Samsung Galaxy S8 leak shows a huge display and not much else

We’re less than a month away from getting our first official look at Samsung’s upcoming flagship phone. Evleaks has something for those who can’t wait till then, though: a clear computer render that shows a device that looks like the previous leaked images of the Galaxy S8 and S8+. The phone in the photo has a wraparound display that takes up almost the whole front side and shows March 29th as the current date — the same day Samsung is launching the S8 phones.

Evleaks, who has a good track record when it comes to rumors and leaks, didn’t tweet more details with the image. But a few days ago, he leaked the specs for the Galaxy S8+, including the 6.2-inch screen size of its Quad HD+ Super AMOLED panel. You can take those specs and this image with a grain of salt — you won’t have to wait too long for the phones’ official debut anyway.

I think this is what you’ve been waiting for. pic.twitter.com/FvYfsLOy0R

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) March 1, 2017

Source: Evan Blass (Twitter)

Pinterest Labs wants to unlock the power of AI to predict user behavior

Why it matters to you

It may not be a name you associate with machine learning, but Pinterest is increasingly pouring resources into AI in order to surface relevant ideas for its 150 million users.

What happens when you add machine learning to a database of 100 billion image-rich objects and ideas? Pinterest is already scratching the surface of a potential answer to that question with its AI-powered tools, including visual search and Pinterest Lens, but now it wants to dig deeper.

The company wants to join the ranks of industry giants Facebook and Google in accelerating the growth of artificial intelligence through open research and collaboration. To help it achieve that goal, it is launching a new group — dubbed “Pinterest Labs” — comprised of machine learning experts, whose investigations could help transform the way users discover ideas.

In the words of Pinterest chief scientist and Stanford associate professor Jure Leskovec: “As much as we’ve done, we still have far to go –most of Pinterest hasn’t been built yet.”

More: Artificial intelligence is expected to get smarter much faster thanks to Gamalon

By working with the research community and universities — such as the Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research Lab, University of California San Diego, and Stanford University  — Pinterest Labs is hoping to build the AI systems for some of its integral features. These include the “taste graph,” the technique used by the company to map the connections between pins, people, and boards in order to surface relevant ideas for users. The company is also hoping machine learning can help it to provide personalized recommendations faster.

Those interested in its work can keep up with the research group on its dedicated website, and by attending its public tech talks, the first of which took place on Tuesday at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco. Pinterest Labs will also share its findings with the academic community by publishing research papers and releasing its data to researchers.

Leskovec claims that Pinterest’s systems now rank more than 300 billion objects per day. In the last year, the platform has increased the number of recommendations it serves by 200 percent, while making them 30 percent more engaging.

Pinterest took a big leap in to machine learning with the launch of its Pinterest Lens tool at the start of this month. The machine learning system that powers Lens can recognize objects in photos, along with identifying their features, such as color, allowing users to snap images with their smartphone camera in order to discover and purchase related items on Pinterest.

Nvidia drops GTX 1080 to $499, introduces GTX 1080 Ti with 11GB of video memory

Why it matters to you

The GTX 1080 is more affordable, and the GTX 1080 Ti pushes the limit of high-end video cards

Nvidia started its GDC 2017 conference with a bang, immediately dropping the price of the GTX 1080 to $499. That represents a price cut of about $100, on average, compared to what a basic GTX 1080 sold for prior to the show.

But that, of course, wasn’t all. After a brief lull, the company trotted out the expected and much anticipated GTX 1080 Ti. Its primary specifications include 3,584 CUDA cores clocked at 1,582MHz, paired with an unusual 11GB of GDDR5 video memory. That’s up from the GTX 1080’s 2560 CUDA cores, and 8GB of video memory. Compared to rumors, the GTX 1080 Ti has even more CUDA Cores than most anticipated, but slightly less memory, since estimates had focused on 12GB. Overall, Nvidia says that the GTX 1080 Ti will be 35 percent faster than the GTX 1080, and faster than a Titan X.

The price? $699. The availability? Next week – in other words, the week beginning March 6. Nvidia says it’s in “full production,” to assure gamers that they’ll be able to purchase one soon. Whether that will prove true remains to be seen.

