ASIAN (T)

California [United States], December 7 (ANI): Shopping couldn’t get any easier. Facebook has confirmed that it is testing a new video feature that will make it more convenient for you to shop from the platform without having to worry what the actual colour of the clothing or size of a t-shirt is.
The test is currently live in Thailand for some vendor pages. It essentially allows merchants to notify their Page followers about their broadcasts and showcase their products during live videos, and follow it up with payments through Messenger, Engadget reported.
Facebook has not confirmed if the feature will be rolled out to other merchant communities across the world, but given the potential of live video shopping feature, it shouldn’t be long before users stay glued to their devices for broadcasts and take screenshots. (ANI)

Source link

Massachusetts [United States], December 7 (ANI): Scientists have built a hybrid robot that follow directions of a plant’s natural signals.
The plant-hybrid robot, called Elowan, is built by MIT researchers and uses the plant’s natural signals to trigger movements in the robot underneath, Cnet reported.
As part of the experiment, the researchers connected silver electrodes to the plant and placed lights on either side of the plant. Following its natural signal, the plant moved towards the light source with the help of the robot. (ANI)

Source link

Washington [United States], December 7 (ANI): Facial recognition has become everyday than it was a few years ago. From the first alternative to fingerprint-based authentication system, it is fast getting adopted into various other uses and Microsoft thinks the technology could be potentially misused.
In the company’s official blog, Microsoft chief counsel Brad Smith wrote that it’s important for governments in 2019 to start adopting laws to regulate facial recognition technology.
In the lengthy post, Smith identifies six principles which the company will adopt to manage issues related to facial recognition technology, These principles include, the positive opportunities of using the technology, such as identifying missing people, the concerns about people’s privacy, addressing bias and discrimination, and so on.
Microsoft says the goal shouldn’t only be to await law to regulate the use of technology, and that companies should also take caution and implement the new-age authentication process more responsibly. “We must ensure that the year 2024 doesn’t look like a page from the novel “1984,” Smith wrote. (ANI)

Source link

Shenzhen [China], December 6 (ANI): OnePlus, the company which shot to fame for its affordable-premium smartphones, is predicting the next-gen 5G handsets will be pricier than the current generation models.
In an interview with The Verge, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau revealed that the company’s first 5G phone will cost about USD 200 – USD 300 more.
However, Qualcomm president Cristiano Amon indicated that the suggested price may be a little high.
Meanwhile, aesthetics will also be a challenge when the 5G devices start rolling out. OnePlus, known for its good-looking smartphones, is skeptical about building a visually pleasing device which is also able to support multiple antennas. (ANI)

Source link

California [United States], December 6 (ANI): Google has announced that it is pulling down the curtains on its smart messaging app Allo to focus on Messages.
The smart messaging app used machine learning to suggest smart replies for a shorter reply time. It also came integrated with Google Assistant which allowed one to search for anything right within the app.
According to Google’s blog, the company paused investment in Allo earlier this year and introduced some of its core features into Messages, including Smart Reply, GIFs, and desktop support.
Allo will continue to work through March 2019 and until then, users will be able to export all of their existing conversation history from the app. (ANI)

Source link

California [United States], December 6 (ANI): It is embarrassing but Apple’s emoji designers didn’t get the squid emoji quite right, an aquarium has pointed out.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium took to Twitter to point out that the Apple squid emoji, which was added back in 2016, is in fact, upside down.
In the emoji, the siphon is shown in the front. In reality, the siphon is behind the squid’s head as it helps in locomotion, enable breathing, and get rid of the waste. The aquarium notes in its tweet that the siphon on the front in Apple emoji looks like a ‘weirdo nose’.
Other tech companies have their ocean awareness in place and do not show the siphon in their squid emoji. Perhaps, holidays will be a good time for Apple to review its squid emoji. (ANI)

Source link

Shenzhen [China], December 6 (ANI): Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou has been arrested in Vancouver, Canada, for allegedly violating US trade sanctions against Iran.
Meng, who is the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, faces unspecified charges in the Eastern District of New York, where she had transferred flights on her way to Canada, TechCrunch reported.
Owing to the US-China trade war, US President Donald Trump signed a bill in August banning government agencies from using products and services from Huawei and ZTE. (ANI)

Source link

California [United States], December 4 (ANI): Apple takes people spreading hate speech and violence through its platform very seriously and the company CEO Tim Cook reiterated the stand during an award acceptance speech.
Cook, who received the Anti-Defamation League’s first-ever Courage Against Hate award at an event in New York City, said that supremacists, conspiracy theorists, and those who seek to spread hate have no place on Apple’s platforms, Cnet reported.
Earlier this year, Apple removed podcasts produced by far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars from iTunes and Apple’s Podcast app. (ANI)

Source link

New York [United States], December 4 (ANI): Tumblr has announced that it will ban all adult content from its platform starting December 17, 2018. The change arrives weeks after Tumblr’s iOS app was pulled down from the App Store for child pornography.
Explicit content on Tumblr will be flagged and the posts will be switched to a private mode which will be made visible only to the account holder, the company notes in its community policy.
Content which falls under the ambit includes photos, videos, or GIFs with real-life human genitals or other illustrations depicting sex acts, the company’s policy describes. Written content including erotica, nudity related to political or newsworthy speech, art, illustrations can be freely posted. (ANI)

Source link

California [United States], December 4 (ANI): Google is adding a new experience to its augmented reality app that will bring a legendary artist’s work right at the convenience of your device.
The Arts and Culture app will now showcase the artwork of Johannes Vermeer, the Dutch Golden Age painter, through the Meet Vermeer section of the app, Mashable reported.
It is described as the first-ever international online retrospective of Vermeer. As part of the project, 36 paintings from 18 museums across seven different countries is available through the app.
As a special addition, the artist’s most famous masterpiece Girl with a Pearl Earring is listed with the ability to examine closely, allowing to view each brush stroke as if it were right in front of you. (ANI)

Source link