Amazon workers allegedly have a chat room about ‘amusing’ recordings?!

/in /by

Bloomberg have a report out that highlighted the human labour that goes into manufacturing and improving the Amazon Echo. Amazon have contractors and full time employees working on the Amazon Echo. They’re all over the globe and tasked with reviewing and transcribing clips. Clips that are of conversations between users and Alexa. According to the report from Bloomberg, humans are said to annotate interactions to help identify phrases. Phrases such as “Taylor Swift” that might otherwise be meaningless to the software.

“We only annotate an extremely small sample of Alexa voice recordings in order improve the customer experience. For example, this information helps us train our speech recognition and natural language understanding systems, so Alexa can better understand your requests, and ensure the service works well for everyone.

Employees do not have direct access to information that can identify the person or account as part of this workflow. All information is treated with high confidentiality and we use multi-factor authentication to restrict access, service encryption and audits of our control environment to protect it,”an Amazon spokesman told Bloomberg.

Amazon Echo Chat Room

According Bloomberg, as a result of collating all this data, Amazon workers have a chat room. This chat room is intended for asking for help if they can’t make out a word or phrase. However, allegedly, they also share “amusing” recordings. Furthermore, an Amazon worker, told Bloomberg that each member of the team will listen to as much as 100 clips a day. Clips that Alexa has mistaken or unintentionally activated. Bloomberg have reported that one of these workers will review as many as 1,000 clips in a day! (A full 9hr working day shift)

In cases where the Alexa has tripped unintentionally, there has also been some serious recordings. According to the report, two workers who have spoken to Bloomberg. Who believe they heard a sexual assault taking place. Furthermore another two workers told Bloomberg that they were given guidance not to intervene. As Amazon didn’t consider it the company’s place to intervene in cases like these.

Full report with Bloomberg here

So, keep up to date with everything How To Kill An Hour! By signing up to our newsletter by clicking here!

Also, let us know what you think of the show by clicking here!

While you’re there, Click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see more amazing ways to kill time!

Follow us on Twitch by clicking here!

best pool gadget

Best Pool Gadget?!

/in /by

Summer’s going to be right here in the UK eventually which means lots of BBQ’s and using swimming pools! However, we think we have found the best pool gadget! A motorised inflatable pool lounger, thats MOTORISED!!

The Splash Runner Motorized Inflatable Swimming Pool Lounger by Poolcandy is a pool lounger that you’re able to move about on by pressing a simple button. This genius invention has two motors on the bottom of it. Therefore allowing it to glide across the swimming pool. The lounger even has joysticks on each side of it. This lounger, the best pool gadget ever, is available for $199.99 and is deemed “the most feature-rich pool lounger ever made” by its official website.

The technical parts now and the motor runs off simple 12D Batteries and can hold people up to 300lbs. Aswell as having joysticks the best pool gadget has a cupholder on it. So you can glide around in the pool without even having to hold your drink. Being able to move around means you can easily get a top up too without having to move a muscle.

Unfortunately the sunlounger is only available to buy in the US. However, if you’re in the US you can buy one by clicking here!

Keep up to date with everything How To Kill An Hour by signing up to our newsletter by clicking here!

Let us know what you think of the show by clicking here!

Click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see more amazing ways to kill time!

Follow us on Twitch by clicking here!

 

sunset straight road - how to kill an hour

What Gadgets Make Your Car Journey Comfortable?

/in /by

When you’ve got a long journey to go on, and you’ve got only your car to rely on as you go, then you’re going to need to outfit it with plenty of gadgets to keep you happy and comfortable. Sure, you can stop off at service stations whenever you get the chance to, but there’s still going to be hours in between!

 

Let’s make sure you’ve got just the right tech on your hands to make sure any future road trips or simple long haul work journeys are going to be a lot more fun and cozy. Here’s a few recommendations for you to consider.

 

sunset straight road - how to kill an hour

 

Grab a Dash Cam

 

Dash cams have a variety of purposes, and anyone who is anyone will have one in their car. So whether you’ve got useful something more affordable from the Hilton Car Supermarket, or you’ve just made a deal to drive the new electric mini, it’d be useful for you to have a dash cam on board.

