Thai
Latest
Thailand built a robot to taste-test authentic dishes
The authenticity of native eats can vary from generation to generation, or country to country if you're eating in a place different than where a dish was originally created. But that's not to say there aren't cases in which things are cooked and made the right way. Thailand, as you're likely aware, is home to some delicious food, and the government now wants to make sure that its most popular dishes are being represented well. To do so, "e-Delicious," a robot capable of tasting food and making sure it meets various quality standards, was built. The idea came from Thailand's Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, as she became interested in fighting against bad Thai food in Thailand and elsewhere across the world.
The death of the original jumbo jet, Boeing's 747-400
Later this month, Cathay Pacific's 747 will fly from San Francisco to Hong Kong for the very last time. It's a story we're hearing from nearly every airline still flying the most recognizable passenger jet in aviation history -- rising fuel costs are prompting carriers to ground their fleets, opting to shuttle passengers in more modern (and efficient) airliners instead. Hundreds of 747s still take to the skies every day, but their numbers are dwindling, with Boeing's 777-300ER and 787 Dreamliner, as well as the enormous Airbus A380, picking up the slack. The flagships of yesteryear now litter the desert, with several sites in California serving as a permanent resting place for the plane that was once known as the Queen of the Skies, the Boeing 747-400.
NTT DoCoMo preps automatic translation from Japanese through Android, leaves no one an island
Japan's unique language makes calls to other countries a challenge: locals often don't have much choice but to brush up on someone else's language or hope there's a Japanese speaker on the other end of the line. If all goes well with NTT DoCoMo's planned Hanashite Hon'yaku automatic translation service, international calls will be as comfortable as phoning a store in Nagano. As long as a subscriber has at least an Android 2.2 phone or tablet on the carrier's moperaU or sp-mode plans, the service will automatically convert spoken Japanese to another language, and reverse the process for the reply, whether it's through an outbound phone call or an in-person conversation. The service will bridge cultures starting from November 1st, when it will translate from Japanese to Chinese, English or Korean. Indonesian, Thai and five European languages are coming later that month. If you're not that patient, NTT DoCoMo will provide a holdover on October 11th through Utsushite Hon'yaku, a free Word Lens-like augmented reality translator for Android 2.3 that can convert text to or from Japanese with a glance through a phone camera.
Thai government takes strange cues from Detroit
The murder of a cab driver in Thailand, in which the killer said his inspiration was Grand Theft Auto, was a tragedy. The Thai government's handling of the situation ... well, that's starting to turn into a dark comedy. GamePolitics reports the Thai Ministry of Health has created a list of 10 violent games to avoid. Coincidentally, it's the same outdated list that Detroit prosecutor Kym Worthy created and released last year.Thankfully the internet isn't that old, otherwise who knows what era the Thai government might have created taken its list of dangerous games from? Find both the Thai government and Detroit lists after the break.
