EXPLORE THE NIGHT SKY LIKE NEVER BEFORE WITH THESE ASTRONOMY APPS
STAR WALK 2
The original StarWalk was widely regarded as one of the best astronomy apps available on the star-gazing scene, and StarWalk 2 bringswith it a muchmore modern-looking interface. The augmented-reality star gazer is still themain feature of this awesome app, but there’s also plenty of extra information available for users to explore as well as the fantastic ability to tour different parts of space in amazing 3D. One of the best choices for intrepidly exploring the galaxy in 3D from the comfort of your own home.
POCKET UNIVERSE: VIRTUAL SKY ASTRONOMY
Packed with features and with a slew of awards to its name, Pocket Universe uses your device’s camera to identify or find anything in the night sky. Explore the solar systemwith a few taps aswell as takewalks on the surface of the Moon or Mars. Plus there’s quizzes, news and astronomy tips. An exhaustive set of advanced futures but still accessible enough complete inners to use.
MOBILE OBSERVATORY ASTRONOMY
The interface could use a fresh lick of paint but nevertheless Mobile Observatory is hugely impressive: there’s a pile of different screens to work through and many different options on each one. Aswell as the night sky viewer there’s a wealth of information on planets, asteroids, stars and upcoming celestial events. One of the most comprehensive astronomy apps we’ve come across, with plenty to explore.
STAR CHART
Very well designed and free to boot (with in-app upgrades available), Star Chart follows the same augmented-reality approach to astronomy with extra information and features arranged on the side. Take off for a virtual journey through the stars, pull up info on different planets and constellations quickly, and go forwards or backwards through time. Nicely presented and information-packed astronomy app, plus it’s free to get started.
SKYSAFARI 4
If you’re ready to get serious about your astronomy then SkySafari 4 provides an in-depth look at the universe around us. Packed with historical and scientific data — as well as images from the Hubble telescope — the app lets you see the sky from any point and go forwards or backwards in time. More expensive editions of the app are also available. An authoritative and intuitive astronomy app with different editions to match interests.
It’s official: Windows 10 will be ‘awesome’
The developers working
on the next version of
Windows 10 are so excited
by what it contains they
have codenamed it
“FBL_AWESOME”.
Writing on the Blogging
Windows blog on 17
December (www.snipca.
com/14858), Microsoft
engineering manager Gabe
Aul admitted that the name
“is a bit corny”, but that it
acts as a “daily reminder to
ourselves that we want this
build to be great”.
His comments came a
couple of days after the latest
version of Windows 10 was
leaked online. It includes
several new features, such as a
fully integrated version of the
voice-activated personal
assistant Cortana (see
screenshot).
Microsoft is expected to
unveil the Consumer Preview
of Windows 10 on 21 January.
The company says more
than 1.5 million people are
testing Windows 10, the most
beta testers for any version of
Windows to date. Around
450,000 of those are using
Windows 10 every day.
on the next version of
Windows 10 are so excited
by what it contains they
have codenamed it
“FBL_AWESOME”.
Writing on the Blogging
Windows blog on 17
December (www.snipca.
com/14858), Microsoft
engineering manager Gabe
Aul admitted that the name
“is a bit corny”, but that it
acts as a “daily reminder to
ourselves that we want this
build to be great”.
His comments came a
couple of days after the latest
version of Windows 10 was
leaked online. It includes
several new features, such as a
fully integrated version of the
voice-activated personal
assistant Cortana (see
screenshot).
Microsoft is expected to
unveil the Consumer Preview
of Windows 10 on 21 January.
The company says more
than 1.5 million people are
testing Windows 10, the most
beta testers for any version of
Windows to date. Around
450,000 of those are using
Windows 10 every day.
New Skype tool translates languages as you speak
Skype has released the beta
version of Translator, its
groundbreaking tool that
translates languages being
spoken in real time.
It provides instant spoken
and text translations as you
chat with someone via a video
link (see screenshot right),
although for now it
only translates Spanish into
English, and vice versa. It
works on Windows 8.1 and 10.
It’s been trialled on school
children in Mexico City and
Tacoma in the US state of
Washington, with one
classroom speaking Spanish
and the other English.
The program works by
comparing your speech with
millions of recorded audio
samples. It recognises and
removes speech “disfluencies”,
such as “um” and “er”.
Announcing the launch on
the Skype blog (www.snipca.
com/14865), Gurdeep Pall
wrote: “Skype Translator relies
on machine learning, which
means that the more the
technology is used, the
smarter it gets”.
He added: “This is just the
beginning of a journey that
will transform the way we
communicate with people
around the world. Our
long-term goal for speech
translation is to translate
as many languages as
possible on as many platforms
as possible”.
Skype hopes to make
Translator work with 40
languages, including Klingon,
which will delight the most
dedicated Star Trek fans.
To try the Skype Translator
beta, you have to register on
the site (www.snipca.com/
14861). Skype will ask you
which device you currently
use it on, and which
languages you’re “interested
in”. Selecting these will help
Skype decide which languages
to add to the service next.
We will test Translator in an
upcoming issue.
version of Translator, its
groundbreaking tool that
translates languages being
spoken in real time.
It provides instant spoken
and text translations as you
chat with someone via a video
link (see screenshot right),
although for now it
only translates Spanish into
English, and vice versa. It
works on Windows 8.1 and 10.
It’s been trialled on school
children in Mexico City and
Tacoma in the US state of
Washington, with one
classroom speaking Spanish
and the other English.
The program works by
comparing your speech with
millions of recorded audio
samples. It recognises and
removes speech “disfluencies”,
such as “um” and “er”.
Announcing the launch on
the Skype blog (www.snipca.
com/14865), Gurdeep Pall
wrote: “Skype Translator relies
on machine learning, which
means that the more the
technology is used, the
smarter it gets”.
He added: “This is just the
beginning of a journey that
will transform the way we
communicate with people
around the world. Our
long-term goal for speech
translation is to translate
as many languages as
possible on as many platforms
as possible”.
Skype hopes to make
Translator work with 40
languages, including Klingon,
which will delight the most
dedicated Star Trek fans.
To try the Skype Translator
beta, you have to register on
the site (www.snipca.com/
14861). Skype will ask you
which device you currently
use it on, and which
languages you’re “interested
in”. Selecting these will help
Skype decide which languages
to add to the service next.
We will test Translator in an
upcoming issue.
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