Month: May 2017

Microsoft device quiets Parkinson’s Tremors

Dan Uff May 11, 2017 0

(USAToday.com): SAN FRANCISCO — Tech company developer conferences always feature a wacky demo or three. But at Build 2017 in Seattle Wednesday, Microsoft went for the waterworks at the conclusion of CEO Satya Nadella's keynote address: it showcased a prototype watch that eliminated the arm shaking that often plagues those suffering from the neurological disease Parkinson's.

After a speech that both heralded and warned about coming leaps in technological power, Nadella screened a video that told the story of two British Microsoft researchers, Haiyan Zhang and Nicolas Villa, who decided to launch an independent project to create a tremor-eliminating device for a BBC documentary, The Big Life Fix.

To read the rest of the article, click here.

Makers of Handbreak for Mac warn of Trojan horse

Dan Uff May 11, 2017 0

“HandBrake is an open-source video transcoder that’s available on Mac,” Sean Keach writes for Trusted Reviews. “It’s freely available and very popular, as it allows users to convert video to different formats.”

“But that popularity could be about to take a downswing, as the team behind the program are now warning users that they may have accidentally downloaded spyware to their machine,” Keach writes. “If you downloaded the HandBrake for Mac software between May 2 and May 6, you may have downloaded a version of the OSX.PROTON trojan malware onto your system.”

“To check if you’re infected, open the OS X Activity Monitor. If you see a process called ‘activity_agent’ then you’re infected,” Keach writes. “Fortunately, if your machine has been infected, it’s very easy to remove the Proton trojan.”

How to remove the Proton trojan here.

Microsoft

Microsoft announces its own answer to the Amazon Echo

Dan Uff May 10, 2017 0

“First there was Amazon’s Echo, which I characterized as an attempt to advance home automation through Amazon’s Alexa AI. Then there was Google Home, first unveiled last year at Google IO,” Mark Hibben writes for Seeking Alpha. “Now comes Microsoft’s Invoke, powered by Cortana and built by Samsung.”

“On the hardware side, there isn’t much that the companies can do to create product differentiation. Microsoft tries by enlisting the help of Harmon Kardon, owned by Samsung, to create a miniature speaker with better sound. Harmon Kardon’s involvement may have helped, but this isn’t about sound quality,” Hibben writes. “This is a battle between AIs, whose artificial thoughts bounce around literally thousands of servers somewhere in the Cloud. The smart speakers themselves are just a way to get the AI into your home so that you’ll keep using it even after you put down your smartphone, tablet, or AI-powered laptop.”

“Microsoft’s need for a smart speaker is especially acute, since it doesn’t have a smartphone platform of significance. That may explain Invoke’s… ability to make and receive Skype calls,” Hibben writes. “And Apple appears to be interested in this genre-bending device as well.”

Read more in the full article here.

Amazon announces “Amazon Echo Show”

Dan Uff May 9, 2017 0

Early Tuesday, Amazon unveiled the newest addition to its Echo lineup - called the Amazon Echo Show.

Priced at $229.99, the Echo Show brings you everything that the current Alexa has but has the ability to show you the results by using a built-in LCD screen.

Not only that, a user can now make video calls, use normal Alexa commands, and more.

According to the product page:

"Voice responses from Alexa are now enhanced with visuals and optimized for visibility across the room. Call or message your family and friends that also have an Echo or the Alexa App, get the news with a video flash briefing, see your Prime Photos, shop with your voice, see lyrics with Amazon Music, and more. All you have to do is ask.

Echo Show has eight microphones and beam-forming technology so it can hear you from across the room—even while music is playing. Echo Show is also an expertly tuned speaker that can fill any room with immersive audio powered by Dolby. When you want to use Echo Show, just say the wake word “Alexa” and Echo Show responds instantly."

The item will be available on June 28th, but you can pre-order the item by clicking here.