Latest Updates
Getting to know you: the robot assistant who can second-guess your every need
It's here – a world in which helper robots live with us, get us through the day, and yes, become our trusted friend. Science fiction is becoming science fact.
As sci-fi writer William Gibson has apparently noted: "The future is already here – it's just not very evenly distributed."
The demand for helper robots is booming, and academia, industry and the military are working overtime to meet the need as a whole new industry gains momentum.
The demand is fuelled by the existence of those boring, dirty and dangerous jobs that nonetheless need doing. Those low-paid jobs that are considered beneath human dignity today, at least in the developed world.
What better than a life-like robot to relieve us of this drudgery?
Good company
Of course, robots need to be good company if we are to have them in our lives, sharing our homes and workplaces, having them do things for us. And this requirement applies to all robots, not just the walking, talking ones, but also the artificial intelligence (AI) embedded in larger systems or on the web.
User-friendliness is achieved through natural speech and affective computing, which allows the AI to "get to know you" by recognising the cycles of your emotional states over time, inferring it from your tone of voice and body language.
The big names in the tech world, such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, are putting much effort into software that can understand language, known as chatbots, seeing them as the next big thing.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said at the Build conference in San Francisco in March that chatbots, or "conversations as a platform", are the next big thing in computing, as important as the shift to graphical user interfaces, the web browser and touchscreens.
A big claim, since many would argue that these have been important steps forward in the way humans interact with computers.
Chatbots have enormous potential to put computing resources within easy reach of non-technical users. You can use a chatbot to make an appointment, book your car in for a service, buy flowers for that special someone, arrange a holiday, find a place to live or explore your special interests.
All of these and much more become possible when you can simply ask for it to be done via a natural speech digital assistant.
In the guise of Microsoft's Cortana, Facebook's M, Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa etc, these smooth-talking chatbots will be the point of contact between you and the many worker bots.
They will be like a combined executive assistant and concierge, a trusted confidant that anticipates your needs and seamlessly coordinates the activities of the lower level agents as they go about their business in the cloud.
The poets of Silicon Valley
Creative writers are finding gainful employment these days in the world of high technology, as reported recently in theWashington Post.
Writers who once wrote screenplays and poems are now putting their talent toward creating likeable characters for chatbots and giving them cool things to say. The new breed of smart digital assistants look good, sound good and are backed by the latest AI.
With the trend towards integrated computing environments that gives people cross-platform access to their cloud-connected applications and data, it is reasonable to expect that your digital assistant will go with you when you put down one device and pick up another, or go from one location to another.
For example, when you leave home and get into the self-driving car that has been quietly charging its batteries from the solar panels on your roof, the same digital assistant that you were interacting with in the home office becomes the voice of the car that you now give directions to.
On a particular day of the week, knowing that you normally go to the office at this time on that day, the car asks in an appropriate conversational tone if that's where you are headed, like any good chauffeur might.
The following week, you jump in the car and tell it to take you to work, but the digital assistant reminds you that you have a doctor's appointment in your schedule and should we go there instead?
On the way to your appointment, you review and send several emails that the assistant has drafted. You also have time to dictate content on a proposal, with help from your research assistant-cum-driver.
The idea of intelligent, natural speech assistants will still likely go through the four stages of idea acceptance outlined by British geneticist John Burdon Sanderson Haldane:
this is worthless nonsensethis is an interesting, but perverse point of viewthis is true, but quite unimportantand finally – I always said so!
In five or ten years, when we have got over our scepticism and become reliant upon our digital assistants, we will wonder how we ever got along without them.
Lumia 950 Review
Whenever I look at the Microsoft Lumia 950, it scans my eyes, winks at me and unlocks with the words "Hello, Matt" – as if it knows me and wants to flirt. In a way, I feel like I recognize it, too. And, I won't lie, I kind of like it back … just not that much.
