Tech News Hub
Microsoft Teams Brings Voice Cloning and Real-Time Translation to Meetings
Microsoft is pushing global collaboration to new heights with the release of a new feature in Teams: voice cloning with real-time translation. The technology was announced at Microsoft Ignite 2024 and will allow users to communicate naturally across language barriers while retaining their unique voice.
What's New?
The feature, called Interpreter in Teams, enables real-time speech-to-speech translation in up to nine languages: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish. The standout aspect? It stimulates your voice, making the translated speech sound like you’re the one speaking in the other language.
“Imagine being able to sound like yourself in another language—it’s a whole new level of connection,” said Jared Spataro, Microsoft CMO.
How It Works
Here's why this feature is special:
- Voice Cloning: The tool uses AI to replicate your voice for translations, making communication feel more personal.
- Privacy Focused: Microsoft ensures no biometric data is stored, and the feature only works with your consent, which can be managed via settings.
- Faithful Translation: Interpreter aims to replicate your tone and message accurately without altering the content.
Who Can Use It?
This tool will be available to Microsoft 365 subscribers in early 2025. Whether it's working with an international team or even presenting before a global audience, it is a tool that can help clear the lines of communication and create deeper connections.
Why It Matters
Over the years, language has been a major challenge in globalization. With Interpreter in Teams, Microsoft is making connecting, working, and sharing of ideas easier without losing that personal touch of your voice.
Voice cloning, like any other advanced technology, comes with responsibilities. Microsoft has taken it upon itself to underscore the need for safeguards to prevent misuse; otherwise, this tool could have ruined communication further.
Conclusion
With voice cloning and translation now being introduced to Microsoft Teams, a new definition is evolving on the way we'll communicate across languages going forward. Scheduled for 2025, this feature can change global meetings once and for all. Meetings will become more engaging, inclusive, and personal than ever before.
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Google Gemini’s New Memory Feature Enhances Personalization for Subscribers
Google's Gemini bot has made tremendous leaps in the enhancement of personalization offered by interaction. This memory function is exclusively available for subscribers on the Google One AI Premium plan at $20/month, making conversation more personalized and intelligent.
How the Memory Function Works
The new memory feature allows Gemini to recall and apply details from past interactions to enhance its responses. For example:
- If you report to Gemini your favorite cuisine, it might recommend restaurants aligned with your preferences.
- It could fine-tune its response to your specific needs, like avoiding technical jargon or budget-conscious travel advice.
The feature is currently available only via the web client of Gemini, but Android and iOS apps will soon be added.
Privacy and Control
Google guarantees users that the data about memories are not utilized for model training and are private. Key privacy aspects include the following:
- Control by the user: one can view and delete memories anytime.
- Opt-out option: The user can turn off the memory feature if he prefers to stop storing information.
These measures are designed for an increase in trust but also a more contextual experience.
Examples of Memory Use
In the user interface of Gemini, Google presents some examples of how memory can be used:
- Simple communication: "Use plain language and no jargon."
- Specialized tasks: "I can only write code in JavaScript."
- Detailed planning: "When trip planning, include the cost per day."
Security Concerns
Although the memory feature benefits are very positive, it points out how much security is needed. Memory-based chatbots, for example, can be prone to abuse in many cases, such as planting false information. Google has guardrails in place that help minimize those risks for safer interactions by users.
The Future of Gemini
Google is also planning to expand this memory feature to Gemini's mobile apps, which will make the feature more handy on most devices. As we move ahead in AI-related advancements, features like memory increase the focus on personalization and utility in virtual assistants.
Would you use a chatbot that remembers your preferences? Let us know your thoughts!
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Bing Wallpaper App Now Available on Microsoft Store: Elevate Your Desktop Experience
Microsoft has released its Bing Wallpaper app through the Microsoft Store, allowing easy access and effortless viewing of the daily stunning images from Bing as desktop wallpapers for Windows users. This shall enhance its usability and make the application accessible to users using Windows 10 or higher versions.
What's New?
The Bing Wallpaper app, which arrived in 2020, brings the popular Bing homepage images straight to your desktop. Now available in the Microsoft Store, downloading and installing the app is easier than ever.
How to Install the Bing Wallpaper App
- Download the app from the Microsoft Store.
- Open the downloaded file BingWallpaper.exe.
- On the installation screen, click "Install now."
- After installation is complete, click "Finish".
- You will find the application in the Windows system tray.
During installation, it will also make Bing your default search engine and set your homepage to get a very integrated feel.
Features to Discover
- Daily Desktop Images: Get a new, beautiful wallpaper each day, directly from the Bing homepage.
