Facebook’s AI image search can ‘see’ what’s in photos

If you forget to tag or add a description when uploading a photo or gallery to Facebook, it can be tough to find an image when you need it. Or at least it used to be. The social network revealed today that it built an AI image search system that can “see” things in your photos even when you forget to add the aforementioned identifiers. Facebook says the system uses its Lumos platform to understand the content of photos and videos and quickly sort through the items you’ve uploaded.

This means that if even if you can’t remember when a photo was taken, if you remember the content, you might still be able to find it with ease. Facebook gives the example of searching for “black shirt photo” and the system being able to “see” all of your photos with a black shirt, even if they aren’t tagged as such. This also means that you’ll be able to sort through photos your friends have shared to find what you’re looking for rather than having to rely on tags and text descriptions.

Of course, for this to work Lumos has to be able to recognize objects when they appear in photos. Facebook developers used deep learning and a neural network to train the system to identify objects using tens of millions of photos with the proper annotations. By doing so, the image search can pick up on scenes, objects, animals, places, attractions and clothing items. The system also factors in some degree of diversity so the search results aren’t a bunch of similar images. Not only is this handy with search, but it will also help Facebook describe images and video to users who are visually impaired.

Source: Facebook

New FCC chairman wants the agency to be more transparent

New FCC chairman Ajit Pai announced today that he wants the commission wants to be more transparent in how information on its proceedings is made available to the public. Pai detailed a new pilot program that will make documents relating to upcoming FCC Open Meetings available through the agency’s website before those meetings take place. In the past, any documents circulated among members of the commission were kept under wraps until after the final vote on a matter.

Pai said that releasing the supporting documents ahead of time will help the public understand the decision-making process and allow the FCC to develop final rules that are more in line with the public interest. As part of the pilot phase, Pai released two documents that pertain to items that will be discussed at this month’s Open Meeting on February 23rd. Those topics are allowing TV stations to use ATSC 3.0, the next-gen broadcast standard, and giving AM radio stations more flexibility with FM translators.

Since this is just the trial phase, the commissioner is only releasing the supporting materials for those two matters this month rather than documents for everything on the meeting’s agenda. However, if all goes well, the plan is to eventually release text for all the items planned for an Open Meeting in advance. Currently, the chairman sends documents relating to votes three weeks before the proceedings. If the pilot works out, posting the information on the FCC website will become part of the lead up to the regular meetings.

If the new policy becomes the norm, we could be privy to info in advance on how Pai plans to relieve the “unjustified burden” that net neutrality transparency rules place on wireless carriers and ISPs.

Source: FCC

Google Chrome iOS Update Adds QR Code Scanner to 3D Touch Menu

Google yesterday updated the iOS version of Google Chrome with two new features for the iPhone and iPad web browsing app. On iOS devices that support 3D Touch, users can now 3D Touch on Google Chrome to bring up a quick access menu that now includes “Scan QR Code,” directly integrating a feature that traditionally requires users to download a random third-party app to be able to scan codes.

In addition to the new Scan QR Code option, from the 3D Touch menu users can initiate a Voice Search, start a New Incognito Tab, open a regular New Tab, or open the most recent copied link. Users can also use Spotlight on iOS to search for “QR Code” and Chrome’s “Scan QR Code” function will appear in the results list.

Additionally, the update has redesigned the tab switcher on the iPad version of Google Chrome, which the company says makes “it easier to access your open sites” within the app.

Google Chrome is available to download for free on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Tag: Chrome for iOS
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Tim Cook Says ‘Exciting Things’ Coming to iPad as Tablet Sales Continue to Drop

While the iPhone 7 Plus helped Apple achieve record-breaking earnings results last quarter, iPad sales remained on a downward trend.

Apple earlier this week reported that it sold 13.1 million iPads in the first quarter, which encompasses the holiday shopping season, down from 16.1 million in the year-ago quarter. As noted by Jason Snell at Six Colors, that’s nearly half as many iPads as the 26 million that Apple sold during the same period in 2013.

Apple isn’t the only tablet maker suffering from declining sales. The overall category continued to shrink by between 9% and 20% worldwide compared to the same quarter a year ago, placing pressure on Samsung and other vendors, according to the latest estimates from research firms IDC and Strategy Analytics.

