June 2017

June 23, 2017
I was at Qualcomm last week, listening to an economist talk about Apple's complaints that Qualcomm had charged Apple too much for access to patents. What I thought was fascinating was that Apple had folks focused on the 5 percent that Qualcomm had charged it instead of on the massive profit that Apple made on each phone.
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June 20, 2017
nald Trump aims to save taxpayers US$1 trillion over the next 10 years with a little help from America's high-tech industry.
"Our goal is to lead a sweeping transformation of the federal government's technology that will deliver dramatically better services for citizens," the president said Monday at a roundtable session of the American Technology Council, composed of the leaders of 18 U.S. tech firms including Apple, Amazon and Microsoft.
"We're embracing big change, bold thinking and outsider perspectives to transform government and make it the way it should be, and at far less cost," he declared.
Outdated federal IT is a big problem, the president acknowledged, but "we're going to be working on it and we're going to solve the problem, and up to a trillion dollars in savings for taxpayers over the next 10 years. Over a trillion."
Although savings from upgrading federal IT could be substantial, the $1 trillion number may be overly optimistic.
"The president's estimate of $1 trillion in savings over a decade sounds like it was made up in the fly," Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, told TechNewsWorld.
The president also told participants in the roundtable discussion that his administration is fixing airport systems, upgrading Defense Department and Veterans Administration systems for seamless transfer of information between the agencies, and working diligently on immigration so tech companies can get the foreign workers they need to continue to innovate.

Where's the Money?

The president last month signed an executive order calling for modernization of federal IT.
"The modernization plan required by that order isn't due until August, so we'll have to wait for that to learn what, specifically, 'modernization' entails," said Julian Sanchez, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.
"It will be months, if not years, from there before we can assess whether it's actually being implemented effectively," he told TechNewsWorld.
The focus of the order is on upgrading antiquated federal hardware and software. That will require money -- money that appears to be absent from the president's budget.
"If you're talking about an IT overhaul of the federal government, I didn't see a comprehensive plan in any of the budget documents that I went through," said Chris Bronk, an assistant professor in the College of Technology at the University of Houston.
An IT overhaul also would require leaders, which seem to be missing at the moment.
"You're not going to get results from big changes if you don't have federal executives with a mandate to make the changes," Bronk told TechNewsWorld.
"The Trump administration is just slow at bringing people into federal jobs," he pointed out. "We don't even have a federal CIO yet. Without a federal CIO, how can you have a federal modernization strategy?"

Shared Services

The executive order also calls for moving to shared IT infrastructure and cloud services, a process started by the Obama administration.
Moving to shared infrastructure and cloud services "entails up-front costs, but has the potential to save the government a decent amount of change in the long run by exploiting economies of scale -- and by scaling better as the demands of individual agencies change -- as well as making it easier to harden federal systems against cyberattack," Cato's Sanchez noted.
Sweeping changes in federal IT have been proposed before, but they tend to lose steam quickly.
"Consider that the government maintains a massive underground facility where federal employee records are still maintained on paper after decades of failed efforts at a digital transition," Sanchez observed.
"You have all the usual hurdles of sweeping technology changes in large institutions coupled with the red tape -- some of it there for sound reasons, like avoiding corruption or ensuring the privacy of citizens' sensitive data -- that makes federal procurement a slower and more cumbersome process than most businesses have to deal with," he added.
Archaic hardware and software is just part of the problem.
"There is no central 'buyer' of IT solutions and services. That means individual institutions, agencies and groups negotiate with vendors they choose," explained Pund-IT's King.
"That tends to make systems costlier and more complex than necessary, and stymies integration efforts," he continued. "Unless those issues are also targeted by the president's plan, its hoped-for benefits will be difficult or impossible to achieve."

