Archive for April 5, 2024

Samsung Launches The All-New Bespoke AI Lineup

Posted in Commentary with tags on April 5, 2024 by itnerd

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced its latest home appliance lineup at a series of special launch events, ‘Welcome to ‘BESPOKE AI’, held in New York City, Seoul and Paris. Samsung shared its vision for enhancing the holistic home experience through interconnectivity among its products, showcasing how artificial intelligence (AI) enhances the performance of appliances.

Bespoke AI Appliances Sync to Create New Experiences in Various Home Spaces

With built-in Wi-Fi, internal cameras, AI chips and compatibility with the SmartThings application, Samsung’s latest Bespoke AI appliances come with enhanced features and connectivity to lay the foundation for a truly smart home. Also, the new AI Home, a connected 7-inch LCD display that has been added to multiple products, provides intuitive, easy access and control over the whole connected ecosystem.

The AI Home includes 3D Map View, a feature that provides users with a full 3D view of the house, allowing them to easily locate and control their connected appliances Users can also receive calls coming to their phones through the AI Home, allowing them to answer calls while, for example, continuing the housework they were doing. Moreover, the AI Home makes housework more enjoyable as well. Users can play their favourite songs, watch videos on the Internet app, or refer to recipes on the screen while they are cooking.

At the BESPOKE AI event, Samsung also showcased the new feature ‘Calm Onboarding’, which makes it easier for users to join Samsung’s connected life. It frees users from having to go through the hassle of product registration, as it directly registers products purchased under a Samsung Account at Samsung.com onto the SmartThings app with the same account.

To provide assurance to users as they step into the era of hyper-connected home appliances driven by technological advancement, Samsung also highlighted its comprehensive Knox security platform that protects all user data located on the connected appliances. In fact, the 4-Door French Door Refrigerator with AI Family Hub™ has been verified to the ‘Diamond’ level by UL Solutions for its IoT security capabilities. UL Solutions is a leading global safety science company . Other Family Hub models applying the same technology, have also achieved the same verification.

AI Expands Spectrum of Features to Samsung Home Appliances

The 4-Door French Door French Door Refrigerator with AI Family Hub™ is the primary control center for all things food, connecting the refrigerator to other appliances in the home. The AI Family Hub™+, which is the large LCD screen in the front right panel of the refrigerator, is the key to intuitive AI experience, where users can view recommended recipes and play music and videos for kitchen entertainment. The 4-Door French Door Refrigerator with AI Family Hub™ comes with AI Vision Inside which uses an internal camera to identify 33 fresh food items that go in and out of the fridge. The recognized food items are listed and managed on the Family Hub™ display and can also be checked on the SmartThings app.

The Bespoke AI Laundry Combo™, is the All-in-One washer and dryer, providing the advantages of two separate appliances while freeing up valuable space. It comes with various AI features, such as remembering the periodic and seasonal needs of users and recommending the optimal cycle for the wash. With AI Opti Wash & Dry™, the Bespoke AI Laundry Combo™ intelligently adjusts the washing and drying performance for each load and senses the weight of the laundry to dispense the appropriate amount of water and detergent. It also detects the fabric and monitors the level of soiling during a cycle. If necessary, it adds more detergent and varies the washing time. It then adjusts the drying process to suit the weight and fabric type of users’ laundry. After finishing the cycle, users can monitor how much energy and water were consumed through the report provided on the Smart Things App.

Another unique appliance introduced only at the New York event was the Bespoke Slide-in Range with AI Home. This product is a multi-functional induction range that also comes with various fun factors. It comes with an Internal Oven Camera that lets users see inside the oven from remote places, like on the TV from the living room, or even from outside the home through Smart Things on their mobile phones. With this, users can even get a short time-lapse video clip with the highlight of the cooking process that they can share on social media.

Advancing the Future of Appliances

Samsung is not only dedicated to presenting a better home experience, but also committed to creating more innovative and efficient products.

It continues to upgrade Wi-fi connected appliances in the market and already in users’ homes through software updates and the further development of Smart Things. Users can enjoy new features, including energy saving features, even with the models they already own. Smart Forward, announced for the first time at the event, is a service that provides the newest features, security patches, and upgrades through regular software updates. Users will be able to check available updated information and receive notifications from the SmartThings App.

Tips and information from Nikon Canada: How to Prepare for The Solar Eclipse

Posted in Commentary with tags on April 5, 2024 by itnerd

With parts of Canada in the path of Monday’s solar eclipse, many are excited to photograph and/or record it. However, there are important steps you need to take in order to properly protect your equipment, as well as your eyes.

Nikon Canada has a two-part video series available that includes all you need to know to properly (and safely) capture this exciting event:

How to Prepare for The Solar Eclipse – Part 1: 

In this video, Nathan from Nikon will show you what kind of lenses, filter, and other accessories you will need to capture the eclipse.
*Please note there is an option for French captioning for this video under Settings.

A few important considerations from Nikon Canada:

  • The solar filter must be placed in FRONT of any telescope, camera lens or mirror.
  • It should NEVER be used behind an eyepiece, viewfinder or lens, including any drop-in filters found on lenses.
  • Do NOT point the camera at the sun when the lens is NOT protected by a filter that is specifically designed for SOLAR VIEWING.
  • Even if you are wearing solar observing glasses, do NOT look through a viewfinder of a camera if the lens is not protected by a solar viewing filter.

You can find additional resources on how to record the eclipse on Nikon.ca here: https://en.nikon.ca/learn-and-explore/s/solar+eclipse.html  

Car Companies Are Not Doing Enough To Stop Car Theft

Posted in Commentary with tags on April 5, 2024 by itnerd

Car theft in Canada in general, Toronto specifically, is completely out of control. It’s to the point where everyone I know either has had a car stolen, or knows someone who has had a car stolen. And the thing is, while there are calls for the police to do more, it’s really the car companies who need to do more.

Now I am pretty sure that I know what the car companies will say. They comply with laws requiring the use of engine immobilizers within their products since 2007. That’s nice. But given the fact that in 2023, a car in Toronto was stolen every 40 minutes on average, they’re clearly not working. What is clear is that key reprogramming, CANBUS attacks, relay attacks and the like are more effective than engine immobilizers. If you’re not clear on what any of that means, this will help you get up to speed.

So you’d think that car companies would say that what they’re doing isn’t working. So they have to up their game. Well, the cynic in me says that they’re not going to do anything to improve things on this front because they have a financial incentive not to. As in if your car gets stolen, they get to sell you a new car. I hate saying that, but in pretty much any other industry, if you have a security issue that affects your customers, you fix it and you make things better for your customers. I don’t see that happening with the car industry. Thus what I would argue is that the Federal Government needs to force car companies to do the right thing. Which is to replace engine immobilizers with something more secure. Maybe it’s two factor authentication? Maybe it’s making it harder for the attacks that are out there to execute? Maybe it’s higher levels of encryption? Nothing when it comes to security is perfect. But if you do things that reduce the likelihood that something bad will happen to as close to zero as possible, you’re winning. Unfortunately that’s not the world we live in because at present, it seems that any bipedal primate with opposible thumbs can steal a car. And that’s totally on the car makers. Not the owners of the car, not the police, and not the government.