Highlights: PUBG Mobile will reportedly bring India Bonus challenge with version 0.11.1 update. The challenge will enable users to earn Battle Coins (BC) and exchange them for Unknown Cash (UC). PUBG Mobile has established itself in the Indian mobile gaming space with no big rivals in sight. To keep players interested, the game’s developers recently introduced the new Zombie: Survive till dawn event that we’ve played and is sure as fun as it is hectic. It seems like Tencent is poised to announce a new India Bonus Challenge with an incremental update. As per the YouTuber Mr.Ghost Gaming, the new challenge is currently live on global version of the battle royale game and enables users to earn Battle Coins (BC), which can be exchanged for Unknown Cash (UC), rare outfits, gun skins and UC packs. As per the report, the new India Bonus Challenge will be accessible within the Challenge section in the game’s main menu. One will need to register for it using bonus card/voucher, which is shown at the upper right corner of the screen. As per the report, everyone will receive one voucher for free. Coming to registering for the new event, one can choose from three tiers. There might be Novice, Adept or Expert ranks that cost one, two and three bonus vouchers respectively. Additionally, one can earn up to 300 points in the Novice rank, and up to 1000 and 1500 points when playing in Adept and Expert tiers. One point is said to be equivalent to 1 Battle Coin. Additionally, players will be divided into groups depending on the highest tier they are able to reach and Matches will be announced at a particular timing. Those who miss the match will not get to participate. A player’s score and rewarded BP will depend on their final rank and kills in a game, along with total number of participants, and rank. Anyone who cheats will be disqualified from the event with their benefits revoked. As mentioned earlier, one will be able to redeem UC, rare outfits, gun skins and UC packs by earning BP. As per the video, to do so, one will need to tap on the Redeem Rewards option in the India Bonus Challenge page. They will then be redirected to the online PUBG Shop where they can exchange BP for various items. However, there is a redemption limit on items like one can avail 100 UC packs 20 times, while the 300 and 500 UC packs can only be availed 10 and 5 times respectively. Most outfits and skins can be redeemed only once. One can also redeem a bonus voucher if they have enough coins and use it to register for a higher tier to earn more points. Related Reads: PUBG Mobile Zombie Mode Survival Guide: 10 tips and tricks to survive from dusk till dawn PUBG Mobile gets “digital lock” as parental control to curb violence among minors
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Highlights: Tesla Model Y to be unveiled on March 14 Unveiling to happen at LA Design Studio in Los Angeles Model Y expected to cost 10 percent more than Model 3 On the same day the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft docked autonomously with the International Space Station, it was announced that the Tesla Model Y SUV would be unveiled on March 14 at the LA Design Studio in Los Angeles, California. The announcement was made by the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk (who also heads SpaceX), on Twitter. The Model Y is expected to be a full-sized SUV for families with four doors. Like all Teslas before it, the Model Y will be fully electric and possibly run Tesla’s Autopilot software. Elon Musk continued to send out tweets about the upcoming EV even after he’d made the announcement. “Model Y, being an SUV, is about 10% bigger than Model 3, so will cost about 10% more & have slightly less range for same battery,” he wrote in one of his follow-up tweets. “Detailed specs & pricing will be provided, as well as test rides in Y,” he wrote in another. Assuming the price of the latest Standard Model 3 variant, which is $35,000 (Rs 25 lakh approx), one could say that the Model Y will cost about $38,500 (Rs 27 lakh approx) when it goes on sale in the US. Though the name “Model Y” was trademarked in 2013, it’s only in 2018 that we heard some definite news about the car. In May last year, Musk revealed that the Model Y would be built on a platform that shares many components with the Model 3. Both the Model 3 and Model Y are expected to be built in the Shanghai Gigafactory in eastern China at a rate of 2,50,000 units annually. Along with the cars, the factory will also produce the battery cells that will be used in these cars. Tesla announced a new entry-level variant of the Model 3 last week in the US for $35,000. In the news release, Tesla claimed the new variant would cover about 220 miles (354 kilometres), reach a top speed of 130 miles per hour (209 kilometres per hour), and go from 0–60 miles per hour (0–100 kilometres per hour) in 5.6 seconds. In addition, Tesla announced a Standard Range Plus variant for $37,000, which gives the electric sedan 20 miles (32 kilometres) of extra driving range. Related Read: Tesla Model 3's new entry-level variant launched in the US at $35,000 Model Y unveil event on March 14 at LA Design Studio — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 3 March 2019 
