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Archive for the ‘VRA Video Recordings Act’ Category

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ed vaizey Ed Vaizey, the Tory culture minister, has pledged to try and convince international partners to adopt the British idea of providing age ratings for music videos on the likes of YouTube.Currently videos from foreign, and in particular American companies, are unrated on Youtube.

Online music videos from the British arms of Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music are submitted for age BBFC ratings if they meet a long list of specifications under which they would qualify for a 12, 15 or 18 rating.

The current system means that while UK-made music videos which are only suitable for adults (of which there are hardly any) are captured by online parental filters, those produced in America are not.

Mr Vaizey revealed that the government will attempt to convince Britain’s global allies to adopt the ratings system when challenged in a parliamentary written question. Vaizey said:

We were pleased therefore to announce recently that the industry and the BBFC were putting their online music videos ratings scheme on a permanent footing and extending it to include videos produced in the UK by independent labels, as well as by major UK labels.

We welcome this voluntary action by industry and will now be looking at how the lessons learned in the UK could help international partners adopt a similar approach.

Government is committed to working with labels and platforms towards seeing age rating on all online music videos.

In fact there are hardly any music video that have been rated 18. More typically videos are rated 12 or 15 for strong language. And of course such language is notably difficult to encode into international standards.

Definitely a policy more about politicking than practicality.

Read more News: Latest Cuts at

Pop Party 13 Various Pop Party 13 is a music video by Hannah Lux and Davis.
Starring Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj. BBFC link UK: Passed PG for mild sex references after 12:59s of BBFC advised category cuts for:

  • 2014 Universal Music TV CD/DVD Combo at UK Amazon released on 27th October 2014

TheBBFC commented:

  • Distributor chose to remove stronger sexual content within music videos and to remove a use of strong language for PG. An uncut 12 was available.

UK Censorship

This video may have the distinction of being the first victim of a new law removing an exemption from BBFC censorship for music videos. It was cut for category on the day that the new regulation came in, 1st October 2014. Presumably before the new law the CD/DVD would have been uncut and noted as Exempt from classification.

Read more BBFC News at

bbfc cash logo Video Recordings Act extended to previously exempt works

The BBFC announced:

On 4 August 2014, the Video Recordings Act was amended to lower the threshold at which certain video content loses its exemption from classification. This amendment comes into effect on 1 October 2014.

From 1 October, documentaries, sports and music video works that can currently claim exemption will be required to seek a BBFC classification if they contain material which could be potentially harmful or otherwise unsuitable for children and, as with video games, works will have to be classified if they contain material which would be rated 12 and above.

See also BBFC Submission Guide covering fees and procedures [pdf]

The Copyright and Rights in Performances (Quotation and Parody) Regulations 2014

See new law from

A new law came into force today allowing use of copyright material for the purposes of parody:

Caricature, parody or pastiche

Fair dealing with a work for the purposes of caricature, parody or pastiche does not infringe copyright in the work.

So at least we can now generate parody BBFC symbols.

Read more UK Government Watch at
Miley Cyrus Reinvention DVD

   currently exempt

Music videos released on DVD and Blu-ray that might contain content unsuitable for children will soon be required to be submitted to the BBFC for certification.

The new measures will be introduced from October 1 to cover Blu-ray, DVD and CD formats – but will not apply to online digital works.

If it is judged that content in a video would typically attract an age rating of 12, 15, 18 or R18, the BBFC will issue a certification. The turnaround for certification currently stands at up to seven days. Of course the DVD producer has to foot the expensive bills. There are also labelling requirements around the display of the rating on packaging and products.

Read more UK Government Watch at

maria millerTo: Maria Miller, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

Dear Ms. Miller,
Please forgive this open letter; it’s an ungainly form of communication but I approached your department for an interview and didn’t hear back. So…

You might not realise it but the Department of Culture, Media and Sport has undertaken a course of action that puts a number of small businesses at direct risk. Right now, Britain has some of the most exciting and inventive independent DVD labels in the world, companies doing everything from producing definitive editions of art-house classics to rescuing the forgotten treasures of British film.

The sheer quality of their work has made them indispensable to discerning viewers around the globe. Hell, if you want a recommendation, just ask the Prime Minister — those Borgen box-sets he’s so fond of are released by Arrow Films , one of our very best.

All that’s under threat because of new regulations from the DCMS.

Let me explain: as it stands, the Video Recordings Act 1984 exempts certain types of material — including documentary articles — from the scrutiny of the British Board of Film Classification (an organisation, it’s important to note, that charges heftily for its services).

Since most DVD extras — the featurettes, interviews and visual essays that so often supplement the main feature — are classed as ‘documentaries’, independent DVD labels can create high-quality special editions stuffed to the gunnels with extra material without incurring the prohibitive BBFC costs.

That’s all going to change. The VRA is being amended to remove certain of the existing exemptions. While some material will remain free from classification, the changes are profound enough to have independent DVD labels extremely worried.

You’re no doubt aware that all labels are facing huge problems from online piracy — if a film can be illegally grabbed for free, why buy it? Well, a lavish suite of DVD extras is a damn good incentive to slap down the cash. But additional BBFC costs will place a huge strain on already tight budgets: this means fewer extras will be produced. Inevitably, some labels will go to the wall — as a direct result of Government legislation.

It’s important to note that these problems are unintentional: these changes are a response to parental pressure to do something about saucy music videos. Targeting physical media, though, seems a curiously toothless response in the age of YouTube: these changes look set to harm independent DVD labels and do nothing about the issue you’re ostensibly trying to address.

According to the documents that lay out these changes, they were the result of a detailed consultation. However, none of the labels I have spoken to were even aware of the changes until very recently. I must ask: did the DCMS consult with ANY independent labels about the changes?

Given the impact these changes will have on businesses, I hope you’ll reconsider the changes to the VRA, to prevent unintended damage. It also seems worth asking if you are prepared to meet representatives of the independent DVD labels and hear their concerns directly. Ask them nicely and they might even give you some of their discs. Then you can see for yourself just how good they are and why it would be such a loss if any went under. If you want any recommendations, I’m happy to oblige.

Yours etc.
James Oliver

Read more UK Government Watch at

See article from

UK Government armsThese are good times for British film fans. The UK is lucky to have some of the best DVD labels in the world ( Arrow , the BFI , Masters of Cinema , Odeon , Second Run , Second Sight , Nucleus…) producing essential releases of that cater for every taste.But this golden age could be coming to an end, courtesy of some well-meaning government legislation. From May, the way home video material is classified is changing: material that is currently exempt from classification will have to be vetted by the BBFC.

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) decided that the best way to stem the tide of tabloid claims of pop video filth is to tighten up BBFC ratings. And they came up with some new and expensive regulations.

The main change is that any documentary material that contains clips of things that might be considered unsuitable for children will no longer be exempt from classification. So any DVD extra (an interview, for example) that contains a clip from the main feature will have to be scrutinised again. A single use of the word ‘fuck’ is enough to put the work in 12 rated territory and hence need expensive vetting by the BBFC.

A 90 minute film on DVD/Blu-ray will set you back £ 615 plus VAT, according to the fee calculator on their website. No big deal to the major labels but potentially calamitous for the knife-edge economics of the independent sector. It was Marc Morris, of Nucleus Films who first sounded the alarm about these changes and he offers a case study of the impact they’ll have on industry.

The documentary Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide proved a big hit, but parts of the material, particularly the framing documentary were exempt from classification. Morris estimates it would cost between £ 6,000- £ 7000 more had the documentary been made after the new law comes in.

Alan Byron, MD of Odeon Entertainment notes:

The economics behind collector’s releases will now dictate that extra features are reduced and more vanilla editions will appear.

It goes without saying that all this was pushed through without consulting any of the labels it affects — and there’s been virtually no communication from either the DCMS or BBFC to explain that the changes were even happening

Francesco Simeoni of Arrow Films concurs:

The new legislation has serious implications for niche labels, says . Our audience is very much on an international level and so we must compete with territories that do not have to contend with such costs. Whether we choose to include content for our releases has a whole new set of financial considerations which means we are at a significant disadvantage to our competitors.

…Read the full article

Read more UK Government Watch at

See consultation details from
See draft bill [doc] from

DCMS logoThe Department for Culture, Media and Sport has published a draft bill to remove the current blanket exemptions for music, sports, religious and educational videos.Videos that would be U or PG rated will continue to be exempt but videos that would be rated 12 or higher now need to be censored by the BBFC before they can be legally sold in the UK.

The mechanism to predict whether videos require censorship is provided by a long list of content that would likely trigger at least a 12 rating. If none of the triggers apply then the video need not be submitted.

The changes will be applied via a Statutory Instrument meaning that it will not be debated in parliament.

The DCMS has invited public comments on the draft which are to be sent to by 31 January 2014.

