Cortana for Windows 10 & Smart Houses

I have been using Cortana for a few days now and let's just say that coming from Google Now, It's a rather big step up. I'm able to see the news that I have personally selected when I ask her for news.  I know that most people will discard the small factors when thinking about a personal assistant but I have 3 things that one must have to be considered one.

1. must be able to pull up info on anything. whether it be by the internet or using a custom method 
2. be able to start, launch apps and or webpages when the command is said 
3. must be able to be activated using a phrase or a keyword! NO CLICKING AN ICON!

I don't think these are to much to ask for now is it? I don't think i'm alone when I ask for these 3 simple things. The fact that Cortana covers all these bases (with the exception of having both a keyword and an icon) I wish they made something with the same functionality as Cortana but made it open to all platforms, (Windows, Mac, Android, Iphone, Windows phone)

I think that the use of a personal assistants will really take off when smart houses come into play. The ability to just take notes on what you need for shopping, control your home with your voice will be a big sell to the people that love the idea and have the ambition to do so. 

The whole idea of a smart house is to make all the technology and easy of access of today's modern style and put it into a home that would make your life easier. Some people would make the argument that by doing so it makes you more less active and to that I say don't let yourself get inactive, Go for a walk, go to the gym. You don't have to let the house do everything for you. I think that these homes should also have an option to set some things into manual mode so that with things like for example turning on the light by the bed can be done either by you or by the H.A.S (Home Automation System) 

You can already automate your home with a few compotes. 

      You can use HUE lights everywhere in your home and connect them to a central hub and control them using your smartphone or other smart device. 

       The Amazon Echo and the Belkin WeMo. These two (and many others) communicate with each other to bring the feeling up a notch. 

       You have your Nest and Net Cam. The Nest is a wireless thermostat that can be controlled again phone a smart device & the Net Cam is a wireless camera for your home. 

      You can find all the Items and many many more in the Home Automation section on Amazon. 

I will be posting another article on Smart Homes over the next few days so keep an eye out!

Intel Realsence 3D Technology with Windows Hello!

You may have heard the buzz about Windows 10's new feature named Windows Hello. In order to take advantage of this new feature you will need to have a special type of camera, this camera is called Intel realsence 3D. This takes advantage of 3D motion tracking to track your face in order to unlock your device. It can also be used for 3D scanning and interaction like Tony Stark has.

The revolutionary Intel RealSense 3D Camera uses depth-sensing technology so your PC sees more like you do. Use the added dimension to scan 3D objects, control your PC with gestures, or create a more lifelike video chat environment. Reinvented video chat lets you customize your background, and share content with friends as if you're in the same room together.

This 3D camera has some pretty interesting specifications to go with it's stylish build.

• Full VGA Depth Resolution
•  1080p RGB Camera
• 0.2-1.2 meter range (Specific algorithms may have different range and accuracy)
• USB 3.0 interface

At Microsoft's Launch of RealSense

At CES, Intel announced the RealSense technology to bring immersive, human interaction to devices. First products in the family include Intel RealSense 3D camera, the world's first and smallest integrated 3D depth and 2D camera module, and next-generation nuance Dragon Assistant designed for Intel RealSense technology. Both these will be shipping in various OEM devices from second half of 2014. 

An Intel RealSense camera contains the following four components. A conventional camera, an infrared laser projector, an infrared camera, and a microphone array. The infrared projector projects a grid onto the scene (in infrared light which is invisible to human eye) and the infrared camera records it to compute depth information. The microphone array allows localizing sound sources in space and performing background noise cancellation.

What Tech Companies to Invest in?

Here is a list of 11 small tech companies that are the best to invest in right now. 

11. Cinatron (CIMT) ..... Rating. Buy, B

10. ClearOne (CLRO) .... Rating.Buy, B

9. Edgewater Technology (EDGW) ..... Rating. Buy, B

8. Elecys (ESYS) ..... Rating. Buy, B

7. GlobalSCAPE (GSB) .... Rating. Buy, B

6. Moocon (MOCO) ....Rating. Buy, B

5. Peerless Systems (PRLS) .... Rating. Buy, B

4. Relm Wireless (RWC) ..... Rating. Buy, B

3. Wireless Telecom Group (WTT) .... Rating. Buy, B

2. Wayside Technology (WSTG) ..... Rating. Buy, B+

1. Mind C.T.I (MNDO) .... Rating. Buy, A 

Logitech MX Anywhere 2 Mouse

     

  

                         I recently purchased the Logitech MX Anywhere 2 wireless travel mouse for my new laptop because I was in need of a small but good mouse to use when editing videos on the go and for just normal everyday use (don't like track-pads much). This mouse ran me $80 at my local staples and retails for $80 on Amazon, although you can find used ones for around 75 right now. I've spent about 2 weeks with this mouse and from my experiences I have to say that this mouse is worth the money. 

