Topics

16

Software Engineering / Facebook cracks down on Russian-based "fake news"

« on: January 21, 2019, 08:50:16 PM »

Facebook says it has removed over 500 pages, groups and accounts from its site due to the accounts working in a "coordinated inauthentic effort to spread misinformation."

17

Software Engineering / Google Maps wants to help you avoid that speeding ticket

« on: January 21, 2019, 08:46:41 PM »

Drivers will soon have an extra set of eyes on the road, courtesy of Google.
Google’s navigation app, Google Maps, is starting to roll out speed limit and speed trap features, according to AndroidPolice.com.
With the speed limit feature, drivers using Google Maps will be shown the post speed limit of the road they’re driving on in the lower left side of the app. Speed traps are designated with a small camera icon and shown on the visible area of the map. AndroidPolice’s source also reports that Google Maps provides an audio warning for drivers when they are approaching a speed trap.

18

ISTQB / Sofo_lab : ISTQB Training

« on: January 20, 2019, 12:54:52 AM »

Alumni of Software Engineering department run Sofo_lab. Sofo_lab is going to conduct a training program on ISTQB foundation level certification.
Please contact with me if you are interested.

No fees is applicable.

Thanks

19

Software Engineering / Ask Google Assistant for directions on Google Maps

« on: January 10, 2019, 02:04:53 AM »

Google Assistant is coming to Google Maps.

Yep, after adding music streaming, restaurant planning, e-scooter renting, and more to its mobile maps app, Google announced Tuesday at CES in Las Vegas that its digital assistant is joining the party.
So, why add the voice-controlled assistant to Google Maps? Well, Google envisions users asking it for directions home, or to nearby restaurants and saved locations. You can ask the assistant to search for places along your route (like gas stations) or add a stop — all things that used to require some button pushing.

Beyond navigation tasks, having Google Assistant handy means you can ask it to respond to texts, play a podcast or song, or send your ETA. All those extra features are now hands free.

Google Maps, and therefore now Google Assistant, is available through Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and as of Tuesday, several new car accessories. The Anker Roav Bolt and JBL Link Drive are plug-in devices that you put into your car socket so you can use Google Assistant through Bluetooth or an AUX connection. Voila, even your older, screen-less car is now Google Assistant compatible.

20

Software Engineering / Wearable AI translator

« on: January 10, 2019, 01:58:33 AM »

Wearable AI translator lets you talk freely and naturally in different languages.... please search for more information

21

Software Engineering / China is pioneering the future of automation — by turning its eyes to the skies

« on: January 10, 2019, 01:51:56 AM »

In China, the era of automation we’ve all been promised by science fiction films is already underway. Not only is the country investing heavily in autonomous vehicles like cars — it’s also turning its eyes to the skies.

In a recent survey, UBS found that the airline industry could save up to $35 billion by deploying pilotless planes. The technology may be particularly useful for the shipping industry, as packages are immune to risk-averseness.

“Unlike passengers, cargo is not concerned with the status of its pilots [human or autonomous],” notes UBS. “For this reason, pilotless cargo aircraft may happen more swiftly than for passengers. In addition, we believe that the 24-hour nature of much of cargo flights [often taking off or landing in the late and early hours] may be well-suited to artificial pilots — with the problems of sleeping hours less of an issue.”

22

Software Quality Assurance and Testing / Software Quality

« on: October 07, 2018, 09:44:38 PM »

What's the difference between Quality Control & Quality Assurance? Are they both same?

23

Artificial Intelligence / Facebook Aims To Help Machines Understand Language With 'Talk The Walk' Project

« on: July 12, 2018, 08:37:22 PM »

Artificial intelligence (AI) researchers at Facebook have spent the last year working on a project that saw an AI system learn how to navigate parts of the sprawling conurbation that is New York City. The study is designed to help computers understand natural human language, paving the way for AI assistants to communicate with people more competently.

Teaching machines to understand us is far from easy, and feeding them raw text data isn't necessarily the best way forward in the eyes of the Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR) group.

Instead, the Facebook researchers used an approach called "embodied AI", also known as "grounded language learning", which favors learning in the context of a system's surroundings, rather than training through large data sets of text, such as Wikipedia.

FAIR's "Talk the Walk" project sees a "tourist" bot navigate their way through 360-degree images of five actual New York City neighborhoods. This is done with the help of a "guide" bot, which sees nothing but a 2D map of the neighborhood. The tourist bot essentially describes what it "sees" and the guide bot responds with directions. Facebook found that its bot guide was better than human guides at giving directions.

Facebook isn't the only tech giant working on natural language understanding. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are all pursuing similar projects in a bid to give their own AI assistants an edge.

24

Blockchain / How should cryptocurrency be regulated?

« on: July 12, 2018, 08:30:13 PM »

Does Facebook know something about blockchain that we don't?

Probably. If there's one thing we can all agree on about blockchain tech and cryptocurrency, it's that most people don't understand them. Facebook, which recently re-organized itself to make blockchain one of its major focuses, clearly has something up its sleeve with regard to crypto. But even if Facebook revealed what it is, users would likely react with a head scratch.

The financial world is already a mystery to many. Add to that a layer of novel technology involving a digital "immutable ledger" that runs on a peer-to-peer network, decoupling the currency from any central authority, and even an interested person will start to resemble the Confused Lady meme.


To those folks, this week must have been especially troubling. It was Blockchain Week in New York City, headlined by CoinDesk's Consensus Conference. Besides the Lamborghinis on display and the bizarre crypto-inspired stunts, there was clear progress in bridging the world of cryptocurrency with that of real-world finance, including a new suite of investor tools and a new "stablecoin" for jittery crypto investors. HTC even debuted a blockchain-based phone.

