Tech Nuggets with Technology: This Blog provides you the content regarding the latest technology which includes gadjets,softwares,laptops,mobiles etc
Wednesday, September 30, 2020
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Delta IV Heavy scrubs again, ULA chief vows to change readiness operations
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The Mobile Service Tower rolls back from the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying the NROL-44 mission on Wednesday, September 30. [credit: United Launch Alliance ]
Late on Wednesday night, United Launch Alliance's large Delta IV Heavy rocket again came within seconds of lifting off from its Florida launch pad. But once again, the launch was scrubbed.
Following the automated abort of the rocket at T-7 seconds, both the booster and its valuable National Reconnaissance Office payload were said to be safe. Because the abort was triggered just before the rocket's main RS-68 engines had begun to ignite, the delay before the next launch attempt may be less than a week.
"The terminal countdown sequencer rack identified an unexpected condition prior to the engine start sequence," the company stated about an hour after the scrub. "The TCSR, which controls the final 10 seconds of the countdown, performed as intended and safely initiated a hold at T-7 seconds. The team is currently reviewing all data and will determine the path forward."
Allbirds CEO Joey Zwillinger on the startup’s $100 million round, profitability, and SPAC mania
As people spend less time out in the world and more time daydreaming about when a vaccine will arrive, lifestyle shoes are only gaining traction.
One obvious beneficiary is Allbirds, the San Francisco-based maker of comfortable, sustainable kicks that launched in 2016 and quickly became a favorite in Silicon Valley circles before taking off elsewhere.
Though the company saw its business slow this year because of the pandemic, its products are now available to purchase in 35 countries and its 20 brick-and-mortar stores are sprinkled throughout the U.S. and Europe, with another outpost in Tokyo and several shops in China.
Investors clearly see room for more growth. Allbirds just closed on $100 million in Series E funding at roughly the same $1.6 billion valuation it was assigned after closing on $27 million in Series D funding earlier this year, and blank-check companies have been calling, says cofounder and CEO Joey Zwillinger. He talked with us earlier this week in a chat that has been edited for length and clarity.
TC: Your shoes are sold worldwide. What are your biggest markets?
JZ: The biggest market by far is the U.S., and the same day that we started here in 2016, we also launched in New Zealand, so that’s been very good to us over the last four years, too. But we’ve seen growth in Japan and Korea and China and Canada and Australia. We have a network of warehouses globally that lets us reach 2.5 billion people [who], if they were so inclined, could get their product in three days. We’re proud of the infrastructure we’ve set up.
TC: We’ve all worn shoes a lot less than we might have expected in 2020. How has that impacted your business?
JZ: We’re growing but definitely not at the same pace we would be had the pandemic not occurred. We’re predominantly digital in terms of how we reach people, but stores are important for us. And we had to switch [those] off completely and lost a portion of our sales for a long time.
TC: Did you have to lay off your retail employees?
JZ: A large portion of our retail force was unable to work, but we were luckily able to keep them fully paid for four months, plus [some received] government benefits if they got that. And now all of our 20 stores are up and running again in a way that’s totally safe and everyone feels really comfortable.
We also donated shoes to frontline workers — 10,000 pairs or around a million dollars’ worth.
TC: What does Allbirds have up its sleeve, in terms of new offerings?
JZ: We just launched our native mobile app, and through it we’re able to give our more loyal fans exclusives. It’s a really cool experience that blends technology with fashion. You can try on shoes in a virtual mirror; you’re given information [about different looks] that you wouldn’t have otherwise.
We also launched wool-based weather-proofed running shoes in April that have blown away our expectations but [were fast discovered by] people who haven’t really been running for 10 to 15 years and are running again [because of gym closures]. It’s a super high-stakes category and one that’s hard to break into because people buy on repeat. But we spent two years making it. It’s not like we launched it because of the pandemic. It’s a shoe for 5K to 10K distances — it’s not a marathon shoe or a trail shoe — and that we’ve been able to clearly articulate that speaks to its success, I think.
TC: What about clothing?
We launched underwear and socks last year in a small launch. We developed a textile that hasn’t been used before — it’s a blend of tree fiber and merino wool because our view is that nature can unlock magic. Underwear is typically synthetic — it’s made from plastics — or cotton, which isn’t a great material for a whole bunch of reasons. [Meanwhile] ours is phenomenal for temperature control; it also feels like cashmere.
TC: Patagonia really advertises its social and environmental values. Do you see Allbirds evolving in a similar way, with a growing spate of offerings?