The  new regulation amends Section 2 subsections (2) and (3) of the Video Recordings Act 1984:

Subsection (2) of the current Video recordings Act reads

(2) A video work is not an exempted work for those purposes if, to any significant extent, it depicts–

  • (a) human sexual activity of acts of force or restraint associated with such activity;|
  • (b) mutilation or torture of, or other acts of gross violence towards, humans or animals;
  • (c) human genital organs or human urinary or excretory functions;
  • (d) techniques likely to be useful in the commission of offences;

This will be replaced by

The Video Recordings Act 1984 (Exempted Video Works) Regulations 2014

(2) A video work is not an exempted work for those purposes if it does one or more of the following-

  • (a) it depicts or promotes violence or threats of violence;
  • (b) it depicts the immediate aftermath of violence on human or animal characters;
  • (c) it depicts an imitable dangerous activity without also depicting that the activity may endanger the welfare or health of a human or animal character;
  • (d) it promotes an imitable dangerous activity;
  • (e) it depicts or promotes activities involving illegal drugs or the misuse of drugs;
  • (f) it promotes the use of alcohol or tobacco;
  • (g) it depicts or promotes suicide or attempted suicide, or depicts the immediate aftermath of such an event;
  • (h) it depicts or promotes any act of scarification or mutilation of a person, or of self-harm, or depicts the immediate aftermath of such an act;
  • (i) it depicts techniques likely to be useful in the commission of offences or, through its depiction of criminal activity, promotes the commission of offences;
  • (j) it includes words or images intended or likely to convey a sexual message (ignoring words or images depicting any mild sexual behaviour);
  • (k) it depicts human sexual activity (ignoring any depictions of mild sexual activity);
  • (l) it depicts or promotes acts of force or restraint associated with human sexual activity;
  • (m) it depicts human genital organs or human urinary or excretory functions (unless the depiction is for a medical, scientific or educational purpose);
  • (n) it includes swearing (ignoring any mild bad language); or
  • (o) it includes words or images that are intended or likely (to any extent) to cause offence, whether on the grounds of race, gender, disability, religion or belief or sexual orientation, or otherwise.

These Regulations do not apply in relation to any supply of a video work which was first placed on the market before […] 2014


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Gary Glitter arrested in Saville paedophilia investigation

Disgraced ex-pop star Gary Glitter, who was arrested on suspicion of sexual offences, has fallen a long way from his 1970s heyday as the leader of the glam-rock gang. (Hoang Dinh, AFP)

Disgraced ex-pop star Gary Glitter, who was arrested on suspicion of sexual offences, has fallen a long way from his 1970s heyday as the leader of the glam-rock gang. (Hoang Dinh, AFP)

British police arrested 1970s glam rocker Gary Glitter on Sunday as they probe the mountain of sexual abuse allegations against the late TV star Jimmy Saville that have plunged the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) into crisis.

Glitter is the first person arrested in an investigation which has snowballed since claims that Saville molested underage girls were aired in a television documentary earlier this month.

Glitter (68), the king of the glam rock era with a string of stomping hits, has served a jail term in Britain for downloading child pornography and in Vietnam for child sex offences.

Wearing a hat, dark glasses and a winter coat, Glitter was seen being escorted from his central London home into a waiting vehicle early Sunday.

"Officers working on Operation Yewtree have today arrested a man in his 60s in connection with the investigation," a Scotland Yard spokesperson said.

"The man, from London, was arrested at approximately 7.15am on suspicion of sexual offences, and has been taken into custody at a London police station.

"The individual falls under the strand of the investigation we have termed 'Saville and others'."

The operation has identified around 300 possible victims of Saville over a 40-year period, which would make the eccentric BBC presenter one of the worst offenders in British history.

The claims against Saville have plunged the BBC into crisis and destroyed the reputation of a man who, with his garish tracksuits and ever-present cigar, was one of the most famous faces on British television for decades.

Saville, who died on October 29 last year aged 84, also single-handedly raised tens of millions of pounds for charity.

The claims against him in an ITV documentary gave dozens of others the courage to come forward to police with allegations about Saville, his time on top BBC programmes of the 1960s to 1980s and others involved with him who are still alive.

Reputation 'on the line'
Public relations guru Max Clifford claimed dozens of celebrities from the period have contacted him in recent days because they are "frightened" of being implicated in the widening scandal.

He said the stars were worried because at their peak they had lived a hedonistic lifestyle where young girls threw themselves at them but they "never asked for anybody's birth certificate".

The Vatican said Sunday it regretted conferring a papal knighthood on Saville in 1990, but that there was no way to revoke the honour.

The Vatican is "deeply saddened" that Saville was made a knight commander of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great by Pope John Paul II, an honour that "in the light of recent information, should certainly not have been conferred," said Vatican spokesperson Father Federico Lombardi.

He said the Vatican "strongly condemned horrible sexual abuse crimes committed against minors."

But, he explained, "given there is no permanent and official list of people who have received papal honours in the past, it is not possible to strike out anyone from a list that does not exist."

In Britain, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said it was right that the police were "looking to see who is still around who was involved, and criminal proceedings should follow if people were guilty of participating in these offences alongside Jimmy Saville. That is of paramount importance."

The allegations against Saville include that he molested young girls on BBC premises.

The BBC has announced an independent probe into the BBC's culture and practices during the Saville years.

Grayling added: "Clearly what has happened is absolutely horrendous. It is shocking. There was clearly a culture that should never, ever, ever have been allowed to exist."

Former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten, the chairperson of the BBC Trust, the corporation's governing body, said the Saville revelations had put the BBC's reputation "on the line".

"The filth piles up," he wrote in The Mail on Sunday newspaper.

"Can it really be the case that no one knew what he was doing? Did some turn a blind eye to criminality?

"The BBC must tell the truth and face up to the truth about itself, however terrible".

Glitter was the king of the over-the-top glam era, complete with extravagant make-up, bouffant wigs, silver jumpsuits and high boots.

He sold more then 20-million records and had a string of hits like I'm The Leader Of The Gang (I Am) and Rock and Roll (Parts 1 and 2).

He was convicted in Vietnam in March 2006 of "obscene acts" with two girls aged 11 and 12, and returned to London in August 2008 after his release from prison. – AFP.

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Rick Gates, former Trump campaign deputy, pleads guilty in Mueller probe
Rick Gates departs federal court Feb. 14. Alex Brandon/AP

Rick Gates — who once served as Paul Manafort’s deputy chairman on the Trump campaign — pleaded guilty Friday to two charges as part of a long-anticipated deal with special counsel Robert Mueller, court documents show.

Gates, who also served on President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee before founding a pro-Trump nonprofit, has admitted to a count of conspiracy against the United States and a count of making a false statement to the special counsel’s office while being questioned earlier this month about a March 2013 meeting attended by Manafort, a lobbyist and an unnamed member of Congress, according to the statement of the offense.

Gates is now the the third known former Trump official to cooperate with Mueller, whose probe into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election has been repeatedly dismissed by the president as a politically motivated “witch hunt.”

The investigation has seemed to escalate recently. On Feb. 16, Mueller indicted 13 Russians connected to the Internet Research Agency — a Russian troll farm known for its propaganda and disinformation campaigns. He also indicted 28-year-old Richard Pinedo —who apparently unwittingly participated in the Russians’ interference — on a charge of identity fraud. Pinedo pleaded guilty.

On Tuesday, Mueller secured a guilty plea from Alex Van Der Zwaan — a Ukraine-connected lawyer who was associated with Gates. That plea seemed to confirm the reports of Gates’ cooperation with Mueller were true.

Gates’ guilty plea Friday came a day after Mueller hit him and Manafort with 32 charges in a superseding indictment that alleged the two had laundered over $30 million.

Former federal prosecutor Patrick Cotter said the harsh new charges — which replaced the 12 counts the pair had been indicted on back in October — seemed to signal that negotiations between Gates and Mueller had broken down.

“The normal practice is to file a less serious charge by way of information for a cooperator; you then let them plead to that instead of the more serious charges in the original indictment,” Cotter said in an email. “Perhaps it is just that Mueller’s gambit to hit a reluctant Gates with new charges to inspire a spirit of cooperation worked far more quickly than one would expect.”

The first charge Gates pleaded guilty to relates to his participation in several of Manafort’s schemes. The second charge alleges that Gates misled investigators about the nature of a March 2013 meeting that Manafort attended, falsely claiming that he’d been told there had been no discussion of Ukraine at the meeting.

Though the U.S. lawmaker present at the meeting did not appear to be identified in court documents Friday, Bloomberg reported that records suggest the person in question was Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) — a Congressman seen as sympathetic to Russia.

Gates, who worked with Manafort for years before helping him helm the Trump campaign in the summer of 2016, remained in contact with the White House through at least he beginning of 2017.

The administration in recent days has downplayed the impact Gates guilty plea would have on the president.

“There’d be no anxiety here,” a White House spokesperson told CNN on Saturday.

But Gates cooperating with Mueller almost certainly puts significant pressure on the embattled Manafort to follow suit.

“A Gates plea and cooperation would make the pressure on Manafort to cooperate all but unbearable,” Cotter said. “And the likely sentence based on yesterday’s indictment is very significant. So, the logic of cooperation for Manafort is undeniable.”

