Saturday 12 May 2018

Turning your house into a smart home with the Google Assistant

Google Assistant- your assistant at home too!

In the past couple of years smart everything has taken off, from smart cars to smart phones to even smart homes, all you need to do is say something like “turn on the lights” and the assistant will turn them on for you. No more have you to worry about switching off the lights or finding that TV remote that does not seem to be in the right place when you go to look for it. In today’s era you have the likes of Google assistant there to meet your every demand.

Using only your voice you can do multiple things in your house or in other words get the Google assistant to do stuff for you. Google has recently reported that many of the major brands in the US have tied up with Google assistant to smart control a house. Google assistant can now be found on 5,000 and counting appliances in a household. The Google assistant can be found on cameras, dishwashers, fridges, thermostats, switches, security systems, ovens and the list goes on and on, basically everything you can think off in the house.

Google assistant in your living room: 

As Google plans on bringing Google assistant to more devices this year, they have started by making your living room a smart entertainment center. You can tell the Google assistant to play music or put on that movie or play that show, all from the comfort of you couch and simply by using your voice.
Google plans on making every TV a smart TV with Chromecast, so now using Google assistant with your TV won’t be a problem, all you have to do is tell the Google home what you want and presto! It is done. Google is also working closely with other TV brands to make Google assistant compatible with the next generation of TVs.

Google assistant your new security- guard: 


Google assistant can even be found in your home’s security system. If you have a nest hello doorbell, then the Google assistant will inform you whenever someone comes, through a chime i to your smart speaker or to your phone. You could even watch whoever’s at the door through your phone or TV.
The Nest product was the first to ship with all these Google features and Google plans on bringing out Google assistant on more security devices later this year.

Google assistant on other gadgets as well: 


As we mentioned earlier, you can switch on almost everything with the Google assistant and you could do this through your smartphone or smart speaker. You could even transform your phone into your very own personal control hub of sorts, when you’re out of the house too.

Google has recently collaborated with Deutsche Telekom’s Magnets Hub and IKEA’s lighting system, which will enable many devices in the household to be activated with the Google assistant. Google plans on tying up with many more brands over the year to bring the Google assistant to more nooks and crannies of the house.

Friday 11 May 2018

Android P Beta Announced at Google I/O 2018

Android P Beta

Android P Beta gets unveiled at the Google I/O

Google has redefined the android experience with the launch of the Android P beta update at the Google I/O. This update is making its way to the Pixel devices at once along with a number of high profile smartphone from other manufacturers. Here are some of the cool new features which are debuting with the Android P Beta.

Adaptive is the new power

Adaptive battery feature is designed to offers more consistent battery experience on the Android devices. It makes use of the AI along with the machine learning which helps in understanding the user's usage patterns and prioritize the battery power consumption for the apps and services which are most required by the user. Android P will come loaded with a new Adaptive Brightness feature which is way ahead of the simple automatic brightness. Adaptive brightness effectively makes use of the machine learning to adapt with the lightening requirement in accordance with outer conditions. This is done automatically without the help of human input in a fast and reliable fashion.

Android P wants you to spend less time on the phone

Millennial are just always glued to their devices whether they want it or not. In order to help them get rid of this ugly habit, Android P comes with a new feature called dashboard. This feature will simply showcase the amount of time spent on different apps on the given device. Apart from that, it will also show how many times the phone was unlocked and how many notifications were received throughout. This is helpful both for the developer as they will get to know the user behaviour and take the right course of action to make their device more interactive while users can heed t the stats to use the phone lesser.

Keeping a tab on the user’s ‘Digital Wellbeing’

Google has given immense focus on the user's digital wellbeing and as a result, it has come up with a new feature called App timer. This feature will help users in setting up the time limits on the apps and users will be notified about it through graying of the app icon. As the smartphone has gone smarter with each passing year people had started to rely more on the handheld device more than needed and this had started affecting the wellbeing to a great extent.

Google has taken a note of it and brought some crafty feature embedded with the Android P to help the users without sounding adamant. One such cool feature is Wind Down as the name suggests it is designed for those users who tend to use a smartphone while lying on the bed for a longer period of time. This feature will require the user to set a bedtime upon which it will turn on the night mode, Don Not Disturb and even change the screen to grayscale.

Another feature worth talking about is the much needed Do Not Disturb. This not just silences the phone against the incoming calls & notifications but also suspends all the visual interruptions that can come up on the screen. These are just some of the notable features, tweaks and enhancements made by the Google in the upcoming Android P update.

Wednesday 9 May 2018

7 Best Wireless Routers to Buy in 2018

Best Routers to Buy in 2018

Today’s the era of digital connection. Everyone and anyone is connected online whether it is through their smart phones or computers or even nowadays their appliances, everything these days is connected and we too can’t seem to do without a good Wi-Fi connection. Therefore getting a good router to use at home is a necessity these days rather than a convenience item.

Today a common sighting in most households are smart phones, smart TVs, computers whether of the desktop or laptop variety and these are just some of the gadgets in a house that compete for bandwith. Now taking all these devices multiplied by the people living in the house, it becomes absolutely necessary to get a good router to get amazing connectivity to all those devices. That is why we have compiled together a list of best routers of 2018. To choose a router you have to check for throughput, range and many other features and we have done all that for you right here on our list of best routers for 2018.

Top pick of best router for the year 2018: 

 

One of the best Wi- Fi routers out there is the Google Wi- Fi. This mesh Wi- Fi uses two or more wireless devices to provide Wi- Fi connectivity for the whole household. This Wi- Fi router becomes ideal for a place of medium to large area, which would otherwise require two or more points within the house.

When we think of buying a router the first thing that comes to mind is the set up and how tedious it is going to be and after that thought, we just put off buying a good router. But this is not the case with the Google Wi- Fi router. The setup is simple enough and there is an app to go along with it. All you have to do is download the app onto your gadget ( the one with a screen), plug the router into a power source, attach your old router through the gigabit Ethernet port and then just follow the instructions on the screen and then voila! You have a reliable router at your disposal.

Another great thing about this router is that it automatically downloads updates to its firmware so you always get the best security and software that is out there. The router on this list of best routers of 2018 costs $258 for three and $129 for a single unit.

Netgear’s Tri Band Orbi RBK50 on the list of best routers of 2018: 


With this router you get most of the features available with Netgear’s nighthawk that is static routing, advanced port mapping, backups and firewall rules. You even get MU-MIMO support, four port switches on satellite and three port gigabit ethernet switch on the router. If you are on the lookout for a good Wi-Fi mesh router then this Netgear router is the one for you. It may not come with an app but it still offers great connectivity and two units seamlessly covers an area of 5000sq feet.

Best Gaming Router in 2018- Asus ROG Rapture GT- AC5300: 


If you are not one to shrink away when seeing the price, then this router maybe the one for you. This $385 gaming router for most maybe overkill with 4 by 4 MU-MIMO support, 8 gigabit LAN ports with link aggregation and dual WANsupport, but it is one of the best routers out there mostly used by the gaming community but can be a great buy too if you can afford the price tag.

