PlayStation Plus monthly free games for September 2022 have been revealed. Starting September 6, PS Plus Essential, Extra, Premium, and Deluxe subscribers can add Need for Speed Heat, Granblue Fantasy: Versus, and Toem to their game library. Access ends on October 3.
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Google to pay Rs 25 lakh to spot bugs in its open source projects
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Google has launched a new bug bounty programme where it will award up to $31,337 (nearly Rs 25 lakh) to researchers who spot vulnerabilities in the company's Open Source projects.
Depending on the severity of the vulnerability and the project's importance, rewards will range from $100 to $31,337.
The larger amounts will also go to unusual or particularly interesting vulnerabilities, "so creativity is encouraged," said Google while launching its Open Source Software Vulnerability Rewards Programme (OSS VRP).
As the maintainer of major projects such as Golang, Angular, and Fuchsia, Google is among the largest contributors and users of open source in the world.
Last year, Google saw a 650 per cent year-over-year increase in attacks targeting the open source supply chain.
With the addition of Google's own vulnerability reward programme (VRP), researchers can now be rewarded for finding bugs that could potentially impact the entire open source ecosystem.
The original VRP programme was one of the first in the world and is now approaching its 12th anniversary.
"Over time, our VRP lineup has expanded to include programmes focused on Chrome, Android, and other areas. Collectively, these programs have rewarded more than 13,000 submissions, totalling over $38 million paid," Google said in a statement late on Tuesday.
Google said its OSS VRP is part of "our $10 billion commitment to improving cybersecurity, including securing the supply chain against these types of attacks for both Google's users and open source consumers worldwide".
(Except for the headline, the rest of this IANS article is un-edited)
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New JBL earbuds has worlds 1st charging case with touchscreen
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Global audio company JBL has launched the world's first wireless earbuds that have a smart charging case with a 1.45-inch LED touchscreen control panel and an immersive spatial sound.
Users can tap the LED touch display on JBL Tour PRO 2 earbuds to manage music, customise earbuds, and receive calls, messages and social media notifications in real-time, without touching the smartphone.
"I am delighted with what we have created, in particular the smart charging case of the JBL Tour PRO 2. In our pursuit of new user-centric features, we haven't ignored the essentials, however, as we continue to elevate the audio experience," said Dave Rogers, President, HARMAN Lifestyle Division.
If you need to take a call, the 6-mic design will ensure crystal clear audio on the wireless earbuds that cost 249 euros.
It offers 40 hours of total music playback, 10 hours in the earbuds with a further 30 in the case.
The company also launched JBL Tour ONE M2 headphones that will cost 299 euros in the European market.
"The JBL Tour ONE M2 combines best-ever hybrid True Adaptive ANC with JBL Pro-tuned drivers to fill your ears with only the best sound whether on the go, at work or at home," said the company.
It offers up to 50 hours of playtime or 30 hours with ANC activated.
"Fast charge means 10 minutes plugged in and you'll be free for 5 hours of legendary JBL Pro Sound," the company added.
(Except for the headline, the rest of this IANS article is un-edited)
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Facebook to shut down standalone gaming app in Oct
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Meta is winding up its standalone Facebook Gaming app on both Android and iOS from October 28.
The app will also be not available on Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
Meta did not elaborate on why it is shuttering the standalone gaming app.
"Despite this news, our mission to connect players, fans and creators with the games they love hasn't changed, and you'll still be able to find your games, streamers and groups when you visit Gaming in the Facebook app," reads a banner on its website.
"We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of you for everything that you've done to build a thriving community for gamers and fans since this app first launched," the notice added.
The app was launched in April 2020 to let users watch their favourite streamers, play instant games and take part in gaming groups.
"Facebook experienced some hurdles trying to launch the app, as Apple rejected the app numerous times, citing its rules that prohibit apps with the main purpose of distributing casual games, reports TechCrunch.
Apple's rules had forced Facebook to remove gameplay functionality from the app.
The company said that it will continue to support gaming communities, developers, and creators on the main Facebook app.
Facebook Gaming has rolled out a new 'Clips to Reels' feature for all creators to convert live gameplay clips into Reels.
(Except for the headline, the rest of this IANS article is un-edited)
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FIFA 23 Leaked a Month Ahead of Launch, Reveals New Player Ratings and Kits
FIFA 23 accidentally leaked itself a month early. Those who pre-ordered FIFA 23 Ultimate Edition on Xbox were able to access the entire game for a short period. The preload option allowed players to screenshot player ratings, unreleased football kits, and game menus, and post them online. FIFA 23 is slated to release on September 30, across PS5, PS4, Xbox Series S/X, ...
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Meta lets you control what you see on Instagram: Heres how
Meta on Tuesday said that it is testing two new ways to help users control what they see on Instagram. While the platform is testing the ability to mark multiple posts in Explore as 'Not Interested,' it will also soon start testing the ability to tell Instagram you don't want to see suggested posts with certain words, phrases or emojis in the caption or hashtags. "We're testing the ability to mark multiple posts in Explore as Not Interested. We'll immediately hide those posts and refrain from showing you similar content in the future," said the company. Whether you're seeing something that's not relevant, or have moved on from something you used to like, you can use this feature to stop seeing content that's not interesting to you. The Instagram user interface showing where you can add or remove accounts from your Favorites list. When you add an account to your Favorites you'll see their posts higher and more often. "And you can see a dedicated feed of your Favorites to catch up on just their posts," said Meta. With 'Following' feature, you'll see posts just from the accounts you follow, in chronological order. By tapping 'Not Interested', it removes the post from your feed immediately, and "we'll suggest fewer posts like it in the future," the company informed. "If you want to take a break from suggested posts, you can easily snooze them for 30 days. To snooze suggested posts, tap the X on the top right corner, and then tap Snooze all suggested posts for 30 days," Meta announced.
(Except for the headline and cover image, the rest of this IANS article is un-edited)
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Uninstall these 5 malware-laced Google Chrome Extensions now
Google Chrome Extensions are very useful tools to enhance the browsing experience and hence, many of the popular options are downloaded and used by many. Now even though Google scans these extensions for security and privacy holes, still, some sketchy ones occasionally get away from Google’s sieve. We will learn why this happens. But more crucially, there are 5 such Google Chrome Extensions that you should delete right away (if you have them installed) as they are allegedly malware infected.
Malicious Google Chrome Extensions that you should uninstallIn a recent McAfee security report, 5 Google Chrome Extensions are named which are apparently infected by Malware. Here are their names:
Netflix Party (netflixparty1.com) Netflix Party (Yes, two extensions that allow you to watch Netflix together with your friends are flagged) FlipShope — Price Tracker Extension Full Page Screenshot Capture — Screenshotting AutoBuy Flash SalesInterestingly enough, these have over 1,400,000 combined download count, with each of them having at least 20,000 downloads. So, the chances are that some of you may have downloaded or come across these extensions. If you or anybody whom you know have them installed, we hope this post throws light on the matter. Not just these aforementioned culprits but the broader extension security concern.
How these extensions are harmful?
McAfee tells in its report that these extensions are injecting affiliate sale tracking codes even though they weren’t selling anything. For this purpose, they constantly log your browsing habits, especially the e-commerce sites you visit, and tweak the cookies to dupe the site into believing that you came in through a referral link. So, you see how it’s a privacy concern.
What is Google doing to ensure the extensions are safe?Google’s new Manifest V3 standard for extensions allows the tech giant to prevent extensions from loading remote code like JavaScript or Wasm files. This as the company notes lets it “more reliably and efficiently review the safe behavior of extensions when they're submitted to the extensions store.
Now that the McAfee report is out, Google must be acting on reviewing and straightening out the alleged parties. While we checked, the most popular Netflix Party extension with 800,000 users seems to have been removed from the store.
How does Google check the extensions submitted to the store?
Google scans the extensions to see if they match Google Developer Program Policies. It also sees if the extensions are “at least a few months” old. Accordingly, it marks the extensions as “trusted” and if they aren’t, it warns the users to “proceed with caution.” The user still gets the option to “continue to install” but then the onus is upon them.
So, we suggest you not install extensions from external shady sources. And if Chrome Store results are flagged as unsafe, we are here to inform you.
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iOS 16 Beta 8 is available for download now: Should you update it or wait for RC or public release
Apple has rolled out the 8th developer beta of iOS 16. This could be the last beta update before RC (Release Candidate) or the Public/Stable build of iOS 16. The former could be released on September 7 which is when the Apple Far Out event is going to be held and also when Apple is expected to unveil the new iPhone 14 series, Apple Watch Series 8, and the new software for at least both these device lineups. But, be that as it may, the iOS 16 beta 8 could be closer to what you get when the public release comes out in a few weeks. So, let’s break down what we know about it.
iOS 16 Beta 8: What’s new and changed?
Well, there’s hardly anything new on iOS 16 Beta 8 besides some tweaks and bug fixes. The build number is 20A5358a.
We reckon the company has ironed out any kinks left before the stable release. The UI performance should be smoother now.
