Indias SSLV rocket with earth observation satellite lifts off into space

India's brand new rocket Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D1) on Sunday morning lifted off with an earth observation satellite-02 (EOS-02) formerly known as Microsatellite-2 weighing about 145 kg.  Piggybacking on that was the eight kg AZAADISAT built by 750 students of government schools facilitated by SpaceKidz India. At about 9.18 a.m. the 34 metre tall and 120 ton rocket broke free of the first launch pad and started its maiden upward one way journey carrying the two satellites. The rocket with a thick orange flame at its tail slowly gathered speed and went up and up. Just over 12 minutes into its flight, the SSLV-D1 will put into orbit the EOS-2 satellite and a few seconds later the AZAADSAT will be orbited. According to the ISRO, the SSLV is a ready to transfer rocket with modular and unified systems with standard interfaces for production by the industry. The SSLV design drivers are low cost, low turnaround time, flexibility in accommodating multiple satellites, launch-on-demand feasibility, minimal launch infrastructure requirements and others, ISRO said. The commercial arm of ISRO, NewSpace India Ltd plans to transfer the SSLV technology for production in the private sector. The Indian space agency said the EOS-02 satellite is an experimental optical imaging satellite with high spatial resolution. The objective is to realise and fly an experimental imaging satellite with short turnaround time and showcase launch on demand capability. The new technologies realised for the Microsat series of spacecrafts include payloads with a common fore optics and metallic primary mirror realised with the limited mass and volume of Microsat Bus, ISRO said. With the new launch vehicle included in its product lineup, ISRO will have three rockets -- Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and its variants (cost about Rs 200 crore), Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-MkII cost about Rs 272 crore and Mk III Rs 434 crore) and SSLV (Development cost of three rockets about Rs 56 crore each) and production cost may go down later. According to SpaceKidz India, the significance of this project is that it has been conceptualised as a tribute to mark the 75th anniversary of Independence. "From 75 government schools for girls across India, we have selected 10 students to give this opportunity. The selected students are predominantly from Classes 8-12. This is a first of its kind Space mission with an 'All women concept' to promote women in STEM as this year's UN theme is 'Women in Space'," SpaceKidz India said. Niti Aayog has partnered for this project to bring this opportunity to students of the government girl schools across India. Hexaware is supporting by funding the project.

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Elon Musk Challenges Parag Agrawal To Debate The Fake Accounts Situation On Twitter

Amid the ongoing legal dispute over the $44 billion takeover deal to buy Twitter, tech mogul Elon Musk has challenged the platform's CEO Parag Agrawal to have a public debate on fake accounts and spam.  While replying to a user who summarised his accusations, which included Twitter stonewalling Musk and giving him "outdated data" about the microblogging platform, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO wrote a "good summary of the problem". "If Twitter simply provides their method of sampling 100 accounts and how they are confirmed to be real, the deal should proceed on original terms. However, if it turns out that their Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings are materially false, then it should not," Musk said in a series of tweets. "I hereby challenge Parag Agrawal to a public debate about the Twitter bot percentage. Let him prove to the public that Twitter has lesser than per cent fake or spam daily users!"  The tech billionaire also posted a poll that asked the microblogging platform's users.  "Less than 5 per cent of Twitter daily users are fake/spam," and during the first five hours of the polls, 66 per cent of the users chose "Lmaooo No". Meanwhile, Musk's die-hard fan Pranay Pathole called out SEC and wrote: "I wonder what's SEC doing here? Are they even investigating these dubious claims that are made by Twitter?" "Good question, why aren't they?" Musk replied. Twitter has filed a detailed response to Musk's countersuit against the micro-blogging platform, saying his claims are "factually inaccurate, legally insufficient, and commercially irrelevant". According to Musk, he was hoodwinked by Twitter into signing a $44 billion merger agreement. "That story is as implausible and contrary to fact as it sounds. And it is just that -- a story, imagined in an effort to escape a merger agreement that Musk no longer found attractive once the stock market -- and along with it, his massive personal wealth -- declined in value," Twitter had said in its legal response filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery in the US. Musk's lawyers filed 90 pages of counterclaims in the court, and Twitter responded to them paragraph by paragraph. The Tesla CEO, in his countersuit, said that his action arose out of Twitter's misrepresentations regarding the condition of the company and the "key metrics" the platform uses to evaluate the number of its users.

