Tag: news

PUBG Mobile Banned In Cities Of Gujarat

Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds or PUBG is a household name these days. The game has been downloaded over 100 million times from the Google Play Store and the number keeps on growing. The game involves 100 online players who are dropped on a deserted island, and the last player to survive wins. Different strategies are used by players to remain alive on the battlefield. The game is free to play on all platforms, hence the game has developed a huge player base in a short period of time. But lately, various incidents are coming to light in regard to people being addicted to this game.

About The Ban

On January 23 2019, Gujarat’s government wrote to the Central Government to impose a ban over the aforementioned game. On March 7, Rajkot Police Commissioner issued a notification to ban PUBG. As per the notice, the ban will be implemented from March 9 to April 30. If someone sees a person or a group of people playing PUBG, he/she can inform the police regarding their whereabouts and the associated authority will take necessary action. Furthermore, The Chairperson of Gujarat Child Rights Body sent a circular to the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) of all states to help keep PUBG addiction in check.

Bans On Other Games

PUBG was not the only game which was banned by the authorities. A similar ban was imposed on the “Momo Challenge”, which is a series of challenges that the user must complete in order to achieve victory and meet an imaginary character called “The Momo”. According to reports, the game involved self-harming acts that eventually led to suicide. Games that brainwash children and teenagers are not new since a similar game called “Blue Whale” gained popularity in 2017-18.

Circulars were being distributed around schools since students started showing signs of addiction to the battle royale game. Some of them were performing poorly in academics. A number of extreme incidents were also reported across the country. For instance, a Delhi teenager committed suicide because his parents refused to buy him an expensive smartphone for playing PUBG. In March 2019, A 25 year old accidentally drank acid instead of water while he was hooked to the game, almost losing his life.

Also Read: PUBG Mobile Zombie Survival Mode Is Live Now

It is yet to be seen how and for how long the ban will be implemented. The government bodies are quite serious about this matter, so strict actions are expected to be taken in various states.

March 8, 2019
‘Notify’ -Facebook’s Standalone News-Only App to Launch Next Week

Following its announcement of serving over a billion users, Facebook is once again in news -this time for a standalone app for delivering news to readers. According to reports, the app is called Notify and it will put together news from different sources which include The Washington Post, Comedy Central and Vogue, among others.

Rumours of Facebook working on a news-only app has been milling since August. This app aims to standout from others in the league by giving alerts to the reader as and when the story they are following develops. The reader would not have to visit specific stories or categories again to view the updates and changes.

Notify is expected to follow in the footsteps of Apple’s pre-installed News app for iOS 9 which boasts of over 40 million users now since its launch in mid-September. Let’s see how users take to this newest update by Facebook. Do you think it will simply add to the fray of many other similar news-related apps or will it be a change as refreshing and useful as reports are making it sound to be? We’ll keep you updated as and when we get more on this.

November 5, 2015
India’s Anti-Trust Probe With Google at a Glance

Amidst a struggle of dealing with anti-competition claims laid down by EU, Google’s tryst with turbulent waters continued as India followed suit and accused the California based company of rigging search results in August this year. The preliminary findings of the three year old probe were submitted to both Google and Competition Commission of India by early September. Allegedly, the search results benefit many of Google’s own businesses, making its other customers lose out on online attention. Here’s a quick look at the story so far:

Main Concern:

The possibility of Google using the search engines to promote its own services without the users even realising it is a little more than disconcerting. Similar to the European investigation, Indian authorities are also convinced that the search engine is being used to favour Google’s maps service, travel sites, and advertising products. This inevitably means that the customers using Google’s advertising services are losing out on opportunities and suffering loss in business.

Names of Companies Involved:

There are various prominent names blaming Google of being close to ignoring their existence on its search engine. These names include Flipkart, Facebook, Nokia, Bharat matrimony, nonprofit Consumer Unity and Trust Society.

Sundar Pichai, the Google CEO.

However, there are websites within the country which have refused to participate in this complaint. These companies are Times Internet, Make My Trip, Group M, and Rediff.

Possible Consequences for Google:

Last year Google had paid a fine of $166,000 after having failed to cooperate with a probe. If this year the company finds itself itself in a similar situation, it may have to pay 10% of its revenues. Google’s net income is $14 billion on $66 billion in revenue for 2014 according to what the company revealed last year.

European Union’s Competition Chief, Margrethe Vestager speaks about Google in a media conference in April, 2015.

