Following the official announcement of its revenue and profits for the fourth quarter, Apple reported that one third of iPhone buyers during the quarter had been using Android devices before the switch. The company also claims this shift to be the largest ever since they started tracking people’s movements from one OS to another, three years ago.
Needless to say, Tim Cook is more than just glad about the news, especially in the light of the lukewarm response the new iPhones have received since their launch in September. Cook comments on the switch of so many users to iOS and says,
“That number is the largest that we’ve ever recorded since we began measuring it three or so years ago. It’s a huge number and we’re very, very proud of that number.”
No doubt this movement has been one of Apple’s goals for a while now and the company has left no stone unturned in achieving it. The recent ‘Move to iOS‘ app of the company which allowed users to switch their Android devices to iOS is one such attempt.
The fourth quarter ended on the 26th of September, which means it could include only two days of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus sales. With the new iPhones not faring as well as Apple expected or would have preferred, it would be interesting to see Apple’s report for the next quarter. There will be more colourful bits of news for both Apple loyalists as well as haters once that report is made public. Hold your breath until then.
Apple -that one company everyone loves to hate is in the news again. And this time for making incredible amounts of money at the end of another fiscal fourth quarter. The California-based tech giant announced its revenue and profit for the quarter which ended on the 26th of September. The company reports a quarterly revenue of $51.5 billion and a quarterly net profit of $11.1 billion. This is in contrast with numbers in the same quarter last year which were $42.1 billion along with a net profit of $8.5 billion. Yes, that’s a lot of money.
There was an increase in the sales of iPhones, Apple Watches and Macs in the final quarter, helping the company increase its revenues. However, since the quarter ended on the 26th of last month, only a two day sale period of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus can be taken into account for this. Even though Apple fell a little short of the expected sales of these new iPhones they are still faring well in the rest of the world. However, this is not true for India where these devices have not received a very enthusiastic response. Owing to a price difference of almost Rs. 20,000 in India and the US.
“This continued success is the result of our commitment to making the best, most innovative products on earth, and it’s a testament to the tremendous execution by our teams.”
This is what Tim Cook has to say about the new reports. Yes, it has definitely got nothing to do with some brilliant marketing strategies and publicity tactics which is responsible for a good chunk of attention Apple always manages to draw to itself. With companies like Samsung and Microsoft making devices with similar or better specs, Apple should be commended on always managing to convince customers to shell out just that extra wad of cash and opt for its devices instead of cheaper, better counterparts. Would you be willing to stake your money on Apple or do you think other companies have better to offer at a far less price?
We’ve been hearing about it for a while now. BlackBerry will soon be out with the BlackBerry Priv and we will know if the company’s Android-powered gamble has paid off or not. Over the past few weeks, there have been a lot of rumours and leaks about the device that have revealed everything there is to it.
But now that we know what to expect, let’s see whether BlackBerry can bounce back with the Priv or not. Let’s have a look at what’s going for the Priv and what isn’t.
The Good
The BlackBerry Priv is the company’s last lifeline. BlackBerry is literally going all in with this one, which means that it will do everything it can to make sure the device is everything a BlackBerry fan (if there are any left) hopes for. This is a good thing. This means that the company will look to work on some key areas that were a problem with its previous phones such as having more native apps and freedom to customise.
This is also one of the reasons the Priv is the company’s first Android-powered device. BlackBerry knows that its own OS has been far too restrictive. Furthermore, every mobile brand (except Apple) has either adopted Android or has left the game. So, there really was’t much of an option for BlackBerry.
Let’s talk about the device now. Yes, it’s Android-powered, but it is very much a BlackBerry phone. Privacy and security is of major importance here and that’s what Priv stands for. The handset is a hybrid. It has a full touchscreen as well as a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. This means the phone caters to both touchscreen fans as well as keyboard loyalists. And given that very few devices today offer a keyboard, this may just work in BlackBerry’s favour.
The phone looks sleek despite having a slide-out keyboard. It has the traditional BlackBerry feel to it and a bit of nostalgia is always welcome. From the promo of the Priv, the UI and overall functionality looks smooth, but one can’t judge everything from a video clip.
Finally, renders of the handset suggest that the Priv will have a curved display similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Edge series. Sure, BlackBerry is borrowing ideas here, but at least it’s open to trying something different.
The Bad
It has been a few years since BlackBerry has been in the game. In today’s world, a break of 2-3 years can be really bad. You have a number of new players today. Startups like OnePlus have done well to gain a fan base. The competition is fierce, to say the least. Can BlackBerry take them on?
