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Autonomous Car Technology And Its Shortcomings As Of Now

Companies like Uber and Google have been testing driverless and autonomous car technology for the past few years. Recently, there was an incident, where a driverless car killed a woman in broad daylight. The autonomous car had a backup driver, which was not enough to stop the accident. According to the driver, the victim walked out in front of them in a flash. In fact, the backup driver was alerted by the sound of the collision.

There are several reasons for this accident. Firstly, the autonomous driving system might have failed to register her as a human or it failed to detect her presence at all. This technology has to reduce accidents. But, such malfunctions make us question the feasibility and progression of autonomous driving.

Autonomous or Driverless Car

A driverless car is similar to a programmed device, which follows set of instruction written by the author. This means that a driverless vehicle should be able to operate fully by itself without any human interaction.

These cars use a technology called LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) that monitors around 60 meters of the vehicle in real time. Similarly, this creates a virtual 3D map of the surrounding to gauge the upcoming obstacles. There will be additional sensors fitted on the rear and front end of the vehicle to measure the distance from surrounding obstacles, which includes other vehicles.

The vehicle will use GPS system to calculate real-time positioning. When it comes to decision making, the car will have a set of instructions to follow. Similarly, the AI will be able to make other actions in an emergency situation. However, as a security feature, a user can always override the decisions made by the machine at any given time.

In theory, driverless cars will reduce accidents, as it will be programmed in a certain way. In a dangerous situation, these cars will negate the human error. However, the recent incident in Arizona means that the technology is not yet fool-proof for the real world.

March 22, 2018
Top Smartphones With Face Unlock Under Rs. 15,000

The face unlock feature is slowly gaining a lot of traction in the smartphone industry ever since the iPhone X was launched. Similarly, Android smartphone OEMs began to push this feature on their flagship smartphones. Now, the technology is even available on mid-tier smartphones. Though face unlocking is not as secure as a fingerprint sensor, it is definitely getting better by the day. So, here are the top three smartphones with face unlock under Rs 15,000.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro

Along with face unlock, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro packs some interesting attributes for Rs 13,999. The smartphone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 chipset with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. In fact, this is the first global smartphone to have this processor. The smartphone has a metal unibody design with a dual camera setup. The 12MP primary sensor captures images and the 5MP depth sensor helps to create a bokeh effect. Face unlock is achieved using a 20MP front-facing camera.

Honor 9 Lite

Honor 9 Lite

The Honor 9 Lite has a bunch of features that are not usually found on the smartphones at Rs 10,999. The device has a glass back, glass front, and a metallic mid-frame. On the front, the mobile has a 5.7 inch FHD+ 2160 x 1080 px IPS LCD screen with a 2.5D curved glass finish. The smartphone has dual camera setup on both the sides with a similar 13 MP RGB and a 2MP depth sensor combination. The face unlock is achieved using front-facing camera and it works fine in well-lit lighting conditions. In fact, this is one of the most affordable smartphones with face unlock.

Honor 7x

Honor 7x

If you liked Honor 9 Lite and wanted to have a bigger screen with a metal body, then the Honor 7x might be the one to consider. It uses a conventional metal unibody design with a slightly bigger 5.99 inch FHD+ 18:9 aspect ratio. Compared to the Honor 9 Lite, the 7x has a better primary camera setup with a 16MP primary sensor and a 2MP depth sensor. The device recently received a software update, which adds face unlock feature. However, unlike the Honor 9 Lite, the device has an 8MP front-facing camera. This smartphone is priced at Rs 12,999 for 4GB RAM and 32GB storage variant.

March 22, 2018
Top Tech Under Rs. 1,000

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Looking for affordable accessories to buy and not sure about what to buy? Here are the top 10 gadgets, priced at Rs 1,000 or less. Do note that the prices of a lot of these products fluctuate a lot.

