Michael Callahan invented this incredible tool after a traumatic accident left him wondering how difficult life is for those who lose an ability most of us take for granted. His invention is actually a system of devices enabling audible speech:

Three pill-size electrodes on the throat pick up electrical signals generated between the brain and the vocal cords. A processor in the device then filters and amplifies the signals and sends them to an adjacent PC, where software decodes them and turns them into words spoken through the PC's speakers. By placing the electrodes on the neck and "speaking" silently through vocal-cord movements (but without moving the mouth), the wearer generates enough neural activity to trigger this chain of events.

Audeo is capable of more than just giving a voice to those physically impaired though. It could be used to speak on the phone without ever actually vocalizing anything, opening up the possibilities to fantastical spy or military applications. That and it could one day get rid of that is-he-talking-to-me-or-someone-on-the-phone confusion around people wearing BlueTooth headsets. [Pop Sci]

This week, Gizmodo is exploring the enhanced human future in a segment we call This Cyborg Life. It's about what happens when we treat our body less as a sacred object and more as what it is: Nature's ultimate machine.

The scoop by TechCrunch suggests Gizmo5 and Google Voice could join forces to create a skype like service. (Although many readers have noted that Gizmo5 and Google Voice already work together well enough as separate services.) We look forward to better integration. [Techcrunch via lifehacker]

The FCC, being all about neutrality nowadays, is probably still going to flick Google in the balls over it, though Google says they "have good reason to believe [those numbers] are engaged in…schemes" that jack up carrier costs.

Given that Google's clearly happy to give something away for free that costs a lot of money to make happen, would they really even consider charging Google Voice like they vaguely threatened? Nahhh. [Washington Post, WSJ]

The FCC's interested in part because some lawmakers jumped on its ass, but also because it's very interested in making some new rules for telecoms. Currently, Google Voice blocks calls to some rural carriers, conference call services and naughty talk lines because they have pricey access fees.

You can read the full letter here (PeeDeeEff), but basically the FCC asks Google to describe how calls are routed with Google Voice, how it decides what numbers to block, what exactly Google means by saying the service is "invitation-only," whether or not it plans to charge money for GV (!), and some other stuff.

Google insists Google Voice is software, not subject to common carrier laws. We'll see, the new FCC is mighty feisty. [FCC (PDF via Bits]

Offered by Hammacher Schlemmer:

This is the first voice-interactive coffee maker that asks, "Would you like to set the clock or set the coffee brewing time?" and operates in response to your verbal commands. Simply saying, "Set the coffee brewing time," or "Set the clock," will prompt the machine to reply, "Please say the time, including AM or PM." It uses an advanced voice recognition system to identify any time of day you speak, eliminating the hassle of fussing with buttons.

Sure, the one instance that you ever have to program the time on your coffee maker is a tad inconvenient, and I can appreciate the UI improvement of any gadget. But as long as we're using voice commands and $100 coffee makers, we might as well open the door for new functionality. "Brew 4 cups of coffee" or "tea earl grey hot" would both be welcome commands that could save you time and prodding on a daily basis.

Imagine if you could only tell the Enterprise to "set the clock." [Hammacher Schlemmer via CrunchGear]

* To be fair, maybe Hammacher Schlemmer just failed to mention the "make coffee" command. Even if so, the fact that you'd need to press a button to issue the order sort of negates the convenience.

It's basically going to allow you to dial quickly without having to open up Safari, go to the GV page, pick out a number and hit call. An easier way, if you're calling mobile numbers, is to use the 406 number associated with that phone. To get that number, text the person with your GV, then wait for a response. The response will come from a 406 number (if that person isn't also on GV), which you can save into your address book to use for that person from now on. Calling that 406 number will route your call through Google Voice.

But it is pretty useful for landlines, since landlines can't text back. [Ironic Sans]

One of the developers, as you remember, found out that their app had been pulled only when a user emailed them to ask the app wasn't available for purchase. Then, they asked Apple why it was pulled, and was met with what could only be called as an absurd phone exchange. See here for the transcript.

Now, according to an interview given to Maclife, they're being forced to pay for Apple's actions.

"Apple made it impossible for our customers to receive the fixes, updates, and support by pulling the app. We were fulfilling our end of the bargain. Why should those refunds come out of our pocket?" says Duerr. "The refund issue and lack of respect for our mutual customers has further soured us on the belief that Apple cares at all about their developers … other than the dollars they bring in."

I hope the FCC investigation gets somebody's ass smacked down. [MacLife]

The major issue we have is the fact that text messages aren't "intercepted" by the Google Voice app in order to send it through your GV number. You have to send your messages using GV instead of with the default messaging client. This wouldn't even be an issue (the unofficial iPhone Google Voice clients have this as well), except that outgoing calls DO get intercepted and piped through Google Voice. The inconsistency is what's bugging us, and since this is Google's own OS and Google's own app, there should be a way for them to implement this feature.

