Zepp Health Unveils Zepp OS 3.5 with Zepp Flow™, Powered by Large Language Model AI, Pioneering the Next Generation of Wearable Intelligence Devices at MWC Barcelona 2024


MILPITAS, Calif., Feb. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Zepp Health Corporation (“Zepp Health”) (NYSE: ZEPP), a global leader in smart wearables and health technology, today announces a significant stride in wearable intelligence with the introduction of Zepp OS 3.5, featuring Zepp Flow™. This revolutionary enhancement brings a whole new level of interaction to wearable devices, marking a pioneering advancement in the industry, making Zepp Health’s Amazfit smartwatches the first to have a fully integrated Natural-Language User Interface (LUI) powered by LLM AI in its operating system.

Zepp Flow™, the centerpiece of Zepp OS 3.5, represents much more than just a voice assistant; it embodies a paradigm shift in user experience. Inspired by the concepts of balance and harmony, the name “Flow” encapsulates the smooth and intuitive nature of user interaction. Much like the effortless movement of water or the focused energy experienced in a state of “flow,” Zepp Flow™ facilitates a seamless connection between users and their devices, allowing for natural, uninterrupted interaction.

Designed to understand natural language, Zepp Flow™ eliminates the need for predefined commands or keywords, enabling users to express their intentions freely. By intuitively interpreting user requests, whether it’s initiating a workout or managing daily tasks, Zepp Flow™ streamlines the user experience, making it more intuitive and effortless than ever before. This breakthrough represents a significant leap towards a future where artificial intelligence seamlessly integrates into everyday life, particularly in health, fitness, and productivity domains.

A Future of Connectivity and Intelligence

With a global presence spanning over 90 countries and a user base exceeding 42 million, Zepp Health, through its renowned brands like Amazfit, is committed to redefining the way individuals approach their health and wellness. By harnessing advanced technology and fostering collaboration across its brand portfolio, Zepp Health is at the forefront of innovation, shaping the future of wearable technology.

Through Zepp Flow™, Zepp Health continues to push the boundaries of wearable technology, empowering users to seamlessly integrate smart devices into their daily lives. Zepp Flow™ represents a significant milestone in wearable intelligence, embodying the seamless integration of AI into people’s everyday lives. “With dedicated R&D teams across North America, Europe, and Asia, we are committed to driving innovation and delivering unparalleled user experiences, to bring intelligent healthcare solutions empowering people to take control of their well-being,” said Wayne Huang, CEO of Zepp Health. He added, “Zepp Flow™ epitomizes our dedication to unified connectivity and intelligent functionality throughout our ecosystem. Expanding its reach from the Zepp OS on smartwatches to the Zepp App on smartphones, and integrating with natural language processing, Zepp Flow™ asserts itself as the omnipresent AI within our system. Whether it resides on your smartwatch, earbuds, our app on your phone, or in the cloud, Zepp Flow™ guarantees a seamless and intuitive experience across all platforms.”

How Zepp Flow™ Works

Zepp Flow™ boasts several key features that redefine user experience:

  1. Natural Conversation: Unlike traditional voice assistants, Zepp Flow™ allows users to express themselves freely without requiring specific command phrases.
  2. Efficient Recognition: Zepp Flow™ rapidly and accurately recognizes user speech, ensuring a smooth and responsive interaction.
  3. Precise Understanding: Users need only describe what they want, and Zepp Flow™ will recognize their intent and provide the most appropriate response.

Availability

  • Zepp OS 3.5 and Zepp Flow™ will be supported on the Amazfit Balance in the US, Canada, United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, via a firmware update on February 26th.
  • Amazfit Balance users in France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Switzerland, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, and San Marino will be able to upgrade to Zepp OS 3.5 on May 1st.
  • The Amazfit Cheetah series, Amazfit Falcon, and Amazfit T-Rex Ultra will receive this update on a rolling basis, starting from May 28th through until June 11th. The Amazfit Active will be upgraded on June 20th.

About Zepp Health Corporation

Zepp Health (NYSE:ZEPP), a global smart wearable and health technology leader, empowers users to live their healthiest lives by optimizing their health, fitness, and wellness journeys through its leading consumer brands, Amazfit, Zepp Clarity, and Zepp Aura. Powered by its proprietary Zepp Digital Health Management Platform, which includes the Zepp OS, AI chips, biometric sensors, and data algorithms, it delivers cloud-based 24/7 actionable insights and guidance to help users attain their wellness goals. To date, Zepp Health has shipped over 200 million units and its products are available in 90+ countries. Founded in 2013, Zepp Health has offices across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC regions. For more information, visit www.zepp.com. 