Zakk Sport

If you are looking for fashionable Bluetooth earphones, then look no further. The earphones can last up to 6 to 8 hours depending on the user’s usage pattern. Similarly, these earphones have a built-in microphone, which can be used to receive voice calls. These earphones are priced at Rs 999. These earphones are one of the most affordable wireless earphones with sweat proof and water resistant. So, these can be used in a gym or while jogging without worrying about them.

EAlarm+

As the name suggests, this is an alarm which is priced at Rs 850 plus shipping. Unlike an ordinary alarm, this has an impressive 130db SOS personal alarm. Additionally, it can be used as a personal SOS tool as well. Just attach this to your bag, if someone tries to get this out, then the alarm activates itself. If you looking for a safety gadget, then this is a must-have tool. However, we are unsure about the battery life.

Tizum Lap Desk

This product is usually priced at Rs 1,300 and above. However, the price has been reduced to Rs 999 especially for iGyaan. This accessory currently retails for Rs 999 and this is a must-have product for those, who use their laptop on their lap. One can use this accessory to hold laptops up to 15.6 inch notebook. This also has a cushion on the back, which offer a comfortable user experience.

TAGG Quick Charge 3.0 Car Charger

This is a car charger, which offers two USB ports. The orange colour port supports Qualcomm quick charge 3.0 and the secondary USB port supports 5Volts 2.4Amps output. The charger currently retails for Rs 899 and it has a high-quality hardware, which will protect your smartphone/gadget from high current. Both ports can be used to charge two devices simultaneously.

Flujo USB 3.0 Hub

This is a compact USB hub, which converts a single USB to 4 USB 3.0 ports. The device is priced at Rs 850 and available on Amazon. This can be used with a laptop or a desktop. As this is a USB 3.0 capable device, this does not require a separate power source. However, attaching more than one device at a time will reduce the data transfer speed.

Signal Detector

Rember James Bond movie? We have an accessory, which can make you feel like one. The Signal Detector is priced at Rs 799 and packs in a bunch of useful features. This is a wireless signal detector and an anti wire-tapping tool with a camera finder. Based on the strength of the signal the LEDs will glow. The infrared camera finder will illuminate a lens of a camera using infrared light.

Tukzer Charging Station

If you have multiple electronics but a shortage of power sockets, then the Tukzer Charging Station will come to your rescue. The device is priced at Rs 999 especially for iGyaan. The device can charge 4 gadgets at a time with a total output of 30watt. The accessory will be available in green and black colour.

Mi Power bank 2i 10,000 mAh

This device needs no introduction. The Xiaomi Mi Power bank with 10,000 mAh capacity is priced at Rs 800. It can charge using micro USB port and has two full-sized USB-A ports. This has Li-pol batteries, which are manufactured and designed in India. It has a metal unibody design, which gives a premium look. Additionally, it has protection overheating and overcharging.

F&D SoundBar

If you are looking for a wired speaker system under thousand rupees, then F&D soundbar should be your choice. The device is priced at Rs 899 and connects to a television set or laptop or even a smartphone using 3.5 mm headphone jack. However, the 3.5 mm headphone jack is internally attached, which might get damaged in a long run.

Fidget Spinner Phone

If you are looking for a gadget and a mobile, then Whitecherry BL5000 Keypad Phone is a right gadget for you. This has a dual SIM card slot (limited to 2G) with a dedicated micro SD card slot. There is a rear-facing speaker, which gets really loud for its size.

March 22, 2018
Vodafone India And Idea Merger: New Leadership Team Announced

Vodafone India Plc and Idea Cellular India have announced the completion of the merger. Post the merger, the top-level management will see a shakeup and the two telcos will join hands to take on the rising popularity of Reliance Jio. Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla will be the Non-Executive Chairman of the merged Company. The new CEO will be Balesh Sharma, the current Vodafone COO.

Vodafone Group Chief Executive, Vittorio Colao, and Aditya Birla Group Chairman, Kumar Mangalam Birla have said:

We are pleased to announce the proposed management team for the new company to be created through the merger of Vodafone India and Idea. The team has extensive operational experience and is an excellent blend of expertise from both companies.

