Fitbit introduces a new tool to help you get a good night’s sleep
If you purchased a Fitbit with the hopes of improving your workout plan but ended up using it to track your sleep, you might want to check out the latest addition to the official Fitbit app. The new Sleep Schedule feature is meant to help guide you to and maintain a better, more consistent sleeping pattern.
If you’ve got the official Fitbit app you can use it to set special goals based on the data your device has already gleaned from previous nights, customize special bedtime and wakeup targets for consistency and set up reminders to make sure you stay on track.
These are only the beginning when it comes to special tools Fitbit is planning on adding to its app as a collaboration with doctors at the University of Arizona, Stanford University and Johns Hopkins University. A panel of sleep experts at the various institutions worked to put together the new suite of features so you can sleep a little more soundly with the Fitbit of your choice.
If you’d like to see if you can whip your off-kilter sleeping habits into shape, you can check out the official Fitbit app here.
UE adds Google and Siri voice integration to its Boom speakers
Today, Ultimate Ears is pushing out a software enhancement that’s available for both the UE Boom 2 and Megaboom Bluetooth speakers. With an app refresh and OTA update, users will now be able to access Google Now or Siri by pushing a button on the speakers themselves, as long as they’re connected through the UE app on the host device. Since the Boom 2 and Megaboom are both IPX7 water resistant, this could be perfect for beach or pool time, letting you keep your phone or tablet out of harm’s way. Friends can also use this to find a song they want without hassling you for your phone or lock screen code.
This new feature also puts the speakers in competition with devices like the Amazon Tap, which also requires a button push to access Alexa, its on-board smart assistant. I had few hours for a quick preview of the update using both of the compatible UE speakers and an Android device, and while the service works, there’s certainly room for improvement.
For this test, I was using a Nexus 5X running Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 and the first step is making sure the speaker is connected through the respective UE Boom or Megaboom apps. These speakers are Bluetooth LE, so the phone should detect the speaker and allow you to remotely power up if needed. This doesn’t always work the first time out even if the speaker is already connected to the phone, so if you run into trouble, I’d recommend turning Bluetooth off and on again, which usually gets things sorted.
There aren’t currently any indications of this new feature in the UE app’s “how to” section or settings, but the next step should confirm that things are working properly. Just do a quick press of the small Bluetooth button on the top of the speaker and wait to hear the audible prompt, which is the same as when you say “OK Google” or press the microphone icon for voice control on your phone. Both the Bluetooth button and the power button will flash during this interaction. If you’re playing music while dropping into voice control functionality, it will pause and listen for your inquiry. You can ask to play a specific song or inquire if there are any restaurants nearby and the system will respond confirming the song play request or, in the second instance, provide details and offer a few next steps, listening for additional responses.
The UE Boom 2 was the first device I tried this new functionality with, and the experience wasn’t ideal. There’s a significant delay before the audible prompt plays, and when it did, the volume seemed very low — the music was at medium, but this tone was a whisper. When it did work, the beginning portions of responses were occiasionally clipped and seemed to pop-up into the proper volume after a hesitation. It’s hard to tell if any of this had to do with my phone’s processing power, but that said, when I switched over to the Megaboom, things went a good deal better. The speaker generally understood my speech without error (searching for Steel Pulse no longer resulted in Seal) and the volume levels of both the tone to begin speaking and its responses were more audible. I did still hear some clipped responses, though.
Using Google Now through the speaker did seem a bit different than direct interaction on a phone or tablet, but the experience will shift somewhat depending on the device, OS and apps, since UE isn’t crafting the experience itself. When asking about nearby restaurants, Google would list some options, offer me the best choice and tell me I could say: directions, call, details or next. Invariably, saying “directions” would loop back into “where do you want to go.” Saying “next” would resume playing music where I last left off, and so far, this is the only way music has resumed playing if I dropped into the voice assistant mode. I had hoped that if I used the voice assistant feature while playing tunes, it would resume the session once my interaction had been completed. So far, that’s not been the case.
All-in-all, this seems like a decent new — and free — addition to two already stellar Bluetooth speakers, at least when it works well. Like many new features, it could take a bit of familiarity with the quirks to navigate more successfully through the system. Of course, you don’t have to use the updated functionality, but when you’re lazing about in a pool and the craving for pizza strikes while your phone is 40 feet away, it may seem like the best thing ever.
Android Pay Day offers UK discounts for mobile payments
Now that Android Pay is available in the UK, Google wants to make sure people are actually using it. The company has come up with a promotion called Android Pay Day, which offers discounts every month on the Tuesday before your next pay slip. The scheme kicks off today with two deals; firstly, in Starbucks, you can get two-for-one on Frappucinos; the second is a £5 voucher (ANDROIDPAY5 for new users, ANDROIDPAY2.5 for existing customers) that you can redeem inside the Deliveroo app, provided you select Android Pay as your payment method at checkout.
