Adidas Wilson's Blog, page 72
October 4, 2017
Snapchat is partnering with artists to place augmented reality sculptures around the world
Snapchat is partnering with artist Jeff Koons to bring some of his more iconic sculptures to its app.
From today, Snapchat users will be able to explore his work in augmented reality at select locations around the world. His balloon dog sculptures will be digitally placed in Hyde Park in London and Central Park in New York, and others will be placed at other popular public spaces around the world.
When users are near one of the sculptures, the locations of which they can check on Snapchat’s site, the app will point them towards its exact location. The sculpture will appear on the user’s phone as they approach, allowing them to explore it up close, almost as if they were actually standing next to a real sculpture.
Snapchat has a form on its website inviting other artists to bring their work to the messaging platform, but it’s unclear whether it’s currently working with any other artists yet. Right now, it’s essentially like Pokémon Go, but for three-story sculptures of inflated dog balloons.
Snap appears to be betting big on augmented reality as something that will keep users coming back to its app over its much larger competitorslike Instagram. Today’s partnership comes less than a week after Snap launched augmented-reality world lenses—interactive models similar to the Koons sculptures that users can share in their snaps—for advertisers. Right now, users can add a model of the flying car from the forthcoming Blade Runner sequel, or add a man selling Bud Light beer to their snaps. And a few weeks earlier, Snapchat introduced three-dimensional versions of Bitmoji, the user-created cartoon emojis, which users can add to their snaps.
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Snapchat is partnering with artists to place augmented reality sculptures around the world
October 3, 2017
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Walmart is taking its battle with Amazon to the streets of New York
The contest between Walmart and Amazon for control of America’s refrigerator and cupboard is escalating.
Walmart announced today (Oct. 3) that it had purchased Parcel, an delivery service that specializes in toting groceries and packages to the apartments of New Yorkers. Parcel will continue to deliver for its existing customers, but it will become the so-called last-mile courier for Walmart.com and Jet.com, the e-commerce company Walmart bought last year. Jet has been testing same-day delivery in New York, and Parcel will become the (literal) vehicle for that service’s expansion.
With the acquisition of Parcel, Walmart is poised to take on AmazonFresh, its same-day grocery service, and Amazon Prime Now, which delivers general merchandise, in the US’s biggest market.
Amazon’s takeover of Whole Foods in June signaled its intention to become a player in the $626 billion US grocery market dominated by Walmart. Likewise, Walmart’s purchase of Parcel, along with its acquisitions of Jet and smaller e-commerce companies like Bonobos and ShoeBuy, shows it plans on taking on Amazon’s primacy in online shopping.
The move also means Walmart has finally found a home in New York, where it’s been blocked in its efforts to open stores for years. Its latest efforts in Brooklyn were stymied by grocery unions and local politicians, and mayor Bill De Blasio is an outspoken opponent. The Arkansas-based chain, which has nearly 5,000 US stores, has been similarly denied in Boston, Seattle and San Francisco.
So far, Walmart has expanded its e-commerce offerings into those traditional left-leaning cities without much of a fight. As its delivery services grow, it can probably count on getting one from Amazon.
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Walmart is taking its battle with Amazon to the streets of New York
Publishers rejected me, but I went on to earn six-figures selling 1,000 books a day
Millions dream of quitting the grind and replacing their income through a rewarding, creative endeavor.
And what could be simpler – and more glamorous – than writing a bestselling novel?
After years of not knowing how the next month’s bill would be paid, thriller writer Mark Edwards is among a new and growing elite of high-earning authors who broke away from traditional publishing routes and self-published online.
His seventh solo book, The Lucky Ones, realized this week, comes five years after he walked out the last in a succession of dead-end jobs that included manning customer complaints line for a rail company.
The average British author earns just £12,500 a year, according to the Society of Editors, while Mr Edwards now takes home a comfortable five-figure income.
And the advent of ebooks played a major part in his success.
“When I started writing at 23 and trying to get published, no-one had heard of Amazon”, says Mr Edwards, now 46.
“I wrote four or five novels over the next five years and spent all that time trying to get an agent. The internet barely existed. You had to buy the Writers’ and Artists’ Handbook and write to every agent with a synopsis and the first three chapters with a stamped address envelope.
“You be constantly getting these brown envelopes coming back, thudding onto your doorstep with rejection slips.”
Then, as today, writers need agents to put their work in front of the publishers who hold the keys to bookshops. He eventually got an agent in the late Nineties but it was the first of many false dawns. By 2001 he still didn’t have a book deal, had been “dumped” by the agent and was back to square one.