More: AMD announces name for Vega-based video cards at GDC 2017

That’s great for gamers, but GDC 2017 isn’t necessarily about gamers – it’s about game developers. As such, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang jumped to topics pressing to them. He began by revealing that Nvidia Gameworks, the company’s suite of tools designed to help developers optimize their games, has made the jump to DirectX 12. The announcement didn’t receive much applause, perhaps because DX12 isn’t all that new anymore, but it’s a much-needed enhancement.

Perhaps more exciting, though, was Nvidia’s demonstration of real-time, simulated fluid dynamics and gas dynamics in Unreal Engine 4. There, the company boasted an impressive simulation of a fire from a gas main which interacted realistically, and dynamically, with bullets fired through it. Even the smoke cast a shadow in real-time, not only behind the flame, but within the smoke itself. The result was an eye-catching demo. And Nvidia, of course, insists that its high-end hardware is the best way to see this result.

Nvidia’s announcement of the GTX 1080 Ti is no surprise, but the price is of $699 is definitely a bit lower than some had anticipated. It is, after all, less than $100 more than the average price of a regular GTX 1080 — before the just-announced price drop. This announcement is sure to please fans of the green team.

Press render of the Galaxy S8 leaks, shows off slim bezels and tall display

This is the Galaxy S8 leak we’ve been waiting for.

With less than a month to go, the Galaxy S8 leaks are coming in thick and fast. The latest leaked image — courtesy of Evan Blass — is that of the official press render, and offers the clearest look yet at Samsung’s upcoming flagship.

The render reveals a tall dual curved display which is likely to offer a 2:1 ratio as the LG G6. The lack of a home button up front is the most noticeable change, and the render also confirms earlier rumors which said that the Galaxy S8 would offer thin bezels and rounded corners.

The leak also shows off a set of sensors along the top of the phone, which include the usual front camera and ambient light sensor, and a new addition in the form of the iris scanner. Lining up with previous rumors, the Galaxy S8 features a dedicated button for Samsung’s rumored AI assistant, likely to be called Bixby.

The Galaxy S8 is rumored to be offered in two variants: a standard model with a 5.8-inch display and a Galaxy S8+ variant with a 6.2-inch panel. The phone will be powered by the Snapdragon 835 in the U.S., and Samsung’s latest Exynos 8895 in international markets. The phone will be making its debut in New York City on March 29.

NVIDIA reveals its $700 top of the line GTX 1080 Ti

Last year we called NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1080 “the upgrade you’ve been waiting for,” and now PC gamers have another high-end graphics card to drool over. Now, at GDC 2017 CEO Jen-Hsun Huang presented its successor, the GTX 1080 Ti, which promises “35 percent more performance,” packs 11GB of GDDR5X memory and will go on sale March 10th for $700. In fact, NVIDIA even claims this new card is faster than its $1,200 Titan X that launched late last year for professionals. At the same time, the company announced the 1080 is getting a price cut and will now start at $500.

So what makes this iteration run so fast? Its 11GB of VRAM is apparently the first use Micron’s “G5X” memory, capable of 11Gbps bandwidth, making it ready for any VR or 4K/5K HDR gaming you have in mind. The GPU itself is manufactured on a FinFET process, and a new thermal solution keeps everything cool. Preorders will open on March 2nd, at 11AM ET.

The GeForce GTX 1080 Ti – faster than TITAN X – will be $699 and available next week. #UltimateGeForce pic.twitter.com/aW6XIv0Cyv

— NVIDIA GeForce (@NVIDIAGeForce) March 1, 2017

The GeForce GTX 1080 Ti, in all it’s glory. #UltimateGeForce pic.twitter.com/5ZUPyEiunI

— NVIDIA GeForce (@NVIDIAGeForce) March 1, 2017

Click here to catch up on the latest news from GDC 2017!

Source: NVIDIA (Twitter), NVIDIA Blog

NOAA’s GOES-16 weather satellite takes its first solar images

NOAA’s next-gen weather satellite GOES-16 beamed back photos of the Earth and the moon back in January, but that was just a taste of what it can do. Now, the Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) onboard the satellite has taken its first solar images, and NOAA has stitched them together to create a video that you can watch after the break. The images, taken on January 29th, show a large coronal hole in the sun’s southern hemisphere. Coronal holes are parts of the solar surface where the corona (or outer atmosphere) looks darker than usual.

