'Super Voice' 4G service from Three offers better signal - BBC News Image copyright Thinkstock Mobile phone provider Three has launched a UK service it says will improve reception inside buildings and in rural black spots. Its 4G Super Voice enables customers to make calls and send texts using a lower frequency spectrum. Other networks are looking into introducing the technology, known as Voice Over Long-Term Evolution (VoLTE). It currently works on only the Samsung Galaxy S5, but recent iPhone handsets will be added in the coming months. It is being rolled out in: LondonEdinburghExeterBirminghamCardiffManchesterLiverpoolBristol Three said up to 5.5 million customers would have access to the service by 2017. Chief technology officer Bryn Jones said: "By the end of the year, one million of our customers will have access to better indoor coverage and be able to use their phones in more places than ever before."
Prosthetic Hand Lets Paralysed Man 'Feel' A prosthetic hand wired directly to the brain has allowed a paralysed man to "feel". It is the first time a person has been able to feel physical sensations through a prosthetic device. The technology is so advanced the 28-year-old man could even identify which mechanical finger was being gently touched. The system was designed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which is part of the US Department of Defense. Programme manager Justin Sanchez said: "We've completed the circuit. Video: Aug: 3D-Printing Prosthetics "Prosthetic limbs that can be controlled by thoughts are showing great promise, but without feedback from signals travelling back to the brain it can be difficult to achieve the level of control needed to perform precise movements. "By wiring a sense of touch from a mechanical hand directly into the brain, this work shows the potential for seamless bio-technological restoration of near-natural function." Video: Swipe: Robots And Prosthetics
Burberry Becomes First Fashion Brand to Launch Apple Music Channel | News & Analysis LONDON, United Kingdom — UK luxury-goods maker Burberry Group Plc introduced a channel on Apple Inc.’s music service in the latest example of the fashion and technology industries coming together. The channel will showcase Burberry’s collaborations with emerging and iconic British talent including Lilla Vargen and Alison Moyet, and feature performances, songs and films alongside regular playlists, the London-based company said Tuesday in a statement. The partnership with Apple is the latest in a series of initiatives by the trenchcoat maker to widen its influence and reinforce its image as a purveyor of cool. The connection between Apple and Burberry is the latest example of fashion and technology colliding. Burberry introduced its Acoustic platform in 2010, promoting emerging artists on both Burberry.com and YouTube. Apple is seeking to catch up with the likes of Spotify Ltd. and Pandora Media Inc. in streaming music. By: Andrew Roberts; editors: Matthew Boyle, Paul Jarvis.
Etsy Opens To Manufacturing Taking another step away from being a marketplace known only for “handcrafted” goods to instead focus more broadly on enabling smaller sellers to scale their businesses, online marketplace Etsy announced today it’s launching a new program called Etsy Manufacturing. The service will connect sellers with Etsy-approved manufacturers to help them source production assistance as needed. The move comes two years after Etsy revised its policies to allow sellers to work with manufacturers, provided they were transparent about the process with customers, and continued to maintain their authorship over their own products and designs. At the time of that initial decision, the company explained that its prior policies had been confusing to sellers, some of whom thought any outside help would see them kicked off the site. If approved, the sellers had to list the information about their manufacturer on their shop’s About page, the company said.
Future of Food Experience by Koz Susani Design Design Duo Koz Susani have been working on bringing a new food concept to life that would transform the culture of eating altogether. “Just add Water” is a set of appliances which connect to an app that answers the tells you what to eat for dinner, and then makes it for you. Taking into consideration basic facts from your day, like if you exercised or perhaps if you are recovering from a cold, it calculates the perfect meal. “Flavor pills,” tiny water-soluble pods filled with organic spices and nutritional supplements, get added to one of the appliances along with fresh produce and some water. Using sensors and a microprocessor, the appliance cooks the food for exactly the right amount of time and at exactly the right temperature. “The ingredients and condiments are perfectly dosed, and the recipe is ‘contained’ inside the flavor pills,” explains Marco Susani from Koz Susani Design, the firm that created the new system. www.kozsusanidesign.com Via www.fastcoexist.com
How Machine Vision Is About to Change the Fashion World In the 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada, the notorious fashion editor Miranda Priestly sizes up people at a glance by analyzing their clothes, who designed them, and what year they date from. Priestly’s character is famously inspired by Anna Wintour, the long standing editor-in-chief of Vogue, herself a style icon. –> But if a human can recognize and date fashion styles with little more than a glance, why not a machine? Chen and co begin by training their machine vision algorithm to identify an individual’s body pose in an image and then to divide the body into nine regions—the upper and lower arms and legs, and the torso. Comparing fashion styles then boils down to the relatively simple mathematical process of comparing these 72-dimension vectors. Next, they assemble two databases of photographs. Fashion week is a significant event in New York. To find out, Chen co use their machine vision algorithm to identify these trends and see how they influence street chic.