It reminds me of my first true smartphone, the Audiovox SMT 5600, a rebranded HTC Typhoon, before HTC even sold phones. It was small, so it looked like an everyday phone and, importantly for me at the time, it ran Windows Mobile 2003 SE.
More than a decade later, that's once again the appeal of the Lumia 950. It looks, feels and runs like your average-sized Android phone. Only the phone's operating system isWindows 10 Mobile, much to the benefit of Microsoft's diehard fans and PC holdouts.
This 5.2-inch phone does try a few interesting tricks so that it's not too basic. Its iris-scanning technology makes for a nifty unlock method and Continuum lets me scale the software to TV proportions for a useful desktop-like mode.
Lumia 950 lays the foundation for Windows 10 Mobile, and it's off to a better start, even if Lumia sales are dismal. I felt like that about the Audiovox SMT 5600, too, before the Redmond company blew it in mobile.
But now it's up against the best phones ever made, like the similarly-sized Samsung Galaxy S6, iPhone 6S, LG G4 and Nexus 5X. Does it really have what it takes to win converts from iOS and Android, or keep Windows Phone 8.1 users from defecting? Clearly, it's not that simple.
Design
Lumia 950 does its best impression of an average Android phone, almost as if it's trying to get you to buy it, take it home and say, "Too late! You're running Windows now." It reminds me a lot of my Google Nexus 5X in size, color and styling.
It doesn't measure out to be the thinnest or lightest phone of its size, with dimensions of 145 x 73.2 x 8.25mm and a weight of 150g. But it's still a nice fit for one-handed use with a little extra stretch. The boxy design is palm-friendly, and the thicker-than-normal bezel means you'll never accidentally touch the display.
You'll also never mistake this for a "premium" handset, either. The Lumia 950 is enveloped with a one-piece plastic shell that overlaps its Gorilla Glass 3-protected screen. While the front is in a glossy black, the rear cover comes in matte white or matte black. Gone are the fun, vibrant colors of orange or lime green, as seen from last-generation Windows phones.
Microsoft played it safe with colors, and it did the same with the microSD card slot and removable battery. It has both, while other phone manufacturers (namely Samsung) have axed these key features, much to the chagrin of vocal critics.
The microSD card and battery are easily accessible behind the removable plastic cover, a boon for professional users. Even the expandable storage slot can be accessed without removing the battery (but the same doesn't apply to the the stacked nano SIM card underneath of it).
Powering that 3,000mAh removable battery is a USB-C port on the bottom frame with fast charging capabilities. I still hate carrying around an extra cable, as much as I appreciate the reversible connection. It'll be easier once microUSB is further phased out of devices at the end of 2016.
The top of the Lumia 950 frame has a normal headphone jack, while the right side houses a power button and volume rocker, or more accurately the volume rocker and power button. They're in reverse order from many of today's phones, and that's how Nokia had them. Sadly, there's no double-tap-to-wake function. In fact, the only way to turn on this phone is to press that tiny power button on the right side.
I was hoping to see a pair of front-facing speakers, but there's one in the back of this phone, right next to the camera. At least the 20-megapixel (MP) camera is flanked by a fancy triple LED flash on its left side, and there's no significant camera bulge, like on the Nexus 5X.
Instead of the speakers I was asking for, I got something else that's long been on my wish list: a dedicated camera button. Truthfully, I've been asking for this for a while, to the point where I have gotten used to – and like – the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 double tap mechanic for launching the camera app, but I'll certainly take this, too.
The words "Microsoft" are above the screen, and there's an on-screen Windows logo acting as the home button on the front. Around back, just off-center is another Windows logo. You'd never know it was a Microsoft phone without these, meaning Microsoft's fitting in just fine with cheap phones made of plastic these days.
Display
Windows Mobile 10 has a dark theme turned on by default, and it really lets the deep blacks and Microsoft's familiar blues shine on this 5.2-inch AMOLED display.
The quad HD resolution at 2,560 x 1,440 doesn't hurt either, packing 564 pixels per inch (ppi) into this 16:9 display. That's sharper than the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus and ties the Galaxy S6, but it doesn't come close to matching Apple and Samsung's brightness levels.
