preferably doing what I’ve told it.

“Hello alarm clock. Wake me up at 8 o’clock tomorrow morning, please. What? A touchscreen interface? How quaint.”

Once again, Apple’s iPhone has changed everything, as a minimum my sense of expectation in other devices.

So, how likely is it that my alarm clock, and by extension my other household devices requiring more than an on-off interaction, will all also grow ears and start answering back? It’s clearly a matter of when, not if, right?

Smartphone as a Universal Remote Control

Well, there may be an intermediate or altogether alternative route in our home technology’s aural evolution, one in which our smartphones play an integral role: the VR Gateway.

As is increasingly evident, our smartphones are becoming mediators for communication and interaction with other connected devices and services. It’s easiest to think of them as a universal remote control. Take a television for example: right now I can change channels on my Sony Bravia TV by using either a cumbersome hundred-buttoned slab of Sony plastic or instead with simple swipy gestures and an actual-ish keyboard via a free Sony app on my iOS devices. Similarly, the Sky+ app on my iPhone also allows for recording of programmes on Sky’s PVR without going anywhere near its rather more ergonomic remote control.

Internet of Things

As we approach an age where the much-mooted Internet of Things actually becomes an actual thing, everything worth connecting will eventually get connected. But connected to what, and – more importantly – interfacing with whom?

It doesn’t necessarily follow that you and I will interface with these connected devices directly, and it is here where our smartphones are perfectly placed to act as a gateway: rather than speaking directly into my telly, I talk to my gateway device (e.g., Siri on my smartphone) that does the clever stuff for me (the voice recognition, offloading any difficult translations to the cloud as necessary) and sends device-specific commands my TV.

Of course, changing channels or turning up the volume isn’t (or certainly shouldn’t be) a big deal on a remote control. But now that many of the TVs on the high street are internet-connected by default, and as we become increasingly demanding of them, the prospect of voice control begins to look more appealing.

“Can you record Eastenders on BBC1 for me tonight?”, “Can you record and series link Family Guy on E4 later?”, “Don’t let my kids watch anything featuring scenes of nudity. Or Jeremy Clarkson”.

What’s more, VR (voice recognition) isn’t just a flippant convenience aid for the lazy: it offers huge usability benefits for users with a wide range of accessibility challenges, and it enables all of us to get more from our technology where previously cumbersome interfaces may have posed a barrier. As the VR itself is managed within the gateway device there’s altogether less work required on the part of hardware manufacturers to make their devices voice command ready.

Siri Proxy

In fact, much of the technology needed to enable us to talk to, converse with and command the devices around us is, as we’ve seen with Siri, already here in our smartphones – over the last couple of weeks some Siri hackers have posted videos on YouTube showing feats from controlling an television to starting a car engine.

However, it is the last-leg that may pose the most significant challenge to broader and faster adoption of this exciting technology, that of turning enthusiasts’ hacks into manufacturer supported features. The technology industry can be very poor when it comes to deciding upon industry standards, particularly when there are big players involved and the sniff of large revenues to expoit. The fast-moving hacker/modder communities have been quick to embrace Siri, but any attempts to wrestle too much control back could ultimately backfire.

Nevertheless, I’m remaining very hopeful that I’ll be reviewing some voice-activated hardware/app combos over the coming months.

“Hello new alarm clock, set my alarm for 7am please. But first, tell me a story. Go on…”

RTS finds its MoJo at the BBC as part of Update TV

David McClelland — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 10:30:26 +0000

Image courtesy Black Country Museums

The Royal Television Society‘s inaugural Update TV event took place on Saturday at the BBC White City in London, and of particular interest for me was what Simon Morice and David Willox had hidden in their bags for their ‘OB in your Briefcase’ session.

The day’s ambitious aim was to bring RTS members up to speed with the very latest developments in broadcast television technology and trends, and was particularly angled towards television professionals who have taken a break from the business, perhaps to bring up a family, who are now keen to jump back onboard but are mindful of how television has changed significantly even over a handful of years.