Price remains a “key sticking point” for consumers looking to adopt high-end tablets such as the iPad Pro, which has created room for smaller vendors to capitalize on low-priced tablets, according to Strategy Analytics. Lenovo, for example, shipped an estimated 4.2 million tablets and grew 21% year-over-year in the quarter.

“2-in-1 tablets are a hot market segment but price remains a key factor in consumer behaviors around PC and tablet replacement devices, which is evident in lower shipments of iPad Pro and Surface Pro 4 devices in the quarter,” said Eric Smith, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics.

IDC said the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini, rather than the iPad Pro lineup, continued to account for the majority of Apple’s tablet shipments. For every ten slate tablets shipped, Apple sold only one iPad Pro, the research firm said. Apple does not officially break out iPad sales on a model-by-model basis.

Apple said it underestimated holiday demand for the iPad quarter, and that compounded a supply issue with one of its suppliers. Apple also drew down channel inventory by 700,000 units, so its results are not as bad as they look. Last year, Apple increased channel inventory by 900,000 units as the iPad Pro launched.

Apple also said the iPad has an 85% share of the U.S. tablet market priced above $200, so the tablet is doing exceptionally well in the premium segment that the company has targeted. iPad also undoubtedly remains the world’s best-selling tablet, with a comfortable lead over its rivals, based on industry estimates.

Samsung was Apple’s closest competitor with an estimated 8.1 million tablets shipped in the quarter for 12.8% market share, according to Strategy Analytics. Lenovo, Huawei, and Amazon rounded off the top five with an estimated 4.2 million, 3.7 million, and 3.4 million shipments in the quarter respectively.

As always, it is important to acknowledge that these are estimated figures, and that shipments do not necessarily reflect sales. There are also significant discrepancies between the IDC and Strategy Analytics datasets—particularly as it relates to Amazon—so treat the numbers with a proverbial grain of salt.

Apple has effectively marketed the iPad Pro as a computer in the post-PC world, but the company’s second annual decline in iPad sales led Apple podcaster Marco Arment to raise an interesting question: what if the iPad isn’t the future of computing?

What if, like so much in technology, it’s mostly just additive, rather than largely replacing PCs and Macs, and furthermore had a cooling-fad effect as initial enthusiasm wore off and customers came to this conclusion?

One thing is for certain: consumers are not upgrading their tablets nearly as often as smartphones. In order to reignite iPad sales, Apple will have to add compelling new features that entice the large base of existing iPad owners to swap out their current “good enough” tablet for a new one.

“We’ve got some exciting things coming on iPad and I’m optimistic about where things are headed,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. “Customer satisfaction is through the roof. iPad Pro at 99%. So I see a lot of good things and hope for better results.”

Related Roundups: iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4 (2015), iPad Pro
Tags: IDC, Strategy Analytics
Buyer’s Guide: 9.7″ iPad Pro (Caution), iPad Mini (Caution), 12.9″ iPad Pro (Caution)
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Wink Update Brings Support for August Smart Locks Into Connected Home App

Connected smart home company Wink today announced the addition of August Smart Locks into its collection of supported brands, which already includes GE, Nest, Philips, Schlage, and more. Now, any users who have an August Smart Lock paired with an August Connect (which provides remote access to the lock) can add their lock into the Wink mobile app on iOS.

The advantage of using Wink, similar to HomeKit, is for users with a wide variety of smart home products — Wink lets them add, organize, and control multiple devices in one place. From Wink, users will now be able to monitor the status of the August Smart Lock, lock and unlock it while not at home, and get push notifications when it’s used. These features are available in the individual August Home app [Direct Link] as well.

Integration with Wink Shortcuts will further expand August Smart Lock functionality and allow users to more seamlessly automate their homes. Wink gave a few examples of these shortcuts in its press release today:

For example, a “Goodnight” Shortcut could be used to automatically lock your front door while turning off the lights and adjusting the temperature with just one tap in the Wink app. With an “I’m Home” Robot, unlocking your August Smart Lock can trigger the hallway lights to illuminate and your smart blinds to open.

