Amazon’s Alexa learns how to pronounce British slang

Amazon’s voice-controlled assistant should soon sound more natural to Brits. The company has upgraded the UK version of Alexa with “Speechcons,” an extensive list of words and phrases that can be delivered in a more lively, expressive manner. These include “whoops a daisy,” “bob’s your uncle” and “oh my giddy aunt,” as well as “crikey,” “blimey” and “geronimo!” Speechcons are part of the Alexa development platform, meaning anyone can draw on them for third-party “skills.” As long as it’s wrapped in an “interjection” tag, Alexa will check the word against its Speechcon bank and, if it’s listed, enunciate with a little extra oomph.

The rollout is part of a broader push to keep Alexa at the forefront of virtual assistants. Alongside Speechcons, Amazon is working on SSML, a form of markup for Alexa-based responses. These allow developers to customise how specific words and phrases are delivered by Alexa. The latest, announced last week, include whispers, added emphasis, and subtle changes in volume, pitch and tone. If they’re widely adopted, Alexa should become a more vibrant, personable assistant — whether you’re using the stock skills made by Amazon, or those created by third-party developers.

Source: Amazon

Domino’s and IFTTT make getting takeout even lazier

Domino’s Pizza has already enabled people to track the location of their pizza as it comes from the shop to their home. But that’s not enough for the company, which has teamed up with If This, Then That, to connect the platform to your smart home. Yes, it’s a publicity stunt, although it’s one that has a couple of useful applications if you’re rocking a sufficiently futuristic abode.

One of the applications for the Domino’s-branded applets involves turning on your home’s porch lights when the delivery person is near. Another is letting the system deactivate your sprinkler system to avoid any pizza-splash incidents that would ruin your evening. Then there’s the ability to activate specific Samsung smart vacuums to clean your carpets before your dinner arrives.

If you’re already a member of the IFTTT family, all you need to do is head to the IF website and download the Domino’s Applets. You can also develop your own recipes so that, say, your house lights change color as the pizza cooks. Or you could set an alert to remind yourself that you’ll need to get some exercise in every now and again.

Watch SpaceX’s second attempt at launching a US spy satellite

Yesterday morning, SpaceX had big plans for launching US spy satellite NROL-76 on the back of a Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral. Unfortunately, a sensor issue put paid to the idea, but just one day later, the company is back and attempting a do-over for the mission. At 7:15am ET, SpaceX will attempt to fire the secretive craft into the heavens and then, crucially, return the Falcon 9 to the ground.

All systems go for launch of NROL-76. Currently tracking upper level winds. Targeting liftoff at 7:15 a.m. EDT, 11:15 UTC. pic.twitter.com/GKQUTy5GC3

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 1, 2017

Following separation, the Falcon 9’s first stage is hopefully going to return and land on SpaceX’s pad at Cape Canaveral. As we pointed out yesterday, the land-based return is fairly unique and means that we’ll get high-quality video of the event that isn’t normally possible with drone ship landings. It’s also another milestone on the road to Elon Musk being able to boast of saving a small fortune on space travel with his reusable rockets.

Update: Success! The first stage has successfully landed back in Cape Canaveral.

Source: SpaceX

Twitter Partners With Bloomberg for 24/7 Live Streaming News Network Launching This Fall

Last week, Twitter announced plans to launch a network of news-based TV shows that would stream on the social media company’s apps 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Now, a report by The Wall Street Journal has confirmed that Twitter will be partnering with Bloomberg in its live streaming endeavor, and together the two plan to launch a service “that will stream news produced solely for Twitter,” and is set to debut sometime in the fall of 2017.

The network, which has yet to be officially named, will showcase the “most important” pieces of news going on every day around the world, and Bloomberg Media CEO Justin Smith mentioned that it will be “broader in focus” than the media company’s existing network. The Bloomberg/Twitter hybrid won’t be a simple rebroadcasting of Bloomberg’s existing news streams, but consist of all-new reporting from various global Bloomberg bureaus.

