Microsoft’s ambitious goal: holograms that persist everywhere
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Microsoft’s ambitious goal: holograms that persist everywhere
NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine is currently the public face of the agency’s newly named lunar initiative, Artemis, which aims to put the first woman on the surface of the Moon by 2024. On Monday, he revealed that NASA wants an extra $1.6 billion for next year to accelerate the project, but questions still remain about the ultimate cost of the program and the nitty-gritty details on how NASA astronauts will actually get to the lunar surface.
NASA already has an overall outline for how this initiative will take shape, but now Bridenstine has the daunting task of securing funds to jump-start the ambitious project. The agency plans to build a space station called the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, which will serve as an outpost for...
George Méliès’ 1902 film A Trip to the Moon has been watched by countless film and science fiction buffs. Besides its innovative (for the time) effects, one reason for its enduring popularity is humanity’s fascination with the idea of space travel. Today, however, we have an advantage that has nothing to do with special effects. We can watch real rockets go to space.
Most of us aren’t aware of how many launches take place each year. Besides flights to and from the International Space Station (ISS), there are satellites being sent into orbit, exploratory craft, and new technologies being tested. And because current technologies allow us to view the process to a greater extent than ever before (with more actual footage and less reliance on...
It’ll have you looking for trouble
Microsoft’s ambitious goal: holograms that persist everywhere
NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine is currently the public face of the agency’s newly named lunar initiative, Artemis, which aims to put the first woman on the surface of the Moon by 2024. On Monday, he revealed that NASA wants an extra $1.6 billion for next year to accelerate the project, but questions still remain about the ultimate cost of the program and the nitty-gritty details on how NASA astronauts will actually get to the lunar surface.
NASA already has an overall outline for how this initiative will take shape, but now Bridenstine has the daunting task of securing funds to jump-start the ambitious project. The agency plans to build a space station called the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, which will serve as an outpost for...
George Méliès’ 1902 film A Trip to the Moon has been watched by countless film and science fiction buffs. Besides its innovative (for the time) effects, one reason for its enduring popularity is humanity’s fascination with the idea of space travel. Today, however, we have an advantage that has nothing to do with special effects. We can watch real rockets go to space.
Most of us aren’t aware of how many launches take place each year. Besides flights to and from the International Space Station (ISS), there are satellites being sent into orbit, exploratory craft, and new technologies being tested. And because current technologies allow us to view the process to a greater extent than ever before (with more actual footage and less reliance on...
It’ll have you looking for trouble
Last month, Verizon and AT&T made official something you’ve probably been aware of for a while: American smartphone owners are upgrading a lot less than they used to. In fact, they’re hitting record lows at the two biggest US carriers, with people apparently more content than ever to keep hold of their existing device. This is a global trend, as the smartphone market is reaching maturity and saturation in many developed nations, and yet it’s most pronounced in the United States for a few reasons particular to the country.
If you were to ask me to name the most exciting phones of 2019, top of my mind would be Huawei’s P30 Pro, with its exotic array of cameras and unmatched low-light photography, closely...
The site’s perennial army-green design is being revamped
Last month, Verizon and AT&T made official something you’ve probably been aware of for a while: American smartphone owners are upgrading a lot less than they used to. In fact, they’re hitting record lows at the two biggest US carriers, with people apparently more content than ever to keep hold of their existing device. This is a global trend, as the smartphone market is reaching maturity and saturation in many developed nations, and yet it’s most pronounced in the United States for a few reasons particular to the country.
If you were to ask me to name the most exciting phones of 2019, top of my mind would be Huawei’s P30 Pro, with its exotic array of cameras and unmatched low-light photography, closely...
The site’s perennial army-green design is being revamped
Artificial intelligence isn’t creating fake photos and videos — it can do fake voices, too.
Up until now, these voices have been noticeably stilted and robotic, but researchers from AI startup Dessa have created what is by far the most convincing voice clone we’ve ever heard — perfectly mimicking the sound of MMA-commentator-turned-podcaster Joe Rogan.
