CTC BLOG

Mehul Reuben DasDec 30, 2022 13:31:09 IST

After Elon Musk took over Twitter, he introduced a number of cost-cutting measures which included not paying the rent for the various office spaces it occupies. As a result, Twitter is facing the possibility of getting evicted from one of its most iconic offices, the one at Seattle.

Elon Musk had ordered Twitter’s staff to stop payments such as rent for their offices. As result, Twitter may face evictions across a number of offices. Musk has decided to shut down the Seattle office before he is served a notice for eviction trial.

As per a report by The New York Times and Platformer, Twitter will not be relocating their Seattle staff to some other property in the city, and has chosen to shut down the office in the city altogether. Staff members from Seattle have apparently been given the option to work from home.

Since 2014, the social media company’s Seattle office has been at Century Square tower downtown in a space that can accommodate 200 workers. Musk had already cut janitorial and security services at Twitter’s Seattle office earlier this week as the staff prepares to get evicted. 

Twitter had laid off 208 Seattle-based employees earlier this year when he terminated about 3700 people of the previous 7200 staff members who worked at Twitter. Prior to Musk owning Twitter, Seattle was the company’s second-largest engineering hub outside of the San Francisco headquarters.

In a bid to cut costs after taking over Twitter, Musk has been on an all out mission to curtail what he sees as “unnecessary spending,” at any cost. First, he got rid of the programme where staffers working from Twitter’s offices would get meals. Then, he started auctioning off several items from Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters.

Had Twitter been evicted as the result of a lawsuit, it would have been extremely difficult for them to sign a lease to rent office scape anywhere in the city. In order to avoid such a situation, Musk has made the move even before an eviction lawsuit was filed by the property owner, Unico Properties. Having said that, the landlord of Twitter’s Seattle office can still sue the company for outstanding rent, and other damages.

When it comes to protecting your PC, you can go a bit software crazy. There’s VPN software that lets you surf securely from an offsite computer; nanny software that lets parents control what their kids can access online; anti-malware software that protects against things like ransomware and phishing attempts; ad-blocking software; and, of course, anti-virus software. Or there’s Norton 360 that wraps all of this up in a neat little software bundle. It’s not cheap, but it is complete. 

Norton 360 offers four different levels of protection that range from affordable to ouch. But, depending on your needs and how many other software programs you may be able to stop paying for, even the maximum subscription level might still be a bargain for you.

The Standard level costs $29.99 per year and includes protection against viruses and other online threats; a secure virtual private network (VPN); ad-blocking; anonymous browsing and bank-grade encryption for all your surfing activity. Norton also throws in a password manager to keep all your login details in one secure place plus 10 GB of included secure online storage for backing up your PC and 24/7 customer support. 

Stepping up to the Deluxe level will cost you $49.99 per year and gets you protection for up to five devices, 50 GB of online storage, and parental control of which sites your kids can access. 

The next level up, Select, costs $99.99 per year. For that significant increase in price, you get services from LifeLock, an identity-theft-protection company Norton bought in 2017. At this level, in addition to all the services offered at the Deluxe level, you also get LifeLock’s stolen-funds reimbursement insurance of up to $25,000 if any of your online accounts are breached, as well as alerts about the unauthorized use of your social security number and changes to your credit status. You get more insurance as well: up to $25,000 in reimbursement for personal expenses and up to $1 million to cover legal fees if your identity is stolen. You are also able to monitor your credit with one of the major credit reporting agencies. Plus, your online storage limit increases to 100 GB. 

If you really want to splash out on security, the final level of Norton 360 might be right for you. It’s called Ultimate Plus and it costs a whopping $299 per year. For that, your online storage limit bumps up to 500 GB, the stolen funds reimbursement limit goes up to $1 million and you can monitor your credit at all three major bureaus. Norton/LifeLock also throws in the scanning of court records; data breach notifications; alerts when someone applies for or seeks to transfer bank accounts in your name; and alerts when there are suspicious changes to your investment accounts. 

So are any of these plans right for you? Probably.

Our favorite choice of the bunch is the $49.99 per year Deluxe platform because of the five-fold increase in your online storage and allowable number of devices. If you feel that identity theft might be a real issue for you, then stepping up to the Select plan with LifeLock certainly makes sense. And, if money isn’t an issue for you, then you really can’t get a better all-in-one online protection suite than the Ultimate Plus plan.

Be aware, though, that the prices in this article are all based on Norton’s one-year introductory plan. After your first year, the cost of the different levels climbs significantly as you can see here. The adjusted prices are certainly at the top of the range for cybersecurity software, but you are getting protection from one of the giants in the field and you are getting a multi-pronged solution. Still, it might be best to sign up for a year and set yourself a reminder on your calendar to look for a cheaper solution when it’s time to renew. 

Download Norton 360 Here

Ameya DalviDec 30, 2022 15:32:49 IST

We look back at the year gone by and pick the best flagship smartphones across various budgets ranging from Rs 50,000 to infinity. Here’s the best of the best that 2022 had to offer in the smartphone segment.

