Weekly Tech Recap - № 301 - Windows 11 leak, smile recognition, NightWatch dock, Cocobo and internet speed
Windows 11 leak
Windows 11. © Microsoft.
Talk about raining on Microsoft’s parade… While the official unveiling of the new OS isn’t scheduled until Thursday, June 24, an early build of Windows 11 flooded the Internet ahead of time. However, since it’s a development version and not even a beta, it doesn’t reveal any revolutionary new features which were surely implemented later. Still, build 21996 offers a complete overview of a simpler and unified interface, which in many ways resembles that of Windows 10X, the scrapped OS in development for dual-screen PCs.
This leaked build looks more like Windows 10 with a new ’do than an actual new OS. The initial boot-up, very similar to that of Windows 10X, guides new hardware users or those upgrading to Windows 11 through a series of configuration steps. Also, Microsoft is integrating the Xbox experience into Windows 11. The new Xbox app provides quick access to Xbox Game Pass games, the social parts of Xbox network, and the Xbox Store. All this to say, if you were hoping to get a peek at the changes in the built-in applications, they’re not showing up yet. All the more reason to tune in to the official presentation on June 24, because hopefully Windows 11 has much more up its sleeve than a new interface. A purely esthetic shift from 10 to 11 would come across as just another marketing ploy. (We remember that Microsoft had been implying since the Windows 10 release that it would be the “last version”, followed by a continuous update of “Windows as a service” rather than another OS version.)
⇨ YouTube, “Windows 11 Build 21996 - New Start, Taskbar, Widgets, Tablet Improvements, Sounds + MORE.”
⇨ The Verge, Tom Warren, “Windows 11 leak reveals new UI, Start menu, and more.”
2021-06-15
Smile recognition technology
Canon Smile Recognition. © Canon Information Technologies.
Unexpected applications for artificial intelligence keep cropping up. Canon Information Technology (CIT), a division of Canon based in China, developed a facial recognition camera technology that controls access to corporate offices, augmenting it with a smile recognition function. A Financial Times report on the working conditions of tech workers in China says that CIT deployed this system at its Beijing headquarters to allow only smiling employees to enter offices, reserve conference rooms or even use copiers and printers. Canon China justifies this technology by pointing out that it is designed to promote a positive atmosphere at work. “Mostly, people are just too shy to smile, but once they get used to smiles in the office, they just keep their smiles without the system which created a positive and lively atmosphere,” the spokesperson added. In an announcement last October, Canon said it is marketing these tools to companies ranging from restaurants to hospitals to banks, in the hope of bringing “joy and health to everyone in the post-epidemic era.” Not everyone shares this enthusiasm. “So now the companies are not only manipulating our time, but also our emotions,” wrote one Weibo user who clearly woke up in a bad mood.
⇨ The Verge, James Vincent, “Canon put AI cameras in its Chinese offices that only let smiling workers inside.”
2021-06-17
NightWatch dock for the Apple Watch
© NightWatch.
NightWatch, a dock for the Apple Watch, charges your watch like any other docking station, but it does something more: while it’s charging, your watch turns into a clever and pretty bedside alarm clock. A plexiglass dome magnifies the watch’s display, and a built-in device amplifies the alarm. When you tap the top of the dock, the watch wakes up and shows the time large and clear in the dark. If you’re one of those who now sleeps with your watch on your wrist rather than on your nightstand since the introduction of the sleep-tracking feature last year, this dock won’t be so useful. But if you’re not tracking your sleep data, the NightWatch, compatible with all Apple Watches, is available for pre-order for US$ 50 now on its website, and will be on Amazon’s site next week.
⇨ The Verge, Jon Porter, “This simple dock turns your Apple Watch into a bedside orb.”
2021-06-15
Cocobo security robot
Cocobo. © セコム株式会社.
Secom in Japan presented a security robot called Cocobo. Designed to patrol public spaces, it’s 70 cm wide, 120 cm deep and 125 cm tall and weighs approximately 160 kg, battery included. It cruises around at 6 km/h and can travel about 12 km in 3 hours after a 3-hour charge. Cocobo moves autonomously along its patrol route, detecting suspicious objects (forgotten luggage, presence of a weapon) or situations that deserve attention such as a person lying on the ground, and alerts emergency services via 5G. A remote-controlled arm inspects recesses like the inside of a garbage can or the underside of a vending machine. It uses lights and a cloud of smoke to intimidate a person exhibiting threatening behaviour (check out the apprentice burglar smoking sequence at 2:05 in the video link below). With its multidirectional wheels, it can even take the elevator. The system is equipped with several cameras, a proximity–, gas–, and thermal-image–sensor, 2DLiDAR, 3DLiDAR, a microphone, speaker, etc. According to Secom, the AI that powers the robot exercises “judgment” just like any human security-guard.
Japan is not the only country to develop this kind of machine. In California, Knightscope rents out its patrol robots, and the Huntington Park Police Department uses the K5 to ensure the security of a large park. (Remember the K5’s fun and watery mishap in 2017?) In any case, if you’re going to Japan and you come across Cocobo, don’t mess around with it!
⇨ YouTube, “セキュリティロボット「cocobo」を開発｜報道発表｜セコム株式会社.”
⇨ Impress Watch, Kazumichi Moriyama, “セコム、不審者を威嚇する警備ロボ「cocobo」 倒れた人や不審物を自動感知.”
2021-06-17
What’s your internet speed?
© iStock.
A recent survey shows that consumers don’t know much about their internet speed. Allconnect, a resource for cable-operator information, reveals that 73% of those polled said they did not know what internet speed they really needed, and that almost two in five people were not even able to tell what speed they were paying for. More surprisingly, two-thirds of respondents are happy with the speed of their connection though providers often get low satisfaction ratings. “This leads us to believe that the problem is not with the broadband connections themselves, but the billing and customer service issues that come along with them,” says Allconnect. For the record, browsing the web requires around 10 Mb/s to adequately download; 10 to 25 Mb/s is recommended for videoconferencing and HD video; and if you stream 4K videos or do online gaming, 25 to 35 Mb/s is a minimum. However, an important factor to consider is the number of users and devices on your network. If you’re streaming a 4K video and someone else on the same network is playing Fortnite at the same time, you’ll hit a 35 Mbps connection’s ceiling pretty quickly. 50 to 100 Mb/s should satisfy a plugged-in household. But let’s not forget that these speeds are still inaccessible luxuries in some areas away from urban centers ...
The Allconnect study was conducted by market research firm YouGov from May 14 to 17, with a total sample size of 1,214 adult respondents in the United States.
⇨ Cnet, Ry Crist, “How much internet speed do you need? 73% of us have no clue.”
2021-06-17
