Tech Nuggets with the Technology

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

KN Govindacharya sends legal notice flagging Aarogya Setu's privacy concerns

The notice alleges that the data of Indians can be accessed by foreign technology giants since it will be retained on mobile devices that can be accessed by cell phone manufacturers. https://ift.tt/2xH2JJz https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

That's amateurish, Aarogya Setu can't be hacked, says Govt

Officials say hacker’s allegations are based on amateur attempts by changing location and data correlation to portray it as hacking https://ift.tt/2SIkkIs https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Sources: US Department of Commerce is close to signing off on a rule allowing US companies to work with Huawei on setting 5G network standards (Reuters)

Reuters:
Sources: US Department of Commerce is close to signing off on a rule allowing US companies to work with Huawei on setting 5G network standards — (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Commerce is close to signing off on a new rule that would allow U.S. companies to work with China's Huawei Technologies …

Several major iOS apps crashing at launch due to Facebook SDK issues

A number of popular apps including Spotify, GroupMe, Pinterest and TikTok were fielding user iOS crash reports Wednesday evening, the result of an apparent issues with Facebook’s SDK according to a lengthy GitHub thread on the topic.

Downdetector logged tens of thousands of user crash reports on Spotify between 3:30 and 5:30 pm PT, the time where the bulk of reports seem to have been issued across a number of popular apps. User crash reports appeared to be dying down as of publication time.

Users had reported that their apps were shutting down immediately after launch.

For plenty of users, this will likely be news to them that many of their favorite apps are immediately connecting to Facebook servers at launch. Developers at tech companies rely on Facebook’s SDK for advertising insights in additions to the company’s login portal. Users impacted by the issue didn’t have to be utilizing Facebook login for the issue to affect them, early reports indicate.

We’re reached out to Facebook for comment on the issue and will update with details.

We’re aware of some issues right now and are checking them out! We’ll keep you posted.

— Spotify Status (@SpotifyStatus) May 7, 2020

Non-essential e-commerce in the red even in Green & Orange zones

Apparel sales worst hit as ecommerce firms recover only one-fifth of pre-Covid-19 demand after opening sales of non-essentials in smaller towns and cities https://ift.tt/2Wa2WOZ https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Offline-only dating apps see surge in users, offer virtual activities amid the lockdown

Startups like Floh, SirfCoffee, Aisle, MyScoot and FilterOff are offering virtual poetry and cookery sessions and speed dates online among others https://ift.tt/2L4MWqX https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

NYC Department of Education reverses its ban on Zoom for online learning after Zoom agreed to create customized platform for the city to address security issues (Chalkbeat New York)

Chalkbeat New York:
NYC Department of Education reverses its ban on Zoom for online learning after Zoom agreed to create customized platform for the city to address security issues — After forbidding schools from using the teleconferencing platform Zoom for remote instruction, New York City is reversing course, officials said Wednesday.

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Facebook says it dismantles disinformation network tied to Iran's state media

Iran's state broadcaster has used hundreds of fake social media accounts to covertly spread pro-Iranian messaging online since at least 2011, targeting voters in countries including Britain and the United States, Facebook said. https://ift.tt/3b9REhY

EA sees full-year revenue above estimates as home-sheltering boosts gaming

Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc forecast full-year adjusted revenue above Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, riding on the broader surge in videogame sales as people shelter at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. https://ift.tt/2Wxq0G9

Pinterest flags slowing ad spend as quarterly loss widens, shares fall

Pinterest said advertisers were slowing spending on the image sharing company due to the COVID-19 pandemic and reported a bigger-than-expected first-quarter loss as costs surged from new user additions, sending its shares down 18% in extended trade. https://ift.tt/3b8SStV

Activision raises 2020 forecast as 'Call of Duty' gets lockdown boost

Millions of people stuck indoors turned to video games such as Activision Blizzard Inc's "Call of Duty" to shake off lockdown boredom in the past two months, encouraging the company to raise its revenue forecast for the year. https://ift.tt/2SHFWEN

TCS launches AI-powered solution to detect wafer anomaly in semiconductor manufacturing

The solution harnesses the company's contextual knowledge of the semiconductor industry and the power of deep learning tech, to help chip makers digitally re-imagine their product quality assurance process. Sophisticated quality inspection of wafers during the semiconductor manufacturing process is essential to detect and classify defects early and accurately, TCS said. https://ift.tt/2zaL65k