Google this week announced a new cloud-based Machine Learning platform for developers or businesses that’ll allow users to access the company’s artificial intelligence technology, reports Computerworld. Google is using its Machine Learning service to differentiate its cloud services from its competitors, which include the market-leading Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. The announcement was made during the GCP Next conference, a global cloud event that was hosted by Google.
Google’s new Cloud Machine Learning platform opens the door for developers to take advantage of Google’s artificial neural networks. This makes it possible for the cloud to move beyond a storage medium and become a tool for analyzing large amounts to data. By removing human programming from the loop, the artificial intelligence can quickly parse a large data set and learn from what it has analyzed.
Related: Apple signs deal to power part of iCloud with Google Cloud Platform
Google’s new services will provide application programming interfaces (APIs) for automatic image identification, speech recognition, language translation, and more. The platform is powered by the company’s TensorFlow neural network software, which was released last year to the open-source community and which powers the company’s Cloud Speech API and the Cloud Translate API. Early adopters of the smart cloud platform are expected to include Home Depot, Spotify, Apple, and Disney, among others.
“This is the next transformation” in cloud-based technology, said Alphabet executive chairman Eric Schmidt during GCP Next. Schmidt compared the future development of cloud intelligence to the recent transformation of the mobile app industry, a shift that led to the formation of a number of powerhouse companies, including Snapchat and Uber, among others.
“I’m convinced there’s a new architecture emerging,” Schmidt added. “In a year, you will use machine learning to do something better than humans have been doing. You’ll do something new. You’ll discover something new.” Schmidt believes that these discoveries will transform cloud computing and fuel another round of successful IPOs for those firms that can further leverage this cutting-edge cloud technology.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.