IT news May
May is traditionally fruitful month for events in the IT world. The most notable news, inventions and premieres this month are in the collection of GeekBrains .
Last week in California, a fire broke out at one of the largest power plants in the world working on solar energy conversion. A number of mirrors due to a computer error was located with deviations, the concentrated beam hit the cable system of the tower, which led to a small fire. So much for the safe energy.
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Concept module with a gamepad
In 2015, rumors stubbornly asserted that in early 2016, Android will present the first working prototype of the modular Ara smartphone. On May 20 at the conference it was officially announced that those who were waiting would have to wait a few more months. And the concept of which Ara was so proud to this day has sunk into oblivion - replacing the processor unit and the display for a general upgrade.
Officially, now only the rear part can be altered, where you can connect a camera, an additional display or speakers. And this, as they say, is a completely different story.
Without departing far from the theme of Google, it is worth noting also the company's success in creating a home assistant. At the same conference, Google Home was presented, which will be a worthy answer to the already very popular Amazon Echo in North America. This is a small desktop voice-activated hub that connects all home network devices together, and is also compatible with some popular applications, such as Uber or Wikipedia.
It is logical that the Google assistant, which has been used on mobile platforms for several years, received a number of important improvements and will certainly surpass Echo in functionality. The only question is whether the development will be competitive in the United States in order to reach Europe and Russia?
Amazon, by the way, also decided to compete with Google, and to create a competitor to one of the most powerful services of our time - Youtube. To entice new authors of interesting videos it is supposed, of course, to earn money.
In addition to including standard commercials before and after your work, options for interacting with Amazon Prime subscribers will also be offered (streaming time earnings, attracting subscribers, etc.), and $ 1 million will be allocated each month as a reward to the authors of the 100 most popular videos. In general, long live healthy competition.
The Japanese authorities decided to prepare a present for the guests at the 2020 Olympic Games and launch a taxi without drivers around the city. Of course, so far all this is at the stage of project coordination, however, details are also known. Firstly, for any offenses and accidents the transport company providing these cars will be responsible (in this case, however, the regulatory function of the state is not completely clear). Secondly, the movement and actions of all cars will have to be controlled by operators.
In general, it turns out such a robotic system that they want to implement, but no one trusts it. And rightly so: Skynet does not sleep.
The scope is already clear.
While top manufacturers are competing to present the first flexible-screen serial smartphone, at Queens University in Ontario, Canada, they went a little further, introducing Holoflex. Yes, this is also a flexible smartphone with a 1920x1080 touchscreen, created using FOLED technology, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, 1.5 GHz, 2 GB of RAM and other average filling.
But there is a feature in it - the image he gives a holographic. The 3D effect from almost any point of view is ensured by the use of 12-pixel blocks and 16 thousand fisheye micro lenses. Image quality still leaves much to be desired, but the effect really shakes the imagination.
Surely you have heard the story of a lawsuit between Apple and the US Department of Justice for the authority of the authorities to open the iPhone on demand, thereby violating private rights. Of course, the "apple" court lost, eventually decently updating the security rules.
The most annoying innovation (and not having any relation to the initiating incident) is the need to enter the password if the Touch ID was not used to unlock the last 8 hours. That is, in fact, every morning.
At the beginning of the month, many media outlets delivered joyful news: the legendary Nokia is back. Yes, very soon we will again see Android-smartphones under the brand name of a well-known Finnish brand, only from Nokia there will be only a name.
In fact, this is again the trick of Microsoft, which created a subsidiary of HMD, and the well-known name is necessary for quick introduction to the market. Well, one can only hope that in the HMD at least worry about the quality.
Band 2
Some characteristics of the new Microsoft Band 3 fitness bracelet have hit the network. In addition to improved battery consumption and increased performance, UV and a barometric sensor are now built into the device. Thanks to them, the user now knows when to apply sunscreen, when to drink water, and when to turn toward the house because of the oncoming clouds. In addition, you can make a map of your route with stops and sights.
IBM Security specialists, who created the world-famous AI called Watson, seem to have found a way to speed up its training, at least in the field of cybersecurity.
For this, a one-year contract was signed with 8 universities in the USA and Canada (California Polytechnic in Pomona, Penn State, Massachusetts Technological University, New York University and the University of Maryland in Baltimore, New Brunswick, Ottawa and Waterloo). During this time, Watson must examine over 15,000 documents, including reports on viruses and threats, hacking strategies, phishing, and other attempts at virtual crime.
Probably. This invention is not the near future, but Google is already seriously thinking about how to embed Android directly into the human eye and create an electronic alternative to lenses and glasses. This is what the patent filed by the company in the USPTO says. The exact algorithm of operation is not described, only the response of the device to the focus of the eyes is known, and also that an external antenna will be used for operation.
But the patent describes the procedure for implantation: in short, the device will be surgically installed along with the capsule, which after the operation begins to dissolve, and the contained “glue” will firmly attach the gadget to the pupil. One can only hope that this is a free fantasy of developers, and tomorrow the whole world will not go to the doctor to register in order to see completely new dreams.
