IKEA announced that its smart lights would come with increased connectivity options for digital assistants such as Alexa.

Earlier this week, IKEA issued a press release which announced the increased connectivity of its smart lights range. This will soon come with integrated support for Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri and HomeKit, and the Google Assistant.

IKEA’s smart light bulb, called Trådfri, can presently only be controlled via an app or remote control. Still, it will soon offer integration with a digital assistant at the user’s choice.

IKEA’s Smart Lights, Just a First Step in the Smart Home Products Area

IKEA is one of the biggest furniture sellers in the world as it operates in 28 countries through 340 stores. Which could also mean that it is one of the most likely and capable retailers to introduce smart home appliances to tech-savvy users.

The company’s smart lights are already available in a number of selected countries. Their digital assistant integration may also help them become more accessible.

“By ensuring that our products work with others on the market, we take another step to meet people’s needs and make it easier to interact with the products for the smart home,” said Björn Block.

He is the leader of the IKEA Home Smart. Jeanette Skjelmose, the Business Area Manager for Lighting and IKEA Home Smart, also stated that the division considers that smart home technology should be accessible to anyone.

The Trådfri range of smart lights includes a number of sensing, remote-controlled, and dimming light fixtures. It also comes with the “Gateway”, a hub device which enables the connectivity with the user’s home network.

Now controlled through an app, this will also be used for the digital assistant integration. It will also support its connectivity with thermostats, ceilings fans, and other smart home appliances. The integration and support should start being rolled out sometime in the latter half of 2017 and will first become available to US and UK users.

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Google brought homage to the Antikythera mechanism by transforming it into a doodle for its anniversary.

Earlier this week, Google released another one of its already famous doodles. Its latest subject was the Antikythera mechanism or what is considered as being one of the world’s first computers.

This doodle made its debut on May 17^th, a date which marks the 115^th anniversary of the discovery of this unique relic. Discovered by Greek scientists, this is now part of the collections of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

The Antikythera Mechanism and Its Complex Nature and History

The mechanism got its name from the place in which it was discovered. Back in 1902, Valerios Stais, a Greek archeologist, detected a “corroded chunk of metal” as he was sifting through artifacts recovered from a shipwreck in Antikythera.

The particular piece looked like a wheel or gear. Further research revealed that it was, in fact, a part of the Antikythera mechanism. This is the ancient variant of an analog astronomical computer.

“The Antikythera mechanism tracked planetary positions, predicted lunar and solar eclipses, and even signaled the next Olympic Games. It was probably also used for mapping and navigation,” stated Google.

In the same post to announce its release, the company also offered some historical data about the ‘device’. The mechanism features a frontal dial, which offers both solar and zodiacal calendars. On its back side, it came with several other dials, which represented the celestial cycles.

Thanks to 3D tomography, scientists were able to generate computer models of the Antikythera mechanism. These revealed its complex system, based on over 30 “sophisticated gears” as intricate as even some 18th-century clocks. All these pieces are contained by a case, about the size of a shoebox, made out of bronze and wood.

Initially, the mechanism was believed to date back to about 85 BC. The latest research suggests that it may be even older. More precisely, it could date back to around 150 BC.

Specialists continue studying this impressive mechanism and its inner workings as they are also trying to find its exact purpose. Google stated, through its doodle, that the Antikythera mechanism can still open “a skyful of knowledge and inspiration”.

Image Source: Wikimedia

The new LINAC 4 linear accelerator was formally commissioned at CERN.

In a ceremony conducted in Switzerland on May 9, the new LINAC 4 linear accelerator was formally commissioned at CERN. This new device is but the first step in a number of upgrades coming for the 17-mile collider. Many more changes are going to be made over the coming years. Still, this first one is the key to boosting its power by a factor of five.

Linac 4, A New Light at CERN

“This high-luminosity phase will considerably increase the potential of the LHC experiments for discovering new physics and measuring the properties of the Higgs particle in more detail,” said Director General, Fabiola Gianotti, in a press release about the ceremony.

