Google’s Computers Paint like Van Gogh, and the Art Sells for Thousands

Google’s Alphabet – Art Show/Auction, Works by Computers/Humans

Google’s Alphabet Inc. had put on an art show and auction in San Francisco recently displaying the works that were created by computers with some assistance from humans. The displayed images comprised of psychedelic seascapes, van Gogh inspired forests together with fantastic landscapes of castles and dogs and a professional auctioneer sold the six largest works for about $8,000.

Head of Google’s machine intelligence group in Seattle, Blaise Aguera y Arcas, stated that he `used to think art was some peculiar thing which humans do, but now he thinks that when one meet the alien, they will have something just like it’.

The tech and art worlds prevailed with little overlap in the Bay Area and tech entrepreneurs have not become big art collectors as well as galleries. The art fairs in Silicon Valley have dithered. According to one theory, the tech industry is inhabited with engineers who did not learn humanities and do not appreciate art.Google engineers had applied a system to the artistic process providing art quantitative and mathematical attributes.

Computers with human helpers utilised technology known as neural networks to make 29 works of art for the show.

Four Techniques Utilised

Google had initially created it in order to help recognize objects in photos though for the sake of art, engineers turned it on its head, serving the images of random shapes into computer procedures which later reported what objects the images seemed like, such as faces, dogs and trees. The procedures thereafter incrementally altered the images making them look more like the object reported.

Some of the artists who are Google engineers and others who tend to be independent artists, utilised four techniques like `DeepDream which involved running the process thousands of times for the creation of unique image, `Fractal DeepDream’ which ran the process and various sized versions, producing fractal images, `Class Visualization’ zeroed in on an individual image and `Style Transfer’ which created new images imitating a famous aesthetic, states Vincent van Gogh’s `Starry Night’.

The show was held in a historic movie theatre in hip Mission region. It was said that the attendees had collected around small tables eating purple cauliflower and broccoli, sipping a local IPA beer.

Proceeds of Event – Gray Area Foundation for Arts

Towards the front area of the room, a well-heeled crowd in fashionable, long dresses and boots sent champagne corks flying on the stage floor. The large standing crowd towards the back of the room was controlled by bouncers. The gathering at the back whispered, talked and pointed at the time of the auction. The professional auctioneer, Emily Quinn, leading the sale had to send reminders that if they did not have money to spend they could still give their time and attention stating `thank you all of you …. Shh’.

The main works went for $2,200 to $8,000 and the proceeds from the event had been sent to Gray Area Foundation for the Arts, which is an organization that tends to promote art and technology. Poorna Omprakash, a software engineer at Amazon.com Inc. AMZN-0.14% who had studied machine had never attended an art event before, like several members of the audience.

Ms Omprakash commented that she was there since she wanted to know how they made the art but her second reaction was that it was beautiful.

WhatsApp Finally Lets You Send Documents Over Chat

WhatsApps – Capability to Send Documents Over Chats

The Facebook owned WhatsApp Messenger; years after its launch had eventually received the capability to send documents over chats. The feature is noticeable in most builds available through Google Play and the App Store – Android v2.12.453 and iOS v2.12.4. A group of features with the updates had been introduced by WhatsApp. The WhatsApp v2.12.453 on Android which is available from Google Play for some users portrays a `Document’ option in the Attachment section.

All the users on the latest app version that is available from the company site, v2.12.489 are in a position to view the option showing a server-side update. Presently, users can only send pdf files, though the file support will possible be expanded in future.As earlier, there are six attachment options with Video and Photo presently combined in Camera owing to the addition of Document.

 User would now have the benefit of viewing shared Documents together with Media and the newly added Links tab. User cannot send a document till the receiver has updated the app to the same or latest Android app version. However, on attempt to send a document from iOS v2.12.14 to Android v2.12.489 over WhatsApp, it seemed to work fine.

Document Sharing – Helpful in improving use of WhatsApp Messenger app

When shared, WhatsApp tends to display a file preview of the pdf also creating the number of pages, files as well as type. With the limited functions made available currently, document sharing could be helpful in improving use of WhatsApp’s messenger app considering how predominant pdfs are in the business world.

As mentioned in Google Play listing, the WhatsApp v2.12.453 for Android in addition,brings over 100 new emojis Google Drive Backup for chats and media support 5 new languages and are now compatible with Android 6.0 Marshmallow permissions. Meanwhile WhatsApp for iOS v2.12.4 enables users to share photos or videos from other apps like Google Drive, Dropbox or Microsoft OneDrive.

