Wednesday 13^th June 2018

Google Photos

We had a general discussion around photos. While I would recommend storing multiple copies of your photos locally, I also recommend uploading photos to Google Photos. Anyone with a Google account can use Google Photos which allows you to store an unlimited number of photos, provided you select 'High Quality' in the Google settings. There are apps for Android and Apple devices which will automatically upload any new photos taken on the device. You can also install the Backup and Sync from Google app on your Windows PC, which can upload any new photos you add to your PC - and it can backup other files to your Google Drive if you wish.

One very useful feature of Google Photos is its search function. I demonstrated searching my photos based on the word "cats" and it found all my pictures with a cat in them. It also found the odd rabbit and a few other things, so it is not perfect, but still very impressive.

Missing Settings Icon

Brian had encountered an issue where the usual Settings icon was absent from the Windows 10 Start Menu - it usually appears as a cog symbol near the bottom left when you click the Start button. You can still get into Settings by clicking on Start and typing Settings, or by pressing Windows Key+I (why is it "I" for Settings? - Brian suggested it might stand for Information).

So, if you go to Settings, Personalisation, Start and then click on Choose which folders appear on Start, you will then be presented with a list of items (many of which aren't actually folders) which you can turn On if you wish them to appear in the bottom left corner of the Start Menu. The list includes Settings, so turning this on makes the Settings cog symbol appear in the Start Menu.

Google Duplex

Google showed an impressive demonstration of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system at their recent Google IO conference for developers which was held in Mountain View, California on May 8^th to 10^th. They have developed an AI system called Duplex which can initiate and conduct a telephone conversation with a human. In the demo, the humans did not realise that they were being called by a robot. Here is a video with Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, introducing a couple of these calls:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd1mEm2Fy08&t=154s

Arguably, this passes the famous Turing Test, which was conceived by Alan Turing in 1950. At the time, Alan Turing was working at the University of Manchester, following on from his then secret work during the war at Bletchley Park. The concept of the test was that an operator would communicate with both a human and an AI which the operator could not see. If the operator could not distinguish the human from the AI, then the AI passed the test. Google Duplex certainly seemed to pass the test, with the humans receiving these two calls having no idea that they were conversing with a machine.

It remains to be seen how this technology will used in the future.

Amazon Echo

The above led to a discussion of current technology which uses voice recognition and voice synthesis. Some of you may be familiar with the voice assistants found on smartphones and tablets. Apple iOS devices have Siri, while Android devices have the Google Assistant. Windows 10 has Cortana which works on a PC. These respond to the trigger phrases which are "Hey Siri", "Hey Google" and "Hey Cortana" respectively. This wakes up the assistant which then listens for your question and attempts to provide an answer. (On some devices, you may have to press the Home Button or launch an app before saying the trigger word).

Amazon have produced a range of devices under the Echo brand. These are voice-only devices, with no keyboard and, in some cases, no screen. The usual trigger word for an Amazon Echo is "Alexa". The Echo can find information, play music, give you the latest news or a weather report, or play a radio station. You can also call people from your contacts list who also have an Echo device for free. If you have the Echo Show or Echo Spot which have a screen and camera, you can make a video call. The Echo has thousands of "Skills" which enable it to control smart devices around your home, such as turning lights on or off, adjusting the central heating temperature or even unlocking your front door.

Google have also introduced a range of similar voice activated speakers.

Someone who has never used a computer, or has some disabilities may find an Amazon Echo or similar device very easy to use and very helpful.

Speech Recognition in Windows
Windows has an in-built speech recognition system. To activate this, click Start and begin typing Speech Recognition. This will locate the Windows Speech Recognition desktop app - click on it to run it. If you have not done this before, it will guide you through a process to set up your microphone and 'train' it to your voice. For best results, use a headset noise-cancelling microphone. 

Once set up, the app displays a small window (which you can position anywhere on the screen) with a microphone symbol. Either click the microphone symbol or say "Start listening" to begin speech recognition. Click it again or say "Stop listening" to suspend speech recognition.

This web site gives you more details on Windows speech recognition:-
https://www.windowscentral.com/how-set-speech-recognition-windows-10

You can also use Cortana in Windows 10 as we mentioned earlier. Cortana can perform some commands, such as opening an app. So, you can say "Hey Cortana" to wake up Cortana and then say "Open Word" to launch Microsoft Word.

Other speech recognition software is available for a PC, the best known of which is Dragon Naturally Speaking produced by a company called Nuance. The Home and Student version is currently available for £79.99. The Nuance web site gives more details:-
https://www.nuance.com/en-gb/dragon/dragon-for-pc.html

Specialist software, which can both speak and recognise voice commands, is available for someone who is disabled. Dolphin Guide, for example, can be used on a PC by someone who is totally blind. Dolphin Guide is currently £495 and you can see more details on the Dolphin site at:-
https://yourdolphin.com/guide

Next Session

Wed 11^th July 2018 1:30 to 3:30pm.

Possible Topics:-

Crypto-mining malware
Using BCC (Blind Carbon Copies) in emails
IT Security