ViewSonic Leads 2023 Global Interactive Display Market


Sets Industry Benchmark with its Comprehensive Education Ecosystem

BREA, Calif., Feb. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of visual solutions, secured the top position in the global interactive display market (excluding China) in 2023 with a prominent 15.6% market share, as reported by Futuresource Consulting’s Quarterly Market Insights Track Reports. Despite challenging conditions, ViewSonic outperformed the market’s 2.6% year-on-year contraction, recording an impressive 10.4% growth over the period. This milestone underscores ViewSonic’s commitment to excellence in visual solutions and education, demonstrated through relentless innovation and an unwavering dedication to quality and customer satisfaction.

ViewSonic Leads 2023 Global Interactive Display Market
ViewSonic Leads 2023 Global Interactive Display Market

“Our commitment to ingenuity and quality has propelled us to this industry-leading position. The trust our customers place in our products is a testament to our team’s dedication and hard work,” said Clifford Chen, General Manager of the Presentation Group at ViewSonic. “Despite the overall market contraction, our strategic focus on quality, user experience, and attentive customer service, along with our innovative educational and corporate solutions, has enabled us to navigate and thrive in these challenging times. This milestone is just the beginning as we continue to strive for excellence and expand our offerings.”

ViewSonic’s Education Ecosystem of hardware, software, and services encompasses a wide spectrum of solutions tailored to the multifaceted needs of contemporary educational settings. Its cutting-edge hardware, available in various sizes, is meticulously designed to meet diverse requirements. For instance, the 105″ ViewBoard interactive display, with a 21:9 aspect ratio and impressive 5K ultra-high-definition visuals enhances multitasking and collaboration. Similarly, the 110″ 4K ViewBoard empowers dynamic presentations, while ViewSonic’s versatile Android EDLA-certified solutions expand the possibilities for classroom interactivity.

Developed to boost student engagement and enhance learning outcomes, ViewSonic’s powerful suite of software—including myViewBoard, ClassSwift, and “TeamWork“—seamlessly integrates with its hardware. Robust service offerings covering EdTech integration, support, and professional development complete the Education Ecosystem, creating collaborations that foster streamlined and conducive learning environments.

In its commitment to sustainability, ViewSonic’s ViewBoard interactive displays are developed with environmental considerations at the forefront. These models are EPEAT® certified and meet ENERGY STAR® 8.0 standards, featuring recycled materials in their construction, modular components for easy upgrading, and eco-modes for energy-efficient use. Complemented by a recycling program, ViewSonic strives to minimize the carbon footprint of ViewBoard® models across all stages of their lifecycle, from development through to responsible end-of-life disposal.

Looking forward, ViewSonic remains committed to pushing the boundaries of technology, expanding its comprehensive portfolio of visual solutions to enhance communication, collaboration, and sustainability across various markets.

About ViewSonic

Founded in California, ViewSonic is a leading global visual solutions provider, conducting business in over 100 countries worldwide. As an innovator and visionary, ViewSonic is committed to providing comprehensive hardware and software solutions that include monitors, projectors, pen displays, commercial displays, All-in-One LED displays, ViewBoard interactive displays, myViewBoard software, and its ecosystem. With over 35 years of expertise in visual technology, ViewSonic has established a strong position for delivering innovative and reliable solutions for education, enterprise, consumer, and professional markets and helping customers “See the Difference.” To find out more about ViewSonic, please visit www.viewsonic.com.

HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7840U Review

8.5/10

HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7840U (EY0027AU_01)


Pros

• Wonderful OLED Screen

• All metal chassis

• Light and Thin

• 1440p IR webcam with built in privacy shutter

• Affordable and great value buy when on sale

• Great general performance

Cons

• Speaker Design

• No Thunderbolt 4 support

• No SD or microSD card slot

• RAM is not upgradeable


The HP Pavilion Plus 14 (2023) AMD 7840U is a noteworthy mid-range laptop with integrated 780M graphics. The laptop includes a gorgeous 14” OLED 2.8k 120hz HDR display. This means watching the latest shows, movies, and anime is a blast.

A light and thin laptop, portability is quite good and should last you most of the day. With a 68Wh battery pack paired with an efficient Ryzen 7 U-series chip, expect 6-8 hours of mixed usage.

Great for general work (typing and browsing), photo editing, casual video editing, light to moderate gaming, traveling, and watching videos, the HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7840U doesn’t breaking the bank. Perfect for those who move about a lot for work and students, especially when on sale.

