Tech Nuggets with the Technology

Sunday, December 1, 2019

That time a monkey flew to the edge of space and then smashed into a destroyer

Update: It's the last day of Thanksgiving weekend in the US, meaning most Ars staffers are navigating traffic as opposed to potential stories. With folks off for the holiday, we're resurfacing this odd bit of a space history from the archives—a look at the adventures of Sam the rhesus monkey, which began 60 years ago this week on December 4, 1959. This story first ran in February 2017, and it appears unchanged below.

This is Sam. He lived in America.

Sam the rhesus monkey had already experienced one hell of a ride to the edge of space when he splashed down into the Atlantic Ocean—but his adventure didn’t end there. Although the dry, original accounts of Sam's 1959 flight offer scant detail about the journey, mainly confirming that NASA’s new Mercury capsule kept him alive, Bob Thompson tells a more colorful story.

Now in his early 90s, Thompson can still dominate a room with his commanding voice. And on a recent January morning, standing in his kitchen, Thompson did just that as he recounted the landing of Sam nearly six decades ago. In doing so, he offered a parable for NASA as it considers rescue operations for its Orion spacecraft at sea.

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https://arstechnica.com

A look at China-based MiningLamp, a Palantir-like startup that provides analytics tools to China's police and 200+ of Fortune 500, for an actionable information (South China Morning Post)

South China Morning Post:
A look at China-based MiningLamp, a Palantir-like startup that provides analytics tools to China's police and 200+ of Fortune 500, for an actionable information — MiningLamp's business analytics tools are used by more than 200 companies in the Fortune 500 Like Palantir …

Airtel to raise mobile call, data charges by up to 42%, details here

"Bharti Airtel today announced its revised tariff plans for its mobile customers.These tariffs will be applicable from Tuesday, December 3, 2019," the company said in a statement. https://ift.tt/2P4oYh4

Windows 10 free upgrade still works for users and you could be one of them

When Microsoft released Windows 10, there was a window of time during which users with a legitimate copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8 could upgrade to Windows 10 for free. Microsoft ended the free upgrade program a long time ago, however, With the end of life for Windows 7 round the corner, users have once again found a way to get a free upgrade to Windows 10.

According to a post by WindowsLatest, the process of getting a free upgrade to Windows 10 is surprisingly simple. All you need to do is download the Windows Media Creation Tool on the system running a genuine copy of Windows 7, 8 or 8.1. Run the tool to download a copy of Windows 10 and start the installation. Enter your license key for the copy of Windows you are running and you should be able to install Windows 10 without paying for the upgrade. According to the website, a reddit user claiming to be a former Microsoft employee has also confirmed that he free upgrade continues to work.

In the event that you plan to do a clean install, you apparently won't have to worry. On performing a clean install, Windows 10 should activate on its own. During the install, just don’t enter your older license key as the 7-character keys are converted to a 10 character key that gets linked to your Microsoft account.

The alleged former Microsoft employee states in his reddit post that “WDG didn’t care pretty much at all because Terry Meyerson at the time cared more about his upgrade stats than license revenue as Windows isn’t Microsoft’s cash cow anymore. It’s the same stance back in the day where Microsoft would allow Windows Updates on pirated copies of Windows 7 as the bigger picture was to thwart security threats based from those copies.”

Microsoft had terminated the original upgrade program back in July of 2016. Users were still able to get an upgrade thanks to the “assistive upgrade program,” which was officially closed on December 31, 2017, marking the end to all the ways of getting a free upgrade to Windows 10. Turns out, users can still get their system upgraded to Windows 10 as long as you’re running a genuine copy of Windows 7, 8 or 8.1. IF you’re still in need of an upgrade, this might be a good time to start before Microsoft plugs this loophole.

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Vodafone Idea Announces Increased Prepaid Tariffs: All You Need to Know

Vodafone Idea has announced the increased prepaid recharges that will go into effect on December 3. Vodafone Idea will now be offering four monthly prepaid unlimited packs. These packs will cost Rs.... https://ift.tt/2R3Tivb

Apple AirPod Pro production being doubled amidst unprecedented demand

Apple introduced the AirPods originally in 2016, with a refresh being announced in 2019. In the three years of their existence, the AirPods have become a “must-have” accessory for iPhone users. However in 2019, people expected more than just a refresh. They expected ANC, perhaps a new design. Then Apple went ahead and launched the AirPods Pro, a pair of in-ear monitors with active noise cancellation and for sure, a brand new design. Apple had finally replaced the hard plastic you’d have to put in your ears with soft silicon tips, making the AirPods Pro a lot more comfortable to use. Turns out, the new iems from the Cupertino company have been wildly popular.

A recent report by Bloomberg is now claiming that Apple is doubling its production, from 1 million units to 2 million. The report is further substantiated by a secondary report by Nikkei that has followed the supply-chain has also confirmed the doubling of the production. The report added how the wait times for the new AirPods Pro is much higher than for the regular AirPods, which are available for next day delivery.

The AirPods Pro offer all the features that are expected from a modern-day truly wireless IEM. Featuring active noise cancellation and a battery life of 4.5 hours with noise cancellation turned on. In conjunction with the battery case, Apple says users can expect up to 24 hours of use, which is impressive whichever way you look at it. For comparison sake, the Sony WH-1000XM3 have a claimed battery life of up to 30 hours.

The Apple AirPods Pro have a price tag of Rs 24,900 in India, but they are not yet available in India.

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Saturday, November 30, 2019

Realme 5s to go on sale on December 2 via Flipkart, Realmecom: Price, Specifications and everything else you need to know

The Realme 5s will go on its next sale on December 2. The device will be available via Flipkart and Realme.com. The sale will start at 12PM IST. Those interested can register on the e-commerce websites by filling in details like the address and payment details. Coming to the specifications of the smartphone, the Realme 5s is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 SoC coupled with 4GB RAM. It comes in two storage variants - 64GB and 128GB. On the front, the smartphone has a 6.5-inch display with a 60Hz refresh rate and 1600 x 720p resolution.

