'Google Goggles': Search giant to unveil wearable computer

GOOGLE is developing computer glasses with a "heads up display" that let you use the internet out in the real world, reports said today.
The “Google Goggles” are designed as augmented reality devices that send information back to an Android smartphone attached to your clothing or body, the New York Times reports.
The latest prototype looks similar to thick-rimmed glasses but provides “a display with a heads up computer interface”, 9to5Google’s specialist Seth Weintrub said.

Google goggles 1

The Google Goggles might have to be a wee bit lighter than this "wearable piano" technology. Picture: AP

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“There are a few buttons on the arms of the glasses, but otherwise, they could be mistaken for normal glasses,” Mr Weintrub said.
It’s unclear how the device will work but reports say it could operate via Wi-Fi internet connection or Bluetooth.
Google operates a laboratory nicknamed “Google X” where researchers develop their latest innovations.
The company recently hired computing specialist Richard DuVal whose PhD focused on “memory glasses” that deliver subliminal visual cues and reminders to help boost the wearer’s memory.
The company is already working on voice activated controls similar to Apple’s Siri and recently told the
New York Timesof its ambition to transport technology into wearable computers.
If the rumours of these computer glasses are true, the technology could be the first step towards doing away with touchscreen technology altogether.

ICANN names Chinese scholar as VP for Asia

NEW YORK (AP) - The organization in charge of Internet domain names has selected a Chinese scholar as vice president for Asia. The appointment of Xiaodong Lee was announced in Beijing on Thursday by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Lee is a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and has served as chief technology officer of the China Internet Network Information Center, which is in charge of registering names ending in ".cn" for China.
ICANN is preparing to begin taking bids next month for new domain name suffixes. They could include brand names, hobbies and just about anything else.
The Chinese government embraces the Internet as a way to promote commerce, but it also tries to block access to foreign websites deemed subversive. China has the world's biggest online population.

iPhone Ends 2011 As Web's Top Search Item

• Top 10 Internet Search Items In 2011

To Apple fans it comes as no surprise.  The iPhone was the leading gadget punched into the Yahoo! search engine in 2011, Yahoo! said on Wednesday.  Not only was it the top consumer item searched for, it was the time item overall, beating out the tragic Japanese earthquake and even Kim Kardashian.  Yahoo! web trends specialist Vera Chan said that the new iPhone 4S and Steve Jobs helped make the iPhone top the list.  Jobs, himself, didn't make the cut, though.

This list is full of female media stars, not consumer goods.  This was the first year for Jennifer Lopez to make the Yahoo! top 10. "Her new position as a judge on American Idol and being voted America's most beautiful woman by People magazine this year kept her in the limelight," says Chan.  Not that J-Lo lacks publicity. Her very public divorce from singer Marc Anthony wasn't scandal clad, but it kept her in the news.

Here's a look at the other names that learned how to use media to their advantage, and those that just hit due to tragic circumstances that touched and intrigued Americans.