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How to use Siri for voice dictation on a Mac with Mobile Mouse

By now just about everyone knows that you can use Siri to take dictation on an iPhone 4S, but what you may not know is that you can also use it on a Mac. If you have an app on your iPhone that allows you to access your Mac's keyboard functions remotely, you can use Siri's dictation feature on the iPhone 4S to dictate text to your Mac.

One example of an iPhone app that you can use to dictate to your Mac is Mobile Mouse. The app already allows you to control your keyboard and mouse from your iPhone, but using the new dictation button on the keyboard, you can also dictate text to your Mac. (Reader Amalesh Panse pointed out, via Twitter, that Magic Mouse works fine with Windows too.) So long as you have a cursor inserted into a text field, you can use the dictation button on your iPhone's keyboard to use Siri to dictate texts directly to your Mac using Mobile Mouse or a similar app. Conversion into text happens rather quickly, almost as quickly as it does on the iPhone's native interface.

In practice the dictation is actually quite accurate; it does make mistakes, but I managed to dictate almost all of this post using Siri via Mobile Mouse with only a few adjustments. Apart from being an extremely cool trick, this feature could also allow you to bypass paying upwards of $50 for a product like Dragon Express, which does essentially the same thing (perhaps better).

The best part is, there are no settings that you need to tweak in order to get this to work. If you already have Mobile Mouse installed on your iPhone (and Mobile Mouse Server on your Mac), you're already able to use Siri to dictate text to your computer. Seeing words I've spoken into my phone appear on my Mac's screen as if by magic is one of those whiz-bang things that totally reminds me we're living in the future.

Thanks for the tip Rohan!

How to use Siri for voice dictation on a Mac with Mobile Mouse originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 19 Nov 2011 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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from TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog http://www.tuaw.com/2011/11/19/how-to-use-siri-for-voice-dictation-on-a-mac/

TV broadcasters hope to dominate the second screen with ConnecTV

ConnecTV on an iPad
No one has quite figured it out yet, but there seems to be little doubt that tablet devices have their place on the couch to serve as a second screen while American's enjoy their favorite past time -- watching TV. In addition to many independent startups we've discussed in the past, the old guard, that already owns most of broadcast TV stateside, has a startup of its own called ConnecTV. In development for two years already, ConnecTV is currently in beta and has the hopes to go live in January. The idea is of course to put what you might want to see on your second screen while you watch the main action on the big screen. This includes sports scores, statistics, as well as what your friends may or may-not be saying on Twitter or Facebook -- and of course advertising. We'd be shocked if most tablet owners weren't already using their slate in front of the TV and can imagine how many more might if there was a great app that brought it all together.

TV broadcasters hope to dominate the second screen with ConnecTV originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Nov 2011 05:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/19/tv-broadcasters-hope-to-dominate-the-secon...

12 Steps to Writing Better Web Code

I know that Chris and our team have been long-time admirer’s of Joel’s work at Fog Creek, and in a recent job post (we’re hiring a sysadmin!) I happened to notice that we score a healthy 11/12 on Joel’s Test as a software company ourselves.

Kelly Sutton, who Chris and I met several years ago at FOWA Miami while he was creating HackCollege, has his own version of these 12 steps that he’s written based on his recent experiences with building and launching LayerVault. He suggests that these are supplemental to Joel’s list, not a replacement, and we really like where he’s headed.

  1. Do you only deploy from one branch?
  2. Do you have a bootstrap script?
  3. Do all employees deploy code on their first day?
  4. Does each bug get a failing test?
  5. Is your bus factor greater than n/2, where n is the number of engineers?
  6. Can you spin up ad-hoc development and staging environments with one command?
  7. Does your team work around features, and not around sprints?
  8. Does all work get done on a branch?
  9. Do you actively remove deprecated code?
  10. Do bugs only exist in one place?
  11. Do you discourage the use of IDEs?
  12. Are discrepancies in process addressed before more code is written?

Kelly takes the time to expound on each of these questions on his post. How do you score? What would you like to be doing better? Are you using Beanstalk to achieve any of these goals? Let us know in the comments!

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from Beanstalk http://blog.beanstalkapp.com/post/12887092196/12-steps-to-writing-better-web-...

Hulu, Livestream and Vevo Content Come to Chill, the Turntable for Video


Chill.com, known as the “Turntable.fm for video,” relaunched on Wednesday as a social platform for watching live events, TV shows and music videos.

While there are still portions of the site where “VJs” can earn points from others in the room for spinning YouTube videos, its focus has shifted to social viewing of content from sites such as Hulu, Vevo, Livestream, Ustream and Justin.tv.

Now users can go to Chill.com in order to, for instance, watch Glee with company. While the show plays, their avatars can talk to others in the room through a public group chat or private chat.