Two years is enough for loyalties to change. No doubt there were and perhaps still are BlackBerry loyalists. But it is also safe to assume that BlackBerry has lost a lot (and we mean a lot) of customers over the years. So the company may not see sales of the Priv take off initially, as was the case with Z10, its previous handset. Sales of the phone will mostly rely on how initial customers take to it and by word of mouth. Yes, it is not easy to convince people to buy your product today. Especially when it comes to a smartphone.
The Ugly
It all boils down to the price, really. And from what we have heard and is pretty much confirmed now, the Priv will come with a not-so-modest price tag of $699. What’s more, the Indian pricing of the device is rumoured to be over Rs. 50,000. Now this is a serious gamble by the company. Many potential buyers were hoping that the Priv will be reasonably priced. Given that this is a comeback phone, one would have expected the company to focus on getting as many units out as possible. But at $699, we’re just not sure how many handsets will make it out of the stores.
The price is especially ridiculous given that there are loads of other phones out there that are cheaper and provide better specs than the Priv. In case you’re wondering, the Priv is said to come with a Snapdragon 808 processor and 3 GB of RAM with 32 GB extendable storage. It features a 5.5 -inch curved display with a 1440×2560 pixel resolution and 537ppi. Finally, the Priv has an 18 MP primary camera and a 5 MP front. Now while the specs of the Priv aren’t bad, it certainly doesn’t deserve a Rs. 50,000 price tag.
But this is just what we feel right now. The phone will be out soon enough and so will the verdict. For now, you can leave your comments below on whether you think BlackBerry has a win with the Priv or not.
Samsung is trying to work its way into every section of your home. With a slew of smartphones, tablets and TVs being offered, the company wants to cater to the kitchen as well. Kitchen tablets are becoming a thing now after the recently launched Alcatel OneTouch Xess and Sony’s two-year-old Tablet Z Kitchen edition. Now Samsung is bringing its own kitchen device with the Galaxy View tablet.
The massive 18.3-inch tablet was first teased at IFA 2015 in September and has now been listed on Andorama with some key specifications. The listing suggests that the tablet sports an 18.4-inch full HD (1080p) display with a density of 120ppi, which means the tablet should not be used at arms length. It is powered by a 1.6GHz 64-bit Carmen2 (Exynos 7580) octa-core processor paired with 2GB of RAM. Carmen2 chip is a new moniker and very little is known about it as of now.
Further specs of the Galaxy View include 32 GB internal storage, expandable up to 128 GB via MicroSSD card slot. It also features a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera. No word yet on the rear camera. It also features a rather modest 5,700mAh battery capacity, and Samsung promises up to 8.5 hours of video playback.
The tablet comes with the usual connectivity options such as Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, A-GPS and GLONASS, with quad-band 3G and Cat.6 LTE, and a Wi-Fi only option may be available too.
The Galaxy View is Samsung’s answer to what comes in between the Galaxy tablet and Samsung TV. The company has yet to announce a launch date. Pre-orders for the tablet had already begun on Andorama and was priced at $599 until the site took it down for unknown reasons.
Asus has been on a spree, launching laptops both low-end and high-end. October has seen 4 laptops already by the company (three A-series and one ZenBook). The new laptops have been releasing with the new Windows 10 operating system. Many, if not all, OEMs have been slowly updating their existing and upcoming laptops with Windows 10. Asus launched the Asus ViviBook 4K on Monday. This laptop falls under the high-end bracket, similar to the ZenBook UX305LA.
As the name suggests, the Asus VivoBook 4K is a 4K UHD (2160×3840 pixel) laptop with wide 178-degree viewing angles. The model comes with a choice of fifth or sixth-generation Intel core i7 processor, with the base model powered by a dual-core Core i7-5500U. The VivoBook comes with 8 GB RAM (expandable to 12 GB), 2 TB hard drive storage or SSD, and NVIDIA GeForce 940M graphics.
Of course, the highlight of the VivoBook is its 4K UHD display. The 15.6-inch, 3840 x 2160 resolution display has 8 million pixels and a 282ppi pixel density. That’s about 4 times the pixel density of a standard Full HD display. The laptop will be available in Icicle Gold, Glacier Grey, Black, and Navy Blue colours.
Other features include a Super-Multi DVD player, a 3-in-1 card reader, a VGA camera, two USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 port, an HDMI port, one VGA port, and one LAN RJ45 jack. The laptop also features 2W stereo speakers and a 2-cell 37Whr battery, and weighs about 2.3kg. The company has yet to unveil the price of the VivoBook, but since its understood that it is a high-end laptop similar to the ZenBook, you can expect the price tag anywhere between Rs. 80,000 – Rs. 1 lakh.
So you have a 16 GB iPhone and you don’t really know why. You just do. Or you might be planning to go for the new iPhone 6s series, but you’re not sure whether a 16 GB storage is worth it. Well, even we don’t know why Apple hasn’t already killed off the 16 GB variant. But the fact is that they haven’t and there are people around the world who have to deal with living with a 16 GB iPhone.