Users would need to open Photo/Video Library and tap `Choose from another app…’ in order to share files. Besides this an enhanced design for browsing photos and video, iOS users could also zoom in on videos while they are in play mode. Another important feature added in the WhatsApp iOS app update is that users can now view the `blue ticks’ which indicates that the message has been seen by the other party, directly from the main WhatsApp chat list.

Available on iOS/Android But not Windows Phone

Earlier the users had to tap on the chat in order to open the thread and view if the receiver had read the messages or not. The updated app is made available for download from the App Store. In January, CEO Jan Koum had stated that WhatsApp would start testing more commercial services comprising of those which would enable consumers to communicate with businesses and document sharing seems reasonable in this larger context of business friendly features.

The features would tend to have direct consumer benefits together with things like sharing flyers, e-tickets, scans as well as other pdf of a more particular nature. Since WhatsApp has been invested in end-to-end encryption on its network, the documents that are shared on its service tend to be protected. The feature would now be on iOS and Android but not yet on Windows Phone.

Transfer Windows 10 to SSD and Improve your PC’s Performance And How to Clone your Hard Drive to SSD

A Solid State Drive (Or SSD for short) is one of the best technological breakthroughs in recent history.
With Hard Disk Drives (HDD’s), you have a lot of moving parts, and with moving parts you increase the risk of something that go wrong.

With an SSD, you don’t have any moving parts. That’s all nice and dandy, but what does this mean for you as user?

Well firstly, SSD’s are a lot smaller than traditional HDD’s, saving you enormous amounts of space.

But where SSD’s mostly earn their keep, is in their unrealistically fast boot up speed. We can go into technical details, but why bother you with boring details? All you have to know it’s super fast!

If you clone hard drive to ssd you can expect boot up time of less than a minute.

This is the future.. Who has time to wait around for a PC to boot up?

Interested yet? Keep on reading to find out exactly how to transfer windows 10 to ssd.

There a few ways you can move your Windows 10 to your SSD, some easy, and some a bit harder. We are going to concentrate on the easy way, obviously.

To move your Windows 10 to a Solid-State Drive, you will need Backup and Recovery Software (See the end of the article which software we recommend).

After you downloaded your Backup and Recovery Software, all you have to do is launch your software, and follow the onscreen steps.

The first step is backing up all your files, like My Documents, Pictures etc. After the backup, delete all your files.

Clone your current disk to the SSD. Restore all you backed up files to your original drive.

That is all there is to it. This way you benefit of faster a Operating System, and in today’s world, time is valuable.

Upgrading to a SSD is a no brainer. Not only is it a million times faster, but more reliable as well. In the case of system failure, you will still have access to your SSD and most of your data will be safe.

Now, you might be wondering which is the best Backup and Recovery Software to use. Like we mentioned earlier, there a a lot of different ways, and obviously a lot of different software as well.

EaseUS is the most reliable Software though, and comes with a few other features as well. Other than disk cloning software windows 10, you will also be able to clone your hard drives, backup and recover important data, and numerous other benefits.

In the end, you can use whichever software you feel most comfortable with, or what your budget allows. But when you need to fix the errors these other programs may cause, you know which is the best name in the business to fix your problems.

New Virgin Galactic Space Plane Unveiled

Virgin Galactic `Back on Track’ to take Tourist in Space

Online News had been informed by Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire tycoon, that he was of the belief that Virgin Galactic is `back on track’ in the race to take the tourists in space. Branson had been speaking during the unveiling of Virgin’s latest SpaceShipTwo in Mojave Desert in California. It is said that the six-seater vehicle would be replacing the earlier SpaceShipTwo that had broken up high in October 2014, over the same desert.

On investigation, it was observed that the pilot Michael Alsbury had organized a braking mechanism earlier resulting in the failure of the vehicle. Mr Alsbury had died in the crash and his co-pilot PeteSiebold had been injured badly. Virgin Galactic states that it expects to `democratise space’ by taking fee-paying passengers on momentary trips to the edge of space.

However it tends to face competition from competitors in its efforts of developing a `commercial space line’. Sir Richard informed Sky New at the unveiling that `all of us have tears in our eyes today. Eighteen months back was a difficult day to say the least for everybody picked themselves up and got straight back to work the next day, creating this beautiful spaceship and now we are back on track again. There is so much that can be achieved to the benefit of earth by exploring space’.

