At its I/O developer’s conference in May, Google announced that it was bringing a neat feature to its search results: augmented reality models, which allows users to take a look as a 3D image of a search result. The company just rolled out the feature to users with an ARCore or ARKit-ready Android phone or iPhone, as spotted by Cnet.
The feature only has a couple of animals that you can check out right now, such as a tiger, a lion, a giant panda, a rottweiler, a wolf, and a bunch of others. (Cnet’s Scott Stein has a thread that lists off the ones that he found.)
It’s AR of the tiger!
If you’ve got an AR-enabled phone, you can now bring select animals right into your space for a safari (or safe snuggle) with Search. pic.twitter.com/kWpudETgeq
To use the feature, navigate to Google on a compatible device, and search for the animal in question in Google Search. If the animal you’ve searched for (say, a wolf) is available, it’ll show up in a small box with some statistics and an animated thumbnail, and an invitation to “meet a life-sized wolf up close.”
From there, tap “View in 3D”, and the site will populate an animated, 3D model in your screen. When you click on the AR tab on the top of the screen, it’ll switch you to an AR view on your phone. This step took a couple of minutes: it had me move my phone around before populating a handful of animals, but eventually, it displayed a tiger, a golden eagle, and a wolf hanging out in my backyard. It’ll let you take a clean screenshot, minus all of the tabs and buttons.
The feature is pretty cool: it’s a good way to see just how large some of these animals really are up close (I kept thinking that they were too large, until I looked at their stats), and I could see this being useful in a classroom or educational setting.
At I/O, Google noted that the feature would be used for some more practical things, like shopping, where you could see what a product looked like without actually having it in hand, or if you wanted to check out how muscles looked on a person — it would overlay your search result in AR. That’s not the extent of Google’s AR ambitions: it’s been testing an AR navigation feature for Google Maps, and has been releasing AR Playmoji stickers for users to play with.
The feature isn’t the first time that Google has inserted some sort of interactive, animal-related feature into its search results. Back in 2016, it launched a feature that allows people to listen to animal sounds in search results, although you have to specifically search for “Animal Sounds” to access that — searching for “Wolf Sounds” just brings you to regular links, like clips from YouTube or other related pages.
Enlarge/ Maybe this is the "Mark Taylor" I seek...
Getty Images | vladru
After a layoff dumped me into the job market for the first time in more than a decade, I had an all-too-close encounter with a new breed of digital fraudsters who prey on the unemployed. These high-tech predators use a new twist on an old scam to "hire" the victim in order to gain access to their bank account. The scheme was cleverly engineered, but a couple of small irregularities tipped me off to my would-be assailants' plans before they could steal anything more than two days' worth of my time. Once alerted, I was even able to use some of their own tactics to inflict a bit of pain on the folks who sought to scam me.
Embarrassing as it might be, I'm sharing my experiences in the hope that they might help you avoid falling victim to these cyber-vultures and perhaps even turn the tables on them.
The setup
Like most successful cons, this one involved gaining the willing consent of its victim through some combination of greed, fear, or desperation. Having been laid off several months earlier, I fell into the latter category and was ripe for the picking. When I lost the unfulfilling but steady editorial job I'd held down for the past few years, I was confident that my strong credentials and deep collection of contacts I'd made over the years would help me land a better gig within a month or two.
To my surprise, the job hunting skills I'd honed over my 20+ year career were outdated and almost useless at penetrating the layers of digital screening agents that stood between me and a potential employer. I found myself in unfamiliar territory, struggling to learn the complex Kabuki dance that today's job seekers must master in order to slip past Corporate HR's silicon sentinels and gain an audience with a carbon-based life form.
Even engaging a resume coach to help me finetune my credentials failed to break the deafening silence until an email arrived from ZipRecruiter, one of several job hunting sites I was registered with. The recruiter was responding to the application I had submitted a day earlier for a remote-work tech writer position at a biotech firm. Since the scammers used the name of a real company for their scheme, I've redacted it from the email below:
Company: XXXXXX, INC. - Position Type: Full-Time/Part Time.
Positions Available: Copywriter/Technical Writer/Proofreader and Editor. Pay: 45-50/HR
Station: Freelance/Remote - Full Time & Part time available. Candidate Interview Reference Code: ZPRTR11680 - Job Code: 3022
JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:
Manage team of experienced copywriters and proofreaders, bringing team members together in pursuit of highly relevant, error-free content across both digital and traditional print media
Evolve company’s voice and tone, championing the evolution of, and adherence to, our brand style guide
Lead proofing and copy functions as a “hands on” manager, personally taking on related tasks to hit critical deadlines
Work closely with Creative Director and team in the development of new and existing concepts, and in crafting output that sells
Manage overarching editorial process and workflow for all copy-writing and proofing milestones, prioritizing work, while improving process to maximize efficiency and productivity
Supervise and coach copywriters on developing engaging content that seamlessly integrates with visual design.