Best flagship smartphones of 2022

Budget: I am too rich to bother

Apple iPhone 14 Pro/ Pro Max
No surprises here. If you have the money to splurge, the premium-most models from the latest iPhone 14 series are the ones to get. The Apple iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max are essentially the same phones in different sizes. By same we mean with identical processing hardware, storage, cameras, design and everything else except screen size and battery capacity. I personally like the Pro for its compact size, but if you prefer a larger screen, by all means go for the Max by paying a small 10K premium.

Both phones are powered by Apple’s A16 Bionic chip which is more powerful yet more energy efficient as compared to its predecessor. You have storage options ranging from 128 GB to 1 TB. You either get a 6.1-inch or 6.7-inch LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate and compliance with Dolby Vision. The displays are sharp courtesy of 460 PPI pixel density and can get up to 2000 nits bright. The outdated notch on top of the screen is finally replaced by a… let’s just call it Dynamic Island. Only Apple can make an aberration sound cool.

Photography department at the back is loaded starting with a 48MP primary camera with dual-pixel PDAF and sensor shift optical image stabilisation (OIS), a 12MP telephoto camera with OIS for up to 3X optical zoom and a 12MP ultra-wide camera with dual-pixel PDAF and 120-degrees FOV. Collectively they capture some great shots in different modes and lighting. As for video recording, the iPhone 14 Pro phones take the pole position with a capability of capturing extremely high quality and stabilised 4K footage up to 60 fps. You also get support for 10-bit HDR and Dolby Vision. We can go on, but you get the point, right?

Budget: Can we have something closer to a Lakh Rupees?

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G
Can we ever have a list of best flagship phones of the year without a Samsung? The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G is the new Samsung Galaxy Note; unofficially, of course. But what’s in the name when it has all the traits of the legendary Note series including the S Pen. Add to that a large 6.8-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x display with HDR10+ compliance and 120 Hz refresh rate. It is powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip and offers a generous 12 GB RAM and either 256 GB or 512 GB storage options.

The photography department here is even more packed than the iPhone 14 Pro phones, helmed by a 108MP camera with laser auto-focus and OIS. Giving it company are a couple of 10MP telephoto cameras with OIS, one with 3X optical zoom and the other with a periscope telephoto lens for 10X optical zoom. And lastly there’s a 12MP ultra-wide camera with dual-pixel PDAF. The cameras do a stellar job across the board. Though quite a large device, it is a one stop shop for most of your needs.

Budget: Is there something as awesome around Rs 75,000?

Google Pixel 7 Pro
Google’s current flagship smartphone can be purchased for Rs 74,999 using HDFC cards on Flipkart. But hey, we aren’t here to talk about deals. The Pixel 7 Pro walks into this list mainly for two reasons – the best Android experience on smartphones and the renowned Pixel cameras. The pure, unadulterated Android 13 OS on this device along with the Material You design language is fluid and free of bloatware. On top of that, you get useful utilities like object recognition using Google Lens or speech recognition/ voice typing, and let’s not forget some cool image editing tools like Magic Eraser.

The Google Pixel 7 Pro is great at photography courtesy of three cameras at the back. You get a 50MP primary camera with OIS, a 48MP telephoto camera with OIS for up to 5X optical zoom and a 12MP ultra-wide camera with auto-focus that doubles up as a macro camera too. They do a great job in different lighting and modes. The 10.8MP front camera does a neat job with selfies and can even click portrait shots.

If that wasn’t good enough, the phone sports a premium design and has IP68 rated ingress protection. The Pixel 7 Pro is powered by Google’s next-gen Tensor G2 processor and offers 12 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage. It sports a 6.7-inch HDR10+ compliant QHD+ AMOLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate and 1500 nits peak brightness. Long story short, this Google flagship is a great all-round device, that’s also a lot more affordable than its two competitors above.

Budget: How about something closer to 60K?

iQOO 9 Pro 5G
The Vivo sub-brand has been in great form this year, and the iQOO 9 Pro 5G is arguably the best all-round phone priced around Rs 60,000 this year. Just like the S22 Ultra, this phone too is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, and you get up to 12 GB RAM and 256 GB internal storage. The phone has a lively 6.78-inch QHD+ HDR10+ compliant AMOLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate and the capability to display over a billion colour shades. 

The rear camera department here is quite versatile too. You get a 50MP primary camera with Gimbal OIS, accompanied by another 50MP ultra-wide camera with auto-focus and 150-degrees FOV. And lastly, there’s a 16MP telephoto camera with OIS for 2.5X optical zoom. Unlike the super-premium phones above, the iQOO 9 Pro is not hamstrung by slow charging. The bundled 120W fast charger claims to charge its 4700 mAh battery fully in just 20 minutes. The phone supports 50W fast wireless charging too.

Budget: Do we get good flagship phones around 50K too? 