HP Pavilion Plus 14 Laptop PC Trio Hero 1

Comes in multiples colours: EY0027AU moonlight blue, EY0028AU tranquil pink, and EY0029AU natural silver

Specifications of Reviewed Unit

Price at time of reviewRM3,699 (Lazada Techmall)
CPU3.3GHz AMD Ryzen 7 7840U (8 cores)
GraphicsAMD Radeon 780M
Screen14 inch 16:10 2880 x 1800 pixel OLED HDR 120Hz
Memory16GB LPDDR5 6400 Mhz (onboard)
Storage512GB SSD
NetworkWi-Fi 6E / Bluetooth 5.3
Inputs/Connectivity2 USB Type-C 10Gbps signaling rate (USB Power Delivery, DisplayPort 1.4, HP Sleep and Charge); 1 USB Type-A 10Gbps signaling rate; 1 USB Type-A 5Gbps signaling rate; 1 headphone/microphone combo; 1 HDMI 2.1
Operating SystemWindows 11
Battery68Wh cell with 65W Type-C power adapter
Dimensions31.39 x 22.71 x 1.75 cm (front) – 1.88 cm (hinge back) / 12.36 x 8.94 x 0.69 in (front) – 0.74 in (hinge back)
Weight1.4 kg (3.09lbs)

General Usage

HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7840U 65w power adaptor type-C
HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7840U 65w power adaptor type-C

Coming in at 1.4kg and under 2cm thickness, the HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7 7840U, is a good thin and light laptop that fits the ultraportable category of laptops. The included 65W power adapter is relatively small and lightweight and is easy to carry. Though it should be noted that you could get away from leaving the power adaptor at home. Easily you should be getting a good 6-8 hours of general continuous usage with simple power management.

One thing to note about battery life, the OLED display is able to handle HDR content and has a refresh rate of 120Hz which can drain the battery when on full brightness of 400 nits. By default HDR doesn’t turn on if on the laptop battery and only turns on when plugged in. With HDR turned on, all screen settings on max, and while streaming hi-res video, battery life was about 5 hours. As for when trying to conserve power, we achieve 10+ hours. We are sure we can push more, but few want an overglorified type writer.

Design & Connectivity

HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7840U right side ports
HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7840U right side ports
HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7840U left side ports
HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7840U left side ports

Coming to charging the laptop, the laptop has two USB Type-C ports for charging on the right side. Now we believe it would have been nice if HP had design the laptop with a Type-C port on each side. This would have been easier and convenient charging, but it is a relatively small nitpick. Luckily there is support for battery fast charge. This means the laptop can charge 50% in 30 minutes when the laptop is completely shut down. So no tether unless you are doing long gaming or binge watching sessions. Generally it took 2 to 2 and a half hours to charge the laptop fully when in light use.

Coming to the all metal chassis design, it is pleasant and sleek. We do wish there was a slight recess for easier one handed lid opening. The overall build quality is pretty solid, with good hinges. There was noted ability to flex for the screen lid, but nothing drastic or out of the ordinary. Some minor flex on the base of the laptop while using the keyboard. Nothing most would generally notice in daily usage.

The most notable thing about the connectivity is that the HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7840U lacks thunderbolt 4 (40Gbps signaling rate) certification. This is something generally inherent of AMD laptops. The laptop comes with 2 USB Type-C 10Gbp (USB Power Delivery, DisplayPort 1.4, HP Sleep and Charge), 1 USB Type-A 10Gbps, 1 USB Type-A 5Gbps, 1 headphone/microphone combo, and 1 HDMI 2.1 port. If thunderbolt 4 is a must, do look at the Intel variants with i7-1355U or i5-1335U from HP.

Work Usage

With the Radeon 780M, the HP Pavilion Plus 14 can handle most general media creation and light editing tasks. It will also edges out the comparable Intel variants of the HP Pavilion Plus 14 models.

20240213 102214

As for using the laptop included generously large touchpad and keyboard, we found it pleasant. Sadly there is special features and is pretty basic overall. There is no numpad for number entry but does come with dedicated page up and down buttons. The overall typing experience is nice but a bit basic, it gets the job done without any fuss.

Another huge plus point that makes the HP Pavilion Plus 14 a great laptop for work is its 5-megapixel 1440p video resolution webcam. It comes an with IR sensor (facial recognition login) and built-in physical privacy shutter. So not only will your web video calls/conferences be a better experience, but you can also ensure no one can see you when you don’t want them to. Additionally there are function keys on the keyboard to mute your microphone and sound. Both have a small led indicator light to easily see if they are on/off.

Multimedia Usage

For consuming media, this laptop does fantastically well with their gorgeous 2.8K 120HZ OLED display with HDR and 400 nits peak brightness. This basically translates to great vibrant colours, deep blacks and a pretty bright screen for your viewing pleasure. Clearly the star feature of this laptop, watching movies and tv shows is a super enjoyable experience. This does of course come at the expense of battery life. At full tilt streaming movies on max settings you should get about 5 hours out of the HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7 7840U. 

20240213 103215

The only two real things that might mar your viewing experience are the reflective glossy screen and downward facing speakers. This is one laptop you can’t put on your lap or in bright lights. You will get muffled sounds and reflective glare easily. This is a laptop best used on a hard surface/table indoors. 

Sound overall is good for a mid range laptop and has good volume but lacks bass. Another issue is that while using the laptops keyboard we were able to feel the speakers vibrate and dampen if we put any weight onto the laptop bottom chassis.