Closing Industry-Government Divide

The president's attempt to give the nation's tech industry a bigger role in transforming federal IT has promise, said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research.
"Past administrations have told the tech industry, 'we want your guidance,'" he told TechNewsWorld. "This is the first time I've seen a president say, 'Our IT infrastructure is out of date.' It's the first time I've seen the whole IT discussion go all the way to the president."
What's more, a government-industry partnership could help close the virtual divide between the sectors.
"We hope that divide closes, because it's important they cooperate," McGregor said.
"Drawing on insights from Silicon Valley -- something the previous administration also tried to emphasize -- could yield real gains if there's the will and focus to follow through on a transformative approach," Cato's Sanchez added.
However, "it could also easily become an excuse for annual photo ops with tech celebrities, which doesn't yield anything concrete," he acknowledged.
"I'll hope for the former," said Sanchez, "but I won't be shocked if we get the latter."
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June 19, 2017
Apple quietly has been strategizing to expand its growing healthcare business to include the management of digital health records, with the iPhone operating as a central data hub, CNBC reported last week.
Apple has been in talks with numerous health industry groups that are involved in setting standards for the storage and sharing of electronic medical records, in a way that would help consumers gain more control over their private medical information, according to the network.
The plan appears to be a natural extension of Apple's recent health industry strategy, which includes its Research Kit, CareKit and HealthKit -- platforms that allow developers to create apps that help patients, hospitals and researchers find new ways to collect, manage and deliver health data efficiently and directly.
"This has been an interest point as part of Apple's strategy in the healthcare vertical for some time," said Daniel Ruppar, digital health global program director at Frost & Sullivan.
Apple last year acquired Gliimpse, a medical records startup that helped collect data from different platforms and organized the information for patients.
Thus far, Apple's efforts largely have focused on fitness information, but in recent years it has moved into more focused healthcare delivery. For example, the company recently began work on developing sensors that could help diabetic patients manage blood glucose levels.
"They've shown on a number of fronts they've been tackling health and well being," said Ian Fogg, senior director, mobile and telecoms at IHS Markit.

Regulatory Challenge

The challenge for Apple going forward is that it tends to attack new businesses on a global scale, and healthcare data requires dealing with a myriad of regulatory and privacy issues that cannot easily be synchronized across a single platform, Fogg told TechNewsWorld.
Also, the sensitivity of personal health data demands a high level of security and transparency, so that hospitals and patients can feel comfortable allowing that type of information to be controlled by an outside party, he said.
"I would hope that Apple is planning to use the iPhone to securely communicate personal medical information from sensor to a HIPAA-compliant cloud service, and that medical records are only permanently retained in the cloud service," said Paul Teich, principal analyst at Tirias Research.
While temporary secure viewing on an iPhone would be nice, it would be better to have another layer of device security sitting between the attacker and the EMR repository, he told TechNewsWorld.
It's questionable that health information ever will become a big driver of device sales "unless medical systems or insurance companies are going to get into the iPhone distribution game," Teich said.
The real revenue driver for Apple would be to use a secure back-end EMR cloud service to sell Apple gear to medical institutions, he suggested.
"Protected healthcare information is valuable data," observed Ed Cabrera, chief cybersecurity officer at Trend Micro.
"Arguably, any time you transition this type of data into another platform, there's an inherent risk associated with it," he told TechNewsWorld. "However, Apple has a history of developing security and privacy into their products that leads to better overall protection for their users."

Business Case

With a healthcare records system on board, Apple likely would see a slight shift in how iPhones were sold and a slight uptake in the medical industry as companies started promoting the iPhone as a tool for doctors, said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst for worldwide mobile device trackers at IDC.
However, it wouldn't be a game changer for iPhone sales, he said.
"Rather, this would further solidify Apple's stance as a leader in privacy and security, and would put pressure on Android as a whole, as well as Samsung, to step up their game," Ubrani told TechNewsWorld.
Rival tech companies have made efforts to capture medical data for research, consumer applications and other business opportunities.
Verily Life Sciences, a unit of Google parent Alphabet, this spring partnered with Duke University School of Medicine and Stanford Medicine to launch Project Baseline, a project to collect broad, phenotypic health data from 10,000 volunteers.
After screening it to ensure the privacy of volunteer participants, the data will be hosted on Google Cloud Platform and available for researchers to gain a better understanding of disease risk factors and other information.
Nokia recently acquired Paris-based Withings, a digital health company that sells smart health products like digital scales, smartwatches and thermometers, and tracks activities as well. Nokia launched a digital health unit led by former Withings CEO Cedric Hutchings.
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June 18, 2017

Microsoft has always made some pretty great keyboards and it’s keeping up with that tradition. The company has quietly announced its new Modern Keyboard. Not only does the Modern Keyboard look clean and premium, it also comes with a fingerprint sensor that’s neatly hidden within the keyboard itself.
The Modern Keyboard is Microsoft’s successor for its Surface Keyboard and it looks like its predecessor. The major changes include the fingerprint sensor as well as the ability to use a cable for connecting to a PC instead of the wireless connection.

