Microsoft learn from Google

HOLOLENS

At the end of April, Microsoft wowed developers and the media with yet another demo of its new HoloLens headset.
The HoloLens is essentially a computer you wear on your face. But instead of interacting through a keyboard, mouse, or touchscreen, the HoloLens projects 3-D images in front of you that you can reach out and touch. And based on the demos we've seen so far, it looks really cool.

Google GLASS

Microsoft is far from being the first big tech company to explore the idea of computers that we wear in front of our eyes. Google unveiled Google Glass back in 2012 — a head-mounted computer that's a lot smaller than HoloLens and doesn't project images in 3-D.
But the device never really took off, and Google has yet to officially release a version of the gadget for everyday consumers. Now, reports suggest that Google is pivoting Glass to focus solely on enterprise and industrial-use cases, rather than as a cool gadget for adventurous early adopters.

Facebook is also heavily invested in the Oculus Rift; it bought Oculus VR for $2 billion in March 2014.

Although Google, Microsoft, and Facebook are all making big bets on computerized eyewear (even Snapchat bought a Google Glass-like startup, Vergence Labs), there are significant hurdles to address. Not only do you have to create something so incredible that people will be compelled to strap it to their faces, but Glass was slammed by privacy advocates too.

We talked to a few people who worked on Google Glass to get their thoughts on the HoloLens and what it would take to make these kinds of devices succeed.

Here's the gist of what they said:
People still aren't comfortable wearing these things in public. One of the biggest hurdles with wearable displays is that they don't look natural — Google Glass and the current version of the HoloLens both look like computers strapped to your face rather than eyeglasses or sunglasses. "I think people in general will be uncomfortable with it for now just because it brings attention to them, and sometimes people don’t like that attention," Beau Hanley, who worked as a marketing specialist for Google X until December, told us
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Microsoft should have learned its lesson from Google. Based on recent reports, it seems like Google has been rethinking its strategy regarding Glass. One former Googler thinks Microsoft should have picked up on this. "I'm fascinated that Microsoft has not learned the lesson that Google spent so much money teaching the world," Margot Boyer-Dry, head of marketing at Poncho who previously worked in marketing and business development for Google Glass, said. "They had a massive case study sitting right in front of them."

Uber said to be raising $2 billion, could soon be the most valuable startup of all time at over $50 billion

Car-hailing app Uber is looking to raise between $1.5 and $2 billion in a new funding round that would value the company at more than $50 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports.

A round of that size would make San Francisco-based Uber the highest-valued private startup of all time — only Facebook managed to break the $50 billion valuation barrier while still a private company.

What's more, the report indicates that the talks are ongoing and that valuation could go even higher, which would make Uber's growth curve even more astounding. In February 2014, the company was said to be valued at $18 billion. Just this past December, the company was valued at $41 billion.

Now, in the scant six months since that round, Uber could have added another $10 billion or more to its valuation.

Uber already holds the record for most-funded startup: It's raised $5.9 billion over ten rounds of venture capital funding in the past six years, as Silicon Valley's elite trip over themselves to get in on Uber's explosive growth, fueled by the company's aggressive expansion strategy in 250 markets around the globe.

Those same investors seem nonplussed by the mismatch between the company's valuation and its financials. Uber did about $400 million in revenue last year, which would make a $50 billion valuation worth around 120 times the cash it actually pulls in. For reference, Facebook's $50 billion valuation was based on $2 billion of revenue.

Microsoft deals

Microsoft has been playing nice since its new CEO Satya Nadella came on board early last year.

One of the biggest changes since Microsoft turned over a new leaf is that Nadella has been able to turn some of his most bitter rivals into important partners — a strategy that wasn't part of former CEO Steve Ballmer's vision.

For example, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff only says good things about Microsoft these days, while Box CEO Aaron Levie lauded Nadella during its recent earnings call.

On Tuesday, Microsoft was part of another two big announcements that show how it’s been cozying up to its competitors lately.