Gaming

20240213 141807.mp4 snapshot 00.34.882 1

As for gaming, the laptop will allow you to play most casual games and older titles without issues. I mean we don’t expect hardcore gamers to buy this laptop, but for integrated graphics, the Radeon 780M is probably the best at the moment. If you must, you can still play the newer graphically intensive games on the lowest settings at 1080P and get a respectful 20-30 fps.

Overall games like Hades will be a blast to play on the HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7 7840U with a controller. With the OLED screen the colours really pop and the laptop has no problem playing the game smoothly. While playing Borderlands 3 we also noted that you definitely can’t use your native screen resolution.

20240213 182627.mp4 snapshot 00.07.000

As a side note on heat, we notice significant uncomfortable heating on the right side of the laptop keyboard when under high loads. Luckily for most gamers who need to use the laptop, the left side of the keyboard is unaffected. Using the WASD keys shouldn’t be a problem, just that it is still a laptop keyboard.

Benchmarks

*We are currently standardizing our benchmarking process into two parts. We test both in a controlled setting and via our hands-on experience through daily normal usage. For laptops, we use benchmarking software while plugged in and at max performance settings. We are currently using PCMark 10, PCMark 10 Extended, Time Spy, Wild Life Extreme, Cinebench 2024, and Borderlands 3.

In all the controlled testing, the HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7 7840U shows great performance as a laptop for general productivity, photo editing, video conference calls, and light video editing. With an average score of 6457 in PCMark10 and 5615 in PCMark10 Extended.

Now in the gaming department, it is totally understandable that the 780M performance is lacking for a laptop. Though as an integrated graphics processor, its performance is top tier. The 780M is essentially the Ryzen Z1 Extreme found in ROG Ally and Legion Go, gaming handhelds running Windows OS.

Note that the Borderlands 3 benchmarking was run at the laptops native screen resolution of 2.8K

Final Thoughts

Overall the HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7 7840U is a great light and thin laptop that has great overall productivity performance. Not a feature rich or gimmicky laptops, but a solid one that gets the job done well. The great OLED screen add much to the experience of this laptop. A highly recommend laptop to keep an eye on, especially when it goes on sale.

10T Tech Introduces My10T Smart Orchestration: Revolutionizing eSIM Management to elevate the digital subscriber experience for Mobile Carriers

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Feb. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — 10T Tech, a pioneering provider of consumer eSIM and eSIM orchestration platforms, proudly announces the launch of its latest innovation, My10T Smart Orchestration.

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, mobile carriers face a myriad of challenges in harnessing the full potential of eSIM technology. With eSIM poised to become ubiquitous in mature markets in the coming years, mobile carriers must adapt or fall behind the competition in their digital transformation.

Many carriers still struggle with feature differentiation and cumbersome onboarding processes, relying on outdated methods such as paper QR codes and expensive bespoke CRM solutions.

The emergence of new IoT eSIM standards also presents a pivotal opportunity for cellular IoT to realize its full potential, supported by 5G, cloud computing, security enhancements and low power consumption devices.

My10T Smart Orchestration offers the complete solution.

Full interoperability to complement and enhance your existing eSIM infrastructure

My10T Smart Orchestration offers a comprehensive suite of features designed to streamline and centralise eSIM management in a single control panel.

My10T Smart Orchestration is RSP agnostic, connecting to any GSMA-certified eSIM platform to enable an upgrade of eSIM management, digital subscriber journeys and customer support without replacing existing RSP infrastructure.

My10T Smart Orchestration also connects via standardized telecom APIs to CRM, BSS and VAS platforms to create a fully integrated, next generation eSIM management ecosystem.

“We are thrilled to unveil My10T Smart Orchestration, a game-changer in eSIM management for mobile carriers,” said Fredric Liljestroem, CEO of 10T Tech. “With its innovative features and capabilities, My10T Smart Orchestration empowers mobile carriers to navigate the complexities of eSIM technology with ease, driving operational efficiency and enhancing the customer experience.”

About 10T Tech:

10T Tech is a global leader of consumer eSIM and eSIM orchestration platforms, dedicated to empowering mobile carriers and enterprises to unlock the full potential of eSIM technology. With a focus on innovation and customer-centric solutions, 10T Tech is reshaping the future of connectivity and IoT device management. Since 2017 10T Tech has delivered eSIM solutions to over 70 mobile carriers globally and continues to be a leading innovator in eSIM ecosystem solutions.

M31 Launches PCI-SIG Certified PCIe 5.0 PHY IP, Partnering with SSD Storage Chipmaker InnoGrit to Advance the Next-Generation PCIe 5.0

HSINCHU, Feb. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — M31 Technology Corporation (M31), a leading global provider of silicon intellectual property (IP), today announced that the PCIe 5.0 PHY IP has obtained the official certification mark from PCI-SIG as a high-performance solution that complies with PCI-SIG standards. Additionally, the IP has been adopted by the globally renowned SSD storage chipmaker ­InnoGrit for use in next-generation SSD storage chips.