This Triband router can deliver 5300mbps of output and you can also add 5GHz of bandwith to gaming devices. Other activities can use the other 5GHz band or the 2.4GHz bandwith.

Another Best Router Buy- Netgear’s Nighthawk X6: 


Another excellent buy on the best router of 2018 list is the Netgear Nighthawk X6. While it may not have as many of the features listed with other routers on this list, it is still an excellent buy for a little over $200.

One other best Router on this list is the Asus RT- AC88U AC3100 Dual Band: 


This router like most of the other routers on this list comes with a ton of features. Having excellent speed and range is a given for the routers appearing on the list of best routers of 2018. This router comes with MU-MIMO support, 8 gigabit LAN support with link aggregation dual- WAN support. This budget friendly router is available for $237.55

You best Average day Router- Asus RT- Ac68U AC1900 802.11ac Router:


For those on the look- out for a great router but don’t want the frills attached with most $200+ models out there, this Asus router is the one for you. Don’t think that just because this router costs lessthan $200 that is sub – optimal or that it does not offer great speeds because let me tell you it offers great speeds and has a good range too.

It support 600Mbps on a 2.4 GHz band and can reach upto 1300 Mbps on 5GHz band. This budget friendly router comes with 4 gigabit LAN ports and one WAN port, 2.0 USB port, USB 3.0 port and this router even has removable antennas. This router on the best router list of 2018 is available at $140.

Another Great Buy on the best router list- Synology RT2600ac: 


This router comes with a lot of features for an under $200 router and it has a 1.7 GHz dual core processor, support for MU-MIMO and still clocks in at lesser than $200.

It can reach up to 1,733 Mbps while on 5GHz bandwith and upto 800 Mbps on a 2.4 GHz band. This is an excellent router for everyday home usage and it can also double up as a network storage server.

Another budget friendly router on the best router list of 2018- TP Link Archer C7 1750: 


If you want something that simply does the job at good enough speeds and are not that interested in features that you may never use then this $70 router is definitely one for you.

Finding the Industrial Parts You Need Doesn't Have to Be a Chore

Are you a business owner who depends on finding new industrial parts for your workplace? If this is a constant problem, you're probably ready to make use of any new solution that may present itself. Luckily, there have been quite a few tech breakthroughs in the past two decades that can come to your aid. As it stands in the 21st century, finding phenolic wheel casters and other supplies is easier than ever. Of course, a lot depends on your ability to make use of the resources that are now available to you. Once you master the learning curve, the sky is truly the only limit.

Why is it So Important to Get the Best Deal on Industrial Supplies?

When it comes to ordering the caster wheels and other supplies you require, it's on you to make sure that you are getting the very best deal. This is because it's never going to be anyone else's responsibility to look out for the welfare of your business. But it's also because you are the only one who truly knows just what your business requires to keep functioning at a productive and profitable level. For these reasons, you are the one who is on the hook when it comes to making the best possible decisions on behalf of your business.

Where Can You Turn to in Order to Guarantee a Good Deal?

In the old days, you really didn't have much choice when it came to ordering the industrial supplies that you needed. You had one or two industrial parts suppliers that you could visit in your immediate local area. You also had a plethora of mail order catalogs that you may or may not be able to order from. This is why the advent of the world wide web is so crucial. All of a sudden, your options for ordering the industrial parts you require have increased by an exponential factor.

Using the Web to Order the Parts You Need is Your Best Option 

When it comes to finding viable options to order industrial parts, using the web as your guide is your best bet. A few minutes spent comparison shopping is a very worthy investment of your time. The sooner you learn how to use the web to order the parts you need, the better for your business.

Internet Marketing Success 101: Strategies That Promote Growth And Progress Online

Business owners who are seeking internet marketing success should know that there are multiple strategies that they can deploy to promote growth and progress online. Here are two of them:

1. Implement Content Marketing Strategies That Work. 

In addition to doing your target audience research, make sure that you implement content marketing strategies. Note that the content marketing process contains two parts. The first is the creation of content. This step will involve things like brainstorming topics for a blog post, creating the outline for the post, and then writing it. The second part of the content marketing process is publishing your work. This process can be quite complicated given that it might involve things like determining which channels you should use to publish your work. For example, your target market research might lead you to see that your customers regularly use platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to shop, communicate with friends, or gain information. If this is the case, you'd likely want to publish your content on these types of platforms.

There are a wide range of content marketing strategies that you might deploy to make your internet advertising process as effective as possible. One would be the use of listicles. As many online advertising experts know, listicles are important because they empower you to share information quickly by making your text scannable. The text becomes scannable as you put information in a bullet point list. In addition to utilizing listicles, consider the value of creating videos. These videos are important because people are more likely to attain their online information in the form of a video. Thus while text-based content like web articles and blog posts are important, this is not the only form of content you should be utilizing to share your brand's value with members of the target market. Typically, business owners lack knowledge and experience when it comes to the video production process. This is why it is typically prudent and practical for corporate leaders to hire a video production team to create their videos.

Note that much of your content will appear on your website. As such, you want to optimize all aspects of your website so when people visit it, they have an incredible experience. One great way to take your website to a new level is through the use of online shopping cart system services and products provided by companies such as 1shoppingcart.com. The shopping carts are important because they help your site shoppers store all the goods they want in a centralized virtual space until they're ready to make their final purchases.

2. Implement Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Techniques. 

One final technique that you can deploy to dominate in the digital realm is implementing search engine optimization (SEO) techniques. These techniques will increase your organization's likelihood of attaining page one ranking in the SERPs. There are a wide range of SEO techniques you can utilize to increase your chances of having your content consistently show up on the first page of major engines like Bing, Google, and Yahoo. Some of them include:
  •  inbound linking 
  •  outbound linking 
  •  target market research 
  •  keyword analysis
Conclusion 

Online marketing success will not just happen. Rather, business owners must work in a diligent, strategic manner to attain results. Start implementing these digital advertising techniques immediately to take your business into a deeper dimension of success soon!

Tuesday 8 May 2018

Atomically Thin Magnetic Device Could Lead to New Memory Technologies

Thin Magnetic Device

Atomically Thin Magnet Device Could Revolutionize Modern Technologies

Atomically thin magnetic devices could pave the way for new technologies in the field of cloud computing and consumer electronics. The modern digital technologies are made of magnetic materials. There has been a breakthrough by a team from the University of Washington in encoding data using magnets which are a few layers of atoms in thickness. This will be a leap forward in cloud computing technology and consumer electronics whereby data storage can be increased and there will be great improvements in energy efficiency.

