Author: Souradeep Roy

Microsoft Windows 10 Overtakes Windows 7

According to a market research study, Microsoft’s Windows 10 has overtaken the famous Windows 7 in terms of number of users. Windows 10 has now 39.22% share followed by Windows 7’s 36.90% as of December, 2018.

Brief History of Windows 7 and Windows 10

Windows 7 operating system was released in 2009 and it became one of the most successful operating systems in the world. Before that, Windows XP was a widely used platform. After a string of failure with Vista and Windows 8, Microsoft finally released the Windows 10. It was made as an OS that mixed the tablet, mobile and laptop formats in their design cue. The Windows 10 OS was well received, with additional features like Microsoft’s digital assistant – Cortana being just one click away. It mixed the App ecosystem with features that a personal computer or laptop has such as a full fledged desktop, start buttons etc. Microsoft Windows 10 had a great start. As high as 14 million devices adopted the new operating system in less than 24 hours of its release. It was a free upgrade and it changed the user experience drastically when compared to Windows 7.

Patch Tuesday

Microsoft has also started an update cycle unofficially called Patch Tuesday. The updates occur on the second, and sometimes fourth, Tuesday of each month. Larger updates are pushed out in even-numbered months while smaller updates in odd-numbered months. Microsoft had also previously stated that Windows 10 would be the last version of the Windows platform. They had stated that the OS will be regularly changed and updated with time according to the demands of the industry. According to recent reports, Microsoft might be pushing the Windows 10 update forcefully even though Microsoft has vowed to not push updates on it’s users. The company has also very recently received flak for various issues cropping up on users’ devices after updates. It was also one of the reasons as to why one of the recent updates was pulled back as well.

It is yet to be seen how Windows tackles the constant issues with updates causing problems for users and how Windows 10 is developed and modified in the coming years, when bendable screen phones finally arrive. But for now, we will have to make do with the Windows 10 version and updates that we have.

January 2, 2019
Sony Has Reportedly Shipped Over 90 Million PlayStation 4 Units

PlayStation has not been known to release sales figures. But occasionally we do get to know details of PlayStation sales. This time around, the source is The Hunter, who serves as a senior gaming, tech and media editor for Walmart Canada. According to his statement in a popular micro-blogging website, PlayStation 4 crossed 90 Million units in sales.

PlayStation 4 has surpassed 90 million units sold. Up next: 100 million! pic.twitter.com/RAQrcyTYLC
— Hunter ? (@NextGenPlayer) January 1, 2019

This is no easy feat since Sony had confirmed in late October, that the company has shipped over 86 million shipments worldwide. Given the holiday season where everyone gave gifts has just passed, another 4 or 5 million in sales is not surprising. However, what is disconcerting is that Sony is said to be not participating in E3 this year. The PlayStation 5 has ben long anticipated. Specially since it has been almost 5 years since the playStation 4’s launch.

Sony’s Statement

In a statement by Sony, they said that PlayStation fans mean the world to them and they always want to innovate, think differently and experiment with new ways to delight gamers. As a result, they have decided not to participate in E3 in 2019. They have also said that they are exploring new and familiar ways to engage their community in 2019 and can’t wait to share their plans with the gamers. This has led to speculations suggesting that Sony might be planning their own event where they release a new PlayStation console. This kind of a stunt has previously been seen with big players like Microsoft and EA.

Another reason for Sony’s no-show is also believed to be the lack of game titles that are to be released in 2019 for the PS4 console. The very few games that are yet to be released include The Last of Us: Part 2, Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding and Ghost of Tsushima. It will be exciting if Sony does release a new console in 2019 itself and not 2020. However, some speculations now suggest a 2020 release, but we will just have to wait and see what happens.

January 2, 2019
5G vs 4G Cost, Speed And Viability In India

If a smartphone is the body, the network is it’s heart. And network connectivity is an extremely important part of our day to day lives. From quickly browsing Facebook or other social media websites, to checking facts, the weather, time in a different country to just about anything requires internet connectivity. Thus network providers have put immense importance in bringing faster internet to the consumers. The arrival of 4G was called a revolution back when it came out as the consumers understood how improved it was and what it’s benefits were compared to 3G. Now that talks about 5G have started and with countries like US and UK set to roll out 5G in 2019, let’s discuss what it would mean for a huge and still growing market like India.

What Is 5G?

5G is a faster, more efficient way of using the internet. In 5G, data transmitted over wireless broadband connections could travel at rates as high as 20 Gbps with a latency of and well as offer latency of 1 ms or lower for uses that require real-time feedback. This means, it will have a better surfing speed, in layman’s terms.

What Are It’s Benefits Over 4G?

The speeds of these networks depend on the frequency bands that they use. The 4G network supports frequency band speeds upto 6GHz, whereas the radio bands for 5G will be able to handle anywhere between 30GHz and 300GHz. This is a significant improvement which will make your internet surfing experience much faster. The 5G network is also interference free even if you are standing next to other wireless signals which was an issue with 4G networks since they sent radio signals in different directions. Owing to the way 5G uses wavelengths, it will also reportedly be able to service a lot more people which is reported to be approximately 1,000 devices per meter. This means even in crowded cities, using 5G will be blazing fast.

How Does It Affect An Average Customer?

So how does all of these relate to customers? Should they shift to 5G? If so, then why? All a customer wants from a network are lower costs, better connectivity without hindrances and faster internet. 5G seems to satisfy all these conditions except for the cost which we will discuss later on in the article. So, when 5G rolls out, and you are satisfied with the cost per month for your plan, then go ahead and port to 5G because it is better than 4G in every other way.