In a statement Friday, though, Manafort maintained his innocence and promised to keep fighting against the charges.

“I had hoped and expected my business colleague would have the strength to continue the battle to prove our innocence,” Manafort said through a spokesman. “For reasons yet to surface he chose to do otherwise. This does not alter my commitment to defend myself against the untrue piled up charges contained in the indictments against me.”

Feb. 23, 2017, 4:38 p.m.: This story has been updated.


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Photographer: Steve Burke Photography
Model: Sarah Burns
BodyPainter / Concept: MAMU – Michelle Anderson MakeUp

Life can cleanse you or drown you, your mind is a powerful force like a crashing wave, a force that can lead you to the calmest of tides or the stormiest seas. Seas that not even the most skilled captain would dare sail upon. Some of us have a choice. Some of us, Don’t. – MAMU x


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Dell buys EMC for $67 billion
In the biggest tech deal of all time, Dell announced Monday that it has agreed to buy corporate software, storage and security giant EMC for $67 billion.
The deal completes Dell’s transformation from a consumer PC business to an IT solutions provider for companies. That process began when Dell bought Perot Systems for $4 billion in 2009 and went full throttle in 2013 when company founder Michael Dell took the business private.

EMC is a behemoth of a corporate IT business. It is among the largest providers of storage hardware in the world. It also makes servers and owns security company RSA, which is known for its hard-to-crack SecurID tokens. And its most prized possession is its 81% stake in VMware — the company that rules the world of virtualization software that allows businesses to run various operating systems on their devices.

“The combination of Dell and EMC creates an enterprise solutions powerhouse,” said Dell in a prepared statement. “Our new company will be exceptionally well-positioned for growth in the most strategic areas of next generation IT.” Yet both Dell and EMC have struggled lately as new technology trends have largely passed them by (namely: the cloud).

EMC made its name selling companies storage systems for their data centers. Now, cloud companies like Amazon can store all of a company’s stuff for cheaper. It’s no longer in vogue for businesses to operate their own data centers.

Meanwhile, Dell, the world’s second-largest server maker, is facing the same conundrum. As businesses offload their file storage to Amazon (AMZN, Tech30), Google (GOOGL, Tech30) and Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30), many are letting those companies handle their email and Web serving too.

Dell in particular has struggled lately — it was the only top five server maker with falling shipments in the second quarter, according to tech consultancy Gartner.
Both companies have invested heavily in the cloud, but each has encountered a rocky transition. EMC’s stock sunk earlier this year, and it faced an activist shareholder revolt that failed to break up the company. Dell was forced to go private in a (very) leveraged buyout including large amounts of borrowing.

Dell said the company will remain private — for now. The complicated EMC deal will be financed with a significant amount of debt, while VMWare (VMW) will remain publicly-traded.

Whether the two companies will be better off together remains to be seen. But the merger certainly bucks the recent trend of large tech companies getting smaller instead of bigger.

Rival Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Tech30), for instance, is about to split into two: a consumer PC-focused business and a corporate IT solutions business. EBay (EBAY) jettisoned PayPal earlier this year.

The EMC-Dell merger is remarkably huge. It’s nearly twice as large as the proposed $37 billion tie-up between Broadcom and Avago, the next-biggest tech merger, according to Dealogic.

Source: CNN Money

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A downloadable game for Android

***Coloring Game is a coloring application, an easy to use, fun and creative powerful app for children for 1 years and up***

- Coloring Game For kids game is not designed only for your 2-8 years old son but your daughter as well. Color the coloring pages of christmas on your phone or tablet in this virtual coloring and painting book. It so easy that even toddler can play. This app coloring game is a kids game where children can color the christmas and winter coloring pages, but they can also draw their own drawing . Both, boys and girls will love this coloring book game for kids. In this coloring game you can find reindeer, magic cookies, candies, santa claus and a lot of christmas decoration.

- An app can be used at the playschool, preschool, for fun as an educational drawing game. For girls we have Princesses Mermaids, hearts, dresses and flowers we prepared. Coloring book for boys are diggers, vehicles , dinosaurs and blank page doodling. The biggest attraction though is colouring animals, that make real sounds!

****How to play****
- Navigate through all available animated coloring books. Pick one to begin coloring, including:

- Alphabet Book: Contains all Alphabets A.b.c......
- Animal Book: Contains some Animal: Monkey, Crocodile, elephant..............
- Shapes Book: Contains some sketch of shapes like triangle,square.......
- Chrismas Book: Contains some sketch of Chrismas like gifts, chrismas tree, Santa Claus........
- Cartoon Book: Contains some sketch of characters like mickey mouse, spider man......
- Boys Book: Contains some sketch for boys like Cars, foot-ball ...............
- Transport Book: Contains some sketch: chuggington trains, cars..........
- Girls Book: Contains some sketch: for girls like dresses,mermaid, princesses like cindrella, aurora ...........
- Summer Book: Contains some sketch of summer like sunshine, sea.......

- Features:
100+ pictures of various kinds.
- various brushes, including dry brush, water-color, crayon, pen, rainbow, glow neon.
- easy color picker
- pinch to zoom in/out to paint in small space
- ink dropper
- "movie" mode to replay the coloring like a small film.
- show or hide menu by tapping the right-bottom button
- built-in gallery to store both coloring picture and coloring animation.
- undo/redo
- Suitable for both smart phones and tablets.
- Provides flawless coloring experience for every single detail.

- Enjoy!

For any comments or suggestions, please send an e-mail. Thanks!.

Coloring Game.apk 10 MB

Also available on

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Most people haven’t even upgraded to 4K yet, and the ultra-slim picture-perfect technology OLED is generally well out of the average consumer’s price range.

That has not stopped LG from upping the ante for this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), they have just announced the worlds largest OLED display at 88-inches, and to top it off, it runs at 8K.

Officially, the new TV’s resolution measures at 7680 x 4320, making it four times the resolutions of 4K and 16 times (is my maths correct?) the resolution of 1080p.

There is no word on pricing, but expect it to cost more than a nice car, if not a small flat in an affordable area. The current cream of the crop is the LG OLED77W7V 77″ Smart 4K OLED which Currys currently sell for £11,999.00 with a claimed RRP of £24,999.00.

This is obviously not aimed at ordinary people, but it is more of a tech showcase that a handful of millionaires/billionaires will buy. Currently, there aren’t even any details on the release date or further tech specs.

For the rest of us peasants, we will have to make do with the announcement that the new TVs from LG will have Google Assistant built in, running on the fantastic webOS-based operating system that LG have used for the past few years.

The TVs will use 2 AI assistants, Google, and the LG based ThinQ. ThinQ will be mainly used for TV functions, while the Google assistant will be used for typical smart speaker tasks such as controlling Philips Hue etc.

CES 2018 starts this coming Tuesday, January 9th and we will likely find out more details of the upcoming line-up from LG as well as releases from many other TV brands.


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EURAM track on knowledge networks October 11, 2007

Posted by Miha Škerlavaj in Uncategorized.
Tags: , , , ,

May 2008 is still far, nevertheless…I invite all the researchers interested in social networks, knowledge management and organizational learning to submit their papers to European Academy of Management (EURAM) Conference where I co-host the track Intra-organizational knowledge and learning networks: In search for empirical research (together with prof.dr. Emmanuel Lazega, University of Paris IX and mag. Robert Kaše, University of Ljubljana).

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Out and About, Show and Tell

See you next year..

Over the weekend, I was in Rundle Mall to check the last remaining shows of Adelaide Fringe Festival. The event is an annual open access arts festival run over four weeks in Adelaide.

As part of the festival, The staff and crew set up a mini stage in the middle of the mall as central place where Adelaide Fringe Artists publicly showcase and promote their events.

Mr. Wayne Deakin was on the stage, a regular headliner at all Australian comedy venues, Wayne also tours constantly throughout the USA and Canada. Currently based in London, he works the Comedy Store, Jongleurs and Glee Clubs as well as touring Asia, the Middle East and the Isle of Man.

It was a fun afternoon and audience are enjoying the show. You can check my previous blog post about the Fringe Festival here. Thanks to South Australia and see you next year for a fun filled festival

About micosantos

Blogger + Photogs + Video Shooter + Copywriter + Social Media Advocacy + Father

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The One Left Behind

The one left behind cover.PNG

When Monty’s older sister goes missing, everyone assumes the worst, but Monty has a hunch that something else may be going… and that her sister is still very much alive.

All Sybil ever wanted was to fall in love, so when she meets the darkly enigmatic Theo, she thinks her every dream is finally coming true. But it isn’t long before she realises that Theo is not quite what he seems…

Part 1 – Monty

Part 2 – Sybil

Part 3 – Monty

Part 4 – Sybil

Part 5 – Monty

Part 6

Part 7


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JK Trash & Stow

Just when you think Misch 4x4 Products is out of ideas of how to make the JK more comfortable and convenient they come up with yet another great product. Misch 4x4 Products is proud to announce their “TRASH & STOW”. The “TRASH & STOW” is made of black polypropylene. It fits in the back cup-holders of a JK center console. It can be used as a trash container, cup-holder (for about any size cup) as well as a good place to put water for your dog.  It’s just the place to throw your trash, stow your stuff, and help keep our trails the way we found them.