NASA says the sun’s 11-year cycle is approaching solar minimum, a period of time when solar flares are rare and coronal holes are the main source of solar phenomena. This particular one, for instance, caused aurora to appear in the poles. GOES-16 was designed to monitor any kind of solar activity, though, including solar flares and geomagnetic storms.

The spacecraft’s abilities all depend on SUVI, which observes the sun in six different EUV channels that you can see in the image above. These channels give the instrument a way to estimate coronal plasma temperatures and emission measurements necessary for space weather forecasting. NASA and NOAA expect the satellite to be able send us early warnings of dangerous solar activities that can pose a risk to satellites, power grids and telecom companies.

Source: NASA

Facebook Launches ‘Video’ App for Fourth-Generation Apple TV

Facebook tonight launched its Facebook Video app for the fourth-generation, tvOS-based Apple TV. The app allows users to watch videos from friends, liked pages, top live videos and more.

Videos are split into six channels: Shared by Friends, Following, Recommended for You, Top Live Videos, Saved Videos and Recently Watched. Following contains videos by both friends and liked pages while Shared by Friends only lists videos from friends.

The app is more robust than Facebook’s fullscreen video mode on the web or iOS, which only lists select recommendations and autoplays the next video in the recommendation queue.

Earlier this month, Facebook’s VP of Partnerships said the app would not feature ads at launch and will require a Facebook account to use. Facebook is also reportedly in discussions with media companies to license long-form “premium” content to bolster its video selection.

The app is not a standalone app. Instead, it’s built into Facebook for iOS. Apple TV users will access the video app while iOS users will only be able to access the standard Facebook app.

Facebook Video is available in the Apple TV App Store for free [Direct Link]

Tags: Facebook, Facebook Video
Discuss this article in our forums

FCC chief says net neutrality rollback will hasten 5G infrastructure buildout

Why it matters to you

New FCC head says dumping regulations — including net neutrality — will bring you faster internet sooner.

Speaking at the 2017 Mobile World World in Barcelona, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said the growth of online business is the major factor in his decision to cut internet regulations, most notably net neutrality. Wider access to broadband internet and 5G wireless will continue what Pai described as “the democratization of the internet.” But that process will slow down or even stop with heavy-handed regulation, in his view.

“5G could transform the wireless world,” Pai said. “We stand on the cusp of new advancements, but it’s not a foregone conclusion that we’ll achieve this potential. 5G will require a lot of infrastructure.”

Net neutrality limits internet deployment in Pai’s opinion, according to Tech Crunch.

Pai referred to the net neutrality regulations implemented by the Obama administration as “1930’s-style regulation.” He said those regulations “disincentivized” broadband providers from making infrastructure investments to support both current and future technologies.

“Last year, the United States experienced the first decline in broadband investment outside of a recession,” said Pai. He believes the answer is a free market with only “light-touch regulation.” An example of Pai’s pullback from regulation was dropping FCC investigations into zero-rating, which is when mobile carriers don’t count media streaming in monthly data plans. Those who argue in favor of net neutrality believe zero-rating practices favor large, existing companies and make it harder for newcomers.

Senator Al Franken, D-Minnesota, a strong proponent of net neutrality, wrote to Pai after his appointment, exhorting him to keep net neutrality intact: “Allowing giant corporations to pick and choose the content available to everyday Americans would threaten the basic principles of our democracy,” Franken wrote. “I urge you to protect freedom of speech by maintaining and enforcing the Open Internet Order.”

More: Net neutrality critic Ajit Pai elevated to FCC chairman, reports say

Following his presentation, Pai spoke with European mobile executives and CNBC anchor Karen Tso. He pointed out that he sees the new unlimited data plans recently introduced by the four major U.S. carriers as an immediate positive result of his taking office and making his decision on net neutrality. Previously, there was a “climate of uncertainty” from events such as Brexit and President Donald Trump’s election, but now his view is that the market is already responding positively.

“The truth is that consumers like getting something for free,” Pai said. “Preemptive regulation did not deliver those benefits. The free market did.”

FCC chief says net neutrality rollback will hasten 5G infrastructure buildout

Why it matters to you

New FCC head says dumping regulations — including net neutrality — will bring you faster internet sooner.