Wink strives to bring the best products from the most trusted brands together, and we’re very excited to expand our smart home security footprint with Wink + August Home.

Wink says that approximately 2.3 million smart home products have been added onto its platform to date, and tells its users they can continue to expect new partnerships in the future.

The Wink app is available to download on the App Store for free [Direct Link]. For those interested in getting started with smart home products, Wink has a dedicated section of its website with various starter kits and packages to get things up and running.

Tags: August Smart Lock, August, Wink
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Subaru Debuts 2018 Legacy With CarPlay at Chicago Auto Show

Subaru today announced it will debut its all-new 2018 Legacy at the annual Chicago Auto Show next week. The mid-size sedan will be one of Subaru’s first vehicles to support CarPlay alongside the 2017 Impreza introduced last year.

CarPlay and Android Auto will be available through Subaru’s STARLINK multimedia system with Bluetooth connectivity and iPod controls. The standard system has a 6.5-inch touchscreen, while an 8-inch touchscreen is available with a faster CPU, TomTom navigation, and enhanced multimedia capabilities.

Subaru said the 2018 Legacy will go on sale this summer. Pricing was not disclosed.

Related Roundup: CarPlay
Tag: Subaru
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Microsoft Outlook for iOS Gains Add-Ins Including Translator, Trello, Evernote and More

To celebrate the two-year anniversary of Outlook Mobile, Microsoft is today introducing a major feature for the iOS version of the Outlook email app — add-ins. For the first time, add-ins are able to be used with the mobile version Outlook, mirroring functionality available on the desktop.

Add-ins can help you get more done on the go, and save you valuable time spent switching between apps. This is why we introduced add-ins for Outlook on Windows, Mac (in Insiders) and on the web–and are now bringing them to iOS. Support for Android is coming soon.

Microsoft is adding a wide range of add-ins, that will let users do things like translate messages into different languages, automatically add actions to Trello, add email clips to Evernote, insert GIFs, and more. A full list of what Microsoft is adding is below:

• Dynamics 365 to get real time insights about your business contacts and their organization, right in your inbox, so you can focus on the selling and have more meaningful interactions.
• Translator to help you read messages in your preferred language, across devices, with support for 60 languages.
• Nimble to help you get prepared for meetings and engage effectively with business intelligence about your email contacts and their organizations, right in email.
• Trello to turn your email into actionable items, keep track of projects, and make sure emails don’t go unseen.
• Evernote to capture what’s on your mind and stay organized by clipping emails from Outlook to a project notebook in Evernote.
• Smartsheet to help you manage and automate work so you can get work assigned, updated, and completed more quickly.
• GIPHY to easily add GIFs to your emails and make “Congratulations” a little more fun!

Microsoft is letting developers create additional add-ins for iOS, with instructions available from the Office Dev Center.

Microsoft Outlook can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Tag: Microsoft
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Establish ownership of your photos by creating a simple visible watermark

With the ability to copy an image off the web as easily as right-click and save, a simple and quick way to protect your images is visible watermark. When it comes to watermarks, however, you either love or hate them. They tend to look ugly and can ruin an image, but they’re a necessary evil if you want to protect your photos from being used by someone else. It’s a controversial subject — we don’t really like them — but there are plenty of people who take no issue with using the simple identifiers.

More: DxO One update lets you easily slap a watermark on photos before you share them

Watermarks don’t have to look awful, however, assuming you go about implementing them in a subtle manner. Placing a watermark can be a simple or elaborate process, depending on how involved and fancy you want to get. You could use a photo editor and slap some text over it, for example, or overlay a faded icon atop the image in question. Whatever your fancy, here are a few basic ways to add a simple watermark to your photos.

The fast and easy way

The easiest way to add some form of copyright to your image is to use the text tool in any photo-editing program (heck, even Paint will do the job) and tag your name on it. You can do it discreetly by writing it in a corner, in small font size, or plastering it over the entire photo. Draw a box around it, color it, use a funky font — it’s entirely up to you. This method might not be attractive, but it’s the fastest and easiest way to add a watermark. For a cleaner approach, read on.

You can overlay some text over an image to create a watermark using Microsoft Paint, but we didn’t say it’d be pretty.

