REPORT: APPLE MAKES BIG IMPROVEMENTS TO APP STORE SEARCH RESULTS

When searching for something in the iOS App Store, I often find it quicker and easier to simply search for what I’m looking for on Google than to go through the App Store itself. If this sounds like you, you’ll be glad to know that Apple seems to be hard at work to improve the situation.

According to TechCrunch, Apple appears to have recently tweaked its App Store search algorithm to bring up more relevant and accurate results. More specifically, TechCrunch says, the search results you see now take into account a wider array of keyword matches (contextual and partial keyword matches, for instance) beyond the keywords that app developers provide..

TechCrunch says that this is “the first time the App Store has ranked apps for keywords that are not in the title or the ‘keyword’ slot.”

Also, if you search for a specific app, you’ll also see competing apps come up in the search results—another improvement that should make App Store search much more useful.

It’s unclear if these search tweaks apply both to the iOS App Store and the Mac App Store since TechCrunch’s report centers mainly on the iOS incarnation of the store. Also, as far as I can tell, nothing has changed in terms of the layout and presentation of search results, so if you’re unhappy with that aspect of App Store search, you’ll be a little disappointed.

What about you? Have you noticed a change to App Store search results? If so, do you find it to be a change for the better? Let us know what you think in the comments. 

WINDOWS 10 DISK IMAGES LET USERS SKIP WAIT FOR NOVEMBER UPGRADE

Microsoft this week posted links to disk image files in .iso format for Windows 10's first upgrade, giving users a way to install the latest version of the OS without waiting for the company to push the code via Windows Update.

With a disk image, users can create installation media -- such as a flash drive or DVD -- for one-off or multiple-device migrations to Windows 10, or to reinstall the operating system over a corrupted copy.

The .iso files -- which for the English edition were sized at 2.8GB for the 32-bit version, 3.7GB for the 64-bit version -- can also be used to boost Windows 10 from July's original RTM (release to manufacturing) to November's 1511, the in-OS label Microsofthas applied using its new yymm release dating identifier.

That was the advice given by many on Microsoft's own user-to-user support discussion forums when people asked why they had not yet seen Windows 10 1511 offered by Windows Update. "I'm running Windows 10 10240. The 1511 update does not appear in Windows Update for me," said a user labeled as Bob Marley 77 in a message Thursday.

Others suggested that he use the Media Creation Tool to build a USB drive or DVD, then use the media to upgrade an existing copy of Windows 10.

Not all Windows 10 devices will immediately retrieve the 1511 upgrade because, as it did in July with RTM, Microsoft is staggering the availability of 1511. "The update is rolling out in waves, starting yesterday," a Microsoft spokesman confirmed Friday.

Other systems haven't been offered the 1511 upgrade for different reasons. The most common is if the machine was recently upgraded from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10. "If it's been less than 31 days since you upgraded to Windows 10, you won't get the November update right away; this will allow you to go back to your previous version of Windows if you choose," according to a FAQ about the November upgrade. "After the 31 days have passed, your PC will automatically download the November update."

The upgrade -- which Microsoft insists on calling the "November Update" -- will reach current Windows 10 customers automatically, as do all interim updates, such as those issued each month to fix security flaws.

Windows 10 1511 disk images can also be downloaded from the Microsoft website from non-Windows 10 devices as well, to upgrade existing virtual machines on other platforms, such as Apple's OS X.

TWITTER CUTS ENGINEERING TEAM, LAYS OFF ONE IN 12 EMPLOYEES

TWITTER CUTS ENGINEERING TEAM, LAYS OFF ONE IN 12 EMPLOYEES

Twitter will lay off up to one in 12 employees as it streamlines its product roadmap, new CEO Jack Dorsey told his workforce on Tuesday morning.

The company will in future focus "on the experiences which will have the greatest impact," he wrote in a letter to staff.

In Dorsey's tweet announcing the news, he said that he had made "some tough but necessary decisions that enable Twitter to move with greater focus and reinvest in our growth."

Although Dorsey was only confirmed in his role as CEO last week, he has been filling in since Dick Costolo stepped down on July 1, and so has had ample time to influence the company's strategy.

In his letter, he touted the new Moments feature as "a bold peek into the future of how people will see what's going on in the world" -- although initial reaction to Moments suggests it may not be bold enough.