Twitter’s contribution to the network will come in the addition of crowdsourced footage being added into news pieces through videos posted on Twitter during related news coverage.

“It is going to be focused on the most important news for an intelligent audience around the globe and it’s going to be broader in focus than our existing network,” said Bloomberg Media’s chief executive officer, Justin Smith.

“We really think we can reach audiences that are not paying for TV and are watching television on the go and we think Bloomberg is the perfect partner for us to start with,” said Anthony Noto, Twitter’s chief financial and operating officer.

The monetary aspect of the deal was not disclosed by either Twitter or Bloomberg, but the companies did confirm that the network would be supported by advertisements and that programming duties would entirely fall on Bloomberg’s shoulders.

The report comes ahead of the official announcement of the partnership, set to happen later today at an event that Bloomberg is holding for advertisers, where Michael Bloomberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey will both be in attendance. Previously, Twitter and Bloomberg partnered to cover the presidential debates last year on the social media network.

Besides those debates, Twitter has embraced live video during a number of special events, including the inauguration and pre- and post-shows for the 2017 Oscars. Video has subsequently turned into a major effort for Twitter, and in the first quarter of 2017 became one of the largest portions of the company’s ad revenue, ramping up alongside similar video projects from rivals Facebook and Snapchat.

The advantage for users watching Twitter and Bloomberg’s network will come thanks to the ability to watch live news coverage while simultaneously viewing and posting commentary of it from Twitter’s social network. “Viewers have already embraced a multistream experience with live events,” said Smith. “And marrying those experiences seemed like a very powerful thing to offer to consumers.”

Tag: Twitter
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Twitter’s own 24-hour news channel will be made by Bloomberg

Twitter’s evolution into a broadcast platform is getting more notable with the news that it is teaming up with Bloomberg. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the financial outfit will build a rolling, 24-hour news channel exclusively for Twitter. The product will be officially unveiled by Jack Dorsey and Michael Bloomberg later today, with broadcasts likely to begin this Fall.

According to Bloomberg official Justin Smith, the new, as-yet unnamed news channel, will share “important news” to Twitter’s “intelligent audience.” Smith added that the project will be “broader” than Bloomberg TV, probably assuming that many Twitter users, while engaged in current affairs, aren’t that finance-minded.

It’s not the first time Twitter has streamed video, and has previously worked with Bloomberg to stream 2016’s US presidential debates. The site also has its own live streaming platform, Periscope, and use to offer a six-second video network, Vine, which was killed off last year.

Twitter’s push into more professional broadcast video also involved signing a deal with the National Football League. The deal enabled it to broadcast the 10 Thursday night games across the season, although ratings were low and Amazon has taken on the deal for this year.

The question is if a Bloomberg news channel will help propel Twitter forward better growth and recapturing that all-important advertising dollar. On one hand, its most recent financial figures say that more people are using the service, but businesses are spending far less cash.

Source: WSJ

Twitter’s first 24-hour video stream will focus on news

Why it matters to you

Twitter-using news addicts will be pleased to hear of Bloomberg’s 24-hour video feed launching on the social media service soon.

Twitter is pushing deeper into live video and news with the launch of a round-the-clock streaming service in partnership with Bloomberg.

The news stream, details of which will be announced on Monday, is likely to launch in the fall, the Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend.

The company’s ongoing struggle to grow its user base and attract more advertisers has been well documented over the last couple of years, an issue that has prompted it to shift toward incorporating an increasing amount of live video. The move mirrors similar efforts by other social media sites, among them Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram.

It’s believed Twitter’s live news service will be ad supported, with Bloomberg having full control over its content.

Bloomberg Media’s chief executive officer, Justin Smith, told the Journal the service will be “broader in focus than our existing network,” while promising full details on Monday.