Moreover, it’s not really 16 GB, is it? It’s actually about 10 GB as Apple’s OS and pre-loaded apps like iBooks, Photo Booth and others eat up about one-third of your storage. So, considering all that, close to 10 GB is what you’re left with that you can actually call your own.
With new technology comes new, faster ways to fill up your limited storage. A single graphic-intense game like GTA can take up 1-2 GB of storage. An HD movie can take up to 5 GB. So 16 GB users feel the storage blues at least once a month. But don’t worry, we’re here to give you some tips and tricks on how you can easily manage with your 16 GB device.
1. HDR Comes With a Price
If you have an iPhone 4 or higher, you have the ability to take amazing High Dynamic Range (HDR) images. Yes, the images are crisp and spectacular, but heavy on your storage. What HDR does is that it combines multiple pictures at different exposures and then combines them to give you one great shot. This is what makes the camera in your iPhone one to beat.
But what HDR also does is that it saves the original picture as well, so that you can see and compare the detailing. Depending on whether the HDR has come out better or not, you can choose to keep the former and delete the latter, or vice versa. Either way, double photos take up double space, which is not good if you’re a 16 GB iPhone user. You can choose not to save your original photo if you know HDR images is what you want by going to Settings > Photos & Camera > Keep Normal Photo and unselecting it.
2. Thank God for Apple Music
Say what you may about Apple Music, but it is definitely a godsend for 16 GB iPhone users. One of the major storage eaters is music. We tend to store a lot of music because we need it for our morning office trips, exercising, studying, everything. And we tend not to realise that in our excitement to store every new song that takes our fancy, we eat up that precious storage space.
Along came Apple Music to save the day. The music streaming service that began three months ago lets you stream unlimited music and lets you add as many songs and albums to your library without taking a single megabyte.
To delete your stored music, head on over to Settings > General > Storage & iCloud Usage > Manage Storage > Music and left slide on artists you want to delete or delete them all together via All Songs. Once you’ve deleted all your songs, you can go nuts and start loading up your library with music from Apple Music that won’t leave a mark in your storage.
3. Get Religious
iPhone users have to practice a specific religion. This religion requires you to check in on your storage every once in a while, see the apps that are consuming a lot of storage, delete them, and download the app(s) again.
With a 16 GB storage, you can download any app you want. Go crazy with it as long as you remember to check back on them every once or twice a month. Apps like WhatsApp and Instagram take up a lot of space over time because of all media files that you end up downloading, or the hundreds of pictures you scroll through. When you find yourself approaching the 16 GB limit, head over to Settings > General > Usage > Manage Storage, find out whats bulking up and delete that app. You can always download the app again.
4. Don’t Let Your iPhone Download Without Your Permission
Apple tends to choose certain settings on your behalf. You may not even be aware of it until much later. One such setting is the Media Auto Download on WhatsApp, which is set on both Wi-Fi and Cellular by default. This means that any media file sent your way, be it in a group or individual, will automatically be downloaded to your media folder, whether you like it or not.
So, if you want to control the media you download, open WhatsApp and go to Setting > Chats and Calls > Media Auto-Download where you’ll find three separate options: Images, Audio and Video. You can then make the changes to each option accordingly.
5. iCloud’s the Limit
The best way to beat storage woes is to pay for it. Along with the launch of iOS 9, Apple also bumped up the storage offered on iCloud as well as cut the prices of its plans. You can now get 50 GB of cloud storage at Rs. 65 ($0.99) per month, 200 GB at Rs 190 ($2.99) and 1 TB at Rs. 650 ($9.99). That comes to around Rs. 650 a year for a the base tier, which is not bad considering a 64 GB iPhone would cost around Rs. 10,000 more. You can purchase more storage by going to Setting > iCloud > Storage and click on ‘Buy More Storage’.
To activate iCloud, all you have to do is go to Settings > iCloud and log in using your Apple ID. Once your Cloud is set up, you can choose the options like Photos, Mail, Contacts and Calendars that you want stored in the Cloud. Next thing you’ll want to do is go to Photos via settings and turn on the ‘iCloud Photo Library’ option so that your entire library gets uploaded in iCloud.
6. Stay Up-to-Date
By this we mean always be on the latest update. iOS 9 has made some neat changes and the company has tried to focus on storage solutions more than ever before. Apple also introduced “app thinning”, which is a combination of enhancements that result in apps taking only as much space as they need in the moment. With this feature, developers are working on improving their apps so that it doesn’t take up unnecessary space.
