Category: World

Netflix is Heading to the Middle East

Netflix, the internet media streaming service, is planning to widen its reach by entering into the Middle East. The service is looking to target a population of 370 million, which includes a young, media hungry demographic.

John Evers, vice president and head of communications for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Netflix, confirmed plans of expansion by the end of next year. “We plan to complete our global expansion by the end of 2016. Of course the Middle East is part of that, hence our hiring,” he told the IGN Middle East gaming news website.

Starz, IcFlix, Telly and OSN Play are some OTT subscription services that already exist in the Middle East and have received a fair bit of subscribers already, which suggest that the market is ready for the big one.

Icflix was launched in 2013 and reportedly has 250,000 subscribers across the Middle East and North Africa, which include Egypt, Morocco, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. The streaming service offers Hollywood, Bollywood, and Arab content which include Egyptian productions as well.

Meanwhile, Netflix currently caters to over 69 million subscribers in more than 50 countries. Netflix is on a global expansion mode and is expected to cross 100 million subscribers in 2018. India is yet to receive the service, and we may just hear something on that front soon enough given that India has a a huge number of OTT subscribers as well.

October 29, 2015
‘Steve Jobs’ Fails to Woo Fans, Leaves Makers Even More Disappointed

Dampening the spirits of a lot of Michael Fassbender fans, ‘Steve Jobs’ has bombed at the box-office. Hopes had been incredibly high regarding the movie, and thus, this unexpected blow hits harder.

“‘Steve Jobs’ was too brainy, too cold, and too expensive to make it a success,” says Variety’s Brent Lang.

Nothing sums up the reasons for the failure of the eponymous biopic about Apple’s founder, Steve Jobs than the above statement. Hollywood has proved once again that meaty content is not enough for a film to work.

Fassbender (left) and Jobs (right)

Despite the lack of physical resemblance, Michael Fassbender had fans excited all over the world for his portrayal of the Apple founder. Post evidence of his acting prowess in films like ‘Twelve Years’ A Slave’, there was not much to doubt about his brilliance for an on screen rendition of Steve Jobs.

However, Fassbender still failed to draw as much attention of the mainstream movie-goers as much an actor like Robert Downey Jr., or Leonardo DiCaprio would have. Incidentally, Caprio, along with Christian Bale, were one of the two actors the role of Steve Jobs was first offered to for the movie. When both of them turned it down for various reasons, Fassbender was approached next.

The film shows an insensitive, emotionally abusive protagonist, distanced and detached from his wife and daughter. For all his technological brilliance, the audience clearly did not prefer to root for a character who was a complete jerk to his family. So while Jobs tackled his God-complex, less and less names were added to his fan-list.

‘Steve Jobs’ debuted to a puny $7.3 million, not too far ahead from the $6.7 million of the Ashton Kutcher starrer ‘Jobs’. The former needs to make at least $120 to make up for the investment cost and cash in on a minimum level of expected profits. It has made $10 million so far.

Despite being critically acclaimed, ‘Steve Jobs’ has failed to strike a chord with the audience, primarily because of a dialogue-oriented script and the lack of a more popular name than Michael Fassbender, speculate Hollywood experts.

Audience’s reaction to ‘Steve Jobs’ have further revealed how precariously balanced films are in Hollywood, with absolutely nothing, not even strong scripts and top-drawer performances by the likes of Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet are a surety of a project doing well. If you have managed to take a look at ‘Steve Jobs’, tell us what you felt in the comments below.

October 26, 2015
Domino’s Launches New Delivery Car With a Built-in Oven

Who doesn’t love pizza right? Thin crust, thick crust, cheese burst and deep dish, we’re all fans. So when avid pizza lovers hear ‘Domino’s’, you most often than not get squeamish responses. An experienced pizza fan would think of Domino’s as the last option because it seems to have lost its A game. This little experiment however, will make you take notice of this old pizza chain.

