Back at MWC 2016, Sony sought to redefine the Xperia brand and, in doing so, start a new generation of Xperia smartphones. Retiring the “Xperia Z” line (and soon the C and M names as well), Sony introduced the new Xperia X family with an increased focus on mobile photography as well as design, on top of the Xperia’s much … Continue reading
AMD has always been the cheaper alternative to Intel’s processors, but with its latest generation of mobile chips, it’s also aiming to close the performance gap. Announced at Computex today, the new high-end FX chips are 56 percent faster compared to…
For its upcoming Polaris GPUs, AMD doesn’t just want to entice hardcore gamers. Instead, it’s aiming to bring virtual reality-capable PCs to just about everyone with its new Radeon RX480 video card, which will retail for a mere $199. The RX480 is cap…
At Computex 2016, AMD has just launched its latest A-Series PC processors with integrated graphics. Known under the codename “Bristol Ridge”, the new line of products has been designed with a TDP (thermal design point) of 15W and tuned to deliver a much higher performance than previous generations (there’s a 35W version too). In fact, AMD has been pointing out that it made a 56% CPU performance improvement since 2014 when its “Kaveri” design came out.
As usual, AMD A-Series processors are finely tuned to handle tasks such as video encode and decode. This is no different this time. With H.264 and HEVC supported in hardware up to 4K, AMD can provide excellent video playback, along with an efficient energy usage.
The tip of the spear for this new A-Series is the AMD A12 processor. AMD positions it directly against Intel’s Core i5 series (i5-6200U used by AMD for comparisons) and claims that the A12 performs significantly better, with 31% higher performance in games. While independent benchmarks aren’t available yet, it’s fair to assume that DX12 will work quite well for AMD in those comparisons.
Just below the A12, the AMD A9 was designed to compete with Intel’s Core i3 series (i3-6100U used for performance comparisons). When comparing against its previous generation products (A8), this new AMD A9 has 52% better CPU performance, and 36% faster graphics, according to AMD.
All in all, AMD continues with a known strategy: use performance/watt as a metric (especially in graphics-related applications), along with an aggressive pricing, against Intel’s Core i3/i5 lineup. So far, AMD has announced one design win: its Gen7 APUs will be used in the HP ENVY x360, which is positioned as a premium laptop.
AMD A-Series Processor Gen7 Launched , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
At Google I/O recently, the company took the wraps off Google Assistant, a new AI-powered assistant feature that would be making its way into products like Google Home and their new Allo messaging app. So far Google Assistant looks and sounds promising, and Google is hoping to enhance it further by giving it a backstory.
According to a report from Fast Company, it has been revealed that Google has tasked Ryan Germick (who leads the Google Doodle team) and Emma Coats (a freelance artist who has worked at Pixar) to create a backstory for their assistant. The idea is that by giving the assistant a backstory, it would make interacting with the AI more enjoyable.
Since Google designed the new assistant to be more conversational, injecting some stories and a bit of humor would make it feel less like a robot, plus it would also encourage users to interact with it more. Coats likens this to how we tend to naturally become friends with people we spend a lot of time with.
“You become friends with people because you spend a lot of time with them. There have been studies that show that it doesn’t necessarily matter if you instantly click with someone. One thing we do is to make the character as entertaining as we possibly can, so that you want to spend time with it.”
Google Wants To Create A Backstory For Its AI Assistant , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
There have several criticisms lobbied at Apple Music, at least compared to its competitors like Spotify. One of the criticisms was that it was hard to discover new music, and that the UI was confusing and could do with some reworking. That being said, the music platform has recently launched a new feature called “Breaking”.
Essentially what “Breaking” is about is a set of playlists that will contain new and popular music from your favorite genres. This means that if you’re into K-pop, expect to find a playlist that contains the latest and most popular songs currently rocking the K-pop scene, with each playlist running for about 2 hours worth of songs.
That being said, as it stands it appears that the Breaking playlists feature is only live in certain regions around the world, so if you don’t see it yet, don’t worry as we’re sure eventually it will make its way to you. In the meantime, recent rumors have suggested that Apple Music could be undergoing a huge revamp.