These discounts are designed, no doubt, to educate people about the different ways they can spend with Android Pay. Most Brits will know they can use their phone to pay at physical stores — they’ll have seen iPhone users doing the same with Apple Pay. But it’s possible, or rather likely, that users are less familiar with Android Pay’s second role as a digital wallet. Android Pay Day could, therefore, be an important tool for raising awareness among the Android-wielding public. Success will ultimately hinge, however, on Google promoting the monthly rewards effectively — if no-one knows they exist, they won’t have an impact on adoption.
A good start would be a promotions page like the one it’s set up for US customers.
Source: Android Pay Day
Ultrasound implant can help chemo drugs reach brain tumors
One of the biggest problems with brain cancer treatment is that only a limited amount of chemotherapy drugs make it through. See, our brain’s blood vessels are tightly lined with cells to keep out toxins and pathogens. The bad news is that it also hinders medicine from reaching tumors. A team of French scientists have recently tested a promising answer to that issue: an ultrasound implant that they designed to temporarily make this “blood-brain barrier” permeable. They ran a pilot with 15 patients suffering from glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, and results showed that their technique successfully allowed more medicine to pass through.
Doctors can implant the small (11.5mm-diameter) device, officially named SonoCloud, when they remove parts of a tumor or take tissue samples for biopsy. When it’s time to administer chemo, they’ll inject microscopic bubbles into the patient’s bloodstream, which pass through those tightly guarded blood vessels. They’ll then activate the device to beam ultrasound into the brain for two minutes to excite the microbubbles. The vibrating bubbles open the barrier to chemotherapy drugs for up for six hours, letting in five to seven times the amount of medicine that typically make it to tumors in the brain.
Despite demonstrating that the technique works, the team still has to conduct a bigger clinical trial. Dr. Ekokobe Fonkem, a neuro-oncologist from Texas, told HealthDay News that the researchers still have to prove that it doesn’t cause side effects. “They have to make sure there is no room for bacteria to get into the brain and cause meningitis, which can be fatal.” And that’s exactly what the team wants to do. The team plans to raise money to conduct a bigger clinical trial in 2017, involving 200 patients from Europe and the US. If everything goes well, the team said SonoCloud could be commercially available as soon as 2020.
Via: Scientific American
Source: Science Translational Medicine, US National Library of Medicine
Fully-autonomous drone launcher never needs a pilot
Having UAVs conduct routine aerial surveillance is already having a transformative effect on farming and and energy production but they can only operate when there’s a human at the controls. That’s about to change thanks to an autonomous drone system that not only flies but also maintains itself. Tel Aviv-based UAV Airobotics has debuted a completely automated patrol drone system of the same name that is capable of operating with virtually no human intervention.
The system is composed of three parts: the drone itself, the “Airbase” robotic base station and the command software. It uses an “Optimus” UAV that can carry a 1-kilogram payload for up to 30 minutes. When the UAV finishes its patrol, it will land atop the base station whereupon a robotic arm will automatically swap out its battery and payload. All of this is controlled by the integrated software which enables users to pre-program flight paths as well as view real-time video and data feeds. The Airobotic system will likely find use in the mining and oil and gas industries as an aerial mapping platform, though it could easily be applied to any repetitive delivery or flyover task.
Source: Airobotics
Ultimate Ears’ UE Boom 2 and UE Megaboom Updated With Siri and Google Now Integration
Ultimate Ears today announced a firmware update that brings Siri and Google Now integration to its UE Boom 2 and UE Megaboom speakers, making it easier for iPhone and Android users to play and control music on the devices without needing to access their phones.
With Siri integration, pushing the Bluetooth button on the UE Boom 2 or the UE Megaboom activates Apple’s virtual assistant, allowing users to do things like request specific songs through Apple Music, place phone calls, and more. Google Now integration offers similar capabilities on Android devices.
“Music lovers can now truly stay in the moment, playing their favorite song from the middle of the pool or even while diving off a cliff with their UE speaker in hand,” said Charlotte Johs, general manager of Ultimate Ears. “No matter how wet, muddy or wild the situation, with Siri and Google Now voice integration on UE BOOM 2 and UE MEGABOOM, fans no longer need to pick up their phone to play DJ. Now, they can just say it to play it.”
Ultimate Ears is known for creating waterproof, shockproof speakers that are able to hold up to the elements for listening to music at home and on the go, and Siri integration should be a welcome addition for iPhone users who often use their UE speakers in wet or dirty conditions.
The firmware update can be installed through an update to the UE Boom and UE Megaboom apps, which is available today.
