In the current day where technology is surrounding us everywhere, we cannot deny the benefits of tech around the globe. Technology and humans now exist in the most efficient ways. It is making our life easy and comfortable. Now even the common man uses tech to complement his workload and enhance his quality of life.

As the common man’s life is getting more improves so does the business sector. In almost every sector of the economy, especially the business sector, tech plays a crucial role in growth and development. Technology is, without doubt, the major game-changer of the business sector.

For not so long the organizations have to set up their infrastructure items of hardware and software-related work. But now the whole scenario is changed with the advent of cloud computing and cloud consulting companies. Previously companies had to maintain their own servers and related subsystems but now most of the tasks are diverted to third-party vendors.

In this article, we will know about cloud computing and its importance in the business sector.

Cloud Computing (Definition)

The term cloud computing is derived from the word cloud. It simply means the IT services available to the customers. In simple words, it means that it has the exclusive feature of being omnipresent.

In simplest terms, the meaning of cloud computing means the retrieval of data and programs over the internet, which are typically stored or installed on your computer system.

Let’s understand with an example- in traditional times the data and programs used to run on that specific computer only if you have it stored in that system. But with the invention of cloud computing now you can access your programs and files sitting anywhere on any computer in the world.

This not only facilitates users to run programs with sophisticated technology it also lets users perform graphic-intensive tasks. GPU companies and software providers are letting users develop their businesses using the exclusive features of cloud computing.

Importance of Cloud Computing in Business

Now we will see how cloud computing is transforming the business around the globe. We will know the significance of the cloud in the business sector and the overall economy.

1. Less Money Required

The major reason behind the fast rate of adoption of cloud computing in the business is its low cost. Any trade and commerce activity requires a low cost of operations in their respective fields. Previously companies have to bear the cost of setting up an IT infrastructure themselves with the cost of running and managing too.

But with the introduction of cloud computing, these features are taken by third-party vendors. It is because of which the investment, as well as the operational cost, has reduced magnificently. Now even small companies or startups can run their business with a low amount of funds and avail themselves of the same quality services as the big companies can afford.

2. Flexibility 

Running a business is not itself an easy task, one organization always has to strive with others to remain in the competition. for perform the best you have to put an infinite amount of effort and focus on a number of responsibilities.

If the business is demanding an overreaching focus on Information and tech-related services and it somehow disturbs the focus on management and customer satisfaction. In that case, you are moving to a position that can hamper your business. While on the flip side you can divide IT-related responsibilities to a cloud company then it can practically reduce the overburdened workloads.

Cloud computing companies offer a more flexible amount of services for their customers so that the owners dont have to stress out in challenging situations. It is efficient and flexible enough than your local servers to manage the dynamic work of the businesses. With over-the-air (OTA) updates the owner’s system gets improved within the minimum possible time. Therefore this improves the flexibility of the business organizations efficiently.

3. Digitization

Most of the sections are digitized or on the way to getting digital. As in the past few years, we have seen a huge demand in the rising tech worldwide that requires digitization. In order to remain in the race of business competition companies are getting digital.

Since the technical services are very affordable, companies can easily transform their contemporary business into the contemporary one. Additionally, the whole process is complicated when it is done by traders or non-tech firms. But with great simplification, the cloud service providers offer a range of services for non-tech individuals. Therefore these services become easy to adopt and take advantage of..

4. Scalability

It brings a huge advantage for the firms to have the feature to scale up or scale down according to the demand. In other words, we can say that cloud services offer huge flexibility to their clients. This can be done to increase the capacity of the servers and process according to the rise in demand and to lower the system backing support when the demand is low.

Therefore it is always beneficial for the business group or small firms to opt for cloud computing.

5. Security

Data security is one of the most fundamental pillars that modern companies rely upon. As cloud computing is highly secured with multiple security arrangements and highly encrypted data management. So the clients have peace of mind in terms of security issues with cloud computing. Additionally, cloud computing relies on the latest security infrastructure that is anytime potent enough to protect itself from any kind of malware attacks on the system.

According to a popular report by a global cyber security watchdog, the companies who switched to cloud computing services saw a 92% drop in terms of cyber attacks and online security vulnerability. This simply transcends the importance of cloud computing in the workplace of business. This not only saves a major amount of money for the business owners but also gives them peace of mind for long-term protection from hacking, data phishing, data leakage, etc.

Conclusion: 

As the world is moving on, so do the businesses around the globe. Companies have learned that processing and storing the data they collect can take a lot of time, effort, human resource and finances. Luckily, with the digitalization of the world, now, businesses have access to Cloud Computing.

This tool is not only making the life of business owners easier because the data is stored in a secure place, maintenance is simple and lost data can be recovered quickly, but also saves a lot of money and human power to the company. Cloud Computing is the solution to every business now, as many of them continue operating thanks to this feature.

Author Bio :

Dmitry Reshetchenko is an Outreach Specialist for Diceus, a technology partner for developing enterprise solutions. He is passionate in his belief that a partnership with IT blogs is of great importance. Dmitry works mostly with Tech blogs.

The post Why Cloud Computing is Important for Your Business appeared first on Tech Research Online.

“We live in an era of big data.”  

In the past year with the growing amount of Big Data, datasets have become so complex that traditional BI solutions either fail in getting, dealing, preparing or just understanding the data.  

But data is everywhere and growing with every click. We need to find ways to handle it and leverage it for our benefit.   

Google, Netflix, Spotify, Facebook, and Amazon are leveraging user data and mixing it with their unique profile to create new products. Such products are more likely to be loved by users.  

Similarly, governments and hospitals, are utilizing augmented analytics to find efficient ways to administer services.  

If an organization wants to thrive in the information age, they need to uncover the insights hiding in data. Digging through this data is tedious and tough but the right tools can make this process efficient and simple.   

In this blog, we are going to help you identify the solution to your changing data needs and their relation with augmented analytics.  

What is Augmented Analytics?  

According to Gartner’s 2018 research, Augmented Analytics Is the Future of Data and Analytics, “Augmented analytics uses machine learning/ artificial intelligence (ML/AI) techniques to automate data preparation, forensic discovery. and sharing. It also automates data science and ML model development, management, and deployment.”   

Augmented analytics is artificial intelligence that will change everything about business intelligence and business analytics.   

Machine-Generated Business Intelligence  

Traditional BI  

Analytics and business intelligence have been around for quite some time now. In 1958, Hans Peter Luhn, IBM researcher, published a white paper “A Business Intelligence System.” in the paper, he posited that because “information is now being generated and utilized at an ever-increasing rate because of the accelerated pace and scope of human activities.”   

According to him, to process this we will require new technological tools as organizations will need all that information for making better organizational decisions.  

Traditional BI was the first iteration of general-usage tools which focused on connecting to single databases and generating reports.  

Analysis was unsophisticated and under a small class of dedicated analysts. But there was immense potential for improvement. This improvement came in the form of the next gen-analytics and self-servicing tools.  

Self-Service BI  

The drawbacks of traditional BI, including the need for skilled technical workers, lengthy insight times, and poor-quality data analysis, were addressed with self-service BI. Today, almost all the BI tool claims to be self-service.   

Today, Self-service BI solutions possess user-friendly graphical interfaces. These systems can handle millions and billions of data drawn from multiple sources: in-house databases and cloud storage.   

This system can be used by non-technical users and get them ready for analysis to speed up insights and eliminate bottlenecks. Modern BI solutions make data security, governance, and access control simpler. 

Different Data Approach  

Lastly, self-service BI systems have dashboard-building features. These features offer a wide array of infographics and easy color selection to make insights look good. This gives users across the board access to insights and eases to tag other users and add them to dashboards. This leaves no need to reinvent the wheel. However, these enhancements aren’t enough and there is an immense need to approach data differently.  

Business Intelligence Changes Over Time  

BI tools are continuously evolving from monitoring performance to being sophisticated Artificial Intelligence-driven analytics platforms.  

Thinking About Data and Analytics Differently  

Modern analytics and BI systems have a lot going for them, but there are still places for innovation. We need to re-think about data itself. Data preparation could be simplified and the business-led aspects of the industry need to be countered.   

While modern BI solutions can handle greater volumes of data, even with self-service systems, cleaning that data is still a manual process. This leaves room for human error before the analysis has begun!   