We are yet to try out banking apps and other things to see if everything’s working now. We will update our findings later on.
By the way, if you are wondering whether the battery percentage icon on the status bar is available on iPhone 11 and other device, it seems to be not.
You can check out the release notes and download links for iOS 16 Beta 8 here. It is still a beta build and therefore, please proceed with caution. Also, if you haven’t installed the iOS 16 beta till now, we urge you to be patient until the RC or Public release is launched by Apple.
Also Read:
iOS 16 Public Beta Released: How to download and install iOS 16 Beta on iPhone Top iOS 16 Features: Improved Lock Screen, Notification System, And A Lot More Apple’s September Event – What to expectFor more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in.
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New Mafia Game Confirmed by Hangar 13, Original Title Will Be Free on Steam This Week
A new Mafia game has been confirmed by developer Hangar 13. In a Mafia 20th anniversary interview, General Manager Roman Hladik stated that a new project was in development, and that it is “a few years away” from the official unveil. As such, publisher 2K Games is giving away the original Mafia title for free, on Steam, from September 1–5, after which it is your...
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AMD unveils new Ryzen 7000 desktop chips for gamers, content creators
Austin (Texas), Aug 30 (IANS) Chip-maker AMD has introduced new Ryzen 7000 series desktop processors powered by the new "Zen 4" architecture that will boost performance for gamers and content creators.
The new Ryzen 7000 chips are expected to be available globally from September 27, starting at $299.
Featuring up to 16 cores, 32 threads and built on an optimised TSMC 5nm process node, the Ryzen 7000 Series processors deliver dominant performance and leadership energy efficiency, the company said during its launch here.
"The AMD Ryzen 7000 Series brings leadership gaming performance, extraordinary power for content creation, and advanced scalability with the new AMD Socket AM5," said Saeid Moshkelani, senior vice president and GM, Client business unit, AMD.
Compared to the previous generation, AMD Ryzen 7950X processor enables single-core performance improvement of up to 29 per cent, up to 45 per cent more compute for content creators in POV Ray, up to 15 per cent faster gaming performance in select titles, and up to 27 per cent better performance-per-watt.
AMD's most expansive desktop platform to date, the new Socket AM5 platform is designed for longevity with support through 2025.
"With the next generation Ryzen 7000 Series Desktop processors, we are proud to uphold our promise of leadership and continuous innovation, delivering the ultimate PC experience for gamers and creators alike," Moshkelani added.
Meanwhile, even the 6-core AMD Ryzen 5 7600X processor offers an average of 5 per cent faster gaming performance across select titles than the competitor's flagship gaming processor.
"So much fun today launching AMD Ryzen 7000 series with Zen 4 and our brand new AM5 platform," tweeted Lisa Su, Chair and CEO, AMD.
(Except for the headline, the rest of this IANS article is un-edited)
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Apples iPhone 14 line-up may come with 30W fast charging
San Francisco, Aug 30 (IANS) The iPhone 14 lineup may arrive with 30W fast charging, a significant jump from 20W being used in the iPhone 13 lineup.
According to reports, an unnamed charger brand is allegedly sending out 30W iPhone 14 adapters for early access and review.
This company believes Apple will be advertising 30W charging as a feature of the iPhone 14 series, reports AppleInsider.
The iPhone 13 Pro Max was able to support 27W charging temporarily in a test, suggesting that 30W support is possible.
It is not yet clear if the 30W charging would be limited to iPhone 14 Pro models or be available to all four iPhone 14 models.
Apple recently released two 35W Dual USB-C Port Power Adapters to be used for charging the MacBook Air and iPhone simultaneously.
The iPhone 14 lineup is set to be announced during an event on September 7.
The next-generation iPhone 14, to be produced in India around two months after its China production, will see four models � a 6.1-inch iPhone 14, a new 6.7-inch iPhone 14, a 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro and a 6.7 iPhone 14 Pro Max, according to reports.
Apple's upcoming iPhone 14 base model is rumoured to cost $799, which is the same price as the iPhone 13.
The tech giant has likely discontinued the 5.4-inch iPhone mini this year.
(Except for the headline, the rest of this IANS article is un-edited)
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You can now insert emojis in Google Docs as you type
New Delhi, Aug 30 (IANS) Google has allowed users to insert emojis while writing in Google Docs, as they will not need to pull up emoji icons from other places anymore into their documents.
Google recently added emoji reactions to Docs, and now the users can add them to actual documents. The feature supports the most recent emoji.
"Building upon the recently announced emoji reaction feature, you can now express yourself in a new way by searching for and inserting emojis directly in line with your text in Google Docs," said the company.
The emoji tool is available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers, along with users with personal Google accounts.
There is no admin control for this feature. To search for and add emojis directly in line with text in Docs, Google has simple steps to follow.
The simple way is to just type "@ (emoji name)," and typing "@emoji" will pull up a searchable emoji picker, like the one on your smartphone.
The company said the new feature has been rolled out for some users today and will reach everyone by the end of September.
The new system gives users several ways to get the emojis, and Google has listed those on its website.
(Except for the headline, the rest of this IANS article is un-edited)
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Vivo Y35 launched in India with Snapdragon 680 at 18,499: What else do you get for the price
Vivo Y35 is the new lower midrange phone from the brand. It comes in a single memory configuration and costs ₹18,499. The offered ingredients include Qualcomm Snapdragon 680, a 5000mAh battery with a 44W adapter, a 90Hz LCD panel, and a 50MP triple rear camera setup. So, those are an interesting set of specs. Let’s see the complete details to see if it has (at least on paper) what it takes to shake up the sub-20K price segment smartphone market.
Vivo Y35 Specs and Features
Vivo Y35 in Agate Black and Dawn Gold colors.
Vivo is sporting a 6.58-inch FHD+ 90Hz LCD screen with 550 nits peak brightness and 96% NTSC color coverage. There is a waterdrop notch on the front that holds a 16MP selfie shooter.
The back cameras, meanwhile are a 50MP leader, a 2MP macro, and a 2MP depth sensor.
Inside the phone, there is Snapdragon 680 processor, a 5000mAh battery, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage, and both 8GB Extended RAM and expandable storage support with a dedicated microSD card slot.
The connectivity options include USB-C 3.0, dual-band WiFi ac, Bluetooth 5.0, dual 4G VoLTE, and GPS.
Vivo has given Android 12-based Funtouch OS 12 software.
Last but not least, you also get a 44W charging feature and a side-mounted fingerprint reader.
Vivo Y35 Price and AvailabilitySara Ali Khan's style can turn heads. Now, even more so with the new #vivoY35 that's doubly stylish! Buy Now: https://ift.tt/n3XQfPZ #vivo #NewLaunch pic.twitter.com/Qn3223o4bg
— Vivo India (@Vivo_India) August 29, 2022Vivo has priced the Y35 at ₹18,499 and made it available through Vivo.com and offline stores. The introductory offers include ₹1000 cash back with ICICI Bank and SBI credit cards (offline-only) as well as a ₹750 instant discount on HDFC credit and debit cards (online-only).
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PlayStation VR2: Sony’s Next-Gen Virtual Reality Headset Launches Early 2023
PS VR2, Sony’s next-gen virtual reality headset is coming sometime in early 2023, PlayStation has confirmed. The upcoming PlayStation VR2 headset offers up to 4K resolution, running at 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rates. The headset also comes with a see-through mode and inbuilt motors, offering an immersive gaming experience.
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Sony Sued for Thousands of Crores Over Claims It Sold Overpriced PlayStation Games
The claimants have argued that the gaming giant charged a 30% commission on every digital game or in-game purchase made through the PlayStation Store.
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Days Gone Movie in the Works at Sony, With Outlander's Sam Heughan in the Lead: Report
Days Gone is reportedly getting a live-action film adaptation. Sony’s PlayStation Productions unit is basing the adaptation on the 2019 zombie survivor video game, with Outlander’s Sam Heughan set to star. The Days Gone movie script will be written by Oscar-nominated Sheldon Turner, who envisions the film as a “love ballad to motorcycles.”
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Ubisoft+ Xbox Launch Might Happen Soon, New Leak Suggests
Ubisoft+ could be launching on Xbox soon, as per a leak from Twitter user ALumia_Italia. The leaker, known for scraping Xbox’s backend, has discovered a Ubisoft+ logo, indicating its arrival on the platform. Ubisoft had previously confirmed that their game subscription service will not be coming to Game Pass.
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PS5 India August 22 Restock: How to Pre-Order PlayStation 5, PS5 Digital Edition Horizon Forbidden West Bundles
PS5 India August 22 restock — for Rs. 53,990 PS5 Horizon Forbidden West bundle, and Rs. 43,990 PS5 Digital Edition HFW bundle — is available at Amazon, Croma, Flipkart, Game Loot, Games The Shop, Reliance Digital, Sony Center ShopAtSC, and Vijay Sales.
