Think of the Smart Connector on the iPad Pro and it has mostly been used by case makers to power up the cases which come with keyboards. Until recently when Logitech released a dock which allows you to charge the iPad Pro using the Smart Connector.
iPhone 7 plus version drawings have been shared by Japanese site Mac Otakara, and they show a purported “pro” variant with a 5.5-inch display which will also have the smart connector just like the iPad Pro. The handset is set to measure in at 158.22mm x 77.94mm x 7.3mm. Along with a large cutout in the schematic that shows a possible dual-camera setup.
The addition of the smart connector would mean that you will still be able to charge up your iPhone 7 while listening to music via headphones connected to the lightning connector. (See: Apple Set to change history)
On the flip side, it could be used to charge headphones, as Apple is apparently working on new Beats Headphones to be released alongside the new iPhone 7.
People also suggest that the iPhone smart connector could be connected to other peripherals, including external microphones, lenses and camera cases to make for a nice portable camera kit.
Who knows what Apple has up its sleeve and if the final iPhone 7 will have the smart connector in the first place. Previously MacFan has been accurate about Apple’s devices, sharing design details of the iPhone 6/6 Plus and 12.9-inch iPad Pro ahead of launch.
Leaks are suggesting that HTC will be launching two Nexus devices in 2016, codenamed M1 and S1. This information comes after previous news of HTC signing a multi-year contract with Alphabet inc.
HTC is building a pair of Android N devices for Google internally dubbed M1 and S1 #nexus
The devices are also known as ‘Marlin’ and ‘Sailfish’ according to Android Police. A Geekbench score of a device named “marlin” have been leaked with 4GB RAM and still named Nexus 6p, however, running Android N.
Google is rumoured to include universal support for pressure-sensitive display technology, and hence, the HTC Nexus devices will use 3D Touch type technology and will come with 5.2 and 5.5 inch displays. Running the final version of Android N out of the box. The handsets are expected to be made completely out of metal and have impressive camera capabilities.
OnePlus’s next flagship’s the OnePlus 3 is becoming everyday news. With its launch a few months away, it seems that a lot is already known for the US $ 354 Smartphone. (including the price)
The OnePlus 3, Codename Rain A3000, according to leaks will sport the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset with the Adreno 530 GPU, as well as Memory options in the following format : 3GB + 32GB, 6GB + 64GB, and 4GB + 128GB. Strange as it seems the 3GB + 32GB will cost US$ 354 whereas the 6GB + 64GB variant will cost US$ 384, well worth the additional if you ask us.
Leaks are also mentioning a quick charge feature, which details a 5-minute charge capable of giving 2 hours of phone calls. Android 6 with OnePlus’ new OS Hydrogen is expected to come pre loaded.
OnePlus’s is unsure of when it wants to announce the phone, so it’s either May 18th or May 28th for the launch and sales should begin soon after.
The handset, however, will still come with a 5.2-inch 1920x1080p display. Some benchmarks are also showing 5 inch and 5.5 inch displays, which could be model or variant dependent or simply different phones.
There is no denying that India is top on the list of polluted countries in the world. In-Fact 13 of the Top 20 polluted cities in the world come from India according to a report published by World Health Organization( WHO) in 2014.
Many claim that the reason for the pollution is the large population that is only second to China. To measure the levels of pollution PM10 and PM25 counts are used, PM10 is suspended particulate matter 10 micrometers or less in diameter; PM2.5 is suspended particulate matter 2.5 microns or less in diameter. Safe levels numbers kept by health organizations are PM10: Safe 40 µg/m3 over a period of a year and for PM2.5: Safe 25 µg/m3 over a period of a year.
Here is the list of Top 10 cities, any guesses for Number One?
10. Ludhiana
While a relatively small city, Ludhiana is seeing massive development and a large influx of traffic.
PM10 : 207 µg/m3
PM 2.5 : 91 µg/m3
The Pollution levels are almost four times the permissible levels for a healthy life.
9. Amritsar
Another small city of Punjab and the home of the Golden Temple, Amritsar hits the list at number nine. While the food there is amazing and the people happy, the pollution levels are off the charts. Only a little more than Ludhiana but much above the safe permissible limits.