With Augmented analytics systems, AI components will improve this process. BI solutions are great at showing users the insights but there is a small problem, that’s all they show. If someone wants to know exactly what they’re looking for, then chances are they’re going to find it leaves little room for unexpected results that they might have not been thinking of. This is exactly the kind of information that can have a huge impact on the organization.   

The AI-assisted system can help humans to tackle this problem and get more out of their analyses. Easy-to-use analytics tools, made by AI elements can change organizations and allow users to make smarter decisions.  

Another huge reason is data itself. Human activities never stop making new data as data comes from countless human and machine sources. This poses a huge challenge for IT departments to marry these disparate data sources.

By relying on BI to make decisions, they will understand that they can’t rely on a small cluster of analysts to do all the crunching and database management.   

In a modern company, insights can positively impact workers, and the next big idea could come from anywhere. Traditional BI doesn’t work for the new world. So, what does the future of augmented analytics and BI look like? 

Looking Toward the Future  

Data is called the “new oil.”  

Why?  

Because companies see it as a powerful resource.   

And, if you want to leverage this resource, it’s not enough to have just a small team to plumb data for insights. Data access has to be democratized, especially with the stakeholders. This will enable them to access intelligent, self-service solutions to find answers to an important question that matter most to them, with game-changing analyses.   

Besides, data stored in off-site, proprietary, and third-party databases have to be ingested easily, securely, and with fewer resources for IT. This will quickly reveal insights and you can easily share them with others in the company.  

Democratization and Self-Service:   

With technology becoming more and more ingrained in organizations, the frontline workers have become are more tech-savvy than ever. But there just aren’t enough database experts to handle the tasks to govern and clean the data.   

Companies can leverage an AI-assisted self-service tool to derive insights on the scale of modern businesses where and when they need them with an easy-to-understand interface.  

Delivering Maximum Value:  

Adding data to analytics software is the most difficult of getting insights. In the Modern BI era, we are seeing solutions capable of handling disparate sources such as cloud storage, in-house databases, app APIs, CSVs, live data streams to perform complex analyses.   

But what if BI tools became smart enough to understand the connection between data sources? That’d be a game-changer.  

There has been a great demand for options for analyzing data and sharing results. The interface needs to have multiple ways to access it and make sense. Users also want a social way that provides simplicity to share their insights.   

Advanced modern BI systems allow the user to interact via chatbots and AI assistants like Ok Google and Alexa. AI assistances will even suggest people share findings with a fast process of disseminating findings to key members.  

What’s Next for BI: Augmented Analytics  

Augmented analytics and BI tools, in the future, will be quite different than the current tools. Augmented analytics, today, integrates AI into the BI process to help in data preparation and insight discovery. This will change with the subtle integration of artificial intelligence and natural language processing into augmented analytics.   

In the future of augmented analytics, data ingestion, understanding relationship in data, insight discovery, and interaction with the platform will become more streamlined.  

An intelligent augmented analytics BI system will start helping users when they begin interacting with it. Instead of manual data cleanup process, data ingestion will be radically simplified and AI components will do much of the heavy lifting.   

AI elements, within a few years, will surface these relationships via visualizations. This will allow users to drill down and look for more insights. Seamless processes from data ingestion to insight searching will be a huge time saver.  

Augmented analytics systems will also handle Big Data as companies already have data needs in billions. Despite the amount of data or its origin, these smart systems will handle them. They will also understand the differences between the datasets, how they interact, and how to query them for results. Instead of waiting for the users to perform analyses, these systems will be active in interweaving and analyzing the data.  

If a user is actively searching for new insights, AI systems will help them prepare. However, even at this stage, it will be different under the augmented analytics framework. AI in augmented analytics will be free of human biases and reveal crucial insights that humans never realized were important. They will do this by observing the connections in the ocean of data and suggesting relationships.  

Moreover, advanced machine learning algorithms aren’t biased, or bound by preconceived notions. They will deliver insights where they are found and will even become spatially aware of it.  

Once the insights are served, these smart systems will be able to walk users through the data and help them gain understanding. This is very opposite to them just giving the information. This change will extend beyond using the platform as many modern BI solutions now have mobile apps. Chatbot or Alexa integrations have allowed users to interact with the data in different ways and analytics will keep building on this trend.  

Augmented analytics and BI will become immersive as new insights and data will be accessible.

Conclusion   

Data is now Big Data. Countless users and devices are creating new digital records every second. This data is being processed and stored in complex ways. However, traditional technology is unable to handle the ever-mounting information. Hence, we need more powerful and robust AI-augmented analytic systems to make sense of this data.  

Every organization and government needs an augmented analytics platform to connect to these databases to find relationships within the data. These relationships are then converted into crucial insights with the help of human users and effortlessly share across the entire organization. 

However, in the coming year, they will also need ways to work with Big Data especially the one that goes beyond the usual analytics systems. This data can completely reimagine how users can relate to data. Augmented analytics will change how users experience analytics and change the world by serving up unimaginable insights. 

Author Bio:

The post Augmented Analytics: Future of Business Intelligence appeared first on Tech Research Online.

Word documents, spreadsheets, and presentations are files we often use regularly, whether at home for general life admin or work.   

Microsoft Office comprises Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. After the early success of MS Word (launched in 1983), it was announced as a package by Bill Gates in August 1988.  

Microsoft Office has been a staple software package for universities and workplaces. Everyone who has been enrolled in schools and universities in the past 15-20 years has some familiarity with using MS Office.  

Following Microsoft’s initial domination in the world of the operating system, Apple came to the fore. Steve Jobs bought high-tech hardware as well as software to the tech scene.

Being a Microsoft program, Apple’s computers did not come with preinstalled MS Office. Instead, the company encourages users to delve into their business solutions, such as iWork.    

Despite the many hurdles, Microsoft and Apple have remained top players and competitors in the tech world. Let’s take a look at the differences and similarities of Office v iWork to uncover which software is best for you:  

Operating Software  

The key factor to consider while choosing between MS Office and Apple iWork is their operating system. Apple’s iWork is available to use on Apple devices (Mac, iPad, iPhone) and can only be used on a Windows device via iCloud.

Besides, Apple does not offer a compatible desktop version of iWork. However, when using Mac, you can download Office and Apple iWork from the app store.  

Compatibility  

When you are working solo or with other Mac users, it is relatively easy to use Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. However, you might find a lot of compatibility issues when sending and receiving iWorks files in a room full of PC users.   

To resolve this issue, Apple has allowed an easy import and export of files to popular Microsoft Office formats, such as .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx. However, image sizing, fonts, and layouts can sometimes be hard when converting between file formats.  

Functionality  

Take a first look at the basic function upon initial glance, both the office suites perform in a very similar way by offering similar functionality. When you compare several features in both the application, iWork’s applications act as a like-for-like substitute for MS Office in many ways for a standard user. However, once you start digging deeper and you will find differences between the two packages.   

User interface  

Many users find the simple and less crowded interface of the iWork suite more aesthetically pleasing. So much so that MS Office has tried to copy some designs in its latest update.   

To make the device as such, Apple has taken steps away from overwhelming menu options like Windows. They left the most utilized features easily accessible even to users with no training.

However, the same design can be a hindrance when creating more complex documents as useful tools are hidden in obscure places compared to Windows.  

Mobile Integration and Cloud Storage   

iWork allows you to store and access files from anywhere for free as it is fully integrated with iCloud online storage. Besides, it works across multiple devices which means that you will never have the stress of losing a file due to a corrupt memory stick ever again.   

In the case of MS Office, only business users have the option to store files online on a monthly price plan. This means that they’ll need to have an Office license assigned and SharePoint online, via OneDrive.  

Sharing and Collaboration  

Both Apple and Microsoft allow multiple users to seamlessly collaborate on the same document in real-time, for free using their collaboration tools. These tools are supported across many devices.  

Individual Applications at a Glance:  

Word vs Pages  

Software packages, MS Word and Pages, are both very similar when it comes to their offered features. Both have basic word processing features including custom headers and footers, text formatting, footnotes, bullets and number lists, pictures, and images.   

But from here the difference starts as Pages comes with its document design, particularly for flyers, leaflets, and posters to help you format them with ease. Besides, it allows you to add charts to the document which is a major feature missing from MS Word.   