Computers 'do not improve' pupil results, says OECD - BBC News Investing heavily in school computers and classroom technology does not improve pupils' performance, says a global study from the OECD. The think tank says frequent use of computers in schools is more likely to be associated with lower results. The OECD's education director Andreas Schleicher says school technology had raised "too many false hopes". Tom Bennett, the government's expert on pupil behaviour, said teachers had been "dazzled" by school computers. The report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development examines the impact of school technology on international test results, such as the Pisa tests taken in more than 70 countries and tests measuring digital skills. It says education systems which have invested heavily in information and communications technology have seen "no noticeable improvement" in Pisa test results for reading, mathematics or science. Unplugged But Mr Schleicher says the "impact on student performance is mixed at best". The report says:
Whitney Houston 'hologram' to tour next year - BBC News Image copyright Getty Images A 3D moving image of the late singer Whitney Houston is being developed by a US entertainment firm. It is working with the Houston estate and hopes to tour the product in 2016. Hologram US has patented a "high-tech version" of Pepper's Ghost, an illusion that dates back to the 16th century. It can cost "millions of dollars" to develop an image of a deceased star. The company told the BBC that members of the public often enquire about being turned into a 3D moving image too. "I'm not sure if any have pursued it... for most people the cost is forbidding," said head of marketing Owen Phillips. The traditional Pepper's Ghost illusion involves foil and glass, to which Hologram USA has added a patented blend of computer generated images (CGI), moving parts and audio material. In its stable of so-called "holograms" are classic acts such as Patsy Cline, Frank Sinatra and Liberace. However boring celebrities need not apply. "I look forward to the partnership."
MI5 boss warns of technology terror risk - BBC News Advances in technology are allowing terrorists to communicate "out of the reach of authorities" the head of MI5, Andrew Parker has told the BBC. In the first live interview by a serving MI5 boss he told Today that security services could potentially no longer obtain crucial information. He said internet companies had an "ethical responsibility" to alert agencies to potential threats. But MI5 was not about "browsing the lives" of the public, he added. Ministers are currently preparing legislation on the powers for carrying out electronic surveillance. But Mr Parker said what should be included in new legislation was a matter "for parliament to decide". "It is completely for ministers to propose, and parliament to decide. He said online data encryption was creating a situation where the police and intelligence agencies "can no longer obtain under proper legal warrant the communication of people they believe to be terrorists". But he said: "We can't monitor them all the time."
BBC says Micro Bit rollout will be delayed - BBC News The BBC's Micro Bit computer, due to be given to one million schoolchildren in October, has been delayed, the corporation has acknowledged. An issue with its power supply meant it would now be sent out "after Christmas", said a spokesman. The tiny computer has been designed to boost interest in coding. The problem had "affected a small number of devices", the spokesman said, but the priority was making sure it was as robust and reliable as possible. "We're expecting to start sending them out to teachers before Christmas and to children early in the new year," said a BBC spokesman "As a result of our rigorous testing process, we've decided to make some minor revisions to the device - getting it right for children and teachers before we manufacture one million units is our priority." The Micro Bit was unveiled in March and since then has added features including a built-in motion sensor. Up to one million Year 7 pupils (aged 11 and 12) will be given the Micro Bit.
How Intel infiltrated New York Fashion Week © Time Inc. All rights reserved. Fortune.com is a part of the Time.com network of sites. Powered by WordPress.com VIP Email address or Password is incorrect Forgot Password? Want the Full Story? Privacy Policy Thank you for your interest in licensing Fortune content. 1. iOS 9 update: The biggest changes and what's new for iPhone This post originally appeared at LinkedIn. Follow the author here. I don’t know anyone who couldn’t use a little boost in their energy and self-control. Researchers at the University of Nottingham recently published findings from their exploration of 83 separate studies on energy and self-control. What they found will change the way you start your day. The researchers found that self-control and energy are not only intricately linked but also finite, daily resources that tire much like a muscle. This exhaustion of self-control kills your productivity, and it makes the morning hours, when self-control is highest, the most important hours of the day. But the trick isn’t just to spend your morning hours working; it’s to do the right things in the morning that will make your energy and self-control last as long as possible. The Nottingham research has led me to uncover ways we can break bad habits in the morning and maximize our energy and self-control throughout the day. Start with exercise
Apple wins appeal over smartphone patents - BBC News Image copyright Reuters Samsung could be forced to stop selling some phones after Apple won an appeal in a US court. The decision comes after a lawsuit first filed in 2012 in which Apple claimed Samsung was using some of its technology without proper permission. That case was decided in May 2014 when Apple was awarded $120m (£76m) damages. Apple appealed, saying Samsung should stop selling phones using the disputed features. Apple's bid to stop Samsung selling some handsets was initially denied because the judges overseeing the case said the company had not demonstrated it had suffered significant harm from the infringement. Now, two of the three judges reviewing the case have said Apple deserves an injunction to stop Samsung selling some phones. However, this does not mean that Samsung will be forced to stop selling phones that use the disputed technology. "Apple has won every round," Prof Michael Risch from the Villanova University School of Law told Reuters.