Showing posts with label APPS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label APPS. Show all posts
Monday, 6 June 2016
Xiaomi Mi Drone Launch Set for May 25
Xiaomi is holding an event in China on May 25, where it is expected
to enter the UAV market. The company has released two teasers,
hinting that it is all set to reveal its first drone.
The event is expected to be live streamed, and the most recent teaser almost definitely points to a drone, showing a camera attached to a gimbal. Xiaomi earlier had put up a picture of a wooden-copter, a toy famous among kids, further attesting to the rumours. The company has also put up a post on the MIUI forum, hinting at a new flying product coming soon. The news about Xiaomi working on drones started pouring in when it patented a technology that is used to control drones with Mi Bands and gestures. A few days earlier, a Xiaomi drone app was also leaked revealing that the upcoming drone will have the ability to shoot 4K videos at 30fps.
The ability to shoot 4K videos tips a high-end
drone, rather than a basic one that was earlier expected. However, this
is just pure speculation and there haven't been any leaks giving us tech
specifications about the drone. With this, Xiaomi enters into another
consumer tech segment. The company already has its footprints in smart
TVs, smart ACs, rice cookers, set-top boxes, Wi-Fi routers, air
purifiers and now drones.
This month, Xiaomi launched the Mi Max
with a massive 6.44-inch display, and showcased the MIUI 8. It is now
taking beta registrations, and the first developer ROM will be made
available on June 17. The company even launched its first Android TV set
top box - Mi Box-at Google I/O, which is currently underway.
The event is expected to be live streamed, and the most recent teaser almost definitely points to a drone, showing a camera attached to a gimbal. Xiaomi earlier had put up a picture of a wooden-copter, a toy famous among kids, further attesting to the rumours. The company has also put up a post on the MIUI forum, hinting at a new flying product coming soon. The news about Xiaomi working on drones started pouring in when it patented a technology that is used to control drones with Mi Bands and gestures. A few days earlier, a Xiaomi drone app was also leaked revealing that the upcoming drone will have the ability to shoot 4K videos at 30fps.
The ability to shoot 4K videos tips a high-end
drone, rather than a basic one that was earlier expected. However, this
is just pure speculation and there haven't been any leaks giving us tech
specifications about the drone. With this, Xiaomi enters into another
consumer tech segment. The company already has its footprints in smart
TVs, smart ACs, rice cookers, set-top boxes, Wi-Fi routers, air
purifiers and now drones.This month, Xiaomi launched the Mi Max
with a massive 6.44-inch display, and showcased the MIUI 8. It is now
taking beta registrations, and the first developer ROM will be made
available on June 17. The company even launched its first Android TV set
top box - Mi Box-at Google I/O, which is currently underway. 
Micromax Canvas Tab P701 4G Voice-Calling Tablet Launched at Rs. 7,250
Micromax on Monday expanded its 4G tablet portfolio with the launch
of the Canvas Tab P701. Priced at Rs. 7,250, the new Micromax Canvas Tab
P701 tablet will be exclusively available via Flipkart. The domestic
manufacturer in March had recently launched the Canvas Tab P702 featuring 4G connectivity priced at Rs. 7,999.
Similar to Canvas Tab P702, the dual-SIM supporting Micromax Canvas Tab P701 runs Android 5.1 Lollipop out-of-the-box and features a 7-inch (1024x600 pixels) IPS display. It is powered by a quad-core MediaTek processor, clocked at 1GHz, clubbed with 1GB of RAM.
The tablet packs 8GB of inbuilt storage, which can be expanded via a microSD card (up to 32GB). In the camera department, the Canvas Tab P701 sports a 5-megapixel autofocus rear camera with LED flash along with a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.
On the connectivity front, the Canvas Tab P701 supports 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Micro-USB connectivity. The Flipkart listing confirms that the tablet can support 4G on one SIM while another slot can support 3G at one time. The online listing also reveals that the tablet supports voice calling.
Available on Flipkart in Blue and Grey, the tablet packs a 3500mAh battery rated to deliver up to 15 hours of talk time and up to 4.5 hours of browsing time. Much like the Canvas Tab P701, the new Canvas Tab P702 also comes preloaded with 7 Kindle e-books worth Rs. 1,500 for free.
Commenting on the launch, Shubhajit Sen, Chief Marketing Officer, Micromax Informatics said, "At Micromax, we strive to design devices that address consumers' needs in a specific category. In the tablet segment, we realise that consumers today most frequently use their tablets for watching videos of all sorts. The Canvas Tab P701 offers a fantastic entertainment experience to users on the move giving them flexibility to easily access content anytime and anywhere, without being bound at their homes. Our range has been very well received by the consumers and as the industry leaders we continue to grow the category as also the use case for the large scale adoption of the tablet form factor and hence the larger display size".
Similar to Canvas Tab P702, the dual-SIM supporting Micromax Canvas Tab P701 runs Android 5.1 Lollipop out-of-the-box and features a 7-inch (1024x600 pixels) IPS display. It is powered by a quad-core MediaTek processor, clocked at 1GHz, clubbed with 1GB of RAM.
The tablet packs 8GB of inbuilt storage, which can be expanded via a microSD card (up to 32GB). In the camera department, the Canvas Tab P701 sports a 5-megapixel autofocus rear camera with LED flash along with a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.
On the connectivity front, the Canvas Tab P701 supports 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Micro-USB connectivity. The Flipkart listing confirms that the tablet can support 4G on one SIM while another slot can support 3G at one time. The online listing also reveals that the tablet supports voice calling.
Available on Flipkart in Blue and Grey, the tablet packs a 3500mAh battery rated to deliver up to 15 hours of talk time and up to 4.5 hours of browsing time. Much like the Canvas Tab P701, the new Canvas Tab P702 also comes preloaded with 7 Kindle e-books worth Rs. 1,500 for free.
Commenting on the launch, Shubhajit Sen, Chief Marketing Officer, Micromax Informatics said, "At Micromax, we strive to design devices that address consumers' needs in a specific category. In the tablet segment, we realise that consumers today most frequently use their tablets for watching videos of all sorts. The Canvas Tab P701 offers a fantastic entertainment experience to users on the move giving them flexibility to easily access content anytime and anywhere, without being bound at their homes. Our range has been very well received by the consumers and as the industry leaders we continue to grow the category as also the use case for the large scale adoption of the tablet form factor and hence the larger display size".
Use This Cool Trick to Instantly Free Up Space on Your iPhone
Running low on space on your iPhone? Just rent a movie on iTunes and get a few gigabytes of space on the iPhone.
People who are using Apple's 16GB iPhone variants tend to run out of storage. On this device, a user gets approximately 11GB of user accessible storage as the rest of it is used by Apple's iOS operating system.
After installing a few apps and storing photos, music and videos, a user normally runs out of storage.
According to a thread on Reddit, there is one crazy trick you can try to reclaim some of the used-up space.
The trick involves renting a movie from iTunes. To see how the trick works, go to Settings > General > About and scroll down to Available.
Check how much storage is left and then head to the iTunes Store.
Search for a film which is bigger than the space left on your phone. For example if the available space is 4GB, choose a movie whose file size is greater than 4GB.
Then click Rent at the top of the page. The user will not be charged as the phone does not have enough space to download it and a message will appear saying You don't have enough available storage.
After clicking OK, head back to settings and check your available storage again. A significant increase in the available storage space should be visible.