However, Microsoft Word outperforms Pages when it comes to writing tools, including spell-checking and word count tools. Also, Word provides a variety of formatting options.

The best part is that it allows you to add special effects to text such as 3D or shadow. You can even add special effects to imagery such as reflection, drop shadow, and much more.  

Excel vs Numbers  

In general, Excel, despite its aesthetically unpleasing design, is far easier to work with than Numbers. Excel is particularly great while working with large amounts of raw data.

Both Excel and Numbers are packages that work for everyday budgeting and planning. However, Excel is better for academic or professional use as it offers a larger range of features and functions.  

Apple used the same clean-cut approach it did for its other software when creating Numbers. This means that formulas and shortcuts are not obvious to find when compared to Excel’s menus.   

From a learning perspective, compared to Numbers, you can find a great range of resources and ‘how to’ tutorials for Excel.  

PowerPoint vs Keynote  

Keynote exceeds PowerPoint when it comes to design. Keynote allows users with no design background to create sleek and stylish presentations easily.

It offers them easy options to pull images, sounds, and video with a wide range of in-built themes, layouts, animations, and fonts.   

While PowerPoint is far more functional than beautiful, it is powerful presentation software. If you can use it to its full potential then it can provide a lot of control over your design.

However, its complexity can become a hindrance for users who don’t know how to use it. Besides, it’s always easy to create ugly presentations with over-the-top transitions.  

Conclusion:  

iWork works well in a Mac operating environment, while MS Office works well in a Windows operating environment. Former allows immersive experience in the Apple ecosystem without additional software, while latter offers familiarity and comfort when transferring files without compatibility issues.  

Apple applications have a beautiful and clean design keeping with Apple’s sleek aesthetic pleasing look. It can fulfill almost all of the requirements of everyday users. Office software, overall, includes features and better user control and functionality (which are not utilized every day, but useful to have).  

If you are looking for the perfect operating software for you, don’t limit yourself to Apple and Microsoft. But you can also look for other alternatives, such as the free “LibreOffice” and Google’s online competitor G Suite.  

Author Bio:

Shreeya Chourasia is an experienced B2B marketing/tech content writer, who is diligently committed for growing your online presence. Her writing doesn’t merely direct the audience to take action, rather it explains how to take action for promising outcomes.

The post Microsoft Office vs. Apple iWork Review: Which is Better? appeared first on Tech Research Online.

Launched at a Google I/O conference as Vertex AI, the Google Cloud AI Platform team has been building a unified view of the machine learning landscape for the past few months. The platform brings AutoML and AI Platform together into a unified API, client library, and user interface.  

“Machine learning in the enterprise is in crisis, in my view,” said, Craig Wiley, the director of product management for Google Cloud’s AI Platform.   

“As someone who has worked in that space for a number of years, if you look at the Harvard Business Review or analyst reviews, or what have you — every single one of them comes out saying that the vast majority of companies are either investing or are interested in investing in machine learning and are not getting value from it. That has to change. It has to change.”  

In this blog, we are going to dive in and understand everything about Google’s machine learning platform.   

What is There to Unify?  

The idea of unification is about the key constructs in machine learning:  

• Datasets are created by ingesting, analyzing, and cleaning the data  
• Then the model is trained (Model Training) which includes hypothesis testing, experimentation, and hyperparameter tuning.  
• This model is versioned and rebuilt with new data.  
• The model is compared and evaluated concerning existing models.  
• The model is used for online and batch predictions.  

Yet, how different the rest of the pipeline becomes depends on how you do your ETL (where do you store your data?). Don’t you think it will be nice to have the idea of an ML dataset? That’s what unification means which is behind the concept of a dataset.  

It’s also noteworthy that the deployment of a TensorFlow model is different from a PyTorch model. Even TensorFlow models might differ whether they were created using AutoML or by codes.   

You can treat all these models in the unified set of APIs that Vertex AI provides. Vertex AI provides unified implementations and definitions of four concepts:  

Datasets can be structured or unstructured. the platform manages metadata, including annotations, that can be stored anywhere on GCP.   

Training pipeline is containerized steps that are used to train an ML model using a dataset. It helps with reproducibility, generalization, and audibility.  

A model is a machine learning model with metadata. It was built with a Training Pipeline or directly loaded.  

The endpoint can be invoked by users for online explanations and predictions. It can have one or more models and model versions with disambiguation.  

The idea behind these artifacts is the same as the dataset or model or training pipeline or endpoint. It’s somewhat like everything is mixed and matched.  

Hence, you can the database for different models once it is created. You can get Explainable AI from an endpoint regardless of how the model is trained.  

technovery

What are the Features of Vertex AI?  

• Supports all Open-Source Frameworks  

Vertex AI integrates with all the popular open-source frameworks and supports ML frameworks through custom containers for prediction and training.  

• Unified UI for the Entire ML Workflow  

The platform brings together the Google Cloud services. This enables them to build ML under one unified UI and API. Here, you can efficiently compare and train models using AutoML or custom code. Your models will be stored in a central model repository for deployment to the same endpoints.  

• Pre-Trained APIs   

Vertex AI has pre-trained APIs for NLP, video, and vision, among others. This helps to easily incorporate them into existing applications. It also helps in building new applications across use cases such as Speech to Text and Translation.  

AutoML allows businesses to train high-quality models as per their business needs. It leverages a central registry for datasets, such as tabular and vision.  

• Integration  

Developers can leverage BigQuery ML to create and execute machine learning models using standard SQL queries. They can also export the datasets from BigQuery into Vertex AI for smooth integration across the data-to-AI life cycle.   

What are the Benefits of Vertex AI?  

Google says that the AI platform requires fewer lines of code to train a model compared to any other platform.   

The platform’s custom model supports advanced ML coding and requires 80% lesser lines of code. The MLOps tools reduce the complexity of streamlines running ML pipelines and self-service model maintenance. Vertex Feature Store to serve, use, and share ML features.   

Google also states that without requiring formal ML training, data scientists can use the platform for tools to manage their data, prototype, experiment, deploy, interpret and monitor the models in production.  

To sum up the benefits, Vertex AI  

• Enables model training without code and expertise  
• Build advanced ML models with custom tools  
• Removes the complexity of maintenance of the self-service model   
• What is Vertex AI used for?  
• Creation of dataset and uploading data.  
• Training ML model on your data  
• Evaluating accuracy  
• Deploy trained model to an endpoint for serving predictions.  
• Sending prediction requests to the endpoint  
• Specifying a prediction traffic split   
• Managing models and endpoints  

What are the Tools in Vertex AI?   

• Vertex Feature Store  
• Vertex Model Monitoring  
• Vertex Matching Engine  
• Vertex ML Metadata  
• Vertex TensorBoard  
• Vertex Pipelines   

Use cases  

You can utilize this platform to ingest Cloud Storage and BigQuery data, and use Vertex Data Labeling to annotate high-quality training data. This will help them predict with more accuracy. Vertex’s feature can be used to share, serve, and reuse ML features. Vertex Experiments can be used to track Vertex TensorBoard and ML experiments to visualize ML experiments.  

The Pipelines of the platform can be used to simplify the MLOps process. Its training can help manage training services. Besides, Vizier on the platform offers maximum predictive accuracy, and prediction simplifies the deployment process of the models into production for online serving via HTTP.  

You can also get feature attributions and detailed model evaluation metrics. Moreover, Vertex ML Edge Manager, which is still in the experimental phase, facilitates seamless monitoring and deployment of automated processes with flexible APIs and edge inferences. This allows you to distribute AI on on-premise and edge devices across the private and public clouds.  

Deployment of models in the Vertex Prediction service offers easy monitoring of model performance. It will also alert you when the signals deviate, and you can find out the triggers and cause of the model-retraining pipelines.  

Vertex ML Metadata enables easier tracking of inputs and outputs to components in Vertex Pipelines for tracking. Lastly, you can track custom metadata from their query metadata using a Python SDK.  

Author Bio:

Shreeya Chourasia is an experienced B2B marketing/tech content writer, who is diligently committed for growing your online presence. Her writing doesn’t merely direct the audience to take action, rather it explains how to take action for promising outcomes.