The fingerprint sensor has been neatly hidden in the second Windows key that’s on the right-hand side of the keyboard. Users just have to place their finger on this key and the sensor will do the rest. The sensor can be used to log into a Windows 10 PC or websites via Windows Hello.
Microsoft’s Modern Keyboard isn’t just compatible with Windows 10. It can be used with MacOS and the latest versions of Android as well. Microsoft is going to release it soon for $129.99.
This may very well be one of the best keyboards that Microsoft has ever created. Whether or not customers feel it’s worth the price tag remains to be seen.
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June 15, 2017
Microsoft earlier this week announced the next version of its Xbox line of gaming consoles, ahead of E3 2017, now ongoing in Los Angeles.
The new Xbox One X, which goes on sale Nov. 7 for US$499, is slimmer than previous models and packed with power.
With a 6-teraflop Scorpio engine, the One X has 40 percent faster graphics performance than its chief rival, Sony's PS4 Pro.
The custom Scorpio engine in the Microsoft box burns chrome at 1172 MHz -- a 37 percent increase over its predecessor, Xbox One, and 28 percent faster than PS4 Pro.
Since the inside of a console can get hot running at those speeds, Xbox engineers kept things cool with a liquid-cooled vapor chamber, a technology used on high octane PC gaming cards.


Performance vs. Features

"It's smoking," Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research, said of the One X's performance.
"They went for the most performance they could possibly get out it," he told TechNewsWorld.
Performance prowess, though, is just one factor contributing to success in the console market.
Traditionally, game content drives the purchase and upgrades of game consoles, explained Brett Sappington, director of research at Parks Associates. Sony leads the console market in exclusive game content, and nothing yet from E3 indicates that advantage to have changed.
"Though there are improvements in power, the Xbox One X does not offer any new differentiating features to drive purchases. Essentially, it is a more powerful Xbox One S," he told TechNewsWorld.
"The PS4 still offers a variety of features that are not available in the Xbox One X, such as remote play and VR," Sappington continued, "and the Nintendo Switch differentiates itself with its motion controllers, haptic feedback technology, and TV-connected-to-portable functionality."

True 4K Gaming

One X has supersampling built into the console, which results in games with more visible detail and smoother edges, as well as more efficient loading times, according to Microsoft.
With 2160 frame buffers, as well as high dynamic range and wide color gamut support, the console is built for true 4K gaming, the company said. What's more, game clips can be recorded in 4K at 60 frames per second, and screenshots can be captured in 4K.
"This is a true 4K console, whereas Sony is using techniques to approach true 4K," noted Ross Rubin, principal analyst at Reticle Research.
"In practice, it's going to come down to what resolution game developers are going to support," he told TechNewsWorld.
The One X offers an immersive audio experience that can put a player in the center of spatial sound.

Backward Compatibility

Like its predecessor, One X has a 4K UHD Blu-ray player, built-in power supply, three USB 3.0 ports (one in the front and two in the back) and an IR blaster.
The 4K UHD Blu-ray player remains a strength of the Xbox over PS4, observed Michael Inouye, principal analyst at ABI Research.
"The PS4 Pro only includes a standard Blu-ray drive, which did engender some complaints from the Sony faithful," he told TechNewsWorld.
"Even if the consumer isn't planning to buy or rent UHD Blu-ray discs," Inouye continued, "it does complete the picture of a true 4K media player-gaming machine, which speaks to the product's image."
All existing Xbox One games, including Xbox Play Anywhere titles, are compatible with the One X. In addition, a number of existing games are being enhanced for the new console. They include Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3, Minecraft, Resident Evil 7, Final Fantasy 15 and Rocket League. What's more, a true 4K version of Forza Motorsport 7 will be available Oct. 3.
Backward compatibility gives the Xbox a feature that PS4 doesn't have, but that omission didn't prevent Sony's console from outselling the Xbox One, noted Parks' Sappington.
"Backward compatibility eliminates a potential barrier to purchase, but it does not provide an incentive to purchase the Xbox One X over the Xbox One S," he said.
"Backward compatibility is a nice-to-have feature which resonates with some vocal Xbox users," said Piers Harding-Rolls, head of games research at IHS Markit.
Still, "it is a value-added proposition and not a system seller," he told TechNewsWorld.

