‘Silicon Valley’s’ ridiculous Not Hotdog app hits Android

Get excited, Android users, the Not Hotdog app is now available to you. The app, based on a bit from HBO’s Silicon Valley, was launched for iOS in May and from our findings, does a pretty good job at determining what is and isn’t a hotdog. And honestly, it’s not even close to the most useless thing we’ve seen today.

Along with the Android launch, the show also published a detailed description on Medium of exactly how the app was developed. “While the use-case is farcical, the app is an approachable example of both deep learning, and edge computing,” said the post. It then goes on to describe the prototype, how the neural network was designed and how it was trained.

And there wasn’t a huge team involved in creating the app. According to the post, “The app was developed in-house by the show, by a single developer, running on a single laptop & attached GPU, using hand-curated data. In that respect, it may provide a sense of what can be achieved today, with a limited amount of time & resources, by non-technical companies, individual developers, and hobbyists alike.” So, you too can create an app that sorts food into one of two categories — which might actually be appealing to all of you who think just about everything is a sandwich.

So, if you’ve been anxiously awaiting this culinary tool, you can finally relax. The app is available in the Play Store today.

Via: The Verge

Source: HBO

How to Install iOS 11 Public Beta on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch

Apple today released the first public beta of iOS 11 for eligible iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models, allowing users who aren’t signed up for the Apple Developer Program to test the software update ahead of its official release in the fall.

iOS 11 is pre-release software, so installing the beta on a secondary device is highly recommended. Due to bugs and other potential issues, installing the iOS 11 beta on an iPhone that you use everyday is generally not a good idea.

Installing the iOS 11 public beta is a relatively simple task that, in most cases, shouldn’t take longer than 15 or 20 minutes from start to finish. Here’s the step-by-step instructions for an iPhone, which extend to the iPad and iPod touch.

Create a Backup in iTunes

Before installing iOS 11 beta, creating a backup of your device’s contents and settings in iTunes is highly recommended.

• Connect your iOS device to a Mac or PC using a Lightning to USB cable.
• Open iTunes.
• Click on the device’s icon in the top-left menu.
• Under Backups, click This computer.
• Checkmark the Encrypt iPhone backup box if you wish to back up account passwords, and Health and HomeKit data.
• Click on Back Up Now.
• Click on iTunes > Preferences… in the macOS menu bar.
• Click on the Devices tab.
• Click on the new backup while holding down the Control key and click on Archive.

Enroll in the Apple Beta Software Program

To install the iOS 11 public beta, you need to enroll your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch in the free Apple Beta Software Program.

• Visit the Apple Beta Software Program website on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
• Tap on the Sign up button, or sign in if you are already a member.
• Enter your Apple ID credentials and tap on the Sign in button.
• Agree to the Apple Beta Software Program terms and conditions if necessary.
• On the Guide for Public Betas screen, with the iOS tab selected, scroll down to the Get Started section and tap on enroll your iOS device.
• On the Enroll Your Devices screen, with the iOS tab selected, scroll down and tap the Download profile button.
• Tap on Allow.
• Tap on Install and follow the prompts to install the iOS Beta Software Profile.
• Reboot your device.

Install the iOS 11 Public Beta

After enrolling in the Apple Beta Software Program, installing the iOS 11 public beta is as easy as installing regular software updates.

• Tap on the Settings app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
• Tap on General.
• Tap on Software Update.
• Tap on Download and Install.
• Tap on Install Now.

If you are experiencing issues installing the iOS 11 public beta, try clearing any previous profiles in Settings > General > Profile.

MacRumors shared an iOS 10 public beta installation video last year, and the steps remain valid for the iOS 11 public beta.

As you explore the public beta, you can use the included Feedback app to report bugs to Apple, and make sure to check out our iOS 11 forum to discuss your experiences with others and find answers to your questions.

Apple has a support document with step-by-step instructions for restoring back to iOS 10. Remember to create an archived backup.
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Veosport V1 bluetooth earbuds offer comfy option with great sound (review)

The world of earbuds, and more specifically, Bluetooth earbuds, covers a spectrum of features that manufacturers try to focus in on. Fit, security, sound quality, and price are each highlighted, depending on the model in question. The big problem is normally only one of these features are or can be highlighted. Emphasizing or focusing on one feature usually forces the others to take a back seat in the real world (great sound quality buds tend to be bulky, cheap buds tend to lack great sound quality, etc).