According to reports that appeared in the ‘Science’ journal, there was a study conducted by researchers wherein they used very thin materials to control the electron flow based on the direction of their spins. The electronic spins are comparable with tiny subatomic magnets. Sheets of chromium tri-iodide (CrI3), a material considered as a 2-D magnetic insulator were used in the materials.

They used four sheets and each sheet was only atoms thick. It created an atomically thin magnetic system that could block electrons based on their spins and at the same time exerted 10 times stronger control than the other methods. This created a possibility of storing data on atomically thin magnets. The team was able to electrically control the magnetic properties of the atomically thin magnet.

The main challenge is to increase data storage and at the same time reduce the operation energy. The team is finding out how the atomically thin magnet could increase memory storage by taking advantage of the electron spins in each individual sheet. The researchers are looking at the possibility of achieving an increase in memory storage and reduction in operation energy. They are looking at ways of engineering atomically thin magnetic memory devices with lesser amount of energy consumption than what is presently achievable.

The working principle behind the atomically thin magnetic device

Two layers of CrI3 were sandwiched between the conducting sheets of graphene. Based on the spin alignment between the CrI3 sheets, there are two possibilities. One is the electrons can flow unimpeded between the graphene sheets or they can be blocked from flowing. These two possibilities could act as bits of the binary code for encoding data. They could act as the bits – zeroes and ones.

The operational units of this type of memory are magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ) or magnetic gates that can either impede or allow the flow of electrical current depending on the spin alignment in the junction. This magnetic gate helps to figure out the data storage on a small scale.

With four layers of CrI3 in the atomically thin magnet, the researchers discovered the possibility for multi-bit information storage. If we consider two CrI3 layers the spins are either in the same direction or in the opposite direction. This gives rise to two different rates for the electrons to flow through the magnetic gate.

When there are three or four CrI3 layers, there is a possibility of different combinations for the spin alignment between each layer giving rise to multiple, distinct rates for the electrons to flow through the atomically thin magnetic material from from graphene sheet to the next.

This enables the storage devices to have not only two choices but many more choices to store data. Thus the atomically thin magnetic devices that use the CrI3 junctions will be more efficient and will be able to store more data.

Monday 7 May 2018

Mother's Day Gadget Gift Guide 2018

Your Gadget Gift Guide this Mother’s Day!!

So Mother’s day is around the corner and knowing what to give Mom can sometimes be a struggle, but not anymore with our Gadget gift guide, that does not have to be a problem anymore. This mother’s day makes life easier for Mother with these cool gadgets. If your Mother is already one of those gadget geeks, these gifts will surely be of interest to her but if not then you need not worry, this mother’s day transform your Mother into a gadget lover with the things on our list.

Sometimes picking out the most needed one can be a tough job. As the day looms closer ahead, it is an all-out rush to try and give the mother a unique gift that we know she would love. Giving something beautiful to Mothers on mother day is important, and that is why we have compiled a gadget gift guide for you. So brush away the tension sweat and get to reading this gadget gift guide for a hassle-free mother’s day.

Start with this Gadget Gift Guide with the Dyson Supersonic Iron Red Hairdryer:

You may be wondering what’s so cool about a hairdryer; my mom already has one. This product is not an ordinary hairdryer; the Dyson Supersonic Iron Red Hairdryer uses the laws of fluid dynamics while drying off your mother’s hair.
Gadget Gift Guide 2018


The hairdryer measures the air 20 times a second and regulates the heat the hairdryer gives out so as not to damage your hair. Using Fluid dynamics, the Dyson Hairdryer prevents the problem of hairdryers blocking up when they come too close to curtains or any other fabric for that matter.

With this hairdryer given as a gift, Mother will never have to worry about getting her hair burnt while drying her hair after the shower. Plus Mother will get that hot red case to go with the hairdryer helping her in all her packing woes. This cool hairdryer is one for the gadget gift guide and is available at just $549. 

Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 930 for the Gadget Gift Guide


Is your mother the OCD cleaning type? Then look no further, this gadget gift guide has got a gadget up its sleeve that is for you. The Ecovas Deebot Ozmo is a vacuum without any human intervention. The days of pulling and pushing a vacuum cleaner are gone. Now, it is the time to bring out those vacuums that you never have to bother about it. And charge them and send them out for a round of the house and then when their battery dies all you have to do is charge them up and send them out again.
Mother's Day Gadget Gift Guide 1


The Deebot Ozmo 930 comes with an app so you can monitor the places where the vacuum has been. You can regulate it where it goes, so that it does not get into the shower where, a heads up- it wouldn’t do too well, and you might also want to avoid those irritating wire filled areas too. So maybe a little human intervention is required but then again not much after all this is a mother’s day gadget gift guide and who gives a cleaning device right? But this gadget gift is one that is going to save Mother a lot of trouble and you too if your Mother is the OCD type and did I mention this gadget gift guide idea costs just $1299 if you look at it as a lifetime investment it is an excellent buy for Mother.

Gift your Mom a Sonos One from this Gadget Gift Guide:

Another idea on the gadget gift guide is to gift your Mother the Sonos One. Nowadays everyone and anyone needs a smart speaker and who more than a tired out mom needs it more? Sonos has been a brand that has been here for ages, and it has recently updated its tiniest speaker to go along with Alexa.

So this mother’s day takes the cue from the gadget gift guide and gifts your Mother the Sonos One so that now she can unwind and has more time to herself with the help of the trusty Alexa. She can tell the smart speaker to not only play music but also to make a- to-do list, check the weather, put on and off switches maybe even ask Alexa to tell a joke.
Gadget Gift Guide 3


If you have other Sonos speakers in your home, you can even use the Sonos One and integrate it with the rest of the Sonos family in your house. Your Mother can carry on listening to that favorite song of her’s as she walks into different rooms in the house doing her work. Buying the Sonos one is like taking a safe bet, and it only costs $299.

The Crumpler Vis- a – Vis Cabin Matte as a gift on this Gadget Gift Guide:


If you have a working Mother, then this bag is for you everybody could do with this bag even Mothers who need a much needed- break away from the fam. The Crumpler Cabin Matte has a compression system that allows you to stuff more things into every inch of the bag and ladies out there you know how important this is right?

Mother's Day Gadget Gift Guide

What is even cooler with this bag is that it comes in matte black which makes your mom look suave and cool traveling with it. The only downside with this roll- on is that weighs in by itself 3.3 kg, and that is half of your allowed carry on weight out the airplane window- if you know what I mean. This bag will cost you around $349.

This mother’s day treat your Mom a gift she will remember and don’t forget this gadget gift guide is always there at your disposal. The gift ideas on this gadget gift guide may appear a little on the steep side, but for Mother, nothing you do in return is ever enough right? Whether it is a hairdryer or vacuum cleaner or a travel bag or even a card, I’m sure she will always cherish a gadget gift given by you to your Mother.