Some of the events were very practical – for example, hands-on training with the BBC’s newly approved HD camera, the Canon XF305; others were interactive – Mark Aldridge, Executive Producer at Princess Productions, workshopping new interaction and engagement ideas for an imaginary (at least, that’s what we were led to believe!) 2012 revival of The Generation Game during a session on using social media in television.

Now, as some of you reading may know, I’ve been developing a mobile journalist (or ‘MoJo’ as the discipline is known) workflow over the last few months that I’ve been using to capture some great results when reporting from events. The principle around which this branch of mobile journalism is based is that a smartphone today integrates all of the technology required to research, script, shoot, edit (even brand, dub and grade), file and distribute a story. With the addition of a few pieces of hardware (e.g., microphone, tripod) and some downloaded apps, an iPhone in the right hands becomes a viable and vital news reporting tool capable of recording quality footage and getting it online in an incredibly quick time.

OWLE Bubo Camera Mount For iPhone

I was first introduced to the OWLE Bubo iPhone HD Video rig by journalist colleague Leila Makki when we both covered an event at Bletchley Park earlier this year. Manufactured from a single chunk of anodised aluminium the Bubo lends the iPhone much needed handles and heft to help stabilise handheld shots as well as a wide-angled lens, four tripod mount points, a cold-shoe adapter and a simple external microphone. After helping to film Leila’s report that afternoon on the Bubo, I was hooked: the package that I subsequently picked up also included a Rotolight RL48-A LED ring light which handily includes its own ND, diffusion and colour correction filters. To this rig I tend to add a 3.5mm jack to XLR adapter and a professional Beyerdynamic M58 reporter’s microphone for far better quality sound, and either a tripod or monopod depending upon the job.

So I felt incredibly reassured in the ‘OB in your Briefcase’ session when Simon Morice, whose career began at the BBC in the 1970s, demonstrated an almost identical Bubo-based kit list to mine and extolled the virtues of the technology, workflow and benefits with similar rapture. He has also taken the rig on the road to produce reports and in the session played a story filed from IBC earlier this year featuring Kate Russell from BBC’s Click. His software workflow does differ somewhat from what I currently use but I’ve downloaded the Vericorder editing app to give it a try.

While chatting with Simon afterwards he was quick to point out that whilst these new technology and workflow innovations themselves are terrific enablers, the overall success of a report still stands on its content. I couldn’t agree more: the real skill of the journalist is in telling a story, through whichever medium, and Simon touched on what were some equally exciting and innovative story-telling principles and philosophies that I hope I get a chance to explore further.

Other personal highlights of the day included sessions featuring Suzie Marsh (currently series editor for Live with Gabby on Channel 5); Amy Walker, a factual producer who now runs Media Parents to promote flexible working in television; and the vastly experienced Shu Richmond who recently set up TV blog, ‘So You Want to Work in Television‘.

The Royal Television Society are planning on running further similar events next year – if you’re interested in finding out more do take a look at the RTS website.

Find out more about mobile journalism at Glen Mulcahy’s Video Journalism Blog, frequently updated with great MoJo stories and technology.

Simon Morice runs ICM Business Video where there are some good examples of the MoJo kit in action.

Canon EOS-1D X Hands On

David McClelland — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 08:30:41 +0000

Canon EOS-1D X

Since working on a pilot photography show for TV last year I’ve been properly bitten by the DSLR bug – boy, is it infectious.

My camera is a low-end Canon EOS 550D, although occasionally I get let loose with a 7D or a full-frame professional Canon EOS 5D Mk II. Nevertheless, the 550D is a great camera that is entirely capable of taking terrific shots in the right hands (not necessarily mine) and what’s more, it sports Canon’s excellent HD movie-making capabilities.

Personally, I couldn’t be happier with my 550D and feel more restricted by my clumsy camera work and a limited collection of lenses than by the camera body itself.

