Apple Maps Now Provides Traffic Data in Greece

Apple Maps has recently been updated with all-new traffic data in Greece, providing users with real-time updates about vehicular traffic in the southeastern Europe country. As usual, highly congested areas will have orange or red dotted lines along the roads to indicate that drivers may face delays.

Apple Maps traffic data is available in over 30 other countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, China, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Denmark, Poland, Switzerland, and other European countries.

Tags: Apple Maps, Greece
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Niantic explains why it removed the footprints feature from Pokémon Go

Niantic, the developer behind Pokémon Go, has explained why it made several changes to the game in the latest update. The update removed footprints of nearby pokémon, and limited access to third-party services. Niantic states that both changes were geared toward improving the design and quality of service of the game.

Niantic’s servers were unable to handle the massive influx of users that made their way to the game following its debut in early July. From the Facebook post:

We have removed the ‘3-step’ display in order to improve upon the underlying design. The original feature, although enjoyed by many, was also confusing and did not meet our underlying product goals. We will keep you posted as we strive to improve this feature.

We have limited access by third-party services which were interfering with our ability to maintain quality of service for our users and to bring Pokémon GO to users around the world.

Pokémon Go is not available in major global markets, including Brazil and India, and Niantic has stated that the game will make its way to additional countries shortly:

The large number of users has made the roll-out of Pokémon GO around the world an… interesting… challenge. And we aren’t done yet! Yes, Brazil, we want to bring the game to you (and many other countries where it is not yet available).

We have read your posts and emails and we hear the frustration from folks in places where we haven’t launched yet, and from those of you who miss these features. We want you to know that we have been working crazy hours to keep the game running as we continue to launch globally.

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Galaxy Note 5 picks up the July 1 security patch in India

Samsung has rolled out the July 1 security patch to the Galaxy Note 5 in India. The update (build number N920GUBU2BPG1) weighs in at 85MB and includes the security patch as well as the usual performance improvements.

If you’re using the Galaxy Note 5 in India, head to your phone’s settings to manually initiate the download.

Verizon Digital Media Services expands in India with Airtel partnership

Verizon Digital Media Services is partnering with India’s leading carrier Airtel to expand its content delivery network across the country. The deal sees the launch of four points of presence in four cities: Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, and New Delhi.

The move enables fast access to Verizon’s digital content platform to those located in the country. From Verizon Digital Media Services CTO Rob Peters:

We are expanding our content delivery network in strategic markets that our customers care about, and we have found a long-term partner in Airtel Business. The launch of these strategic PoPs marks the beginning of a strong partnership between Verizon and Airtel Business and further cements our commitment to providing consumers in India, one of the fastest-growing markets for digital media consumption, with exceptional services and quality.

CEO of Airtel’s voice and data business Ajay Chitkara said that the deal will lead to a “superior user experience” for local customers consuming digital content:

India is fast emerging as a large regional IP Hub and we are excited to enable Verizon Digital Media Services to provide best-in-class digital services in India. This collaboration ensures superior user experiences and seamlessly handles traffic spikes as connected devices, subscribers and content size continue to grow. We are delighted by the positive results seen in a very short time and we are confident that in the long term, Indian mobile Internet users are going to immensely benefit from this partnership.

Verizon has mentioned that the PoP installations have already yielded results, with time taken to serve content decreasing significantly:

Using third-party Cedexis measurement tools, Verizon Digital Media Services has observed significant network improvements when comparing its network performance in India before and after the PoP installations. The amount of time required on Verizon Digital Media Services’ servers to receive users’ requests, respond and deliver results has significantly decreased.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update: What’s new with the lock screen?

Sometimes you want to do something quick on your computer, like play music, but you don’t want to do all of the work.

Well, with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update that’s rolling out now, you don’t even need to unlock your computer to do so. With Cortana’s updated features, saying “Hello Cortana” lets her listen to you at your lock screen. Here’s everything else that’s new with the lock screen.

