the-end – Page 4 – Tech Today w/ Ken May

Skype Translator is heading to the desktop app this summer

Last month, Microsoft removed the sign-up requirement for folks to give Skype’s live translation chops a try. Now, a preview version of the multi-language tool is heading to the desktop. Skype Translator is scheduled to roll out inside the chat-focused app’s desktop software at the end of the summer, delivering real-time translation for voice/video calls and instant messaging. Right now, the speech function supports English, Spanish, Italian and Mandarin, but if you’re conversing via IM, there are 50 more languages added to the list. Windows 10 arrives at this summer too , and real-time translating is sure to come in handy when chatting it up on a 84-inch Surface Hub . Filed under: Internet , Software , Microsoft Comments Source: Skype

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Skype Translator is heading to the desktop app this summer

Apple Music vs the competition: A streaming music cheat sheet

The past few years have seen a shift from owning music to accessing as much as you want on various streaming services. Why pay $9.99 for a new album each month when you can get a firehose of content for the same price? Now Apple looks to get in on the action with its newest offering, Apple Music . They made a big splash with the introduction of the iTunes store in 2003 but here in 2015 there’s a lot more competition for your listening attention. Does Apple Music have what it takes to stand out from its more established rivals? We’ve stacked up some of the bigger names to see which one can give you the most for your money. Apple Music Spotify Rdio Google Play Music Monthly fee Individual: $9.99 Family: $14.99 Premium: $9.99 Select: $3.99 Unlimited: $9.99 Unlimited: $9.99 Number of songs “Tens of millions” Over 30 million Over 32 million Over 30 million Audio quality NA 320kbps 320kbps Up to 320kbps Radio Yes (human-driven) Yes (automated) Yes (automated) Yes (automated) Video content Yes Yes No Yes Exclusive content Yes Yes Yes Yes Curated playlists Yes Yes Yes Yes Offline listening Yes Yes Yes Yes Online media storage Yes No No Yes Social features NA Yes Yes Yes Desktop apps Windows, Mac Windows, Mac Windows, Mac Web only Mobile apps iOS, Android (coming fall 2015) iOS, Android, Windows Phone iOS, Android, Windows Phone iOS, Android Filed under: Apple Comments

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Apple Music vs the competition: A streaming music cheat sheet

Hackers in giant federal breach got 30 years of worker info

Just how bad was the hack that compromised the info of 4 million US government workers ? Exceptionally bad, if you ask anonymous officials talking to Reuters . They understand that the Office of Personnel Management breach exposed data going as far back in time as 1985, which could reveal what about 1.9 million staffers did after they left federal employment. It’s not certain exactly what was taken, but the hack may have exposed bank info, birthdays and Social Security numbers — the kind of sensitive content that could lead to breaches elsewhere. This isn’t an isolated incident, either. Investigators believe there’s a connection to earlier data theft at insurance giant Anthem as well as health care service provider Premera Blue Cross . The one consolation is that most State Department workers weren’t affected, but the branch is dealing with its own security woes . It’s still not certain whether the (allegedly Chinese) culprits were state-sponsored or simply very determined thieves, but one defense official is convinced that this was intelligence gathering. If it was, the breach could easily worsen already strained China-US relations. [Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images] Filed under: Internet Comments Source: Reuters

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Hackers in giant federal breach got 30 years of worker info