JZ: I’m incredibly humbled by [the comparison]. Given their environmental stewardship of the retail sector, we hope we’re compared to them. But they are much more of an outdoor brand — not a competitor so to speak. And we’d love to share more of the retail world with them so we can do our environmental thing together.
TC: You just raised funding. Are you profitable and, if not, is profitability in sight?
JZ: We’ve been profitable for most of our existence. Having some discipline as we grow is good. We’re not close to the profitability that we’ll eventually have, but we’re still a small company in investment mode. After we emerge from the pandemic, we’ll enter a ramping-up phase.
TC: Everyone and their brother is raising money for a blank-check company, or SPAC, which can make it a lot faster for a private company to go public. Have you been approached, and might this option interest you?
JZ: Yes and no. Yes we’ve been approached, and no, we’re [not interested]. We want to build a great company and being public might be something that helps enable that for a whole bunch of reasons. But we want to do it at the right time, in a way that helps the business grow in the most durable and sustainable fashion. Just jumping at the opportunity of a SPAC without doing the rigorous prep the way we want to, we’re not super focused on that
Google Pixel 4a launching in India on October 17: Everything you need to know
Google Pixel 4a is confirmed to launch in India on October 17, the company has confirmed after it launched the Google Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a (5G) globally on Wednesday. The Pixel 4a was announced in India on August 3 with a launch date set for sometime in October. The Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a (5G) won’t be launched in India, Google confirmed previously and the Pixel 4a is the only phone by the company for India.
As per a post by the official Twitter handle of Google, the company confirmed that the Pixel 4a is set to launch on October 17 in India and will go on sale on Flipkart. The price of the phone has not been revealed yet and it is expected to be announced closer to the day of the availability. The Pixel 4a is already listed on Flipkart as its specifications and features have been revealed during the last announcement.
Hi Roger, we appreciate your interest in our Pixel devices. The Pixel 4a launches in India on October 17th and will be available for purchase on Flipkart. To learn more about the Pixel 4a check out the official blog post here: https://t.co/EOgWtQ7NMg Appreciate it.
— Made By Google (@madebygoogle) October 1, 2020 Google Pixel 4a expected pricing in IndiaGoogle Pixel 4a is priced at $349 in the US which roughly translates to around Rs 25,000 by direct conversion. The India pricing is expected to be around the same ballpark figure and it will go up against the likes of OnePlus Nord, Apple iPhone SE 2020, Realme X3 and more.
Google Pixel 4a specificationsGoogle Pixel 4a has a new design with a soft-to-touch plastic back but without the dual-tone style as on the Pixel 3a. It measures 8.2 millimetres in thickness and is fairly lightweight, weighing 143 grams, due to the polycarbonate built. There is a square camera module on the back with the fingerprint reader placed in the middle for faster unlock speeds. The phone doesn’t go for an in-display sensor as is the trend these days likely to keep the price down.
The 4a features a 5.8-inch Full HD+ (2340 x 1080 pixels) resolution display that uses an OLED panel. The screen has a punch-hole cutout in the top-left corner for housing the selfie camera and has minimal bezels on the sides. This gives it a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. Additionally, the display is HDR+ certified which should enhance the video-viewing experience on the phone while the audio is expected to be decent with stereo speakers.
The Pixel 4a is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G with an octa-core CPU clocked at upto 2.2GHz and Adreno 618 GPU. This is paired with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. Being a Pixel phone, Google offers unlimited photo and video storage in Google Photos in high quality for free. The Pixel 4a is a slightly toned-down version of the Pixel 4 that debuted late last year. It doesn’t come with the Soli radar chip or Pixel Neural Core but does come with the Titan M security chip which helps in keeping your data safe along with assured updates for three years.
Google Pixel 4a comes with a single 12MP camera which uses the same Sony IMX363 sensor as the Pixel 4 with support for OIS and EIS. Google claims that the camera of the Pixel 4a is capable of producing Pixel 4-like images from its camera with features like Live HDR+, Night Sight, Astrophotography, Super Res Zoom and more. The phone’s rear camera is capable of recording in 4K at 30fps, 1080p at 30/60/120fps and 720p at up to 240fps while the selfie camera can shoot Full HD videos at 30fps. The front camera on the phone is the same as the Pixel 3a with an 8MP camera with an 84-degree field-of-view.
The 4a does not lose out on the 3.5mm headphone jack and comes pre-loaded with Google Assistant along with a slew of new features like the new Recorder app which transcribes speech to text using AI and machine learning algorithms. In addition, the phone has accessibility features like live Transcribe and Live Caption as well.
