01 March 2018

How to Make Any App Work With Voice Commands on Android


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What if you could command any app with your voice? Smartphone voice recognition technology—like Siri, Google Assistant, and Cortana—certainly makes life easier. You can ask for directions, perform searches, and text your friends using just your voice. However, did you know it’s possible to make any keyboard-responsive app recognize voice commands? Below, we’ll explore how to do that whether you have an iPhone or Android smartphone. Then, keep reading to learn some of my favorite ways to use voice commands with other apps. Using Google Assistant on Your Android Device Android smartphones already have a built-in voice-powered helper. It’s called...

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Google-Landmarks: A New Dataset and Challenge for Landmark Recognition




Image classification technology has shown remarkable improvement over the past few years, exemplified in part by the Imagenet classification challenge, where error rates continue to drop substantially every year. In order to continue advancing the state of the art in computer vision, many researchers are now putting more focus on fine-grained and instance-level recognition problems – instead of recognizing general entities such as buildings, mountains and (of course) cats, many are designing machine learning algorithms capable of identifying the Eiffel Tower, Mount Fuji or Persian cats. However, a significant obstacle for research in this area has been the lack of large annotated datasets.

Today, we are excited to advance instance-level recognition by releasing Google-Landmarks, the largest worldwide dataset for recognition of human-made and natural landmarks. Google-Landmarks is being released as part of the Landmark Recognition and Landmark Retrieval Kaggle challenges, which will be the focus of the CVPR’18 Landmarks workshop. The dataset contains more than 2 million images depicting 30 thousand unique landmarks from across the world (their geographic distribution is presented below), a number of classes that is ~30x larger than what is available in commonly used datasets. Additionally, to spur research in this field, we are open-sourcing Deep Local Features (DELF), an attentive local feature that we believe is especially suited for this kind of task.

Geographic distribution of landmarks in our dataset.
Landmark recognition presents some noteworthy differences from other problems. For example, even within a large annotated dataset, there might not be much training data available for some of the less popular landmarks. Additionally, since landmarks are generally rigid objects which do not move, the intra-class variation is very small (in other words, a landmark’s appearance does not change that much across different images of it). As a result, variations only arise due to image capture conditions, such as occlusions, different viewpoints, weather and illumination, making this distinct from other image recognition datasets where images of a particular class (such as a dog) can vary much more. These characteristics are also shared with other instance-level recognition problems, such as artwork recognition — so we hope the new dataset can benefit research for other image recognition problems as well.

The two Kaggle challenges provide access to annotated data to help researchers address these problems. The recognition track challenge is to build models that recognize the correct landmark in a dataset of challenging test images, while the retrieval track challenges participants to retrieve images containing the same landmark.

A few examples of images from the Google-Landmarks dataset, including landmarks such as Big Ben, Sacre Coeur Basilica, the rock sculpture of Decebalus and the Megyeri Bridge, among others.
If you plan to be at CVPR this year, we hope you’ll attend the CVPR’18 Landmarks workshop. However, everyone is able to participate in the challenge, and access to the new dataset is available via the Kaggle website. We hope this resource is valuable to your research and we can’t wait to see the ideas you will come up with for recognizing landmarks!

Acknowledgments
Jack Sim, Will Cukierski, Maggie Demkin, Hartwig Adam, Bohyung Han, Shih-Fu Chang, Ondrej Chum, Torsten Sattler, Giorgos Tolias, Xu Zhang, Fernando Brucher, Marco Andreetto, Gursheesh Kour.

Dropbox to add native G Suite integration in new partnership with Google


 It’s been an eventful week for Dropbox coming off its announcement last Friday that it was finally going public, but that doesn’t mean the business stops. The company announced plans to partner with Google today to bring native G Suite integration to Dropbox storage. The fact is that more than 50 percent of Dropbox users have a G Suite account — which includes GMail along… Read More
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Binge-Racing Is the Next Netflix Trend You Should Try


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These days everyone knows about binge-watching. Which is when you watch lots of episodes of your favorite TV show in a row. Why do people choose binge-watching? Because it’s a cheap form of entertainment, it’s fun, and it should help relieve boredom. There are some awesome YouTube channels worth binge-watching, but it’s streaming services such as Netflix that have turned binge-watching into a valid pastime. Binge-watching is now a mainstream activity. However, for those who want to try something new, we’ve got some good news. Binge-racing is the “next big thing”. What Is Binge-Racing? Binge-watching was the hot new trend...

