Periscope Extends beyond Phones as Twitter Tries to Take on Facebook Live

Twitter is second most popular social media platform after Facebook and it has been getting stiff competition from it when it comes to keep users engaged and entertained on the platform. Recently Facebook has launched the Facebook Live feature which allows users to create live videos and proclaim the happening in their lives to the followers in an instant. Twitter has brought a similar feature on its platform in the name of Periscope which essentially is a live-video service. Periscope services has been launched to broaden the audience reach and to keep audience engaged on the Twitter platform.

Periscope will be a delight for the individuals and media outlets alike

Twitter’s Periscope Producer will allow the media outlets and individuals to create live video feeds which will be uploaded directly on the Twitter. Periscope made its debut last year but it has strictly confined to the smartphone. Now users wouldn’t even require smartphone to record and broadcast live videos using the Periscope feature. In order to test the capability of the advanced Periscope Florida television station broadcasted a live video on its official website later it was redistributed to the same feeds on the television. In beginning Twitter will only allow major producers such as Disney and ANC News along with a number of major media outlets to make use of the Periscope.

Privacy is a huge concern for Twitter

Since the launch of Periscope service people have started using it for broadcasting the live video of TV shows and movies from their smartphone. This has resulted in the unwanted rise in the piracy issue which doesn’t go well with the video content producers such as much labels and movie production houses.

Twitter has high hopes from Periscope Service

Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey has stated that the launch of Periscope will help in increasing the popularity as well as reach of its messaging service. Twitter has already indulged in steaming the news, sports events as well as the entertainment segment based content. Twitter is aiming towards offering more to the users than just offering a great way to set out their thoughts in tweets and to keep tab on the happening in and around them. Dorsey further elaborates that inclusion of the Periscope will offer a great way to upload, share and view live videos on global scales.

Everyone wants to jump on live video wagon

A number of internet companies ranging from SnapChat to Facebook have jumped upon the wagon of bringing live-video functionality on their platform in order to generate huge advertising money later on. Some of the companies have even started to experiment with live streaming functionality for the marketing purpose. This includes General Motors which has launched its upcoming electric car named Chevy Bolt EV through using the Facebook Live at the beginning of this year. On other hand media outlets are utilizing the live video feed to broadcast the presidential debates in US.

With the launch of Periscope Twitter also jumps up in the live streaming train and joins other popular live-streaming services such as Twitch and YouTube.

The Best Project Management Software for Syncing Team Efforts

Online Project Management Software – Visibility & Control

Users looking to make their daily routines much easier to manage, should visit Wrike, an online software for project management that is utilised by high-performance teams and productivity experts around the globe. Wrike’s project management tools and features make it easier to manage tasks and projects so that teamwork and collaboration become efficient. Additionally, Wrike gives you more visibility around who does what, when tasks are due, and how each task fits into the larger picture.

The company was established in 2007 with headquarters in Mountain View California. Wrike has been acknowledged by San Francisco Business Times/Silicon Valley Business Journal as one of the Best Places to Work as well as one of the Top 100 Workplaces in 2015, by the Bay Area News Group.

Translated into 10 languages, Wrike is used in 120 countries and in 2014 was also awarded Cool Vendor status by Gartner. Being an online project management software, it provides complete visibility together with control over all tasks that must be performed. With the support of the software, project management gets easier. Wrike becomes the control point in coordinating efforts with the rest of the business. Their project management tools include being able to organize tasks into folders, time tracking, an interactive timeline, communication and feedback on the tasks themselves, and online collaboration features for teams of any size.

Heightened User Experience

 

The main purpose of the software is to assist in optimizing your workflow and enabling your company to focus on fundamental tasks. There are useful features for marketing and creative teams in the form of proofing and approval, resource and workload management, document versioning, project templates, time tracking and budgeting, together with visual dashboards and reporting. You can organize your project any which way you please and complete it all in one place.

Wrike also has mobile apps for both Android and iOS devices. With the native Android app, you can work on your tasks with ease, no matter where you are. The Wrike Android app tends to provide much more convenience and efficient project management functions. The new app has a heightened user experience that makes creating, editing, scheduling, and discussing tasks while on-the-go so much easier. The recently released mobile dashboard also provides an overview of your important tasks within seconds.