Listen to clips of Dessa’s AI Rogan below, or take a quiz on the company’s site to see if you can spot the difference between real Rogan and faux Rogan. (It’s surprisingly hard! )
In terms of making a convincing fake, Dessa chose its target well. Rogan is probably the world’s most popular podcaster, and has recorded more than 1,300 episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience to date. That...
We all know that communication depends on more than just what you say. How you say it is often just as important. That’s why Google’s latest prototype AI translator doesn’t just translate the words coming out of your mouth, but also the tone and cadence of your voice.
The system is called Translatotron, and Google’s researchers go into detail on how it works in a recent blog post. They don’t say that Translatotron will be coming to commercial products any time soon, but that will probably happen in time. As Google’s head of translation explained to The Verge earlier this year, the company’s goal at the moment is to add more nuance to its translation tools, creating more lifelike speech.
You can hear what this sounds like in the audio...
On Monday I noted here a growing consensus among Democratic presidential candidates that Big Tech in general, and Facebook specifically, should perhaps be broken up. Sen. Kamala Harris said “we have to seriously take a look” at breaking up Facebook. Joe Biden said a breakup of Big Tech is “something we should take a really hard look at.” And you’re likely familiar with the plan of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who led the pack in this regard.
Today, three more developments on that front.
One, Sen. Bernie Sanders has now signed on to Warren’s plan. Makena Kelly reports in The Verge:
On Capitol Hill yesterday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a Democratic frontrunner, told Politico that he supports his colleague and presidential competitor Sen....
Artificial intelligence isn’t creating fake photos and videos — it can do fake voices, too.
Up until now, these voices have been noticeably stilted and robotic, but researchers from AI startup Dessa have created what is by far the most convincing voice clone we’ve ever heard — perfectly mimicking the sound of MMA-commentator-turned-podcaster Joe Rogan.
Listen to clips of Dessa’s AI Rogan below, or take a quiz on the company’s site to see if you can spot the difference between real Rogan and faux Rogan. (It’s surprisingly hard! )
In terms of making a convincing fake, Dessa chose its target well. Rogan is probably the world’s most popular podcaster, and has recorded more than 1,300 episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience to date. That...
We all know that communication depends on more than just what you say. How you say it is often just as important. That’s why Google’s latest prototype AI translator doesn’t just translate the words coming out of your mouth, but also the tone and cadence of your voice.
The system is called Translatotron, and Google’s researchers go into detail on how it works in a recent blog post. They don’t say that Translatotron will be coming to commercial products any time soon, but that will probably happen in time. As Google’s head of translation explained to The Verge earlier this year, the company’s goal at the moment is to add more nuance to its translation tools, creating more lifelike speech.
You can hear what this sounds like in the audio...
On Monday I noted here a growing consensus among Democratic presidential candidates that Big Tech in general, and Facebook specifically, should perhaps be broken up. Sen. Kamala Harris said “we have to seriously take a look” at breaking up Facebook. Joe Biden said a breakup of Big Tech is “something we should take a really hard look at.” And you’re likely familiar with the plan of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who led the pack in this regard.
Today, three more developments on that front.
One, Sen. Bernie Sanders has now signed on to Warren’s plan. Makena Kelly reports in The Verge:
On Capitol Hill yesterday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a Democratic frontrunner, told Politico that he supports his colleague and presidential competitor Sen....
Amazon lead a $575 million funding round in the UK-based food delivery company Deliveroo, continuing its efforts to diversify into the takeaway market. In a press release Deliveroo said it would use the money to expand its UK engineering team, expand its delivery reach, and continue to develop new products such as its delivery-only kitchens. Deliveroo currently operates in 500 towns and cities across 14 countries and territories.
