Page 516 - Technology Internet
Apple admits to slowing iPhones as batteries age
Apple has confirmed what some conspiracy theorists suspected, that it intentionally slows performance of older iPhones as batteries weaken from age. The admission played into concerns that Apple was stealthily nudging iPhone users to upgrade to newer models by letting them think it was the handsets that needed replacing and not just a matter of getting new batteries. "Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices," an Apple spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry. "Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components." Lithium-ion batteries are commonly used in mobile devices, and charging capacity naturally wanes with use and time. Meanwhile, smartphone operating software is ...
Facebook changing how it identifies 'fake news' stories
Facebook says it is changing how it identifies "fake news" stories on its platform to a more effective system. The social-media network had put "disputed" labels on stories that fact-checkers found false. Instead, now it will bring up "related articles" next to the false stories that give context from fact-checkers on the stories' problems. Facebook said yesterday that in its tests, fewer hoax articles were shared when they had fact-checkers' articles spooled up next to them than when they were labelled with "disputed" flags. The new approach also may help speed up the fact-checking system, which sometimes worked too slowly . Now information from just one checker can be shown next to the false story. The labelling system required two fact-checkers.
Amazon to heat up Indian smartphone market with 10.or
US-based online retailer Amazon will bring in a range of smartphones to the Indian market under 10.or (pronounced Tenor) to take on homegrown rival, Flipkart. The smartphones, first of which goes on sale on January 5, will be launched under the company's 'Crafted for Amazon' programme, it said in a statement. Explaining the programme, Amazon.in said it shares customer insights with OEM partners. These partners then design and manufacture products as per industry leading quality and reliability standards. Amazon provides go-to-market support for these products, it added. The first device -- 10.or D series smartphone features 5.2 inch screen and 3,500 mAH battery. It will be priced Rs 4,999 onwards The Crafted for Amazon program will also include fashion brands like Myx, Symbol, and the Home & Kitchen brand Solimo. "Crafted for Amazon program seeks to look for selection gaps and introduce more products to cater to local customer demand," Amazon.in said. All 10.or D ...
Amazon brings web browsing to Fire TV
Amazon on Thursday rolled out Mozilla Firefox and Amazon Silk browsers on all Amazon Fire TV devices in over 100 countries and territories.
Microsoft to continue partnering Assam for better e-governance
Microsoft India will continue to partner Assam to enable better e-governance services in the state, the tech giant has said. The company was the first global public cloud service provider to be accredited by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), it said in a release. Microsoft technologies currently power several core e-governance and critical projects in Assam, the release said. The tech major is engaged with Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd for their initiatives in the field of internal workplace modernisation, and is also associated with departments such commercial tax and treasury, it said. During a digital conclave in the city yesterday, the company discussed its focus on better e-governance services in Assam, in alignment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Digital India' mission. "We believe the next step of growth will be to move beyond just the Internet and leverage the power of the cloud, artificial intelligence, IoT and data; and .
Rachakonda Police take up campaign to prevent cyber crimes
In order to prevent cyber crimes, an aggressive campaign is being done to create awareness among the general public through different mediums, Rachakonda Commissioner of Police Mahesh M Bhagwat said today. As many as 366 cases pertaining to various cyber offences have been registered by the Cyber Cell of Rachakonda Commissionerate from January this year till December 19 and a total of 60 accused including 13 foreigners were arrested in connection with the cases like hacking of accounts, mail spoofing, phishing calls, lottery frauds by Nigerians, online cheating among others, the Commissioner told reporters. A new Cyber Crime Lab worth of Rs four crores has been established in the Commissionerate, Bhagwat said adding in order to prevent cyber crimes an aggressive campaign is being done to create awareness among the public through print, electronic media and social platforms. To increase electronic surveillance and to prevent and detect crime, CCTV project has been ...
IITH researchers develop "e-skin" that mimics human skin
: The Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) today said that its researchers have developed a low cost, artificial electronic skin (e-skin) which mimics the functionality of the human skin. It stated that this "e-skin" is beneficial for acid attack and burn victims in cases where the skin is permanently damaged and loses functionality. According to a release from IITH, Professor Sushmee Badhulika, Associate Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering was last week honoured with the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) Young Engineer Award in this connection. Prof Badhulika said, "The e-skin mimics the functionality of the human skin in terms of sensing even minor pressure and strain variations. It is based on natural rubber which is low-cost and biodegradable." She elaborated that these devices can be adapted in applications where cost, resources and energy are limited. The IITH release said that the award was in recognition of her notable ...