However, a pro-photographer has a different set of requirements. When there’s a livelihood resting on the ability to get top quality shots first time, every time, the more control a camera body can give you the better. Reliability, flexibility and speed are essential when covering news and sporting events that tend not to take place in ideal conditions and will very unwillingly repeat themselves just because your camera’s auto-focus or exposure engine couldn’t keep up.

With that in mind I headed over to the Canon Pro Solutions 2011 event in London during October for a hands-on preview of Canon’s latest pro-camera, the EOS-1D X.

Take a look at what I had to say about it in my piece over at Computer Weekly.

Reimagining Interactive TV – with an LG Light Pen?

David McClelland — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 08:35:58 +0000

LG brings the light pen into the 21st century, but is it really a light-year leap from its first appearance in 1967?

Recently I wrote a piece for the Wired UK GeekDad column about interactive television and my daughter’s failed attempts at touchscreen tactility with Igglepiggle and Upsy Daisy from BBC’s In The Night Garden.

Click to read article at wired.co.uk

The post coincides with IFA 2011 in Berlin where LG announced the PenTouch TV (PZ850T) which, as the name might suggest, lets you draw on the screen using a special USB pen.

Of course, this is nothing new: owners of the BBC Micro will remember the ‘Light Pen‘ from nearly 30 years ago, and the BBC’s Tomorrow’s World first reported on the light pen in this fascinating report from 1967.

The software bundled with the LG set does look pretty handy though, and whilst the pen to screen response does look a little laggy and certainly not to industrial standards, LG has done a pretty good job of integrating it with PC, printer and so on.

Here’s a handy hands-on video from IFA 2011 of the LG PenTouch TV by T3.com‘s Rhi Morgan:

My hunch is that whilst this tech won’t be a huge consumer hit, it may get some good traction in educational environments.

What do you think will be the next breakthrough in interactive television? Further online connectivity? Touchscreens? Embedded apps? Let us know in the comments below.

Codebreakers’ Gallery Opens Its Doors

David McClelland — Fri, 27 May 2011 08:30:40 +0000

The National Museum of Computing History, Bletchley Park – Thursday 26th May 2011

For all of the historic technological innovations that the team at Bletchley Park’s National Museum of Computing History has assembled, it’s humbling to witness that it’s the human tales of the pioneers, the geniuses and the unswervingly dedicated that remain at the centre of the story. Perhaps never was this more in evidence than at the grand unveiling of the Tunny Gallery on Thursday, a tribute not only to bleeding-edge technology but also to the ingenuity and bloody-minded belligerence of those who worked tirelessly to intercept and decrypt messages sent between German High Commanders during World War 2.

The Tunny Machine, Bletchley Park

The Tunny machine, recreated over a 10-year period using skip-salvaged British Telecom telephone exchange hardware, is the final cog in the message deciphering process taking input from the monumental Colossus computer (also reconstructed and humming in the room next door) and outputting invaluable clear-text German messages. Despite the technology, machinery and manpower a message captured by the 1,000ft-high aerials deployed to intercept the German transmissions still took an average of four days to be deciphered.

It’s ironic that the key to reading the German messages wouldn’t have been discovered at all were it not for a careless error by a German operator who retransmitted the same message twice without changing the encryption wheels on the German ciphering machine (the Lorenz SZ42, an original of which also has pride of place in the Tunny Gallery) and literally handed over the keys for unlocking the German code to the Allied forces.

Astonishingly, the ATS women operating the machines had very little idea of the significance of their efforts. None could read German, only recognising the occasional mention of Hitler or other well-known German commanders. Even the locals in Bletchley were unaware of the activities taking place within, believing the Nazi-defying code-breaking hub to be little more than a Littlewoods football pools processing centre, unaware that the messages being decrypted there were providing invaluable intelligence to counter German campaigns.