How Much Will It Cost?

The cost of 5G internet, like 4G will vary from country to country and will change from carrier to carrier. In India, we can estimate the price to be close to what 4G is because companies like Reliance and Vodafone will want the majority of customers to shift. India being a very price sensitive market, the prices of 5G can be expected to be very competitive. And the Network providers will recover their costs if 5G implementation only if a lot of people use it.

When Will It Arrive In India?

India had caught on the the 4G trend suddenly and abruptly. Usually new networks arrive in the US and UK first. India has always been late in receiving these new technologies. Since changing networks have a lot of variables including steps taken by the government, bidding, setting up the infrastructure and others India adopts to these trends much later. The new network in India is expected to be available in India by 2022, according to TRAI which will be 3 years after many of the first world countries. Telecom minister Manoj Sinha has recently stated that India cannot afford to miss the 5G bus. This is little assurance however, of India adopting 5G before 2022. Given that today 400 million people in India have good quality internet access, the new network will definitely be a great business opportunity for the network providers.

Also read: Our First Taste Of 5G Might Not Even Be 5G

Will Your Device Support 5G?

Most high end smartphones in 2019 will ship 5G enabled. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 is one of the few chipsets that support 5G at the moment. While there will be other cheaper chipsets in future but your current 4G device in all probability will not support 5G. Even if you bought the most expensive iPhone this year you will need to buy another device next year or whenever 5G arrives. So your Oneplus, Samsung or Huawei flagship that you have at the moment will not be 5G compatible.

It is yet to be seen when 5G is rolled out in India but early last year Airtel and Huawei successfully conducted India’s first 5G network trial under a test setup at the former’s network experience centre in Manesar, Gurgaon. Being one of the biggest as well as one of the fastest growing telecommunication markets in the world, we sure hope India doesn’t fall behind the 5G bandwagon.

January 2, 2019
Apple Misses AirPower Release Window

Apple is known for their timely product releases and the exceptional quality of the products. But it seems like Apple has been having some issues with the AirPower – A wireless charger that will reportedly charge multiple devices. In all the Apple events in 2017, the company had said that consumers can expect the AirPower to be released for purchase by 2018 itself.

AirPower is a wireless charging mat-like device that can charge more than one device. Most wireless chargers available in the market now are capable of charging one device at a time. The Apple wireless charger was shown to charge an Apple Watch, an iPhone and their proprietary wireless earbuds.

What Happened?

The AirPower device was also supposed to coordinate with all the Apple devices being charged and show percentages of charge in each device on the iPhone. The company had expressed interest to work with Qi Standards team. Th aim is to incorporate these benefits into the future of the standards. But no news about any cooperation has come up yet either.

Apple has also not set a price down for the AirPower charger and have not given out a statement regarding the same. It is believed that some internal development difficulties has caused this delay. It is very unlike of Apple to miss deadlines as they hold to higher standards and have set timelines for every device they make. However, it is unclear if the AirPower project has altogether been scrapped. Apple might also be making further improvements to the product itself but our guess is as good as yours.

When Will We Know?

Apple usually has three or four events in a year. One in March which revolves around education and creativity themes and are often known to include iPads. There is also a big event in June known as WWDC which sees mostly softwares and sometimes, although rarely, high-end hardware.

The other two events are in September which is the most anticipated event in all year. The reason behind it is because this event usually features new iPhones and Apple Watches and one in October. The October event usually releases iPads and sometimes consumer focused Macs. We will hopefully come to know the status of the AirPower in the next Apple event in 2019, if not before.

January 2, 2019
Car Technology That Will Wow You In 2019

Technology and Automobiles have been inseparable partners since the inception of automotive technology. In 2019, these two will be further integrated to create some amazing and very useful features that will make the driving experience much smoother.

On Steering Fingerprint Sensor

Hyundai has announced that their SUV Santa Fe will receive a fingerprint sensor that will not only unlock their cars but also start them. There will be fingerprint scanners on the exterior door handle as well as the start button. There are immense possibilities of different use cases. A car that is driven by multiple people in a household can be configured according to the fingerprint. Everything from Air conditioner settings, music playlists to seat settings can be modified according to the user and saved in memory. It has possibilities of getting configured according to different fingerprints of different drivers. However, that is a faraway dream at the moment. Nevertheless, we would love to see some aspects of this car technology in 2019.

Smarter Parking Sensors

One of the biggest problems of driving, specially in bigger and more populated cities, is parking your car. From finding a space that would fit your car to parallel parking without scratching others’ or your own car. Parking sensors will definitely become smarter in 2019. German parts supplier Bosch recently showcased a technology that let’s your car measure spaces between cars and finds your parking spot for you as you drive along. Showcased at CES, this technology is being currently tested in Germany and later this year in LA, Miami, Boston and more American cities.

Personal Assistants in car

In 2018, personal assistants invaded our houses and now most of us cannot live without them. Why not have the same for our cars? Amazon Alexa is said to be soon integrated into cars where you can ask Alexa about the weather, make a call on the speakerphone, change music and more. All of this while you keep an eye on the road. Toyota is the latest manufacturer to introduce Amazon’s Alexa cloud-based voice control to some of its vehicles while many others such as Ford, BMW, and Volkswagen have already announced partnerships. This car technology will be great in terms of driver safety and will also be a handful feature for passengers as well.

