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Not just Facebook, Twitter also sold data to Cambridge Analytica researcher

After the massive Facebook data scandal, it has now come to notice that Twitter had also sold users' data to a Cambridge Analytica researcher who collected the data of nearly 87 million Facebook users without their knowledge and permission, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

New materials for sustainable, low-cost batteries developed

Scientists have developed novel materials that could help develop sustainable and low-cost aluminium batteries. The first is a corrosion-resistant material for the conductive parts of the battery; the second is a novel material for the battery's positive pole that can be adapted to a wide range of technical requirements, said scientists from ETH Zurich in Switzerland. The energy transition depends on technologies that allow the inexpensive temporary storage of electricity from renewable sources. A promising new candidate is aluminium batteries, which are made from cheap and abundant raw materials. As the electrolyte fluid in aluminium batteries is extremely aggressive and corrodes stainless steel, and even gold and platinum, scientists are searching for corrosion-resistant materials for the conductive parts of these batteries. Researchers have found what they are looking for in titanium nitride, a ceramic material that exhibits sufficiently high conductivity. "This compound is made up

Apple to ditch '3D Touch' for upcoming iPhone: Report

Apple is working on a LCD-display iPhone that may not feature its legendary '3D Touch' feature to balance costs, a top analyst with Taiwanese business group KGI Securities has said.

Lessons for India as Russia integrates breakthrough tech into its economy

Aiming to overcome infrastructural limitations to its economic growth, Russia is now relying on an increased university-industry collaboration to integrate breakthrough technologies in building a new economy for the country -- and there are lessons India can learn.

Twitter also sold data to Cambridge Analytica researcher

After the Facebook data scandal, it has now come to notice that Twitter had also sold users' data to a Cambridge Analytica researcher who gathered the data of nearly 87 million Facebook users without their knowledge, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

Facebook starts rolling out 'downvote' button

Facebook has begun rolling out a feature called "downvote" that lets users register a negative reaction to comments on the social networking platform but it is not the "dislike" button users have long desired.

Govt. to recreate 20 monuments using 3D technology in 2 years: DST secy

By 3D printing we can create Taj Mahal, Ghats of Benares, Buddhist circuit and any heritage or any monument. So tourists coming in can see and decide what they like and where they want to go, said Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, secretary, Department of Science & Technology (DST).

Odisha government signs five MoUs at Odisha Skills 2018

The Odisha government on Sunday signed five MoUs with leading academic and technological organisations in various fields on the sidelines of Odisha Skills 2018 here, an official said.

NTP to focus on transition from physical to digital infra

The national telecom policy in works will focus on complete transition of the country from physical to digital infrastructure, with norms to push availability of high speed and uninterrupted broadband services in mission mode, according to government sources. The Draft National Telecom Policy 2018, slated for release on May 1, is likely to come up with framework for indigenisation of all the technologies in the broadband ecosystem to be used in the country and create 40 lakh new jobs in the sector. The policy in works is likely to propose higher weightage to products and equipments that have been developed and manufactured locally with intellectual property rights residing in India for public procurement purposes. "The NTP 2018 is being drafted to implement Digital India vision of the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) in totality. The policy will see massive transition of the country from use of physical infrastructure to digital. There is proposal to have National Broadband Mission ...

Allocating backhaul spectrum via non-auction route to improve service quality: Trai chief

Trai has asserted that its recommendation of allocating the 'backhaul' spectrum bands without auction will help enhance mobile phone signal carrying capacity between two towers, reduce call drops and improve voice and data quality. The telecom Commission (TC), the highest-decision making body of the Telecom Department, is likely to meet on May 1 to decide on allocation of spectrum in V-band and E-bands. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), on whose recommendation allocation of the highly valuable spectrum is done, said spectrum in V-band and E-band even in the most advanced economies is done without auction as these airwaves are used as backhaul and not for carrying access signals to consumers. Reached for comments, Trai Chairman R S Sharma said the regulator had given its recommendation on allocation of spectrum in V and E bands way back in August 2014 after consulting with all stakeholders. While all airwaves used for transmitting signals to mobile phones, called access

Crack in heat shield won't delay Mars 2020 mission: NASA

A fracture that developed in the heat shield to be used on NASA's Mars 2020 mission is unlikely to delay the its launch, the US space agency said. A post-test inspection of the composite structure for a heat shield to be used on the Mars 2020 mission revealed that a fracture occurred during structural testing. The mission team is working to build a replacement heat shield structure. Project management at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, is working with contractor Lockheed Martin Space to understand the cause of the fracture and determine whether any design changes need to be incorporated into a replacement. The fracture, which occurred near the shield's outer edge and spans the circumference of the component, was discovered on April 12, after the shield completed a week-long test at the Lockheed Martin Space facility. The test was designed to subject the heat shield to forces up to 20 per cent greater than those expected during entry into the Martian ...