Cortana

Let’s say you’re in a hurry and can’t remember that one thing you knew you’d forget. If you told Cortana to remember the address of a party, for example, you can say “Hey Cortana, what is the address of the party?” and she will remind you without needing to unlock your computer.

If you’re sitting across the room and need a reminder of what appointments you have, yell Cortana and she will list them off. Cortana has basically become a personal assistant that you don’t need to pay. Cortana needs permission to be available while your device is locked and also to access your calendar, email, messages, and Power BI data while it is locked.

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To allow all this, select Cortana in the taskbar next to the Start menu, then go to settings, which is the gear button toward the bottom left, and scroll down to Lock screen. With the ability to use Cortana at the lock screen, so many things can be accomplished in seconds without having to wait for a computer or laptop to unlock and load just to play music or set a rich reminder.

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Music controls

If you have a subscription to Groove, the music app on Windows 10, you don’t even need to unlock your device to play music. While at your lock screen, ask Cortana to play rock music or even a certain artist, and she will begin to play that music for you. Music controls, such as pause, play, and skip, also now appear on the lock screen for currently-playing music.

Windows Hello

Windows Hello, a feature that was previously only available at the lock screen, uses your face or fingerprint to identify you and unlock your device. It’s now available for apps in the Windows Store and also for the Windows Store. The security system can be used while making purchases in Windows apps and to unlock accounts across your device instead of needing to remember passwords for 30 different log-ins.

To change options and set up Windows Hello, go to Settings > Accounts > and Sign-in options. Older devices may not be compatible with Windows Hello.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update: What new things can Cortana do?

After experiencing the updated Cortana in the new Windows 10 Anniversary Update, it would be difficult to imagine using Windows without her. Cortana now has many features to make daily tasks much easier and almost effortless.

Many things can now be done without touching your keyboard or mouse at any point. Making a reminder, searching for something on the internet, or finding your phone and making it ring. There are also things Cortana can do to go along with other improvements to the software. Probably the most useful feature Cortana now has is the ability to set a rich reminder by just speaking.

Cortana also gives you the option to let her know what you like. If you like sports, you can add your favourite teams and she will update you with games and scores for those teams. If you are a fan of trying new food at restaurants, Cortana can give you recommendations of places that are receiving good reviews. Here’s everything Cortana can do.

Rich reminders

Cortana is accessible from the ‘ask me anything field’ on the left of the taskbar. It can now set reminder without additional info from you. Just click the microphone and ask her to remind you to get groceries, and that’s that.

However, setting a reminder or looking for information has never been more simpler on a PC. If you say, “Hey Cortana, remind me to call mom at noon,” it will automatically set a reminder for noon. If you need to get some flowers for a loved one, you can say, “Hey Cortana, flower shops,” and you’ll get a list of all the flower shops in your area, their address, and the ability to call them.

These reminders also give you the option of making them rich by adding a time or photos, which in the future, gives you the option to ask her about the place you may have gone and what it looked like. You may need to enable the features like “Hey Cortana” by opening Cortana bar and clicking on the gear button. This will show you all of the settings Cortana has, such as ensuring she only answers to your voice, or letting her work even when your device is locked. This gives you the ability to play music or set reminders without unlocking your device.

Cortana reminders also always appear at top of Action Center (but that can be changed to another app in Settings).

Cortana across devices

Something that makes setting reminders through Cortana even better is the ability to receive those reminders across multiple devices. Whether you have a Windows phone or Android, you can download Cortana and receive updates and reminders on your computer and phone.

The Cortana app can also be used to send information like message alerts, missed calls, and battery saver information to your computer. If you receive a text message, you can answer it from your computer when the notification appears in the Action Center.

Lock screen

If you have a subscription to Groove, the music app in Windows 10, you don’t even need to unlock your device to play music. While at your lock screen, ask Cortana to play rock music or a certain artist, and she will play that music.

With the ability to use Cortana on the lock screen, so many things can be accomplished in seconds without having to wait for a computer or laptop to unlock and load just to play music or set a rich reminder.

