Periscope’s website now organizes live videos into good old channels
Yup, Periscope is still a thing: Twitter’s live video streaming service just announced some new discovery features to make its web portal to the world more useful. Taking a page out of the aging but still successful broadcast TV playbook, Periscope is offering up sets of “curated channels.” Some are hashtag-driven, like #Music, #Food, #Art and #Travel — those will be updated whenever some goes live on Periscope.
Another set of channels will focus on current, planned events, like the presidential debates, and the last category of channels will be created as breaking news warrants. That’s for things like the recent protests in Charlotte, NC. Digging into the latter groups of channels will surface both live broadcasts as well as completed videos that you can replay. Scrolling over a video will start a preview that you can watch, and clicking it will launch the full recording.
This is all well and good, but Periscope remains a mobile-first app, so most people are probably still going to interact with the service on their phones. But if you’re the kind of person who wants to kick back and see what kind of crazy stuff people are chatting about at any given moment, Periscope’s redesigned website is as good a choice as any.
Source: Periscope
Google opens up its machine learning tricks to all
There may now be an easier way to implement advanced machine learning models in your projects. Google has opened up its Cloud Machine Learning to all businesses in a public beta, after a few months of testing it in private alpha. The tool makes it easier to train models at a much faster rate, and is integrated with the Google Cloud Platform. This has applications for businesses in areas such as customer support (learning how to automate responses to a variety of queries and complaints) or any kind of repetition-heavy task.
In a blog post, Google described how its customer Airbus Defense and Space used the tool to automate the detection and correction of satellite images that contain imperfections such as cloud formations. According to the blog, an Airbus employee said Google’s tool “enabled us to improve the accuracy and speed at which we analyze the images captured from our satellites. It solved a problem that has existed for decades.”
That speed and ease of use are what really stands out about Google’s algorithms. To facilitate adoption, the company also launched a Machine Learning Advanced Solutions Lab that gives companies access to a Google engineer to help solve complex problems. It also debuted a Cloud Start program for businesses to learn the basics of the public cloud and how to identify opportunities to implement machine learning.
Google is also introducing a certification program to teach people how to “design, train and deploy accurate machine learning models.” The curriculum will be taught by Googlers, and is based on internal education methods.
While this news may mean more to startups and other enterprise users, Google’s apparent efforts to mainstream machine learning will affect a far larger audience. The company also announced today that it will implement the advanced learning method in its popular Docs, Drive and Calendar services to make them more productive. It also isn’t the only tech titan to be trying to simplify artificial intelligence adoption. Facebook has already publicly shared its AI bot-building code, as well as its similarly smart image recognition tech.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Google
The CW’s New Apple TV App Doesn’t Require a Cable Subscription to Watch
As promised last week, The CW network today released a new Apple TV app that allows all fourth-generation Apple TV owners to watch new episodes of shows on the network for free with no cable authentication or login required.
All of the shows on The CW, including Supergirl, The Flash, Jane The Virgin, Arrow, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, iZombie, Supernatural, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The 100 Vampire Diaries, Reign, and The Originals are available to watch, with ads. Users simply need to download the app and click play on a show to watch, with no other hoops to jump through.
The CW’s iOS and Apple TV apps focus on only the newest episodes, with no archived content available from past seasons. Only five episodes from the most recent season are available to watch, but it’s all free and should be welcome news to cord cutters who are hoping other television networks might adopt similar policies.
On iOS devices, an update to the CW app introduces support for both AirPlay and Chromecast, allowing content from the iOS app to be streamed to a television set as an alternative to using the Apple TV app or as a way to watch The CW’s content on television sets without owning a fourth-generation Apple TV.
The CW can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
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Dr. Oz wants to sell you a heart-monitoring smartwatch
Perennial snake oil salesman Dr. Oz has found a new way to take your make money: a wearable. The press release promises the iBeat Life Monitor is “lifesaving” smartwatch that “empowers people to live longer lives.” The big difference here versus offerings from, say, Apple or Withings, is that the iBeat apparently monitors your heartbeat nonstop, and, in the event of a “life-threatening heart emergency,” the wearable will contact relatives, friends and medical professionals.
It’s also fully cellular, replete with built-in GPS, so there’s no need to connect it to your smartphone. However, there is a monthly service plan priced at $200 a year. On a conference call today, iBeat founder Ryan Howard said that this is about a half to a third of the cost compared to competitors like Lifeline. All devices come with a year of service included for free. “It’s not just a blast [to your contacts],” Howard said. No, this price includes a full-time 24/7 dispatch center that will stay with you until you’re at the hospital. Howard said the price will not go up after the initial year of service.