“There’s a lot in it for the publishers,” Chill.com founder Brian Norgard says. “They want to get social…just posting it on YouTube isn’t enough anymore.”

Social screenings of Internet TV mean that a group of viewers need to start the video at the same time. To clear this hurdle, Chill.com has set up several viewing times a day for Hulu’s television shows. Users can sign up to be reminded before a show starts. They can similarly sign up to be notified when upcoming live events start and can subscribe to be notified when their favorite live steaming hosts are broadcasting.

In Chill.com’s heyday — after its much buzzed about launch in August — Norgard says that up to 4,000 VJs would be in a room at once. Pairing with a wider range of content sites expands Chill.com’s revenue options, but will it also expand this audience?

One of the perks of watching television online is being able to do it on your own schedule. Adding specific watch times might not be appealing to the online TV crowd. On the other hand, viewers have long been clamoring for social TV, and live-streamed events run on a specific schedule regardless of whether there’s an opportunity to chat with other viewers.

Norgard sees Chill.com becoming the social home for premium web content.

“There have been a lot of people doing interesting things around social TV, but what people really want is an integrated solutions.”

More About: Chill, Chill.com, hulu, justin-tv, livestream, trending, turntable.fm, ustream, vevo, Video

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from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2011/11/16/chill-hulu-livestream-vevo/?utm_source=feedbur...

Boxee: Cut Your Cable, With Our HD Antenna


Boxee in January will give viewers another reason to cut the cord: live TV functionality.

The company has announced a live TV dongle that lets viewers watch ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox in HD without a monthly fee. The device, called the Live TV Stick, costs $49 and is available for preorder. If you don’t have reception in your area, though, the Live TV Stick won’t work.

In a blog post, Boxee reasoned that many viewers were on the fence about canceling their cable subscriptions because they’d miss live sports and live TV shows such as Dancing With the Stars, “but these things are all available on broadcast TV channels like ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC for free, over the air in HD.”

Boxee, which lists for $199, lets you watch TV shows, movies and web content on your TV. Users can access content from Vudu, Netflix and YouTube, among other sources. When introduced last November, the Boxee Box was initially clunky, but an HTML5 upgrade in May improved the user experience.

More About: abc, boxee, cbs, Fox, Media, nbc, netflix, TV

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from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2011/11/16/boxee-to-add-live-tv/?utm_source=feedburner&ut...

Sony to Launch Internet-Based TV Service? [VIDEO]

Sony is said to be preparing an Internet-based TV service that would stream content over connected TVs, PlayStations and blu-ray players and compete with cable television.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the electronics giant has approached a number of media companies about content deals for the service, including NBC Universal, News Corp and Discovery Communications.

Learn more about what Sony might have in store in the video above. Would you ditch your current cable provider for an Internet-based offering? Have you already? Let us know in the comments.

More About: mashable video, sony, television

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from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2011/11/16/sony-internet-tv/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_me...

How Transmedia Storytelling Is Changing TV


Lisa Hsia is Executive Vice President of Bravo Digital Media.

Until now, media companies have focused on getting audiences to watch shows “live” via a TV set, where the bulk of advertising dollars are.

But transmedia storytelling — which is defined as telling a story that extends across multiple media platforms (for television, it’s going beyond the on-air show) — has the ability to upend that. “Transmedia” is one of those hot buzz words du jour, with conferences, articles and trend reports devoted to it. Yet it’s not a new concept. Star Wars, The Matrix, Dr. Who and Pokeman all expanded beyond their core franchise decades ago — to games, books and alternative realities.

SEE ALSO: The Future of Social TV [VIDEO]

In today’s digital era, there are new factors at play that make transmedia a potentially potent game-changer for how TV content is created. Think about it:

Social TV has made television a richer two-way experience with fan participation. Nielsen’s own research shows how social TV amplifies the conversation and impacts ratings. Technology has created tools that allow the user to interact and gamify content as never before (location-based, virtual goods, augmented reality, QR codes, etc). Fans’ familiarity with and desire to experience TV content across devices other than TV has exploded.

The ability to efficiently create affordable, participatory storytelling vehicles that go beyond being “bonus extras” and spreading it through different circulation channels is changing the rules and creating a potential value proposition too big to ignore. As the forefather of transmedia storytelling, USC Professor Henry Jenkins, likes to say, “If it doesn’t spread, it’s dead.”


Beyond the Second Screen


Taking advantage of this new reality is imperative for my network, both from an engagement and value perspective. We see transmedia storytelling as our next must-do in the evolution of TV, and have recently delved into our first campaign with the show Top Chef.

As contestants are eliminated, they discover their journey isn’t over. Instead of going home, they will have a chance to compete in a companion digital series that will roll out each week after the on-air episode premieres. These online shows will give the eliminated contestants a chance to earn their way back into the broadcast finale. The digital series will directly impact the outcome of the on-air show.

