Tech news

Researchers have found a way to use neural networks to create DSLR-quality photos from snapshots taken with low-end smartphones. A team of scientists at the ETH Zurich Computer Vision Lab recently published a paper describing a deep learning approach that uses neural networks to translate photos taken by cameras with limited capabilities into DSLR-quality photos automatically. "We tackle this problem by introducing a weakly supervised photo enhancer -- a novel image-to-image GAN-based architecture," they wrote. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2yjpMJv

Microsoft's Sonar, released under an open source license, could help developers build more effective and secure websites. Sonar, a linting tool and site scanner, is the next evolution of the static scan tool, according to Microsoft. The team that developed Microsoft's Edge browser created Sonar as a better way for website maintainers to check performance and security issues. It searches out potential interoperability, performance, security and progressive Web app-related problems, and suggests possible solutions. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2z1x6Jh

I'm getting tired of headlines that present something you might want to do as something you'd have to be crazy to do. Last week was a case in point: Headline after headline shouted out that Amazon wanted to get a key to your house. The initial reaction was, as you might expect, hell no -- but the reality is far more nuanced. You see, there are a lot of folks who live in places where their front entrance isn't secure and they don't really have a yard, so when they get a package from Amazon it often goes to whoever sees it on the doorstep first. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2zjD7lb

Nintendo appears to have knocked it out of the park with Thursday's offical launch of its new Super Mario Odyssey title, which appears to have won over video game critics and promises to drive Nintendo Switch sales well into the holiday shopping season. The reception is another lift for Nintendo, which has been riding high following strong reviews of the title at the E3 conference earlier this year, and the success of its latest Zelda title, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild . from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2yZ1Kma

New company Noon Home officially launched on Thursday and simultaneously unveiled its Noon Smart Lighting System, after two years of raising funds and developing products in stealth mode. The Noon Smart Lighting System blends ambient, task and accent lights to layer lighting, improve the way a room looks. It consists of a Room Director switch and companion Extension Switches, which communicate via Bluetooth. The Room Director, which has a glass touchscreen OLED display, clips into the Noon Base at the light switch. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2ljVU9W

AWS on Tuesday announced the general availability of Amazon Aurora with PostgreSQL compatibility. The service is now fully compatible with both MySQL and PostgreSQL, the company said. AWS also announced that customers migrating to Amazon Aurora from another database can use the AWS Database Migration Service free of charge for the next six months. Amazon Aurora is a cloud-optimized relational database that combines the speed and availability of high-end commercial databases with the simplicity and cost-effectiveness of open source databases. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2zGnCjx

Apple reportedly has reduced the accuracy of the iPhone X Face ID feature to speed up production. It's not clear how much the new specs will reduce Face ID's efficacy, but if the reporting is accurate, there could be problems recognizing changes in facial hair, glasses and other ancillary features, suggested Gerrit Schneemann, senior analyst at IHS Markit. "That would be a real problem." The iPhone X doesn't have a fingerprint scanner, and facial recognition is the only biometric unlock mechanism for a number of iPhone features, he pointed out. from TechNewsWorld http://ift.tt/2yO3RZz