Apple improving Siri with third-party integration and iWatch support

Apple is said to be working on expanding the functionality of its voice-based virtual assistant, Siri, enabling it to work with third-party applications other than Apple's own native apps, apart from making it more intelligent. According to the reports, the app is being worked upon keeping in mind its compatibility with the proposed Apple iWatch.

The report claims Apple is looking to make up for missing features on Siri, like booking a rental taxi or make hotel reservations, by enabling third-party app integrations on the platform. This would also allow for offerings like a third-party messaging app.

Other supposedly planned improvements to Apple's Siri virtual assistant platform quoted by the report includes the intelligence to decide what content to show on the screen according to the screen space, implying uses such as what to display on the expected iWatch wearable device, based on the user's movement and location.

The Cupertino giant's obvious goal with the Siri platform would be to make it an actual virtual assistant instead of just a little more than a voice-based intelligent search tool, by adding information gathering and analysis. Google has also been working on improving the functionality of its voice-based virtual assistant, Google Now, and if leaks of Microsoft's Cortana virtual assistant are anything to go by, the Redmond giant will also allow it to use various information about the user to offer suggestions and other assistance.

Besides Siri's availability on smartphones and tablets, it recently debuted as part of the core-interface of Apple's, a feature that allows users to plug their phones into compatible in-car systems in order to control entertainment, navigation, and call handling features via voice commands and steering-mounted controls.

With Apple CarPlay, users will be able to trigger Siri via a steering-mounted button, allowing them to control phone functions while keeping their eyes on the road. Siri can be used to dial numbers, answer or reject calls, read messages, take dictation, trigger music and podcast playback, and launching apps. Third-party apps will also be supported, and popular entertainment apps such as Beats Radio, iHeartRadio, Spotify and Stitcher have already been announced as launch apps.

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'First 3D fingerprint model' to help improve print-matching technology

A team of Michigan State University computer scientists led by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur alum Anil Jain have built the first three-dimensional model of a human fingerprint.

This development will not only help today's fingerprint-matching technology do its job better, but could eventually lead to improvements in security.

What Jain, a University Distinguished Professor of computer science and engineering, and his team did was develop a method that takes a two-dimensional image of a fingerprint and maps it to a 3D finger surface.

The 3D finger surface, complete with all the ridges and valleys that make up the human fingerprint, is made using a 3D printer. It creates what Jain's team called a fingerprint "phantom."

Imaging phantoms are common in the world of medical imaging. For example, to make sure an MRI machine or a CT scanner is working properly, it needs to first image an object of known dimensions and material properties.

"In health care, a 3D heart or kidney can be created," Jain said. "Because the dimensions are known, they can be put into a scanner and the imaging system can be calibrated."

In this case, the ultimate goal is to have a precise fingerprint model with known properties and features that can be used to calibrate existing technology used to match fingerprints.

"When I have this 3D fingerprint phantom, I know its precise measurements," said Jain. "And because I know the true dimensions of the fingerprint features on this phantom, I can better evaluate fingerprint readers."

While the 3D model doesn't yet have the exact texture or feel of a real finger, it could advance fingerprint sensing and matching technology.

"Tools like this would help improve the overall accuracy of fingerprint-matching systems, which eventually leads to better security in applications ranging from law enforcement to mobile phone unlock," Jain said. 

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RAM and SAM

Don’t worry I am not going to say about the names RAM and SAM but going to explain the two computer related terms, RAM and SAM to you.

RAM (Random Access Memory) is really the main storage and is the place where the programs and software we load gets stored. When the CPU (Central Processing Unit) runs a program, it fetches the program instruction from the RAM and carries them out. If the CPU needs to store the result of calculations, it stores them in RAM.

RAM can have instructions READ from it by the CPU and also it can have numbers or other computer data WRITTEN to it by the CPU. When we switch off, whatever is stored in the RAM gets erased.

RAM is best known form of a computer memory. RAM is considered ‘random access’ because anyone can access any memory cell directly if we know the row and column that intersect at the cell. The opposite of RAM is SAM (Serial Access Memory). SAM stores data as a series of memory cells that can be only accessed sequentially (like a cassette tape). If the data is not in the current location then the memory is checked until the needed data is found. SAM works very well for memory buffers, where the data is normally stored in the order in which it will be used (a good example is the texture buffer memory on a video card). RAM data, on the other hand can be accessed in any order.

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New material for fast and cheap data storage

Scientists have developed a new synthetic material for optical data storage, an advance that brings the much cheaper method for storing data using light a step closer. Optical data storage does not require expensive magnetic materials as synthetic alternatives work just as well.

When you store a file on your laptop or PC, the computer creates a code consisting of zeroes and ones. These are actually tiny magnetic poles (spins) that can point in one of two directions: the ‘zero’ state or the ‘one’ state.

Switching these spins using a magnetic field is a relatively a slow, energy-intensive process. An alternative is to switch them using light, which was first achieved six years ago.

Optical switching is only possible in special magnets, called ferrimagnets. However, these magnets are made up of expensive rare-earth metals, which are also difficult to produce in a nano-scale.

Now for the first time it is also possible to switch synthetic ferrimagnets optically.

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