With the continuous improvement of processor performance, the demand for upgrading the read and transfer speeds of SSD storage chips has been driven by Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe), which is used for the data transfer of solid state drives (SSDs), graphics cards, and other hardware, playing a crucial role in data transfer within storage chips and has become the mainstream transfer interface. PCI-SIG, as an open industry standard PCI specification alliance, consists of more than 900 leading industry member companies to formulate industry standard specifications that meet the needs of its members, and PCI-SIG official certification serves as a benchmark standard adopted by the industry for PCIe products. However, obtaining official certification from PCI-SIG is no easy feat, as it requires rigorous adherence to PCI-SIG’s strict consistency standard tests to ensure compliance with PCIe standards and interoperability and consistency among various products.

The PCIe 5.0 PHY IP developed by M31 provides high performance, multi-channel functionality and low-power architecture for high bandwidth applications, and has already completed 12-nanometer silicon validation, with maximum speeds up to 32Gbps. This IP integrates high-speed mixed-signal circuits to support a full series of PCIe 5.0 Base applications, and can accommodate both consumer electronics and enterprise-level server computing at significantly higher speeds. In addition, the design and development strictly follow the international PCI-SIG interface specification, and further pass the official PCI-SIG rigorous standards test, formally listed in the official PCI-SIG integration list. Therefore, customers can rest assured that they can adopt M31’s officially certified PCIe IP to meet their application needs.

Founder and CEO of InnoGrit, Dr. Zining Wu, stated, “InnoGrit is dedicated to advancing storage technology. By collaborating with M31 to adopt PCIe 5.0 IP, InnoGrit has launched a new generation of PCIe 5.0 SSD storage chips, which can significantly optimize the storage chips and improve overall performance, and comprehensively support data storage and transfer applications in artificial intelligence and big data centers.”

M31 CEO Scott Chang said, “M31 is pleased to have been working with InnoGrit on PCIe 4.0/3.0 IP for so long. We have now successfully integrated the latest PCIe 5.0 IP into InnoGrit next-generation SSD storage chips and have successfully mass-produced them. In the future, M31 will continue to work to build the PCIe 5.0 ecosystem together to support applications such as data centers, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, providing customers with faster and more power-efficient solutions.

Wondershare Edraw Introducing Wondershare Office Bundle: Unlocking the Power of Office Productivity


VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Wondershare Edraw proudly announces the launch of its revolutionary five-in-one bundled membership – Wondershare Office Bundle. This comprehensive suite of intelligent graphic services is meticulously crafted to elevate productivity and propel professional endeavors for Wondershare software users.

Wondershare Office Bundle
Wondershare Office Bundle

With the Wondershare Edraw Bundled membership, users gain perpetual access to the top five Wondershare productivity software solutions: EdrawMax, EdrawMind, EdrawProj, PDFelement, and BoardMix.

EdrawMax, the cornerstone of this membership, offers unparalleled diagramming capabilities, enabling users to create intricate flowcharts, mind maps, and organizational charts with ease. EdrawMind provides a powerful mind mapping tool, empowering users to visualize their thoughts and streamline their ideation process.

For project management enthusiasts, EdrawProj emerges as the ultimate companion. With its comprehensive set of tools, users can efficiently plan, track, and collaborate on projects, ensuring seamless execution from start to finish. Meanwhile, PDFelement serves as the go-to solution for PDF editing needs. With its intuitive interface, users can seamlessly edit, convert, e-sign, and protect the PDF documents, saving valuable time and effort.

Wondershare BoardMix rounds out the suite, offering collaborative advantages through real-time whiteboarding and brainstorming sessions.

Iris Liu, Brand Director of Wondershare, underscores the significance of this launch: “Cost-effectiveness is crucial, which is why Wondershare Office Bundle offers exceptional value for money. By combining these five essential tools into one package, we’re empowering users to unlock their full potential.”

For a trial experience, please visit our official website or follow us on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to learn more about Wondershare Edraw. 

About Wondershare:

Wondershare is a globally recognized software company committed to delivering innovative solutions for personal and professional use. With a focus on creativity and productivity, we have received prestigious awards from organizations such as The Shorty Awards, G2, and GetApp. Our mission is to empower individuals to pursue their passions and build a more creative world. With over 100 million users across 150 countries, we offer a wide range of software solutions for video editing, PDF editing, data recovery, diagram and graphics, and more. Together, we strive to provide high-quality, user-friendly software that enables individuals and businesses to bring their creative ideas to life.

China Medical University Hospital (CMUH) in Taiwan Upgrades Smart Healthcare with Gen AI

Establishing a comprehensive “AI-assisted Physician” using generative AI from Google Cloud, including MedLM

TAICHUNG, Feb. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — China Medical University Hospital (CMUH) in Taiwan announced its collaboration with Google Cloud in mid-December 2023. Using Google Cloud’s generative AI technology, including MedLM, which is a large language model built on Med-PaLM 2, CMUH has developed a comprehensive “AI-assisted Physician” system which aims to assist healthcare professionals in disease diagnosis, treatment planning, patient education, and medical research, etc. 

