Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Assam recruits 105 Grade IV, Jr Asst & Other Posts. Candidates can apply online from 29-02-2020 to 20-03-2020.
Sunday, March 1, 2020
Elementor, a WordPress-focused graphical website building platform, raises $15M from Lightspeed Venture Partners (Frederic Lardinois/TechCrunch)
Elementor, a WordPress-focused graphical website building platform, raises $15M from Lightspeed Venture Partners — WordPress has become so ubiquitous, it's easy to forget that it still drives a huge ecosystem of startups that build tools and services around the platform.
May we live in interesting times
It’s never a good sign when, in order to discuss the near future of technology, you first have to talk about epidemiology–but I’m afraid that’s where we’re at. A week ago I wrote “A pandemic is coming.” I am sorry to report, in case you hadn’t heard, events since have not exactly proved me wrong.
The best current estimates are that, absent draconian measures like China’s, the virus will infect 40-70% of the world’s adults over the next year or so. (To be extra clear, though, a very sizable majority of cases will be mild or asymptomatic.)
This obviously leads to many questions. The most important is not “can we stop it from spreading?” The answer to that is already, clearly, no. The most important is “will its spread be fast or slow?” The difference is hugely important. To re-up this tweet/graph from last week:
A curve which looks like a dramatic spike risks overloading health care systems, and making everything much worse, even though only a small percentage of the infected will need medical care. Fortunately, it seems likely (to me, at least) that nations with good health systems, strong social cohesion, and competent leadership will be able to push the curve down into a manageable “hill” distribution instead.
Unfortunately, if (like me) you happen to live in the richest country in the world, none of those three conditions apply. But let’s optimistically assume America’s sheer wealth helps it dodge the bad-case scenarios. What then?
Then we’re looking at a period measured in months during which the global supply chain is sputtering, and a significant fraction of the population is self-isolating. The former is already happening:
It’s hard to imagine us avoiding a recession in the face of simultaneous supply and demand shocks. (Furthermore, if the stock markets keep dropping a couple percent every time there’s another report of spreading Covid-19, we’ll be at Dow 300 and FTSE 75 in a month or two–I expect a steady, daily drip-feed of such news for some time. Presumably traders will eventually figure that out.) So what happens to technology, and the tech industry, then?
Some obvious conclusions: technology which aids and enables remote work / collaboration will see growth. Biotech and health tech will receive new attention. More generally, though, might this accelerate the pace of technological change around the world?
A little over a year ago I wrote a piece entitled “Here comes the downturn” (predicting “Late 2019 or early 2020, says the smart money.”) To quote, er, myself:
The theory goes: every industry is becoming a technology industry, and downturns only accelerate the process. It’s plausible. It’s uncomfortable, given how much real human suffering and dismay is implicit in the economic disruption from which we often benefit. And on the macro scale, in the long run, it’s even probably true. Every downturn is a meteor that hits the dinosaurs hardest, while we software-powered mammals escape the brunt.
Even if so, though, what’s good for the industry as a whole is going to be bad for a whole lot of individual companies. Enterprises will tighten their belts, and experimental initiatives with potential long-term value but no immediate bottom-line benefit will be among the first on the chopping block. Consumers will guard their wallets more carefully, and will be ever less likely to pay for your app and/or click on your ad. And everyone will deleverage and/or hoard their cash reserves like dragons, just in case.
None of that seems significantly less true of a recession caused by a physical shock rather than a mere economic one. My guess is it will be relatively short and sharp, and this time next year both pandemic and recession will essentially be behind us. In the interim, though, it seems very much as if we’re looking at one of the most disconcertingly interesting years in a very long time. Let’s hope it doesn’t get too much moreso.
Americans love Apple, Europeans Samsung, and rest of the world these phone brands
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Game Developer Conference 2020 postponed due to health concerns over Coronavirus outbreak
The Game Developer Conference has been postponed due to health concerns over the Coronavirus outbreak. Over the recent week, companies have dropped out from attending the conference and three weeks before the event was supposed to take place, it has now been postponed to an unspecified date. The event itself has not been cancelled but will be shifted to “later in the summer”.
A statement on the GDC website says, "After close consultation with our partners in the game development industry and community around the world, we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone the Game Developers Conference this March,". The show was scheduled for March 16 but companies such as Sony, Microsoft, EA, Epic, Unity, Activision Blizzard, and many more pulled out due to fears of the Cornovirus outbreak. Developers also skipped out on attending PAX East 2020 but that event is still taking place over this weekend.
This does not come as a surprise as the Coronavirus outbreak has also caused the cancellation of MWC earlier this year. Because of the severity of the outbreak, major events and smashed other global conferences have seen massive dropouts or outright cancellations. Who knows when this epidemic will subside but for now, it all seems up in the air.
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Big Data promises better deals. But for whom?