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Bitcoin crashes below 20K: Heres how low it is estimated to go this year
After showing some stabilisation in the last few weeks, world's largest cryptocurrency Bitcoin has plunged once again below $20,000 after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's keynote address. Bitcoin initially showed little reaction to Powell's remarks, but then nosedived sharply and on Sunday, it was hovering around $19,975 per digital coin which is more that 60 per cent drop in its value since last year when it reached a record-high of $68,000 in November. Bitcoin prices had stabilised around the $23,000 to $24,000 level after plunging below $20,000 in June. The prices of ethereum and other leading digital currencies have also rallied in the past two months, leading to hopes that this nascent market may have reached its bottom. But the optimism could be premature, and fleeting. Companies with direct ties to the crypto landscape continue to struggle, according to media reports. Bitcoin, despite the hype about it being digital gold, has turned out not to be an asset that performs well when inflation pressures are mounting and interest rates are spiking. Reports last month suggested that Bitcoin may tumble to $10,000 this year. A latest Bloomberg 'MLIV Pulse survey' revealed that the Bitcoin price is heading back to $10,000. Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary has also stated that Bitcoin price has not hit bottom yet. According to experts, the Bitcoin price will hit $10,000 before recovering to the $30,000 level. Bitcoin has seen its worst-ever days in recent months amid the economic meltdown, leaving several crypto exchanges and trading platforms winding up operations, laying off people, and freezing fresh hirings. The global cryptocurrency market lost at least $670 million in the April-June quarter (Q2), and 97 per cent of the losses were due to hacks and scams.
(Except for the headline and cover image, the rest of this IANS article is un-edited)
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Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 SoC details spilled: Here are its leaked specs and features
Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 could be a forthcoming mid-range chip from the American chip giant. As you see it continues the new naming scheme like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and more. The report enclosing the leaked Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 specifications come from Evan Blass.
So, without any further ado, let’s see what this Snapdragon 600 series successor could offer:
Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 Specs and Features (Expected)pic.twitter.com/B2d6GWdjNA
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) August 26, 2022The specs sheet leaked by Evan Blass reveals the so-called Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 will have Kryo CPU fabbed on a 4nm architecture and run up to 2.2GHz clock speed. This could come clubbed with Adreno GPU, Hexagon DSP, and AI processors.
The support for mmWave and Sub-6GHz 5G could come from X62 modem along with global multi-SIM compatibility and up to 2.9Gbps downlink speeds.
When it comes to memory configuration, you could get up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and USB 3.1 storage.
The SD 6 Gen 1 could also feature up to FHD+ 120Hz displays, up to 108MP photo capture or up to 13MP triple cameras or 25MP+ 16MP duo camera setup, up to 4K30fps HDR videos, Qualcomm FastConnect 6700 WiFi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.2 support.
The leak doesn’t say anything about when to expect the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 launch. However, we will be keeping a close eye on any news about this. So stay tuned.
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Google now allows developers to build apps that work across devices: Heres how
Google has launched a new cross-device software development kit (SDK) that allows developers to build apps that work across Android and non-Android devices. The cross device software, compatible till the Android 8 version, is now available with a developer preview for Android phones and tablets, and will arrive later for Android surfaces and non-Android operating systems. Users can also share an app's current state with the same app on another device and start the app on a secondary device without having to keep the app running in background. The initial release contains a set of rich APIs focused around the core functionality of device discovery, secure connections, and multi-device sessions, said the company. With device discovery, you can locate nearby devices, authorise peer-to-peer communication, and start the target application on receiving devices. Secure connections enable encrypted, low-latency bi-directional data sharing between authorised devices. Multi-device sessions enable transferring or extending an application's user experience across multiple devices. "This SDK allows you to focus on what matters most -- building delightful user experiences and connecting these experiences across a variety of form factors and platforms," said Google. The software also enables task handoff where the user starts a task on one device, and can easily continue on another device. "In addition, apps will not have to declare or request runtime permissions for connectivity protocols, and the user can allow apps to connect to only the device they selected," said the company.
(Except for the headline, the rest of this IANS article is un-edited)
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OnePlus Nord wired earphones come at 799: Heres what you get for that price
Global technology brand OnePlus on Saturday forayed into the wired earphones category in India with the launch of its first-ever Nord wired earphones. In India, the Nord wired earphones will go on sale on September 1 at just Rs 799 across online and offline channels. The company looks to offer its signature audio experience to a wider audience with an accessible range of wired earphones compatible with the 3.5mm jack. The product will come with 9.2mm dynamic drivers and a 0.42cc sound cavity, set to deliver the all too familiar OnePlus bass experience, the company said in a statement. The design will resemble the community-favourite OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z Series with a smooth black finish, complemented by striking red accents for the classic OnePlus look. Some of the other key features are easy audio controls and magnetic clip. The earphones come equipped with magnets to ensure portability and a hassle-free experience. The device features an inline mic and button controls which give users better control over calls, multimedia and the ability to manage voice assistant. The earphones are compatible with laptops, gaming consoles and Nord smartphones using the 3.5mm audio jack. Moreover, the earphones come with three pairs of interchangeable silicon tips.
(Except for the headline, the rest of this IANS article is un-edited)
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Heres how much Intellexa spyware group charges to hack into Android and iOS devices
A little known spyware company, Intellexa, is now competing with Pegasus developer NSO Group, offering its services to hack into Android and iOS devices for a fee of $8 million (around Rs 64 crore). Malware source code provider Vx-underground found documents representing a proposal from Intellexa, offering services that include Android and iOS device exploits. "Leaked documents online show the purchase (and documentation of) an $8,000,000 iOS Remote Code Execution zero-day exploit," it tweeted. The offer includes 10 infections for iOS and Android devices, as well as a "magazine of 100 successful infections". According to Security Week, the documents, "labeled as proprietary and confidential", revealed that the exploits should work on iOS 15.4.1 and the latest Android 12 update. Apple released iOS 15.4.1 in March, which suggests that the offer is recent. "Specifically, the offering is for remote, one-click browser-based exploits that allow users to inject a payload into Android or iOS mobile devices," the report mentioned. Intellexa is based in Europe, with six sites and R&D labs throughout the continent. "We help law enforcement and intelligence agencies across the world to close the digital gap with multiple and diverse solutions, all integrated with our unique and best-in-class Nebula platform," the company posted on its website. Last year, a Citizen Lab report mentioned Intellexa, on Cytrox's predator iPhone spyware being used to target a Greek lawmaker. Citizen Lab said Cytrox was part of the Intellexa Alliance, described as a "a marketing label for a range of mercenary surveillance vendors that emerged in 2019". Apple filed a lawsuit last year against NSO Group to ban the company from using its services and devices. As state-sponsored cyber attacks with government spyware like Pegasus grow, Apple is offering Lockdown Mode this fall with iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura. This mode offers specialised additional protection to high-profile users who may be at risk of highly targeted attacks from private companies developing state-sponsored mercenary spyware. In India, the Pegasus panel said this week that the presence of controversial Israeli spyware Pegasus was not conclusively established in 29 mobile phones examined, and the government did not cooperate in the probe. The top court-appointed panel said five out of 29 mobile phones were possibly infected with some malware, but that does not mean it was Pegasus spyware.
(Except for the headline, the rest of this IANS article is un-edited)
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Zomato could soon let you order groceries through the main platform: Heres how
Zomato on Saturday kicked off a pilot test of delivering groceries via Blinkit on its main platform in Delhi-NCR, as the online food aggregator aims to "accelerate" the 10-minute delivery platform's journey to profitability. The pilot test is currently being organised at select circles in Delhi-NCR, and after analysing the response, it will be expanded to other cities as well. "Blinkit tab in Zomato app is currently a pilot running at few locations for a small set of customers. We will share more details on this in due course,"A Zomato spokesperson told IANS. Currently, those part of the pilot project can order for a minimum order value of Rs 150 via Blinkit on Zomato's main app, while on Zomato, it remains Rs 49. Once the acquisition of Blinkit is closed, Zomato will experiment with cross leveraging its customers base for Blinkit and vice versa, its Founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal has stressed. "The Blinkit app will continue to operate independently. We will also start working on integrating the delivery fleet back-ends which should drive higher delivery efficiency over time," he had said in the letter to shareholders. Tech integrations between the two companies will accelerate the pace of progress at both ends. According to the company, the losses for Blinkit are coming down every month -- from Rs 2,040 million (about $26 million) in January 2022 to Rs 929 million ($12 million) in July. Blinkit has also shut down a number of unviable dark stores, which were not scaling and the team will continue to evaluate non-performing stores. In just six months, the Blinkit business has scaled to 20 per cent of Zomato's food delivery GOV while being present in less than 15 cities. "Quick commerce cuts across a wide range of essential spends including grocery, fruits and vegetables, beauty and personal care, OTC medicines, stationery items, among others. Therefore, we expect the overall customer base, average order value as well as monthly order frequency to be higher than food delivery," according to the company. Blinkit last week announced to deliver printouts at people's doorsteps in a jiffy.