- Image Browsing: Browse previous wallpapers and discover interesting information about each image.
- Bing Rewards: Earn Microsoft Reward points just by using Bing, and redeem those points for gift cards, donations, sweepstakes, and much more.
Language and Compatibility
The app is currently only available in English and is available only for Windows 10 and above, keeping it compatible with lots of devices.
Why Try the Bing Wallpaper App?
So whether you love the esthetically pleasing nature of Bing's daily homepage, or you love the addition of Bing Rewards, this application simply offers more features and operates more purely than other third-party wallpaper solutions.
Get your desktop game ready to rock with the Bing Wallpaper app from the Microsoft Store.
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Meta AI Assistant Now Available on Ray-Ban Glasses in the EU
Meta smart glasses, Ray-Ban, crossed a new milestone as Meta further extended its capabilities by launching the Meta AI Assistant in France, Italy, and Spain. This is one major step toward the deployment of AR technology in Europe, as the assistant is now available for use in French, Italian, and Spanish in addition to English.
Key Takeaways for European Users
The Ray-Ban Meta glasses will let the user communicate with an AI assistant through voice commands for general questions. That is, the user can ask:
"What fun activities are there for 10 and 12-year-old kids?
However, the features for multimodality through which the AI would examine space using the glasses' camera are currently unavailable in Europe. Users can still access these functionalities only in the U.S., Canada, or Australia. Meta states that it is looking into extending such functionality to other regions.
Overcoming Regulatory Hurdles
Meta launched in Europe this month after months of effort to comply with the very strict regulatory frameworks of the region, particularly the AI Act and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The company pointed out such efforts in a recent blog post:
"Since we launched in September 2023, we have been diligently working to ensure that Ray-Ban Meta glasses comply with Europe's complex regulatory system."
The specific challenge that GDPR poses is that Meta's AI models train on publicly available data from Instagram and Facebook users who did not opt-out. In this past year, EU regulators temporarily froze Meta's AI training on European user data to review compliance. Meta restarted training in the U.K. after revising its opt-out process and integrating regulatory comment into its procedures.
What's next?
Although it doesn't activate multimodal functionalities, like object recognition and landmark analysis, Meta has pledged to expand these signals as it builds toward the ultimate goal of offering an all-around AI experience to Europe. The company has also promised to expand its availability into more European countries shortly.
For now, users in France, Italy, and Spain will find their way to homeowners who can tap into an AI assistant integrated with fashionable, everyday eyewear. Another step closer to getting Meta's mission of bringing cutting-edge technology forward and adding value to people's lives.
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Perplexity Challenges Google and Amazon with New AI-Powered Shopping Experience
Perplexity, the AI-driven search engine, is making waves in e-commerce with a groundbreaking shopping feature for its Pro users in the U.S. This new tool is here to integrate product recommendations and a seamless checkout process directly into the platform and thus presents Perplexity as a strong competitor to industry giants Google and Amazon.
The shopping feature redefines convenience for users. While searching for items, customers see attractive product cards that give them all the essential details they need, such as descriptions, pricing, sellers, and even pros and cons. One click and they are taken a step further for more reviews and specs that can aid in making a more informed buying decision.
Perplexity goes further by allowing users to store their address and payment details, enabling one-click purchases with automatic tax calculations. To sweeten the deal, Pro subscribers enjoy free shipping on all purchases made through the platform.
One of the key differentiators of Perplexity's approach is its apparent commitment to transparency. Unlike many competitors, its product recommendations appear and are entirely unbiased—there are no sponsored slots or listed preferences. This clear, no-strings-attached approach could build trust among shoppers seeking an honest experience.
The platform also connects to Shopify, providing access to millions of products from U.S. merchants. Perplexity offers its new merchant program that includes better product visibility, one-click checkout integration, and free API, which should further the search capabilities of the sellers' websites. In essence, Perplexity is not taking a cut of sales, and this feature functions separately from its recently announced ads product.
Mirroring industry-wide trends toward leveraging AI to enhance e-commerce, Perplexity makes a much-needed move toward applying AI for its purposes. Already Internet goliaths Amazon and Google have utilized AI in their shopping while Amazon's Rufus AI assistant has helped millions of customers find items more easily, Google recently upgraded its Shopping tab with AI. Perplexity is unique, however, in focusing on providing unbiased results and simplicity.
Revolutionizing the E-Commerce Space
Perplexity's innovative approach heralds a new way of shopping online. It is transparent, efficient, and very user-friendly. This revolutionary new benchmark in AI-driven shopping has initially been supported by features like unbiased product recommendations and a streamlined checkout process.