But does any of that matter in light of crypto's Wild West reputation, with shady startups and scams dominating most of the headlines? How should the field be regulated? And what is Facebook's crypto team up to anyway?

25

Machine Learning/ Deep Learning / To help fight fake news using Machine Learning

« on: July 12, 2018, 08:22:58 PM »

WhatsApp wants to fight the spread of fake news — and that means a meaningful change is coming to its app.

On Tuesday, the company announced it's adding labels to forwarded messages so users can better identify rumors, fake news, and other false information that often spreads via the messaging app.


With the update, forwarded messages will have a small "forwarded" label, similar to forwarded email messages, indicating the note was originally written by someone other than the sender.

It may seem like a minor update, but it's one the company says could help people identify fake news and other types of misinformation. "WhatsApp cares deeply about your safety. We encourage you to think before sharing messages that were forwarded," the company wrote in a blog post.

26

Software Project Management / Tell your boss to get bent with Google's 'working hours' feature

« on: July 12, 2018, 08:20:24 PM »

You work a 9-to-5, and yet some jerk in the office keeps scheduling you for 8 a.m. meetings.

This madness has to stop, and, thanks to Google's new Working Hours feature that prevents people from adding you to meetings on Google Calendar outside of your pre-set available times, it just might. JK, your bosses are going to do whatever the hell they want with your time, but the new feature is at least a wonderfully passive-aggressive way to tell them to get bent.

Working Hours, announced by Google on June 27, is pretty straightforward.

"People who will try to schedule meetings with you outside of these hours will be informed that you are not available at that time," explains the company's blog post. "You can already set your working hours to one interval for all days of the week. With this launch, you can now customize your work hours for each day separately."

27

Software Quality Assurance and Testing / Test Automation Framework

« on: July 12, 2018, 08:12:42 PM »

Testing frameworks are an essential part of any successful automated testing process. They can reduce maintenance costs and testing efforts and will provide a higher return on investment (ROI) for QA teams looking to optimize their agile processes.

What is a Test Framework?
Before diving into the most common types of frameworks and their benefits, let’s clarify what a test automation framework actually is. A testing framework is a set of guidelines or rules used for creating and designing test cases. A framework is comprised of a combination of practices and tools that are designed to help QA professionals test more efficiently.

These guidelines could include coding standards, test-data handling methods, object repositories, processes for storing test results, or information on how to access external resources.

While these are not mandatory rules and testers can still script or record tests without following them, using an organized framework typically provides additional benefits that would otherwise be missed out on.

BENEFITS OF A TEST AUTOMATION FRAMEWORK
Utilizing a framework for automated testing will increase a team’s test speed and efficiency, improve test accuracy, and will reduce test maintenance costs as well as lower risks. They are essential to an efficient automated testing process for a few key reasons: 

• Improved test efficiency
  Lower maintenance costs
  Minimal manual intervention
  Maximum test coverage
  Reusability of code

[/b]

Types of Automated Testing Frameworks
There are six common types of test automation frameworks, each with their own architecture and different benefits and disadvantages. When building out a test plan, it’s important to choose the framework that is right for you.

• Linear Automation Framework
  Modular Based Testing Framework
  Library Architecture Testing Framework
  Data-Driven Framework
  Keyword-Driven Framework
  Hybrid Testing Framework

[/b]

28

Software Engineering / These 15 unsung women in tech changed the world

« on: March 29, 2018, 08:54:13 PM »

The first programmers weren't men, and the first computers weren't machines. What they were, in both cases, were women.

Women's many contributions to technology are frequently left out of the history books. But lately, that's been changing — at least a little.

Ada Lovelace considered the first computer programmer and a visionary for what programming and computers could eventually become, has a technology award named after her, and a holiday devoted to celebrating her legacy. Katherine Johnson meanwhile, the NASA "computer" responsible for successfully plotting the flight paths of some of America's earliest space exploration expeditions, was the subject of the Hollywood blockbuster Hidden Figures (and the book it's based on).

1. The women who cracked the secrets of the universe with computation: Williamina Fleming and the Harvard "Computers"
2. The first computer programmers: The Women of ENIAC
3. The 'mother of computing': Grace Hopper
4. The woman you have to thank for hybrid car batteries: Annie Easley
5. The person who pioneered the gift that is 'WFH': Mary Allen Wilkes
6. Her work inspired Steve Jobs' creation of the first Apple computer: Adele Goldberg
7. The woman who basically invented online dating: Joan Ball
8. 'Google-ing' something would never have occurred to men without her: Karen Spärck Jones
9. Before there was GoDaddy, there was this woman: Elizabeth "Jake" Feinler
10. The person who made retro gaming awesome (before it was retro): Carol Shaw
11. Using Apple computers then and now was so intuitive because of her: Susan Kare
12. She paved the way for the smartphone market: Donna Dubinsky
13. She helped Obama save the internet: Megan Smith
14. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is awesome because of her: Victoria Alonso
15. Tech is more inclusive than ever thanks to her: Angelica Ross

29

Software Engineering / The future of checking your blood sugar without needles is here

« on: March 29, 2018, 08:48:36 PM »

Diabetics will be relieved.

It is just a sensor.

30

Faculty Forum / Record cold in the U.S. and Canada has no end in sight

« on: January 05, 2018, 10:05:51 PM »

The winter of 2017-18 has recently become a throwback to the winters of yore — the ones your parents told you about. You know, back when they had to walk uphill both ways to school in the blinding snow and 0-degree temperatures?