Brightness has become more important for me than resolution ever since we hit 1080p. I'm now more interested in seeing my smartphone in bright sunlight at the beach, not being able to appreciate extra pixels too small to detect with the naked eye. The Lumia 950 does well enough outdoors and has wide enough viewing angles, but it could be brighter at its max.
Whatever the brightness setting, I noticed this phone runs hot when in use for longer than a half hour. It's most evident when scrolling with my fingers using the touchscreen. The slower (and less problematic) Snapdragon 808 chip shouldn't run this hot, like a problematic Snapdragon 810, but maybe this is why the new Microsoft Lumia 950XL uses "liquid cooling."
The Lumia 950 doesn't have liquid cooling, but it does offer a handy glance screen. This shows limited information, like the time, date and simple notification icons, when the phone is asleep. Like Motorola's slightly more advanced Moto Display, the static text here is in white against the otherwise turned off AMOLED display in black. It's not a battery hog, but this feature can be turned off in settings.
Windows 10 includes a one-handed-use mode, sort of like Apple's Reachability mode. It drops the entire screen down and stays there even when you tap into other menus. You have to tap the Windows home button to revert it or let the screen sit idle for a while. This helps that 5.2-inch display feel a smidge smaller for critical, one-handed touchscreen tapping on the subway or tube.
HP Spectre X360 Review
While most 2-in-1s have 13-inch or smaller screens, some like having a larger display that can bend back into presentation, tent or tablet modes. Among 15-inch consumer convertibles, the HP Spectre x360 15t stands out by offering a gorgeous aluminum design, a colorful display (with optional 4K) and long battery life. With a starting price of $1,149, the X360 costs around $400 more than similarly specced competitors like the $800 Dell Inspiron 15 7000 and the $700 Toshiba Satellite 15 P55W. However, the differences in quality and endurance are well worth the premium.
Design
As on other recent laptops like the Envy 13t, HP's design language on the x360 15t is a simple one: sleek and shiny. With its silver, aluminum body, this 2-in-1 looks a bit like a MacBook, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
The lid and bottom are made of silver-colored aluminum, with HP's logo in a reflective material adorning the top of the device. A Spectre logo can be found on the hinge, located on the back when the laptop is closed or on top in tent mode. When you open the lid, you'll find the silver, backlit, island-style keyboard flanked on both sides by speakers and a 15.6-inch 1080p touch screen.
The Spectre takes up less desk space than other 2-in-1s at 14.8 x 9.75 x 0.63 inches. TheToshiba Satellite Radius 15 P55W is thicker, while the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 is almost an inch larger. The Spectre x360 15t is also lighter than its rivals at 4.2 pounds, compared with the Inspiron 15 7000's 4.6 pounds and the Satellite Radius' 4.96 pounds.
Keyboard and Touchpad
With 1.4mm of travel, the keyboard on the Spectre x360 15t feels shallow, though the 60g of force required to press the keys gives it a clicky feel. That's better than the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 keyboard's 1.2mm of travel, which bottomed out too quickly and was hard to type on. With the Spectre x360 15t, I achieved 110 words per minute on the 10fastfingers.com typing test, which is about average for me, with an error rate of 1 percent, which is also usual when I type.
I love the spacious touchpad on the Spectre; at 5.5 by 2.6 inches, the pad provides plenty of room for navigating with your mouse and performing swipe gestures in Windows 10. I had no problem scrolling through Web pages, pinching to zoom and swiping windows into the taskbar.Display
The 1080p, 15-inch touch screen on the Spectre x360 is bright and produces vivid colors, albeit not always accurately. I watched a trailer for Season 2 of Netflix's Daredevil and made out a majority of the action clearly even though it took place in the dark. The blood that Matt Murdock wrings out of his suit was a vivid red, but Jon Bernthal's Punisher looked sickly because the skin tones were slightly blue. Viewing angles were strong, with clear images up to almost 90 degrees.
