YouTube Translation Tools Aim to Globalise Content

YouTubes – Set of Tools to Translate Titles/Description of Videos

In an attempt of expanding its global reach, YouTube had recentlyannounced a set of latest tools in order to translate the titles and the descriptions of its massive trove of videos in multiple languages. YouTube has estimated that over 80% of its videos are viewed outside the United States and over 60% of YouTube channels’ views are from outside the country of its origin.

However, according to Vladimir Vuskovic, product manager for YouTube Globalisation, numerous videos that may have been significant to viewers have not been viewed since the search process has been limited to a single language.

Vuskovic state that YouTube, with its new tools, provides the potential for titles as well as description of the videos on its site to be displayed in multiple languages that helps with the discovery of content. YouTube has been offering three new services and those who tend to make videos could translate their titles and description together with the subtitles for videos which contain them into 76 languages inclusive of French, Spanish and Mandarin. Besides this vendors who provide translation services to Google Play developers could do the translation which according to YouTube includes translation into 57 languages.

Translation Through Crowdsourcing

YouTube has stated that it would permit viewers to do the translating through crowdsourcing wherein it would screen various answers in determining the precise translation. It informed that it potentially enabled translation into any language. Video Partnerships Manager at Vice, Jordan DeBor states that the new features have the capabilities to change fundamentally the way Vice tends to distribute its YouTube content on a global scale.

 By eliminating the language barrier YouTube offers the opportunity of building new audience in local markets expanding from its existing ones’. With the support of more than 20,000 volunteer translators, TED, an important YouTube partner has experimented with crowd-sourced translations through thousands of video in over hundred languages.

They had joined the new translation tools pilot a few months back and have combined translated caption with translated titles with description for video in 11 languages for the first time.This gave rise to major growth in localized watch-time and the channel’s localized watch-time increased from 20% to 35% generally and in some cases up to 60%.

Options Important for Emerging Artists/Brands

Kristin Windbigler, Director of TED’s Open Translation Project mentioned that for over five years they have been working to remove the barrier of language from TED’s mission in extending ideas all over the world. YouTube, as one of the most important partners has pushed the boundaries in making the videos accessible as well as discoverable for viewers across the globe.

According to the company, the website Vice, in a test, translated videos in Spanish and Portuguese and observed viewing time had increase over 100%. TED director of global distribution, Deron Triff, stated that the company uploaded around 60,000 translated videos on YouTube on a single day in June, with provision of access to viewers speaking Farsi, Turkish, Russian and Vietnamese beside various other languages.

Triff has mentioned that for small associations like TED, YouTube develops an on-ramp for them to the parts of the world where they would be unable to set up relationships. A social media specialist at Digipendent Media, Daniel Aguayo mentioned that the option seems important for emerging artists as well as brands though a major steps also towards growing YouTube’s general audience.

The Computer That Knows what you are Thinking

Emotion Reading Computers

We as humans have the advantage of masking our innermost feelings whenever the need arises. However, there could be a change now since the computers have been enhanced with not only at recognising faces but also in comprehending what could an individual be thinking in fact. Daniel McDuff has been working ona project where he has been creating emotion reading computers, at the Massachusetts Institute.

 This could ultimately lead to machines which may have emotional intelligence or even everyday objects that have the potential to empathise with our moods, like a mirror that knows how one may be feeling about the way you look, a fridge which could offer food that may match one’s state of mind or a car which may recognises when they are stressed.

The method adopted by Dr McDuff has been progressing through a basic webcam which tends to detect a range of different facial movement from frowning to smiling. It then translates into seven of the most normally recognised emotional states namely, sadness, amusement, surprise, fear, joy, disgust and contempt.

The computer learns from a large database of four million video from volunteers as well as paid-for market researchers, in different emotional states and the procedures are regularly updated as well as tested against real world situations

Integrate Voice Analysis& Other Means of Physical Well being

The next step is to integrate the voice analysis and other means of physical wellbeing like the heart rate and the hand gestures. So far the data has revealed that there are huge differences in emotional responses among men and women and in the various age groups and demographics.

Dr McDuff informed BBC that there are significant differences in various countries in the way people tend to express themselves. He further added that `in collectivist cultures where the family group seems more important, people are expressive in small groups while in more individualistic cultures namely Western Europe, the stress is on building relationships with strangers and people get more positive around people who they are less familiar with’.

Besides this, he also observed that when people tend to mask their real feelings, the computer is capable in recognizing subtle difference. He states that if they are frustrated, they will often smile, however, that smile would be different from the smile when one is genuinely amused.

For Online Education

Another field which the system could be utilised is for the purpose of online education where it could provide advice to tutors on how students seem to be managing and understanding the work. The system which Dr McDuff together with his team has been researching had been tested with the BBC’s audience measurement group offering perceptions to the response to different shows.

 He revealed that among those tested was a prime time comedy show which went down differently with the different demographics, ethnicities and ages. He now intends to use the technology for mental health in partnership with Affectiva, a MIT by-product for which he is the research director.

He states that it could be scary to imagine that someone could measure one’s emotions without the person realising it and hence it could be important to think about the social impact of such technology. It is essential that everyone actively decides to share their data.

 Affective computing seems to be a growing area and companies like Creative Virtual are creating tools for customer service technology which enables a computer to tell the difference between a customer who seems to be upset and the one who is not.

Study-Words can Deceive, But Tone of Voice Cannot

Computer System Can Predict – Improved/Worsened Relationship

New Computer system can now predict if you and your spouse would be having an improved or worsened relationship centred on the tone of voice which one may use while speaking to each other with an accuracy of almost 79%. The system, in fact had done a better job of predicting marital success of couples with serious matrimonial issues than description of the therapy sessions that were provided by relationship experts which were reported in a study on September 6, 2015, in Proceedings of Interspeech.

Hundreds of conversations from more than one hundred couples have been recorded by researchers that were taken at the time of marriage therapy session over two years and later tracked their marital status for five years.

Led by Shrikanth Narayanan and Panayiotis Georgiou of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, an interdisciplinary team, together with doctoral student Md Nasir and collaborator Brian Baucom of University of Utah, created a system which broke the recordings into acoustic features utilising speech-processing technique. These comprised of pitch, intensity, `jitter’ as well as shimmer besides several other things like tracking warbles in the voice which could specify moments of high emotion.

Voice Acoustic Features

Nasir mentioned that `what one says is not the only that tends to matter, it is very essential how it is said. The study confirms that it holds for a relationship of couple also’. The voice acoustic features takentogether provided the team’s program, a substitute for the subject’s communicative state and the changes to the state over the course of an individual therapy as well as across therapy sessions.

Significantly, the features were not scrutinized in isolation but the effect of one partner on the other and longitudinally over various therapy sessions was considered. Narayanan commented that it was not around studying the emotions but it was about studying the effect of what the partners says on one’s emotions.

Georgiou stated that looking at one instance on the behaviour of a couple limits their observational power. But observing at numerous points of time and looking at both individuals as well as the dynamics of dyad could be helpful in identifying courses of their relationship. At times it could for the best or at times they could be heading towards deterioration of relationship.

Behavioural Codes – Positive - Acceptance/Negative – Blame

Controlling of such method is to aid in identifying how domain experts could advise couples in a better manner in improving relationships, according to Georgiou. Baucom on his part commented that psychological practitioners as well as researchers have known for long that the way partners tend to talk and discuss issues has important implication with regards to the health of their relationships.