Domino’s has tried innovative ways to try and get their customers to order pizza. From ordering with the help of a pizza emoji, to even a Siri-like assistant helping you out in their mobile app. They’ve done it all. However, they just went a step further recently, and announced their very own Domino’s Delivery car!

Fondly and officially called the DXP (Domino’s Delivery Expert), it is a custom made car to keep your pizza warm and fresh (Because plastic boxes at the back of motorcycles weren’t good enough.) And if you’re already perplexed by the fact that Domino’s would actually make their own car for just one purpose, it’ll be even more perplexing to know that this project took 3 years to come through, from conception to completion. 3 years. We wonder how many pizzas went cold and delivered till then.

We don’t want to drown with our sarcasm any further, but the DXP is actually designed for long distance deliveries where the food might get lukewarm while unpacking or in transit. This way they can assure the customer that the food will be delivered piping hot. So not such a bad idea right?

The DXP is essentially a Chevrolet Spark with just one seat that is the driver’s. It has storage areas located both in the front and the back along with proper compartments to keep the items still and not moving with all the bumps the car might hit. The fanciest feature, however, is a warming oven placed right behind the drivers seat that fulfils the motive of keep all the food hot and fresh.

The DXP has the capacity to accommodate up to 80 pizzas, along with Domino’s other menu items including salads, wings and 2-liter bottles of soda, according to sources. Basically, it has enough storage to feed a business meeting or a school event or even a largish house party.

Video footage of the car, courtesy of MLive, can be seen below.

Russell Weiner, president of Domino’s USA, stated:

“The Domino’s DXP is the first purpose-built vehicle aimed at revolutionizing pizza delivery,” This innovation allows drivers to do their jobs with greater ease and efficiency, and demonstrates that Domino’s is absolutely fanatical about making perfect deliveries.”

What are other pizza places going to do without this baffling, over efficient, heat inducing, invention? Only time will tell. But it’s safe to say that we in India will still receive hot pizza regardless of a car, on a motorcycle, in 30 minutes. Or free.

The DXP will begin rolling out in select markets over the next three months and no, India isn’t on the list as of now. The first cities to make use of the DXP are Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, New Orleans, Indianapolis, San Diego, and Seattle.

Do you feel like you’re really missing out though? Let us know in the comments below.

October 24, 2015
Huawei Replaces Xiaomi as China’s No. 1 Smartphone Manufacturer

Research firm Canalys reports that Huawei has replaced Xiaomi as the number one manufacturer of smartphones in China, a first for Huawei to have topped the ranking. While Xiaomi’s sales declined, Huawei’s increased by an 81% over the last one year. Though Canalys didn’t share the exact details, the firm says other details will be made available by the end of this month.

Both Xiaomi and Huawei have been warmly welcomed in the country as well, providing smartphones with impressive specs and price-tags friendly with the average Indian pocket. Huawei however has been more in news lately primarily because of one of the two latest Google Nexus smartphones. Nexus 6P is the device which is made by Huawei and has provided a high-end gadget to the smartphone industry.

Huawei Nexus 6P

Xiaomi on the other hand grabbed the limelight with its Mi 4c, which has similar specs as the other Nexus device launched recently, Nexus 5X, but at half the price. You can find the entire comparison here. While the two tech giants fight it out in the world, tell us your preference in the comments below.

October 23, 2015
Nextbit Robin- First of its Kind Cloud Storage Phone, Up For Pre-Order In India

Time to kiss those storage blues goodbye with Nextbit Robin -the first smartphone to offer cloud storage. The “cloud-first” smartphone, is now available for pre-orders in India, along with a bunch of other regions. The price of the phone is Rs. 26,000 ($399), which excludes shipping charges of Rs. 4,600 ($70). The phone will be officially released in August.

A startup made up of tech experts with experience of working in Apple, Google and HTC previously, Nextbit Robin is equipped with features sure to woo customers, the highlight of which is the cloud-based storage option. The phone promises no more storage woes by automatically backing up your data to the cloud, and therefore emptying the phone’s inherent storage.