You can repeat the entire process a few times.
"As of now, it's unclear on how the trick works, but it probably has got to do with some cache and other storage from apps getting cleaned up," the report said.
People who are using Apple's 16GB iPhone variants tend to run out of storage. On this device, a user gets approximately 11GB of user accessible storage as the rest of it is used by Apple's iOS operating system.
After installing a few apps and storing photos, music and videos, a user normally runs out of storage.
According to a thread on Reddit, there is one crazy trick you can try to reclaim some of the used-up space.
The trick involves renting a movie from iTunes. To see how the trick works, go to Settings > General > About and scroll down to Available.
Check how much storage is left and then head to the iTunes Store.
Search for a film which is bigger than the space left on your phone. For example if the available space is 4GB, choose a movie whose file size is greater than 4GB.
Then click Rent at the top of the page. The user will not be charged as the phone does not have enough space to download it and a message will appear saying You don't have enough available storage.
After clicking OK, head back to settings and check your available storage again. A significant increase in the available storage space should be visible.
You can repeat the entire process a few times.
"As of now, it's unclear on how the trick works, but it probably has got to do with some cache and other storage from apps getting cleaned up," the report said.
How to Buy: The Perfect Activity Tracker
Let's
face it. It's not easy to zero in on an activity tracker, with options
ranging from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 20,000. One of the most popular queries
people often ask us is, is: "Which fitness band should I buy?" We're not big fans of the fitness bands available today but we've tried so many that we can help you pick one if you think it will be useful.
How much should I spend?
This is the easy part. Just ask yourself how active you are and you'll have your answer. If you are someone who's recently become health conscious, start with a basic activity and sleep tracker like the Xiaomi Mi Band. It costs you just Rs. 799 and it's a pretty good device for the price. However, if you're a fitness enthusiast who exercises regularly, you might need a fitness band with a heart rate monitor. You can skip the most expensive gadgets such as the Fitbit Blaze or Surge unless you're an endurance athlete.
(Also see: From 0 to 21, Running a Half Marathon With a Fitbit Surge)
Can you make do with your smartphone?
We'd suggest that you consider this question before wondering how much to spend. Heart rate monitoring and sleep tracking aside, your smartphone is good enough to manage almost everything your activity tracker promises. Counting steps, elevation, calories burned, distance covered (with GPS tracking of your route) are among the things a smartphone can easily manage with a fair degree of accuracy. If you're the kind of person who carries their smartphone everywhere, you don't need to buy an activity tracker. If your smartphone has serious battery issues or if you don't keep it with you while working out, read on.
What to look for when buying an activity tracker
First you need to consider whether you want a display. Having a display is of course a big plus because you can quickly check your activity data for the day. You will be syncing this data with your smartphone every day, so if you are happy to check it on your phone, you need not worry about having a display. However, most people would prefer to be able to take a quick glance at the screen and know how many steps they've taken. We suggest that you get an activity tracker with a display even if it costs a little more.
Once you've made that choice, you should check how comfortable this band is to wear. Most of these wearables will be spill proof, which means you can wear them while you're taking a shower. This means that you're practically going to be wearing this all day and while you're sleeping. That's why comfort is very important. Some bands have a metal clasp, which might irritate your skin, while others may be made of a material you're allergic to. Be sure to check this before buying.
That brings us to sensors. Most, if not all, activity trackers will have a step counter and a rudimentary sleep tracker. If you need sleep tracking, be sure to steer clear of activity trackers with a manual sleep tracker. No one will remember to turn it on every night before sleeping and to toggle it off after waking up. Automatic sleep tracking is a crucial feature missing in many of these products.
One feature most people don't need is a heart rate monitor. Often heart rate sensors are just a gimmicky addition to fitness bands. Unless you're serious about workouts and want to monitor if you are in the fat burn zone, you can do without a heart rate sensor. And if you are getting a tracker with this sensor, be sure to avoid "passive heart rate sensors" that do nothing but track resting heart rate. Even the good heart rate sensors don't work accurately if you're drenched in sweat, so you need to really ask yourself if you absolutely need this feature - most people should be able to do without it.
High end activity trackers will also have a GPS. While this erodes their battery life, the gains are invaluable if you're an endurance athlete. Tracking your route, complete with elevation data makes lower battery life a worthy trade off.
The final factor is battery life. The Xiaomi Mi Band will last well over a month on a single charge while most other fitness bands will run out of charge in around a week. However, some of these might not even last three days, especially if they have a heart rate monitor so be sure to avoid these products. You're going to be left with one more gadget to charge and you don't want to do this as often as you charge your smartphone.
This should be more than enough for most people looking to buy a new activity tracker. If you have any more questions, let us know via the comments.
How much should I spend?
This is the easy part. Just ask yourself how active you are and you'll have your answer. If you are someone who's recently become health conscious, start with a basic activity and sleep tracker like the Xiaomi Mi Band. It costs you just Rs. 799 and it's a pretty good device for the price. However, if you're a fitness enthusiast who exercises regularly, you might need a fitness band with a heart rate monitor. You can skip the most expensive gadgets such as the Fitbit Blaze or Surge unless you're an endurance athlete.
(Also see: From 0 to 21, Running a Half Marathon With a Fitbit Surge)
Can you make do with your smartphone?
We'd suggest that you consider this question before wondering how much to spend. Heart rate monitoring and sleep tracking aside, your smartphone is good enough to manage almost everything your activity tracker promises. Counting steps, elevation, calories burned, distance covered (with GPS tracking of your route) are among the things a smartphone can easily manage with a fair degree of accuracy. If you're the kind of person who carries their smartphone everywhere, you don't need to buy an activity tracker. If your smartphone has serious battery issues or if you don't keep it with you while working out, read on.
What to look for when buying an activity tracker
First you need to consider whether you want a display. Having a display is of course a big plus because you can quickly check your activity data for the day. You will be syncing this data with your smartphone every day, so if you are happy to check it on your phone, you need not worry about having a display. However, most people would prefer to be able to take a quick glance at the screen and know how many steps they've taken. We suggest that you get an activity tracker with a display even if it costs a little more.
Once you've made that choice, you should check how comfortable this band is to wear. Most of these wearables will be spill proof, which means you can wear them while you're taking a shower. This means that you're practically going to be wearing this all day and while you're sleeping. That's why comfort is very important. Some bands have a metal clasp, which might irritate your skin, while others may be made of a material you're allergic to. Be sure to check this before buying.
That brings us to sensors. Most, if not all, activity trackers will have a step counter and a rudimentary sleep tracker. If you need sleep tracking, be sure to steer clear of activity trackers with a manual sleep tracker. No one will remember to turn it on every night before sleeping and to toggle it off after waking up. Automatic sleep tracking is a crucial feature missing in many of these products.
One feature most people don't need is a heart rate monitor. Often heart rate sensors are just a gimmicky addition to fitness bands. Unless you're serious about workouts and want to monitor if you are in the fat burn zone, you can do without a heart rate sensor. And if you are getting a tracker with this sensor, be sure to avoid "passive heart rate sensors" that do nothing but track resting heart rate. Even the good heart rate sensors don't work accurately if you're drenched in sweat, so you need to really ask yourself if you absolutely need this feature - most people should be able to do without it.
High end activity trackers will also have a GPS. While this erodes their battery life, the gains are invaluable if you're an endurance athlete. Tracking your route, complete with elevation data makes lower battery life a worthy trade off.