Thursday 3 May 2018

Things to Expect from Google I/O This Year Around

Google I/O

Google’s Annual Developer Conference

Google I/O 2018 is an annual developer conference by Google announcing latest hardware, software together with numerous updates for prevailing services and apps. Google is said to organise a multi-day event each year to enable developer community.

 This is done to hasten with their latest hardware they tend to improve together with the software or update with the purpose of pushing out to products. This enables developers with the opportunity of getting their own apps, services tie-ins and integrations ready before Google launches its products. But consumers prefer to view the Google I/O show since Google has a tendency of making few announcements well-known.

Google I/O 2018 event is likely to take place on May 8 and would be concluding on May 10. The said event would take place at the Shoreline amphitheatre in Mountain View, California.

Online Puzzle

The date for Google I/O 2018 had been disclosed by Google through an online puzzle where numerous users supported The Verge in solving the puzzle by operating through room in Google Maps. This was with the intention of discovering clues and knowing the date and location of Google I/O 2018.

The clues comprised of a pineapple cake in one room probably a hint at the accurate name for Android P. Since Google had always tricked around with Android names, this could be another teaser for Android fans.

Android P – Next Segment of Mobile Operating System

Probably,Android P would be showcased at the event which is the next segment of the mobile operating system of Google. The one big visual renovation of Google that has not been shown officially and which most of us are not aware of is the gesture-based navigation system which was initially disclosed in March on Alphabet Scoop podcast followed up with limited extracts of last month.

Focus – Building Web/Enterprise Application/Mobile

Google would live stream its keynote and the video would be embedded whenever it is available. A raffle system has been utilised by Google and attendees randomly selected from those registered on the company’s website where the lucky winners would need to pay for the tickets. The cost would be $1,150 for general admission, $750 for community and $375 for academic. Google has closed the registration and has notified the raffle winners and no more tickets are on sale anymore. Google I/O 2018 setting technical in-depth sessions is aimed on building web, enterprise application and mobile with Google together with open sources like Chrome, Android and Chrome OS, APIs, together with Google Web Toolkit, App Engine and much more.

Google has utilised the developer conference to announce fresh software products as well as tools for consumers and developers. A developer preview of Android P, being the next version of the mobile operating system of Google, is already available. It is expected that at Google I/O 2018, the company would disclose more consumer-facing features and open the Android Beta program to the general public. Though the schedule for Google I/O 2018 is out, Google’s topic intended is not known during the event. A few clues are disclosed as to what may come up between May 8 and May 10.

Expectations at Google I/O 2018

Google is on the look-out for a P-linked name to trail Android Oreo and this could be an early disclosure of the forthcoming name of the Android version. More updates would be coming up at Google I/O 2018 event. Earlier last year, the first developer preview of Android O had been released in March. The company had released the public beta of Android O together with its latest Android Go, a feature of the operating system intended to power low-end devices in developing markets at the time of the I/O 2017. Last year, Google released the first developer preview of Android O in March, and then, it released the public beta of Android O, along with its new Android Go, a version of the operating system meant to power low-end devices in emerging markets, during I/O 2017. It also did demos of picture-in-picture, Notification Dots, etc.

Updates – Rollout during Google I/O 2018 Event

Powered by Google Assistant, Google Home is said to be the primary part of experience of Google as well as a part wherein the company has been competing with the line of smart speakers of Amazon Echo. More updates are expected during Google I/O 2018 for the standard Google Home shortly. Android Wear had recently been re-trademarked by Google, a wearable operating system to WearOS. Probably more updates are likely to come up during the event. The chat service Allo had been kept on hold by Google recently to keep its focus on Chats which is a service that tends to depend on SMS together with wireless carriers in creating iMessage type of services, according to The Verge report.Probably more updates regarding the rollout are likely to come up along with carrier partners with some kind of timetable to when users would start to see the Chat features.

Wednesday 2 May 2018

Using Evolutionary AutoML to Discover Neural Network Architectures

AutoML

Human Brain – Wide Range of Activities

The human brain has the potential of performing a wide range of activities most of which does not need much effort, for instance in conveying if a visual extract comprises of buildings, or animals. In order to perform this activity the artificial neural networks needs vigilant strategy from professions with several years of complex research, addressing each particular task in discovering what lies in an image, to name it a genetic variant or to assist in diagnosing a disease. One would prefer having an automated system of generating the precise architecture for any particular task. One of the methods of generating the architectures is by way of utilising evolutionary processes.

Old research for neuro-evolution of topologies had laid the foundation which enabled the application of these processes at scale, presently. Several of the groups have been operating on the subject inclusive of OpenAI, Uber Labs, and Sentient Labs together with DeepMind. Google Brain team certainly had been discerning about AutoML too.

Evolution - Scale Function on Construction – Architecture

Besides utilising learning based approaches it was also speculated on the use of computational resources to programmatically evolve image classifiers at exceptional scale.Queries addressed were: `Could we accomplish solutions with minimal expert participation? How good can artificially-evolved neural networks be at present?

The purpose was to enable evolution at scale function on constructing the architecture. The procedure found classifiers similar to hand made models at that point of time, beginning from the simple networks. This was inspiring since several applications needed minimum participation. For instance some would require improved model though could not have the time in being a machine learning professionals.

The next query that came up was,would a combination of hand-made and evolution perform better than any of these approaches. In a recent paper `Regularized Evolution for Image Classifier Architecture Search (2018) participation took place with the provision of sophisticated building blocks together with good initial conditions.

Scaling of Computation – New TPUv2chips – Google

Scaling of computation had been done utilising the new TPUv2chips of Google. With the combination of up-to-date hardware, skilful knowledge together with evolution the result produced state-of-the-art models on well-known benchmarks for classification of images namely CIFAR-10 and ImageNet. In the paper besides evolving the architecture, at the time of exploring the search space of early condition as well as the learning rate schedules, the population trains its networks.

 This consequence is that the development with enhanced hyper parameters producedentirely skilled models. When the experiments tend to begin, no professional input is essential. The second paper `Regularized Evolution for Image Classifier Architecture Search offered effects of applying evolutionary systems to search space. Mutations tend to adapt the cell by erratically reconnecting the inputs or switching the operations.

Though the mutation tends to be simple, the initial conditions are not. The population tends to get modified with models which tend to adapt to the outer stack of cells.However if the cells in such seed model tend to be unsystematic, there will be no beginning from simple model that eventually would make it simpler to obtain excellent models.

The paper has portrayed that evolution can locate state-of-the-art models which could compete or outdo hand-designs.

Working in DevOps Requires a Unique Set of Skills

Devops is a unique job in that it combines software development with operations management. As such, if you want to make this your career, you must hold an eclectic set of skills. You can do it. In fact, to help you out, here is a list of skills many believe make for a good devops engineer. Don’t forget to get your bachelor’s degree in software development. You can then move on and earn your master’s degree in operations management for the well-rounded education you will need for the job.