X-Ray Vision and Enhanced HUD’s for your car

Well, when we mean X-Ray vision, we don’t mean Batmobile-esque features that will let you see through cars. In-fact if you could see through cars you would crash more often. If anything, this feature helps you prevent crashes. Chip manufacturer Qualcomm recently revealed a concept called “Vehicle to Everything”. This will integrate a chip on every car allowing cars to communicate between one another and avoid crashes. The chip will also be able to communicate with infrastructures such as traffic lights or road signs up ahead warning the driver of incoming dangers or alert the driver in general. Trials of the tech will take place in San Diego and Detroit.

Smarter, faster electric cars

Tesla fought the hard battle of bringing electric cars and trying to make it mainstream when the entire industry scoffed. Now the power of electric vehicles have become apparent and the technology has evolved substantially. This has led to many manufacturers including luxury car and sports car manufacturers such as Audi, Porsche, Mercedes and even BMW have joined the bandwagon. Cars such as BMW i3, Mercedes-Benz EQC, Audi e-tron and Porsche Taycan are all set to be launched in 2019. These cars and the more number of players in this category will make electric vehicles smarter, faster and better performing.

January 1, 2019
Supersonic Jet, Boom, Will be The First After Concorde Was Grounded in 2003

Technology as we know it always moves forward but in one single case, humankind moved back. We are of course talking about supersonic travel. After a 30 year run, the famous (or infamous) Concorde was retired in 2003 and with that the hopes and dreams of supersonic passenger air travel was parked indefinitely.

But in the recent past, many companies have rekindled that dream and have started working on making supersonic jets that can ferry passengers at or above the speed of sound! While many companies have started to work on this, Boom Technology has shown the most promise in terms of creating a mainstream supersonic airliner, which is practical, reliable, and economic.

The American startup had, with the backing of Richard Branson and Virgin, announced that they will turn the supersonic air travel into a reality again from just an engineering concept. The Boom Supersonic will fly at a speed of Mach 2.2 which is 1,300 kn or 2,300 km/h. To put things into perspective, a normal jet such as a Boeing 737 has a speed of approximately 938 km/h.

Why Concorde Failed

There were two broad reasons for Concorde’s failure, and ultimately demise. One of the main reason was the fact that supersonic travel was not economic and the second was a horrible plane crash that gave the concord a lot of bad press. There were reports of metal parts of the Concorde bending out of shape due to the high stress faced during flight, which had caused the crash.

These aircraft were plying very frequently between routes connecting the busy cities such as London and New York.

After the launch of Concorde, many aerospace journalists completely wrote off the Concorde as an expensive experiment. They reported that it was too small, too noisy and too expensive to operate. But there was a time when the demand was so high that British Airways hiked prices to match the higher price expectations of the passengers. Concorde was running at a profit!

However, in April 2003, both Air France and British Airways simultaneously announced they would retire Concorde.

So What Happened?

Why was an Airplane which was running in profits suddenly face retirement?

The Concorde planes which were built in the 1970’s, consumed huge amounts of fuel. These planes were becoming expensive to maintain and an overhaul was suggested. However, according to a British Airways executive, in 2003 the estimated bill was up to £40 million for an overhaul.

The failing economy did not help either, thus having to reduce prices on business travel. It was becoming extremely hard to break even as passengers started to value their money more than time (that they save by supersonic travel). The sound of the supersonic jets were also another issue the companies couldn’t tackle. The extreme sonic boom that hurls the jet into supersonic speeds made the planes un-flyable in populated areas.

Boom has however said that it expects its supersonic boom to be “at least 30 times quieter than Concorde’s”. This has been made possible due to the advancement in technology over the years. The second major hurdle that Concorde faced which became the final nail in it’s coffin was a massive plane crash.

The Plane Crash

The 4590 Air France flight was an international charter flight from Paris to New York City on the Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde. The flight had 100 passengers. It crashed shortly after take-off as the plane ran over debris left by another aircraft on the runway, which blew a tyre which in turn punctured the fuel tank. The plane crashed into a nearby hotel killing all 100 passengers and nine crew along with 4 people in the hotel. This crash happened on 25 July 2000, just 3 years before the retirement of Concorde.

After the crash, it was reported that the passenger count for supersonic travel reduced significantly. This was due to the fact that people started to consider supersonic travel unsafe. All Concordes were grounded, pending an investigation into the cause of the crash and possible remedies. Commercial service was resumed in November 2001. This came after a £17m safety improvement service but only survived for two more years after that.

Present And Future Of Supersonic Travel

Cut to present, the technology has improved drastically, flight travel is safer than ever and demands are high. With companies like Boom Technologies being backed by big names such as Virgin and Japan Airlines (JAL) commercially viable supersonic flights don’t look to be too far away. The full-size Boom, which would carry up to 55 passengers is targeted for tests in 2020. It will have an all-business-class configuration.

The company will first build the “Baby Boom”, a prototype of the full size Boom airplane that will eventually take passengers supersonic.

January 1, 2019
The Highs And Lows Of Gaming In 2018

The year 2018 has been tumultuous for the gaming industry. From match fixing, to mass banning of players to a new gaming style becoming the hot favorite – the year has seen it all! In this article let’s discuss all the high points and low points that we have seen in the gaming industry for PC, Mobiles as well as consoles.

PUBG Banned Over 30,000 Players

PUBG the famous multiplayer Battle Royale game banned approximately 30,000 players from the game including 16 professional players. The players were accused of using cheat codes. The cheating techniques in question were Radar hacking. Radar hacking allows a player to know the exact location of opponents. This provides an edge to the player since he or she becomes more aware around enemies. The game also implemented a similar ban sweep back in June.