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Graphene-based edible electronics will let you make cereal circuits


 Researchers at the have successfully etched edible circuits onto the surface of food, paving the way for RFID tagged edibles that can help us track food from farm to tummy. The project, which uses something called laser-induced graphene (LIG), is a process that creates a “foam made out of tiny cross-linked graphene flakes” that can carry electricity through carbon-rich products… Read More

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7 Essential LinkedIn Profile Tips for Success in 2018


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LinkedIn is a valuable resource for anyone looking for a job or to expand their professional connections. But if you don’t know how to write a good LinkedIn profile, you won’t be taking full advantage of it. How do you show up in more searches? How do you show up in the right searches? And how do you get more people to take action? These LinkedIn profile tips will help you increase your LinkedIn profile views in 2018. Note that we’re going to skip the basics, like including a professional photo and making sure your information is always up-to-date, and...

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The new Light Phone 2 keeps things basic but adds e-ink and ‘essentials’


 Light is back with a new twist on its anti-smartphone phone. But this time, instead of doing just one thing, the Light Phone 2 does a few, and exists somewhere between the original Light and your overwrought iPhone – though still far closer to the first-generation Light phone overall. The new design features a matte finish e-ink display, which occupies most fo the front face of the… Read More

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The new Light Phone 2 keeps things basic but adds e-ink and ‘essentials’


 Light is back with a new twist on its anti-smartphone phone. But this time, instead of doing just one thing, the Light Phone 2 does a few, and exists somewhere between the original Light and your overwrought iPhone – though still far closer to the first-generation Light phone overall. The new design features a matte finish e-ink display, which occupies most fo the front face of the… Read More

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How to Control Robots With a Game Controller and Arduino


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Arduinos and similar compatible boards are one of the go to devices for DIY tinkerers everywhere. Whether you are a beginner who is just getting started with Arduino or someone who has already been putting them to use in your life, they provide a platform for countless awesome projects. Today we will be exploring a creative way to control a servo using Processing, and an Xbox360 controller. If you are already pretty game development savvy, you might be interested in our Custom Game Controller tutorial, which uses Unity. This tutorial will assume a little prior knowledge, if this is your...

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GoFundMe relaunches nonprofit fundraising site CrowdRise


 After acquiring CrowdRise over a year ago to double down on fundraising for non-profits, GoFundMe is today taking the wraps off a new product that will supercharge the service. CrowdRise by GoFundMe is a new version of the site that signifies the next step of development for GoFundMe, as it starts to work with larger organizations (and by association, larger campaigns and funding totals). It… Read More
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Everything You Need to Know About Apple iTunes Gift Cards


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iTunes is Apple’s marketplace for all things media, software, and entertainment. If you’ve been given an iTunes gift card, you can use it to purchase apps, books, music, movies, and more. If you’re not familiar with iTunes or have never received an iTunes gift card before, you might have a few queries about how to use it and what to buy. Let’s address some of the most common queries in plain English. What Is an iTunes Gift Card? An iTunes gift card is a pre-purchased credit for Apple’s iTunes store. The iTunes store is Apple’s media and software marketplace, which...

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Bullitt is turning smartphones into toolboxes


 Given the fact that we already rely on them for pretty much everything else, why not just go all in and turn our smartphones in to literal toolboxes? Bullitt, the UK-based licensed phone manufacturer behind those Kodak handsets was on hand at Mobile World Congress this week, showing off a pair of super rugged handsets. They’re not for everyone, sure, but in a world where most phones… Read More

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Bullitt is turning smartphones into toolboxes


 Given the fact that we already rely on them for pretty much everything else, why not just go all in and turn our smartphones in to literal toolboxes? Bullitt, the UK-based licensed phone manufacturer behind those Kodak handsets was on hand at Mobile World Congress this week, showing off a pair of super rugged handsets. They’re not for everyone, sure, but in a world where most phones… Read More

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5 Popular Firefox Extensions You Should Remove Right Now


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Extensions add all sorts of new functionality to your browser that it doesn’t have out of the box. While we love add-ons, unfortunately they aren’t all trustworthy. For every productivity-boosting extension, there’s a useless or malicious one that wants to track your habits, spam you with ads, or even hijack your browsing. If you have any of the below Firefox extensions installed, we recommend removing them right away. 1. Web of Trust Web of Trust (WOT) sounds like a great idea in theory. It’s a crowdsourced online reputation service, where users can vote on how trustworthy a site is. In...

