Monster’s headphones get their own voice assistant

Monster’s latest team-up isn’t with another star athlete or fellow accessory-maker: it’s with music platform Speak Music Inc., which is lending the company its voice assistant named Melody. Monster says the partnership will add voice control to some of its headphones, making them the “world’s first voice-powered premium” cans. The premium part may be true, but there are other voice-activated Bluetooth headsets out there. There’s also bound to be more, considering manufacturers can now incorporate Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service into their products.

World’s first or not, Melody adds a new level of hands-free convenience to Monster’s devices. You’ll have to download the Melody app from Google Play or iTunes and pair it with your device. But once that’s done, you can simply tap on the headphones when you want to tell Melody to play a specific song, album or artist. You can also tell it to skip/pause a track, turn the volume up/down or to access iHeartRadio, Spotify Premium, NPR and, in the near future, Tidal.

Monster says Melody relies on data connection instead of WiFi, so you can use the assistant anywhere you have signal. However, that also means you’ll have to leave your data on even at home. In addition, you can’t use Melody with the Monster cups you already have, even if the AI is already on the app stores. It can only pair with the voice-compatible versions of Elements, Clarity HD and iSport Freedom V2 fitness headphones that Monster is releasing later this month.

Source: Monster

ASU students live with Echo Dots while learning voice-control tech

Engineering students at Arizona State University can opt into an interesting new program meant to give students access to voice-controlled technology while they learn about it in the classroom. Students living in the campus’ new engineering residence hall, Tooker House, can get a free Amazon Echo Dot and take courses aimed at developing the technology. “Our focus is putting this technology into the hands of our students in a way that will build an ecosystem that supports voice technologies throughout the ASU campus,” said ASU’s Octavio Heredia in a statement.

Amazon has donated 1,600 Dots to the school as well as Alexa Skills Kits that can be used in or outside of the classroom. Three undergraduate courses are also being taught this semester that focus on voice-user interface development with an additional class scheduled for the spring. “Once they are familiar with the devices, they are going to want to further develop their own skills and begin integrating that technology — the hardware and the skills — into other projects,” said Heredia.

Along with putting Dots in every Tooker House dorm room, the university is also developing an ASU-specific Alexa skill that will give users information about the school and its campus. For engineering students interested in this sort of technology, ASU’s program seems like a great way to jump in.

Amazon dot – Tooker House from ASU Now on Vimeo.

Via: The Verge

Source: ASU

AI creates fictional scenes out of real-life photos

AI’s not quite ready to build photorealistic worlds on its own. But it’s getting pretty close.

Researcher Qifeng Chen of Stanford and Intel fed his AI system 5,000 photos from German streets. Then, with some human help it can build slightly blurry made-up scenes. The image at the top of this article is a example of the network’s output.

To create an image a human needs to tell the AI system what goes where. Put a car here, put a building there, place a tree right there. It’s paint by numbers and the system generates a wholly unique scene based on that input.

Chen’s AI isn’t quite good enough to create photorealistic scenes just yet. It doesn’t know enough to fill in all those tiny pixels. It’s not going to replace the high-end special effects houses that spend months building a world. But, it could be used to create video game and VR worlds where not everything needs to look perfect in the near future.

Intel plans on showing off the tech at the International Conference on Computer Vision in October.

Via: New Scientist

Source: Stanford

Instagram Introduces New Photo and Video Direct Message Reply Options

Instagram today announced the addition of new ways to reply to photos and videos to improve Direct conversations with friends.

When replying to a direct message of a photo or video sent from a friend, Instagram users can now reply with a photo or a video of their own. Hit the “Reply” button on a message to open the camera and create a photo to send. All replies include a sticker of the image or video you’re replying to.

Now you can reply with a photo or video to specific photos, videos, and reshared posts in Direct. Your reply will automatically include a sticker of what you’re replying to. Just hit “reply” to open the camera, take a selfie, and send.

Instagram is also adding an option to send a split-screen reply to a friend by tapping on the sticker that’s automatically included with every reply. When tapped, the sticker will appear at the top of the screen and your own photo will appear at the bottom of the screen.

Instagram’s new features are available in Instagram version 10.34, available immediately from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Tag: Instagram
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YouTube TV Streaming Service Expands to an Additional 14 Markets, Now Available in 50% of U.S. Households

YouTube’s streaming television service, YouTube TV, today expanded to an additional 14 markets, making it available to approximately 50 percent of the homes in the United States.