Both Vine and Periscope will survive the cull, Dorsey said.

But up to 336 employees, or around 8 percent of the workforce, won't.

"We feel strongly that Engineering will move much faster with a smaller and nimbler team, while remaining the biggest percentage of our workforce," Dorsey wrote. The rest of the company will be streamlined in parallel, he said.

Rumors of the layoffs surfaced last week. Reaction then was mixed, with some welcoming a move to align revenue and expenditure, and others suggesting it would tactless for Dorsey to begin by announcing layoffs.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Twitter said it will spend between US$10 million and $20 million on severance benefits, but it will claw back about $5 million worth of unvested stock options.

Twitter now expects revenue for the third quarter to meet or exceed its most optimistic forecast of $560 million, with earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) similarly at or above the $115 million previously forecast, it said in the same filing.

SAP UNVEILS SAAS ANALYTICS PLATFORM

 

SAP Cloud for Analytics aims to redefine analytics by combining business intelligence, planning and predictive analytics into a SaaS offering built on the SAP HANA Cloud Platform.

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Canon goes big on resolution with 250-megapixel sensor

Canon goes big on resolution with 250-megapixel sensor 

If you haven't had enough of camera resolution wars, Canon has developed an image sensor with a resolution of 250 megapixels. 

The 19,580 by 12,600 pixels in the APS-H format sensor, measuring about 29.2 millimeters by 20.2mm, constitute the highest pixel count for a CMOS sensor smaller than full-frame 35mm size, the company said. 

The resolution is 125 times full HD video, about 30 times 4K video and some 7.5 times 8K, a format with 7,680 by 4,320 pixels that will be used in regular broadcasts in Japan in 2018.

Improvements in signal processing and circuit miniaturization give the sensor a signal readout speed of 1.25 billion pixels per second. The sensor can also capture high pixel-count video at five frames per second. 

The sensor was mounted into a prototype camera and was able to capture images in which the lettering on a plane flying some 18 kilometers away can be made out. The stunt involved optical and digital zooming, as well as magnification of a very small area of the photo.  

The new sensor follows Canon's development of a 120-megapixel CMOS sensor in the APS-H format in 2010. 

"We realized there was a certain amount of demand in the video production and instrumentation fields for even higher pixel counts, which provided us with the impetus to start developing a 250-megapixel sensor," a Canon spokesman said via email. 

The company doesn't see any potential for consumer applications of the technology because it would require exceedingly high optical performance to take advantage of the resolution's potential. 

Canon envisions potential business uses for the sensor in surveillance, crime prevention and high-resolution measurements. 

Security cameras have become a focus for Canon amid wilting demand for compact digital cameras, once a mainstay product.

Earlier this year, it acquired Swedish security camera maker Axis communications and recently announced it will launch a security camera next year with an ultra-telephoto zoom lens and an F-value of 2.4 that can grab color imagery in near-darkness.  

- See more at: http://www.itnews.com/video/96013/canon-goes-big-resolution-250-megapixel-sensor#sthash.hh4rUVVX.dpuf

Google to launch handset under $50 after conceding Android One 'didn't meet expectations'

Google will release phones under $50 in a bid to revamp the underwhelming Android One.

The new model, aimed at developing markets, has failed to take off since the launch last September with a $100 price cap.

Now, the firm's South East Asia managing director Rajan Anandan reveals they are going back to the drawing board, starting with a cut-price version in India.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Anandan conceded the product has 'not delivered to expectations' but said, 'it is like any company when you try to launch a new initiative – we had a few hiccups.' 

Google will launch phones under $50 to revamp the underwhelming Android One in developing markets

Though no details have been released about the new version, being announced 'in the next few weeks', Mr Anandan said it will be priced between $31 and $47.

And the firm will also look at providing offline maps and services such as YouTube for the vast swathes of South East Asia with poor internet connection. 

This step comes as Google rolls out its Project Loon - balloons built to carry internet connection to remote regions - in places such as Sri Lanka.

It is a fighting attempt at keeping a shoe in the door of a soon-to-be crucial market for mobile phone manufacturers and network providers.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3192813/Google-launch-handset-50-conceding-Android-One-didn-t-meet-expectations.html#ixzz3iaeSBEU1
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