Google’s arty filters one-up Prisma by mixing various styles
Basic filters are soooo last year, and Google knows it. It’s all about turning your mundane pet photos into works of art now, spearheaded by popular mobile app Prisma. Since it launched earlier this year, Prisma’s added an offline mode and video support (albeit after a me-too competitor), but just a few days ago Facebook revealed it’s also working on style transfer tech for live video — though Prisma says it’s going to beat the social network to the punch in a matter of days. Now, Google has revealed it’s going one better, detailing a system that can mix and match multiple art styles to create photo and video filters that are altogether unique.
Google is using more or less the same neural network approach as, say, Prisma does. Simply put, algorithms break pictures down into easily understandable parts, “learn” the artistic style of a painting (like the color palette and brush stroke technique), and combine them into a new image. But as Google explains, its style transfer tech is more complex. It can learn from multiple paintings — whether they be different works from the same artist or movement, or entirely separate genres altogether — and through “interpolation,” create an entirely new type of filter that merges distinct styles.
Apparently, the search giant’s system requires minimal computing power and is simple enough that it can be applied to live video. As the demo above shows, you can even edit the extent a video is transformed by any one of several different styles on the fly. Like Google’s other experiments in using neural networks to colorize black and white photos or create trippy art, this advanced style transfer tech appears to be firmly in the research stages right now. Google does intend to release the source code for this project in due course, though, and we’d be pretty surprised if something akin to this didn’t eventually become a fancy new feature in Google Photos.
Source: Google Research Blog
Facebook’s teen-only Lifestage app comes to Android
Are you a teenager in high school? If the answer is no, sorry — this next app isn’t for you. After launching on the iPhone earlier this year, Facebook’s “Lifestage” has landed on Android, giving youngsters another way to engage with the service. The app is a clear counter-punch to Snapchat, emphasizing quick video clips, filters and emoji. You fill out your profile by answering questions with short videos — your favorite song, your best friend, that sort of thing. They’re visible to your peers and should be updated regularly, otherwise a poop emoji will appear next to your name.
Lifestage has had little success so far. Following Slingshot, Paper and Riff, it seems destined for the App Store scrap pile. Maybe that’s okay for Facebook though. These quirky, offshoot apps give the company a place to try new ideas. If they fail to find an audience, no problem — the team can drop them and start again with something else. If, however, they start to resonate with users, Facebook can increase their resources or pull their functionality back inside one of the main apps. Snapchat is huge, but so is Instagram and Facebook Messenger — before the company makes any bold changes, it makes sense to road-test them first in an app like Lifestage.
Source: Lifestage (iOS), (Android)
Emoji join Dali and van Gogh in New York’s MoMA
You might think of emoji as a lowbrow form of communication, but according to MoMA, it’s art. The museum added the original 176 emoji, developed by Shigetaka Kurita for Japanese pagers in 1999, to its collection. “With the advent of email in the 1970s … the conveyance of tone and emotion became both harder and more urgently important,” MoMA design specialist Paul Galloway wrote. “When combined with text, these simple images allow for more nuanced intonation.”
MoMA licensed the emjoi through a licensing deal with DoCoMo. In December, the New York-based museum will display them in the lobby, using both standard graphics and animations. “In a sense, what we’ve really acquired is a new communication platform,” Paola Antonelli told the New York Times.
Developing the 12 by 12 pixel characters for NTT DoCoMo was no easy task. To convey a host of information with just 144 dots, Kurita studied manga, street signs and Chinese characters. Some of the 176 pictograms, like a heart, laughing smiley and martini glass, are instantly recognizable. Others, like a red circle with three lines, are obtuse unless you know the translation (a hot spring!).
Used at the time to convey the weather and other messages, the symbols were a hit and copied by rival Japanese carriers. However, it took another 12 years for them to go mainstream. First they were translated into unicode in 2010, then Apple unveiled a much larger set for its original iPhone the following year. They’ve expanded rapidly ever since, and there are now almost 2,000 standard emoji and a freaking movie, something Kurita probably never saw coming.
Via: NYT
Source: MoMA
Facebook Updates iOS App With Halloween Themed Reactions and Live Filters
Continuing in the tradition of changing Reactions to suit a theme or holiday, Facebook today has begun rolling out a Halloween version of the six Reaction buttons. Replacing Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, and Angry are a skeleton’s hand, candy heart, witch, ghost, Frankenstein’s monster, and a pumpkin.
Some Reactions, including Like, change into their festive versions after being tapped
Using its acquisition of MSQRD, Facebook is also introducing Halloween-themed live filter masks into its live video streaming feature. The limited-time masks are said to include a skull, an evil queen, a pumpkin, and a witch.
After you start broadcasting from the “Live” button on top of the feed in the Facebook app, you can find the masks in the magic wand menu in the top left corner of the screen. The company said that a selection of masks will continue to be available after Halloween, “so you can be creative in your Live videos any time.”