We look forward to the completion of the merger and competing as one company in the marketplace.

My Vodafone App

According to a report, Vodafone and Idea will together invest about Rs. 60,000 crore in the next three years to upgrade its infrastructure. Both the companies will invest up to Rs 14,000 crore on capital expenditure. Bharti Airtel is miles ahead of the two companies when it comes to investment this year. Bharti Airtel is already spending around Rs 22,000 crore on capex for its India wireless business. Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd’s spend on infrastructure has been higher this year.

A recent relief for the Indian telecom industry announced by the Government will also help this merger. The two companies will be able to retain spectrum in key markets and then significantly boost cashflows. More details about the merger will follow.

March 22, 2018
Samsung Exynos 9610 Chipset Officially Announced

Samsung has officially announced the Exynos 9610 Octa-core chipset. The Exynos 9610 is a series 7 processor which uses ARM’s big.LITTLE architecture, which will power Samsung mid-tier devices. The processor is based on 10nm FinFET architecture and the mass production will start by the end of Q2 2o18.

Ben Hur, vice president of System LSI marketing at Samsung Electronics said:

The Exynos 7 Series 9610 is our latest mobile processor that delivers on added power and speed. But more importantly, it sets a new performance standard for high-end devices with its deep learning vision-image processing solution and slow-motion video capabilities that change the way we engage with our mobile devices.

Samsung Galaxy A8+ based on the Exynos 7885 chipset

Specs

The chipset has 4 high-performance A-73 cores, which handles CPU intensive tasks and applications. Similarly, the other 4 cores are based on A-53. The four high-performance cores are clocked at 2.45GHz and the four efficient cores are clocked at 1.65GHz. The graphics are handled by Mali-G72MP3 GPU.

The chipset has a new image sensing processor (ISP) that supports native 4K video recording up to 120fps. Similarly, at 1080p the chipset can record up to 480fps slow-motion video footages. Samsung claims that the chipset can reduce the noise in low light shots. Similarly, the chipset also has a dedicated AI neural engine, which can detect various objects with the ability to produce real-time bokeh.

The Exynos 9610 offers greater LTE upload and download speeds using 3-carrier aggregation. In fact, the device which possesses this processor can offer a maximum download speed of 600Mbps and upload speed of 150Mbps. Additionally, the chipset has latest Bluetooth 5.0, FM Radio, GPS, A-GPS, and BeiDou.

March 22, 2018
NVIDIA Showcases The Power OF RTX Process Using Star Wars

NVIDIA has released a new video, which showcases the potential of real-time ray tracing (RTX) in Unreal Engine. The video is made in collaboration with Epic Games, NVIDIA, and ILMxLAB. Real-time ray tracing is the next big thing, that has happened to film and game makers. The video is based on the scene adopted from Star Wars: The Last Jedi movie. It has been completely made using Unreal 4 engine. This footage was showcased at Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Epic Games Founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said:

Ray tracing is a rendering process typically only associated with high-end offline renderers and hours and hours of computer processing time. Film-quality ray tracing in real time is an Unreal Engine first.

This is an exciting new development for the media and entertainment linear content worlds—and any markets that require photorealistic visualization.

Findings from the video

The minute-and-a-half long video showcase the potential of the NVIDIA’s RTX process for a Volta based GPU. The scene begins when two stormtroopers were discussing the elevators condition and how Kylo Ren destroyed an elevator in D-sector using his helmet. Then Captain Plasma (head of stormtroopers) punishes them, by posting them at a discomforting place for speaking about a higher authority.

For an untrained eye, the video looks completely realistic with real-time shadows and reflections. In fact, it is very difficult to find an element, which can prove otherwise. The level of stunning image quality of highly reflective surfaces and soft shadows looks no different from reality.

The RTX process is based on the path of light rays and how they bounce off the surface. This method will result in incredible real-life like graphics. It was very intensive to render a scene like this up until now. However, this will change with the NVIDIA RTX.