The final factor is battery life. The Xiaomi Mi Band will last well over a month on a single charge while most other fitness bands will run out of charge in around a week. However, some of these might not even last three days, especially if they have a heart rate monitor so be sure to avoid these products. You're going to be left with one more gadget to charge and you don't want to do this as often as you charge your smartphone.
This should be more than enough for most people looking to buy a new activity tracker. If you have any more questions, let us know via the comments.
Airbus Presents 3D-Printed Mini Aircraft
Windowless, weighing in at just 21 kilos (46 pounds) and less than four metres (13 feet) long, the drone Thor - short for "Test of High-tech Objectives in Reality" - resembles a large, white model airplane.
Yet to the European aerospace giant Airbus, the small pilotless propeller aircraft is a pioneer that offers a taste of things to come - an aviation future when 3D printing technology promises to save time, fuel and money.
"This is a test of what's possible with 3D printing technology," said Detlev Konigorski, who was in charge of developing Thor for Airbus, speaking at the International Aerospace Exhibition and Air Show at Berlin's southern Schoenefeld airport.
"We want to see if we can speed up the development process by using 3D printing not just for individual parts but for an entire system."
In Thor, the only parts that are not printed from a substance called polyamide are the electrical elements.
The little plane "flies beautifully, it is very stable," said its chief engineer Gunnar Haase, who conducted Thor's inaugural flight last November near the northern German city of Hamburg.
Lighter, faster, cheaperAirbus and its US rival Boeing are already using 3D printing, notably to make parts for their huge passenger jets the A350 and B787 Dreamliner.
"The printed pieces have the advantage of requiring no tools and that they can be made very quickly," said Jens Henzler of Bavaria-based Hofmann Innovation Group, which specialises in the new technology.
The metal parts produced can also be 30-50 percent lighter than in the past, and there is almost zero manufacturing waste, added Henzler, who is managing director for Hofmann industrial prototyping.
The sky is not the limit for the technology - engineers also plan to use it in space.
The future Ariane 6 rocket of European space agency ESA, set to blast off from 2020, is set to feature many printed pieces.
"It brings big cost reductions on parts manufacturing," said Alain Charmeau, head of Airbus Safran Launchers.
Partially as a result of this, the Ariane 6 may have half the price tag of its predecessor Ariane 5.
'Radical innovations'The new 3D printers can make pieces up to 40 centimetres (15 inches) long and is of most use in particularly complex designs.
Charmeau said Airbus is testing how to print an injection assembly for an engine that is now assembled from 270 individual pieces.
"With 3D printing, it has just three parts," he told AFP.
Aside from the costs savings, 3D printing also promises ecological benefits as lighter jets use less fuel and spew out fewer pollutants.
To reducing carbon emissions in aviation - with air traffic expected to double in the next 20 years - "the decisive issue is radical technical innovation in a relatively short time," said Ralf Fuecks, head of the Heinrich Boell foundation think tank of the German Green Party.
3D printing is certain to play a major role in this, he said at a conference at the ILA event with Airbus president Tom Enders.
The air travel industry is already convinced of the benefits, according to a survey of some 102 aviation sector players by German high-tech federation Bitkom.
Some 70 percent of respondents believed that by 2030 aircraft spare parts will be printed directly at airports, and 51 percent expect that entire planes will by then be manufactured by 3D printing.
LG G Pad III 8.0 Tablet With 4G LTE Support Now Available Online
LG appears set to launch a new tablet in its G Pad lineup, the LG G
Pad III 8.0. The tablet is currently available only in Canada for now,
via the Rogers and Fido websites. LG has not yet made an official
announcement about the tablet.
The price of the LG G Pad III 8.0 is CAD 240 (roughly Rs. 12 400). It is essentially the upgraded version of the LG G Pad II 8.0 launched in 2015. Specifications wise, the LG G Pad III runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop with LG UX UI on top. It features an 8-inch (1920x1200 pixels) TFT display with 283ppi pixel density, and the company claims that the display comes with Zero Gap tech that reduces screen reflection. It is powered by an 1.5GHz octa-core CPU paired with 2GB of RAM.
The LG G Pad III 8.0 sports 5-megapixel cameras on the front and back, both capable of 1080p video recording. The tablet offers 16GB of inbuilt storage, with microSD slot support for expansion. It packs a 4800mAh battery, that the company can last up to 20 days of standby time. Connectivity options include LTE support, 2G/3G HSPA+, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS/A-GPS, Wi-Fi, full-sized traditional USB port, and a Micro-USB 2.0 port.
The tablet's dimensions at 210.7x124.1x7.9mm, and it weighs in at 309 grams. LG offers the variant only in Black, and has not revealed any details on availabilty in other markets.
In the meanwhile, the LG G5 is up for pre-booking on Flipkart for Rs. 52,990, and is set for launch on June 1 in India. The pre-bookings end on Monday, and those who pre-book, get the LG Cam Plus module bundled for free with the LG G5.
The price of the LG G Pad III 8.0 is CAD 240 (roughly Rs. 12 400). It is essentially the upgraded version of the LG G Pad II 8.0 launched in 2015. Specifications wise, the LG G Pad III runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop with LG UX UI on top. It features an 8-inch (1920x1200 pixels) TFT display with 283ppi pixel density, and the company claims that the display comes with Zero Gap tech that reduces screen reflection. It is powered by an 1.5GHz octa-core CPU paired with 2GB of RAM.
The LG G Pad III 8.0 sports 5-megapixel cameras on the front and back, both capable of 1080p video recording. The tablet offers 16GB of inbuilt storage, with microSD slot support for expansion. It packs a 4800mAh battery, that the company can last up to 20 days of standby time. Connectivity options include LTE support, 2G/3G HSPA+, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS/A-GPS, Wi-Fi, full-sized traditional USB port, and a Micro-USB 2.0 port.
The tablet's dimensions at 210.7x124.1x7.9mm, and it weighs in at 309 grams. LG offers the variant only in Black, and has not revealed any details on availabilty in other markets.
In the meanwhile, the LG G5 is up for pre-booking on Flipkart for Rs. 52,990, and is set for launch on June 1 in India. The pre-bookings end on Monday, and those who pre-book, get the LG Cam Plus module bundled for free with the LG G5.
Home | Apps | Apps News Facebook Disabling Messaging on Mobile Web; Forces Users to Download Messenge
Facebook back in 2014 started forcing users to download its
standalone Messenger app to send and receive messages on smartphones, by disabling messaging via the Facebook app. Now, the
social platform is doing the same by disabling messaging in its mobile
web app.
Several users across the world are reporting about a message that pops-up when they try to check messages on the Facebook mobile web app. It reads, "Your conversations are moving to Messenger."
The message also has a description explaining the users, "Soon you'll only be able to view your messages from Messenger." Some users report that by "soon" Facebook means download it now as even after dismissing the notification and when trying to open any message, the mobile web interface opens up the Google Play listing of Messenger. Notably, this is currently only happening to users on Android.
A Facebook official explained to TechCrunch that the company want to offer "the best possible experience in messaging."
Facebook is of course hoping to increase the user numbers of its Messenger app alongside. This also means that users who were using the mobile web interface to avoid the official Facebook app will have no other option but to download the standalone Messenger app.
As we mentioned, Facebook back in 2014 stopped instant messaging via its main app for Android and iPhone, prompting users to download the company's standalone Messenger app.