The UE Boom 2 and the UE Megaboom can be purchased from the Ultimate Ears website for $200 and $300, respectively. Both the UE Boom 2 and the UE Megaboom are also available from Amazon.com at slightly lower prices.
Tag: Ultimate Ears
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Microsoft Launches ‘Flow’ Workflow Service Management App for iOS
Microsoft yesterday launched a management app for its online workflow service and IFTTT competitor, called Flow.
For those unfamiliar with the idea, services like IFTTT let you connect different digital platforms and automate actions between them, like having all Gmail attachments save to a Dropbox account, or making every new entry added to a contact list sync to a Google spreadsheet.
Flow first debuted in April as a web service for creating workflows for two or more cloud services, simplifying things like file synchronization and data organization. But Flow also supports a number of other triggers, like receiving a text message when a particular person emails you, or automatically following a Twitter account that mentions your business in a tweet and adding it to a database.
With the launch of the iOS app, Flow now supports workflow options for more services, but keeps the focus on integrations with Microsoft’s own business tools, such as Office 365, Dynamics CRM, PowerApps, and Yammer. Automation for business-related services like MailChip, GitHub, Salesforce, and Slack are also supported.
The iOS app lets users manage existing ‘flows’ created from the web service, allowing users to disable them, view their properties, and generate error checking reports to ensure they’re working properly. There’s also a searchable activity feed in the app that shows all recent Flow actions, which can be tapped to get more details on.
The app also supports push notifications for trigger issues, and Microsoft promises it will soon include the ability to create new workflows without having to sign into the web-based service.
Microsoft Flow is a free download for iPhone and iPad on the App Store. [Direct Link]
Tag: Microsoft
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New York energy company is using drones for inspection
Different industries and companies use drones for different tasks. For New York energy provider Con Edison, that task is to inspect 10-story boilers that produce steam and energy for some of the most iconic buildings in NYC, including the Empire State. The company has begun testing the use of drones (equipped with cameras and thermal systems) for inspection at one of its steam plants on the East Side of Manhattan. Workers typically have to go through confined-space training and to build tall scaffoldings to check a plant’s boilers. Con Edison’s round, 1.1-pound carbon fiber machines can simply fly all over the place, capturing videos and photos.
The company’s UAVs sound like they have what it takes to be effective inspectors: they can can roam plants for 10 minutes at a time, were designed to withstand collisions and can capture 1280x1080p resolution videos. However, human personnel still play a part by analyzing footage and images to figure out what the company needs to repair. Margarett Jolly, Con Edison director of Research and Development, said using drones can help them “speed up the process while still upholding and perhaps improving quality and safety.” The energy company has uploaded videos of the inspection below, if you’re interested in seeing what a steam plant looks like from the inside.
Source: Con Edison
Apple Pay users can withdraw money from select BoA ATMs
If you’re an Apple Pay user with access to the cardless ATMs Bank of America installed earlier this year, you might be able to withdraw cash from the machines using your phone. Reports that BoA’s machines will support Cupertino’s mobile wallet began circulating back in January. Now a Redditor who goes by the moniker “WhatWhatTech” successfully used Apple Pay to withdraw cash from his account through a machine in Redondo Beach, California. These cardless ATMs have an NFC logo right beside the card slot — simply tap your phone on that logo, and you’ll be prompted to key in your PIN before the screen displays all the available transaction options.
Before you get too excited, though, take note that the feature hasn’t been enabled for all cardless machines just yet. Further, you can only get the ATM to spit out cash if you’re using a BoA card, and you can’t deposit money using the service. Still, it’s worth a shot if you have access to one of them. According to BoA’s website, its cardless machines now also support Samsung Pay, in addition to the Android Pay support announced in May. It’s likely being rolled out slowly, as well, so don’t be surprised if it doesn’t work on your first try.
[Image credit: WhatWhatTech]
Via: 9to5Mac
Source: WhatWhatTech (Reddit), (Imgur), Bank of America
CBS names an exec to develop shows for its streaming service
Like it or not, CBS will be creating more series for its year-old streaming service. CEO Les Moonves promised the addition of “three to four original series per year,” starting with a new Star Trek show and a spinoff of The Good Wife. To keep things running smoothly, CBS has moved Julie McNamara from drama development at CBS Television — where she was already overseeing the two original All Access series — to a newly created position: Executive Vice President, Original Content, CBS All Access.
CBS won’t catch up to Netflix’s pace at this rate, but it does have a deep library of content that it owns to back the $6 per month service, plus live TV (in some areas). Adding a few originals could make it a very interesting competitor to the other streaming services — especially if back episodes of older series become harder to find elsewhere.
Source: CBS
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