Wednesday 30 August 2017

The Morning After: Google vs. Apple in augmented reality

Engadget Email Newsletter

It's Wednesday, August 30, 2017.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

We’re only at the halfway mark of this week, and Google is taking on Apple for AR dominance and Uber officially named its new CEO.

The next battleground.

Google unveils its answer to Apple’s ARKit: ARCore

Old and tired: AI. New and wired: augmented reality. After a few months of Apple developers wowing us with augmented reality demos using iOS 11’s new ARKit features, Google is striking back. It revealed a new augmented reality SDK for Android phones called ARCore, which helps developers blend real and virtual worlds using just a device’s sensors and camera. There are three key features available now: motion tracking (it uses the phone’s camera to detect your position in the room), environmental understanding (so it can find horizontal surfaces) and light estimation (so the lighting and shadow of virtual objects match your surroundings).

That’s where it differs from Project Tango, Google’s other AR project, which relied on extra hardware for increased precision. Plus, while we’re still waiting for iOS 11’s public release, these features are available to developers now and will work on any device running Android N or above.

Good riddance.

Google pulls 300 Android apps used for DDoS attacks

A cross-company alliance of security researchers teamed up to take down the WireX botnet, which turned out to be powered by malware-laden Android apps. Google has removed those apps from the Play Store and is in the process of pulling them from infected devices. The programs (pretending to function as basic apps like ringtone makers or storage managers) would run normally, then later download a program that ran in the background to attack its creator’s targeted websites.

And Google Assistant voice control

Deezer HiFi adds Chromecast streaming

For those who require the absolute best audio quality, Deezer is expanding the reach of its high-fidelity streams. Previously a Sonos-only feature, Deezer Elite has been renamed Deezer HiFi, and will work with any device that has Google’s Cast support built-in. Plus, if the device uses Google Assistant, then users can access their music library by voice control.

Acoustic Informatics.

Reprogramming the piano

Every time jazz pianist Dan Tepfer hits a note, the Yamaha Disklavier -- his digital player piano -- sends the information via MIDI to his laptop, which instantly shoots back an algorithmic response that causes other keys to play themselves. The effect makes it seem as if he has four hands playing simultaneously, all of them in sync.

IRL.

What we're using: Qapital, Mighty and the Switch Pro controller

This month’s In Real Life focuses on self-improvement: taking your Spotify playlists to the gym minus your phone, getting some app-powered help on your savings and, er, being a better gamer on the Nintendo Switch.

A not-so-dystopian robot future.

Robot caregivers are saving the elderly from lives of loneliness

Growing older alone can be bad for your health, but support robots springing up around Japan are proving surprisingly adept at keeping retirees engaged.

But wait, there's more...

1. Cummins unveils an electric big rig weeks before Tesla

2. Uber officially names its new CEO: Dara Khosrowshahi

3. Apple TV 4K movies could cost $20, but studios want more

4. IFA 2017: Intel's 18-core Xeon CPU may be destined for the iMac Pro

5. Tinder's Gold subscription launches worldwide to reveal who likes you

6. Amazon adds multi-room audio control to Echo devices

The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you'll miss if you don't subscribe.

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Tuesday 29 August 2017

E-Commerce Minute

E-Commerce Minute: Tuesday -- August 29, 2017

The E-Commerce Times -- E-Business Means Business
http://www.ecommercetimes.com
Part of the ECT News Network

Headline Scan
Cyberthieves Train Their Sights on US Mobile Phone Customers
Amazon Takes 1st Steps Toward Whole Foods Pricing Makeover
Robots May Become Go-To Customer Service Reps
Consumer Healthcare: Growing Importance of Patient Education and Communications Solutions

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Today's Story Highlights

Cyberthieves Train Their Sights on US Mobile Phone Customers

A relatively new form of cybercrime recently has been plaguing American
consumers. Thieves have been hijacking mobile phone account numbers and
then transferring services to a different device. Further, hackers have
begun using mobile numbers to raid digital wallets and similar accounts.
This type of theft has been successful even against the most
sophisticated of consumers.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/84772.html