March 22, 2018
Some Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ Units Suffering From A ‘Dead Spot’ Issue

Samsung recently launched the Galaxy S9 and S9+ in India at a starting price of Rs 57,900. Though there was nothing new about their design, the smartphones were praised for their camera capabilities. Now, some owners of the Galaxy S9 and S9+ have started to report display input issues. A handful of these devices have failed to register touch input and are being affected by ‘Dead Zone’. It looks like the issue was predominately found in the Galaxy S9+.

According to reports on Samsung community and Reddit, the users have described that the device failed to register the touch input in certain spots. In fact, the issue is unresolvable even after a hard reset. According to some reports, the display was unresponsive in the bottom half and for some, the top half was unresponsive.

We tested out our review unit thoroughly and we didn’t find any ‘Dead Zone.’ This could be a hardware issue related to quality control and Samsung is yet to respond.

Samsung Galaxy S9+ Specs

The Galaxy S9+ has the same screen size as the Galaxy S8+. It sports a 6.2 inch Super AMOLED display with a 2960 x 1440 px resolution. Under the hood, the device has the Exynos 9810 chipset. The Galaxy S9+ is available in 6GB RAM/64GB storage and 6GB RAM/256GB models in India. Similarly, the storage is expandable up to 400GB.

Out of the box, the Galaxy S9+ runs Android 8 Oreo with Experience 9.0 on top. Powering the smartphone is a 3500 mAh battery, just like the Galaxy S8+. The smartphone will support wireless charging as well. The Galaxy S9+ also has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.

The Galaxy S9+ has one wide-angle 12MP camera with an f/1.5 aperture and the other is a 12MP telephoto lens with an f/2.4 aperture. On the front of the smartphone is an 8MP camera with an f/1.6 aperture and records 4K videos. Additionally, the mobile can record slow-motion videos at 960fps with 720p resolution.

March 22, 2018
Facebook CEO Zuckerberg Promises To Protect Personal Data
Facebook has been under the scanner for the past few days. The controversy of Cambridge Analytica has sparked a huge debate about Facebook and its data sharing practices. Apparently, Cambridge Analytica performed work for the campaign of President Donald Trump. It made ads for the Defeat Crooked Hillary Facebook page. Co-incidentally, both the Cambridge Analytica and Make America Number One financed by Robert and Rebekah Mercer, who backed Donald Trump in the general election.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Statement

Now, Facebook co-founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg has come out and addressed the issue. This post comes in a few hours after the #DeleteFacebook started trending across social media. The long post, in a nutshell, talks about the controversy and Facebook’s stance. While talking about the issue in hand, he also outlined a few steps Facebook will take.
- Facebook will investigate all apps that had access to user data before 2014. This is because it was in 2015 when Facebook changed its Privacy Policy to reduce data access. The company plans on banning any user that had misused the data. Every “thisisyourdigitallife” user will be informed about their data breach. Every user of an app will be informed about it when Facebook bans that app.
- If someone hasn’t used an app within the last three months, Facebook will turn off the app’s access to their information.
- From now on, every app that requires a Facebook Login will only have access to name, profile photo and email address.
The rest of the press release tells us what we have known already. While the steps mentioned by Zuckerberg do make a lot of sense, their implementation is what will matter. Facebook has already lost over US$ 60 million in market cap. Astonishingly, that is more than the entire market capitalisation of Tesla Inc.
March 22, 2018
JoJo Bizarre LG V30+ Special Edition Launched

LG has once again launched a re-branded LG V30. Initially, the company launched the LG V30, then came the LG V30+ and then the LG V30S ThinQ. And now, the company has launched the LG V30+ JoJo Bizarre special edition in Japan. LG has partnered with NCC DoCoMo to launch limited edition smartphone, with a design inspired by JoJo Bizarre (a famous manga series in Japan).

The smartphone comes with a model number JOJO L-02K and the stock is limited to 10,000 units. The device has superficial changes like a new white theme with the show’s art engraved on the back of the device. Similarly, there are additional tweaks in themes department with JoJo-themed wallpapers. The smartphone will be available exclusively in Japan for JPY 125,000 (Rs 76,685) and the pre-orders are up on DoCoMo’s network.

