Google Maps AR

Google Maps AR

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We came across the below tweet earlier on the week and we are very very impressed! Who needs Google Glasses or Apple Glasses when you have got your phone and AR! Say hello to Google Maps AR! It’s now looking like it’s starting to roll it out slowly to some users

https://twitter.com/ow/status/1106211516217470977

Google announced this feature in May of 2018 at it’s annual I/O developer conference. At the time it was called the AR Visual Positioning System. Which provided a layer of augmented reality over reality. Just raise your phone in front of your eyes and you are given directions of where to go. Whereas if you were to put your phone down it will revert back to the traditional map view.

It doesn’t look like something I’d use all the time and Rachel Inman the AR lead for the project told the Wall Street Journal that it’s not meant to be used as a primary navigation tool. Rather intended to be put to use when looking for a difficult to find specific road.

(Mashable)

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Sound Over Laser: AudioLaser?

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So, get this MIT have managed to transmit audio over laser. Somehow. So it’s AudioLaser – I guess?

Scientists over at MIT have figured out how to transmit audio over a laser beam. This is any type of audio, so that can be audio, it can be music anything at all. This is without a receiver either.

“Our system can be used from some distance away to beam information directly to someone’s ear… It is the first system that uses lasers that are fully safe for the eyes and skin to localize an audible signal to a particular person in any setting.” Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Charles M. Wynn via a press release.

The groundbreaking discovery was published in a paper in an journal called Optics Letters. The paper goes on to describe how an MIT team developed two differing methods of transmitting audio via laser.

How?

The way that the MIT researchers managed to do this was via a photoacoustic effect. This is the formation of soundwaves as a result of a material absorbing light. In their case they used water vapour that in the air, if they ‘swept’ a laser beam at the speed of sound. By changing the length of the sweeps they were able to encode different audible pitches.

Both methods allowed them to transmit sound a total of 8.2Ft away at 60db. In comparison this is about the same level of loudness of background music. Yet in this instance only the sound maker and the sound ‘target’ were able to hear it.
On the other hand they were able to encode an audio message by adjusting the power of the laser beam, however, this resulted in a much quieter result. Yet it was a clearer result than the prior method.

AudioLaser – Safety

The MIT team want to use this tech to allow the transmission of audio in situations that can be quite dangerous. For example at a mass shooting. Authorities could beam instructions to those in trouble, without anyone else hearing.

“We hope that this will eventually become a commercial technology…There are a lot of exciting possibilities, and we want to develop the communication technology in ways that are useful.” researcher Ryan M. Sullenberger

(Futurism)

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Netflix Keeps Your Bandersnatch Choices

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Those Bandersnatch choices you made back in December. Well those choices were kept.
Michael Veale who is a technology policy researcher over at the University College London, did a little bit of digging and found out just what Netflix keep on you. Using the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – remember all those emails you got last year. That.  To figure out that they track your choices.
According to Motherboard, Veale requested the Bandersnatch data from Netflix, to ask why: “it’s collecting data, the categories they’re sorting data into, third parties it’s sharing the data with, and other information.” Then subsequently posting it on Twitter.
Netflix told Veale that the data it collected helped them to “improve this model of storytelling in the context of a show or movie” While this seems pretty reasonable, Veale still concluded that it’s an invasion of privacy. It’s important to note that Netflix didn’t tell him how long they’d keep a hold of the data either.
We encourage you to check out Veale’s short Twitter thread by clicking here! It’s a great read! Very eye opening!

Consent

Veale told Motherboard:
“If you asked me, they should really be using consent (which you should be able to refuse) or legitimate interests (meaning you can object to it) …..It was tricky, as I had to ask these questions specifically.
It’s unclear if this is included by default in requests to get your data from Netflix or not. I can tell you often this kind of specific data is not included when you ask for ‘all your data.
Knowing what ‘all your data’ is, and what the company’s definition of ‘all your data’ does not include, is most of the challenge.”
Very interesting indeed. While it seems that it’s pretty harmless data collection. We should at least be told if we want out data collected.

(Refinery29)

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Philishave Heritage Edition

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Philips have recently announced a shaver to celebrate 80 years of Philips shaving innovation of male grooming and shaving! It’s called the Philishave Heritage Edition and this special edition Philishave is quite special! It combines modern-day technology of a Philips shaver and mixes it with a contemporary shaver. The colours and finish of the Philishave Heritage edition are inspired by it’s heritage and iconic three headed design!

