Web-Surfing Surfboard

What do you think of when someone says "surf?" Do images of sun,
sand, and ocean waves pop into mind? Or do you imagine sitting in front of a
computer, browsing through the millions of Web pages on the Internet?

Thanks to imaginative engineers at chip-maker Intel, both mental images can
be combined into one.

Ralph Bond, a spokesman for Intel, was quoted by the ABC News as saying that
the company has helped designed a surfboard that contains a fully functional
wireless laptop that would allow riders to "Surf the surf and surf the Web
at the same time."

Bond says the one-of-a-kind creation is meant "to show how wireless
connectivity to the Internet is really permeating every aspect of our
lives." And while mixing the waves with the Web might sound like an
ingenious idea, it wasn't an easy task to accomplish. "We had to insure
that it would be water tight and protected from the salt water, which is doubly
dangerous for a piece of electronic gear," says Bond. And to maintain the
balance of the surfboard so it would still be rideable in the waves, the team at
Intel turned to noted surfboard maker Jools Matthew in North Devon, England, to
craft the final 10-foot-long waverunner.

The result is a long board that lets riders crest the wave-and send
pictures of their surf back to those on dry land and on the Net.

"They can pull out a little stylus pen and surf the Web," says
Bond. "They can take pictures of themselves with the built-in Web
camera."

And when surfers have had enough surfing and want to catch some rays instead,
so will the board.

Language No Barrier

A handheld device that enables a user to chat in another language-without
having to learn any words or phrases for themselves-has been developed by
Japanese electronics firm NEC.

The system is about the size of a handheld PDA and converts spoken Japanese
to English and vice versa. It is planned for launch in Japan in the next few
months. It consists of three components - a speech recognition engine,
translation software and a voice generator. Spoken English or Japanese is
recognised and converted into text by the speech recognition engine. The text is
then converted from Japanese to English or the other way by translation software
and the resulting text is vocalised by a voice synthesiser. The entire process
takes about one second.

The
system will initially be aimed at Japanese tourists and business travellers and
be available only in Japan. But Akitoshi Okumura, the NEC researcher behind the
system, says there is no reason why it cannot be adapted for other languages.

London Press Service