        Not only is it durable but it can last 2 months on battery (with normal use). This mouse features like device switching meaning that you can have up to 3 different devices connected to it and live switch from one to the other with one press of a button. It has a laser that is capable of tracking on any surface. The charge port is micro USB so you won't have to worry about finding a charger if you have an android phone or Chromebook. The Anywhere 2 has a total of 8 buttons, your 2 normal left-right buttons, your scroll-wheel that movers left and right, the forward and backwards buttons located on the left side of the mouse (where your thumb goes), then your middle mouse button which is not a part of your scroll-wheel due to the fact that it has a thing called free-scrolling, you activate that by pressing down on the scroll-wheel as if to use the middle mouse button on any other mouse. 

        You can find this mouse and it's older brother the MX Master on Amazon today! 

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 - "Next is Now"

Photo from TechRadar

Well Samsung has added another smartphone to the Note lineup. This one makes 5, that's right this is the Note 5 ladies and gentleman! 

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5, announced just last week, is the latest sign that the South Korean manufacturer is phasing out its plastic-clad phones in exchange for ones with metal and glass builds.

Its premium design is its biggest perk if you're upgrading from the Note 4 or a previous Note phone, and want something that looks and feels as good as the Galaxy S6 in a bigger size. With a 5.7-inch quad HD display, better specs and the return of the S-Pen, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 has everything you want, except a microSD card slot and replaceable battery. That's a deal breaker for many long-time (and vocal) Note users I've already heard from, but others will see the value in upgrading to the more stylish and powerful phablet later this month. 

Launch

So when does it actually launch? That all depends on where you live, sadly. Its official release date is August 21 in the US, this Friday, and it's not coming to the UK. Not this year, at least.

Price

 You'll pay top dollar for the Galaxy Note 5, as Samsung phablet regulars have come to expect. AT&T is charging $250 for the 32GB version if you buy the phone with a two-year agreement, and $349.99 for 64GB on the same terms.

That's $50 less expensive than the Note 4 launch price, but it ends up being $740 for 32GB and $840 for 64GB off-contract. Somebody REALLY wants you to make a commitment, and their name is AT&T. Put a ringtone on it.

Don't expect the same for the UK, where it would likely cost the usual £600, or Australia (AU$940). Samsung doesn't currently have a UK release date for the Galaxy Note 5, instead touting that the Samsung Galaxy Edge 6+ as coming to Europe "soon." 

Design

The Note 5 design is made of an iPhone 6 Plus challenging metal frame with a glass back, and it stands in stark contrast to the plastic-painted frames of yesteryear that simply looked metal.

At 153.2 x 76.1 x 7.6mm, its dimensions slightly more compact than last year's, and it weights a few grams less than the Galaxy Note 4, 171g vs 176g.

That said, it's still hefty compared to the Galaxy S6, but at least the camera doesn't protrude as on Samsung's smaller flagship phone.

Just don't expect Samsung to have added in the sorely missing microSD card slot or removable battery. Like the on S6, it's missing in the new phablet, too.

Display

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 keeps the same 5.7-inch display size and Super AMOLED technology back it for good reason: it's among the best looking screens out there. With a quad HD 2560 x 1440 resolution and pixel-packed 518 pixels per inch, it's hard not to like what's behind this Gorilla Glass 4 display.

On paper, it's not quite as pixel-dense as the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, which tout a 577ppi. But that's just because that same resolution is stretched out overtop of larger screen. It hardly makes a difference.

Specs

Samsung ditched Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor with the Galaxy S6, and it hasn't looked back, employing the same Exynos 7420 Octa-core as its smaller flagship phone. It combines the power of a 2.1 GHz quad-core (Cortex-A57) + 1.5 GHz quad-core (Cortex-A53) chip, and in previous S6 tests has topped our benchmarks among all reviewed phones.

What's amazing is that the S6 has 3GB of RAM. The Note 5 ups the amount of memory to 4GB. The ceiling is even higher for running multiple tasks at once on this performance-driven phone.

Do you think that the Note 5 will do well in sales? I think that this phone has been hyped up enough to were it's gained enough interest from people therefore they will be more likely to consider it when their contract is up.