YouTube may soon ban targeted ads on kids’ content

YouTube is allegedly planning on getting rid of targeted ads on videos aimed at children. It's not clear whether the decision comes as a result of the FTC's recent multimillion dollar fine -- imposed after YouTube was found to be violating federal da...

Google makes Pixel 2’s driving awareness available to Android apps

If you have a Pixel 2, you might have appreciated its Driving Do-Not-Disturb feature -- it can automatically minimize distractions while telling the difference between a stop at the intersection and the end of your ride. That intelligence hasn't rea...

Robots learn to understand the context of what you say

It can be frustrating when telling robots what to do, especially if you aren't a programmer. Robots don't really understand context -- when you ask them to "pick it up," they don't usually know what "it" is. MIT's CSAIL team is fixing that. They'v...

Microsoft patents contextual ads in e-books, whether we like it or not

Microsoft patents contextual ads in ebooks, whether we like it or not

We have ad-supported e-reading today, but the ads always sit on the periphery at most. That makes us more than slightly nervous about a newly-granted Microsoft patent for contextual e-book ads. The development would make the pitch based on not just targeted pages but the nature of the book in question: a sci-fi novel might try to sell lightsabers, and characters themselves might slip into the ads themselves if there's a fit. Promos could be either generated on the spot or remain static. Before anyone mourns the end of unspoiled literature, just remember that having a patent isn't the same as using it -- Microsoft doesn't have its own dedicated reading app anymore, let alone any warning signs that it's about to pepper our digital libraries with marketing. If the Newco partnership results in copies of War and Peace bombarded with Black Ops II ads, though, we'll know where to place the blame.

Microsoft patents contextual ads in e-books, whether we like it or not originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows Phone OS mod speeds up app load times, knows you’ll play Monopoly on your break (video)

Experimental Windows Phone mod Falcon speeds up app load times, knows you were going to do that

Microsoft Research has revealed some of its latest work into mobile app optimization -- and it's called the contextual solution, Falcon. Fast App Launching with Context aims to improve "key OS services" including memory management, scheduling and security. It does this by using location and sci-fi-sounding "temporal access patterns" -- when you use the app -- to pre-load programs before you've even decided to use them, which dramatically reduces perceived loading delay. A learning algorithm baked into the Windows Phone OS mod also improves its behavior and predictive powers as you use it. In the project's own tests, users were apparently saving up to 35 seconds on a single app launch. There's no news on whether the developmental mod will find its way into future Windows Phone iterations, but if our phone just knew to pre-load Kinectimals each morning -- the only thing that gets us through those 7am commutes-- we'd be more than willing to give it a go.

Continue reading Windows Phone OS mod speeds up app load times, knows you'll play Monopoly on your break (video)

Windows Phone OS mod speeds up app load times, knows you'll play Monopoly on your break (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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