 But the absence of efficient and reliable tools for measuring important elements in those conversations seems to be a major impediment in their widespread clinical use. The findings signified a main step forward in making objective measurement of behaviour practical as well as feasible for couple therapists. Once it was modified, the program was later tested against behavioural analysis made by human experts who had studied the couples, behavioural codes namely, the positive qualities such as acceptance or negative qualities like blame.

Moreover the team also observed that studying voice directly instead of the expert created behavioural codes provided a much accurate sight on the future of the couple. Thereafter utilising behavioural signal procedure, a framework to understand human behavioural computationally, the team intends to use language, for instance spoken words and nonverbal information like body language in cultivating the prediction of how effective would the treatment be.

Yahoo Stops Some Users Accessing Emails in Ad-Blockers Row

Yahoo – Stopped Users from Accessing Emails, Using Ad-Blocking Software

Yahoo has confirmed that it has stopped some of it customers from accessing their email if they tend to be using ad-blocking software in their browser. Some of the users in the US had reported that Yahoo mail had been displaying message requesting them to disable their ad-blocker prior to accessing their inbox.

A Yahoo spokesperson has commented that `at Yahoo, they are constantly developing and testing new product experiences. Members from an ad-blocking forum had informed that they had managed to evade the limit already. It is said that ad-blocking has turned out to be controversial and the technology companies have responded in various ways.

Apple had updated its mobile operating system iOS, in September to enable third party ad-blocker to be installed though they did not remove Apple’s own ads that serve up in apps. On the other hand Google introduced a paid subscription version of YouTube enabling viewers to remove ads for a monthly fee, on the video streaming site.

Ad-blocking advocates state that disabling advertisements could increase the battery life of smartphone as well as reduce the usage of mobile data. It could also avert users from being tracked by advertisers online as well as protect devices from malware which could be served up when an advertising network tends to get compromised.

Test – A New Product Experience

Yahoo had acknowledged adverts on its homepage in 2014 that it had been infected with malware for four days. However, the company presently tends to rely on advertising to earn revenue from its Yahoo Mail service that is available for use, free of cost.

Yahoo has not disclosed how long the test would be running or if it would ultimately roll out the new feature to its Yahoo Mail users. It was observed that they were unable to access Yahoo Mail through Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox when the browser had installed the ad-blocking extension. As per BBC, Yahoo states that it is progressing the testing which is a new product experience focused for users in the U.S.

Though it is unknown how many users tend to get affected by this test, Yahoo has informed that this test will be running for a small number of Yahoo Mail users in the USA. Few users of USA had reported that a message in Yahoo Mail has asked them to turn off their ad blocker in order to access their inbox.

Users Barred from Viewing the Site

A member on an ad-blocking forum had informed that they have found a way of bypassing the restriction of Yahoo and in September, internet users trying to access the Washington Post’s website on using the software noticed that they were barred from viewing the site and were navigated to a subscription page and requested to enter their email address in order to unlock the content they intended to read.

This is about a significant discussion regarding customer choice; controls and the level of ads which customers tend to receive. This change was met with contempt by the users most of whom were keen to stop utilising the service and accepting its services however does not mean that users need to agree to the statement – Yahoo may include advertisements and these advertisements seems necessary for Yahoo to deliver the Yahoo Services.

You Can Now Use Android Apps without Downloading Them

Google – Use Apps without Download

Google is experimenting with tech that enables you to use apps without downloading them. It was Google’s plan of keeping its crown with regards to mobile search. Earlier searching for the Web would be sitting in front of a desktop computer and editing words in the search box at Google.com.

But now, with the enhancement in technology, individual open a smartphones app, instead of going to Google. However Google intends to change it and the Mountain View, California, company desires to extend its search dominance to smartphones by offering an option of using apps without the need of downloading them to your phone.

Should a user search for a product for instance hotel room by utilising Google’s app on a smartphone powered by the company’s Android software, it displays the search results from across the web as usual. However there would also be some details from apps like Hotel Tonight, the San Francisco-based app for booking last minute rooms. If the button is tapped, Google displays the app and the user could book a room, even though the same is not installed on their phone.

Streaming Video to Phone via Internet

For those who have been waiting for a long length of time between tapping `install’ and then able to open an app on the phone, it seems thrilling. The trick is that the company has been streaming a video to your phone via the Internet while the apps run in a computer several miles away.Presently Google is only capable of doing that with nine apps namely Hotel Tonight, Daily Horoscope, My Horoscope, New York Subway, Weather, Visual Anatomy Free, Useful Knots, restaurant finder Gormey and national parks guide Chimani. Lead engineer for Google’s mobile search and app indexing team, Rajan Patel commented that they feel like it is their role to ensure they have answers, in mobile often which are in apps.

This move for consumers would mean cutting out time and the trouble it involves in downloading an app and then installing it on the phone. One could utilise an app without the need of it occupying space on the device.For Google it could be revolution of making mobile app less applicable, keeping the search giant at the top for smartphone users. Though Google’s desktop search engine seems to be the most successful in the world, it is not as unattainable on Smartphones.

Deep Linking Technology

However, this is not the only option Google is making attempts in trying to enhance mobilesearch. Google, in April had altered the way of organizing all websites, ranking those which show better on smartphones and the company had been working in making information from within the apps much more searchable on Google. This technology is known as deep linking.

The company had also informed that it has now over 100 billion links to information from apps. Due to the technology which it had acquired last year from a start-up known as Agawi, Google also has the capability of streaming these apps. Google is not actually giving access to the app, technically.

According to a spokeswoman, it seems like one is in the program, though the company is in fact streaming you a high-resolution video which can be tapped and scrolled just as a normal app. The difference between an installed app and the Google version is that a banner runs through the bottom of the screen which says `App streamed by Google.

Google has mentioned that the new app feature would ultimately come to Apple’s iPhones though has refrained to say when it would come up.

The World's Most Powerful Supercomputer

Tianhe-2 Supercomputer of China – World’s Most Powerful System

According to a biannual Top500 list of supercomputers, Tianhe-2 supercomputer of China has maintained its place as the most powerful system in the world for the sixth consecutive time. The Top500 list is considered to be one of the most authoritative rankings of the world’s supercomputers and has been compiled on the basis of the performance of the machines on the Linpack benchmark by experts from Germany and the US.

Tiahne-2 also known as the Milky Way-2 having a performance of 33.86 petaflops per second –Pflop/s had been invented by China’s National University of Defence Technology and organized at the National Supercomputer Centre in Guangzhou. It has held the title since June 2013.

According to the official media report, the Chinese system is said to be around twice as fast as the next on the list, Titan of the US Department of Energy that has a performance of 17.59 Pflop/s. In the latest edition of the closely watched list, no changes have come up regarding the ranking of the world’s top 5 supercomputers since June 2013.

China – Great Leap to 109 Systems

As per professor of the University of Tennessee and editor of the report, Jack Dongarra stated in an email to state-run Xinhua news agency that the top five computers are very expensive and powerful and it would take another year before a new system tends to enter the top five.From July 2015’s list some of the substantial changes to this list is the sharp decline in the number of systems in the US now at 201. It has been reported that in July, this is down from 231 and seems to be the lowest number of systems that have been connected in the US since the list had begun in 1993.

 In comparison, China had made a great leap to 109 systems. Dongarra had stated that China received a big enhancement from Sugon, Lenovo and Inspur. The large number of submissions had come from Sugon. As per the Top500 statement, Sugon had outdone IBM in the system category with 49 systems and Lenovo that had acquired IBM’s x86 server business last year had 25 systems in the list, up from three systems on the list of July 2015. Besides this, some systems which were earlier listed as IBM have now been labelled as IBM/Lenovo and Lenovo/IBM.