Realme GT 2 Pro
Of course you do, and 2022 did present us with a great option in this budget. The Realme GT 2 Pro has features comparable to the more expensive OnePlus 10 Pro at a significantly lower price tag, which translates into great value for money. This phone too is powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC and is accompanied by 8 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage. The design is different and soothing, thanks to its paper-like biopolymer back. The battery life here is pretty good and the bundled 65W SuperDart charger juices up the 5000 mAh battery fully in just 37 minutes. 

Another striking feature of this phone is its 6.7-inch QHD+ 10-bit LTPO 2.0 AMOLED display with an adaptive refresh rate ranging between 1 to 120 Hz, up to 1400 nits brightness and HDR10+ compliance. The rear camera combination is quite interesting here with two 50MP cameras – the primary with OIS and an ultra-wide shooter with 150-degrees FOV. They do an excellent job in different modes and lighting. One interesting addition here is a 3MP micro camera that provides 20X to 40X magnification, which is quite unique. The 32MP front camera is good enough to impress the selfie crowd.

Mehul Reuben DasDec 30, 2022 17:15:45 IST

2022 was not a great year for most social media platforms. Starting from Twitter and the entire takeover fiasco and the shenanigans of Elon Musk after he took charge, to the shocking tumble that Meta and all its platforms like Facebook and Instagram, took this year, most social media companies saw negative growth.

Unlike most other social media platforms, Koo had a tremendous 2022. From its launch in Brazil to hitting 50 million downloads, this was definitely a golden year for Koo. We spoke to Mayank Bidawatka, a co-founder of Koo and asked him what’s next for the platform.

On the other hand, Koo, India’s very own social media platform saw unprecedented growth. Not only did they launch in a bunch of new languages and markets, this year also saw Koo cross 50 million users. Hitting that sort of milestone within just two years of being launched, is a huge deal; not many social media platforms can boast of such an achievement.

Things haven’t been exactly easy for the platform, and yet, Koo seems to be on an upwards trajectory. We had a chat with Mayank Bidawatka, Co-founder of Koo and asked him where he sees the second largest micro-blogging platform in the world go in 2023. Following are the edited excerpts from our conversation:

How was 2022 for social media companies? How is it that Koo fared better than almost all other social media platforms?
I think one word to define the year for social platforms in 2022 is “turmoil”. There have been many developments that users have dunked. Broadly you’ll see new ownership followed by aggressive unpopular policies and changes at Twitter and mass layoffs at Meta. There’s competitive pressure from TikTok and talks of it being banned in the US. Meanwhile, Koo is spreading its wings and will continue to do so. 

A lot of these changes show us that it doesn’t take long for the chips to fall and for the mighty to tumble in the tech world. It also shows how resilient network effects can be where no matter how bad your decisions are, a strong community network is not easy to disrupt. I think this has been a period of soul-searching for many employees at these companies and also for users of such platforms on what’s right and wrong. 

Meta faced competitive pressures from TikTok affecting revenues and Twitter faces a huge debt burden leading to them wanting to charge users for basic services. 

Clearly, users don’t want to pay for basic services like a verification tick and edit functionality that platforms like Koo will offer for free. Platforms will realize that stability in policies, transparency, neutrality and giving users control is the best way to run a public social platform. The power of choice needs to be given back to the users and platforms should just be enablers and exercise control in exceptions for dispute resolution. The more the platforms play this role, with a strong focus on user happiness, the better our online experience will be.

How has the reception been for Koo in international markets?
We have just about started our global expansion journey. We have started with Brazil. Koo is a cult brand there with high awareness, huge adoption in a very short span and a lot of love for the brand and what we stand for. 

We will keep expanding to multiple countries from here on. We have launched many new global languages and this too will keep expanding to accommodate more languages in due time. Koo is now available in over 20 languages including English, French, German, Italian, Indonesian, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Turkish and Hindi with users from 100+ countries.

What users love about Koo is the fact that it’s a friendly, approachable and non-toxic platform.

Which of Koo’s features has been a massive favourite among users? What additional features can we hope to see Koo integrate into the platform?
Koo’s vision is to unite a world divided by languages. We have enabled users to create posts in multiple languages on one screen thus, helping them get a read around the world. No social platform has this capability. Many eminent personalities and users around the world create their posts in multiple languages. 

Dalai Lama is a good example of this. You will see that he’s a lot more active on Koo and creates posts in English, Portuguese, Hindi and Spanish. You won’t see this behaviour from him on any other platform. That’s really what we stand for.

Apart from this, we have multiple features like the option to edit Koos, free self-verification which gets approved within 15 seconds, multiple profile photos, allowing 10+ media attachments, support for longer videos, the option of saving a Koo, scheduling a Koo, saving drafts. 

We also recently launched a migration option for users to import their tweets and find their Twitter followers on Koo, eliminating the need to start from ground zero. 

Koo is a feature-rich platform and we will keep adding many new features in the near future such as Favoriting a profile to see their posts on priority, Stories, Toxic/Hate speech feedback to commenters, enabling creators to pin their favourite comments, detailed analytics for creators etc.