Your resume has been reviewed by our HR Department for the position and we believe you are capable of handling this position based on the contents of your resume you sent for our ad on ZIPRECRUITER. Your details has been forwarded to Mrs MARK TAYLOR the Assistant Chief Human Resources Officer. He will be conducting interview with you to discuss the Job Details, Pay Scale and every other thing you need to know about the position.
You are required to Log on to Google Talk Messenger/Hangout and send an Invite/Message to the Asst. Chief Human Resources OfficerMARK TAYLOR on his ID at (hrmdesktaylor@gmail.com). An interview tag identification number has been assigned to you ***ZPRTR11680***. Introduce yourself to him and indicate your interview reference code.
Thus began a two-day odyssey that nearly ended with my new "employers" draining the contents of my bank account.
Enlarge/ Have you ever heard of a job interview conducted via Google Hangouts? Can't imagine this happened frequently back in 2015 when these screenshots of Hangouts on iOS were current...
The hook
Per the email's instructions, I hopped onto Google Hangouts and reached out to "Mark Taylor," the person who would be interviewing me. His voice channel did not seem to be active so we messaged back and forth and set up a time to chat the following day.
During our exchange, I noticed that his replies contained some subtle grammatical irregularities that were very similar to the ones I'd seen in the first email. Wanting desperately to believe that this interview would be my ticket to a steady paycheck, I told myself that the recruiter's odd turns of phrase were probably due to the fact that he was working at some sort of offshore service center.
Any lingering concerns I had were put to rest after a bit of research revealed that the biotech firm the recruiter claimed to represent was a real company. Thus assured, I spent some time gathering information from the company's website to prep for the upcoming interview.
The following day, I logged onto Google Hangouts, properly dressed and groomed for the video chat I'd been preparing for. To my surprise, I learned that the interview would be conducted using Hangouts' text messaging service. Here is an excerpt of the conversation:
Me: Hi Mark—it's Lee. I'm on Hangouts and trying to confirm that the application will default to my external microphone instead of the one in my laptop. I'll call in a couple of minutes and if we have difficulty I'll run the call through my phone.
"Mark Taylor": Hello Lee, we can conduct the interview via text.
Sure—that would be fine too. If it's OK with you, I'll try the voice link and default to text if that doesn't work.
(After unsuccessfully trying to establish a voice link for a few minutes, Mark broke in again)
Are you ready to proceed with the interview now?
Yes. Let's rock!
The interview consist of three phases i.e " Introduction to the Company, Questionnaire Phase, Job Briefings, Description and Pay scale" So I'll begin by introducing you properly to the Company, provide you with the necessary information/details you need to know about us after which we would proceed with the questionnaire and job briefings OK.
Sounds great! Thanks—I'm ready
After a long briefing about the company, its research, and the oncology treatments it was developing, Mark began the formal part of the interview by introducing himself as the assistant chief human resources officer of the company and describing the duties I'd be expected to fulfill.
After reviewing my qualifications, he asked me several of the questions I've frequently encountered at conventional interviews over the years, including the ever-popular "whatcan you describe as the most difficult challenge you have faced in your career thus far and what methods did you apply to get it solved?"
I think I remember noticing that some of the questions I was answering had the same verbal tics I'd seen in the earlier emails, but, even if I did, I was too busy typing my replies to allow it to be a concern.
This was followed by a series of shorter questions that seemed at first to be mostly a professional skills assessment that included:
Explain in details the 3(three) major qualities of a good proofreader?
As a technical proofreader what would be your approach to problem solving when editing a write up?
Give three expectations of a creative copywriter?
But there were two questions that seemed out of place. They wanted to know which bank I used and whether it supported electronic deposits, a process in which you deposit checks by taking pictures of them with your Smartphone. It seemed like an odd thing to ask, but I told them that my bank did accept electronic deposits and moved on to the next question.
Within a few minutes of submitting my answers, Mark informed me that I'd passed the interview and would receive a formal offer to work from my home as a copywriter/proofreader. My pay would be $45/hour during my one-week training and evaluation period, stepping up to $50/hour when I became an employee.
After months of living on unemployment checks, those were the words I'd longed to see.
I was elated as we settled into what I was told would be the first part of the company's onboarding process. Mark explained that, following my training period, I'd meet with a company representative who would help me complete the last of the HR paperwork and verify that my home office was properly equipped with a top-line Mac Book, a pricey color laser printer, and a few other pieces of expensive tech the company deemed necessary.