China Carving Bigger Share as Manufacturer

The third vendor from China, Inspur, now has about 15 systems on the list. The statement mentioned that China is carving out a bigger share as a manufacturer of great performance computer together with manifold Chinese manufacturers being very active in this arena.

Overall HP tends to lead the list with 156 systems followed by Cray with 69 systems with China’s Sugan with 49 systems. However, US intend to ultimately lead the world in supercomputer. Last fall IBM, had indicated that it would develop two new supercomputers named Summit and Sierra, for the Energy Department which would be still more powerful than China’s Tianhe-2 supercomputer but the same would not be ready till 2017.

President Obama had signed an executive order calling for the U.S. in July to develop the world’s most powerful supercomputer under the National Strategic Computing Initiative. The Energy Department as well as the National Science Foundation would be leading the push. There seems to be no deadline for the supercomputer’s completion though initiative members are expected to give yearly updates on its progress for the next five years.

Microsoft Presses Pause on Tool for Porting Android Apps to Windows 10

Microsoft to Introduce Project Astoria Tool

Microsoft intends to introduce a tool in bringing about apps that were initially written for Android to its own Windows 10. Project Astoria, the tool, had been created to inspire programmers who wrote apps for devices, driven by Google’s mobile software to bring these apps to Microsoft’s latest operating system. Windows is the foundation software for most of the PCs.

However Microsoft had been struggling to extend it to phone as well as tablets where the software of Apple and Google tends to dominate. As for Microsoft, it seems that the progress on the tool is not going as planned and the company has refrained from commenting if Astoria has been cancelled or that it would still be released.

According to Microsoft spokeswomen it was said that they are committed in offering developers several options in bringing their apps to the Windows Platform and the Astoria bridge is not yet ready. But other tools tend to provide great options for the developers. It is important for Microsoft that Windows 10 is successful after its predecessor. Windows 8 was extensively rejected.

Astoria – Deliver Set of Patterns/Concrete Setup

A deep and broad selection of Windows 10 app could be essential for success in order that users could fulfil their requirements for communication, work and entertainment and Microsoft could extend Window’s financial success.

The earlier smartphone software of Microsoft had fought to obtain traction partially owing to an absence of apps when compared to Apple’s iOS as well as Google’s Android. Astoria was intended to be the principal part of the plan in drawing important app developers to Windows. Project Astoria tends to deliver a set of patterns and a concrete setup in creating and consuming data services by utilising web technologies.


Data has been increasingly available in the web and the production of new data driven applications like mashups evidently specifies that the availability of standalone data independent of user interface is altering the way systems tend to be built as well as the way data can be leveraged.

The future of Astoria could be doubtful, but Microsoft has released two of its related tools, namely `Islandwood’, which enables developers to bring apps for Apple’s iOS software to Windows 10 and `Westminister’, that does the same for apps created for the Web.

An Emulator/Softer Layer

The company has mentioned that Microsoft also intends to release a similar tool, to bring the older-style Windows app to Windows 10. According to the Windows Central blogs it is said that some clues hinted at fading interest for Astoria and the project’s forum died down in September with the questions of developers remaining unanswered by Microsoft.

 Moreover, Microsoft uncovered Astoria out of latest test versions of Windows 10 for the mobile devices. In Microsoft’s world, programmers could write their apps for Windows 10 in the first place, directly. The foremost issue of Astoria is that it is efficiently an emulator, a softer layer which enables programs written for one software basis run on another. However emulation means that an app’s styling does not seem to fit well in the new environment or take benefit of its features.

Microsoft had stated that `developers could write apps which run on all Windows 10 devices and take advantage of native Windows features and that they are grateful to the feedback for the development community and are looking forward to support them as they tend to develop apps for Windows 10’.

Snapdragon 820 will Change Smartphones in 2016

Qualcomm’s New Snapdragon 820 – Fastest Performance Chip

Qualcommhas been leading the smartphone processor manufacturer for several years and the company has played an important role in altering the façade of the industry. Recently Qualcomm had launched the new Snapdragon 820 and its high end smartphone processor is evidently the fastest performance chip ever developed. After a full year of instabilities for the company, this new sort of processor has all new designs in delivering the performance leap which Android enthusiast would prefer.

Though the Snapdragon 810 was initially capable, the 820 have benefits which could ease some of the anxieties that any enthusiast has. Foremost is that the chip has a new custom architecture and abandons the `off-the-shelf’ cores of the 810. Moreover, it has adequate power saving and task off-loading features which Qualcomm tends to extend battery life as well as performance.

The processor of Qualcomm’s new 64-bit Kryo cores on-board, which is a custom-design is said to be holistically integrated with the rest of the SoC in order to give the best in heterogeneous computing.Besides this the Kryo cores tends to reach clock-speeds of 2.2 GHz and the CPU offers twice the peak performance of the Snapdragon 810 with twice the battery efficiency also, according to Qualcomm.

Hexagon Digital Signal Processor – Offload Tasks/Less Power

The latest CPU is being developed based on the latest 14nm FinFET process and should prove to be advantageous over larger process size such as those in most of the 2015 flagship chipsets. Qualcomm is ensuring that the Snapdragon 820 is capable of handling tasks professionally through intelligent task distribution and their new Symphony System Manager certifies that you can run the right task on the appropriate processor.

 However, though some SoCs limit such system management to only CPU cores. Symphony could handle the complete SoC in different alignments to locate the competent variation of load allocation. According to Qualcomm, specialized cores are selected to get the task done as fast as possible. With their updated Hexagon 680 DSP in place, together with battery savings it could be more encouraging that earlier. The Hexagon Digital Signal Processor tends to offload tasks which could be done quickly on this processing unit, consuming less power than the CPU.

New Image Technology – Enhanced Adaptive Brightness/Reduced Noise

It will be assigned with sensor processing tasks and as a low power island just like the other devices provided earlier. With a sensor assisted processor together with their new image processing technology it would bring about efficiency in the field of smartphone practise which could be quite substantial drainers. Regarding the image technology, the Snapdragon 820 claims the capability of intelligently categorizing objects in images, or images in various classifications based on the context.

Its Spectra Image Sensor Processor – 14-bit dual-ISP, attached with Snapdragon Scene Detect, tends to achieve deep learning technology in improvement as it learns with more data. Qualcomm states that their technology could provide enhanced adaptive brightness together with reduced noise.

Besides this, one may also perceive drops in HDR as well as motion artifacts. Overall, the Snapdragon 820 seems to be a fanciful chip and is claimed that it passes the thermal requirements from OEMs. As they have smartly called their new design `Kyro’ – wherein `Cyro’ is defined as involving cold, they not only need to live up to their promises but also to the name.

Three Entrepreneurial Strategies That Can Facilitate Professional Success

One of the most deeply satisfying experiences an individual can have is the sense of maintaining both personal and professional success. Being an entrepreneur is an effective way to attain this type of experience because it allows you to generate wealth and build a business in a manner that is conducive to your personal values and preferences. However, many entrepreneurs find that they are unable to get their business ventures off the ground due to a lack of information or resources. Nevertheless, using some or all of the following strategies can help you attain the professional success you're looking for:

1. Get Into Multi-Level Marketing.

Multi-level marketing is an entrepreneurial strategy that you can employ to attain professional success. The basic business schema involves you selling one or several products and services. You will generate income based on your sales. Additionally, you'll recruit business partners who will also sell the company's products and services. You'll receive a percentage of their sales. As you start looking for the ideal multi-level marketing company to work with, consider the professionals of ACN Inc. This company has extensive industry experience and a passion for helping people realize their professional dreams.