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23 April 2010 @ 04:24 pm
worst day to best day.
Today, I had a guitar festival to perform at. Everybody was amazing. Exception was me.
We got halfway through the song, messed up, stopped, and it fell apart after that. We didn't know where to start again.
Not to mention that as I got up from the seats and into the aisle to make room for the people to sit down, I tripped on the stairs and fell on my butt.
That was pretty humiliating as well.
We really were the only ones who failed today too so it was not fun.

The professionals watching us were kind though.
They told us not to let our nerves get the best of us and that the audience is on our side, which they really were since they still applauded loudly after our performance.

The rest of the day was fun though. We went to some workshops which were pretty hilarious.
One guy that performed a Beatles medley, we constantly yelled MITCHHHHHH whenever we saw him which was quite amusing.
The bus ride home was hilarious, we were like little kids again when we went over speed bumps.

So, the day went from awful to awesome wooooo
Mood: cheerfulcheerful
emma!!: mikey; it's just a vacant 3x4mcrforthewin on April 24th, 2010 10:27 am (UTC)
that's cool you get to perform at a guitar festival. how long have you been playing guitar?
m e l i s s a ♫ into your g r a v i t ymixy101 on April 28th, 2010 03:28 am (UTC)
haha, yeah, it was pretty cool.
3 years, I believeee.


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Yu Darvish could be headed to MLB this offseason

Prepare thyself.  Another “must-see” Japanese pitching prospect could be on his way to the states as soon as this offseason.

FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal heard from a source Saturday that right-hander Yu Darvish is likely to be “posted” this winter, meaning teams in Major League Baseball will have a crack at luring him away from the Nippon Ham Fighters.

Darvish is only 24 and widely considered one of the top pitchers in Japan.  He has won two MVP awards in his first five seasons of professional baseball and became the youngest player in Japanese baseball history to be given a contract worth more than 300 million yen (about $3.5 million US) when he re-signed with Nippon last season.

He will have no trouble topping that salary if and when he signs with a team state-side.  The Yankees, according to Rosenthal, have been watching every one of his starts and other teams are sure to step forward with bids as well.  But let’s also keep in mind that pitchers of Darvish’s ilk are not guaranteed success in the big leagues.  In fact, few have found it an easy transition.

Texas Rangers fire manager Jeff Banister

Getty Images

The Texas Rangers just announced that they have fired Jeff Banister as the team’s manager. Bench coach Don Wakamatsu has been named interim manager for the remainder of 2018 season.

Banister was in the last year of his contract with the club, but there was an option for 2019. Rangers brass, obviously, has decided to go in a different direction following what will be the club’s worst finish in Banister’s tenure. At the moment the Rangers are 64-88 and are assured of last place in the AL West.

Banister was hired before the 2015 season and led the Rangers to first place finishes in each of his first two seasons, willing the Manager of the Year Award in 2015. The club fell to a disappointing third place and a 78-84 record last season, however and, after an offseason that neither helped the Rangers rebuild OR reload, this season the descent has continued.

Injuries and under achievement has been the order of the day for the past two years and, with the career of Adrian Beltre nearing its end and the Rangers having been passed up by the Astros as the class of the division, a full rebuild is in the club’s future. Even if that was not the case, however, recently there have been some reports about Banister having trouble communicating with his players, suggesting that, perhaps, the Rangers would move on from him even if the results on the field had been better.

Banister ends his reign as the Rangers’ skipper with a record of 325-313.


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Turning Japanese: A look at UFC on Fuel TV 8

Words by ALar

I don’t know about you, but something about MMA at Saitama Super Arena in Japan makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This Saturday, the UFC will be returning to Japan for the first time since UFC 144. This card continues the organization’s streak of absolutely stellar cards. The crew at Zuffa really know what they are doing with these Fuel cards, every fight on the card has the possibility to be all sorts of epic. There, as expecteed, a strong Asian contingent on the card, as well as a few PRIDE vets. If you find yourself on the couch this weekend, this FUEL card might give you a few flashbacks to the good ol’ days of PRIDE. With two guys in the Main Event that I can’t help but root for, you can bet that I will be on the edge of my seat when Brian Stann and Wanderlei Silva start tossing leather. On to the Preview!

Main Card: 10 PM on FUEL TV

Dong Hyun ‘Stun Gun’ Kim (16-2-1, 1 NC) v. Siyar ‘The Great’ Bahadurzada (21-4-1)

If you take a look at both these fighter’s records, both are coming off wins versus Paulo Thiago, Kim by decision and Siyar by vicious KO.  Dong was on a heck of a run from 2009-2011 notching wins over Nate Diaz, Amir Sadollah, and TJ Grant, but since then he has fallen in to the ‘win one, lose one’ tendency that many mid-card stalwarts encounter. Siyar on the other hand has won seven in a row, but has been out of the cage for nearly a year due to injury. With Siyar being a Blackzillian (and knowing their recent woes) he is a tough pick here, but he takes this one in a gritty battle. Bahadurzada by decision.SiyarBahadurzada_Headshot

Mizoto Hirota (14-5-1) v. Rani Yahya (17-7)

Would you look down upon my MMA knowledge if I confessed I didn’t know a whole heck of a lot about these dudes? I did watch Hirota’s last fight in Strikeforce and he was blatently robbed of a decision win over Pat Healy in a grinding affair.  Looking at Yahya’s record, he has faced the who’s who of the lighter weight classes over the years and faired pretty well. I think he takes a decision here. Yayya by decision.

If you don't get this reference, we can't be friends...

If you don’t get this reference, we can’t be friends…

Yushin ‘Thunder’ Okami (28-7) v. Hector Lombard (32-3-1, 1 NC)

This is the fourth freaking fight on a FUEL card?!?!? That really puts the depth of the UFC’s roster in perspective. This is one of those fights where Joe Rogan’s voice would get inexplicably louder as he described it in the pre-fight hype packages. You are throwing in a grinding grappler in Okami against an diesel fueled powerhouse in Lombard. Lombard demolished another expert grappler Rousimar Palhares last time out, while Okami Okami’d Alan Belcher on the last card of 2012.  I don’t think Okami will be able to control the powerful Lombard and Hector will land one of his bombastic hooks on hometown favorite’s chin. Lombard by TKO.

Takanori ‘The Fireball Kid’ Gomi (34-8-1) v. Diego ‘Nightmare’ Sanchez (23-5)

Now this is a FIGHT!  Gomi is, was, and always will be a PRIDE legend. He dominated the lighter weight classes of the promotion during its hey day.  Look up his fight with Kawajiri and thank me later.  You know he will try to recapture the glory days in front of the Japanese crowd. His opponent will be the fiery Diego Sanchez. Of Diego’s last seven fights, FIVE have been awarded Fight of the Night honors. Win or lose, the guy puts on a freakin’ show.  With the current state of MMA judging, it is always a tough call when a hometown favorite is booked, but Gomi’s glory days are behind him. I think Diego takes a decision here, or at least he should. Sanchez by decision.

The fact that Sanchez still fights in a cage for a living after this is a true testament to the dude's will.

The fact that Sanchez still fights in a cage for a living after this is a true testament to the dude’s will.

Mark ‘Super Samoan’ Hunt (15-7) v. Stefan ‘Skyscraper’ Struve (25-5)

I would have zero issue paying some of my own hard earned money to watch this fight. That Mark Hunt promo video has been sending shivers down the MMA community’s spine for weeks now and I am ridiculously stoked for this scrap. If you recall, I picked Stefan Struve as my 2012 Fighter of the Year. I mean, the dude had three SICK finishes last year, how could I not pick the big guy? Now for this fight… Hunt is a gigantic star in Japan, the respect they have for his warrior spirit is unparalleled. He will be a massive crowd favorite when he enters the cage on Saturday, but will be over a foot shorter than his opponent. As much as I would love to see the Super Samoan slug out a W here, I am wary of Struve’s submission skills. I mean, Sean bleeping McCorkle subbed Hunt back at UFC 119, and he isn’t exactly lighting the MMA world on fire these days.  I hope and pray for a stand up battle between these two, but am going to call a submission win for the lanky Dutchman. Struve by submission.