Speaking at the 2017 Mobile World World in Barcelona, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said the growth of online business is the major factor in his decision to cut internet regulations, most notably net neutrality. Wider access to broadband internet and 5G wireless will continue what Pai described as “the democratization of the internet.” But that process will slow down or even stop with heavy-handed regulation, in his view.

“5G could transform the wireless world,” Pai said. “We stand on the cusp of new advancements, but it’s not a foregone conclusion that we’ll achieve this potential. 5G will require a lot of infrastructure.”

Net neutrality limits internet deployment in Pai’s opinion, according to Tech Crunch.

Pai referred to the net neutrality regulations implemented by the Obama administration as “1930’s-style regulation.” He said those regulations “disincentivized” broadband providers from making infrastructure investments to support both current and future technologies.

“Last year, the United States experienced the first decline in broadband investment outside of a recession,” said Pai. He believes the answer is a free market with only “light-touch regulation.” An example of Pai’s pullback from regulation was dropping FCC investigations into zero-rating, which is when mobile carriers don’t count media streaming in monthly data plans. Those who argue in favor of net neutrality believe zero-rating practices favor large, existing companies and make it harder for newcomers.

Senator Al Franken, D-Minnesota, a strong proponent of net neutrality, wrote to Pai after his appointment, exhorting him to keep net neutrality intact: “Allowing giant corporations to pick and choose the content available to everyday Americans would threaten the basic principles of our democracy,” Franken wrote. “I urge you to protect freedom of speech by maintaining and enforcing the Open Internet Order.”

More: Net neutrality critic Ajit Pai elevated to FCC chairman, reports say

Following his presentation, Pai spoke with European mobile executives and CNBC anchor Karen Tso. He pointed out that he sees the new unlimited data plans recently introduced by the four major U.S. carriers as an immediate positive result of his taking office and making his decision on net neutrality. Previously, there was a “climate of uncertainty” from events such as Brexit and President Donald Trump’s election, but now his view is that the market is already responding positively.

“The truth is that consumers like getting something for free,” Pai said. “Preemptive regulation did not deliver those benefits. The free market did.”

Like HDR for zoom features, xTeleZoom offers a better digital focus

Why it matters to you

Digital zoom means a loss of quality, but some of that loss can be recovered using the xTeleZoom app.

While dual camera smartphones are starting to change the norm, most smartphones still have pretty poor zoom capabilities. One company is working to change that not with add-on lenses, but with software. On Monday during Mobile World Congress, Almalence announced the xTeleZoom app for iPhone.

xTeleZoom uses computational zoom — a variation of digital zoom enhanced by computer learning models to up the quality over the digital zoom alone. Almalence says that the computational zoom keeps the resolution equal to a photo shot with 1.5x to 2x zoom.

More: When it comes to camera zoom, here’s why only optical matters

The app is based on the company’s Super Resolution program, previously used with only high-end cameras. The Super Resolution system starts with knowledge about the camera (and the camera’s weaknesses) and uses that data to correct the image. But the Super Resolution program also sets itself apart by merging several images together. By combining multiple images together, resolution increases and when that occurs, digital zoom has a much less drastic quality loss.

The xTeleZoom is based on that Super Resolution program but brings it to the iPhone for the first time. Essentially, the app is like HDR but for zoom, not exposure, merging images together for a higher resolution, so that digital crop called digital zoom isn’t as much of a quality loss.

The app’s developers say the software fights the lack of optical zoom that only gets more challenging as smartphones thin down. “We developed xTeleZoom because even the most advanced hardware solutions alone cannot address the need for taking high-quality zoom photos,” Almalence CEO Eugene Panich said in a press release. “The decreasing thickness of new phone generations poses bigger challenges on the lenses ability to zoom and resolve good image quality. Software like xTeleZoom is the only practical way to break the zoom quality barrier.”

Along with the xTeleZoom app, Almalence offers a number of mobile photography apps, from an all-in-one camera to HDR and a night camera, as well as several desktop photography programs.

xTeleZoom is available on iOS models with RAW capability, which includes the iPhone 6, 6s, and 7 models, including the Plus versions. With the iPhone 7 Plus, the software can be used on top of the longer focal length of the second lens. XTeleZoom is available in the App Store for $0.99.