2. Networking.

If you're serious about being successful as an entrepreneur, networking is a must. To ensure that you optimize your sphere of influence and enhance your conversion rates, you need to constantly be coming in contact with new people. There are numerous networking events you can attend to realize this objective, some of which include career fairs, conferences, and lectures.

3. Investing.

Another strategy that you should consider as you seek to realize your entrepreneurial vision is investing. Investing is a great way to generate passive income, and you can use the money you create to support your budding business. Many people don't take time to look into investment opportunities because they aren't familiar with this facet of finance. Yet by simply hiring a reputable investor, you can attain the information and professional assistance necessary to make sound, perpetually profitable investing decisions.

Conclusion 

When you're ready to attain a high level of entrepreneurial success, it's important to find and implement proven business principles that will help you attain the great results you want. To really get your company moving forward, consider implementing one or all three of the helpful business strategies you see outlined above. After a while, you'll likely find that your entrepreneurial dreams start coming true!

Chrome for Android vulnerability Discovered by Researcher

Chinese Researcher Discovered Susceptibilities in Android Operating System

Google, over the past few months had been busy crushing security susceptibilities in its prevalent Android mobile operating system, though several tends to remain undiscovered and some could be easily misused. Guang Gong, a Chinese researcher from Qihoo 360, demonstrated at MobilPwn2Own at the PacSec conference in Tokyo on how an Android device running the latest version of the operating system could be hijacked by exploiting JavaScript v8 vulnerability through Chrome browser.

 Gong observed JavaScript v8 susceptibility in Chrome for Android enabled him to install a random application on the affected device, a BMX Bike game in this case, without the need of user interaction. Dragos Ruiu, PacSec organizer had explained in a Google+ post. V8 is Google’s open source JavaScript engine and V8 is written in C++, used in Google Chrome which is the open source browser from Google.

Google security engineer on site had received the bug. Spotpedia had informed that `a Google engineer instantly got in touch with Gong after his presentation and rumours were on that the Chrome team had already got it fixed. Gong had commented on 9to5Google that the exploit was created by someone whose job was to find vulnerabilities and not a hacker with malicious intentions.

Vulnerability in JavaScript Engine in Chrome

As long as Chrome is utilised in navigating to a malicious site an attacker has set up, the device could be infected.This was demonstrated on a Google Project Fi Nexus 6 operating the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow build with all applications updated. The vulnerability was also demonstrated by the researcher which could provide an attacker with total control of the device and success of the exploitation does not need chaining in multiple susceptibilities.

Ruiu informs that this particular shot exploit had been exposed after three months of work, though the exact details on the security flaw had not been publicly known. The exploit had been tested on other devices too and worked on all of them, according to Ruiu.Considering that the vulnerability is in the JavaScript engine in Chrome, it is said to affect the entire Android version with the new version of the browser which is installed. Ruiu had announced through Twitter that the details on the vulnerability had been handed over to Chrome engineer at the conference.

Series of Critical Android Vulnerabilities Observed

However, unfortunately for Gong, his presentation at the conference did not gain him an immediate reward for his efforts though probably Google would reward him for the discovery of the vulnerability, since the company has a bug bounty program set up for Chrome and Chrome OS. According to The Register, Ruiu would fly Gong to the CanSecWest security conference next year.

Google would most probably handle this vulnerability soon, even though the details on the exploit have not been made public so far. A series of critical Android vulnerabilities have been discovered by security researchers this year comprising of the Stagefright flaw which has affected almost a billion devices and a Stagefright2issue alleged to have affected devices running all Android version, began with the initial release.

Zano Mini-Drone Project Shut Down by Torquing

Zano Mini-Drone Shut Down

The Zano mini-drone project, one of Europe’s most successful Kickstarter has been shut down by the company. Torquing Group had released a report to supporters of the project stating that it had decided to pursue a `creditors’ voluntary liquidation. The said project is said to be in distress inspite of raising over £2m. According to a message sent by Torquing, the creditors would be contacted by abankruptcyexpert.

The message states that on exploring all options known and after seeking professional advice, they have made the difficult decision to pursue a creditor’s voluntary liquidation. They have been greatly disappointed with the result of the Zano project and would like to take the opportunity of thanking all who supported them during the difficult period, particularly the loyal employees, whose commitment had exceeded all expectations.

Thousands of individuals who had invested in the project through Kickstarter would not be receiving the device for which they had paid to support.According to a comment left on a Zano forum, Ivan Reedman, chief executive of Torquing had resigned recently owing to personal health issues and conflicting differences. This was followed by another hitch in June when Torquing had missed a deadline in distributing drones to supporters waiting for the product.

Europe’s Most Successful Kickstarter Campaign Collapse

Zano drones were in production already and were created to be controlled through a smartphone app. Moreover, the device would also be capable of following users as they moved around outdoors but the function was not working completely when BBC had visited Torquing in August.

One of the supporters had informed BBC that he had invested around £164 in November 2014, in Zano and till a few weeks ago they had been receiving emails stating that the first 7,000 Zanos were almost ready to be dispatched.

He further commented that it was unfortunate to see Europe’s most successful Kickstarter campaign collapse so dramatically, especially when it was nearing shipping. Sandro Ruch another supporter informed that he had invested a couple of hundred dollars and was disappointed with Torquing’s communication with supporters of the project in recent months. He informed BBC that it was the main thing and the main point which was upsetting was that it was a question of investor expectation management.

Social Networks – New Met with Dismay by Supporters

The news was met with dismay by the supporters on social networks and one supporter had written on the Zano Facebook page that he wanted his money back. User on the Kickstarter page for the project had added that being furious seems to be an understatement.

 It was expected to arrive in June and it is now almost six months later that the decision has come up. In one of the statement, Kickstarter had stated that creators on Kickstarter have a remarkable track record though there are no guarantees that a project would work out.

If a developer is unable to complete a project as pledged, their contract with supporters need them to bring the project to the best possible conclusion as mentioned in the Terms of Use. Torquing refrained from responding to request for their comment.

Facebook Launches Notify News App

Notify – Released By Facebook – News/Entertainment Stories

An app for iPhone usersknown as Notify has been released by Facebook that tends to collect news and entertainment stories in one regularly updated feed. Among the 70 organisation that would be providing stories to the app are CNN, Fox News and the Washington Post.

Those who intend to install the app can choose their own mix of sources which will post notification their feed. This competes openly with Twitter’s Moments and Apple’s News services that produce feeds of breaking stories. Facebook has mentioned in a blogpost that the feed of stories can be adapted on choosing from the various categories which comprise of movies, sport, music, news and celebrities.

Besides these, there are also categories for daily meditation exercises together with Getty picture library portraying iconic images from the same day in history. Presently the Notify service is only made available to iPhone users with Facebook account in the United States.

 It has not been mentioned by Facebook as to when or if the service is likely to be extended to the other areas of the world or other operating systems. Notification with regards to new articles had been seen on the lock screen of an iPhone and can be shard from that display.

Facebook – Jumping Off Point in the Digital Lives

Managing director of Analyst Company, Midia Research, Mark Mulligan, stated that the move made sense since Facebook had become the `jumping off point in the digital lives and the better a job it could do of this, the better it locks users in’.