Brian “The All-American’ Stann (12-5) v. Wanderlei ‘The Axe-Murderer’ Silva (34-12-1, 1 NC

Are you kidding me right now? Is this fight really happening? At Saitama Super Arena??? Wandy is a GOD in Japan, PRIDE Wanderlei may be the most dangerous fighter to ever walk this Earth. (Check out my Baddest Man on the Planet Chronology to get the picture…) The crowd will absolutely ERUPT when Wandy makes his walk to the cage.  The interesting thing about this tilt is that it is taking place in the Light Heavyweight division. Both of these guys have been cutting down to Middleweight for their last few scraps, but will be avoiding the cut for this one and holding on to some of the power that the process saps them of. I have no idea how to predict this one, or even care about making the right call. These two dudes are two of my favorite people in the sport. You know I am as patriotic as apple pie and Pam Anderson in a bikini circa 1994, so you KNOW I am a huge Stann fan. I would have no problem casting my vote for that dude to be President in a decade a two. Seriously, and that is coming from someone with a Political Science degree from the best public university in the Northeast…  And we ALL love Wandy. His brawling style is legendary and he has provided us with some of the best moments in the history of the sport. I hope these two toss haymakers for three rounds and when the final bell rings they go for the ‘bro hug’ and raise each other’s hands in mutual victory. If you had my junk in a vice and forced me to make a pick, I would have to go with Stann by decision. Regardless, I just hope this one lives up to its potential (unlike a certain Light Heavyweight fight last weekend…) Stann by decision, I guess…

Captain Freakin' America

Captain Freakin’ America

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER!!! And enjoy this card from Japan and try not to reminiscne too hard about the good ol’ PRIDE days.

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Mobila Marketing

How an IBM Watson engineer is harnessing the power of AI for the greater good

June 29, 2018 | Written by: Caitlin Leddy Categorized: Trends and Profiles Share this post: Nisarga Markandaiah grew up feeling the impact of technology all around her. Born in Bangalore, India, Nisarga witnessed firsthand how people, communities and entire cities can be inspired and changed for the better through the application of technology and science, …

How an IBM Watson engineer is harnessing the power of AI for the greater goodRead More »

What is a decision tree and why should my chatbot use it?

The most effective way to discover the intent behind your customer’s questions and provide the right answer is by using a decision tree. What are they and how do they work?
When it comes to chatbots, businesses want to know one thing. The million dollar question for a market which will be worth billions within a few years is – can my virtual agent answer my customers’ questions?
Assuming your chatbot has robust natural language processing (NLP technology), the most effective way to do this is through decision trees.
What is a decision tree exactly?
In the context of chatbots, a decision tree essentially helps them find the exact answer to your question. Further information on what decision trees are outside of the AI world can be found here.
The root of the tree is your initial question. For example, you might ask to buy tickets for a concert. Of course, a chatbot will need more information than that to fulfill your request.
To do this, it will ask a series of questions, the branches of the decision tree if you like. Each one narrows down on the customer’s goal through chatbot intents.
Therefore when buying a ticket, the chatbot might ask who you want to see. Having selected “U2” it might then proceed to ask for the date and venue you want, then the price range and finally the specific seat.
Only once we have reached the end (or the leaves) and you have selected your seat has the decision tree ended.
Making transactions using a decision tree in chatbots
Decision trees are flexible enough to carry out a number of functions for your virtual agent.
One major problem companies face is shopping cart abandonments – currently standing at 78% and costing $4 trillion a year.
Decision tree transactions can significantly reduce this by ensuring customers locate exactly what they want in a conversational format. Just like in the concert ticket example above, users can buy almost anything through this method.
In terms of cart abandonment, the chatbot’s decision tree is able to streamline the actual payment process at the checkout to ensure the user does not become frustrated.
Decision tree: solving the difficult questions
In addition, decision trees can improve the overall customer experience by tackling nonmonetary transactions such as password recovery. Bots can identify which account you want to change by asking for your details.
Decision trees can also replace general FAQs. A major problem with help sites is that their answers are far too general for customers who value personal interaction. The decision tree is able to initiate a conversation with the user to understand exactly which answer is the most relevant to them.
For example, a user might want to know when their package is arriving. Naturally, more information is needed. A decision tree can account for this by asking for an order number or anything else that identifies that exact purchase before informing the customer.
Meanwhile, a company with general FAQs will not be able to provide the same level of service and will have to rely on live agents – this can be costly and time consuming for both customer and company.
Have you got a real life example?
Inbenta’s chatbot Veronica uses decision trees for a variety of scenarios. For example, this is the decision tree created when someone asks Veronica about integrating Inbenta technology on their platform.

Veronica can provide some background before asking what platform the person uses. This is an example of a decision tree based on natural language as the customer is asked to type in their answer rather than select an option. Note how Veronica is able to recognize ‘Facebook’ despite the misspelling.
This decision tree has been edited on Inbenta’s Backstage by arranging the existing contents into a coherent journey of discovery towards the user’s intent.

Whatever chatbot you choose to handle your decision trees must be able to cater for some of the more complex titles that might occur. For example, a decision tree about return policy must have options for different time spans depending on how long the user has had the product for.
Other examples of decision tree structures include a ‘Buttons’ option which presents the user with all the available options for them to select from and a “Yes/No” format which narrows down what the user wants by asking a series of questions.
Customers want a personal service from companies. But they also want their questions answered correctly. Using decision trees for your chatbot will satisfy these basic desires in a revolutionary way never before experienced.
Inbenta utilizes its patented natural language processing and +11 years of research & development to create interactive chatbots with an industry leading +90% self-service rate.
Companies around the world including Ticketmaster UK utilize the Inbenta Chatbot to maintain a personal service for their customers while reducing support tickets.
Interested in finding out more? Our team of experts is at your service to design a custom proposal for you.

Let’s get in touch

AI sport, it’s in the game

This article looks at the practical applications of artificial intelligence AI in Sport. How long before every athlete is AI-powered?
“I would like to thank my teammates, our coaches and of course, my parents. But most of all I want to thank our AI-powered robotic coach for making us the champions we are today.”
OK, perhaps this acceptance speech might not take place at next year’s Super Bowl LII. But AI’s impact on sport is already considerable and will continue to grow as franchises seek game changing advantages which will push them over the top against their opponents.
The likes of Billy Beane with “Moneyball” and Sam Hinckie’s “The Process” have been celebrated in some quarters as revolutionary methods to transform the fortunes of a franchise. The next development might not have a face to it, but AI could send sport down a path it has never seen before. The AI arms race has begun.
Wearables in sport
Wearables are not just for fitness fanatics hoping to post a new low resting heart rate to social media, they are also being incorporated in the world’s biggest leagues. In the 2015/6 season, The Premier League allowed players to use them during matches for the first time.
The devices are able to analyze the workload placed on players to determine whether they have been under or over trained and when an injury is imminent. With championships sometimes determined by which team is the healthiest, knowing when is the best time to reintroduce your injured star to the first team is crucial.
It is also hoped that AI-powered wearables will be able to improve player techniques in the future. As the devices can already detect which foot players are pushing off from, it is not a great leap (no pun intended) to assume they will soon be able to analyze their positioning when striking the ball and will be able to recommend adjustments.
With wearables already available on the likes of cricket bats and hockey sticks to measure strength and technique, the days of athletes putting on seemingly normal shirts filled with sensors to measure valuable data are not far away.
Sport safety
It has been one of the most controversial topics in the NFL as more studies emerge highlighting the potential long-term brain injuries suffered by players. AI is going a long way to help identify and treat potential cases.
One example comes from researchers in Montreal who can now detect long-term concussions which can cause lasting brain damage. Their AI has identified that players who suffered from a concussion had abnormal white matter connections in parts of the brain which could indicate degeneration. It claims an accuracy of 90% in detecting concussions.
Identifying the mentally tough
Hard work beats talent.
A phrase you might have heard from any sports star, coach or even a pundit paid to find a fault. Indeed, sports stars, in general, are blessed with such physical attributes that it takes something more to separate the best from the very best.
One AI startup is trying to make the task of discovering this easier through AI and machine learning to understand players’ mental strength. Receptiviti has created a language psychology AI platform which can analyze the mentality of players.
For example, it believes it can hand potential player recruits an iPad and ask a few open-ended questions to understand what type of player they will be. Not only will this help identify the very best players in the long run but it will also save coach’s time chasing after players who may not live up to their potential.
Sport is a game of inches according to the cliche. Artificial intelligence in its various guises will represent a giant step forward for any franchise willing to invest.