We will update the community as and when these go live. Broadly we want to give the power and control to users and creators to create a world they want to live in. Koo is one of the most friendly social platforms out there and people love the fact that it’s non-toxic. We will keep enabling the community to connect better in a safe environment while they make new friends and strengthen their social graph.

Twitter has been disastrous because of its conduct with over half of its users. How are other social media platforms capitalizing on this, and how does Koo plan to leverage its position?
Many users are looking for alternatives aggressively. We just have to increase awareness about our platform in multiple countries. We already provide for free all the tools that users will be charged for on Twitter. 

We’ve also made it easy for users to migrate by importing their Tweets and finding their Twitter following on Koo, eliminating the need to start from ground zero. Our proposition resonates with users that adopt us. They love how friendly and transparent we are as a platform.

Content moderation on social media has been a hot topic for some time now. Should platforms be allowed to moderate content on their own, or should they be under government oversight? Or, will an independent body chosen for this task, truly be independent and actually functional?
Many governments around the world have policies around ways social platforms should deal with content moderation. It’s important for all platforms to respect local laws and cultures, as we do. In addition to these guidelines, we have our own community guidelines to ensure that Koo is a safe space.

We are an extremely user-focused platform and ensure that everything that’s good for the user is done. What people want is a safe environment in which their thoughts and relationships can thrive. They want to feel enriched and happy after using a platform. That’s what we endeavour to deliver.

Elon Musk and Twitter recently suspended the accounts of a few users for sharing links to their social media profiles on other platforms, before undoing it. Were those bans a good idea, and what do you infer about Musk overlooking a social media platform based on the episode?
Social media platforms are known to give a stage to billions of voices. It is imperative to adopt a user-first approach rather than a platform-first. Any moves or changes done in the platform should not impede self-expression. 

We feel that some decisions being taken at Twitter are going against some philosophies we hold in high regard. Users should have the freedom to discuss anything without restrictions, within agreed-upon community guidelines. Even if it’s against the platform itself. That’s the true test of a platform’s belief in free speech.

In what direction will we see the platform go in 2023?
Koo will keep giving power to the people in the form of features, tools, new languages, and more controls and choices. We will continue our global outreach and expansion to make India’s tech shine and be celebrated in multiple countries. We will work towards empowering creators with insights, tools and monetization capabilities and help users discover and connect with their favourite content creators easily. 2023 will be a monumental year for Koo.

Mehul Reuben DasDec 30, 2022 19:50:01 IST

Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies shared an estimate on Friday that predicted that its 2022 revenue remained flat. This means that despite the increasing sanctions on China, and Huawei in particular, the decline in sales that Huawei and other Chinese companies had seen, has come to a halt.

Although nowhere near its peak of $122 billion in 2019, Huawei continues to rake in big money, despite the sanctions imposed by the US and trade embargoes by several other countries. Image Credit: AFP

In fact, Huawei’s sales for this year grew by only 0.02 per cent. And, despite rotating chairman Eric Xu struck an upbeat tone in the company’s annual New Year’s letter, where he revealed the figure.

“US restrictions are now our new normal, and we’re back to business as usual,” Xu wrote in the letter that was addressed to staff and released to the media.

Revenue for the year is expected to be 636.9 billion yuan or $91.53 billion, according to Xu.

That represents a tiny increase from 2021, when revenue hit 636.8 billion yuan, and marked a 30 per cent year-on-year sales decline, as the US-issued sanctions on the company took effect.

The timing and contents of Xu’s letter were a little unusual. First, the letter or the issued statements made no mention of Huawei’s profitability, whether it had grown or declices. Secondly, the company typically discloses its full annual results in the following year’s first quarter, which means on this particular occasion, they have announced their results pre-emptively. 

Things haven’t gone completely back to normal for Huawei though. Revenue for 2022 still remained well below the company’s record of $122 billion in 2019. Back in 2018-2019, the company was at its peak as the top Android smartphone vendor globally.  

In 2019, the US administration led by President Trump, imposed a trade ban on Huawei, citing national security concerns, which barred the company from using Google’s Android operating system for its new smartphones. Huawei basically got cut off from using some seriously other critical and crucial technologies that originated in the US.

Mehul Reuben DasDec 28, 2022 11:23:33 IST

Several prominent startups in India, including Ola, Uber, Dunzo, PharmEasy and Amazon have some of the worst working conditions for gig workers in India, revealed a report by Fairwork India. The report assessed several prominent businesses and scored them on the basis of how proactively they worked to create fair working conditions for the lowliest of their workers, namely gig economy workers.

A study by Fairwork India has revealed that Ola, Uber, Amazon, Dunzo and PharmEasy has some of the worst working conditions for their gig workers, who are not given fair pay, fair contracts, fair management, or even fair representation at work. Image Credit: AFP

The study, which was conducted in partnership with the University of Oxford, said the aforementioned firms failed to provide fair pay, fair contracts, fair management, fair representation or fair working conditions to their gig workers, getting a score of zero on 10. 