Apple has also reduced the amount of storage space required by the iOS 9 OTA update from 4.6 GB to 1.3 GB. The difference won’t show in your storage, however. iOS 9 doesn’t free up storage for users, but it does make updating your iPhone easier with lighter files over the air.
It seems everyone loves to sue Apple left, right and center these days. And sometimes the lawsuits come from the most unexpected reasons possible. In one such case, a California-based couple has filed a class-action lawsuit accusing Apple for not informing iPhone owners of the potential data charges over Wi-Fi assist. The feature silently uses cellular data when Wi-Fi quality is poor. According to the plaintiffs, this feature has caused over $5 million in data charges to potentially affected customers.
Apple has a tendency to add new features and set defaults without informing users. This is part of Apple’s philosophy of deciding features for users so that they don’t have to, and letting them discover the features on their own, if they can. While most features do not actually dip into your pockets and are quietly working in the background, others can cost you, if you’re not aware of it.
Wi-Fi Assist was added in iOS 9 to ensure that you get seamless internet connectivity at all times. But apparently, the feature does more harm than good, according to some people. The exact damage is not known, yet. The lawsuit doesn’t mention the amount of charges incurred with W-Fi Assist, though the couple believe that it exceeds $5 million. In the off chance that the couple actually do win the lawsuit, this could be potentially problematic for companies like Samsung as well, who have also implemented similar Wi-Fi boosts.
3D Touch is the new cool thing in town and everyone wants to have a piece of it. It is indeed true that the touch-sensitive feature has opened up new possibilties in the way your phones works for you. It is also a feature many gaming companies are excited to ‘tap into’. We had earlier reported that Samsung was in talks with Synaptics to bring the 3D Touch feature seen in Apple’s iPhone 6s series into its 2016 flagship Galaxy S7. Samsung plans on calling it ClearForce.
Now, fresh rumours suggest that Samsung is not the only brand looking to incorporate the pressure sensitive feature into its phones. Reports emerging from China tell us that Xiaomi too is interested in having this technology for its future flagship devices. This could be one of the reasons the expected Mi5 announcement has been delayed.
G for Games cited Weibo that said that Xiaomi is working on a 3D Touch-like feature for its upcoming devices. Whether Xiaomi is going solo on this project or is seeking help from Synaptics (as it did with the Mi 4c, which uses Synaptics’ ClearPadS3708 capacitive touch controller) is not yet known. Meanwhile, Synaptic claims that its ClearForce technology will be superior to 3D Touch feature.
ClearForce – What We Know So Far
For those unaware, 3D Touch enables the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus to understand three distinct levels of pressure. This, then, enables new gestures such as Peek and Pop that lets you quickly see inside an app without actually having to open it. Users need to press the screen lightly to get a ‘Peek’ at a photo, email, web page or other content, and if pressed a little deeper, they can ‘Pop’ into the content itself.
ClearForce, on the other hand, is planning to take the feature up a notch. From what we know so far, the ClearForce technology, besides the expected 3D Touch functions, will have the ability to understand the difference between speed scrolling, zoom, gaming, texting and even operate photo editing tools by noting subtle variable pressure on the surface. Some of the new features, according to Synaptics, are as follows:
Line thickness control while drawing (e.g., when writing Chinese characters and creating artwork)
Image editing (brightness, contrast, saturation)
Upper case and symbol selection (to bypass keyboard mode changes)
The rumoured tie-up between Xiaomi and Synaptics is not yet confirmed and we will have to wait and see for more information on that. Synaptics has also mentioned that it plans to work with other OEMs as well. So we could see brands other than Samsung and Xiaomi making use of ClearForce in the months to come.
Technology has always strived to make lives easier by the year. So much so that it requires you to not move an inch and still get work done. As a result, people are becoming lazier by the day. The only trade-off is that you look cooler. So, there’s that. We have come a long way from landlines, to cordless, to mobile phones, and now smartphones.
You know technology has progressed by how things become smaller and lighter. So your gigantic box of a PC has evolved into a laptop. Your laptop then transformed into a tablet. But it’s really not cool enough until you’re able to wear your tech. So now the world is seeing a move towards wearable technology. Enter the smartwatch.
Granted that smartwatches aren’t new. They’ve been around since the 90s if you think about it. The idea today is to have a watch that is more than something that tells you the time. Smartwatches not only work like a phone, but they also come with fitness features that look to get you into shape. They are here to counter what other techs have turned you into.
The Apple Watch is coming to India in November and the Samsung Gear S2 is likely to follow soon. So if you’re in the mood to get into the wearable tech trend, we have some suggestions for smartwatches currently popular in the Indian market.
Sony Smartwatch 3
Sony’s smartwatches so far have been consistent with design.The Smartwatch 2 came out in 2013 and was popular because it worked with all Android 4.0 devices at the time, whereas Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smartwatch worked only with Samsung own Galaxy devices.