The history of the search engine: from index cards to the AI chatbot

One of the greatest improvements brought about by the internet is the ability to find answers to almost anything almost immediately thanks to the search engine. How did we evolve from the days of index cards to AI-powered chatbots?
How did people find answers before the internet?
Even those of us old enough to remember a life pre-web struggle to recall how we did our homework, checked for correct spellings or even resisted the urge to ask those questions we wouldn’t dare ask aloud without the relative safety of a search engine like Google.
And yet humans somehow managed to exist before the World Wide Web was created in 1989. Since then, search has improved exponentially to the point where a personal chatbot to help with our most routine tasks is becoming a reality. But how did we reach this point?
Before the internet:
Searching was far more laborious and in many cases would not even have even taken place before the creation of the search engine.
Index cards were first popularized by Carl Linnaeus to classify more than 12,000 species of plants and animals. In the years following his idea, libraries began to rely on them to index their collections.
Eventually, libraries settled on the Dewey Decimal System which organized all books by subject, author and title – one which is still in place across libraries today.
The first search engine:
With the invention of the internet came the first example of what we are familiar with today. But it was not Google, Yahoo or even Ask Jeeves which were the first to introduce a whole new concept to us.
Archie was written in 1990 by Alan Emtage and indexed all the file lists of as many public FTP servers as possible to allow users to find and download publicly available files.
While it was not on a par with the search technology available today it was indeed better than the alternative – word of mouth.
The web directory:
For a while, it was regarded as the internet’s most important search engine, but that label did not fit the early versions of Yahoo. In fact, it was considered a web directory that relied on humans to summarize websites with short descriptions and to organize them into categories.
Created in 1994, Yahoo became so popular that publishers would delay posting their websites to ensure they would be included. Despite the advancements in search, the Yahoo Directory did manage to survive until 2014 when it was closed for good.
The first web crawler:
1994 also saw the first web crawler released – appropriately titled, WebCrawler. It was the first to index entire pages and became so popular that at one point it could not be used during the day.
Natural language search:
A search engine that Google arguably owes a lot to, Altavista was a pioneer in many of the online search techniques which we are still using today.
Notably, in 1995 Altavista became the first search engine to incorporate natural language technology. Among other achievements it also provided the first searchable full-text database of the web, allowed multi-language search and even translated pages.
Altavista’s move away from streamlined search towards a more complex web portal ultimately led to its demise as users flocked to the up-and-coming Google.
Which finally takes us to the granddaddy of them all. Google’s success can be attributed to many areas, but its most significant selling point is its famous algorithm which was able to yield within fractions of a second more relevant search results than its competitors.
In 1996 when Larry Page and Sergey Brin launched BackRub – Google’s precursor – they realized that their algorithm knew which webpage was the best for a topic based on accumulated links and, more importantly, citations from the most authoritative websites. It was this focus on the relevancy of a website that made Google so popular.

Semantic search engines:
While Google was able to provide the world with answers to searches instantly, companies were still struggling to do the same on their own websites.
The Inbenta Semantic Search Engine was first created in 2010 and was able to understand searcher intent and the contextual meaning behind customer’s searches rather than rely on keywords. Much of this capability was due to Inbenta’s patented natural language processing which significantly improved companies’ self-service rates.
Voice recognition:
The concept of computers which could understand our voice had been around for the  50 years or so before Apple’s Siri and Google both brought it into the mainstream.
Google added “personalized recognition” to Voice Search on its Android phones in 2010 as well as its Chrome browser in 2011. Its English Voice Search now incorporates 230 billion words from actual queries.
A Stanford Research Institute spin-off was sold to Apple in 2010 and led to Siri and its cloud-based processing. Ironically, its first offering was far more potent than the version embedded on our iPhones today – it was more intuitive, connected to the web and could detect meaning from sentences more effectively.
The artificial intelligent chatbot:
Chatbots have existed since Eliza was billed in 1966 as the world’s first ‘chatterbot’ capable of communicating with humans as a psychotherapist would.
Only now have virtual agents started to make their mark in the search world by providing customers with information across all forms of social media as well as on company websites.
Many of them are powered by artificial intelligence and natural language processing which has provided users with a more personal experience when searching – think of a shop assistant minus the need to step out of your house. Look at Ticketmaster’s chatbot (click the help tab on the bottom left) for an example of how this now works.
One chatbot to rule them all:
What is the next step in the search world? Chatbots are now starting to combine natural language processing with machine learning. This combination leads to agents that can provide high self-service rates and improve as it gathers more data.
Not only will bots become more accurate but we will soon be able to carry out all our searches as well as any transactions within a single conversation. Regardless of whether it is ordering a pizza, comparing the best energy prices or keeping up to date with the latest in the NBA it will all soon be handled within the same digital space.
The developers behind the search engine Ask Jeeves might have had a point when they decided to make a butler the face of their company. Search technology is doing all it can to adapt to us. It will continue to do so in ways that we cannot even comprehend.
Inbenta is a leader in natural language processing and artificial intelligence for customer support, e-commerce and conversational chatbots, providing an easy-to-deploy solution that improves customer satisfaction, reduces support costs, and increases revenue.
Interested in finding out more? Our team of experts is available to show you how Inbenta can benefit your company.

Let’s get in touch

AI doctors: how artificial intelligence can help medicine

With healthcare systems around the world under increasing pressure, artificial intelligence can provide a much-needed boost for doctors.
Around 12 million American adults are misdiagnosed every year by doctors. That is enough to fill the country of Ireland two and a half times over.
With an aging population, making the country’s healthcare system more accurate and efficient is becoming an increasing priority. Fortunately, there is a solution.
Artificial intelligence is already making great strides in treating patients and also reducing the strain on medical staff.
Crowdsourcing diagnoses:
Why ask for a second opinion on a condition when you could have a ten thousandth?
Human DX uses machine learning to help doctors deal with difficult medical cases by soliciting advice from fellow experts across 70 countries. Physicians can ask questions on the app/website while uploading relevant images of the condition and any related tests. The AI program then calculates all the responses and provides a single report.
The potential of Human DX is clear when you explore the rising waiting times in some of the world’s wealthiest countries. Studies have shown that the number of online consultations will increase cumulatively by 25% a year over the next five years, sparing both patients and doctor significant costs and wait times.
While providing more accurate diagnoses for patients, Human DX could improve the skills of doctors by tracking their clinical performance and offering recommendations in specific areas. Indeed, many physicians might feel more comfortable taking advice from machines rather than being judged by more experienced medics.
AI doctors: detecting diseases
Not only can AI help with difficult diagnoses but it can also spot the early signs of many illnesses.
Google has already made progress on this front by using machine learning to detect signs of eye diseases related to diabetes using image recognition algorithms. Google’s software can spot tiny aneurysms which can cause blindness by examining photos of a patient’s retina.
It is incorporating its diagnosis system in India alongside the Aravind Eye Care System which provided some of the images to train its image parsing algorithms. Google uses the same deep learning technique in its image search to differentiate between cats and dogs for example.
In fact, Google claims its algorithm is so accurate that it is on par with that of ophthalmologists. The next step is implementing it to support the 70 million Indians with diabetes and 400 million sufferers around the world.
The technology does not necessarily mean fewer jobs for doctors. Google says its algorithms will perform the screening work which staff struggle to fill, freeing them up for more important tasks.
What’s in your DNA?
Artificial intelligence will soon allow us to take full control of our health by unlocking the code to our DNA. Despite the significant progress made in healthcare we still do not know what our genome is telling us.
Companies such as Deep Genomics are attempting to lead the way by interpreting DNA through a system which predicts how genetic variation affects molecules. In fact, its database can already explain how hundreds of millions of genetic variations can impact our genetic code. A greater understanding of our human DNA means doctors can soon provide personalized information to suit each of us – giving us full control of our bodies.
From here, genetic companies such as Rthm can develop tools to understand our genetic makeup and advise on what changes we should make to our daily routines. A more intelligent approach to our long-term health will reduce the strain and resources of our medical staff.
Discovering new drugs faster
Bringing new drugs to market is both costly and time-consuming. A discovery can take 14 years and cost around $2.6 billion before it becomes available.
A major reason for this delay is the need to test the chemical compounds against every possible combination of cells, genetics and any other mutations to ensure it is safe.
Machine learning has the potential to reduce these costs by as much as 70% by analyzing the scientific literature at hand. In fact, Benevolent.AI has already identified two potential drugs for Alzheimer’s through this method.
Given an aging population and fewer resources for medical care, AI is a solution that ensures we do not simply stick a massive band-aid on the problem but rather properly treat it so it never becomes an issue again.
Inbenta is a leader in natural language processing and artificial intelligence for customer support, e-commerce and conversational chatbots, providing an easy-to-deploy solution that improves customer satisfaction, reduces support costs, and increases revenue.
Interested in finding out more? Our team of experts is available to show you how Inbenta can benefit your company.

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What is the difference between a chatbot and a virtual assistant?