 

They can be used to record first hand footage of a car accident, which can both help you in court and with your insurance company. You’ll also have an upper hand over anyone who’s acting dangerously on the road – it’ll be much easier to report someone speeding in the rain on the motorway if you’ve got footage of them doing so. All in all, it’ll make your long journey safer, and that is the number one thing to put a driver’s mind at rest.

 

A Versatile GPS

If you’ve got a SatNav in the car, good on you. It’ll make the drive you’re on a lot smoother, and quite a bit faster, and you’re never going to have to pull over to break the map out. If you’re someone who travels a lot for work, this can be a Godsend in making a meeting on time!

 

But your GPS needs to be versatile, in the modern day and age. It needs to be updated with all the new roads, and traffic information as it happens, and that means it’s going to need an internet signal as well. Which is why it’d be better to turn your phone into your onboard GPS, and then add on another gadget to give you a bigger display to work off of, and to keep you totally hands free. Something like a HUDWAY Glass allows you to watch the virtual road, as well as control the music you’re listening to and recieve your texts as normal, all at the same time.

 

Something to Monitor Your Tires

 

A quick little recommendation to finish off – have a piece of kit in your cockpit that’ll keep track of everything your tires are going through. Take a look through a few tests of the top kits on the market currently – it’ll stop punctured tires from being a surprise, and tell you when you next need to stop to top up the pressure.

 

So, how many of these gadgets do you have onboard? You’ll need them!

What To Buy For The Car Lover In Your Life

/in /by

Shopping for the car lover in your life is usually pretty easy; there are so many things car related you can buy them. But what about those who already have everything? Here are a few ideas you might not have thought of.

 

LEGO Technic Bugatti Chiron Car Building Kit

The Bugatti Chiron car building kit by Lego Technic is probably one of the coolest gifts to give an automotive enthusiast in your life. Created thanks to a close collaboration between LEGO and Bugatti, the 1:8 scale car is made from 3,599 parts, a unique serial number, and elaborate detailing throughout. LEGO’s instructions for the kit mirror the assembly process of a Bugatti Chiron and, just like the real Chiron, the LEGO version comes with its own high-speed key!

 

Ultimate Exotic Car Racing Experience in Las Vegas

This one’s a little bigger and a little more expensive, but if you have plans to go to Vegas anyway, then this Cloud 9 Living experience could be a thrill of a lifetime for the car enthusiast in your life. With the base package, drivers get the choice of five supercars that they’ll be able to drive for five full laps around the Las Vegas Speedway’s road course.

 

A Used Car

Car lovers can never have enough cars right? So, you could always get them a used one to add to their collection, a car to do-up, a nice project to keep them busy. Check out The California Group for some inspiration to see what’s out there.

 

Garmin Speak Plus with Amazon Alexa and Dash Cam

The Garmin Speak Plus is super compact and has been designed to provide turn-by-turn directions with a clear, unobstructed view while driving. It also features Alexa integration, which means the driver never has to get their phone out to get the navigation, to change the music or to use the phone. As well as that, the windshield-mounted device has a built-in camera for added safety like forward collision and lane departure warnings.

 

Custom Leather Keychain

Most car enthusiasts love a bit of customization and that even includes minor details like keychains. These custom leather keychains can be personalized just for them either on the one side or both.

 

Hot Wheels Augmoto Augmented Reality Racing Track Set

This Hot Wheels track is like something from the future. You get to control the track through your smart device using augmented reality. The Hot Wheels Augmoto Track brings the action to life with explosions, fireworks, cheering crowds, and more.

 

#NewPhoneWhoDis

#NewPhoneWhoDis

/in /by

Our very own Dev and Marcus Bronzy are a part of a brand new show from O2 called #NewPhoneWhoDis. Testing out all the latest and greatest phones that the market has to offer.

As you know the guys love their gadgets and both of Marcus and Dev have been regulars on our podcast since it’s birth, so we’re very proud that they’ve both been chosen to front this amazing show!

In this debut episode of #NewPhoneWhoDis they’re checking out the Huawei P30 Pro. Now Huawei Phones are well known for their cameras, so how well does this instalment fair up?