The post Everything You Should Know About Google Cloud AI Light up Machine Learning Platform   appeared first on Tech Research Online.

In the ultra-modern world, facial recognition technology has emerged and is becoming a vital part of cyber security. Facial recognition is one of the mainly used biometric technologies in the corporate sector.

Diving into the example of social media, when the user uploads their photo and such platforms automatedly tag the different persons in the photo which might give the thought of the technology how it’s making convenience to do so.

However, Artificial intelligence-based facial biometric verification software is capable of tracking down persons’ faces without their consent which raises the question regarding privacy invasion.

Like other technology advancements, facial recognition also brought positive and negative opportunities.

The usage of a facial biometric system is rapidly increasing, so it would be helpful to be well aware of the pros and cons of facial recognition.

1. Facial Recognition – Brief Overview

The concept of face verification has always lived in the fantasy world. Ranging from any kind of tool to solving complex crimes. Nowadays biometric technology has evolved to the extent where we can see around us irrespective of the fantasy world.

Quoting the example of Apple’s Face ID technology, the biometric is swiftly becoming more real as compared to the fictional concept.

Facial recognition is considered as the type of biometric technology which enables the systems to determine and verify the person’s identity through digital photos by mapping the facial features and traits mathematically.

Facial verification is stated as the fastest and accurate biometric technology to perform human facial identification. 

• Capture: In the first stage, the sample of physical and behavioral conditions are collected during the prescribed time
• Extraction: the templates are developed by extracting the information the samples captured earlier 
• Comparison: once the data extraction is done, the information is compared with the existing templates
• Matching: in the last step of the facial recognition process the decision is to be made which is truly based on matching the obtained facial templates with the facial imprints placed in the database 

2. Pros of Facial Recognition 

Online face verification is advertised as the technology which makes lives more easy and convenient. This solution eliminates the need for memorizing passwords or pins to verify the identity.

#Finding Missing People and Determine Preceptors:

Government and law enforcing agencies have widely been using face biometric technology to identify the criminals which tend to be ghosting whereas there is no other way of determining such people.

On another hand, the lost peoples are also easily identified by comparing their facial imprints using live camera feeds against the global watchlists. This technology is also aiding in finding the children that are victims of human trafficking.

Artificial intelligence-based facial recognition technology is embedded into the aging software which draws the image of kids, portraying how the children would be looking in coming years, and by comparing with the present image police are able to determine such potential matches.

#Boosting Security in Banks and Airports:

The facial biometric is a vast spread in the domain of finance and travel. It is the source of improving the safety as well as the security measures in retail sectors such as airports and banks. Customer screening is an integral part of airport security. 

This works the same as identifying the criminals from public places, the biometric technology is helping out to determine the customers which pose the potential threats which can impact airlines as well as the passenger. In addition, it’s quite beneficial for security agencies to verify the individuals requesting to cross the border.

Financial institutes like banks are also using biometric technology to enhance the security checks to prevent frauds and to determine the customer who was charged before for any of the potential crimes.

#Enhanced Health Treatment:

Biometric technology is also aiding healthcare, surprisingly it’s mainly used in the detection of genetic disorders. By examining the facial traitor of the patient, a biometric recognition solution can identify the genetic mutation pattern which is causing the syndrome. Biometric technology is faster and less expensive is used as compared to the traditional test.

3. Cons of Facial Recognition 

#Threats to Individual and Societal Privacy:

The biggest downside of the facial biometric is the significant threat to privacy. People discourage the idea of taking photos and storing them by an anonymous group which can be used in the future.

Privacy is considered the biggest issue in the cities like San Francisco, California, etc where law-abiding regulators have banned the usage of surveillance systems embedded with facial recognition technology.

In suspicious cases, only law enforcement can record the videos or take photos from government allotted security video devices, but they lack the feature of face verification.

#Creates Data Vulnerabilities:

The facial imprints and videos require bulk storage, due to which the security concerns tend to rise as the databases are quite vulnerable and can easily be breached.

A large number of cases are reported regarding the database breaches in which the valuable facial scans were collected to use in finance corporations or police departments.

4. Features Of Facial Recognition Technology

The facial biometric verification mechanism has various features to ensure security and prevent impersonators from causing any trouble to the system. Following are some of the common features that facial recognition software provides: 

#Liveness Detection Analysis:

During the process of verification, liveness detection checks prevent any chances of spoof attacks by ensuring the live presence of the user. Fraudsters tend to deceive biometric verification checks as well but liveness detection analysis enables you to identify and eliminate such attempts beforehand.

#3D Depth-Sensing Analysis:

These checks are crucial to ensure that the image is not tempered with the ID document. It scans the different points on the image and compares them against previously saved digitized images. 3D facial recognition, AI, and human intelligence are utilized collectively for this check.

#Deep Fake Detection:

The facial recognition system cross-checks the user’s photo with the picture on his ID document submitted at the time of verification.

It uses AI mapping techniques, image distortion analysis, and microexpression checks to detect any kind of deep fakes and 3D masks spoofing measures.

In case of a suspicious attempt, the system declines the verification status of the user and eliminates the impersonation efforts.

Conclusion:

The facial biometric systems with multi-factor authentication are effective countermeasures for finding missing people, increasing security surveillance at the airport, or cross-border checks. It provides an additional layer of security to deter the increasing number of identity thefts.

Robust 3D facial recognition techniques such as AI mapping, liveness detection, and microexpression analysis detect and eradicate spoofing attempts made through deep fakes, photoshopped or distorted images, and 3D masks. There are numerous benefits of facial recognition technology.

Developed in the 1960s, facial recognition has become more accurate and advanced with time by employing several artificial intelligence algorithms. Facial recognition is one of the best biometric systems that identify the user by capturing his live selfie and matching it against other images in the database. It can address more sophisticated security challenges with unparalleled efficacy, sensitivity, and perception.

Author Bio:

Sophia Clark is a technical content/contributor writer and has a keen interest in writing insightful and high-quality content regarding the emerging trends in the domain of artificial intelligence, blockchain, machine learning, and data science.

The post Pros and Cons of Facial Recognition – Everything You Need to Know appeared first on Tech Research Online.

You wake up, one Saturday morning, with a long list of choruses to do before you hit the next week. The top of your list is to go to the store but you can’t remember every product you need.   

What do you do then?  

Simple! You check your brain-computer interface device and recognize all the items you need, along with what stores and aisles it’s located in.   

If it were that simple. Right?  

Well, it might be true in few years.  

If you are a tech nerd like me, there is a high possibility that you have heard about this brand-new concept called Metaverse.  

Not Multiverse, you marvel fans, its Metaverse!  

After all, Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that he is planning to shift Facebook from being a social media giant to becoming “a metaverse company.”   

Sounds like something straight out of The Matrix, doesn’t it?  

But, wait!  

It’s not just Facebook who’s giving it all to the metaverse, but tons of other companies including Microsoft, Roblox Corporation, Nvidia are all in the race.  

So, let’s jump straight to the chase, shall we?  

What is a Metaverse?  

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have been glued to our devices and now Metaverse is taking us inside them.   

While Metaverse is still an amorphous idea, but from what we do know it embodies the internet and blends right into the real and virtual worlds.  

For instance, you need to go to the internet to experience it, but with Metaverse, you can experience it all around you every day.    

Still, Confused?  

Here is a concept video from Adobe which might you get a little grasp of the concept and what it might look like in the future. The video starts at the 2-minute mark.  

youtube.com

If you are blown away, just as we were, hop in we are in for a ride!  

If we can create a metaverse, we’ll have alternate digital realities where you can go to work, socialize, and even play.   

But Why is it Called Metaverse?  

We, the word “metaverse” can be divided into the prefix “meta” (which means beyond) and the stem “verse” (which means a backformation from “universe”).   

Now that we are out of all technicality, you should know that there are no restrictions, and instead of the metaverse, you can call it the Magicverse, the AR Cloud, the mirror world, the Spatial internet, Live Maps, etc, etc…  

But the thing that you can’t replace is the fact that it is certain, it’s coming and it’s a big deal.   

So, let’s see where was this concept first introduced?  

While the metaverse” isn’t new, but it surged in popularity recently.  