Meanwhile, Anthony Noto, Twitter’s chief financial operating officer, said the forthcoming feature will allow it to “reach audiences that are not paying for TV and are watching television on the go,” adding that Bloomberg was the “perfect partner” to launch with.

The Journal notes that Twitter is steadily increasing the amount of live video it broadcasts on its service via a growing list of partnerships that also include sports leagues and one-off events, though it also points out that the Bloomberg deal “would mark the first continuous video feed to be hosted on the platform.”

An internal memo leaked last fall showed Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s view of his service as “the people’s news network,” adding that an increasing number of people use Twitter “because we’re the fastest. Fastest to get news, and fastest to share news with the whole world.”

While no one expects Twitter to ever deviate from its core offering as a service that helps users to connect, share information, and discuss topics of the day, the company is keen to expand its live video element as an added feature that can benefit both its main business as well as its active base of 328 million users.

Watch out, MegaBots! China’s ‘Monkey King’ gladiator robot wants to take you on

As MegaBots fine tunes its mighty Mark III gladiator robot for an August duel with Japan’s equally awesome Kuratas contraption, a fierce-looking fighter from China has just made it clear that it, too, wants to get involved.

Rather than have this summer’s eagerly anticipated event descend into a brutal robotic brawl that could see a million nuts and bolts flying in every direction, California-based MegaBots is currently deciding whether to allow China’s “Monkey King” fighter to take on its Mark III bot once the dust’s settled on August’s robot rumble.

At this stage, little is known of Greatmetal’s Monkey King machine, though its promo video (above) and recently published pics suggest it may be able to cause MegaBots’ robot warrior some serious damage. The metal monster, unveiled over the weekend at an event at the Beijing National Stadium, is capable of fighting standing up or on all fours, a handy skill that could certainly make things tricky for rivals.

First up, however, is MegaBots’ clash with Suidobashi Heavy Industry’s Kuratas. Both teams have been strengthening their respective creations over the last few years to ensure they can comfortably withstand carefully aimed strikes in the technicals.

While MegaBots Mark II machine had been deemed strong enough to deal with a serious assault, the team discovered the on-board human pilot would likely die in any such event. Not wanting to incur any casualties during this summer’s showdown, the team have been busy reinforcing the pilot’s protective cage as part of its Mark III design.

“We have about 3,000 wires on the robot, around 300 hydraulic hoses, 26 of the fastest hydraulic valves in the world, and a 430 horsepower gas engine that wants to be in a car and not a robot,” Gui Cavalcanti, CEO and co-founder of MegaBots, told Digital Trends in April.

By any measure, the Mark III is an awesome machine. Weighing 12 tons and standing tall — very tall — at 16 feet, this mighty bot can hurl 3-pound projectiles at speeds of more than 130 mph — power its team hopes will be enough to take down Kuratas.

But the Japanese team is all set and knows how it wants to win: “Just building something huge and sticking guns on it — it’s Super American,” Suidobashi’s Kurodo Kurata says, adding, “If we’re going to win this, I want to punch them to scrap and knock them down to do it.”

The battle of the really big bots is just a few months away, though an exact date is yet to be announced. We’ll keep you posted.

Apple adds the finishing touches to its stunning ‘spaceship’ campus

Why it matters to you

Fans of modern architecture, as well as of the company itself, will be excited to see Steve Jobs’ vision for Apple’s new HQ finally realized.

Back in September 2014, the cleared land once home to Hewlett-Packard was little more than a field of dust. Today, as the first of 12,000 employees prepare to move in, it’s the location of Apple’s gleaming new headquarters.

Officially called Apple Park but still better known for its “spaceship” nickname given for its futuristic design, a new drone video posted in recent days by Matthew Roberts shows the sprawling, 176-acre Cupertino campus in the final stages of construction.

While at first glance it looks pretty much complete, closer inspection reveals work continuing in a number of areas around the site, including at the Steve Jobs Theater, the company’s subterranean 1,000-seat auditorium featuring a 20-foot-tall glass cylinder, 165 feet in diameter, supporting a metallic carbon-fiber roof.