Like we said earlier, the UI of Apple Music has been criticized for being confusing and come WWDC, Apple is said to be introducing a revamp that will hopefully make the service easier and more intuitive to use.
Apple Music Gains ‘Breaking’ Playlists , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Last year it was announced that Microsoft’s apps would come preinstalled on several Android devices, such as those offered by Samsung. Now it looks like for those of you guys planning to buy Xiaomi phones, it seems that Xiaomi devices will come preinstalled with Microsoft’s apps in the future as well.
This follows a deal in which Xiaomi agreed to purchase 1,500 patents from Microsoft. According to the report from The Wall Street Journal, “As part of the agreement, Xiaomi will preload Microsoft Office and Skype—the video-chat app owned by Microsoft—onto some of its devices, including the Mi 5, Mi Max, Redmi Note 3 and Mi 4S.”
However this is more than just beefing up the offerings and features of their phones. Xiaomi’s SVP Wang Xiang revealed that by purchasing these patents, it will allow the company to work towards a wider release of their products, which for the most part has been limited to the Asian region. The company did state before that building a patent portfolio was one of the steps they were taking to bring their phones to the US.
This deal is rather interesting as Microsoft recently announced that they would be scaling back on their operations in the consumer smartphone business, but at the same time by selling and licensing their patents, they ensure that they are still relevant and essential in the mobile scene.
Xiaomi To Start Preinstalling Microsoft’s Apps On Its Phones , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Book Review – Jackie K Cooper
FLIGHT PATTERNS by Karen White
Karen White does not believe in keeping things simple. Her novels are full of complicated relationships and ominous occurrences. Her new novel FLIGHT PATTERNS is a good example of this style. In it every single character has some complexity as is the case in real life. Plus there is a family mystery foreshadowed in the early pages of the book that continues to loom until the very end when all is explained. Because of these factors FLIGHT PATTERNS is a book that is hard to put down until the last secret is uncovered and the last mystery resolved.
Georgia Chambers is living in New Orleans and working as antiques evaluator. She is in her thirties, single and totally independent. One day her boss introduces her to James Graf, a New Yorker who is wanting some of his grandmother’s china evaluated. He has brought with him a cup and saucer that shows the unique patterning on the china. Georgia is immediately struck by the thought she has seen this pattern before on pieces located in her family home.
She decides to make a trip back to Apalachicola, Florida and see if she can find the pieces. This will help her set a value for James pieces. In an awkward moment in the story James insists he should accompany her to her home. Georgia has not been back to her home place in ten years and has had little if any communication with her grandfather, mother, sister or niece who live there. She tries to dissuade James from accompanying her but her boss is on his side so she agrees.
Once home old conflicts with her sister Maisy raise their heads. She also has to deal with her mother Birdie who does not speak. Plus there are instances in Georgia’s past she does not want to face but at every turn they seem to be waiting to be brought up.
White focuses on the complications family relationships can have. She draws a bead on the lack of communication that arises when two people are unwilling to meet each other half way. And she shines a light on dark secrets that can corrode our souls and decay our lives. These are not simple things to write about, much less create.
The true beauty of White’s writing comes in her creation of characters. Readers don’t just meet these people, they get to know them pretty much inside out. It is as if you could head to Apalachicola and find their house and them living there. If the Apalachicola Chamber of Commerce hasn’t sent a letter of appreciation to Ms. White they should do it now. She makes Apalachicola seem just a step under Paradise.
This book is not a simple summer read. It takes concentration and effort. Still it is one of the most satisfying stories you will read all summer long. The payoff is that good, and the pleasure of White’s words that intense. Somehow White finds these plots and characters in the recesses of her mind and brings them forward in living detail. Let’s hope she continues to do so.
FLIGHT PATTERNS is published by New American Library. It contains 416 pages and sells for $26.00.
Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com
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Courts across the country are grappling with a key question for the information age: When law enforcement asks a company for cellphone records to track location data in an investigation, is that a search under the Fourth Amendment?
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