Areas gaining access to YouTube TV today include Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Columbus, OH, Jacksonville-Brunswick, Las Vegas, Louisville, Memphis, Nashville, Pittsburgh, San Antonio, Seattle-Tacoma, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Sarasota, and West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce.

According to YouTube, the YouTube TV service offers the most markets with access to four live local broadcast feeds from ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC. Along with these live local feeds, YouTube TV features more than 50 networks like ESPN, AMC, USA, and FX, plus it includes cloud DVR support and multi-person access.

Along with expanding to additional markets, YouTube TV is also gaining support for Newsy and the Tennis Channel, new channels that are available to all subscribers at no additional cost.

YouTube TV first launched in April, but it was initially limited to the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. It expanded to additional cities in July, and will expand again “in the coming weeks” to 17 markets like San Diego, Salt Lake City, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and Denver.

YouTube TV is priced at $35 per month.

Tag: YouTube TV
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Misplaced gold nanoparticles could reveal if your 3D printer was hacked

Why it matters to you

Malicious 3D-printer hacks are real. Smart sensors could help fight them.

3D printing is still such a new technology that most of us are still wrapping our heads around its numerous possibilities, but we’re not worrying about all the ways that a 3D printer may be susceptible to hackers. Thankfully, researchers are thinking about those kinds of questions — and scientists from Rutgers University and the Georgia Institute of Technology may even have an answer to it.

As it turns out, hacking a 3D printer could lead to all kinds of problems. As Christian Bayens, a researcher on the project from Georgia Tech, told Digital Trends: “A hacker could sabotage a larger manufacturing process by printing parts that would fail prematurely when in use. Outside of that, he or she may want to sit in the system quietly to acquire intellectual property to sell later.”

To counter this threat, what the Rutgers and Georgia Tech researchers have developed is a smart sensor-based system that uses multiple methods to check your 3D printer is performing as you’d want it to. The system could be retrofitted into existing printers, and the relatively low cost of the sensors involved means that it would also be affordable.

It uses three separate safeguards to search for intruders. For starters, the system looks for changes in the printer’s sound, which may be an indicator that malicious software has been installed. Secondly, it searches for anomalies in the movement of the printer’s extruder and other components, meaning divergences from the consistent mechanical path they would normally follow. Finally — and most inventively — the system injects tiny gold nanoparticles into the printer’s filament to make sure that, when an object has been printed, these are distributed as would be expected. (These gold nanoparticles aren’t visible to the naked eye, and have been tested to ensure they don’t have a detrimental impact on a 3D-printed object’s integrity, either.)

If a 3D printed object passes all three tests, researchers are confident that it means your printer has not been hacked. If it fails one (or even all three!) it means you may well have a security problem on your hands.

Currently the system is in the research stage, and is not yet something that’s available for customers to buy. However, the researchers are working to expand it and turn it into something that will be available to the masses. The research was presented this week at the USENIX Security Symposium in Vancouver. A paper describing the project can be read here.

Harvard’s new self-healing rubber could mean the end of the road for flat tires

Why it matters to you

Self-healing rubber material could be used to create puncture-proof tires, and more.

If the world is free of flat tires a couple decades from now, you may have researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences to thank for it. That’s because they’ve developed a new type of rubber that, in addition to being as tough as existing rubber, has the added benefit of being able to self-heal in the event that it gets a puncture.

“We have a made a new type of rubber with an exceptional combination of toughness and self-healing ability,” Liheng Cai, a postdoctoral fellow in applied physics, told Digital Trends. “We did so by developing a new way to mix two intrinsically immiscible bonds, reversible and covalent bonds, in a dry rubber.

“Unlike conventional methods relying on co-solvents to promote mixing, we use molecules to physically tie these two types of bonds together, such that they are forced to mix at the molecular level. This enables a dry rubber that contains both reversible hydrogen bonds and permanent covalent crosslinks. The reversible bonds break and reform to enable self-healing ability, whereas the covalent bonds maintain the material integrity under large deformation. Consequently, the rubber is not only very tough as natural rubber, but also can self-heal upon damage.”

While this isn’t the first example of a self-healing material we’ve come across, the research is significant due to the challenge of engineering self-healing properties in dry materials, such as rubber.

Unpuncturable tires alone would be a good enough application to justify the new material’s creation, but Cai said that there are also other potential uses the new form of rubber could be applied to. These include damping materials, materials for stretchable electronics, and — because the material is additionally transparent — protective coatings for optical devices and electronics.