Robin was initially put up as a Kickstarter project from where it received an immense response of $1,362,000 (about Rs. 8.9 crores) in terms of funding. The company’s goal had been no more than $500,000 or about Rs. 3.26 crores.

Nextbit Robin Mint

The specifications of Nexbit Robin include a 5.2 inch HD screen along with 1080×1920 p resolution. The plastic body of the phone has Qualcomm hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor on the inside. 3 GB RAM and 32 GB of in-built non-expandable storage are some of its other specs. The phone also boasts of a fingerprint sensor.

Nextbit Robin Midnight

In terms of the two cameras, the phone packs a 13 MP for the main camera and a 5 MP for the front camera. The battery is marked at a 2,689 mAh, and it has a USB Type-C port. The operating system is Android 6.0 Marshmallow. There are two colour variants for the handset: Mint and Midnight.

October 22, 2015
Indian Engineers Part of the WARF Team Which Sued Apple and Won

The recent lawsuit between Apple and Wisconsin Alumnae Research Foundation (WARF) ended in a penalty of $234 million for Apple. Wisconsin University had sued the tech-giant over the use of patented chips in iPhones and iPads. You can find the whole story here.

The Wisconsin University team which sued Apple has two Indian engineers as part of it. Professor Gurindar Sohi and Terani Vijaykumar are members of the group which pursued legal action against Apple for the infringement of a patent they had developed.

It was ruled out by a jury court on Tuesday, that Apple had used technology in the processors of its devices which had originally been developed by Professor Sohi and Vijaykumar and two others. While WARF had asked for a penalty as high as about $862 million, it was brought down to $234 million.

Both Indian-origin professors are pass-outs from the Birla Institution of Technology and Science in Pilani, Rajasthan and currently teach at the University of Wisconsin Madison and Purdue University in Indiana, respectively. Mr. Sohi is a professor of computer sciences while Mr. Vijaykumar teaches electrical and computer engineering.

“This work has been recognized as a major milestone in the field of computer microprocessor architecture/design,” said Sohi.

The legal case against Apple had begun in April last year. Another such case has happened last month where WARF sued the company once again over patent infringement. The latter case is yet to reach a conclusion.

October 19, 2015
Apple To Pay $234 Million For Patent Infringement

A US jury has passed its verdict and it’s definitely not going to please Apple. The tech giant has been ordered to pay Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) a sum of over $234 million as penalty for patent infringement. WARF is in-charge of all the patent licensing of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The jury had previously reached a decision that Apple had used a patented microchip technology in its iPads and iPhones to which Apple had appealed. After about three hours of deliberation, the amount was set at over a hundred million dollars less than what the University had demanded of Apple. We did a story on this lawsuit which you can read here.

Though Apple is at least free of one lawsuit, more legal trouble awaits the company courtesy of WARF again which is suing the company on the same lines for using patented technology in its latest iPhones -6s and 6s Plus. However, legal trouble is not a territory unknown to Apple which has been waging copyright, infringement and patent related battles with other tech giants as well, Samsung being one of them. Such penalties are not likely to be more than a puny amount for a company which reported its annual revenue for 2014 to be around $182 billion.

October 17, 2015
G-RO – The First Suitcase To Come With a 23,000 mAh Battery Source

If you’re a frequent flyer who never seems to get over travel anxiety because of your luggage, Kickstarter might just have the answer for you. G-RO, the first carry-on luggage of its kind is flying off the charts on the website. It has already reached the mark of $360,000 in pledges. The goal fixed by the G-RO team was $125,000 which was reached within a day of the product being put up on the website. There are another 58 days to go before the campaign ends.

The suitcase comes with especial features to make the whole travel experience much more convenient and hassle free. It has huge all-terrain wheels that allows G-RO to be taken anywhere comfortably irrespective of the surface. There are distinct, neat compartments for personal belongings as well as for gadgets and stationery, along with a separate section for keeping liquids.