The original Moto 360 lookalike hit IndieGoGo earlier today for $99 “super early bird” special, but sold out pretty quickly. As of publishing time, there are still plenty of higher priced options available, including a $5,000 “Meet Dr. Oz Special!” that atypically includes airfare accommodations to a taping of the celebrity doctor’s show. That’s in addition to two of the iBeat monitors.
But why choose IndieGoGo over Kickstarter, when even if the product isn’t fully funded any backers still have to shell out their money? Howard said that it’s because the former is a local Silicon Valley company (KickStarter is based in New York), and is also more medically skewed. That and it allows the outfit to test the market without resorting to venture capital investments at an early stage, which allows for some independence. If enough people trust Dr. Oz with their money the iBeat is scheduled to come out next July. For their sake, hopefully this isn’t just a high-tech “miracle flower.”
Source: iBeat (IndieGoGo)
A first look at Mercedes-Benz’s Generation EQ concept EV
On the first Sunday of each month, you can’t drive a car in Paris — unless it’s electric. That’s a trend that might just catch on elsewhere, judging by the fact that rival Tesla has pre-sold over 300,000 Model 3 EVs. So, Mercedes is suddenly taking this electric car thing very seriously with a new initiative called Generation EQ. Fittingly, the German company launched it at the Paris Auto Show with a concept car that’s essentially a preview of its future electric tech.
The platform can be used on a wide range of EVs, whether they’re SUV or coupe-sized, thanks to the module components and battery packs. It also sports autonomous tech that can talk to other cars on the road and intelligent mapping that helps you find a charging station or parking spot. It’s also got typical concept stuff like cameras instead of mirrors, screens everywhere and cool, but uncomfortable looking seats. The biggest problem is the timeline — Mercedes probably should have announced a program like this a couple years ago, and the first vehicles won’t be manufactured until 2019.
How to add a goal to Google Calendar
Adding a goal in Google Calendar can help to keep you on track.
Plenty of us already use Google Calendar to keep track of the many different parts of your life. On top of making events and reminders you can also set goals for yourself. These include goals for exercising, work, friends, and plenty more. We’ve got the details for you here on how to set one up.
Set a goal in Google Calendar
Open Google Calendar.
Tap the red plus icon in the bottom right corner of your screen.
Tap the blue flag icon to add a goal.
Tap to choose what type of activity goal you want to set. You will be show a preset list of goals based on the type of activity.
Tap an item from the list, or alternatively you can tap Custom… to add your own goal.
Tap to chose the frequency of reminders to complete your goal (options range from weekly to daily).
Tap to set the duration for your activity.
Tap to choose the best time of day for completing your goal.
Tap the checkmark to confirm your goal settings.
Google Calendars will now automatically find time in your schedule for the upcoming month based on on the parameters you set and add them as special events to your daily schedules.
Charge quickly while on the go with this $22 battery pack!
Jackery is currently offering its 10050mAh Quick Charge 3.0 battery pack for just $22, a savings of $8 with coupon code THUNDERJ. That’s right, Quick Charge 3.0 on the go, right from your bag, without needing to be tethered to a wall. Now, as you walk between business meetings or wait for the bus to arrive, you can charge your phone up quickly and easily. At just over 10000mAh, you’ll be able to charge most phones up to four times, and thanks to its dual USB outputs you can charge more than one device at a time.
If you don’t want to spend hours waiting for your phone to charge, you’ll want to grab one of these before the deal runs out. Remember, you’ll need coupon code THUNDERJ for the full savings here.
See at Amazon
This new iPhone 7 battery case has a built-in 3.5mm headphone jack
The first iPhone 7 case with a built-in headphones jack is available to buy.
It’s been a little over three weeks since Apple angered many consumers by ditching the headphone jack, but we all knew it was only a matter of time before cases would arrive to address the issue. Earlier this month, for instance, we showed you Daptr, a new case that’s still in the prototype stage and should retail for $49, but there’s already an official alternative you can actually buy.
It’s called Fuze, and it’s perfect for those of you who simply don’t want a world where the new iPhone comes without a headphone jack. It’s actually a battery pack case that features either a 2,400mAh (iPhone 7) or 3,600mAh (iPhone 7 Plus) battery, and it charges via Lightning cable, though the standout feature of this thing is that it has an integrated Lightning-to-3.5mm adapter.