Rumours and accusations of Google catering primarily to its own self-interests have been floating around since forever. More recently in April this year, European Commission launched a statement which accused the company with similar allegations like the Indian authorities, and stated that Google:

“…abused its dominant position in the markets for general internet search services in the European Economic Area (EEA) by systematically favouring its own comparison shopping product in its general search results pages”

It formally charged Google of violating EU competition and antitrust laws by exploiting its foothold in the virtual world. Google responded to this in September by claiming the accusations are false and unfounded. While both sides have their own respective arguments to offer, no conclusion has been reached so far. Google has courted legal entanglements for over a decade now, and prominent names like Microsoft and TripAdvisor have been among the complainants. Let’s see how the company sails through the choppiness of Indian and European turbulence this time.

October 5, 2015
WhatsApp Gains 900 Million Active Users

According to stats shared by Jan Koum on Friday, WhatsApp now has more than 900 million active users. It took the instant messaging service no more than five months to gain the last 100 million users. After making the announcement of having secured 800 million monthly active users in April, it was not a long a stretch before the company covered another 100 million.

Earlier this year in January, WhatsApp had made the announcement that the instant messaging service was being used by people all over the world to send over 30 billion messages per day. This was way more than the estimated 20 billion SMS texts that are exchanged every day.

Facebook-owned-WhatsApp has continued to keep its users happy and hooked with the addition of a new feature every now and then like the addition of fancy, colourful emoticons and voice calling. Founded in 2009 by two former Yahoo employees, Brian Acton and Jan Koum, WhatsApp allows its services to be used for free for the first year, and charges a nominal $0.99 (roughly Rs. 55) for every year afterwards.

Even though other instant messaging names like Google’s HangOuts and WeChat shy away from revealing their figures, WhatsApp has gone ahead to do otherwise, drawing attention to the growing presence of social media in our lives.

September 4, 2015
Rumour: Xiaomi and Samsung Are Working Together on a New Laptop

Xiaomi, the fourth-largest smartphone vendor, has decided to enter the world of PC manufacturing if Jungah Lee’s report in Bloomberg is to be believed. Xiaomi is working on the launch of a laptop early next year. There have been talks with Samsung to provide memory chips, which could further lead to Samsung also taking care of the display of the new product. The two companies refused to make any comments on this.

Samsung too has been struggling to maintain a stable hold over the Chinese as well as markets all over the world. However, after impressing the market with its smartphones which use a highly customised Android version called MIUI, this venture could turn out to be a wise move for Xiaomi.

September 2, 2015
iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus May Disappoint

Apple’s latest edition of their smartphone is all set to be launched on Sept 9th. However, with leaks and information of the devices all over the internet, it seems that the new iPhones will disappoint many.

New leaks from the Netherlands have confirmed that the price of the iPhone will remain at €699 for the 16 GB, with the 64GB and 128GB versions priced at €799 and €899 respectively. Which not only means that Apple will continue selling the low capacity 16 GB version, but it will also be at the same price as the iPhone 6.

It also has become known, thanks to cnBeta, that the new iPhones will have reduced battery capacities with the iPhone 6S at 1715 mAh and iPhone 6S Plus at 2750 mAh vs the iPhone 6 at 1810 mAh and iPhone 6 Plus at 2910 mAh.

This is potentially the worst of the news, as iPhones are already heavily struggling with battery life. Despite many power enhancement updates in iOS 9, a bigger battery is always more appreciated. Also considering that the newer “s” version iPhones usually have a bump in hardware, power consumption might get affected.

The new iPhones are also expected to be heavier that the predecessors, by a few grams. But according to several sources, Apple is looking to reduce the thickness of its already delicate smartphones.

bendgate on the iPhone 6 Plus

Apple suffered heavy bad media last year thanks to the “bendgate” issues. A thinner iPhone may not be the company’s best bet. However, good news around the new iPhones’ construction is the use of 7000 series Aluminium, which is stronger and more resilient. You can also expect Apple to reinforce the iPhones with a stronger inner structure.

One of the main reasons of the success of the new Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge phones has been their cameras. With the iPhone stuck in the 8MP cycle for many a years, the company is expected to bump up the camera to 12 MP. This will allow the phone to capture 4K video, however this will not make the camera near as high resolution as the 16 MP sensors from Samsung. We can also not expect the Aperture to be around f1.9, the new iPhones are expected to keep f2.0 – f2.2.