Superintendent Der-Yang Cho of CMUH announced a collaboration with Google Cloud to develop a large language model, MedLM, based on Med-PaLM 2. CMUH is the first medical center in Asia to adopt Med-PaLM 2.
Superintendent Der-Yang Cho of CMUH announced a collaboration with Google Cloud to develop a large language model, MedLM, based on Med-PaLM 2. CMUH is the first medical center in Asia to adopt Med-PaLM 2.

The collaboration between CMUH and Google Cloud will introduce assistive tools designed to support medical professionals in precision cancer treatment. These tools, including “Customized Cancer Treatment Guidelines” and “Cancer Therapy Q&As,” aim to reduce the time spent searching for information and enable the quick capture of accurate data. This can aid professionals in developing cancer treatment plans, offering personalized treatment-related information to patients, and providing responses to patient health education inquiries.

CMUH is one of the first university hospitals in Asia to test MedLM. Through its collaboration with Google Cloud, CMUH is dedicated to driving AI innovation in smart healthcare to shape the future of healthcare in Taiwan. MedLM will help facilitate CMUH in the timely access of accurate medical information to establish the best Healthcare AI models for the Chinese-speaking market in Asia.

Prof. Der-Yang Cho, Superintendent of CMUH, pointed out that MedLM is advanced in its ability to provide precise and rapid data analysis for drug guidelines, disease gene sequencing, and medical records, among other areas. Such capabilities can significantly accelerate the discovery of new treatments for difficult-to-treat diseases by medical teams and assist in the rapid development of treatment plans to help patients. “We are excited about this collaboration, which positions smart hospitals in Taiwan at the forefront of providing more precision- and safety-oriented support to healthcare professionals and patients alike,” Prof. Der-Yang Cho said.

CMUH was already recognized as the world’s third smart hospital by the US. Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) in their 2022 Digital Health Indicator (DHI) ranking. Additionally, Newsweek named CMUH as one of the World’s Best Hospitals for 2023 and one of the World’s Best Smart Hospitals for 2024. With its widespread recognition, CMUH is deeply committed to advancing the diversification and precision of smart healthcare services.

“Life sciences problems are fundamentally data problems, and this is where AI can fully unleash its potential,” said Kathy Lee, Managing Director of Google Cloud, North Asia. “Generative AI solutions from Google Cloud can help healthcare and life sciences organizations operate more efficiently and improve patient outcomes. In this remarkable era of gen AI, we are excited to collaborate with medical industry leaders that drive innovation through AI like CMUH, and partner with them to build the future of healthcare in Taiwan.”

Aashima Gupta, Global Director of Healthcare Strategy and Solutions at Google Cloud, shared that healthcare professionals are committed to delivering the best care for patients, and gen AI can be a crucial ally in reducing their workload. Gupta pointed out that this technology will ease the cognitive burden for staff and improve personal care for patients. Furthermore, it will allow healthcare professionals at CMUH to devote more time to tasks that require human judgment and expertise. She mentioned that ensuring the safety and effectiveness of gen AI is fundamental to these benefits.

Greg Corrado, a Distinguished Scientist and Senior Research Director at Google Research, discussed how MedLM is designed specifically for the healthcare industry and is part of the growing family of gen AI technologies that have the potential to significantly improve the healthcare experience for professionals and patients. Corrado emphasized the importance of collaborating with healthcare institutions like CMUH in testing and implementing new gen AI solutions, underlining it as a critical step towards developing safe and effective AI technologies.

Prof. Oscar K. Lee, Vice Superintendent of CMUH explained that among global generative AI large language models, Med-PaLM 2 stands out in model performance. It scored 85% on MedQA-USMLE (US Medical Licensing Examination), reaching a level of excellence comparable to professional physicians. This makes it a pioneer among the world’s medical AI models in terms of outstanding performance. By training the model to analyze treatment guidelines and care cultures from various regions, MedLM will become even better at addressing the medical and healthcare needs of local populations.”

Currently, the collaborative applications between CMUH and Google Cloud include “Customized Cancer Treatment Guidelines” and “Cancer Therapy Q&As”. The “Customized Cancer Treatment Guidelines” are developed based on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines and are integrated with MedLM, enabling clinicians to quickly capture accurate information based on the patient’s cancer staging, treatment methods, and risk assessments, etc. It can also generate cancer treatment plans and provide personalized treatment recommendations for clinicians to review, edit and use with patients. Focusing on health education for cancer patients, the “Cancer Therapy Q&As” application incorporated the cancer care-related health educational content of CMUH into the MedLM model for training and optimization, resulting in a system with extensive medical knowledge and Q&A capabilities. Such advancement not only diminishes the time healthcare professionals spend searching for information but also provides comprehensive treatment options. Furthermore, it contributes to enhancing overall clinical efficacy, improving patient understanding and engagement, and enhancing the quality of healthcare, thereby fostering warmer doctor-patient interactions and steering us collectively toward a healthier future.

