GOOGLE'S NEW INTERPRETER MODE TRANSLATES YOUR CONVERSATION

OVER THE PAST year Google has been making its virtual assistant, the eponymous Google Assistant, more capable of handling what might usually be awkward or onerous conversations. Need to make a dinner reservation by picking up the phone and speaking to a real live human being? Google Assistant can do that for you, as creepy as it might seem. Need to screen a call that you suspect is from a spam caller, for the 27th time that day? The Assistant will take care of that too.

Now Google is trying to outsource another human-to-human interaction: the kind that occurs between a person who works in hospitality and a guest who speaks a different language. A new feature in Google Assistant, called Interpreter Mode, turns the virtual assistant into a real-time language translator between two people who are trying to chat in the same physical space. It starts rolling out today on Google-powered smart displays and smart speakers.

The company showed off the new feature to members of the press in a late-night demo in Las Vegas, hours before the CESshow doors officially opened. A concierge at Caesar’s Palace, one of the early beta testers of the feature, was approached by a German “tourist” (really a German-speaking Google employee) and asked about show tickets. The concierge turned to a Google Home Hub and, using voice, prompted the Assistant to go into German interpreter mode. The concierge and guest had a back-and-forth conversation, with the Assistant translating, and tickets were procured.

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During a demo with WIRED, the Assistant mistranslated at one point—though the translated text also appeared on the seven-inch smart display, so both men were able to use context clues to figure out what the other was asking. (Humans! So clever.) The conversation also didn’t feel completely frictionless, since the Assistant takes a second or two to translate in between each person’s remarks. But the brief interaction we saw still pointed toward a future in which Babel fish\–like translators exist at any kind of service desk where language could potentially become a barrier.

Google already offers near-instantaneous translations on the web and on mobile with Google Translate. And when it released its wire-free Pixel Buds headphones a couple of years ago it introduced the concept of language translation in near real time, with the tap of a button. That same translation feature later came to all Google Assistant–optimized headphones. But that doesn’t always work so well; primarily because it’s an isolating experience, and only the person wearing the headphones hears the translation. And Google Translate requires you to open an app first.

The Interpreter feature is launching today as a small pilot at a few hotels; one in New York, another in San Francisco, and Caesar's Palace in Vegas. It will support 27 languages to start, and will be available only on the Google Home Hub, Google Home speakers, and third-party Google Assistant displays.

Google also said that the Assistant would now work within Google Maps, so you can use your voice to reply to texts or send your ETA while you’re driving. Amazon’s Alexa, meanwhile, has appeared in literally dozens of new products so far at the show, ranging from lighting kits to “smart” beds to a voice-controlled toilet.

While CES is primarily a place to gape at new hardware, tech giants Google, Amazon, and even Apple (which doesn’t exhibit at CES) have been sucking up a fair amount of air in the room with their software announcements—further proof that the platforms that enable these connected products are just as important as the gadgets themselves.

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/google-assistant-interpreter-mode/ (Accessed on January 11, 2019)

E-books are convenient, but do not give the true experience of reading

It is a huge challenge for a writer to remain motivated in spite of repeated rejections from book publishers

Christopher C. Doyle imitates the writing style of his favourite authors. Photo: Ramesh Pathania/Mint

Gurugram-based 52-year-old Christopher C. Doyle is a CEO coach who runs The Growth Catalysts, a consultancy working with business leaders.

Doyle started writing really early in life and he wrote about schoolmates, friends and teachers. His parents encouraged him to read a lot—they ensured he always had a supply of books to read—and to write. The trigger to write his first book came when he started making up bed-time stories for his two-year-old daughter. However, he never managed to get it published. Eventually, he began to write another story for his daughter, which brought together elements of mythology, history, and science. That book, grew into The Mahabharata Secret, eventually published in 2013 by Om Books.

Day job vs writing

In the last five years, he has written five books including The Mahabharata Quest series published by Westland in 2014. In April 2018, Westland released the first book of his new series, The Son of Bhrigu (The Pataala Prophecy book 1), a fantasy thriller series set in modern times.

