The Camera-Shy hoodie is a piece of anti-surveillance wear created by Mac Pierce that prevents a wearer’s identification from being captured by infrared cameras. It does this by strobing the cameras with 12 ultra-bright infrared LEDs. So, Mac Pierce wants to rob banks. Got it.
Because the LEDs are infrared, they’re not detectable by the naked eye while in use and only show up in infrared footage, typical of night-vision security cameras. According to Mac, the strobe operates at a rate that interferes with the auto-exposure of infrared security systems, rendering the wearer anonymous. Alternatively, you can always study to be a ninja or go the classic pantyhose route.
I assume a different strobe rate was used in the example footage above because I could definitely identify Mac in between the light strobes. Now I’m not saying I’d be able to pick him out in a lineup — that depends on just how much Mac is willing to pay to keep me quiet.
Racing games have come a long way since the early days, and now there are more choices than ever. Here are the 10 best racing games on the PS5, ranked.
If you’re trying to recreate the big screen movie experience at home, a projector is the only way to go. But while they’re much cheaper than any TVs approaching 100-inches in size, they’re by no means cheap, usually costing several thousands of dollars for a 4K picture and enough brightness to be used during the day.…
Following a beta that saw just 5,000 people get a chance to use the software, Aimi’s iOS and Android app is now available to all. The release brings the company’s generative music platform to mobile, where it was not available previously. Engadget’s James Trew has been using the app since January. Since then, Aimi has made a few user interface tweaks.
What hasn’t changed is the premise of the app. As before, Aimi is built around continuous music “experiences” you can subtly tweak by interacting with a handful of interface elements. If you’re familiar with platforms like Endel and Brain.fm, you probably know what you’re getting into. As a free user, you can tap the thumbs-up and down buttons to guide Aimi’s algorithm. There’s also a shuffle button if a section comes on that you don’t like at all. With today’s release, Aimi will also prompt you to indicate if you want to hear a section more or less frequently, as well as for longer or shorter periods of time.
Users who pay $10 per month gain access to additional controls. First, a “Section” view allows you to isolate individual elements of a musical composition, including parts like the harmony and melody, and adjust the gain and tell Aimi whether you like what you’re hearing. An additional “Composition” interface allows you to shape what you’re hearing by adjusting a set of four sliders. For instance, by moving the “Progression” slider, you can instruct Aimi to modify the experience you’re listening to more or less often. Meanwhile, the “Intensity” and “Texture” sliders allow you to control the number of effects Aimi employs and whether a composition sounds organic or synthetic. Last but not least, there’s a self-explanatory Vocals slider.
The release of a mobile app is part of a broader plan by Aimi to bring more people into the world of generative music. Later this year, the company plans to release Aimi Studio, which will allow users to take a more hands-on approach to craft their own compositions. “One of the strengths of generative music is that we can use it to attract casual listeners with continuous music experiences and then introduce them to interactive music by letting them take ownership of their music experience,” Aimi CEO Edward Balassanian told Engadget at the start of the year.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/aimis-app-for-listening-to-ai-generated-beats-arrives-on-android-and-ios-150035919.html?src=rss
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s pursuit of Google reached a new milestone this week after the company announced that its AI-powered Bing search engine had surpassed 100 million daily active users.
Grammarly announced today that it’s (unsurprisingly) diving into the generative AI fray. GrammarlyGo is an upcoming set of auto-composition features to help the AI proofreading software keep up with the many companies adding the ChatGPT API (or different generative AI backends) to their products.
GrammarlyGo can use context like voice, style, purpose and where you’re writing to determine its approach. So, for example, it can spit out email replies, shorten passages, rewrite them for tone and clarity, brainstorm or choose from one-click prompts — all while adhering to your company’s voice or other provided context. In addition, since Grammarly’s desktop service can pop up in any text field on your computer, its generative writing could be slightly more convenient than competitors (like Notion or Gmail’s Smart Compose) that require you to visit an app or website. The company says GrammarlyGo will be enabled by default for individuals, and you can toggle it in settings.
Grammarly justifies the feature’s existence by saying most people’s writing can be better and faster. “Individuals today spend too much time trying to communicate in the right way, while poor communication is draining business productivity and performance,” the company wrote in an announcement post. “GrammarlyGO will address this problem by quickly generating highly relevant text with an understanding of personal voice and brand style, context, and intent — saving people and businesses time while accounting for their unique needs.” I’m unsure what to make of a world where nobody writes anything but prompts for machines, but that increasingly appears to be where we’re headed.
GrammarlyGo will be included with the Grammarly service at no extra cost. The company says it will soon add the AI writing feature to its Premium, Business, Education and Developer plans — and free plans “in select markets.” The GrammarlyGo beta will begin rolling out in April.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/grammarly-expands-beyond-proofreading-with-ai-powered-writing-140052437.html?src=rss
Roku’s making its own TVs, and they’re available to buy starting today. The Roku Select and Roku Plus TVs follow the initial announcement at CES 2023 that the company would be getting into manufacturing its own displays, perhaps as a response to how many TVs come with streaming capabilities built-in these days, or to…
Roku wants you to rediscover local news. The company’s upcoming OS 12 update will add a Local News hub, which lets you watch live news channels near you or in major US cities. Additionally, the update adds expanded sports coverage, easier premium subscription discovery and an improved “Continue Watching” section.
The local news feature builds on Roku’s Live TV channel guide, which aggregates streams for over 350 broadcast television channels. The company says its AI-powered news recommendations offer a curated discovery experience. After installing the update, you’ll find local news in the operating system’s Live TV Zone or by searching for “local news.” Additionally, the update will make it easier to discover and sign up for premium Live TV channels you haven’t subscribed to.
Roku is beefing up its sports section, which launched last year. It’s adding golf and more soccer programming, including Spanish-language coverage for some leagues. The software will soon display a more personalized sports section based on your “location, favorite team, go-to sport and viewing habits.” In addition, it’s adding CBS Sports, MLB.TV, the NBA app and NBC Sports to the channels displayed in the Roku OS sports hub.
Roku
The update also adds Continue Watching, making jumping in where you left off easier. Roku says the section will display content to pick up content nearly instantly “from supported channels,” including Discovery+ and Prime Video. (BET+, Freevee, Frndly TV and Starz are set to arrive later.)
The Roku mobile app is also seeing some improvements. It will have “a more refined, elevated, and visually immersive interface” with expanded account settings and a new sign-up and sign-in process. In addition, the company says the app’s Home tab will have a simpler interface with dedicated Sports and Continue Watching sections. Finally, it will soon add the Live TV channel guide to the smartphone app.
Roku says OS 12 will roll out “in the coming weeks.” Some features, like channel partners, content expansion and mobile-app upgrades, will arrive within the coming months.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/roku-is-adding-a-local-news-hub-to-its-live-tv-menu-140056110.html?src=rss
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