Still No Diablo Or Half Life 3

Diablo 4 was one of the most anticipated titles in 2018. But at BlizzCon, when the makers announced a mobile Diablo game instead of Diablo 4, the audience did not hesitate to show their displeasure. During the Q&A session, an audience member also enquired if Blizzard was playing an ‘Out of season April Fool’s Joke’ on the gamers. The company later said that they have heard the fans loud and clear and will take appropriate steps. Meanwhile, ‘Half Life 3 Confirmed’ still remain a meme and is nowhere to be seen. Valve is said to have shelved the game for good, much to the displeasure of gamers.

Console Exclusives

Many gamers belonging to the ‘PC Master race’ complained of console exclusives this year. Many of the biggest titles this year was released as console exclusives and came to PCs much later. Games like Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War were highly anticipated but it seems like most games these days are first released for consoles. This makes PC gamers angry as they have to wait for months. Many streamers have also complained that this affects their business since by the time they receive PC versions of the game, it has already lost a lot of audience opportunity making them lose viewers.

Micro- transactions And Paid DLCs

In the earlier days, if you bought a game, you would be playing the same game as anyone else. But nowadays, and specially in 2018, in-game micro- transactions, paid DLCs and even different versions of a game have made the experience bitter for a lot of people. In game micro- transactions include different skins for your character, different weapons or even different map styles in games like Dota 2. DLCs or Downloadable Content is another paid feature that many games have introduced. DLCs also include cosmetic changes or even extensive story-lines. We hope this changes in 2019 and we get a singular version for all players but in all possibilities, that wouldn’t happen.

Epic Games Sues 14 Year Old

Another extremely famous battle royale game banning two players. Fortnite not only banned the players from the game for cheating, but also took them to court. It has been revealed that one of the accused is only 14 years old. The game explicitly states that an underage person needs parental permission to play the game. The mother of the child has appealed to court stating that she did not give her son permission. This has caused a lot of furor as Epic games alleges that they have faced loss of profits and that the 14 year old helped create the cheat software. While Epic has had a very good year, we sure hope they resolve problems of cheating more maturely.

CS:GO Team Cheats

A CS: GO team disbanded after a cheating scandal that erupted during the finals of a tournament. The player accused of cheating was Nikhil ‘Forsaken’ Kumawat, from OpTic Gaming India’s team and the tournament was eXTREMESLAND Asia finals. He was found to be using aimbot. Following the dismissal, OpTic gaming released the entire roster along with Kumawat and released a statement asking for forgiveness.

Rise Of Battle Royale

The rise of battle royale mode was seen in 2018. This mode drops players in a map and they fight against each other, either alone or in a team, to emerge as the winner in the end. This format of the game gained ground with Playerunknown’s Battleground and later Fortnite. Several other games like Call Of Duty have also followed the path. These games are usually short in duration and require high levels of concentration. PUBG mobile has also become a trend with everyone with a decently specced phone are playing the game.

Big Titles Released

The gaming industry was surrounded by controversies and cheating scandals throughout the year, but there were some high points as well One of them was the fact that 2018 saw some big gaming titles being released. These include games such as Monster Hunter: World, Red Dead Redemption 2, God Of War, Spider- Man, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Far Cry 5 and so many more. Gamers couldn’t ask for a better year in terms of big names and big companies bringing out games in a year.

E- sports Becomes Career Goal

E- sports had always been considered as a passtime by ‘adults’ who thought playing games on the computer and consoles would just affect studies and would never contribute to a career opportunity. But the scenario is changing. Tournaments are shelling out millions of dollars in prize money, big brands such as Football Team PSG are sponsoring teams, SkySports and other channels are regularly featuring programs on E-sports and a lot more. It has become a phenomenon and playing E-sports is not considered to be ‘Child’s play’ anymore.

More Viewers For Game Streams In YouTube

YouTube used to be primarily for video content of all kinds. While some streamers shifted to Twitch, some like PewDiePie and markiplier stayed on YouTube. It seems that YouTube has now shifted their focus on gamers a lot. With popular celebrities like Conan and even more recently Jack Black streaming games, the future for YouTube’s game streamers look quite bright.

January 1, 2019
Stranger Things Season 3 Premiere Date Revealed

Netflix has given us all a new year gift! They have finally revealed the premiere date for the much anticipated show- Stranger Things. Netflix shared an image for the show on a popular social networking site which just read “JULY4” indicating the premiere date. The image shows the kids we all know and love standing on a viewpoint watching the fireworks.

JULY 4 pic.twitter.com/UX9M1L02rd
— Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) January 1, 2019

What we know so far

But Netflix being so meta, they shared another seemingly unsuspecting tweet before sharing the image. That consisted of a video showing parts of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve countdown from Dec. 31, 1984. The video was interrupted with occasional glitches with alphabets written on them. This is like a word search game we see in newspapers and magazines, except a few words were highlighted.

Live from WIYZ, it's a Hawkins New Year's Eve! https://t.co/GhaGjVyNse
— Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) January 1, 2019

The sentence read “When Blue And Yellow Meet In The West”. The trailer also shows someone hacking into “Lynx Corp”. It also shows a copyright from 1984-1986, and shows someone running the program “SilverCatFeeds.exe.” The live countdown feed for the new year then glitches out finally showing SMPTE color bars.