Solar fire
Last week in California, a fire broke out at one of the largest power plants in the world working on solar energy conversion. A number of mirrors due to a computer error was located with deviations, the concentrated beam hit the cable system of the tower, which led to a small fire. So much for the safe energy.
')
Ara returns and disappoints
Concept module with a gamepad
In 2015, rumors stubbornly asserted that in early 2016, Android will present the first working prototype of the modular Ara smartphone. On May 20 at the conference it was officially announced that those who were waiting would have to wait a few more months. And the concept of which Ara was so proud to this day has sunk into oblivion - replacing the processor unit and the display for a general upgrade.
Officially, now only the rear part can be altered, where you can connect a camera, an additional display or speakers. And this, as they say, is a completely different story.
Google settles in houses
Without departing far from the theme of Google, it is worth noting also the company's success in creating a home assistant. At the same conference, Google Home was presented, which will be a worthy answer to the already very popular Amazon Echo in North America. This is a small desktop voice-activated hub that connects all home network devices together, and is also compatible with some popular applications, such as Uber or Wikipedia.
It is logical that the Google assistant, which has been used on mobile platforms for several years, received a number of important improvements and will certainly surpass Echo in functionality. The only question is whether the development will be competitive in the United States in order to reach Europe and Russia?
Youtube competitor
Amazon, by the way, also decided to compete with Google, and to create a competitor to one of the most powerful services of our time - Youtube. To entice new authors of interesting videos it is supposed, of course, to earn money.
In addition to including standard commercials before and after your work, options for interacting with Amazon Prime subscribers will also be offered (streaming time earnings, attracting subscribers, etc.), and $ 1 million will be allocated each month as a reward to the authors of the 100 most popular videos. In general, long live healthy competition.
Japanese drones
The Japanese authorities decided to prepare a present for the guests at the 2020 Olympic Games and launch a taxi without drivers around the city. Of course, so far all this is at the stage of project coordination, however, details are also known. Firstly, for any offenses and accidents the transport company providing these cars will be responsible (in this case, however, the regulatory function of the state is not completely clear). Secondly, the movement and actions of all cars will have to be controlled by operators.
In general, it turns out such a robotic system that they want to implement, but no one trusts it. And rightly so: Skynet does not sleep.
Flexible and holographic
The scope is already clear.
While top manufacturers are competing to present the first flexible-screen serial smartphone, at Queens University in Ontario, Canada, they went a little further, introducing Holoflex. Yes, this is also a flexible smartphone with a 1920x1080 touchscreen, created using FOLED technology, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, 1.5 GHz, 2 GB of RAM and other average filling.
But there is a feature in it - the image he gives a holographic. The 3D effect from almost any point of view is ensured by the use of 12-pixel blocks and 16 thousand fisheye micro lenses. Image quality still leaves much to be desired, but the effect really shakes the imagination.
New Apple Security Rules
Surely you have heard the story of a lawsuit between Apple and the US Department of Justice for the authority of the authorities to open the iPhone on demand, thereby violating private rights. Of course, the "apple" court lost, eventually decently updating the security rules.
The most annoying innovation (and not having any relation to the initiating incident) is the need to enter the password if the Touch ID was not used to unlock the last 8 hours. That is, in fact, every morning.
Nokia scam
At the beginning of the month, many media outlets delivered joyful news: the legendary Nokia is back. Yes, very soon we will again see Android-smartphones under the brand name of a well-known Finnish brand, only from Nokia there will be only a name.
In fact, this is again the trick of Microsoft, which created a subsidiary of HMD, and the well-known name is necessary for quick introduction to the market. Well, one can only hope that in the HMD at least worry about the quality.
Microsoft Band 3
Band 2
Some characteristics of the new Microsoft Band 3 fitness bracelet have hit the network. In addition to improved battery consumption and increased performance, UV and a barometric sensor are now built into the device. Thanks to them, the user now knows when to apply sunscreen, when to drink water, and when to turn toward the house because of the oncoming clouds. In addition, you can make a map of your route with stops and sights.
Watson goes to university
IBM Security specialists, who created the world-famous AI called Watson, seem to have found a way to speed up its training, at least in the field of cybersecurity.
For this, a one-year contract was signed with 8 universities in the USA and Canada (California Polytechnic in Pomona, Penn State, Massachusetts Technological University, New York University and the University of Maryland in Baltimore, New Brunswick, Ottawa and Waterloo). During this time, Watson must examine over 15,000 documents, including reports on viruses and threats, hacking strategies, phishing, and other attempts at virtual crime.
Google will replace Glass implant
Probably. This invention is not the near future, but Google is already seriously thinking about how to embed Android directly into the human eye and create an electronic alternative to lenses and glasses. This is what the patent filed by the company in the USPTO says. The exact algorithm of operation is not described, only the response of the device to the focus of the eyes is known, and also that an external antenna will be used for operation.
But the patent describes the procedure for implantation: in short, the device will be surgically installed along with the capsule, which after the operation begins to dissolve, and the contained “glue” will firmly attach the gadget to the pupil. One can only hope that this is a free fantasy of developers, and tomorrow the whole world will not go to the doctor to register in order to see completely new dreams.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/302014/
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