NetSuite, the $7 billion cloud business software maker, announced a strategic alliance deal with Microsoft where its users will find it easier to integrate with Office 365 and Azure, Microsoft’s cloud platform for building software. It will offer things like single sign-on for quicker access to Azure, while making data integration between NetSuite and Excel a lot faster.

The other announcement came from Dropbox. With its new iOS update, Dropbox users will now be able to create Microsoft Office documents right within the iOS app for Dropbox. That means users will no longer have to wait until they get to their computer with Microsoft Office to create a new Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file, and they can edit it anywhere with their iOS device.

This all highlights that Microsoft is now fully committed to working with their competitors to expand its footprint in the cloud technology space.

Historically, Microsoft has been known for playing hardball with its rivals, often cutting off their competitors’ access to its platform and preferring to build its own, separate software instead —a strategy that earned a lot of flak under Nadella’s predecessor Steve Ballmer.

“The other guy [former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer] did not care about having a relationship with Salesforce. In fact, he kind of did everything he could to not have a relationship with Salesforce,” Benioff once said in an interview.

In fact, in an interview with Recode, NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson acknowledged the shift in Microsoft's attitude. "Historically, we haven’t had much of a relationship with Microsoft, in fact they’re kind of a competitor...But Satya is really interested in partnerships for Office 365."

If anything, Microsoft’s warmer approach is earning the respect of its industry peers, and it’s putting it in a better position to compete in the cloud enterprise space.

“This is good news for Microsoft as well — it further legitimizes Microsoft’s cloud platform against the likes of Amazon, etc.,” Rebecca Wettemann, VP of Research at research firm Nucleus Research, told us. “And [this] gives it more legitimacy in the enterprise apps space.”

And the change Nadella has brought about to Microsoft isn't just limited to partnerships. In his first year as Microsoft CEO, he built excitement for Windows again, earned the support of the developer community, ended its bitter war with Apple and Android, among many other things.

Top 10 cigarette brands

10. Chesterfield

Named after Chesterfield Country, Virginia, Chesterfield cigarettes are one of the most popular brands among the tobacco smokers. Originally produced by Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company, the brand was sold to Philip Morris, also the manufacturer of Marlboro. The nicotine level in Chesterfield does not go beyond 0.8mg, a reasonable amount. With a wonderful taste due to extra fine tobacco usage and a very delicious aroma, Chesterfield is considered as a highly appreciated brand of cigarettes, probably made more popular by the fact that 007 smoked it all the time!

9. Lucky Strike

Nick-named as Luckies by its lovers, Lucy Strike became hugely popular with its advertising campaign of “It’s Toasted”. It focused on the figure conscious segment, that is, ladies. “Reach for Lucky instead of sweet” was the tag line. This made it immensely desirable with the women, along with the fact that the price was very affordable. Owned by British American Tobacco groups, Lucky’s publicity campaign emphasized on the quality of tobacco that went into making the cigarette, resulting in a very rich flavour. The nicotine level also is reasonable with 0.8mg. Also, it recently released the menthol cigarettes under it’s brand, for the menthol lovers. Overall, an internationally acclaimed brand by the smokers, Lucky Strike is better than the most.

8. Pall Mall

Pall Mall revolutionized the tobacco industry when it appeared in the market. Manufactured by R.J Reynolds, the biggest name in the industry, the distinctive feature of Pall Mall was the size of the cigarette. It outmatched every other cigarette ever made. 85mm is no ordinary size. Another feature is that it is prepared only natural ingredients. This gives it a very personal flavor, and the rich aroma is something that is hard to resist. Reynolds’ most popular brand, Pall Mall is a high quality cigarette at a very affordable price. Definitely a favorite in the smoking chambers.

7. Dunhill

Manufactured by the world’s second largest tobacco company, British American Tobacco, Dunhill cigarettes are a premium brand with a higher price than most of the brands. Made from Virginian tobacco, what makes its taste so exclusive is the technique by which the tobacco leaves are cut. One inch of the leaf is cut 46 times! The company has always striven to make more and more improvements in the quality of the cigarette, hence have been able to incite brand loyalty among the inhalers of Dunhill. The smell of fresh tobacco, as confessed by the users, goes a long way in soothing the nerves.