Neal Stephenson coined it in his 1992 sci-fi novel, Snow Crash. The term itself referred to a convergence of physical, virtual, and augmented realities in a common online space.   

In an article, The New York Times explored companies, with their products, including Roblox, Epic Games’ Fortnite, and even Animal Crossing has elements similar to the metaverse.   

In fact, Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, has discussed his desire to contribute to a metaverse for many months now.  

This brings us back to the Obvious Question if we had the concept since 1992, Why are we talking about it now?  

Well, we had the concept of Robotaxi since 1891 but we couldn’t develop it till now. Similarly, we lacked the right technology that could power the world of Metaverse!  

This Brings us to Another Important question: Which Technologies Power the Metaverse?  

As it turns out, the very first on the list is our favorite: mobile phones. Its adoption will give rise to a new way of interacting with the Metaverse.   

Next comes Augmented Reality (AR). It utilizes complex systems and uninterrupted internet to open the doors for the Metaverse by superimposing it onto the real world. AR observe physical surroundings and overlays digital information onto physical environments.   

Then we come to mixed reality (MR). MR is created when a user directly interacts with the Metaverse in the physical world. You can see the movie Minority Report which provides an accurate example of interacting with digital environments.  

The last is Virtual Reality seeks to build an immersive virtual experience within the Metaverse. It utilizes a combination of both hardware and software to transport you to the digital environment.  

The fun part is that you don’t need a VR headset to interact with the Metaverse. Instead, you can use the Metaverse directly from a keyboard.   

While there are tons of other technologies involved, these are some of the most crucial technologies at work behind the Metaverse.  

But, Why does Zuckerberg looking to turn Facebook into a Metaverse Company?  

To date, Mark Zuckerberg is the most vocal proponent of metaverse so far and he explained his position, “What is the metaverse?” by saying “It’s a virtual environment where you can be present with people in digital spaces. You can kind of think of this as an embodied internet that you’re inside of rather than just looking at.”  

And it’s probably the best explanation.  

Let’s consider a situation where you’re on the internet, chatting to your friends. In this case, you are interacting at a very superficial level which means that you could be typing “LOL” without actually laughing out loud.   

While video calls can somewhat aid this situation, but the metaverse takes this idea to the next level.  

In Metaverse, you can log into a virtual universe, calling up your friend to hang out at a virtual destination and all of you can show up as a virtual avatar.   

In an interview, with The Vergecast, Zuckerberg detailed his concept and how it will help bring opportunity to creators who want to work far from urban centers.   

While virtual reality is important in the metaverse, it isn’t. Zuckerberg plans to make metaverse accessible across all platforms, including AR, VR, mobile devices, PC, and even gaming consoles.  

He says, “A lot of people also think about the metaverse as primarily something that’s about gaming. And I think entertainment is clearly going to be a big part of it, but I don’t think that this is just gaming.

I think that this is a persistent, synchronous environment where we can be together, which I think is probably going to resemble some kind of a hybrid between the social platforms that we see today, but an environment where you’re embodied in it.”   

The tech billionaire hopes that the traverse will start the next chapter for Facebook over the next few years or so. He wants to transition from the company being primarily a social media company to being a metaverse company.  

He explains in an interview that “the metaverse spans non-immersive platforms like today’s social media as well as immersive 3D media technologies such as virtual reality, and that it will be for work as well as play.”  

But as I said other companies are also already in the race. For instance, Microsoft is working on building the enterprise metaverse. You can read more about it here.    

Coming behind, we also have Epic Games investing billions of dollars to fulfill their metaverse dreams. Then comes, Roblox, the gaming company calling itself “the shepherds of the Metaverse”.   

All in all, the hype that is surrounding the Metaverse is as real as it can get. Even though it’s a futuristic dream, many believe that it can actually come true.  

Now, I am guessing that your next question probably is — Why would anybody want to do this?   

After all, you can always meet your friends, shake their hands, and interact with your surroundings in the real world.   

Why Would Anyone Want to do all of this in some Dystopian Digital Universe?  

Well, the answer is simple, because people love it. For instance, take the case of Decentraland. It is a virtual world inside this shared space where you can own land, develop it, and if you want, sell it as well. This world is taking the real world by storm. (You can read more on this here)  

We are trying to make it here that it’s already happening and people are more than happy to spend time and money inside this virtual universe.   

To sum up, the virtual universes are kinda becoming the buzz-spot and the like of Facebook isn’t going to be left behind. If anything, they want to run this universe, And, we can only imagine the influence they’d have in an unregulated virtual environment. It would be a Metaverse of madness! (kinda stole it from the MCU)  

Hence proved, that even if the regulators and the world think that the metaverse is a stupid idea lacking any common sense; could ever take off; or that this technology is way too futuristic to make a dent, it’s still worth looking into.  

Why does the Metaverse Matter?  

There are so many speculations on what the metaverse might become. There are even speculations if it will become anything at all.  

But the important point here is that if it does, then it will be a successor to the internet. Another important thing will be who builds it and how, because this will affect the future of the economy and society as a whole.   

While Facebook is aiming to play a leading role, other companies are not far behind.   

One day, the metaverse might resemble Ernest Cline’s flashy fictional Oasis. But until then you can always turn to our all-time favorite games like Fortnite and Roblox, virtual work environments like Immersed, and VR social media platforms like VRChat and AltspaceVR. Just to get a taste of the metaverse experience.   

Till then keep reading, and don’t forget to share……  

Author Bio:

Shreeya Chourasia is an experienced B2B marketing/tech content writer, who is diligently committed for growing your online presence. Her writing doesn’t merely direct the audience to take action, rather it explains how to take action for promising outcomes.

The post What is Metaverse and Everything You Should Know appeared first on Tech Research Online.

Automation comes at the core of digital transformation. And, if you are a digital nomad like me, you must have used automation in day-to-day life.

You just came back from a long vacation and want to share your picture on your socials. So, you go to Instagram, select a picture, and put a great caption on it.

Once you have inspected it thoroughly, you hover over the option of sharing. But before sharing one step remains, you click on share on Facebook and other connected socials.

Above is a very simple example of automation in our daily lives. From sorting our news and emails to making our presentations and posting pictures on social media, automation is now ingrained in our lives.

Now, when we take this simple automation to the global business it becomes a lot more complex and a lot more intelligent. This gives rise to something called Intelligent Automation (IA).

Q1. What is Intelligent Automation?

Intelligent automation is a combination of automation and artificial intelligence. Unlike traditional automation, sometimes its called an Intelligent Process Automation (IPA) or cognitive automation, is the use of artificial intelligence (AI), business process management (BPM), and robotic process automation (RPA) to streamline decision-making across organizations.

Traditionally, automation was repetitive and required human guidance with is not the case for intelligent automation. It is mostly autonomous and required minimum to no human attention.

Q2. What are the 4 Pillars of Intelligent Automation?

Intelligent Automation consists of the successful and interconnected implementation of 4 key technologies:

· Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence is the most critical component of intelligent automation. It analyzes structured and unstructured data by using ML to develop a knowledge base and formulate data-based predictions.

Artificial Intelligence encompasses other technologies such as Machine Learning (ML), Deep Learning (DL), Natural Language Processing (NLP), Visual Recognition, and Big Data.

· Business Process Management (BPM)

Business Process Management, also known as business workflow automation, is a technology that helps automate workflow to provide greater agility and consistency to business processes.

· Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Robotic Process Automation uses software robots, or bots, to complete back-office tasks, such as filling out forms or extracting data. It complements and leverages artificial intelligence to handle more complex tasks.

Q3. What are the Challenges Addressed by Intelligent Automation over Traditional Automation?

Challenges give rise to innovation and intelligent automation is no different. Some business challenges created a demand for IA. Now, let’s see, how is going about resolving those challenges.

· Changing Talent Demographics

In some countries, the aging workforce has become a big challenge. Because in the aging workforce fewer workers can perform physically demanding tasks. Secondly, some sectors, such as agriculture and manufacturing, face a shortage of workers. Lastly, some markets are facing rising costs and scarcity of labor.

In such cases, many sectors are turning towards automation as it makes a good investment and economic sense.

· Increasing Complexity

We are creating data at an alarming rate. This has outstripped us of the ability to keep up with the information.

For instance, one study suggests that every five years, the medical information is doubling.