With the mobile app for iOS, one can log ideas, update tasks, or leave feedback while on the go. It almost takes away the need to open a laptop since your mobile device can easily accomplish most of the work that needs doing. More importantly, your mobile is always at handm, making important details readily available at your fingertips.
 

Sync Team Efforts & Keep Projects on Track

With Wrike, one can synchronize a team’s efforts, keep the project on the track and get additional tasks performed together in the cloud. It is an ideal real-time workspace where one can find the team collaborating in order to get tasks done with precision and efficiency. With Wrike, productive performance of every team member can be amplified, regardless of where they may be located in the world. No matter what your workflow looks like, Wrike can help improve communication and clarity as well as accountability in accomplishing the the parts of any project.

   

Microsoft New Reality Hololens Comes to UK

Microsoft has wasted no time in launching its own VR headset after the anticipation filled launch of the Sony’s PlayStation VR just a few days back. Sony’s launch of VR headset was due for a long time which helped in creating a buzz around it and Sony has carefully launched a number of game titles to with it. So far Microsoft has stayed clear of doing anything with VR as other rivals has been actively developing and launching products in this segment. Microsoft isn’t bringing a pure VR experience to the users with its VR headset rather it is bringing a ‘mixed reality’. Microsoft has also averted the use of term ‘augmented reality’ for promoting its HoloLens for popularizing its own ‘mixed reality’ concept.

Microsoft HoloLens was first launched in US 

Microsoft HoloLens will be making its way to six new countries which includes UK and preorder are opening from today while delivered will likely to be made in late-November. Microsoft has launched HoloLens in its home country ‘US’ way back in March but it has not yet emerged as a dominant player in the VR segment. It is worth noting that Microsoft HoloLens is only available for the developers and enterprises in US for a massive price of $2,700. In order to increase the popularity and to offer greater functionality and feature on its HoloLens Microsoft has partnered with a wide range of commercial partners which includes Audi, Nasa and Lowe for application creation.

Make most of the HoloLens 

Microsoft HoloLens brings vast opportunities for the users to utilize ot for variety of purposes. Users can make Skype call on the headset using the Microsoft’s Skype application especially optimized for this device. Herein users will be able to experience the true extent of the virtual reality when person face appears on the space in front of the user.

A lift making company called Thyssnkrup is already making use of the HoloLens to give direct advice to engineers in field regarding the repairs and work with Skype. Simply tapping or pinching on the holographic objects can help in moving them from one position to another or users can even indulge in core painting exercises using HoloLens.

The might of HoloLens

During the launch event Microsoft showcased the potential of the HoloLens by bringing in a live project from the Case Western which is being utilized as teaching aid for the medical students. During this a human body appeared right in the middle of the room wherein first skeletons emerged then whole set of internal organs were made visible to the people. Users can easily walk past it or interact with the image by moving away different layers with different motion centric gestures.

Headset is light weight and doesn’t cause a strain on the neck but it will take some time before you become habituated to it. Microsoft mixed reality is an unproven technology at the moment but it has shown its mettle in this short demonstration where it brought a swift mixing of the real and virtual world.

Meet Luigi MIT's Sewer Scouring Robot

Luigi – Sewer Trawling Robot

A sewer-trawling robot has been created by Underworlds, a project from Senseable City Lab of MIT which has been designed in connecting the gold mine of information prowling in the sewer.The robot in question is known as Luigi and up to now, has been deployed underground in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Boston and Kuwait as a part of an experimental program which could be spun out in various cities worldwide.

Scientists are of the belief that on researching fecal matter they would be capable of envisaging the spread of infectious diseases, provide an image of the collective health of the community together with influence policy. The Underground project, launched in 2015, has been bringing experts together from engineering, public health and biology sectors.

Carol Ratti, MIT professor, co-principal investigator and founder of Senseable City Lab had commented that `the name (Underworlds) tends to highlight the rich amount of insights hidden in our cities and in this case in sewage’. Scientists can monitor urban health patterns and diabetes, analyse drug usage as well as identify antibiotic-resistant bacteria, by sampling and interpreting human waste.