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Google wants you to chat with its AI chatbot at your own risk
New Delhi, Aug 27 (IANS) Google has opened its experimental artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot for the public and you can now register to chat with the AI-driven bot trained on the company's controversial language model.
Google has already warned that early previews of its LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications) model "may display inaccurate or inappropriate content".
'AI Test Kitchen' by Google is an app where people can learn about, experience, and give feedback on Google's emerging AI technology.
"Our goal is to learn, improve and innovate responsibly on AI together. We'll be opening up to small groups of people gradually," said the company.
According to Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, 'AI Test Kitchen' is "meant to give you a sense of what it might be like to have LaMDA in your hands".
The ability of these language models to generate infinite possibilities shows potential, "but it also means they don't always get things quite right".
"And while we've made substantial improvements in safety and accuracy in the latest version of LaMDA, we're still at the beginning of a journey," said Google.
"We've added multiple layers of protection to the AI Test Kitchen. This work has minimised the risk, but not eliminated it," it added.
Both Google and Meta (formerly Facebook) have unveiled their AI conversational chatbots, asking the public to give feedback.
The initial reports are scary as the Meta chatbot named BlenderBot 3 thought Mark Zuckerberg is "creepy and manipulative" and Donald Trump will always be the US president.
Meta said last week that all conversational AI chatbots are known to sometimes mimic and generate unsafe, biased or offensive remarks.
"BlenderBot can still make rude or offensive comments, which is why we are collecting feedback that will help make future chatbots better," the company mentioned in a blogpost.
Last month, Google fired an engineer over breaching its confidentiality agreement after he made a claim that the tech giant's conversation AI is "sentient" because it has feelings, emotions and subjective experiences.
Lemoine also interviewed LaMDA, which came with surprising and shocking answers.
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American researchers develop durable coating that kills Covid virus
New York, Aug 27 (IANS) There may soon be a new weapon in the battle against Covid in the form of a durable coating, thanks to Indian-American researchers, that can quickly kill bacteria and viruses on surfaces, and keep killing them for six months or longer.
The coating, which is clear and can be brushed or sprayed on, gets its durability and germ-killing power by combining tried-and-true ingredients in a novel way.
It uses antimicrobial molecules derived from tea tree oil and cinnamon oil, both used for centuries as safe and effective germ killers that work in under two minutes, according to the study led by Anish Tuteja, a professor of material science and engineering at University of Michigan, published in the journal Matter.
"Disinfectant cleaners can kill germs in only a minute or two but they dissipate quickly and leave surfaces vulnerable to reinfection. We do have long-lasting antibacterial surfaces based on metals like copper and zinc, but they take hours to kill bacteria. This coating offers the best of both worlds," said Tuteja.
The research team included associate professor of materials science and engineering and biomedical engineering, Geeta Mehta and materials science and engineering PhD students Abhishek Dhyani and Taylor Repetto.
The coating's durability comes from polyurethane, a tough, varnish-like sealer that's commonly used on surfaces like floors and furniture.
The coating proved deadly to SARS-CoV-2 virus, E. coli, MRSA and a variety of other pathogens.
It killed 99.9 per cent of microbes even after months of repeated cleaning, abrasion and other punishment on real-world surfaces like keyboards, cell phone screens and chicken-slathered cutting boards.
The coating could be a game changer in traditionally germ-laden public spaces like airports and hospitals.
"The antimicrobials we tested are classified as 'generally regarded as safe' by the FDA, and some have even been approved as food additives," Tuteja said.
"Polyurethane is a safe and very commonly used coating. But we did do toxicity testing just to be sure, and we found that our particular combination of ingredients is even safer than many of today's antimicrobials," he mentioned.
The coating could keep killing germs for six months or longer before its oil begins to evaporate and reduce its disinfectant power.
But even then, said Tuteja, it can be recharged by wiping it with fresh oil; the new oil is reabsorbed by the surface, starting the cycle again.
Tuteja estimates that the technology could be commercially available within a year, as it has been licensed to Hygratek, a spinoff company that Tuteja founded with assistance from Innovation Partnerships at the university.
The University of Michigan has applied for a patent based on this technology.
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Shopping on Twitter can bring individual or societal harm to users
New Delhi, Aug 27 (IANS) Twitter shopping, which allows brands to list items for sale and tag products at the top of a merchant's profile, has content moderation risks and can lead to 'individual or societal harm', the media reported.
According to an internal company memo, obtained by The Verge, several elements of Twitter's e-commerce tool are categorised as "high" under "risk assessment".
"One high-risk concern is that merchant-generated fields like shop names and descriptions could be used by bad actors in harmful ways," read the memo.
Unlike Instagram, Twitter users can't buy the product directly on the platform as clicking on items for sale takes them to the merchant's website.
A key upcoming feature of Twitter's shopping is shareability, and the memo also listed this feature as high risk.
It said the shareability feature "could lead to harmful content being amplified further, increasing the visibility of content that violates Twitter rules".
"Shareable Shops therefore increase the likelihood that users may see violative Shops, or violative goods contained in a Shop," the memo read.
"It may also incentivise bad actors to amplify harmful or violative goods by tweeting and sharing their own Shop."
A company spokesperson said in a statement that the memo "was part of a new feature assessment led by the product trust team".
"We're always working to improve the safety of our service and that is particularly true for the addition of new products and features," the spokesperson said.
Twitter's shop feature allows anyone with a professional account selling items in the US to manually add products for sale to their profile.
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NASA gears up to send a megarocket to deep space on Aug 29
Washington, Aug 27 (IANS) The US space agency is geared up to send its debut Space Launch System (SLS) mission called Artemis I into deep space on Monday that will perform a long orbit around the Moon before coming back to Earth.
The uncrewed Artemis I mission has a two-hour launch window that opens at 8:33 a.m. EDT (6 p.m. India time) on August 29 from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B in Florida in the US.
Artemis I will lay the foundation for a sustained long-term presence on and around the Moon.
"The SLS rocket and integrated Orion spacecraft will help us get a feel for what astronauts will experience on future flights. Artemis I is an important step in NASA's long-term goals for space exploration, paving the way for us to land the first woman and the first person of colour on the Moon," the space agency said in a statement.
The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion's heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.
The US space agency last week identified 13 candidate landing regions near the lunar south pole, as it prepares to send humans back to the Moon under the Artemis programme in 2024.
Each region contains multiple potential landing sites for Artemis III, which will be the first of the Artemis missions to bring the crew to the lunar surface.
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Some environmentalists are sadly anti-human: Elon Musk
San Francisco, Aug 27 (IANS) Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Saturday slammed some environmentalists for being "anti-human" when it comes to increasing nuclear power generation that could replace fossil fuels in the future.
In a tweet, Musk said that the countries should be increasing nuclear power generation.
"It is insane from a national security standpoint and bad for the environment to shut them down," said Musk.
A Twitter follower replied, saying that nuclear is clean, efficient and could replace fossil fuels entirely if it was embraced but is not happening "because so-called environmentalists aren't pro clean energy, they are anti-human".
Musk posted: "Some (environmentalists) are indeed sadly anti-human".
A clean energy advocate, he has said time and again that it's a mistake to stigmatise nuclear energy, especially as renewables like solar and batteries are still ramping up.
In July this year, he said that "I'm actually pro-nuclear as well".
"I think nuclear has a bad rap. People shouldn't be shutting down nuclear power stations, in my view, unless they're in a location that's prone to natural disasters. In which case, you know you can't just be like, 'we're just waiting for the real but once in a century situation'," he said during an interview on the 'Getting Stoned' podcast.
"Like the Fukushima situation. Well, you know there's a lot of tsunamis and stuff, so it's probably not great to have nuclear power where there's natural disasters. But for example, in places like France or Germany and many parts of the US, there's really no meaningful risk of a natural disaster that could affect nuclear power plants. So we shouldn't shut them down in that case," Musk had stressed.
According to him, efforts to shut down nuclear power plants are "crazy" and "madness."
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New Meta VR headset set to launch in Oct: CEO
San Francisco, Aug 26 (IANS) Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed that the tech giant's upcoming virtual reality (VR) headset will arrive this year in October.
According to Zuckerberg's statements on Joe Rogan's podcast, the headset would probably launch around the company's annual Connect event, reports The Verge.
"For the next device that's coming out in October, there are a few big features," Zuckerberg was quoted as saying.
He proceeded to describe new social options that would be enabled by eye and facial tracking, the report said.
"The ability to now have kind of eye contact in virtual reality," Zuckerberg said as part of the feature list.
"Have your face be tracked so that way your avatar -- it is not just this still thing, but if you smile or if you frown or if you pout, or whatever your expression is, have that translate in real-time to your avatar," he added.
The headset, most likely codenamed "Project Cambria", is supposed to be "significantly" more expensive than the existing Quest, which recently got a price hike to $399.
As per the report, the tech giant had previously stated that the device will be released sometime this year.
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NASA detects carbon dioxide in exoplanet atmosphere in 1st clear evidence
Washington, Aug 26 (IANS) NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured the first-ever clear evidence for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet outside the solar system.
