Technology

In a decidedly “whoops” moment for Google, the latest image app Google Photos which (mostly) tags images with names of the objects in the photos, mislabelled a picture of two black people as “Gorillas”. Not Google’s finest hour. With the company admitting its new image recognition technology has flaws. Image Credit: Jacky Alciné With his interests in equal rights, after seeing the image, Jacky Alciné of Brooklyn, New York, USA, tweeted: “Google Photos, y’all f****d up. My friend’s not a gorilla.” Yonatan Zunger, Chief Architect of Social at Google, responded with tweets of apologies and that there were problems with the technology. With the offending “Gorillas” tag likely caused by issues with obscured faces, skin tones and lighting. Google subsequently formally apologised. Google Photos has since removed the “gorilla” tag from its system. Microsoft got into a similar problem many years back when it labelled one of its clip art images ...

To fly has long been a dream. And much like riding a motorcycle places the rider more alone with the road than does being the driver of a car, flying like a bird isn’t quite the same as flying in a plane or helicopter. Or so Glenn Martin may have thought back in 1981, in Dunedin, New Zealand. When he first conceived the Martin Jetpack. Rocket forward to 1998, with the beginning of the Martin Aircraft Company. Which listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, MJP, earlier this year. Capital raising included a A$50 million investment from Kuang-Chi Science Limited; with the Chinese company involved in numerous technologies including aerospace. The Martin Jetpack, which technically is not a true jet engine, but instead uses a two-litre petrol engine to drive two ducted fans either side of the pilot for lift, has been near 35 years in development. Constructed of aluminium and ...

It’s here. At last. KardBlock. What is it? KardBlock is klaimed claimed to be a way to block the Kardashians from the internet. Think like AdBlock, but specific for any internet content related to the Kardashians. All could be wiped clean. From Kim, to Khloe, to Kourtney, to Kris, to Kylie, to Kendall, and beyond. With all the talk of someone’s name beginning with K, people began looking for a Men in Black memory-wiper. Unfortunately, none was found (that can be recalled). Leaving people with but the option of washing their eyes as the next best alternative. Until now that is. If KardBlock works as claimed, there’s no need to keep up with any of the Kardashians anymore. Nor worry about one of them breaking the internet, because KardBlock can fix it. According to James Shamsi of KardBlock, it will make all mention of the K_____s “disappear”. Hopefully it also includes ...

The selfie, whether it’s the about face and smile or the full mirrored stand and pose, the photo of the self with a phone has become beyond common place. With selfies now the fodder of the digital world in a way that the real world can only be thankful so few of the photos are actually printed. Although a Kim Kardashian-obsessed Kim Kardashian West is releasing a book of her selfies, called Selfish, for the similarly selfie self-obsessed fan. Notwithstanding any ogle factor, why exactly converting digital selfie images into a physical book made any sense is a bit of mystery. Perhaps it was just easier to make a profit that way. Though the coffee table book seems rather removed from the mobile and transmitted talking (or commenting) piece that selfies usually are. As for commenting on selfies, the language is becoming more focused if blurred in its meaning. Names, ...

Mankind has long held a fascination with the tangible.  Yet it was also the intangible, the ideas, that have given rise to so much. If one considers the nature of writing, it has moved  from things such as cave paintings, to clay tablets such as those used in ancient Babylon.  Literally going from being on an immovable rock, to being transported essentially in a rock.  Stone tablets gave way to things such as parchment, papyrus, and paper.  Handwritten by way of scribes, to be superseded by the Guttenberg press.  The printing press ushered in a phase of modernity, the book could be readily made and information disseminated as easily as it could be carried.  Digital innovations and the internet have now expanded this.  Taking writing and books into essentially intangible areas with such things as e-books. Information now seems little bound to the tangible, save for a means to decode and ...

The interweb has been ablaze in recent weeks with discussion about the anticipated release of iOS 7, expected to be announced at the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference in June. Following the departure of Scott Forstall, there has been much speculation about whether Apple will abandon skeuomorphic design in favour of a more modern “flat design” approach. “Skeuo what?” we hear you say? What is skeuomorphic design? The word skeuomorph, pronounced “skyoo-uh-mawf” is compounded from the Greek words skeuos (container or tool) and morphê (shape). It has been applied to material objects since the 1890s, but more recently it has been used to describe computer interface design. A skeuomorph is an ornament or design that is made to resemble another material or technique. It is the design equivalent of poetic metaphor. Typically skeuomorphism is employed to make products designed from new and novel materials feel as comfortable and familiar as the ...

Who won the first round? Around one year ago, the quietly brilliant Taiwanese mobile manufacturer HTC got the jump start on its bigger rival Samsung when it launched the HTC One. It was an attractive handset with a gigantic screen and was almost universally well-liked by internet reviewers. While the chassis was slick, the phone’s biggest detraction was its skinned version of Android known as Sense 4. From a hardware perspective it was a powerhouse and looked set to crush the competition. It was months ahead of the looming Galaxy S3 and better looking to boot. It was going to be the smartest of the smartphones, and with its dashing looks it was set to conquer the Android market and restore HTC to power, glory and righteousness. And then it flopped. It flat out belly panned in the market. People held on to their money and patiently awaited the arrival ...