New Vehicle Virgin Spaceship Christened `Unity’

The naming ceremony for the new vehicle Virgin Spaceship – VSS, was performed with his one year old granddaughter Eva-Deia with a bottle of milk and was christened Unity. The spaceship tends to feature an image of the eye of physicist Stephen Hawking.

Hawking in an audio message had stated that Sir Richard had offered him a seat aboard one of the first flights in orbit. He further added that since that day he had never changed his mind and that if he was able to go and Richard would still take him, he would be very proud to fly on this spaceship. He had been an enthusiastic supporter of human space flight for long, making this huge human achievement more accessible and the first private astronauts would be pioneers.

Branson had stated according to a company press release, that the beautiful new spaceship VSS Unity seems to be the embodiment of his goal and a great testament to what can be achieved when true teamwork, great skill with deep pride are mingled with a common purpose.

Ferry Passengers up to 50 Miles above Earth’s Surface

Recently the company had informed that due to the fatal crash, the new spaceship would not blast off and head straight to space, anytime soon and faces a wide testing period. When the craft has been totally checked, Virgin Galactic intends to utilise it in ferrying passengers up to 50 miles above Earth’s surface, a height which the company states would qualify them as bona fide space tourists.

To book a seat, hundreds of people have already paid $250,000 with Virgin Galactic including stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Lady Gaga and Brad Pitt who have joined the list. The first flights had been scheduled for 2009; however the end of 2017 seems to be the earliest probable date.

The testing of the SpaceShipTwo would now be stepped up though the company seems to be uncooperative in setting the deadlines. It has stated that the lessons have been learned from what had occurred to the earlier craft. Sir Richard had commented that they have been working on it for the last 10 years and that they would not give up till they have achieved their dream.

Thousands of Apps Running Baidu Code Collect, Leak Personal Data

Apps by Chinese Internet Giant, Baidu Leaks Personal data

According to researchers, apps running code that have been built by Chinese Internet giant Baidu, have collected as well as transmitted user’s personal details to the company most of which is easily captured. The apps seem to be downloaded hundreds of time. Researchers at Canada-based Citizen Lab have informed that they had discovered the issue in an android software development kit created by Baidu.

These tend to affect Baidu’s mobile browser and the apps developed by Baidu together with other firms utilising the same kit. They informed that Baidu’s Windows browser had also been affected. The researchers also highlighted identical problems with unsecured personal details in Alibaba’s UC Browser which is another browser that is extensively used in the world’s largest Internet market.

Alibaba had fixed those susceptibilities and Baidu had informed Reuter that it would fix the encryption holes in its kits, though would still collect data for commercial use and some of which it stated was shared with third parties. The Chinese Internet giant said that it only offers what data seems to be lawfully requested by duly constituted law enforcement agencies.

Interest in Data, only Commercial

Jeffrey Knockel, chief researcher at Citizen Lab had informed Reuters ahead of publication of the research recently that the unencrypted details which tend to be collected comprise of the user’s location, website visits, and search terms.

The issue emphasizes on how difficult it is for users to be aware of what data their phone collects and transmits and the risk that personal data could escape due to poor or no encryption. Moreover it also highlights how several different groups could be interested in retrieving such type of data. Ron Deibert director of Citizen Lab had commented that it is either shoddy design or its surveillance by design.

Citizen Lab has stated that Baidu which tends to report quarterly earnings in New York had recently fixed some of the issue since it brought them to the attention of the company in November. However, the Android browser still seems to send sensitive data like the device ID in an easy decryptable format. Baidu had informed Reuters that its interest in the data was only commercial though refrained to comment on who else would access.

Privacy Issues & Data Security – Underlined in US

Privacy issues and data security have been underlined in the United States wherein Apple is in a deadlock with the Federal Bureau of Investigation over requests to unlock an iPhone owned by one who had been on a shooting charge in San Bernardino, California in December.

Citizen Lab had mentioned that its research last year, in Alibaba’s UC Browsers had been prompted by documents from National Security Agency whistle-blower Edward Snowden portraying Western intelligence agencies had used holes in the browser to spy on the users. Alibaba had informed that there had been no evidence that the data of the user was taken though it had showed concern and had asked users to update their browsers.

They stated that there was no possibility of accessing how many users had been affected by the Baidu issue, in China and beyond. Some of the software developers in China state that lack of encryption is common and partly owing to quick growth together with poor security awareness. Andy Tian, CEO of Beijing-based app developer Asia Innovations had said `that it is really painful but it’s a growing pain’.