One company currently on Kickstarter is going big in striving to excel in all these features at the same time. That company is Veosport, and their premier earbuds, the Veosport V1’s, are aiming for this very goal. Not only do the V1’s aim to be comfortable earbuds, but want to offer great (and customizable!) sound quality, and all at a very compelling price.

Unboxing

Clean packaging outside.

Clean packaging inside, too.

Multiple ear tips.

Braided (but short) USB.

The overall packaging and unboxing is a very clean affair. The modern white square box opens to reveal a black circular bud case, surrounded by black foam. Below the foam is a short braided micro-USB charging cord (no wall charger is included) and user’s guide.
Opening the case reveals the pair of V1’s (white in my case, though black is also an option) and several packets of ear tips. The tips come in 3 styles and each style has 2-3 sizes, so finding the perfect fit becomes very easy. The case is a welcome bonus here, as a lot of buds come with pretty flimsy sack-like enclosures that offer little-to-no physical protection while in your gym bag, backpack, or elsewhere.

Build Quality & Comfort

Bendy!

The Veosport V1’s come in a very soft silicone-type of material, that appears both sturdy but still very pliable. The ear hooks continue this feeling, both being very flexible but pretty useful once looped around my ear. These buds also come with both a cord shortener (to clean up slack) and clothes clip (to keep the cord from flapping around).

The ear tips come in several styles- my favorite were the foam tips; these felt extremely secure in my ear, but also noticeably pumped up the bass levels during playback (more on this a little later).

Button Layout & Use

The V1’s come with only 3 buttons, the usual + and – buttons, and the commonly-found multi-function button. The + and – buttons are small but sufficiently raised to allow easy finding and control while active.

Complete buds.

Good angle back into the ear.

+ and – buttons.

Mult-function button and USB port.

The multi-function button is probably my favorite feature of these earbuds. First off, it’s big; it’s a large black button molded into the side of one bud… Big style points here. But also, the satisfying way the button responds to your finger press was both noticeable and appreciated (I know I’m going gadget-geek on you here, but I think it’s a highlight when something as seemingly simple as a button click gets as much type-space as this, let alone any at all to begin with). This button is the on/off button, and also the play/pause. I’ll say it one more time, the combination of size and ‘clicky-ness’ of the V1 multi-function button makes these buds immediately climb to the top of the list in terms of ease of use.

In terms of battery life, Veosport claims up to 8 hours of use per charge. In my own unscientific testing (40 minute workouts, 2-3 times per week) I am still on my initial charge 2 weeks in. This is a whole lot better than either of my last two pairs of value-price earbuds!

Sound Quality & Price

Here’s where the Veosport V1 earbuds really want to separate themselves from the pack. But, it’s not in their sound quality out of the gate….

Let me explain- out of the box, the V1’s do seem to experience a similar fate as most other earbuds (particularly Bluetooth models): sound quality that skews either to the high tones or the bass side of the spectrum. Again, the V1’s are no different: in my opinion, while the mids and lows are really very good, the overall sound has a “closed box” effect, where the highs seem to be almost filtered out, leaving a wet-paper quality to the overall tone range. Just not bright and airy enough.

The V1’s don’t skimp on the low-frequency range, though. Particularly when I put on the foam-style ear tips, the amount of bass was very, very good. Not just loud and muddy, mind you, but good punch with very good separation at the low notes. But still, without the airy highs you need from the vocals and the instruments, it can be underwhelming at times.

Veosport aims to rectify this issue with a pairing app (unavailable at the time of writing; the iOS version is due out soon and the Android one about a month later) that allows you to change the EQ settings of the earbuds themselves, so you can tune your tunes until you acquire the sound profile you like! This is simply a fantastic idea, and Veosport should be lauded for bringing it into the market. At least trying to; they just launched their Kickstarter campaign. I really can’t wait for the app to launch to be able to mess around with my physical earbuds’ EQ.

