“Oh don’t worry, ” your uncle said when you were shopping for a new computer. “Macs are virtually virus proof.” Your uncle was wrong . Read more…
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The World’s First Firmware Worm for Mac Is Here, and It Sounds Scary
Cortana is easily one of the coolest new features of Windows 10. You’re probably already familiar with personal assistants like Google Now and Siri, but now you have one built right into your desktop! Here’s how to get information, manage your schedule, and even run a few Google commands. Read more…
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Everything You Can Ask Cortana to Do in Windows 10
While the IT managers of the world stress about Windows 10’s buggy mail client , default browser , and dodgy domains, for the gamer, Microsoft’s latest and greatest OS is an exciting proposition. Windows 10, if you didn’t know, comes with DirectX 12 , which promises significant performance increases (particularly for AMD graphics card users), thanks to its new low-level API features. The trouble is, right now, there aren’t actually any games out there that use DX12. While Nvidia and AMD have both launched new drivers to bring DX12 support to a range of their current GPUs, there’s not a single DX12 game to play. 3DMark has a neat draw call benchmark that gives us some idea of how much faster DX12 will be, but it’s entirely synthetic. One of the first games to actually use DX12 will be StarDock’s upcoming RTS Ashes of the Singularity , with an early beta build showing a significant uplift in performance. We were hoping to check out a special benchmark build of the game this week, but sadly it’s been pushed back. Read 17 remaining paragraphs | Comments
Apple is testing a service that will let Siri take your calls, record them and transcribe them to text, according to Business Insider . The company is reportedly referring to it as iCloud Voicemail, and it’s similar to the existing visual voicemail service. However, instead of playing a pre-recorded message to your caller when you can’t pick up, Siri will take over the chore. It can then let certain contacts know where you are and why you can’t take the call, provided you give permission. The voice message will then be shunted over to Apple’s servers and transcribed into text. It works in much the same way that Siri transcribes your voice commands, but it’s unclear if the system would require carrier support. Currently, Apple’s visual voicemail service (which can also back up messages to iCloud) only works with select operators. It’s also not clear if it’d be free, as certain carriers charge extra for that. Nevertheless, it sounds like a good idea — as BI pointed out, lots of folks aren’t fond of voicemail, but the less tech-inclined still prefer to leave them. Employees of the company are reportedly testing the service, and if it’s reliable enough, it’ll be launch next year along with iOS 10. As always, however, take such rumors with a large chaser of skepticism. Filed under: Cellphones , Internet , Apple Comments Source: Business Insider Tags: apple, Siri, transcription, voice to text, Voicemail
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Apple reportedly wants to turn Siri into your receptionist
When Microsoft said that its HoloLens headset would arrive ” in the Windows 10 time frame , ” what did it mean, exactly? Thanks to a BBC interview with Satya Nadella, we now have a better sense of when this augmented reality eyewear will show up. The company chief expects developers and enterprise users to get the first version of HoloLens “within the next year” — you won’t be getting one as a holiday gift, folks. It’s not certain just when a personal version will launch, but Nadella describes the overall technology as a “5-year journey” that will eventually branch out to other fields. While that doesn’t necessarily leave you high and dry until 2020, it does suggest that you’ll have to be patient if you want to play some holographic Minecraft . Filed under: Displays , Wearables , Microsoft Comments Via: Piptell , The Verge Source: BBC
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Microsoft’s HoloLens headset will reach developers within a year
Uber is getting richer and richer. It’s now valued at $51 billion after raising another $1 billion in funding, and it got to this stage two years faster than Facebook did. As always, the ride-sharing service has attracted an assortment of investors during its latest funding round — one of them’s none other than tech juggernaut Microsoft, according to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal . While neither company has admitted it yet, Bloomberg says Microsoft has agreed to back Uber to the tune of around $100 million. It’s unclear whether this means they’re pursuing a deeper relationship or if they’re working together on a project or two, at least. If you recall, though, Uber’s snapped up a portion of Bing’s mapping tech back in June, along with a hundred of Redmond’s employees. Microsoft is neither the first nor the only tech corporation/personality that has invested in the ride-hailing service. Chinese internet giant Baidu jumped in weeks after it was announced that Uber was already valued at $40 billion with an investment that could’ve been as big as $600 million. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos put his money in the company way back in 2011, while Google Ventures backed it with $258 million in 2013. That was years before both companies announced their intentions to develop self-driving taxi services, making them future competitors. In all, Uber now has $5 billion to spend on the aggressive expansion it’s planning in India , China and Southeast Asia. [Image credit: Getty Images] Filed under: Transportation , Microsoft Comments Source: The New York Times , Bloomberg , The Wall Street Journal
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Uber reaches $50 billion value thanks (in part) to Microsoft
The arrest, trial and conviction of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht — and his sentence of life in prison — was a stark reminder that 21st century policing is a different game. And judging by the shitshow that was the Silk Road investigation, it’s one that the police need to get better at. Read more…
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Interpol Is Now Training Police to Fight Crime on "The Darknet"
Between the western shores of Alaska and the northeastern tip of Russia, the Bering Strait is so narrow that you could drive across it in an hour, if only there were a tunnel beneath the sea. And Russian Railways wants to build one, as part of a massive road and rail project that would stretch from New York to London by way of Canada, Alaska, Russia, and continental Europe. Read more…
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Russia Wants People to Road Trip from New York to London (via Moscow)
schwit1 writes: A new technique called transcutaneous stimulation has allowed five men with complete motor paralysis regain the ability to move their legs voluntarily and produce step-like movements. The treatment requires no surgery and adds to prior work to help paralyzed people gain voluntary movement through electrical stimulation (one completed in 2011, the other in 2014). Gizmag reports: “The new treatment uses a technique called transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, which involves strategically placing electrodes on the skin of the lower back. While receiving stimulation, the men’s legs were supported by braces that hung from the ceiling. At first their legs only moved involuntarily, if at all. But they soon found they could voluntarily extend the distance their legs moved during stimulation. They doubled their range of voluntary motion after four treatment sessions.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Non-Invasive Spinal Cord Stimulation Gets Paralyzed Legs Moving Again
Traffic lights are supposed to help keep driving orderly, but they often create more tension than they resolve. How do you know that the green light won’t turn yellow before it’s too late to slow down? BMW thinks it can help. It’s the first automaker to offer in-car support for Connected Signals’ EnLighten iOS app, which predicts when lights will change based on position and speed. All you need to do is keep an eye on your car’s infotainment display — it’ll tell you whether or not you should hit the brakes. The software is useful even if you’re stopped, as it’ll use your turn signals to show when a necessary light will return to green. This is the definition of a luxury feature when you need a BMW with ConnectedDrive Services just to give it a shot, but it could be entirely worthwhile if it spares you from an accident or a ticket. Filed under: Cellphones , Transportation , Mobile Comments Via: Gizmag Source: BMW , Connected Signals
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BMW wants you to know when traffic lights change