The new Tunny Gallery, with the Tunny machine itself as the centrepiece, has been impressively decked-out to recreate the look and feel of the codebreaking quarters in Bletchley Park and Dollis Hill in the early 1940s. Unveiling the gallery to the press, the museum’s trustee and director Andy Clarke introduced a vivid re-enactment of the end-to-end process featuring costumed actors and volunteers using the lovingly recreated machines. However, they were soon trumped by the real-deal: a handful of the original staff who worked on and with the machines almost 70 years ago, two of whom gave gripping accounts of their experiences.

Bletchley Park Veterans at the Opening of the Tunny Gallery

Helen Currie, by her own admission something of an ‘unruly girl’, was one of the ATS ladies working shifts around the clock punching 60 characters per minute onto perforated tape ready to be translated by the machines. She told of the “continual reminder of the importance of secrecy” at the time and how she remained quite ignorant of the significance of her and her colleagues’ efforts until books and films praising their work began to be published 30 or more years later.

Inevitably, completing restoration projects such as these becomes something of a race against time: while fragments of design notes and circuit diagrams can be salvaged, the project’s most valuable assets – its original staff and their priceless memories – sadly fade. All the more poignant then that several of the remaining operators and engineers could be present for the grand opening: as Andy Clarke remarked, the new gallery is “a fitting tribute to their achievements.”

For more information and visiting times The National Museum of Computing History see www.tnmoc.org

How a BBC Micro shaped the course of a GeekDad’s life

David McClelland — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 22:34:16 +0000

BBC Micro Computer - Flick/barnoid

Here is a little story that I wrote recently for Wired UK about a how a smart present I received from my mum and dad for my 6th birthday shaped the rest my life.

Perhaps there’s lesson in here somewhere for present purchasing parents: no pressure…

Exclusive: Microsoft / Nokia ‘Mokia 7650′ Windows Phone 7. Well, perhaps not…

David McClelland — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 11:07:28 +0000

Exclusive top-secret footage of Nokia’s newest Windows Mobile 7 toting handset the ‘Mokia 7650′. Honest guv.

At this point I should add that this video is decidedly and deliberately a hoax to coincide with Nokia’s announcement earlier today that it will be collaborating with Microsoft to bring the Windows Phone 7 operating system to its handsets, elbowing aside both Symbian and MeeGo.

Nokia’s hardware platform has traditionally proven itself more reliable and sturdy than most (as the video above featuring the 9-year-old Nokia 7650 that we’ve featured before here at techspot.tv testifies) and the integration of Microsoft’s much-lauded new mobile operating system could prove a real winner for both parties.

Personally, I can’t wait to see what the partnership brings. Like many, I find that I have a fondness for Nokia that transcends its poor showings of the last half-a-dozen years, at least partially due to handsets like its 7650, 7110 and 7280 which were every bit as exciting and groundbreaking back in 2002 as the HTC and Apple handsets are today. The inclusion of Microsoft’s slick and visually appealing software platform onto Nokia’s hardy handsets may help the Finns to re-engage with some of their recently defected customers.

As for the ‘Exclusive Footage’ above, the Windows Phone 7 images were simply sent by MMS from an iPhone and then displayed in full screen mode on the 7650 to create a ‘Mokia’ mash-up video.

Video Review of the Parrot AR.Drone

David McClelland — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 09:30:59 +0000

In November 2010 the team at the NFTS asked if I would review Parrot’s ground-breaking new boys’ toy, the AR.Drone, for their live at 5 magazine show, The Loft. Never one to shirk a tech challenge, I accepted.

Armed with nothing more than my trusty iPad, here’s how I got on.

Plug-in and Power-up: 1985 Compaq Deskpro 8086

David McClelland — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 23:02:28 +0000

25 years after it first hit the shelves, and 10 years since it was last switched on, we plug-in and power-up this vintage Compaq Deskpro 8086 IBM Compatible PC complete with original green screen monitor, 20MB Winchester Hard Disk Drive, 300 baud modem and even a real-time clock card.

In the video we find some interesting educational software installed – green screen strip poker anyone…?

This system has since been donated to the kind chaps at the Centre for Computing History where it will enjoy many more years of tender loving care – you can see its entry in their database here, along with further photographs and detailed system specifications.