4k video also takes up more storage, which means that buyers of the 16 GB variant will be suffering major with storage issues. They would then be forced to upgrade the iCloud storage and dump their files on that, or look for alternatives.

The new iPhones are going to keep the design from last year, which also may disappoint many buyers. With the S6 Edge the new benchmark of design, those looking for a new iPhone will need to push their purchases to next year and wait for the iPhone 7.

August 31, 2015
Here’s How Facebook Might Become Your Go-to News Source

According to reports, Facebook is working on a new mobile application as part of its Facebook for Business Initiative. It is said that a few companies were chosen by Facebook to pilot the app. However, Facebook has declined to comment on the story.

With vague details and reports, it is suggested that the app is currently in an early testing phase and will work once users download a new mobile app created by Facebook. Users can also choose publications and topics that they want to follow; this will allow them to receive news alerts and articles specifically from those publications.

The report stated that the partnering publications will be able to create mobile notifications that can blast out to all of the followers instantly, as fast as a tweet would. The alerts allow up to a hundred characters of text and URL to the news article, so that one publication cannot create a notification for another. Once the blasts go out, the user can click on the link to read the article.

Source: [tw-button size=”medium” background=”#07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_blank” link=”http://www.businessinsider.in/Facebook-is-working-on-a-Twitter-like-app-that-lets-publishers-send-mobile-breaking-news-alerts-to-the-masses/articleshow/48444931.cms”]Business Insider[/tw-button]

August 12, 2015
WWDC15 | Apple Launches a New “News” App on iOS 9

Apple at the WWDC 2015 has launched a new “News” app for iOS allowing you to bring all your favourite news feeds to one app. We have seen this before on apps like Flipboard and even HTC’s Blinkfeed.

News is designed by Apple from the ground up – claims Apple. It stars aggregating in the US, UK and Australia with the new iOS 9 update. Apple wants to allow news agencies, TV channels as well as blogs to be a part of the new News App (more details on this later).

News will allows publishers to add video, or animations, enhance text or include recipes and galleries.

Once you start the News App, it will allow you to select your favourite feeds and then will recommend more based on your selected interests. Apple plans to bring enhanced readability features to big publishers and then trickle them down to everyone. The more you read, the better News is at showing the stories you care about most.

Unlike other news aggregation services, News was built in a way that respects and maintains your privacy.

Top publishers like The New York Times, ESPN, Condé Nast, and more will be making their content available in News.You can also publish a copy from your own blog or website.

June 8, 2015
Here’s How Facebook’s News Algorithms are Controlling the Way We Consume News

Ever wondered how Facebook gets your interest and keeps your news feed updated? It is all a result of the heavy lifting done by an algorithm written by 26-year old Greg Marra and his 16 member team. With this algorithm at helm, Facebook is fast becoming the favored news source for the public in general. Tied to Facebook now are the fortunes of the news publications. A report on The New York Times digs into show how ‘Facebook Is Changing the Way Its Users Consume Journalism’.

It is not a shocker that news publications are catching up with internet-only publication with the “listworthyness” and “You-won’t-believe-what-happens-next” genre of presentation. This is happening because they all want to please the great Facebook algorithm which is the most powerful news aggregation system in the world. Its closest competition, Twitter and Google News still lag far behind it. According to analytics company SimpleReach, Facebook is responsible for 20% traffic on news sites.

Tailored News only gives us perspectives that we agree with creates a mental bubble.

The algorithm takes a lot of factors to decide which stories it delivers in the news feeds. It seeks patterns such as interests showcased by the user and what pages are frequently visited. It also takes in consideration the device a user is on, how many comments or likes a story has received and how long readers spend on an article. This ‘tailoring’ of news has led to a weird phase in time where people decide what to read based upon how the algorithm understands their needs. This can also lead to the creation of a bubble around a person wherein he/she is limited to the things they agree with. This is what leads to the creation of conspiracy theories, says Sean Munson, an assistant professor at the University of Washington who studies the intersection of technology and behavior.

The news, even political stories are being presented in an entertainment format to engage the audience and increase ad revenue. This kills a lot of objective facts in the middle. Luckily new forces like John Oliver are emerging who are using the same method of entertainment reporting of News in an objective manner. This can be seen as a balancing act in an unsure time. Written media is still where most of the original journalism happens, and it’s sad to see it sway towards trend-worthy news stories. The television media’s 24 hour shouting quotient even dwarfs a fish market and is losing credibility for a lot of folks.

