Asus has entered the ultra-portable laptop wars with the launch of its ZenBook 3 which the company says is thinner, lighter and twice as fast as Apple's MacBook, making it the "most prestigious laptop in the world." However, HP's Spectre retains the title of being the world's thinnest laptop. At the launch of the new laptop at trade show Computex in Taipei on Monday, Asus chairman Jonney Shih unveiled the new laptop alongside a pair of Surface clones called the Transformer 3 and Transformer 3 Pro, a trio of smartphones (ZenFone 3, ZenFone 3 Deluxe and ZenFone 3 Ultra) and a personal robot called Zenbo. The ZenBook 3 weighs in at just over 900g and just 11.9mm, which compares with 1.2kg and 12.3mm for the company's previous model, which was already one of the best ultra-portable laptops on the market. Apple's MacBook, which is the most recognizable laptop on the market, weighs in at 920g and 13.1mm at its thickest point.

Historians discovered a code machine used by Adolf Hitler to swap top secret messages with his generals when they saw it advertised on eBay for 9.50. Volunteers from the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park tracked down the extremely rare Lorenz keyboard after seeing it on the online bidding site. It was being advertised as a telegram machine and the historians found that it had been left in a shed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, with'rubbish all over it'. Historians discovered a code machine used by Adolf Hitler to swap top secret messages with his generals when they noticed it was being sold on eBay. John Wetter, a volunteer at the museum, said: 'My colleague was scanning eBay and he saw a photograph of what seemed to be the teleprinter.

Traveling to another country can be tough: Encountering alien foods, perhaps even exotic toilets. But without a doubt, learning learning the local language is always helpful in avoiding potentially awkward situations, and can be immensely convenient if you want to ask which train to take or to meet new people. But learning another language is easier said than done -- it can depend on how similar the new language may be compared to your mother tongue, your motivation or how much time you have on your hands. But juggling these linguistic logistics may not be necessary anymore. A New York City-based company called Waverly Labs is launching Pilot, a smartphone-app controlled wearable device that is capable of instantly translating foreign languages in real time.

The technology world is on the verge of one of its biggest ever waves of disruption, as the intersection of the Internet of Things and Real Time Communications gives birth to the Exchange of Everything. This new concept is reminiscent of the technology trend that swept through Wall Street back in the 1990s. I came into Wall Street fresh out of college, building trading floor technology that helped firms keep up with the growth of the public markets and introduction of new platforms. This meant building and engineering sophisticated trader voice applications connecting thousands of participants – buyers, sellers, brokers, banks and, of course, exchanges. It was'real time all the time' with 24-hour global trades emerging, where seconds meant millions and there was no tolerance for anything other than'pin drop' audio.

Dr. Kim, the Vice President of the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, and Associate Chief of Surgery at Children's National Medical Center Washington DC, and his group "taught" the system using the best practices of human surgeons.

I spent a couple of days this week in the company of robots. They seemed friendly, they were keen to make conversation, and they could do a few quite clever things. But I came away from the Innorobo exhibition in Paris with few fears about the prospect of an imminent robot takeover. Perhaps that is because, as we discuss in today's edition of Tech Tent, the robotics industry is now anxious to improve the image of its products. All the talk in Paris was of cobots, or collaborative robots.

Three Australian startups have been recognised as some of the most disruptive companies in the world with the potential to "influence, change or create new global markets". Twice a year, leading entrepreneurs, investors and experts from the likes of Microsoft Ventures, Silicon Valley Bank, Sky News and IBM curate the Disrupt 100 list, which is published by UK-based Tallt Ventures. Out of more than one million global startups and corporate ventures, Sydney's Eora 3D, Adelaide's Humanihut and Queensland's Go One made the cut. With Asia expected to represent a growing number of listings in the future, Disrupt 100 has highlighted Eora 3D among the many startups in the region leading the way. It's a proud moment for Eora 3D co-founder Rich Boers who says he can't believe his startup has been listed ahead of companies like IBM Watson, a health platform using artificial intelligence to generate insights on unstructured data.

Beijing: With its economy slowing down, China is seeking to reorganize its manufacturing platforms from cheap products to cutting edge technology like AI. China plans to expand its artificial intelligence (AI) products market to over US 15 billion by speeding up the manufacturing of products like robots, home appliances and mobile phones as part of efforts to develop new technologies to reorient its sluggish economy. Under the plan, China will cultivate and develop emerging artificial intelligence industries, promote innovation in intelligent products and enhance the intelligence level of terminal products. The programme will involve key projects such as intelligent home appliances, smart automobiles, intelligent unmanned systems, intelligent wearable devices and robots. By 2018, China shall build platforms for fundamental AI resources and innovation and make breakthroughs on basic core technology, the three-year implementation programme for'Internet Plus' artificial intelligence said.

In the beginning of 2016 Jill Watson, an IBM-designed bot, has been helping graduate students at Georgia Institute of Technology solve problems with their design projects. Responding to questions over email and posted on forums, Jill had a casual, colloquial tone, and was able to offer nuanced and accurate responses within minutes. A robot has been teaching graduate students for 5 months and none of them realized. Here are just a few of artificial intelligence tools and technologies that will shape and define the educational experience of the future. Duolingo is the world's most popular platform to learn a language.

Science fiction is now science fact? Researchers narrow the gap between man and machine, developing a robot that can sense and react to pain. The technology is expected to improve interaction between machines and humans, especially in the industries. Two researchers at the Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany presented the project at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Stockholm, Sweden. One of the goals of the research was to provide machines with the ability to avoid damage to internal and external parts.