The investment will intensify Amazon’s competition with rival tech company Uber and its Uber Eats service. The Financial Times reported last year that Uber was interested in buying Deliveroo outright, but that talks stalled after the two companies failed to agree on a valuation. Sky News reports that Amazon’s...
Amazon lead a $575 million funding round in the UK-based food delivery company Deliveroo, continuing its efforts to diversify into the takeaway market. In a press release Deliveroo said it would use the money to expand its UK engineering team, expand its delivery reach, and continue to develop new products such as its delivery-only kitchens. Deliveroo currently operates in 500 towns and cities across 14 countries and territories.
The investment will intensify Amazon’s competition with rival tech company Uber and its Uber Eats service. The Financial Times reported last year that Uber was interested in buying Deliveroo outright, but that talks stalled after the two companies failed to agree on a valuation. Sky News reports that Amazon’s...
Facebook is “working to restore” a number of groups that were erroneously removed or affected by “sabotage,” according to the company. A spokesperson told The Verge the social network “removed several groups from Facebook after detecting content that violated our policies.” After investigation, it discovered content had been “posted to sabotage legitimate, non-violating groups.” Facebook is working to restore any groups affected and to “prevent this from happening again.”
The situation allegedly began on May 13th. A popular meme account on Facebook known as Crossovers Nobody Asked For (CNAF), which boasts more than 500,000 members, was suddenly shut down. The group’s administrators tried to corral its users into a new group, “Crossovers...
Former Army intelligence analyst and whistleblower Chelsea Manning is being sent back to jail today, following the arrival of a new grand jury in an ongoing WikiLeaks case for which Manning was ordered to testify and refused.
Manning spent 62 days in jail over the course of the last two and half months for her initial refusal, and she only got out last week on a technicality related to the expiration of the prior grand jury’s term. Now with a new grand jury in place for the case, which is under the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, US District Judge Anthony Trenga has again found Manning in civil contempt for refusing to testify and says more jail time may sway her decision.
However, Manning was adamant that...
Whenever a US aircraft crashes, there’s a quick response: a rescue team is dispatched to the crash site to secure the wreckage and recover the pilot, but in some cases, that can be a dangerous proposition that puts additional personnel at risk of accident or enemy fire. The Air Force wants to avoid that — or at the very least, add a new tool to its disposal when it comes to rescuing the downed pilot. According to a solicitation from the Air Force Research Laboratory spotted by Aviation Week (via Task & Purpose), one possibility would be an autonomous aircraft that could potentially fly people away from a crash site.
The solicitation is called Personnel Recovery / Transport Vehicle, and was issued on May 2nd. It broadly sketches out what...
Many of the CW’s original series have found new audiences through a long-standing streaming agreement with Netflix, but that deal is coming to an end.
Netflix’s agreement with The CW’s parent companies, Warner Bros. and CBS, ensured that CW series like Riverdale, Supernatural, The Flash, and Arrow automatically ended up on Netflix after a season’s initial run on network television. The deal was first signed in 2011 and re-upped in 2016, but the network doesn’t plan to renew it when the contract expires this spring, The Verge can confirm. That means new shows, such as Batwoman, Nancy Drew, and Riverdale spinoff Katy Keene won’t automatically end up on Netflix.
Still, many beloved CW series will remain on Netflix, according to the...
Facebook is shutting down Direct, a standalone camera-first messaging app used to send Instagram direct messages. “In the coming month, we’ll no longer be supporting the Direct app,” read a message in the app announcing the shutdown. “Your conversations will automatically move over to Instagram, so you don’t need to do anything.” The announcement was first spotted by social media commentator Matt Navarra.
First launched in December 2017, Direct was an apparent attempt by Instagram to take on Snapchat’s core functionality. The app launched directly into its camera, complete with plenty of Snapchat-style filters, but you could also swipe down from the top of the screen to type messages to your Instagram contacts. Direct was the second...
Tesla is pushing out a software update to all Model S and X cars following two recent high-profile battery fires. The automaker said it’s issuing the update “out of an abundance of caution.”