Then the feed comes back on again with a tagline that states “One summer can change everything” and then the date July 4, 1985 which changes to July 4, 2019.

Stranger Things star David Harbour also said in an interview that this season will be a “Summer of love” which might be fitting since the last season ended with Mike and Eleven dancing at a school event. The Season 3 will have 8 episodes. The episode names have also been revealed which might give further clues as to how the story will evolve. The first episode is named “Chapter One: Suzie, Do You Copy?” and the last is called “Chapter Eight: The Battle of Starcourt”. Stranger Things fans have already started to try and decode what the hidden messages mean and how the storyline would progress. We would love to see if 4Chan can decode this before 4th of July.

January 1, 2019
SpaceX’s Starship Prototype Being Built At Breakneck Speeds

In September 2016, Elon Musk had revealed his plans to build a super-heavy launch vehicle that could transport people in space. It was called the Interplanetary Transport System (ITS). Then in 2017, Musk showed the world an updated design of that space ship. He also renamed it to Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) and the Big Falcon Spacecraft (BFS). Now the name has changed again. The new name of the craft is Starship and the work is already in progress.

What has changed?

The rocket will be made out of polished stainless steel. Elon Musk has already shown off that rockets can be reused upon re-entry to earth, thus reducing the cost of space travel. According to Musk, a smaller version of the Starship will also be built for testing. The ship is being built at their South Texas launch site. This is also where the first hop test will be conducted in June 2019.

The hull of the ship was originally supposed to be built with carbon composites (CCs) but a recent image shared by Elon Musk on Twitter suggests that it is being built with stainless steel alloy. The company is using 300 Series Stainless steel for the hull.

On being questioned if stainless steel would make the ship heavier, Elon Musk stated that the alloy is heavier compared to carbon composites at room temperature. However it is lighter and stronger at cryogenic temperatures ranging from –150 °C (-238 °F) to absolute zero (-273 °C; -460 °F).

Why Stainless Steel?

Stainless steel’s natural reflectivity also has it’s positives since it will require less heat shielding. The steel is coldformed at cryogenic temperatures. This process allows for the end product to be lighter and tougher than traditional hot-rolled steel.

SpaceX is also working on a staged combustion, methane fuelled rocket engine called Raptor. On being asked of be Raptor will be powered by electric turbo pumps, Elon further tweeted that the Raptor will not feature the electric pump fed engine. According to Musk, the Raptor turbopumps need 100,000 horsepower per engine.

The image shared by Elon looks like it is directly out of a Sci-fi movie and we hope Space X achieves what it has set out to achieve. 2019 will be a very important year for the company as it has set various goals in this year.

January 1, 2019
Most Anticipated Smartphones Of 2019

The year 2018 is over and it has been a great year for smartphones around the world. From the notch becoming a trend to retractable cameras and in-display fingerprint sensors. Smartphones saw a lot of innovations this year. However, for 2019 there is a lot more to be seen! Each and every company is racing towards making the experience of using a smartphone better and more immersive and that means the notch has to go. Everything from foldable displays, dual displays, in-display cameras and a lot more can be expected from the year to come. In this article, we find out what the most anticipated phones of 2019 are.

Samsung Galaxy S10

Rumors were doing the rounds that the Galaxy S10 would have a folding display that Samsung is working on. But now it seems Samsung will have two separate products – the smartphone and the tablet that folds up to become a phone. In a recent event, the company showed us an early prototype of the folding tablet and we might see it sooner than expected.

The base model Galaxy S10 will have a flat screen design with in-display front cameras and will have an edge to edge screen. Leaks also suggest that there will be three different variants of the phone. Two with an Edge display while one without.

Apple iPhone XI

Apple has always been tight-lipped about their new phones but the 2019 upgrades might not be too revolutionary. It has been widely reported that the iPhone will still feature the notch in its 2019 version and may finally do away with it in 2020. A recent report suggests that Apple is teaming up with Sony to build 3D cameras that will provide more security and will bring about change in the way we photograph and view things.

Sony has also revealed that their 3D camera technology will be ready in 2019 itself and will be mass produced for consumers this year. Apple iPhones are known for their security features and great cameras. the company may use this technology this year itself or save it for the next big design change in 2020.

OnePlus 7

Oneplus devices are one of the most anticipated devices every year due to their ‘budget flagship’ tag. OnePlus 7 will most probably see it’s launch around midsummer in 2019. The device is anticipated to have a small camera hole under the screen and is rumored to have smaller bezels. The in- display fingerprint sensor stays.

We are still not sure if Oneplus 7 will finally see an IP rating and a wireless charging feature or not but a recently leaked photo shows the company’s executives holding a phone with a huge circular shaped camera design at the back that is reminiscent of the Lumia 1020.

Pixel 3 Lite and Pixel 4

Users were extremely unhappy to see the hideously big notch on this years Pixel device. Google being new to the hardware space, might take a little time to understand the trends in the smartphone industry. However, we can expect great things from the Pixel 4.

Keeping to the tradition, we can expect one of the best cameras on a smartphone from the Pixel 4 as is the case with all Pixel devices. We can also expect a bigger screen and no notch or a very small notch. There have been no leaks so far regarding the next generation Pixel.

Huawei P30

As 5G knocks on the door of technology, most manufacturers are trying their best to re-imagine their upcoming phones with 5G. Huawei is no exception and the company’s new phone, the Huawei P30, will be 5G enabled. According to some renders, the Huawei P30 might feature 4 cameras at the back with a teardrop notch in front. The phone will look sleek and have very little in terms of bezels. It is expected to feature a Kirin 985 CPU and might sport 8GB/10GB of RAM. Reverse Wireless charge is expected to come to the P30.