The finding, to be published in the journal Nature, offers hope that in the future, Webb may be able to detect and measure carbon dioxide in the thinner atmospheres of smaller rocky planets.
This observation of a gas giant planet named 'WASP-39 b' which is orbiting a Sun-like star 700 light-years away provides important insights into the composition and formation of the planet, the US space agency said in a statement late on Thursday.
"As soon as the data appeared on my screen, the whopping carbon dioxide feature grabbed me. It was a special moment, crossing an important threshold in exoplanet sciences," said Zafar Rustamkulov, a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University.
WASP-39 b is a hot gas giant with a mass roughly one-quarter that of Jupiter (about the same as Saturn) and a diameter 1.3 times greater than Jupiter.
Previous observations from other telescopes, including NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, revealed the presence of water vapor, sodium, and potassium in the planet's atmosphere.
Webb's unmatched infrared sensitivity has now confirmed the presence of carbon dioxide on this planet as well.
"Detecting such a clear signal of carbon dioxide on WASP-39 b bodes well for the detection of atmospheres on smaller, terrestrial-sized planets," said Natalie Batalha of the University of California at Santa Cruz, who leads the team.
Understanding the composition of a planet's atmosphere is important because it tells us something about the origin of the planet and how it evolved.
"Carbon dioxide molecules are sensitive tracers of the story of planet formation," said Mike Line of Arizona State University.
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eFootball 2023 Is Out Now, AC Milan and Inter Part of Licensed Clubs: All Details
eFootball 2023 is out now across all major platforms and mobile, Konami has confirmed. The free-to-play football simulation title brings officially licensed AC Milan and Inter to the game, alongside the Liga BBVA MX (Mexican league). New features include the Manager Pack for Dream Team and new player cards.
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US judge rejects Musks absurd demand to give all Twitter users data
San Francisco, Aug 26 (IANS) A US judge has rejected Elon Musk's absurd demand to ask Twitter to hand over all data for approximately 200 million user accounts for the last three years.
Judge Kathaleen McCormick said no to Musk's legal team's "absurdly broad" request, saying that Twitter must hand over the 9,000 accounts it reviewed for its audit in the fourth quarter of 2021, reports The Verge.
"Plaintiff (Twitter) has difficulty quantifying the burden of responding to that request because no one in their right mind has ever tried to undertake such an effort. It suffices to say, Plaintiff has demonstrated that such a request is overly burdensome," the judge ruled late on Thursday.
Twitter will now need to hand over "a small additional set of data from its review database", said the judge.
In addition, the judge also agreed to Twitter's request for documents from Musk's side, like the data analysis Musk performed before he announced to terminate the $44 billion takeover deal.
Musk and Twitter will get engaged to a proper courtroom battle from October 17 for five days.
Musk's team has also submitted a subpoena for evidence from former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
Meanwhile, Twitter's former head of security, Peiter "Mudge" Zatko, has claimed that the Parag Agrawal-led platform lied about the actual number of bots on its platform and misled federal regulators about users' safety, creating a storm.
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Instagram will automatically restrict sensitive content for new teen users
San Francisco, Aug 26 (IANS) Meta-owned photo and video sharing platform Instagram has announced that it will limit sensitive content for new teen users by default on the platform.
Instagram said that the Sensitive Content Control has only two options for teens -- "Standard" and "Less".
"New teens on Instagram under 16 years old will be defaulted into the 'Less' state. For teens already on Instagram, we will send a prompt encouraging them to select the 'Less' experience," the platform said in a blogpost.
"This will make it more difficult for young people to come across potentially sensitive content or accounts in Search, Explore, Hashtag Pages, Reels, Feed Recommendations and Suggested Accounts," it added.
In addition, Instagram said it is testing a new way to encourage teens to update their safety and privacy settings.
It will show prompts asking teens to review their settings including -- controlling who can reshare their content, who can message and contact them, what content they can see and how they can manage their time spent on Instagram.
"We are continuously developing controls to help people personalize their experience on Instagram," the company said.
"Last summer, we launched the Sensitive Content Control so people could choose how much or how little sensitive content to see in Explore from accounts they do not follow. Today, we are announcing updates to this control," it added.
In addition to Explore, users will now be able to control the amount of sensitive content and accounts they see in Search, Reels, Accounts You Might Follow, Hashtag Pages and In-Feed Recommendations.
This update will be available to everyone in the coming weeks.
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Mobile phones in remote areas will connect to Starlink internet next year
San Francisco, Aug 26 (IANS) Mobile phones will connect to SpaceX's new Starlink satellites next year, providing around 2 to 4 Megabits per second connection (total) across a given coverage area, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have announced.
To provide this service, the companies will create a new network, broadcast from Starlink's satellites using T-Mobile's mid-band spectrum nationwide.
This satellite-to-cellular service will provide nearly complete coverage almost anywhere a customer can see the sky, US telecom carrier T-Mobile said in a statement late on Thursday.
This will help people text, send MMS messages, and even use "select messaging apps" whenever they have a clear view of the sky.
The service is scheduled to launch in beta by the end of next year in "select areas".
"More than just a groundbreaking alliance, this represents two industry-shaking innovators challenging the old ways of doing things to create something entirely new that will further connect customers and scare competitors," said Sievert.
According to Musk, Starlink V2, launching next year, "will transmit directly to mobile phones, eliminating dead zones worldwide".
"Note, connectivity will be 2 to 4 Mbits per cell zone, so will work great for texting and voice calls, but not high bandwidth," he tweeted.
Musk said that Tesla will also use the new technology for the premium connectivity feature in its electric vehicles.
Leveraging Starlink, SpaceX's constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit, and T-Mobile's industry-leading wireless network, the carrier plans to provide near complete coverage in most places in the US, even in many of the most remote locations previously unreachable by traditional cell signals.
"From the middle of Death Valley to the Great Smokey Mountains or even that persistent neighbourhood dead zone, T-Mobile and SpaceX have the vision to give customers a crucial additional layer of connectivity in areas previously unreachable by cell signals from any provider," said the company.
The vast majority of smartphones already on T-Mobile's network will be compatible with the new service using the device's existing radio.
"The important thing about this is that it means there are no dead zones anywhere in the world for your cell phone," said Musk.
In addition, the CEOs shared their vision for expanding 'Coverage Above and Beyond' globally, issuing an open invitation to the world's carriers to collaborate for truly global connectivity.
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Reliance AGM 2022 is slated for August 29: Jio 5G and Jio Phone 5G expected
Reliance Industries will have its 44th AGM (Annual General Meeting) on August 29. The video conference of the event will be broadcasted starting at 2 PM that day. Now, at this event, we will get to learn about dividends and other financial declarations as well as forecasts for FY22. However, since the company’s bigger push into telecom and other technologies, we are expecting announcements around the same.
The most anticipated announcements are Jio 5G plans and a 5G smartphone from the Jio Phone series.
Jio 5G tariff plans
Jio was the top bidder in the Indian 5G spectrum auction. It has acquired about 24,740 MHz spectrum costing ₹88,078 crores. It also bought the pricey 700MHz in all 22 circles. In case you are wondering why, know that this band is said to offer a 5-10 km coverage.
The brand has also got its hands on the 800MHz band, 1899MHz band, and 3300MHz band.
So, now we wonder how it prices the 5G tariff plans. We may get at least some breadcrumbs at this event.
Jio Phone 5G Specs and Features (Expected)
Jio Phone Next image is used for representational purposes.
Jio Phone 5G could feature a 6.5” HD+ display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 SoC, 4GB+ 32GB memory configuration, microSD card support, a 13+2MP rear camera setup, an 8MP front camera, a 5000mAh battery with 18W charging support, and Android 12 with PragatiOS, and some core pared-down Google apps.
We will have definite answers on August 29. For now, these are mostly speculations and rumours.
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Google joins MeitY, launches pan-India effort to improve online safety
New Delhi, Aug 25 (IANS) Google on Thursday launched several initiatives, including new investment and collaboration with the IT Ministry, to safeguard people in India from online harm.
The company launched a cybersecurity up-skilling programme for nearly 100,000 developers, IT, and start-up professionals across the country, at its 'Safer With Google' event.
Google.org also granted $2 million (Rs 16 crore) to non-profit organisations, including Collective Good Foundation, Point Of View and HelpAge India, to empower high-risk groups such as women, micro-entrepreneurs, seniors and the LGBTQ community.
The tech giant said it is also starting a multilingual user awareness campaign supported by the MeitY and Digital India Corporation to encourage millions of internet users to adopt better practices for safer digital transactions.
"As India progresses towards becoming a truly digitally-enabled economy, it is critical that the opportunity of connectivity not come at the price of online safety, and we all come together to build a safer internet for millions of Indians," said Sanjay Gupta, VP and Country Head, Google India.
