Month: August 2022

For those lucky enough to have transitioned to working from home full-time during the ongoing pandemic, a good webcam — better than what’s built into most laptop’s screens — is a must-have accessory, and Insta360 just raised the ‘good webcam’ bar even further with the 4K Link, which uses a three-axis gimbal to always keep users perfectly framed, plus some other fun tricks.

The company isn’t yet a household name, but for quite a few years, Insta360 has been giving companies like DJI and GoPro some much needed competition when it comes to action cams and 360-degree cameras. Today, Insta360 announced its first dedicated webcam, which borrows some of the tech from the company’s other imaging products.

Image: Insta360

Reminiscent of the tiny DJI Pocket 2 handheld stabilized video camera, the Insta360 Link is instead designed to be perched atop a computer monitor or laptop screen, where it stars at the user with its most compelling feature: a surprisingly large half-inch 4K sensor. The company promises the sensor will provide more detail, better dynamic range including an HDR mode to account for bright objects in frame like an outside window, and improved low-light performance, which is especially important as the Link doesn’t include LED lighting of its own. The camera operates at 30fps, but a free accompanying app lets users adjust its frame rate, resolution, white balance, and exposure to account for even the wonkiest of lighting situations.

There’s also a pair of built-in microphones with noise-cancelling capabilities, but the camera’s most unique innovation is a three-axis gimbal, which is used here to track the position of the person in front of the camera and keep them perfectly framed at all times, instead of just keeping the camera stabilized. When users are on a call but out of reach of their computer, the Insta360 Link can also recognize and respond to hand gestures to activate features like its AI-powered tracking, or simply zooming in and out.

The moving camera facilitates other unique shooting modes as well. For easily referencing a document on a desk, the Insta360 Link can point straight down and even make perspective adjustments using its software, so what users on the other end of a video call see doesn’t look distorted. That software also powers a whiteboard mode where the camera can recognize and zoom in on a whiteboard so it’s easier for others on a call to see what’s being written. For those streaming to social media, the Insta360 Link can even rotate itself 90-degrees and capture video in portrait mode better suited to smartphone consumption. Instead of a lens cap, the webcam will automatically point itself down to block the lens for increased privacy after 10 seconds of inactivity.

The Insta360 Link is available for pre-order now from the company’s website, but given all of its extra functionality, it comes with a hefty $US300 ($416) price tag.

There’s no doubt about the fact that ever since Verdansk bid farewell to Warzone, Call of Duty fans have been mostly in shambles. The map was an iconic part of the battle royale from the time when it was released in early 2020.

Now that Caldera and Fortune’s Keep are trying to attain a similar level of popularity as Verdansk, it seems to be not working at all. Simply due to the reason, that the majority of Call of Duty players are still missing their beloved map. They just want it back, no matter what. And now, famous musician Marshmello has made this point very clear. To be precise, he’s joined the campaign along with the fans.

‘Alone’ and ‘Friends’ maker Marshmello urges Activision to bring back Verdansk in Call of Duty Warzone

American music producer and DJ Marshmello is also known for his love for video games. Apart from being a Fortnite enthusiast, he’s also played Call of Duty, especially the Warzone battle royale since it was first launched. In case you have missed it, in May 2020 he also did a charity Tournament Livestream while playing several matches.

Now everyone is aware of the fact that Verdansk is currently missing from Call of Duty’s highly popular online multiplayer. Ever since it was removed by Activision, most of the fans have been upset as they have no other option than to choose Caldera. While Fortune’s Keep is gaining positive reactions, Verdansk seems to be on a different level altogether due to its connection with the players.

DIVE DEEPER

It looks like even Marshmello feels this pain as he recently posted to tweet on this exact situation. While surprising his followers on social media, he wrote that the map should return as soon as possible. “honestly bring back verdansk please,” the musician wrote.

Meanwhile, Call of Duty fans were awestruck by his tweet as some of them thought he only plays Fortnite. On the other hand, the majority of the followers agreed with the DJ as they, too, want Verdansk back in Warzone. They registered their voices in unison, along with Marshmello. Have a look at the reactions below:

Call of Duty Warzone is now available on multiple platforms. Players can have it on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC via Battle.net. What are your thoughts on the ongoing situation of the battle royale?