Enlarge / Sasan Goodarzi, president and chief executive officer of Intuit Inc., left, and Kenneth Lin, co-fonder and chief executive officer of Credit Karma Inc., smile during a Bloomberg Television interview in San Francisco, California, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020. Intuit—the software giant behind TurboTax—said Monday it's buying Credit Karma for about $7.1 billion in cash and stock. (credit: Bloomberg | Getty Images)
The announcement earlier this week that Intuit, the financial software giant, would be buying the personal finance company Credit Karma for $7 billion was striking. The tech industry is under more antitrust scrutiny than ever; just a few weeks ago, the Federal Trade Commission announced a broad inquiry into the past decade of acquisitions by the five biggest tech giants, with a focus on mergers that kill off budding rivals. This deal certainly raises that prospect: Intuit and Credit Karma compete on various fronts, and Intuit’s most recent federal filings named Credit Karma’s free tax-preparation software as a threat to its dominant offering, TurboTax. Intuit has said it will keep Credit Karma's service free, and probably needs to promise as much to regulators to get the deal approved.
But antitrust enforcers, whose core responsibility is to keep markets competitive and protect consumers, are not just watching for mergers that kill off rivals. They’re also starting to look more closely at how tech companies acquire and use data. And that seems to be the main event here. The companies themselves have suggested that a driving force behind the merger is Intuit wanting to get its hands on Credit Karma’s stash of user data. Which raises an important question: do consumers benefit from deals where the key asset being sold is their own personal information?
We’re talking about a lot of data here. Credit Karma, whose business is built around a free credit-monitoring app, boasts more than a hundred million users. While those people don’t pay to use Credit Karma, they do turn over their financial information, as well as the kinds of behavioral and location data that other companies, like Facebook and Google, track. The platform’s algorithms then help lenders micro target users with offers for credit cards, loans, and other financial products. Credit Karma gets a cut when users sign up.
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Indian phone-maker Lava International says it has signed an agreement for a $90M investment over the next three years with Global Emerging Markets Group (Himanshi Lohchab/The Economic Times)
Indian phone-maker Lava International says it has signed an agreement for a $90M investment over the next three years with Global Emerging Markets Group — GEM group will make the investment over the next 36 months for through a ‘Share Subscription Facility’ which will allow the company …
You can now use Facebooks 3D photo feature on phones with a single camera
You’ve all seen those 3D photos on Facebook, but did you know that you needed a phone with dual cameras to achieve that effect? Well now, the company just announced that users will be able to post 3D photos on the social media platform using phones with a single camera. The company also says that users will be above to take 3D photos with their front-facing cameras as well. Get ready for a lot of 3D selfies, people.
The feature was first implemented in October 2018 and was only restricted to phones with a dual camera that could take portrait images, using the dual cameras to take two separate images that were then used to create a ‘depth-like’ feature, resulting in a 3D image. The new single-camera feature uses machine learning to map out the three-dimensional structure of an image and replicate the 3D effect.
The company also says that devices like the iPhone 7 or higher, or “a recent midrange or better Android device” should be capable of using the 3D tool on the main Facebook App.
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Xiaomi Mi A3, Redmi Note 8 Pro now receiving Android 10 update
If you own either a Xiaomi Mi A3 or a Redmi Note 8 Pro, you’ve got some good news coming your way. Both models are now beginning to receive their respective Android 10-based software updates. You should see the update notification pop up on your device anytime now. If you don’t, hang in there; you will see it in a few days’ time when the update reaches your region. However, if you think you know what you’re doing, then you can always download and install it yourself. Get Android 10 for the Xiaomi Mi A3 here and the Redmi Note 8 Pro here: EEA/Russia.
The Xiaomi Mi A3 was supposed to receive its Android 10 update earlier in February, Xiaomi admits. But the roll-out was delayed owing to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China. The update carries the version number V11.0.7.0.QFQMIXM and weighs 1.3GB. If you’re considering buying the Xiaomi Mi A3 for its stock-like Android One user interface, you’ll be pleased to know that Xiaomi recently shaved Rs 1,000 off the Mi A3’s starting price, which means you can get the base variant for Rs 11,999. Read more about the price cut here.
The Redmi Note 8 Pro, on the other hand, is not an Android One smartphone. So it’s receiving a MIUI 11 software update that is based on Android 10. The update carries the version number V11.0.2.0.QGGRUXM (Russia)/V11.0.2.0.QGGEUXM (EEA) and weighs 1.9GB. According to the changelog listed by Xiaomi, the update has the latest February 2020 security patch and fixes to improve overall system stability. It also features a ‘localized payment security icon for India’.
The Redmi Note 8 Pro was launched in late 2019. It sold through multiple limited-period ‘flash’ sales before entering a permanent ‘open’ sale in late December 2019. It is powered by a MediaTek Helio G90T chip. The handset’s screen measures 6.53 inches diagonally and has Gorilla Glass 5 protection. On the back panel, the device has as many as four cameras: a Samsung-developed 64MP sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide sensor, a 2MP depth sensor, a 2MP macro sensor. On the front, there’s a single 20MP camera for selfies. Read our performance review of the Redmi Note 8 Pro here.