The V1’s also have built-in noise-canceling technology, that seems to work very well. In my personal test cases, they block out ambient noise much better than my current pair of Bluetooth earbuds (that don’t have any active noise-canceling features).

Which brings us to pricing. While most higher-end Bluetooth earbuds are priced north of $100, the Veosport earbuds come in at $79. As a bonus, if you commit early via their Kickstarter, you can reserve a pair of these earbuds for as low as $49. Whether retail or via Kickstarter, I can tell you these should be a very good value in the active Bluetooth earbud market.

Conclusion

I’m really enjoying the Veosport V1 earbuds. First off, even without the pending EQ app, they are by far the most comfortable ‘active’ earbuds I’ve worn. Also given the amount of bass they naturally produce, I’m very much looking forward to tweaking the sound profile to get a more balanced output; with that I’m more than confident the sound quality will literally sing from these.

If you’d like to invest in a pair of V1 earbuds, be sure to check out both the Veosport V1 homepage here and the Kickstarter page here.

Gear Up: mophie’s latest keep your flagship phones charged for days on end

It’s officially summer which means that the days are longer now than any other time in the year. Moreover, they’re warmer, too. In some places the days are much, much warmer (Sorry, Arizona!). If you’re at all like us, these long, warm days equate to more time outside and using our phones. Yes, we’re all over the revisions that have come to Pokemon Go.

If you’ve owned a phone for more than a few weeks, you know that it’s pretty tough to use your device for extended periods without reaching for a charger. Quick charge is nice and all, but we’re hoping to stay away from the wall altogether. A lot of us like to reach for portable chargers so that we can plug into something while out and about. In some instances, there’s another option: a mophie juice pack.

The mophie brand, which has been around for quite some time, continues to get bigger and better with each passing season. The last few weeks saw it releasing products for a number of key Android smartphones: Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, and Google Pixel XL. If you own either of these phones, you’ll certainly want to pick up a mophie accessory.

We’ve spent the last month or so playing around with a number of the new products and find them to be equal parts convenient and practical. Each serves its own need but all revolve around giving your phone more power without having to find an outlet.

• Juice pack: Samsung Galaxy S8
• Juice pack: Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus
• Juice pack: Google Pixel XL
• Charge force case & powerstation mini: Samsung Galaxy S8
• Charge force case & powerstation mini: Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus

Juice pack

The juice pack (about $100 each) is both a protective case and a portable charger. By putting your phone inside you’ll have protection against minor drops, scuffs, and scrapes. Moreover, your phone benefits by having a secondary power supply. Should you get to the end of a work day and find you’re running a little lower on power, simply long-press the button on the back and the case will charge your phone’s battery.

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There are a number of reasons we like having a juice pack on our device that don’t have anything to do with the power. Take the one for the Pixel XL, for example. Putting one of these on your Google device will add in wireless charging, something that doesn’t come with the Pixel XL. That’s damn convenient if you ask us.

We also like that the case passes charging through the case and into the phone. So, rather than top off the juice pack, plugging into a wall puts the power into your phone first, and then into the secondary unit. The four lights on the back signal how much battery is left in the reserve tank.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Google Pixel XL juice pack offer 2,950mAh of power; the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus juice pack boasts 3,300mAh.

Charge force case & powerstation mini

The charge force case & powerstation mini is a great combo pack for customers who may have other phones in the household. While the first component is a case to protect the phone, the second piece is a portable power supply. Sold separately through mophie, the powerstation mini is an external battery. It’s small and powerful and works with any other mophie cases with charge force capabilities.

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Simply stick it to the back of your phone and the magnets hold it into place. Spend a few minutes at dinner charging your device, or snap them together in your purse on the way home from work and you’ll be all set. The best part is that there are no cables to mess with.

Mophie does include one short microUSB cord in the box so that you can charge the battery up. Should you want to charge your phon, you can pass through the charge force powerstation mini, giving preferential treatment to the phone. Like other charging solutions from mophie, there are four lights to get a sense for how much juice is in the tank.

Conclusion

We’re big fans of mophie in general and always appreciate when it releases products designed specifically for our phones. Sure, a portable power bank is nice, but when you can get a protective case with battery capabilities, it’s a different experience.