Did you know?

Since the start of production, Philips have made one billion male grooming devices. Thats Billion with a big capital B! While along the way Philips have clearly demonstrated a dedicated commitment to meet the evolving needs of the modern man.

Philishave: History

In the 1930’s a Philips engineer named Alexandre ‘Sacha’ Horowitz was inspired by Philips’ bicycle dynamo technology. He was so inspired infact that he created the rotary system. Thus birthing the 80 year journey of Philips dedication to delivering high quality shaving products to the modern man. Little did he know, his creation was the spawning of many many years of innovation.

It was 1930 which say the launch of the world’s very first rotary shaver. It was called the Philishave. The Philishave was a pivotal moment in Philips history in the male groomin industry and saw the unique design meet the needs of men across the world.

Consequently in 1966, the iconic three triangular three-headed design of the latest Philishave provided men with a close yet comfortable shave, that we all know and love today. It continues to today and Philips encourage men to do what feels right when it comes to shaving. Offering a wide range of different shaving and grooming tools. All suited to meet a variety of needs. Be it skin sensitivity, style, convenience or lifestyle.

 “In 1939, Philips changed the way men shave forever. This special edition Philishave celebrates our game-changing history and commitment to making men’s lives better every day. The pioneering spirit of our designers and engineers is what makes Philips shavers so renowned and our expertise guarantees every shaver will give men the convenient, close and comfortable shave they deserve.” Georgia Dass, Marketing Manager for Philips Shaving UK

Design

The Philips Philishave Heritage Edition has the companies iconic three headed design and is the embodiment of years of continuous improvement. Whilst retaining all the high quality design features that what made the Philishave so good originally. As you would expect from a Philips shaver, the Philishave Heritage edition is an afforable and innovative shaver, which gives a close and comfortable shave.

The Shave

The Philishave Heritage Edition has a ComfortCut Blade System on rounded profile heads to offer users a comfortable shave which glides effortlessly across your face. All the while protecting your face from any skin irritations or cuts. The flex heads also move in 4 different directions to easily mould to the face of it’s user. The shaver also has Li-ion power to give a better shave for longer.

Key Features

  • ComfortCut Blade System
  • 4-direction Flex Heads
  • Pop-up trimmer
  • Li-ion power
  • Comes with a black travel pouch

Purchase a Philishave by clicking here! (RRP £79.99)

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Dagsmejan High tech Pajamas

Dagsmejan High tech Pajamas

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Lately we’ve been testing tech while we sleep. Literally! We’ve been trying out the amazing Dagsmejan High Tech Pajamas! They’re a brand new range of sleepwear that’s incredibly unique. They’re designed to help wearers get incredible sleep all night, but with a twist. They have unique moisture-wicking and temperature management features to them which help sleep better. Sleep is important to becoming healthier, happier and smarter. Sleep is vital for our health and the right temperature is just as important. Dagsmejan is scientifically proven to boost sleep comfort.

The temperature in which we sleep greatly affects the comfort levels of our sleep. The fluctuations in the temperature in which we sleep can affect our sleep negatively. The Dagsmejan High Tech Pajamas are so intelligent that they can help regulate a wearers temperature to help them stay in an ideal climactic zone. If your temperature is better, you’ll sleep deeper and for longer too!

Dagsmejan High Tech Pajamas: How?

The Dagsmejan High Tech Pyjamas are made from the worlds most natural and finest natural fibres. They’re incorporated the latest sleep technology and innovative textile engineering. The materials that are used are carefully researched from the Dagsmejan team so they know what they’re providing customers is perfect.

They use Merino Wool for their pyjamas. While studies show that we can sleep for up to 15minutes longer with this type of wool. As a result falling asleep quicker and in an deeper slumber. They’ve produced an ultra light breathable version of this type of wool. Consequently keeping you warm and comfortable without becoming uncomfortable.

As Dagsmejan have produced a blend of Merino Wool and Tencel from eucalyptus. Therefore creating a fabric that is 2x as soft as cotton and 4x more breathable. Whereas we sweat as much as 1 cup of water each night, the material helps wicks the moisture away providing a comfortable sleep.