“Next we want to make this material 3D printable, such that we can harness 3D-printing technologies to transform the material into more complex architectures with more functions,” Cai continued. “Harvard’s Office of Technology Development has filed a patent application for the technology, and is actively seeking commercialization opportunities.”

A paper describing the research was recently published in the journal Advanced Materials.

The Wirecutter’s best deals: Save $50 on Apple’s 10.5-inch iPad Pro tablet

This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer’s guide to the best technology. When readers choose to buy The Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, they may earn affiliate commissions that support their work. Read their continuously updated list of deals here.

You may have already seen Engadget posting reviews from our friends at The Wirecutter. Now, from time to time, we’ll also be publishing their recommended deals on some of their top picks. Read on, and strike while the iron is hot — some of these sales could expire mighty soon.

BenQ GW2765HT 27-Inch Monitor

Street price: $330; MSRP: $330; Deal price: $300

Here’s a good discount and the lowest price we’ve seen in some time on the BenQ GW2765HT 27-Inch Monitor, our budget monitor pick in that size. While we saw this monitor dip lower late last year, at $300 it’s around $30 off the typical street price. Shipping is free.

The BenQ GW2765HT is our budget pick in our guide to the best 27-Inch monitor. David Murphy and John Higgins write, “If you want to save some money, BenQ’s GW2765HT is a decent budget choice. This 27-inch IPS display isn’t as color-accurate as our pick or runner-up, and it’s a bit too bright at its lowest setting, but most people will have a hard time noticing the difference. BenQ’s monitor is about $120 cheaper than the HP or Dell, but it doesn’t have a USB hub or DisplayPort output. The buttons for navigating its onscreen display are on the back of the monitor, which makes them harder to use. But like our pick, the GW2765HT’s stand has excellent adjustability and VESA support. While our pick and runner-up are better monitors, the GW2765HT is a decent alternative, especially if price is a big factor. (Side note: Don’t be confused when Amazon says that the BenQ BL2711U is a newer version of this monitor. It isn’t. The BL2711U is a 4K professional display that’s overkill for normal people. Stick with the GW2765HT.)”

Anker PowerDrive 4 USB Car Charger

Street price: $17; MSRP: $30; Deal price: $14

If you’ve been looking for a USB car charger with more than just one or two ports, you’re in luck. This Anker PowerDrive 4-Port USB Car Charger has twice the ports you usually see and comes at a very reasonable price right now at $14. This charger has been hovering around $17 for the past few months, so this is a nice opportunity to pick one up at a discount. Shipping is free with Prime.

The Anker PowerDrive 4 USB Car Charger is our more ports pick in our guide to the best USB car charger. Nick Guy writes, “It might seem crazy to some people, but if you really need to charge more than two devices at once in the car, the Anker 4-Port USB Car Charger is a great pick. It puts four USB-charging ports that can handle a total of 9.6 amps in a package that’s of course much larger than the PowerDrive 2 and ReVolt, but still impressively compact.”

Guy continues, “With a glossy plastic body that’s 3.3 inches long (ports to tip), 1.9 inches tall, and 1.1 inches wide when oriented vertically, the charger is reasonably sized. Its ports are aligned (on a metal cap) in a single row, so you can rotate the charger 90 degrees if a horizontal row better fits your car’s setup.”

iPad Pro 10.5-Inch 256GB

Street price: $750; MSRP: $750; Deal price: $700

This is another nice deal on the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro, knocking the price of the 256GB down to $700. This $50 discount applies to all available colors and storage capacities, so the 64GB is also available for $50 off at $600 and the 512GB is down to $900. As these deals are from B&H Photo, the prices are without sales tax in 48 states. Shipping is free.

The 10.5-Inch iPad Pro is our upgrade pick in our Best Tablet guide. Dan Frakes and Nick Guy write, “…if you need more power, a noticeably larger screen, better cameras, better color accuracy, more storage, or support for Apple’s Pencil stylus, the 10.5-inch iPad Pro gives you all of that in a package that’s only slightly taller (11 mm) and wider (5 mm) and a tiny bit thinner (1.4 mm). The Pro (along with the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, below) is a better option if your iPad is replacing a laptop, if you spend a lot of time creating content—drawing, editing photos and video, and the like—or if you’ll use your iPad as a serious gaming device.”