Xiaomi Poco F2

Xiaomi created a revolution with the launch of the Poco F1 which featured a Snapdragon 845 on a budget smartphone. The Snapdragon 845 was always seen in expensive flagship phones and a few lower price point flagships but a budget phone with the latest CPU offering was unheard of. Xiaomi quickly garnered a lot of support for the Poco lineup and now 2019 might see the second version of the phone.

According to a Geekbench listing, Poco F2 might not sport the latest Snapdragon 855 that almost all high end phones will feature in the coming year. The Poco F2 is reported to receive very little changes compared to its predecessor. The phone will have 6GB of RAM and will be loaded with Android Pie out of the box. It will be interesting to see what price point Xiaomi places this phone at and how it is welcomed by the Poco F1 fans.

December 31, 2018
Best Indian Superhero Comics That You Need To Read Now !

We have all known and loved superheroes like Superman, Spider-Man, Batman and the likes but did you know that there are a lot of superheroes that are closer to home? Yes, India has a host of superheroes with some using brawn and others using their brainpower to solve mysteries and fight crime! In this article we look back at the legacy of the forgotten Indian superheroes and try to list some of the best ones yet!

Chacha Chaudhary

Not all superheroes wear capes. And not all superheroes need to look muscular. Chacha Chaudhary is the quintessential Indian comic book hero that is fun for all ages. The comic revolves around an old man names Chacha Chaudhary and his adventures. Chacha is the Hindi for paternal uncle. Being an old man, his years of experience is the weapon of his choice. Although he isn’t afraid to show his moves when need be, being an ex- professional boxer back in the day. He uses his experience and knowledge to solve crimes and when a little muscle power is needed, he takes the help of Sabu, an alien from Jupiter. The comics are small, entertaining and extremely fun to read. It is written in extremely simplistic language so that even kids can read the comics but is no less fun for adults either!

Chakra- The Invincible

This comic, believe it or not is co-created by Stan Lee along with Sharad Devarajan from Graphic India. The comic book follows a young boy from Mumbai who creates a super suit that unlocks the mystical chakras of the body giving him super powers. He becomes the protector of the city of Mumbai using his new gained powers. The book is extremely well drawn and illustrations of this quality are rarely seen in Indian superhero comics.

Super Commando Dhruva

Super Commando Dhruva is a superhero from the fictional Indian city of Rajnagar. He is the founder of a fictional government-approved crime fighter organisation called Commando Force. He has no superpowers per se, but his intellect, detective skills, ability to talk to almost every kind of animals, scientific knowledge, martial art and acrobatic skills and an unparalleled willpower helps him achieve his goal which is to eliminate evil from the world. The comics are extremely well written and the storyline is quite strong. It is also worth noting that Dhruva, unlike most superheroes does not wear a mask and has no alter-ego. Dhruva also believes in very minimal violence and does not kill anyone. The writer has written him in a way that makes the comic book hero feel like someone children can idolize.

Devi

Devi is an Indian comic book with a woman as the central character. The woman is named Tara Mehta. Devi, a celestial warrior goddess was made by the Gods to fight Demon Lord Bala in the second century of man. But when Bala rose again, Devi was reborn in Tara Mehta. Tara Mehtais shown to lead a posh lifestyle alongside her boyfriend Iyam, who is a gangster. It is also revealed that during the ancient battle, Iyam was one of Bala’s favourite generals. The story has intricate details and twists and the characters in the comic book are well thought out as well. The artwork is also extremely dark and gritty while being very detailed. It makes for an overall great read!

Parmanu

The story of Parmanu is also very interesting. It is about a boy named Vinay who saw his classmate getting killed by criminals in school and decided to avenge her death. He found the actual murder weapon which was a revolver and discovered that the killer was the head of police himself. This led to the police officer trying to kill him before he killed the officer. Vinay was rescued from the officer’s hands by Prof. K.K. Verma by hiding him in his lab.

The professor told Vinay that he had developed a super suit that would give him super powers to help him avenge the death of the classmate. The suit, a yellow bodysuit and a utility belt gave him amazing superpowers. These include firing atomic bolts from his chest and hands, reeling out atomic rope from his wrist band apart from the ability to teleport, atomize, and reduce his size to any desired level with the help of his belt.

Sadhu

The Sadhu is a very unique Indian graphic novel whose main character isn’t Indian.The theme is set during the British rule in India. The story starts in Britain where two young brothers are looking for a job on the docks of London. James, one of the brothers, has to take up a job as a member of the Imperial army in India due to a chain of events and circumstances. The story follows James where he eventually meets a band of Indian killers. The leader of the bandit gang recognizes him as The Sadhu, who was once his mentor. The Sadhu is a force for good recruited by the goddess and that his entire life is a preparation for this conversion. He possesses mystical superpowers which he uses for the good and to defeat his enemy Colonel Timothy Townsend.

Shakti

Shakti is an Indian comic book series published by Raj Comics. The comics revolve around the central character of Chanda who was an ordinary housewife. She discovered that her husband was killing off her daughters and that filled her with rage. The unhindered rage sent smokes to the heaven and that is when the Goddess Kali descended into her body to deliver justice. She became Shakti. Chanda has a third eye on her forehead that she hides with a headband as she goes about her business. Goddess Kali is the destroyer of demons and also possesses a third eye. She has the ability to sense any woman’s cry and pain in the world. Shakti also has lighting speed and can shoot beams through her third eye when in rage. She is indeed the symbol of woman power in the Indian comic book fraternity.

