Does Google’s new CAPTCHA experiment fails at Accessibility testing?
Recently Google released two new experiments from there newly structured Google labs. One of these new experiments is aimed at improving CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart) effectiveness and user experience.
What is CAPTCHA?
CAPTCHA tell Computers and Humans apart and is employed to prevent automated computer systems from signing up at sites or posting comments. Most of us have used CAPTCHA at some point and time while surfing internet. Its that image that you need to recognize and write the letters into an input box to validate yourself as an human filling the information.
The report released by Google, called “What’s Up CAPTCHA?” (PDF) outlines a new version, which uses image orientation, forcing a user to adjust randomly rotated images to their upright orientation.
The major benefits of our CAPTCHA technique over the traditional text recognition techniques are that it is language independent, does not require text-entry (e.g. for a mobile device), and employs another domain for CAPTCHA generation beyond character recognition. This CAPTCHA lends itself to rapid implementation and has an almost limitless supply of images.
And as per Google - “We ensure that our CAPTCHA can not be defeated by state-of-the-art orientation detection systems by using those systems to filter images that can be automatically recognized and oriented“.
Does this technique meets Web Accessibility standards?
Well, I think this fails miserably when it comes to Accessibility. Normally for a regular CAPTCHA control using distorted text we see some associated audio files for physically challenged. So you play that file, enter the text and you are good to go.
But using this new technique - How will someone with bad eyesight or no eyesight at all (or some sight related disability) be able to select the right image? Google engineers might have to put some though into this. Unless this issue is being taken care of I dont see a majority of web sites start using this technology.
I would also like to mention here that Web Accessibility is a legal requirement in some states and can not be bypassed without some serious legal consequences.
Do you have suggestions for Google? or if you want to express your own views regarding this articles then you are more then welcome to leave your comments at the end of this article.
How to save your data if world comes to an end in 2012?
Try searching for 2012 on Google and you will get approximately 232,000,000 hits. So what is 2012? and what is all the hype about?
The 2012 Doomsday Prediction is a present-day cultural tradition proposing that cataclysmic and apocalyptic events will occur in the year 2012. You can read more about 2012 Doomsday Prediction on Wikipedia.
Though I don’t really buy the idea. And I am in no way suggesting that world will come to an end in 2012. But I do think world will end some day and this make us wonder -
What will happen with all the earth’s data?? Are we backing up our data somewhere outside earth??
I think we as earth’s intelligent inhibitors should be responsible for saving all the intelligent data (information) that we have collected so far. This will save a lot of work for our future generations to come (i.e. if some of us are lucky enough to survive).
Saving data at a remote location outside earth will be important to make sure that our future generations doesn’t have to start from ground zero.
There is a lot of important data we have collected so far about earth’s evolution, about all the medical advances etc. and this needs to be saved. And don’t forget a lot of this data is analyzed in a number of BLOG posts, written by and ranging from NASA’s scientists, world’s renowned astrologers and doctors etc.
So what really are our options?
Backup data on Moon
Well, there is some good news here. TransOrbital of La Jolla, California is taking this and other proposals for marrying high-tech and the Earth’s only natural satellite seriously. The company is getting ready to send a commercial mission to the moon and intends to send servers, data, handheld computers, and digital cameras along for the ride.
We’re the only company licensed to send a commercial mission right now," says Dennis Laurie, TransOrbital president and CEO. "We’re shooting for the first quarter of 2004." On December 20 of 2002, the company launched a rocket to test telemetry, positioning, and other concerns in preparation for the upcoming mission. TransOrbital had to obtain approval from the US State Department and the military to gain its license, and has also been consulting with officials at NASA. The licensing process took two and a half years, according to Laurie, and involved getting a specific license to take pictures from space.
Backup data on Mars
Though this will be a perfect setup. Unfortunately there is nothing available right now. But I am pretty sure one of the Backup and Recovery companies will read this article and will probably start working towards this … hopefully :)
Backup data on a man made satellite
This is another good option but with a bit of risk involved as the satellite will still be in close proximity to earth. And in the event of some magnetic changes or due to impact, we might lost the satellite or the data or both.
Backup data in the ionosphere above earth
If we are able to save data in electrons this is going to be a good option. Read more about Ionosphere here on Wikipedia.
Though in this day and age we are able to save data in living cells. I will not suggest this as this might be of no use if the cells are destroyed by some catastrophic event either natural or man made. Well, with that comment I will conclude this article. If you think you have a better idea then please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
Are you Web 2.0 yet? Check against this list if you are not sure.