In addition, in terms of new drug development, CMUH is leveraging Google’s unique AI accelerators, TPU (Tensor Processing Unit), to assist in calculations related to protein folding and the development of new drugs. Preliminary tests at CMUH have shown that utilizing these resources can reduce the computation time for related programs by over tenfold.

With its robust research and development capabilities, CMUH’s Artificial Intelligence Center has provided over 20 distinct AI medical services in recent years, assisting doctors in making fast and accurate medical decisions.

Media contact: Carolyn Chen, 100709@tool.caaumed.org.tw

The Royal Thai Police, Supported By ACE, Shut Down Major Torrent Website

Simultaneous raids take place in Bangkok, Surin Province and Surat Thani.

BANGKOK , Feb. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Royal Thai Police’s Economic Crimes Department (ECD), with support from the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), has raided four locations in Bangkok, Surin Province and Surat Thani. Four Thai nationals have been taken into custody and are expected to be formally charged with copyright offenses in the coming days.

Siambit.me was the largest torrent tracker site in Thailand with average monthly visits of 5.5 million, and which provided access to a huge range of Hollywood, International and Thai content. The site had been in operation since 2005 and is known to regularly change its domain to avoid detection. According to statements by the Royal Thai Police, Siambit.me had over 100,000 VIP members and the operators were making an estimated 1.5 million baht (USD$41,000) on a monthly basis.

“We commend the ECD for their continued collaboration with ACE and for taking enforcement action against this large torrent site,” said Jan van Voorn, Executive Vice President and Chief of Global Content Protection for the Motion Picture Association and Head of ACE. “Illicit torrent sites put consumers around the world at risk of unwittingly downloading malware such as spyware, remote access trojans and even ransomware. The ECD’s action helps protect the livelihood of Thai and international creators and distributors, and it helps shield consumers from such malware.”

Suebsiri Taweepon, President of the Intellectual Property Association of Thailand (IPAT), said, “We would like to commend the professionalism of the ECD and ACE in taking down this large torrent tracker site. Piracy sites such as Siambit undermine local and international investment in our country’s content sector, reduce tax contributions to the government, and stifle creativity.”

About The Allliance for Creativity and Entertainment

The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) is the world’s leading coalition dedicated to protecting the dynamic legal market and reducing digital piracy. Driven by a comprehensive approach to addressing piracy through criminal referrals, civil litigation and cease-and-desist operations, ACE has achieved many successful global enforcement actions against illegal streaming services and sources of unauthorized content and their operators. Drawing upon the collective expertise and resources of more than 50 media and entertainment companies around the world and reinforced by the content protection operations of the Motion Picture Association, ACE protects the creativity and innovation that drive the global growth of core copyright and entertainment industries. The current governing board members for ACE are Amazon, Apple TV+, NBCUniversal, Netflix Studios LLC, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Paramount, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, and Warner Bros. Charles Rivkin is Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association and Chairman of ACE. For more information, please visit www.alliance4creativity.com.

Creative Learning Platform Skillshare Helps Creative Professionals Maximize the Highly Anticipated Animation App Procreate Dreams™ with New Partnership and Exclusive Content from its Top Teachers


Skillshare Top Teachers have created custom classes to help audiences expand their creative skills with the new animation software, Procreate Dreams 

NEW YORK, Feb. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Skillshare, the world’s largest online community for creatives, has teamed up with the new animation app Procreate Dreams to develop a customized series of content that teaches students how to use and optimize tools from the highly anticipated animation software.

As part of the collaboration, Skillshare has enlisted a group of top teachers to create content, both free and for subscribers, focused on how to utilize the software to create 2D animation and expressive video, and leverage powerful storytelling techniques.

Amongst the participating teachers, Danni Fisher-Shin, Mimi Chao, Smitesh Mistry, Lisa Bardot, Marie-Nöelle Wurm, Priscilla Adei-Cardwell, Rich Armstrong, Simon Ip, Iva Mikles and Siobhan Twomey, span expertise across illustration, animation, film and video production, and content creation. Each Skillshare teacher brings their own unique style and engages an audience of creative professionals and hobbyists who want to expand their creative skills.

“This partnership underscores the powerful synergy between Procreate and Skillshare, both dedicated to bringing creative education and exploration to the fore,” comments Alicia Hamilton-Morales, SVP of Content, Community and Marketing with Skillshare. “Together, we aim to empower individuals to explore and enhance their skills with the newly released app, Procreate Dreams. Procreate has been a highly popular subject on our platform for years and we’re excited about how Procreate Dreams will spark even more creativity among our students. Our goal is to demystify creative disciplines like animation by inviting students to explore classes taught by our exceptional teachers and ignite their passion for learning something new and innovative.”

