api

Google not killing translate API, will develop paid version

Following public outcry, Google said on Friday it is revisiting its plan to kill off third-party access to its translation engine. The company will instead develop a plan to offer a paid version for others who wish to incorporate it into their services.

Google said last month it planned to end the Translate API because of abuse, but many of those who had built services using the tool had called on Google to instead just charge for it.

"In the days since we announced the deprecation of the Translate API, we've seen the passion and interest expressed by … Read more

Does the iCade prove that the iPad needs a controller?

A fellow co-worker who's an unabashed iOS enthusiast passed by my cube yesterday and saw me playing on a table-top arcade machine sitting on my desk. He stopped, eyes drawn to the bright colors on the sides and the top, and the arcade graphics on the small glass screen. I explained that it was an iPad sitting in the iCade, a $99 self-assemble arcade cabinet with Bluetooth joystick.

Naturally, he wanted to try it out on a few games he liked. I explained that the iCade currently only works with Atari's Greatest Hits app, which admittedly has 100 games, but lacks arcade classics like Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and Joust--games that are, of course, made by other publishers. I also explained that it really only worked in portrait mode (or a slightly precarious but still-possible landscape mode, by using a groove on the outside edge).

He started to sour. Eventually, he walked away.

Of course, for arcade nuts and fans of novelty bar-top/desktop toys, the iCade is still a pretty awesome little treat. But until it can support other games--which Ion, the maker of the iCade, says will happen via a shared API--its appeal will necessarily be limited. I can think of dozens of games in the App Store that would be perfect for the iCade: Street Fighter IV. Death Rally. NBA Jam. Pinball HD. Tetris. Space Invaders Infinity Gene. The aforementioned Pac-Man. … Read more

Google Prediction to make Ford plug-ins more efficient

To take the guesswork out of efficient driving, Ford may employ Google's Prediction API to do the energy-saving calculations for commuters.

Google's Predictive API is already used by Web sites to recommend products to users and by mail programs to decide which missives are spam. But Ford is also exploring ways the pattern-matching program could be used to program vehicles to run more efficiently based on driving patterns and styles, according to an article in PC World.

At the Google I/O conference yesterday, Ford presented a use case for the predictive engine that analyzed previous trips to … Read more

How to use Chrome's speech-to-text

Google has introduced a way that you can talk to your browser, as long as that browser is Chrome. It won't talk back, but it will do your bidding. These instructions cover the basics of the new speech-to-text feature, which is functional but has yet to be implemented widely.

First off, be sure that you're using Google Chrome 11 (download for Windows | Mac | Linux)or later, and that you've got a microphone. Next, you have to navigate to a site that supports the new speech API. Currently, that's limited to Google Translate, which itself is limited … Read more

LinkedIn updates developer access

LinkedIn is releasing today an update of its tools for developers. New functions will allow Web developers to embed member or company profiles on Web sites, including listings of who the user knows in common with other people, or who he or she knows at a company. The Sign In with LinkedIn feature has been updated to be callable from Javascript.

To differentiate from that other, much larger social network, LinkedIn is strongly pushing the professional nature of its network. As LinkedIn vice president of product management Adam Nash says, "There are a lot of apps where it's … Read more

Amazon stymies Lendle e-book lending service

It may be game, set, and match for Lendle. No, not Ivan Lendl, the former tennis great. Lendle, the newly hatched e-book lending service.

Lendle first reported the news via Twitter: "Amazon has revoked Lendle's API access. This is why the site is down. It's sad and unfortunate that Amazon is shutting down lending sites...According to Amazon, Lendle does not 'serve the principal purpose of driving sales of products and services on the Amazon site.'"

Reached by CNET, Lendle co-founder Jeff Croft, who's based in Seattle, had this to say:

They [Amazon] shut the API access off, and without it, our site is mostly useless. So, we went ahead and pulled it down. Could we build a lending site without their API? Yes. But it wouldn't be the quality of product we expect from ourselves.

… Read more

Browser communication boost back on track

After a security problem derailed it last year, a technology to open a high-speed browser communications link is getting back on track again.

The technology, called WebSocket, is good for Web sites that involve time-sensitive communications--multiplayer games or real-time trading, for example. A security issue raised concerns about WebSocket led to reworking of the technology, but now supporters think they've fixed WebSocket.

"It seems like it will happen very soon," said Brian Albers, vice president of development at Kaazing, which commercializes Web Sockets. "There's a meeting of the IETF at the end of the month … Read more

Google issues Android anti-fragmentation tool

Google has made good on a promise to release technology it hopes will curtail Android's fragmentation problem, a complication for programmers who want their software to run on diverse devices.

Yesterday, the company released a "Fragment" library for older versions of Android. The library is built into the Honeycomb version of Android, offering new tools to sidestep issues like different screen sizes more easily for those using the brand-new Android 3.0. That version of the OS appears on Motorola's new Android-based Xoom tablet and will arriving on other tablets.

Now, though, the Fragment interface will … Read more

New PicPlz interface opens up app possibilities

PicPlz, a photo-sharing start-up, has released a programming interface that lets applications tap into its tools for uploading and applying artistic filters to images.

"We think that allowing developers access to our upload and filter pipeline brings something different to the table than "just another photo-sharing API,'" the company said in a blog post yesterday. "We're pleased to announce that in the past 2 weeks we've had well over 100 developers apply to be part of our API (far exceeding our expectations)."

Opening an API lets programmers tap into the abilities of a … Read more