Online Gaming

Pricing could be a problem for the One X. It's $100 more than the PS4, and a $50 price break on the Sony console is likely around the time Microsoft's new console is scheduled to reach retailers, according to Sappington.
"For the mainstream consumers or more casual gamers, the additional power likely won't resonate with them as much as those more deeply rooted into the hobby," ABI's Inouye said. "Plus, if they don't have a 4K TV, they might feel even less compelled to upgrade, even though there are some benefits for 1080p sets as well."
The One X's pricing is OK for the unit's target audience, maintained IHS' Harding-Rolls.
"Even if the price point was revealed to be higher than $499, we did not expect this to impact sales of the console at launch," he said. "Xbox enthusiasts will pay significant sums to get hold of the latest and greatest."
Microsoft will sell 500,000 One X's during this year's fourth quarter, Harding-Rolls predicted.
In addition to its Xbox consoles, Microsoft has Xbox Live -- a large online network for playing games. The network uses dedicated servers to enhance performance, speed and reliability.
"I would expect that by now Microsoft would be pushing more for online gaming and streaming, and they're not," said McGregor, who is also an Xbox owner.
"They're still pushing for those hardcore games that are on the device," he pointed out. "I think they were counting on the bandwidth being there for console-quality online gaming, and it's not."
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June 13, 2017
Microsoft on Wednesday showcased a new series of mixed reality headsets from partner firms Acer, HP, Asus, Dell and Lenovo at Computex 2017.
The preview marked the company's commitment to establish Windows 10 as a leading driver of mixed reality capabilities, as well as to open up the market to a wider variety of price points and consumer demographics.
"These devices, coming to market this holiday, use Microsoft's platform to enable a single and consistent user interface, standardized inputs and a universal app platform for developers," noted Peter Han, vice president, partner devices and solutions, at Microsoft.
At Microsoft Build, held earlier this month, Alex Kipman previewed Windows Mixed Reality developer kits for the new headsets from Acer and HP. The Acer Windows Mixed Reality Headset Developer Edition is available for US$299, while the HP Windows Mixed Realty Developer Edition is available for $329.
Both devices use inside-out tracking, which negates the need for IR emitters or external cameras. Developers can begin to code immediately with a Windows 10 Creator's Update PC and a headset right out of the box.
Both devices also feature 1,440 x 1,440 high-resolution liquid crystal displays, a 90-Hz display refresh rate, build-in audio and mic support, single cable with HDMI 2.0 and USB 3.0 for connectivity.
The response has been positive, Han said.

Affordable and Light


Asus Windows Mixed Reality Headset
Asus has added to its line of Oculus-ready ROG gaming desktops and VR-ready Vivo-PC X. The new head-mounted unit features a polygonal 3D cover panel and ergonomically adjustable strap that allows single-hand setup.
The headset is designed to be powerful, HMD fast and very light with a six-degrees-of-freedom tracked motion controller.
Dell, building on its VR leadership in high-end gaming, has developed an affordable gaming headset that comes in white with a weight-balanced headband for long-term comfort, a flip-flop visor for easy removal, and cable routing to free the user from wires.
Dell Windows Mixed Reality Headset
The device will be ready by the upcoming holiday shopping season.
Lenovo later this year plans to launch an affordable mixed-reality headset with built-in sensors for inside-out tracking and simplified setup.

Potential but Risky

On the surface, the new Windows devices will have several advantages over the rival HTC Vive and Oculus Rift brands for the personal computer market, according to Piers Harding Rolls, director of games research at IHS Markit.

For starters, the new Windows devices will come in with price points starting at less than $300 -- significantly cheaper than the rival devices -- due to the production efficiencies this new set of manufacturers can employ, he told TechNewsWorld.
These new device makers also have massive go-to-market capabilities, according to Harding-Rolls, offering more exposure to VR for PC-based consumers than ever before. In addition, the inside-out tracking technology negates the need for additional sensors around a room, and the headsets can run on relatively low-powered Windows-based computers.
On the flip side, there may be confusion in the marketplace among buyers who are new to VR, Harding-Rolls said.
"First, the name 'mixed reality' on its own is likely to cause confusion for the consumer that is only beginning to understand virtual reality," he explained.
Consumers may buy these headsets expecting to use their existing computers and think they can play the best VR games, which would be possible only with a powerful computer system, Harding-Rolls pointed out.
The small amount of content currently available poses another potential pitfall for OEMs trying to build demand for these products, observed Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.
"It all really hinges on how much money and resources Microsoft puts behind the product," he told TechNewsWorld.
Still, Microsoft may be onto something with its push for mixed-reality devices, said Ted Pollak, senior gaming analyst at Jon Peddie Research.
"At some point in time, the user will decide how much real or virtualized world to tune in and out of the field of view of their display," he told TechNewsWorld. "Virtual and augmented reality then simply become different points on the computing spectrum." 
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June 13, 2017
>> I  didn't attend Computex this year, and that was sad for everything but my budget, because there was a ton of cool stuff announced at the show. Dell, HP and Lenovo showed off new designs that were both attractive and compelling. Mixed-reality headsets hit; based on Intel and Microsoft technology, they were far more affordable than the strong virtual reality stuff already in market (and some aren't bad looking). New core wars broke out, as AMD's 16 Core Threadripper was challenged by Intel's 18 core i9.
It seems that gaming was huge at Computex this year. The product -- or the concept really -- that stood out most to me was Nvidia's Max-Q gaming laptop concept, which promises a gaming laptop with dimensions that would rival a MacBook Air.
I'll focus on that this week and close with my product of the week: the new smartphone that Apple is working furiously to kill before it can be launched (which is why I immediately ordered one).