Elation turned to panic because it wasn't clear whether the company would supply the equipment or if I'd have to pony up for it myself. To my relief, he told me that the company would send me a check that I'd use to buy the equipment from one of the company's preferred vendors.
I'd been online for most of the day, and it was getting late. We agreed to reconnect the following morning to complete the on-boarding and begin the training I'd have to take before beginning my actual work.
Before I signed off, Mark said that he'd send me a check so I could start purchasing my new office equipment as soon as possible. Life was good.
I know, I know, who cares about a phone name, right? It's right down there with color at the bottom of the list of things you should care about. And yet, like color, phone names actually matter -- to Apple, and on a deeper level, probably to you, too. Names are tools that brands use to entice buyers and convey certain values and characteristics about the thing they're selling. iPhone XS, fine. iPhone XYZ or iPhone XX, bad. And if you need more convincing, just peek at our gallery of 30 worst phone names below. There are some pretty impressive missteps.
For Apple specifically, the future of the iPhone X line is important because it represents a new iPhone era. The iPhone X is the device that shook off the yoke of the physical home button and went all-screen. It's the iPhone that charged ahead with secure face unlock, a feature that Android rivals still can't compete with almost three years later. Never forget that the iPhone X is also the phone that made it almost normal to pay $1,000 for a smartphone. The "X" isn't just a name, it's a thing that defines Apple's iPhone future.
Would Apple really call its next phone the iPhone 11 (as we do for ease and a general sense of chronology)? Or would it make more sense to stick with the X theme, and if so, then how -- iPhone X2 and X2S? Or is that the iPhone XI? Would that make 2020's phone the iPhone XIS? Of course not.
Part of the problem is that the iPhone "X" name is already confusing. It looks one way, but sounds another. Apple calls it the iPhone "ten," but you call it the iPhone "excess," "ex are" and "excess max."
The trouble began in 2017 when Apple skipped over the iPhone 9 to release the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and a "10," its tenth-anniversary phone. But in so naming the iPhone X -- and following it up with three more "X" phones in 2018 -- Apple has created a ripple effect that makes me wonder what the plan is next. (I've made similar arguments here and here.)
Now playing:Watch this:
iPhone XR vs. Galaxy S10E camera shootout
9:03
Here's another thought. Apple could simply call its new phone the "iPhone X (2020)." Apple has done this before with iPads and MacBooks and although we don't like it, we've learned to accept it, even if it does create mass confusion. ("Which iPhone do you have?" "Uh, the iPhone?")
Apple could also just carry on with its carefree new naming convention or throw us for a loop and finally bring the iPhone family in line with Apple's love of California geological name-places and call its next flagship phone the iPhone Tahoe, to mirror MacOS High Sierra. With Apple, anything is possible.
I miss the warm certainty of a logical naming structure, where S's follow integers and all is well in the universe. As far as future iPhone names go now, it's still a brave -- and confusing -- new world.
Originally published Sept. 16, 2018, and updated most recently June 2, 2019, at 4 a.m. PT.
We've been expecting Apple to close iTunes for a while now, in order to divide it into different apps, and it looks like the tech company is putting the ball in motion, suggesting we'll see the new face of Apple's media plan at WWDC 2019.
As noticed by Reddit user u/MalteseAppleFan, the iTunes Instagram account has had all its content deleted – in addition the iTunes Twitter account hasn't been updated in nearly a week as of writing, and all posts on iTunes' Facebook page have also been removed.
Shuttering iTunes' social media accounts would make sure consumers only followed the accounts of iTunes' newer apps, so Apple's steps to do so suggest we could hear news of iTunes' closure in the next few days. The iTunes Twitter and Instagram accounts already point towards the Apple TV accounts, so this move could already be in motion.
Apple's week-long developer conference WWDC 2019 begins on June 3, and we're expecting Apple to announce its new software and hardware upgrades like iOS 13 , MacOS 10.15, WatchOS 6 and more. TechRadar will be on the ground reporting for the whole week, so stay tuned to find out the future of Apple.
Soft robots promise a kinder, gentler approach to automation, but they're frequently hamstrung by complexity, costs and the need for wires. Thankfully, Harvard researchers have found a way to simplify matters. They've developed a softrobot driven by pressurized air that doesn't need the multiple control systems that frequently guide these machines. A lone input pumps air to the robot's legs through tubes of different sizes, which determines how those legs behave. If you want the robot to crawl forward, you just have to send air through the right set of tubes.