Fissler Vitaquick 8.5-Quart Pressure Cooker

Street price: $275; MSRP: $300; Deal price: $220

This is a great price and a new low for the Fissler Vitaquick Pressure Cooker. This stovetop pressure cooker has largely hovered between $270 and $280, so at $220 you’re getting a significant discount on an item for those serious about pressure cooking. Shipping is free.

The Fissler Vitaquick 8.5-Quart Pressure Cooker is our upgrade stovetop pick in our guide to the best pressure cooker. Lesley Stockton writes, “If you’re looking for an exceptional stovetop pressure cooker with a smoother locking lid and superior browning capabilities, the Fissler Vitaquick 8.5-Quart Pressure Cooker is the best we tested. The tri-ply base is thicker and wider than the Fagor Duo’s, and offers the best browning and searing of any pot we tried, leaving us with no scorch spots in the edges of the pot. The Fissler is on the heavy side, but it offers an easy-to-grasp helper handle for added support when transporting. Yes, the Vitaquick is pricey, but if you’re serious about pressure cooking, it’s money well spent.”

Because great deals don’t just happen on Thursdays, sign up for our daily deals email and we’ll send you the best deals we find every weekday. Also, deals change all the time, and some of these may have expired. To see an updated list of current deals, please go to The Wirecutter.com.

YouTube music head says company pays higher royalties than Spotify

Making a living from streaming royalties is tough for music artists, and YouTube has had one of the worst reputations in the music industry for a while. Even Lyor Cohen, the current head of YouTube Music, knows that many are skeptical about the service’s ability to pay out a legitimate rate. Cohen wrote a blog post on Thursday to explain why he thinks that YouTube deserves another chance, and that his company is the highest paying music streaming service out there.

The former road manager for Run DMC has been at YouTube for eight months now. He was instrumental in getting Google’s Doodle for the 44th anniversary of the birth of hip-hop up on the search engine’s main page, too; Cohen says that he is a music lover and artist supporter. He believes that YouTube music got to the subscription party late, which allowed companies like Spotify, Pandora and Apple Music to take an early lead. He also says that ads in music videos aren’t the “death of the music industry,” but rather a second supplement to bring in the money. Cohen claims that YouTube’s ads brought in more than a billion dollars in the past 12 months. That should help soothe the music industry itself, but what about artists?

Cohen rebuts the common belief that YouTube pays less than Spotify or Pandora, saying that his service pays more than $3 per thousand streams in the US, “more than other ad supported services.” Cohen, who has been trying to patch things up between YouTube and the music industry, believes that songwriters and artists need to know what they’re making. “It’s not enough for YouTube to say that it’s paid over $1 billion to the industry from ads,” he writes. “We (the labels, publishers and YouTube) must shine a light on artist royalties, show them how much they make from ads compared to subscriptions by geography and see how high their revenue is in the U.S. and compared to other services.”

Cohen’s push into making things better at YouTube music for artists and industry veterans alike has been a while coming. Last December, the service struck a deal with the National Music Publishers Association over unpaid royalties that some speculate could have paid out at $30 million. Just this past June, YouTube and ASCAP, another national music royalties organization, created a deal for more transparency between the two companies so that YouTube could better pay its artists. “YouTube is dedicated to ensuring artists, publishers and songwriters are fairly compensated,” Cohen told Billboard at the time.

Via: Music Business Worldwide

Source: Lyor Cohen

Lean back and watch the eclipse…from your Volvo

On Monday, lots of people are going to head outside and check out the first total solar eclipse to be viewable in the contiguous US since 1979 and the first coast-to-coast one in nearly a century. But Volvo is giving its drivers another option. For those that want to experience the event alone and maybe with a little air conditioning, the car manufacturer is providing moonroof eclipse viewers for its 2018 XC60 cars.

The viewer is magnetized for easy attachment to the auto’s moonroof and is ISO-certified, so it should actually protect your eyes. Only limited quantities will be available though, which will be shipped to Volvo dealerships along the eclipse’s path of totality in Oregon, Idaho, Nebraska, Missouri and South Carolina.

Personally, I’m excited to experience this eclipse with other people and will be sitting outside with my goofy eclipse glasses for the whole thing. However, while this moonroof viewer seems a little silly, the demand for eclipse glasses is so high right now and so many outlets are sold out of them, I’m wondering if it might actually be easier to just get a Volvo.

Image: Volvo

Via: Autoblog

Source: Volvo