Asus announces Strix Scar and Stric G series refresh

Asus has been making big announcements all around, given that both Intel and Nvidia introduced new gaming-specific hardware as well. After introducing the new Zephyrus lineup, Asus gas also announced major upgrades to its Strix series. For starters, Asus has confirmed that they are dropping the Strix Hero lineup entirely, now leaving us with the Strix Scar and Strix G series of laptops. In India, Asus positions the Strix G series as entry-level ROG gaming machines whereas the Scar series is the high-performance beast. This year, Asus has globally announced the availability of ROG Strix Scar 15, ROG Strix Scar 17, ROG Strix G15 and ROG Strix G17.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 and Scar 17

The Scar series comes in 15” and 17” flavours, both powered by Intel’s latest 10th generation processors. While the Scar 15 will top out at the Intel Core i7-10875H, an 8 core/16 thread processor, the 17-inch Scar 17 also offers the top-of-the-line Intel core i9-10980HK to users. The Strix Scar series is aimed at those gamers who are aspiring to get into esports or are already engaged in them. As such, you’re looking at machines with a 300Hz refresh rate and Nvidia’s top-of-the-line RTX 2080 Super GPUs. The Scar also offers the new Keystone II which when attached to the computer, can instantly boost performance and also give access to an internal “shadow drive.” The Scar series also offers three NVMe slots, two of which can be configured in RAID 0 for storage of up to 1TB and the third slot is there for just expansion.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 & Scar 17

 

Asus ROG Strix G15 and G17

The Scar G series globally will be available in a similarly spec’d performance package as the Scar series. That is, processor selection going up to i7-10875H, GPU selection going up to Nvidia RTX 2080 Super and display with refresh rates as high as 240Hz on the 15-inch model and 144Hz on the 17-inch models. With the Strix G15, Asus has also introduced an Electro Punk variant, inspired by cyberpunk elements such as neon colours. The Electro Punk variant is black coloured, with pink trim for a rather unique look.

Asus ROG Strix G15 Electro Punk

You can see the basic specs of all the Strix laptops in the chart below.

The above specifications are for the global product lineup, and from the past, we’ve learnt that Asus brings specific SKUs to India only, slotting their various gaming laptops into tiers. This makes sense since it would be weird to have a Scar 15, G15, Zephyrus S15, all with the same specs, but with variable pricing. As of now, there is no official word on when the new Scar and G series laptops will come to India and at what price points.

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Lenovo Legion 5i, Legion 7i First to Get Nvidia's Advanced Optimus Technology

Nvidia made several announcements and one of the significant ones was the new Advanced Optimus Technology.

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Googles local community app Neighbourly is shutting down on May 12

Google may be one of the worlds largest tech companies but that doesn't mean that every product or service it released has been a success. From social networking platform Google Plus to the Daydream VR headset and even the Allo app, Google has a long list of products and services it has discontinued. Google even discontinued devices like the Nexus Player, Nexus phones and Nexus Tablets. Today, another service is entering its final days before shutting down. Google’s local community app - Neighbourly.

Google Neighbourly app was launched in 2018 and will shut down on May 12 2020. Users will be able to download their data till October 12 2020. For those unaware, the app lets users get local information, be it the safety of a particular area or the best food in a particular restaurant. Users can also be a part of multiple neighbourhoods in case they live and work away from home. The Neighbourly app was launched in India in May 2018. At launch, it was available only in Mumbai. Since then, Google expanded Neighbourly to Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Mysore, Vizag, Kota, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kochi, Coimbatore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Indore and other cities in the country.

With the shutting down of Neighbourly, users of the app will have to go back to the good old days of asking people about relevant local information. However, since we are in a time of social distancing, people may resort to just Googling the information. Surprisingly, Google says the reason for discontinuing the app is because it hasn't grown as the company hoped it would. 

There is an interesting website called Killed by Google which lists all the services, apps and products that Google has killed. In other Google news, the company has limited YouTube streaming to 480p in India. You can read more about it here.

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Coronavirus effect: Tata Sky launches emergency credit facility to encourage people to stay home

After a notification from TRAI asking telecom operators to help customers tide over the lockdown with minimal hassle, DTH players like Tata Sky have come up with special offers to encourage people to stay home.