On the other hand, firms, such as Urban Company, BigBasket, and Flipkart, did fairly well. The report gave Urban Company a score of seven out of 10, six to BigBasket, five each to Flipkart and Swiggy, four to Zomato, two to grocery delivery firm Zepto and one to Tiger Global-backed delivery firm Porter.

In its annual report, Fairwork India stated that “This year, only Bigbasket, Flipkart and Urban Company were awarded the first point because of the public commitments they have made to paying workers at least the hourly local minimum wage after factoring in work-related costs.”

“Bigbasket and Urban Company have operationalised this by committing to reimburse the difference between worker’s earnings per hour and the hourly local minimum wage after costs. Flipkart and Urban Company have committed to basing their pricing structure for workers on the hourly local minimum wage after costs. Flipkart has also undertaken steps to hold its third-party service providers to the same commitment,” the report added.

In recent years, more and more people have been participating in part-time, or gig-based work. Despite this, there has been no effort by most companies relying on gig workers to extend the employee benefits that regular employees enjoy, to gig-economy workers. The benefits that gig workers are deprived of include some basics like health insurance. 

“The promise of the flexibility of the digital platform economy raises as many questions about livelihoods as it offers opportunities. We hope the Fairwork report provides the basis for an interpretation of flexibility that allows for not merely the adaptability that platforms seek, but also the income and social security that workers lack,” said Professors Balaji Parthasarathy and Janaki Srinivasan, the principal investigators of the team, in a statement.

Mehul Reuben DasDec 30, 2022 10:38:31 IST

Mobile devices being sold in India will need to adopt the USB-C port as the standard charging port by 2025, a report by the Business Standard said. India started mulling over the idea after the European Union passed similar legislation earlier this year, that mandated all devices, laptops, smartphones, tablets and wearables being sold in the EU to use the Type-C port, by December 2024.

Earlier, the Central Consumer Protection Authority formed a sub-group comprising industry representatives, educational institutions and others to research the feasibility of a universal charging port, being implemented in India.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has set quality benchmarks for the charging port, which the department of consumer affairs wants device manufacturers to put in their products.

Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary to the Department of Consumer Affairs, said, “The government will come up with two common types of charging ports for mobiles and wearable electronic devices.”

The deadline for 2025 was set after consulting with industry stakeholders about standards and considering global supply chain constraints and the availability of products. The deadline will follow the European Union’s timeline for uniform charging ports’ standards.

India is currently, the world’s second-largest smartphone market after China, and had taken the position from the US back in 2019. It is estimated that over 95 per cent of the smartphones being used in India are Android-based, most of whom already come with the Type-C port. However, a vast majority of mobile phones being used in India constitute Feature phones that still use micro-USB or some form of a proprietary charger. 

Along with those feature phones, iPhones still use the proprietary Apple Lightning port, and Apple has recently seen significant sales growth in the region where it now manufactures the iPhone 14.

Apple previously pushed back against the EU’s attempts to make the company adopt the USB-C charging standard, but has since publicly confirmed it will comply with the new rules.

Moving towards a universal charging port will be in line with the Lifestyle for Environment or LIFE mission that was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 2026 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. LIFE calls for “mindful and deliberate utilisation” by people worldwide instead of “mindful and wasteful consumption.”

Mehul Reuben DasDec 29, 2022 18:08:21 IST

Amazon has officially started delivering orders by drone under their new Amazon Prime Air. Amazon’s Drone deliveries is now operating in two cities Lockeford in the state of California and College Station in Texas, and will only be delivering a small number of packages just in time for the end-of-the-year holidays.

Amazon has started a pilot programme in two towns in the US, Lockeford CA, and College Station TX, of delivering packages through drones, called Prime Air. Prime Air users will receive their orders within 60 minutes of placing an order, as long as it is under 2.25 kilograms. Image Credit: Amazon

The retail giant finally received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States of America to use drones for package deliveries, earlier in August this year. The maximum payload for deliveries using Prime Air is 5 pounds or 2.25 kilograms, which is about 85 per cent of all Amazon’s shipments.

Residents of both towns now have the option to sign up for the service. Once they do, Amazon will then confirm whether the company can deliver safely to the customer’s address. Once a customer places an order, the customer gets an estimated delivery time and tracking info.

“The drone will fly to the designated delivery location, descend to the customer’s backyard, and hover at a safe height,” Amazon said. “It will then safely release the package and rise back up to altitude.”

Using Prime Air, Amazon plans to deliver shipments in under 60 minutes of receiving an order. 

“We want to securely take our drones up into the air” said Natalie Banke, an Amazon Air representative in a statement released to the media. “We are starting in these locations(Lockeford, California and College Station, Texas) and will progressively extend delivery to additional customers over time.” 

The MK27-2 delivery drone that Amazon uses has a hexagonal shape and six propellers to reduce high-frequency sound emissions. The company’s primary focus right now is on safe travel. While Amazon is presently monitoring deliveries and has appointed human operators to keep a track of each of these drones,  the aim is for the drones to fly independently while utilising algorithms to avoid hazards like electrical wires and chimneys, just like a flying electric car with complete autonomy would. 