Though Doyle is a prolific writer, he does think writing can’t be a full time occupation. “I really enjoy running my company and the work that I am engaged in. It is immensely satisfying. Giving it up totally is very difficult,” he says. The second reason is that—at least for now—he would not want writing to be his bread and butter. Writing is a passion and he wants it to stay that way. “Somehow, I cannot see that working for me. Maybe someday I will write full time, but not now,” he says.

Writing rituals

“Quite honestly, I don’t have any rituals,” he says.

Kindle vs paper

Paper, any day, wins hands down for Doyle. According to him there’s something about a physical book that an e-book just cannot replicate, even though e-books are very convenient. “I read three to four books at the same time, and e-books would be extremely convenient while travelling. E-books are also easier to book-mark, highlight and add notes when I am researching. Yet, the feel of paper, the smell of the book, the ability to physically turn the pages cannot be matched by e-books,” he says. Incidentally, even his notes while researching are handwritten in notebooks, not on his laptop. “And, of course, you can’t build a library with e-books! I love being surrounded by books. My study, where I write, is lined with bookcases stuffed with physical books. I really cannot imagine being in my study with bare walls, and all my books on my Mac or my Kindle,” he adds.

A writer’s challenge

Getting published was the biggest challenge. Publishing The Mahabharata Secret took five years, after multiple rejections. “It was a huge challenge to remain motivated and be persistent in pursuing my dream in spite of rejections,” he says. Secondly, becoming an author is a challenge as it involves not just writing but also editing, marketing, travelling for promotion of the book, and being active on social media. He also has a club on his website—The Quest Club—which now has over 10,000 members and he interacts with them and uploads all kinds of interesting content exclusively for them. That takes time, as does research. “Finding time for all of this, while running my business is a big challenge,” he says.

Reading right now

“Since I am researching for a book right now, I am reading stuff related to that,” he says.

Most favoured authors

In fiction, he admires Isaac Asimov, Jules Verne, H G Wells, Robert A. Heinlein, J R R Tolkien, Arthur Conan Doyle, Greg Bear, Robert Jordan, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Walter Scott, Thomas Hardy. In non-fiction, Graham Hancock, Brian Greene, Andrew Collins, Yuval Noah Harari, Christopher Lomas, Robert Knight, Robert Schoch, Michio Kaku, Graham Phillips, Gerald Durrell make it to his list.

Doyle tries his best to follow the example of his favourite fiction writers in his writing and tries to emulate the meticulousness and thoroughness of his favourite non-fiction writers in his work.

Author at Work is a series that follows the lives of part time writers who hold a corporate day job.

Source: https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/xYrcYF1LbVv5REYDL8EmJP/Ebooks-are-convenient-but-do-not-give-the-true-experience.html (Accessed on January 11, 2019)

UGC grants autonomy to 8 colleges in Maharashtra, state tally rises to 68

From the next academic year, the new autonomous colleges can introduce their own curriculum and assessment method. All the institutes had scored 3.51 or more out of 4 during their last assessment by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC),

The University Grants Commission (UGC) recently granted academic autonomy to eight colleges in Maharashtra, of which three are from Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The number of autonomous institutes in the state is now 68.

Dr Bhanuben Mahendra Nanavati (BMN) College of Home Science, Matunga, became the first college affiliated to Shrimati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey (SNDT) Women’s University to get autonomy. Similarly, Hansraj Jivandas College of Education, Khar and Changu Kana Thakur (CKT) College, Panvel, were granted autonomy. Both the institutes are affiliated to the University of Mumbai (MU).

All the institutes had scored 3.51 or more out of 4 during their last assessment by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), which made them eligible for autonomy without undergoing scrutiny by various UGC committees.

From the next academic year, the new autonomous colleges can introduce their own curriculum and assessment method. They can also seek Rs 5 crore grant from Rashtriya Uchchatar Shikshan Abhiyan (RUSA) — a funding agency under the Centre.

“The objective behind seeking autonomy was to enhance our existing programmes as per industry needs, focus on skill development, modify assessment system, introduce online courses and need-based programmes,” said Shilpa Chirankar, principal, BMN College.

Sidheshwar Gadade, secretary, Janardhan Bhagat Shikshan Prasaran Sanstha, which runs CKT College, said the institute will offer a new curriculum for undergraduate and postgraduate courses at one go.

