What’s new
Linux Foundation is offering Hadoop training
Datanami, an important big data publication, recently found that “the Hadoop dream of unifying data and compute in a distributed manner has all but failed in a smoking heap of cost and complexity. It’s just a very complicated stack to build on.” So now there is an open online course, Introduction to Apache Hadoop. The course includes six chapters, each with a short graded quiz at the end. A final exam is required.
You can read more here.
Android Wear 2.0 bug is causing update delays
Google is delaying a wider release of Android Wear 2.0 to fix a software bug. The company said, “We have started rolling out the Android Wear 2.0 update to Fossil Q Founder, Casio Smart Outdoor Watch WSD-F10 and Tag Heuer Connected. For other devices, the update is currently being delayed due to a bug found in final testing“.
More info are available here.
New products
Samsung Galaxy S8 DeX Station
The DeX Station will provide a desktop experience for to Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ and it is sold separately by the company. It comes with multiple ports for connection including two USB Type-A 2.0, a LAN Ethernet, an HDMI output, and a USB Type-C charging port.
More info here.
GoPro Karma
The drone comes with a Hero5 Black camera and will cost 1,400 euros. It has a 5100mAh battery which GoPro says will last for up to 20 minutes of flight time.
More info here.
You might want to know about this
Twitter eases 140-character limit in replies
Twitter says that when you reply to someone or to a group usernames will no longer count toward those 140 characters. This will be especially helpful with group conversations, where replying to two, three or more users at a time could be especially difficult with the character constraints.
You can read more here.
Dropbox obtains a $600 Million credit line
Dropbox Inc. is opening a $600 million credit facility from six banks led by JPMorgan Chase & Co. The financial security provides Dropbox with flexibility as it deliberates an IPO. Dropbox has said it’s not in a hurry to go public and that the business is nearing profitability.
More info can be found here.
Fun stuff
Baidu’s AI team taught a virtual agent just like a humans teach their babies
Baidu’s AI team taught a virtual agent “how to live” in a 2D environment, how to navigate its world using natural language commands, by first teaching it language through positive and negative reinforcement. Baidu’s big breakthrough, though, is that the agent within its system can apply commands it’s learned to new situations.
You can read more here.
