Technology
Built by Google in 2024: Some AI Features You May Have Missed
Google’s annual Made by Google hardware event took place earlier Tuesday, and since the corporate announced so many things, loads of it got lost in the deluge of data. We’ve rounded up a few of the more intriguing AI-related announcements that have not been covered much, just like the image-generating Pixel Studio and Pixel Screenshots, which helps you capture and organize information in screenshots.
Call notes summarize your conversations
For individuals who, just like the creator of this text, have problems with short-term memory, the Call Notes feature may prove useful.
Available on the Pixel 9 family of devices, the Call Notes app saves a summary of your conversation after you connect. The details—and a transcript—are saved to your phone’s call log.
If that seems like a possible privacy nightmare, you’re right. Google says Call Notes runs entirely on-device and notifies everyone on the decision when a recording is in progress — but we’ll let security experts weigh in.
Pixel Studio is a brand new image generation app
Pixel Studio, available exclusively for the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold, is an image-generating app that’s powered by each an on-device generative AI model and Google’s cloud-based Imagen 3. Pixel Studio enables you to input prompts to generate whatever moves you creatively, in addition to add stickers and make edits and changes after the actual fact.
Pixel Studio creations — which require a continuing web connection despite the component being on the device — will be shared with contacts via Google Messages.
A Google PR spokesperson told my colleague Ivan Mehta that Pixel Studio can’t yet generate human faces, likely on account of the unlucky Gemini missteps earlier this yr. But the spokesperson didn’t say whether there have been another safeguards in place to forestall the app from generating potentially harmful images.
Pixel screenshots are searchable
If you’re like me, you are taking screenshots of things casually—tickets, QR codes, boarding passes, and so forth—so you may easily access them later. But screenshots aren’t particularly search-engine friendly. And that makes them an actual pain while you’re trying to search out something specific.
Luckily for future Pixel 9 owners, there’s Pixel Screenshots, a brand new app that uses AI to research the content of your screenshots, including captured text, people, and objects. Google Photos already did this — but Pixel Screenshots works locally.
Google provides this colourful example: “Say it’s your chipmunk-loving friend’s birthday. You might be browsing Google Chrome looking for a gift for them, taking screenshots of chipmunk T-shirts, chipmunk coasters, and anything else you think they might like. Pixel Screenshots will analyze the content of all those images and make the information searchable within the app. So all you have to do is open the app and search for “chipstick,” and people results will pop up. What’s more, they’ll include links to where you found every little thing and a summary of what you’re taking a look at, together with relevant information.”
Pixel Screenshots can even show you how to seek for things like door codes and addresses in photos.
Technology
US medical device giant Artivion says hackers stole files during a cybersecurity incident
Artivion, a medical device company that produces implantable tissue for heart and vascular transplants, says its services have been “disrupted” resulting from a cybersecurity incident.
In 8-K filing In an interview with the SEC on Monday, Georgia-based Artivion, formerly CryoLife, said it became aware of a “cybersecurity incident” that involved the “compromise and encryption” of information on November 21. This suggests that the corporate was attacked by ransomware, but Artivion has not yet confirmed the character of the incident and didn’t immediately reply to TechCrunch’s questions. No major ransomware group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Artivion said it took some systems offline in response to the cyberattack, which the corporate said caused “disruptions to certain ordering and shipping processes.”
Artivion, which reported third-quarter revenue of $95.8 million, said it didn’t expect the incident to have a material impact on the corporate’s funds.
Technology
It’s a Raspberry Pi 5 in a keyboard and it’s called Raspberry Pi 500
Manufacturer of single-board computers Raspberry Pi is updating its cute little computer keyboard device with higher specs. Named Raspberry Pi500This successor to the Raspberry Pi 400 is just as powerful as the present Raspberry Pi flagship, the Raspberry Pi 5. It is on the market for purchase now from Raspberry Pi resellers.
The Raspberry Pi 500 is the simplest method to start with the Raspberry Pi because it’s not as intimidating because the Raspberry Pi 5. When you take a look at the Raspberry Pi 500, you do not see any chipsets or PCBs (printed circuit boards). The Raspberry Pi is totally hidden in the familiar housing, the keyboard.
The idea with the Raspberry Pi 500 is you could connect a mouse and a display and you are able to go. If, for instance, you’ve got a relative who uses a very outdated computer with an outdated version of Windows, the Raspberry Pi 500 can easily replace the old PC tower for many computing tasks.
More importantly, this device brings us back to the roots of the Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi computers were originally intended for educational applications. Over time, technology enthusiasts and industrial customers began using single-board computers all over the place. (For example, when you’ve ever been to London Heathrow Airport, all of the departures and arrivals boards are there powered by Raspberry Pi.)
Raspberry Pi 500 draws inspiration from the roots of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a non-profit organization. It’s the right first computer for college. In some ways, it’s a lot better than a Chromebook or iPad because it’s low cost and highly customizable, which inspires creative pondering.
The Raspberry Pi 500 comes with a 32GB SD card that comes pre-installed with Raspberry Pi OS, a Debian-based Linux distribution. It costs $90, which is a slight ($20) price increase over the Raspberry Pi 400.
Only UK and US keyboard variants will probably be available at launch. But versions with French, German, Italian, Japanese, Nordic and Spanish keyboard layouts will probably be available soon. And when you’re in search of a bundle that features all the things you would like, Raspberry Pi also offers a $120 desktop kit that features the Raspberry Pi 500, a mouse, a 27W USB-C power adapter, and a micro-HDMI to HDMI cable.
In other news, Raspberry Pi has announced one other recent thing: the Raspberry Pi monitor. It is a 15.6-inch 1080p monitor that’s priced at $100. Since there are quite a few 1080p portable monitors available on the market, this launch is not as noteworthy because the Pi 500. However, for die-hard Pi fans, there’s now also a Raspberry Pi-branded monitor option available.
Technology
Apple Vision Pro may add support for PlayStation VR controllers
According to Apple, Apple desires to make its Vision Pro mixed reality device more attractive for gamers and game developers latest report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
The Vision Pro was presented more as a productivity and media consumption device than a tool geared toward gamers, due partly to its reliance on visual and hand controls moderately than a separate controller.
However, Apple may need gamers if it desires to expand the Vision Pro’s audience, especially since Gurman reports that lower than half one million units have been sold to this point. As such, the corporate has reportedly been in talks with Sony about adding support for PlayStation VR2 handheld controllers, and has also talked to developers about whether they may support the controllers of their games.
Offering more precise control, Apple may also make other forms of software available in Vision Pro, reminiscent of Final Cut Pro or Adobe Photoshop.
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