He adds that it has seen standout success with spinning out Messenger and recognises that more touch points could develop with its users; the more it could create greater loyalty. Notify comes soon after Facebook had unveiled its Instant Articles service in May. This ought to hasten up delivery of off-site content by hosting it in its individual data centres.

Articles which have been featured on the service are from BuzzFeed, National Geographicand the New York Times besides six other media organisations. Initially, Instant Articles is available only on iPhones but a test of Android version has already started.

A rival company which is identical known as the Accelerated Mobile Pages – AMP initiative had been launched by Google and several other web firms in October. The AMP tends to store slimmed down copies of stories from dozens of news organisation to permit them to load quickly on portable devices.

Useful to Publishers/Readers

Facebook, in its official blog post had described its stations of notifications for 11 paragraphs prior to mentioning that `if you want to see more’ than the sentence or two on your lock screen, you could tap the notification to load it (around eight seconds) inside an in-app browser or one could just sit back and rely on this evolving medium to get updates.

It is likely that Notify seems like an experiment and Facebook would be utilising what it learns to inform the way it tends to build notifications in the Flagship Facebook app. Moreover, it would also be more useful to publishers and readers to enable users to subscribe to push notification from brands within Facebook of different levels of granularity.

This would help to separate those who desire to see everything from a publisher and from those who only prefer top stories and breaking news. Notify would perhaps help Facebook there. Meanwhile, should the user be in need of more push notifications on the phone, there are several publishers who would be ready to oblige.

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Gmail to Warn When Messages Take Unencrypted Routes

Security of User’s Data Vulnerable

Google has observed that the security of its user’s data has become more vulnerable when they received message sent through a different email provider. There is a possibility that most of the users would now begin to see the alerts coming, in a few months.

Google has plans of ramping up security at its free email service by enabling users to be aware when messages arrive through unencrypted connection which could be susceptible to snooping or tampering. These threats have urged Gmail to work on warning system which could alert users when they tend to receive unencrypted mail.

Elie Bursztein and Nicolas Lidzborski of Gmail security team had mentioned in a blog post this week that these warning would begin to roll out in the coming months and while these threats does not seem to affect Gmail to Gmail communication, they could affect messaging between providers.

This statement came with the result of the study indicating that email encryption has been increasing together with measures to prevent spam and fraud by improved authenticating messages. The good news is that more email providers have been offered email encryption along the board with the majority of them utilising a few type of authentication in order to decrease phishing.

Google/Yahoo/Others – Improve Encryption of Websites/Email

But Google has said that it discovered regions of the Internet wherein email encryption had been secretly thwarted as well as exposed malicious servers that were programmed to hijack Gmail message by providing them false routing information.

Bursztein and Lidzborski had indicated in the post that though this kind of attack seems rare, it was a matter of concern as it would enable attackers to censor or alter messages before they are relayed to the email recipient.

In an attempt to enhance privacy in the midst of concerns with regards to hacking and surveillance, Google, Yahoo together with other online firms has been moving to improve encryption of websites and email. Bloggers have confirmed that, to notify users of possible dangers, they have been developing in-product warnings for Gmail users which would display whenever they receive a message through a non-encrypted connection. The good news is that more email providers are providing email encryption on the board and most of them are using some types of authentication to lessen impersonation and phishing.

Most Providers do not Support STARTTLS

Though Gmail-to-Gmail messages are always encrypted, the company has revealed that around 57% of email that are sent from providers to Gmail is encrypted while 81% of outgoing Gmail to the other provider also. This would be great since unencrypted emails are good targets for the criminals.

Moreover the groups also found malicious DNS servers broadcasting false routing information to email servers on the lookout for Gmail. However simultaneously, these researchers also discovered that there were certain areas of the internet which were preventing message encryption by tampering with requests to start SSL connection.

 Most of providers do not support STARTTLS, which means that any email encrypted by the sender cannot be read when it is received on the other end. The focus of Google in warning Gmail users with regards to unencrypted connection is to caution them to such type of dangers.

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In The Rearview Mirror Car Designer Warns On Google Game Changer

Automobile sector had long enjoyed the success of the traditional and affordable segment of cars, which includes the popular Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. But the times are about to take a huge turnaround for the automobile sector as tech giants like Apple and Google are making foray in the automobile sector with their revolutionary products. Both companies are determined to change the way people own and drive cars in the upcoming years.

Reasons to fear upcoming self-driving technology

Celebrated high-end car designer of Japanese origin Ken Okuyama who is famously known for Ferrari F 60 Enzo and the Porsche Boxster has given out the warning signs for the Japnases automobile industry. He believes that the bringing of game-changing self-driving technology in the cars will bring direct to the Japanese position as a major car producer.

Okuyama has asked the Japanese automakers to up their ante by bringing similar or advanced kind of cars, which are soon to be offered by the tech companies. Otherwise, Japanese automakers will end being just suppliers for these companies.

Google game changing cars

Google is developing a fleet of its own self-driving cars which even includes a highly modified model of the Toyota Lexus sport utility vehicle. Google has also presented a pod like and completely driverless car as a prototype. Both of these are going through various rounds of extensive road tests to ensure more security and better driving for the users in US. Apple on other hand has revealed its plan for launching the first driverless car in 2019 and it has also been doing a large amount of research and testing in the past few years.
Honda on other hand is developing a new automatic setting for its cars, which can be really helpful tool in the congested traffic. This technology can easily pre-program the cars to drive automatically during such scenarios.

Automobile market is all set to split in future

Okumaya presents a future where soon the rise of self-automated cars will split the automobile market into two different camps. One will comprise of the vehicles fulfilling the public transportation need and other will consist of the super luxury cars. Automated cars will find itself in the first camp while high-end models will see themselves in the second camp. This would result in the annihilation of car ownership for the affordable traditional cars like Honda Civic models.

Okumaya is urging the Japanese automakers to focus towards finding the different kind of new technologies, which can bolster their cars prospect in future and can bring it on the same ground to compete against self-automated cars. Self-driving cars are bound become common place in upcoming future and it will eat upon the sales and popularity of the traditional cars. Even companies like Toyota and Mercedes are looking for way to counter the sudden challenge for the futuristic breed of cars but Google had already gained a huge lead against them.

Tensorflow- Smarter Machine Learning, For Everyone

TensorFlow – Faster/Smarter/Flexible

TensorFlow, a faster, smarter and a much more flexible than the earlier system can be adapted easily to latest products and research. Moreover it is also highly accessible machine learning system which can run on an individual smartphone or through thousands of computers in data-centres.

Machine learning is yet in its initial stage and computers presently are unable to do what a 4 year old could do naturally such as knowing the name of an animal on seeing only a few examples. However with Tensorflow, it is a good start.

TensorFlow is utilised for all purpose, from speech recognition in Google app to Smart Reply in Inbox, to search in Google Photos. It has the potentials to build and train neural nets up to five times quicker than the first generation system and hence it could be used in improving the products in a quicker manner.

Deep Learning has had a great influence on computer science, with the possibility of exploring new areas of research and in the creation of incredibly useful products which millions of people tend to use daily. The internal deep learning infrastructure – DistBelief developed in 2011, enabled Googlers to create even bigger neural networks and scale training to thousands of cores in data centres.

Twice as Fast as DistBelief

In 2014, DistBelief has trained the Inception mode which had won Imagenet’s Large Scale Visual Recognition Challenge, driving the experiments in automated image captioning and DeepDream. DistBelief had some limitation though it was very successful and was closely directed to neural networks.