Fuze is made of TPU and ABS plastics to protect your phone from drops and scratches and comes in the following five colours: black, white, blue, gold, and pink. Watch the video below for more details, and if Fuze interests you, go to the case’s Indiegogo page to pledge $50.
The planned delivery date for Fuze is before the holidays.
How to make Amazon Echo connect to your BT Home Hub: An easy fix
Amazon Echo arrived in the UK on 28 September to much excitement. Those who pre-ordered the connected device took delivery and then discovered that it wouldn’t work with one of the UK’s largest internet services, as it failed to connect to BT’s Home Hub.
Pocket-lint
Setting up the Amazon Echo is a fairly simple process, with voice prompts from the Echo and guidance in the app taking you through the process of getting your Echo connected to the app, online and registered with Amazon.
The problem, it seems, is that when the Echo talks to the BT Home Hub all the information is wrong and the registering process stalls. You’ll know it happens because the progress bar in the app stops about half way and about 10 minutes later, the Echo will tell you it wasn’t registered.
There is an easy fix however. It’s slightly technical, but just a case of tapping in some numbers.
How to connect Amazon Echo to BT Home Hub
Open up Amazon Echo’s normal setup process and follow the instructions. This means downloading and installing the app (Google Play or iTunes), or PRO TIP: a less fiddly option is to open up the browser version on your PC. Head here for quicker access: http://alexa.amazon.co.uk/
Pick your Wi-Fi network. Once you’ve got your PC or phone connected to the Echo, you have to sign it into your home Wi-Fi network. Locate your BT Home Hub and look for the option to “show advanced settings”. Click here to open the five boxes. IMPORTANT: If you’ve tried to connect previously and failed, you might have to click the option to “forget this network” before you’ll be able open the advanced settings.
Pocket-lint
Click here to open the five boxes. IMPORTANT: If you’ve tried to connect previously and failed, you might have to click the option to “forget this network” before you’ll be able open the advanced settings.
Manually enter your BT Home Hub details. This is where you solve the problem by manually supplying the information that the Echo and the BT Hub couldn’t sort out themselves. Remember to add your Wi-Fi network password at the top. Then simply copy the details below into the corresponding boxes, and hit the connect button.
Pocket-lint
Then simply copy the details below into the corresponding boxes, and hit the connect button.
- IP Address 192.168.1.2
- Router 192.168.1.254
- Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
- DNS 1 62.6.40.178
- DNS 2 62.6.40.163
That’s it, your £150 Echo is no longer a paperweight! The Echo should then connect and finish off its setup process. We’ve tried this with the latest BT Home Hub with no problems.
This is the solution that worked for us. There are others suggesting alternative steps, like separating the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz Wi-Fi bands, but we didn’t find that necessary. Hopefully it will be just as simple for you.
- Amazon Echo vs Amazon Tap vs Echo Dot: What’s the difference?
- Amazon Echo: What can Alexa do and what services are compatible?
How these companies would benefit from owning Twitter (or not)
Twitter has been struggling lately. It’s been battling flat user growth, declining profits, an executive exodus and generally bad PR — especially around its handling of abuse. Many have speculated for months that Twitter should just sell itself. And, if the rumor mill is to be believed, the company is indeed looking for ways to make that happen. According to reports from CNBC, TechCrunch and Bloomberg, the social media giant is in the crosshairs of at least five suitors: Google, Salesforce, Microsoft, Verizon and Disney. Here’s a look at all five — plus one we came up with ourselves — to see what a Twitter acquisition could do for them.
Image credit: Morris MacMatzen / Reuters
Even though Google is a titan in many fields — search, mobile and maps, among others — it hasn’t done so well in social. Its first attempt was Orkut, which faded into obscurity despite some isolated popularity in Brazil. There was Wave, a real-time messaging platform that was so confusing the project flatlined almost as soon as it launched. There’s also Buzz, a now-discontinued social network which integrated directly with Gmail — a move that unfortunately resulted in users being able to see their friends’ and families’ email contacts.
And, of course, there’s Google+, the company’s most notable attempt yet at a becoming a social network. But even that has proved something of a disappointment. It doesn’t help that tactics like forcing everyone to use it for other Google services have been alienating for some. Today, many of its features feel more disconnected than they used to. Google Plus is now a place for discussion groups than a traditional social network.