People Skills


One of the primary responsibilities of any person working in devops is to be the liaison between a business’ development and operations teams. You must be able to work with everyone on a project from concept through fruition. In fact, part of your responsibility will be to manage the workflow that allows the project to move forward. If you understand people, and how to get them together to work toward a common goal, you may be invaluable when it comes to devops jobs.

Technology Skills


Of course, each project will require different technology to make it happen, so you will also need to possess a broad understanding of various technologies out there. You must be knowledgeable in cloud, container concepts, continuous integration, deployment, infrastructure automation, orchestration, and source control. Ron Gidron from Automic Software explains that the best devops engineers are people who remain curious at all times.

Security Skills


All of this technology must be locked down, so you’ll also need to know a thing or two (or a million) about security. Because putting development and operations together streamlines processes, it increases the time in which a project is completed. This looks good on the bottom line, but it also opens up new networks to vulnerabilities. You must combine your knowledge of development and operations to ensure you protect the project against any security risks. Can you write security code?

Automation and Testing Skills


Because part of your job will be to develop network infrastructures, you will need to be savvy with automation and testing. In fact, James Giles IV of Datical states automation is one of a devops engineer’s primary jobs. You should be able to write scripts to automate administrative and engineering roles. This streamlines network processes and keeps any lists of manual tasks consistent for all IT and other applicable personnel. You need to test the systems, too, so make certain you have that experience.

Although the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics does not have an exact job outlook for devops positions, the closest thing to this career is a software developer. That job outlook looks good – so good in fact, demand for good developers is projected to increase a whopping 24 percent by the year 2026. The average median salary for software developers in 2017 was over $100,000, and when you take into account you’ll earn more because you’ll manage operations, too, devops is a great career choice.

If you have the determination to succeed, you will – no matter what you choose to do. In the case of devops, the career is dynamic, exciting, and lucrative. With the right combination of education and experience, you should have no trouble securing a job in this field.

Tuesday 1 May 2018

Apple iOS 11.3.1 Has A Nasty Surprise

Apple users are in for an Ugly surprise in iOS 11.3.1

So what is an update to an operating system supposed to do? You may say fix bugs and maybe introduce some new features to the OS, but apparently some think differently, exhibit Apple. Taking the example of Apple iOS 11.3, users expected bug fixes and some new features but all they got was some more bugs and the previous ones not really fixed, just forget about new features. This fiasco in turn put new pressure on Apple to make some serious changes with iOS 11.3.1, but then again we have a repeat iOS 11.3 performance but this time with a little kick and believe me this kick will hurt.

iOS 11.3.1 seems to have one fix in mind but other than that it fails to address any other issues, when in fact there were a host of other fixes that were desperately required. Now coming back to that special kick, with iOS 11.3.1, you get, maybe the most serious iOS 11.3 bug so far, an audio skipping issue. Thought you were smart huh in skipping the iOS 11.3 update and going straight to iOS 11.3.1, but now are thinking otherwise?

The Audio Skipping incident with iOS 11.3.1:

Incident or frequent occurrence is more like it. This issue seems to have affected a number of Apple users. So what exactly does this bug do?

The audio skipping problem actually skips or distorts your audio, whether it be listening to your music or podcast or receiving or making calls. It seems like you have a bad line but is actually the audio skipping bug that you get free with iOS 11.3.1

What’s more is that with the audio skipping bug in iOS 11.3.1, features like phone calls, podcasts, music playback are all made almost useless.

Reaction to the audio bug in iOS 11.3.1:

As you can imagine users are furious that they now have to contend with this bug over every other issue that is there. This problem too with iOS 11.3.1 seems to have also affected a large number of Apple users out there.

Some are even thinking of making a switch to Samsung after many years with Apple. Looks like the bug problem finally got to them. The audio skipping problem with iOS 11.3.1 also has nothing to do with battery life because users have also commented that their batteries are fine and that they still faced this problem with iOS 11.3.1

Something interesting with iOS 11.3.1: 

Apple seems to be secretly claiming that by updating to iOS 11.3.1, users will actually get this problem solved. This leads to more unsuspecting users updating to iOS 11.3.1 and then Voila! They are face with the dreadful audio skipping problem.

Apparently there is no end in sight with this problem. There seems to be no fix to the iOS 11.3.1 issue and while many claim that a hard reset of the iPhone with iTunes may help, there is no evidence to support it.

Wednesday 25 April 2018

How Google Autocomplete works in Search

The Workings behind Google Auto complete

We all know what autocomplete is and how it works (basically) but what we don’t really know is how much time it saves for us. A post by Google shows that Google autocomplete saves around 25% of our typing time or in other words around 200 YEARS of typing time per day, Yes you read right 200 YEARS per DAY! On the other hand google autocomplete is especially useful for mobile devices as you don’t have to take too long on typing on a smaller screen. Though, most of us have become master typists at this point.

Google Autocomplete is a feature that you will find anywhere, that is wherever there is a Google search bar like obviously Google Home, Google app present in Android and iOS, Quick search box in Android and Omnibox address bar within Chrome. Type and there you have the predictions appear.

Google uses the term predictions in Google Autocomplete:

In a Google article recently posted, Google has specifically used the word predictions to describe Google autocomplete rather than suggestions and for good reason too. Google autocomplete tries to predict what you want to search for, rather than showing you what different things you can search for.
Determining of Predictions on Google Autocomplete:

Google looks at real searches done by other users, trending information and your location and passed searches to create predictions in Google’s Autocomplete. It fills in predictions according to words already typed and eliminates search predictions that do not match words as and when more info is typed by us.

Predictions against Google Autocomplete rules:

When it comes to giving predictions, Google does not want to shock users in getting out- of- context and insensitive searches so they have put up a set of rules to govern the same within Google autocomplete.

Some of the predictions that are against the rules are hateful comments against groups or individuals on the basis of race, religion etc., predictions that are violent and dangerous and harmful predictions.
Google also removes predictions from Google autocomplete that are based on valid legal requests, those that are related to spam and those that relate to piracy.

 

Control mechanisms in place in Google Autocomplete:


Google does its best when it comes to controlling inappropriate predictions but with sifting through billions of searches per day sometimes inappropriate predictions on Google autocomplete slip through the cracks and that is why sometimes we see things that at times can be shocking.

Google has also started a feedback tool since last year that has been useful to them in removing unwanted predictions from Google autocomplete. They also plan on increasing the criteria for determining what is considered hateful in removing unwanted suggestions from Google autocomplete.

Reporting of Unwanted predictions:


Individuals too now can report anything that appears inappropriate on Google autocomplete. For those using a desktop there is “report inappropriate predictions” link that appears on the bottom of a search box and for those on Android, users can long press on the prediction to report it.

