November 10, 2016 – Page 2 – Peter's Quasi-Daily Blah-g

November 10, 2016

What Will Trump’s Presidency Mean for Our Future in Space?

If you woke up today wishing to fling yourself into a black hole, you may be wondering whatâ€™s in store for NASA under President-elect Donald Trump. It is difficult to say much with certainty. But overall, the space agency will probably be directed to focus more on deep space activities and crewed spaceflight over the next four years, while its top-notch Earth science programs could suffer serious cuts.

Google’s mini radar can identify virtually any object

Google’s Project Soli radar technology is useful for much more than controlling your smartwatch with gestures. University of St. Andrews scientists have used the Soli developer kit to create RadarCat, a device that identifies many kinds of objects just by getting close enough. Thanks to machine learning, it can not only identify different materials, such as air or steel, but specific items. It’ll know if it’s touching an apple or an orange, an empty glass versus one full of water, or individual body parts.

It doesn’t take much to realize that the potential for computing breakthroughs is significant. Your phone could perform different actions depending on how and where you hold it. You might get a different interface if you’re wearing gloves, for instance. A restaurant would know to provide a refill the moment your drink is empty, and the blind could identify products in a store. It could be particularly useful for automatic sorting in farms and waste facilities, as well. The biggest obstacle is translating RadarCat from a clever concept to a practical product — that could take a while.

Via: FastCo Design

Source: University of St. Andrews

from Engadget https://www.engadget.com/2016/11/09/google-project-soli-used-to-identify-objects/
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November 10, 2016

Adobe brings full RAW support to Lightroom on Android

While iOS users have enjoyed full RAW support in Adobe’s Lightroom mobile app since this summer, the Android faithful had to be content with the company’s own DNG RAW format. Thanks to an update to the software today, Android users will now get the same functionality. Adobe has revamped the version of Lightroom mobile to include a technology preview of full RAW support. The new feature set includes the ability to connect a camera directly to a phone or tablet to access files if you have the necessary cable to do so.

As you might expect, the update also means that you’ll be able to edit full-resolution RAW files with the Android version of Lightroom mobile. Adobe says that the app will play nice with all of the file formats the desktop version does, in addition to Adobe Camera RAW. The company also explains that the tools that allow you to edit white balance, access detailed color info, edit uncompressed files and more with the mobile app use the exact same tech that drives those tasks on the desktop version of Lightroom.

What’s more, any imported files to your mobile device will sync across all versions of the photo editing app so you’ll have them whenever or wherever you need them. Lightroom mobile also labels RAW files so you’re less likely to grab a compressed or low-res version of a photo before you begin working. The updated version of Lightroom mobile for Android is available now via Google Play.

For Lightroom on the web, Adobe is giving users more tools when it comes to sharing. You can now add a header image to collections and divide up groups of images into sections. Once you do so, you can also input details about the sections should the need arise. When the time comes to add files to your Adobe Portfolio, you can now do so straight from the web-based version of Lightroom.

Source: Google Play

from Engadget https://www.engadget.com/2016/11/09/adobe-lightroom-mobile-android-full-raw-support/
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November 10, 2016

Google doesn’t want proprietary fast charging in Android phones

Google isn’t a fan of non-standard approaches to fast-charging Android phones over USB-C, and it’s bent on having manufacturers fall in line. Its newest Android Compatibility Definition document (for Android Nougat) now says it’s "strongly recommended" that device makers don’t support proprietary charging technology that modifies voltages beyond standard levels, or otherwise creates "interoperability issues" with standard USB charging. In other words, tech like Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 is likely considered naughty. On top of that, the company warns that later versions of Android might even require full interoperability with standard chargers.

This doesn’t mean that you won’t see fast charging. Remember, both of Google’s Pixel phones can top up quickly. However, it’s evident that Google would like to fulfill USB-C’s promise of cables and chargers that always work together. It doesn’t like the idea that you might have to carry a specific charger for your phone to work as expected, or that a flaky cable might fry your charger, phone or both. The company might never force vendors to drop their preferred fast charging standards, but it certainly won’t look kindly on them.

Via: Android Police, Phandroid

Source: Google (PDF)

from Engadget https://www.engadget.com/2016/11/09/google-recommends-against-proprietary-fast-charging/
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November 10, 2016

Cell Research Study shows African Americans have greater immune response to infection

Weâ€™ve known from various social, scientific and clinical studies that human populations differ in their susceptibility and response to different immune system challenges. However, this is the first time this difference was shown to be mostly genetic â€“ and inherited from our ancestors. African-Americans have better immune response to infections than European-Americans.

from DailyTech News Feed http://www.dailytech.com/Cell+Research+Study+shows+African+Americans+have+greater+immune+response+to+infection/article37792.htm
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November 10, 2016