Aarogya Setu developers evade RTI query about creation of the app who created the app and how

The Central Information Commission (CIC) issued a show-cause notice to concerned Chief Public Information Officers (CPIOs), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and National Informatics Centre (NIC) on Tuesday. The notice sent is for "prima facie obstruction of information and providing an evasive reply" on an RTI application related to Aarogya Setu App.

The action has been taken in response to a complaint filed by activist Saurav Das against NIC.

CIC has asked why a penalty under Section 20 of RTI Act should not be imposed? It has also demanded an explanation from NIC on how there's no information about the creation of Arogya Setu app even when the official website states that the platform is designed, developed and hosted by it. 

A report from LiveLaw.in, a legal case watcher, reports "the Commission directs the CPIO, NIC to explain this matter in writing as to how the website https://ift.tt/31MDNfK was created with the domain name gov.in, if they do not have any information about it," Information Commissioner Vanaja N. Sarna ordered.

"None of the CPIOs was able to explain anything regarding who created the App, where are the files, and the same is extremely preposterous", the CIC stated.

The departments concerned have been asked to appear before the commission on November 24.

Aarogya Setu developers evade RTI when asked about the creation of the app and it's concerning

Aarogya Setu was touted as the most important digital tool to fight the spread of Covid-19 in the early months. Millions of Indians installed the apps, some by choice and some because they were forced to do so in order to go about their business. Indian government ran a dedicated campaign where the contact tracing app was a compulsion for people in case they wish to step out of their homes.  

Several questions concerning user privacy were raised in the past but this might be an even bigger blow to the usefulness of the app. 

The creators of the app - National Informatics Centre and the Information Technology ministry have told they're not aware of who created the app in response to an RTI query.

It was found out that over a period of two months, Saurav's RTI query bounced off various departments. NIC reportedly said, "entire file related to the creation of the App is not with NIC". The IT ministry transferred the query to the National e-Governance Division, which said: "The information sought is not related to their division."

The matter came under the spotlight when activist Saurav Das has complained to the information commission that concerned ministries have failed to answer his queries regarding the origin of the proposal for the app, its approval details, companies involved, individuals and government departments included, and copies of communications between private people involved in developing the app.

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Watch Dogs: Legion Review: Drone Away in Dystopic London

Our Watch Dogs: Legion review looks at the “play as anyone” feature, the socio-political themes it tackles, its depiction of near-future dystopic London, the emphasis on drones, and the game’s performance on the Xbox One X. Watch Dogs: Legion available October 29 on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One. It costs Rs. 3,999 in India.

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Micromax In-series design teased ahead of launch on November 3 in India

Micromax In-series design has been teased ahead of its launch on November 3 in India. The company has started releasing teasers for the upcoming phone(s) across its social media platforms and has hinted that it could use either the MediaTek Helio G35 or the Helio G85. Moreover, the company has officially announced that it is collaborating with MediaTek confirming that its phones in the In-series will be powered by the Helio G-series processors.

The latest teaser video posted on social media handles of Micromax gives us a glimpse at the rear panel of the phone. It looks like the first phone under the In-series could have a reflective gradient design on the back with tapered edges.

India’s style makes heads turn. We’ve designed our new smartphones to do just that. #INMobiles unveiling on 3rd Nov, 12 noon. Are you #INForIndia? #MicromaxIsBack pic.twitter.com/LkMt3FGzjF

— Micromax India (@Micromax__India) October 28, 2020

Micromax co-founder Rahul Sharma has confirmed that the company has partnered with MediaTek to design and develop the In-series of smartphones outside of its R&D centre in Bengaluru. “Micromax’s R&D in India will use the latest technologies and the advanced MediaTek Helio G series chips, which deliver premium performance and enhanced customer experiences. Software development has always been the strength of the Indian ecosystem and we will leverage that strength in our software design,” Sharma said in a statement to the media.

“Special focus on Kernel, Connectivity, Multimedia, and Telephony will provide an enhanced experience of the core Android operating system. Our team will be using these chipsets to develop the upcoming smartphones at our R&D Centre in India,” he added.

While the company is keeping all the details about the In-series under wraps expectedly till the launch, two phones dubbed Micromax In 1 and In 1a have been doing the rounds online. As per a leak by The Mobile Indian, the Micromax In 1 and 1a could feature a 6.5-inch HD+ display and is expected to be equipped with a 5,000mAh battery.

The In 1a is rumoured to be powered by the Helio G35 processor, the In 1 is expected to be powered by the Helio G85 chipset. The In 1a reportedly has a dual-camera setup on the back that consists of a primary 13MP + 2MP cameras and an 8MP selfie camera up front. The other variant with 3GB + 32 GB is expected to feature a triple camera setup that could use 13MP + 5MP + 2MP camera array along with a 13MP front-facing camera.

Micromax has also revealed its plans to target the Rs 7,000-Rs 15,000 smartphone segment in India where companies like Xiaomi and Realme have dominated the most in the past few years.

 

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Garena Free Fire Halloween celebrations: Pumpkin Exchange, new weapons and more

It looks like Free Fire is really getting into the Halloween spirit. Garena has announced that it will celebrate Halloween all through the week. This includes new events, weapon skins and more. Here a look at everything that Free Fire players can expect this week.

Pumpkin Exchange 

This event allows players to earn Pumpkin Tokens by finishing matches and killing enemies. These tokens can then be exchanged for Halloween-themed prizes like the Pumpkin Grenade. Players can also complete missions to earn more tokens and earn everything. 

