Microsoft Research 2016 predictions: More online video, new processor tech

For Back to the Future fans, the real 2015 was a bit of a disappointment. No hoverboards. No flying cars. The Cubs didn't win the World Series. And shockingly enough, wearing two ties somehow didn't become fashionable. Huh.

2016 may not fulfill those 1980s fantasies either, but the folks working in Microsoft's research labs think it may still offer up some interesting technological advancements. The company published 16 predictions of what advancements Microsoft Research employees expect to see next year, as well as a look ahead to ten years from now. Their predictions are pretty far-reaching, from new processor tech to more ethical big data. Here are some highlights.

The Internet overtakes TV: Hsiao-Wuen Hon, the corporate vice president for Microsoft Research Asia, expects online video distribution to "overtake TV broadcast in 2016, and that "more people in China will watch the Olympics through the Web than through TV." In other words, now might be a good time for TV broadcasters to stop fighting against cord-cutting and to truly embrace the Internet-connected future of entertainment.

The stylus comes of age: Principal Researcher Bill Buxton expects to see pen-based computing come into its own in 2016. This prediction seems reasonable enough, especially considering the fact that Apple has added stylus support to the iPad line with the Apple Pencil and the iPad Pro.

Planned obsolesce is so last year: Buxton also foresees a shift in consumer priorities when it comes to tech: "The age of digital baubles, do-dads and planned obsolescence will begin to fade, and the focus of industry and consumers will shift from technology, per se, to enhanced human experience, values, and potential."

Brand new processor types: Chris Bishop of Microsoft Research's Cambridge, UK outfit predicts a whole new class of microprocessors "that are tuned to the intensive workloads of machine learning, offering a major performance boost over GPUs." But will they run Crysis?

Ethics in big data becomes a big deal: The privacy implications of data collection is an ongoing topic of debate, and according to Principal Researcher Kate Crawford, 2016 will be an ethical tipping point of sorts. She expects to see data science programs adopt data ethics curriculums in order to better understand "the human implications of large-scale data collection and experimentation." It's about time.

Hop on over to Microsoft's website and give the full post a read. Only time will tell which of these, if any, will come true, but Microsoft Research's predictions make for an interesting read if you're into these sorts of prognostications. 

Source: Microsoft Research 2016 predictions: More online video, new processor tech

Liam Payne wants to quit smoking

One Direction singer Liam Payne says his new year's resolution is to give up smoking.

READ: Liam Payne buys Harry Potter's flying car

Listen to One Direction songs on Gaana.com

Payne has set his resolution to "grow up" and stop the bad habit but admits it will be tough, reports people.com.

"I'm going to try and give up smoking, which is hard, but I do want to. I want to. It's about time. Need to grow up now," he said,

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Payne's bandmate Niall Horan has an equally health-driven goal for 2016, to spend more time training in the gym.

"I'm going to train, succeed in the gym this year. I always do it when I'm on tour and then when I get home, I'm c**p," he said.

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"Yeah, I would like to succeed properly and get the job done."

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Source: Liam Payne wants to quit smoking

McLaren teases the future of Formula 1 cars, MP4-X in pictures

We may not have reached the flying car races of the future that games like Wipeout predicted, but Formula 1 is still evolving fast. A look at the next jump in that evolution has been shown of by McLaren in its MP4-X.

McLaren has spent a lot of time and energy working out where Formula 1 cars can go next. The result is an insanely detailed concept for its McLaren MP4-X car which makes current F1 motors look like soapbox racers.

The car features a more aerodynamic design including a closed cockpit. This is something that's been in debate for some time and it could offer drivers more protection in the event of an accident.

The MP4-X is designed to harness alternative power sources, the chassis changes shape to adapt to aerodynamic demands and it can communicate directly via holographics.

John Allert, group brand director, McLaren Technology Group, says: "We have combined a number of F1's key ingredients – speed, excitement and performance, with the sport's emerging narratives - such as enclosed cockpits to enhance driver safety, and hybrid power technologies."

Check out the above gallery to see the car in all its glory and learn more about the tech McLaren has crammed into the wonder machine.

READ: These are the Formula 1 cars of the future that could change everything

Source: McLaren teases the future of Formula 1 cars, MP4-X in pictures

Meet Snowstorm, the flying car for the drone generation

Ever sat in your chair at work or school, wishing you could just fly away? Well, it seems some engineering students from the National University of Singapore may have felt that same yearning and taken the feeling all too literal, having built the country's very first personal flying machine.

Dubbed Snowstorm, this personal aircraft is reportedly capable of flying a seated person for a duration of around five minutes (though the video below is much, much shorter than that) and is powered entirely by electricity.

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Looking a bit like a giant drone, the Snowstorm has a strong hexagonal frame built from anodized aluminium poles, Kevlar ropes and carbon fiber plating.

A seat hangs down from the middle of the Snowstorm's frame from a 3D-printed mount, allowing its pilot to sit and control the aircraft's thrust, pitch, roll, and yaw using a specially designed control system.

Fly me through the room

The team has also implemented a group of six landing legs with inflatable balls on the ends, allowing for more comfortable landings, though at present, flight tests have only occurred indoors.

