Tech Nuggets with the Technology

Monday, September 2, 2019

Chandrayaan-2 lander separates, moves a step closer to Moon

The Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter, which has a mission life of one year, continues to go around the Moon in its existing orbit. https://ift.tt/32nZwZ2

Oyo Acquires Danish Data Science Firm Danamica for Undisclosed Amount

OYO Hotels & Homes has acquired Danamica, a Copenhagen-based data science company for an undisclosed amount. https://ift.tt/2ZKEvpC

Realme 5 to Go on Sale in India Today at 12pm on Flipkart, Realme.com

Realme 5 will go on a flash sale in Crystal Blue and Crystal Purple colour options, and a host of launch offers will be listed alongside. https://ift.tt/2HAp0dV

WeChat restricts controversial video face-swapping app Zao, citing “security risks”

Zao went viral in China this weekend for its realistic face-swapping videos, but after controversy about its policies, WeChat restricted access to the app on its messaging platform.

Developed by a unit of Momo, one of China’s most popular dating apps, Zao creates videos that replace the faces of celebrities in scenes from popular movies, shows and music videos with a selfie uploaded by the user.

The app, currently available only in China, went viral as users shared their videos through WeChat and other social media platforms in China. But concerns about the potential misuse of deepfake technology coupled with a clause (now deleted) in Zao’s terms of use that gave it full ownership and copyright to content uploaded or created on it, in addition to “completely free, irrevocable, perpetual, transferrable, and re-licensable rights,” caused controversy.

In case you haven’t heard, #ZAO is a Chinese app which completely blew up since Friday. Best application of ‘Deepfake’-style AI facial replacement I’ve ever seen.

Here’s an example of me as DiCaprio (generated in under 8 secs from that one photo in the thumbnail) pic.twitter.com/1RpnJJ3wgT

— Allan Xia (@AllanXia) September 1, 2019

By going viral quickly and being very easy to use (Zao’s videos can be generated from a single selfie, though it suggests that users upload photos from several angles for better results), the app has also focused more attention on deepfake technology and how it can potentially be used to spread misinformation or harass people.

Users can still upload videos they created with Zao to WeChat, but if they try to download the app or send an invite link to another WeChat user, a message is displayed that says “this web page has been reported multiple times and contains security risks. To maintain a safe online environment, access to this page has been blocked.”

Zao was released last Friday and quickly became the top free iOS app in China, according to App Annie. A statement posted on Sept. 1 to Zao’s Weibo account says “we completely understand everybody’s concerns about the privacy issue. We are aware of the issue and we are thinking about how to fix the problems, we need a little time.” Its terms and conditions now say user-generated content will only be used by the company to improve the app and that all deleted content will be removed from its servers.

TechCrunch has contacted Zao for comment.

11 phones that make September the biggest month of the year

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E-tailers look to beat slowdown blues riding on festive highs

The upcoming festive sales may not see consumers hold back with their spending unlike in the automobiles or FMCG sector in the rural areas https://ift.tt/2zLNa0Q https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Government to start consultations on certifying online content

Top officials in the government, including minister Prakash Javadekar, were apprised of that, a senior member of the Sangh Parivar said. https://ift.tt/2PAMlTa https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Airtel Xstream enters arena ahead of JioFiber's launch

Bharti Airtel looks to counter Reliance’s home broadband play and may trigger another disruption, this time in the urban digital TV market https://ift.tt/2PBhYfq https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

How (and why) to use Vivaldi Profiles

You might not think Vivaldi Profiles are even worth considering. That assumption might be very wrong. https://ift.tt/2MTdRJo https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Drone tech to help in rescue & relief ops

A team of students from IIT Madras has developed a drone technology that can help in rescue and relief operations, especially after natural disasters. https://ift.tt/2Uo43rL https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

How MuleSoft disclosed a critical security flaw, proactively contacting customers to verify patches were installed and openly responding to reporter questions (Catalin Cimpanu/ZDNet)

Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
How MuleSoft disclosed a critical security flaw, proactively contacting customers to verify patches were installed and openly responding to reporter questions — MuleSoft deals with a sensitive security issue and sets up an example for the whole industry to follow. — John is a software engineer and a pretty good one.