Monday, August 24, 2015



 After a private beta and a few leaks, Microsoft today launched the first public beta of its Siri- and Google Now-like Cortana personal assistant for Android.
Microsoft describes the Cortana app as a “companion to your Windows 10 PC” that extends the service’s functionality across any device you carry (which, of course, implicitly acknowledges that you’re very unlikely to carry a Windows Phone).
Overall, Cortana on Android isn’t all that different from the PC version. You can set reminders, search the web, track flights and do the usual voice-powered searches Cortana has long been able to handle on other platforms.
Because Cortana doesn’t have full access to your Android phone, though, you won’t be able to just say “Hey Cortana” (Microsoft’s version of “OK Google”) to start the app for the time being. You also won’t be able to open apps from Cortana or toggle settings. All of these features are currently only available on Windows 10 PCs.


To get started, you still have to sign up for the public beta, but Microsoft now makes use of Google’s much-improved beta sign-up process for Android apps. Instead of having to join a Google Group or Google+ community to participate, you now only have to click a single button and you’re in.
The app is currently only available in the U.S., but Microsoft says it plans to roll it out to other markets later. It looks like the current version is also only compatible with Android phones (Google Play won’t let us install it on our Nexus 7 and 9 tablets, for example).
As Microsoft reiterated today, it’s also working on an iOS version of Cortana, but it’s unclear when this version will launch.

Microsoft Launches First Public Beta Of Cortana For Android

9:58 PM ,

Following Xiaomi's MIUI 7 launch event last week, beta builds of the global ROM are available to download for the Redmi 1S, Redmi 2, Mi 4i, Mi 3, Mi 4, Redmi Note 3G and Redmi Note 4G.

Xiaomi mentions the new build will be available on a bi-weekly basis. As a refresher, MIUI 7 comes with a host of new features, including new themes, animated lockscreens, a data saving option made in collaboration with Opera, video ringtones and a bevy of optimizations aimed at enhancing battery life. Indian users get additional features in the form of Visual IVR, Smart SMS Filter and Quick OTP, all aimed at making it more convenient to customers making purchases online.
If you're interested in updating and have an eligible Xiaomi phone, head to the Updater app on your handset and check for an update to MIUI 7. If you'd rather do a clean install, the ROMs are available for download from the link below. Instructions on how to flash ROMs are included here.

Miui7 Global Beta Rom v5.8.22: Full Changelog

7:13 AM

If you can't help but take photos of your food before you chow down, you'll be glad to hear that Google might be ready to fuel your habit. Months after shutting down its experimental food shot app Tablescape, Google is testing a Maps feature that would notify you when a photo was taken at a restaurant and give you a chance to attach it to a Maps location in "just two taps." The trick would not only help you get back to eating, but speed up your restaurant reviews -- a big help to Google, which no doubt wants the foodie pics that usually go straight to Instagram and Twitter. Only higher-level Map Maker guides can test the feature at the moment, but we'd expect it to spread quickly if the early trials prove successful.
[Image credit: Getty Images]

Google wants to help you post food photos on Maps

2:55 AM ,

Windows 10's facial recognition is supposed to make it easy to sign into your PC while maintaining security, but just how good is it? Good enough that even your doppelganger might not get in, apparently. The Australian has conducted an informal test where it tried to fool Windows using sets of identical twins, and the software wasn't tricked once -- it had a problem logging in both twins in one instance, but it otherwise allowed only those individuals that had set up recognition in the first place. That was true even when the 'evil' twins attempted to spoof the camera by adjusting their hair or removing their glasses.
It's important to note that this is a small sample of people, and that the host PC (a Lenovo Yoga 3 14) had a sophisticated depth-sensing camera. There's still a chance that the right set of twins could dupe the Hello system, or that another camera might not be so smart. However, this suggests that Windows' face detection is reliable enough to eliminate some of the frustrations you see elsewhere. And that's important for both security and convenience. It not only prevents impostors from getting in, but reduces the chances that you'll have to jump through hoops to verify your identity. I'm a non-identical twin, and I find it annoying when people have problems tagging me correctly on Facebook -- in theory, Microsoft's technology should make my life that much easier. 