PM10 : 210 µg/m3
PM 2.5: 92 µg/m3
8. Kanpur
A city with a population crossing 40 lac or 4 million residents Kanpur hits the list at number 8. with a
PM10 : 212 µg/m3
PM2.5 : 93µg/m3
7. Firozabad
Firozabad is located in north central India, in western Uttar Pradesh , 40 km from Agra and around 240 km away from Delhi. Firozabad has a large industry with a high pollution output which gets the blame for the degradation of the Taj Mahal’s white marble.
PM10 : 219 µg/m3
PM2.5 : 96 µg/m3
6. Lucknow
Lucknow is the largest city in Uttar Pradesh and the second largest in India after Delhi. Home of the Royals of the Mughal Empire also known as Nawabs of Awadh is no longer safe for Royalty or any inhabitation of any kind.
PM10 : 219 µg/m3
PM2.5 : 96 µg/m3
5. Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad River Front
The pride of the Prime Minister of India and the former capital of the State of Gujrat, Ahmedabad has a population of 6.3 million and an extended population of 7.2 million. While the PM10 count is well under control at 67 µg/m3, still above the permissible level, the PM2.5 is extremely high and toxic for humans.
PM10 : 67 µg/m3
PM2.5 : 100 µg/m3
4. Raipur
Clock tower in Raipur
Here is where the list goes shockingly out of proportion, Raipur the capital of Chhattisgarh is losing the battle with PM10 count and not only is it extremely high it is so bad that if you were to explain this with an image, you would use the following:
PM10 : 304 µg/m3
PM2.5 : 135 µg/m3
3. Gwalior
Coming it at a cool number 3 the City of Gwalior is located 319 kilometers south of Delhi in the heart of Madhya Pradesh. The 2014 WHO report calls Gwalior the third most polluted city in the world, only because the top two are also from India.
PM10 : 329 µg/m3
PM2.5 : 144 µg/m3
2. Patna
The state capital of Bihar, Patna is the second most polluted city in the world and also the second most polluted city in India. One of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world. Patna was founded in 490 BCE by the king of Magadha, little did he know the levels of pollution it would reach.
PM10 : 164 µg/m3
PM2.5 : 149 µg/m3
Delhi
You guessed it; the odd-even traffic laws will be little or no relief for Delhi, which is the capital of India and also the largest city in the country. In the 2011 census, Delhi’s population crossed 16 million inhabitants or around 1.6 crore people. A large number of vehicles and traffic is attributed as the primary cause of the city’s toxic levels of air pollution. No signs can signify the levels of damage this does to the human body.
PM10 : 286 µg/m3
PM2.5 : 153 µg/m3
Remember the safe limits of PM10: 40 µg/m3 and for PM2.5: 25 µg/m3 over a period of a year. The worst part about this situation is that the last collected numbers are from the 2014 report, which means that the current levels are expected to be much higher. The state or local authorities have taken no significant preventive measures or steps to control the rising levels of pollution.
While Delhi tries the Odd-Even formula, it may be too little too late.
Delhi Metro is not the only one working on Free Wi-Fi. Google is woking with the Indian Railways and Railtel to provide High-Speed Wireless Internet access to 100 Railway stations by the end of this year and a total of 400 Stations in the coming years. A service which will be free to all passengers and visitors.
The service has already been launched at 9 stations including Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Ernakulam Jn, Kacheguda, Pune, Raipur, Ranchi, Vijayawada, and Vishakhapatnam. In January, the service was launched at Mumbai Central which makes the list a complete 10.
Google aims to make free Wi-Fi available to 10 Million Indians every day in its goal to hit 100 Railway stations by the end of 2016. The service is already a success according to Google with over 100,000 users logging in daily at Mumbai Central alone.
Google’s target of 400 stations may take a few years to come, but the service will be appreciated by everyone none the less.
DMRC or Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is working on launching free Wi-Fi for all its passengers at all 187 stations and 250 + Km of track on its 222 trains. The service will be free to passengers and will be rolled out by the end of 2016.
Delhi Metro Network is amongst the largest Metro Networks in the world with ridership touching 3.5 Million in a day. With lines launching in 2016 which will also interconnect existing lines, daily ridership is expected to increase dramatically.
The current model is set to provide seamless connectivity via the Metro app or a Third party app which will also track your location and tell you wat station you are on or if your stop has arrived.
Earlier this year DMRC had also announced smart-tags which could be managed using their app to be reloaded and used to access train stations. The DMRC is trying to catch up with the modern world. Hopefully, their execution is as exciting as these launch announcements.