Specifications

The LG V30+ JoJo Bizarre special edition has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, 6 GB RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. Similarly, the storage is expandable up to 256GB. The smartphone has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance and MIL-STD 810G rating for durability.

The device has a 3,060 mAh battery with wireless fast charging which supports 3.0 quick charge. The smartphone runs Android 7.1.2 with LG’s UX 6.0+ on top which offers a few customisation options.

The LG V30+ has glass on the back

The LG V30+ JoJo Bizarre special edition features a dual-camera setup at the back. As LG had announced, this smartphone has the first ever inbuilt camera unit to feature a 16MP crystal clear lens made of glass with an f/1.6 aperture and another 13MP wide angle lens with an f/1.9 aperture. The camera features laser detection AF, optical image stabilisation and electronic image stabilisation. On the front side, the LG V30+ sports a 5MP wide-angle camera with an f/2.2 aperture.

March 22, 2018
LG G7, G7+ Design And Specifications Leaked

LG unveiled its LG G6 at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017. However, this year the company skipped a major launch and instead, introduced a new variant of the LG V30+. A leaked promotional image of the upcoming LG G7/G7+ flagship smartphones sheds some light on what we can expect from the new flagships. For the first time, LG might launch a standard and a plus variant of its flagship smartphone. In fact, most of the major smartphone OEMs from Sony, Samsung, and Apple already follow this pattern.

According to the leaked image, the company will launch the LG G7 and G7+ in June 2018. However, unlike Apple or Samsung the only difference between these models will be limited to RAM and Storage.

The LG G7 and the G7+ might feature support for modular accessories. Interestingly enough, the LG G5 was the first LG smartphone to support modular accessories with the same tagline ‘life is good when you play more.’ Possibly, the company might re-introduce features like a user-replaceable battery, camera add-ons etc. The LG G7 and G7+ will also have the infamous notch, which is expected to house an iris scanner with additional sensors like an earpiece, proximity sensor etc.

LG G7/G7+ Specs

Both the devices will have 6.1 inch MLCD+ display with a 3120 x 1440 px resolution which translates to a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The display will support native HDR10 content, similar to the LG G6. Under the hood, the device will have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Octa-core chipset with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage on the G7 and 6GB RAM and 128GB storage on the G7+.

The devices will have a dual primary camera setup similar to the LG V30+. However, the company might go with a telephoto sensor, instead of a wide angle sensor. Both the models will have a 3000 mAh battery with support for fast charging and wireless charging capability. Considering the time of the launch, these smartphones will run on Android 8 Oreo with custom LG UI.

March 22, 2018
Xiaomi Mi MIX 2s To Feature iPhone X-Like Face ID

Xiaomi will soon launch the most anticipated Snapdragon 845-powered smartphone after the Galaxy S9. The Mi MIX 2s will be the third device in the ‘MIX’ series and the first one with the ‘s’ moniker. While earlier renders revealed an unusual notch on the top right corner, recent teasers by Xiaomi tell a different story. The company has continued its campaign of releasing teasers and its latest one talks about Face Unlock.

The teaser has a very similar feel to Apple’s Face ID advertisement. The video has images of famous painters like Van Gogh and a corresponding ‘unlock’ animation. Different artists are seen sporting different looks with beards, hats etc. It essentially signifies that Mi MIX 2s and its new Face Unlock feature will work regardless of what the user’s appearance is. This is similar to Face ID which adapts to user’s looks and works even if they’re wearing sunglasses or a hat.

So far, 2018 has been dominated by iPhone X copycats. Smartphone makers have been criticised for blatantly copying iPhone X’s notch but not really justifying its presence. So far, the Mi MIX 2s teasers have not hinted towards an iPhone X-like notch. However, in order to execute Face ID-like facial recognition, the Mi MIX 2s might have some extra sensors as well. Where those sensors will be fitted is yet to be seen. The best bet, so far, is the bottom bezel, which is expected to be thicker than the other three bezels.