Similar to power tools, intelligent automation enables knowledge workers to process, understand, and effectively use volumes of information.

· Increased Focus on Efficiency, Growth, and Differentiation

In many developed and undeveloped countries, growth has slowed. In such places, companies face fierce competition.

Hence, many of them opt to apply intelligent automation to cut down on costs by improving efficiency.

IA also differentiates products and services with new features and experiences and helps them grow in new markets.

Q4. What are the Benefits of Intelligent Automation?

Automation in general has provided many benefits across industries. When it comes to Intelligent Automation, you will notice the striking similarity between the benefits of intelligent and traditional automation.

Just remember that the primary benefit of IA is that it enhances traditional automation to do what it already does—only better, faster, and with less human intervention.

Here, are the key benefits of intelligent automation (IA):

· Reduce Costs

Intelligently automating systems and processes can reduce costs drastically by augmenting the workforce and improving productivity. Companies can use data and analysis to ensure accuracy and accelerate production.

This provides businesses with the ability to scale quickly without compromising quality, increasing risk, or putting a strain on the existing workforce. Leaders can reap the benefits through higher production yields and improved ROI.

· Improve Accuracy

Intelligent automation can enhance quality and improve accuracy through consistent processes and approaches. The strength behind IA is the use of artificial intelligence to drive decision-making and bring a consistent approach to repetitive tasks.

· Improve Customer Experience

it can improve customer experience by providing a higher quality, reliable product to market in a short time, or get answers to queries faster. This also provides a richer, more positive experience for the customer. It, thereby, offers a competitive advantage for the company.

· Address Compliance and Regulations

We all know that every industry requires to adhere to specific types of regulatory policies. Intelligent automation can leverage task automation features to prove a more consistent approach.

Q5. What is an Intelligent Automation Application?

Intelligent automation streamlines processes that can be resource-intensive, costly, and prone to human error. The applications of IA span across industries and provides efficiencies in different business areas.

· Automotive

Intelligent automation has greatly impacted the automotive industry by making major improvements in the manufacturing process. Manufacturers can more effectively predict and adjust production with IA.

Robots have helped them reduce the need for manual labor and improve defect discovery. This, in turn, has provided a higher quality product at a lower cost.

For example, in Germany, a Volkswagen engine production plant uses collaborative robots to handle a physically demanding engine assembly process. This helps the company prevent injury, ensure accuracy, speed processes, and ease the physical burden on employees.

· Life Sciences

Drug production is a highly regulated process and requires a tremendous amount of data collection, collation, processing, and analysis. Besides, drug trial is not considered successful without trusted results.

Intelligent automation is helping the industry overcome the manual approach and demolish calculation errors.

For example, with the help of intelligent automation, the Covid-19 vaccines were produced in record time which is an example of how IA provides improved production speed and quality in automated processes.

· Healthcare

Intelligent automation, along with natural language processing (NLP), in the healthcare industry is providing a consistent approach to data collection, analysis, diagnosis, and treatment.

Besides, the use of chatbots in healthcare appointments requires often a shorter time to diagnose.

· Insurance

Intelligent automation can virtually eliminate the need for manual rate calculations or payments in the insurance industry. Furthermore, it can simplify paperwork such as claims and appraisals.

IA also helps companies adhere to compliance regulations easily.

Q6. What is the Future of Intelligent Automation?

Automation, since the very beginning, has had an impeccable impact on industries across the world. It has freed humans from doing repetitive and mundane tasks manually.

Now, with , businesses can completely remove the need for human intervention from repetitive tasks through IA. It has now enabled businesses to establish more consistency and simultaneously reduce their costs within the workflows.

In the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has expedited the digital transformation fueling investments within automation infrastructure. In the future, roles will continue to evolve as remote work also surges. Businesses focused on low-level work will be reallocated to implement and scale these solutions.

Integration of IA within the workforce expose skills gaps, and employees will need to adapt to the changing work environments. Businesses have to support these transitions to mitigates anxiety and ensure that employees remain resilient.

Lastly, intelligent automation is the future of work, and the adoption of IA will give companies a competitive edge in their respective markets.

FAQs:

Author Bio:

Shreeya Chourasia is an experienced B2B marketing/tech content writer, who is diligently committed for growing your online presence. Her writing doesn’t merely direct the audience to take action, rather it explains how to take action for promising outcomes.

The post Intelligent Automation (IA): A New Era of Innovation appeared first on Tech Research Online.

You have a date and you are already 10 minutes late. You grab your jacket, keys, and wallet and rush out.   

Lucky for you, you reach the park just before your date decides to leave.   

The date goes well and after spending most of the afternoon, you happily drive back home.   

You drop your keys in the key bowl and start taking off your jacket, but then you realize something is missing. You check all your pockets and…  

Oh crap! You justify your wallet in the park!  

You suddenly start recalling all the places you’ve been to the park bench, the fountain, that ice-cream stall……  

Now, you have only two options: search the whole place or wait for someone to find it and call you.    

Sounds familiar?  

Losing thing is a concept we are all familiar with and we can proudly say “been there, done that.”  

But the noteworthy thing is that: you and I are not the only people losing stuff around here, everyone is!  

Let me show you the gravity of this situation with a few stats:  

• An average American spends 2.5 days each year looking for lost items collectively costing U.S. households $2.7 billion annually in replacement costs.  
• On average you spend 10 minutes a day looking for your phone, keys, or other misplaced items which are 2.5 days per year.  
• People spent 4.5 hours searching for the TV controller every week!  

To solve this major crisis, in April 2021, Apple introduced Airtags at an event.  

The small, circular discs hold ultra-wideband tech as Apple’s iPhone 12.  

Wait! Wait! Wait! 

Let’s take a pause and start from the beginning:   

Q1. What is Apple AirTag?   

Apple’s Airtag is a simple way to stay connected with your things in this digitally connected world. An iPhone accessory provides a private and secure way to locate items that matter to you.  

But we should not forget that Apple is not the pioneer of trackers. It’s just trying to expand its Find My ecosystem with AirTag. 

Apple’s AirTag is a product to rival Tile and other companies including Locca, Hum, Whistle, TrackR, and Pebblebee Finder who are already in the game.  

Q2. How Does the AirTag work?  

Apple says Airtags works the same as pairing AirPods. You can see it in the new items tab of the Find My app and name the items it is connected with.  

Assume that you are at your home and you’ve lost your keys. Then you’ll probably still be within the Bluetooth range of your AirTag.   

In this case, you can go to Find my and it will detect Bluetooth signals from your Airtags. After that, you’ll be able to use the built-in speaker that will guide you to their location.   

To add the cherry on top, AirTags have Siri-support, so you can command your iOS assistant to help you locate the lost item.   

This part of the equation is simple. But, once we step outside the house, then things get a lot more interesting.   

Q3. So, What Happens if you are Out of Bluetooth Range?   

Now, if you’ve justified something far behind with Airtag attached to it, for instance on a park bench, you can open Find My network and see its last known location.   

Your devices will send the location of your AirTag to iCloud and then you can see it on a map.   

If you leave something behind then you can at least return to the same spot and collect it.   

Q4. What Happens if Something is Really Lost?  

In that case, you can put your AirTag into Lost mode.   

In lost mode, your phones will notify you when your tag is within the range of the Find My network.   

Or, if someone else happens to stumble on your AirTag, she or he can simply use an iPhone or any NFC-capable device to view your contact number (if it’s listed).  

If you are still wondering!  

Tags and the Find My app leverage Apple’s U1 chip with Ultra-Wideband technology to use Precision Finding.  

This feature relies on camera input, ARKit, accelerometer, and gyroscope to guide you to your AirTag. It also uses sound, haptic, and visual feedback to help you find your item.   

On top of the U1 chip, AirTag uses Bluetooth, so that anyone with an iOS 14.5 or iPadOS 14.5 device will be able to use them.   

To help you easily navigate, the Find My app will give you helpful notes, for instance, how many feet away your AirTag is and in which direction.   

                                                                     Credit: Tech Advisor 

Apple’s Airtags are for everyone, hence their Precision Finding also has a voice-over option to help low-vision or blind users.  

All that sounds great!  

But, if you are a skeptical person like me, then you must have some security and privacy concerns.   