Cortana coupons

If you enjoy shopping online, Microsoft Edge may be the internet browser for you with Cortana’s ability to find you coupons. If you are on a website like Target, Cortana will alert you that she has found coupons and asks if you would like to use them. The only downfall is that these coupons may have nothing to do with what you’re shopping for.

Find my phone

Cortana find my phone

Losing your phone is easy to do, and it is frustrating when have it on vibrate and can’t hear it ringing. If you ask Cortana to find your phone however, she will locate it and then give you the option to dismiss it or make it ring.

Identifying music

Sometimes little things are overlooked in updates, but it is the small features that make using your device more enjoyable. Cortana has the ability to identify a song that is playing, and when you ask her what song is playing, she brings up a menu with information about the song as well as a list of songs you have searched in the past. By selecting the song, it opens the Windows Store, so you can instantly buy the album or even listen to the song for free. 

Windows 10 Anniversary Update: How has the Start menu changed?

With the first major update to Windows 10, Microsoft has made a number of changes that will affect the way you use your devices. What has been done to the Start menu will make finding anything on your computer easier and convenient.

Before the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, for example, a list of your apps was buried in the Start menu and a pain to get to and find. With the new update however, an alphabetical list is immediately visible once the Start menu is opened. Here’s everything that’s new with the Start menu.

Apps list view

As we said, an apps list view is now accessible on the left in the Start menu (between the new hamburger menu on the far left and tiles on the far right, instead of buried as it was before). It’s a simple change – but one that makes it much quicker to access your apps. There are even handy sections in the list view that display recently-added and most-used apps.

Hamburger Menu

You’ll now see a hamburger menu on the left within the Start menu. This gives users the ability to have shortcuts to folders, such as Downloads and Documents, in your Start menu. Adding these shortcuts, which appear above the power button, can be done by going to Settings > Personalisation > and Start. There are 10 options you can enable here, all of which make finding files on your computer much easier. The options start with file explorer and then go down to folders, like documents, downloads, music, pictures, and videos folders.

The other folders available that can be added to the hamburger menu are homegroup, network, and personal folder. Homegroup is a folder which is shared throughout the local network, giving users the ability to share resources across multiple devices. The network folder takes you to the folder and shows information about the devices on your network and the router you are connected to. The personal folder shows you all of the folders on your computer like contacts, favourites, and desktop.

If you have a hard time telling these apart from the designs for each, since they are all fairly small, you can click on the three-line button above all of these to reveal the name of each, beginning with your profile and going down to power.

Metro-style tiles

Nothing has really changed with the metro-style tiles on the right. There is still a scroll bar to move down and see more of the style that Windows 8 ushered, but it is a much smaller feature than before. By dragging the right side of the start menu to the right, it expands the size of the menu, showing the Play and Explore section on the far right instead of part of the scroll down. This can feature apps related to Xbox, television and movie apps, etc.

The Windows 10 Anniversary Update also adds badges across the system, including in the live tiles in the Start menu. These can be, for example, an email number notification on the Mail app. Badges will disappear across the system when you click on them and open apps.

If you were a fan of the Windows 8 tile theme, you can still use it on your computer by entering tablet mode. The quickest way to turn tablet mode on is by going to the Action menu in the bottom right corner and clicking on the tile. If you try this and don’t like it, doing the exact same thing will turn tablet mode off, and then you’re back to where you were.

San Francisco is testing an algorithm that sets bail

The San Francisco justice system has apparently been testing out an algorithm that can make release recommendations and compute for a bail amount based on several factors. In particular, it looks at defendants’ pending charges, age and how frequently they show up to court. What it doesn’t take into account is a person’s educational background and financial status. See, the city began testing the algorithm in May, months after critics accused the local government of having a bail system that favors the rich and unjustly penalizes the poor and people of color.

In response to the accusations and to the lawsuit filed by a civil rights group, District Attorney George Gascón lobbied for a change in the bail system by using high-tech tools. This algorithm, developed and provided to SF for free by the Texas-based Laura and John Arnold Foundation, is one of them. In order to make a fair assessment, it uses data from the case histories of 1.5 million people who were once incarcerated. It looks at how they performed after they were released and makes a prediction on which defendants could re-offend and which ones pose no risk to society. That said, risk assessment tools like this are nowhere near perfect. A Propublica report from May warns that algorithms predicting violent crimes tend to be biased against African Americans.

