2009 September 16 « TECHburgher :: Putting some sizzle in the Pittsburgh technology sector.

Archive for September 16th, 2009

Google Inc. Acquires Carnegie Mellon Spin-off ReCAPTCHA Inc.

We have another sizzlin’ news announcement for you here on the TECHburgher. This exciting news just came across my desk less than 10 minutes ago. Enjoy!

ReCAPTCHA Inc., a spin-off of Carnegie Mellon University’s Computer Science Department, has been acquired by Google Inc. The Pittsburgh company developed online puzzles that serve the dual purpose of protecting Web sites and digitizing printed text.

The reCAPTCHA puzzles, which consist of words with distorted letters that computer users must decipher to register for services online or otherwise gain access to a Web site, began as a research project of Luis von Ahn, assistant professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon. ReCAPTCHAs were introduced in 2007 and are used by many leading Web sites. The company, ReCAPTCHA Inc., was founded by von Ahn in 2008.

Like similar CAPTCHA (Completely Automatic Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) puzzles, reCAPTCHAs distinguish human visitors to Web sites from automated intruders. But reCAPTCHAs are created using words from printed texts that current optical character recognition programs are incapable of reading. So when humans solve the puzzle, they also help digitize pre-computer-age books, newspapers and other printed materials.

“Google is the best fit for reCAPTCHA,” von Ahn said. “From the very start, people often assumed the project was connected to Google, so it only makes sense that reCAPTCHA Inc. ultimately would find a home within Google.”

Multiple ties exist between Google and Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science, von Ahn noted. Many researchers from the two organizations collaborate with each other and Google’s Pittsburgh engineering office is situated on Carnegie Mellon’s campus. In 2006, Google licensed the ESP Game, an online game devised by von Ahn, for use as the Google Image Labeler.

Von Ahn will remain on the computer science faculty, but will also work at Google’s Pittsburgh engineering office.

ReCAPTCHA Inc. is among the startups that have participated in Carnegie Mellon’s Project Olympus, which provides advice, incubator space and investor connections to help faculty and students explore the commercial potential of their ideas.

Black Box iCOMPEL Receives TMC Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award

Published September 16, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: 2008 Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award, Black Box Corporation, Brian Kutchma, iCOMPEL, Rich Tehrani, Technology Marketing Corporation, TMC

iCOMPELaward Black Box Corporation (NASDAQ:BBOX), an industry-leading provider of voice communications, data infrastructure, and product solutions, announced tyesterday that Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC) has named its iCOMPEL™ digital signage appliance as a recipient of a 2008 Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award.

The Norwalk, Conn.-based TMC presents the award to businesses that demonstrate vision, leadership, and attention to detail, according to its recognition of Black Box’s digital signage solution. TMC said it picks award recipients that have brought “the most innovative products and services to market,” and cited iCOMPEL as an “outstanding” contribution to the communications industry.

“Black Box has been recognized with a 2008 Product of the Year Award for their excellence in the advancement of voice, data, and video communications,” said Rich Tehrani, TMC President and Group Editor-in-Chief. “Black Box has proven they are committed to quality and excellence in solutions that benefit the customer experience as well as ROI for the companies that use them. I am pleased to honor their hard work and accomplishments and look forward to more innovative solutions from them in the future.”

The iCOMPEL family of browser-based, networked media players/appliances provides businesses and organizations of any size with an affordable, out-of-the-box solution for improving internal and external communications through relevant, dynamic digital signage. Black Box’s iCOMPEL can stream live TV, video, Flash animation, and RSS news and stock ticker feeds, and other Web media, as well as play audio. It enables either a local user or a remote administrator to change information ad-hoc to generate real-time messaging via local access or through a Web browser.

Black Box customers include businesses who utilize digital signage to advertise, boost sales, and increase brand visibility, as well as large corporations and government agencies who depend on digital signs to disseminate up-to-date information to employees and the public.

“Plus, iCOMPEL is also great for providing directions to visitors in hospitals and other large institutions, and for setting up emergency notification in schools and on college campuses,” said Brian Kutchma, Director of Marketing for Black Box. “It’s also a cost-effective digital signage solution for houses of worship, libraries, museums, and any other organization that wants to communicate real-time information to its audience.”

As an integrated hardware/software solution, iCOMPEL comes preloaded with software for assembling and distributing HD-quality multimedia content to digital signs. It includes drag-and-drop tools for playing of stored and live media in multiple screen zones, and menus for scheduling content distribution by time and location. There are no software as a service (SaaS) fees, and updates are free.

“Digital signage can potentially be a very expensive initial and ongoing investment and, because of its complexity, it can be difficult to integrate into an existing office or campus network,” Kutchma said. “But our strategy with iCOMPEL was to make it an affordable, easy-to-integrate solution that’s also scalable, so a business can start with one screen in one location and expand to 1000 screens in 100 locations.”

The iCOMPEL is just one of many products in Black Box’s extensive line of digital signage solutions that includes media players, extenders, splitters, converters, and switches. All products are backed by free, live, 24/7 Tech Support, which customers can reach at 724-746-5500 or at blackbox.com. For more information on the iCOMPEL product line, visit http://www.blackbox.com/go/iCOMPEL.