Testing

How did the guys test the phone’s camera?

Well, like any normal phone user would do, they went around London and took as many different photos as they could. Portrait, normal, zoomed in, all in the name of tech! We have to mention that it is straight out of the box tech here. There wasn’t any adjustments made nor were there any lenses added to it.

Why are they so good?

Well, the Huwaei P30 Pro has four Leica cameras. Yes. That’s right. FOUR!

As it has aa 32MP front camera, plus 40MP, 16MP and 8MP cameras on the rear, with a Time of Flight sensor. Therefore we’d be surprised if your pictures didn’t look any better!

Also, one amazing feature that the guys were especially impressed with was this huge zoom functionality that the P30 Pro has. Not only the fact that it can zoom up to 10x. But the quality remains, even at 10x!

Storage and Battery

So you’re going to need massive storage to hold all these amazing photo’s right? Well the P30 Pro comes with 128gb’s of storage and the battery on it is 4200Ah’s. Giving you between a day and a half to 2 days on one single charge. Very very impressive!

More storage

The P30 Pro comes with up to 128GB storage, meaning more space for shooting and storing photos and video when you’re on the move.

As a result of these two amazing tech enthusiasts coming together and creating a great show. We think that this show is amazing and will only continue to grow, it was shot amazingly in vertical. The way it should be for a show based around phones and they did an amazing job looking at features what people like us want to know about. Yet, remaining entertaining and informational!

So, we cannot wait for what they have in store next!

In the mean time, check out the gallery below of these amazing shots!

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627
#NewPhoneWhoDis

(O2)

Want more tech talk? Therefore, why not listen to the guys chatting about this by clicking here! 

Keep up to date with everything How To Kill An Hour by signing up to our newsletter by clicking here!

Let us know what you think of the show by clicking here!

Also, Click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see more amazing ways to kill time!

So, follow us on Twitch by clicking here!

Google Maps AR

Google Maps AR

/in /by

We came across the below tweet earlier on the week and we are very very impressed! Who needs Google Glasses or Apple Glasses when you have got your phone and AR! Say hello to Google Maps AR! It’s now looking like it’s starting to roll it out slowly to some users

https://twitter.com/ow/status/1106211516217470977

Google announced this feature in May of 2018 at it’s annual I/O developer conference. At the time it was called the AR Visual Positioning System. Which provided a layer of augmented reality over reality. Just raise your phone in front of your eyes and you are given directions of where to go. Whereas if you were to put your phone down it will revert back to the traditional map view.

It doesn’t look like something I’d use all the time and Rachel Inman the AR lead for the project told the Wall Street Journal that it’s not meant to be used as a primary navigation tool. Rather intended to be put to use when looking for a difficult to find specific road.

(Mashable)

So, keep up to date with everything How To Kill An Hour by signing up to our newsletter by clicking here!

Also let us know what you think of the show by clicking here!

Click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see more amazing ways to kill time!

Follow us on Twitch by clicking here!

Sound Over Laser: AudioLaser?

/in /by

So, get this MIT have managed to transmit audio over laser. Somehow. So it’s AudioLaser – I guess?

Scientists over at MIT have figured out how to transmit audio over a laser beam. This is any type of audio, so that can be audio, it can be music anything at all. This is without a receiver either.

“Our system can be used from some distance away to beam information directly to someone’s ear… It is the first system that uses lasers that are fully safe for the eyes and skin to localize an audible signal to a particular person in any setting.” Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Charles M. Wynn via a press release.

The groundbreaking discovery was published in a paper in an journal called Optics Letters. The paper goes on to describe how an MIT team developed two differing methods of transmitting audio via laser.

How?

The way that the MIT researchers managed to do this was via a photoacoustic effect. This is the formation of soundwaves as a result of a material absorbing light. In their case they used water vapour that in the air, if they ‘swept’ a laser beam at the speed of sound. By changing the length of the sweeps they were able to encode different audible pitches.

Both methods allowed them to transmit sound a total of 8.2Ft away at 60db. In comparison this is about the same level of loudness of background music. Yet in this instance only the sound maker and the sound ‘target’ were able to hear it.
On the other hand they were able to encode an audio message by adjusting the power of the laser beam, however, this resulted in a much quieter result. Yet it was a clearer result than the prior method.