To read a much more in depth piece of how wool from Dagsmejan Pyjamas can help you sleep better, please click here!

Comfort:

Furthermore the Dagsmejan High Tech Pyjamas also have flat seams, no tags and have amazing waistbands to help provide a comfortable wear. We move up to 50 times a night, so therefore the Pyjamas have to move effortlessly with you.

Dagsmejan is a Swedish word that refers to the last days of winter when the warmth of the sunshine melts the snow even when the temperature is still below zero. It derives from two words. clag which means day and meja which means strength and power. Its the time when nature awakens after a dark and cold period. The power of nature was our inspiration for creating a high performance sleepwear range using the latest technology and all natural fibres to give you the ultimate sleeping experience. Wake up as refreshed as on the first day of spring with Dagsmejan. 

(Dagsmejan)

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How To Kill An Hour Drone DJI

Gifts For The Tech-Lover In Your Life

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Although being able to give someone a gift – whether it’s their birthday, for another special occasion, or even if it’s simply because you feel like it, it’s often not the easiest thing in the world when you really don’t know what someone likes or if they already have everything, or even if they’re just one of those people who seem to be a bit fussy about the things they have.

However, other people do make it a bit easier, but then comes the question of what to get them within the area that you know they really like – and sometimes this can be even more difficult than not knowing what they like because that way you have more options to get it right, and this way you’re feeling overwhelmed with too many options.

So, in this post we’re going to share with you some of our top tips for gift ideas for the tech-lover in your life.

 

Drone:

Drones have become massively popular in the last few years, and we have to admit they’re seriously cool things, so why wouldn’t they be popular? However, whilst they were at first only available to the military, the government and the media, they’re now available to pretty much anyone, and although they’re not exactly the cheapest things on the planet to buy, they would make an excellent gift for someone who’s a bit on the techy side. It’s important to remember though that drones are banned in many countries, so for example if someone is planning to use one whilst traveling to take pictures with, then this is going to be something they need to check the law on before deciding to take the drone with them because otherwise they risk it being confiscated or even finding themselves faced with a fine.

 

Hoverboard:

Although the hoverboards we have nowadays aren’t exactly those we envisioned from movies like Back To The Future, they are still pretty cool and would make a really fun gift for the techy person in your life. The great thing about hoverboards is that they’re available in most price ranges so you’ll pretty much always be able to find one to suit the budget you have available, and they also have cool features such as bluetooth.

 

Car/Motorbike Accessories:

If the person you’re buying a gift for is someone who has a passion for cars or motorbikes, then a great gift for them could be something like accessories for their car or bike. You can find all kinds of techy gadgets and cool supplies both offline and online at places like Solo Moto, so you’ll be able to see a huge selection of things that they could really enjoy and would get a lot of use out of.

 

Computer/Tablet:

Gadgets like laptops and tablets may not be the cheapest items on the market in the technology space today, however, if you know a tech-lover and are looking for a great gift, then you’re going to struggle to go wrong in this area since most of the ones being made today have some seriously cool features and are extremely powerful in many ways, and although they’re not cheap, they do come in a good variety of price ranges to suit most budgets depending on the features you’re looking for and how much you’re looking to spend.

 

VR Headset:

Virtual Reality has become massive in the past 5 years and is fast becoming one of the biggest and fastest growing industries in the technology sector, so it’s definitely one that anyone who’s interested in technology will be watching with enthusiasm. One of the best things about VR, aside from how advanced it’s becoming is that it’s actually affordable to normal people, and most of the big tech giants such as Samsung are really looking to cash in on this desire for people to have VR at an accessible and affordable price point, so this could easily be one of the best gifts they ever receive if you decide to pursue this route.

 

Camera:

Although a camera may be just a camera to some people, if you know someone who loves to take photos either as a hobby or on a semi-professional level, then a good camera is something they’ll see as an investment and something they’ll truly appreciate because they know that a good camera will really enhance the photos they take. So, if you’re looking for a great gift, this is definitely one you can’t go wrong with and that will have lots of cool features.