Other than that, everything works pretty much as expected, and better than other GV implementations on other phones. You can view all the folders in your account, listen to voicemails, see their transcripts, make international calls and do just about everything you can do on the Google Voice webapp.

It's free, so get it now.

Configuration screen
Texting (inside the Google Voice app)
What the app's allowed to touch on your phone
The folders you can view
Account balance (for international calls)
Voicemails

That info? How about one million newly reserved phone numbers with Level 3, the provider Google's been using in tandem with Voice since the beginning? Does that get your telecommunications itch scratched?

Well, it should, especially if you've been following all the great things we've been saying about the service since Chen got his hands on it earlier this year.

Further speculation says Google Voice might launch today, but Google isn't saying one way or the other. Visit the the site and hit refresh at your leisure. [PC World]

This tweet by cwalker123, a Google Voice developer, says not today (the 18th). And if you need to know why we're such big fans of Google Voice, check out our coverage. [BGR]

The app costs $3 and is just designed to interface with Google Voice. You can dial directly out from your GV number (either using the dialpad or through your normal iPhone contacts list), send texts from your GV number, and access your GV number's voicemail.

Text and calls go through properly and voicemail is as close an approximation of your iPhone's visual voicemail as it gets. Fairly accurate transcripts of your voicemails can be sent via text to your phone as well. History is funky, however, since it shows "Unknown" for all my calls. You can control which phone numbers incoming calls dial, and also which phone you want to "call out" from.

If you're a Google Voice user, the $3 is well worth it to be able to text and call from behind another number. It allows you a layer of privacy, so that people don't know your real number and you can block callers from the main Google interface. The only thing left is to wait for Google Voice to open up to the public.

There's also a free version that allows you to just dialing, which is good enough for most people. The pay version is here.

Amazon has backed down for the Guild's comfort rather than for any legal motivation, since it's pretty clear that a robotic reading isn't the same as an audio book. "We strongly believe many rights holders will be more comfortable with the text-to-speech feature if they are in the driver's seat," Amazon said.

But instead of removing the feature, Amazon has simply made it optional, so publishers can decide for themselves what's best for their property. That means it's unlikely the much-advertised (though not necessarily much-loved) feature is going to be too useful for Kindle 2 owners. We're not thrilled, since the Guild has no real legal leg to stand on and seems to need Amazon more than Amazon needs them, but then again, we're not fancy-pants authors. [CNET]

I'm a fancy-pants author and I say this is crap! -JC

During the initial setup, a female voice walks you through the typical configuration of your home theater. And once you're all set up, you can actually give the remote verbal commands like "Turn on DVD"—a command that's customizable in itself, as it can be programmed to activate just the DVD player or every component associated with the DVD player.

The Talking Remote is definitely at least 50% novelty, but I could see it as a nice compromise to handing a technaphobe a full-blown Logitech Harmony. The Talking Remote will be available late this year for an undisclosed price.

PlayStation Home update 1.05 is scheduled to be released on December 22. With this new update, users will be able to use the voice chat within their personal space and clubhouses to communicate and share with friends online.

By clicking on their PlayStation Home icon on the PlayStation Network column of XMB, users will be able to update PlayStation Home to 1.05. Users who are online with PlayStation Home will need to log-off and click on PlayStation Home icon.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Unlike most women in PlayStation Home, Abigail Murphy is a real female. [Playstation Blog via Gamepro]

It works by recording a soundbite, uploading it to Google's servers, which will crunch the data and return an answer "within seconds on a fast wireless network". Saul compared the function to that offered on Yahoo's, and found Google's to be more accurate, but still return junk results sometimes. AT&T and Microsoft also have handset voice recognition beyond simple dialing that many other phones offer. The app will be free and might be available to download as soon as Friday. [NYT]

Related: Gizmodo's Essential Iphone Apps

This will require two cameras, one for video chat and the other for the "hand reading," but it opens a lot of possibilities. To start with, the entire keyboard can become a gesture control pad without even having to touch the surface. In addition to that, it can be combined with actual touch technology to identify single fingers on the surface, with the possibility of assigning specific functions to them.

The system even contemplates combining all this with accelerometers and force sensors, so the touch action can generate secondary data. One example of this may be applying a deformation effect to an image or a sound effect to a music track, giving it more or less strength depending on the force you use in your action. [USPTO via Unwired View]

There's another current SpeechCloud voice dialing app on the App Store, and even though it may be free, it's got an average rating of 2.5 stars and reviews saying that it's pretty lousy. We'd make like a petting zoo and pony up the $25 for a good voice dialing app if we really needed one. Oh, and don't pay attention to the lousy 1 star reviews on the site, all these idiots are reviewing the app based on its $25 price tag and not how well it's functioning. [VoiceDial]