May 30
May 30
When people talk about smart homes and smart appliances, most probably imagine smart lighting, smart speakers, or maybe even smart washing machines. Few might think of connected refrigerators and fewer will probably think of ovens and microwaves. Yet that is exactly the kind of future that GE Appliances is trying to push with its Wi-Fi enabled appliances, including microwaves that … Continue reading
May 30
Science publisher IEEE bans Huawei but says trade rules will have ‘minimal impact’ on members
Posted in: Today's ChiliThe IEEE’s ban on Huawei following new trade restrictions in the United States has sent shock waves through the global academic circles. The organization responded saying the impact of the trade policy will have limited effects on its members, but it’s hard at this point to appease those who have long hailed it as an open platform for scientists and professors worldwide to collaborate.
Earlier this week, the New York-headquartered Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers blocked Huawei employees from being reviewers or editors for its peer-review process, according to screenshots of an email sent to its editors that first circulated in the Chinese media.
The IEEE later confirmed the ban in a statement issued on Wednesday, saying it “complies with U.S. government regulations which restrict the ability of the listed Huawei companies and their employees to participate in certain activities that are not generally open to the public. This includes certain aspects of the publication peer review and editorial process.”
In mid-May, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security added Huawei and its affiliates to its “Entity List,” effectively barring U.S. firms from selling technology to Huawei without government approval.
It’s unclear what makes peer review at the IEEE a technology export, but the science association wrote in its email to editors that violation “may have severe legal implications.”
Whilst it’s registered in New York, the IEEE bills itself as a “non-political” and “global” community aiming to “foster technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity.”
Despite its removal of Huawei scientists from paper vetting, the IEEE assured that its compliance with U.S. trade restrictions should have “minimal impact” on its members around the world. It further added that Huawei and its employees can continue to participate in other activities as a member, including accessing the IEEE digital library; submitting technical papers for publication; presenting at IEEE-sponsored conferences; and accepting IEEE awards.
As members of its standard-setting body, Huawei employees can also continue to exercise their voting rights, attend standards development meetings, submit proposals and comment in public discussions on new standards.
A number of Chinese professors have reprimanded the IEEE’s decision, flagging the danger of letting politics meddle with academic collaboration. Zhang Haixia, a professor at the School of Electronic and Computer Engineering of China’s prestigious Peking University, said in a statement that she’s quitting the IEEE boards in protest.
This is Haixia Zhang from Peking University, as an old friend and senior IEEE member, I am really shocked to hear that IEEE is involved in “US-Huawei Ban” for replacing all reviewers from Huawei, which is far beyond the basic line of Science and Technology which I was trainedand am following in my professional career till now.
…today, this message from IEEE for “replacing all reviewers from Huawei in IEEE journals” is challenging my professional integrity. I have to say that, As a professor, I AM NOT accept this. Therefore, I decided to quit from IEEE NANO and IEEE JMEMS editorial board untill one day it come back to our common professional integrity.
The IEEE freeze on Huawei adds to a growing list of international companies and organizations that are severing ties or clashing with the Chinese smartphone and telecom giant in response to the trade blacklist. That includes Google, which has blocked select Android services from Huawei; FedEx, which allegedly “diverted” a number of Huawei packages; ARM, which reportedly told employees to suspend business with Huawei; as well as Intel and Qualcomm, which also reportedly cut ties with Huawei.
May 30
Alphabet’s Loon Internet Balloons Were Deployed Following Peruvian Earthquake
Posted in: Today's Chili
During a disaster, one of the more important things that needs to be restored quickly is communications. This is to provide status updates, direct emergency personnel on where they need to go, and so on. However, in more remote parts of the world, this could be an issue due to the lack of an underlying infrastructure.
This is why we’re seeing companies such as Alphabet, Facebook, and SpaceX attempt to create internet solution that can be broadcasted to all corners of the Earth. In fact, in a perfect example of how these solutions are being used, Alphabet has recently deployed some of their Loon balloons following an earthquake in Peru.
The earthquake took place last Sunday and according to Alphabet, they managed to deploy their Loon balloons in just 48 hours. With the balloons, it allowed the company to bring LTE to the area, thus helping to restore communications during the entire process. As Alphabet notes, this is not the first time that they have responded to natural disasters.
The company had previously also used its Loon balloons during a flooding in northern Peru. According to Alphabet, “As Loon has evolved, we’ve come to better understand our ability to respond in disaster scenarios.” We imagine that it might be a while before we start to see greater commercialization of the tech, but for now, it looks promising.