We love that we don’t have to carry around a blocky power supply in the juice packs. Yes, it does take a little bit of time to get used to the thickness, but you’ll love it. The juice packs can be a little bit more slippery and smooth; they tend to pick up oils from touches rather easy. But, they do clean up nicely and can even take a little abuse in the process.

The charge force case & powerstation mini is what you’ll want to reach for if you like a little more textured (leather) case and don’t need the extra battery on a daily basis. Charge up the powerstation mini and keep it in a handy place like the car or purse and you’ll have an extra 3000mAh worth of battery on deck. Heck, even if you want to carry it around on a daily basis, it beats using something with a cable.

Finally, one of the biggest reasons to look to mophie for mobile accessories is that its products are backed by a two year warranty. That’s double what most others are willing to do provide.

Facebook won’t release data on political ads to researchers

While many political scientists are itching to get their hands on data documenting how political ads on Facebook performed, the company says it won’t be releasing that information. Facebook says it doesn’t differentiate between political and commercial ads with this policy and that’s not likely to change any time soon.

Researchers want information on how much money candidates spent on ads, who saw them and how often they were clicked in order to assess how big of a role ads played in the election. And because online advertising allows for more specific demographic targeting than other methods, getting information on how ads changed across demographics is information that academics think would boost transparency.

“The holy grail, I think, of political analysis for the 2016 election is to figure out which communications from which entities had an effect on which jurisdictions in the United States,” Nathan Persily, a Stanford University professor, told Reuters.

But Facebook wants to keep their policies consistent, which means no exception will be made for political ads. Facebook’s deputy chief privacy officer Rob Sherman said that ads are often considered creative content and advertising strategies confidential information. Sherman added that Facebook was open to hearing research proposals, but changes weren’t likely to be made.

Source: Reuters

Lego collector uses artificial intelligence to sort pounds of bricks at a time

Why it matters to you

If you’ve ever spent too long looking for the one Lego brick you desperately need, you understand exactly why a machine this large and complex was completely worth the effort.

Anyone who grew up with Lego will remember buying and building individual sets, only to see their collection morph into an unruly, unsorted mass over time. Sorting through a vast array of bricks to find a particular piece has long been the bane of many a Lego enthusiast but now one canny constructor has developed a system that uses artificial intelligence to sort through large quantities automatically.

Jacques Mattheij observed that there was plenty of money to be made selling Lego on the second-hand market and plenty of eBay listings for bricks in bulk. With that in mind, he began prototyping a rather amazing machine that could classify Lego by shape and color.

Committing himself to the project, he bought enough Lego to fill his garage and set about putting together the hardware and software that would work together to sort through it.

The problem with bulk Lego lots is that they tend to contain lots of bricks that need to be weeded out before they can be sold, as noted in Mattheij’s blog post detailing his project. Any fake parts obviously need to go, as do any discolored, damaged, or otherwise dirty bricks.

In its current incarnation, the system loads bricks from a hopper onto a conveyor belt that runs them past a camera that is hooked up to a PC. Setting up the camera to recognize particular pieces presented all kinds of challenges. According to Mattheij’s count, there are 38,000 different shapes of Lego brick, which can be one of more than 100 stringently defined colors.

Mattheij tried various different methods, but eventually settled upon training a neural network to differentiate between different pieces. The finished system is apparently able to classify a brick in just 30ms, running on an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti GPU.

While Mattheij concedes that his project is far from the finished product and could benefit from various revisions, its current iteration is good enough to accept kilos of Lego at a time and sort it with some accuracy. It would take a serious Lego collection to warrant an investment in this kind of hardware but there are certainly devotees out there would love to have access to Mattheij’s creation.

Lego collector uses artificial intelligence to sort pounds of bricks at a time

Why it matters to you

If you’ve ever spent too long looking for the one Lego brick you desperately need, you understand exactly why a machine this large and complex was completely worth the effort.

Anyone who grew up with Lego will remember buying and building individual sets, only to see their collection morph into an unruly, unsorted mass over time. Sorting through a vast array of bricks to find a particular piece has long been the bane of many a Lego enthusiast but now one canny constructor has developed a system that uses artificial intelligence to sort through large quantities automatically.