The Sony Smartwatch 3 was unveiled at IFA 2014 and comes with a 1.2GHz Quad-core ARM Cortex A7 processor, 512 MB RAM and 4 GB eMMC. One of the main talking points about the Smartwatch 3 is that it comes with built-in GPS connectivity. The sports styling makes it perfect for daily wear. The square design is similar to the Apple Watch and is not too big for your wrists.
The display is a little dull compared to its competitors, but you do get to wirelessly connect it to a headphone for music on the go. You’ll also get a day of battery life, though Sony promises two days. The Android Wear Smartwatch 3 is available on Amazon and Snapdeal for Rs. 15,900 and Rs. 14,585, respectively.
Samsung Gear Live is an Android Wear smartwatch that came out last year. The Gear Live is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU with 512 MB RAM and 4 GB storage.The smartwatch has a sleek metal design that makes it one of the more attractive looking devices in the market. And unlike Samsung’s previous smartwatches like the Gear 2, this one works with all Android devices.
You also get features like heart rate monitor, and a 320×320 AMOLED display, which looks crisp and bright indoors. However, there are some cons to the device as well. The charger is hard to use and while Samsung Gear Live has a great display when viewed indoors, the outdoor visibility in the Gear Live is surprisingly quite poor.
Samsung’s Gear Live is priced at Rs. 10,000, which is decent for the features that it provides. You can find the watch on Flipkart.
The Moto 360 was one of the most anticipated devices of 2014. The 360 is for the circular frame of the watch, though it doesn’t quite give you a complete 360-degree viewing due to a small bar at the bottom of the screen.
The watch is made of metal and is dust and water resistant. The size of the watch is something that has seen polarizing responses. While some feel that the watch is too big for the wrists, other who are used to G-Shock-like watches are satisfied with the 360.
The 360 has a 1.5-inch display with Gorilla Glass 3 and 320×290 resolution, which is not exactly the best in the business. It is an Android Wear 1.0 watch and runs on 1 GHz Cortex A8 processor with 512 MB RAM and 4GB storage. The 360 is a great device, and one one of the better smartwatches to go for if you’re willing to shell out Rs. 14,000. The device gives you everything you need from a smartwatch and the traditional circular design looks great. You can find the Moto 360 on Flipkart.
The Alcatel One Touch looks like a poor man’s Moto 360. The circular display, steel casing and flat bottom gives you a Moto 360 feel. The Alcatel, however, is one of the smallest circular smartwatches out there. At 1.2-inches, the watch is very petiit and this may put off some consumers.
Here’s the thing about smartwatches. Big displays can be just as annoying as tiny ones. The problem many brands face is to bring that perfect size to the smartwatch while having all the features and toys intact. Because of its size, the Alcatel loses out on many features, and this in turn brings the price down as well, which makes the watch quite affordable.
The Alcatel One Touch goes for simplicty. This is why the watch runs on the company’s own OS rather than Android Wear. You can work the watch from your iOS or Android device and the companion app is just as simple. You’ll figure out how to work with the watch in less than five minutes. The small watch gives a big battery life that can run for a good 2-3 days based on usage, which is more than any other in this list. The One Touch is priced at Rs. 7,999 on Flipkart.
The only right way to begin any discussion on Artificial Intelligence is with a reference to Isaac Asimov, the sci-fi writer who gave the three laws of robotics, and they are as follows:
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.
Robot and human hands almost touching – 3D render. A modern take on the famous Michelangelo painting in the Sistine Chapel; titled, “The Creation of Adam”.
Asimov’s robots often went ahead to disregard these laws and exercise free will and subjectivity, which more often than not, didn’t end well for the human race. With the take-over of our lives by technology, an apocalyptic vision of the world, often represented in art and media, does not seem too unnatural. TV shows and movies have rampant examples of technology going out of our hands and ceasing to be a means to an end. Instead, it ends up controlling our lives to the point of enslavement. This is precisely what this article would be about as we look at examples of AI in film, TV shows and of course, good old real life.
Her:The film is about a romantic relationship which the protagonist, Theodore Twombly develops with ‘her’, the Artificial Intelligence of a networked computer operating system. OS One, Samantha is brought to life in the film using Scarlett Johansson’s voice. Twombly’s initial reaction to the AI system is calling Samantha “weird,” since she seems “like a person but [she’s] just a voice in a computer.”
Theodore with Samantha at the beach.