Saturday 21 April 2018

An Augmented Reality Microscope for Cancer Detection

An Augmented Reality Microscope will help in detecting cancer cells in upcoming days

With each passing day virtual reality, augmented reality and machine learning are opening new pathways in varied medical disciplines. It has been found that the application of the machine learning in varied medical departments specifically the radiology, ophthalmology, dermatology and pathology can help in deriving accurate and precise reports of the patients on global scale which can in turn boost the overall health sector on global level.



Google research team has come with an innovative and promising Augmented Reality Microscope, which has started showing remarkable results in detecting the breast cancer symptoms with highest rate of accuracy found only in very few trained pathologists.

This augmented reality microscope can perform a wide range of task like offering visual feedback, in form of the heat maps, contours, arrows, animation as well as some texts. As it is being powered by the machine learning it has got the ability to perform some problem solving as well as like going through smart object detection, classification as well as the quantification.

Google researchers have developed the augmented reality microscope based on the modern computation models along with the deep learning models using TensorFlow. The use of the machine learning algorithm helps in getting the output right on the screen in real time.

Detecting breast cancer based using new algorithms

Google researchers has trained this augmented reality microscope to run two very different cancer detection algorithms in order to detect cancer with highest rate of accuracy.One algorithm allows the augmented reality microscope to detect the breast cancer metastases present in the lymph node while the other algorithm trains it to detect the prostate cancer present in the prostatectomy specimens.

As it is able to take snaps in higher magnification of 4-40x, it allows the physician or researchers to have a look at the growing tumour regions with the green contour right on their screen. Furthermore these detailed imaging of the cells also allows the doctors or pathologist to carefully study the area under the influence of tumours cells without any issues.

Future application of the augmented reality microscope

Google is hopeful that augmented reality microscope will find its due place in the global health sector market along with making a huge impact in the same. It will be a great asset for the developing countries where it becomes extremely difficulty to detect the common infectious disease like tuberculosis and malaria in the early stages.

Apart from being robust in nature it is also quite light weight which will help it in finding it easily adoptable in wide varieties of industries globally apart from the pathology.

Secondly augmented reality microscope will also be finding a huge success in the digital industry here it can be used to create digital workflow prints which aren’t’ possible to be done by the modern scanners.

Healthcare will certainly be the prime focus of the Google in establishing, introducing and marketing the augmented reality microscope in the upcoming days but tech giant is also looking forward to bring this revolutionary device to the life research and material science disciples as well.

Tuesday 17 April 2018

This Fire Detecting Wallpaper Can Turn an Entire Room into an Alarm

Fire Detecting Wallpaper

Fire Detecting Wallpaper: The wallpaper of the future!

Have you ever heard of wallpaper that can not only detect fire in the area that it is in but also helps in preventing its spread? Well neither have I until now that is. Researchers have come up with wallpaper that can detect fire and which is also fire resistant. Made of a material that is found in bone teeth and hormones, yes you read right, this fire detecting wallpaper, may actually stop the spread of flames and also alert you to the fact that your house is on fire.

Those colorful, beautiful wallpaper that you find in stores today are actually highly flammable made of such materials such as plant cellulose fibers and synthetic polymers, these wallpapers will help a fire spread in the nick of time making recovery of anything near impossible. Researchers of the fire detecting wallpaper have swapped out those flammable materials for something strange yet environmentally friendly.


The strange material in fire detecting wallpaper:

Fire detecting wallpaper is made of a material commonly found in bone teeth and hormone, (God knows where they got the idea from), this material known as hydroxyapatite is fashioned into long and by that I mean really long nanowires to give it high flexibility.

This hydroxyapatite material, that is used to make the fire detecting wallpaper, actually helps the wallpaper in preventing the spread of flames.

Making the fire detecting wallpaper “smart”:

Researchers didn’t just make the fire detecting wallpaper preventive of fire, they also wanted to make it “smart”. To do this they added sensors to the fire detecting wallpaper made from drops of graphene oxide in an inky mixture.

This graphene oxide acts in two ways, at room temp, it acts as an insulator, that is it blocks the flow of electricity while under high temperature say when there is a fire, it makes the fire detecting wallpaper conductive and this completes a circuit that sound an alarm.

Researchers also boast that this alarm on the fire detecting wallpaper can last for a prolonged period of more than five minutes.

So to fit it all in one nice package, the fire detecting wallpaper is not only non-flammable but also high in temperature resistance and has an automatic fire alarm.

The wallpaper that you find in today’s stores are highly flammable and won’t do nothing when it comes to a fire in the house while the fire detecting wallpaper has a high flexibility, it can also be processed into various shapes, made in different colors and made with a commercial printer.

But all this won’t come cheap, the fire detecting wallpaper, because of their materials come at a very steep price tag. They may be environmentally friendly but not really pocket friendly, making you think that you’d rather take your chances when and if there is a fire with normal wallpaper.

The next thing on the agenda, therefore, for scientists is that they now are looking for more cost effective ways of making fire detecting wallpaper, that will be easy on a person’s wallet.

Monday 16 April 2018

Huge Google Sheets Update Introduces Macros

Google Sheets Update

Google Updates Google Sheets by Bringing in Macros to the Sheet

As with all Google products, at some point or the other, they all undergo some updates, it’s no different for Google sheets too. One of the major updates to Google sheets will be the addition of macros, which many are relieved to see on the Google platform. Who’s to say this won’t bring Microsoft excel users to Google sheets. Adding macros to Google sheets will give those hard core users of spreadsheets a much needed break as they won’t have to do the same thing over and over again.

Being a part of every other major suite out there, macros was sorely missing out in Google sheets. This addition to Google’s sheets will be a big thumbs up in their favor. With this Google sheets update, users will be able to finally record macros. Doing the same thing over and over again is boring and not to mention time consuming and with the advent of computers we thought we could put all that in the past but for a long time not having Macros in Google sheets seemed that we were still in that past.

Adding Macros to Google sheets: 


Adding Macros to Google sheets may be the most useful update to Google Sheets in a long long time. Now you will be able to see a new “record Macros” feature present in the tool bar that does exactly what you hope it would do- to stop you from having to repeat instructions again and again.

All you have to do is start your recording, go through your steps and when it is all done sit back and relax and by that I mean start the whole process again by simply running macros again.

The future is here with Google sheets at last. Now you needn’t spend more time on formatting and reformatting the same spreadsheet again and again or until you pull out all the hair on your head.

Going further, Google sheets even converts your macros into Apps script code, so if you are so inclined to make any changes you can always edit that app script.

Adding other features to Google Sheets:


Macros is not the only new feature to be added on to Google sheets. You can now also add page breaks to demarcate the pages you want to print, customize page sizes, the option to convert a cell into a check box list, there are also new options for row and column grouping and you can now even group data according to time frame like by week, month or year.

Google is even adding artificial intelligence to Google sheets. Google has even added intelligent pivot tables in their Google sheets which will help in analyzing and helping the user in getting more insights into their data irrespective of their skills in data analytics.

With “Explore” found in Google sheets, you will now be able to decipher the data on spreadsheets more easily than ever before. This feature uses machine intelligence to do that.