The test bot is just a simple cross-shaped quadruped, and it currently needs an external source of air. You're not about to see one in the wild any time soon. However, the simplicity and reduced parts could make it practical for all kinds of tasks where soft robots were either impractical or had to be tethered, such as space exploration or search and rescue. They could scramble across rough terrain without as much caution as more fragile conventional robots, and could be more affordable -- important if anything does go wrong.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook will likely update App Store revenue figures during his keynote presentation kicking off the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in the Silicon Valley city of San Jose (AFP Photo/JUSTIN SULLIVAN)
San Francisco (AFP) - Apple is set to court software savants at its annual developers conference beginning Monday while contending with criticism that the iPhone maker has made its App Store a walled garden.
The App Store is the lone shop for content for Apple devices, with the technology giant deciding which software creations to accept and taking a 30 percent cut of financial transactions.
But last month the US Supreme Court ruled that a 2011 consumer lawsuit accusing Apple of illegally monopolizing the store and driving up prices may proceed.
"We only collect a commission from developers when a digital good or service is delivered through an app," Apple said in a page recently established in defense of the App Store.
Launched 11 years ago, Apple says the App Store has helped create millions of jobs and generated more than $120 billion for developers.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook will likely update that stunning figure during his keynote presentation kicking off the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in the Silicon Valley city of San Jose.
- Pushing privacy -
As in years past, Apple will also use the gathering to showcase improvements to the operating systems powering its Mac computers and mobile devices as well as to the software it designs.
But the App Store dispute will be closely watched at the WWDC, which is already expected to be of heightened importance as the company emphasizes digital content and services to offset a pullback in the once-sizzling smartphone market.
Apple has maintained that its tight control of the store allows it to protect user privacy and guard against malicious software by vetting what goes on its virtual shelves. Apple also gets to make sure apps work smoothly with its operating software.
In contrast, applications tailored for mobile devices powered by iOS rival Android can be obtained at online venues aside from Google's Play Store, where the Internet firm can screen offerings.
Cook has repeatedly portrayed Apple as a champion of user privacy, saying data gathered by its devices or software is zealously guarded.
Critics, however, contend that Apple is not as conscientious when it comes to data such as location, browsing history and more collected by apps made by outside developers.
Among announcements rumored to be in store at the gathering is that it will tighten limits on sharing data gathered by children's apps.
- Monopoly? -
In May's 5-4 Supreme Court ruling, the justices rejected Apple's argument that consumers lacked standing to proceed with their lawsuit because the tech giant was merely an intermediary with app developers.
The opinion written by the court's newest member, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, said consumers had a right to pursue their case because they have a direct relationship with Apple.
The case must now go back to a lower court for trial.
"We're confident we will prevail when the facts are presented and that the App Store is not a monopoly by any metric," Apple said in an emailed statement.
"We're proud to have created the safest, most secure and trusted platform for customers and a great business opportunity for all developers around the world."
The ruling came amid a growing backlash against major tech companies that dominate key segments of the online economy. Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has argued that big firms such as Facebook, Google and Apple should be broken up through antitrust enforcement.
And Apple faces charges in Europe of abusing its platform by discriminating against rival apps, including one complaint from streaming music service Spotify.
Spotify filed a formal complaint with the EU Commission taking issue with restrictions that Apple places on apps that don't use the App Store payment system.
Apple dismissed Spotify's accusations of anti-competitive behavior, saying the Swedish music streaming giant was trying to enjoy the benefits of its online market without paying the cost of its upkeep.
"Spotify wouldn't be the business they are today without the App Store ecosystem, but now they’re leveraging their scale to avoid contributing to maintaining that ecosystem for the next generation of app entrepreneurs," Apple said in an online post.
If you Google certain animals, you might just come across an augmented reality surprise in your results. The tech giant has rolled out a new card for Search that can put animal virtual animals in the real world, so long as you have an AR-enabled phone. According to 9to5Google, the trick works for alpine goats, angler fish, bears, emperor penguins, European hedgehogs, lions, tigers and timberwolves. We can confirm that it also works with dogs and cats. When you do a search on any of them, you'll see a card that says "Meet a life-sized [animal] up close."
The card also has a "View in your space" button that places an animated version of that animal in the environment you're in. You can move them around and resize them -- they even come with appropriate visual and sound effects. The tiger roars, the dog barks and scratches its ears, the panda chews on a piece of bamboo and the cat licks its paws and cleans itself.
You'll have to give the feature access to your camera and your storage to be able to see the AR animals the first time you view one. After that, you can play with it anytime you want. This is just one of the augmented reality features for Search Google revealed at its I/O developer conference in early May. 9to5Google says the tech giant also teamed up with NASA, Samsung, Volvo and other companies to create more AR objects for Search in the future.
Catch up on all the latest news from Google IO 2019 here!
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