• Most Popular
  • Most Shared

Pictures

Vincent Padois, head tutor at the Pierre and Marie Curie University who teaches robotics and is babysitting the Paris ICub, makes a demonstration with ICub robot, a ?hybrid embodied cognitive system for a humanoid robot" about 1 metre (3.2 feet) high, at the Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris September 4, 2009. Six versions of ICub exist in laboratories across Europe, where scientists are painstakingly tweaking its electronic brain to make it capable of learning, just like a human child and hoping it will learn how to adapt its behaviour to changing circumstances, offering new insights into the development of human consciousness. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

Pictures of the year: Technology

A look at the year's best science and technology photos.   Slideshow 

    Doh! Homer gives driving directions

    AMSTERDAM
    Thu Jun 18, 2009 4:29pm EDT
    A model displays the navigation device 'TOMTOM Go 930 T' during first public day at the CeBIT computer fair in the northern German town of Hanover March 4, 2008. REUTERS/Morris Mac Matzen

    AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - "Woo hoo! You have reached your destination!" Homer Simpson, star character of U.S. cartoon show "The Simpsons," is ready to take you where you want to go.

    Technology

    Homer's voice can now be downloaded onto TomTom's navigation devices, complete with goofy laughs and exclamations.

    "At the end of the road, turn left, then take the motorway. Ah ha ha, he he. Woo hoo!" a sample audio clip says.

    You won't hear Homer giving directions in French, though.

    "We have only released the product in countries where Homer's voice is not dubbed in the TV series," a TomTom spokesman said. The voice download will only be available in English in 14 countries and costs 10 euros ($14).

    TomTom's navigation devices allow customization of the voice guiding drivers on the road and celebrity voices have long been an option for users of the popular product.

    John Cleese, Mr.T and Kim Cattrall of 'Sex and the City' are among the most popular downloads already offered. Homer's voice is that of Emmy-winning actor Dan Castellaneta, who also voices Krusty the Clown and Mayor Quimby in "The Simpsons."

    Voice samples can be found at www.tomtom.com/page/simpsons.

    (Editing by David Holmes and Paul Casciato)

    ($1=.7165 Euro)
    Technology


    More from Reuters

    Photo

    Obama says U.S. will pursue plane attackers

    KAILUA, Hawaii (Reuters) - A wing of al Qaeda claimed responsibility on Monday for a failed Christmas Day attack on a U.S.-bound passenger plane and President Barack Obama vowed to bring "every element" of U.S. power against those who threaten Americans' safety. | Video

    » More Top News
    Passengers queue to go through security checks at the departure gate at Gatwick Airport, in southern England December 28, 2009. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

    Travel headaches after scare

    The U.S. is stepping up airline security measures following the Christmas bomb scare. Here's what you can expect.  Full Article | Video 

    U.S.
    Iranian protesters take a policeman away to a safe place after he was beaten by angry protesters during fierce clashes in central Tehran December 27, 2009. Credit: REUTERS/Stringer

    Deaths, arrests in Iran

    Is Iran's "iron fist of brutality" a new volatile phase aimed at crushing the refomist movement?  Full Article | Video 

    World