The over-the-air update will change some of the settings in the cars’ battery management software related to charging and thermal controls, though the company didn’t go into further detail. (The software of Tesla’s battery management system is one of the company’s most closely guarded trade secrets.)
The software update comes after some highly publicized fires in Asia. In April, an older Model S seemingly spontaneously combusted while sitting unused in a parking structure in Shanghai. The fire was caught by security cameras, and the footage quickly...
Xiaomi Redmi Note 7S is coming to India May 20, as was confirmed by none other than India MD Manu Kumar Jain. In the recent past, Xiaomi has also talked about a Snapdragon 730 phone and has even trolled OnePlus with a Flagship Killer 2 launch promise, and this overzealous marketing might have sky-rocketed your […]
The post Xiaomi Redmi Note 7S Could Be Rebranded Chinese Redmi Note 7 appeared first on Smartprix Bytes.
Asus has introduced its high-end phone Zenfone 6 (review) with flagship-grade specs and a fancy flip camera module. The Zenfone 5Z (review) successor premiered in a press event in Spain. It is placed at a price turf from where the OnePlus moved on. We have seen the rotating cameras in Samsung Galaxy A80, Snapdragon 855 […]
The post Asus Zenfone 6 brings Snapdragon 855, 5000mAh battery, Flip-top camera and more appeared first on Smartprix Bytes.
Facebook is “working to restore” a number of groups that were erroneously removed or affected by “sabotage,” according to the company. A spokesperson told The Verge the social network “removed several groups from Facebook after detecting content that violated our policies.” After investigation, it discovered content had been “posted to sabotage legitimate, non-violating groups.” Facebook is working to restore any groups affected and to “prevent this from happening again.”
The situation allegedly began on May 13th. A popular meme account on Facebook known as Crossovers Nobody Asked For (CNAF), which boasts more than 500,000 members, was suddenly shut down. The group’s administrators tried to corral its users into a new group, “Crossovers...
Former Army intelligence analyst and whistleblower Chelsea Manning is being sent back to jail today, following the arrival of a new grand jury in an ongoing WikiLeaks case for which Manning was ordered to testify and refused.
Manning spent 62 days in jail over the course of the last two and half months for her initial refusal, and she only got out last week on a technicality related to the expiration of the prior grand jury’s term. Now with a new grand jury in place for the case, which is under the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, US District Judge Anthony Trenga has again found Manning in civil contempt for refusing to testify and says more jail time may sway her decision.
However, Manning was adamant that...
Whenever a US aircraft crashes, there’s a quick response: a rescue team is dispatched to the crash site to secure the wreckage and recover the pilot, but in some cases, that can be a dangerous proposition that puts additional personnel at risk of accident or enemy fire. The Air Force wants to avoid that — or at the very least, add a new tool to its disposal when it comes to rescuing the downed pilot. According to a solicitation from the Air Force Research Laboratory spotted by Aviation Week (via Task & Purpose), one possibility would be an autonomous aircraft that could potentially fly people away from a crash site.
The solicitation is called Personnel Recovery / Transport Vehicle, and was issued on May 2nd. It broadly sketches out what...
Many of the CW’s original series have found new audiences through a long-standing streaming agreement with Netflix, but that deal is coming to an end.
Netflix’s agreement with The CW’s parent companies, Warner Bros. and CBS, ensured that CW series like Riverdale, Supernatural, The Flash, and Arrow automatically ended up on Netflix after a season’s initial run on network television. The deal was first signed in 2011 and re-upped in 2016, but the network doesn’t plan to renew it when the contract expires this spring, The Verge can confirm. That means new shows, such as Batwoman, Nancy Drew, and Riverdale spinoff Katy Keene won’t automatically end up on Netflix.
Still, many beloved CW series will remain on Netflix, according to the...
