Monday, October 22, 2007

1. A glove that translates ASL into text? Too good to be true?

Looks like it. Though the article doesn't specify, the video makes it look like all the glove can do is translate the manual alphabet. Which is pointless, because anyone who can use the manual alphabet can just as easily use a keyboard.... And that still means the signer is using a second language -- English -- and not ASL. I'd imagine it'd be a hell of a lot more difficult to make a glove/program that could recognize and translate actual ASL signs (which generally require two hands). And even then, such a device still wouldn't pick up on non-manual cues, which are often essential pieces of grammar. Maybe it can be done, but this device doesn't look like the solution. At least not yet.

2. I saw the words "dense data" here and inwardly cringed. I feel sorry for the poor sucker who has to transcribe that data. While transcribing in general (and transcribing dense data, in specific) gave me a lovely feeling of accomplishment, it was at a bit higher price than I'd prefer to pay on a regular basis.

3. Today's submission to Headlines of the Obvious:

Kids With Obsessive-compulsive Disorder Bullied More Than Others, Study Shows

4. I was a bit concerned about this technology as well until I saw the video. Thankfully they're not expecting people to get all excited about captioning on a PDA they would then have to awkwardly hold up in front of themselves in order to get the proper sightline.

5. It's a shame that this article didn't address the fact that most deaf drivers are not, in fact, raging morons who've had their common sense glands removed. That piece tacitly implies that being deaf is automatically a deficit for a driver, which it isn't.

6. I am not a happy bunny today.

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