Google said it will flag off a multi-city, mixed format cybersecurity Roadshow to reach approximately 100,000 developers, IT and start-up professionals with unique tools, detailed guidance, and best practices on building safer apps by embedding security in all phases of development and adopting modern IT services.
"As more and more citizens become included into the digital economy and derive the benefit of direct access to payments and transfer which are crucial to their progress and prosperity, we have been consciously creating infrastructure, capabilities, and programs that protect our citizens and our country from cyber threats," said Abhishek Singh, President and CEO, NeGD and MyGov, MD and CEO, Digital India Corporation.
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A Tamil teen claims to have designed Raffi, a robot with emotions: Why it matters
Folks, meet Raffi, a robot with emotions, or so its developer Prateek vaunts. The latter is a 13-year-old student from Tamil Nadu who has apparently created this emotional robo. Prateek says, “'Raffi', my robot, can answer queries. If you scold him, he won't answer your queries until you're sorry. It can even understand you if you're sad.”
Tamil Nadu | A 13-year-old student, Prateek, has claimed to have designed a robot with emotions, in Chennai 'Raffi', my robot, can answer queries. If you scold him, he won't answer your queries until you're sorry. It can even understand you if you're sad: Prateek (24.08) pic.twitter.com/9YbqGMBXUw
— ANI (@ANI) August 24, 2022However, we haven’t come across any explanations for how Raffi works or how Prateek designed this robot with emotions.
So, if Raffi is indeed an emotional being, let’s understand how this tech could work and what are its uses and concerns with that usage.
Emotion AI: What is it and how does it work?
Emotion AI/ Emotional AI/ Affective computing is the branch of AI and machine learning that works towards interpreting and responding to human emotions. Think of AI as an infant without a sense of the world let alone emotions. When you feed it with massive data sets involving examples of human emotions, reactions, and temperament, in time it is designed to learn patterns and compounding.
So, upon processing things like text, voice tone, facial expressions, and gestures, it tries to replicate human emotions (at least theoretically).
For processing, AI uses related technologies like computer vision (for analyzing video and images), speech science (for audio), and deep learning algorithms, among other techniques.
Now, all those technical jargons aside, the crux of the matter is that it is being heavily researched and even being applied in areas like customer care, hospitality, etc. The global emotional AI market is anticipated to hit $173.81 billion and a CAGR of 34.05% by 2025.
On the flip side, the concerns are things like bias (of AI) and privacy based on the data it has been fed. Now, although it is not clear how and whether Raffi addresses these things, we will try to learn all those things in time. Let’s see.
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Google Play Games for PC feature expands to 5 countries
New Delhi, Aug 25 (IANS) Google on Thursday expanded its Play Games for PC feature under an open beta to users in South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and Australia.
Earlier this year, the company announced that Google Play Games would be coming to PCs as a beta experience for a limited number of players.
"Beginning today, we're continuing our rollout by making Google Play Games beta available for download to all players in Australia," said Arjun Dayal, Director of Product, Google Play Games.
In the last few months, the company doubled its Google Play Games catalogue to more than 50 titles, which can be played on Windows PCs via a standalone application built by Google.
The catalogue includes many of the most popular mobile games in the world including Summoners War, Cookie Run: Kingdom, Last Fortress: Underground, and Slam Dunk.
"We've also made significant strides in reducing the minimum spec requirements to run Google Play Games. Players who have a Windows 10+ PC with an integrated graphics card and 4+ core CPU can now access Google Play Games," informed Dayal.
Amazon has also partnered with Microsoft to get Android apps to PC users.
Google said that its broader goal continues to be meeting players where they are and giving them access to their games on as many devices as possible.
"Players participating in the beta have expressed excitement at being able to seamlessly play their favourite games across their phones, tablets, Chromebooks and PCs," said the company.
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Heavy news consumption triggers stress, anxiety, poor physical health
New Delhi, Aug 25 (IANS) If you have an obsessive urge to constantly check news, you are more likely to suffer from stress, anxiety as well as poor physical health, researchers have warned.
Being exposed to a 24-hour news cycle of continually evolving events can have serious impacts on mental and physical wellbeing, said the study published in the peer-reviewed journal Health Communication.
During the last two years, humanity has lived through a series of worrying global events, from the pandemic to Russia invading Ukraine, large-scale protests, mass shootings and devastating wildfires.
For several people, reading bad news can make us feel temporarily powerless and distressed.
"Witnessing these events unfold in the news can bring about a constant state of high alert in some people, kicking their surveillance motives into overdrive and making the world seem like a dark and dangerous place," said Bryan McLaughlin, associate professor of advertising at Texas Tech University in the US.
For these individuals, a vicious cycle can develop in which, rather than tuning out, they become drawn further in, obsessing over the news and checking for updates around the clock to alleviate their emotional distress.
"But it doesn't help, and the more they check the news, the more it begins to interfere with other aspects of their lives,a McLaughlin added.
To study this phenomenon, known colloquially as news addiction, McLaughlin and his colleagues analysed data from an online survey of 1,100 adults.
Respondents were asked about how often they experienced feelings of stress and anxiety, as well as physical ailments such as fatigue, physical pain, poor concentration, and gastrointestinal issues.
The results revealed that 16.5 per cent of people surveyed showed signs of 'severely problematic' news consumption.
Such individuals frequently became so immersed and personally invested in news stories that the stories dominated the individual's waking thoughts, disrupted time with family and friends, made it difficult to focus on school or work, and contributed to restlessness and an inability to sleep.
People with higher levels of problematic news consumption were significantly more likely to experience mental and physical ill-being than those with lower levels, even when controlling for demographics, personality traits, and overall news use.
The findings show that there is a need for focused media literacy campaigns to help people develop a healthier relationship with the news.
"While we want people to remain engaged in the news, it is important that they have a healthier relationship with the news," said McLaughlin.
In the case of problematic news consumption, research has shown that individuals may decide to stop, or at least dramatically reduce, their news consumption if they perceive it is having adverse effects on their mental health.
In addition, the study also called out the need for a wider discussion about how the news industry may be fuelling the problem.
"The economic pressures facing media outlets, coupled with technological advances and the 24-hour news cycle have encouraged journalists to focus on selecting "newsworthy" stories that will grab news consumers' attention," McLaughlin noted.
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OPPO committed to Europe after stopping smartphone sales in Germany
New Delhi, Aug 25 (IANS) Chinese smartphone maker OPPO will continue to remain committed to the European markets despite suspending sales in Germany, its top global executive has said.
OPPO and its subsidiary OnePlus stopped sales of smartphones and smartwatches in Germany after they lost a patent lawsuit against Finnish telecom player Nokia earlier this month.
Nokia had accused the companies of using its patented technology for processing 4G and 5G signals without paying for a license. Nokia won an injunction to halt sales in a German court.
"Our long-term commitment to the European and German markets stays the same. There isn't an impact on our choice of office location, and the German office, where our European hub is located, will operate as usual," said Billy Zhang, OPPO's vice president of overseas sales and services.
According to TechCrunch, Realme is "closely monitoring the situation" of Oppo's patent challenges in Germany.
OPPO said it is keep on serving its existing customers in Germany.
The company said that it will "integrate certain resources from Central and Eastern Europe with those of Western Europe".
"We are actively working with the relevant parties to resolve the ongoing legal matter," a OnePlus spokesperson had said in a statement.
"OnePlus remains committed to the German market and will continue our operations. Meanwhile, OnePlus users in Germany can continue to enjoy our products and related services such as regular software updates and our after-sales service as before," the spokesperson said.
The Europe smartphone market declined by 11 per cent (on-year) and 13 per cent (on-quarter) to 40 million units in Q2 this year, the lowest since Q2 2020.
Xiaomi and OPPO, hit by China lockdowns, suffered double digit YoY declines in their respective shipments, according to Counterpoint Research.
realme continued its European expansion with double digit YoY shipment growth in Q2.
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Fitbit Sense 2, Versa 4, and Inspire 3 announced: Know their specs and software situation
Fitbit has introduced its fall lineup including Sense 2, Versa 4, and Inspire 3. The former two are smartwatches while the Inspire 3 is the brand’s new fitness band. The key highlights of the devices include new software albeit no Wear OS 3, physical buttons on both watches, and Sense 2’s new exercise activities, upgraded stress tracker, and animal-based sleep profiles. Here are the full details:
Fitbit Sense 2 Specs and Features
Fitbit Sense 2 is equipped with a continuous electrodermal activity (cEDA) sensor used for all-day stress tracking. This is followed by high-stress alerts and recommendations such as mood logging, breathing guidance, and mindfulness sessions.
It sports new activity modes (up to 40 in total), and Fitbit Premium sleep profiles that present your sleep animal as the watch face. The device will be featuring passive heart rhythm monitoring for atrial fibrillation (heart health).
Although WearOS 3 isn’t here, you get to see the effects of Google parenting on Fitbit OS in the way of the new Tiles interface, turn-by-turn Google Maps navigation, and impending support for Google Wallet.
Sense 2 claims to run up to six days between charges, and 12 minutes of charging is said to offer 12 minutes of battery life.