Facebook is shutting down Direct, a standalone camera-first messaging app used to send Instagram direct messages. “In the coming month, we’ll no longer be supporting the Direct app,” read a message in the app announcing the shutdown. “Your conversations will automatically move over to Instagram, so you don’t need to do anything.” The announcement was first spotted by social media commentator Matt Navarra.
First launched in December 2017, Direct was an apparent attempt by Instagram to take on Snapchat’s core functionality. The app launched directly into its camera, complete with plenty of Snapchat-style filters, but you could also swipe down from the top of the screen to type messages to your Instagram contacts. Direct was the second...
Tesla is pushing out a software update to all Model S and X cars following two recent high-profile battery fires. The automaker said it’s issuing the update “out of an abundance of caution.”
The over-the-air update will change some of the settings in the cars’ battery management software related to charging and thermal controls, though the company didn’t go into further detail. (The software of Tesla’s battery management system is one of the company’s most closely guarded trade secrets.)
The software update comes after some highly publicized fires in Asia. In April, an older Model S seemingly spontaneously combusted while sitting unused in a parking structure in Shanghai. The fire was caught by security cameras, and the footage quickly...
What a difference a few weeks can make. Last month, I came to Chicago for the launch of Verizon’s 5G network, which is now live both here and in Minneapolis. The inaugural 5G device was the Moto Z3 equipped with Motorola’s 5G MotoMod, and my experience — and that of many other tech journalists — was less than positive: 5G coverage was exceedingly difficult to find. Speeds were noticeably faster than LTE, but not wickedly so.
But today marks the release of Samsung’s $1,400 Galaxy S10 5G, which will briefly be a Verizon exclusive before moving to other carriers. And now that there’s a real, proper 5G phone on its network, Verizon has ramped things up. Coverage remains extremely limited: it varies widely and block by block.
But when you...
OnePlus got there first, but we have a series of Snapdragon 855 phones lined up for India. The next is Asus’ Zenfone 6 that has an uninterrupted display made possible with a unique take on flip camera. By now the term “flagship killer” has been over abused, so let’s just say that Zenfone 6 is […]
The post Asus Zenfone 6 First Impressions and Hands-on Review appeared first on Smartprix Bytes.
Earlier tonight, Variety not only broke the news that Robert Pattinson has been cast in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, but also damn near broke the Internet, too.
As expected, everyone and their grandmother has an opinion on why the former Twilight star will or won’t make a good Dark Knight, but if you ask us, we’re actually a fan of this. For one, Pattinson is a genuinely talented actor, and if you don’t believe us, just go watch his performance in David Cronenberg’s excellent Cosmopolis. Not only that, but he’s definitely got the right look for a young Bruce Wayne/Batman and perhaps most exciting of all, he’s such a left-field, unexpected choice that he’ll surely bring something fresh and different to the part.
That’s not to say that every actor before him has done the same thing, but it’s not hard to see Pattinson offering up one of the most unique takes on Batman yet. And from the reactions over on Twitter, it seems that the majority of people are pretty excited to see what he can do with the role. Not everyone, but most, and for a sampling of what they’re saying, you can see below.
Interesting….
I’m not mad.
Interesting #TheBatman https://t.co/EX4mAjkFzG
— Just JamieTee (@JustJamietee) May 17, 2019
Best news I’ve gotten in a while, god I’m PUMPED. #TheBatman https://t.co/eIpRKXOh7R
— Gage Roberts (@gageywavy) May 17, 2019
My reaction when Robert Pattinson became the new Batman.. pic.twitter.com/elpJXdY1sA
— Bon Bon (@LilBDiggitty) May 17, 2019
Y’all that are mad about Robert Pattinson being casted as Batman clearly haven’t seen his work post Twilight…. pic.twitter.com/rA6m5KI3k0
— John (@johne1998) May 17, 2019
Everyone including me: "No one thought Heath Ledger would be a good Joker and he was the best Joker we've ever seen. Maybe Robert Pattinson can actually pull off the role of Batman. We should give him a chance."
