GAudi : Google Audio Indexing

Google Audio Indexing is a new technology from Google that allows users to better search and watch videos from various YouTube channels. It uses speech technology to find spoken words inside videos and lets the user jump to the right portion of the video where these words are spoken.

 Google Audio Indexing is also known as GAudi, is a widget for iGoogle, a beta product which indexes the audio of YouTube videos in the "politicians" channel.

Google's mission is "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful". As more video content is being created everyday, Google Audio Indexing tries to make it easier for people to find and consume spoken content from videos on the Web.

Google Audio Indexing is a showcase for speech technology. Political videos and election materials are a special case of broadcast news content, a domain that has received a lot of academic and industry attention and is known to perform well.

Google Audio Indexing uses speech technology to transform spoken words into text and leverages the Google indexing technology to return the best results to the user.

The returned videos are ranked based -- among other things -- on the spoken content, the metadata, the freshness.

GAudi is still in the experimental phase but it offers a glimpse as to what is to come for video search and the possibilities this brings for Video SEO. Speech-to-text offers video content publishers the opportunity to blow out video landing pages with relevant and keyword rich content. 

An interesting point in all the GAudio talks is that GOOG-411, Google’s directory assistance service, is the technology that made the Google Audio Indexing possible or a least better. Back in late 2007, when GOOG-411 launched, Google said that it would be using the acquired service to improve speech-to-text technology

Searching for a word in a video will bring up a whole list of search results with hits for that particular word, along with a text snippet from the video where the word was mentioned to give the searcher an idea about the context. Google even takes it a step further by highlighting at which points in the video the keyword was mentioned.

Google Audio Indexing searches only those videos uploaded on the You Tube political channels. If a video is on the YouTube political channels, it will be in the index. Candidates control the video content released to the public using Google Audio Indexing technology by controlling the content they upload to YouTube channels.

For More Info about GAudi Click Here

Google Mobile OS : Android

Android is a software platform and operating system for mobile devices, based on the Linux kernel developed by Google and later the Open Handset Alliance. It allows developers to write managed code in a Java-like language that utilizes Google-developed Java libraries. It is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications. The beta version of the Android SDK provides the tools and APIs necessary to begin developing applications on the Android platform using the Java programming language.

 Features

Application framework enabling reuse and replacement of components

Dalvik virtual machine optimized for mobile devices

Integrated browser based on the open source WebKit engine

Optimized graphics powered by a custom 2D graphics library; 3D graphics based on the OpenGL ES 1.0 specification (hardware acceleration optional)

SQLite for structured data storage

Media support for common audio, video, and still image formats (MPEG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG, GIF)

GSM Telephony (hardware dependent)

Bluetooth, EDGE, 3G, and WiFi (hardware dependent)

Camera, GPS, compass, and accelerometer (hardware dependent)

Rich development environment including a device emulator, tools for debugging, memory and performance profiling, and a plugin for the Eclipse IDE

The first mobile telephone using Android software has been unveiled.

The T-Mobile G1 handset will be available in the UK in time for Christmas. The first device to run the search giant's (Yup Google!) operating system will feature a touch screen as well as a QWERTY keyboard. It will be available for free on T-Mobile tariffs of over £40 a month and includes unlimited net browsing. Other features include a three mega pixel camera, a 'one click' contextual search and a browser that users can zoom in on by tapping the screen. The handset will be wi-fi and 3G enabled and has built-in support for YouTube. Users will also have access the so-called Android Market, where they will be able to download a variety of applications.

Prototypes

Google announced its plans for the Android phone software in November 2007 with a declared aim of making it easier to get at the web while on the move. To help develop Android, Google also unveiled the Open Handset Alliance - a partnership of more than 30 firms that would work to make phone software easier to work with. The group includes operators such as Telefonica, handset makers such as HTC and Motorola as well as chip makers such as Intel and Qualcomm. Many of the partners demonstrated early prototype Android phones at the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona in mid-February. The idea behind Android is to do for phone software what the open source Linux software has done for PCs. Developers of phone software can get at most of the core elements of the Android software to help them write better applications.

Smartphones

However, in launching Android, Google faces stiff competition from established players such as Nokia with its Symbian software and Microsoft with its Mobile operating system. More recently Apple has been gaining customers with its much hyped iPhone. The Android software is squarely aimed at the smartphone segment of the handset market which adds sophisticated functions to the basic calling and texting capabilities of most phones.

For More Info about Google Android, Click Here 

Volvo Ocean Race In Cochin

The Volvo Ocean Race is an exceptional test of sailing prowess and human endeavour which has been built on the spirit of great seafarers - fearless men who sailed the world’s oceans aboard square rigged clipper ships more than a century ago.

Their challenge back then was not a race as such, but recording the fastest time between ports. This meant new levels of pride for themselves and great recognition for their vessel.