Fitbit Versa 4 Specs and Features
It appears to be a lot like Sense 2 and that extends to features like a physical button, better stress tracking, around 40 activity modes, the aforementioned software features, up to 6 days of endurance, fast charging support, and a sleep animal clock face. It also boasts 10 sleep metrics to help analyze and aid sleep quality.
Fitbit Inspire 3 Specs and Features
Inspire 3 is a fitness band that supports automatic step counting, distance covered, activity zones, calories burned, and heart rate.
It also brings trackers for sleep patterns, Sleep Score, Sleep Stages, heart variability rate, SpO2, breathing rate, and skin temperature. It is advertised to long for 10 days on a single charge.
Price and Availability
Fitbit has made the new wearable available in select markets currently at $299.95 (~₹23,934) for the Sense 2, $229.95 (~₹18348) for the Versa 4, and $99.95 (~₹7975) for the Inspire 3.
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Apple September 7 event confirmed: What we know about the iPhone 14 series and other expected launches of the day
Apple on Wednesday announced its flagship product launch event for this year that will take place on September 7. Called 'Far Out,' the event will showcase new iPhone 14 lineup, Watches and other products. This will be an in-person event at Apple's Cupertino campus in the US, the company's first big event to take place since the two years of the pandemic. The tech giant will also stream the launch event online. The next-generation iPhone 14, to be produced in India around two months after its China production, will see four models, viz. a 6.1-inch iPhone 14, a new 6.7-inch iPhone 14, a 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro and and a 6.7 iPhone 14 Pro Max, according to reports. Apple's upcoming iPhone 14 base model is rumoured to cost $799, which is the same price as the iPhone 13. The tech giant has likely discontinued the 5.4-inch iPhone mini this year. While the Pro models will be powered by the A16 Bionic chipset, the non-Pro models will retain the A15 chip. The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will combine a circular hole-punch cutout and a pill-shaped cutout for their camera setup and Face ID functionality. A recent report said that Samsung Display will be applying different grades of materials on the OLED panels it will manufacture for the upcoming iPhone 14 series depending on the model tiers. It will use its latest and most advanced material set for the higher tier iPhone 14 models, while it will use its prior generation set for the lower tier ones. The move is being made to save costs. The standard iPhone 14 models are expected to get few changes, but the iPhone 14 Pro models will include updated camera technology. There are three Apple Watch models in the works, including the new Apple Watch Series 8, a refreshed Apple Watch SE, and an all-new Pro version that is expected to feature a larger body, updated design and a rugged build. Meanwhile, a recent report said that the tech giant seems confident despite analysts' predictions and reportedly asked its suppliers to build at least 90 million next-generation iPhones. In fact, Apple anticipates to assemble 220 million iPhones in total for 2022.
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Skullcandy Mod launched in India at 5999: Here are its standout features
US-based audio equipment major Skullcandy on Tuesday launched its all-new true wireless earbuds, Mod, for Indian consumers. Launched at Rs 5,999, the earbuds comes with "Clear Voice Smart Mic" technology that utilises artificial intelligence to reduce background noise and isolate the speaker's voice, ensuring calls and Zoom meetings are crystal clear. "In today's work-from-anywhere world, multi-tasking is more commonplace than ever and Mod was engineered to keep up with it all. Our latest solution makes seamlessly toggling between work and play a breeze, while also ensuring users can personalize their audio experience to best suit their listening styles," the company said in a statement. The new earbuds offers "Multipoint Pairing" that enables seamless toggling between multiple devices at once, regardless of platform or manufacturer. Mod's flexibility is further underscored by Skullcandy App compatibility, which enables button function and equaliser mode personalization for a truly customisable audio experience, the company said. An adjustable Stay-Aware Mode helps users dial outside noise levels up or down so they can tune out, or tune in, as much as they want, depending on their situation.Mod is now available across online and offline stores.
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YouTube Shorts will be available on Android TVs soon: Heres what the report tells us
Google-owned YouTube is set to launch its short-form video app Shorts on its smart TV platform called YouTube TV. The company has told its partners about the support for YouTube shorts to YouTube's app for Android TV and Google TV, reports Protocol has learned. YouTube Shorts has reached 30 billion daily views, and is growing exponentially. According to the report, YouTube TV is also planning to let viewers watch up to four live streams simultaneously via a new feature called "Mosaic Mode." YouTube isn't the first service to bring short-form vertical videos to the TV screen. TikTok has been experimenting with smart TV interfaces for some time. "YouTube TV will gain something called Mosaic Mode, which will allow subscribers to watch up to four live feeds at the same time by dividing the TV screen into quadrants," said the report. At least one of the new features could arrive in an update "in the coming months."
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Twitter refutes the whistleblowers allegation of its shady deal with the Indian govt: What is it
Former Twitter security head Peiter "Mudge" Zatko has alleged that the Indian government forced the micro-blogging platform to hire a "government agent" and allow him access to users' sensitive data, a claim that has been trashed by Twitter. Zatko's whistleblower disclosure in a 84-page page, submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), was obtained by CNN and The Washington Post on Tuesday. In a section titled 'Penetration by Foreign Intelligence & Threats to Democracy', Zatko claimed that "the Indian government forced Twitter to hire specific individual(s) who were government agents, who (because of Twitter's basic architectural flaws) would have access to vast amounts of Twitter sensitive data". "By knowingly permitting an Indian government agent direct unsupervised access to the company's systems and user data, Twitter executives violated the company's commitments to its users," he claimed. Zatko, who reported directly to the CEO, was fired by Twitter in January this year over "poor performance". Last month, he filed a complaint with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), accusing Twitter of deceiving shareholders and violating an agreement it made with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to uphold certain security standards. In a statement to Spectrum News, a Twitter spokesperson said Zatko was a disgruntled former employee who is making untrue claims. "Zatko was fired from his senior executive role at Twitter in January 2022 for ineffective leadership and poor performance," the spokesperson was quoted as saying. "What we've seen so far is a false narrative about Twitter and our privacy and data security practices that is riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies and lacks important context," the company spokesperson added. Zatko also alleged that the Indian government forced Twitter to hire local full-time employees that "could be used as leverage". "The threat of harm to Twitter employees was sufficient to cause Twitter to seriously consider complying with foreign government requests that Twitter would otherwise fundamentally oppose," he claimed.
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Twitters ex-security chief whistleblows: Here are his scathing allegations against the company
Twitter's former head of security, Peiter "Mudge" Zatko, has claimed that the Parag Agrawal-led platform lied about the actual number of bots on its platform and misled federal regulators about users' safety, media reports said on Tuesday. According to his disclosure obtained by CNN and The Washington Post, Zatko said that Twitter has "major security problems that pose a threat to its own users' personal information, to company shareholders, to national security, and to democracy". Zatko, who reported directly to the CEO, was fired by Twitter in January this year over "poor performance". Last month, he filed a complaint with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), accusing Twitter of deceiving shareholders and violating an agreement it made with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to uphold certain security standards. In his disclosure as a whistleblower, Zatko alleged that Twitter's leadership "has misled its own board and government regulators about its security vulnerabilities, including some that could allegedly open the door to foreign spying or manipulation, hacking and disinformation campaigns". He also said that Twitter does not "reliably delete users' data after they cancel their accounts". The whistleblower also said Twitter executives don't have the resources to fully understand the true number of bots on the platform, and were not motivated to. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has cancelled the $44 billion Twitter takeover deal over the actual presence of bots on the platform. Zatko's lawyer told CNN that he has not been in contact with Musk. An attorney for Musk said that their legal team has already issued a subpoena for Zatko, "and we found his exit and that of other key employees curious in light of what we have been finding". Twitter said in a statement that security and privacy are both longtime priorities for the company. The company said that it "provides clear tools for users to control privacy, and targeting and data sharing".
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Ex-Chinese origin worker pleads guilty in stealing Apple car secrets
San Francisco, Aug 23 (IANS) A former Chinese-origin Apple employee, accused of stealing trade secrets about the tech giant's automotive car division, has pleaded guilty in a court in the US.
Xiaolang Zhang was accused of downloading internal Apple files about the car that Apple plans to unveil in 2024.
According to a CNBC report late on Monday, Zhang faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. His sentencing is scheduled in November.
Zhang was accused of downloading internal Apple files that included "engineering schematics of a circuit board for an autonomous vehicle".
He was also accused of taking reference manuals and PDFs describing Apple's prototypes and prototype requirements, the report mentioned.
During an internal investigation, Apple found that he had transferred around 24GB of sensitive data to his wife's laptop via AirDrop.
He had also taken circuit boards and a server from the company's autonomous vehicle lab.
Zhang was arrested at the San Jose airport in the US in 2018 while trying to fly to China.
Another former employee, Jizhong Chen, is also facing charges over allegedly stealing trade secrets from Apple's electric car division.
Apple has ramped up its efforts to develop a self-driving car, and has filed several new patents in software and hardware related to riding comfort such as seats and suspension.
