Monday, April 13, 2015

drag2share: IBM's cognitive computer will help solve your health problems

source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/04/13/ibm-watson-health-cloud/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

IBM's Watson Health Cloud in the abstract

Just because you can collect a lot of information about your health doesn't mean that you can easily make sense of it. How do you connect the dots between, say, your smartwatch and your medical records? IBM thinks it has the answer: it's launching Watson Health Cloud, a platform that uses the company's cognitive computer system to help companies and doctors make decisions based on data that might otherwise prove daunting. They could recommend a change in your prescription, for example, or outline your surgery recovery plans.

Appropriately, IBM is teaming up with a handful of companies to both scoop up more data and provide those all-important answers. If you're using iOS gear and the Apple Watch, the info you collect in HealthKit and ResearchKit can help Watson with decisions; Johnson & Johnson is helping with a coaching system for surgery, and Medtronic is working on extra-personalized diabetes treatment. Don't be surprised if your physicians ask a machine for advice the next time you're faced with a complicated health problem.

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Posted by Augustine at 6:33 PM

Manfrotto turns your iPad into a giant DSLR remote

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/04/13/manfrotto-digital-director/

Manfrotto's Digital Director

Manfrotto isn't just content with making tripods and backpacks for your camera -- it wants to improve the camera itself. The gear designer has unveiled the Digital Director, an adapter that turns your iPad into a remote controller for Canon and Nikon DSLRs. It's not wireless like its biggest rival, the CamRanger, but it still gives you a giant viewfinder and control over virtually every facet of your shot, from the aperture to manual focusing. Think of it as a conventional remote control app that doesn't require lugging a full-fledged computer to your photo shoots. Be ready to pay for that portability, however. The Digital Director will cost $500 when it ships in June, so it's clearly meant more for pro work than augmenting your hobbyist photography.

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Via: SlashGear

Source: Resource Online

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Posted by Augustine at 6:32 PM

Recommended Reading: The internet can't handle streaming big TV events

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/04/11/recommended-reading-4-11-15/

Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read.

Wisconsin v Duke

The Internet's Clearly Not Ready to Stream Big TV Events
by Brian Barrett
Wired

Last weekend's NCAA Final Four provided some of the most-watched college basketball matchups in years -- unless, of course, your Sling TV stream didn't work. The newfangled internet TV service buckled under the weight of a wave of new subscribers looking to opt in for the big games. It was just the latest in a line of live-event-related issues web streamers encountered, and it shows that maybe major television events aren't ready to be viewed on the web. So, Sunday's Game of Thrones premiere should be... interesting.

There's a Massive, Illicit Bust of Edward Snowden Stuck to a War Monument in Brooklyn
Bucky Turco, Animal New York

... or at least there was before it was taken down. It was replaced by a hologram after that, as artists wanted to pay tribute to the NSA whistleblower by installing the statue before dawn Monday morning.

The Inside Story of the Civil War for the Soul of NBC News
Bryan Burrough, Vanity Fair

It turns out Brian Williams' recent admission is only the latest in a string of incidents for NBC News since Comcast took over in 2011. This piece from Vanity Fair chronicles those events.

Life After Prey 2: How Human Head Recovered from Cancellation
James Batchelor, Develop

Prey 2 would've been the biggest release for Human Head Studios, but Bethesda pulled the plug on the project before it was finished, putting an end to years of work.

Want to See Domestic Spying's Future? Follow the Drug War
Andy Greenberg, Wired

If you think the National Security Agency's surveillance tactics are something, the DEA was spying first. Its phone-collection program started years prior, inspiring the NSA's data-gathering we've heard so much about.

[Photo credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images]

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Posted by Augustine at 5:09 AM

drag2share: Amazon's web services are smart enough to make predictions

source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/04/11/amazon-machine-learning/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

Amazon's Jeff Bezos at the Fire Phone event

You no longer have to run a tech giant (or work in a lab) to take advantage of learning computers. Amazon has launched a machine learning feature for Web Services that lets any developer use this computer intelligence to make predictions. Instead of having to sift through data yourself and spend ages fine-tuning algorithms, you let Amazon's servers comb through the info and create predictions largely on their own. This potentially saves you a ton of time, especially if you're running a small outfit that can't afford a lot of servers -- Amazon claims that it took 20 minutes to solve one problem that previously took 45 days.

The service could make a big impact on more than just humdrum business tasks. You should see more games that can anticipate what you'd like to play next, and stores that are better at taking your feedback or suggesting new things to buy. Don't be surprised if your favorite apps and sites are noticeably smarter in the near future.

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Posted by Augustine at 5:08 AM

The PC market is shrinking again as companies stop upgrading

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/04/12/pc-market-share-shrinking-again/

ASUS UX305

It's not a good time to be a PC maker... especially if you cater to the corporate crowd. Both Gartner and IDC estimate that the computer market shrank between 5.2 to 6.7 percent in the first quarter of 2015, in part because many companies stopped upgrading from Windows XP. Simply put, many of the businesses that wanted to modernize already have -- they're not propping up the market like they were for a good chunk of 2014. IDC goes so far as to claim that this was the lowest volume of PC shipments since the start of 2009, which is no mean feat given that the world was still reeling from an economic collapse at the time.

Still, there are a few silver linings on this dark cloud. Lenovo is still on the rise, and ASUS is enjoying a resurgence that's helped in part by its larger Windows tablets (at least, according to Gartner). However, the situation is still gloomy for Acer, Dell and most other system builders. The analyst groups are hopeful that the launch of Windows 10 will spur a recovery, but that doesn't happen until the summer -- the next few months could be particularly bumpy.

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Source: Gartner, IDC

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Posted by Augustine at 5:07 AM

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