Apple employees are expected any day now to begin transferring to the distinctive, donut-shaped main building, which is wrapped in the world’s largest segments of curved glass and topped off with a covering of solar panels that’ll help power the campus. The process of moving all 12,000 workers to the new site is expected to take up to six months.

Besides the main building and theater, the tech giant’s new base includes a 100,000-square-foot fitness center to keep Apple’s team in top shape, a research and development facility where Jony Ive and co. will endeavor to cook up the company’s next big success, and expansive landscaped parklands.

Notably, Apple claims its new HQ is the world’s largest naturally ventilated building and is therefore not expected to require heating or air conditioning for nine months of the year.

“Steve’s vision for Apple stretched far beyond his time with us,” Apple boss Tim Cook said in a statement earlier this year. “He intended Apple Park to be the home of innovation for generations to come. The workspaces and parklands are designed to inspire our team as well as benefit the environment. We’ve achieved one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the world and the campus will run entirely on renewable energy.”

Fans of the company, or those with an interest in stunning modern architecture, are invited to drop by Apple Park’s visitors center, which, as you’d expect, includes an Apple Store as well as a cafe.

The design of Apple Park is the work of acclaimed architect Norman Foster, though it was the former Apple boss and co-founder Steve Jobs who drove the ambitious project forward in the years and months leading up to his untimely death in 2011.

Bixby voice arrives on Korean Galaxy S8 today

Galaxy S8 and S8+ owners in Samsung’s home market are the first to get a fully baked Bixby experience.

Bixby, Samsung’s new AI service on the Galaxy S8, was missing its most important feature at launch. Bixby’s voice commands — a central reason for the service having its own dedicated hardware button — wasn’t operational out of the box. However from today, Korean Galaxy S8 owners can get acquainted with Samsung’s AI-based trickery. ZDNet reports that Samsung flipped the switch on Bixby voice at 1pm KST on Monday (11pm EST Sunday).

Finally, a reason to push the Bixby button.

Initially, Bixby’s voice commands only work in a handful of Samsung’s own apps — Gallery, Settings, Camera and Reminders. Expect more apps and services to be added in the coming months, as Bixby voice eventually hits more countries around the world. Next up is the U.S. later this spring, with other English-speaking locales likely to follow.

As for languages besides English and Korean, those territories may be in for a much longer wait. Samsung has said that it expects to roll out Bixby voice in Germany in Q4, by which time the Galaxy Note 8 launch should be near. Other European languages might expect a similar release timeframe.

With so few apps supported at launch, it’s not like Galaxy S8 owners in other countries are missing out on much. As we’ve said before, Bixby is going to be a slow burn, and it’ll take several months for the voice features to expand into new apps anyway.

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Lab-grown stem cells may carry an increased risk of cancer

If you’ve followed the latest medical research, you know that stem cells are a big deal. They let you repurpose cells so that you can theoretically grow them into whatever you need. However, scientists just got a good reason to be more cautious than they have in the past. A Harvard team has discovered that five of the 140 human embryonic stem cell lines registered for research use in US labs have cells whose mutations can cause cancer. Two of the lines have been used in human trials, too. None of those patients has developed cancer, thankfully, but there’s a “very real risk” it could happen.

This doesn’t mean that the medical community is about to hit the brakes on stem cell research. There’s still some review necessary to decide what happens next. And there are ways to make sure cells are healthy before they’re used. However, this raises the possibility that there are other, less common mutations that haven’t been caught. And these stem cell lines have been in use for nearly 20 years — that’s a lot of time for risks to go unchecked.

If the discovery holds up, researchers may have little choice but to look for mutations through DNA sequencing, which is expensive at about $1,000 for every genome. That screening could soon be government-mandated, in fact. Still, it might be necessary to make sure that stem cell treatments aren’t just substituting one disease for another.

Via: STAT

Source: Nature