6. Kent

Another product of the British American Tobacco company, Kent cigarettes were introduced in the market when the terror of cancer by tobacco had become widespread and the people were on the lookout for filtered cigarettes. Kent did the job. With a surprisingly low content of nicotine, it gives its consumer the most transparent of pleasures as the risk of being harmed by smoking is reduced to a great extent due to a special filter possessed by these cigarettes. There are plethora of variations that the cigarette comes in, for each type of smokers. Named after Herbert Kent, a former executive at Lorillard Tobacco Company, Kent cigarettes enjoy a substantially large following of customers and is one of the most sold brand of smokes,

5. Camel

A product of R.J Reynolds, Camel cigarettes may as well be the most smoked cigarettes, being a high quality smoke at a reasonable price. Whoever claims to know cigarettes, knows Camel. The distinctive feature is probably the symbol, the trademark- a camel in the middle of a desert amidst sand dunes and palm trees. Camel cigarettes are made of a mixture of Turkish and Virginian tobacco. Available in three versions- Camel Blue, Camel Full Flavor and Camel Silver- there is no such place where Camel cigarettes are not in demand. They come in an awful of varieties, so as to suit everyone’s tastes. Constant modifications in marketing and publicity have kept the sales on high for this brand.

4. Marlboro

Starting the journey as a cigarette for the ladies, Marlboro has come a long and successful way. Owned by Philip Morris International, these are maddeningly popular brand of cigarettes, and favorite of every second smoker you may meet. The main aspect that made it such a success was the advertising. The cowboy ad appealed to the masculine segment of the population to a very large extent. Previous to that the advertisements highlighted the cigarettes for the females. Then it forayed into filtered type, and came out with a wider coverage. Philip Morris always targeted the youth through its advertisements and was no doubt immensely successful. Marlboro is a high quality cigarette at a price not to balk at. The image of the Marlboro Man digs deep. No wonder the young and old men favor it alike.

3. Parliament

It is produced by Philip Morris again, the owner of highly acclaimed brands like Marlboro. Parliament cigarettes are not advertised that heavily though. In fact, they are scarcely advertised. The exquisite taste it possesses works as a salesman. The distinctive feature of these cigarettes is the use of recessed filter in them. It gives a richness and hardness to the flavor that makes Parliamentt stand out from the rest. Just as the name suggests, it is strong, one of its kind and has gained acceptance in the elite circles of smokers. The tar content is low, reducing the harmful effects. Parliament cigarettes is one of the most popular, one-of-its-kind brand. Besides, the variations cater to the varied interests. Parliament super Slims, Parliament Night Blue, Parliament Aqua Blue and Parliament Silver. One for all kinds of preferences.

2. Davidoff

Davidoff is a Swiss tobacco brand, owned by the Oettinger Davidoff group. However, the manufacturing of Davidoff cigarettes is taken care of in Dominican Republic by Hendrik ‘Henke’ Kelner. All other tobacco products under Davidoff brand are otherwise managed by Oettinger. Davidoff cigarettes include a wide variety few being Slims, Classic, Milds, Menthol etc. It is known to be impossible to match the flavor and taste of Davidoff with any other cigarette. The tobacco that goes into its preparation is of a very high quality, a rarity as said. This makes the aroma so enriching and the taste so enriching that one can forget everything, indulge in the luxury and pleasure that Davidoff is. It is regarded in a very high esteem in the industry, and has been overly successful in making its way to every smoker’s lips.

1. Cigaronne

The birthchild of a very recent organization in the industry, SPS Cigaronne Co., Cigaronne cigarettes are what can be called as by far the most different piece of fag there ever was. With an extremely tasteful tobacco, the cigarette boasts of being 120mm long. 64mm of that is the filter while the rest is smoking part. This size was never in the market before, that with such a fine tobacco inside. These are absolutely first grade cigarettes, with taste and smell perfectly heady. Yeah, that good! This uniqueness and the fact that inspite of being so recent it has settled down well and god makes Cigaronne grab the first place in our list!

