CCTV Installations

In a week where AMD , Intel and Qualcomm have already made major announcements, Microsoft’s keynote yesterday at Computex in Taipei was relatively lowkey. Instead of revealing new products, the company hinted at what it wants in a modernized operating system. Intriguingly, Microsoft’s blog post about the keynote does not mention Windows, lending credence to speculation that it is developing a new “super-secure” OS. According to the blog post by Nick Parker, corporate vice president of consumer and device sales, a modern OS should enable “form factor agility” by being flexible enough to be integrated into different types of devices, which is noteworthy because last year the company hinted at new additions to the Surface lineup , which some have speculated might mean the line is adding a smartphone. He added that a modern OS should include seamless updates, done invisibly in the background without forcing people to stop using their computers and be secure by default, preventing att...

If robots are really to help us out around the house or care for our injured and elderly, they’re going to want two hands… at least. But using two hands is harder than we make it look — so this robotic control system learns from humans before attempting to do the same. The idea behind the research, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, isn’t to build a two-handed robot from scratch, but simply to create a system that understands and executes the same type of manipulations that we humans do without thinking about them. For instance, when you need to open a jar, you grip it with one hand and move it into position, then tighten that grip as the other hand takes hold of the lid and twists or pops it off. There’s so much going on in this elementary two-handed action that it would be hopeless to ask a robot to do it autonomously right now. But that robot could still have a general idea of why this type of manipulation is done on this occasion, and do what it can to pursue it. The rese...

There’s a huge amount of crossover between the gaming and cosplay communities, and InWin ’s Alice computer chassis will appeal to many in the middle of that Venn diagram. The company is currently showing off Alice and its other PC cases at Computex in Taipei. Named after the Lewis Carroll character, the mid tower case comes in several colors of lightweight ABS plastic, but its real draw is its easily removable fabric covers. InWin sells a large array of covers, so you can switch them up, but of course you can also make them. InWin’s Alice covers are designed to be dust-proof, but the concept also has the bonus of allowing for plenty of airflow and making it easy to clean the inside of your PC or change components. The Alice will be compatible with 12-inch by 9.6-inch ATX, Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX motherboards and is just a little over 24 inches tall, with a width of 11.6 inches and a depth of 17.5 inches. from Gadgets – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/29/inwins-alice...

Taiwan-based Ducky , known for its popular mechanical keyboards, today at Computex showed off its tribute to the country’s culture: the limited-edition “Year of the Pig” 65% keyboard. The latest of Ducky’s yearly Zodiac releases, created in collaboration with metalwork artist Kulele Ruladen, the keyboard pays tribute to the Paiwan, one of Taiwan’s indigenous tribes. Ruladen’s design draws on several aspects of Paiwan culture, including a metal cut-out at the front of the keyboard inspired by a wild boar, a symbol of bravery for Paiwan people, and a golden backplate with images of Paiwan warriors battling the boars. Design concept & the stories behind #YOTP Kulele Ruladen’s passion is to bring the Formosan culture to light through arts and crafts. Over Master Kulele’s career, he has received various international awards, cementing his places as one of the leading artists in all of Taiwan. pic.twitter.com/WGhO1IySGd — Ducky Keyboard (@DuckyChannel) May 24, 2019 The keycaps ...

Even before Computex officially started yesterday in Taipei, Lian Li’s combination chassis and standing workstations were already turning heads as attendees got to take a look at their interiors before the glass tops were installed. The insides of the DK-05 were clearly visible, looking like miniature water parks with a labyrinthine arrangement of tubes and lights. The desks’ interiors aren’t completely obscured once the top is in place. Their tempered glass tops are foggy when the workstations are turned off, but once switched on, everything inside — its liquid cooling system, motherboards, graphics cards, fans, reservoirs, pumps and whatever else else you add — are clearly visible. The bright lights inside Nangang Exhibition Center made it hard to see, but the photo above from Lian Li’s website gives you a better idea of the full effect. The larger DK-05 has USB 3.1 Type-C, USB 3.0 and HDMI ports and a 140 cm by 78 cm surface, making space for two monitors and plenty of periphe...

Facebook has launched the start of its push into smart home software. Ignoring calls that it’s creepy, Facebook is forging onward with its Portal gadget Today Facebook quietly released iOS and Android Portal apps that let owners show off photos on the screen without sharing them to the social network, and video call their home while they’re out. The app isn’t likely to move the needle for Portal whose potential users fall into two camps: those so alarmed by Facebook’s privacy practices that they couldn’t imagine putting its camera and microphone in their home, and those ambivalent or ignorant regarding the privacy backlash who see it as an Amazon Echo with a nice screen and easy way to video call family. Critics were mostly surprised by the device’s quality but too freaked out to recommend it. Those willing to buy it have given it a 4- to 4.4-star average rating on Amazon, praising its AI camera that keeps people in frame of a video chat while they move though jeering some setup d...

If you’re feeling flush this week, then perhaps instead of buying a second Bugatti you might consider picking up this lightly used Enigma Machine . These devices, the scourge of the Allies in World War II, are rarely for sale to begin with — and one in such good shape that was actually used in the war is practically unheard of. The Enigma saga is a fascinating one, though far too long to repeat here — let it suffice to say that these machines created a code that was close to unbreakable, allowing the Nazis to communicate securely and reliably even with the Allies listening in. But a team of mathematicians and other experts at Bletchley Park in Britain, the most famous of them Alan Turing, managed to crack the Enigma’s code, helping turn the tide of the war. (If you’re interested, a good biography of Turing will of course tell you more, and Simon Singh’s The Code Book tells the story well as part of the history of cryptography.) The risk of exposure should a machine be captured by th...

Warranties for purchased products is a $40 billion annual market. But in their current form, they are considered by some to be one of the bigger scams in the world of retail because they cost so much and often return too little. Now there is an alternative emerging. A startup out of Minneapolis, Minn. called Upsie has decided to wage war on the old warranty, with more reasonable pricing (typically 70% lower than what the retailer offers) and a much more modern approach to selling and managing the warranty. Its bet is that lower prices, and more flexible options for ordering, tracking and claiming against warranties, will drive more users to its service and take some business away from the retailers that largely dominate the market today. Today it’s announcing that it has raised $5 million led by True Ventures to build out that business in the U.S. Techstars Ventures, Matchstick Ventures, Syndicate Fund, M25 and angel investor Marc Belton also participated. If you’ve ever purchas...

Apple is updating the iPod touch with an A10 Fusion system-on-a-chip. Other than that, it looks pretty much like the old iPod touch with a four-inch display, a classic home button and many different color options. The A10 Fusion chip was first introduced with the iPhone 7. In other words, the new iPod touch performs more or less just like an iPhone 7. Just like the previous version of the iPod touch, it supports iOS 12. But you can now launch ARKit apps and start group FaceTime conversations — the A8 wasn’t powerful enough for those features. This is a surprising move as the iPod touch hasn’t been updated since 2015. Many people believed that Apple would focus on the iPhone as there’s less demand for a smartphone without cellular capabilities. The device doesn’t support Touch ID or Face ID, so you’ll have to use a good old passcode. But it’s worth noting that there’s a headphone jack at the bottom of the device. And yet, the iPod touch is cheap when you compare it to an iPhone. A...