Mehul Reuben DasDec 29, 2022 19:30:37 IST

Amazon continues to push its video content division and is reportedly developing a completely new app for live streaming sports, according to a new report from The Information.

Amazon’s new app will not only live stream some of the most popular sports, but it will also feature a ton of other shows. Amazon has rights to stream some Premier League matches, and a few baseball tournaments and is trying to get for F1, FE and a few cricket league tournaments. Image Credit: Amazon

The report comes as Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently called live sports “a unique asset” that Amazon will continue to invest in. Amazon’s current live sports offerings include exclusive rights to the NFL’s Thursday Night Football, along with some Premier League soccer matches and Yankees baseball games. 

Amazon has also invested in other sports content to complement the live games, as the company launched original sports talk shows on both Prime Video and its ad-supported streaming service Freevee. Certain reports have claimed that Amazon is planning to buy the streaming rights of a couple of other league-based sports such as certain cricket league tournaments, as well as a series of events run by the FIA, including Formula 1, Formula 2 and Formula E.

Amazon has also invested in other sports content to complement the live games, as the company launched original sports talk shows on both Prime Video and its ad-supported streaming service Freevee in a number of countries.

As for subscription fees, Amazon could club the sports streaming benefits with the current Prime Video plans or else setup a new tier with exclusive sports content. However, considering the steep costs of streaming rights, it wouldn’t be surprising if the company plans to charge a separate subscription fee for sports content with this standalone app.

The new report comes as Amazon has been reviewing parts of its unprofitable divisions, which led to the elimination of numerous roles. Even amid these cost-cutting efforts, Amazon appears to be committed to building out Prime Video and its live sports streaming content.

The report does not reveal the launch time of the new application and does not confirm if Amazon will ultimately go through the process to launch the sports app. The company has recently been evaluating its unprofitable business units and implementing layoffs in response to rising costs and declining demand due to economic uncertainty.

Mehul Reuben DasDec 29, 2022 14:10:55 IST

TikTok received a major blow in the United States, as the US House of Representatives has ordered staff to delete TikTok from any House-issued mobile phones. Moreover, the governor of Kansas has also issued a similar ban. Other states are also planning to come up with similar legislation, which may see the app being banned on all government-issued devices. 

TikTok has been banned from government-issued devices in 19 other states. It looks like TikTok may get banned for all users in the US, owing to allegations of spying on US citizens, and interfering with American elections.

What this would mean, is that all staff, including the personal staff of the Representative, and Representatives themselves will not be allowed to have TikTok on their office-issued devices. In Kansas’ case, no government employee on any level will be allowed to have the social media app on their office-issued apps. 

TikTok is already banned on government-owned devices by the local administrations in 19 states citing security concerns.

Several state governments are actually considering banning the app for all government employees even on their personal devices. 

The directive in the House of Representatives was reportedly issued by Catherine L Szpindor, the chief administrative officer of the House, and bans the popular social media app from being downloaded on House-issued devices going forward. The memo stated, House staff are NOT allowed to download the TikTok app on any House mobile devices.” It also added, “If you have the TikTok app on your House mobile device, you will be contacted to remove it.”

Earlier this month, Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher introduced a bill in the Senate and House of Representatives that sought for a nationwide ban on TikTok over growing concerns that the app was being used to spy on Americnan citizens, and that China tried to influence American elections using the app. Just this week, TikTok reportedly fired four employees for spying on journalists in the US.

Asserting that US user data is not maintained in China and that it is not shared with the Chinese government, TikTok has long claimed that the way in which it handles user data should not be a reason for worry.

Mehul Reuben DasDec 28, 2022 14:58:36 IST

Apple’s Chinese business is under serious threat from a widespread outbreak of the Coronavirus. Experts claim that this time around, if the supply chain gets disrupted like it did the last time, the compounded effect will be so hard that it may months to get back to normal, if not years.

China’s growing COVID cases have endangered Apple’s revenue projections for 2023. As a result, the Cupertino-based tech giant wants Foxconn, Pegatron and Wistron to increase their production in India. Image Credit: AFP

Apple has already suffered a massive setback this year, as their main production facility, Foxconn’s mega factory in Zhengzhou was engulfed in chaos, following a Covid-19 outbreak that started in October.

As the Chinese government reverses its zero-Covid policy, factories and workshops across China will potentially see massive worker shortages, as more and more get hospitalised or quarantined. 

Foxconn has already started reallocating resources to some of its smaller production facilities in China, whereas Apple is working with its component suppliers to reallocate resources to factories in other countries.

Apple already had to let go of their sales target that they had for the holiday season this year as the Chinese Foxconn factories were overwhelmed with the demand for the new iPhone 14 Pro and a few older models, which was only made worse because of the COVID outbreak and shortage of key components. Apple had about 20 per cent fewer iPhone 14 Pros to sell this holiday season than they had anticipated. All things considered, Apple had about 15 million fewer iPhones to sell this holiday season. 