Alphabet’s Loon Internet Balloons Were Deployed Following Peruvian Earthquake , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
May 30
The Samsung Galaxy S10+ is one of this year’s flagship smartphones that many have been looking forwards to. This is because over the years, Samsung has done a great job with their flagship phones where with every release, it has been met with a lot of praise. However, this year OnePlus has challenged the company with the OnePlus 7 Pro where it offers up near identical hardware specs but at a more affordable price.
So the question is, which should you get? Given that both phones feature almost similar hardware, we suppose the best thing to do is put them through a speed test which the folks at PhoneBuff have done. In the video above, you can see the OnePlus 7 Pro go up against the Galaxy S10+ in a speed test show down.
Both phones are packing the Snapdragon 855 while the OnePlus 7 Pro has 12GB of RAM versus the 8GB used in the Galaxy S10+. It also features faster storage compared to Samsung’s flagship, and we reckon that these differences is what gave the phone a slight edge over Samsung.
However, it wasn’t as if OnePlus beat Samsung by a huge margin. It was a difference of about 8-9 seconds which means that in day-to-day usage, you might not necessarily be able to tell the difference. If you have a few minutes to spare, this video might be worth checking out.
OnePlus 7 Pro VS Samsung Galaxy S10+ In Speed Test , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
May 30
Fitbit has always been a contrarian. When people said smartwatches are on the way out, it launched its own smartwatches. When the market seemed to coalesce around Apple watchOS and Wear OS by Google, it struck off on its own with its own wearable OS. And despite the handful of mobile payment systems competing in the market, it jumped into … Continue reading
May 30
Many think that email is long overdue a retirement and services like Slack were meant to hasten that. Even Inbox was made by Google for that purpose only to itself be retired before email went out of fashion. Google is, instead, now focusing on how to at least upgrade the email experience via its own Gmail service’s new features. Like … Continue reading
May 30
A federal judge Miami ruled that Kodak Black must be held in jail without bond, reversing an earlier decision.
May 30
Microsoft hints at a new “modern” operating system designed to support different form factors
Posted in: Today's ChiliIn a week where AMD, Intel and Qualcomm have already made major announcements, Microsoft’s keynote yesterday at Computex in Taipei was relatively lowkey. Instead of revealing new products, the company hinted at what it wants in a modernized operating system. Intriguingly, Microsoft’s blog post about the keynote does not mention Windows, lending credence to speculation that it is developing a new “super-secure” OS.
According to the blog post by Nick Parker, corporate vice president of consumer and device sales, a modern OS should enable “form factor agility” by being flexible enough to be integrated into different types of devices, which is noteworthy because last year the company hinted at new additions to the Surface lineup, which some have speculated might mean the line is adding a smartphone.
He added that a modern OS should include seamless updates, done invisibly in the background without forcing people to stop using their computers and be secure by default, preventing attacks by separating the state from the operating system and the compute from applications.
A modern OS would constantly be connected to LTE 5G and use AI to help make apps more efficient. It would also support different kinds of input, including pen, voice, touch and even the ability to use your eyes to control apps or write—two things that likely to fuel more speculation that the new OS will be developed with mobile products (like a possible Surface Phone) and lightweight or dual-screen laptops in mind.
May 30
The Canon EOS 7D MK II was launched back in 2014 and while we have heard rumors that the company could be launching a successor in 2018, we haven’t really seen anything yet. Unfortunately, for those who were hoping to get their hands on the MK III, you might be disappointed to learn that the camera may never come.
This is according to a report from Canon Rumors who claims that the EOS 7D series might be cancelled and discontinued for good. This is because apparently, Canon has decided to focus their efforts on their EOS R mirrorless cameras. The report also claims that several dealers and distributors have expressed their concern about this, as apparently EOS 7D camera owners buy more lenses compared to EOS 80D owners.
However, mirrorless does seem to be a more preferred format compared to DSLRs. This is because DSLRs tend to be heavier and bulkier and lacks some of the more modern features of mirrorless cameras. Of course, it does boil down to personal preference at the end of the day, but maybe Canon is hoping to appeal to more casual photographers.
The EOS 7D series is one of Canon’s mid-range lineups and was a good camera for enthusiasts and hobbyists and even some professionals. In any case, it’s probably best to take it with a grain of salt for now, but hopefully, we’ll have more details soon.
Canon EOS 7D Lineup Might Have Been Discontinued , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
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