There will always be a fight between editorial and the marketing and sales division of any publication. But now the addition of the social option has put more pressure on the writer’s side to come up with stories that can attract more clicks. This may be a fad or folks might actually get used to it in the long run like they get used to new Facebook formats. What is worrying though is that the move towards social can harm an industry that is crucial for a civil society. Journalism is often called the fourth pillar of democracy which keeps a check on the other stakeholders of the society. If this pillar gets hollowed out by senseless noise and selective picking of information, it will be a terrible loss to society. Hopefully, the art of humour induced reporting of facts that matter which is perfected by people like Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and John Oliver will stand in defense for quality, objective reporting of news.

October 28, 2014
Rakuten Acquires Viber for $900 million

Rakuten(a Japanese electronic commerce and Internet company based in Tokyo) has just got into the mobile communications business by purchasing the internet calling application, Viber for $900 million.

Viber is one of the most used application for smartphones, with 300 million users worldwide Viber seems the only competition for Skype. Rakuten has plans to get its approach outside Japan and share its business ideas worldwide. However, Viber is not the first company for Rakuten when it is about acquisition. Rakuten in 2012 acquired Kobo (eReading service), that now offers 4 million eBooks, magazines and newspapers in 190 countries. In 2012, Rakuten acquired Wuaki.tv,(video-on-demand and streaming service) and even more.

Rakuten Chairman and CEO, Hiroshi Mikitani, commented:

I am tremendously excited to welcome Viber to the Rakuten family. Viber delivers the most consistently high quality and convenient messaging and VoIP experience available. Additionally, Viber has introduced a great sticker market and has tremendous potential as a gaming platform. Simply put, Viber understands how people actually want to engage and have built the only service that truly delivers on all fronts. This makes Viber the ideal total consumer engagement platform for Rakuten as we seek to bring our deep understanding of the consumer to vast new audiences through our dynamic ecosystem of Internet Services.”

Viber CEO and Founder, Talmon Marco, underlined these synergies:

Rakuten is one of the world’s most important Internet companies. It is truly dominant in its home market of Japan and has been rapidly expanding globally. This combination presents an amazing opportunity for Viber to enhance our rapid user growth in both existing and new markets. Sharing similar aspirations with Rakuten, our vision is to be the world’s No.1 communications platform and our combination with Rakuten is an important step in that direction.”

February 14, 2014
Microsoft Launches ‘Anti-Google’ Cups, T-shirts and More

Microsoft’s anti-Google campaign ‘Scroogled’ is started a few months ago, when in February Microsoft pointed a finger at Google for not respecting users privacy. It seems that Microsoft wants more revenge pie, as the ‘Scroogled’ campaign is back with a bang.

Microsoft has assigned a whole section of latest merchandise on its anti-Google campaign. The products, which range from caps to T-shirts to mugs, most of them saying Google is collecting personal data on its users. The prices vary, but for $7.99 you can buy a mug that has a moniker “keep calm while we steal your data.” This is a bold approach from Microsoft and another direct and odd attack at Google.

The description of the Anti-Google mug on the Scroogled section of Microsoft’s website said:

Put 15-ounces of your favorite beverage into this stoneware mug to let the world know that even though Google is trying to make money on almost every aspect of your digital life, you’re still calm. And fully caffeinated.

Most products include the logo for Chrome, Google’s popular web browser. Check out the gallery below and for more information on the product you can check out the source. Do not forget to tell us what is your take on this move from Microsoft ?

[Microsoft]

November 21, 2013
Hugh Jackman becomes the face of Micromax Canvas Turbo and more !

Micromax Mobile has appointed Hugh Jackman (Yes Wolverine !! ) as the face of the company. For at least the following year, he will be the brand ambassador for the Indian Mobile phone player. The association will kick off with the new Micromax smartphone – Canvas Turbo, to be launched soon in the Indian market. Oddly enough, Micromax being an Indian brand has chosen a Hollywood celebrity as their brand ambassador, does this mean that Micromax has big global plans?

