Google’s museum app finds your fine art doppelgänger

If you’ve ever wondered if there’s a museum portrait somewhere that looks like you and you’re ready to have your ego crushed, there’s now an app for that. Google Arts & Culture’s latest update now lets you take a selfie, and using image recognition, finds someone in its vast art collection that most resembles you. It will then present you and your fine art twin side-by-side, along with a percentage match, and let you share the results on social media, if you dare.

My Google Arts & Culture match is with a guy literally named Bourgeois

A post shared by Steve Dent (@stevetdent) on Jan 15, 2018 at 1:43am PST

The app is like an automated version of an article that circulated recently showing folks standing in front of portraits at museums. In many cases, the old-timey people in the paintings resemble them uncannily, but, other than in rare cases, that’s not the case at all with Google’s app.

Google matched me with someone who doesn’t look like me in the slightest, a certain Sir Peter Francois Bourgeois, based on a painting hanging in Dulwich Picture Gallery. Taking a buzz around the internet, other folks were satisfied with their matches, some took them as a personal insult, and many were just plain baffled, in that order, as presented below. From all that, it’s pretty clear that deep learning systems like those from Google are great at matching individual details, but painfully miss the big picture.

The left is from “Children Begging,” from the second half of the 17th century. Anonymous painter, Italy. I can kind of see it #googleartsandculture

A post shared by Avren Keating (@mxavren) on Jan 12, 2018 at 7:59am PST

Nothing like a little self esteem boost from google arts and culture on a Saturday night pic.twitter.com/hYYtdNN308

— Amy Stone (@amyhannumstone) January 14, 2018

Cool 🙂 #googleartsandculture

A post shared by BoyWonder (@boywonderrocks) on Jan 14, 2018 at 5:12am PST

Via: GQ

Source: Google Arts & Culture (Play Store)

MacBook Pro Reportedly Won’t See Any Major Upgrades in 2018

Apple currently has no plans to make any major upgrades to its MacBook Pro lineup in 2018, according to DigiTimes. Of course, if accurate, the report doesn’t rule out a MacBook Pro refresh or update of any kind this year.

An excerpt from the report, citing sources within Apple’s supply chain:

The sources revealed that Foxconn had been aggressively working to land more MacBook orders from Apple during the past few years by offering attractive quotes. Since Apple has not had a major upgrade to its MacBook product line since the releases of its new MacBook Pro devices at the end of 2016 and has no plan for one in 2018, the US-based vendor is planning to shift orders for models that are already in mass production to Foxconn to save costs and reduce risks.

Apple’s manufacturing partner Foxconn could land a large number of additional MacBook orders this year, the report adds. The increase could come at the expense of Quanta Computer, which has been Apple’s major MacBook supplier in recent years.

Taiwan-based Foxconn has reportedly been working to boost its chances of notebook orders from Apple by offering attractive quotes. Apple will therefore switch MacBook orders to Foxconn for models that are already in mass production as a way to save costs and reduce risks, according to the sources cited.

Foxconn is expected to begin mass shipments to fulfill the new orders in the second quarter of 2018, said the sources. Foxconn and Quanta both declined to comment on their clients or orders. The sources pointed out that Apple started outsourcing the assembly for some of MacBooks’ components to Foxconn’s plants in Shenzhen, China in the second half of 2017.

Despite the news, Quanta is expected to remain Apple’s biggest supplier going into 2018. According to DigiTimes’ research, out of 15 million MacBooks shipped to Apple a year, the shipment ratio between Quanta and Foxconn has been at around 8:2 for the past five years. Last year alone, Quanta had a 79.5 percent share and Foxconn took 20.5 percent.

Quanta is said to be looking to other brand vendors to offset the impact of the loss of orders, as it aims for similar growth to the market average in 2018. The Taiwan-based firm shipped 38.7 million notebooks last year, up five percent on year, and is currently the largest notebook supplier for HP, Apple, Acer, and Asus.

