Breakfast cereal manufacturer Kellogg's has been working with third-party VR companies to help it determine the best way to display its new products in stores. Who? Kellogg's is reported to have been working on a pilot scheme with Accenture and Qualcomm.  Accenture is a Dublin-based global management consulting and professional services firm with a strong digital skill-set, and Qualcomm Inc is a US-based world leader in 3G and next-generation mobile technologies. What? The pilot’s aim was to determine the best in-store placement for Kellogg’s new Pop Tart Bites.  This involved the use of Accenture’s Extended Reality (XR) software and Qualcomm’s VR [...]

If you use Google Drive to store files in the cloud but worried that Google doesn’t provide a true password protection feature, you may want to encrypt your files before uploading them.  Here’s how: If you have Microsoft Office on your PC, it has a built-in encryption feature. - Go to: File > Protect Document > Encrypt with Password. - Upload the file to Google Docs. - Google can’t read the file, but it can be downloaded and opened on any PC with Microsoft Office Installed (using the password). - If you don’t have Microsoft Office, you could use Boxcryptor.  [...]

5G may be the next generation of mobile internet that could provide new and innovative opportunities and boost to new industries, but there have been some concerns that its high-frequency mmWave spectrum could pose new health risks. Long-Held Concerns Ever since there have been mobile phones, there have always been concerns that prolonged exposure to low-energy, non-ionising electromagnetic radiation radio waves, the type used by current mobile phones, could increase a person’s risk of health problems such as developing cancerous brain tumours. This radio frequency (RF) radiation does not have enough energy to ionise an atom or molecule, and therefore, is unlikely [...]

A report, commissioned by health secretary Matt Hancock and led by US academic Eric Topol, has found that even though AI and robotics will enhance healthcare services, 90% of NHS staff will require fresh digital skills within 20-years. Robotics and AI Enhancements According to the report, although there has been fear that the implementation of AI and robotics to the NHS could be a step towards replacing human practitioners, they will in fact enhance services. Smart Speakers Could Help For example, the use of smart digital assistants such as Alexa and Siri could free-up more time for doctors which could [...]

The Astigan high-altitude "pseudo-satellite" (HAPS) drone, built in Somerset using British Technology, and co-developed with Ordinance Survey, could succeed where other earth-mapping efforts by tech giants have failed, and provide a wealth of other opportunities. High Altitude Hover For 90 Days, With No Re-Fuelling The fixed-wing aircraft, which has solar panels across 38m wingspan and only weighs 149kg (328lb), can be set to hover for 90 days at a time at an altitude of 67,000ft (c. 20,420m), without re-fuelling.  It is controlled from the ground and can be set to map large areas of interest or made to hover continuously [...]

Marketing report company Singular has produced an ROI index for mobile advertising, based on its own research which shows that Facebook and Google appear to offer the best value for mobile advertisers. The Research Singular sampled over $1.5 billion of spend in mobile advertising, including over a half a billion installs and almost $3 billion in revenue.  From this, the company was able to produce an ‘ROI Index’ that ranks the best-performing ad networks for mobile marketers on iOS and Android globally. Singular’s backers include Norwest Venture Partners, General Catalyst, Thomvest Ventures, and Method Capital, and Singular’s customers (as a [...]

Russia has set itself a deadline of 1st April to test “unplugging” the entire country from the global Internet for reasons relating to defence and control. Giant Intranet Dubbed “Runet” The impending test of a complete ‘pulling up of the drawbridge’ from the rest of the world is being planned in order to ensure compliance with a new (draft) law in Russia called the Digital Economy National Program.  This will require Russia's ISPs to show that they can operate in the event of any foreign powers acting to isolate the country online with a "targeted large-scale external influence" i.e. a [...]

If you’ve ever emailed yourself a photo or screenshot to get it from your phone to your computer or uploaded photos to e.g. Google Photos or Dropbox and then download them onto your PC, you may want to try Microsoft’s ‘Your Phone’ app.  With the app, you can link and sync your Android phone to your Windows PC or laptop and simply drag and drop photos or screenshots, plus you can receive and send text messages from your phone on your computer. Here’s how to set it up: This works for PCs or laptops running Windows 10 April 2018 Update [...]

A man was given a public order fine after being stopped by police because he covered his face during a trial of facial recognition cameras in Romford, London. What Facial Recognition Trial? A deliberately “overt” trial of live facial recognition technology by the Metropolitan Police took place in the centre of Romford, London, on Thursday 31st January.  This was supposed to be the first day of a two-day trial of the technology, but the second day was cancelled due to concerns that the forecast snow would only bring a low level of footfall in the area. Live facial recognition trials of [...]

Google has announced the introduction of its ‘Live Transcribe’ app for Android which allows people who are deaf or hard of hearing to see a live, near real-time written display of conversations on their phone. Live Transcribe The Google Live Transcribe app offers deaf and hard of hearing a new portable, accessibility tool that offers a convenient and innovative new way to join in conversations. With the Live Transcribe app turned on, the Android phone microphone feeds conversations into the app which can display accurate, near real-time captions on the phone screen in 70 different languages and dialects.  It also [...]