According to San Francisco Chronicle, some judges have been ignoring the algorithm’s release recommendations to the point that the people backing the project are disappointed over the lack of data coming in. Still, Matt Alsdorf (vice president of criminal justice at the Arnold Foundation) remains hopeful. “The idea is to provide judges with objective, data-driven, consistent information that can inform the decisions they make,” he told SF Chronicle, “…[W]hat I hope to see in San Francisco is that over time… people will start to see the validity of the tool and start to buy in more and more.”

Via: SFist

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

The first 8K satellite TV broadcasts are live in Japan

Just as we were getting used to Ultra HD 4K, Japan’s NHK has kicked off its Super Hi-Vision broadcast tests, sending out 4K and 8K video via satellite. Unfortunately, there’s no way to watch the super high res feeds and 22.2 channel sound at home — even with a $130,000 8K TV — but interested Japanese residents can check out tests of the feeds at several public locations in Tokyo and Osaka. NHK is using the Rio Olympics as a testbed for technology that it hopes to roll out first in 2018, and have ready for the public time for the 2020 Olympics in Japan.

According to the schedule, viewers can see pretaped clips including 8K test footage from the 2012 Olympics, and even a live broadcast (unlike the tape-delayed feed everyone in the US will get) of Rio’s Opening Ceremony. Some events will require reservations, but there will be viewing on large projection screens and LCDs we’ve grown used to watching 8K on at CES. Last week several companies showed off 8K tech they’re working on to support broadcasting and viewing at the Cable Tech Show 2016 in Japan, including Panasonic’s 8K-ready cable and an 8K set-top box prototype from Pioneer.

In 2012 I saw an 8K test broadcast in Washingon DC delivered from London via Internet2, but I haven’t heard about any public viewings set up for the 2016 games. Here in the US, the closest you’ll probably come is a downscaled to 4K feed on tape-delay, provided by Comcast, DirecTV or Dish Network. Still, it’s never too soon to start measuring an 85-inch space on your wall to fit an 8K display for proper Tokyo 2020 viewing.

Via: Japan Times

Source: NHK

Uber to Invest $500 Million in Global Mapping Project Led By Google Earth Creator

Ride hailing company Uber is planning to spend $500 million on a global mapping project in an effort to reduce its reliance on Google Maps, according to The Financial Times.

The San Fransisco-based company already has mapping vehicles recording geographical data around the U.S. and Mexico. With Uber’s presence in over 60 countries, the significant expansion reflects its continuing growth and adds to its existing investment in original research like driverless cars.

Last year, it hired world-leading digital mapping expert Brian McClendon, who previously ran Google Maps and was one of the creators of Google Earth.

McClendon will be responsible for the mapping project, and recently commented on the plans in a blog post without mentioning the $500 million figure:

The ongoing need for maps tailored to the Uber experience is why we’re doubling down on our investment in mapping. Our efforts are similar to what other companies including Apple and TomTom are already doing around the world.

The street imagery captured by our mapping cars will help us improve core elements of the Uber experience, like ideal pick-up and drop-off points and the best routes for riders and drivers.

Address data in Google Maps is typically less accurate in developing countries, resulting in some Uber drivers having to call passengers to ask for their location before a pick-up. Uber hopes to nix these problems and feed the traffic pattern and location data already gathered by its cars into its own mapping system, thereby also avoiding charges for using Google Maps.

News of Uber’s multi-million-dollar mapping investment was partially eclipsed by reports over the weekend that Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing is to acquire its Chinese operations in a $35 billion deal.

Apple’s own $1 billion investment in Didi Chuxing back in May gave the Cupertino company access to data and expertise on electric and autonomous car technology, which is likely to help with its own car-related project, dubbed Project Titan, now led by veteran Apple executive Bob Mansfield.

Tags: Google Maps, Uber
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