The Historic Gaming Laptop Problem

Here is the deal -- I love to play games both at home and when I travel, and I tend to lock in on one game and play it to death. I'd rather do that than watch TV -- yes, I'm a tad addicted.
Currently my game of choice is Ashes of the Singularity, which has as a core plot element the birth of a true artificial intelligence that identifies as female. We try and fail to kill her -- which, as you might expect, pisses her off and results in some epic battles.
You get to play both sides, and the combination of story and gameplay creates what is an interesting combination of energetic place, strategic thinking and story ideas. (I'm trying to write my first science fiction book.)
The problem is, this game needs a decent graphics processing unit, and that means it won't work on most lightweight laptops using Intel's graphics solution. The game won't even load. However, gaming laptops tend to have two problems: They are heavier, and you pay a huge penalty in battery life. The latter is the bigger problem, because I'm expected to work when I travel, and it is damned hard to work with a dead battery.
Recently I've started using the Microsoft Surface Book with the second-generation base, which has both a GPU and decent battery life (10-plus hours), but it is a middleweight, and it barely has enough power to run the game.
What I wanted seemed impossible: something that was very light, had decent battery life, and enough power to really enjoy a game like Ashes of the Singularity. Enter the Max-Q.

Nvidia's Max-Q

I really didn't see this coming, but Nvidia announced its prototype Max-Q, a design for a gaming laptop that is as thin as a MacBook Air, in the ultra-light class of notebooks. It sports 1080-level graphics, which is the baseline for gaming that's more typical on a desktop computer.
If you are like me, you likely are wondering about how this thing will be cooled -- largely because if you combine a thin laptop with lots of performance, the little fans that have to keep the thing cool start sounding like jet engine. That doesn't bode well for meetings or using in the same room with your spouse.
Nvidia's WisperMode technology keeps that fan noise down to a minimum, unless you are really stressing the system. Overall, there has been a ton of effort on fan acoustics for both laptops and desktop computers. While not totally eliminating the sound, these advances certainly have reduced it to far more acceptable levels (and you really shouldn't be gaming in meetings, or with your spouse in the room anyway).

Battery Life

One thing we don't know about yet is battery life, and that likely won't be something I can chat about until the manufacturers start sharing what they are building. Lenovo is one of them, and it typically places battery life very high on its list of requirements. If anyone produces a perfect laptop with all of this and 10-plus hours of battery life, my early bet is that it is likely to be Lenovo.
Keep your eyes on Alienware, though, as the most powerful gaming computer company in the segment. It's also on the list of firms building Max-Q solutions. I'll touch on this once I'm released from related NDAs or at product launch in a few weeks. (Actual products launch on June 27, which, coincidently, is exactly a month to the day before my birthday. Hint, hint...)

Wrapping Up

While I'm sure I'll still want the performance of a desktop computer when I'm at home, being able to play games while on the road and having a laptop that is light and easy to carry used to seem as impossible as having a car that could drive itself. Apparently, we are in an age when doing the impossible is becoming an almost everyday occurrence.
I mean, self-driving cars, flying cars, people-carrying drones, hoverboards that actually hover, and now a gaming notebook that is also ultra-light. Now we just need antigravity -- oh wait...
Remember the scene in Jerry Maguire when he goes back to his wife to make up with her and offers a lengthy explanation about why he is an assh*le in an effort to get her back? She responds with "You had me at hello."
Well before I knew anything more than it was coming, I planned to order this phone, because of the huge effort Apple went to in order to try to make sure it never shipped.
I've only ever seen Apple this worried twice before and both were during the days of the iPod and Steve Jobs. First, it was because Apple found out about an MP3 player from HP. The second time was when it learned of one coming from Dell. Apple aggressively worked to kill both products before they even launched -- and succeeded. I never even saw the HP product.
Given that very little actually seems to scare Apple, short of a U.S. president, I had to have the phone that did.
The Essential Phone was designed from the ground up to be an iPhone killer by Andy Rubin, the guy who was at the heart of Android's success.