Am I right or am I right?  

Indeed, Apple’s Airtag leverages the Find My network. To ensures that you can locate AirTags in most situations, nearly a billion iOS devices around the world participate in it.   

But this also means they can be tracked very closely, which opens the possibility of them being abused.  

Q5. Is Apple Airtag Secure?  

Apple’s name has been synonymous with ‘Privacy and Security for many. And, even with their new product, they have eliminated the problem of security as much as possible.  

“AirTag is designed to track items, not people,” Wolfman-Estrada said during the Apple spring event.  

airbags are tiny, lightweight discs so they won’t weigh down keyrings or backpacks. This makes them easy to slip into someone’s bag.   

So, what happens if someone tries to use Airtag to stalk you from their own Apple device.  

To address this, if the Find My app in your phone detects an AirTag not attached to your Apple ID it will immediately alert you.  

                                                                   Credit: Apple 

Q6. But What Happens When you don’t own an iPhone?  

In that case, the Airtag itself will raise an audible alert to let you know it’s there.  

Apple says “Bluetooth signal identifiers transmitted by AirTag rotate frequently to prevent unwanted location tracking. iOS devices can also detect an AirTag that isn’t with its owner, and notify the user if an unknown AirTag is seen to be traveling with them from place to place over time.”  

Besides, to stop someone slipping an AirTag into your pocket, you will be able to detect if an unknown AirTag appears to be moving with you.   

Q7. Will you be able to see Devices Near your AirTag?  

AirTags use Apple’s network to locate missing devices, but Apple says, “no location data or location history is physically stored inside AirTag.”  

Despite, Apple’s several claims Forbes shared the risk Airtag users will still face.  

Now, let’s get real.  

Q8. How Much Does an AirTag Cost?  

In the US, Apple AirTag is prices at $29 for on or $99 for a pack of four.  

You can carry your Airtags with style with a range of extra accessories available to buy separately, including Parisian fashion brand Hermes accessories.  

Credit: Apple 

And, to add the final Apple touch, you will be able to customize it with your initials or a sweet emoji. That is for free.    

You can always find rival alternatives to Apple products, in this case, its Tile. While Airtags are relatively new, Tile has been around for quite some time.  

This raises an obvious question: 

Q9. Which is Better Airtag or Tile?  

While we can tell you which one’s better, but we can share their similarities and difference. This will help you judge them on your own.  

AirTag and Tile’s trackers share many important features, such as:  

• Close-range Bluetooth tracking  
• Location tracking 
• Built-in speaker for audio alerts  
• Replaceable batteries
• Water-resistance 

But the differences are more pronounced when it comes to other features. 

Credit: think different 

Now, let me tell you a secret!

While it’s a no-brainer that both the tracker are great, AirTags tends to be more accurate than a Tile tracker with standard tracking on a map.  

Also, as we know Apple’s Find my network is made up of all the iPhones, iPads, Macs, and iPad the total number is approaching a billion. Its network is a more extensive network over Tile’s, which accounts for millions. 

Before, we wrap us, here are few things you should know about Airtags usage.  

Q10. Which iPhones Work Best with AirTags?  

Precision Finding is compatible with iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max.  

Q11. Do I Need to Charge My AirTag?  

No. AirTag’s battery lasts for about one year before it needs to be replaced.   

Q12. Can you Share your AirTags?  

Absolutely, yes!  

To share your AirTag with a person in your Family Sharing group, simply disable safety alerts.  

And, if they’re not a part of your family, then the person can temporarily disable alerts.  

In case that person losses something attached to your Airtag then only you can track an AirTag linked to your ‌Apple ID‌ with the Find My‌ app.  

No, you cannot provide tracking access to other people.  

Credit: Slash Gear 

Q13. Can I Travel Anywhere with AirTags?  

If you want to travel with Airtag, there are certain limitations that you should be aware of.   

For instance, Precision Finding will not work in certain countries such as Russia, Indonesia, and Argentina.  

Q14. Can I Track my Pets and Children?  

AirTags are designed to track items and not people.  

Apple does not recommend tracking you to track pets or children.   

Instead, the company recommends an Apple Watch that uses Family Setup to keeping tabs on children.  

Q15. Can I Connect Unlimited Airtags to my Apple ID?  

Unfortunately, no!  

Apple ID will only allow you to associate up to 16 AirTags at one time.  

Author Bio:

Shreeya Chourasia is an experienced B2B marketing/tech content writer, who is diligently committed for growing your online presence. Her writing doesn’t merely direct the audience to take action, rather it explains how to take action for promising outcomes.

The post Apple Airtag: A New Way to Track Your Stuff appeared first on Tech Research Online.

Over 35 years ago, Microsoft Windows released its first operating system in the year 1985.  

Today, Windows, as we experience it, feels very different but somehow the same.   

In those years, the OS has seen increased computing powers and a shift from the keyboards and mouses to the touchscreens.   

But, that’s not it…   

Windows has given us a safe place where many of us wrote our first email, designed our first gig, and wrote our first line of code.  

Now, as we are inching towards the future, Microsoft has announced the launch of Microsoft Windows 11.   

And, here is everything you need to know:  

Q1. What’s New in Microsoft’s Windows 11?  

For the past year, there have been several rumors about a major Windows redesign.   

On May 25, Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, said Microsoft was planning “one of the most significant updates of Windows of the past decade.”   

Confirming that a major change was on its way.   

On June 24, in the blog post, the company said, “We’ve simplified the design and user experience to empower your productivity and inspire your creativity. It’s modern, fresh, clean, and beautiful.”  

Here, are all the major changes you should know about:  

a. Start Button 

Unlike before, the Start button will be found in the center of the taskbar from the justify corner. It will be accompanied by the icons for open applications and icons that have been pinned to the taskbar.   

The good news is you will have the option to personalize it and bring it back to the old position. Just go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar.   

b. Start Menu

No more pinning applications to the Start menu. Instead, you see a group of applications under a heading called Pinned.   

While most of the icons will appear there automatically, you will have the option to remove or add them from Start.   

Besides, the Start menu will display a recommended section where it will feature all the programs and recently accessed files.  

c. Keyboard  

Windows 11 bring an on-screen keyboard with full-featured that includes access to emojis and GIFs, word suggestions, a clipboard, handwriting recognition, and an option to customize theme design.   

And, there are now six desktop wallpapers to choose from.  

d. Settings

The Settings app in Windows 11 will look a lot different from Windows 10.  

It will now have widgets to show paired devices, a link to rename your PC, and an option to view the subfolder you’re looking in. The position of the menu options will be different.  

e. Dynamic Refresh Rate.  

If you’re using a laptop, an option in Windows 11 will help lengthen its battery life.   

Many laptops have a refresh rate of 60 Hz but laptops makers are releasing laptops with higher refresh rates, such as 120 Hz. Higher refresh rates are helpful for gaming and other activities but can quickly consume power.   

If you are using a supported device, you can turn down on the new dynamic refresh rate setting for less critical scenarios, such as reading emails.  

f. Consistent Touch Gestures.  

Microsoft is taking touch gestures and bringing them to displays. This will make the touchscreen PC experience more like a tablet.  

You will have some new touch gestures for quicker surfing:  

Three-Finger Gestures:  

• Swiping justify/right – quickly switch to the last used app window.  
• Swiping down – go back to the desktop (if you follow it with a swiping up, you can restore the app windows).  
• Swiping up – open Task View to browse all app windows and desktops.  

Four-Finger Gestures:  

• Swiping justify/right – switch to the previous/next desktop  
• Swiping up/down – (same with three-finger ones)

g. Make Sets of Windows

You will now be able to easily organize windows you want to use at the same time with Snap Layout and Snap Groups.   

Just hover over the maximize button in an application. You will see options for arranging two, three, or even four windows. Then click on the screen you want to use, and then choose the other portions of the screen for the other windows.   

After you’ve organized your windows, you can access your set of windows from the taskbar and open other ones. You can get back to the set by hovering over the icons for the apps and quickly close the set by hitting the X button.  

Q2. What are Windows 11 Features?  

Windows 11 brings tons of feature and here are a few of them that standout out:  

• Mac-like Interface: 

Microsoft’s new OS will feature a clean design with rounded corners. It will have pastel shades and a centered Start menu and Taskbar.  

