Microsoft will release a refreshed Arm-based desktop PC for developers later this year. Project Volterra will speed up machine learning algorithms for data scientists and AI developers. The vendor introduced the stackable PC, which can connect to multiple units for additional capabilities, last week at Microsoft Build, its annual software and web developer conference. The PC will enable developers to use Arm-native versions of Microsoft developer tools to build apps. The small PCs, which look like Mac minis, are built from recycled ocean plastic. They are the first to integrate the gasconaded neural processing units (NPUs) -- a controversial name that some analysts view with skepticism.

At its annual meeting with investors Wednesday, Starbucks executives outlined a bevy of initiatives involving new store formats, expanded food offerings and new premium coffee beverages -- but the other big story to come out of the coffee giant's corporate hobnobbing was how the company's use of technology has turned the brand into a digital innovation machine. Microsoft to PC makers: Let's make some Windows 10 ARM-based PCs The five upstarts that are leading the AI and machine learning revolution Microsoft has reclaimed its birthright: Windows 10 to overtake Windows 7 within a year Here are some best practices for preventing DDoS attacks Microsoft to PC makers: Let's make some Windows 10 ARM-based PCs Starbucks, which has one of the largest loyalty card programs, has doubled down on its use of technology and mobile apps as a way to boost sales and increase service speed. The coffee and tea retailer adopted a digital strategy early on and has become an example in how to successfully use technology in a retail setting. "Starbucks has been very successful in removing functional barriers and getting its digital and store operations team's to see the business from the customer's perspective," said Forrester principal analyst Nigel Fenwick. "They are a customer-obsessed company that uses digital capabilities as a means to create value for customers and thereby drive revenue growth."

MIT researchers have developed a computational model which aims to capture the human elements of facial recognition and implement it in our artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning systems. On Thursday, MIT revealed the research, conducted at the Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines (CBMM), headquartered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Microsoft to PC makers: Let's make some Windows 10 ARM-based PCs The five upstarts that are leading the AI and machine learning revolution Microsoft has reclaimed its birthright: Windows 10 to overtake Windows 7 within a year Here are some best practices for preventing DDoS attacks Microsoft to PC makers: Let's make some Windows 10 ARM-based PCs The researchers designed a machine learning system which implements the new model and they have trained it to recognize sets of particular faces based on sample imagery, resulting in a far more accurate and'human' way of recognizing faces. An interesting aspect of the model is the "spontaneous" addition of a facial recognition processing step which takes place when an image is displayed showing a face which is rotated -- such as 45 degrees to the left or right -- which was not included in the initial model. The team says this property appeared through the training process but was not part of the original brief.