Essential Phone
If you go down a list of things that seem to target the iPhone directly, the first is the Qualcomm 835 chipset, the most advanced currently in market. This gives the Essential Phone unmatched connectivity at a time when Apple is beingaccused of crippling its own phone's connectivity solution.
iPhones use aluminum and glass, making the glass the most rigid part of the phone and resulting in lots of breakage. The Essential Phone uses titanium, ceramic and glass, making it far harder to break the phone's screen.
Instead of a plug-in connector that lets water into the phone and creates a hazard if you trip over the wire, the Essential Phone uses magnetic connectors reminiscent of what Apple used to use in it portable PC products. These connectors allow the phone to be upgraded with accessories. Yes, Motorola did this first, but Apple didn't do it at all.
Oh, and the fingerprint sensor is on the back of the phone, where it always should have been, along with a camera that is designed -- hold your breath -- to work well in low light!
In the end, the Essential Phone is very much what you'd get if you went down a list of things you didn't like about the iPhone and created the anti-iPhone. That alone is enough to make it my product of the week. You can pre-order it unlocked for US$699. Don't let Apple tell you what you can and can't buy. 
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June 13, 2017
Debbie Berebichez is chief data scientist atMetis and co-host of the Discovery Channel'sOutrageous Acts of Science. You can follow her on Twitter @debbiebere.
In this exclusive interview, Berbichez shares her thoughts on shaping the STEM conversation to make it more inclusive for women.
Metis Chief Data Scientist
Debbie Berebichez
TNW: Describe the trajectory of your career. How did you get where you are today?
Debbie Berebichez: I grew up in Mexico City, and I was part of a conservative community that discouraged women from studying STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. I was told that I should probably study something easier and more feminine than physics. My mom told me not to tell boys that I liked math, because I'd have a hard time meeting someone.
When it came time to go to college, I applied to schools to study philosophy, which was a field where I could ask questions that seemed more appropriate for girls. I realized, though, that the more I tried to hide my love of physics and math, the more it threatened to come out. I wanted to know about the universe and how things worked.

In the middle of my studying for my B.A. in philosophy, I decided to apply to schools in the United States, and I was fortunate to receive a scholarship to go to Brandeis. I flew there in the middle of the winter as a transfer student, and I had two more years to go.
I took a generic class in physics -- Introduction to Astronomy. In that class, I met a teaching assistant, a student from India, and I would go to him and ask questions about homework problems. He said I wasn't a typical student, since I didn't just want an A. I had an infinite curiosity about how the world and the universe worked, and he said I could do physics.
He connected me with his Ph.D. advisor, the head of the physics department at Brandeis -- he told me to come and talk to him. He gave me a book on vector calculus and told me to study it over the next two months. If I passed a test on it, he'd let me skip the first two years of physics classes.
The teaching assistant became my mentor, and he spent every day that summer tutoring me. This is how my mission in life began, when he passed the torch to me to help other minorities and women to study science.
Then I went back to Mexico to do a master's in physics. I went to be close to my family again. Everyone was telling me that I already did what I wanted to do, and it was time to settle down. I was still very curious, though, and I wanted to do more research. I wanted to be able to do research something and find out about the world and nurture my curiosity.
While I was doing my master's in Mexico, I realized that the kind of research I wanted to do, I couldn't do in Mexico, so I applied to Stanford. Six years later I became the first Mexican woman to earn a Ph.D. in physics from Stanford.
I realized after completing my Ph.D. that with privilege comes responsibility. I wanted to mentor other women and pay it back. I first went to Wall Street, where I worked as a "quant," and I pursued my media career on the side.
That's when I started doing TV, finding places where I could describe science in fun and creative ways. I also veered toward data science, which is how I found my dream job at Metis, where I'm in charge of building curricula. This is where I found my calling, since I can help women and minorities succeed within science, and I'm also teaching.
TNW: What is Metis, and what do you do there?
Berebichez: Metis is a data science training company. It has four verticals, and all of them have to do with data science training.
Data science is a combination of math and statistics with computer science and communication, and those things come together to explain the insights that one can gain about a company or a problem. At Metis, we train people and companies in various aspects of data science.
TNW: What is it like being a TV host? What do you enjoy about it?
Berebichez: Outrageous Acts of Science takes scientists who come from different areas. We watch YouTube videos of people doing crazy or fascinating stuff, and we explain the science behind them.
I love the ability to reach many people and explain things in lay terms, and I love doing that on camera, because it reaches a lot of fans.
TNW: What challenges have you faced as a woman in tech, and how have you overcome them?
Berebichez: On Wall Street, when I'd work with clients, I'd arrive with my male salesperson, and people would assume he was the quant -- the one in charge of research and models, and that I was his assistant.
This was a continuous bias that I had to face.
At Metis, I've helped shape the conversation. It's empowered me to mentor young women and also to shape policy. At Metis, we offer a scholarship to women and minorities, so we do things actively to bring women in.
I also try to recruit and hire women. Even though it's a tech company, over 60 percent of the employees at Metis are women, and they also occupy a lot of leadership roles. I always try to do things that change the conversation.
TNW: What advice would you give to girls and young women who want to go into science?
Berebichez: My first piece of advice is to never let anyone tell you that you cannot do it. It's as simple as that. Don't let an authority figure or the media tell you that your dreams cannot come true.
The second piece of advice is that being a woman in STEM can open up an immense number of opportunities. I have so many female friends in STEM who've gone on to do fascinating things. You can go into all kinds of companies and solve problems around the world.
If women are part of the conversation, we can help shape the world. The more women we have in STEM fields, the more we're going to live in a world that's fair and just.
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June 13, 2017
 New voices for Siri and peer-to-peer payments are among the new features in the next version of Apple's mobile device operating system iOS 11, previewed at the company's annual Worldwide Development Conference on Monday.
"With the new operating system, Apple has doubled down on many of the applications it has developed for iOS," said Ross Rubin, the principal analyst at Reticle Research.
"Much of the enhancement of the OS has come via those core applications versus general new functionality," he told TechNewsWorld.
How Apple has improved Siri for the upcoming OS is an example of that.