The display is fairly luminous at 246 nits, which is brighter than the Inspiron 15's 209 nits but dimmer than the Satellite Radius' 263 nits. All three are lower than the mainstream laptop category average of 282 nits.
The Spectre can reproduce an impressive 118.6 percent of the sRGB color gamut (100 percent is excellent), higher than the Satellite Radius (109.6 percent) and nearly double the Inspiron 15 7000 (62 percent).
Where the display lacks is in its color accuracy. The Spectre x360 15t has a Delta-E score of 4.06 (closer to zero is better), which is much higher than its foes. The Inspiron 15 and Satellite Radius are much more accurate with scores of 0.7 and 0.81.
Audio
The Bang & Olufsen speakers on the Spectre x360 were powerful -- I turned on Ellie Goulding's "On My Mind" and was delighted with the clarity in mids and highs. The bass left a little to be desired, but when I opened the Bang & Olufsen app and dragged up the appropriate slider, I got more percussion out of the speakers.
The laptop has speakers on both the top and bottom of its body, which means that, no matter which orientation I used the laptop in, I was able to hear clear sound.Performance
Our review configuration came stocked with a 2.3-GHz Intel Core i5-6200U CPU, 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD, all of which should be more than enough for both your work and play. I browsed the Web in Google Chrome while streaming a 1080p video on YouTube and writing in OpenOffice Writer without a problem. I didn't notice any lag until I reached eight tabs open in Chrome, and even then it was minimal.
On Geekbench 3, a synthetic overall performance test, the Spectre x360 notched 6,376, higher than both the Satellite Radius (5,489, with a 2.2-GHz Intel Core i5-5200U CPU) and Dell Inspiron 15 (5,768, with a 2.3-GHz Intel Core i5-6200U).
The 256GB SSD in the Spectre took the crown by a hair among competing 2-in-1s in our file transfer test, copying 4.97GB of mixed media files in 34 seconds -- a rate of 149.7 MBps. The Dell Inspiron 15 reached a rate of 145.4 MBps and the Satellite Radius 15 P55W's HDD was sluggish at 39.15 MBps.
The Spectre x360 15t came out ahead in productivity, too, matching 20,000 names and addresses in our OpenOffice test in 4 minutes and 31 seconds -- just 12 seconds ahead of the Dell Inspiron 15 but more than a minute faster than the Toshiba Satellite Radius (5:42).
Ports and Webcam
The HP Spectre x360 15t's sides are packed with plenty of ports, including the latest version of the USB port, Type-C. The left side of the laptop plays host to the power port, a USB 3.0 port, headphone and mic combination jack and an SD card reader, while the right side is where you will find HDMI and mini DisplayPort for external monitors, two more USB 3.0 ports and a USB Type-C port that transfers data and power to other devices but cannot be used to charge the laptop itself.
The 1080p webcam on the Spectre took a fairly grainy photo of me with some color issues -- my skin tone and the color of my sweater were both wrong, and the background was far darker than it appeared in real life.Battery Life
If you need your large 2-in-1 to last all day, the Spectre X360 15t is a great choice. Outlasting competitors by a wide margin, HP's 2-in-1 lasted a strong 8 hours and 27 minutes on the Laptop Mag Battery Test, which surfs the Internet continuously at a brightness of 100 nits. The Dell Inspiron 15 7000 lasted just 5:33, and the Toshiba Satellite Radius 15 P55W ran out of juice at 5:14.
Graphics
You won't play any intensive video games on the Spectre x360 and its integrated Intel HD 520 graphics, but Flash games and time-wasters that you play on Facebook will work just fine. Some games, like Cut the Rope, make decent use of the Spectre's touch screen.
The Spectre achieved a score of 64,632 on the 3DMark graphics benchmark, beating out both the Dell Inspiron at 52,333 and the Toshiba Satellite at 52,333.