The spirit that drove those commercial sailors along the web of trade routes, deep into the bleak latitudes of the Southern Ocean and around the world’s most dangerous capes, emerges today in the form of the Volvo Ocean Race, a contest now seen as the pinnacle of achievement in the sport.

The first edition of this sporting adventure came in the wake of two remarkable sailors of the last century, Sir Francis Chichester and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, men who drew worldwide acclaim for amazing solo voyages around the planet. Inevitably their success led to talk in international sailing circles of a race around the world for fully crewed yachts. It became a reality in 1973 with The Whitbread round the World Race, the longest, most demanding and perilous sporting contest the world had known.

Dangerous it was. In that very first race three competing sailors were lost after being washed overboard during storms. This led to the inevitable call for that inaugural contest to be the last, but the desire for unbridled adventure and great competition led to the race being staged every four years.

The re-badged Volvo Ocean Race was run for the first time in 2001-02. Today it is, quite simply, the ‘Everest of Sailing’.

During the nine months of the 2008-09 Volvo, which starts in Alicante, Spain in October 2008 and concludes in St Petersburg, Russia, during late June 2009, the teams will sail over 37,000 nautical miles of the world’s most treacherous seas via Cape Town, Kochi, Singapore, Qingdao, around Cape Horn to Rio de Janeiro, Boston, Galway, Goteborg and Stockholm.

Each of the seven entries has a sailing team of 11 professional crew, and the race requires their utmost skills, physical endurance and competitive spirit as they race day and night for more than 30 days at a time on some of the legs. They will each take on different jobs onboard the boat and on top of these sailing roles, there will be two sailors that have had medical training, as well as a sailmaker, an engineer and a media specialist.

During the race the crews will experience life at the extreme: no fresh food is taken onboard so they live off freeze dried fare, they will experience temperature variations from -5 to +40 degrees Celsius and will only take one change of clothes. They will trust their lives to the boat and the skipper and experience hunger and sleep deprivation.

The race is the ultimate mix of world class sporting competition and on the edge adventure, a unique blend of onshore glamour with offshore drama and endurance.

It is undeniably the world’s premier global race and one of the most demanding team sporting events in the world.

Cochin (Kochi)

From time immemorial the Malabar coast on the West coast of India, has been a busy maritime destination attracting thousands of traders and sea farers.Kochi, known as the “Queen of the Arabian Sea”, is one of the most ancient natural ports in the world. For centuries, Kochi has been attracting visitors and traders from all parts of the world and many of them have, after assimilating the culture of the region, lived in Kochi for centuries.

The modern all weather and strategically located port of Kochi is a rapidly growing maritime gateway to peninsular India. Kochi offers a perfect blend of the quintessential charm of tradition and modernity. It is the fastest growing metropolis in the beautiful State of Kerala, truly “Gods Own Country”.

Kochi is a major tourist destination attracting 1.3 million tourists every year from India and abroad, which is more than one fifth of the total tourists visiting the state of Kerala. Cochin Port is the most popular destination in India for international luxury cruise ships. Its long and virgin coast line, tranquil backwaters, heritage and historical sites, antique shops, spice trade centres etc are unique to visitors.

Race Schedule
Event Date Distance Alecante In-Port Race 04 October 2008 Alicante Leg 1 START 11 October 2008 6,500 Nm Cape Town Leg 2 START 15 November 2008 4,450 Nm Kochi (India) Leg 3 START 13 December 2008 1,950 Nm Singapore Leg 4 START 18 January 2009 2,500 Nm Qingdao Leg 5 START 14 February 2009 12,300 Nm Rio De Janeiro Leg 6 START 11 April 2009 4,900 Nm Boston Leg 7 START 16 May 2009 2,550 Nm Galway Leg 8 START 6 June 2009 950 Nm Göteborg Leg 9 START 14 June 2009 525 Nm Stockholm LEG 10 START 25 June 2009 370 Nm

Volvo Ocean Race, Kochi : Events

There would be a flurry of hectic activities from 3rd December 2008, when the racing yachts arrive at Kochi till their departure on 13th December 2008.
The arriving Race Yachts will be accorded a grand welcome in traditional Kerala style. There would be several activities of interest like group activities involving school children,

*National days of countries represented by the countries featuring national food, entertainment, dance etc.

* Week end festivals: food festivals, boat show etc.

*Traditional boat race, Entertainment and stage shows

*Music and Fire works


Race Leg Prize-giving Ceremony
Departure ceremony

The Simulator
The simulator will offer people the opportunity to see exactly what Life at the Extreme is like on board a 70ft Volvo Ocean Race Yacht. This 3 minute ride will take you through a thrilling simulation of the legendary Volvo Ocean Race - a unique sailing experience without having to go anywhere near the water.

Race started from ALICANTE, Reaches Cochin in 43 Days

For More Info. about Volvo Ocean race : Click Here

Be There..........