Alfa Romeo How To Kill An Hour

Car Tech You Really Need

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The latest cars are all full of technology most of which is for safety or comfort reasons, as well as making the cars more efficient and cheaper to run. The technology has advanced at such a pace that you do not have to go back many years to find cars that have very little technology in them. You can always add some to older cars, and there are hundreds of great gadgets that could help to enhance your driving experience. However, there are also some technologies that will stay as part of newer cars only.

 

Dash Cams

Many new cars are being fitted with a dash cam, and some have a rear view facing cameras too. If you have an older car it is very simple to add a dash cam to it and then you will have a recording of the journeys you have made. These can be very useful evidence if there is a dispute with another road user.

 

Portable Jump Starter

Traditionally, car jump starters are made from a large battery that you store in your garage. Now there is one that is small enough to keep in the glove compartment of your car. It includes a USB charger that you can use for your other devices and has a built-in torch in case you need to use it in the dark.

 

300W Inverter

Most cars have USB ports these days, but what if you need to use something that needs a 3-pin socket? Then you need an inverter, which will change your cars 12V DC electricity supply to 240V AC in the UK. If you need to power anything over 150W, you have to clip the inverter directly to your battery. That will then be enough to power a laptop or a camping fridge.

 

Automatic Emergency Braking

This uses a variety of sensors to determine if a forward collision crash is about to happen and automatically applies the brakes to reduce its severity or to stop it or all together. This is going to be fitted as standard on all new cars by 2022 but would take a lot of work to install in an older car.

 

Technology Helping Maintenance

This technology might not be in your car, but the latest developments in servicing and maintenance can certainly help to keep in in a better condition at a more reasonable cost. For example, Mercedes AMG servicing & genuine parts do not have to break the bank and will prolong your car’s performance.  Technology and highly trained technicians have been combined to create the best service possible for your car maintenance and repairs.

 

Adaptive Cruise Control

Cruise control has been around for years, but now it can adapt to the speeds of the traffic around you. By using an array of sensors built into the car it will adjust the speed to suit the cars in front of you. Some of the more advanced systems will even stop and restart the car without you having to do a thing.

 

Technology and car are like everything else that is going on around us. They will continue to evolve and be very different in just a few years to how they are today.

 

Twitter Conversations Subscription

Twitter Conversations Subscription

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Since Twitter rolled out a prototype app called Twttr, and other features which have been spotted in Twitter’s code. Such as a ‘Hide Tweet” button. Twitter also confirmed today that a feature will allow people to subscribe to an individual conversation. Without having to “like” or RT the tweet.

It was spotted by Jane Manchun Wong,a reverse engineer. She often peeks inside popular apps to discover new features that are on the way.

View image on Twitter

Jane Manchun Wong@wongmjane
Wong spoke to TechCrunch and found the new feature within the Android version of the Twitter app. It’s jus a prototype for now though. The new button is said to be placed in the top right hand corner of a Tweet.

When TechCrunch reached out to Twitter, they didn’t provide any details of a launch yet. The feature is still under development and that the new feature is designed to make Twitter more conversational.  Allegedly this is one of Twitter’s top goals at the moment. Alongside making abuse less prominent on the site.

The new feature will allow users to follow a conversation thread, without liking the tweet or joining in the conversation. Users can also opt to receive notifications for a conversation too.

(TechCrunch)

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Apple March 25th Streaming

Apple March 25th Streaming Event – Surprise?

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The Apple March 25th Streaming Event which many believe to be the birth of a long awaited video service. Which will be of a streaming service of some sort. However it may not be the typical Netflix type of subscription video service. But something else entirely different.

If rumours are to be believed it may be an enhanced version of the iTunes store and associated Tv app for the iPhone/iPad. The event is said to be more of an update to an already established service than the birth of a new one. The new updated platform will hold all of Apple’s Originals and the iTunes transactional video on demand service (movies, tv shows). Furthermore it will aggregate a broad range of third party tv and OTT video services. So things like HBO and of Showtime.

Strategy

The new service will not be available to non-Apple devices. But Apple is also opening iTunes video content for viewing on non Apple devices via Airplay 2, on third party smart Tv’s. Apple make more money via third party services than it does selling movies and tv shows through iTunes. According to Ovum, iTunes global market share fell from 70% in 2011 to 22% in 2018! Yet it’s share in global retail OTT video revenue share it’s increased from 5% in 2016 to 10% in 2018.