New Voice, New Sex

With iOS 11, Apple has given Siri a voice that's more natural and expressive. What's more, a male voice has been added.
"I like how Apple is underscoring the idea of 'more natural,'" said Tuong Nguyen, an analyst with Gartner.
"Conversational interfaces are arguably the most intuitive way to interact with machines," he told TechNewsWorld. "Apple's competitors certainly agree, given the efforts and emphasis they've put on it."

Parlez Vous Francais

In addition, there's a translation function. You can tell Siri to ask, "What are the most popular dishes in your restaurant?" in Chinese, and it will ask the question in that language. Languages initially supported by Siri translate are English, Chinese, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
Siri's IQ also got a boost.
"Siri not only understands your voice, it understands the context," Apple Senior Vice President for Software Engineering Craig Federighi said at WWDC. "It understands your interests. It understands how you use your device, and this allows it to ultimately understand what you want next."
In iOS 11, Siri uses on-device learning to understand topics of interest to you so it can flag news items that might interest you, or make a calendar appointment based on reservation made on the Web.

Paying Your Peers

The Apple Pay mobile payment system gets an expansion in iOS 11. It will be able to make person-to-person payments through the iMessage app.
"Apple Pay is the No. 1 contactless payment service on mobile devices, and by the end of the year, it'll be available in more than 50 percent of retailers in the U.S.," said Federighi.
The new iOS expands its use of NFC technology. Up to now, NFC use has been limited to Apple Pay. With iOS 11, it also will read tags, which can convey information about a product to a device, or provide authentication.
Adding that function helps the NFC market in a number of ways. For example, companies and developers working with tags no longer have to cobble together workarounds to accommodate iOS devices.
"There are a lot of examples of applications that have been successful in Europe and Asia. where the Android market share is much higher," explained Paula Hunter, executive director of theNFC Forum.
"Here in the U.S., we've had a lot of application providers hesitant to go full throttle with NFC, because a significant portion of the market is served by Apple," she told TechNewsWorld.

Messages in the Cloud

Apple's new OS will make it easier for developers to forge applications that tap into the camera and motion sensors in iOS devices to create augmented reality programs through ARKit.
"Tim Cook excited the market a number of times last year by speaking about AR," Gartner's Nguyen said. "This announcements feels like more of an official endorsement-acknowledgement of AR as a tech everyone should be paying attention to."
With iOS 11, Apple's Messages app will be integrated with iCloud. That enables all conversations to be synchronized automatically across a user's devices. In addition to be being convenient, the feature saves space on a device, because most messages will be stored in the cloud.

iPad Gets Productive

With the next version of iOS, Apple will add some desired productivity features to the iPad. For example, it has a new customizable dock that can be pulled up at the bottom of the screen with a finger flick to give you quick access to your favorite apps.
"To someone trying to get real work done, I think some of the improvements to iPad iOS will be welcomed -- in particular, the new dock," said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy.
"The new dock puts a new spin on multitasking, moving iOS closer to macOS," he told TechNewsWorld.
On the other hand, for consumers who use their iPad Pros primarily for content consumption, the new features could make the devices seem a bit more complex than they're used to, Moorhead pointed out.
Other productivity enhancements include an improved app switcher for moving between active apps, and a new feature for managing files -- not only locally and in iCloud, but on services like Box, Dropbox and OneDrive. Moving files, text and photos is easier, too, with a new drag-and-drop feature.
Apple Pencil is more deeply integrated into the iPad with iOS 11. Inline drawing is supported, and the Notes app can be accessed from the lock screen with a tap of the pencil.