That’s it for HTC’s mega event before the company could even begin the virtual launch, the details of their handset have leaked all over the internet. For specs a 5.2-inch display with 2K Quad HD resolution, a 2.2GHz Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 12-megapixel rear camera with “UltraPixel” capabilities, 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, microSDXC support up to 2TB, Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and a large 3,000 mAh battery. The report also says that BoomSound has been reworked in the new HTC 10, with “HTC BoomSound HiFi Edition” featuring Dolby audio technology replacing last year’s BoomSound setup.
These are not the first leaks of HTC’s next Flagship, and with the launch only hours away. There is not a lot more to expect from HTC but the global price of the phone.
At this very moment, the largest debate in the world is around Whatsapp and their brand new End to End Encryption.
With the Apple vs. FBI debacle just barely out the door, a new threat to “National Security” of many governments is the encryption of messages on the world’s largest messaging app. This app which daily carries personal data of nearly a billion users has just pushed a major upgrade that will encrypt the messages, files, images, videos, etc. of each chat from a point of origin to a point of receiving.
How does it work?
If both users of a Whatsapp message (i.e. the sender and recipient) have updated to the latest update, then their message is encrypted with a 256-bit algorithm. Which in turn means that, apart from the sender and the recipient of said message, no one will know what message was sent, including WhatsApp.
WhatsApp uses what’s called public key encryption: To send a message to User B, User A asks a WhatsApp server for a public key that applies to User B. User A then uses the public key to encrypt the message. User B’s private key—only available on User B’s phone—decrypts the message.
Image via Wired
The encryption method is so diverse the service will encrypt all messages, phone calls, photos, and videos moving among them. And that’s true on any phone that runs the app, from iPhones to Android phones to Windows phones to old school flip phones.
To get more information on how this works you can download WhatsApp’s Whitepaper here.
Why Did it Happen?
Jan Koum, WhatsApps founder, was one of the first to voice support for Apple in the Apple vs. FBI debate. The company has been encrypting some of the information on the messages since 2013.
Facebook, which is WhatsApp’s parent company, is also trying to implement encryption in their messaging systems, and with WhatsApp’s encryption out the door, this may happen sooner than later.But, why is all of this important for us as users? The answer to this question lies within our thought processes. After the biggest information leak by Edward Snowden, it has become apparent that governments have become careless in combating terrorism. To the point where they are breaking the fundamentals of privacy and collecting data on each of their citizens, breachings the basics of the law systems set in many countries.
We’ve been working for the past two years to give people better security over their conversations on WhatsApp… People deserve security. It makes it possible for us to connect with our loved ones. It gives us the confidence to speak our minds. It allows us to communicate sensitive information with colleagues, friends, and others. We’re glad to do our part in keeping people’s information out of the hands of hackers and cyber-criminals. – Said Jan Koum
But, why is all of this important for us as users?
The answer to this question lies within our thought processes. After the biggest information leak by Edward Snowden, it has become apparent that governments have started collecting personal analogue and digital data, which is an equivalent of hundreds and thousands of email, calls, personal images, videos, and messages.
Snooping in on private moments has been the biggest conversation of the past few years. With WhatsApp adding a no backdoor system the data on the service becomes completely private. No requests by the governments will be entertained, and WhatsApp has made that loudly clear.
This will ensure privacy to a billion users of the largest messaging application in the world. Which means no matter what moment you share on this app with the latest update, you can be assured no one is snooping in on it.
But it is not only the governments that this information encryption is trying to prevent. Hundreds of hackers and cyber-thieves are constantly on the lookout for an easy payday. This encryption will protect sensitive data from being easily taken and used against you. This also prevents identity theft and many other cyber crimes that one may have become a victim to in the past.
What About the Security Risk?
Many Governments and security agencies will debate, that this will help terrorists communicate easier, and security will mostly be broken. In pushing back against end-to-end encryption, the US government argues that it’s merely trying to maintain the status quo—that it has long had the power to issue a warrant for communications data.
With no backdoor, WhatsApp data will not be decrypted; no information apart from timestamps and metadata of when the messages were sent and possibly who they were sent to will be available to the app makers themselves.