Highlights: Potential bug gives access to all accounts connected to Android TV It can also allow users to display photos of these linked account on the platform Google has launched a probe into the issue Bugs have been infamous for leaking out private data in public domain, and in a latest development, Google’s Android ecosystem is at the centre of a controversy. A twitter user has found that he has access to all the accounts connected to an Android TV (Android OS modified for TVs) device as well as to the Google Photos app linked to these accounts. What’s horrifying is that he has the power to display personal photos of those those account holders on Android TV through the Ambient Mode screensaver settings. Brought to the fore by Twitter user prashanth, the bug was claimed to be found in Android TV and the Google Home app. When the user tried to access his VU Android TV device through the Google Home app, he could check out the linked accounts of a lot of users. Earlier it was thought that the the issue was only in the TVs manufactured by VU, however, another user claimed that the bug is not restricted to the manufacturer, but may be related to Android TV, Google accounts or the Google Home app. When I access my Vu Android TV through the @Google Home app, and check the linked accounts, it basically lists what I imagine is every single person who owns this television. This is shocking incompetence. pic.twitter.com/5DGwrArsco — prashanth (@wothadei) 3 March 2019 The Twitter user claims that he reset the Android TV, which prevented them from accessing any image on Google Photos, even their own. There are possibilities that the toggle shown in the video may be “enabled”, but the photos of strangers weren’t actually shown, and just the accounts were listed. Nonetheless, it is a matter of privacy concern that should not be overlooked. Reportedly, This VU TV runs Android 7 and has not received any security patches since 2017. Oh my god. Private @googlephotos of strangers are being shown to me in the ambient mode screensaver. SERIOUSLY WHAT THE FUCK?! @Google @GoogleIndia pic.twitter.com/VbMmb3B2Qp — prashanth (@wothadei) 3 March 2019 Meanwhile, Google has responded to the issue and has launched an investigation into the matter. “We take our users’ privacy extremely seriously. While we investigate this bug, we have disabled the ability to remotely cast via the Google Assistant or view photos from Google Photos on Android TV devices,” Google was quoted as saying. There is very little news about the Android TV updates and patches. However, Google has already announced that it will bring the Android 9 Pie update for Android TV. Related Read: Adiantum is Google’s latest security innovation to enable encryption on less powerful devices
Highlights: Anyone using 2FA with their phone number can be ‘looked up’ on Facebook. There is no option to disable or opt-out from this. Facebook has once again landed itself in hot water, and this time for turning a privacy-centric feature like two-factor authentication (2FA) into a snooping tool. As per a Techcrunch report, users have complained that anyone can “look up” their account because they used their phone number to enable 2FA for safeguarding their accounts. For someone who doesn’t want to be found using their phone number, this is bad news since there is no option to even disable it or opt out. The default setting by Facebook enables everyone, even those who do not have a Facebook account, to find people by searching via phone number and this is possible even if someone has hidden their number on their profile. This comes after Gizmodo last year reported that once a user uses their phone number for 2FA on Facebook, it “became targetable by an advertiser within a couple of weeks.” While there is an option to set up 2FA using third-party authenticator apps, there is no option to opt out in case you have set up 2FA on Facebook using your number as the visibility option can only be set between Friends, Friends of friends or Everyone. Facebook spokesperson Jay Nancarrow told TechCrunch that the settings “are not new,” adding that, “the setting applies to any phone numbers you added to your profile and isn’t specific to any feature.” This is not the first time Facebook has messed up when it comes to privacy as a recent privacy bug on Facebook made private posts of around 14 million users public. The social media platform was also previously reported to have shared users personal data with 60 smartphone makers, including four China-based companies. Facebook accepted that it had shared data with Huawei, Lenovo, Oppo and TCL. Related Reads: Facebook privacy bug may have made your private posts "Public" Facebook tracks and monitors individuals deemed a threat 