Quanta also maintains orders for the Apple Watch, and is said to be teaming up with Israeli-based augmented reality company Lumus to manufacture lenses for smart glasses. It’s not clear if Quanta and Lumus are working with Apple on a future AR headset or smart glasses, but it is a possibility as rumors suggest Apple has a wearable augmented reality product in the works.

Related Roundups: MacBook Pro, Apple VR ProjectTags: Foxconn, QuantaBuyer’s Guide: MacBook Pro (Caution)
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Toyota to Offer CarPlay in Select 2019 Vehicles in United States, Including All-New Avalon [Updated]

Toyota today is introducing its all-new 2019 Avalon at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and MacRumors has learned it is the automaker’s first vehicle with support for Apple’s CarPlay.

In addition to the Avalon, Toyota plans to expand CarPlay compatibility to its other 2019 model year vehicles and beyond with its Entune 3.0 multimedia system, according to Toyota spokesperson Brian Lyons. Toyota said CarPlay will initially be available in vehicles sold in the United States only.

Entune 3.0 is already included with the 2018 Camry and 2018 Sienna, so CarPlay should be available in 2019 models of those vehicles at the very least. Toyota plans to provide us with more availability details soon. We’ve also inquired about CarPlay compatibility with Lexus, its luxury vehicle division.

Entune 3.0 will also be compatible with Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant in the United States, as Toyota announced at CES 2018 last week, but it’s unclear if Google’s Android Auto platform will be supported.

Toyota often competes for the title of world’s largest automaker, and it was by far the most notable brand to not support CarPlay until now, lagging months or years behind competitors like Ford, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, and Volkswagen.

A recent survey indicated that an increasing number of customers consider CarPlay a must-have feature, so Toyota’s support for Apple’s software platform should benefit both new vehicle buyers and its bottom line.

Below is a list of some of the other new vehicles with CarPlay support debuting at the auto show this week:

– 2019 Audi A7
– 2018 BMW X2
– 2019 BMW i8 Coupe
– 2019 Ford Ranger
– 2019 Ford Edge 
– 2019 Genesis G70 
– 2019 Honda Insight Prototype
– 2019 Lamborghini Urus
– 2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class
– 2019 MINI Hardtop
– 2019 MINI Convertible
– 2019 RAM 1500
– 2019 Volkswagen Jetta
– 2018 Volkswagen Passat GT
– 2019 Chevrolet Silverado
– 2019 Jeep Cherokee
Apple periodically updates a list of over 200 vehicle makes and models available with CarPlay on its website.

Update: Toyota has now shared a press release that reveals the 2019 Avalon has a new nine-inch capacitive touchscreen. CarPlay is a standard feature on all trim levels of the vehicle, which goes on sale in late spring 2018.

Related Roundup: CarPlayTag: Toyota
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HTC U11 Eyes’ dual cameras bring bokeh to your selfies

Well, that was quick: HTC’s promised return to a dual-camera smartphone is already here. Meet the U11 Eyes which, as the name implies, is a selfie-centric smartphone featuring a pair of cameras on the front. These deliver live bokeh effect which supports re-focus after capture — just like the good old days with previous dual-camera HTC phones.

And yes, the U11 Eyes reuses the same shiny “Liquid Design” as the flagship U11+, but swapping out a few flagship-level features for a more affordable price. You’ll find an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 chipset, a 2,160 x 1,080 LCD, just three microphones instead of four and no BoomSound speakers (so no stereo nor “Hi-Fi” output).

That said, you’ll still find a handful of familiar goodies, including the excellent 12-megapixel f/1.7 main camera (with O.I.S. and 4K video recording), Hi-Res audio capture, USonic self-tuning earphones, Edge Sense squeeze input, a generous 3,930mAh battery and the U11’s IP67 water plus dust resistance (the U11+ has IP68). The easiest way to tell a U11 Eyes and a U11+ apart is by looking at the ring around the main camera: the former has a thinner and shinier ring, which is the most apparent on the Solar Red version — the gold ring combined with the glossy red body would definitely get a seal of approval from Iron Man.