Nokia Nostalgia – Nokia 7650 Cameraphone (2002), a smartphone ahead of its time

David McClelland — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 08:30:46 +0000

*** UPDATE May 2011 ***

Click below for an exclusive Techspot.tv ‘Retro Review’ video of the Nokia 7650:

Still recovering from the torrent of mobile telephone tech unfurled at Nokia World earlier this week? Calm yourself, put down those paracetamols and take some deep breaths because here at the Techspot.tv Surgery we have concocted the perfect antidote…

Back in the heady days of 2002, Japan and Korea hosted an enthralling football World Cup, Tom Cruise’s hit Minority Report inspired a generation of user-interface design, and the all-conquering Nokians from Finland were at the top of the mobile pile with their four digit handhelds.

Nokia 7650 in action

Amongst Nokia’s headline acts was the 7650 which introduced a number of ground-breaking features to the consumer mobile market: it was the first Nokia camera phone (in fact Nokia was one of the first consumer mobile makers to combine phone and camera), one of Nokia’s first colour screens, their first Symbian OS phone and the first in a long tradition Series 60 devices still going strong today.

We’re suckers for a spot of tech nostalgia here at techspot.tv, and with Nokia attempting to rock the world with their tempting new releases, we had all the excuses we needed to dust off, charge-up and power-on the vintage Nokia 7650 to see how it compares with the current crop of smart phones. A day’s use down the line, and this is how it fared:

Features – undoubtedly, this handset was way ahead of its time. Aside from featuring a camera (heralding a new age of MMS bullying and citizen papping) which could record and send both still snaps as well as movies (which Apple’s God-phone didn’t get around to until 2009), it also featured downloadable applications and a multitasking OS. Above all, the Symbian S60 operating system made – and still makes – it a pleasure to use.

Battery Life – surprisingly good: still sporting its original battery, after an overnight charge it lasts all day having made a few calls, taken a few snaps and played a few games of the timeless classic Snake.

Pocketability – it is a tad bulky, but no more than many of Nok’s newer smarties; the compact slide-out keyboard stows away tidily and, despite the lack of touchscreen, many functions are fully accessible when the keys are hidden.

Killer Apps – “What do you mean, your phone has a camera? It’ll never catch on.”; Snake.

Eight years on and the Nok's still got a solid slide

Multimedia – A let-down by today’s standards, its Achilles heel being its proprietary headphone socket and a meagre 4MB of RAM. But perhaps this isn’t surprising: Creative’s DAP MP3 player was still niche in 2002 and Apple’s iPod was still Mac/FireWire only, so solid state music hadn’t captured the public imagination quite yet.

Connectivity – Bluetooth, Infrared and GPRS GSM; unfortunately 3G wasn’t yet a feature on phones of 2002 (and still isn’t on some Blackberrys of today) and Wi-Fi was just beginning to gain acceptance. It is email capable but web-browsing was courtesy of a the hapless WAP. Nevertheless, it featured both Bluetooth and data-cable tethering to a PC via the Nokia Data Suite, along with phone backup, syncing etc.

Screen – retina display it ain’t, but a bold bright and colourful display it is, blowing away the mostly monochrome mobile market of the time.

Cool Factor – the phone benefitted from being promoted in one of the top-grossing sci-tech films of the year, Minority Report, and its quirky retro-future looks still imbue it with gallons of geek chic.

We’ve loved having this phone out and about for the day. No, perhaps it’s not the all-singing, all-dancing and all-enveloping mobile experience to which we’ve slowly grown accustomed but, perhaps surprisingly given its age, in many areas it can still stand proudly on its own as a remarkably capable smart-phone. We look forward to seeing if the newest bevy of smart phones announced by the Finnish wizards earlier this week will still fare as well in another 8 years’ time.

Do you have an old mobile sadly gathering dust in the cupboard that could give some of today’s super-phones a run for their money? Leave a comment below and let us know…