December 29, 2018
Essential Phone Discontinued But Not Quite

Essential phone was one of the fist mainstream phones to come with a notch. Essential phones had gone out of stock everywhere in the last few months. And this had led to speculation that Essential Phone 2 was on it’s way into the market. But now, we have received news that Essential phone is no more. The company has now confirmed that they will not add any more stock to the inventory. While the Essential Phone was launched way back in 2017 it was receiving updates regularly and customers were waiting for a new version of the phone. However, all hope is not lost yet!

While the discontinuation of the Essential phone does not come as a shock, since they had only sold 88,000 units in 2017, it does disappoint the cult following that the phone had. The company has however revealed that they are working on another phone. Just last month, it was reported that Essential was working on an AI based phone. The company recently acquired the company behind Newton Mail. Only time will tell if that means they are going into software designing and internet space or not. Essential did have a rocky start with data breaches, sexual scandals and layoffs, but they struggled against all odds and survived.

Essential PH-1 Features

The Essential phone had a strong built with front glass, titanium frame and a ceramic back and had an Octa- core Snapdragon 835 SoC with an Adreno 540 GPU. While the cameras were not upto industry standards, the phone was one of the fastest to receive Android updates, right after Google themselves. Many Nexus users who loved to have a stock Android experience were known to have shifted to the Essential Phone.

The company however has assured that they will continue to sell accessories and provide speedy software updates. Customer support will also be available to the existing community of Essential Phone users. It will be interesting to see what mobile device they work on and how the market accepts it in future.

December 29, 2018
Here Is The Order In Which You Should Watch Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies

The Marvel Cinematic Universe or MCU is a universe in itself. It has been planned and plotted for almost a decade and the entire storyline has finally converged to a single point in time with Endgame being the end of the MCU as we know it. However for a new viewer, it can sometimes be very difficult to understand which movie to watch. Here is a chronological list of the entire movie timeline for the new viewers to binge watch before Endgame releases. This is a spoiler free article and thus, we have kept the movie details to a bare minimum.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Even though this movie was released in 2011, three years after the first MCU movie, it is the first movie one should watch. Timeline-wise, this movie sets the theme for superheroes and how experiments began to create super-humans. The movie features actors such as  Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Samuel L. Jackson.

Iron Man

This is the first movie of the MCU, released in 2008 but the second to be on your watch list. This movie follows Tony Stark, an eccentric billionaire who creates a super suit to fight crime. The movie stars  Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Terrence Howard in leading characters.

The Incredible Hulk

This movie follows the central character of Bruce Banner, a scientist on the run from the U.S. Government who turns into an angry giant when he is angry. Hulk also becomes one of the central characters in the storyline of Avengers. The movie stars  Edward Norton, Liv Tyler and Tim Roth.

Iron Man 2

Tony Stark battles his declining health and faces widespread public attention as well as criticism all the while fighting a madman who has a score to settle with Stark. Both Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow reprise their roles as Iron Man and Pepper Potts and Mickey Rourke plays the role of Whiplash.

Thor

The storyline follows Thor, an Asgardian God. He is cast out of Asgard to live amongst humans in Midgard (Earth), where he falls in love with the people and becomes their protector. The movie stars eminent celebrities like Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman.

The Avengers

Being the first superhero crossover film, it features all the superheroes like Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Loki and more. This much anticipated film starred Mark Ruffalo as Hulk instead of Edward Norton. It was released in 2012.

Iron Man 3

This 2013 film features Tony Stark a.k.a Iron Man battling an extremely powerful hero called Mandarin. The movie stars eminent actors such as Guy Pearce, Don Cheadle, Ben Kingsley and more apart from having Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow reprising their roles.

Thor: The Dark World

Thor: The Dark World was also a 2013 release. Thousands of years ago, a race of beings known as Dark Elves tried to send the universe into darkness by using a weapon known as the Aether. When Dr. Jane Foster gets cursed by Aether, Thor heads to “The Dark World” to destroy the Aether and save Asgard. The film reprises  Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston in their roles as Thor, Dr. Jane Foster and Loki.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Steve Rogers struggles to understand the ways of the modern world and teams up with Black Widow to fight an assassin known as the Winter Soldier. The movie stars  Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson and Sebastian Stan.

Guardians of the Galaxy

This is a fun and quirky movie where intergalactic criminals band together to stop Ronan the Accuser from taking control of the universe. The film has a huge star cast Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel and more.

Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2

This movie tries to unravel the mystery behind Star Lord’s true parentage as the band of criminals face challenges on their way. Eminent stars such as Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper and Dave Bautista reprise their roles.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron

When Tony Stark and Bruce Banner try to restart a peacekeeping program that the government had shut down, they accidentally create a robot called Ultron who wishes to take over the world with the help of his robot army. The film stars  Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson and more.

Ant-Man

This 2015 movie is based on Scott Lang who comes across a super suit that makes him shrink and lets him control ants. The suit also increases his strength tenfold. The movie features Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas and Corey Stoll as the main characters.

Captain America: Civil War

Released in 2016, Captain America: Civil War showcases a rift between Iron Man and Captain America which leads them to have a showdown. The character of Spider-Man is first introduced in this movie. Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Chadwick Boseman, Jeremy Renner , Tom Holland and a lot of other heavyweight actors feature in this film.