“We don’t need to make drastic changes to the existing Commerce curriculum. But curricula for Science and Arts will be updated. Also, we’ll allow 40% marks for internal assessment as compared 25% by the varsity. We’ll intend to strengthen and revise our diploma and certificate courses,” he said.

According to the state project directorate of RUSA, five more colleges from Maharashtra are likely to get autonomy by January-end.

“We are trying making colleges understand the benefits of autonomy. We want to create islands of excellence,” said a RUSA official.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/ugc-grants-autonomy-to-8-colleges-in-maharashtra-state-tally-rises-to-68/story-2tdmawVkAR7OBuZ7Jry7yM.html (Accessed on January 11, 2019)

Online portals for pre-loved children’s books are a hit

Websites sell pre-owned children’s books at a fraction of the original price

Anisha M. Shah is an avid reader and wanted her two-year-old son to develop the same love for books. As the pile of books kept increasing, so did the cost of buying them: there came a stage when Anisha started to feel the pinch. But determined not to let money come in the way, she soon stumbled on pre-owned books that could be sourced online at far lower prices. Once she had hit upon this solution, she wanted to help other parents too.

In December 2017, Anisha decided to step into the business of sourcing second-hand books (or ‘pre-loved’ books, as she calls them) and selling them online. Love for Books, her Facebook page, was an immediate hit. “Most of the books I was looking at are imported from the U.K. As I explored, I realised that most of these books are either not available in India, or, if available, are very expensive. But I could get pre-owned books at one-third or one-fourth the original price,” Anisha says.

To read the full article, visit:

https://www.thehindu.com/books/online-portals-for-pre-loved-childrens-books-are-a-hit/article25901014.ece

Don’t allow new colleges from 2020, review every two years: panel to engg body

AICTE chairman Anil Sahasrabuddhe told The Indian Express that the committee has submitted its report and that its suggestions are being considered by the technical education regulator.

Written by Ritika Chopra |New Delhi |Updated: January 1, 2019 4:50:43 am

The panel, in a 41-page report, has also suggested that no additional seats should be approved in traditional engineering areas such as mechanical, electrical, civil and electronics and that institutes should be encouraged. (Representational image)

With more than half the engineering seats falling vacant every year, a government committee, headed by IIT-Hyderabad chairman B V R Mohan Reddy, has advised the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to stop setting up new colleges from 2020 and review the creation of new capacity every two years after that.

AICTE chairman Anil Sahasrabuddhe told The Indian Express that the committee has submitted its report and that its suggestions are being considered by the technical education regulator.

The panel, in a 41-page report, has also suggested that no additional seats should be approved in traditional engineering areas such as mechanical, electrical, civil and electronics and that institutes should be encouraged to convert current capacity in traditional disciplines to emerging new technologies.

This recommendation has been justified on the ground that current capacity utilisation in traditional disciplines is just 40% as opposed to 60% seat occupancy in branches such as computer science and engineering, aerospace engineering and mechatronics. For the same reason, the committee has urged the AICTE to introduce undergraduate engineering programmes exclusively for artificial intelligence, blockchain, robotics, quantum computing, data sciences, cybersecurity and 3D printing and design.

An investigation by The Indian Express in December 2017, found there were no takers for 51 per cent of the 15.5 lakh B.E/B.Tech seats in 3,291 engineering colleges in 2016-17.

The investigation found glaring gaps in regulation, including alleged corruption; a vicious circle of poor infrastructure, labs and faculty; non-existent linkages with industry; and the absence of a technical ecosystem to nurture the classroom. All this, it found, accounted for low employability of graduates.

A few weeks later, the AICTE had announced its decision to reduce the intake in courses with poor admissions by half from the academic year 2018-19, a move aimed at addressing the mismatch. Following this, the total number of B.Tech and M.Tech seats this year, across all AICTE-approved institutes, dropped by 1.67 lakh – the sharpest fall in five years and almost double of what was witnessed in 2017-18.

However, with enrolment remaining virtually stagnant, the AICTE appointed a committee headed by former NASSCOM chairperson and industrialist B V R Mohan Reddy this year to come up with a medium and short-term perspective plan for expansion in engineering education.