To recall, Facebook in April announced that its Messenger voice calling and messaging app had 900 million monthly active users, up from 800 million in January. We may soon see a huge jump in the monthly active users of Messenger app because of removal of the messaging capability from the web app.
Several users across the world are reporting about a message that pops-up when they try to check messages on the Facebook mobile web app. It reads, "Your conversations are moving to Messenger."
The message also has a description explaining the users, "Soon you'll only be able to view your messages from Messenger." Some users report that by "soon" Facebook means download it now as even after dismissing the notification and when trying to open any message, the mobile web interface opens up the Google Play listing of Messenger. Notably, this is currently only happening to users on Android.
A Facebook official explained to TechCrunch that the company want to offer "the best possible experience in messaging."
Facebook is of course hoping to increase the user numbers of its Messenger app alongside. This also means that users who were using the mobile web interface to avoid the official Facebook app will have no other option but to download the standalone Messenger app.
As we mentioned, Facebook back in 2014 stopped instant messaging via its main app for Android and iPhone, prompting users to download the company's standalone Messenger app.
To recall, Facebook in April announced that its Messenger voice calling and messaging app had 900 million monthly active users, up from 800 million in January. We may soon see a huge jump in the monthly active users of Messenger app because of removal of the messaging capability from the web app.
Huawei Making a Daydream-Ready Phone and Another Nexus Device: Reports
Chinese handset maker Huawei has huge plans set for this year as the
company plans to launch a Daydream-ready smartphone. Additionally, a
Huawei executive has confirmed that the company is again working with
Google for a new Nexus device. With two different reports responsible
citing different Huawei executives, it is uncertain whether they are
referring to the same phone.
Google had recently confirmed that the Daydream platform won't support the current lot of smartphones and that it will only work with a select number of Android N running smartphones that will have special sensors and screens while supporting high refresh rates to minimise latency and allow for a crisp, smooth VR experience.
Huawei CEO Richard Yu has told WSJ that the company has plans to launch a VR-ready "this fall" which will be compatible with Google's Daydream platform. Unfortunately, Yu didn't share any details about the availability of the new handset.
Yu further talked about the partnership with legendary camera manufacturer Leica. The Chinese company struck a deal with Leica for its high-end Huawei P9 and P9 Plus smartphones that were launched featuring Leica-made dual rear cameras.
Yu again stressed that Huawei's partnership with Leica was a "long-term commitment" and added that it will continue for the next five years. We can expect Leica-made cameras to be part of Huawei's high-end smartphones for next few years.
A Huawei executive has confirmed that the Chinese company is working on a new Nexus device this year. At the launch of Huawei P9 in South Africa, Charlene Munilall, General Manager, Huawei's Consumer Business Group in SA told Gearburn, "We're doing the Nexus again this year."
While Munilall didn't confirm whether the new Nexus device is a smartphone or a tablet or a new product altogether but 'seemingly' confirmed that Huawei is indeed working on a Nexus. We may have to wait for the official launch of the new Huawei-made Nexus.
Google had recently confirmed that the Daydream platform won't support the current lot of smartphones and that it will only work with a select number of Android N running smartphones that will have special sensors and screens while supporting high refresh rates to minimise latency and allow for a crisp, smooth VR experience.
Huawei CEO Richard Yu has told WSJ that the company has plans to launch a VR-ready "this fall" which will be compatible with Google's Daydream platform. Unfortunately, Yu didn't share any details about the availability of the new handset.
Yu further talked about the partnership with legendary camera manufacturer Leica. The Chinese company struck a deal with Leica for its high-end Huawei P9 and P9 Plus smartphones that were launched featuring Leica-made dual rear cameras.
Yu again stressed that Huawei's partnership with Leica was a "long-term commitment" and added that it will continue for the next five years. We can expect Leica-made cameras to be part of Huawei's high-end smartphones for next few years.
A Huawei executive has confirmed that the Chinese company is working on a new Nexus device this year. At the launch of Huawei P9 in South Africa, Charlene Munilall, General Manager, Huawei's Consumer Business Group in SA told Gearburn, "We're doing the Nexus again this year."
While Munilall didn't confirm whether the new Nexus device is a smartphone or a tablet or a new product altogether but 'seemingly' confirmed that Huawei is indeed working on a Nexus. We may have to wait for the official launch of the new Huawei-made Nexus.
Zoho Vault Is a Free Password Manager That's Great for Personal Use
Given how much of our personal data is stored across various online services, having a password manager has become essential. The perils of weak passwords are well-known - your accounts can be easily hacked, leading to a lot of misery. And since most people have a large number of accounts across various websites, remembering different strong passwords for each account becomes a chore. That's why you should consider using a password manager such as Zoho Vault.
Zoho Vault is available on Android, iOS, and for desktop PCs via Chrome and Firefox extensions. The service requires you to create an account and a separate passphrase that protects your passwords. This passphrase will not be stored anywhere and cannot be recovered, so you need to make sure you remember this. All password manager apps have one master password that you'll need to remember, so Zoho's passphrase is nothing to be alarmed about, it's the industry standard.
Once you're signed in to your account and the vault, you'll need to install the browser extensions on your PC in order to enable autofill. Whenever you open a website such as Twitter for example, where you have saved the password already, Zoho Vault will automatically enter your username and password. It also lets you stop your browser from offering to save passwords, which is a bonus.
Zoho Vault lets you share passwords with team members. You can create multiple vaults, dubbed Chambers, and just give team members access to certain vaults. This lets you easily segregate company-related accounts from your personal credentials, and you can simply let team members access the "Work" chamber to let them login to company accounts. Administrators will appreciate the fact that Zoho Vault lets them set a password policy, such as requiring 15-character alphanumeric passwords with lowercase and uppercase letters that needs to be changed every month.
Adding passwords to Zoho Vault is quite simple. You can either add
them via the browser extension, or just log in to the website in
question and Zoho Vault will offer to save your password on its own. We
couldn't find a way to add captured passwords to a Chamber directly.
When you add a captured password to Zoho Vault, the extension doesn't
show an option to send that password to a Chamber. We had to do this
manually via the extension.Zoho Vault works fine for the most part, except when dealing with non-standard login pages. Some of our company's internal login pages show up as pop-ups (HTTP authentication) in the browser. For these logins, you'll have to save passwords manually to the vault, and then copy-paste them into the fields. Zoho Vault's competitor 1Password has a neat auto-type feature that keys in login credentials in any browser tab you want. This is very effective in tackling non-standard login pages.
We also used Zoho Vault on an iPhone and weren't very happy with the experience. The sign up process was cumbersome and the app, more than once, showed us a desktop-width screen with a vague error message. We signed up via a desktop browser and then returned to the iOS app, only to find that it wanted us to confirm our email before it let us sign in. It showed this error after we'd keyed in the login credentials and the passphrase. We had to do it all over again to use the app.
Secondly, the Zoho Vault app doesn't enable Touch ID by default. The option is buried two layers deep in the app and certainly should be switched to default. Having to key in the passphrase again and again is a chore, especially on the tiny, cramped 4-inch iPhone 5s keyboard. Enabling Touch ID does makes signing in a breeze. Initially, the app's Safari extension kept asking us to return to the app and log in even though we were already logged in. Force quitting Safari and relaunching it fixed this problem. These two issues apart, the app worked as it should.
