Google's Live Transcribe and Sound Amplifier Aim To Help the Hard of Hearing (cnet.com)

Google wants to make Android phones powerful tools for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. From a report: On Monday, the search giant released two new services, Live Transcribe and Sound Amplifier, aimed at helping people who have trouble hearing communicate more easily. Live Transcribe does exactly what its name suggests -- it uses your phone's mic to automatically generate captions that appear on your screen. With Sound Amplifier, you can use your phone and a set of headphones to improve the clarity of the speech around you. To develop the new products, Google said it worked with Gallaudet University, the private school in Washington, DC for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Comments

Apple's hard-of-hearing-ness

[ScooterComputer]

I applaud Google in their efforts here, but as a current iPhone user, I'm saddened to see it as something I can't/won't immediately be able to take advantage of. What frustrates me--as an Apple customer, as a "fan" of Apple's Accessibility work, and as one of those 466 million hard-of-hearing folks--is the difficulty I have personally had in getting Apple to understand hearing impairment, and to take it more seriously than they do. Apple seems to be of the mind that hearing impairment can be and is resolved with hearing aids, which to those in the know is absurd. Perhaps, though, Google's initiatives will help Apple see what additional work could be done to improve their ecosystem for hard-of-hearing users, not just the specific subset of the hearing-impaired population that can benefit from hearing aids.

Re:Apple's hard-of-hearing-ness

[drinkypoo]

Don't applaud too loudly Google's efforts to get more people to willingly turn their cellphones into even more of a spy device.

Re:Free market

[jellomizer]

Well it depends. If Google cannot find a way to monetize it, it will just say locked up as an unused patent, in their R&D Department.
Then you get question on how well it will transcribe for you. Would it transcribe data well enough for a Hearing Impaired person to make sound legal decisions from its transcriptions.
Also depending on how Google monetizes it, there can be significant privacy and security concerns around it.

It seems by tone of your post, you have a hard time differentiating socialism from communism. Socialism welcomes a free market, however will get involved if something goes too far, or does more harm then good. Compared to Communism, which Government controls the business, in all aspects.

With the recent government shutdown, the the closing of the FDA. New types of Beer couldn't be released, and new drugs cannot be approved. In essence putting a hold on economic growth. Because the FDA, FCC, SCC... While not perfect, has the goal of doing more good then harm, and make sure free trade, doesn't devolve into snake oil sales.