To organise it, was difficult and it was firmly coupled to Google’s internal infrastructure thus making it difficult in sharing research code externally. The open source release of TensorFlow has been publicised, the second-generation machine learning system which has been designed in correcting shortcomings. TensorFlow is flexible, portable, general, easy to use and is a completely open source. On enhancing DistBelief, addition of speed, scalability together with production readiness has been done.

 TechFlow is twice as fast as DistBelief.TensorFlow tends to have all-encompassing built-in support for the purpose of deep learning though it is more general than any computation. One can express as computational glow graph and can compute with TensorFlow.

Any grade based machine learning procedure could profit from TensorFlow’s auto-differentiation and set of first rate optimizers. It tends to get easy in expressing new ideas in TensorFlow through the flexible Python interface.

Open-Sourced TensorFlow – Standalone Library

One can move their idea flawlessly from training the desktop GPU to running on the mobile phone. Moreover you could also get started rapidly with the powerful machine learning tech by utilising the state-of-the-art example model architectures.

However, the most important fact about TensorFlow is that it your own possession. It is an open-sourced TensorFlow as a standalone library associated with tools, tutorials and examples with the Apache 2.0 licence. Hence, the user is free to use TensorFlow at their institution, at any place of work.

TensorFlow has been utilised for all the experiments by deep learning researchers and the engineers tend to use it to permeate Google Search with signals from deep neural networks as well as to power the features of tomorrow. TensorFlow will continue to be used in serving machine learning in products and the research team has been committed in sharing its implementation of available ideas.

Iranian Military Hackers Focus on U.S. Administration Officials

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards – Hacking emails & Social Media Account -US Officials

Wall Street Journal had recently reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have come up with hacking of email and social media accounts of Obama administration officials in recent weeks in cyber-attacks, is said to be connected with the arrest of an Iranian-American businessman in Tehran.

The newspaper referring to unnamed U.S. officials stated that people working on Iran policy seemed to be the focus of cyber-attacks with personnel connected to the State Department’s office of Iranian Affairs and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs among those who had been hacked.

 Besides these, other targets comprised of journalist and academics. The most recent reports in hacking attacks came up after a landmark international agreement in July which improved the severe economic sanction on Iran in compensation of Tehran curbing its nuclear program ensuring that it will not be utilised in the development of weapons.

Recently, a powerful branch of the Iranian military – the Revolutionary Guards, regularly made hacking attacks on U.S. government agencies, though a source informed the Journal that the hacking seemed to have increased after the arrest of Siamak Namazi in mid-October

Cyber-Attacks – Obtain Information/Get Connected with Targets of Interest

A senior administration official informed Reuters in response to the Journal story, that they were aware of certain reports involving Iran and while they have no comment on the specific reports, they are aware that hackers in Iran and other areas often tend to use cyber-attacks to obtain information or get connected with targets of interest.

 Namazi, head of strategic planning for Crescent Petroleum, which is an oil and gas company in the United Arab Emirates, had worked for think tanks in Washington. He had been apprehended and interrogated by the Revolutionary Guards, regularly prior to his arrest. Namazi had studied in the U.S. and had friendships at Washington which included the National Endowment for Democracy and the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars.

 He had earlier been the managing director of Atieh Bahar, a consulting firm promoting foreign investment in Iran. The fact sheet had indicated that he had studied at Tufts and Rutgers universities though had returned to Iran in late 1990s for the purpose of military service.

China/Russia Accused of Cyber-Attacks

It stated that he stayed out of discussion of U.S. or Iranian political queries in recent years with the exception of very public role he had played recounting the adverse impact of Western sanction on the Iranian population. A source had informed the Journal that U.S. officials are of the belief that some of the more recent attacks could have been linked to reports of detained dual citizens as well as the others.

The Journal had revealed that Namazi’s friends as well as business associates has informed that the Revolutionary Guards had confiscated his computer after raiding his family’s home in Tehran. According to a spokesman at Iran’s U.N. mission in New York informed newspaper that Tehran had been wrongly accused of cyber-attacks.

Over the past several months, China and Russia have been accused of cyber hacking administration officials in the United States and the countries have denied the charges too. As per LA Times it was said that the hackers were on the lookout for information on U.S. spies.

This Sprout Pencil Grows into a Tomato

Plantable Sprout Pencils – Grow into Vegetables/Flowering Plants/Herbs

Denmark based Sprout World has plans in eliminating waste from pencil stubs that are thrown away, which are not of much use and are tossed into the bin. According to CEO of Sprout World, Michael Stausholm, around 15 billion pencils are made every year with three million of them just in United States and these could be a good amount of them being thrown away.

The start-up tends to make plantable pencils which can grow into vegetables, flowering plants or herbs when it is not useful anymore. Stausholm stated that the pencils which are made from cedar in Pine City, Minnesota seem to be the perfect ecological product since one `dying product tends to give life to a new product.

Where an eraser would be, the wooden pencils tend to have a capsule which is made from biodegradable substance which comprises of a small combination of seeds and peat. The stub end of the pencil is used as a marker and the capsule is planted in pot of soil, which tends to dissolve and seed grows into a plant. These pencils are in a range of 14 varieties at a cost of $19.95 for a pack of eight which comprise of basil, green pepper, lavender, sunflower and tomato and had been developed by three MIT students in 2012.

Sprout Pencils – Kickstarter Campaign

Stausholm informed that while he was living in Denmark, he worked a lot on sustainable companies. However sustainability was hard to illustrate to consumers and he was searching for product which could do that easily. A year thereafter, he came across Sprout Pencils when it was a Kickstarter campaign.

He valued the idea and it was an appropriate way of explaining what sustainability was all about. He partnered with the students convincing them to permit him to sell the pencils in Denmark. He stated that around 70,000 pencils were sold in the spring of 2013 and realized that there was demand for them. The start-up had sold around a million pencils all across Europe by 2014.

He acquired the patents and rights to the brand later that year and became the CEO of Sprout World. He informed that Sprout World presently sells on an average around 450,000 pencils monthly and has logged more than $3 million by way of revenue.

Mission – Educate What to Purchase/Product Reusable

His next ambition is to overcome the U.S. market. In September, he had opened an office in Boston to get drive going with two employees there and 15 in Europe. He stated that with regards to embracing eco-friendliness, America is a couple of years behind Europe.

However he is of the belief that it is an impeccable market for Sprout World pencils since its makers are based in the U.S. The pencils are sold on Amazon – AMZN, Tech30 and in Whole Foods – WFM stores in U.S. Stausholm is keen in bringing the price down and eventually he would want all students across the globe to use Sprout World pencils.

The start-up plans are likely to roll out new products which include plantable greeting cards and coloured pencils in January. He had commented that he is aware that they cannot save the planet just with his product but their mission is to educate people on how to be more aware in what they purchase and look for products which are reusable.

Google Uncovers 11 Serious Security Flaws within the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge

Google Discovered 11 Serious Security Problems – Samsung’s Galaxy S6

Google has discovered 11 serious security problems in Samsung’s Galaxy S6 smartphone in a sequence of severe test intended to clear the vulnerabilities in handsets. The company had set its security analyst team Project Zero with the challenge to seek out bugs in the Galaxy S6 Edge running an open source version of Google’s Android software called Android Open-Source Project – AOSP, to see how quickly Samsung patched the issue.

Google calls the companies, Original Equipment Manufacturers or OEMs, whose smartphones use its software that include Samsung, LG and Motorola. The researcher of Project Zero, Natalie Silvanovich, wrote in a Google blogpost that, `OEMs are an important area for Android security research since they introduce additional and possibly vulnerable code in Android devices at all privilege levels and they decide the frequency of the security updates which they provide for their devices to carriers’.