APPLE WATCH MISSES ITS MARK ON TATTOOED ARMS

Demand for the Apple Watch has clearly outstripped supply during the initial launch period. The small number of wearables trickling out to end-users can be blamed on trouble with the taptic engine, something Apple discovered prior to launch.

Apple also didn't notice at least one issue plaguing the Watch before it reached consumers: Incompatibility with ink.

Apple’s quality-testing procedures helped it catch a flaw in the taptic engine before the device shipped, reports the Wall Street Journal. Apple tasked two companies to make the taptic engine, AAC Technologies in China and Nidec in Japan. The taptic engine uses a motor and sliding rod to create gentle taps on the wrist to notify wearers of incoming calls and messages.

Apple’s quality assurance metrics found some taptic engines from AAC Technologies were bound to break over time. This forced the Watch maker to cut AAC from its supply chain and shift all taptic engine sourcing to Nidec.

Consumers needn't fear their Watch is defective, according to Re/Code. “I believe no faulty Apple Watches were shipped to consumers,” said Patrick Moor-head, founder of Moor Insights & Strategy, in a statement to Re/Code. “I don’t think this is damaging at all.”

Losing one of the two suppliers seriously curtailed Apple’s ability to manufacture the smart watch at volume, which has contributed to the limited supply of the device. People placing orders for the Watch on Apple’s website today may not see the device ship until June or later, depending on the model.

“Our team is working to fill orders as quickly as possible based on available supply and the order in which they were received,” Apple said. “We know many customers are still facing long lead times and we appreciate their patience.”

Apple’s quality assurance measures apparently missed the boat on tattoos. Apple Watch owners with dark tattoos on their wrists reported problems with the wearable. iMore investigated the issue and agreed there is in fact a problem.

“Apple uses various spectrum's of light to track the blood flow through your skin. Anything that reduces that light’s reflectiveness — ink pigmentation within your skin, for example — can interfere with that sensor,” explained iMore. “Natural skin pigmentation doesn't block light the same way artificial ink pigment or even scar tissue does, so you shouldn't run into a problem if your skin is naturally darker.”

iMore’s tests showed black and red tattoos were most likely to cause problems, while lighter colors like yellow were less likely to cause problems.

Apple hasn't yet responded to this issue.

New born princess celebratrions

Prince George's new sister is 21 months his junior

What will the name be? Bookmakers are offering odds on a number of options

Unofficial town crier Tony Appleton announced the news to the well-wishers and media gathered

News of the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's new daughter prompted celebrations outside St Mary's Hospital in London, where she was born on Saturday morning

The BT Tower in central London carried a special message marking the announcement

The Royal Navy sent a special greeting from the flight decks of HMS Lancaster

The Queen looked happy as she visited Richmond Castle, north Yorkshire, shortly after the birth

They joined some well-wishers who have spent days waiting for the new royal

Prince William left the hospital shortly before 16:00 BST, telling those outside he was "very happy"

New born princess…

New born baby princess outside the hospital with parents

The princess – who is fourth in line to the throne – was “safely delivered” at 08:34 BST, the palace statement said.
The Duke of Cambridge, who was present for the birth of the 8lbs 3oz (3.7kg) baby girl, brought his 21-month-old son Prince George to visit his sister at St Mary’s Hospital, west London.
The couple and their daughter will leave hospital on Saturday evening.
They will travel home to Kensington Palace, where Prince George has now returned.
In a statement, Kensington Palace said: “Their Royal Highnesses would like to thank all staff at the hospital for the care and treatment they have all received.
“They would also like to thank everyone for their warm wishes.”
As he left the hospital briefly to pick up his son, Prince William told the waiting crowds the couple were “very happy”.
Both Catherine and her daughter are “doing well”, Kensington Palace said. The name of the baby will be announced in due course.
For live updates click here and for the royal baby special report, click here.
The Prince of Wales, who had earlier said he was hoping for a grand-daughter, and the Duchess of Cornwall said they were “absolutely delighted”.