Content began rolling out in November and will continue through 2024, including original content across participating teachers’ individual profiles, and the partnership homepage, alongside a series of free live sessions which can be accessed here.

Procreate CMO Nathan Clegg comments, “Procreate Dreams marks a major chapter for both Procreate and the animation industry. Over the past 5+ years we poured our hearts and souls into producing an animation app that is approachable for beginners and powerful for professionals. With an aim to unlock creative potential and empower the next generation of storytellers. We are thrilled to partner with Skillshare to help creatives get started and make the most out of Procreate Dreams.”

Procreate Dreams is available on the App Store for a single-time purchase of $19.99 USD. No subscriptions. procreate.com

About Skillshare:
Skillshare is the world’s largest online learning community for creativity. With more than 26,000 video-based classes exploring a wide range of creative disciplines from graphic design to photography to painting and illustration to interior design—taught by industry experts including Jonathan Van Ness, Aaron Draplin, Emily Henderson, Thomas Frank, Rebecca Minkof and Jeff Staple and more. Skillshare is both a publisher of original content and an open platform, where anyone who meets our standards and guidelines can upload a class and earn income. Skillshare’s mission is to build the world’s most valuable creative learning community. To learn more, go to: www.skillshare.com.

About Procreate® 
Procreate is dedicated to making exceptional creative tools for creative people by combining beautiful user experiences with high-performance engineering. Procreate for iPad is used by millions around the globe, has been the best-selling paid iPad app on App Store for the past six years, and has received two coveted Apple Design Awards. Procreate’s three apps — Procreate, Procreate Pocket, and Procreate Dreams — are placing more power in the hands of creatives, amplifying the company’s guiding principle: Art is for everyone. procreate.com

Follow @procreate on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and X.

For all press enquiries, please contact:
Alicia Hamilton-Morales, Skillshare
press@skillshare.com

Sheila Lin, Procreate 
press@procreate.com 

Acer Swift X 14 First Look & Unboxing

Transcript

Acer’s Swift series has always been about being thin and light. Just recently, however, that formula is getting a supercharge with the Swift X lineup. The new Swift X series is marrying both portability and performance. You know the saying “X marks the spot”? Well, that might just be the case with this laptop.

So, the Acer Swift X 14 is a laptop that is bringing performance to the thin and light form factor. It’s not a brand new concept to Acer, in fact, this particular version is a refresh of the first-ever Swift X.

This version comes with a 13th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-13700H with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. It’s also got an NVIDIA RTX4050 Laptop GPU. This setup gives it enough power to do everyday computing tasks like Word processing, excel, PowerPoint without hassle.

Let’s not be coy about it, it’ll power through those tasks and then some. But where it will shine is when you jump into creative work like video editing, using the Adobe Suite or even rendering things on apps like Blender or AutoCAD. Thanks to the RTX4050 Laptop GPU inside, it’s able to run these graphically intense tasks smoothly. You’ll also be able to take advantage of things like DLSS and RayTracing. Another plus is that this laptop comes with NVIDIA® Studio drivers which provides more stability and access to tools that will make content creation easier.

Of course, the GPU and processor are nothing if you don’t have the correct display to use it with. This laptop has one of the best OLED displays I’ve seen on a laptop. The screen is a 14-inch 2.8K OLED with a 120Hz refresh rate. It’s also colour accurate with a 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut and it also has a VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification.

I know that seems like a lot of jargon. But essentially, what it means, is that the screen can produce deep blacks. On top of that, it will be able to reproduce colour more accurately and on a wider spectrum making it perfect for people who create content.

Of course, when it comes to content creation, we need our ports. The Swift X 14 has a full array of ports despite its thin form factor. It comes with two  USB-C ports that support charging, it charges at 5V; and 3A. So, you should be able to charge it with a 65W GaN charger in a pinch. Additionally, Thunderbolt 4 also supports high-resolution displays and up to 40Gbps high-speed data transfer.

When it comes to wireless connectivity the laptop supports WiFi 6E which should give you ample speed for uploading and working off the cloud. It’s also got Bluetooth 5.1 for fast file transfers or even connecting wirelessly to your smartphone or noise-cancelling headphones. It also comes with an FHD Webcam with Temporal Noise Reduction for your video conferences and presentations.

Acer claims that it has up to 10 hours of battery life on a single charge. Now we’ve got the specs out of the way, let’s talk about the build. It’s clearly a very pretty laptop. I’m definitely a fan of the finish Acer has given this laptop. It feels premium and sturdy. The aluminium chassis is definitely a plus here.

But one thing that I like about this off the bat, is that the premium feel of the laptop is also thanks to a significant amount of recycled materials being incorporated into the laptop.

And that’s the Acer Swift X 14. What are your thoughts on this laptop? Let us know in the comments below.