Project Zero researchers that were based in Europe and North America, identified within a week, 11 possibly severe security issues in the device especially surrounding media processing and device drivers. They reported the susceptibilities to Samsung specified that eight of the 11 were fixed in their October Maintenance Release while the remaining three which had been marked as lower-severity would be fixed throughout November.

Project Zero – Seeking Bugs in Software

Mr Silvanovich added that it is promising that the highest severity issues were fixed and updated on-devices in a reasonable time frame’. Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge had been released together with its non-curved equivalent the Galaxy S6 in April.

 It was launched as Samsung’s flagship handsets to contend against iPhone 6 and 6 Plus which was released the previous September and these two smartphones faced disappointing sales with Samsung’s profit fell by 8% in July. Recently, it’s most recent version of Android 6.0; Marshmallow had been issued by Google.

Google Nexus 5, 6, 7 and 9 smartphones together with LG’s G4 now are capable of running it while the other manufacturers Samsung, HTC as well as Sony are likely to update their devices in the following weeks. Project Zero has been running for some time now by Google with the task of seeking out bugs in software, alerting the software makers and then reporting the public if nothing is fixed in an attempt to force something to be done.

Internal Contest between Two Teams of Google’s Project Zero Security Teams

Earlier, Google had taken on Windows and OS X with Project Zero bugs, however now it is Samsung in the firing line for 11 serious faults with the Galaxy S6 Edge. The issues with Samsung’s device as high impact have been described by Google, which means that they tend to be quite serious.

The faults comprise of script injections, driver issues, image parsing issues, permission weaknesses as well as a directory traversal bug that enables a file to be written in unexpected settings. Project Zero blog post of Google tends to go in-depth on each of the 11 security faults detected in the Galaxy S6 Edge. Presently most of them are already fixed but three of the tricky ones still remain which include the script injection bug with two specific image parsing errors.

All this was part of an internal contest between two teams of Google’s Project Zero security teams. They had selected Galaxy S6 Edge since it is a decent example of a recently released high-profile Android smartphone.

Wonder Material Could Harvest Energy from Thin Air

Graphene – Most Innovative Advance in Battery Technology

Claims for new battery technology have been all over the place since the development of lead acid battery for over 150 years. Researchers however, at Manchester University in UK, state that their discovery regarding the new material graphene would be the most innovative advance in battery technology.

As per study which had been published in the journal Nature, graphene membranes could be utilised in sieving hydrogen gas from the atmosphere, an improvement which could make way for electric generators powered by air.

Post-doctoral researchers in the project, Dr Sheng Hu commented that it seems extremely simple and promising since graphene can be produced in square metre sheets and they hope that it would find its way to commercial fuel cells sooner than later.

At the core of technology is the physical properties of graphene which is an element having the same atomic assembly as the lead which is present in the household pencil. Graphene already very popular as a technological game changer, however was isolated in 2004 by a group from Manchester University ledby Andrew Geim and Kostya Novoseloy, who won the Nobel Prize for Physics for their discovery in 2010.

Lightest/Thinnest/Strongest Harder than Diamond

Graphene is the lightest, thinnest and the strongest object obtained and the first two dimensional crystal known to science. Moreover, it is harder than diamond and about 200 times stronger than steel. Being transparent and flexible in conducting electricity much better than copper, this substance is set to transform from smartphones and wearable technology to green technology as well as medicine.

Known for its barrier qualities, it is about an atom thick and more than a million times thinner than a human hair. With the latest discovery, graphene is smart for probable usage in proton conducting membranes that is at the heart of modern fuel cell technology.

Fuel cell tends to function by using hydrogen and oxygen for fuel, converting the chemical energy created by its input into electricity directly. But present membrane that tend to discrete protons essential for the process are comparatively incompetent, enabling contamination in the crossover of fuel.

Hydrogen Acquired Entirely from Fossil Fuels

Graphene membranes can boost their durability as well as efficiency. The team discovered that the protons passed through the ultra-thin crystals with relative ease especially at increased temperatures as well as with the utilization of platinum based catalyst covered on the membrane film.

The amazing feature of the research is that the membranes could be utilised in extracting hydrogen from the atmosphere wherein the scientist believed that such harvesting could be joined with fuel cells in creating a mobile electric generator fuelled by hydrogen present in the air. According to the scientist, it is a simple setup when one knows how it should work.

You could put a hydrogen containing gas on one side and apply a small electric current to collect pure hydrogen on the other side and this hydrogen could then be burned in a fuel cell. They had worked with small membranes and had achieved the flow of hydrogen tough tiny.

 However, this is the initial state of discovery and the paper is to bring about an awareness of the prevailing prospects, among experts. Further efforts would be needed to build up and test hydrogen harvesters and presently hydrogen is acquired entirely from fossil fuels.

Hypersonic Rocket Engine Could 'Revolutionize' Air Travel

Breakthrough Aerospace Engine Technology – Revolutionize Air Travel

BAE Systems, British aerospace giant, is staking big on hypersonic travel, something which its prospective new partner states could be a reality in two decades. BAE has plans of investing around £20.6 million in a 20% stake of a UK based engineering firm, Reaction Engines which has invented a breakthrough aerospace engine technology that could probably be utilised for a new generation of reusable space vehicle as well as a commercial offshoot that could revolutionize air travel.

BAE’s website states that the partnership would enable alliance on SABRE technology of Reaction Engines, a new aerospace engine class which tends to combine jet as well as rocket technologies with the capabilities of transforming hypersonic flight and the economics of space access.

Together with hypersonic air travel, Reaction Engines’ managing director, Mark Thomas informed CNN’s Richard Quest that reusable space plane which takes off like an aircrafts is said to be one of the concepts which would be made available by this engine. SABRE – Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine, is an air-breathing engine that tends to use ultra-lightweight heat exchangers in order to cool off very hot air streams like those faced at hypersonic speeds

Technology Empowers Aircraft

According to Reaction Engines conveyed in a press release on its website, the technology tends to empower the aircraft to operate at speeds of up to five times the speed of sound or fly directly into Earth orbit, easily. With its capacity to utilise atmospheric oxygen for thrust, the engine’s design denies the need for heavy fuel reserves on boards thereby reducing the weight of a SABRE powered vehicle.

As per BAE’s statement, it says that SABRE can also transition to a rocket mode enabling spaceflight at speed up to orbital velocity or 25 times the speed of sound. The design has been described as an absolutely revolutionary, visionary concept by Thomas.

He has clarified that `SABRE is a rocket engine at heart but can breathe air whenever it is in the atmosphere and hence it is not essential to carry so much liquid oxygen on board the vehicle. It enormously decreases the weight and one can put that in vehicle design capability or payload’.

Advanced Heat Exchanger – Ease Hypersonic Air Temperature

The fundamental aspect of the engine’s design is the company’s advanced heat exchanger that tends to ease hypersonic air temperature by more than a thousand degrees in a hundredth of a second. The company is said to be focusing on enhancing the engine and according to Thomas, BAE would be helping in translating its potential into a range of practical applications.

BAE’s anticipated 20% investment is awaiting the approval of Reaction Engine’s shareholders. Reaction Engines had announced that it would partner with defense multinational BAE System in a working collaboration in order to create its supersonic plane SABRE. BAE had purchased 20% of Reaction Engines offering the strategic investment essential in accelerating the project, a form of jet rocket engine hybrid.