The consensus among analysts is that company revenues this quarter will fall just below the record $123.9 billion it achieved over the same period last year, with net profits projected to tumble more than 8 per cent. This would be the first time in 14 quarters that Apple has failed to register growth.

A fifth of Apple’s revenue comes from sales in China, while more than 90 per cent of iPhones are assembled there. As a result, the risk to Apple’s revenue projection for 2023 has increased substantially, as projections have predicted that over 1 million Chinese people are at the risk of dying from COVID. 

Apple’s main rival Samsung exited China in 2019 and has diversified its assembly in at least four countries.

As a result of all this, Apple’s major suppliers and manufacturers, Foxconn, Pegatron and Wistron are turning to India, and hope to rapidly expand their operations in the country. A report by CyberMedia Research estimates that India assembles about 7-8 per cent of all iPhones being sold. Apple’s Taiwanese partners want this number to go up to 18 per cent by the end of 2024 and to 25 per cent by 2025.

Mehul Reuben DasDec 28, 2022 16:43:12 IST

It seems that Musk would prefer if people aren’t exactly aware of what’s going on inside Twitter, and would much rather have things shrouded in mystery, apart from the “truth” that he presents as he deems fit.

It seems Musk and one of his biggest enforcers have had a fallout. Ella Irwin, Twitter’s chief of Trust and Safety contradicted each other on Twitter, an action that has already made Musk fire one of Twitter’s engineers in the past.

Recently, Elon Musk and his team turned Twitter’s suicide prevention measures. Twitter had disabled the platforms’ #ThereIsHelp feature, which was designed to share suicide-prevention resources alongside certain content. 

As per a report by Ars Technica, shortly after the news went live, Irwin emailed Reuters who had broken the news,  to confirm that the feature was “temporarily removed.” She said that it would be brought back this week, once Twitter finished “fixing and revamping our prompts.”

However, things took a bizarre turn, when Elon Musk contradicted Irwin’s statement, saying that Reuters’ report on the subject was false and the feature was never removed. In a following tweet, Musk declared Reuters’ report “fake news,” and reminded users that “Twitter doesn’t prevent suicide.”

Soon, Reuters put out another report which stated that the feature was removed, and then restored after the new of its removal broke out. All of this, starting from the removal of the feature to its restoration, was done on Elon Musk’s orders, who wants to rid Twitter of all “useless” features. Reuters’ second report also cited two people who were in the know, who claimed that the takedown and restoration orders came from Musk himself.

This isn’t the first time where Musk has been contradicted by an employee on Twitter. Eric Frohnhoefer, an engineer working with Twitter had called Musk out publicly when he recently complained that the app was slow in a number of countries and that he apologises for it. His main contention was that the app loaded much quicker in some countries, and slower in others.

Instead of talking over the subject in private and sorting things out, the tech mogul and the engineer had a go at each other, after which Musk simply declared that Frohnhoefer had been terminated.

There are many more such instances, where former employees at Twitter were terminated for contradicting Musk.

Irwin who joined Twitter’s trust and safety team last June, rose to the top position in her division when Musk took over and her seniors either left, or were terminated.

When Twitter began suspending journalists over the whole doxxing-Elon-Musk-and-his-jet incident, the Washington Post reported that internally, the suspensions were marked as ordered not by Musk, but by the “direction of Ella.

FP StaffDec 28, 2022 16:38:38 IST

Whether the place that you live has self-driving cars or not, the fact is, if you access the internet in any way, you have come across something that is greatly influenced by AI. Starting from intelligent home appliances like refrigerators and vacuum cleaners to more complex applications such as driving a car, or selecting ads that would actually have some meaning to you, AI has become all-pervasive, and all-encompassing in this day and age.

While its proponents claim AI will revolutionise human experience, critics point out that the technology has the massive risk of handing over important choices to robots.

Lawmakers in Europe and North America, however, are still catching up to the advancements that AI has made in the last couple of years, and only starting to think of regulating it.

The AI Act, a piece of law intended to control the algorithm age, is expected to be approved by the European Union next year. A draft of an AI Bill of Rights was recently released in the United States, and legislation is also being considered in Canada. 

China’s use of AI has been totalitarian – their use of biometric data, facial recognition, and other technology to create a powerful system of control has loomed big in the discussions.

But even before AI can be regulated, it is pertinent that AI gets codified and defined, which, is a daunting task in itself. 

Suresh Venkatasubramanian, co-author of the AI Bill of Rights and professor at Brown University, has claimed that even trying to define what exactly AI is, will always end up to be “a mug’s game”. 

He said that the measure should cover any technology that harms people’s rights.

To that end, the European Union is striving to define the subject as broadly as possible, but has often run into issues. In its proposed law virtually every automated computer system is considered to be AI. This particular issue is caused by the shifts in the manner in which the term AI is used. 

For decades, AI or sentience basically described attempts to create machines that simulated human thinking. But funding largely dried up for this research, also known as symbolic AI, in the early 2000s.