Tata Sky announced it is now offering emergency credit facility for free to its customers. The company has also made ten of its interactive content services free for subscribers.

What is Tata Sky’s emergency credit facility

The emergency credit facility is for those who are unable to recharge their account because of the inability to find a dealer to do it for them. For these subscribers, Tata Sky is offering a balanced loan for a specified time period. The balance credit under this loan will be debited from the user’s account as soon as they re-activate the service, without any interest charged. The loan is aimed at non-tech savvy viewers who may find it difficult to recharge their accounts under present circumstances.

How to avail the emergency credit facility?

To avail the service, send a missed to Tata Sky on 080-61999922.

Ten free interactive channels

Tata Sky is also offering free access to ten interactive channels on the network. That includes Dance Studio, Fitness, Smart Manager, Vedic Maths, and more. The channels can be accessed from the Tata Sky set-top-box or from the Tata Sky app, available on Android, iOS and Windows.

Previously, Tata Sky also started offering its Fitness services for free to encourage people to stay home during the lockdown.

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The Lion King and The Mandalorian set to premier tonight April 2 on Disney+ Hotstar

As we previously reported, Disney+ Hotstar will be going live at midnight, April 3. The service was originally set to launch on March 29 but has been pushed back to April 3.  The company has since confirmed that the service will go live on April 3. The service should be including more content from the house of Disney. Now that we’ve all been caught up, let’s take a look at what we can expect from Disney+Hotstar in the coming days. 

The company has confirmed in a tweet that The Lion King will be premiering tonight April 2 at 6 PM IST on the service. Another excellent show that revives the corpse that is Star Wars, The Mandalorian will also premiere tonight April 2 on Disney+Hotstar at 8 PM IST. So, basically, you can sit back and enjoy the Lion King with your family and then tune in for some Western action in The Mandalorian after. Disney+Hotstar has also added the option of chatting with Bollywood personalities Hritik Roshan, Katrina Kaif and Tiger Shroff during the film. And, with most major sporting events taking a back seat, it looks like Disney+Hotstar is looking at pushing the platform with more content from Disney. 

Watch The Lion King & the new Disney+ Original The Mandalorian and chat with your favourite stars as they join in from their homes for the Disney+ Hotstar Red Carpet Premiere on April 2nd, starting 6 PM. Get Disney+ Hotstar Premium subscription now! #StayHomeStaySafe https://t.co/wiDjMYZ8gg

— Hotstar (@hotstartweets) April 1, 2020

With the extra content comes a price hike as well. The subscription fee for the service will go up from Rs 999 per annum to Rs 1499 per annum for the Premium subscription. The premium subscription will also deliver shows from FOX, Showtime and more. The VIP plan has also seen a price hike from Rs 365 per annum to Rs 399 per annum. This subscription will not come with Disney+ original shows nor will you be able to access content from other networks like Fox and Showtime. 

Stay tuned as we will update the article with any new information about the app as soon as we receive it. 

 

 

 

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Call of Duty: Mobile: Everything new in Season 5 Steel Legion update

Call of Duty: Mobile is has been updated to Season 5 and with it comes a whole slew of new features, upgrades and a new Battle Pass. Called Steel Legion, the season should already be available for gamers. Here’s a quick look at all that is new.

New weapon

As part of the Steel Legion season, players can earn a new weapon called the GKS. The new weapon was first seen in CoD: Black Ops 4. This is a submachine gun with greater range and damage as compared to most SMGs. As such, it can be thought of a weapon that is between an SMG and an assault rifle. 

New Killstreak

At Tier 25, of the Battle Pass, players will unlock a new Killstreak called the Shock RC. This is a small remote control car that shocks and stuns enemies on contact. This will allow your team members to come in a finish them off. As such, it seems like more of a support Killstreak, similar to the MQ-27 Dragonfire drone. The Shock RC is obtained by getting a score of 350.