But his luck looked to have turned when the BBC bought the “option” on Killing Cupid, a new novel he’d co-written with Louise Voss, a long-time collaborator. This meant the broadcaster had the rights to turn the book into a television drama.
“They paid us a small amount, about £2,000, but it was the first money I’d ever earned from writing”, he says.
“But the BBC option never came to anything, as happens to 99pc of these things.”
All this time Mr Edwards was juggling writing in his spare time with a full-time job. First at the Child Support Agency – a now defunct Government body that dealt with child maintenance – and then at Connex, the predecessor to the South Eastern rail franchise.
“I was working on customer services, it was dreadful”, he remembers.
“I was on the phone all day being shouted at by commuters and answering complaint letters which always contained the phrase ‘beyond the wit of man’”.
“But the thing was these were the kind of jobs where you didn’t take it home with you. When I finished for the day I didn’t think about it. I was able to completely separate work and writing time. It also drove me on, I thought there must be something better than this.”
Eventually he got a job he actually liked, at a publisher in London, which presented another problem. More happy at work, he was quickly promoted and spent gradually less and less time writing.
“By 2007 I’d pretty much given up on being an author. I had a career and started having children and I didn’t have the mental energy any more. My day job and family took over my life. I thought ‘well I’ve given it my best shot, it didn’t work out’ but I could go away with some pride at having tried.”
How ebooks changed the game
Then, in 2010, Amazon launched its successful ebook reader, the Kindle, in Britain. Hundreds of thousands of new book were suddenly available far cheaper than traditional paper and hardback copies. Over a million out-of-copyright titles could also be purchased, often for pennies.
The launch fuelled a boom in self-publishing. For the first time there was a route for aspiring writers to circumvent agents and publishers and release their work at minimal cost.
Kindle Direct Publishing, the best known, gives authors two royalty options. Ebooks priced for a minimum of 99p, and less than 3 megabytes in size, earn a 35pc royalty. Or you earn 70pc royalties but the minimum price is higher, at £1.99. (See box for details).
“I read about how American authors were self-publishing and have quite a bit of success. Louise and I decided to publish Killing Cupid, the book the BBC never did anything with.
“I bought a cheap stock image and got my sister-in-law, who’s a graphic designer, to make the cover and I formatted the books myself.
“We priced it at 99p, which meant we got about 30p a copy. On day one we sold two – one to my mother-in-law and one to my boss. I spent all my spare time trying to get people interested, I was using social media and blogger, and completely neglecting my family.”
Eventually the book got into the Top 100 on the Kindle charts. At the same time the pair published another book, Catch your Death, which took off, quickly selling 1,000 copies a day. In a few months, the books were number one and two in the best-sellers’ list.
They were the first self-publishing British authors to get to the top spot on Amazon. Self-publishing was big news in 2011 and TV appearances followed. This led to a four-book deal with HarperCollins, one of the world’s largest publishers, and an advance of roughly £50,000 each.
It was then that Mr Edwards decided to take the plunge. He quit his job for good and moved out of London, to the West Midlands where property was cheaper, to focus on writing. But again the dream was derailed.
‘The bookshops were full of erotic novels’
“The summer of 2012 was probably the worst possible time to bring a book out. Bookshops were full of erotic novels trying to replicate the success of Fifty Shades of Grey and the London OIympics were on.
“The books came out and disappeared without a trace.”
By the time the third book, All Fall Down, was ready to be released the deal had turned sour. HarperCollins told them no shops would stock the fourth book; Edwards doesn’t think they’ll ever sell enough copies to pay back the advance.
His big break in tatters, Edwards was having sleepless nights.
“I had a mortgage, two children and one more on the way and had maxed out my credit card and overdraft limit. We really were one unexpected bill from disaster.”
In one last throw of the dice he updated a book he’d started a decade a go but never finished. He calculated he needed to sell 20,000 copies of The Magpies at £1.99 to clear his debts.
“I remember lying in bed on Good Friday clicking ‘refresh’ and realising that it wasn’t working, I wasn’t going to get anywhere near the number of sales I needed”, he says.
“But suddenly things turned around. A couple of hours later I hit refresh and I could see sales coming in really fast. The book started going up the rankings. I dropped the price to 99p and it kept climbing until it was number one. It was such an incredible relief.”
At its peak, the book sold 3,000 copies a day for two months. Amazon’s own publishing company approached him and signed him to its crime and thriller brand Thomas & Mercer. Since then he’s had six solo books published and sold over two million books.
Now earning over £100,000 a year, Edwards has bought a bigger house and begun to save into a pension for the first time. He gets monthly royalties from the first four books published by Amazon but says it’s difficult to know how much he’ll be earning beyond the next year or so.