The plot unfolds to reveal the development of a deep, romantic bond between the two, with the lack of a corporeal existence of the AI not being a hindrance at all. However, the movie concludes with Samantha ending her virtual romance with Theodore, and falling in love with 641 of the other 8,316 human operators she communicates with.
https://youtu.be/WzV6mXIOVl4
Robert Alpert comments on ‘Her’ and aptly says, “The romantic comedy, the melodrama, draws to a close, and it is the artificial intelligence of Samantha, not Theodore, the “unartificial mind,” who comprehends a state of being beyond perception, not “tethered to time and space,” and passes on to Theodore that not unhappy vision.”
One of the most over-arching questions the film raises about the relationship of humans and AI is -would you be willing to invest yourself in a computer as deeply as Theodore or Amy, because your own species is incapable of providing the sense of companionship you seek? We are given a lonely, melancholic protagonist at the start of the movie, unable to cope with leading a life all by himself. It doesn’t sound too unfamiliar a scenario if we take a look around. So next time you feel distanced from the world, could your answer lie in AI?
When it comes to analysing the line between fact and fiction in terms of Artificial Intelligence, Stephen Wolfram of the Wolfram Alpha fame, which is the main driving force behind AI-like component of Siri on the iPhone, says,
“The mechanics of getting the AI to work—I don’t think that’s the most challenging part. The challenging part is, in a sense: Define the meaningful product…I used to think that there was some sort of magic to brain-like activity, [but] there is no bright line distinction between what is intelligent and what is merely computational.”
People are more than willing to anthropomorphize things around them, even if that requires finding a way to make sentient beings out of metal and steel with minuscule microchips to power all that consciousness within. ‘Her’ shows a man finding solace and peace, and an almost spiritual bond of sorts with a computer – providing the perfect plot for a romantic comedy/ drama. But it raises questions like how far is too far with AI? Ethical debates and discussions on notions of right and wrong have prevailed since time immemorial when it comes to technology. And there is no imminent end to them for now.
Black Mirror:
Black Mirror, created by Charlie Brooker, debuted in 2011 to immense critical acclaim, and with good reason. The show is set against the backdrop of a society very deeply infested by technology, and therefore, its consequent pitfalls. Having said that, feel free to read ahead without the fear of spoilers.
In terms of AI, two of the show’s episodes are of significance. The first episode of the second season, ‘Be Right Back’, takes an interesting but fairly disconcerting take on it. The episode is about Martha and Ash, a couple who has just moved to a new house in the countryside. Ash ends up in a car crash right at the start of the episode, and the show takes the viewer into Martha’s attempts to cope with loneliness, loss and grief post his death. She purchases a build-to-order AI that uses all of Ash’s social media activity to model itself after him.
Martha provides the computer operated system with access to Ash’s pictures, videos and personal emails, who was already a compulsive social media addict and therefore had a large amount of content up online, and finds a fully automated, computerized version of Ash. The AI adopts his voice and mannerisms, and looks like a physically groomed version of Ash, since he only had his best pictures up for display on the internet. The new Ash, however, misses out on small details which social media had failed to record -like a mole or a bodily flaw, reminding Martha that the end of the day she is only play-romancing an anthropomorphic computer.
While you grapple with the ethical and moral implications and the inadvertent emotional entanglements of this situation, Black Mirror takes Artificial Intelligence closer to pure science, and away from the world of fiction in its White Christmas episode, set in a futuristic society where blocking users is no more confined to social media platforms. If a person is blocked by another, they are reduced to a blob of visually indistinct static, incapable of making themselves heard or seen by the person who has blocked them.
Jon Hamm’s character, Matt, works for an Artificial Intelligence company that allows its customers to get an AI modeled after the customers themselves to run and manage their smart-homes. The procedure for each client requires a “cookie” to be surgically implanted in their brain for a few weeks, closely recording their likes and dislikes. The cookie is then removed and set to work running the entire house.
https://youtu.be/2OIkZQJMMBk
The little glitch in this perfect procedure is that the AI, modeled so closely after the host, ends up developing a consciousness of its own. Matt’s job is to make sure the AI surrenders to an existence of enslavement by the host, and he achieves this by reducing the AI to solitary confinement for a period of as long as six months, if need be.
However, time for the AI can be controlled and altered and played around with – thus, six months for the AI are no more than a couple of seconds for Matt in real time. The AI eventually chooses mute surrender instead of torturous loneliness. The show also subverts the sci-fi trope of robots or technology enslaving humans in White Christmas. It is only apt to quote David Holmes in this context when he says,
“But perhaps humans of the future will become so enamored with the convenience offered by robots that we will jettison our sense of humanity in return for this convenience — just like we’ve jettisoned our privacy and security for the tools and platforms of today.”
Pepper -the Humanoid Robot:
Moving away from the realm of TV shows to real life -let’s talk about Pepper. First unveiled in June, 2014, Pepper -the first ever humanoid robot was made available at a price of JPY 198,000 ($1,931 or around Rs. 12,500) at Softbank Mobile stores in February this year.
https://youtu.be/kCFYw8mIqcc
At the expense of your happiness, let it be clarified that Pepper doesn’t do household chores, or posses superpowers. What he can do, however, is converse with you, recognize and respond to your emotions accordingly and move autonomously.