Samsung VP avoids arrest warrant for now, but questioning continues in corruption scandal

Why it matters to you

A South Korean political scandal has seen Samsung executives face accusations of corruption, and even arrest warrants

Samsung Group is embroiled in a political scandal that has dominated headlines in South Korea recently. It’s one of several major conglomerates accused of making donations to non-profit foundations in exchange for political favors, which in Samsung’s case may have smoothed the path for a controversial merger that was approved in July 2015.

After prosecutors raided Samsung’s corporate offices in Seoul, South Korea, at the end of November 2016, company executives have repeatedly appeared before a parliamentary committee, while links to bribery and corruption are being investigated by a special prosecutorial team. Eventually, Samsung head Lee Jae-yong was questioned, leading to an arrest warrant that named him being issued. While the arrest warrant was rejected by a court on January 19, it may be reissued at a later stage of the prosecution.

Here’s everything you need to know about the ongoing case.

More: Samsung acquires Harmon for $8 billion

What’s the background?

The accusations against Samsung and other South Korean companies, including Hyundai, SK Group, and Lotte Group, are related to the ongoing investigation into South Korea’s president Park Geun-hye, and her involvement in extorting money from major corporations.

President Park has been accused of assisting in an extortion scheme with unofficial presidential aide Choi Soon-sil. More than 50 businesses were allegedly pressured to make donations potentially worth $69 million to sporting foundations backed by Choi, which were set up following the Samsung merger, then used for personal financial gain and in exchange guaranteeing deals.

The November 2016 raid of Samsung’s headquarters took place alongside another at the national pension fund, which according to a local report from the Yonhap News Agency, may have been pressured into supporting the controversial Samsung merger in 2015. The fund’s approval is regarded as vital to the merger’s success, and a surprising move at the time, due to allegations it benefited the Samsung Group’s controlling family more than the shareholders.

The head of South Korea’s National Pension Scheme, Moon Hyung-pyo, who was arrested in December 2016, has been indicted on charges of abuse of power and perjury. It wasn’t the first time Samsung had been raided in relation to the investigation into Park and Choi either. Another took place earlier in November.

Samsung says in its official statement, “It’s difficult to agree with the special prosecutor’s decision, because Samsung did not make contributions in order to receive favors,” and the company denies the allegations against itself and Lee Jae-yong. The recall and arrest warrant came just a month after South Korea voted to impeach president Park Geun-hye, who has called the accusations against her “groundless.” Choi Soon-sil also denies any wrongdoing.

The Cavalry Helmet from Sena Technologies is a connected helmet for your long rides

Why it matters to you

Staying safe on the road is important, and staying connected matters, too. You can do both with the connected Cavalry Helmet.

Safety comes first, but it doesn’t have to come at the expense of connectivity — and certainly not in our digital age. On Wednesday, Sena Technologies, Inc., a company known for combining Bluetooth technology with action sports, released the new Cavalry Helmet. It’s a motorcycle half-helmet with Bluetooth technology built in directly, eliminating the need of installing a headset within your protective gear.

Promising to change the game for riding enthusiasts everywhere, the Cavalry is an all-in-one helmet and Bluetooth communicator that requires no additional setup. Approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Cavalry Helmet hopes to satisfy both the communication and connectivity needs of motorists. Whether you’re looking to listen to music, answer a phone call, keep tabs on your GPS navigation, or use the Bluetooth intercom to chat with up to four friends up to 900 meters away, you can do it directly with your helmet.

More: Coros Linx smart cycling helmet: Our first take

The Cavalry has just as much endurance as you do for your long rides, promising up to 10 hours of talk time. And thanks to HD quality speakers and Sena’s Advanced Noise Control technology, you can block out the wind and control the volume of whatever you’re listening to for a truly enjoyable ride.

Of course, because everything these days is also smart and connected, the Cavalry can be synced to the Sena Smartphone app, which is available for free from both the iTunes App Store and on Google Play. The app can be used to even further simplify your ride, allowing you to configure your helmet settings, create FM radio and speed dial presets, or access the interactive Quick Start Guide for full control over all the bells and whistles of the Cavalry.

The Cavalry is now available for $349 at www.buysena.com, and comes with a two-year warranty.