Never Wanting Customers

Apple supports two new media formats in the new iOS: HEVC for video and HEIF for photos. Both formats offer good quality and smaller file sizes.
The company also improved its Memories app to identify photos in more ways -- by anniversaries, for example, or sporting events or birthdays.
When the new iOS arrives next fall, developers need not worry about finding customers for their wares, Apple CEO Tim Cook told the audience at the WWDC keynote presentation on Monday.
"Eighty-six percent of our customers are running iOS 10 and taking advantage of its capabilities. This blows away other platforms that suffer from horrible fragmentation," he said.
"With iOS, developers can always target the latest capabilities and features of our latest operating system," added Cook, "and be confident that there's customers there for them."
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June 13, 2017
Arms, the highly anticipated fighting game for Nintendo's Switch, will be available next Friday, and based on the early reviews, the company just may have found the magic bullet.
Nintendo's Switch console, launched earlier this year, has been something of a surprise success. Prior to its launch, it seemed like a risky play for the company, which has been bobbing and weaving in its efforts to appeal to couch potatoes, e-sports enthusiasts and outdoor adventurers alike.
The Switch, a pricey console that can be enjoyed in the living room or on the road, needed a potential game-changer that would make video game enthusiasts willing to gamble on it. Nintendo needed something to create excitement and buzz.
Arms could fit that bill.


"Arms is utterly brilliant," wrote Mark Walton in hisArs Technica review.
He praised the game's mix of "bold mix of long-range, third-person combat played at a strategic pace far removed from the split-second timing and dexterous button bashing typical of the genre."
Arms is possibly the perfect game for Nintendo Switch, suggests Time's review.
"It's tennis-boxing inside a carnival wrapped in a learning curve that against practiced players feels steep," wrote Time reviewer Matt Peckham.
Arms "is more than it seems," he maintained. It's "novel in a genre prone to repetition, and precisely the sort of pick-up video game the Switch was designed for."

Fresh Experience

"Like Splatoon, I think Arms represents a fresh competitive title and new franchise that Nintendo can build up over months and years," said Piers Harding-Rolls, head of games research at IHS Markit.
Arms plays to the strengths of the Switch console, he told TechNewsWorld, supporting local competitive play and use of its motion controllers.
"As a new IP, its attach rate at launch is likely to be lower than Zelda or Mario Kart, but I expect sales to continue to tick over, and for it to remain popular as adoption of Switch sales increases."

Easy to Learn, Challenging to Play

The game centers around competition, which is driving much of the modern e-sports craze, and the response has been strong, said Jurre Pannekeet, senior market analyst at NewZoo.
"Arms seems to be a game that is relatively easy to pick up and play, quick to understand and learn -- but it's difficult to master with the nuances in fighting inherent to the game," he told TechNewsWorld.
One such feature is "punching in an arc, bypassing an opponent's defense, for which the movement-capturing accuracy of the controllers is praised," Pannekeet noted.
While Arms likely will be played a lot online, much of the interest in the title will be driven by the ability to play via the local multiplayer co-op, which has made titles like Mario Kart, Mario Party and Super Smash Bros. Melee hugely successful, he added.
Arms "could be the next big hit that doesn't include Nintendo's traditionally popular characters, after Splatoon," Pannekeet said.

Market Potential

The timing is critical for Nintendo to develop an exclusive title that can move market share, suggested Karol Severin, a gaming analyst for Midia Research.
Eighteen percent of all consumers own or regularly use a Nintendo console, including the Switch, according to Midia Research.
The company needs to build up its content catalog as it sets 2018 for the official launch of its paid subscription service, Severin pointed out.
The paid service, Nintendo Switch Online, will cost US$3.99 per month, $7.99 for a three-month subscription, or $19.99 per year.
"Switch, because of its console-mobile hybrid, will need more games that are developed with the hybrid format and its controls in mind," Severin told TechNewsWorld, "in order to demonstrate the entertainment value of Switch to its full potential."

Fighting Chance

If fans share the enthusiasm some of the early reviewers have displayed, Nintendo may regain its footing with one of its most important console rollouts in years.
"A game console lives and dies on the content," observed Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.
Nintendo "needs to do a great job with head-to-head games, and this title stands out as both fun and a good showcase for the company's skills," he told TechNewsWorld.
"With games like this, Switch has a fighting chance," Enderle said.
The game is available for pre-order for $59.99 with an official launch date of June 16. 
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