Jacques Mattheij observed that there was plenty of money to be made selling Lego on the second-hand market and plenty of eBay listings for bricks in bulk. With that in mind, he began prototyping a rather amazing machine that could classify Lego by shape and color.

Committing himself to the project, he bought enough Lego to fill his garage and set about putting together the hardware and software that would work together to sort through it.

The problem with bulk Lego lots is that they tend to contain lots of bricks that need to be weeded out before they can be sold, as noted in Mattheij’s blog post detailing his project. Any fake parts obviously need to go, as do any discolored, damaged, or otherwise dirty bricks.

In its current incarnation, the system loads bricks from a hopper onto a conveyor belt that runs them past a camera that is hooked up to a PC. Setting up the camera to recognize particular pieces presented all kinds of challenges. According to Mattheij’s count, there are 38,000 different shapes of Lego brick, which can be one of more than 100 stringently defined colors.

Mattheij tried various different methods, but eventually settled upon training a neural network to differentiate between different pieces. The finished system is apparently able to classify a brick in just 30ms, running on an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti GPU.

While Mattheij concedes that his project is far from the finished product and could benefit from various revisions, its current iteration is good enough to accept kilos of Lego at a time and sort it with some accuracy. It would take a serious Lego collection to warrant an investment in this kind of hardware but there are certainly devotees out there would love to have access to Mattheij’s creation.

New My MakerBot platform makes 3D printing easier for students with Chromebooks

Why it matters to you

The new My MakerBot platform keeps teachers and students within the browser as they create, upload, and print their designs on any 3D printer on the network.

3D printing just got a lot easier for students and teachers who use Chromebooks, as MakerBot launched its new My MakerBot platform that crams everything they need into one in-browser tool. By using My MakerBot, users can now access all 3D printers on the network, all orders, support cases, and Thingiverse accounts. This new platform is complemented by the upcoming release of MakerBot’s guidebook for educators slated for the start of the 2017 school year.

For those not familiar with MakerBot, the company set out to create affordable, easily accessible 3D printing solutions in 2009, starting with the Cupcake CNC. MakerBot’s first Wi-Fi 3D printer didn’t arrive until MakerBot’s acquisition by Stratasys in 2013. However, MakerBot said earlier this year that it would put a heavier focus on the professional and education sectors, and the new My MakerBot platform is part of that move.

“It gives users the ability to upload and prepare files, print, then monitor their progress from any device, anywhere,” the company said. ”The new platform broadens student access to 3D printers in Chromebook classrooms and makes it easier for educators to manage their use.”

The new My MakerBot dashboard is split into two parts: the menu on the left and the main window. In the menu, users will see the Account section listing the dashboard home-screen link, selections for basic information, payment and shipping information, and a sign-out option. The menu’s Printers section is where the dashboard pulls up all 3D printers located on the network, such as those located in the library, math department, and so on.

MakerBot’s 3D printers aren’t exactly cheap. The company’s largest printer, the Replicator Z18, costs $6,500 and stands 18 inches high. Targeting the professional sector, the firm builds large industrial-grade products, models, and prototypes. The $2,500 Replicator+ is the next step down for professionals and educators, printing 11.6 x 7.6 x 6.3-inch objects. Meanwhile, the $1,300 Replicator Mini+ is a compact solution for printing 4.0 x 5.0 x 5.0 -inch objects.

In addition to the launch of its new My MakerBot platform, the company also said that it teamed up with Autodesk to support the popular K-12 design software Tinkercad on My MakerBot. This connectivity will enable students to stay within the browser environment to create their designs in Autodesk’s software, export them to My MakerBot, and print them on a networked 3D printer.

As for the MakerBot Educators Guidebook, this upcoming tool will include nine “teacher-tested” lesson plans along with a guidebook to the new My MakerBot platform, a crash course in 3D design and printing, a large 3D printing curriculum library, Thingiverse Education lesson plans, and more. The book’s first project, Cloud Types, can be downloaded for free right now here.

“We wrote the guidebook in collaboration with over eighty MakerBot educators, all dedicated leaders in STEM education, in order to deliver the ultimate resource for learning the basics, best practices, and for finding high quality lesson plans,” the company said.

To see our picks for the top five 3D printers you can purchase today, head here.