As per Reaction Engines, driving Sabre seems to be a brand new form of aerospace engine that enable the operation of planes from a standstill on the landing strip to speeds that is five times more than the speed of sound in the atmosphere.

Google Aims to Begin Drone Package Deliveries In 2017

Google – Alphabet Inc. – Delivering Packages through Drone

According to the executive in charge of Google’s drone effort, the new holding company for Google, Alphabet Inc. is expected to start delivering packages to consumers through drone somewhere in 2017. The leader for Google’s Project Wing, David Vos, stated that the company is in talks with the Federal Aviation Administration together with other stakeholders with regards to the setting up of an air traffic control system for drones which would be utilising cellular as well as Internet technology in coordinating unmanned aerial vehicle flights at altitudes of below 500 feet.

He informed the audience at an air traffic control convention near Washington that their goal was to have commercial business up and running in 2017. Among the growing number of companies intending to make package delivery by drone a reality are Google and Amazon.com Inc.

However drone deliveries are not expected to take flight till the FAA final rules for commercial drone operation which are predicted early next year. Two years after the research first started, Project Wing had been announced with YouTube video, in August 2014, showing a field test of its most practical prototype in Australia.

New Kinds & Shape of Vehicle As Project Develops

The prototype flown in Australia at 1.5 meters wide and 0.8 meters tall, shares the same design of four propeller quad copter as popular consumer drones. However the company informs that consumers could expect to see new kinds and shapes of vehicle as the project develops.

Project Wings has conducted testing with NASA inside United States. Co-chair of FAA task force, Vos, charged with coming up with drone registry, stated that a system for identifying drone operators as well as keeping UAV away from the other aircraft can be set up within a period of 12 months. He stated that they are much on an operation function with the FAA and working with the small UAV community together with the aviation community in moving things along.

He is of the belief that they can accomplish a lot in the next 3, 6, 12 months and are hoping to get some strong support in making this happen. He narrated that a drone registry which the Obama administration expects to set in place by December 20, would be a leading step to a system which would utilise wireless telecommunications as well as Internet technology comprising of cellphone application in identifying drones and keeping UAV clear of other aircrafts as well as controlled airspace.

Possibility of Controlling Class G

He also said that Google will like to view low altitude `Class G’ airspace stamped out for drones, stating that it would keep UAC free from most of the manned aircraft besides low flying helicopters while permitting drones to fly over highly populated locations.

He added that there seems a lot that can be done in this market space. He informed that the FAA together with the other stakeholders are on the lookout for possibility of controlling Class G airspace through, for profit airspace services providers that would be utilising wireless communication in order to co-ordinate drone flights and link with the air traffic control system for the manned aircraft.

Google Will Now Write Email Replies For You

Google’s Smart Reply – Inbox Email Service

Google has recently announced that its Inbox email service would be capable of composing simple replies for its users starting soon. The `Smart Reply’ function would predict which of the emails could be answered with a short reply and thereafter write and present some probable replies for the user to choose from.

So far the most notable example has been Google’s 6 year old project creating cars which can be driven without human being steering the wheel. Software engineer, Balint Miklos had written in a blog post that for instance when Smart Reply had been tested at Google, a common proposition in the workplace was `I love you’ and due to their feedback, Smart Reply is SFW.

Probably because a machine seems to be a co-opting means of communication which earlier needed effort and emotion from the human brain, the update is for Inbox only and not Gmail. If the user has a Gmail account, they could sign up for Inbox, though they may not have to do so.

A spokeswoman for Google had confirmed to HuffPost that it would only work on Inbox’s iOS and Android app though not the desktop version.

Potential to Compose Replies Automatically – Natural Evolution for Service

Three types of options would be offered as reply prior to it being sent across and the response selected would help Google’s computer to learn which one would work best. Google hopes that its new `smart reply’ choice would be particularly famous when people tend to check their emails on smartphone with smaller, touch-screen keyboards.

 This latest feature is available to all consumers who tend to use the free version of Inbox and the more than 2 million businesses that pay for Google’s suite of application developed for work. Inbox which was initially introduced last year was planned to sort through the email and present it to you in a much more convenient way.

For instance it can identify which of the emails are promotions from companies, or reminders for yourself etc. It’s potential to compose replies automatically is a natural evolution for service which has already proficient at processing the messages.

Built on Two Artificial `Neural Networks’

Google has informed that the feature will be made available on the English language version of its Inbox through Gmail app. The replies, though may be simple, a post from Greg Corrado, senior scientist at Google had explained how the software relates to the machine learning tools which Google has been utilising across several of its services in comprehending and forming natural language sentences.

Smart Reply is said to be built on two artificial `neural networks’ a software which tends to mimics the structure of the human brain which Google has trained to comprehend natural language. Instead of having Google engineers to craft rules on how to reply to the emails, the neural network tends to learn by scanning the contents of thousands of emails.

Smart Reply adopts two neural networks where one is to interpret the meaning of an incoming email and the other to form a reply. Corrado wrote that these systems generalise better and handle completely new inputs more gracefully than brittle; rule based system could ever do. He further added that early test of the software had provided sets of responses which seem to be same to each other and so Smart Reply had to be attuned to offer responses with different semantic intents’.

3D Knitting Machines will be in Every Home

Knitting had once been the domain of grannies in bygone days, but now it has gone high tech and will soon be the next big thing in the maker world. 3D knitting as known as the tech version had been inspired by the 3D printing revolution, aiming a goal to be the one piece of manufacturing technology in all homes. It makes clothes and not objects and has a great advantage over 3D printing since it has several uses.

Everyone seems to wear clothes and is always on the look for changes and updates moving with the latest trend. Another advantage of 3D printing is that it is reusable. For coarser knits, garments could be un-knitted if one does not like the ways it may look or if one is just bored with it, leaving you with the option of turning it into some other alternative.

Three dimensional knitting machines are made available and seem to be on the rise. One such example is the OpenKnit which can be built from a kit and is a part of a manufacturing ecosystem which comprises of a software interface together with digital hub to share designs. OpenKnit already seems to be having a huge global community increasing the platform and restating the hardware as well as software.

Open Source Approach to Wearable Technology

As in the cases of all successful open source projects, this too will progress and issue new and unexpected version in 2015. For over 20 years, commercial 3D knitting machines have been operative, though they are created for established mass production.

The open source knitting community, in contrast would be changing the way clothes will be designed and made, creating new types of clothing especially by assimilating various types of fibres in the knitting. These would be by way of electrically conducting threads. On doing so, the technology would be kick-starting an open source approach to a wearable technology, with embedded sensors together with improved function, which commercially had been slow in taking off.

 In order to comprehend the capabilities of home 3D knitting machines, one needs to consider how the sewing machine that was presented in the 19th century had changed completely the way clothes were designed, made and repaired. This reduced the price of clothing, creating inventions in garment making and fashion. Ultimately small business gave way to the mass-produced clothes manufacturers which tend to control the present markets.

Inexpensive Modified Garments Designed to Fit

The 3D knitting machine tends to now promise another way of commotion. Since each one of us tends to be of different shape and size, 3D knitting provides something which the commercial clothes manufacturers do not offer, inexpensive modified garments designed to fit a person.

This is possible with the help of digital scanning technologies and design software which can resize the clothing designs to fit an individual. Since these garments are created at home, one could instantly try them on and if any alteration is needed, they can be redone.

Besides this, due to the power of social media, one has the opportunity of sharing the patterns and designs easily and readily where the potential of 3D knitting technology tend to become clear.