The G-RO Team

G-RO has been designed keeping in mind international travel regulations, along with compliance with TSA and FAA. Just when you thought this suitcase is too cool to be true, it gets better. The carry on luggage also comes in an electronic module which offers a 23,000 mAh battery that can charge phones, tablets and laptops, a universal power outlet, a location tracker and a wireless proximity tracker. Check out the video below to find out how this beauty was put together and everything that it’s capable of.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwO_li6aNi4
The cheapest G-RO model is priced at a $279 (having an expected $499 retail price) while the optional electronic module cost an extra $99. It will be ready for shipping in August next year.

October 17, 2015
Legal Trouble For Apple, Company Could Face $862 Million Penalty

The tech giant has found itself at the centre of legal trouble with a US jury. It has been ruled out that Apple is using technology patented by the University of Wisconsin. The patent in question involves the chips used in iPhone, iPad Mini, and iPad Air.

Apple was sued last year in April by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) and now it may have to pay a fine of almost a billion USD. WARF claims that the A7, A8, and A8X processors used in the iPhone 5S, 6, and 6 Plus were developed from technology that had already been patented by the University in 1998.

If during the course of the legal proceedings, it is discovered that Apple used the technology in its devices while having knowledge of the patent, the fine amount may go up.Irrespective of whether or not Apple has to pay this ridiculously huge fine, there is some more trouble in store for the company. Last month, WARF sued Apple for the technology used in its newest iPhones and iPad Pro. WARF has had a track record of suing tech companies in the past, including a law suit with Intel in 2008 which lasted for almost a year.

October 14, 2015
A 180 Year Old Law Makes Hoverboards Illegal In UK

In a very interesting twist of events, the Metropolitan Police (MPS) in the UK have declared riding of hoverboards in public illegal in accordance with a law issued in -brace yourself- 1835.

The law, which was passed 180 years ago and made taking a “horse, ass, sheep, mule, swine, or cattle” on pavement illegal, has now also added a two-wheeled Segways to the list.

Users can now ride hoverboards only on private property with the landowner’s permission. The MPS Specials account tweeted on Sunday, declaring the “the self-balancing scooters,” banned from public pavements and parks.

Own one of these or thinking about getting one? They're illegal to ride in public! Info here: http://t.co/We85yLAzsU pic.twitter.com/vMm0hxNAjs

— MPSSpecials (@MPSSpecials) October 11, 2015

Using them in public would contravene section 72 of the Highway Act 1835 in England and Wales and section 129(5) of the Roads Act 1984 in Scotland.

Needless to say, there was a huge backlash against the ludicrous law, reminiscent of the pre-penny farthing years in Britain. From beef to hoverboards -the list of absurd bans in the contemporary world just don’t end.

October 13, 2015
Twitter’s CEO Plans Layoffs This Week

After having recorded lowest rate of progress in the number of new users since its inception in 2013, Twitter is looking at re-structuring itself and work on new growth-oriented strategies. One of these involve firing a whole bunch of engineers from the company this week.

Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter

The new CEO and co-founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey is laying off people throughout the company. New York times speculates that this decision can be put into action as early as 13th October to improve a “bloated” engineering team. Though multiple sources have mentioned these imminent layoffs, Twitter has refused to comment on it.

Over the last couple of months, the number of people appointed to Twitter and the new users to the social media platform has presented a skewed ratio, emphasising the need of a different modus operandi. This news comes in the wake of rumours suggesting that the expansion of San Francisco headquarters of the company are already being curbed and frozen in an attempt to cut costs.

In the past, Twitter has shied away from revealing the total number of its users, but that in no way means it’s not in the same league as platforms like Facebook and Instagram. At the same time, the company also has millions of ‘dark pool’ users -people who signed up for Twitter but now their accounts are inactive for various reasons.

Only time will tell if this new alleged strategy will help the social media website increase its influence in the virtual world.

October 11, 2015
USA Financial Market Dow Jones Hacked

Dow Jones and Co. ran into a security breach when records of over 3,500 employees were broken into. The cyber-attack involved carte blanche access to payment card and contact information of the people involved. The publishing and financial information firm said in an official statement:

“Out of an abundance of caution, we are notifying you that we recently determined there was unauthorized access to our systems. While we recognize that no company is immune to cyberattacks, we are committed to doing everything we can to protect our customers.”