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Chinese Media Warns Crackdown On Vivo, Oppo, And Xiaomi Can Make Them Leave India

For Chinese processing and manufacturing enterprises that originally tried to make India an overseas product-processing centre, if it is indeed increasingly difficult and unprofitable to operate in the country, then withdrawing from India is also an available option, state-run Global Times has said.  The Indian government is looking into cases of alleged tax evasion by three Chinese mobile companies -- OPPO, Vivo India and Xiaomi. "Frequent investigations by the Indian side into Chinese enterprises not only disrupt those companies' normal business activities, but also impedes the improvement of business environment in India and chills the confidence and willingness of market entities, especially Chinese enterprises, to invest and operate in India," read a commentary in the publication. Since April 2020, out of 382 foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals the central government received from Chinese firms, India approved only 80 as on June 29. "The number presents the increasingly difficult business environment facing Chinese investment and companies doing business in India," the report said. Some manufacturers have turned their eyes to Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam after withdrawing from India. "Faced with competition from Vietnam, India should no longer set obstacles for its manufacturing development, and should stop carrying out crackdown on Chinese investment," the report added. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the China-India trade is on course to cross $100 billion for the second consecutive year as it has gone up to $67.1 billion in the first half of 2022. "Hopefully India can provide a fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese investors, which will be mutually beneficial to both Chinese enterprises and India's manufacturing ambitions," the commentary read. OPPO India, Xiaomi India and Vivo India were served notices by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) for duty evasion, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Rajya Sabha this week. A show-cause notice demanding Rs 4,403.88 crore has been served to OPPO Mobiles India Ltd based on an investigation conducted by the DRI, while five cases of Customs duty evasion have been registered against Xiaomi Technology India, Sitharaman said in a written reply. The DRI detected customs duty evasion of around Rs 2,217 crore by Vivo Mobile India Private Ltd. A show-cause notice has been issued to Vivo India demanding customs duty amounting to Rs 2,217 crore, under the provisions of the Customs Act.

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Motorola could launch the Moto Razr 2022 and X30 Pro on August 11

The tensions between China and Taiwan were thought to have caused the cancellation of the launch of the Motorola Razr and the X30 Pro. It has not yet been confirmed if geopolitics was really responsible but with the way the two countries are heading, it seems like a plausible reason. Motorola was supposed to have launched the Razr 2022 on August 2 in China, but as we now know, that did not happen as the event was unceremoniously cancelled. There is a light at the end of the tunnel though, as Lenovo and Motorola GM Chen Jin took to Weibo and posted an image displaying a folded Razr 2022 with the date set to August 11. The image could have also revealed the specific time of the launch as well. 

Motorola Razr 2022 and X30 Pro rumoured specs

There has been no official statement on the matter by Motorola but the image that was posted could possibly be hinting toward the following expected launch date and time. We could also see the launch of the X30 Pro at the same event but again, there is no official word from Motorola yet. 

If you're interested in either device, both the Motorola X30 Pro and Razr 2022 are up for pre-order on JD.Com with the cut-off date set to August 11 at 7:59 PM. This could even indicate that the devices may go up as a part of some sale after the initialcutoff. But again, take this with a grain of salt as there is no official announcement from the company yet. 

The Motorola Razr 2022 could come with a 6.67-inch HD OLED screen and be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 SoC. Moving on to the Motorola X30 Pro, the device is rumoured to come with a  6.67-inch OLED display and a primary camera with a 200MP sensor. These are just the rumoured specs as we'll have more information on exactly what's in these devices once they officially hit the market. 

 

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Apple unlikely to redesign standard Watch Series 8

San Francisco, Aug 6 (IANS) Tech giant Apple is unlikely to redesign the standard "Apple Watch Series 8", with more significant updates planned for the rumoured "Pro" model.

A Twitter leaker named ShrimpApplePro has apparently obtained final production information for the "Apple Watch Series 8", AppleInsider reported.