The ‘e-Mosquito’ is a wearable that sucks your blood … for your own good

Why it matters to you

This diabetes-monitoring wearable device could rescue diabetics from the need to do their own fingerprick blood samples.

When it comes to future mass-market wearable devices, an artificial blood-sucking device that’s permanently strapped to your wrist doesn’t sound like it has the makings of a “must-buy” product. But its initial sales pitch may be deceiving. In fact, a version of the so-called “e-Mosquito” could turn out to be the ultimate wearable for diabetes sufferers. And that takes its potential market from a few would-be vampire enthusiasts to the estimated 371 million people worldwide affected by the condition.

“The e-Mosquito is an unimposing, autonomous wearable device that can bite through the skin of a diabetic patient, [take a] capillary blood sample, analyze it for glucose, and report the result wirelessly to a smartphone, [the] internet, Health Watch, or the like,” Martin Mintchev, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Canada’s University of Calgary, told Digital Trends.

The project started way back in 2007 with a prototype that was roughly the size of a deck of cards. It’s now evolved into a smaller, more watch-like device, boasting a shape memory alloy (SMA)-based actuator. This has allowed the team to shrink the device, while at the same time remaining able to produce a greater penetrative force into the skin — although we’re assured it doesn’t hurt any more than an actual mosquito nip.

The new device packs a battery, LED display, actuator, and other components, while a disposable cartridge carries a needle and test strip. It can be programmed to take a sample at prearranged times, meaning that the wearer doesn’t even have to stop and think about pricking their finger for a blood sample.

There’s still plenty of work to be done, particularly if the e-Mosquito can eventually expand its use-cases to include other tests, such as genetic testing or cancer screening, as Mintchev hopes it will. For now, though, the plan is to continue working on this prototype in a way that will eventually make it saleable.

“At the moment we are working on the glucose-sensing mechanism integration, with the hope to commercialize the device as soon as possible,” Mintchev said.

Between this work, Apple’s (possible) research on diabetes-managing devices, and other tech initiatives like the University Hospital of Montpellier, France’s artificial pancreas project, things could be looking up for diabetes sufferers.

Evoke the magic of Harry Potter with ‘Cauldron Magical’ Kickstarter campaign

Why it matters to you

We’re not so far away from a magical world after all — at least not if we utilize the magic of the Internet of Things.

We may not have gotten into Hogwarts, but that doesn’t mean we can’t introduce a little magic into our lives. And thanks to the innovations of the 21st century, we’re pretty close to living, if not in a magical castle, then at the very least in Weasley’s Burrow. That’s because of a new Kickstarter project that’s designed to bring even more of that magic to life. Meet the Cauldron Magical Pub & Inn, a new crowdfunding project hoping to bring the magic of Harry Potter to life with technology and design.

The end goal of the project (which hopes to raise an ambitious $500,000), is to create a “physical location that straddles the line between the magical and non-magical worlds.” Meant as a watering hole for adult fans (and pint-sized ones, too), the team seeks to build an environment that adapts current technology made possible by the Internet of Things to accomplish many of the wonders described by J.K. Rowling in her hit series.

What’s on the roster? A number of ideas are on the table, including moving photos (which Apple has already made effectively possible), floating candles, and responsive lights. Indeed, many of the team’s ideas seem perfectly within the realm of reason, given the existing capabilities of connected devices and smart homes.

But perhaps one of the more unique aspects of this campaign lies in its uncertainty. As Matthew Cortland, a former reading teacher turned designer and entrepreneur, told Digital Trends, “The exact technology is to be determined, which is an intentional aspect of the crowdfunding project. We are crowdfunding the initial capital, but just as important is that we are crowdfunding input and ideas from a community of engaged fantasy fans. We want to know what type of magic people want to see and also how they think it is achievable.” That means that you, the supportive public, will ultimately decide what and how the technology is implemented.

That said, Cortland has a pretty good idea of how things will turn out. “I strongly expect the pub will use core technology like connected devices and sensors that respond to voice commands and wand touch,” he told us. “I love the idea of taking ordinary objects apart, bewitching (programming) them to behave in a certain way, and putting them back together. It’s the part of the magic of the wizarding world that I find most intriguing — that ordinary objects are somehow magical.”