Microsoft set to up bit rate on Xbox Live voice comms, pwners everywhere rejoice

This might not be as sexy as its recent physical redesign, but the Xbox 360 is about to take what might be a major leap forward for many gamers. The console’s voice chat codec is going to be tweaked in an upcoming system update to allow a higher bit rate, and consequently better audio, through. Originally put together to run on 64k internet connections with the original Xbox, the codec’s finally catching up with our broadband times and should see itself renewed some time this fall, potentially alongside the retail launch of Kinect. Great, now when 12-year old kids destroy us in Halo, we’ll be able to hear their high-pitched gloating with crystal clarity.

Joystiq

Eurogamer

San Francisco rolls out new smart parking meters with ‘demand-responsive pricing’

San Francisco has been working on making parking “smarter” for quite a while now, and it’s just recently taken another big step in that direction by starting to replace over 5,000 older parking meters with the snazzy new model pictured above. Those will not only let you pay with a credit or debit card (and soon a special SFMTA card), but automatically adjust parking rates based on supply and demand, which means you could pay anywhere from $0.25 to $6.00 an hour depending on how many free spaces there are. Those rates are determined with the aid of some sensors that keep a constant watch on parking spaces, which also means you’ll be able to check for free spaces in an area on your phone or your computer before you even leave the house. Hit up the link below for the complete details, and to check if the neighborhoods you frequent are included in the initial rollout.

Switched

SFpark

Flash ported to iPhone 4, available for download

Cydia is a great place to hang out, and we’re sure unlocking is pretty swell, but it’s quite possible you and your freshly-rooted iPhone 4 have already run out of fun things to do. In that case, might we suggest giving Frash a try? That’s right, Comex’s Strong Bad-inspired port of Adobe Flash 10.1 has been compiled once again, and though it’s still an alpha build there’s nothing keeping you from experiencing the joys of animated advertising on your iOS 4 device. Instructions are exactly the same as in our Flash how-to for iPad — jailbreak, download the .deb, upload it to a folder deep inside your phone via SSH, restart and you’re done — but if that sounds like too much work or you’re worried about your phone asploding prematurely, you can watch from a safe distance as Homestar Runner struts his stuff. You’ll find that and more in a video after the break, and a pre-compiled alpha build is available at our source link.

Google Envelopes turns Gmail into snail mail, wraps it in precisely routed Maps printout

It’s a fantasy come true for the avid nerd / traveler, but unfortunately for us, it’s but a concept in its current form. Syracuse’s own Rahul Mahtani and Yofred Moik have dreamed up Google Envelopes, and if brought to production, this might just make the USPS as relevant as it was during the heyday known as 1985. Put simply, the solution would involve a new ‘Send Envelope’ method of passing along a note penned in Gmail; when pressed, you’d get a printout of the message along with a specially crafted envelope, the latter of which really makes this idea shine. The envelope itself would be a Google Maps representation of the quickest route to transfer said message from you to the recipient if roadways and kayaks were used in place of fiber and coax, giving the receiver a crucially awesome keepsake each time you dropped him or her a line. Oh, and having an ‘Avoid Tolls’ option would just totally put it over the top — even if were relegated to beta.

Google Envelopes, Beta Of Course

Designers Rahul Mahtani & Yofred Moik from the Industrial Design program at Syracuse University came up with this concept called Google Envelopes. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to map the course of mail and how it can tell a story? They came up with Google Envelopes, which can be sent through G-Mail itself. It’s only a concept, but totally viable and something people can immediately understand.

Designers: Rahul Mahtani & Yofred Moik

Fiber optics get political in Australia as opposition party vows to scale down national broadband plan

When Australia goes to the polls on August 21st, citizens will vote for more than men and the traditional issues they represent — the ballots cast will directly impact the country’s national broadband plan. Where Australia’s ruling Labor party had pledged A$43 billion for an up-to-100Mbps fiber optic network fed directly to 99 percent of homes (and agreed to pay A$11 billion to Telstra) over the next seven to eight years, the opposing Liberal-National coalition says if elected, it will scrap that notion in favor of a cheaper A$6.3 billion plan. That money would create a fiber-optic backbone by 2017 but actually connects homes with hybrid fiber-coaxial connections, DSL and about A$2 billion worth of wireless, with a minimum promised speed of 12Mbps. The coalition says these services would cover 97 percent of Australians, with satellite coverage for the final 3 percent, and that those networks receiving funds from the project and connecting to the backbone would have to compete based on pricing (set by the country’s Competition and Consumer Commission) and pledge open access. Having never lived in Australia ourselves, we don’t know what’s best, but we’re pretty sure we wouldn’t be satisfied with the 12Mbps end of the Liberal-National stick.

Disney converting Droid Eris into GPS tour guide

If you shed a tear when Verizon put the Droid Eris out to pasture, it’s time to dry your eyes; it seems the handset’s found greener fields in Florida, at Epcot Center to be precise. That’s right, Walt Disney World is reportedly testing out Verizon’s HTC Hero as a GPS navigator and tour guide for the entire park, complete with shopping discounts, special bonuses and up-to-the-minute wait times for rides. How or when you’ll get your hands on one is presently up in the air, though the man who snapped these shots told Mickey Updates the phones may be an inexpensive addition to your vacation — perhaps like the $10 BREW-based Mobile Magic application Verizon and Disney introduced last year. Here’s hoping that chunky case includes an extended battery — there’s no way a stock Eris could last as long as Nintendo’s guide.