Me: pic.twitter.com/whUn7bW7F8
— Professor Snapegoat (@TroyJustin) May 17, 2019
I have just received leaked test footage of Robert Pattinson in costume as Batman pic.twitter.com/AChWHWyXGD
— ⎊ Harley: The Kid From Iron Man 3 ⎊ (@Lunwi88) May 17, 2019
Robert Pattinson is high key a good choice for Batman. He's a great dramatic actor, and if you've been paying attention to his indie shit lately, he's been off the charts.
— Bruno Marx (@liveonthatswing) May 17, 2019
When you hop on the internet and find out Robert Pattinson is the new Batman. #Batman pic.twitter.com/n6xgpbgKgH
— Mitchell Underwood (@MitchBUnderwood) May 17, 2019
I look forward to Robert Pattinson playing Bruce Wayne but I don’t think anything will top Christian Bale as Batman and Heath Ledger as the Joker. pic.twitter.com/i7xm4apMVD
— Cameron Grant (@coolcam101) May 17, 2019
Michael Keaton, Heath Ledger, Grant Gustin..
If we've learned ANYTHING from unique superhero castings, it's that immediate reactions are often wrong.
Robert Pattinson is a bold choice for Bruce Wayne & I can't wait to see him in action.
(This is coming from a lifelong Batman fan) pic.twitter.com/fL6pjc1obX— Michael Patterson (@michaelp93) May 17, 2019
Robert Pattinson as the new Batman. I'm into it. pic.twitter.com/AxfhEZHMeL
— Kris Pradipta (@pradpradprad) May 17, 2019
Robert Pattinson is going to be the next Batman.
Me: pic.twitter.com/wKWz8Ol1yx
— Warden of the North (@LordChozen) May 17, 2019
LET'S GOOOO. Robert Pattinson is one of the best working actors today. Anyone who replies negatively to this news is still stuck on the 10 year old Twilight series and hasn't watched any of his work since. #TheBatman https://t.co/e4UjgGaZOH
— Josue Hernandez (@videojosue) May 17, 2019
Cedric Diggory fulfilling his destiny https://t.co/wdElBLvpAl
— lol Giants. (@Capace17) May 17, 2019
ROBERT PATTINSON AS BATMAN ARMY RISE!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/BsaR56PLmp
— daniel (@slayonetta) May 17, 2019
Dammit Matt Reeves, you were supposed to make a Batman movie, not a Man-Bat movie.
(vampire joke I'll see myself out) https://t.co/A7r8JqQ6c5
— Carli Velocci (@velocciraptor) May 17, 2019
the joker: walks into a room
robert pattinson as batman: pic.twitter.com/ITf9sUwCmx— loki's gay rights over joe russo's gay rights (@pussyinduIgence) May 17, 2019
So, that petition to fire Robert Pattinson from the Batman role should be posted in a few minutes.
— Michael Ruiz (@TheMichaelRuiz) May 17, 2019
there’s gonna be a million Twilight jokes over the next 48 hours, but let’s be honest
Batman: Twilight
Batman: New Moon
Batman: Eclipse
Batman: Breaking Dawnall totally believable subtitles no one would bat an eye at (there’s your goddamn joke)
— (((World’s Most Muted Man))) (@AnAndyPaul) May 17, 2019
I’m excited for Robert Pattinson to play Batman but even more excited that the baby from Twilight is playing Robin pic.twitter.com/uUC3RXzWiG
— Michael Tannenbaum (@iamTannenbaum) May 17, 2019
Of course, there are thousands more where those came from, but as we mentioned above, the general consensus surrounding Pattinson’s casting seems to be excitement mixed with a little cautious optimism. And given how unexpected this is, that’s perfectly understandable.
But it seems Warner Bros. has indeed found their man and now, we’ll all wait patiently to see just what Pattinson, director Matt Reeves and the studio have cooked up for The Batman, which will enter production later this year and be with us on June 25th, 2021.