Highlights: You can now click a photo and directly add data to Excel spreadsheet Microsoft has also introduced a new Office app for Windows 10 The company also rolled out some other security enhancements Microsoft has now rolled out a feature that will let users enter data in an Excel spreadsheet by just clicking a photo of their document. Users can now use the Excel app on their android phones to take a picture of a printed data table and using AI capabilities, the app will automatically convert the picture into a fully editable table in Excel. This image recognition functionality essentially eliminates hard work of manually entering hardcopy data. The company has also announced that the iOS support will come soon. The feature, called Insert Data from Picture, was announced at Microsoft Ignite annual conference in September last year. Along with this, Microsoft has also rolled out a feature that will let users quickly add photos and files to tasks in Microsoft To-Do. “Attach files and photos to help make tasks more actionable with added context. This highly requested feature is now available on all platforms and syncs across your devices,” Microsoft said. The availability of these feature come along with other security enhancements that, Microsoft says, will help users “stay ahead of threats, create a more productive workplace, and keep you in the flow of work.” The updates include advancements in Microsoft Threat Experts, Desktop App Assure and Microsoft FastTrack and Office app for Windows 10. Starting this month, the Teams desktop app will be installed along with the rest of the Office 365 ProPlus apps for all new installs. As mentioned above, there is a new Microsoft Office app for Windows 10. Anyone who signs in with a work, school, or personal Microsoft Account can use it to quickly access all the apps available to them and their most relevant files and documents. “Organisations can also take advantage of the ability to integrate third-party apps, enable users to search for documents and people across the organization, and customize the experience with their own branding,” Microsoft said. (The Office app can be downloaded from the Microsoft Store, requires a current version of Windows 10, and works with any Office 365 subscription, Office 2019, Office 2016, and Office.) Related Read: Windows 7 support to end in a year, Microsoft says
Highlights: MIT’s Mini Cheetah robot is now capable of performing backflips. The new robot can also rebalance itself and automatically get up if it falls. With all the new developments happening in various aspects of science, the future does seem exciting. Adding to the list of growing achievements, MIT has unveiled a new smaller version of its Cheetah 3 robot called the Mini Cheetah. While backflip-performing robots are not a new thing, the Mini Cheetah is claimed to be the first four legged robot that can do the trick. However, doing backflips is not the only thing it has been taught. The quadruped robot weighs around 9 kg and can trot at 2.5m/s under half its actuator torque and speed, meaning it can go even faster if required. The Mini Cheetah can also trot, run, and move sideways. It can also perform independent translation and rotation, which looks like the bot is chasing its own non-existent tail without tripping up. The video shows that the quad-legged robot is also adept at regaining its balance when someone tries to kick it, and it can also get up by itself if it falls down. The clip instantly reminded us of Black Mirror. It should be noted that unlike the Boston Dynamics’ SpotMini that is meant for commercial use, the Mini Cheetah is a research project and won’t be seen chasing someone down the street. As seen from the video above, Mini Cheetah can easily navigate through uneven terrain. We have seen some other robots that can also do the same but feature a different design. For example, there's a snake-like robot created under a joint project between researchers at the Kyoto University Mechatronics Lab and the University of Electro-Communications in Japan. The flexible bot, capable of climbing ladders, could be helpful in rescue operations for scaling obstacles and navigating through terrains where humans can’t reach easily. The robot makes use of a gait design method that enables it to climb by connecting simple shapes. While there are many robots that draw inspiration from nature, Boston Dynamics’ Atlas humanoid robot has also been updated quite a few times, to such an extent that it can perform parkour. The robot was previously seen in a video where it jumped over logs and climbed steps without breaking its pace. Related Reads: Researchers develop snake-like robot that can climb ladders Boston Dynamic's Atlas can now perform Parkour 
