Новости за 30.04.2021

A researcher at Wageningen University & Research recently published a pre-print article detailing a system by which facial recognition AI could be used to identify and measure the emotional state of farm animals. If you’re imagining a machine that tells you if your pigs are joyous or your cows are grumpy… you’re spot on. Up front: There’s little evidence to believe that so-called ’emotion recognition’ systems actually work. In the sense that humans and other creatures can often accurately recognize (as in... Читать дальше...

A “bat-sense” algorithm that generates images from sounds could be used to catch burglars and monitor patients without using CCTV, the technique’s inventors say. The machine-learning algorithm developed at Glasgow University uses reflected echoes to produce 3D pictures of the surrounding environment. The researchers say smartphones and laptops running the algorithm could detect intruders and monitor care home patients. [Read: 3 new technologies ecommerce brands can use to connect better with customers]... Читать дальше...

Yes, you read correctly. During Tesla’s Q1 earnings call on April 17, Lars Moravy, Tesla’s Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, commented on the recent fatal crash in Texas and proved that Elon Musk’s claims were, well, lies.  Musk had claimed via Twitter that Autopilot wasn’t enabled, and that it wouldn’t work on a street without lane lines, as was the case.  Your research as a private individual is better than professionals @WSJ! Data logs recovered so far show Autopilot was not enabled & this car did not purchase FSD. Читать дальше...

Big, terrifying changes are afoot: there’s going to be a new default font in Microsoft Word. Please, don’t panic. You can riot, sure, but no panicking. This decision was announced on Microsoft’s blog. In the piece, the company explains that it has commissioned five different fonts that could potentially replace the current default, Calibri. The piece itself provides a balanced view of all these different options, going into an admirable amount of depth about why they may be suitable to become Microsoft Word’s next default font. Читать дальше...

Well, you read the headline, here are the goods: It’s time. You can buy the very first seat on #NewShepard. Sign up to learn how at https://t.co/XNq9WALA7u. Details coming May 5th. #GradatimFerociter pic.twitter.com/K9jugCs9yz — Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April 29, 2021 If you can’t piece together why Bezos is blasting through the desert in a pre-production Rivian R1T all-electric truck, I can explain. Blue Origin is a private space tourism business that’s privately owned by, you guessed it, a Stetson-ed Jeff Bezos. Читать дальше...

TLDR: The WeMax Dice Portable Smart Projector is a travel-friendly full Bluetooth enabled digital media hub that beams 1080p resolution video at up to 120 inches across. In this 21st century wave of cutting edge digital projectors, image quality obviously is a big deal. But as we start to reopen the world and put the pandemic behind us, don’t sleep on another hard-charging feature that all the best projectors now flash like a badge of honor: portability. Movie night could be on your couch. But real soon, it could be on somebody else’s. Читать дальше...

Apple is in the EU’s crosshairs once again. The European Commission has charged the iPhone maker with breaking antitrust laws by imposing unfair rules on distributing apps via the App Store. The EU’s executive arm accused Apple of abusing its market power in two ways: forcing developers to use Apple’s own in-app payment system — which gives the tech giant a 30% cut — and banning them from informing customers about alternative subscription options. EU antitrust czar Margrethe Vestager said the restrictions meant consumers were losing out... Читать дальше...

Earlier in April, Android Auto announced that it would soon feature apps for navigation, parking, and EV charging, to increase choices and enhance the driving experience of its consumers.  Well, Google did commit to its promise. Starting yesterday, Android users are able to use the ChargePoint app on their Android Auto compatible vehicle.  To do that, they only need to connect a phone running on Android 6.0 or above, and to download the app from the Play Store.  Credit: chargepoint.comChargePoint app ... Читать дальше...

The coronavirus pandemic is in a dreadful phase in India with more than 300,000 cases daily cases registered over the last 10 days. Amid people searching for hospital beds, oxygen, and meds, the government has opened up its vaccination program for all adults aged above 18. Till now, the vaccination program allowed anyone above 45, as well as healthcare workers, and frontline workers to get the approved shots to fight COVID-19. As the program opens up for more people, Facebook is rolling out a new... Читать дальше...

Ebikes are blowing up, and it’s bloomin’ glorious to watch. No, I don’t mean exploding, but people are buying them at the fastest ever rate. But I’m worried some of us are missing out, because we’re not appreciating the ugly ones. Over the past year, electrified bicycles have come of age. It’s part of what the BBC calls, “The great bicycle boom of 2020.” Pandemic lockdowns around the world opened our eyes to how much we rely on the car, and it’s got people thinking about two wheels as a more preferable mode of transport. Читать дальше...

