Skype Translator breaks through the language barrier
Culture
We can now talk to someone in another language, without knowing how to speak their language.
I'm Bridget Carey, and this is your CNET update.
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Skype is now able to do live, realtime language translations for video calls.
For now, the program can translate two spoken languages, Spanish and English.
So when your friend greets you in Spanish.
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You have to wait a moment to hear the translation in your headset.
Hi.
How are you?
And then you see the transcript on the screen.
Written messages can be translated from more than 40 languages.
It's a spoken/?
that's limited in the preview phase, and unfortunately you can't just jump in right away, you have to first request access to the preview.
Microsoft began taking sign up requests back in November.
This early preview is only for Windows 8.1 PCs and tablets.
When I grew up, this was the sort of far out, futuristic technology featured at Epcot, so it's pretty cool to see now it's possible.
As Microsoft enhances Skype, it's no longer in a relationship with Facebook.
The social network broke off its partnership with Bing.
So when you do a search on Facebook you won't see Bing's web search results.
That's because Facebook is trying to build out its own search tool as something stronger.
Just last week Facebook added a way to search for any word or phrase posted by your friends going all the way back to their first post.
Even though Bing isn't tied into Facebook, Microsoft still owns a stake in the network.
Now here's an advancement in technology that I'm not so eager about.
Virtual reality exercises.
Runtastic, a popular GPS fitness tracking app, has created a workout program for the Oculus Rift headset.
It's a seven minute leg workout where a 3D animated avatar is your personal trainer, and you can pick from different backgrounds.
Maybe you want a lush hillside, and ocean view, or you can stand inside a black hole, because why not?
It's hard enough to get motivated to do exercise.
Strapping on a headpiece and getting motion sick doesn't really make me excited about doing squats.
Moving on to another new frontier in technology, you can now buy a 3-D printed dress.
And this isn't some rigid plastic cage.
This is a dress that flows and moves with you.
The Nervous System Design Studio created this printed dress in partnership with Kinematics.
It's created with many hinged triangles.
So it's sort of like chainmail, interlinked so you can still move.
The computer gets a pattern that's folded up and that way it can fit printed inside the machine and then it's flattened out to wear.
The dress is now on display at the Museum of Modern Art.
And you can order your own dress.
You just need to get a 3D body scan.
That's your tech news update.
There's always more at cnet.com, and you can follow me on Twitter to stay updated.
From our studios in New York, I'm Bridget Carey.
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