If you’re looking for a practical purpose for this robot, please skip this segment. All that Pepper provides is companionship and communication through the most intuitive interface in robots so far which includes voice, touch and emotions. Pepper is already greeting and interacting with customers in Japan.
Artificial Creativity:
Here’s a look what technology and Artificial Intelligence has to offer in terms of creativity. Let’s begin with music.
The above track is one of the many compositions by Emily Howell, a robot. She is capable of producing numerous such pieces every day and when a blind test was conducted, it showed people could’t tell the difference between her work and that of a human composer.
Next comes writing. Take a look at the passage below:
Or the following paragraph:
“Friona fell 10-8 to Boys Ranch in five innings on Monday at Friona despite racking up seven hits and eight runs. Friona was led by a flawless day at the dish by Hunter Sundre, who went 2-2 against Boys Ranch pitching. Sundre singled in the third inning and tripled in the fourth inning […]”
Yes, they are both pieces produced by bots. But you have possibly already been initiated into the world of literature written by computers if you have used Wikipedia, a website which has about 8.5 percent of its articles written by a bot. CTO of Narrative Science, Kristian Hammond predicts that “more than 90 percent” of news will be written by computers in 15 years.
What began as machines and bots replacing human beings for jobs requiring physical labour has snowballed into a threat of rendering us absolutely obsolete in our creative endeavours as well. The financial and ethical implications of such technology are endless. It seems like facing competition from machines is no more a plot for Hollywood’s hack-writers, but an imminent reality perhaps? Either way, let’s sit back and watch the drama unfold of a world where time and again humans have gone the Frankenstein way, incapable of comprehending and controlling their own ‘monsters’.
The recently launched flagship Nexus phone, the Nexus 6P, will be available in India starting November. The phone has been up for pre-orders on Flipkart and other offline retailers since October 13. The response for the the Nexus 6P has been very positive and Huawei has ensured a smooth supply-demand cycle. The company will send out the smartphones in batches to be delivered across India from the first week of November.
The 6P features a 5.7-inch QHD touchscreen, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 chipset, with 3 GB RAM, a 3450mAh battery, and a USB Type-C port. The camera sports a 12.3MP sensor with laser autofocus, dual-LED flash at the rear and a rather impressive 8MP on the front. This pure Android phone will run on the latest Marshmallow operating system.
The Nexus 6P is priced at Rs. 39,999 for the 32GB, Rs. 42,999 for the 64GB, and Rs. 47,999 for the 128GB variant. The handset is currently out of stock on Flipkart due to overwhelming responses. Have a look at the specs list below to know everything about the Nexus 6P.
Specs
Nexus 6P
Display
5.7-inch QHD Corning Gorilla Glass 4
Resolution
2560 x 1440 pixels, 518 ppi
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon octa-core 810 v2.1
GPU
Adreno 430
RAM
3 GB
Storage
32 GB/ 64 GB/ 128 GB
Rear Camera
12.3 MP, laser autofocus, dual-LED flash
Front Camera
8 MP, 720p@30fps
Expandability
N/A
Battery
3450mAh battery
Connectivity
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac; Wi-Fi MIMO support; Bluetooth 4.0 LE; GSM bands 850/1900; 3G bands; GPS with AGPS; NFC, USB Type-C
HTC unveiled the One A9 a few days ago that brought a whirlwind of criticism for its apparent iPhone rip-off. There is no doubt that the One A9 is basically a slightly cheaper iPhone clone, at least in terms of design. And while HTC knew what it was getting itself into with its newest device, the company’s executive has come out with a statement in defense of the One A9.
A senior HTC executive said that it was in fact Apple who originally copied one of their designs for the iPhone 6. “We’re not copying. We made a unibody metal-clad phone in 2013. It’s Apple that copies us in terms of the antenna design on the back,” said HTC’s North Asia President Jack Tong.
The phone being referred to here is the HTC One M7 that came out a year before the iPhone 6. While it is true that the iPhone 6’s metal unibody design has certain likeliness to the M7, what Apple has done is create a phone that looks uniquely their own, just as HTC did with the M7 to M9 phones. Have a look at 2013’s One M7 below.
The One M7 was truly a beautifully crafted phone. It had a full-metal unibody design with a curved back and dual front-facing speakers. The company continued this design with the M8 and M9 as well, and rightly so. The iPhone 6 did copy some elements from the One M7, there is no denying that. Apple has done it before and will do it again.