Thursday 12 April 2018

Direct High-Speed Charging of Electric Cars by Solar Panels

Direct Charging of Electric Cars

Charging Electric cars via a solar panel

Electric cars are now the “in thing”. With this fad on the up and up, many are now looking for ways to charge the car in ways that can be energy efficient. The whole point of these electric cars is that they should not take up much fuel and can be charged from renewable sources of energy that does not require the burning of fossil fuels, which would otherwise be the same thing as filling up the car with all fuel. Therefore researchers have now discovered a novel way to charge these electric cars using solar energy.

Researchers are now considering charging electric cars using solar panels. By using this method of charging the cars, people will not only save the environment from the burning of fossil fuels but will also be using a renewable source of energy, this is besides getting tax concessions.

Charging electric cars using solar panels and their problems: 


Present practice in using a solar panel means that charge from the solar panel has to be converted from direct current to alternating current to charge an electric car. This normally would require a 50Hz AC network, to convert the direct current into alternating current.

But this method is not really beneficial for anyone. In that it is not cost effective or efficient. This is because of two main reasons. To convert current to AC involves a lot of costs and needs many steps. Secondly, to convert from DC to AC requires two converters one for the solar panel and the other for the car, again leading to high costs and installments.

What’s the solution then? 


A better alternative as discovered by the researchers is to use a single converter that charges the car from the panels via a DC link which connects to the AC electricity grid.

Researchers then came up with a 10kW converter that has an internal DC link and three terminals that would allow the car to charge both from the solar panel and the electricity grid.

What’s so good about this method is that the integrated DC charger has a higher efficiency and is three times smaller than the current practice.

Another advantage of using this method is that not only will you be able to charge your car, you will now also be able to charge your entire house using this new method. You could also return the electricity back to the grid that is not before first converting it into AC.

The Future of Charging Electric cars: 


This system can be expanded to connect several chargers to solar panels thus expanding its use to business parks and residential areas. The company Power Research Electronics has gone a step further and made this theoretical system a reality by developing a number of high speed charging stations of this type.
In this way electric cars will not only consume less fuel, thereby burning less fossil fuel and in turn less damage to the atmosphere, but will also earn tax concessions by using a renewable source of energy.

Wednesday 11 April 2018

HumanDrive Project: Mimicking human driving in autonomous vehicles

HumanDrive Project

HumanDrive Project: Human like driving in Autonomous cars

With AI technology and machine learning the latest “in things”, autonomous driving was never that far away. We already see some forms of it on the road, whether it be in the form of autonomous parking or cruise control, all of this has to do with AI and machine learning tech. The HumanDrive project started by Nissan’s European center will test out how autonomous cars face the UK terrain, through country sides and motorways.

The HumanDrive project will feature a 30 month trek across the UK all without the input or intervention of humans. It’s going to be human- like driving without the human behind the steering wheel.

What is the HumanDrive Project? 


The HumanDrive project aims at making the outside world think that a human is driving a car when in reality all the systems within the car will be operated by a machine. The challenge is for the autonomous car to appear like a human is driving it through all types of terrains and through all types of landscapes whether it be through the country side or in crowded towns.

Handing in the reins of the vehicle to a machine, may prove to be a smoother experience for a driver than simply using automated driving for parking or during cruise control.

Using various simulation models and in depth analysis of how drivers behave on the road were the key ingredients when it came to developing automated driving in the HumanDrive project.

By identifying the key ingredients in the HumanDrive project, researchers were able to list the risks and behaviors of human drivers in those scenarios and establish it within the HumanDrive project.

How autonomous should a car be in the HumanDrive Project? 


Studies conducted by researchers on the HumanDrive project was done so as to determine the degree of autonomous driving that people preferred and whether the driving should mimic individual styles. All these studies were directed at determining the level of control in such autonomous vehicles in the HumanDrive project.

Testing of the HumanDrive project: 


Researchers applied an externally created autonomous driving software to a simulation model in order to determine risks and responses in those settings.

Another method of testing had been to develop geo-specific databases that would give the autonomous vehicle a feel of the terrain in which they would be driving.

The HumanDrive Journey: 


The HumanDrive project will kick start its 200 plus mile journey through the UK and culminate in December of next year. The journey will take the autonomous vehicles through the country side and motorways. The whole idea behind the project is to foster confidence in such human-less vehicles and to increase public awareness of them. Another aim of the HumanDrive project is to aid public authorities to benefit from such automated technologies.

The business of automated vehicles: 

Low carbon consumption vehicles and automated vehicles are the future of transport. As the demand for these vehicles increase and more and more people go in for such transport the possibilities of this business sector is enormous. To be more accurate it is 52bn pounds by the year 2035 to the UK alone.

Saturday 7 April 2018

TESS to Search the Sky for New Worlds

The Search for New worlds begins with TESS

Is earth the only inhabitable planet or are there more planets out there that could potentially become a home far away from home for us? Scientists are all ready to launch TESS or Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, which will reportedly look for planets outside the solar system that could potentially support life on their surfaces. TESS will look at the atmospheric compositions of these planets and determine whether they could support life.

TESS is all set for an April 16 launch, with scientists making the final preparations for its two year stint in space. TESS will look for planets around nearby starts that give hints of a livable atmosphere.
TESS will analyze Atmospheric compositions of planets:

Scientists believe that atmospheric compositions hold clues as to whether a planet can hold life or not and this is what TESS will be sent out to do.

TESS is tasked with finding exoplanets by analyzing something that is known as “transit”. Transit is when a planet passes in front of a start causing a dip in the brightness of that star. In the past, scientists have discovered many exoplanets using the technique of transit. Most of these planets are 300 to 3000 lightyears away from us.

TESS’s follow up program will look at the mass of various planets some 4 times the radius of the earth and others smaller than earth.

How will Transit Help scientists? 


With transit, TESS will be able to identify exoplanets and then scientists will use a technique known as “spectroscopy” which is the study of the absorption and emission of light, to determine the mass, density and atmospheric composition of a specific planet.

The water content and other molecules present in the atmosphere of a planet will give key clues as to the possibility of a planet to harbor life.

The Follow-up Observations: 


Follow- up observations of TESS’s findings will be made by scientists using MEarth telescopes which are robotically controlled observatories. Another way scientists plan on observing findings is through a KeplerCam present on a 48 inch telescope. MEarth and Kepler cam will be used to confirm the star that TESS identifies in the transit period.

TESS Guest Investigator Program: 


The worldwide scientific community will be able to participate in this mission through TESS Guest Investigator Program. This participation will maximize the return expected from the mission and contribute in the study of stellar astrophysics, exoplanet characterization and general solar system science.

Launch of TESS: 


TESS is expected to launch on April 16 of this year for its two year mission. The launch will be from Space Launch Complex 40 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station located in Florida.

