technabob » dictionary

six in one translator planned for nintendo dsiware

alisha k. — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:23:11 +0000

With so much bigger news pouring out of E3, it’s easy to miss the smaller, more interesting bits, like a mysterious DSiWare title that appeared on Nintendo’s official planned release lists. Six in One Translator–a working title, we’re told, along with a grand total of nothing else. But with a title like that, could it be anything other than a language tool?

Several language-focused games are available for the Nintendo DS around the world, but this sounds more like it might be a simple translation tool rather than an aide to support language study, as with games like My Japanese Coach. At any rate, for those looking to use a Nintendo DSi as a multi-purpose device, apps like this might be more intriguing than clock and calculator applications.

[via Joystiq Nintendo]

mom, what’s a gerbil?: oxford junior dictionary omits “nature words”, puts in more tech ones

lambert v. — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:46:52 +0000

The assimilation has begun. The latest edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary will be missing numerous words that pertain to natural things like animals, flowers & birds. A few fantasy and religious terms will also be removed. And what will replace these words? Tech words, like “chatroom”. A word that everyone, even cats, already knows. I hear that the publisher of the dictionary is headed by a certain Mr. Locutus.

The reason for this change? According to Vineeta Gupta of the Skynet Oxford University Press, “the decision to remove nature words is due to the reduced presence of nature in children’s lives.” Hmm. So if a student is weak at math, we should stop teaching him math altogether? And why put already popular words in a dictionary? Why would kids refer to a dictionary for things which they’ll probably know about through their daily activities? Mom and Dad, don’t you want your kids to know the names of the animals in Happy Tree Friends?

Read Dan Gould’s article at PFSK for the complete list of words removed and words added. Mrs. Connor are you listening? Teach John to love nature okay? Nature!

maxian e900t pmp slices, dices, makes julienne fries

technabob — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:58:11 +0000

It seems that every few weeks, the Korean tech market reveals some new all-in-one gadget that makes me drool. The latest and greatest PMP (personal media player) to come out of the East Asian nation features just about everything you’d ever want in a portable electronic device. The Windows CE-based Maxian E900T is much more than your typical portable media player.

Sure, it’s got a razor-sharp 4.3″ 800 x 480 resolution touchscreen for playing video in WMV, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DiVX/XviD and H.264 formats. It’s certainly adept at playing just about any audio format you can throw at it, including WMA, AAC, MP3, and OGG. Heck, it even supports the real-time display of lyrics for tracks tagged with SYLT encoding.

But the device goes well beyond mere media player. The E900T might just be robust enough to be the hub for your entire digital life.

At home, the E900T can connect to your home theater system, pushing out 720p high-def video, accompanied by Dolby Digital or DTS surround sound. If that’s not enough, the audio is powered by the critically-acclaimed Burr-Brown processing circuitry, and is output through a digital S/PDIF connection.

When you’re ready to get up off of your couch and head out, grab your Maxian and hit the road. In the car, the E900T slides into an optional windshield antenna/dock to enable robust GPS navigation capability. There’s also a DMB television receiver, which handles Korea’s digital over-the-air television signals with aplomb, so you passengers can travel without missing their favorite programs.

But that’s not all. Order today, and they’ll throw in a robust electronic dictionary system (called SayDic), complete with English to Korean translation capabilities. Oh yeah, the device can also display documents in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Acrobat PDF, and HTML formats. There’s even support for Adobe Flash media playback.

The E900T comes in either a 30GB (white) or 60GB (blue black) version, and storage can be expanded using a built-in SD/MMC card reader. As is typically the case with these kind of Korean technological wonders, I doubt we’ll ever see these stateside. But if you’re willing to do a little research, translate a little Korean and pay for some overseas shipping, you might be able to get your hands on one.

[via EarlyAdopter]

atree um10 portable: please define “dictionary”

technabob — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 19:44:09 +0000

Why is it that Korea seems to be getting all the coolest gadgets these days? They’re calling the Atree UM10 a pocket dictionary, but I see a whole lot more.

Beside looking great, the UM10 is a very capable media player, which can deftly chew through MP4, WMV, MP3, WMA and OGG files with nary a complaint. There’s also a DMB television tuner, FM radio, E-book reader and voice recorder. Not to mention the full-on personal organizer application suite which can sync with Microsoft Outlook. Plus, it’s also got Flash Lite support, so you can take advantage of those slick interfaces and games that Adobe’s flagship web app can crank out.

Oh yeah, it is a robust electronic dictionary too, loaded with dozens of books worth of definitions, synonyms, and other reference information in a variety of languages.

It all comes packaged in a slick black case, with a sliding QWERTY keyboard and beautiful 480 x 272 widescreen TFT display. The keyboard isn’t tactile though, so you’re best off using the stylus to control it. The base models comes with 2GB of RAM, but that’s expandable through a Micro SD memory card slot.

The Atree UM10 retails for 358,000 KRW (about $381 USD), and as is often the case with these types of wondrous gadget, is only available in Korea for now.

[via The Earlyadopter's World]