Doctor Strange

Another 2016 release, Doctor Strange was an extremely anticipated movie. When a successful neurosurgeon gets drawn into the mystic world, chaos ensues. The film features  Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange and also features other notable actors such as  Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams and Tilda Swinton.

Spider-Man: Homecoming

A rehash after Sony’s Spider- man movies, Marvel decided to put Spider- man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As the story goes, Peter Parker tries to deal with his newfound superpowers and his life as an ordinary student, end up into situations that he did not wish for. He fights crimes and faces villains like The Vulture.  Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr. and Marisa Tomei are some of the notable stars in the movie.

Thor: Ragnarok

Thor, when imprisoned in a planet called Sakaar tries to flee and rescue his own planet Asgard from the powerful and ruthless Hela.  Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston and Cate Blanchett among others have a notable role in the film.

Black Panther

This 2018 movie broke all ticket sales record and became one of the highest grossing films in the MCU. The story follows the lead character T’Challa who is the heir to a technologically advanced kingdom of Wakanda. The movie features actors such as Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o and more.

Avengers: Infinity War

The super blockbuster movie featuring almost all the characters in the MCU thus far drew a huge crowd. The film showcases the heroes of the Avengers getting back together and uniting against a common enemy Thanos who wishes to destroy half the population of the Universe.  Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and almost everyone else mentioned above can be found in this film.

Ant-Man and the Wasp

This 2018 film finds Ant man trying to balance between being a superhero and a father and trying to team up with The Wasp to uncover secrets from their past.  Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly and Michael Peña are some noteworthy actors featured in the movie.

Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame

These two movies will end the long and arduous MCU journey as we know it. Captain Marvel is thought to be the most powerful superhero of all time and they will, together face Thanos in one last battle to save the universe in Avengers: Endgame.

December 29, 2018
Netflix Releases The First Trailer For ‘Black Mirror: Bandersnatch’

Black Mirror is at it again! The new trailer for their latest episode just dropped and it is as mind-boggling as the other ones. As a result, writing about Black Mirror trailers are always difficult as very little can be deciphered from the visually interesting and artistically inclined popular Netflix series trailers. For the uninitiated, Black Mirror is a Netflix show that focusses on technology and how it might affect human beings in one form or the other. We have seen it all – an implanted recording of life, a technology game show, miniaturisation and so much more. Each episode of the series deals with one aspect of non-existent technology. The episodes are based in either a parallel past or alternative present. The new trailer shows the main characters from the year 1984.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM0xWpBYlNM

The main character of the storyline is a computer programmer. As a result, he is tasked to building a video game from a novel. Directed by David Slade, the episode trailer showcases the main character being tormented by the game that he is building. He begins to question reality and ultimately is faced with a challenge. The three characters highlighted in the trailer include Fionn Whitehead (Dunkirk), Will Poulter (The Revanant) and Asim Chaudhry (People Just Do Nothing).

What is a Bandersnatch?

The name Bandersnatch is taken from the 1872 novel ‘Through the Looking Glass’ by writer Lewis Caroll. Bandersnatch is a fictional character developed by the writer. However very little description is known. The only detail that the writer provides is that it has a long neck and snapping jaws. It can also move extremely fast.

From the trailer that we see however, it seems that the artists have re-imagined the Bandersnatch to be more of a feeling and emotion than an actual character. There is a scene where two characters are talking to each other. A poster with a metal monster in the background can be seen with “Metl Hedd” written on it. The creature you can see looks like a metal version of the Bandersnatch that we all saw in Walt Disney Pictures’ Alice in Wonderland (2010).

Bandersnatch from movie Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Also Read: Marvel’s Daredevil Cancelled By Netflix After Just Three Seasons

The new episode for Black Mirror has been released by Netflix and is 1 hour 30 minutes long. The episode starts with a notice asking viewers to keep the mouse close at hand. Netflix allows viewers to choose how the story develops by answering questions in between the episodes. Several games have been developed on a similar concept with alternate endinhgs before. However this is the second time that an interactive episode like this is made. The first was a children’s animation produced by Netflix as well.

December 28, 2018
Fake Alexa App Tops Apple App Store Before Being Removed

Apple has been very strict with their App store and regularly checks on security of Apps that they enlist. A fake Amazon Alexa setup tool for iOS has become the sixth most downloaded app in the Apple Store’s Utilities category. However, this is not an Amazon madeApp but a third party App. Amazon Alexa based devices have been a smash hit since their launch. During Christmas this year Amazon Alexa servers failed in Europe due to an overload of users. This is a clear indication that a lot of users are calling out to the virtual assistant on their phones and their echo devices. This fake App seems to be taking advantage of the high popularity of Alexa.

The App itself is very basic and looks nothing like the actual Alexa App. The App asks for the user’s IP Address, the serial number of the device and a name. The App has successfully fooled a lot of people and made it to the top charts on the Apple App Store. The app reportedly can access a large amount of the user’s data such as IP addresses, browser information, referring/exit pages and URLs, clickstream data, domain names and so on. The App may also be able to track the user’s location which could lead to larger privacy concerns.

Apple has a very strict privacy policy for all Apps on the App Store. However, malicious apps have been known to pass the stress test and show up on the App Store. In September an App called Adware Doctor was reportedly sending user’s browsing data to China. But Apple promptly deleted the App after the knowledge of its malpractice.

Update

While the Alexa Setup app has now been removed from the App Store. It is only time before something like this happens again. That of-course, if Apple doesn’t strengthen its already strong barrier of entry for Apps.

December 28, 2018