Both the U11 Eyes’ front cameras come in at 5 megapixels with f/2.2 aperture plus a wide 80-degree view — a somewhat disappointing choice compared to the original 8-megapixel f/2.0 imager with 85-degree capture, but perhaps HTC couldn’t source larger sensors due to its design choice. Still, they benefit from the same HDR Boost function as the UltraPixel 3 main camera, and the single camera — the one by the earpiece — responsible for video recording can record up to 1080p. In addition to live bokeh, the camera’s selfie mode also supports live beautification — you can either use auto mode or go manual with options for skin smoothing, skin brightening, face slimming and eye enlargement.

But what really got me hooked were the AR stickers for selfies. Taking a page out of Snapchat and Facebook’s books, HTC is offering a set of cartoon animations — be it a hat, facial hair, sunglasses, foods, bunny ears and more — that automatically map to everyone’s faces within the canvas, so long as the faces are large enough to be recognized. At one point, we crammed eight people into a group selfie and the camera still managed to turn us into a bunch of teenagers make us all look cuter. However, there are apparently still some kinks to be ironed out, so AR stickers won’t land on the U11 Eyes until some time before mid-February — it’ll arrive as an update via Google Play. While this feature only requires a single camera, HTC says it currently has no plans to add it to its other U11 devices.

Joining the likes of OnePlus and a few other Chinese smartphone makers, HTC is also jumping on the face unlock hype train with the U11 Eyes. Again, using just a single camera, the camera looks out for 128 feature vectors on a face, and it can somehow distinguish between a real human face and attempts with still photos or video clips. It’s also able to recognize its owner if when he or she puts on a hat, sunglasses (to a certain extent of darkness) or even a breathing mask — an item popular amongst scooter riders in Taiwan. As a bonus, this method can be paired with Edge Sense unlock: simply squeeze the dormant phone while looking at the front camera, and you’re good to go.

It should be noted that this face unlock is more for the sake of convenience, which is why this face unlock option isn’t available for authorizing mobile payments — you’ll still have to tap the rear fingerprint reader or type in your password for that. Interestingly, this is one feature that HTC is considering to roll out to other U11 devices, so stay tuned.

It’s unclear as to when the U11 Eyes will be available in markets beyond Greater China, but for those who happen to reside in that region, the 64GB model with 4GB of RAM be available for HK$3,898 or about US$500 in Hong Kong as of this Wednesday, and you’ll get three familiar color options: “Solar Red,” “Amazing Silver” (which is more of a shiny blue) and “Ceramic Black.” That said, according to our local sources, the price may actually hit HK$3,200 or about US$410 on launch day. Either way, it won’t mean much without a serious marketing push locally.

Via: Engadget Chinese

Source: HTC

From dusty plot to green oasis, Apple Park receives the finishing touches

Apple is applying the finishing touches to its so-called “spaceship” campus, officially known as Apple Park, with a new flyover video revealing the site to be pretty much completed.

The first of 12,000 workers started moving into the main building in April, 2017, while the 1,000-seat, subterranean Steve Jobs Theater, topped with what Apple claims is the largest carbon-fiber roof ever made, had its stage lights fired up for the first time in September, 2017, for the launch of the iPhone X and iPhone 8 handsets.

Apple Park has certainly come a long way since its somewhat dusty beginnings back in 2014.

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Drone enthusiasts have been shooting video flyovers of the site from the very start, giving Apple fans and architecture enthusiasts the chance to see the remarkable “donut” design — as well as the entire 70-hectare location in Cupertino, California — gradually take shape.

The latest video, posted on Sunday by Duncan Sinfield, shows that with the buildings completed, work is now focusing on landscaping the site, with thousands of native and drought-resistant trees turning much of the area into a green oasis for Apple employees to enjoy during their breaks. If they have the energy, they can also slip into some running gear and make use of the numerous jogging paths snaking through the site.