The update is expected to stick around through Halloween, although Facebook didn’t specifically confirm how long it would last. Reactions will be rolling out to people “in a select set of countries,” while masks are available only to iOS users in the United States, United Kingdom, and New Zealand.
Tag: Facebook
Discuss this article in our forums
Adobe Flash on Mac Gets Second Critical Security Update in Just Two Weeks
Adobe for the second time this month has released Flash Player security updates to address critical vulnerabilities that could potentially allow an attacker to take control of Mac, Windows, Linux, and Chrome OS systems.
Adobe gave the security fixes its highest severity rating, meaning users should immediately update to the latest Flash Player version through the built-in update mechanism, or by visiting the Adobe Flash Player Download Center.
Adobe said the security updates resolve a use-after-free vulnerability that could lead to code execution, as discovered by Google’s Threat Analysis Group. Adobe said it was aware of the exploit being used in “limited, targeted attacks” against users running Windows 7 or later only, but Mac users could still be affected and should update out of an abundance of caution.
Affected versions of Flash Player for Mac:
- Adobe Flash Player version 23.0.0.185 and earlier
- Adobe Flash Player for Google Chrome version 23.0.0.185 and earlier
Mac users running Flash Player 11.3.x or later who have selected the option to “allow Adobe to install updates” will receive the update automatically. Likewise, Google Chrome will automatically update Flash Player to version 23.0.0.205. Select “About Google Chrome” under the Tools menu to verify the browser is up-to-date.
Safari on macOS Sierra deactivates Flash by default, only turning on the plug-in when user requested. Chrome, Firefox, and most other modern web browsers also have web plug-in safeguards in place due to repeated security risks. Adobe has released a dozen Flash Player security updates over the past year.
In 2010, late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs penned an article called “Thoughts on Flash” in which he favored open web standards such as HTML5 over Adobe Flash. Jobs said Flash Player was “the number one reason Macs crash” and criticized its performance on mobile devices. “Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice,” he wrote.
Tags: security, Adobe Flash Player, Adobe
Discuss this article in our forums
Spam texts could help solve a Canadian murder case
If you own a mobile phone, chances are that you’ve received at least one spam text message. Normally, an unscrupulous company is trying to hawk its financial services or help you save money on a pair of Ray Bans, but Canada’s Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) will today take the unusual step of sending thousands of potential witnesses unsolicited text messages in an attempt to solve a 2015 murder case.
The case in question centers on 65-year-old hitchhiker Frederick “John” Hatch, whose body was found in Erin, Ontario on December 17th, 2015. Officers say he was last seen alive the day before in Ottawa, 450 kilometers away. With the investigation now almost a year old, the OPP has unveiled a “innovative new technique,” which involves collecting the phone numbers of everyone who was in the area via court order.
Roughly 7,500 phone numbers were identified to have been used in the vicinity of West Hunt Club Road and Merivale Road in Nepean around the time of Hatch’s death. The numbers in question will receive two texts later today — one in English and one in French — which directs their owners to a police website and asks them to answer a number of questions.
The OPP obtained the numbers via a Production Order, which forces mobile providers to provide the logs of all cellphone use in the aforementioned area. Police have been quick to state that the logs have been scrubbed of any identifiable information but say that witnesses have the option of sharing that data if they do decide to answer the questions.
Before his death, Hatch was apparently seen wearing a denim vest with Mickey Mouse characters on the back, a black leather jacket, a blue and white bandana, glasses and black Harley-Davidson boots. He also carried a red duffel bag. Police hope that people will remember seeing a man wearing those distinctive items and provide new insights into the ongoing homicide case.
#OPP pioneers investigative technique with high-tech text message canvass to identify potential witnesses in murder case. #mrhatch pic.twitter.com/GP77kTzH4W
— Ontario Prov Police (@OPP_News) October 26, 2016
Via: Motherboard
Source: OPP
Facebook Live gets spooky face filters for Halloween
Should Facebook dress as Snapchat for Halloween? The company has unveiled new Facebook Live masks for the spooky soiree with an eerie resemblance to those from its social media rival. To don them, you just start streaming, tap the upper left magic wand and select the masks icon from the creative tools tray below. You can choose a skull, evil queen, “limited edition” pumpkin or witch masks. Facebook also unveiled Halloween Reactions, including a “grimacing jack o’lantern” to express anger, and a cackling witch “smile.”
Facebook paid homage to Snapchat Stories with Instagram Stories, and its Messenger Day app is very similar to its rival’s expiring messages. The company added Live masks to its repertoire when it acquired Masquerade (MSQRD) back in March and let Facebook Live users don their nation’s colors in a limited, experimental trial during the Rio Olympics. It’s now available to all iOS users in the US, UK and New Zealand, and Facebook will come to Android users and other countries “in the coming months.”