The UK‘s shift to EVs will come with a heavy price, an expected  £40 billion ($56bn) loss in the Treasury’s funds. On Wednesday, Greener Transport Solutions, a non-profit group that provides recommendations to central and local government, submitted to MPs a report, aimed at tackling this problem. Specifically, the report proposed a mandatory per-mile road pricing scheme by 2030, to coincide with the sales ban on internal combustion vehicles. The organization considers this measure a “fiscal imperative.”... Читать дальше...

Australia’s trucking industry is making moves to go electric. The latest development — a system for using swappable batteries instead of time-consuming recharge stations for long-haul trucks between Sydney and Brisbane — shows how this transition is gathering momentum. There will be clear socio-economic, environmental and health-related benefits from the switch to electric trucks — for the broader community as well as for the trucking industry and truckies themselves. As electric vehicle researchers... Читать дальше...

India opened up its vaccine registration program for hundreds of millions of people aged 18-45 on April 28. However, most people in this age bracket could not find any slots for their vaccinations on the official CoWin website, as most states and private hospitals haven’t obtained the required doses. To easily search for vaccination slots, Programmer Berty Thomas came up with a simple but effective website called under45.in. The site lets folks in search for places that are open for vaccination of the 18-45 age group. Читать дальше...

Just a few days after Spotify launched in India back in 2019, I hopped on a flight with a bunch of songs downloaded in the app for my journey. But the moment I turned on airplane mode, there was no sign of my downloaded tracks. The horror! It’s currently hard to find your downloads in the Spotify app, even if you switch to the offline mode by going to Settings > Playback > Offline mode (who designed it this way, really?). Offline listeners can celebrate at last: Spotify has finally found some... Читать дальше...

I need three hours of focused time per day to complete — and feel proud of — my week’s work. It’s just how my brain works. As a coach and facilitator, I’ve become convinced that everyone, regardless of their role, needs uninterrupted work time every day. Engineers need to write code without errors. People managers need to synthesize a day of one-on-one calls. Support and sales roles need to manage their pipeline after a day of context-switching between customers. When my clients get this dedicated work time, they’re more motivated and focused. Читать дальше...

This article was originally published by Sarah Wray on Cities Today, the leading news platform on urban mobility and innovation, reaching an international audience of city leaders. For the latest updates follow Cities Today on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, or sign up for Cities Today News. The City of Helsinki is trialing a quiet, emission-free robot in a bid to find new ways to keep streets clean with minimal disruption to residents. The Trombia Free vehicle will run from... Читать дальше...

I tend to try to avoid the comments section on YouTube as much as possible, but it turns out the company is testing a way to make them even more prominent. As spotted by Android Police, the video platform is testing a way to allow users to post comments linked to a specific time. It sounds a lot like SoundCloud‘s comments, based on the information on this support page: We’re currently testing a new feature that allows you to view comments timed to the exact moment you’re watching in a video. This... Читать дальше...

Oh hey, Facebook is taking a page out of Clubhouse’s book. Again. Times two. Instagram has added the ability to run audio-only broadcasts on Instagram Live. It doesn’t quite turn Instagram into Clubhouse, but it’s hard not to look at the update through the lens of the meteoric rise of audio-centric platforms like Clubhouse and Twitter’s Spaces. Who’d have thought that glorified conference calls would be the next big thing? Granted, maybe this update has nothing to do with Clubhouse. At its core, it’s a very simple tweak. Читать дальше...

Windows 10 is getting a big sound quality boost for a whole bunch of Bluetooth headphones out there — including Apple’s AirPods. The company today announced support for the AAC Bluetooth codec is coming to Windows 10, starting with Windows Insiders. While Windows 10 already supports another high-quality codec, AptX, many audio devices don’t. Notably, Apple headphones — including Beats — use AAC exclusively as their high-quality option. I’ve tested many a product that only supported AAC (aside from the basic SBC)... Читать дальше...

“Consumers looking for an on-demand service won’t find it with Game Pass.” That’s how I ended this 2017 article titled “Xbox Game Pass isn’t the Netflix of Anything.” I’m happy to say that now, in 2021, it finally is. That’s right. It’s three years later and Xbox Game Pass is the Netflix of Gaming. And it’s all thanks to Microsoft’s excellent “Xbox Cloud Gaming” service, which recently entered beta. I’ve tested the service and ran it through some paces and, well, I have some thoughts. The short version is this... Читать дальше...