AudioLaser – Safety

The MIT team want to use this tech to allow the transmission of audio in situations that can be quite dangerous. For example at a mass shooting. Authorities could beam instructions to those in trouble, without anyone else hearing.

“We hope that this will eventually become a commercial technology…There are a lot of exciting possibilities, and we want to develop the communication technology in ways that are useful.” researcher Ryan M. Sullenberger

(Futurism)

Keep up to date with everything How To Kill An Hour by signing up to our newsletter by clicking here!

Let us know what you think of the show by clicking here!

Click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see more amazing ways to kill time!

Follow us on Twitch by clicking here!

Netflix Keeps Your Bandersnatch Choices

/in /by
Those Bandersnatch choices you made back in December. Well those choices were kept.
Michael Veale who is a technology policy researcher over at the University College London, did a little bit of digging and found out just what Netflix keep on you. Using the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – remember all those emails you got last year. That.  To figure out that they track your choices.
According to Motherboard, Veale requested the Bandersnatch data from Netflix, to ask why: “it’s collecting data, the categories they’re sorting data into, third parties it’s sharing the data with, and other information.” Then subsequently posting it on Twitter.
Netflix told Veale that the data it collected helped them to “improve this model of storytelling in the context of a show or movie” While this seems pretty reasonable, Veale still concluded that it’s an invasion of privacy. It’s important to note that Netflix didn’t tell him how long they’d keep a hold of the data either.
We encourage you to check out Veale’s short Twitter thread by clicking here! It’s a great read! Very eye opening!

Consent

Veale told Motherboard:
“If you asked me, they should really be using consent (which you should be able to refuse) or legitimate interests (meaning you can object to it) …..It was tricky, as I had to ask these questions specifically.
It’s unclear if this is included by default in requests to get your data from Netflix or not. I can tell you often this kind of specific data is not included when you ask for ‘all your data.
Knowing what ‘all your data’ is, and what the company’s definition of ‘all your data’ does not include, is most of the challenge.”
Very interesting indeed. While it seems that it’s pretty harmless data collection. We should at least be told if we want out data collected.

(Refinery29)

So, keep up to date with everything How To Kill An Hour by signing up to our newsletter by clicking here!

Also let us know what you think of the show by clicking here!

Click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see more amazing ways to kill time!

Follow us on Twitch by clicking here!

Philishave Heritage Edition

/in /by

Philips have recently announced a shaver to celebrate 80 years of Philips shaving innovation of male grooming and shaving! It’s called the Philishave Heritage Edition and this special edition Philishave is quite special! It combines modern-day technology of a Philips shaver and mixes it with a contemporary shaver. The colours and finish of the Philishave Heritage edition are inspired by it’s heritage and iconic three headed design!

Did you know?

Since the start of production, Philips have made one billion male grooming devices. Thats Billion with a big capital B! While along the way Philips have clearly demonstrated a dedicated commitment to meet the evolving needs of the modern man.

Philishave: History

In the 1930’s a Philips engineer named Alexandre ‘Sacha’ Horowitz was inspired by Philips’ bicycle dynamo technology. He was so inspired infact that he created the rotary system. Thus birthing the 80 year journey of Philips dedication to delivering high quality shaving products to the modern man. Little did he know, his creation was the spawning of many many years of innovation.

It was 1930 which say the launch of the world’s very first rotary shaver. It was called the Philishave. The Philishave was a pivotal moment in Philips history in the male groomin industry and saw the unique design meet the needs of men across the world.

Consequently in 1966, the iconic three triangular three-headed design of the latest Philishave provided men with a close yet comfortable shave, that we all know and love today. It continues to today and Philips encourage men to do what feels right when it comes to shaving. Offering a wide range of different shaving and grooming tools. All suited to meet a variety of needs. Be it skin sensitivity, style, convenience or lifestyle.