Heat
The Spectre X360 15t stayed cool throughout our use. When we streamed 15 minutes of HD video from Hulu, the underside hit 94 degrees Fahrenheit, just under our 95-degree comfort threshold. The touchpad stayed cool at 81 degrees and the spot between the G and H keys on the keyboard reached 88 degrees.
Software and Warranty
The software on the Spectre x360 15t is of varying quality, ranging from useful utility to wasteful bloatware. The aforementioned Bang & Olufsen speaker software is helpful for adjusting the sound to your liking and HP Recovery Manager can help users reinstall driver and applications, reset systems and troubleshoot issues.
On the other hand, iHeartRadio, Candy Crush Soda Saga, Flipboard, Twitter, Snapfish and a 1-month trial of McAfee LiveSafe come preinstalled, which users may not want or need. A 1-month trial of Microsoft Office is also included.
HP offers a 1-year limited warranty on the Spectre x360, and you can add accidental damage protection for $179.99. There are also options for a 2-year warranty with damage protection for $249.99 and a 3-year warranty with damage protection for $329.99.
Configurations
I tested the baseline model of the HP Spectre x360 15t, which costs $1,149.99 and includes a 256GB SSD, 8GB of RAM, a 2.3-GHz Intel Core i5-6200U CPU and a 1920 x 1080 touch screen.
HP offers 16GB of memory for an additional $80, and you can upgrade to an Intel Core i7-6500U for an additional $60 or Core i7-6560U with Intel Iris Graphics for an additional $200 (note that the Iris option requires the 16GB upgrade.)
Those who want a 4K display can get one for an extra $60, and you can upgrade the SSD from 256GB to 512GB for $200.
Canon EOS 70D Review
During the early days of digital SLRs, Canon was pretty much the undisputed leader in CMOS image sensor technology. Almost every new EOS model came with an increase in resolution and high ISO range, and when the EOS 7D appeared in late 2009, the company had progressed from 3MP to 18MP, and ISO 1600 to ISO 12800, in just over nine years. But since then Canon's APS-C cameras have all sported variants on the same basic sensor design, to the extent that you could be forgiven for wondering what on earth their engineers were doing all day. Now we know.
The EOS 70D is a mid-range SLR for enthusiast photographers that from the outside looks like a sensible, indeed desirable upgrade to the EOS 60D. It borrows many of the best bits from Canon's existing SLRs, including the autofocus sensor from the EOS 7D, the fully articulated touchscreen from the EOS 700D (Rebel T5i), and built-in Wi-Fi from the EOS 6D. But on the inside it sports an entirely new sensor that is, potentially, revolutionary. It offers 20.2MP resolution, but uses a 'Dual Pixel CMOS AF' design in which every single pixel is split into two separately-readable photodiodes, facing left and right. This means that in principle they are all capable of phase detection autofocus in live view and movie mode.
On-chip phase detection is nothing new - we first saw it in the Fujifilm F300EXR back in 2010. Since then it's been adopted in one form or another by most manufacturers, with arguably its most successful implementation coming in Nikon's 1 System mirrorless models. But because until now it's used relatively few active pixels scattered sparsely across the sensor, it's had practical limitations, often only covering a restricted area of the frame and struggling once the light drops below outdoor daylight levels. Canon says that its Dual Pixel AF system, in contrast, works across an area 80% of the frame width and height, in light levels as low as 0 EV, and at apertures down to F11. This means it could well be the most capable live view autofocus system we've yet seen on any type of camera.
We'll look at the technology behind the EOS 70D's live view AF in more detail later, but let's not forget that it has to work as a conventional SLR too. To this end it uses the same 19-point AF sensor as the EOS 7D for viewfinder shooting, but with slightly simplified control options in firmware. It can rattle shots off at 7fps for up to 65 frames in JPEG or 16 in Raw, and its standard ISO range covers 100-12800, with ISO 25600 as an expanded option. Image processing is via the DIGIC 5+ processor first seen in the EOS 5D Mark III.