Xiaomi Mi MIX 2s Specs

The smartphone is expected to have a 6 inch IPS LCD display with a 2160 x 1080 px resolution.

Under the hood, the smartphone will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. However, the smartphone will not support memory expansion. The device is expected to have a 3400 mAH Li-ion battery with wireless and fast charging. The phone will run on Android 8 Oreo OS with custom MIUI 9 skin on the top. However, none of the Xiaomi devices, barring the Mi A1, run on Android 8 Oreo as of now.

March 22, 2018
Huawei P20 Pro Could Have A Whopping 512GB Of Storage

Huawei is prepping up for the launch of the Huawei P20 and the Huawei P20 Pro on the 27th of March. Up until now, almost all the specifications of these devices have been leaked. However, a new document suggests that the company might launch a special Huawei P20 Pro edition (maybe Porsche design) with a whopping 512GB of onboard storage.

The device is officially listed on TENAA, with model number NEO-AL00. According to the listing, the device will have 512GB of storage with 6GB of RAM. This could be the first mass-produced smartphone to have half TB of storage.

Huawei P20 Pro Specs

The smartphone is expected to have a 6.1 inch 2240 x 1080 px OLED display with a notch on the top. Under the hood, the smartphone will be powered by the Kirin 970 chipset with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. In fact, the smartphone is expected to support native face unlock algorithm similar to the iPhone X.

The device is also expected to offer a wide range of AI capabilities, which might improve the smartphone photography.

The smartphone is likely to house a triple lens primary camera setup with RGB + wide angle + telephoto lens combination. On to the front, the smartphone is likely to have dual camera setup. In fact, the dual front-facing camera can aid the facial recognition system as well. The device will run on Android Oreo 8.1 with custom EMUI on the top.

March 22, 2018
Apple iPhone X Successor Will Be The Cheapest 2018 iPhone With OLED Display

It is time to now look forward to the iPhone X successor in 2018. Each year, there are a handful of launches that eagerly waited, and the iPhone launch is one of them. So far, we have seen multiple reports corroborating that Apple will launch three iPhones in September. However, we have assumed that the LCD variant will be the cheapest and the iPhone X Plus will be the priciest.

A new report by a senior analyst at Digitimes, Luke Lin says otherwise. Lin has been keeping a keen eye on the supply chain of Apple and believes that the like-for-like iPhone X successor will indeed be the most affordable iPhone in 2018. Although there will be an iPhone with an LCD display, it won’t be the cheapest. As the pricing will largely depend on the display type, RAM, and storage of all the 2018 iPhones.

iPhone X Plus Concept

The successor to the iPhone X will stick to the 5.85 inch screen size with an OLED display panel. However, Apple managed to get the bill of materials down 10% from the US$ 412.75 of the current model. The OLED display accounted for a big chunk of that. Next up will be the 6.1 inch iPhone with an LCD display. The 6.45 inch iPhone X Plus with an OLED panel will be the priciest iPhone in 2018.

Obviously, there will be more than just the display and RAM differences between the three iPhones. Apple will use different camera configurations and maybe, the iPhone X Plus will have a few exclusive features to justify its possible exorbitant price tag.

A couple of months ago, Ming-Chi Kuo, one of the most trusted Apple analysts released some information about the 2018 iPhone lineup. The iPhone X 2018 (tentative name) will have the same 5.85 inch OLED display found on the current iPhone X. It will have a 2,700 to 2,800mAh battery, supplied primarily by Unimicron. The 2018 iPhone X will also be powered by a new chipset and is expected to feature advanced Face ID.

iPhone X

The iPhone X Plus will have a 6.5-inch OLED display in a body that might not be much bigger than the iPhone 8 Plus’. It is expected to have a 3,400 to 3,500 mAh battery supplied Unimicron.