Encryption is one of the most important tools governments, companies, and individuals have to promote safety and security in the new digital age. Recently there has been a lot of discussion about encrypted services and the work of law enforcement. While we recognize the important work of law enforcement in keeping people safe, efforts to weaken encryption risk exposing people’s information to abuse from cybercriminals, hackers, and rogue states. – WhatsApp
For the time being it seems that the free world citizens are winning the battle over privacy. But the security agencies and governments are not ones to sit back and watch quietly. For one there remains a significant vulnerability for privacy-concerned people using WhatsApp to communicate. The metadata about communications is not secret. The government, could, for example, demand to know from Facebook/WhatsApp with whom a particular user communicated, when he or she did so, and how frequently. They may even be able to tell where the parties to a conversation were located when the conversation took place.
The metadata and timestamps about communications are not secret. The governments could demand to know from Facebook/WhatsApp with whom a particular user communicated, when he or she did so, and how frequently. They may even be able to tell where the parties to a conversation were located when the conversation took place.
In December 2015 the global average internet speed increased to 5.6 Mbps, an increase of 23 % year on year. India however, looks at the picture differently.
Akamai released a State of the Internet Report which states:
From a global perspective, the average connection speed increased 8.6 percent quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) and 23 percent year-over-year (YoY) to 5.6 Mbps, while the global average peak connection speed increased 1 percent QoQ, and increased 21 percent YoY to 32.5 Mbps,
South Korea tops the rank in APAC, with an average of 26.7 Mbps, India on the other hand has an average of 2.8 Mbps. South Korea (95.3 Mbps) and Macao (83.1 Mbps) show 10% and 13% growth year on year respectively.
The report also pointed out that 43 countries/regions saw IPv4 address counts grow 10 percent or more in the quarter ended December 2015 while 13 saw counts decline 10 percent or more compared with the July-September quarter of 2015. You can read the full report in the source link below.
Cochin Airport in India became the world’s first airport to become completely self-reliant as far as electricity is concerned.
The project, worth $10 Million, began in 2013 and was completed in 2015, it comprises of 46,150 solar panels laid on 45 acres of land near the airport’s cargo complex. Cochin airport’s solar power plant produces 50,000 to 60,000 units of electricity per day to for consumption by all facilities at the International airport.
When we had realized that the power bill is on the higher side, we contemplated possibilities. Then the idea of tapping the green power came in. We consume around 48,000 unit (KWh) a day. So if we can produce the same, that too by strictly adhering to the green and sustainable development model of infrastructure development that we always follow, that would transcend a message to the world. Now this has become the world’s first airport fully operates on solar power ” -Said Mr.V.J.Kurian IAS, Managing Director, Cochin International Airport Ltd.
This plant will produce 18 million units of clean power an annual power equivalent for 10,000 homes for one year. Over the next 25 years, this green energy project will avoid carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants by more than 3 lakh metric tons, which is equivalent to planting 3 million trees or not driving 750 miles.
Initially Kolkata-based M/s Vikram Solar Pvt. Ltd. was responsible for the 400 polycrystalline modules of an output of 250Wp and five Refu-sol 20kW capacity string inverters were used in this plant as a trial. After completion, the airport has so far saved more than 550 Metric Tonnes of CO2 emission.
This solar project in itself is an incredible feat, and the fact that the whole airport is self-sustainable for at least the next 25 years makes it even more impressive
Easy go taxi app “Uber” has reportedly purchased 100,000 Mercedes Benz S Class vehicles. Till now Uber owned no cars of its own. Germany’s Manager Magazin, claims that both Uber and Mercedes are both investing heavily in making autonomous cars a reality.
This deal which sets the delivery in the future is for Mercedez Benz and Uber technology which will allow the cars to be Autonomous. It is estimated that the deliveries for the said vehicles will begin early 2020, according to Stuttgart. The premium S-Class has been able to park, maintain safe distances from other cars in tight, stop-and-go traffic without the aid of a driver, these features are said to be enhaced over the next few years to allow more capabilites.
A deal which is in the upper region of 10 Billion Euros, is set to compete against the various other companies aiming to make autonomous cars including the likes of Tesla.
