New Apple ad does some voice-first education with The Rock and Siri

How do you teach people how to use an interface that’s invisible? That’s been the marketing communications problem for Apple since the day Siri became the first big mass-market voice assistant.

They’ve taken stab after stab at it. The splash page that offers Siri suggestions if you activate it and don’t say anything. TV spots; tool tips; App Store promotions and interviews you may or may not have read about how much work they’re putting into Siri. They’re all an attempt to get you beyond the basic timer and weather queries.

Here's why Halo 5 isn't coming to PC

The franchise is picking its battles

After we got our hopes up with the announcement that its Forge mode would be coming to PC, it's now been confirmed that we won't be seeing a full Halo 5 release on PC.

The news comes courtesy of PC Gamer's interview with a Microsoft spokesperson, who confirmed that there were "no plans" to port the Xbox One exclusive to PC.

However, the news isn't exactly surprising when you consider the series' difficult relationship with the PC in the past.

Microsoft says it's still working on that Halo TV series

A long time coming

Speculation around a TV spin-off for Halo, one of the most iconic gaming franchises of our time, has been swirling for years, but we've not heard much about the project lately. Now Microsoft has told AR12Gaming that a show is indeed still in the works.

Oculus Working With Qualcomm on Wireless Rift, Slashes Price in Half

A new report claims that Oculus is working with Qualcomm to design a headset that won’t require tethering to a PC or phone, and will sell for as little as $200. This standalone headset would be a huge step forward for the industry, and it couldn’t come at a better time for Oculus.

Oculus may have first demonstrated the VR’s ability to generate community excitement, thanks to its fabulous Kickstarter debut. But the company has struggled over the last 12 months. Hardware shipments were delayed due to component shortages. Palmer Luckey was accused of misrepresenting the price; after insisting for years it needed to be roughly $300-$350 to have a chance at gaining mass market share, the actual product launched at $600. Toss in a temporary attempt to implement DRM that was removed again after massive user outcry, and you’ve got a partial list of what’s been pissing off Oculus Rift buyers over the last 15 months.

Alexa learns to talk like a human with whispers, pauses & emotion

And you tell me not be weary of the possibility of Skynet

Amazon’s Alexa is going to sound more human. The company announced this week the addition of a new set of speaking skills for the virtual assistant, which will allow her to do things like whisper, take a breath to pause for emphasis, adjust the rate, pitch and volume of her speech, and more. She’ll even be able to “bleep” out words – which may not be all that human, actually, but is certainly clever.

Apple stops paying royalties to Qualcomm

It’s no secret, Apple and Qualcomm have been fighting relentlessly for a few months over royalty payments. Apple told Qualcomm that it would stop paying the disputed licensing fees. Qualcomm confirmed the aggressive move and said that its revenue and profits would be lower than expected.

Apple said that it is waiting for a court decision to resume payments. Of course, the company expects to pay a lower fee after the decision.

Elon Musk’s new venture could turn his cyborg dreams into reality

Augmenting the human brain with computers... literally

As if self-driving cars and space travel aren't extraordinary enough, Elon Musk is planning another startup straight out of the pages of science fiction: augmenting the human brain with computers.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has put his weight behind a new company dedicated to working on implants designed to interface with one's literal brain to increase human computing potential, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

Here's how Elon Musk's tunnels will put an end to traffic jams

Not at all boring.

If you've been catching the little hints Elon Musk's been dropping this year about revolutionising traffic flow with a massive network of underground tunnels, you're probably eager to hear more details about it - and we just got a few.

WhatsApp brings back text Status it replaced with Stories

I never posted about WhatsApp,s update because of all its updates, this one I hated. I believe, if you are going to copy something, which is what they did, make it better not worse. I am not a fan of bootlleg updates . Which is what WhatsApp's attempt at Stories was. Anyway , enough of my rant. On to the news...

The Snapchatification of everything has resulted in backlash for WhatsApp, prompting it to revive its text Status option while keeping its image-based replacement. The move shows how social apps must quickly react to feedback if they make a false step in modernizing to adapt to visual communication.

Anyone into PHOTOGRAPHY

I received an email from Emily of Xsighttechnologies with some very useful information for those  into photography.

I thought I should share with you guys .

You can fine the post here

I hope it helps

Next Xbox One Backwards-Compatible Game Arrives

Hitman: Absolution joins the program

The Xbox One's backwards compatibility catalog grows again today with the arrival of Square Enix's stealth-assassination game Hitman Absolution. Microsoft's Major Nelson announced this on Twitter.

If you already own a digital copy of the game on Xbox 360, it should show up automatically in your Xbox One game library. If not, you can buy it on your console or through this Xbox Store link. Absolution, which was released originally released in 2012, costs $20 and takes up 7 GB of space.

In other Xbox One backwards compatibility news, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said recently that Call of Duty: Black Ops II will not join the lineup this week. He really wants the game to be added to the catalog but said you shouldn't expect it soon.

The Xbox One's backwards compatibility library has more than 320 games in it, including Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV--you can see them all here.

Source: Gamespot

Your VB Kid
PSypher

To compete with YouTube, Facebook is preparing to launch connected TV apps

Facebook wants its users to upload and consume more videos, and it’s making a couple of changes to the way that it displays and distributes those videos. 

Today at CODE Media, Facebook VP of partnerships Dan Rose said the company would also launch a series of apps for Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Samsung Smart TV.

For Facebook, the ability to stream on the TV is just one more step in a larger effort to make its site and apps a place where more creators want to share their videos. According to Rose, that started with autoplay video ads that appeared in the news feed, and expanded with the introduction of live and Instagram videos.

Google’s DeepMind pits AI against AI to see if they fight or cooperate

Unsurprisingly, they do both

In the future, it’s likely that many aspects of human society will be controlled — either partly or wholly — by artificial intelligence. AI computer agents could manage systems from the quotidian (e.g., traffic lights) to the complex (e.g., a nation’s whole economy), but leaving aside the problem of whether or not they can do their jobs well, there is another challenge: will these agents be able to play nice with one another? What happens if one AI’s aims conflict with another’s? Will they fight, or work together?

Nokia 3310, 'the most reliable phone ever made', to be re-launched at MWC 2017

The phone was first released in 2000 and some are still going strong

Nokia will re-launch the 3310, perhaps the best-loved and most resilient phone in history.

The phone, originally released in 2000 and in many ways beginning the modern age of mobiles, will be sold as a way of getting lots of battery life in a nearly indestructible body.

The new incarnation of the old 3310 will be sold for just €59, and so likely be pitched as a reliable second phone to people who fondly remember it the first time around. It will be revealed at Mobile World Congress later this month, according to leaker Evan Blass who first revealed the details.


Source:  Independent


Your VB Kid
Psypher

I Am Not Dead

Hello readers, I know I haven't been posting lately but my year was so hectic.

I had to buckle down for my French B2 exam. Serious advanced stuff. But now,  je pense que je peux un peu parler français

If you are an avid follower, you'll find my Facebook Page  was a bit more updated.

I'm glad to inform I'll be getting back to my normal schedule soon....

The Chief Technomancer
VB Kid