The Pixel 4a is equipped with a 3,140mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging. Google claims that the 4a can provide a 24-hour battery backup and comes with Adaptive Battery feature that manages the battery life based on how you use your phone.
https://ift.tt/36nwHS0Facebook Bans US Ads That Call Voting Fraud Widespread or Election Invalid
Facebook Merges Messenger With Instagram's Direct Messages
Indian startups blame Google for "unfair exploitation" of Play Store's monopoly after Google began to enforce its in-app purchasing policy with 30% commission (The Economic Times)
The Economic Times:
Indian startups blame Google for “unfair exploitation” of Play Store's monopoly after Google began to enforce its in-app purchasing policy with 30% commission — Tech giant says companies have multiple store options, can also use websites — Indian startups are up in arms …
Startup founders bat for an Indian app store
Ginny Weds Sunny, Arrow, Serious Men, and More on Netflix in October
The rise of home chefs in India amid the pandemic
Redmi 9i to Go on Sale in India Today via Flipkart, Mi.com
Indian startups explore forming an alliance and alternative app store to fight Google’s ‘monopoly’
Google, which reaches more internet users than any other firm in India and commands 99% of the nation’s smartphone market, has stumbled upon an odd challenge in the world’s second largest internet market: Scores of top local entrepreneurs.
Dozens of top startups and firms in India are working to form an alliance and toying with the idea of launching an app store to cut their reliance on Google, five people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.
The list of entrepreneurs include high-profile names such as Vijay Shekhar Sharma, co-founder and chief executive of Paytm (India’s most valuable startup), Deep Kalra of travel ticketing firm MakeMyTrip, and executives from PolicyBazaar, Sharechat and many other firms.
The growing list of founders expressed deep concerns about Google’s “monopolistic” hold on India, and discussed what they alleged was unfair and inconsistent enforcement of Play Store’s guidelines in the country.
The conversations, which began in recent weeks, escalated on Tuesday after Google said that starting next year developers with an app on Google Play Store must give the company a cut of as much as 30% of several app-related payments.
Dozens of executives “from nearly every top startup and firm” in India attended a call on Tuesday to discuss the way forward, some of the people said, requesting anonymity. A 30% cut to Google is simply unfeasible, people on the call unanimously agreed.
Vishal Gondal, the founder of fitness startup GOQii, confirmed the talks to TechCrunch and said that an alternative app store would immensely help the Indian app ecosystem.
TechCrunch reached out to Paytm on Monday for comment and the startup declined the request.
In recent months, several major startups in India have also expressed disappointment over several of the existing industry bodies, which some say have failed to work on nurturing the local ecosystem.
The tension between some firms and Google became more public than ever late last month after the Android-maker reiterated Play Store’s gambling policy, sending a shockwave to scores of startups in the country that were hoping to cash in on the ongoing season of Indian Premier League cricket tournament.
Google temporarily pulled Paytm’s marquee app from the Play Store citing repeat violation of its Play Store policies. Disappointed by Google’s move, Paytm’s Sharma said in a TV interview, “This is the problem of India’s app ecosystem. So many founders have reached out to us… if we believe this country can build digital business, we must know that it is at somebody else’s hand to bless that business and not this country’s rules and regulations.”
Google has sent notices to several firms in India including Hotstar, TechCrunch reported last month. Indian newspaper Economic Times reported on Wednesday that the Mountain View giant had also sent warnings to food delivery startups Swiggy and Zomato.
Vivek Wadhwa, a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School’s Labor and Worklife Program, lauded the banding of Indian entrepreneurs and likened Silicon Valley giants’ hold on India to the rising days of East India Company, which pillaged India. “Modern day tech companies pose a similar risk,” he told TechCrunch.
Some of the participating members are also hopeful that the government, which has urged the citizens in India to become self-reliant to revive the declining economy, would help their movement.
Other than its reach on Android, Google today also leads the mobile payments market in India, TechCrunch reported earlier this year.
The giant, which has backed a handful of startups in India and is a member of several Indian industry bodies, invested $4.5 billion in Mukesh Ambani’s telecom giant Jio Platforms earlier this year.
India’s richest man Ambani, who runs oil-to-retails giant Reliance Industries, is an ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Jio Platforms has attracted over $20 billion in investment from Google, Facebook, and 11 other high-profile investors this year.
The voluminous investment in Jio Platforms has puzzled many industry executives. “I see no business case for Facebook investing in Jio beyond saying we need regulatory help,” said Miten Sampat, a high-profile angel-investor on a podcast published Wednesday.
“This is a white-collar way of saying there is corruption involved, and if the government gets upset, I have invested somewhere with some friend of the government. All of us are losing at the benefit of one company,” he said. Sampat’s views are shared by many industry executives, though nobody has said it on record and in such clearer terms.