Download links courtesy: XDA Developers
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Saturday, February 29, 2020
Punes Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope detects second-largest cosmic explosion in the Ophiuchus Galaxy
It looks like our very own Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope in Pune has actually detected a gigantic explosion that took place at the centre of the Ophiuchus Galaxy. Located about 390 million light-years away from Eart, the explosion was picked up by the GMRT in Pune. This breakthrough was achieved by a team of international astronomers as they confirmed the detection of the explosion.
Experts say that this is the second-largest explosion after the Big Bang. If what they say is accurate then this is the largest explosion in the known universe that we have been a witness of. The explosion was originally observed by NASA’s Chandra X-Ray telescope and was confirmed after studying combined data using Pune’s Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope, the Murchison Widefiled Array (MWA) and the XMM-Newton X-Ray telescope.
An official from the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) issued a statement which said, “Using GMRT data, the researchers got an improved radio image of the radio source. It complemented well with the frequency coverage of the Australian MWA telescope while providing higher resolution for a more detailed look at the cluster”.
Researchers say that the explosion and subsequent cavity was a result of a massive wave of energy that was released when the explosion first took place. It left a dent-like structure.
NCRA Director Yashwant Gupta says, “It is like mining the archived data and re-using them. Even in the future, we can use such archived data for some bright ideas or newer discoveries. We expect more discoveries and interesting results to emerge using GMRT’s archived data”
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A look at top Democratic presidential candidates' stances on tech issues like breaking up Big Tech, digital privacy, encryption and backdoors, and Section 230 (Lauren Feiner/CNBC)
A look at top Democratic presidential candidates' stances on tech issues like breaking up Big Tech, digital privacy, encryption and backdoors, and Section 230 — - Voters from 14 states and one U.S. territory will decide which Democratic candidate to support for the presidential nomination on Super Tuesday.
K Health, whose AI-powered primary care app lets patients in 47 US states chat with doctors, raises $48M Series C, bringing its total raised to $97M (Mary Ann Azevedo/Crunchbase News)
K Health, whose AI-powered primary care app lets patients in 47 US states chat with doctors, raises $48M Series C, bringing its total raised to $97M — K Health, a primary care consultant powered by artificial intelligence, announced this morning it has raised a $48 million Series C round.
Citroen announces Ami all-electric light quadricycle with 70km range
Citroën has announced in France a new all-electric light quadricycle called Ami. Designed to compete with the Renault Twizy electric quadricycle that has been around in the European market since 2012, the Citroën Ami is capable of delivering a driving range of up to 70 kilometres on a single charge and a claimed top speed of 45 kilometres per hour. The Citroën Ami will be available in France from March 30 and in Spain, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, and Germany a few months later.
Being a quadricycle, the Citroën Ami is about the same size as the Bajaj Qute that sells in India. Thanks to its symmetric exterior components, the Citroën Ami looks more or less the same whether it’s viewed from the front or back. In fact, Citroën has fitted a rear-hinged door on the driver’s side and a front-hinged door on the passenger’s side to maintain symmetry in the car’s design. On the inside, the little French quadricycle has two seats and a small dashboard with a dedicated smartphone holder.
The Citroën Ami is powered by a flat 5.5kWh lithium-ion battery that is housed under the floor. Citroën says it can be charged fully in three hours using a domestic 220V power socket and the bundled charging cable. Citroën also says that, since the Ami is considered a quadricycle in Europe, it can be driven with or without a valid driving licence. In France, drivers over the age of 14 can drive an Ami if they have earned a road safety certificate.
The new Citroën Ami comes with purchase, car sharing, and long-term rental options. It can be bought for 6,000 euros (Rs 4.77 lakh approx) as an online order or from a Citroën showroom. Alternatively, it can be rented on a long-term basis (48 months) for 19.99 euros (Rs 1,590 approx) a month after an initial payment of 2,644 euros (Rs 2.10 lakh approx). There’s also a car sharing option available through intermediary Free2Move, which lets a subscriber borrow the Citroën Ami at 0.26 (Rs 20.69) per minute. We don’t know at the moment if or when Citroën will launch the Ami in India.
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Anthropic cuts its list of unauthorized secondary market sellers from eight to four after the initial notice caused panic and pushback from investors (Yazhou Sun/Bloomberg)
Yazhou Sun / Bloomberg : Anthropic cuts its list of unauthorized secondary market sellers from eight to four after the initial notice cau...
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Sohee Kim / Bloomberg : South Korean authorities are investigating a data leak at e-commerce giant Coupang that exposed ~33.7M accounts; ...
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The first project we remember working on together was drawing scenes from the picture books that our mom brought with her when she immigrate...