They will soon become a cornerstone of our daily lives but what exactly is the difference between a chatbot and a virtual assistant?
The VHS and the Betamax, the Blu-ray and HD DVD or more recently the current virtual headset battle between HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.
The history of technological development is littered with examples of various formats fighting it out for market dominance. At times, these format wars will dictate what we refer to the new invention as. When purchasing a high-density optical disc we tend to ask for a Blu-ray for example.
As artificial intelligence moves out of its winter we are encountering confusion over what to call the intelligent computer programs that communicate with us – chatbot or virtual assistant.
Are chatbots and virtual assistants the same?
It depends on who you speak to. A school of thought exists which believes there is no difference and that either one could be an umbrella term for the conversational agent.
If this is the case then it seems redundant to have two names for the same function. Chatbot is by far the more popular term according to Google Trends.
In general, if its primary mode of interaction is through messaging (Slack, Facebook etc.) then you are communicating with a chatbot. There is an argument that the likes of Siri cannot be a chatbot because it exists outside of these channels. But this does not feel like enough of a differentiator.
In fact, of more importance is the function of the chatbot (or virtual assistant) that you employ. In this regard, there are some myths surrounding their capabilities which should be debunked.
Myth 1: A chatbot is not intelligent enough
Some of the most powerful chatbots are equipped with robust natural language processing in order to understand the meaning of an inquiry rather than simply the keywords.
Previous bots might have only been able to carry out a limited number of conversations through either hard-coding, wildcard matching of words and phrases or time-consuming keyword training. However, bots powered with NLP are now far more flexible. Unfortunately, many chatbots do not leverage true NLP and are giving chatbots a bad name.
Thanks to machine learning, chatbots will continue to improve and will produce higher self-service rates than ever before.
Myth 2: A virtual assistant can carry out a wider range of functions
While there might be some truth to this now, the gap between what the two hope to achieve is constantly narrowing.
In the past, the chatbot could only perform specific tasks such as a password change or information about the weather. Whereas, the virtual assistant was more wide-ranging in what it offered.
Thanks to advancements in NLP and machine learning, however, this is changing. Chatbots are now far more diverse and can carry out more functions through their ability to understand natural language. The use of decision trees, for example, makes it far easier to discover the exact intent behind user inquiries, broadening its functionality even further.
Myth 3: A virtual assistant is better at remembering context
Virtual assistants even now still struggle to remember key information during conversations but chatbots are already proving they can store what you tell them.
For example, Inbenta’s chatbot Veronica is able to remember your email address if you provide it to her.
If you tell her “My email address is….” then she will retain that information for future use. Therefore, if you were to ask for a demo she would not require you to resubmit it.
Rather than debate what we should name them, it is important to recognize how the chatbot (or virtual assistant) will provide the most human-like experience possible by understanding our natural language to the best capabilities.
Inbenta is a leader in natural language processing and artificial intelligence for customer support, e-commerce and conversational chatbots, providing an easy-to-deploy solution that improves customer satisfaction, reduces support costs, and increases revenue.
Interested in finding out more? Our team of experts is available to show you how Inbenta can benefit your company.

Let’s get in touch

How IBM is improving Watson Visual Recognition capabilities

March 15, 2018 | Written by: Kevin Gong and Matt Hill Categorized: Developers | News and Updates Share this post: In 2016, IBM announced a new Watson Visual Recognition feature — custom classifier training — that allowed users to train our service with their own images to achieve unique, powerful results for their enterprise. This feature …

How IBM is improving Watson Visual Recognition capabilitiesRead More »

Anticipate and preempt disruptions: The increasing cost of system failure

March 16, 2018 | Written by: Tim Mucci Categorized: Cognitive Enterprise | News and Updates Share this post: When systems fail there are serious consequences. Outages not only leave customers dissatisfied, but they cost companies millions of dollars in lost revenue. With 62% of customers considering switching to a competitor after 1-2 bad experiences, and …

Anticipate and preempt disruptions: The increasing cost of system failureRead More »

Deep Learning as a Service, IBM makes advanced AI more accessible for users everywhere

March 20, 2018 | Written by: Ruchir Puri Categorized: News and Updates | Watson APIs Share this post: Artificial intelligence will be the most disruptive class of technologies over the next decade, fueled by near-endless amounts of data, and unprecedented advances in deep learning. The rise of deep learning has been fueled by three recent …

Deep Learning as a Service, IBM makes advanced AI more accessible for users everywhereRead More »

AI Everywhere with IBM Watson and Apple Core ML

Share this post: Integrating AI in everyday enterprise and consumer applications is steadily becoming the new normal. In a mobile-first world, the number of users accessing AI through apps on their devices is rapidly growing. Very often, their experience is hindered by inconsistencies in the quality or availability of network connectivity. Consider three distinct examples …

AI Everywhere with IBM Watson and Apple Core MLRead More »

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Mariana & Jason

Wedding Date: 8/8/2018
Now Sapphire Riviera Maya

What was your favorite memory from your destination wedding?

“Its difficult to just pick one favorite memory because there were so many. From the way Jason looked at me while I was walking down the aisle, to the time we got to spend with close friends and family to seeing my children have an amazing time.”

Describe your wedding style:

“My wedding style was simple, relaxed and fun. We wanted to be barefoot in the sand, relaxed and just have fun.”

Describe your favorite detail of your wedding:

“Aside from everything being simple and beautiful, as I wanted, the signature drink they made for our wedding was absolutely amazing. It was perfect.”

Tell us about your experience working with Modern Destination Weddings:

“I’m glad that the person I had from Modern Destination Weddings was Heather. She was very helpful from the beginning of my research on how to go about finding the perfect destination wedding location to reassuring my husband and I that everything would be taken care of and it would turn out great. Additionally, we were traveling with our 2 year old and she took all our needs and wants into consideration for our travel. I would highly recommend Heather Kogler.”


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Perspectives: Stoicism on 'Why You Should Never Make a Promise'

This is a guest article, by Rohan Healey, author of Greeks to Geeks: Practical Stoicism in the 21st CenturyIn this article, Rohan discusses the value of Stoic ideas for understanding the difference between making a ‘promise’, and making an ‘agreement’. Rohan also has a blog, which you can read here.

 Why You Should Never Make a Promise

One of the most important aspects of the Stoic Philosophy of ancient Greece and Rome was the importance of distinguishing between what is within our power and what is not. And once distinguished, the idea is to concern ourselves only with what we do control and to stop worrying about what we don’t. However you do not need to be a philosophy professor to see the benefits of thinking this way, all you need is a little common sense. When we make a promise to another human being we are essentially saying that we can control that which is actually outside of our power to control. If I were to organise a date and I say “I’ll see you at 2pm on Tuesday, this time I promise!” I am telling you that I have the power to be there at that time regardless of outside circumstances, this of course is a lie. Now let’s say that Tuesday comes around, I’m on my way to the date but there is a traffic accident some way up the road and I get stuck in traffic while the emergency services do their thing.

I turn up 30 minutes late and my date is looking very nonplussed, “You broke your promise!” You see when you make a promise, you are agreeing to take the responsibility for the breaking of the promise whether it was the fault of you or some outside force. A promise that relies on the complicity of the universe at large is a lie every time. I never make a promise that would require outside forces in order to come to fruition, I never make a promise that could be broken by something that is outside of my control. Here are a few phrases you will never hear me say; “I promise that I will never leave you”, “I promise that I will have it ready by Monday”, “I’ll be there this time, I promise!”

This might sound a little pedantic, you might think “What could possibly be the harm in making a promise? It’s only a word after all” Yes, but it is a word that has been imbued with magical properties, a word which can somehow alter reality and bring that which we cannot control into our sphere of influence. The word ‘promise’ has romantic connotations and it can be very tempting to promise all kinds of things while under the influence of love or desperation, but in the end it always results in tears eventually. You see when I promised to be there at 2pm on Tuesday and was late, who took the blame? Even though it was the traffic accident that caused me to be late, because I promised, it is I who takes responsibility for the lateness. When you say that you can control that which you can’t (by making a promise), you must then take the blame for things outside of your control as well!

It’s enough work taking responsibility for my own actions, words, thoughts, beliefs and opinions, I don’t also need to take the blame for the weather, the actions, thoughts, and words of others, traffic conditions, political and social climate and everything else outside of my power to control! When you make a promise you are saying “I can control that which I cannot, and I take responsibility for things that I do not have power over,” which of course is a lie and lies are bad m’kay. If you have any respect for yourself or the other person, you will never make a promise again. Traditional marriage is a classic example. When two people get married they make a promise, an oath to love and be with each other forever, no matter what. But what happens if the person you promised to be with forever turns out to be cruel and abusive a year or two down the line? When circumstances outside of your control change, your promise does not, you are still bound to that person because you made a promise to God and the state that you would stick it out no matter what!

So what can we do instead of making promises? We can make agreements. I love agreements, they are awesome! In an agreement two or more people agree on a set of rules and conditions. If the agreement is broken by one of the parties then they take the blame, however if the agreement is broken by some outside force it is no fault of either party. Let’s go back to our 2 o’clock date. This time I’ve agreed (not promised) to meet on Tuesday at 2pm, the traffic accident occurs and I am 30 minutes late. I explain the situation and all is fine. Now if I was 30 minutes late because I decided to stop in at the bar down the road for a beer before meeting my date, then I would quite rightly take the blame. The other major benefit of making agreements is that they can change as circumstances change, they can be re-negotiated. Agreements come with conditions, so let’s go back to the marriage example. Imagine that rather than getting married, our two fictional characters are simply an unmarried couple. Their relationship is based on the agreement that they will treat each other with respect and will not abuse one another physically or emotionally. If one day abuse and cruelty creeps into the relationship, the abused partner is allowed to re-evaluate their situation and make a change. However the one who made the promise to be together forever no matter what, has to stick it out or “worse”, break their holy promise!