The iPhone maker is also working on vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology, which allows cars to communicate with each other and connect to the Internet of Things (IoT), according to media reports.
In January last year, Hyundai Motor was said to be in talks with Apple for self-driving technology. The South Korean automaker later denied this.
Apple remains tight-lipped about its self-driving ambitions.
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PlayStation VR2: Sony’s Next-Gen Virtual Reality Headset Launches Early 2023
PS VR2, Sony’s next-gen virtual reality headset is coming sometime in early 2023, PlayStation has confirmed. The upcoming PlayStation VR2 headset offers up to 4K resolution, running at 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rates. The headset also comes with a see-through mode and inbuilt motors, offering an immersive gaming experience.
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New Electrolux air purifiers come in Korbu, Aspen, and Himalaya series: Know price and specs
With an aim to expand its air-purifier segment, home appliance brand Electrolux on Monday launched a new range of air purifiers in India that features in-built WiFi connectivity and some uniqie features. The new range of purifiers comes in three series variants -- Korbu, Aspen and Himalaya -- starting at Rs 20,990, Rs 47,990 and Rs 65,990, respectively. "Electrolux has entered the India market with an aim to shape living for the better, with products that are designed to respond to the environment and deliver an elevated level of cleanliness and comfort. We have launched 5 models of purifiers under 3 ranges which assure clean and safe air quality," Sudhir Patil, Commercial Director, Electrolux India, said in a statement. The Korbu series comes in two variants -- A3 and A4. It utilises a four-stage filtration system that is said to capture micro-dust, odours, harmful airborne substances and reduces up to 99.99 per cent of bacteria. The Aspen series offers two variants -- Well A7 and Well A5. These portable variants can be floor-standing or wall mounted with a choice of fabric covers to suit various interior design styles. Meanwhile, the Himalaya series comes in a single variant -- A9 406 -- that features the 'PureSense' function which constantly measures air quality and adjusts the air purification rate. "It facilitates a better night's sleep, as the sleep mode feature makes this purifier virtually silent," the company claimed. Currently, the Indian air purifier market is dominated by companies like Dyson, Samsung, Philips and Xiaomi.
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Big Tech is called upon by the parliamentary panel over anti-competitive practices: What to expect
Representatives of Big Tech like Amazon, Google, Netflix and Microsoft, among others, have been summoned by the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Finance on Tuesday to depose on the subject of anti-competitive practices by tech entities. According to official sources, the panel, which is headed by BJP MP and former Union minister Jayant Sinha, will hold a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the matter, which has garnered a lot of attention in recent times. The committee has also summoned representatives of e-commerce entities like Flipkart and even cab and hotel aggregators like Ola and Oyo, respectively, to discuss the matter. The meeting comes at a time when the big players in the digital and technological space have been accused of indulging in anti-competitive methods and unfair business practices. The summoning of representatives of Big Techs by the Parliamentary panel is in line with its earlier discussions on the matter, with competitive behaviour in the digital market space being the area of focus. The panel has already held deliberations with the representatives of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and also with the officials of Indian tech firms on the subject.
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Will UPI transactions be charged or free Know the governments response here
The Ministry of Finance made it clear that the Indian government has no plans to charge for UPI services. On August 21, the Finance Ministry responded to reports alleging that UPI payments would be charged extra. It clarified that the government would not charge extra for UPI payments because it is a digital public service that helps the economy run better and makes transactions easier for the public.
The ministry also explained that incentives were given to payment service providers last year, and this year, more incentives have been announced to help the country switch to digital. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked for suggestions on charging for digital transactions on August 17.
When asked about the Return on Investment (RoI) for service providers, the Finance Ministry said that they (service providers) will have to come up with other ways to make money.
However, "there will be no charge for UPI transactions," said the Finance Ministry.
The Ministry said that in 2021, concessions were given to the service providers in the digital payment ecosystem, and in 2022, they got even more help. "The government helped fund the #DigitalPayment ecosystem last year and has said it will do the same this year to encourage more people to use #DigitalPayments and promote cheap and easy-to-use payment platforms," the Finance Ministry said.
What's RBI's take on this?
On Wednesday, August 17, the RBI asked people what they thought about fees for digital payment systems. The financial regulator also said that the fees should be fair and competitive for the users if they want to be used by more people. But RBI said again that they haven't decided anything in this regard yet.
The RBI said that the people who run the payment systems should make enough money to keep them running and to invest in new technologies, processes, and systems.
Although there are several other payment methods like IMPS, NEFT, and debit cards, UPI has gained 26 crore unique users and five crore merchants within a short span of 6 years.
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Ubisoft+ Xbox Launch Might Happen Soon, New Leak Suggests
Ubisoft+ could be launching on Xbox soon, as per a leak from Twitter user ALumia_Italia. The leaker, known for scraping Xbox’s backend, has discovered a Ubisoft+ logo, indicating its arrival on the platform. Ubisoft had previously confirmed that their game subscription service will not be coming to Game Pass.
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North Korean Lazarus hacker group is phishing Mac users with fake job posts: How to protect yourself
North Korea-based notorious Lazarus hacking group is back in action, targeting Apple Mac users with fake job emails that contain malicious files. Researchers at cyber-security firm ESET posted a screenshot on Twitter that showed fake job listings from leading crypto exchange Coinbase by Lazarus, famous for spreading the WannaCry ransomware globally in 2017. The fake job listing was for an engineering manager, product security, at Coinbase. "A signed Mac executable disguised as a job description for Coinbase was uploaded to VirusTotal from Brazil. This is an instance of Operation by Lazarus for Mac," the ESET researchers posted in a tweet. The fake job emails have an attachment containing malicious files that can compromise both Intel and Apple chip-powered Mac computers. "Malware is compiled for both Intel and Apple Silicon. It drops three files: a decoy PDF document, a bundle and a downloader," warned researchers. The Mac malware campaign is new and not part of previous Lazarus campaigns. This time, "the bundle is signed July 21 (according to the timestamp) using a certificate issued in February 2022 to a developer named Shankey Nohria. The application is not notarised and Apple has revoked the certificate on August 12," the researchers noted. Last month, cyber-security researchers linked Lazarus with stealing $100 million worth digital tokens from Harmony, the crypto startup behind Horizon Blockchain Bridge. The Lazarus Group has perpetrated several large cryptocurrency thefts totalling over $2 billion, and has recently turned its attention to Decentralised Finance (DeFi) services such as cross-chain bridges, according to London-based blockchain analysis provider Elliptic. The same group is believed to be behind the $540 million hack of Ronin Bridge.
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Google AI deems dad as a potential abuser for taking naked photos of his toddler: Full story
Tech giant Google's artificial intelligence (AI) has reportedly flagged parents' accounts for potential abuse over nude photos of their sick kids. The father said that after using his Android smartphone to take photos of an infection on his toddler's groin, the tech giant flagged the images as child sexual abuse material (CSAM), citing the NYT, The Verge reported. The company closed his accounts and filed a report with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and spurred a police investigation. It highlights the complications of trying to tell the difference between potential abuse and an innocent photo once it becomes part of a user's digital library, whether on their personal device or in cloud storage. The incident occurred in February 2021, when some doctor's offices were still closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As per the report, Mark (whose last name was not revealed) noticed swelling in his child's genital region and, at the request of a nurse, sent images of the issue ahead of a video consultation. The doctor wound up prescribing antibiotics that cured the infection. Mark received a notification from Google two days after taking the photos, stating that his accounts had been locked due to "harmful content" that was "a severe violation of Google's policies and might be illegal." Like many internet companies, including Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit, Google has used hash matching with Microsoft's PhotoDNA for scanning uploaded images to detect matches with known CSAM. In 2012, it led to the arrest of a man who was a registered sex offender and used Gmail to send images of a young girl.
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Love memes A new report reveals you are not alone and here are its insights
The Indian smartphone users are spending 30 minutes a day on consuming memes and 80 per cent have increased meme consumption in the last year, a new report showed on Monday. While most users enjoy memes as a good way to release stress, 50 per cent expect their meme consumption to increase, according to the report by strategy consulting firm Redseer. "The shareability of memes makes them popular among groups with the same interest or even globally because most people find them relatable. Thus, it comes as no surprise that in just the last year, close to 80 per cent have increased meme consumption," said Mrigank Gutgutia, Partner at Redseer. Memes are now at the peak of the entertainment sector. To keep up with this rising demand, meme creation platforms are crowding the market, indicating that monumental growth is on the cards for this industry. "Ninety per cent of consumers are open to creating memes themselves, indicating large latent demand for meme creation apps," said Gutgutia. Social media is the primary source for access to memes, followed by word of mouth from friends and family. "Social media has allowed everyone to try their hand at content creation, thus, this has paved the way for the rise of meme creation apps and platforms," the report mentioned. People want to consume or create memes for brand building and as a creative outlet. "An important aspect that makes memes attain such huge popularity in a short period of time is that any individual can connect to them -- and this works great for brand building and marketing," the report added.
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