While the leaker was not clear, it seems they have access to at least one of the sealed boxes the new devices will ship in.

According to "Shrimp", the "Apple Watch Series 8" design will stay similar to the Apple Watch Series 7 with no improvements. It will be sold in aluminum and stainless steel cases in 41 mm and 45 mm sizes.

It seems the aluminium colours will be limited to Midnight, Starlight, Product(RED), and Silver. Stainless steel colours are listed as Graphite and Silver. Notably, Blue and Green are absent from this list.

The titanium version of the Apple Watch won't be available for the standard model either. This signifies that the rumoured "Pro" watch may have titanium and different colour options.

"Shrimp" alludes to the box in their possession, stating that it is sealed with stronger glue. That makes it more difficult for resellers to pass used goods as new.

It also seems the devices are entering mass production in August, so a September launch is likely. However, that may be speculation.

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Elon Musk says Twitter must follow law of the land in India

New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS) Tesla CEO Elon Musk has claimed that Twitter does not follow the law of the land in India and this has jeopardised one of its largest markets.

In a countersuit against the micro-blogging platform filed in a Delaware court in the US late on Friday, Musk said he was "hoodwinked" into signing the $44 billion Twitter takeover deal.

"In July, Twitter sued the Indian government to challenge orders requiring it to remove content and block dozens of accounts," tweeted New York Times reporter Kate Conger.

"Musk takes issue with that, saying it jeopardizes one of Twitter's largest markets and suggesting Twitter should follow local law in India," Conger added.

Twitter last moved the Karnataka High Court against the Indian government's order to take down some content on its platform, on the grounds that the content blocking orders from the IT Ministry do not pass "the test of the grounds provided under Section 69A of the IT Act".

Twitter alleged in its writ petition that multiple accounts and content included in the blocking orders are either "overbroad and arbitrary", fail to provide notice to the "originators" of the content, and are "disproportionate" in several cases.

The Musk countersuit said that "in 2021, India's information technology ministry imposed certain rules allowing the government to probe social media posts, demand identifying information, and prosecute companies that refused to comply".

Musk said the micro-blogging platform should honour the "laws of countries in which Twitter operates".

Twitter responded to Musk's allegations, saying it "respectfully refers to the Court for their complete and accurate contents", and denied his claims.

Musk said that Twitter "did not apprise him of its lawsuit against the Indian government", thereby putting the company's third largest market "at risk".

Twitter responded, saying its actions in India are in line with its "global practice" of challenging government requests or laws.

Twitter has dragged Musk's billionaire friends along with Tesla into the legal battle that will start from October 17.

Twitter argues that Musk signed a contract to buy the company, and is using spam accounts as a false pretense to cancel the deal.

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Twitter finally fixes bug that exposed at least 54 lakh accounts

New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS) Twitter has fixed a security bug that exposed data of at least 54 lakh accounts on its platform that were put up for sale on the Dark Web.

Twitter said that if you operate a pseudonymous Twitter account, "we understand the risks an incident like this can introduce and deeply regret that this happened".

"To keep your identity as veiled as possible, we recommend not adding a publicly known phone number or email address to your Twitter account," the company said in a statement late on Friday.

The company said that while no passwords were exposed, "we encourage everyone who uses Twitter to enable two-factor authentication using authentication apps or hardware security keys to protect your account from unauthorized logins".

The vulnerability allowed bad actors to enter a phone number or email address into the log-in flow in the attempt to learn if that information was tied to an existing Twitter account, and if so, which specific account.

"We take our responsibility to protect your privacy very seriously and it is unfortunate that this happened," said Twitter.

Twitter in January received a report through its bug bounty programme of a vulnerability in its systems.

"As a result of the vulnerability, if someone submitted an email address or phone number to Twitter's systems, Twitter's systems would tell the person what Twitter account the submitted email addresses or phone number was associated with, if any," said the company.

In July, Twitter learned that someone had potentially leveraged this (bug) and was offering to sell the information they had compiled.

"After reviewing a sample of the available data for sale, we confirmed that a bad actor had taken advantage of the issue before it was addressed," said Twitter.

The company also directly notified the account owners who were affected by this issue.

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