To me it comes down to lies, when you tell someone that you can control that which you can’t, it’s a lie. When you take the blame for something you had no power over, it’s a lie. I avoid promises like the plague, both making them and when people try to promise me things. I’ve met a few people who make lots of promises and let me tell you, they are about the least trustworthy people I have ever met. Decent, reasonable people do not need to make promises, nor do they need to be promised anything. Reasonable people understand that some things are within our control and others not, and are happy to make agreements based on actual conditions that can be re-evaluated should conditions change. If you absolutely must make promises then make them only when it concerns something you always control. You can say “I promise that I will do my best” or “I promise to keep an open mind”, but never when it relies on some outside force for you to make your promise come true. In that case always stay away from the dreaded P word!

We cannot control what others do, think or say but we can choose to conduct ourselves in a way conformable to nature, to truth. With that in mind always remember this:

When you make a promise and it is broken by outside forces, the other person will be right to blame you, for you claimed to control that which you don’t

When you make an agreement and it is broken by outside forces, the other person will be wrong to blame you, for they believed that you could control that which you can’t.

I hope this has given you something to think about, my plans and relationships have improved significantly since I stopped making, or taking promises and started instead creating conditional agreements. Good luck in all your future agreements and beware people who are quick to make lots of promises, remember that decent and reasonable people do not need to pretend that they control that which they cannot.

Thanks for reading!

More about Rohan:

Rohan Healy, born in Murwillumbah, Australia in 1986 is an author, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, blogger and professional music producer.

As of 2013 Rohan has written, recorded, performed, produced and released 10 solo albums as well as performing and recording with artists including David Virgin, Dan Rumour, Cat Power, Billy Bragg, Jimmy Willing, Quiffs N Coffins and Christa Hughes (Machine Gun Fellatio).

Rohan has written and published two books, the first “Greeks to Geeks: Practical Stoicism in the 21st Century” in 2010 and in 2012 he published his second book “The 7 Things That Made Me Genuinely & Irreversibly Happy: And How They Can Do The Same For You”.

Rohan also writes the popular and regularly updated Rohan 7 Things blog.

Rohan currently lives in his ancestral home of Dublin, Ireland where he continues to write and record, as well as enjoying his hobby of photography.

One thought on “Perspectives: Stoicism on 'Why You Should Never Make a Promise'”

  1. Integrity (consistency between words/actions) is very important, sure. But so is ambition and confidence.

    I’m not sure how much Stoicism addresses the topic of ambition, but when someone believes you should never, or you should always make promises – it’s rather telling of how much confidence (or lack thereof) they possess.

    Now I’m not arguing against humility, but I believe that too much humility is often a mask for insecurity, while too much confidence is evidently arrogance. The true virtue for me – confidence – lies inbetween the two vices of insecurity and arrogance.

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Asus VivoBook X541UA-WB51

Asus VivoBook X541UA-WB51 15.6 inch Notebook Review

% Good

The Asus motto declares the company to be in “In Search of Incredible,” and they must just hit the sweet spot with the release of the Asus VivoBook X541UA-WB51. Not only does this 15 inch offer great display and premium design, it also comes with plenty of storage and costs generally low. As far as trade-offs go, it comes with some but fortunately they aren’t so many. Buyers who are looking to spend on a budget laptop will not go wrong with this notebook.

  • Large 15.6 inch screen
  • Full HD Display
  • 8GB RAM
  • Plenty of storage space – 1TB HDD

  • Lacks SSD storage
  • Lacks backlit keyboard

  • If you’re looking forward to quench your laptop thirst with a budget machine, you should be ready to see the laptop taking a few hits, cut some corners or entirely miss some features. The trade-off to get to budget status are expected but sometimes manufacturers take advantage and over-do it in order to save a buck. We loved the Asus VivoBook X541UA-WB51 See at Amazon for its simplicity. It doesn’t brag of too much and the trade-offs go hand in hand with the price…a well deserved balance.

Just like the Asus F555/X555 line up, the Asus VivoBook X541UA-WB51 is made of plastic from lid cover all the way to the bezel. The palm rest is slightly different with a special silver color with metal-looking attributes common for some of Asus laptops. Like the other models of the F555 lineup, the VivoBook also includes a maintenance hatch should you need to upgrade your memory or access other internals.

The screen on the VivoBook is a wide 15.6 inches, enough for watching movies and streaming YouTube videos. Additionally, you can enjoy more YouTube and Netflix streaming on Full HD thanks to the 1920 x 1080 resolution the screen is adorned with. I’m a sucker for high resolution and have forever been spoilt by it, and I probably don’t see that changing! Besides everything else this is a solid good reason I would personally buy this laptop.

Measuring 19.8 x 11.6 x 2.5 inches and weighing 6lbs, the Asus VivoBook X541UA-WB51 is heavier than the ASUS F556UA-AB54 NB (5.1lbs) and the ASUS F556UA-AB32 (5.1 lbs). It is thicker in comparison with the Lenovo Ideapad 300s (0.77 inches, 3.6 pounds) and the Asus F555LA (1 inch, 4.6 pounds).

Asus gave the VivoBook a generous selection of ports and they mostly correspond with the previous models. There is a USB2.0, USB3.0 and USB3.1 (Type-C) along with the HDMI port, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet and SD cared reader. The left side features the power-in, Gigabit Ethernet, VGA-out, HDMI, USB 3.0, USB 3.1 Gen 1, and Kensington cable lock slot.

The right side: memory-card reader, combo audio, USB 2.0, DVD burner. The memory card is however slower than we thought transferring at 27.7MB/s. This can be painful to wait on which nobody likes doing hence a drawback.

The Asus VivoBook X541UA-WB51 comes with 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5-6198DU processor with a 2.8 GHz turbo speed. It brags of a 4184 CPU mark which means it has a decent clock speed and works blissfully well at some jobs. Thanks to the Skylake architecture it runs on, the system can handle pretty much anything you possibly could throw on an ordinary notebook.

It literally cruised through the tasks we threw at it including opening a number of chrome tabs on the browser and streaming Netflix. In comparison, this processor is just as fast as the Core i5-6200U on the Acer TravelMate P249-M 538S and the Asus ROG G752VY. It is capable of handling office and multimedia jobs without stuttering.

As for memory, the Asus VivoBook X541UA-WB51 features an 8GB DDR4 RAM but if you need some more, you can boost that to 16 GB. There is also a huge storage of 1 TB HDD 5400rpm to assist in storing your data, movies and photos.

In order for your machine to manage smooth frame rates and higher resolution during gaming, you need the right graphics card to do this. Playing games on high setting is the candy that every geek and gamer yearns for. The Asus VivoBook X541UA-WB51 comes with an integrated Intel HD 510 graphics card for that purpose. Sadly though, the graphics card isn’t built to accommodate intense gaming, particularly any recent triple A titles. Ideally, it performs not so different from the HD Graphics 4400 which was able to handle 2015 game titles on lowest settings.

The keyboard on the Asus VivoBook X541UA-WB51 is a respectable, similar to the former chiclet keyboard. The keys are not backlit and are flat with a medium drop while typing. Thanks to the length of the laptop, the keys are well spread out giving comfortable room for typing, especially for long hours. It isn’t as ideal as a MacBook Air, but the typing experience absolutely fulfills the home/office needs. The touchpad delivers smooth glides and a variety of gesture options too.

Check out other Asus laptops here

Asus VivoBook X541UA Specs

  • Screen Size 15.6 inches TN panel
  • Max Screen Resolution 1920 X 1080
  • Processor 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5-6198DU
  • RAM 8 GB
  • Hard Drive 1 TB HDD 5400rpm
  • Graphics Coprocessor Integrated_graphics
  • Chipset Brand Intel
  • Wireless Type 802.11bgn, Bluetooth
  • Number of USB 2.0 Ports 1
  • Average Battery Life (in hours) 4 hours
  • Brand Name Asus
  • Series X541UA-WB51
  • Operating System Windows 10
  • Item Weight 6 pounds
  • Product Dimensions LXWXH 19.8 x 11.6 x 2.5 inches
  • Card reader Multi-format card reader (SD/SDHC/SDXC) card reader
  • Processor Brand Intel
  • Processor Count 2
  • Computer Memory Type DDR SDRAM
  • Hard Drive Interface USB
  • Hard Drive Rotational Speed 5400 RPM
  • Power Source Corded-Electric
  • Batteries 3 Lithium ion batteries required.
  • Battery life 4 hours

Based on our hands on time with the h, Asus has a respectable budget on its hands. Although they could have done better especially with the SSD storage and processor, for the price, it is a veritable bargain. So for all those buyers trying to stick with a budget laptop, it’s hard to deny the Asus VivoBook X541UA’s bang for buck ratio.

  • Buy the Asus VivoBook X541UA laptop from Amazon.
Victor R

A lover of MacBook Air and Pro line of laptops, Victor has been a tech enthusiast and guest blogger for numerous websites. Now, he explores tech; focusing mainly on PCs, laptops, gadgets and trending tech news