March 22, 2018
#DeleteFacebook Is Trending: Here’s What Has Happened

On the 20th of January, Donal Trump was inaugurated as the United States’ 45th President. Leading up to that day was an excruciating Presidential campaign. Wherein Hillary Clinton lost to Trump on the basis of electoral votes. Even though Clinton was ahead by 2.1% in popular votes, she conceded the election on the 9th of November. Ever since his election, Donal Trump and his Presidential campaign have come under a lot of scrutinies.

[section label=”Background”]

A few weeks ago, the Justice Department indicted 13 Russian nationals and 3 companies for interfering in the 2016 presidential election. The Russians stole the identities of American citizens and posed as political activists to deviate the public opinion against a certain Presidential candidate. However, there was no accusation that President Trump or his associates were knowingly part of the conspiracy.

And now, a British analytics firm, Cambridge Analytica has come under the radar. It has been accused of illegally capturing data of 50 million Facebook users for target-based advertising during the Presidential campaign. Apparently, Cambridge Analytica performed work for the campaign of President Donald Trump and made ads for the Defeat Crooked Hillary Facebook page.

Worth noting that that the page was run by the Make America Number One super PAC (Political Action Committee). Co-incidentally, both the Cambridge Analytica and Make America Number One financed by Robert and Rebekah Mercer, who backed Donald Trump in the general election.

[section label=”Key Events”]

The question arises then, how did a company get hold of personal information of 50 million Facebook users? Illegally, for starters. Apparently, Aleksandr Kogan, a University of Cambridge psychology professor got permission from Facebook to harvest information from users who downloaded his app, thisisyourdigitallife. But, users who downloaded the app gave the professor the permission to collect data on their location, their friends and even the content they had liked. Krogan, then, passed on this data to Cambridge Analytica which violated Facebook’s rules.

A recent report on Alexander Nix, CEO of Cambridge Analytica has intensified the allegations on the firm.A British television channel aired a report where he is seen discussing potential bribery and entrapment of politicians. However, Cambridge Analytica has since stated that:

The report was edited and scripted to grossly misrepresent the nature of those conversations.

That stance did not stick for too long as Alexander was suspended by the company on 20th March 2018. It is worth noting that Christopher Wylie, a former contractor of Cambridge Analytica is the whistleblower. He shared this information with the New York Times and The Observer. Facebook has since suspended his account.

Suspended by @facebook. For blowing the whistle. On something they have known privately for 2 years. pic.twitter.com/iSu6VwqUdG

— Christopher Wylie ???? (@chrisinsilico) March 18, 2018

In a nutshell, all of this corruption was fueled by the availability of such damming data. After the recent accusations of Russian nationals using Facebook to sway voters, this new accusation is much bigger. It has been revealed that since the story broke, Facebook has lost about US$ 50 million in market cap. Also, the hashtag #DeleteFacebook has been trending elsewhere.

March 21, 2018
Windows 10 Spring Update Will Get A New ‘Timeline’ Feature

Microsoft is in the final stage of launching the next big software update for Windows 10 called ‘Spring Creators Update’. The company is yet to announce the launch date of the update. However, according to a source, the update will go live on the 10th of April. In fact, this date collides with Windows 10 Creators Edition launch date. There are a lot of changes and new features included in the upcoming major software update from Microsoft.

The update will be first tested with a set of users in the initial wave. Later on, the update will be made available for the rest of the users. In fact, the update might take months to land on your device. If you are an eligible Windows Insider, then you will be able to test the RTM (Release To Manufacturing) build before April.

New features

The spring update will have plenty of new features. The update will improve the user experience on Microsoft Edge browser, new action centre, and a task view feature. Similarly, there are minor UI refinements, which improves the overall user experience. The most interesting feature of this update is the new Timeline feature.

The task view will be renamed as Timeline, which allows a user to go back up to 30 days to edit a document or pick up a task. These apps/tasks will be listed according to time. However, every app will not support this feature. Most of the Microsoft applications like Word, Edge, Powerpoint will support this feature from the beginning.

March 21, 2018