The Snowstorm, which took a team of eight students a year to make, is powered by rechargeable lithium batteries and features 24 motors with propellers which allow it to take off vertically.

So far, the team is still fine-tuning the aircraft's various programmed flight modes and safety systems, though it hopes to release a recreational version that's ready for public flights in the not-too-distant future.

Check out a video of the Snowstorm's (very short) maiden flight below.

Source: Meet Snowstorm, the flying car for the drone generation

Flying car crashes into mini-van

A car flew through the air and landed on another vehicle Monday morning on Langley's 200th Street during rush hour.

One man was taken to hospital with broken bones, while the other driver now faces charges, police say.

At 7:20 a.m., a silver Nissan was heading south in the 6900 block of 200th Street, said Cpl. Holly Largy.

According to witnesses, the car lost control and collided with the central median, sending its front wheels flying into the air. Its back wheels also hit the median and the car was almost vertical for a moment.

It then slammed down onto the hood of a mini-van heading north on 200th Street.

The mini-van driver was taken to Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster with broken bones.

The Nissan drriver, a 23-year-old from Coquitlam, suffered scrapes and bruises. He had been driving the car without insurance, Largy said.

The Nissan driver was arrested and RCMP are recommending he be charged with dangerous driving causing bodily harm. He is expected to appear in court on March 4.

Both cars are also being mechanically inspected, said Largy.

Source: Flying car crashes into mini-van

Hot New Interactive Barbie Toy Will Spy On You And Your Children, Hooray!

is this thing on? can you hear me now?

Man, living in the future was supposed to include jet packs and flying cars, but instead all we got was terrorists who keep thinking of innovative ways to blow stuff up so we to take off our goddamn shoes at the airport. Oh, and we got a Barbie that can be hacked to spy on you and your precious babbies.

Wait what?

Yes, from the department of Literally Everyone On Earth Could Have Predicted This comes the news that this season's hot new toy that your child will whine about until you just break down and buy it for them, Hello Barbie, can have the wifi hijacked. Merry Christmas!

The Hello Barbie doll is billed as the world's first "interactive doll" capable of listening to a child and responding via voice, in a similar way to Apple's Siri, Google's Now and Microsoft's Cortana. […]

But US security researcher Matt Jakubowski discovered that when connected to Wi-Fi the doll was vulnerable to hacking, allowing him easy access to the doll's system information, account information, stored audio files and direct access to the microphone.

Can we first take a moment and talk about how "Hacking Beloved Children's Toys" is probably a much better job than anything you do, particularly if you toil in ye old blogging content mines?

OK, now that you're thoroughly depressed, take several more minutes to marvel at anyone being surprised by this because OF COURSE SWEET JESUS BARBIE COULD BE HACKED. Everything can be hacked because nothing gold can stay. Your browser — yes, yours, we do not care what type you are using — is vulnerable, Siri will probably become sentient soon, Jeeps can be hacked to be killed on the highway mid-drive, which is a thing that should actually keep you up at night. Did you really think that creepy people on God's green Earth couldn't figure out a way to turn Barbie — sweet, innocent Barbie — into what is basically a nanny cam with tits?

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OK, let's calm down. It probably isn't that bad. I mean, should you really care if strangers on the Internet can listen in on little Justin or Justine demanding that Barbie tell them right this minute how to get a pony for their birthday? OK, actually, yes, you probably should care about that, and some parents already banded together to grumble about how they were super-skeeved out by Hello NSA Spy Barbie recording all the words of their special snowflakes and storing them on the Internet somewhere, but you should save your real freakout for this:

It was the ease with which the doll was compromise that was most concerning. The information stored by the doll could allow hackers to take over a home Wi-Fi network and from there gain access to other internet connected devices, steal personal information and cause other problems for the owners, potentially without their knowledge.

Oh.

You know what? This Christmas, just find the kids a couple rocks to bang together or a bundle of twigs or literally anything that cannot be connected to the Internet ever. It's the only safe course of action.

[Guardian / CBC News]

Source: Hot New Interactive Barbie Toy Will Spy On You And Your Children, Hooray!

Mystery behind China's 'flying cars' solved; video goes viral

Here's why those three cars in China suddenly started levitatingScreenshot

A few days ago, CCTV footage of three vehicles levitating for few seconds at a busy intersection in Xingtai, China, in mid-November started doing the rounds of social media.

While many thought it was some paranormal activity or a gravity-defying accident, the mystery behind this unusual incident has now been solved.

Chinese state media reports that the bizarre incident happened as the cars got tangled around the brushes of a street-sweeping vehicle.

"I was driving slowly straight ahead. All of a sudden, I was lifted up. The street cleaner car snagged on the wire. The wire just so happened to be underneath our car and it sent us flying," one of the drivers was quoted by fox8.com as saying.

However, long before the reason behind the incident came to light, the footage was shared by thousands of people on social media.

Watch the video here:

Article Published: December 1, 2015 12:58 IST

Source: Mystery behind China's 'flying cars' solved; video goes viral