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Microsoft Soundscape helps the visually impaired navigate cities


 Microsoft today launched Soundscape, a new iOS app that aims to give people who are blind or visually impaired a greater awareness of their surrounding by using 3D cues. It’s worth stressing that the app isn’t about replacing guide dogs or canes. Instead, it’s all about enriching people’s perception of their surroundings. A guide dog can’t tell you that your… Read More

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Asus’ Zenfone 5 is the king of the MWC iPhone X knockoffs


 Sure, Apple didn’t have any sort of official presence at this year’s MWC, but this was the week the iPhone X really came into its own. The company’s premium flagship was everywhere in spirit, through the design choices from the competition. For some it was the mere legitimization of the notch — for others, the inspiration was a bit more unabashed. With Huawei’s… Read More

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4 Easy Ways to Reset Your Lost Mac Password


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If you’ve lost your Mac password, there’s no need to panic. There are plenty of ways you can regain access to your computer. Many of these methods may require some preventative measures be taken beforehand, but chances are you’ve already done most of these things already just by virtue of how most people use their Mac computers. Method 1: Reset With Your Apple ID On the login screen, click the question mark icon next to the password field. You should see the following message: If you forgot your password, you can reset it using your Apple ID. (If your computer is...

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Is Your Android Battery Healthy? How to Check for Free


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Saving battery life is an important concern for most Android users. But beyond conserving juice in day-to-day use, have you ever thought about preserving the overall life of your phone’s battery? Over time, batteries wear out, as we’ve seen recently with the iPhone slowdown case. They can’t hold a charge like they did when new, so you get less usage even when they’re fully charged. Thus, you might wish to check your phone’s battery health and get some help preserving it. Thankfully, while you can’t do this natively in Android, there’s an app that makes it easy. How to Check...

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Twitter Makes It Easier to Save and Share Tweets


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Twitter has launched new tools that make it much easier to save and share tweets. Saving tweets is getting a whole lot easier thanks to a new feature called Bookmarks, and a new Share option attached to every tweet means sharing is easier than ever. In November 2017, Twitter started testing a new feature dubbed Bookmarks. This was in response to multiple requests from users who were sick of having to Like or DM a tweet to themselves in order to save it for later. And now, three months on, Bookmarks is official. How to Use Twitter Bookmarks Bookmarks is...

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Going public pits Spotify’s suggestions versus everyone


 The secret to Spotify’s public market debut is actually an acquisition it made in 2014. The Echo Nest was powering music recommendations for Beats Music, Rdio, Vevo, and iHeartRadio too before Spotify pulled it out from under them by buying it for a reported $100 million — 90 percent in Spotify equity. That deal paid off big time. Today, in Spotify’s SEC filing to go… Read More

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Apple now relies on Google Cloud Platform and Amazon S3 for iCloud data


 It’s no secret, Apple has been relying on third-party cloud companies for iCloud. And CNBC spotted an interesting tidbit in Apple’s own documents. The company now relies on Amazon S3 and Google Cloud Platform’s storage product to store iCloud data. Back in 2016, CRN reported that Apple signed with Google for cloud storage. But Apple’s document represents the first… Read More
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There’s always a bigger fish


 Hall One at Mobile World Congress – a single space more massive than most conference centers in major cities – contained only a few displays. Although a quarter of the room housed small phone and mobile manufacturers, Huawei controlled the rest, creating a walled-off compound patrolled by women in folk costumes from many lands. The Small World After All jollity stopped at the gates. Read More

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LittleThings blames its shutdown on Facebook algorithm change


littlethings office A recent Facebook algorithm change seems to have claimed a high-profile casualty: LittleThings, a digital publisher focused on inspirational and how-to content for women, which shut down yesterday. I wrote about the company at the beginning of 2016, when it raised debt funding from City National Bank. At the time, it seemed to be flying high, becoming one of the largest lifestyle publishers… Read More
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How to Fix a Slow External Hard Drive in Windows 10


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Plugged your external hard disk drive into your computer and noticed it’s slower than it used to be? If you use the drive regularly, this could be easily explained: perhaps it’s slowing down because it’s old or needs defragging. But if the drive is only occasionally used, and you’ve just spotted the speed issue, there’s a chance it might be related to something else. Could your PC have a virus? Is there a setting in Windows 10 that is slowing things down? Or could the problem be something as simple as changing cables? Let’s find out. Is Your External Hard...

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Spotify plays the long game with Family and Student Plans even as revenue per user drops


 Spotify’s “Family Plan,” a variation of which launched in 2014, as well as its “Student Plan” appear to be driving a significant portion of the company’s growth and improving retention, as the company points to it multiple times in its filing for a direct listing on public markets today. But that also comes at a cost of decreasing the amount of revenue it… Read More

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