A drop of blood reveals every disease you’ve ever had

This stock image is just for illustration, you do not need this much blood to take the new test. Every disease that you’ve ever encountered is cataloged within your DNA, and now a team from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute has worked out how to access that data. It’s part of a project called VirScan that, it’s hoped, will revolutionize medical testing and help Doctors catch illnesses long before they manifest. Even better, is that it’s not even an expensive procedure, with each test slated to cost just $25 — well, at least before your hospital slaps on their own fee on top. The project has been led by Stephen Elledge, who says that Doctors normally treat viral infestions with a trial-and-error system of testing based on symptoms. By comparison, VirScan can just examine every nasty thing your body has come into contact with and center in on what’s causing the trouble. The technique could become critical in finding and solving conditions with a very long incubation time, like HIV and hepatitis C. As part of the research, the team also discovered that most people’s bodies deal with infections in a similar way, and that the system could help develop vaccines for previously un-treated conditions. Elledge also believes that the technology is going to help researchers investigate if there’s a link between viral infections and non-viral conditions like diabetes and multiple sclerosis. The good news doesn’t stop there, either, since it could also make medical research across borders significantly easier. With a VirScan device, scientists could easily compare and contrast the infection rates for various diseases across the globe. [Image Credit: Getty] Filed under: Science Comments Via: Washington Post Source: HHMI , Science

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A drop of blood reveals every disease you’ve ever had

Quick Charge 2.0 is coming to USB charging stations

Isn’t it annoying when some smartphones boast Quick Charge 2.0 but only come with a regular USB charger? Given the option, we’d rather spend the money on something more practical, like a multi-port USB charging station that supports Quick Charge. And yes, we managed to stumble upon one at Computex, courtesy of Hong Kong’s Magic-Pro. The Power Station Super 4 comes with — you guessed it — four USB ports, two of which can automatically switch to either 9V or 12V for faster charging on compatible devices , while the third port offers the common 5V/2.4A output, and the last one does 5V/3A as the company anticipates a new wave of tablets that can take the higher current. Better yet, the hub comes with a car charger and a Quick Charge 2.0-friendly micro-USB data cable, so not bad at all for a $65 package. Expect this to hit the markets at around the end of this month. For those who want a smaller USB station with ample power output, Magic-Pro’s Charging Station Cube comes in at just 50 x 50 x 41 mm, but still offers four ports: two with dedicated 2.4A each, and two with 1A each. This is due to launch in pink, white and blue later this month for about $35. Last but not least, we spotted this beast alongside the other minions on the table. Like its predecessor, the Power Station 10+ comes with 10 USB ports, but instead of delivering just 1A to each, you get a generous 2.4A even when all ports are occupied! Alas, there’s no price nor date just yet. Filed under: Peripherals Comments

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Quick Charge 2.0 is coming to USB charging stations

High-yield yeast converts 97 percent of a plant to biofuel

The Department of Energy’s BioEnergy Science Center announced a major breakthrough in the biofuel field yesterday: a newly developed strain of yeast capable of producing more than three times the amount of fuel from plant matter as the current record holder. The Center has teamed with Mascoma LLC to develop the new strain, dubbed C5 FUEL. Existing biofuel yeast strains generally only convert about 30 percent of a plant’s sugars and cannot effectively convert tough xylose sugars. C5 however can ferment up to 97 percent of plant sugars into ethanol, including the xylose that other strains can’t break down. What’s more, it does all that in just 48 hours as opposed to the multiple days or weeks that other strains require. The BESC team presented its findings at the 31st International Fuel Ethanol Workshop in Minneapolis on Thursday morning. They hope that the discovery will help make ethanol-based biofuels more accessible to the consumer market. “Driving down the cost to develop, verify and consolidate bioprocessing was at the heart of the BESC effort when we began in 2007, and this achievement allows us to advance to the next challenge, ” BESC Director Paul Gilna said in a statement. “This accomplishment represents a clearly impactful example of how our partnering with industry can accelerate the translation of our research capabilities and findings into commercial products.” Up next, the BESC hopes to perform the same biochemical gymnastics with thermophilic bacteria , which would produce fuel directly from biomass in just one step. [Image Credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images (Top) – ORNL (inline)] Filed under: Science Comments Source: Oak Ridge National Lab

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High-yield yeast converts 97 percent of a plant to biofuel