Purism planning to start manufacturing laptops in Ker
US-based tech firm Purism is planning to start manufacturing of laptops in Kerala and the initial talks in this regard have begun, according to company founder and CEO Todd Weaver. Purism, headquartered in San Francisco, manufactures free software laptops and mobile phones under the brand name 'Librem'. The company will also soon launch the free software cellphone Librem 5, Weaver said while speaking on the sidelines of the 6th edition of SWATANTRA 2017, the two-day triennial free software conference. The conference has been organised by International Centre for Free and Open Source Software (ICFOSS), an autonomous organisation under the Kerala governments IT Department. "Kerala has a mandate for using free software and we can also do assembly anywhere. During the initial stage, 10 per cent of the manufacturing of the laptop, mainly assembly, will be done in Kerala and it will be increased gradually," he said. "We are in touch with the Kerala officials if we can supply .
Paisabazaar.com brings on board Jagmal Singh as CTO
Paisabazaar.com, India's No. 1 marketplace for loans and cards, today announced the appointment of Jagmal Singh as its Chief Technology Officer.Jagmal, an alumni of IIT Delhi, has worked with D. E. Shaw and Co. for five years and has also been an entrepreneur. His last venture was acquired by Cardekho, where he was the Director of Technology before joining Paisabazaar.Along with Jagmal Singh's appointment, Paisabazaar.com also announced that Mukesh Sharma, who was looking after the organization's mobile technology and strategic initiatives, has been promoted to Head of Engineering.Naveen Kukreja, CEO and co-founder, Paisabazaar.com, said, "One of the biggest factors that has made Paisabazaar.com a market leader in India's online lending space has been our ability to work tirelessly in creating a seamless experience for our consumers, using technology and data. The challenge now is to take the Paisabazaar experience to the next level. Jagmal, with his expertise in cutting edge ...
Gravitational wave detector to be built in India by 2025
A new LIGO gravitational wave detector to measure ripples in the fabric of space and time is set to be built in India by 2025, in collaboration with universities from across the globe. The new Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detector will add to the two already operational in the US. The LIGO detectors discovered the first gravitational waves produced by two giant merging blackholes last year. The research won a Nobel Prize in Physics this year. The location for the new detector in India has been selected, and the acquisition has started, said Somak Raychaudhury, Director of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) Pune. However, the site has not been revealed yet. "When the detector building is completed in 2025, IUCAA will run it," Raychaudhury told PTI. The LIGO India partnership is funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) through its Newton-Bhabha project on LIGO. The Raja Ramanna Centre for ..
Dell expands Inspiron notebook line-up in India
Refreshing its Inspiron series in India, Dell on Thursday launched three ultra-slim notebooks -- "Inspiron 13 7000" 2-in-1 (7373), "Inspiron 15 7000" (7570) and "Inspiron 13 5000" (5370).
iPhones with other batteries will take a hit in performance: Apple
Technology giant Apple on Thursday confirmed to the news of slowing down of old iPhones and said that iPhones with older batteries will take a hit in performance.According to The Verge, Apple said that it is not slowing down older iPhones to urge people to upgrade to newer models.However, the company admitted to addressing an issue with devices containing older lithium-ion batteries that results in unexpected shutdowns."Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices. Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components," the company said in a statement."Last year we released a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from ...
NASA develops new tool to search for alien life
NASA has developed a new tool, designed to detect compounds and minerals associated with biological activity, to help the search for alien life. Although no evidence of life outside of Earth has yet been found, looking for evidence of present or past life on other planets continues to be an important part of the NASA Planetary Exploration Programme. Researchers at NASA Langley Research Center and the University of Hawaii in the US developed the new instrument, which improves on an analytical technique known as micro Raman spectroscopy. This technique uses the interaction between laser light and a sample to provide chemical composition information on a microscopic scale. It can detect organic compounds such as the amino acids found in living things and identify minerals formed by biochemical processes on Earth that might indicate life on other planets. "Our instrument is one of the most advanced Raman spectrometers ever developed," said M Nurul Abedin of NASA Langley ...