“The workspaces and parklands are designed to inspire our team as well as benefit the environment,” Apple boss Tim Cook said last year.

The “spaceship”

The centerpiece of Apple Park is the ring-shaped, 2.8 million-square-foot main building, “clad entirely in the world’s largest panels of curved glass,” according to the tech giant. The company says that power drawn from the main building’s solar panel roof makes it one of the most energy-efficient buildings on the planet, and helps the entire campus to run on renewable energy. The naturally ventilated building should also be able to go without heating and air conditioning for nine months of the year.

The huge project was the long-time ambition of company co-founder Steve Jobs, who drove the plan forward until his untimely death in 2011. Acclaimed U.K. architect Norman Foster presented the final design, with Tim Cook describing Apple Park as “the home of innovation for generations to come.”

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Micromax’s first Android Go phone coming later this month, and it could cost just $30

India’s Micromax is all set to unveil its first Android Go phone, with rumors hinting at a sub-$50 price.

Google formally unveiled its Android Oreo (Go Edition) platform last month, detailing how devices running 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage will benefit from the lightweight OS. We haven’t heard much on the device front, but that’s set to change soon as India’s local handset manufacturer Micromax has announced that its first Android Go phone will be launching later this month. Dubbed Bharat Go, the phone will be the first to be powered by the lightweight platform, with current rumors hinting at a retail price of ₹2,000 ($30).

Micromax hasn’t shared specs of its upcoming phone, but it’s likely the device will sport either 512MB or 1GB of RAM as well as 8GB of internal storage. As for the chipset, both Qualcomm and MediaTek have pledged support for the platform, so we’ll have to wait until later this month to get an idea as to the kind of hardware that’s powering the Bharat Go.

During a visit to the country last year, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that entry-level phones need to cost as low as $30 to be able to attract millions of new customers in markets like India, and Android Go is the ideal platform to achieve that.

As for the Bharat Go, Micromax is to lowering the barrier to entry for those looking to pick up a smartphone while effectively undercutting the likes of the Redmi 5A:

Taking its mission of connecting the unconnected ahead, and providing the best in class mobility devices, Micromax will introduce BHARAT GO to deliver optimized Android experience as an entry level smartphone to millions of Indian consumers.

Micromax isn’t the only vendor working on an Android Go device, with HMD Global also said to be mulling a phone with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage called the Nokia 1. We’ll know more about the Bharat Go in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

Army base pulls Chinese security cameras over ‘negative perception’

If it wasn’t already clear that concerns over the security of Chinese equipment are reaching a fever pitch, it is now. The US Army has pulled five of Hikvision’s surveillance cameras from Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri not because they pose an active security risk (they were on a closed network and monitored the roads), but because it’s worried about the “negative perception” following media reports. Hikvision is 42 percent owned by the Chinese government, which has previously raised concerns that they might be used to spy on American operations.

There had been concerns about security holes in some cameras’ firmware, but Hikvision made patches available within a week of learning of the flaws. It has routinely promised that its cameras are secure, and that its state-owned shareholder doesn’t have a say over its daily affairs. It hasn’t been formally accused of spying.

Not this will reassure everyone. The House Committee on Small Business is planning a hearing on January 30th where it will discuss internet security risks for small business, and it’s singling out Hikvision for security questions. Whether or not there’s any merit to the suspicions, it’s clear that even the slightest hint of a Chinese government connection is enough to raise security fears in the current American climate.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: Wall Street Journal

Nanoleaf wants you to control your smart home with a dodecahedron

A few months ago, Nanoleaf revealed a “Rhythm Starter Kit” that let you synchronize its colorful Aurora light panels with music. At CES, the company released a product designed to control it and more: the Nanoleaf Remote. But instead of a typical handheld remote control, the Nanoleaf Remote is in the shape of a 12-sided polygon — a dodecahedron if you will — which changes the lights depending on which side it’s on. And the beauty of it is that you don’t have to use it with just Nanoleaf products — it’ll work with compatible Apple HomeKit products as well.