I am extremely thrilled and honored to be part of the Micromax family. I am a huge lover of India as it is one of the most exciting countries in the world and we also share our love for cricket. Phones are genuinely time saving devices that can help you live a better life while juggling around with different situations. The new Canvas phone from Micromax is a leap in innovation with great sense of fun and amazing features that helps me balance my work with all the different roles that I play in my everyday life.-Hugh Jackman said

We are very excited to welcome Hugh Jackman in the Micromax family as he truly embodies the aspirational, reinventing and fearless persona of the brand Micromax. As we look to expand our footprint across the globe in various international markets, the association with the Hugh Jackman is an ideal partnership for us to connect with audiences as he is the leading name in the entertainment industry in the world.At Micromax, we have always believed in offering products and services that empower our consumers with the latest technologies and innovations. This is a strategic partnership and we look forward to a creating a strong 360 degrees campaign with Canvas Turbo to bring alive this new experience for our audiences across print, TV and online platforms. – Shubhodip Pal, CMO, Micromax

Whatever plans the company has going forward, this bit of news definitely confirms the upcoming launch of the Micromax Canvas Turbo.

[youtube id=”EKXMK8SyUFo” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

October 18, 2013
Apple Hires CEO Of Burberry To Boost Up Retail Business

Apple today announced that Angela Ahrendts, CEO of Burberry, will be joining Apple in a newly created position, as a senior vice president and member of the executive team, reporting to CEO Tim Cook.

Angela Ahrendts, currently CEO of Burberry, has been recruited to fill a position that will be created especially for her when she switches allegiances next spring — as a senior VP responsible for the “strategic direction, expansion and operation” of Apple’s shopping experience. Ahrendts has already demonstrated that she can work with Apple, as Burberry helped to promote the launch of the iPhone 5s (shown above) as the show was recorded with the new iPhone.

Statement from Tim Cook:

I am thrilled that Angela will be joining our team,” said Tim Cook. “She shares our values and our focus on innovation, and she places the same strong emphasis as we do on the customer experience. She has shown herself to be an extraordinary leader throughout her career and has a proven track record.”

Statement from Angela Ahrendts:

I am profoundly honored to join Apple in this newly created position next year, and very much look forward to working with the global teams to further enrich the consumer experience on and offline,” said Ahrendts. “I have always admired the innovation and impact Apple products and services have on people’s lives and hope in some small way I can help contribute to the company’s continued success and leadership in changing the world.”

October 15, 2013
Yahoo Acquires ‘Bre.ad’ a URL Shortener

Yahoo has acquired Bre.ad, a URL shortener, the service has shut down on Friday after the success of the acquisition.

Bre.ad posted the news on its website, all services related to Bre.ad Social have shut down but all shortened Bread URLs will remain active till November 11. CEO Alan Chan said:

In Yahoo, we found a company that shares our vision. We are thrilled to join Yahoo’s advertising team in Sunnyvale where we will be working on developing next-generation solutions for social and mobile publishers and advertisers. For the next 30 days, until November 11, we will support Bread links that our publishers created in the past. We highly recommend our publishers swap out their Bread links with new links from bit.ly.

Yahoo confirms that six engineers and product managers will join its advertising technology team, saying:

We have acquired Bread, a company that created a simple way for social media influencers and publishers to monetize their content. The team’s focus on delivering creative and targeted advertising across social media, desktop and mobile devices aligns perfectly with our mission to delight and inspire users.”

October 12, 2013
Hacking Case Sentence Of Pirate Bay Founder Reduced

The court however upheld Pirate Bay founder Svartholm Warg’s conviction for hacking into IT firm Logica, meaning he will still spend a year behind bars.

The Svea Court of Appeal convicted Gottfrid Svartholm Warg of having illegally accessed the website of Logica, an international IT firm contracted to Swedish government agencies. Some of the information, including personal data, was made public. The scope of the hacking from 2010 to 2012 was sizeable, the court said.

Svartholm Warg appealed that ruling, but left the country. He was arrested in Cambodia in 2012 and deported back to Sweden after an international arrest warrant was issued against him. He has served out his sentence for his first conviction while under detention over his hacking charges.

Warg, a 28-year-old Swede, was extradited to Sweden last year from Cambodia to begin a separate one-year jail sentence, incurred when he was convicted in 2009 of Internet piracy along with other co-founders of Pirate Bay.

“The important thing is to get the higher court to review the evidence in-depth, something that the lower court definitively didn’t do,” Kristina Svartholm, the Pirate Bay co-founder’s mother told website TorrentFreak prior to Wednesday’s ruling.

Svartholm Warg and his fellow Pirate Bay co-founders Fredrik Neij and Peter Sunde, as well as financier Carl Lundström, were all convicted in 2009 of facilitating copyright infringement and ordered to pay 46 million kronor ($6.9 million) in damages to the music and movie industry.

[Via]

September 26, 2013