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Meet Mortimer, a robot drummer who posts pictures on Facebook
Scientists have developed a drumming robot, called Mortimer, who can compose music responsively to human pianists in real-time, and also post pictures of the sessions on Facebook.
Ola launches 'Lite App' for easy customer accessibility
Taxi aggregator Ola on Thursday announced the launch of 'Ola Lite app', a localized innovation that will enable in doubling the focus on simplified accessibility for anyone and everyone who needs reliable commute."We are pleased to inform you that Ola, India's largest mobility platform introduces yet another localized innovation - the Ola Lite app. After much success and learning from innovations such as Offline Booking and the Progressive Web App, Ola launches its Lite app to double down the focus on simplified accessibility for anyone and everyone who needs reliable commute," said the statement by the company.The Ola Lite app, which is fast and super-light with less than 1MB, is the first in the industry to launch a Lite app for personal commute.The app 'Ola Lite' is truly aimed at simplifying accessibility to reliable commute.It however, loads within a few seconds and is built to tackle Internet and phone memory challenges.The app provides a seamless experience even with the lowest
Vodafone 4G network covers 600 towns in Punjab
Cellular operator Vodafone India today said its 4G network now covers over 600 towns in Punjab and the expansion is in sync with the growing data-related requirements in the state. "Vodafone SuperNetTM 4G now covers 600 plus towns in Punjab, with over 550 towns being added over the past three months alone," said Arvind Nevatia, Business Head - Punjab, HP and J&K, Vodafone India in a release issued here. Some of the new towns under Vodafone 4G network include Kapurthala, Malerkotla, Jalalabad, Nabha, Sirhind Fatehgarh Sahib, Muktsar, Jagraon, Fazilka, Sunam and Tarn Taran, he said. He further said the company had invested about Rs 450 crore on expanding and strengthening the network in the state over the past one year. "We have seen a rapid rise in data usage in urban and rural Punjab. Our expansion overdrive is in sync with the growing data-related requirements of Punjab. As part of our expansion overdrive, we have rolled out 4,600 plus sites (3G/4G combined) in the
Kodak's camera-first smartphone at 40 percent discount on Snapdeal
Kodak Ektra, a photography-led smartphone will now be available exclusively on Snapdeal from 21st December, 2017 and that too at a whopping discount of over 40 percent.The camera first phone blends Kodak's rich history in imaging with the latest innovations in smartphone photography, making it ideal for those with a passion for photography.For Rs. 9999, you get a solid 21-megapixel fast focus camera sensor with f2.0 aperture, and an industry leading 13-megapixel front-facing camera with Phase Detection Auto Focus PDAF and f2.2 aperture.The users can take advantage of the SLR-style Scene Selection Dial, where adjustments are made in real time via a range of settings. It even has manual mode where more advanced users can adjust exposure, ISO, focus, white balance and shutter speed, with the results being visible on the screen as changes are made.The camera uses advanced technology like Arcsoft Night Shot and Kodak certified lens coating that enables light to reach the sensor, reduces ...
Cyient opens global IoT-enabled Tower Operations Center
Cyient has announced on Thursday the opening of its global Tower Operations Center (TOC) at the company's headquarters in Hyderabad, India.The IoT-enabled TOC will provide 24/7 surveillance and remotely monitors all passive assets in cell towers across multiple locations.Cyient said that the solution architecture enables communication between sensors and an integrated, cloud-based analytics engine to extract and analyze asset data.Thus resulting in increased tower uptime, reduced operational costs, improved site security and intrusion detection, and ensures efficient energy and power management."This integrated TOC solution facilitates tower and infrastructure companies to perform real-time monitoring of all active information from remote sites. Field engineers can now pro-actively manage network assets by utilizing data analytics and digital technologies, such as IoT, cloud, and mobility," Sanjay Krishnaa, Senior Vice President, Communications, and President, Asia Pacific at Cyient .
NASA develops new tool to fast-track search for alien life
To push its search for life in alien terrains, NASA has developed a new spectroscopy instrument designed to detect compounds and minerals associated with biological activity more quickly and with greater sensitivity than previous instruments.