On Android, the experience was frustrating at times. While the app
itself worked well, its autofill feature had a worrying bug on our Asus ZenFone Zoom.
The autofill pop-up showed up after a minor lag on Google Chrome, and
we just couldn't close it. Hitting the home button closed the browser
but not the pop up. It didn't even let us reboot the phone as the pop-up
appeared above the power off/ reboot screen. However, Zoho Vault worked
as expected most of the time and this happened just the once. Whenever
you open a page with a log in form, the autofill pop-up will help you
instantly key in your credentials. For the most part, this is a smooth
process.While browser-based password managers may not be offer the same control on data as password manager apps, they score a lot higher on the convenience factor. Whenever you open any page with a login form, browser-based password managers - on desktop and mobile - will automatically key in your passwords. This needs no input from you. If anyone gains access to your device, they can access all of your accounts because of saved passwords. To avoid this, password manager apps such as Zoho Vault add an extra layer of security in the form of a passphrase or Touch ID. This is why it's even more important for the process to work smoothly every single time. Some of the bugs mentioned above could be a deterrent for someone trying password manager apps for the first time.
Having said that, overall, we were pleased with the way Zoho Vault works. It has all the essential features for personal and corporate use. Yes, it stores your passwords online, but the second time we used it, Zoho Vault asked us to enable two-factor authentication. This would require us to key in a separate code sent to us via text, a phone call or any authenticator app, to access credentials stored in Zoho Vault. This level of security is good enough for most people and companies. Storing passwords online means that they're stored with Zoho, which may concern some. However, there isn't much to worry about as Zoho encrypts your passwords, which makes them virtually impossible to access for anyone who doesn't have access to your Chambers. Secondly, the passphrase for your account is not stored anywhere on Zoho's servers and it's not possible to access your passwords without that passphrase. Then there's the other question of whether one should trust Zoho. Zoho is headquartered in California, with a strong Indian connection. The company has been around since 1996 and has a long history of making online collaboration tools and other enterprise apps. That and the multiple layers of security in Zoho Vault should allay any concerns people might have.
Zoho Vault also features offline access - it lets you access your
passwords via a downloaded encrypted file. It offers a free tier that
doesn't let you share passwords, making it suitable for personal use.
Paid tiers start at Rs. 60 per user per month and go all the way up to
Rs. 420 per user per month. The pricing is very reasonable for team use,
especially when you compare it with services such as 1Password for
Teams (starts at roughly Rs. 350 per user per month). Zoho Vault also
supports two-factor authentication for logging in, which makes it secure
enough for most companies, even though it stores your passwords online.
But if you'd rather store your team's passwords offline, 1Password for
Teams may be a better choice.
Home | Laptops | Laptops News Microsoft Unveils Porsche Design 2-in-1 Laptop; Opens Up Windows Hello Platform
Microsoft has made several announcements at Computex
in Taipei. The company showcased a Windows 10 2-in-1 made by an
undisclosed OEM and Porsche Design. Furthermore, Microsoft also opened
up its mixed reality Windows Holographic platform, and Windows Hello
framework to third parites.
Microsoft VP Nick Parker showed off a new 13.3-inch Windows 10 convertible created by Porsche Design, and another OEM that it chose to keep in the dark. It comes with Windows Hello 2.0 (facial recognition), voice assistant Cortana, and the new Inking features scheduled to come with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update in July. It will be powered by an Intel processor, and will be made available in winter.
Furthermore, Microsoft even announced that it is opening up its Windows Hello Companion Device Framework to third-parties. It showed how the framework even allows wearables to unlock PCs, and did a demo with the Nymi band. Windows Hello already supports facial recognition, and fingerprint sensors. The company is also working on a new version of its Authenticator app that will allow Windows 10 Mobiles to unlock other Windows 10 devices.
Microsoft's Executive VP Terry Myerson also announced the opening up of the mixed reality Windows Holographic platform to VR headset makers. It released a video detailing Windows Holographic's capabilities. The OS can now be used by VR headset makers, and work alongside Hololens to merge AR and VR. The video demonstrates this on an HTC Vive VR headset, and showed how mixed reality would really feel like. Microsoft announced that it is working with Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, HTC, Acer, ASUS, Dell, Falcon Northwest, HP, Lenovo, MSI, and others to make Windows Holographic a platform for VR as well as AR.
Apart from the Porsche Design 2-in-1, Microsoft also showcased many new Windows 10-based 2-in-1s, PCs and notebooks by OEMs like Dell, Acer, Asus, and even HP at Computex this year.
Microsoft VP Nick Parker showed off a new 13.3-inch Windows 10 convertible created by Porsche Design, and another OEM that it chose to keep in the dark. It comes with Windows Hello 2.0 (facial recognition), voice assistant Cortana, and the new Inking features scheduled to come with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update in July. It will be powered by an Intel processor, and will be made available in winter.
Furthermore, Microsoft even announced that it is opening up its Windows Hello Companion Device Framework to third-parties. It showed how the framework even allows wearables to unlock PCs, and did a demo with the Nymi band. Windows Hello already supports facial recognition, and fingerprint sensors. The company is also working on a new version of its Authenticator app that will allow Windows 10 Mobiles to unlock other Windows 10 devices.
Microsoft's Executive VP Terry Myerson also announced the opening up of the mixed reality Windows Holographic platform to VR headset makers. It released a video detailing Windows Holographic's capabilities. The OS can now be used by VR headset makers, and work alongside Hololens to merge AR and VR. The video demonstrates this on an HTC Vive VR headset, and showed how mixed reality would really feel like. Microsoft announced that it is working with Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, HTC, Acer, ASUS, Dell, Falcon Northwest, HP, Lenovo, MSI, and others to make Windows Holographic a platform for VR as well as AR.
Apart from the Porsche Design 2-in-1, Microsoft also showcased many new Windows 10-based 2-in-1s, PCs and notebooks by OEMs like Dell, Acer, Asus, and even HP at Computex this year.
Xiaomi Mi Drone Launched; Offers 4K Video on a Budget
Xiaomi, as expected, on Wednesday unveiled its first drone - a
quadcopter called the Mi Drone. Similar like other Mi devices, Xiaomi
has worked with Flymi, a China-based company, on the development of the
drone.
The new Mi Drone - equipped with a camera - will be available in two variants, an affordable variant that can shoot 1080p video priced at CNY 2,499 (roughly Rs. 26,000), and one that can shoot video in 4K that has been priced slightly higher at CNY 2,999 (roughly Rs. 31,000).
The company has announced that the Mi Drone (1080p version) will be crowdfunded on the Mi Home app starting Thursday, while the Mi Drone (4K version) will be available for testing via an open beta programme beginning late July. At this price point, Xiaomi's first Mi Drone is much cheaper than some of its competitors in the drone segment such as DJI, one of the most popular drone makers.
The Mi Drone packs a 4-propeller system with detachable shields and is backed by a 5100mAh battery at 17.4V which is claimed to offer 27 minutes of non-stop flying. The 1080p as well as 4K versions offer up to 104 degree wide-angle lens. The 4K camera records at 3840x2160 pixels and supports recording of stills in RAW format.
Xiaomi says that the drone packs camera attached to a 3-axis gimbal which stabilises up to 2,000 vibrations per second. The device includes GPS and Glonass. The Mi Drone also comes with Autopilot option that allows it for automatic take-off and landing, waypoint flight path planning, tap to fly on map, circle an object on the ground. The device intelligently detects low battery and returns home automatically. The drone also does real-time location tracking for retrieval of the device even post-crash scenario.