Premium Battle Pass benefits

Those who pay for the Premium Battle Pass get the new Reaper skin. Reaper is an experimental war robot and it looks very different from the human skins available earlier. At Tier 12, players will unlock the David Mason skin, the main protagonist from Black Ops II and the son of Black Ops I protagonist, Alex Mason. Besides this, the player will also unlock legendary weapon skills as they progress through the Tiers.

New game mode

Season 5 also brings with it a new game mode called 2v2 Showdown. As the name would suggest, the mode sees four players divided into two teams as they fight it out over multiple rounds. Each round features a different loadout and to win, players must eliminate the other two players within the time limit or the match will go into ‘overtime’. During overtime, players can either take down the enemy or win by capturing the flag. If neither happens during overtime, then the team with the most health wins. It should be noted that there is no health regeneration in this mode, and dead players will only respawn at the start of the next round.

Warfare returns to Battle Royale

Warfare more has returned to Battle Royale. However, unlike the last time, players can choose to play in First Person Perspective (FFP). To recall, Battle Royale Warfare is similar to classic Battle Royale, but the players are divided into two teams of 20 players each, and once players die, they respawn. The first time to reach 150 kills, wins. 

Ranked Mode gets new benefits

The Ranked Mode in Battle Royale and Multiplayer also offers new benefits. Those who reach Rank Mast 1 in Multiplayer Ranked mode get a new assault weapon called the Man-O-War. This weapon is described as a high-damage assault rifle with a slower rate of fire. Those who reach Rank Master 1 in Battle Royale will get a new ‘Ruin’ skin for their character. 

To know more, click here.

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Government launches Aarogya Setu coronavirus tracker: All your questions answered

In the second week of the 21-day lockdown imposed to curb the coronavirus outbreak, the official COVID-19 tracking app from the Indian government is finally here. The app is called Aarogya Setu which translates to ‘A bridge of health’ from Sanskrit and is available for download from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The app has been developed by the National Informatics Center which falls under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The tracking app relies on Bluetooth and your smartphone’s location services to determine if you have come in contact with a COVID-19 positive patient recently.

The app description states that "the App is aimed at augmenting the initiatives of the Government of India, particularly the Department of Health, in proactively reaching out to and informing the users of the app regarding risks, best practices and relevant advisories pertaining to the containment of COVID-19.”

How does Aarogya Setu work?

The app asks for some personal information like name, age, sex, profession, countries visited in the past 30 days and whether or not you are a smoker. You also have allow the app to collect location and Bluetooth data at all times.

The privacy policy of the app states that the location and Bluetooth data is recorded every time a smartphone installed with the app comes in close range of another smartphone, along with the time of contact. By doing so, it creates a social graph of the people you have come in contact with. If you have come in close proximity of an infected person, you will be alerted via SMS, push notifications and other means.

What languages are supported?

The Aarogya Setu COVID-19 tracker supports 11 languages including English, Hindi, Gujrati, Bengali and more. You can select the preferred language at the beginning or at any time while using the app.

What permissions does it ask for?

The Aarogya Setu app requires location permission to be granted at all times. It asks for your precise and approximate location, even in the background. It can also pair with other Bluetooth devices, access Bluetooth settings, prevent the phone from sleeping and receive data from the internet.

What happens when you are near an infected person?

While at most times, the app will say you are at low risk, coming in contact with an infected person will change the status to “You are at high risk”. The app will ask you to first self-isolate yourself, log your temperatures and get yourself tested urgently. There will be helpline numbers shown to schedule a test.

What other functions does it have?

Under normal circumstances, the app status will be green, with directives to stay at home. There’s also a self-assessment test you can take through a chatbot if you are showing any of the symptoms to see if you are at risk.

There are links to helpful guides, Do’s and Don’ts, and safety measures you can take. Tweets from the Ministry of Health and Welfare are also embedded.

Will your data remain private and secure?

The privacy policy states that the information generated is stored locally in the app on the device and is only uploaded in anonymised, aggregated datasets “for the purpose of generating reports, heat maps, and other statistical visualisations”. If you test positive sometime down the line, the data will be used to inform you or those who have come in contact with you. The policy also states that the location information collected from the app will be purged every 30 days from the app if you have not tested positive during that period. All data, the app policy maintains, is protected by encryption during transit as well as at rest.

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