It is a fact that companies borrow inspiration from each other almost always. But what doesn’t sit well with the new HTC phone is that the company has not even tried to make something different here. The HTC One A9 looks like the new iPhone 6 and 6s in almost every way.
Apple haters may hate a lot of things about Apple’s products, but there is one thing that moves beyond hate. Music. And Apple haters and loyalists alike love music. There was a time when Apple revolutionized the way we listen to music with the iPod. But early this year saw the end to the classic iPod. To continue its goal to redefine music, Apple launched the Apple Music.
Apple Music is currently an iOS-only music streaming platform that gives you access to millions of songs from the company’s iTunes library. And for a basic monthly subscription, you can listen to unlimited music. This was Apple’s promise, and this is what they have delivered.
The Apple Music is actually quite brilliant. It gives the most popular music streaming platform today (Spotify) a run for its money. The reason being is that Apple Music is personal. Apple has put a lot of thought in the way the music service works for you. From curated playlists that have about 12-15 songs, which is just right, to Beats Radio, and Connect that lets you see what your favorite artist is up to. There is everything a music lover could ask for. But iOS users already know this. So why are we saying it now? It’s because Apple had promised that its music streaming service will come to Android soon as well.
The company said that Apple Music will be available for Android users this fall, which is any time now. Some screenshots published by Mobile Geeks show what Apple Music could look like for Android, and it’s pretty much what you’d expect. All the main features of Apple Music is present. Users will navigate Apple Music by using a slide-out menu accessible through the hamburger icon or via a swipe from the left side.
The For You section that shows curated playlists and artists based on your choice of music and genre, along with New, Beats 1 radio. Connect and My Music are all there. Presumably the My Music will link your phone’s music folder so all your songs are in one place. For iOS users the Apple Music was a natural extension to the Music app.
So, Android users in India will soon have the option to jump on to the Apple Music service. There are already a few music streaming platforms in India like Wynk, Saavn, Gaana and Hungama, that are pretty good. It is likely that Apple will provide a 3-months free trial of Apple Music for Android users as well. So once the app is out, give it a whirl and see if this is the service for you. The monthly subscription for iOS users is Rs. 120 for individuals and Rs. 180 for families. For Android users, the cost is likely to be around the same.
As you all know, Google’s Nexus 5X was launched in India on October 13, 2015. We managed to get our hands on the 5X and did a quick unboxing and setup of the device.
The Nexus 5X comes with a 5.2-inch FHD display, USB Type-C which allows almost 4 hours of battery post a 10-minute charging routine, and is available in three colours – Carbon black, Quartz white and Ice blue.
It is further packed with a 2 GB RAM, Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 chipset and OS Android Marshmallow 6.0. On the camera front, the device comes equipped with a 12.3 MP rear camera and a 5 MP selfie camera. The smartphone is capable of capturing 4K and slow-motion videos, making this phone the most advanced multimedia Nexus device to date.
The Nexus 5X is priced at Rs, 31,990 for the 16 GB variant and Rs. 35,990 for the 32 GB variant. We will have a full hands on review of the Nexus 5X soon.
Just when we thought Back to the Future Day couldn’t get any better after the new Hendo Hoverboard news, we find out that Nike has done the impossible! The shoemaking giant has lived up to its name and has finally made the Back to the Future’s self-lacing shoes a reality.
The company had been teasing something big on Twitter a few days ago that got fans all excited. You would be too if you read this tweet.
The tweet was for Micheal J, Fox, who played Marty McFly in Back to the Future. As you all must be knowing by now that October 21, 2015 was celebrated as Back to the Future Day around the world. This is because this is the date to which Marty and Doc Brown travel to in 1989’s Back to the Future II. In the film’s version of 2015, Marty gets a pair of self-lacing Nike Mags sneakers, among other futuristic toys. And yes, they were the coolest kicks in 2015.
On Thursday, Nike made the ‘future’ happen by launching the self-tying shoes in the best way possible: by having Micheal J. Fox try out the first pair. And it was a beautiful sight to see.
Micheal J. Fox was as excited as anyone else about how the ‘future’ has finally arrived, and expressed his joy on Twitter.
The company announced a possible 2016 release for the shoes. The announcement also mentions that the shoes are limited edition models at the present and will first be sold via auction with all the proceeds going to the Michael J. Foundation for Parkinson’s Research some time next year.
“By imagining the future, we create it,” reads the statement from Nike. “Product that comes alive, with on-demand comfort and support when you need, product that senses you and adapts to you is right around the corner.”
Laces on Nike MAG tighten when person slips on shoes, also manually adjustable pic.twitter.com/1l3I9gokGm
It might be a while before these sneakers hit the market, but right now we can simply take pleasure in seeing that the McFly shoes are now a real thing. This is the future, and it looks really good.