The Cassini spacecraft, launched towards Saturn in 1997, reported its first successful dive through Saturn’s rings.

The Cassini spacecraft, launched towards Saturn in 1997, is considered one of the most successful space exploration missions in NASA’s history. The last two decades have provided huge amounts of data and images. As the mission approaches its final days, it promises to deliver even greater drama.

The Cassini Spacecraft Reported One Dive Down, 21 to Go

AeroMobil will be looking to release its first flying car sometime in the 2020s.

Ever since the first days of science fiction, futurists have imagined flying cars. From Flash Gordon to the Jetsons, many envisioned them to be right around the corner of history. Now, these may actually be here, as a Slovakian startup company has committed to bringing their first flying car design to the market as early as 2020.

Is The First Flying Car Finally Here?

“The infrastructure and nature of today’s society simply doesn’t leave much space for flying cars, unfortunately.” This is according to Juraj Vaculik, the AeroMobil CEO.

During the F8, Facebook revealed its plans for a new brain to computer system and interface.

In its second day of the F8 event, Facebook revealed that it is looking to develop a new brain to computer system and interface. This will allegedly allow its user to type directly with their mind.

The company is even looking to create a tech that will allow its users to “hear” with their skin. This new, ambitious tech is being developed by a team of over 60 people, all part of the R&D Division.

Details on these revolutionary plans came from Regina Dugan. She is the head of the R&D Division Building 8. The information was released during the second day of the F8. This is an annual software and developer conference hosted by Facebook in San Jose, California.

As part of the presentation, Facebook released a demo video meant to present this new tech’s abilities and applications. The company is aiming to create a software that will allow its users to type up to 100 words per minute. This is around five times faster than the average writing speed on a smartphone. Also, this new technology will be exclusively brain-powered, which would make its speed even the more impressive.

Dugan stated that: “It is these words, words that you have already decided to send to the speech center of your brain that we seek to turn into text.”

Also, she stated that Facebook will be looking to develop a non-invasive such technology. One that could also become a “speech prosthetic” for people with disabilities, disorders, or even a new AR input method.

The Brain to Computer System Is Not The Only Innovation

The secretive Building 8 is also reportedly developing a “hear through your skin” technology. According to Dugan, this will be based on the “Tacoma Method” and a special arm sleeve. This latter comes with an actuator system, which lets the user “feel the acoustic shape of a word on her arm”.

Presently, this system still has a limited “tactile vocabulary”. As it is, Dugan emphasized the fact that both these technologies are still in the making. As such, they are still some years away from being ready.

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A team of researchers developed a new technique for pulling water from thin air.

Researchers at MIT or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California at Berkeley developed a new technique for pulling water from thin air. This new device makes use of something called an MOF (metal-organic framework). These compounds formed from metals and organic molecules are extremely porous, capable of pulling both water, methane, and carbon dioxide from the air, making future applications potentially limitless, besides providing a new water source.

This Is A New Device for Drawing Water from Thin Air

Starting with this week, Microsoft will stop releasing its security bulletins.

Starting with this week, Microsoft will stop releasing its security bulletins. These were considered a common fixture as the company has been offering them for quite some years now.

In these reports, Microsoft presented the vulnerabilities it had detected throughout the month. It also brought the accompanying patches needed by its customers. These were considered an especially useful feature for administrators in charge of IT operations.

Microsoft First Announced The Demise Of The Security Bulletins Late Last Week

Microsoft first announced its plans of eliminating the security bulletins back in November 2016. However, it was uncertain about its preferred methods. The last Tuesday bulletin was initially planned for January, and its replacement process should have become available starting on February 14^th.

However, in February, the company announced that it would be getting rid of that month’s Patch Tuesday. This decision came just a few hours before releasing the update, which also rendered the timeframe null.