The
company boasts that the Mi Drone can hover automatically at the edge of
no-fly zones. The remote control comes with built-in PCB antenna array
for maximum reach. The PCB antenna amplifies the signal of the Mi Drone
and it can be controlled up to 2 kilometres. The Mi Drone sports modular
design and foldable landing gear.
One of the highlights of the Mi Drone is it returns back to the user automatically if disconnected from the remote. Users can trace and monitor the battery of Mi Drone from the attached phone screen of the remote. In case of low battery in Mi Drone, there is warning alarm on the phone screen.
During the launch live stream, CEO and Founder Lei Jun showed how easy it is to carry the Mi Drone. The module design makes it easy to disassemble and assemble, according to Xiaomi.
The new Mi Drone - equipped with a camera - will be available in two variants, an affordable variant that can shoot 1080p video priced at CNY 2,499 (roughly Rs. 26,000), and one that can shoot video in 4K that has been priced slightly higher at CNY 2,999 (roughly Rs. 31,000).
The company has announced that the Mi Drone (1080p version) will be crowdfunded on the Mi Home app starting Thursday, while the Mi Drone (4K version) will be available for testing via an open beta programme beginning late July. At this price point, Xiaomi's first Mi Drone is much cheaper than some of its competitors in the drone segment such as DJI, one of the most popular drone makers.
The Mi Drone packs a 4-propeller system with detachable shields and is backed by a 5100mAh battery at 17.4V which is claimed to offer 27 minutes of non-stop flying. The 1080p as well as 4K versions offer up to 104 degree wide-angle lens. The 4K camera records at 3840x2160 pixels and supports recording of stills in RAW format.
Xiaomi says that the drone packs camera attached to a 3-axis gimbal which stabilises up to 2,000 vibrations per second. The device includes GPS and Glonass. The Mi Drone also comes with Autopilot option that allows it for automatic take-off and landing, waypoint flight path planning, tap to fly on map, circle an object on the ground. The device intelligently detects low battery and returns home automatically. The drone also does real-time location tracking for retrieval of the device even post-crash scenario.
The
company boasts that the Mi Drone can hover automatically at the edge of
no-fly zones. The remote control comes with built-in PCB antenna array
for maximum reach. The PCB antenna amplifies the signal of the Mi Drone
and it can be controlled up to 2 kilometres. The Mi Drone sports modular
design and foldable landing gear.One of the highlights of the Mi Drone is it returns back to the user automatically if disconnected from the remote. Users can trace and monitor the battery of Mi Drone from the attached phone screen of the remote. In case of low battery in Mi Drone, there is warning alarm on the phone screen.
During the launch live stream, CEO and Founder Lei Jun showed how easy it is to carry the Mi Drone. The module design makes it easy to disassemble and assemble, according to Xiaomi.
Nokia Is Back, Google I/O, Tim Cook in India, and More News This Week
It's
been a really interesting week with a lot of different news
developments taking place. If you feel like you've missed out on the big
news, don't worry because we've got you covered - our weekly roundup
has all the news that you can use.
Google's annual developer conference I/O obviously hogged the limelight this week, and it was the main topic of Gadget 360's Orbital podcast - which is another great way to catch up on the big news of each week by the way. A lot of the attention in India also went to the first visit of Apple CEO Tim Cook, who made some major announcements while he was here, and had an exclusive interview with NDTV.
Another piece of news from India that could be potentially huge, is that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India just released a new consultation paper on net neutrality, and it is seeking responses from stakeholders until June 16.
A couple of months earlier, Trai released pretty strict rules about differential pricing,
in a decision that came down strongly in favour of protecting the idea
of net neutrality. But, predictably enough, just about every company out
there has been looking for workarounds, exploiting whatever weaknesses the rules have.
As a result, this week Trai decided that it needs to update the rules,
while at the same time, it wants to come up with a regulation that will
allow free access to the Internet to be provided in a neutral manner to
the people who need it the most.
How well this actually works out over time is going to be questionable, but it's an interesting piece of news to watch that could have a major impact for all of us.
Some big launches took place this week in India. The Coolpad Max was launched (review) and marks the brands first major phone outside the budget segment. The Smartron t.phone was launched this week as well, and the Lenovo Zuk Z1 (review) which launched last week also went on sale this week. There's also the Rs. 99 Namotel Achhe Din launch, but that phone actually costs Rs. 2,999, with the low cost version just being a promotional price.
(Also see: LeEco Le 1s Eco Review)
Possibly the most anticipated launch of the week though was the Moto G4 Plus launch (review) Another variant, the Moto G4 Play running on Snapdragon 410 was also launched this week. Other launches this week included the Micromax Canvas Evok launch and the LG Stylus 2 VoLTE compatible smartphone.
(Also see: Coolpad Note 3 Plus Review)
The big event this week is of course Google's annual developer conference, Google I/O. Some of the big highlights on day one included a Siri competitor called Google Assistant, an Echo competitor called Google Home, and new chat platforms Allo and Duo. Google also announced a new VR platform called Daydream which is a step up from Google Cardboard and will only work on phones with compatible hardware.
Other big announcements from I/O included Android Auto, Android TV, and more, and plenty of developer-facing announcements too.
One misstep from Google was announcing a poll to decide what Android N
would be called: it sounds harmless enough, but asking people on the
Internet to "Name Android N" was interpreted by many as an opportunity
to use the racial slur the "n-word" instead.
(Also see: Xiaomi Mi Box (Android TV) First Look)
One bit of news that most people seemed quite excited this week is the return of Nokia - the company has entered into a brand licensing deal which brings the Nokia name back to smartphones even as Microsoft just licensed out its featurephone division to Foxconn. Nokia also announced major layoffs in its telecommunications company, terminating 1,000 jobs in Finland.
Facebook's "bias" controversy continues, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg met conservative politicians to discuss this, and Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube also face hate speech complaints in France. The company was also sued in the US for allegedly scanning private messages. Twitter meanwhile had some interesting news as well - by the end of this month the company could stop counting links and photos against the 140-character limit. Now, this isn't official yet, but some would say it's the first good move Twitter has made in a long time.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is coming to India this month, which marks his second visit to the country after taking over the Redmond giant. In India, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced an iOS app design and development accelerator in Bengaluru, and also announced a development centre for maps in Hyderabad. He also discussed the possibilities of manufacturing and retail in India with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There's also one big takeaway from his visit to China just before this. There, Cook announced a huge investment in China's Uber-rival Didi Chuxing. A report this week says Didi is planning an IPO in the US in 2018. The company, which also has investments in Ola and other Uber competitors around the world seems determined to give Uber a run for its money. Uber's getting a bit more competition that might be even less welcome - this time, from Google-owned Waze, which just launched a carpool feature. Uber has also said that it's ready to accept cap on fares as fixed by the Delhi government. Whether this will set a precedent to be followed in other Indian cities or not is something we'll have to wait to see.
Famed businessman Warren Buffet has some major investment news this week as well. Berkshire Hathway invested in Apple, and Buffet himself is supposed to be backing a bid for Yahoo. And in India, Ratan Tata continues to serially back startups; his latest investment is in a medical response startup called MUrgency.