Biomarkers in Human Waste – Insight in Infectious Diseases

Co-principal investigator of Underworlds and director of the Alm Lab, Eric Alm had explained that ` we all tend to flush valuable health data in the toilet. Sewers tend to signify an exceptional opportunity where health data from everyone in a community is assembled together.

With the provision of biomarkers in human waste, they are in a position of obtaining some insight regarding infectious diseases like flu strains, which has ultimately made it possible for the scientists to expect and alleviate epidemics. Collection of fecal samples is not really a desirable task.

 Ratti recalls that initially the sampling method had been very `low-tech’ and the same was lowered to a 20-foot pole with a bottle taped to the end of it in a manhole and the sample had been scooped out. Sampling waste by hand was not enjoyable and hence they started developing the robots.

To quicken things up, the team had installed a large pump at street level. He commented that all these methods seemed to be quite messy. It was then that the first automated sewage-scouring robot, Mario had come to the rescue.

Nintendo – First Generation Model

Named after the famous plumber, Nintendo, the first generation model updated the process though was not adequately fast. Then came in Luigi, which has been much more compact and economical wherein the new model has enabled the team to streamline the collection process.

Luigi measuring around 3feet long and 3 inches in diameter comes with a motor, pump together with a filter. In order to get the task done, the remote-controlled robot tends to descend from street level to the waste water and seizes the bacteria by pumping the water through a filtration system.

 On obtaining the samples Luigi tends to return to street level for refining and dispensation. Ratti has stated that usually the examination of sewage is carried out in the treatment plants beyond the cities which tend to lose the precise data owing to the time in transport.

However they are capable of beginning the filtration process of fecal and urinary matter in situ. Moreover accumulating fresh sample seems to be critical since gut bacteria tend to die off as soon as they enter the sewer system.

Are Killer Bots About to Do Away with Smartphone Apps?

Bots - Little Digital Assistants

Smartphone app has been around and Apple tends to have two million on them in its App Store while Google Play seems to have some few hundred thousand more than that. The Aggregate downloads of app have crossed over 150 billion mark. However some have been speculating whether the apps would be replaced by something lesser, smarter and quicker.

Due to artificial intelligence software, bots have been programmed to chat to humans through text, remove the meaning and then perform on it. They seem to be little digital assistants. One would be talking to a bot at any point of time when you see a live chat box opened up on the website of a retailer or while ordering a taxi or flowers via chat platforms like WeChat and Facebook Messenger.

According to the research by Nielsen, irrespective of the various options on apps, the average number used is 27.The issue with apps and their apparently unending updates is that they tend to consume the storage volume of the smartphone alarmingly rapidly. Developers tend to often get a raw deal. One estimate recommended that 94% of the cash created by the apps in the App Store of Apple to only 1% of publishers and those firm also received 70% of all the downloads.

Bots Natural Successors of Apps

Ted Nash of Tapdaq, a veteran app developer while still a teenager, had commented that one of the worst things regarding the App Store was the App Store since it is a walled garden. He stated that oversights of Apple on all the slows down development and forces programmers of app would comprise of specific chunks of code which tends to look after adverts, usage statistic together with the other metrics.

Further to this, he added that the issue of making apps to function across various devices as well as keeping up with the changes to Apple’s software, it is no wonder some people seemed to be disillusioned. Head of mobile development at accounting software firm Sage, Kriti Sharma, stated that apps use to be the big thing but several more people seem to be messaging that posting on social media.

 This could be the reason why she is of the belief that bots are the natural successors to apps, the interface is promptlyacquainted to consumers.

Pegg – Assisting Small Business Makers

Ms Sharma had begun her career in coding at Barclays where she had co-created its Pingit banking app and supervised its mobile portfolio. She is of the belief that for companies or brands which preferred meaningful interactions with the customers, a chat intervened by a bot would work well.

A bot known as Pegg is being developed by Sage which tends to act as a smart business assistant and would be assisting small business makers in keeping track of outgoings as well as expenses, which would be making the tracking of cash flow much easier.

Ms Sharma had commented that bots do not have to be super-complicated though over a period of time they could add a lot more value for a customer. She states that bots seems to be more reliable since good progress has been made in writing artificially intelligent software.

Moreover since several companies now tend to have massive data they could utilise in fine-tuning the responses of bot. She also claims that bots also tend to have speed with which they can be developed, organized as well as updated