With the help of gravity from the moon, TESS will begin a 13.7 day orbit of the earth and sixty days after its launch and after checking all its instruments it will begin its two year mission in space. TESS will be all set to discover planets that could potentially hold human life.

Thursday 5 April 2018

Researchers Develop Nanoparticle Films for High-Density Data Storage

Nanoparticle Films
High density data storage gets a boost with the development of nanoparticle films

Data generation in this age is quadrupling with each passing day and we are unable to store or manage the mammoth amount of data at our disposal. Therefore finding an alternative which enables us to store data at longer period of time with great stability has become a critical necessity. Now researchers from Northeast Normal University in China has developed new nanoparticle films which are 80 times thinner than the human hair but can easily help in high density data storage. Researchers have asserted that these nanoparticle films can easily archive more than 1000 times worth of data than the traditional DVD on just a 10 by 10 centimeter large piece of film.

Promises usage from wearable device to deep space

It is a remarkable technology and we are likely to see it being used in the wearable devices in the short time. These nanoparticle films can also store the 3D images of the objects or people which can viewed as a 3D hologram with natural realistic and in-depth details later on. These nanoparticle films can be used in the regular devices and the storage medium developed by its usage is also environmentally stable which means used in the outside condition or can even be utilized in the space conditions where harmful radiations are the way of life.

Storing more and more data by taking less and less space

This new kind of nanoparticle films has been designed specifically for the new age holographic data storage. This data storage hasn't found much support or recognition so of today as it makes use of the laser to create as well as read the 3-D holographic recreation of the data present on the nanoparticle films. It is blazing fast with the ability to write as well as read millions of bits at once which makes the holographic data storage way ahead of its traditional counterparts.

The traditional counterpart are namely the optic and magnetic data storage system which happens to record and read just individual bits at a time with is both time consuming and extremely slow when it comes to huge amount of data.

Holographic approach in the high density data storage allows researchers to record information throughout the 3D volume of the entire naoparticle materials. Herein data is not just recorded on the surface but it also researchers to record multiple data or images in the same given area by simply using the light at varied angles and using different colours. Researchers are also working on recoding holographic images on the titania silver films in order to get the similar performance with lesser effort and higher stability.

At the moment researchers are aggressively planning to test the environmental stability of these nanoparticle films in order to ensure quick and safe real life application of the same in the upcoming days. It will certainly help in removing the data storage woes of millions of users worldwide with simple and easier application.

Tuesday 3 April 2018

Here Are Five New Google Features That Make Life Easier And More Enjoyable

Google
Google has recently made a few updates to its products, that makes using them even more easier than ever before. Google has never really stopped making upgrades and adjustments to its products but these new features are guaranteed to make life easier. Whether it be watching movies or hearing an audiobook, Google has got you covered.

Google’s new Features for Audiobooks: 

Starting its audiobook app back in Jan, Google has already started to get on with the updates to the service that is guaranteed to make your listening even more enjoyable. One such feature is “smart resume” whereby you can resume a book from a word or a sentence that you left off from. This feature is great when you stop a book unexpectedly for a long period and then want to start off just where you left off.

Google Play Book app has now started a bookmark feature where you can bookmark a page and return to it later by simply pressing on an icon. Another cool feature with the audiobooks is that you can now build them into your routine with Google assistant, so now for your daily commute to the workplace you can switch from listening to music to hearing an audiobook. The speed at which a book is read can now be expanded from .5 to 3 times the reading rate.

Letting your Home assistant control your Bluetooth Speakers: 

One cool feature Google has added with the home assistant is that it can now control the quality of an audiobook, so you can now get the maximum experience when listening to a voice read an audiobook over a home controlled Bluetooth speaker. One home device is capable of connecting to all the Bluetooth speakers in the house so your reading can stay with you wherever you move in the house.

Setting location based reminders using home: 

Apart from connecting to a Bluetooth speaker, Home can now remind you of a particular activity when you are at a specific location and at a specified time.

Accessing GIFs in Google Images: 

Instead of asking the assistant to remind you to place a certain GIF in a certain place at a certain time, you can now use Tenor which Google recently purchased. Tenor is a GIF sharing keyboard that you can use on your mobile or desktop. So you can now get the GIF you want at the right time and place.
Tenor has got over 300 million people search for over 12 billion GIFs every month using its platform.

New features in Google Play Movies and TV app: 

One of the new features added by Google is that you can now search for a movie that you want to watch and it will bring up not only the sale of the movie but also a list of places that the movie can be streamed online.

Another cool feature is that you can search for a movie by genre and tune the search according to a thumbs up or thumbs down system.

Sunday 1 April 2018

Chromebook Tablets for Versatile Learning

Chromebook
Google has introduced Chromebook tablets which can be used even by students in the third grade itself. The Chromebook tablets are for the low cost Chrome OS devices.

The Acer Chromebook Tab 10 is the first Chromebook tablet that has been revealed by Google. The Acer Chrome book Tab 10, will be the first tablet to run on Chrome OS.

Features 

The Acer Chromebook Tab 10 has a 9.7 inch, 2048 x 1536 display with front and rear facing cameras. It comes with an OP1 processor, 4GB RAM, 32 GB storage and a USB-C port. It has a microSD card slot and a headphone jack. The Chromebook tablet has about 9 hour battery life. The Chrome book tablets come with an in-built stylus that does not require a battery or any additional charging and touchscreen. The Chrome book tablets will be priced at $329.

The students of third grade, at a school in California were the first to test the device. The Chromebook tablets are a great device for them because of the technology and touchscreen.

The Chrome book tablet is first targeting the schools and later will be available for the consumers as well.

In classrooms, the teacher will give each student a device and the session begins. The student then logs in with their name and password, complete their work or even play on the Tab and when they are done, can log out. All the user information on the Chrome book tablet has been encrypted. Each time the device is booted, the verified boot checks the security of the device.

The Chromebook tablet comes with an in-built stylus which does not require charging or pairing to function.

The Chrome book tablets are light in weight with touch and stylus features. It is the ideal device for students to create multimedia projects and the user gets an engaging and absorbing experience. The Acer Chrome book Tab 10 supports many of the learning apps that can be obtained from a wide range of apps from the Play Store.

The first Chrome book tablet which is the Acer Chrome book Tab 10 is slated to be made available by the end of this year.

Advantages of Chromebook tablets 

The Chromebook tablets come with support, management and an in-built access to educational content. Google provides continuous support, updates and ensures security. Hence it becomes convenient and hassle free for the teachers and students using the Chromebook tablets.

The price of these devices is lower than laptops and hence they are more affordable even for personal use.

The Chromebook tablets can be set up within minutes. A Chromebook management license enables you to access the web-based management console. From there you can configure and manage 10 or 10,000 devices across the institution, local education authority or even across the entire region.

The students can share a single device and can even get a personal learning experience by just logging in. Each student can access his or her own work, apps, books and videos.