And this was just a ‘small’ Windows Phone update

Windows Phone 7 update put on hold for Samsung handsets
[Via Ars Technica]

A Microsoft spokesman has told WinRumors that the minor update that started shipping on Monday has been suspended for Samsung handsets after many users reported that it failed to install, and in some cases bricked their phones.

So far, it appears that the update hasn’t actually been taken down; owners of Samsung handsets that have been notified of the update are reporting that they are still able to attempt to install it. One possible explanation is that Microsoft has stopped sending out new update notifications, but left existing ones intact.

While exact numbers are hard to come by, the withdrawal of the update is an indication that the problems are no mere isolated incidents. Reports of the update failing to install (but not damaging the phone) are widespread, and there are numerous reports both on Microsoft’s support forum and Twitter (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) of outright bricking. Both the Omnia 7 and Focus handsets are confirmed to be affected.

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There is supposed to be a major update coming soon. If I had a Windows Mobile 7 phone, I’d be a little worried.

Watching sign language deal with scientific jargon

by Cindy Andrie

Highlights from AAAS: The sign language of science
[Via Boing Boing]

One of the most interesting stories I read about AAAS 2011 wasn’t even about a presentation—or, anyway, it wasn’t about the topic of a presentation. After watching sign language interpreters translate conference sessions for Deaf attendees, journalist Ferris Jabr wrote a fascinating piece for New Scientist about how sign language can be invented on the fly, with interpreters creating brand new signs for technical and scientific terms. It’s no easy task, especially given the fact that interpreters aren’t necessarily experts in the subjects they’re signing about.

Maureen Wagner’s task this morning is to talk about cutting-edge brain surgery – without speaking a word. As a neuroscientist on a stage behind her delivers his speech, Wagner translates his words into sign language for members of the audience who are deaf or hard of hearing, her fingers spinning through the air with impressive dexterity and speed.

Simultaneous signing is a formidable challenge at any time – but all the more so when the subject of discussion is epidural electrocorticography (a technique in which researchers drill through the skull to place an electrode directly on the thin membrane that envelops the brain).

Wagner’s sign for it – cupping her right hand into a little dome and poking the grooves between her fingers with her left hand – isn’t an everyday gestural symbol like a peace sign, nor is it part of American Sign Language’s visual vocabulary. Rather, it’s Wagner’s own invention, an impromptu gesture that derives its meaning from immediate context.

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Very nice little article about how signers, who have been at the AAAS since 1976, deal with the world of science. Essentially, they use gestures to get across general aspects of the talk, much like really good note-taking. I was fascinated to read how they have often, on the fly, created new symbols that anyone can understand. The double helix, for example, is pretty awesome.

Trying to communicate difficult science to people who cannot hear is a daunting task. I know that many slides are indecipherable for those who can hear. Almost all talks are also taped these days. I wonder if many are closed captioned so that people can go back later and get more detailed information?