It appears like Apple’s aim would be to get people back into iTunes. With the help from their Apple Originals videos. According to Ovum, the Originals service will also be free to Apple device owners, the content may also be already pre installed in the new app! Consequently once people are using iTunes, Apple will encourage users to browse their TVOD service and to sign up for the third party streaming services.

Apple will look to take all the best bits from Netflix/Amazon and incorporate them into their service. For example the high end productions from Netflix (Apple Originals) aggregation of third-party services (such as Amazon Prime Channels) and the curation of the TVOD service (Amazon). With Apple’s closed wall ecosystem and a 600million Apple device user base and what you’d expect to be a user friendly interface, Apple may be in a strong position.

The Future

According to Ovum, hybrid services that the one Apple is rumoured to be launching will take 33% of subscription market share by 2023. While Netflix’s global market share will stabilise around the 20% mark and Amazon’s will slightly increase to 12%.

Apple look to be placing their bets on rather than building a rival to Netflix. To reimagine TV while incorporating the best of Netflix. It seems as though Apple will move into this strategy in to the 2020’s. With a TV world whereby consumers can build their own entertainment package from multiple on-demand services and linear channel services. Plus AVOD where it charges consumers a subscription for access while also carrying advertising. While 2010’s belonged to Netflix and streaming the forthcoming years may look very different.

Figure 1: Netflix, Amazon and other services in the USA, 2018-2023 (in millions)

 Apple March Event Streaming

Source: Ovum

Google Stadia: Netflix of Gaming?

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Google have announced an unveiled a brand new gaming platform. Which is very different to what Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are offering right now. It’s called Stadia and the games will be streamed to you via an internet browser. Which are said to be better than console quality! Stadia is said to work on existing desktops, laptops, tv’s and phones, said Phil Harrison VP and general manager of Google. Even the least powerful of PC’s can run Stadia!

The tech giant also revealed a controller for Stadia. It looks much like a regular console controller. Though it also has a Google Assistant button and a capture button to capture gaming and directly put it on YouTube.

Google Stadia Controllers

ID Software announced that Doom Eternal will be one of the first games on launch. Which will be in 2019 in the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Exactly when that is in 2019 is unknown. No pricing was announced either.

Stadia: How?

How can even smartphones, TV’s and not so powerful PC’s play these top end games? Well, because the games run elsewhere on Google’s own high end hardware. You connect to it via the internet, the hardware then does all the hard work and sends you a video feed of what you are playing back to you. Essentially.

However, other services such as ‘OnLive’ which tried this back in the day (2010-2015) and Nvidia’s GeForce Now where some have encountered lag. They suffered due to the difficulty of offering high end games via an internet connection. But the question remains is it their end or is it the consumers own internet?

Lag: A delay between an action being performed on a controller or keyboard and the action being replicated on screen.

Google have said that the controller will connect to the internet directly. Which will then communicate with their servers which will reduce the amount of lag that players may encounter.

Impressively (if they pull this off) Google will be able to offer games at 4K at 60FPS and up to 8K 120FPS in the future. (Who needs 8K?!?) The Stadia is also insanely powerful with a GPU of 10.7 GPU teraflops while Xbox One X the worlds most powerful console has 6 GPU teraflops and the PS4 pro has 4.2 GPU teraflops. Basically, it’s very very good.

(BBC)

Google Stadia: We have some questions.

All very impressive indeed although we have some questions:

  • Are the games like Netflix: Pay to play many games for 1 subscription fee
  • Or we have to buy our own games?
  • Can we download our games to play them offline?
  • How does multiplayer work?
  • Are the multiplayer lobbies/parties
  • Is there protection from hacking?
  • What happens when the internet goes down?
  • How will my games me kept secure
  • How many games are available?
  • Will all the AAA games be available at launch
  • Will the footage be flagged for copyright from Stadia’s own capture system from YouTube’s Copyright flagging software?

But most of all, how laggy will it be? People’s internet will need to be able to cope with the game, if there’s the slightest bit of lag it will put gamers off. Coupled with multiplayer games, if there’s double the lag, people will not want to use the service.

It’s an interesting time to be a gamer certainly as Microsoft have their cloud service in the works too with ‘Xcloud’ so is this the way gaming is heading or will it supplement good ol’ physical disks or downloads.