Google said in July that it would work with Jio Platforms on low-cost Android smartphones. Jio Platforms is planning to launch as many as 200 million smartphones in the next three years, according to a pitch the telecom giant has made to several developers. Bloomberg first reported about Jio Platform’s smartphone production plans.
These smartphones, as is the case with nearly 40 million JioPhone feature phones in circulation today, will have an app store with only a few dozen apps, all vetted and approved by Jio, according to one developer who was pitched by Jio Platforms. An industry executive described Jio’s store as a walled-garden.
A possible viable option for startup founders is Indus OS, a Samsung-backed third-party store, which last month said it reaches over 100 million monthly active users. As of earlier this week, Paytm and other firms had not reached out to IndusOS, a person familiar with the matter said.
Facebook says, as part of its recent crackdown on QAnon and "militia" movements, it has removed 6,500 groups belonging to 300 organizations (Karissa Bell/Engadget)
Karissa Bell / Engadget:
Facebook says, as part of its recent crackdown on QAnon and “militia” movements, it has removed 6,500 groups belonging to 300 organizations — Facebook has removed more than 6,500 pages and groups associated with “militarized social movements,” since the company announced …
It's cashless on delivery
Ecomm recharges digital payments
Facebook says it will ban Facebook and Instagram ads that seek to delegitimize the outcome of an election, including calling specific voting methods fraudulent (Salvador Rodriguez/CNBC)
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Facebook says it will ban Facebook and Instagram ads that seek to delegitimize the outcome of an election, including calling specific voting methods fraudulent — - Facebook on Wednesday announced that it will not allow any ads on its service that seek to delegitimize the outcome of an election …
Google introduces a new Android feature called Hold for Me, which uses Assistant to monitor held phone calls and notify the user when taken off hold (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Google introduces a new Android feature called Hold for Me, which uses Assistant to monitor held phone calls and notify the user when taken off hold — Google has been pushing forward the capabilities of what a smartphone can do when it comes to one of the device's most basic — if these days often overlooked — features: phone calls.
Windows 10 PowerToys: A cheat sheet
Tuesday, September 29, 2020
Sonos files another patent lawsuit against Google, alleging infringement of five wireless audio patents across the entire line of Nest and Chromecast products (Nilay Patel/The Verge)
Nilay Patel / The Verge:
Sonos files another patent lawsuit against Google, alleging infringement of five wireless audio patents across the entire line of Nest and Chromecast products — Rocket docket, engage — Sonos has filed another patent lawsuit against Google, alleging that the search giant …
Sources: DOJ is expected to sue Google as soon as next week and is currently urging state attorneys general to sign onto the lawsuit (Reuters)
Reuters:
Sources: DOJ is expected to sue Google as soon as next week and is currently urging state attorneys general to sign onto the lawsuit — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is expected to sue Alphabet's Google as soon as next week, and is currently urging state attorneys general …
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 with Aura balance design to go on sale today via Amazon
US expected to sue Google next week as DOJ seeks support from states
A Napster moment for online video and music platforms in India as piracy soars in lockdown
Apple Grants CEO Tim Cook First Major Stock Package Since 2011
Palantir value pegged at $15.8 billion ahead of long-awaited NYSE debut
E-scooter startup Neuron Mobility adds $12M to its Series A for expansion in Australia and New Zealand
Neuron Mobility, a Singapore-based e-scooter rental startup, announced today that it has added $12 million to its Series A. Led by Square Peg, an Australian venture capital firm and GSR Ventures, this increases the round’s new total to $30.5 million. The company, which operates in Australia and New Zealand in addition to Southeast Asian markets, first announced its Series A in December 2019.
Part of Neuron Mobility’s growth plans hinges on the increased adoption of electric scooters and bikes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people are using their cars less frequently because they are working remotely or there are movement restrictions where they live. When they do go out, electric bikes and scooters offer an alternative to public transportation and ride-hailing services for short trips.
Neuron Mobility’s chief executive Zachary Wang said the company raised a Series A+ instead of moving onto a Series B because more cities are “opening up to the possibility of micromobility, particularly rental e-scooters as they present an individual transport option that takes pressure off public transport and allows people to continue social distancing.”
“We’ve been experiencing tremendous growth in ANZ and the pandemic has made us fast track our plans,” he added.
Though Neuron Mobility currently does not operate in other Southeast Asian countries besides Singapore, Wang said it is “constantly evaluating opportunities across APAC.”