Evo UMP

After introducing an evolution gun called the Blue Flame Draco AK last week, Garena will be giving away a free evolution gun this time around. Called the Evolution UMP, the weapons can be quite easily obtained. All players need to do is complete the cumulative log-ins to get the weapon. Players will then have to play as much as possible with the weapon in order to evolve the weapon to its maximum potential. 

Cube Fragments

Garena has also announced that players will be able to earn up to 175 Cube Fragments just by finishing matches and getting victories. On Peak Day, this can go up to double rewards. 

Mr Death

The Mr Death character returns to Free Fire in the form of a bundle. The character will be available from October 29 onwards. 

Besides this, Garena has also introduced a bunch of costumes bundles like the Candy Bounty Bundle and the Creepypasta Contest. You can know more about Garena Free Fire’s Halloween celebrations here. 

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Devil May Cry 5 Wont Have Ray Tracing On Xbox Series S

Capcom has revealed that ray tracing support, one of the biggest new features in Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition, will not be available on Xbox Series S.

 

An update on ray tracing for #DevilMayCry 5 Special Edition on Xbox Series X|S. pic.twitter.com/OCRcGRw5bl

— Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition (@DevilMayCry) October 27, 2020

 

We’ve known since the Xbox Series S was announced that it is a less powerful system than the Xbox Series X, but it was meant to be more of a 1440p resolution device rather than 4k, with all the bells and whistles of Ray Tracing.

Capcom didn’t explain why ray tracing will be missing on the Series S, electing to simply announce the news on Twitter. It’s worth keeping in mind, however, that ray tracing will arrive on the Xbox Series X in a future update, unlike PS5 where it will be available at launch.

The news isn’t particularly surprising. As much as Microsoft likes to imagine the difference in power will only be used to drop resolution on Series S, not every developer may see it that way. More broadly, it will be interesting to see how other games treat Series S going forward, and whether Microsoft’s vision for the split is going to hold.

Many of the PC’s out there are capable of running ray-tracing games with decent fps, but Capcom decided not to bring ray-tracing to the PC version of the game. It could be more than just a performance-based centric on the developer’s side.

Both the versions are still going to support high frame rates up to 120 fps, enhanced 3D audio, reduced loading times, the Legendary Dark Knight difficulty, Turbo Mode, and a playable Vergil, the differentiating margin being that Xbox Series X will only support ray-tracing while the Series S will have standard graphic support.

If you are wondering whether to get the Series S or a gaming PC, you can check out our comparison between the two here.

The Xbox Series S and X launch in India on November 10 and you can read more about their launch date and price here. The PS5 India price has been announced, but no release date yet. You can check out details of the PS5 price here. 

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Vivo V20 SE price leaked via retail listing ahead of India launch

Vivo V20 SE price has leaked online courtesy of retail listings ahead of its launch alongside the Vivo V20 Pro in India. The Vivo V20 SE and V20 Pro have been teased to launch in India soon, according to Vivo India CEO. The V20 was launched on October 13 in India while the V20 Pro made its global debut back in September. 

According to the listings on Reliance Digital and Croma, the V20 SE is priced at Rs 20,990 for the sole 8GB+128GB option. The listings for the V20 SE on both the retail stores reveal the specifications of the phone and confirm that it will be offered in Gravity Black colour.

This is in line with our previous reports that pegged the price of V20 SE to be around Rs 20,000-mark. As the V20 currently retails for Rs 24,990, the V20 Pro is expected to be priced close to the Rs 30,000-mark as it is powered by the Snapdragon 765G processor. That said, there’s no official word on the exact launch date of the V20 SE and V20 Pro in India yet. Let’s take a brief look at the specifications of the V20 SE and V20 Pro.

Vivo V20 SE specifications

Vivo V20 SE has a plastic build that measures 7.8 millimetres in thickness and weighs 171 grams. The phone features a 6.44-inch Full HD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) resolution display that uses an AMOLED panel with a waterdrop notch for the selfie camera and an in-screen fingerprint sensor.

The V20 SE is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 processor with an octa-core CPU and Adreno 610 GPU. This is paired with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage along with the option to expand the storage by using microSD cards. It runs on Android 10-based FunTouchOS 11.

Vivo V20 SE has a triple camera setup on the back that consists of a primary 48MP camera with an f/1.8 aperture, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera and a 2MP depth sensor. On the front, there’s a 32MP selfie camera housed within the notch. 

The V20 SE is equipped with a 4,100mAh battery with support for 33W fast charging out-of-the-box. 

Vivo V20 Pro specifications

Vivo V20 Pro features a 6.44-inch Full HD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) resolution display that uses an AMOLED panel. There is a wide notch upfront that houses the two selfie cameras and the screen is also home to a fingerprint reader. The phone measures 7.49 millimetres in thickness and weighs 170 grams.

The V20 Pro is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G processor with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. It runs on FuntouchOS 11 which is based on Android 10.

Vivo V20 Pro comes with a triple camera setup on the back that consists of a primary 64MP camera, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera and a 2MP monochrome sensor. On the front, there is a primary 44MP selfie camera and an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera with 105-degree field-of-view.

The V20 Pro is powered by a 4,000mAh battery that supports 33W fast charging out-of-the-box.

 

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Sony Posts Strong Second-Quarter Profit on Gaming Business, Booming PlayStation 5 Pre-Orders

Sony raised its annual profit outlook after reporting a surprise second-quarter profit increase, as its gaming business continued to capture "nesting" demand driven by COVID-19 lockdown measures.

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