Amazon Takes 1st Steps Toward Whole Foods Pricing Makeover

Amazon kicked off the completion of its acquisition of Whole Foods
Market with steep price cuts on some products. Among those now available
at lower prices are Whole Trade bananas, organic avocados, organic large
brown eggs, responsibly-farmed salmon and tilapia, organic baby kale and
baby lettuce, animal-welfare-rated 85 percent lean ground beef, and
organic Gala and Fuji apples.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/84769.html

Robots May Become Go-To Customer Service Reps

The customer service robot market will be worth $88 million by 2022,
according to Tractica. Annual shipments are expected to increase from
2,730 units in 2016 to nearly 4,800 in 2022. The robots will be both
humanoid and non-humanoid. However, telepresence robots, chatbots, and
stationary customer interactive systems that don't have moving parts are
not included in the count.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/84765.html

Consumer Healthcare: Growing Importance of Patient Education and Communications Solutions

As the healthcare industry shifts to value-based care models, patient
education and communication solutions increasingly have become an
investment priority for care providers and payers. Consumers have many
means, whether digital or analog, to acquire medical knowledge and
personal health information, and they tend to reach out to their doctor
when sick, or when they have complex health questions.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/84758.html

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Tech News Flash

Tech News Flash: Tuesday -- August 29, 2017

TechNewsWorld -- All Tech - All The Time
http://www.TechNewsWorld.com
Part of the ECT News Network

Headline Scan
Apple to Sate iPhone Curiosity Sept. 12
As New Turnaround King, Is HP Better Than Apple?
Window Maker Live: Cool Retro Look, Even Cooler Performance
Google Connects Mobile Searchers to Depression Assessment Tool
Microsoft Unveils Real-Time AI for Azure
Microsoft, Red Hat Offer Enterprise Support for Containers in Hybrid Cloud

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Today's Story Highlights

Apple to Sate iPhone Curiosity Sept. 12

Apple plans to refresh its iPhone, TV and watch lines at an event
scheduled Sept. 12. In addition to upgrading its iPhone 7 models, the
company is expected to debut the "iPhone 8" to celebrate the 10th
anniversary of the brand. It reportedly will have an OLED display with
barely any bezel, a fingerprint scanner at the rear of the phone, and
support for facial recognition and wireless charging.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/84770.html

As New Turnaround King, Is HP Better Than Apple?

HP is the new turnaround king -- but is it better than Apple? IBM was
the king of tech in the 1980s, but in the 1990s it was the king of
turnarounds, after almost going under but coming back from a negative
brand equity, which occurs when folks will pay more for a no-name
product than one with a negative brand. Apple, at the end of the 90s,
was in much the same shape IBM was at the beginning.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/84767.html

Window Maker Live: Cool Retro Look, Even Cooler Performance

Window Maker Live takes an unusual approach to desktop interface
management. It has an old-fashioned look with a productive new feel. The
latest version of Window Maker Live, released this month, is a Debian-
based Linux distribution that uses the Window Maker window manager as
the default GUI. It integrates well-known open source components in a
surprisingly satisfying interface.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/84768.html

Google Connects Mobile Searchers to Depression Assessment Tool

The National Alliance on Mental Illness on Wednesday announced that
Google on mobile now provides people who search for the term "clinical
depression" with a direct link to the PHQ-9 questionnaire used by
medical professionals in the United States to evaluate patients for the
disorder. People can conduct a self-assessment by filling in the
questionnaire online.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/84764.html

Microsoft Unveils Real-Time AI for Azure

Microsoft has unveiled a new deep learning acceleration platform
designed for real-time AI, codenamed "Project Brainwave." The platform
has three main layers: a high-performance, distributed system
architecture; a hardware deep neural network engine synthesized onto
field programmable gate arrays; and a compiler and runtime for low-
friction deployment of trained models.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/84762.html

Microsoft, Red Hat Offer Enterprise Support for Containers in Hybrid Cloud

Microsoft and Red Hat this week expanded their nearly 2-year-old
alliance to bridge the gap between Windows and open source computing
with the launch of several new initiatives to help enterprise customers
more easily adopt container solutions. The announcement bolsters an
alliance that began in 2015, when Microsoft began offering Red Hat
Enterprise Linux as the preferred choice for enterprise Linux workloads
on Microsoft Azure.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/84763.html

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