In terms of control layout the EOS 70D is a logical evolution of the EOS 60D, adopting many of Canon's intervening updates and improvements. So it offers a full set of external controls to operate most key functions, and Canon's well-designed Quick Control screen to cover pretty much everything else. It also adopts the superb touchscreen interface that debuted on the EOS 650D (Rebel T4i), which we've found to be more useful than you might at first think. The 70D also regains an array of features that disappeared between the EOS 50D and 60D, such as AF microadjustment.
Canon EOS 70D key features
- 20.2MP APS-C 'Dual Pixel CMOS AF' sensor
- DIGIC 5+ image processor
- ISO 100-12800 standard, 25600 expanded
- 7fps continuous shooting, burst depth 65 JPEG / 16 Raw
- 'Silent' shutter mode
- 1080p30 video recording, stereo sound via external mic
- 19-point AF system, all points cross-type, sensitive to -0.5 EV
- 63-zone iFCL metering system
- 98% viewfinder coverage, 0.95x magnification, switchable gridlines and electronic level display
- Fully-articulated touchscreen, 1040k dot 3" ClearView II LCD, 3:2 aspect ratio
- Single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot
- Built-in Wi-Fi
- Single-axis electronic level
- Built-in flash works as off-camera remote flash controller
- AF microadjustment (can be set individually for up to 40 lenses, remembered by lens serial number)
- In-camera High Dynamic Range and Multiple Exposure modes (JPEG-only)
- 'Creative Filter' image processing styles, previewed in live view
Key specs compared
In the table below we see how some of the EOS 70D's key specs measure up against its more expensive big brother, the EOS 7D, and its main rival, the Nikon D7100. What's interesting here is just how close the 70D is to the 7D in terms of spec - in much the same way as Nikon's D7000 made the D300S look almost redundant, it's quite difficult to see why most Canon users would now choose the top-end APS-C model.
Canon EOS 70D
|
Canon EOS 7D
|
Nikon D7100
| |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effective Pixels | • 20.2 MP | • 18.0 MP | • 24.1 MP |
| ISO Range | • 100-12800 standard • 25600 expanded | • 100-6400 standard • 12800 expanded | • 100-6400 standard • 50-25600 expanded |
| No of AF points | • 19 | • 19 | • 51 |
| AF in live view | • Phase detection | • Contrast detection | • Contrast detection |
| Screen | • 3.0" 3:2 • 1,040,000 dots • Fully-articulated • Touch sensitive | • 3.0" 4:3 • 920,000 dots • Fixed | • 3.2" 4:3 • 1,228,800 dots • Fixed |
| Viewfinder | • 98% coverage • 0.95x magnification | • 100% coverage • 1.0x magnification | • 100% coverage • 0.94x magnification |
| Continuous drive | • 7 fps | • 8 fps | • 6 fps |
| Storage | • SD/SDHC/SDXC | • Compact flash | • SD/SDHC/SDXC • 2 slots |
| Weight (inc batteries) | • 755g (1.7 lb) | • 860g (1.9 lb) | • 765g (1.7 lb) |
| Dimensions | • 139 x 104 x 79 mm (5.5 x 4.1 x 3.1") | • 148 x 111 x 74 mm (5.8 x 4.4 x 2.9") | • 136 x 107 x 76 mm (5.4 x 4.2 x 3.0") |
| Wi-Fi | • Built-in | • Optional | • Optional |
Size and design compared to the EOS 60D
The EOS 70D directly replaces the EOS 60D in Canon's range, and is very similar in terms of size and design. It's a bit smaller though, and has a sensibly-updated control layout. Here we take a more-detailed look at the two cameras side-by-side.
The EOS 70D will be sold body-only for £1079 / $1199 / €1099, as a kit with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM for £1199.99 / $1340 / €1249, or with the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens for £1399.99 $1549 / €1499. The BG-E14 battery grip will cost £229.99 / $270 / €215.Kit options and pricing
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Inscription à :
Articles
(
Atom
)