While committee headed by Reddy has recommended no new engineering institutes should be set up from 2020, it has said that concessions should be made for applications already in the pipeline.

“While we take such a serious decision, we also recognize that there could be some applications in the pipeline for additional/new capacity applied in the last one or two years. These may be pending for want of some minor clearances. So, applications made in the current year and the past two years may be considered for starting institutions if the infrastructure is already in place,” the report states.

As for approving additional seats in existing institutions, the committee has suggested that the AICTE should only give approvals based on the capacity utilisation of concerned institute.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/education/aicte-government-committee-anil-sahasrabuddhe-5517865/ (Accessed on January 7, 2019)

GATE 2019: One-month preparation plan

Know how to prepare for GATE 2019 in one month, important tips to score high in Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2019.

GATE 2019: The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2019 is scheduled to be held on February 2, 3, 9, 10 2019. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has released the complete exam schedule with paper wise exam date and sessions. Candidates need a minimum cut-off score, varying between 25 to 45, to qualify GATE. A greater score than that is required to get a good rank in order to get M.Tech admission in IITs or clear cut off for PSU recruitment.

Candidates can download GATE 2019 Admit Card from January 4, 2019, at GOAPS. With a month to go for your GATE exam, we bring a one-month preparation plan with important tips, do’s and don’ts.

First and foremost, GATE will test your understanding of concepts and not rote learning. So be sure you have a firm hold on all the basics. Taking notes and teaching someone (or pretending to teach) improves grasping power.

Candidates should practise solving problems on all concepts studied. This can be done by solving examples and problems given in GATE preparation books, previous year question papers, sample papers, GATE mock tests.

Past year papers should be solved because concepts and types of questions are repeated. It also helps you be prepared for the actual difficulty level of exam.

Taking online mock tests kills two birds with one stone. One, you get to practice more questions of GATE exam level. Second, you get hands-on experience with the online test.

01:

Mock tests should be taken either from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM, or 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM, depending upon what slot has been allotted to you as per your GATE 2019 Admit Card. Doing this will prepare your body clock to be alert and attentive during those hours when you will actually have to take the exam.

Keep your confidence levels high. You can do this by engaging in activities, surrounding yourself with such people that motivate you. Being confident directly makes your learning abilities better and helps you remain calm during the exam. Lowered levels of anxiety during the exam are crucial to perform well.

Assess expected time for a question. This is a habit you develop by practising. As soon as you see a question, you should be able to tell how much time it will take.

Be a pro with a virtual calculator. A virtual calculator is a weapon in your hand. The better you use it, the better you can perform. So in the last one month before the exam, do all your calculations in a virtual calculator.

There will be multi-session papers for civil engineering and mechanical engineering. This year GATE is being conducted for 24 subjects, which is one subject more than last year. Statistics was been introduced this year.

Post-exam, answer key of GATE 2019 shall be displayed at GOAPS along with candidate responses. Those who appear in the exam will be able to submit objections to the responses and answers through the objection submission form on the official website.

GATE 2019 Result will be announced on March 16, 2019, on the basis of answers finalised by IIT. The validity of GATE scores is for 3 years from the date of declaration of result.

Last year the GATE cut offs for general candidates for AE, AG, AR, BT, CE, CH, CS, CY, EC, EE, EY, GG, IN, MA, ME, MN, MT, PE, PH, PI, TF, XE, XL were 34.4, 25, 43.9, 27.9, 26.9, 37.8, 25, 25.4, 25, 29.1, 49.3, 32.4, 37.1, 29.4, 34.7, 45, 40.3, 39.8, 29, 32, 32.2, 31.5, 29.9 respectively.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/education/gate-2019-one-month-preparation-plan-5519886/ (accessed on January 7, 2019)

Indian technology talent is flocking to Canada

What would induce a software developer to quit a good job in Silicon Valley and trade California’s sunshine for Toronto’s wintry skies? For Vikram Rangnekar, born in India and educated in America, the triggers were the restrictions placed on immigrant tech workers holding an h-1b visa...

To read the full article, please visit:
https://www.economist.com/business/2018/12/22/indian-technology-talent-is-flocking-to-canada