IBM Magic Block / Sound-recording digital diary

The IBM Magic Block is a portable recording device that stores nonstop sound throughout the day, making these recordings the user’s private digital sound diary. The digital diary is easily searchable thanks to IBM voice-recognition search technology, which works like a Web search engine for sound. The user can effortlessly search for a keyword, a specific time range (to play back a meeting or school class) or a particular person’s voice (the software can recognize pre-associated names with voice and then play back the parts when that person is talking). To secure data privacy, the user accesses the Magic Block through a seamlessly embedded fingerprint-recognition reader. The Magic Block closes and opens in a clever way: avoiding accidental input when closed, physically indicating it is ready for use when open.