• Integrated Android Apps: 

Windows 11 will have easy installation for Android apps from within the new Microsoft Store via the Amazon Appstore.   

• Widgets: 

While widgets have been around for a while, you can now directly access them from the Taskbar. You can even personalize them to see whatever you’d like.  

• Microsoft Teams Integration: 

Microsoft Teams is now directly integrated into the Windows 11 Taskbar. This will make it easier to access. Also, you’ll be able to access it from Windows, Mac, Android, or iOS.   

• Better Gaming Experience: 

Windows 11 will now have Xbox tech and some features, such as Auto HDR and Direct Storage, to improve gaming on your Windows PC.   

• Better Virtual Support: 

Windows 11 will let you set up virtual desktops similar to MacOS.   

• Easier Transition and Better Multitasking: 

Snap Groups and Snap Layouts offer collections of the apps that you’re using at once. Windows allows easier task switching by allowing you to come up or be minimized at the same time. You will also be able to plug and unplug from a monitor more easily.   

Q3. When you’ll be Able to Get Windows 11?  

Currently, Windows 11 is available as an Insider Preview build download for those in the Windows Insider Program. The version will be available in July as a public beta.    

Q4. How much will Windows 11 cost?  

The upgrade to Windows 11 will be free for computers that already have a properly licensed copy of Windows 10.   

Microsoft is yet to announce the price structure for Windows 11, but it’s reasonable to expect they will be identical to Windows 10 editions.   

Q5. How Often will Windows 11 get Feature Updates?  

One of the most crucial changes in Windows 11 isn’t the software at all. Instead, Microsoft has something called the servicing schedule. It will now produce feature updates once per year.  

Besides, Microsoft has also pushed out a support calendar which they call the Windows lifecycle, where they will offer 24 months of support instead of the current 18 months for Home, Pro, Pro for Workstations, and Pro Education editions.   

Now, IT staff can look forward to 36 months of support which is an improvement over the unusual tick-tock support schedule for Windows 10.  

Security updates will continue to arrive on the second Tuesday monthly.  

Q6. Will my Systems Work with Windows 11?  

Unlike Windows 10, Windows 11 requires new hardware. With some exceptions, PCs designed in 2019 or after will work with Windows 11.  

Some older hardware is less likely to pass stringent compatibility checks. For instance, Intel 7th Generation Core processors are not on the list of compatible CPUs. PCs manufactured in 2016 or earlier will certainly be unsupported.   

Q7. What are the Minimum System Requirements for Windows 11?  

Windows 11 requires comparatively newer hardware and a Trusted Platform Module (TPM), security component. It also requires UEFI firmware (no legacy BIOS allowed) and Secure Boot.   

The published system requirements are as follows:  

• Processor: 1 GHz or faster with two or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or system on a chip (SoC)  
• RAM and Storage: at least 4 GB and 64 GB of available storage  
• Security: TPM version 2.0, Secure Boot capable, UEFI firmware  
• Graphics card: Compatible with DirectX 12 or later, with a WDDM 2.0 driver  
• Display: High definition (720p) display, 9″ or greater monitor, 8 bits per color channel  

You will need an internet connection to keep Windows 11 up-to-date and to download and use some features.   

Windows 11 is available only as a 64-bit OS for 64-bit CPUs and it is best to bid farewell toast to 32-bit Windows, which is now officially retired.  

Q8. How to know if your Computer will be Compatible with Windows 11?  

You can go to Microsoft’s website to check the list of requirements to see if your current Windows 10 PC is eligible for the free upgrade to Windows 11.   

Initially, the company encouraged people to download the PC Health Check app to check their machine’s compatibility. However, users reported that it failed to give them adequate detail as to why a device was not compatible.   

The company “temporarily removed the app” to address this issue on June 28, and promised that it would return before the Windows 11 release.   

Q9. How to Download Windows 11 Once it’s Available?  

Once Windows 11 is available, you’ll download it similar to how you would any new version of Windows.   

Go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and click Check for Updates.   

If available for your PC, you’ll see an option update to Windows 11. Click Download and install.  

Q10. Will it be Free to Download Windows 11?  

If you already have a licensed copy of Windows 10, Windows 11 will appear as a free upgrade for your machine.   

Author Bio:

Shreeya Chourasia is an experienced B2B marketing/tech content writer, who is diligently committed for growing your online presence. Her writing doesn’t merely direct the audience to take action, rather it explains how to take action for promising outcomes.

The post Microsoft Windows 11 – A Faster Way to Connect People  appeared first on Tech Research Online.

Primarily we need to know what network marketing is and how it works. So, let us tell you first, and it is a business idea that people are doing online nowadays.

This business is very safe because you will only have to make promotions of the products you will share. Therefore, you can earn a massive amount of commission from this business.  

Many times, the business developers use to call the business affiliate marketing. In the business, you have to work with a selling panel, and you will be motivated to expand the tiers within people. In the world of digital marketing, this business is running successfully. However, learn the best portions and get benefited quickly. 

Tips You Must Know on Network Marketing 

Sometimes people feel this affiliate business does not make a permanent income, but this concept is wrong. When you start working, you will see more people will want to join your team. In this way, you will earn a commission.  

How much you can extend the business tier in network marketing, you can do this. However, You have to know about digital marketing initially to start the business for yourself. So, let’s get it quickly. 

1. Visibility 

In this network marketing business, visibility is essential. When you sell your product to someone, the person will be entertained with your identity. Suppose you do not know a person, then the person will not be very interested in getting material. 

However, visibility in online media and regular tracking of products is the key to your success in digital marketing. When you successfully sell a product, you will earn a commission from it. So, staying aware of the products and online visibility is necessary for this business.  

2. Get a Mentor 

If you are starting up the digital marketing journey, you can get help from a mentor who will guide you properly. However, at the start of the business, you will not know how to motivate your customers to buy your product.  

You have to learn the strategy of selling products. Mentors may take chargers to train you up with proper guidance, but this will be very helpful to you to sell products and earn money. There is a ratio of conversation and selling items.

80% provocation for selling products will not make fruit, things 20% of the whole will work well for you, for that you have to work on. If you can’t maintain this percentage, you are probably missing the strategy of selling to the customers. You have to change the process of provocation. However, get a mentor for the best guidance. 

3. Automatic Update Tool 

To grow your business, you always have to stay protective of the online facilities. If you use an automatic tool, you will get the news quickly items out giving a high effort. As the network marketing business always seeks excellent attention from the seller, you have to stay concerned about this.  

Using the automatic tools, you can save considerable time, and you can spend that time on other things. The companies use automated tools. When the interested people ask, they get an instant response from the seller’s side. So, this is a convenient side of making the business more accessible. 

4. Quality Selling 

When you want to join a long-term selling business, you have to sell good quality products that the customers will love. If you buy a bay quality product, your customers will never stay connected and switch to another seller.  

Be cautious about the satisfaction of the customers. And always stay connected with the customer, even if they do not buy products from you. Remember, good behavior is a good investment for selling products. Therefore, use the digital marketing business and benefit from it. 

5. Growthful Business Target 

When you stay connected for a long time in this business field, you have to keep impulsive. You have to think of expanding the business. When you convince more people, your target will be successful and will earn more commission at a time.  

The constant growth of the selling product can get you success day by day. So, learn the strategy and gather more innovative ideas of growthful business.

Another thing is a rigid mindset. You always have to stay positive even if you will get down in the business. Only a strong mind and hard work can succeed. So, work accordingly and be a successful businessman.  

The Conclusion

Are you feeling excited about the network marketing business? Yes, you can use the best features of the company without investment. Make the year feel charming by online business. Just get an appropriate idea and consult with a digital marketing team.  

So, why are you overthinking? The time has come to do something new and fruitful. Start the business and start earning a great commission from selling various products.  

Author Bio:

Rogen Rosenberger is a professional content writer with years of experience in blogging. He graduated from Standford University, California, and then started his career in blogging. 

He is also a freelance content writer and contributed articles to Okey Magazine, Big Jar News, Global Business Diary & Small Business Journals. Also, he is interested in travel, food, technologies, fashion, and much more. 

The post Best Network Marketing Tips You Will Read This Year appeared first on Tech Research Online.