The new funding will be used to speed up Neuron Mobility’s expansion plans in Australia and New Zealand, where it claims to be the leading electric scooter rental operator. The company is currently present in nine locations, including Auckland, New Zealand, and Australian cities Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Canberra and Townsville. Neuron Mobility plans to expand into five new cities over the next two months and part of that involves hiring 400 more people in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. In addition to the Asia-Pacific, Neuron Mobility will also launch in Slough, it’s first location in the United Kingdom, by the end of this year.
Neuron Mobility’s research found that before the COVID-19 lockdowns in Australia, one in five of its users had never used an e-scooter before. But now Australian and New Zealand users have increased their average e-scooter trip distances by 23% to 2.6 kilometers, with the average duration of rides rising by 10% to more than 14 minutes. Neuron Mobility’s pricing is meant to be affordable depending on different markets. For example, in Brisbane, users pay one Australian dollar (about 68 U.S. cents) to begin a trip and then 38 Australian cents for each minute of the ride. Its e-scooters can go up to speeds of about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) per hour.
Other “micromobility” companies, including Ofo, Reddy Go, Obike and Lime, have also offered rental services in Australia and New Zealand, but ran into trouble. Bike-sharing startups Ofo, Reddy Go and Obike withdrew from Australia in part because city councils were frustrated by bikes were being abandoned on sidewalks and in parks. Lime still operates in Australian cities, but in June, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found that the company failed to disclose safety issues with its Generation 2 scooters (in response, Lime said it would implement new compliance procedures and upgrade to its new Generation 3 scooter).
Wang said Neuron Mobility avoids those issues by strategically planning which cities it will launch in, instead of focusing on rapid expansion, partnering with city councils and “continually shifting and adapting to meet their needs.” Several of Neuron Mobility’s features, including geofencing to control where and how fast e-scooters can be ridden, and a “Helmet Lock” to make helmets available for all scooters, were developed after discussions with city councils. Neuron Mobility’s scooters, designed by the company specifically for renting, also use swappable batteries to decrease pollution.
After launching in Singapore, Neuron Mobility decided to focus on Australia and New Zealand because “both countries have cities that are highly suitable for micromobility in terms of infrastructure and regulations,” Wang said. City councils have also “been keen to push the boundaries of what can be done with technology to make programs better and safer and that really suits our way of thinking.”
LG says its Wing smartphone will be available in the US beginning October 15 from Verizon and later this fall from AT&T and T-Mobile, starting at $1,000 (Chaim Gartenberg/The Verge)
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
LG says its Wing smartphone will be available in the US beginning October 15 from Verizon and later this fall from AT&T and T-Mobile, starting at $1,000 — LG's wild sliding phone won't be cheap — LG's wild-looking Wing smartphone has gotten a US price and release date …
Cloudflare launches a free "privacy-first" analytics tool to rival Google Analytics that records how users engage with websites without invasive tracking (David Meyer/Fortune)
David Meyer / Fortune:
Cloudflare launches a free “privacy-first” analytics tool to rival Google Analytics that records how users engage with websites without invasive tracking — The cybersecurity and content-distribution company Cloudflare has become a major part of the Internet's infrastructure …
No need for payment gateways to deduct tax if e-tailer does it
Clubhouse courted fresh controversy after a conversation with hundreds of listeners devolved into a platform for anti-Semitic comments on a Jewish holy day (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg:
Clubhouse courted fresh controversy after a conversation with hundreds of listeners devolved into a platform for anti-Semitic comments on a Jewish holy day — Controversial private social app Clubhouse was again the target of criticism on Monday, after a conversation with hundreds …
Apple and Epic Games stated in a court filing on Tuesday that their coming court battle should be decided in a bench trial by a judge, not a jury (Mikey Campbell/AppleInsider)
Mikey Campbell / AppleInsider:
Apple and Epic Games stated in a court filing on Tuesday that their coming court battle should be decided in a bench trial by a judge, not a jury — Apple and Epic have agreed that the coming court battle should be decided in a bench trial by a judge, not a jury.
Apple says several of its services including App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple Arcade are facing outages (Juli Clover/MacRumors)
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple says several of its services including App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple Arcade are facing outages — Top Rated Comments — I cannot access iCloud.com. Getting server error/verification failed
Google says it plans to counter Japan's FTC over claims that it hobbles rivals in search; a source says Japan's FTC sent a cease-and-desist order to Google (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg : Google says it plans to counter Japan's FTC over claims that it hobbles rivals in search; a source says Japan's FTC s...
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Jake Offenhartz / Gothamist : Since October, the NYPD has deployed a quadruped robot called Spot to a handful of crime scenes and hostage...
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