Sunday, March 9, 2014

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.


Saturday, March 8, 2014

Low-cost tablets drive sales up by 56% in 2013

Driven by strong demand for low-cost models, tablet PC sales in India grew 56.4 per cent year-on-year to 4.14 million units in 2013, research firm IDC on Wednesday said.
In 2012, tablet PC sales stood at 2.66 million units, IDC said in a statement.
Samsung led the market with 18.7 per cent share, followed by Micromax (8.9 per cent) and Apple (7.5 per cent).
Sales stood at 751,954 units For the October-December 2013 quarter.
"While H1 2013 witnessed substantial growth in tablet volumes, driven largely by low-end devices, the market observed contraction in the second half," IDC said.
Despite a strong festive season demand, spending on tablets slowed down in H2 2013 as consumer adoption approached early stages of maturity on this category of devices, it added.
IDC expects tablets sales in 2014 to be flat.
"The government mandate on BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) certification, mixed with growing popularity of phablets is likely to obstruct the growth in the tablet category," IDC said.
However, there has been an uptake in the adoption of tablets among commercial users.
These are primarily meeting relevant needs in industries like financial services, media, healthcare and education among others.


'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. 

CEO of Bitcoin exchange found dead in Singapore

The CEO of virtual currency exchange, Bitcoin, was found dead in her home in Singapore. A police spokesman said on Thursday that initial investigations indicated there was no suspicion of “foul play,” meaning officers do not suspect murder. The spokesman said 28-year-old Autumn Radtke, an American was found dead in her home on February 26.

Friday, March 7, 2014

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.

Soon, free global Wi-Fi service from outer space

A US company is planning to build an ‘Outernet’ – a global network of cube satellites broadcasting internet data to all the people on the planet for free. The idea is to offer free internet access to all people, regardless of location, bypassing filtering or other means of censorship according to the New York based non-profit organization, Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF).
MDIF proposes that hundreds of cube satellites be built and launched to create a constellation of sorts in the sky, allowing anyone with a phone or Computer to access Internet data sent to the satellites by several hundred ground stations.
The organization claims that 40% of the people in the World today are still not able to connect to the Internet – it’s not just because of restrictive governments such as in North Korea – it’s also due to the high cost of bringing service to remote areas.
An Outernet would allow people from Siberia to parts of the western US to islands or villages in Africa to receive the same news as those in New York and Tokyo.
The Outernet would be one way – data would flow from feeders to the satellites which would broadcast to all below. MDIF plans to add the ability to transmit from anywhere as well as soon as funds become available.

MDIF has acknowledged that building such a network would not be cheap. Such satellites typically run $300,000 to build and launch. The timeline for the project calls for deploying the initial cube satellites as early as next summer.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Flutter- Control your PC without even touching it !


Flutter, quiet innovative software, acts as a very useful tool with Windows Media Player, iTunes, Netflix, PowerPoint, and a bunch of other daily used software.

The fact is that you can just simply control Windows Media Player or all other mentioned software using a hand gesture that is, without even touching the keyboard or mouse. The main thing is that you should have a webcam to use Flutter.

As a user of Flutter for the last few months, I personally recommend it. For me, it is really helpful for playing songs while I play games (NFS, GTA San Andrea) in my laptop. I don’t need to minimize the game window, just show my hand near the cam to play, pause, forward, previous the songs. It is also useful for presenting PowerPoints.
Google has taken over Flutter and had used its features in YouTube also. You can search for the chrome extension to enable this feature.

Sounds EXITING, Right!!?

Go get it for your Mac or Windows...

Tip: Install Flutter and don’t allow it to run in startup because your web cam will get opened when your PC turns on. Else Flutter will be in the tray. You can simply turn it on by clicking on the tray icon.

DOWNLOAD
https://flutterapp.com