He worries that the public’s appetite for the thriller genre may be waning.
“I never feel like I can rest on my laurels. I’ve seen it go wrong before so I’m determined to keep working, hopefully for ever.”
Mark Edwards’ latest book – The Lucky Ones – is published this week. A psychological thriller set in Shropshire, it follows a detective on the case of a serial killer whose victims die smiling.
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Stormtrooper bot with facial recognition guards against intruders
We know what Star Wars fans will be wishing for this Christmas — aside from Sphero’s R2-D2 and BB-9E toys. Ubtech, the company behind the dancing Lynx robot, is releasing a Stormtrooper bot. Although it can’t teach you yoga, you can use voice commands to instruct it to ward off intruders (hopefully not with an actual blaster). Its facial recognition tech also allows it to store up to three faces in its memory bank.
That way, it can shout at any uninvited guests that keep barging into your room. And, its accompanying mobile app packs an augmented reality game that lets you fight off the Resistance and launch First Order attacks. The robot is available for pre-order from Ubtech right now, and will ship in November. It will set you back $300.
Those keen to snap up the Stormtrooper should be aware that its manufacturer has previously come under fire from the security community. In August, cybersecurity firm IOActive claimed that Ubtech’s Alpha series models did not encrypt the data they stored, making it easy for hackers to steal the info. Tinkerers even managed to turn the cute little bots into screwdriver-wielding, stab-happy maniacs. Not exactly stocking filler material, then. But, no such claims have been made about the Star Wars First Order Stormtrooper.
Source:
https://www.engadget.com/2017/10/03/stormtrooper-bot-star-wars-ubtech/
How Vulnerable Is Your Job to Automation?
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Training and education may not be enough to robot-proof your job, a recent report dealing with the impact of automation and offshoring on job loss shows.
The 10 jobs most vulnerable to automation include mathematical science occupations and insurance underwriters, according to a Ball State University study. A college degree is usually required for these occupations, both of which have median annual salaries of more than $65,000.
Many of the other top 10 jobs most vulnerable to automation pay less and don’t require the same level of education.
However, all on the list have something in common, according to “How Vulnerable are American Communities to Automation, Trade and Urbanization?”
“The study found that low risk of automation is associated with much higher wages, averaging about $80,000 a year,” states a news release on the report. “Occupations with the highest risk of automation have incomes of less than $40,000 annually.”
Only one of the jobs least at risk of automation — occupational therapist — paid about $80,000 a year, according to the updated report released last week, but published in June.
Like most of the other robot-proof jobs, occupational therapist is a “high touch” occupation, or one in which direct interaction with clients and/or colleagues is routinely required. Most of the least vulnerable jobs are in health care and related fields.
The study looked at communities throughout the United States that are most at risk of job loss due to automation. No Ohio counties made the top 25 list. Ranking first was the Aleutians East Borough, Alaska followed by Quitman County, Georgia and Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska.
“Automation is likely to replace half of all low-skilled jobs,” said Michael Hicks, director of Ball State’s Center for Business and Economic Research, in the release. “Communities where people have lower levels of educational attainment and lower incomes are the most vulnerable to automation. Considerable labor market turbulence is likely in the coming generation.”
The report also looked at jobs most at risk of being off-shored. Several of them had median annual salaries in the $80,000 range or higher. They included: computer programmers ($79,530), computer and information research scientists ($80,110), actuaries ($97,070), mathematicians ($111,110) and statisticians ($110,620).
One in four of all U.S. jobs will be at risk of being lost to foreign competition in the coming years, the report says.
The report incorporates research on automation and offshoring published in recent years, as well as an analysis of government and other data.
TOP 10 JOBS MOST VULNERABLE TO AUTOMATION
1. Data entry keyers. Annual median wage is $29,460
2. Mathematical science occupations, $66,210
3. Telemarketers, $23,530
4. Insurance underwriters, $65,040
5. Mathematical technicians, $46,600
6. Hand sewers, $23,640
7. Tax preparers, $36,450
8. Photographic process workers and processing machine operators, $26,590
9. Library technicians, $32,310
10. Watch repairers, $34,750
TOP 10 JOBS LEAST VULNERABLE TO AUTOMATION
1. Recreational therapists. Annual median wage is $45,890
2. Emergency management directors, $67,330
3. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers, $63,010
4. Mental health and substance abuse social workers, $42,170
5. Audiologists, $74,890
6. Healthcare social workers, $52,380
7. Occupational therapists, $80,150
8. Orthotists and prosthetists, $64,430
9. Health technologists and technicians, $41,260
10. Hearing aid specialists, $49,600
Source:
http://www.govtech.com/workforce/How-Vulnerable-is-Your-Job-to-Automation.html
Netflix Will Get The New SHAFT Two Weeks After It Hits Theaters
We’ve known for some time that a new Shaft was in the works, one that would find Samuel L. Jackson returning to the role he played in John Singleton’s 2000 film…along with Shaft’s son, to be played by Jessie T. Usher. What we didn’t know, apparently, was that New Line has been working on a deal with Netflix to co-finance the film, one that will result in a most unusual rollout.