For the optics, the device has a quad rear camera setup. It sports a 48MP primary sensor with an f/1.8 aperture with 6p lens. It is accompanied by an 8MP wide-angle camera, a 2MP portrait lens and a 2MP dedicated macro lens. A 5000mAh battery powers the entire package. The smartphone can be charged using a micro-USB charging cable. The 4GB + 64GB variant of the Realme 5s is priced at Rs 9,999, while its 4GB + 128GB is priced at Rs 10,999. It is available in Crystal Red, Crystal Blue and Crystal Purple colour variants.

Coming to the offers, on Flipkart, users can avail various bank offers including a 10-percent cashback for using an HDFC Bank debit card, a 5-percent cashback on Axis Bank credit card, and a 5-percent additional discount with Axis Bank Buzz credit card. Customers can also get an equivalent discount on EMI purchase made with an SBI credit card.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 9 start receiving December security update

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 9 devices have started receiving the December 2019 security patch. The update brings with it the security patch only and no new functionality. The update for the Galaxy Note 10 is version N97*FXXS1ASKB and is available in 25 European markets only. There is no information on when the update for the Note 10 will come to India. The Note 9 is getting the update in Germany only as of now with the update number N960FXXS4CSK. There is no information on when the update will come to India. Those using a Note 10 or a Note 9 can go into the settings app on the smartphone and selecting Software update. If the update is available, users can download and install it.

In other Samsung news, the company has filed a trademark for a new sensor called ‘Bright Night’. The filing suggests that it will be used in smartphones and tablets. Speculations suggest that the sensor will be used for low light photography. Leaks and rumours are abuzz about the features coming to the Samsung Galaxy S11 family of devices and one can expect the new sensor to make its debut on the new devices.

Samsung has also filed a patent for a feature called ‘Space Zoom’. Once again, details about the feature are not yet known, except for the fact that it will offer lossless zoom. It is possible that the feature is aimed at helping with Astrophotography, a much-touted feature in the Pixel 4. The upcoming Samsung phone is tipped to feature a quad-rear camera setup with support for 5x optical zoom. It is also tipped to feature a 2nd Gen 108MP sensor. To recall, Samsung unveiled the 108MP ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor in August this year. The sensor was developed in partnership with Xiaomi and is used in the Mi Note 10 smartphone.

Source

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How Jeff Beacher, owner of a Las Vegas nightclub frequented by celebs, helped build Airbnb's celebrity marketing program in 2015, making it into a luxury brand (Anne VanderMey/Bloomberg)

Anne VanderMey / Bloomberg:
How Jeff Beacher, owner of a Las Vegas nightclub frequented by celebs, helped build Airbnb's celebrity marketing program in 2015, making it into a luxury brand — For one week in the summer of 2015, consumers of celebrity gossip news couldn't escape Mariah Carey's trip to Malibu, California.

Face recognition systems reportedly active at Chaayos without the option to opt-out

According to a report by Medianama, a popular tea outlet in India Chaayos is gathering users face data without giving customers the option to opt-out of it. The popular chain is doing this as an alternative to OTP. In the UI of the display where one has to register, there is no option to opt-out of facial recognition. There is only a “start” option. There are a lot of questions that are left unanswered. For example how long is the data stored? Where is it stored? How long is it stored for? What other uses can Chhayos use the facial data for? Medianama points out that “In case the police approaches a Chaayos outlet to investigate a case, will the company share this facial data with them?” There is also no assurance on the safety of this data being collected.

Nikhil Pahwa, founder and editor of MediaNama said, “I was buying tea and didn’t even notice what was on the screen, and suddenly, the screen showed me. Remember, all this is happening without facial recognition norms, or a privacy law in India.”

In a series of tweets, Nikhil Pahwa says, “Issues: 1. No terms & conditions displayed. 2. Consent isn't real when there's no opt out option. 3. We don't know if Chaayos will sell this data/gives itself the right to. 4. We don't know what kind of other data this facial info is being linked to. We don't know what kind of info this data will be compared with from other external databases. 5. Biometric info is a permanent username+password. Should not be used. 6. This is sensitive personal info.+”

Chaayos terms and conditions page says the following which is quite alarming. It reads, “Unless a law prohibits us from excluding or limiting our liability, we are not liable for any loss you incur in connection with Login service, or your instructions, or any unauthorised transactions through or in connection with the Chaayos Face Login service. You agree to undertake any direct or indirect claims, legal procedures, legal liabilities, loses, damages arising from our actions in accordance with your orders or notices and all expenses (including all legal costs) which are of reasonable amount whatsoever and howsoever caused that may arise to be reasonably incurred by us in providing Chaayos Face Login service to you. And you promise to indemnify us, upon our request, for the losses and expenses that we have suffered”. You can read the complete terms and conditions here.

According to the source, Chai Point has had a similar system in place since 2018. The function of the system is the same, to remove the need for OTP.

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Adobe: Black Friday online sales grew 19.6% YoY to $7.4B, as Thanksgiving sales rose 14.5%, to $4.2B; Cyber Monday sales are expected to reach $9.4B, up 18.9% (Ingrid Lunden/TechCrunch)

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Adobe: Black Friday online sales grew 19.6% YoY to $7.4B, as Thanksgiving sales rose 14.5%, to $4.2B; Cyber Monday sales are expected to reach $9.4B, up 18.9% — Following swiftly on the heels of a Thanksgiving that broke records with $4.2 billion in online sales, Black Friday also hit a new high …