The goal of the hack is mostly assumed to be an attempt to obtain contact information and send fraudulent solicitations to current and former subscribers. Dow Jones Chief Executive William Lewis mentioned in the letter written to customers yesterday that a potential breach had been reported by law-enforcement in late July this year. However, it was confirmed only post investigation that unauthorised access to company records had begun as early as August 2012 and lasted right till July 2015. To read the full letter by William Lewis, click here.

This cyber-attack does not come across as an isolated incident but more like part of a larger scheme that targets other private firms and companies as well. With names like Ashley Madison and Sony that have already been victims of cyber crime, let’s see which company lands itself next in hacking trouble.

October 10, 2015
Here’s How You Can Watch the Windows Event Live

Tech year has kept its hand full for a while now with all major brands coming out with their flagship devices and significant updates to their offerings, one after another. Taking a look at the recent past, Apple is an important name which triggered a new season of sorts in the technology circuit just a couple of weeks ago.

Come September and 2015 would see not only Apple, but also the Google Nexus event. We were just done drawing comparisons between these two events when Microsoft has now arrived with its contribution to the events song and dance. Both Apple and Google events offered the latest in technology, showcasing top-drawer devices, updates, software and accessories. Hopes ride high as we sit back to see if Microsoft too will follow the league of its counterparts.

There is much to expect from the company as it comes out with its first high-end smartphones of the year at event today. There are lots of hardware updates in store, along with additions to the Lumia phones category, a new variant of the Microsoft band, and the Surface Pro can be expected to found at the launch among other things. We might also get to see smartphones and tablets compatible with Windows by the end of the event.

Windows will be hosting the event in New York today at 10 AM ET. The event can be watched live here at 7:30pm IST.

October 6, 2015
The Chinese Built an Incredible Glass-Bottomed Bridge 600ft Above Sea Level

For those of you who have vertigo – this piece of information may not interest you. Eleven engineers in China have made a new glass-bottom bridge that is 980 ft. long and is suspended between two cliffs at 600 ft above the ground.

The bridge is being called the Haohan Qiao Bridge, which means the ‘Brave Men’s Bridge’ in English. It is located at the Shiniuizhai National Geological Park in southern China and is attracted many tourists from all over the country.

However, this bridge was not always made of glass, it was previously just a long wooden overpass that linked the two peaks of Stone Buddha Mountain.

More information about the bridge tells us that it was made using double thick glass panes, which weighed about 140 kg and required four people to lift and put it in place. The glass is also said to be 25 times stronger than regular window glass and visitors are given special footwear to travel across.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7z06mcBEHA

What we’ve also found out, is that this idea of glass-bottomed walkways is a new adventure thrill among the Chinese in recent times. Apart from the Haohan Qiao Bridge, there is also a glass elevator opened in Hubei. This elevator allows people to reach the peak of the mountain, without having to trek it up.

It is situated next to the cliff face and is 3,543 feet above sea level. This is not even the end, there’s another glass-bottomed bridge that is currently being constructed in Zhangjiajie, Hunan at 984 ft. above the canyon it is being built over.

October 3, 2015
Looking For Some 3D Printed Candy -Berlin is Your Next Stop

Welcome to the world of 3D printing food technology. Yes, you heard it right, 3D printed food. Candy-maker Katjes has created sweets in Berlin using a 3D printing technique in a first of its kind attempt. Called The Magic Candy Factory, it employs heated fruit gum mixture to create miniature octopuses and pyramids, among other things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dFJpXkyhcI

Customers are given a range of fourteen designs to choose from on a tablet. The candy costs 5-10 euros and hopes to draw attention using the technology. We recently reported about 3D doodling pens which allows the user to create art in thin air. From doodling to candies, the world of 3D printing is bent on taking audiences by storm. We can only wonder what technology has to offer next.

October 2, 2015