Page 407 - Technology Internet

Microsoft auditing partner KPMG's anti-piracy work in India after complaint -documents

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is investigating the methods partner KPMG uses to crack down on the illegal use of its software in India, after a complaint from a senior member of the country's ruling political party, documents seen by Reuters showed.

'Zero-waste smartphones in the offing'

Scientists have perfected a process to efficiently separate fibreglass and resin - two of the most commonly discarded parts of a cell phone, bringing zero-waste smartphones closer to reality. It is one of the first processes to use simple techniques like gravity separation to cleanly lift organic resins from inorganic fibreglass, researchers said. "Discarded cellphones are a huge, growing source of electronic waste, with close to two billion new cellphones sold every year around the world and people replacing their phones every few years," said Maria Holuszko, a professor at the University of British Columbia in Canada. "The challenge is to break down models that can no longer be reused into useful materials - in a way that does not harm the environment,' said Holuszko, who led the study published in the journal Waste Management. Most e-waste recycling firms focus on recovering useful metals like gold, silver, copper and palladium, which can be used to manufacture other ...

China launches cloud platform for its scientists

China has launched one of the most advanced scientific cloud platforms with an aim to provide scientists with accessible, accurate and secure data services to drive research and innovation, an official has said. The China Science and Technology Cloud (CSTC), created by the Computer Network Information Centre of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, draws data from the academy's research institutes and major scientific installations, as well as many of the country's top universities and private innovation centres, the state-run China Daily reported today. Applications are divided into five broad categories: data resources, cloud computing with artificial intelligence (AI) and supercomputers, research software support, research community networks and outreach to foreign scientists and platforms. "The CSTC aims to become the go-to platform to satisfy most data and cloud service needs from scientists and innovators in China," director of the information centre, Liao Fangyu was quoted as saying

Airtel offers free 4G data trial for new smart phone customers

New programme complements Airtel's 'Mera Pehla Smartphone' initiative

Huawei P20 Pro pips flagship smartphones in camera quality

Huawei's newly-launched P20 Pro has pipped other flagship smartphones by grabbing the top spot in both the imaging and video formats in "DxOMark Rankings" -- a trusted industry standard for camera and lens image quality measurements and ratings.

Canon India launches new mirrorless camera for millennials

Canon India on Friday launched "EOS M50" -- a new mirrorless camera for the millennials in India that houses the "DIGIC 8" image processor to ensure better picture quality and comes with 4K movie shooting capability.

Zero-waste mobile phones come closer to reality

Researchers have hit a milestone in a quest to safeguard the environment and reduce the e-waste as much as possible.The scientists at the University of British Columbia perfected a process to efficiently separate fiberglass and resin - two of the most commonly discarded parts of a cellphone - bringing them closer to their goal of a zero-waste cellphone.It's one of the first processes to use simple techniques like gravity separation to cleanly lift organic resins from inorganic fiberglass."Discarded cell phones are a huge, growing source of electronic waste, with close to two billion new cell phones sold every year around the world and people replacing their phones every few years," said lead researcher Maria Holuszko. "The challenge is to break down models that can no longer be reused into useful materials--in a way that doesn't harm the environment."Most e-waste recycling firms focus on recovering useful metals like gold, silver, copper, and palladium, which can be used to ...

Only 1.2% firms true 'digital disruptors' in Asia-Pacific: Study

Only 1.2 per cent of the organisations in the Asia Pacific region meet the gold standard of being "digital disruptors," a new report has said.

Huawei P20 Pro tops DxOMark's camera quality charts

Global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider Huawei announced that its P20 Pro has been ranked as the best camera smartphone, according to DxOMark Rankings, an industry standard for camera and lens image quality measurements and ratings.Achieving highest DxOMark's scores, the HUAWEI P20 Pro surpasses the scores of other top smartphones present by taking number one spot in both photo and video rankings.Backed by world's first Leica triple camera, the P20 Pro comes with a 40-megapixel RGB sensor, a 20-megapixel monochrome sensor, and an 8-megapixel telephoto sensor, wide aperture to capture crisp, clear details enhancing the user experience. The Huawei P20 Pro also allows long-range photography of up to five times Hybrid Zoom and click details which are not visible from naked eyes. Furthermore, its image sensor captures low light photos with up to ISO 102400.The Huawei P20 Series devices support six-axis stabilisation and 960fps super slow motion, which is ..

Vivo Y71 launched in India at Rs 10,990 with AI-backed 'face beauty' camera

The device comes with "Face Access" feature which scans the facial features to unlocks it

Now, chatbots to address train passengers' queries

Indian Railways is exploring the use automated chatbots, a first for the rail sector, so as to respond faster to train-related queries and enhance customer experience.

Google AI can focus on individual speakers in a crowd

Just as most smartphone cameras now allow users to focus on a single object among many, it may soon be possible to pick out individual voices in a crowd by suppressing all other sounds, thanks to a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) system developed by Google researchers.

Samsung smartphone for students to avoid exam distractions

South Korea's tech giant Samsung Electronics on Friday launched a mobile phone without data access which is aimed at students who want to avoid distractions during examinations.

Himachal has outdated apple processing facilities: CAG

The state-run Himachal Pradesh Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corp (HPMC), which is mainly into marketing apple juice concentrate, is using worn out machinery and its unscientific collection often deteriorates the quality of fruits.

EU Justice Commissioner held 'constructive' talks with Facebook's Sandberg

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova said she had a "constructive and open discussion" with Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg about the Cambridge Analytica scandal on Thursday.

Russia asks Facebook how it complies with data law - Interfax

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian communications watchdog Roskomnadzor has asked Facebook to explain how it is complying with a Russian law on data localisation, the Interfax news agency reported on Thursday.

InFocus to launch new smartphone with 'Face Unlock' feature

US-based technology company InFocus is expected to launch a new pocket-friendly device with the 'Face Unlock' feature in mid-April in India.

Uber to up its background checks for drivers

Uber will start doing annual criminal background checks on U.S. drivers and hire a company that constantly monitors criminal arrests as it tries to do a better job of keeping riders safe. The move announced today is one of several actions taken by the ride-hailing company under new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi (Cause-row-SHA-hee). He says the changes aren't being done just to polish the company's image, which has been tarnished by driver misbehavior and a long string of other embarrassing missteps. Other safety features include buttons in the Uber app that allow riders to call 911 in an emergency, as well as app refinements that make it easier for riders to share their whereabouts with friends or loved ones.

Insight: Google poised to emerge unscathed from European antitrust crackdown

BRUSSELS/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The European Union's top antitrust regulator, Margrethe Vestager, has made it her mission to stem alleged anti-competitive abuses by big American tech companies, threatening as recently as last month to break up Alphabet Inc's Google.

Smartphone addiction similar to substance abuse: study

Overuse of smartphones is just like any other type of substance abuse, say scientists who found that digital addiction makes people feel lonely, depressed and anxious. Smartphones are an integral part of most people's lives, allowing us to stay connected and in-the-know at all times. The downside of that convenience is that many of us are also addicted to the constant pings, chimes, vibrations and other alerts from our devices, unable to ignore new emails, texts and images. In a study published in the journal NeuroRegulation, researchers argue that overuse of smart phones is just like any other type of substance abuse. "The behavioral addiction of smartphone use begins forming neurological connections in the brain in ways similar to how opioid addiction is experienced by people taking Oxycontin for pain relief - gradually," said Erik Peper, from San Francisco State University in the US. On top of that, addiction to social media technology may actually have a negative effect on social .