Windows will make it easier to remote-control Linux PCs

In case there was any doubt that Microsoft’s war against Linux is ( mostly ) over , the company just offered another olive branch. The company has revealed that its PowerShell team is working on support for the Secure Shell protocol and shell sessions (aka SSH) to make it easier for Windows- and Linux-based PCs to connect to and remotely control each other. While SSH has been an option in the Windows world, Microsoft’s Angel Calvo says there have been “limited implementations” so far — this would simplify things and give you “tight integration” with Windows that wasn’t feasible before. It’s too early to tell when the feature will be available, but it’s at least in the cards. The move isn’t completely surprising. As Calvo notes, the “changes in leadership and culture” in Redmond made this possible. CEO Satya Nadella is interested in spreading Microsoft’s services (such as Azure ) to every platform that can use them, rather than insisting on Windows-only solutions like his predecessors. SSH support should make it easier to integrate Microsoft’s technology into environments where Linux has a solid foothold, whether it’s a data center or your home network. [Image credit: AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit] Filed under: Software , Microsoft Comments Via: Phoronix Source: MSDN Blogs

AMD’s latest chips bring gaming and video chops to mainstream laptops

With AMD’s new sixth-generation A-series processors, laptops in the $400 to $700 range could soon become far more capable. Formerly code-named “Carizzo, ” the new chips offer twice the gaming performance of Intel’s Core i7, thanks to discrete Radeon graphics. They’re the first mainstream processors with hardware decoding for H.265/HEVC video, the successor to the current H.264 standard which includes far better compression and support for 4K resolutions. And they’ll also pack in up to 12 compute cores (four CPU and eight GPU), which basically means they’ll be able to handle whatever you throw at them. Why focus on mainstream laptops? AMD notes that it’s the largest segment of the PC market by revenue and volume sold, so it makes sense for a company that’s traditionally focused on value to show it some love. AMD’s basically gunning hard for the gaming and media crowd with its sixth-generation chips. Naturally, they include its dual graphics technology, which can summon the power of Radeon R7 graphics along their built-in graphics for a 42 percent jump in frame rates. They also combine game performance with hardware video encoding, which should make for much smoother game streams on Twitch. Battery-wise, AMD says the new chips will last twice as long as their predecessors, even when watching video or gaming. While it all sounds good on paper, AMD will face some stiff competition from Intel’s new Broadwell-H chips, which were announced yesterday. Those chips also double graphics performance and boost overall media performance. Intel’s chips seem pretty expensive though, ranging from $244 to $623, and while we don’t know the pricing of AMD’s new wares yet, they’re usually cheaper than Intel. So there’s a good chance AMD can keep up the value fight. We’ll find out for sure once the new chips hit the market. AMD says computers featuring the sixth-gen A-series will start shipping in June, while Intel expects its chips to hit computers within two months. Filed under: Gaming , Laptops , AMD Comments

Here’s that ‘Fallout 4’ trailer you’re looking for

Fallout 4 is coming to Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, and so far, this is what it looks like. First, the rumors are true: Fallout 4 is set in Boston, as demonstrated by scenes from an alternate-universe Scollay Square, the real-life Boston city center established in 1838 and demolished in 1962, plus other landmarks in the video. Bethesda’s 24-hour Fallout 4 teaser site hit zero this morning, revealing a trailer and pre-order links, plus a nudge to tune into the company’s presentation at E3 on June 14th. The teaser site also went live a tad early , letting the world peek platform details and a few screenshots ahead of the actual announcement. Watch the first Fallout 4 trailer below. Filed under: Gaming , HD Comments

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Here’s that ‘Fallout 4’ trailer you’re looking for

Play PC games on your Amazon Fire TV through GameFly

Amazon’s Fire TV devices may be focused primarily on Android games , but they can now do some PC gaming in a pinch. The media hubs have just scored an exclusive GameFly app that streams a mix of PC titles (such as the Batman series and Dirt 3 ) in subscription-based game packs starting at $7 a month. Suffice it to say you’ll want to snag a gamepad if you’re going to use this feature at all. No, this probably won’t make you forget about dedicated consoles or NVIDIA’s Shield , but it’s a big deal if the Fire TV is your only living room game machine. Filed under: Gaming , Home Entertainment , HD , Amazon Comments Source: Amazon