Interesting news from ISRO - the organisation is getting ready to launch an indigenous space shuttle. It also said that guest observers can access Astrosat from October. Astrosat is India's first multi-wavelength space observatory. And this week Nasa announced that it's looking at 'growable habitats' to get human beings to Mars. It also launched a near-space monitoring balloon from New Zealand. Also this week, the International Space Station completed its 100,000th orbit of the Earth.
Google's annual developer conference I/O obviously hogged the limelight this week, and it was the main topic of Gadget 360's Orbital podcast - which is another great way to catch up on the big news of each week by the way. A lot of the attention in India also went to the first visit of Apple CEO Tim Cook, who made some major announcements while he was here, and had an exclusive interview with NDTV.
Another piece of news from India that could be potentially huge, is that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India just released a new consultation paper on net neutrality, and it is seeking responses from stakeholders until June 16.
A couple of months earlier, Trai released pretty strict rules about differential pricing,
in a decision that came down strongly in favour of protecting the idea
of net neutrality. But, predictably enough, just about every company out
there has been looking for workarounds, exploiting whatever weaknesses the rules have.
As a result, this week Trai decided that it needs to update the rules,
while at the same time, it wants to come up with a regulation that will
allow free access to the Internet to be provided in a neutral manner to
the people who need it the most.How well this actually works out over time is going to be questionable, but it's an interesting piece of news to watch that could have a major impact for all of us.
Some big launches took place this week in India. The Coolpad Max was launched (review) and marks the brands first major phone outside the budget segment. The Smartron t.phone was launched this week as well, and the Lenovo Zuk Z1 (review) which launched last week also went on sale this week. There's also the Rs. 99 Namotel Achhe Din launch, but that phone actually costs Rs. 2,999, with the low cost version just being a promotional price.
(Also see: LeEco Le 1s Eco Review)
Possibly the most anticipated launch of the week though was the Moto G4 Plus launch (review) Another variant, the Moto G4 Play running on Snapdragon 410 was also launched this week. Other launches this week included the Micromax Canvas Evok launch and the LG Stylus 2 VoLTE compatible smartphone.
(Also see: Coolpad Note 3 Plus Review)
The big event this week is of course Google's annual developer conference, Google I/O. Some of the big highlights on day one included a Siri competitor called Google Assistant, an Echo competitor called Google Home, and new chat platforms Allo and Duo. Google also announced a new VR platform called Daydream which is a step up from Google Cardboard and will only work on phones with compatible hardware.
Other big announcements from I/O included Android Auto, Android TV, and more, and plenty of developer-facing announcements too.
One misstep from Google was announcing a poll to decide what Android N
would be called: it sounds harmless enough, but asking people on the
Internet to "Name Android N" was interpreted by many as an opportunity
to use the racial slur the "n-word" instead. (Also see: Xiaomi Mi Box (Android TV) First Look)
One bit of news that most people seemed quite excited this week is the return of Nokia - the company has entered into a brand licensing deal which brings the Nokia name back to smartphones even as Microsoft just licensed out its featurephone division to Foxconn. Nokia also announced major layoffs in its telecommunications company, terminating 1,000 jobs in Finland.
Facebook's "bias" controversy continues, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg met conservative politicians to discuss this, and Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube also face hate speech complaints in France. The company was also sued in the US for allegedly scanning private messages. Twitter meanwhile had some interesting news as well - by the end of this month the company could stop counting links and photos against the 140-character limit. Now, this isn't official yet, but some would say it's the first good move Twitter has made in a long time.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is coming to India this month, which marks his second visit to the country after taking over the Redmond giant. In India, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced an iOS app design and development accelerator in Bengaluru, and also announced a development centre for maps in Hyderabad. He also discussed the possibilities of manufacturing and retail in India with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There's also one big takeaway from his visit to China just before this. There, Cook announced a huge investment in China's Uber-rival Didi Chuxing. A report this week says Didi is planning an IPO in the US in 2018. The company, which also has investments in Ola and other Uber competitors around the world seems determined to give Uber a run for its money. Uber's getting a bit more competition that might be even less welcome - this time, from Google-owned Waze, which just launched a carpool feature. Uber has also said that it's ready to accept cap on fares as fixed by the Delhi government. Whether this will set a precedent to be followed in other Indian cities or not is something we'll have to wait to see.
Famed businessman Warren Buffet has some major investment news this week as well. Berkshire Hathway invested in Apple, and Buffet himself is supposed to be backing a bid for Yahoo. And in India, Ratan Tata continues to serially back startups; his latest investment is in a medical response startup called MUrgency.
Interesting news from ISRO - the organisation is getting ready to launch an indigenous space shuttle. It also said that guest observers can access Astrosat from October. Astrosat is India's first multi-wavelength space observatory. And this week Nasa announced that it's looking at 'growable habitats' to get human beings to Mars. It also launched a near-space monitoring balloon from New Zealand. Also this week, the International Space Station completed its 100,000th orbit of the Earth.
Home | Laptops | Laptops News Russia's VisionLabs Collaborates With Facebook, Google on Machine Vision
A Russian developer in Skolkovo has created an open source computer vision
platform, in collaboration with Facebook and Google, that acts as a
teaching machine and enables them "see".
VisionLabs, a solutions developer in the field of computer vision, data analysis and robotics, and a Skolkovo IT Cluster resident have developed this as a global open-source computer vision project with the support of Facebook and Google, an official said.
VisionLabs integrated two popular libraries for developers - OpenCV and Torch. The joint project with Facebook and Google was launched last year. "The two IT giants became interested in the in-depth study of neural networks and artificial intelligence and hence extended their support," the official told IANS.
The most popular tools for developers in this field are the OpenCV Open Source Computer Vision Library and the Torch Open Source Scientific Computing Framework with wide support for Machine Learning Algorithms. Each of them has thousands of users. VisionLabs initiated integrating the two libraries. Google and Facebook funded the work and tested the results.
Balmanohar Paluri, Research Lead, Facebook AI Research, said: "The project opens up the field of computer vision to a greater audience of developers. Our focus is making machines see. To do that, knowledge needs to be open."
As a result of the work undertaken, a number of technological barriers the developers had faced within the fields of computer vision and neural networks were lifted. From now on, any start-up in this field can launch a project in a matter of days where it could literally take years previously.
Google, Facebook and VisionLabs do not consider this a commercial project - its purpose is developing the community and its aim is long-term prospects.
The idea of integrating the two popular developer "worlds" had been on the cards for some time. The creators of Torch and OpenCV had been discussing it. But, as is often the case, nobody actually set about making the integration happen, the official elaborated.
In the end, it was VisionLabs, one of the top three world leaders in terms of image recognition, that was willing to realise the project and use its own know-how to do so that had previously only been applied inside the team.
Alexander Khanin, General Director, VisionLabs said they "regularly communicate with the world scientific community and attend all the important international conferences."
"We are already well-known and we are familiar with the research units of Google, Facebook, Twitter and other large-scale IT-companies. When the closed competition to become the project leader was launched, we put ourselves forward and, in the end, we were chosen. Google and Facebook financed our work, but I would like to reiterate that this is absolutely not a commercial project for us - all funds, that were in fact rather modest, were put to use," he added.
Albert Efimov, Head of the Skolkovo Robotics Centre, said: "Integration of machine learning and computer vision in a unified development kit is an important step towards stimulating the creation of the new technologies and products in such strategic industries as robotics and artificial intelligence."