We are just a few days away from Apple’s mega event and renders are popping up all over the place. The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 pro may not be launched this time around and may be kept for the September launch. However, it has not stopped designer Martin Hajek, who is known for pretty accurate renders for showing off what the next iPhones may look like.
iPhone SE
The iPhone SE is supposedly an answer from Apple to its fans asking for a smaller iPhone after they abandoned the compact screen size. Designed on the iPhone 5s the size of the iPhone SE is expected to be very similar to the 5s, however, much more rounded like the iPhone 6.
iPhone 7
The iPhone 7 will be the notorious handset marking the end of an era of the headphone jack, or so says the world. The new iPhone 7 will have a major overhaul for the optics and some magical battery improvement.
The iPhone 7 Pro
It is much rumored that Apple will drop the “plus” nomenclature in favor of the more iPad Pro packaging for the larger iPhone 7, calling it the iPhone 7 Pro. Supposedly, just like the iPhone 7, the iPhone 7 Pro will also drop the headphone jack in favor of DAC enabled lightning headphones. However, rumors and the below renders point to dual cameras, possibly for better resolution or stereoscopic video.
While the above is just a guesstimate, it seems more accurate than ever. Also, the dropping of flat antenna bands is also in line with the design change scheduled with the iPhone 7 series.
With a large number of pizzas delivered each day, one would think dominos would scale up technology to make the production of Pizzas more efficient, not deliveries. It looks like the future is filled with drones and Robots. The new robot known as DRU (Domino’s Robotic Unit) can travel at about 12 mph and can easily handle varied terrain though it’s not designed for major road use.
Think of deliveries happening in remote areas. The Pizza remains safe and hot and is only unlocked by a special mobile code sent to the recipient of the order. Wath the demo video below.
DRU uses a LIDAR sensory system that allows the unit to detect obstacles in its path and change its route accordingly. It measures objects and distance by illuminating them with a laser light. Each unit also comes equipped with traditional sensors that detect obstructions at close range, just like a robot vacuum cleaner.
It weighs approximately 190kg and has a maximum height of 1185mm (922mm with the compartment closed.) The body is constructed of ABS and urethane plastics, the lenses are made using PMMA (acrylic) plastics and the internal chassis is finished using aluminium and mild steel. It is water tight and weather proof.
Few earlier reports have pointed towards the fact that the iPhone 7 will now come with three storage options as always, however, the sizes may be 64GB, 128GB and 256GB and not the current 16GB 64GB and 128GB.
The below image shows a 256GB SanDisk NAND flash memory chip which is physically smaller than the company’s 64GB chip. This has been designed to fit in the future iPhone, iPad and well other smart devices including those from Apple, like the Apple TV and even Macbooks.
Sandisk has been one of the key suppliers to Apple for storage chips in the iPhone 5, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus. And with the above image, it seems the rumors are drawing more to a possibility.
Apple has also used NAND flash chips from Samsung, SK Hynix and Toshiba. While Samsung has been parading its 256GB Nand flash chips and now that Sandisk has joined the party, Apple may not only have the right suppliers but also enough suppliers to amass the requirement for their next-gen iPhone 7.
Artificial Intelligence over the past couple of years has progressed at a rapid pace. Be it Robots like Pepper which possess the capability to understand human emotions or simple pieces of intelligent code such as Siri which can based on your past behaviour patterns assist you in your day to day tasks, artificial intelligence is slowly but surely taking center stage in our lives today.
In a continuation of this trend, robots with artificial intelligence are now making way to hotels near you. Hilton, the famous hotel chain, has partnered with IBM to create a robotic concierge that it will fondly call “Connie” in memory of its founder, Conrad Hilton.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC0I08qt5VU
Connie is a Nao robot, a French 58cm-tall bot which is powered by IBM’s AI tech, Watson Smart. IBM claims that this Robo Concierge can understand speech, and the tech giant further claims that it enables the ‘bot to greet guests, answer questions about the hotel, and provide details about local services, sights and restaurants.”
Talking about the move, Rob High, chief technology officer of Watson said in a statement,
“This project with Hilton and WayBlazer represents an important shift in human-machine interaction, enabled by the embodiment of Watson’s cognitive computing. Watson helps Connie understand and respond naturally to the needs and interests of Hilton’s guests—which is an experience that’s particularly powerful in a hospitality setting, where it can lead to deeper guest engagement.”
Just in case you were wondering, Hilton’s friendly Robo Concierge, Connie, is not the first robot to to be employed by a hotel. Japanese hotel, the Hen-na in Nagasaki has a staff which is majorly manned by robots, speaking both Japanese and English.