Japan takes vending machines to their logical, 47-inch touchscreen extreme

Time for us to admit another entrant into the hall of unnecessary, but cool inventions. Installed at Tokyo’s Shinagawa Station yesterday, this latest spin on the vending machine dispenses with those silly windows unto what you’re buying and furnishes its user with a 47-inch touch panel from which to make his (or her) selection. An embedded camera will recognize your gender and age, allowing the machine to recommend a beverage suitable to whatever stereotype is attached to your particular circumstances. And don’t worry, it’ll store your purchasing history too, so you can be freaked out by tailored ads every time you use it. 500 more of these WiMAX-equipped units are planned to be installed in and around Tokyo over the next two years, with operating company JR East expecting them to tally up 30 percent more sales than their analog brethren. More bling equals higher revenue? Sounds about right.

Laser backpack creates instant 3D maps, Venkman reminds you to not cross the streams

Total protonic reversal? Small price to pay for an instantaneous 3D scan of a building’s interior. That’s what the backpack pictured above delivers, a project from UC Berkeley students and faculty Matthew Carlberg, Avideh Zakhor, John Kua, and George Chen. The pack contains a suite of laser scanners and positional sensors that enable it to capture images of building interiors as a fleshy assistant roams their halls. Those images can then be automatically pieced back together to create a 3D representation. We’re having visions of instant Doom II WADs but the real boon here could be an extension to Google Maps where you could not only get a Street View but also an interior view. You know, really scope out that little Thai joint before you schlep yourself all the way downtown.

Pay no attention to that playful UI behind the Google Maps curtain

Thought the page-turning Macallan was nifty? You ain’t seen nothing yet — The Astonishing Tribe (the brains behind the look of Android) aims to give you billowing, rippling cloth-like curtains of clever interactive content with their concept Velvet UI. Pull out a widget or Google Maps query, and a sheet of your desired result waves with the virtual wind, before stretching out flat for you to more comfortably interact with. Running on MeeGo (and apparently possible on Android) it’s built with the company’s proprietary UI framework, so don’t expect it to hit tablets anytime soon unless someone throws them some bucks. Also see: TAT’s other impressive concepts.

PowerPhone patent approved for sending MMS messages to 911

We’ve seen 911 call centers that accept text messages, and now if PowerPhone gets its way you’ll some day be able to use MMS messages to further pinpoint the source of your distress. Patent number 7,764,769, “Integrated Call Handler and E-Mail Systems and Methods,” has just been approved by the Patent and Trademark Office, detailing the use of the company’s Incident Linked Multimedia (ILM) software to receive and prioritize multimedia messages at a call center near you. There is also something there about the software integrated with “existing Computer Aided Dispatch and Records Management Systems,” which we imagine must be good news for someone looking to implement these features. But let’s be honest: we’re just looking forward to watching the inevitable “World’s Most Embarrassing Drunken Videos to 911” special on Fox.

PowerPhone Issued Patent for Sending Images to 9-1-1
08.19.10, 07:06 AM EDT

MADISON, Conn., Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ — PowerPhone, Inc. a leading provider of emergency communications training and technology solutions announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has awarded the company patent number 7,764,769 entitled “Integrated Call Handler and E-Mail Systems and Methods.” The embodiment of the patent, PowerPhone’s Incident Linked Multimedia (ILM) software, provides a tool for emergency and non-emergency call centers to receive, prioritize and process multimedia messages, such as text, video and images from cellular and other non-traditional callers.

“With nearly 90% of today’s mobile devices camera enabled, the public can be an incredible resource for a more prepared public safety response,” said Chris Salafia, president and CEO of PowerPhone. “The potential is limitless. Be it an image of a suspicious person, missing child, video from an accident or even an active shooting, scene specific multimedia can be an invaluable tool in ensuring our responders are better equipped with the one thing they most desire – actionable information.”

The ILM System allows the 9-1-1 center to solicit incident specific images from cellular callers and to receive and process unsolicited images based upon a proprietary message priority engine and locally defined message relevance determinants. Once received by the center, ILM can incorporate the images into existing Computer Aided Dispatch and Records Management Systems.

“The magic of ILM is in the ability to prioritize and incorporate multimedia received into an agency’s existing business rules and workflows,” said Salafia. “Whether it’s registering an at-risk person’s phone number or using location based services to ensure images from an active incident are processed immediately, ILM is the next step in a more robust emergency response system.”

This patent is the third issued to PowerPhone in the last eighteen months. All three are integral components of PowerPhone’s Total Response(R) Computer Aided Call Handling (CACH(R)) software, a revolutionary tool to provide 911 operators integrated police, fire and EMS call taking protocols and pre-arrival instructions for a broad range of emergency call types including domestic violence, active shootings, chest pains and rescues.

Contact Info: Eric Esfahanian, VP Sales & Marketing 203.245.8911 eric@powerphone.com http://www.powerphone.com