Twitter promises ‘meaningful’ safety updates next month
Twitter is a real time platform for news and conversation, but sometimes that conversation can get quite nasty. The company’s laissez faire attitude toward freedom of expression has seen it develop a reputation for toxicity that’s scared off several potential buyers, including Disney. That’s why, Twitter is now pledging to deal with its cultural problems by making “meaningful” changes to its “safety policy, product, and enforcement strategy.”
The prevalence of Twitter trolls is often blamed for the site’s slow user growth and difficulty with advertisers. It’s hoped that this new strategy will give people “more control over their Twitter experience” and offer the “most important safety features” to users. That may not be enough, however, given that how easy it is to find accounts spreading racism, targeted harassment of women and minorities or threats of violence.
The company has attempted to fix this problem several times over, with former CEO Dick Costolo famously admitting that the site “suck(s) at dealing with trolls” and “sucked at it for years.” At the start of 2016 the service launched a safety council that included representatives from organizations like the Samaritans and GLAAD.
Unfortunately, the move didn’t seem to affect any meaningful change, and Twitter was often in the headlines for negative reasons. SNL’s Leslie Jones received a barrage of abuse in the run up to the launch of Ghostbusters that temporarily forced her off the site. The site subsequently banned the leader of that mob, but that hasn’t done much to make everyone behave more politely.
Source: Twitter (.PDF)
Italian Judge Agrees to $50K Settlement for Apple Exec in Irish Tax Probe
An Italian judge has accepted a nearly $50,000 settlement agreement with the head of Apple’s Irish-based unit as part of a probe into allegations that the company failed to pay taxes in Italy (via Reuters).
A six-month jail sentence for the Apple executive has been converted into the payment of a 45,000 euro ($49,126) fine as part of the settlement agreement, according to Reuters’ source.
The original investigations were completed in March 2015 and accused Apple of booking profits generated in Italy through an Irish subsidiary in an effort to lower its taxable income base and save nearly €900 million from 2008 through 2013.
At the time, Apple had called the allegations against its employees “completely without merit”. But in December 2015, it was reported Apple had agreed to pay 318 million euros to Italy – only a third of the amount it was said to have failed to pay in corporate taxes over the five year period. However, under Italian law, a settlement agreement does not imply an admission of guilt.
Milan prosecutors investigating the allegations have also asked for the case against two managers from the Italian subsidiary of Apple to be dropped, the source said.
Apple Italia is part of the company’s European operation headquartered in Ireland, where Apple pays a significantly lower corporate tax rate compared to other EU countries. Ireland has a corporate tax rate of 12.5% for normal business activities, compared to a standard rate of 27.5% in Italy.
Apple’s tax policies in Europe have come under intense scrutiny over the past three years, as the company is said to utilize multiple subsidiary companies located in the Irish city of Cork to move money around without significant tax penalties.
In August, the European Commission ruled that Apple received illegal state aid from Ireland, following a three-year inquiry into the company’s tax arrangements in the country. The investigation’s results showed that Apple allegedly paid between 0.005% and 1% in taxes in Ireland between 2003 and 2014, compared to the the country’s headline 12.5% corporate tax rate.
Apple CEO Tim Cook called the findings “total political crap” and described the lower end 0.005% tax rate as a “false number.” In an open letter, Cook said Apple is confident the decision “will be reversed,” but the appeal process could take several years in European courts. Apple has previously said it fully complies with international tax law and is the largest taxpayer in the world.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Tags: Apple, Italy, corporate tax
Discuss this article in our forums
Google Cast App Rebranded to Coincide With Impending Launch of Google Home
Google has officially rebranded its “Google Cast” iOS and Android apps to “Google Home,” getting the mobile apps ready for the launch of its hands-free smart home speaker, similarly named Google Home. The new name also comes with a new app icon, new features, and some slight UI tweaks that make “the app easier to use.”
The old Google Cast icon (left) compared with the new Google Home version (right)
The “Home” launchpad in the app now has a “Watch” and “Discover” section that lets you watch videos on any of the Chromecast-enabled apps you already have installed, or discover thousands of new apps available for Chromecast, respectively. Additionally, a floating magnifying glass button enables video search across multiple apps to make it easy to find the videos you want.
Once Google Home launches next week, on November 4, the new app will be the single location for users to control all of their Chromecast and Google Home devices. A “Devices” button in the top right corner will guide users through easily pairing a new product to the app, and after pairing is complete they can adjust its settings, control audio and video playback, and more.
Google Home is available to download for free from the iOS App Store [Direct Link], and users can pre-order the Google Home smart speaker itself for $129.00 from the Google Store, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart.
Tags: Google, Google Home
Discuss this article in our forums
AIVAnet 