 “In 1939, Philips changed the way men shave forever. This special edition Philishave celebrates our game-changing history and commitment to making men’s lives better every day. The pioneering spirit of our designers and engineers is what makes Philips shavers so renowned and our expertise guarantees every shaver will give men the convenient, close and comfortable shave they deserve.” Georgia Dass, Marketing Manager for Philips Shaving UK

Design

The Philips Philishave Heritage Edition has the companies iconic three headed design and is the embodiment of years of continuous improvement. Whilst retaining all the high quality design features that what made the Philishave so good originally. As you would expect from a Philips shaver, the Philishave Heritage edition is an afforable and innovative shaver, which gives a close and comfortable shave.

The Shave

The Philishave Heritage Edition has a ComfortCut Blade System on rounded profile heads to offer users a comfortable shave which glides effortlessly across your face. All the while protecting your face from any skin irritations or cuts. The flex heads also move in 4 different directions to easily mould to the face of it’s user. The shaver also has Li-ion power to give a better shave for longer.

Key Features

  • ComfortCut Blade System
  • 4-direction Flex Heads
  • Pop-up trimmer
  • Li-ion power
  • Comes with a black travel pouch

Purchase a Philishave by clicking here! (RRP £79.99)

Keep up to date with everything How To Kill An Hour by signing up to our newsletter by clicking here!

Let us know what you think of the show by clicking here!

Click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see more amazing ways to kill time!

Follow us on Twitch by clicking here!

Dagsmejan High tech Pajamas

Dagsmejan High tech Pajamas

/in /by

Lately we’ve been testing tech while we sleep. Literally! We’ve been trying out the amazing Dagsmejan High Tech Pajamas! They’re a brand new range of sleepwear that’s incredibly unique. They’re designed to help wearers get incredible sleep all night, but with a twist. They have unique moisture-wicking and temperature management features to them which help sleep better. Sleep is important to becoming healthier, happier and smarter. Sleep is vital for our health and the right temperature is just as important. Dagsmejan is scientifically proven to boost sleep comfort.

The temperature in which we sleep greatly affects the comfort levels of our sleep. The fluctuations in the temperature in which we sleep can affect our sleep negatively. The Dagsmejan High Tech Pajamas are so intelligent that they can help regulate a wearers temperature to help them stay in an ideal climactic zone. If your temperature is better, you’ll sleep deeper and for longer too!

Dagsmejan High Tech Pajamas: How?

The Dagsmejan High Tech Pyjamas are made from the worlds most natural and finest natural fibres. They’re incorporated the latest sleep technology and innovative textile engineering. The materials that are used are carefully researched from the Dagsmejan team so they know what they’re providing customers is perfect.

They use Merino Wool for their pyjamas. While studies show that we can sleep for up to 15minutes longer with this type of wool. As a result falling asleep quicker and in an deeper slumber. They’ve produced an ultra light breathable version of this type of wool. Consequently keeping you warm and comfortable without becoming uncomfortable.

As Dagsmejan have produced a blend of Merino Wool and Tencel from eucalyptus. Therefore creating a fabric that is 2x as soft as cotton and 4x more breathable. Whereas we sweat as much as 1 cup of water each night, the material helps wicks the moisture away providing a comfortable sleep.

To read a much more in depth piece of how wool from Dagsmejan Pyjamas can help you sleep better, please click here!

Comfort:

Furthermore the Dagsmejan High Tech Pyjamas also have flat seams, no tags and have amazing waistbands to help provide a comfortable wear. We move up to 50 times a night, so therefore the Pyjamas have to move effortlessly with you.

Dagsmejan is a Swedish word that refers to the last days of winter when the warmth of the sunshine melts the snow even when the temperature is still below zero. It derives from two words. clag which means day and meja which means strength and power. Its the time when nature awakens after a dark and cold period. The power of nature was our inspiration for creating a high performance sleepwear range using the latest technology and all natural fibres to give you the ultimate sleeping experience. Wake up as refreshed as on the first day of spring with Dagsmejan. 

(Dagsmejan)

Listen to the guys chatting about this by clicking here!

Keep up to date with everything How To Kill An Hour by signing up to our newsletter by clicking here!

Let us know what you think of the show by clicking here!

Click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see more amazing ways to kill time!

Follow us on Twitch by clicking here!