Aftobusa galis eh! Aftobusa galis eh! (c)

[Hrach_Techie]

Hi-Tech for Hyastan: IT specialist has Armenians in mind with world’s first “smart rabbit”
By John Hughes
ArmeniaNow editor

Imagine having a rabbit in charge of your public transportation schedule.

Is your rabbit wiggling his ears, or are you just glad to see me?

We’ll get to that in a minute . . .

An Armenian in Paris has developed the latest gizmo of Information Technology that has earned Time magazine’s moniker of “the 21st Century’s pet rock” and is earning the adoration of residents of “Nabaztagland” who are paying 95 Euros (about $120) for the hi-tech novelty faster than its producers can keep up with demand.
It has made news on CNN International, “Elle” magazine, International Herald Tribune newspaper and others, and has been a hit at electronics conventions in France.

Part toy, part virtual pet, part robot, it wouldn’t be right to call the device “cuddly” since its tube-like ears and flashing lights are covered in hard plastic, 23 centimeters tall. But the blinking bunny is creating warm and fuzzy feelings throughout Europe and hopes to do the same soon in North America.

If you have access to wireless Internet (alas, private users in Armenia do not), here’s what Nabaztag can do for you:
Alert you of email or sms, even when you’re not at your computer or mobile phone
Wake you up with whatever message you want to hear in whatever language you want to hear it
Provide weather and stock market information
Play your favorite song
Communicate with other Nabaztag owners through ear movements
Produce “Nabcast” broadcast to others in “Nabaztagland”
Necessary? Probably not. A conversation piece? No doubt.
If you don’t know by now, “Nabaztag” is the (Western) Armenian word for rabbit (hare).

And Rafi Haladjian is the name of its inventor.

Explanations for how the energized bunny work are better left to the experts at www.nabaztag.com.
But in an interview from Paris, its creator told ArmeniaNow about the invention’s decidedly Armenian identity.

“People in (for example) Thailand don’t even know what an Armenian is,” says Haladjian, who is a native of Lebanon and has visited Armenia twice since 1990. But when they find out why the hi-tech hare has this strange name “they learn something about Armenia”.

Haladjian, 44, has been working in IT for 25 years. He is the founder of technology companies Fluxus (sold to British Telecom in 2001) and Ozone.
Nabaztag first surfaced last summer and is now being sold in upscale boutiques in France, Belgium and Switzerland. And while it is the wi-fi (wireless fidelity) wonder de jour, Haladjian also hopes it is an ambassador.
“Some (Diaspora) are ashamed of their heritage so they change their name,” Haladjian says. “But Armenian is as good as Japanese. So why not call it by an Armenian name? Simple. Straightforward.”
Haladjian brought his family here for a visit in 2004 and he is now engaged with engineers who are working to set up wireless Internet access in Gyumri. (With a few exceptions, such as the Marriott Hotel and the Club, there is no wi-fi in Yerevan.)
If the Gyumri project is successful, Armenians there could become “Nabaztagland” citizens by the end of this year.
Till then, imagine a day when a plastic rabbit with an Armenian name might announce bus schedules . . .

According to Haladjian, plans are at hand for linking Nabaztag with the public transport system in Paris. Through connection with the city network information system, Nabaztag would have the ability to alert commuters as the bus on their route approached.

Haladjian says the rabbit would have a signal that would alert it when the appropriate bus was two stops away and would alert its owner by “shouting”: “The bus is coming! The bus is coming!”
Or, if the owner chooses: “Aftobusa galis eh! Aftobusa galis eh!”

http://armenianow.com/?action=viewAr...3&IID=&lng=eng
ржу не могу

[Arth-Gwyr]

хе хе хе (ц)

[Obelix]

Ayoo John Houges is back!

[Jane]

И пойдет Набастаг проповедовать по миру кто такие армяне...

[Barew_dzez]

esqan haves chka kardam, asac@ inch er cheq asi erku barov?

[Sevana]

Hi Hratch , will this Nabaztag tell my husband where his car keys are , he is always miss placing them , also what is the Eastern Armenian name for rabbit ?I thought it was the same

[Belka]

isk et napastaGi hamar' mi hat squirrel chen uzum ?

hayer@ manric cndum em...

[Gayka]

Originally Posted by Sevana

what is the Eastern Armenian name for rabbit ?I thought it was the same

Sevana, it's "napastak" for hare and "tchagar" for rabbit.

[Sevana]

Thank you Gayka

[Hrach_Techie]

Originally Posted by Sevana

Hi Hratch , will this Nabaztag tell my husband where his car keys are , he is always miss placing them

Hi Sevana! i think his misplacing the car keys all the time is just a hobby. even N will most like give up on itself and on the possibility to break him of his habit so the consclusion to your dilemma is n will defintely keep you more focused on the task at hand - the question is do you realluy need it? (jus kiddin' )

, also what is the Eastern Armenian name for rabbit ?I thought it was the same

Akandzhnerov Kokordilos?

[Sevana]

Nice to hear from you Hrach jan, now I like to know from Belka , what will happen if you put a Nabazdak with a Squirrel ?

[dolphin]