Do you think Activision will consider bringing the iconic map again, now that a celebrity like Marshmello has urged for the same? Let us know in the comments.

WATCH THIS STORY: Top 5 Call of Duty Games of All Time

“This is not a faster car, this is a spacecraft.”

Mind Numbing

Think and you’ll miss it: researchers at MIT claim to have successfully created analog synapses that are one million times faster than those in our human brains.

Just as digital processors need transistors, analog ones need programmable resistors. Once put into the right configuration, these resistors can be used to create a network of analog synapses and neurons, according to a press release.

These analog synapses aren’t just ultra-fast, they’re remarkably efficient, too. And that’s pretty important, because as digital neural networks grow more advanced and powerful, they require more and more energy, increasing their carbon footprint considerably.

As detailed in a new paper, the researchers hope their findings will advance the field of analog deep learning, a burgeoning field of artificial intelligence.

Glassy-Eyed

By ditching the normally used organic mediums and opting for high tech glass, known as inorganic phosphosilicate glass (PSG), instead, the researchers were able to reach nanosecond speeds, which were faster than the synapses in the human brain.

“The action potential in biological cells rises and falls with a timescale of milliseconds, since the voltage difference of about 0.1 volt is constrained by the stability of water,” said senior author and professor of nuclear science Ju Li, in the statement. “Here we apply up to ten volts across a special solid glass film of nanoscale thickness that conducts protons, without permanently damaging it.”

“And the stronger the field, the faster the ionic devices,” I added.

Because PSG can withstand high voltages without breaking, it allows the protons to travel at ludicrous speeds while also being incredibly energy-efficient.

The material is both common and easy to fabricate, making it not only the fastest option, but also a practical one.

“Once you have an analog processor, you will no longer be training networks everyone else is working on,” said lead author Murat Onen in the statement. “You will be training networks with unprecedented complexities that no one else can afford to, and therefore vastly outperform them all.”

“In other words, this is not a faster car, this is a spacecraft,” he added.

More on AI: Authors Are Starting to Use AI to Quickly Churn Out Novels

Once the exclusive review of epileptics (to control seizures) and madmen bodybuilders, the keto diet is now the “it” diet of the masses, having completely trounced Weight Watchers.

It’s easy to see how it happened. The keto diet lets people eat all the fat they want, and they can practically see themselves shrinking day by day. But the keto diet isn’t all sunshine and deep-fried daisies. It has some drawbacks, some of which are serious, and it’s not the best diet for lifters.

Here are some of the problems with the keto diet that make me get a little itchy:

Bad Nutrition

Keto dieters jettison entire food groups, often making them deficient in vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and essential fatty acids. Keto dieters can take care of a lot of those problems by taking multivitamins, but that’s a poor and uncertain replacement for the nutrients in real food. Beyond that, missing out on dozens or even hundreds of the polyphenols found in grains, fruits, wine, and even beer is like playing Super Mario Bros. and not bothering to pick up all the super mushroom power-ups.

Bad for Strength Athletes

There’s some evidence that keto diets might work well for endurance runners and Alaskan sled dogs, but if you’re a weightlifter who relies on short bursts of power, forget it.

Bad for Bowels

Ditching carbs means ditching fiber. Any long-term reductions in actual body weight may be offset by the weight of the steadily accruing reservoir of impacted feces in your intestines.

Bad Crotch

Despite the alliterative name, keto crotch is not the newest member of the Marvel Universe (Peter Parker, Matt Murdoch, Jessica Jones, etc., etc.). If it were, I doubt her superpower would be of any use in fighting crime, except maybe in some highly unusual and specific circumstances.

Apparently, all the meat-eatin’ changes vaginal pH, and the lower acidity creates a welcoming environment to undesirable bacteria, leading to possible infections, an unpleasant odor, and probably infestation by raccoons.

bad-blood

The dangers of high cholesterol are inconclusive, but that doesn’t mean they don’t matter at all, and high cholesterol is what you get when you eat saturated fat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

But the worst part of the keto diet, at least for people who want to pack on muscle, is that going into ketosis steals amino acids from muscle to fuel other stuff. Oh, and low carbs lead to high cortisol, which also affects how well you put on muscle.