An official notice was placed on an easel at Buckingham Palace – it will be there for 24 hours

People are queuing outside Buckingham Palace for a glimpse of the easel
'

Cameras are focused on the door of the Lindo wing

Prince William plants a kiss on his son’s head before taking him inside the hospital to visit his baby sister

It is the first time Prince George has been officially seen in public in the UK since he left the same hospital as a newborn in 2013

The duchess had been admitted to the private Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, west London, at 06:00 BST.
The birth announcement came just after 11:00 BST.
The statement from Kensington Palace added: “The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry and members of both families have been informed and are delighted with the news.”
The latest royal joins the line of succession behind her grandfather Prince Charles, father Prince William and brother Prince George, who was born at the same hospital in July 2013.
The princess is the Queen’s fifth great-grandchild.

30 easy ways to make your employees happy

Happiness is good for business.

There's lots of research out there that says happy people are more productive at work — which can be key to a company's success. So bosses should be doing everything they can to make sure their employees are content, motivated, and engaged at work.

In the infographic below, Unum, a UK-based financial protection insurer, highlighted 30 simple ways employers can do this:

Microsoft's new website that tells you about your age "try it out"

Microsoft introduced How-Old.net, a website to guess how old you are, at today's Microsoft Build 2015 developer conference.

The site is way for Microsoft to show off what it's working on behind the scenes, with smarter applications that can use facial recognition and huge amounts of data to make intelligent guesses. Supposedly, the app learns over time from the data everyone uploads, improving and becoming more accurate as more people use it.

How-Old.net isn't highly accurate, but it's close, and it's getting better.

Using How-Old is easy. You can upload your own photos, or choose from a Bing Image Search. Here's what it thinks about "Furious Seven" actor Vin Diesel, real age 47:

And "Hunger Games" actress Jennifer Lawrence, real age 24:

It's an oddity, but it demonstrates how Microsoft is thinking about data, facial recognition, and all kinds of other futuristic technologies. It's a little taste of things to come.

You can try out How-Old for yourself through the link below.

http://how-old.net/#

Technology can help Nepal earthquake survivors.

As the extent of the damage from the earthquake in Nepal became clear, technology companies started devising ways to help users in affected areas connect with friends and loved ones around the world, and vice versa.

Google’s Person Finder was tracking about 6,100 records as of 2:30 p.m. Monday, Eastern time. Here is how it works: Anyone can enter a person’s name, biographical information and photograph into Google’s database. You can specify whether you are that person, are seeking information about that person or have reason to believe that person is either alive or missing. Google does not review or verify any of the data.

The database can be searched online or by texting a name to a designated phone number. The idea is to centralize information so that users do not have to seek multiple sources.

Google’s tool can also accept data from other registries. The common format used, called PFIF, was established by a group of volunteers after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, according to Google. After that disaster, multiple lists of missing people sometimes added to confusion, reinforcing the need for a single central database.

Nongovernmental organizations can embed Person Finder on their websites to get the information to a wider audience.

The tool was first introduced in 2010 after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, and it was used again the next year after the major earthquake in Japan.

Facebook activated its Safety Check tool on Saturday. Using users’ profiles and location data from their mobile devices, it detects when they are in an affected area and asks them to update their status so that their friends will know they are safe. The tool can also be used to check on other users.

“It’s a simple way to let family and friends know you’re O.K.,” the company’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, wrote in a post on his Facebook page.

The company said millions of users in Nepal, India, Bhutan and Bangladesh had been marked safe, and tens of millions of people were notified that their contacts had been marked safe, as of Monday afternoon.

Facebook also started a fund-raising drive for the International Medical Corps on Monday, and said it would match every dollar donated, up to $2 million. The matching funds are to be distributed to local relief and rescue organizations.