say

Animated cat repeats what you say. And that's pretty much it.

You've always wanted to see an animated cat say things in a squeaky voice, haven't you? If so, then Talking Tom Cat is for you! Talking Tom Cat is a free app that shows a cartoon cat onscreen that repeats whatever you say into the device in a funny voice. Talking Tom Cat also responds to pokes and strokes of the screen.

Talking Tom Cat lets you say anything into your microphone, which it then repeats with sound modifications, as well as onscreen animation. You can pet the cat and hear him purr. You can pour him a … Read more

See universal iOS app SayHi Translate in action (video)

SayHi Translate is a universal iOS app that can recognize 23 languages or dialects, plus another 9 languages for which the app can recognize text and then translate and speak. SayHi Translate is currently on sale for 99 cents, down from its regular $2.99 price.

Take a look at the video below to see SayHi Translate in action. In my admittedly short time with the app, I found its speech recognition was reasonably accurate as long as I spoke slowly and clearly. It's helpful that you can also type out lines and edit previously spoken lines that the … Read more

The incredible shrinking iPhone 5 dock

You ready to play the tech name game?

For starters, it's a juicy day for iPhone 5 rumors. The next iPhone could have a smaller dock connector with 19 pins, instead of Apple's typical 30-pin port. TechCrunch is reporting that three manufacturing sources say Apple will be using a port that's roughly the size of a micro USB. If there's truth to this, get ready to dish out money for new accessories. It won't fit that pretty little iHome charging dock anymore. (But hey, Apple fans always dish out money for new accessories. So no … Read more

Tech news site ReadWriteWeb acquired by Say Media

ReadWriteWeb, a popular tech news site, has been acquired by San Francisco-based Say Media.

The site's editor, Richard MacManus, announced the deal this morning, explaining that RWW will join Say's Technology channel, giving it access to more than 75 million monthly readers:

ReadWriteWeb is going to get bigger and even better. Our plans include widening ReadWriteWeb's editorial scope and expanding our team. That starts from today, with the addition of SplatF's Dan Frommer to our team as an editor-at-large. We will also be doing a redesign, utilizing the sophisticated designers at SAY Media. With SAY's … Read more

Talking Top Cat repeats what you say

Talking Tom Cat 2 is the free, ad-supported follow-up to the popular app Talking Tom, featuring an animated cat that repeats everything you say in a funny voice.

Although Talking Tom Cat 2 has little repeat play value for grownups, the app is predictably a hit with the most kiddos--and its animation and graphics are above average for an app like this (especially in the iPad version). In addition to repeating what you say, Tom has several reactions you can trigger, like purring when you stroke him or hissing and clawing when you poke him. You can also record a … Read more

'Sh*tMyDadSays' Twitter feed hacked

There is never enough time in the day for fun. And hackers do like to have their fair share.

However, I am concerned that perhaps they are sometimes being too hasty and too thoughtless in their frolics around the Web.

You see, the rather popular Sh*tMyDadSays Twitter feed, which offers the real sayings of a slightly jaded former nuclear medicine worker, has been hacked. I suppose that when you have almost 2 million followers you become prey to this sort of thing, so perhaps no one should really be all that surprised.

Security expert Sophos explained that a post … Read more

VideoEgg to buy Six Apart, rename itself Say Media

Ad network VideoEgg announced today it will buy marketing and blogger network Six Apart to create a combined media company dubbed Say Media.

The goal of the new business will be to hook up advertisers with consumers at a time when online attention spans are limited and ads that interrupt people aren't proving effective, according to VideoEgg. Say Media will team up VideoEgg's technology with Six Apart's social publishing and blogging network in an attempt to create more interactive and conversational ads.

VideoEgg's press release makes some bold projections about the new company.

Say Media could … Read more

Firesay adds simple voice navigation to Firefox

Voice navigation is now commonplace on modern-day Android devices, but on the desktop, many of the accessibility tools that would bring voice commands to the end user still require special system level software or customized hardware.

That's not the case with a new Firefox add-on called Firesay, which brings hands-free voice controls to just the browser. Once installed as an add-on, it can pick up voice commands to do Web searches, open and close sites, and even pull up TV shows on Hulu.

The number of commands, and sites users can visit is extremely limited for the time being. … Read more

An up-close look at the CBS 'Upfront'

Recently, those in the television and advertising communities celebrated the "upfronts." For anyone unfamiliar with the term, it refers to the third week of May each year when the television networks host massive presentations in New York City to introduce their new shows and fall schedules to the advertising community.

Upfront presentations are so named because they kick off the upfront buying season, when advertisers can buy commercial time in advance for the new season, negotiating for the shows and the rates.

Just as geeks and analysts hold their breath to see what amazing new devices will be … Read more