Says Deadline:
“Sources say that New Line and Netflix are nearly closed on the untitled Shaft reboot. Netflix will pay more than half the film’s high $30 million budget, in exchange for international rights and the ability to put the film on its streaming outside the U.S. two weeks after New Line releases theatrically in the United States. The film will begin production in December.”
Yes, Netflix and New Line are splitting the cost on the next Shaft (which, by the way, will be directed by Tim Story and written by Kenya Barris), ponying up $15M apiece to make the film a reality. Two weeks after New Line puts the film into theaters, Netflix will debut the film on their omnipresent streaming service.
One suspects this will only add further fuel to the “Is Netflix destroying cinema?” argument, but let’s be honest: are you in the mood to have that particular argument today? Maybe let’s table that one for now.
Or maybe not. If you feel like parsing through this, feel free to hit the comments below. Everyone else should standby for further Untitled Shaft Movie updates as they become available.
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Toys ‘R’ Us hopes AR will bring you back to its stores
How does it work? Developed in partnership with PlayFusion, Play Chaser uses PlayFusion’s proprietary computer vision technology to activate different AR games and play experiences on your smart device. To unlock the experiences, simply download the app (in the Apple App Store, Google Play or Amazon Appstore) and scan the many different Play Chaser signs featured on Toys“R”Us shelves.
The play experiences are fun and interactive – from a virtual basketball hoop that kids can shoot at solo or alongside friends in-store, to a baby nursery where they can select a unique, digital You & Me doll, take it home and care for it (think: changing diapers, feeding and bath time!). There’s even a virtual Geoffrey the Giraffe to welcome customers to the store, explain the app and send kids on their quest for in-store play. Another cool feature? Some games have leaderboards that show where players rank amongst each other in their local store and nationally.
Check out the video below to see the app in action before playing in-store! To download the video, Play Chaser logo and screenshots, click here.
Via
https://www.toysrusinc.com/blog/ar-turns-toysrus-into-a-digital-playground
October 2, 2017
Mercedes-Benz Launches Van-Based Drone Delivery Pilot Program
Turns out Amazon and UPS aren’t the only companies interested in drone delivery. Mercedes-Benz is teaming with U.S. drone systems developer Matternet and Swiss online retail firm Siroop for a drone delivery pilot program in Zurich, Switzerland.
The program, which started September 25, uses drones working in concert with modified delivery vans. Over the course of the three-week pilot program, Siroop customers will be able to order certain items (there’s a 4.4-pound weight limit) for drone delivery. Drone flights will take place seven hours a day, five days a week, but only in favorable weather conditions.
The drones won’t deliver packages directly to customers. They’ll pick the items up and fly to one of two Mercedes-Benz Vito (a.k.a. Metris) vans, which will stop at four “rendezvous points” around Zurich. There, drones will drop off their packages and the vans will deliver them to the customers. The entire process will be timed and compared to conventional delivery methods, a Mercedes press release said.
Mercedes believes using a van, rather than a drone, for the last leg of the delivery has certain advantages. For one, the customer’s experience doesn’t change: They’ll still be greeted at the door by a delivery person, not a drone. Landing the Matternet M2 drones on the roofs of vans also keeps them high off the ground, Mercedes notes, potentially decreasing the risks to nearby pedestrians.
The combination of vans and drones isn’t a new idea. Workhorse has tested drone delivery in concert with UPS. Some of the company’s Horsefly dronesmay even get into the field in time for the busy Christmas shopping season. However, Workhorse wants to use drones for the final leg of deliveries, which is the opposite of Mercedes’s concept. Amazon also seems to want to use drones for that so-called “last mile” of deliveries.
If the Swiss pilot program goes well, Mercedes will push for greater integration of drones into deliver services. The automaker believes drones could rendezvous with delivery vehicles on their regular routes, adding urgent shipments at the last minute. For that to happen, though, Mercedes and other drone proponents will have to prove to regulators and the public that swarms of drones don’t pose a safety hazard.
Source:
http://www.thedrive.com/tech/14790/mercedes-benz-launches-van-based-drone-delivery-pilot-program
