Nearly three months after rolling out new visual search features for Bing, Microsoft's search engine is giving them a boost with a few new tricks. Namely, you'll now be able to solve math problems, transcribe text from a photo, and more, all by snapping a picture.
Most impressive is the new "Math Solver" capability, which is located in the bottom menu of the Bing app, situated between "Auto" and "Barcode." Tapping on the option will allow bing to snap a picture of a math problem, then solve it with a step-by-step explanation for the solution. Microsoft says it will even link out to related online videos from Kahn Academy and other providers to help you further understand the problem you're working on.
Also new is text transcription, which lets you quickly pull text out of an image and take an action on it. "you can take a picture of a phone number to call it directly, add an email to your contacts list, visit a website, navigate to an address, or simply copy/paste text," Microsoft says.
Image searches are also being simplified on the web. In the images tab, you'll now see an overhauled search dialog box. From the box, you can either drag and drop an image to search, copy and paste an image, take a picture, or copy and paste an image URL.
Lastly, you'll now find a new education carousel in Bing on the web, giving you access to "a full suite of math, science, and language tools to make learning easy for parents and students," Microsoft says. For students learning sign language, Bing also now includes an American Sign Language (ASL) experience that is intended to assist the learning process with more than 100 videos of words and phrases.
The improved image search, Bing education carousel, and ASL experience are available at Bing on the web now. Math Solver is available on iOS now and is "coming soon" to Android. Text transcription, meanwhile, is expected to launch on iOS in the coming weeks.
Ex-Apple exec is now at Microsoft to help with HoloLens, AI and more
Microsoft has hired an ex-executive from Apple to be a corporate vice president of Hardware Design & Technology. Ruben Caballero will be working on "HoloLens, Special Projects, and more to come...." The new is particularly interesting because a member of the Xbox team recently jumped ship to the HoloLens group. Could Microsoft be about to enter a new phase of mixed reality for...
Microsoft making most events digital-only for next year (Update: confirmed)
Microsoft is moving to make its internal and external events digital-only through its 2021 fiscal year. That would include events like Ignite 2020 and Build 2021.
Gaming on a projector is an incredibly immersive, but flawed, experience
For years now, I've been asked if console gaming on a projector is a viable option. How do factors like input lag, image quality, colors, and built-in speakers affect the experience?
Master email with one of these awesome apps for Windows 10
Looking for a bit of variety in your email game? Need something powerful to handle the mail you send and receive? These are the best email apps for Windows 10.