To experience the full dynamic of the competition, fans will be enticed to watch both TV and digital platforms. Our aim is to appeal to the Top Chef enthusiast with the deeper, more meaningful content they crave, as well as create discoverable online content that will pull casual fans into the fold.

The goal is to flow content from platform to platform and to bring in the fans along the way — both the diehard and the casual. This is something that has not been possible until the scaled adoption of smartphones, tablets, social networks and gamification tools like Bunchball and GetGlue.

By unifying elements with the common goal of driving engagement around this transmedia centerpiece, we’re setting out to prove that all metrics — ratings, traffic, and social buzz — will lift. We are not only trying to increase the value of the proposition in terms of engagement, but also in terms of ROI for our long-term sponsors.

If we can prove that engagement and value is increased exponentially by integrating storytelling seamlessly across media platforms, we all win — fans, content creators, advertisers. My department at Bravo will no longer be “digital,” but official “multiplatform enablers” that are seamlessly porting storytelling content wherever it best fits and wherever the best value proposition is derived from.


More Innovation Ahead


TV is on the cusp of a transmedia revolution, and there are many interesting experiments in the works.

Syfy has a show coming out called Defiance where a story is told on TV and in a video game: different cities with shared characters and events.

Tim Kring, one of the modern day pioneers of transmedia with his work on Heroes and Conspiracy for Good, is producing Touch for 2012. Here’s hoping that Fox embraces his rabble-rousing transmedia tendencies.

The next, as yet unachieved milestone in transmedia is collaborative social storytelling, where fans themselves can further the plot in a pervasive, meaningful way. Smart media companies will look for ways to go beyond the “walled garden” model and turn their fans into ultimate brand ambassadors.

Whether transmedia is the new norm is still to be determined, but one can easily make the case that in today’s fragmented media landscape, it will be a must for TV to survive. Perhaps the future of TV isn’t either traditional television or digital platforms, but in collective intelligence — the feedback loop of the in-between.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, mgkaya

More About: contributor, features, Media, social tv, transmedia, TV

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from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2011/11/17/transmedia-tv/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_mediu...

Facebook Reveals its User-Tracking Secrets

Facebook Privacy Image


For the first time, Facebook has revealed details about how it tracks users across the web.

Through interviews with Facebook engineering director Arturo Bejar, Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes, Facebook corporate spokesman Barry Schnitt and Facebook engineering manager Gregg Stefancik, USA Today‘s Byron Acohido was able to compile the most complete picture to date of how the social network keeps tabs on its 800 million users.

Here is what Acohido learned:

  • Facebook doesn’t track everybody the same way. It uses different methods for members who have signed in and are using their accounts, members who are logged-off and non-members.
  • The first time you arrive at any Facebook.com page, the company inserts cookies in your browser. If you sign up for an account, it inserts two types of cookies. If you don’t set up an account, it only inserts one of the two types.
  • These cookies record every time you visit another website that uses a Facebook Like button or other Facebook plugin — which work together with the cookies to note the time, date and website being visited. Unique characteristics that identify your computer are also recorded.
  • Facebook keeps logs that record your past 90 days of activity. It deletes entries older than 90 days.
  • If you are logged into a Facebook account, your name, email address, friends and all of the other data in your Facebook profile is also recorded.
  • Data about web searches and browsing habits could be used to figure out political affiliations, religious beliefs, sexual orientations or health issues about consumers. According to USA Today, this type of correlation doesn’t seem to be happening on a wide scale, but the concern of some privacy advocates is that selling data could become a tempting business proposition — both to social networks like Facebook or and online advertising players such as Google, Microsoft and Yahoo that similarly employ cookie tracking techniques.

    Facebook told USA Today that it uses data collected via cookies to help improve security and its plugins and that it has no plans to change how it uses this data. It has, however, applied for a patent on a technology that includes a method that correlates ads and tracking data.

    “We patent lots of things, and future products should not be inferred from our patent application,” Facebook corporate spokesman Barry Schnitt told USA Today.

    Regardless of how Facebook is handling the data it collects through cookies, by doing so it has entered a very sticky debate about whether consumers should be able to opt out of being tracked by such methods. A proposed law that would create this option was introduced in February.

    While a recent poll found that about 70% of Facebook users and 52% of Google users were either somewhat or very concerned about their privacy, some argue that online commerce would suffer without online tracking.

    Does online tracking by companies such as Facebook make you uncomfortable? Or do you consider it and acceptable and inevitable part of being online? Let us know in the comments.

    More About: do not track, Facebook, privacy


from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2011/11/17/facebook-reveals-its-user-tracking-secrets/?ut...