With Microsoft plunking down $8.5 billion of its $36 billion in cash and near cash to buy Skype, a few analysts have started to take a closer look at the $25 billion in cash and short term investments on Apple’s balance sheet and apparently concluded that it is contemplating a deal with Nuance Communications.
Last Friday (April 29), in preparation for the Internet Identity Workshop (IIW), Opus Research (with a big assist from Judi Clark) made our new headquarters the venue for a “C3 Salon.” The topics under discussion addressed some of the “boil the ocean” challenges, like building Trust Fabrics, establishing exchanges that would treat personal information as “intangible assets” or “alternative currency” or building a general consensus around making sure that “purpose binding” and “context switching” are baked into all future data sharing schema.
In late March, the UK’s Technology Strategy Board – an “arms-length” agency reporting to the United Kingdom’s Department of Business, Innovation and Skills – announced a grant of 300 British Pounds Sterling (Approximately $480 U.S.) for research, development and enhancement of use cases that deploy voice biometrics for strong user authentication.
The latest downloadable version of Google’s Chrome browser showcase how Google Translate can support spoken input and text-to-speech rendering of translated phrases.
Acknowledging the importance of testing before a speech-enabled customer care system “goes live,” Nuance Communications and Empirix Inc. have expanded their global partnership.
An Israeli firm called Nuiti now offers a “platform” for Web site operators and Web developers to offer hands-free, “natural user interface” for their resources.
Public museums in Bologna, Italy, are launching a novel way to initiate audio tours.
West Corporation continues to pursue its transformation-through-acquisition strategy with a $120 million purchase of Smoothstone IP Communications.
Tim Andrew, general manager for ATMs and self-service at National Australia Bank, delivered the latest insights on the bank’s real world experience with biometric authentication.
The FCC has made great strides toward making its information and resources accessible to the public at large.