So, for example, you could turn one of the sides to adjust the temperature, or you could flip it to another to lift your blinds. Or if you like, you can map one of the sides to a particular “scene” that will do things like turn on your lights and play a favorite song at the same time. And, of course, all of the functions can be designated and assigned using the Nanoleaf companion app.

I checked out the Nanoleaf Remote at the company’s booth at CES, and was enamored by its ease of use. Admittedly, I was also very amused by its die-like shape, and I asked a spokesperson if you could roll the Remote like you could a pair of dice. He said yes, you could, but he did warn that there’s a chance it could break if you did it that way. At the same time, he said it was made out of a durable plastic, so you could try it out at your own risk.

Changing lights is really as easy as shifting the dodecahedron from side to side. Each side lights up in a different color after it’s face up, as a visual cue that an action has been triggered. In our demo, all the Remote did was change the Nanoleaf light panels from one color palette to another, but it did so pretty easily and quickly.

And the Remote isn’t the only thing on display at Nanoleaf’s booth. It also gave a preview of an upcoming product, which are Nanoleaf’s new square light panels. Like with the triangular panels, they can be customized with other Homekit products. The cool part though, is that while you can only connect up to 30 triangular panels together, you could potentially connect up to 1,000 of these square panels together to create a truly immersive experience.

What’s more, the square displays are designed to be water-resistant, and you can touch and glide your hand around on them to change their colors. The reason for the waterproofing? According to a spokesperson, Nanoleaf envisions that these square displays could eventually be installed as a high-end backsplash in a kitchen, or perhaps even a bathroom. That sounds pretty crazy to me, but it would make for quite a conversation starter at your next dinner party.

The Nanoleaf Remote will go on sale later this spring for $50, while the availability and pricing of the square displays are still to be determined.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2018.

NBC brings two Winter Olympics preview shows to Netflix

You won’t have to stay glued to NBC to watch all of its Winter Olympics coverage — although it won’t necessarily be the coverage you want. The network is offering a two-part PyeongChang preview series, Go For the Gold and Meet Team USA, that will be available on Netflix between January 15th and the end of the Olympics on February 25th. The episodes will explore the American team’s athletes and their stories, including well-known competitors like Lindsey Vonn and Shaun White.

The nature of the series and its limited availability says a lot about NBC’s intent. It sees Netflix as a way to advertise its own coverage, rather than a complement that you can watch alongside (or even after) the Olympics themselves when they start on February 8th. That’s not shocking given that NBC’s bottom line will depend on its live coverage and daily summaries, but it suggests you won’t see any thrilling recaps on third-party services any time soon.

Source: Deadline

AI helps Dutch emergency dispatchers diagnose heart attacks

Emergency dispatchers have a tough job assuring callers while trying to ask questions that could save the patient’s life. But soon they could get backup from AI. Starting in 2016, dispatchers in Copenhagen began getting help from an artificial intelligence named Corti that understands the words and sounds during calls to recognize cardiac arrest, then prompts the emergency professional with the right questions to get a more accurate diagnosis.

Corti helps out in other ways, too, like reminding to ask whoever’s on the phone for the address of the incident and ensuring the ambulance en route is headed to the right place. But much of its value lies in refining its diagnosis by detecting background clues. In one incident, recounted by Fast Company, the dispatcher had concluded a man who’d fallen off the roof had broken his back. Corti heard a faint rattling, which fit the sound pattern of a patient attempting to breathe despite a stopped heart. While the AI was still in training mode and couldn’t give recommendations to the dispatcher, in the future it could present a proper sequence of instructions for them to read out to callers.

The AI, created by a Dutch startup of the same name, is still developing its tech. Like other machine learning platforms, Corti refines its diagnosing abilities as it ingests more information. At some point in the future, the startup will announce its plans to introduce Corti to the US.

Via: MIT Technology Review

Source: Fast Company