A report on the integration of Torch and OpenCV with examples of the developed recognition software and fragments of source code was published recently in the torch.ch community that reaches 10,000-15,000 people a day.
VisionLabs, a solutions developer in the field of computer vision, data analysis and robotics, and a Skolkovo IT Cluster resident have developed this as a global open-source computer vision project with the support of Facebook and Google, an official said.
VisionLabs integrated two popular libraries for developers - OpenCV and Torch. The joint project with Facebook and Google was launched last year. "The two IT giants became interested in the in-depth study of neural networks and artificial intelligence and hence extended their support," the official told IANS.
The most popular tools for developers in this field are the OpenCV Open Source Computer Vision Library and the Torch Open Source Scientific Computing Framework with wide support for Machine Learning Algorithms. Each of them has thousands of users. VisionLabs initiated integrating the two libraries. Google and Facebook funded the work and tested the results.
Balmanohar Paluri, Research Lead, Facebook AI Research, said: "The project opens up the field of computer vision to a greater audience of developers. Our focus is making machines see. To do that, knowledge needs to be open."
As a result of the work undertaken, a number of technological barriers the developers had faced within the fields of computer vision and neural networks were lifted. From now on, any start-up in this field can launch a project in a matter of days where it could literally take years previously.
Google, Facebook and VisionLabs do not consider this a commercial project - its purpose is developing the community and its aim is long-term prospects.
The idea of integrating the two popular developer "worlds" had been on the cards for some time. The creators of Torch and OpenCV had been discussing it. But, as is often the case, nobody actually set about making the integration happen, the official elaborated.
In the end, it was VisionLabs, one of the top three world leaders in terms of image recognition, that was willing to realise the project and use its own know-how to do so that had previously only been applied inside the team.
Alexander Khanin, General Director, VisionLabs said they "regularly communicate with the world scientific community and attend all the important international conferences."
"We are already well-known and we are familiar with the research units of Google, Facebook, Twitter and other large-scale IT-companies. When the closed competition to become the project leader was launched, we put ourselves forward and, in the end, we were chosen. Google and Facebook financed our work, but I would like to reiterate that this is absolutely not a commercial project for us - all funds, that were in fact rather modest, were put to use," he added.
Albert Efimov, Head of the Skolkovo Robotics Centre, said: "Integration of machine learning and computer vision in a unified development kit is an important step towards stimulating the creation of the new technologies and products in such strategic industries as robotics and artificial intelligence."
A report on the integration of Torch and OpenCV with examples of the developed recognition software and fragments of source code was published recently in the torch.ch community that reaches 10,000-15,000 people a day.
'Wasteful' Galaxies Launch Heavy Elements Into Deep Space: Study
Galaxies "waste" large quantities of heavy elements generated by star formation by ejecting them up to a million light years away into their surrounding halos and deep space, says a study.
More oxygen, carbon and iron atoms exist in the sprawling, gaseous halos outside of galaxies than exist within the galaxies themselves, leaving the galaxies deprived of raw materials needed to build stars and planets, the findings showed.
"Previously, we thought that these heavier elements would be recycled into future generations of stars and contribute to building planetary systems," said lead author of the study Benjamin Oppenheimer from University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder) in the US.
"As it turns out, galaxies are not very good at recycling," Oppenheimer pointed out.
The near-invisible reservoir of gas that surrounds a galaxy, known as the circumgalactic medium (CGM), is thought to play a central role in cycling elements in and out of the galaxy, but the exact mechanisms of this relationship remain elusive.
A typical galaxy ranges in size from 30,000 to 100,000 light years while the CGM can span up to a million light years.
The researchers used data from the Cosmic Origin Spectrograph (COS), a $70 million instrument designed at CU-Boulder and built by Colorado-based Ball Aerospace Technology Corp, to study the composition of the CGM.
The instrument is installed on Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope and uses ultraviolet spectroscopy to study the evolution of the universe.
After running a series of simulations, the researchers found that the CGMs in both spiral and elliptical galaxies contained more than half of a galaxy's heavier elements, suggesting that galaxies are not as efficient at retaining their raw materials as previously thought.
The findings appeared in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Tuesday, 26 April 2016
How to download youtube video
Along with the trend of globality, the development of knowledge,
information and software will play a more important role in modern
enterprises. YouTube is becoming more and more popular in our daily
life. Many people like to enjoy videos on this website. But when people
want to download video from this wensite and enjoy it on your device,
people often meet some questions. How to download video easily? The
YouTube converter software can help you. From here you can get more
information: http://www.youtubeconvertersoft.com/
This is powerful and functional software. It not only helps you enjoy videos on YouTube freely, but also it allows you edit video in your style.
Have you ever seen a video called America's Got Talent. I like it very much. A few days ago, my friends tell me that the YouTube downloader is a good software. That day when I went home, I tried this software. And use it download video from YouTube. It gave me a big surprise. The download speed not only fast, but also the image quality is good.
Also this software allows you download videos from Metacafe, Google, Yahoo, MySpace, iFilm and many other online video websites and convert between FLV, MP4, H.264, AVI, MP3, WMV, WMA, FLV, MKV, 3GP, VOB, MOV, M4A, AAC, WAV, etc. all popular video and audio formats.
Do you know how to convert YouTube video. The following professional guide will tell you how to use this powerful software.
Step 1: Free download the software and install it on your computer
Step 2: Double click the shortcuts of the video. You can see the interface pop-up like this:
Step 3: Step 2: Define video downloading task
Visit YouTube site to open the video you want to convert, then click "New Download" icon to open the downloading window, just paste the video url into "URL" box.
Step 4: Download the YouTube video.
Input the video URL, The software will download video by itself. If you have downloaded the video and want to convert the video formats. Just click "New Convert" button to set a new converting task.
Then you need to add the video and select output settings. After all the above settings, you can click convert button, a few minutes you can get satisfied video.
This is amzaing software and its powerful functions make users enjoy YouTube anywhere and anytime. Do you like it? Just download it and have a try.
This is powerful and functional software. It not only helps you enjoy videos on YouTube freely, but also it allows you edit video in your style.
Have you ever seen a video called America's Got Talent. I like it very much. A few days ago, my friends tell me that the YouTube downloader is a good software. That day when I went home, I tried this software. And use it download video from YouTube. It gave me a big surprise. The download speed not only fast, but also the image quality is good.
Also this software allows you download videos from Metacafe, Google, Yahoo, MySpace, iFilm and many other online video websites and convert between FLV, MP4, H.264, AVI, MP3, WMV, WMA, FLV, MKV, 3GP, VOB, MOV, M4A, AAC, WAV, etc. all popular video and audio formats.
Do you know how to convert YouTube video. The following professional guide will tell you how to use this powerful software.
Step 1: Free download the software and install it on your computer
Step 2: Double click the shortcuts of the video. You can see the interface pop-up like this:
Step 3: Step 2: Define video downloading task
Visit YouTube site to open the video you want to convert, then click "New Download" icon to open the downloading window, just paste the video url into "URL" box.
Step 4: Download the YouTube video.
Input the video URL, The software will download video by itself. If you have downloaded the video and want to convert the video formats. Just click "New Convert" button to set a new converting task.
Then you need to add the video and select output settings. After all the above settings, you can click convert button, a few minutes you can get satisfied video.
This is amzaing software and its powerful functions make users enjoy YouTube anywhere and anytime. Do you like it? Just download it and have a try.
