Month: May 2024
How to Mirror Your iPhone’s Screen on a TV With AirPlay – CNET
Beam photos and videos straight from your iPhone or Mac.
Beam photos and videos straight from your iPhone or Mac.
Great news — Microsoft is killing off non-editable PDFs for good
Microsoft wants to use AI to convert locked PDFs into editable documents more efficiently, but at what risk?
In a pretty significant technological development, Microsoft has disclosed plans to build a tool to convert non-editable PDFs into fully editable documents while simultaneously preserving the original layout.
The proposed (and very handy) tool, detailed in a newly published paper titled “Method and System of Generating an Editable Document from a Non-Editable Document,” spotted by Windows Report addresses the long-standing problem that PDF users face when trying to amend elements and add further details.
It wouldn’t be 2024 if the system didn’t use artificial intelligence, and that’s exactly what Microsoft wants to use to convert the PDF documents.
Microsoft will use AI to make PDFs editable
By using AI, Microsoft hopes to identify and map the arrangement of elements within a PDF document, like text, images and tables. The tool will use bounding boxes in order to ensure that the layout remains unchanged, and should also be able to recognize the fonts and color schemes.
Besides being able to identify and carry over specific elements with strong accuracy, Microsoft also states that the new, editable PDF can be resized without losing its structural integrity.
The introduction of this technology promises to be a game-changer in the realm of document management. While PDF converters are currently available, they have become notorious with generating poor conversions, particularly when it comes to maintaining layout and font.
There’s hope that Microsoft’s AI-powered solution will bridge this gap by providing a reliable and efficient means to convert and edit PDF documents without compromising on their original appearance.
However, there could be concern that amending documents may pose a risk. Many businesses use PDFs, or the portable document format, to protect the content of documents. By artificially unlocking that protection, those seeking that extra layer of security may become more vulnerable.
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iPhones just got a powerful new video-editing app that lets you add cool cinematic looks with ease
A new app from the makers of Halide gives you pro-level control over videos shot on your iPhone.
Over the last few years Apple has pitched its iPhones as being great choices for professional creatives, and now a new app has launched that aims to turn the iPhone into a videographer’s best friend.
Created by Lux, the developers of the popular Halide camera app, the Kino app turns its attention towards making professional video editing as straightforward as possible, using just your iPhone and the app. While it’s designed for pros, it’s something that anyone can use.
It works by tapping into the Log video support offered in the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Log videos are recorded using a very flat, neutral color profile, which lets you adjust the colors with much more freedom once the footage has been shot. Without Log support, your iPhone will simply discard a lot of the color and brightness information in order to save space, which makes editing much harder.
With Kino, you’ll have access to all that information to help with color grading. That might sound daunting, but Lux says Kino makes things incredibly easy thanks to its Instant Grade feature, which allows you to apply a color grade preset with a couple of quick taps. Lux says it has worked with “friends we admire and experts in the field” to build the presets, which offer a variety of shades and styles.
Interestingly, Kino is not just designed for Log footage, as Lux says the app comes with a set of presets built for regular iPhone videos. So, if you wanted to give it a try but don’t have an iPhone 15 Pro, you won’t miss out. And if you fancy trying your hand at using your own presets, you can load them into Kino. As long as you have a LUT file with a .cube file extension, you can upload it to Kino and start using it.
Beyond color grading
(Image credit: Lux)
Kino goes beyond color grading and adds extra features that will be useful to videographers, both professional and amateur. It can automatically pick the best settings to help you achieve cinematic, “dreamlike” motion blur, or let you override its choices with manual shutter speeds and exposure controls.
The interface has also been designed to prevent accidental taps or adjustments that might ruin a shot. That means no more tapping to adjust the exposure, which can happen accidentally far too easily (the controls are located in a swipe-down menu). Similarly, certain buttons are disabled during recording to prevent inadvertent presses.
There are a ton of extra features bundled into Kino, including focus peaking, a curved focus dial, lockable auto white balance and exposure, a grid view with a built-in level, and even free lessons to get you up to speed. Kino costs a one-off fee of $19.99, but Lux is offering a 50% discount until Friday, May 31, lowering its price to $9.99.
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Bizarre armor from Mycenaean Greece turns out to have been effective
People suspected the Dendra armor was ceremonial, but new tests show its utility.
Enlarge / Armor based on the Dendra artifact being tested. (credit: Andreas Flouris and Stavros Petmezas)
The Dendra armor, one of the oldest suits of bronze armor ever found, had been considered a purely ceremonial piece. It seemed impossible to use in battle due to its cumbersome design.
It took over a decade of research, elaborate numerical models, and 13 Greek marines fighting in it from dawn till dusk to prove it was surprisingly good at its job, despite its odd appearance. “This made the Mycenaean warriors some of the best equipped in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Late Bronze Age,” says professor Andreas Flouris, a researcher at the University of Thessaly, who led the study.
Mycenaean Conquests
“The Mycenaeans were an ancient Greek civilization that flourished during the late Bronze Age, roughly from 1600 BC to 1100 BC,” explains Dr. Ken Wardle, an archeologist at the University of Birmingham and co-author of the study. With their power centered around major cities like Mycenae, Thebes, Tiryns, and Pylos, the Mycenaeans peaked between 1400 BCE and 1200 BCE, when they occupied much of mainland Greece and gained influence over Aegean islands and Asia Minor.
‘The Umbrella Academy’ final season teaser promises a family road trip to the end
The Hargreeves family is back for the fourth and final season of Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy” — watch the teaser trailer.
The Hargreeves family is back for the fourth and final season of Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy” — watch the teaser trailer.