Windows 10's face detection isn't easily fooled by twins

2:40 AM ,

Sunday, August 23, 2015
Science is, naturally, the never-ending pursuit of knowledge that has spanned the entirety of human existence and will continue, in some form, ad infinitum—but it’s incredible to see how much progress can be made in just a decade. With the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina this week in mind, NASA is showing off how much its ability to track and analyze hurricanes has improved in the few years since the devastating storm hit the Gulf Coast of the United States.

Here’s a satellite model of Hurricane Katrina’s wind speed from 2005:


And here’s what that wind speed analysis would look like with 2015 technology:

The model from 2005 used a 50-kilometer resolution, while current models boast a resolution of just over 6 km. Clearly, the data that satellites can now send are much more comprehensive than what was being transmitted in 2005. New technology has even allowed researchers to figure out better ways of predicting a storm’s intensity:

“It used to be that we always looked for the mechanisms that allow hurricanes to rapidly intensify, but as of late, the question has gotten flipped around,” said Scott Braun, a research meteorologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, which operates the satellites that track hurricanes. “Now we ask what are the factors that prevent a hurricane from intensifying.”

 One of those factors, shown by the images above, is high wind shear, or “a large change in winds with height, in the storm’s environment.”

 But it’s not just better tech that is helping NASA to track storms—it’s also that there’s a lot more of it. NASA says that, since Katrina, it and other agencies around the world have rapidly increased the number of sensors in space that can collect storm data. NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS) includes about a dozen active satellites studying the Earth’s weather and climate. Six of them, like CloudSat and CALIPSO, have launched in the last nine years a lone.

Below is a 2005 image of the water vapor within Hurricane Katrina, once again in 50-km resolution.


And here’s that same view taken day by EOS Version 5 at 6-km resolution:

These improvements, to put it simply, are huge. “For the intensity of a hurricane, so much comes down to the details of the really small processes and specifics in the inner core,” said Dan Cecil, a scientist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. We can’t stop hurricanes from happening (or can we?), but we now know a whole lot more about them than we did just 10 years ago. Hopefully that information will prevent widespread physical damage and, more importantly, save lives.

See how much NASA has learned about hurricanes in the 10 years since Katrina

7:46 AM ,
New Delhi: A video clip purportedly showing a drunk policeman travelling in Delhi metro has gone viral on social media, raising concerns about safety of the commuters and violation of the DMRC rules.
The undated video, posted on Facebook by a user, has been shared over 6,000 times and shows the constable in inebriated state struggling to hold on to a pole while swinging back and forth inside a coach.
Screengrab from the video. Facebook
Screengrab from the video. Facebook
The 36-second clip also shows the dishevelled policeman with his shirt untucked and trying to find his way around the coach in drunken stupor.
As the train brakes to a halt at Azadpur station on Yellow line, the cop comes crashing down on the floor and is helped up by fellow passengers.
Delhi Metro does not allow drunk commuters to board the trains if they create a nuisance neither passengers are allowed to carry alcohol with them.
According to DMRC rules, any person found drunk on Metro premises shall be fined up to Rs 500 and can be removed from the train or the station by an official.
Delhi Metro officials refused to comment on the video saying the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), is in-charge of the security.
"If a person is in uniform, he is allowed to travel in metro if he is in senses," a CISF official said, adding, the issue is being looked into.
Delhi police officials say the issue has not been reported to them and the video is yet to be verified.
"The video is yet to be verified. If the matter is reported to us we will definitely take an action," a senior police official said.

Watch: Video of allegedly drunk cop in Delhi Metro goes viral on Facebook

7:25 AM
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