As such, Microsoft decided to offer one more month of security bulletins. It did so as this reportedly gave its clients more time to prepare and move to the SUG. This latter is the “Security Updates Guide” which works as a database content portal.

Users can access, sort, and filter the portal’s content according to need. For example, they can filter it according to the patch’s released date, the affected software, or the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) identifier, among others.

The market was keyed in on the lack of security bulletins earlier this week. On April 11^th, Microsoft released cumulative updates for Windows, Office, Internet Explorer, and several other products.

As it is, the company presented its new SUG site as a way in which admins can “view and search security and vulnerability information in a single online database.”

It remains to be seen how well users will adapt to the new format. The company believes that administrators will adapt to the new system and they hope that the will even find it easier to use.

Image Source: Flickr

Google announced late last week that it would be expanding its Fact Check tag to Google News and some Search results.

Google announced late last week that it would be expanding its Fact Check tag. This was first introduced last October, but only on Google News and in a small number of countries. At the time, the Internet giant company was joined in its task by Jigsaw. Now, Google stated that it would be extending this tag to include both its Google News and some Search results.

The Fact Check Tag Should Start Being Generally Available In Both News And Search

According to Google, its “Fact Check” tag should include information that has been fact checked by both organizations specialized in this area and by news publishers. Following the received feedback, the company reportedly decided to expand this service. As such, this will become globally available, across all supported languages. Also, it will start being used in Search results, as well. Initially, it was only introduced for Google News.

The company states that, from now on, as the user conducts a search, they will receive an ‘authoritative result’ which contains fact checked data. One that has been verified by one or more public claims. In its statement, Google stated that:

“The snippet will display information on the claim, who made the claim, and the fact check of that particular claim.”

However, Google also stated that this tag wouldn’t be available for quite ‘every search result’. Also, as the facts are verified by multiple publishers, these may also reach different conclusions for the same claims. The company emphasized that the ‘fact checks are not Google’s’. As it is, they are reportedly presented so that people can make ‘more informed judgments’.

Google considers that its readers and users will find it easier to make an informed decision as they note who considers what, even when the various publishers reach different conclusions on the same fact. As such, people should allegedly have ‘an easier time’ assessing and reviewing such fact checks.

Image Source: Wikimedia

Facebook just made 360-degree Live Stream available for every user, with a compatible camera.

If you love social media sites and you also love taking videos, this new feature is the ideal one for you. Facebook just made the 360-degree Live Stream available for every user. This feature is not a new one. It has been available since December, but only for a few users.

The first page where the option was launched was National Geographic’s Facebook account. The company now announced that they are going to make it available for any user, worldwide. Live streaming on Facebook has been a very successful addition to the regular posts. More and more people live stream nowadays.

The 360-degree live stream is even better. This is because it combines both the love for videos and virtual reality. The 360-degree live streams can be a gateway to VR. Facebook has been trying to make people buy VR since they made Oculus in 2014. Maybe now it will succeed.

The problem is that not everybody can use this feature. In order to create a 360-degree live stream, you need to have a compatible camera. Some of those cameras include Giroptic IO, ALLie Camera, Insta360, and Samsung Gear 360. More professional cameras like Nokia OZA and Z CAM S1 are compatible too.

Facebook mentioned that they are going to talk to other manufacturers in order to add more compatible devices. Once other manufacturers add more cameras, more people will be able to do 360-degree live stream.  This type of live stream is almost the same as the normal one. People can still receive likes and comments while they are 360-degrees live streaming.

Facebook mentioned that people need to make some privacy setting before they go live. This way they can decide who can see the video. Users also need to write a description for the live video before starting to film it. People will see comments and likes from their camera interface. This feature is a really interesting one and it also is a step closer to virtual reality. The 360-degree live stream is going to get people closer to VR and maybe, more will buy VR headsets like Oculus.

What is your opinion about this feature? Are you going to post 360-degree live streams on Facebook?

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