Basically, then, for Google to acquire Twitter, which already has over 313 million users, would be an instant boon. It would give the search giant the social cred it’s been chasing for so many years. Plus, Google has a little something called YouTube to help Twitter with its video streaming ambitions.
SalesForce
Image credit: Robert Galbraith / Reuters
Out of all the companies whose names have been floated as possible suitors, the unlikeliest is probably SalesForce. Known mostly for customer-relations management software, it’s decidedly enterprise-focused. At first blush, its interest in Twitter seems odd.
Yet it might not be. SalesForce already tried and failed to buy LinkedIn (Microsoft was the winner in that particular contest), so it would seem the company has long wanted to cash in on social. Plus, one of the features of its software is a plug-in that tracks mentions of brands on social media. SalesForce could leverage Twitter’s role as a customer communications tool to boost its own sales-and-marketing arsenal.
Microsoft
Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
Microsoft has never done particularly well at social. In 2011 it launched So.cl, a “search-based social network” that lets you share search results with friends, but it’s been unpopular, to say the least. Aside from that, most of the company’s investment in this space has been through acquisitions. A few years ago, it bought Yammer (a sort of Twitter for business), and it picked up LinkedIn earlier this year. Microsoft also tried and failed to buy Facebook back when it was a startup, but that obviously didn’t go as planned.
Acquiring Twitter would be the easiest and fastest way to make headway in social, but for Microsoft the deal would mean more than that. Despite a string of well-reviewed products like the Surface Book that have helped get consumers excited about Microsoft, the company may still seem stodgy to some, especially compared with younger rivals like Google and Facebook. Though Twitter itself is now a large, publicly traded company that doesn’t necessarily know what it’s doing, its user base is at least younger and more media savvy than Microsoft’s. That might be just what Satya Nadella and co. are looking for.
Verizon
Mike Blake / Reuters
If you think Verizon is just a plain old wireless carrier, you have it wrong. The company has had its sights set on the media space for a while now. Last year it bought AOL (Engadget’s parent company), and a few months ago it announced its intention to buy Yahoo. (The purchase isn’t set to close until 2017.) Both deals were made in the name of increasing Verizon’s advertising portfolio.
And, seeing as Twitter is a pretty big media company in its own right — it’s often the place to go for breaking news, and the company has recently made a push around livestreaming — it could fit right into Verizon’s video ambitions. Plus, let’s not forget that Twitter is yet another source for advertising revenue. With all of these companies under one umbrella, Verizon might have enough ammo to compete against the likes of Google and Facebook.
Disney
Jacky Naegelen / Reuters
Another strange potential bedfellow in this Twitter acquisition rumorfest is Disney. To be fair, CEO Jack Dorsey is on Disney’s board, so they’re already friendly enough that getting early-stage discussions off the ground may have been easier than it would have otherwise. Also, Disney owns several media entities like ABC and ESPN, so having Twitter would be great as an in-house marketing tool.
The issue here is that Twitter is also used by its rivals — you know, Fox, CNN, Comcast, and every other brand on earth — and those companies might not feel so great having their engagement analytics in the hands of the competition. Twitter’s poor history of handling abuse complaints might not sit well with Disney’s squeaky-clean image either.
Fantasy pick: Amazon
Kim Kyung Hoon / Reuters
While Amazon wasn’t named as a potential buyer, a Twitter acquisition would make some sense for the Seattle-based company. Sure, it’s largely known as an e-tailer, but Amazon has shown it isn’t afraid to experiment. It’s dabbled in hardware — the Kindle and Echo come to mind — and it’s making a strong play in video streaming too. And that video isn’t limited to just Prime subscribers: Amazon is also dabbling in live video after acquiring Twitch two years ago. Buying Twitter would provide yet another live vertical for Amazon and, of course, access to one of the world’s largest social networks. It might seem odd, but Amazon isn’t a normal company. And lest you forget, CEO Jeff Bezos already owns the Washington Post, indicating he might well have media mogul aspirations.
Anyone’s guess
Regardless of who ends up owning Twitter, it seems clear that somebody will eventually need to buy it, if only to keep it alive. On Monday, Twitter was the place on the internet to congregate during the US presidential debate. It was a firestorm of heated commentary — lively, interactive and emotional. It is this quality that has made Twitter such an effective launchpad for political movements like the Arab Spring. The company might have problems making money and gaining users, but its value to modern society is clear. Let’s hope somebody can keep it going.
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