April 15, 2009 by MK
Filed under Online Media, Tech News
I am expecting our readers reaction to this article’s title as something like - What!! another web 2.0 article? … I don’t believe this.
I know the hype around Web 2.0 is over and how web evangelists are talking about the death of Web 2.0. But I think a lot of people are still not doing it right. So I have gathered a brief list of characteristics of Web 2.0 web sites.
Checklist of characteristics for Web 2.0 Applications -
- Internet as a platform
Your Application is delivered entirely through a browser, or even a micro-browser that resides on a handheld device such as a PDA or mobile phone. - Collaborative environment
Your app act as a hub for sharing content. Your app or site is fully controlled by users i.e. Users may supply, even control, the published content. - Social Networking
Your app include features that connect people with common interests. - Mashups
Your web app site allows third-party applications to integrate both data and functions from existing ones. - Rich media interfaces
Your Web app uses Flash, AJAX or any other kind of Rich Media interactions. Compared to the original concept of the Web as a collection of HTML hypertext documents, user interfaces are now more dynamic and more interactive, incorporating a variety of media including audio and video streams and voice interactions.
So if you think you have Web 2.0 site, think again and check against this list.
Now after reading the article - Do you really think you have have a web 2.0 app? or if you would like to add to this list Please feel free to leave your comments at the end of article under comments section.
Now run Ubuntu (Linux Operating System) within Windows
Isn’t this great news? Running Ubuntu inside Windows. This means you don’t need those virtual machines anymore to test your Website with LINUX browsers.
Windows only: Free application Portable Ubuntu for Windows runs an entire Linux operating system as a Windows application.
Portable Ubuntu is a stand alone package that runs a fairly standard GNOME-based version of the popular Ubuntu Linux distribution. It doesn’t create its own desktop, but puts all its windows inside your Windows OS.
Here are some of the important features of Portable Ubuntu:
- You can carry it on a thumb drive and it can actually run entirely from it. (Its like the CD that Ubuntu’s official Website provides to run the entire OS from your disk drive)
- You can and save your work and data to your Windows folders and files.
- Changes you make and applications you install are carried around with you.
- You can manage it easily from Windows, and it works great on dual monitors.
What, don’t know what UBUNTU is?
Ubuntu is a complete desktop Linux operating system, freely available with both community and professional support. The Ubuntu community is built on the ideas enshrined in the Ubuntu Manifesto: that software should be available free of charge, that software tools should be usable by people in their local language and despite any disabilities, and that people should have the freedom to customize and alter their software in whatever way they see fit.
Want to learn more about portable Ubuntu, here is a list of very good resources -
Download site - http://portableubuntu.sourceforge.net/
http://www.ubuntugeek.com/portable-ubuntu-ubuntu-system-running-as-a-windows-application.html
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=464113
http://lifehacker.com/5195999/portable-ubuntu-runs-ubuntu-inside-windows
And here is a nice video explaining Portable Ubuntu -
Free (few Open Source) Browser and OS releases coming in 2009
April 3, 2009 by MK
Filed under Online Media, Tech News
Microsoft Corp intend to keep up the pace with Internet Explorer 8
Mozilla’s Firefox 3.5 promises a native parser for JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), a data exchange format frequently used in Web apps, and several features to enhance rich media Web content, including support for the HTML 5 video element and the Ogg Vorbis and Theora open audio and video codecs.
And then there’s new version of Google’s Chrome browser, based on the open-source WebKit engine. The company is playing it close to the vest, but we do know Mac and Linux versions of the browser are in development.
Ubuntu 9.04, the Jaunty Jackalope.
Linux fans have much to look forward to, too. Following the release of Ubuntu 9.04, the "Jaunty Jackalope," in April, the Ubuntu team is planning for Ubuntu 9.10, the "Karmic Koala," to see the light of day in October 2009. Among the promised new features are integration with the Amazon EC2 APIs, so users can set up their own cloud using entirely open tools, and a kernel mode setting for a smooth and flicker-free start-up. The Ubuntu Netbook Edition will get the latest technology from the mobile Internet project Moblin, including better screen support.
Every other Linux distribution is sure to get better, too, along with associated operating system components. For example, openSUSE 11.2, scheduled for November, should include KDE 4.3, GNOME 2.28, Linux kernel 2.6.30 (or higher), a Web-based YaST interface and netbook support.
Red Hat Fedora 11 is slated for release by this summer, with several updates. The project’s goals include making Fedora boot and shut down faster (you’d be at the log-in screen in 20 seconds), changing supported architectures and default installed kernels, and improving support for fingerprint readers.