650 India Post Payments Bank branches to start by May: Sinha

Union Minister of State for Communications Manoj Sinha today said that as many as 650 branches of the India Post payments bank are likely to be operational across the country by next month. He said that the work of system integration of the payments bank had been completed and processes mandated by the Reserve Bank of India would be completed within one week. "It is likely that 650 branches of the India Post payments bank would start functioning from May," he said at a press conference here. The minister said that the launch of the postal department's payments bank would enable more than 1.5 lakh post offices to become access points for people to avail banking services, adding that it would help the government's plans of financial inclusion and direct transfer of benefits in remote areas. India Post had received permission from the RBI to start a payments bank in January last year, following which it set up two branches, on a pilot basis, at Raipur and Ranchi. He said ...

AI system helps soldiers in combat learn faster

Scientists, including one of Indian origin, have developed an artificial intelligence system that can help soldiers learn 13 times faster than conventional methods. It's possible to help Soldiers decipher hints of information faster and more quickly deploy solutions, such as recognizing threats like a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, or potential danger zones from aerial war zone images, researchers said. The researchers from US Army Research Laboratory (ARL), relied on low-cost, lightweight hardware and implemented collaborative filtering, a well-known machine learning technique on a state-of-the-art, low-power Field Programmable Gate Array platform to achieve a 13.3 times speedup of training compared to a state-of-the-art optimised multi-core system and 12.7 times speedup for optimized GPU systems. The new technique consumed far less power too. Consumption charted 13.8 watts, compared to 130 watts for the multi-core and 235 watts for GPU platforms, making this a ...

Life-size holograms for 3D video-conferences developed

Scientists have developed the world's first truly holographic video-conference system, which allows people in different locations to appear before one another in life-size 3D, as if they were in the same room. Using a ring of intelligent projectors mounted above and around a retro-reflective, human-sized cylindrical pod, researchers from Queen's University in Canada were able to project objects as light fields that can be walked around and viewed from all sides simultaneously by multiple users - much like Star Trek's famed, fictional 'holodeck'. Capturing the remote 3D image with an array of depth cameras, the team has 'teleported' live, 3D images of a human from one room to another - a feat that is set to revolutionise human telepresence. Due to the display projects a light field with many images, one for every degree of angle, users need not wear a headset or 3D glasses to experience each other in augmented reality. "Face-to-face interaction transfers an immense amount of non-verbal

Facebook shrinks doubtful stories to fight fake news

After Facebook's red warning labels to flag fake news backfired, the social networking giant is now literally sizing down the doubtful stories to prevent the triumph of falsehood on its platform.

Consumers in India receptive to automated interactions with brands: Report

Consumers in India are increasingly becoming receptive to technology-based experiences and showing a preference for automation and non-human interactions with brands, says a study. According to Adobe's Experience Index 2018, consumer expectation scores in India barely cross 50 per cent, indicating significant room for brands to improve customer experiences. "The country's digital native population has higher standards for their experiences with brands than others. While older Indian consumers are increasingly relying on digital technology to cut down on time wasted on daily tasks," said Mickey Mericle, Vice President, Marketing & Customer Insights, Adobe. The study noted that consumers in India are most impressed by new innovations that help them interact with a brand, and are open to businesses implementing new ways to automate such interactions. As per the study, customer service and lack of information from businesses are still some of the biggest pain-points for consumers. ...

Twitter introduces new feature to push more news links

Continuing its aggressive move into news, Twitter has now rolled out a new feature to highlight the links shared by your network into your Home timeline, BuzzFeed News has reported.

New app for railway vendors

To make the vendor approval and registration process faster and easier, the Research Designs and Standards Organization (RDSO) has launched a new mobile app. Called PIMS, the app was launched yesterday at the 'Rail Connect 2018' conference organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). "This app, which can be downloaded through Google Play Store, will not only help vendors track their file movement, and status of their application for registration, but will also make the whole process fair and transparent," said Lakshmi Raman, Executive Director (Quality Assurance, Mechanical), RDSO. RDSO functions under the Railway ministry as a technical adviser and consultant to the Railway Board, Zonal Railways, Railway Production Units, among others. S K Gupta, Executive Director (Stores), RDSO, urged the vendors to join the "massive augmentation and modernization" exercise by the government.

New module could give prosthetic arms delicate sense of touch

Losing an arm need not mean losing all sense of touch as researchers have developed a new sensory control module that may enable users of prosthetic arms to to be able to reliably feel and hold things as delicate as a child's hand.

AI could help soldiers learn faster in combat

A novel machine learning technique could help soldiers to learn 13 times faster than conventional methods as well as help save lives, say researchers, including one of Indian-origin.