Conclusion
With its new shopping feature, Perplexity is indeed challenging the status quo in the e-commerce industry. By offering a totally transparent, efficient, and user-friendly shopping experience, it has managed to carve out a niche for itself. When the excitement of competition in AI-powered shopping increases, Perplexity's commitment to fair and honest practices may well be its defining advantage.
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YouTube Revamps Navigation Bar and Shortcut Menu for Android Users
YouTube is slapping a fresh coat of paint on its Android app with a new navigation bar and a rewritten shortcut menu. All told these changes might seem minor, but collectively, they have the cumulative effect of making the app feel and work in a cleaner, more modern way.
What's New?
The bottom bar on the YouTube app was due for an update, and it finally got one. Here are a few welcome changes:
- Create Button (+): The old "plus" button is now inside a soft gray circle, making it look much more streamlined and less bold.
- Home Icon: The Home icon now features a sleek new design with a more polished look.
- Subscriptions Icon: The appearance of a Subscriptions icon is made easier with rounded corners and a singular stack design, thereby abandoning the earlier multi-stack look.
- Shorts Icon: There is no alteration in the Short's icon; however it now features a border that is raised lightly
- You Icon: As usual, there has been no alteration in the You icon-it still boasts of your profile avatar.
The Shortcut Menu has been modified
In the YouTube app, the shortcut the one that appears when you long-press on the app icon-has also been revamped. While mostly cosmetic, the most important change is the removal of the Explore option, leaving just Shorts, Search, and Subscriptions in the list. These three options are now outlined; there's a small inconsistency in that the Subscriptions icon still uses the old multi-stack design here. We're likely to see this addressed in an upcoming update.
How to Download the Update
If you are not seeing the new features yet, try this:
First of all, head over to the Google Play Store and ensure that the latest version of the YouTube app is available on your device. To get the update immediately, get the latest APK from trusted sources like APKMirror.
Look Ahead
Of course, no update is complete with a few kinks to iron out, and we might see some further refinement later, particularly with the leaky Subscriptions icon. Still, overall, these changes are certainly a step in the right direction for YouTube's app design.
Conclusion
The revamped navigation bar and updated shortcut menu give YouTube a sleek, modern look that makes the app feel more user-friendly without losing any functionality. Whether you’re navigating through your feed or quickly jumping to your subscriptions, these changes will make your YouTube experience even better. Keep an eye on your app for the update and enjoy the fresh look!
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Microsoft Opens Access to Windows 11 ARM ISO for Everyone
After months of promises, Microsoft finally opened up the gates to enable users to download the Windows 11 ARM ISO at their discretion, following the plan announced last year on the extension of availability beyond the Windows Insider program. The release is a big step forward because it will allow more users to explore the potential of ARM-powered chips and virtual environments with Windows 11.
What is new with the Windows 11 ARM ISO?
The ARM64 ISO file was initially available only to Windows Insider members. Now it is open for all to download. Here's what you can do with it:
- Create a virtual machine: Use this file to test ARM apps, develop software, or test Windows 11 on your ARM-based device.
- Create bootable media: Use the ISO file to create a bootable USB drive and later install Windows 11 on any ARM-based computer.
- Install via Existing Windows: The ISO will mount on a functioning Windows and begin the installation or upgrade process.
Important Details to Note
This release opens up many exciting possibilities, but there are some important factors to note:
Compatibility with Virtual Machines:
- ARM64 virtual machines are not compatible with Hyper-V on x64 hardware.
- Cloud-enabled solutions like Microsoft Azure will help make ARM64 environments available.
- Apple hardware users will find limitations when running ARM64 virtual machines.
Legacy Snapdragon Chips:
- If your device has an older Snapdragon chipset, you would need to manually add the manufacturer's drivers to the ISO file. A support page on Microsoft's site offers great guidance over such problems.
A Superb Device to Pair with Windows 11 ARM
If you are going to check out Windows 11 on an ARM-based machine, consider this: the Microsoft Surface Laptop Snapdragon X Plus (2024 edition) is excellent for its smooth and reliable performance, coming with a 13.8-inch display, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. And it is just $875 on Amazon (down from $999.99, saving you 12%).
Why This Matters
With the public release of Windows 11 ARM ISO, Microsoft gives the channel open to the developers and testers to test drive the potential that ARM hardware has, because now users can set up virtual machines, test the latest feature sets, or upgrade to the PC on ARM.
Get going! Head to the official page at Microsoft to get the ISO, and unlock your machine to its full Windows 11 on ARM potential!
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