With the rise of the Silicon Valley titans, AI was reborn as a catch-all label for their number-crunching programs and the algorithms they generated. Again, there was some processing, but not in a manner that would be similar to how humans think.

Nevertheless, this automation allowed them to target users with advertising and content, helping them to make hundreds of billions of dollars. This automation allowed them to target users with advertising and content, helping them to make hundreds of billions of dollars.

Both, the US, or the west, and EU have tried to be as broad as possible with their definitions about AI. However, this is where the similarities end, for the approach they have taken after this point, is as different as chalk and cheese.

The EU’s draft AI Act runs to more than 100 pages.Among its most eye-catching proposals are the complete prohibition of certain “high-risk” technologies — the kind of biometric surveillance tools used in China. It also drastically limits the use of AI tools by migration officials, police and judges.

The US’ AI Bill of Rights, on the other hand, is a brief set of principles framed in aspirational language, with exaltations like “you should be protected from unsafe or ineffective systems”.

The bill was issued by the White House and heavily relies on existing law. Experts reckon no dedicated AI legislation is likely in the United States until 2024 at the earliest because of the presidential elections. 

No matter what the approach is, what cannot be denied is the fact that regulation is needed, especially when you consider just how powerful certain language models, the AI behind chatbots and ChatGPT have become, and how well they are able to not only converse but also influence one’s decision making.

Mehul Reuben DasDec 28, 2022 11:23:33 IST

Several prominent startups in India, including Ola, Uber, Dunzo, PharmEasy and Amazon have some of the worst working conditions for gig workers in India, revealed a report by Fairwork India. The report assessed several prominent businesses and scored them on the basis of how proactively they worked to create fair working conditions for the lowliest of their workers, namely gig economy workers.

A study by Fairwork India has revealed that Ola, Uber, Amazon, Dunzo and PharmEasy has some of the worst working conditions for their gig workers, who are not given fair pay, fair contracts, fair management, or even fair representation at work. Image Credit: AFP

The study, which was conducted in partnership with the University of Oxford, said the aforementioned firms failed to provide fair pay, fair contracts, fair management, fair representation or fair working conditions to their gig workers, getting a score of zero on 10. 

On the other hand, firms, such as Urban Company, BigBasket, and Flipkart, did fairly well. The report gave Urban Company a score of seven out of 10, six to BigBasket, five each to Flipkart and Swiggy, four to Zomato, two to grocery delivery firm Zepto and one to Tiger Global-backed delivery firm Porter.

In its annual report, Fairwork India stated that “This year, only Bigbasket, Flipkart and Urban Company were awarded the first point because of the public commitments they have made to paying workers at least the hourly local minimum wage after factoring in work-related costs.”

“Bigbasket and Urban Company have operationalised this by committing to reimburse the difference between worker’s earnings per hour and the hourly local minimum wage after costs. Flipkart and Urban Company have committed to basing their pricing structure for workers on the hourly local minimum wage after costs. Flipkart has also undertaken steps to hold its third-party service providers to the same commitment,” the report added.

In recent years, more and more people have been participating in part-time, or gig-based work. Despite this, there has been no effort by most companies relying on gig workers to extend the employee benefits that regular employees enjoy, to gig-economy workers. The benefits that gig workers are deprived of include some basics like health insurance. 

“The promise of the flexibility of the digital platform economy raises as many questions about livelihoods as it offers opportunities. We hope the Fairwork report provides the basis for an interpretation of flexibility that allows for not merely the adaptability that platforms seek, but also the income and social security that workers lack,” said Professors Balaji Parthasarathy and Janaki Srinivasan, the principal investigators of the team, in a statement.

Mehul Reuben DasDec 27, 2022 20:29:54 IST

Pros
– The display 
– Fast Charging
– The performance and hardware
– The build-quality
– The design and aesthetics
– Keyboard and trackpad are a joy to use.

Cons
– Soldered RAM means no upgradability
– No card reader
– Speakers and webcam could have been better

Price: Rs 1,54,200

Rating: 4/5

Thin and light notebooks, in general, have been designed to give users an ultraportable machine that looks great and feels awesome to show around. The downside, with most thin and light notebooks, however, is that they ignore performance and sometimes even battery life, to the point that no professional or prosumer user would consider a thin and light as a viable option. 

Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro X, however, is a pleasant departure from this. Here we have a solid thin and light notebook, that not only performs great as an everyday machine for light tasks but is equally adept at handling something beefier like video and photo editing. Plus, it has all the hallmarks of a traditional thin and light – a great and aesthetic design, featherlight weight, and a solid build.

There are a few issues, which some prosumer users would find baffling – the lack of any card reader, for example – but when it comes to downright computing power and performance, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro X leaves people pleasantly surprised.

And even though Lenovo is not positioning it as a thoroughbred gaming machine, it certainly has the chops to let users enjoy some of the best titles, at a level that not many laptops are able to achieve.

We take a  look at all the aspects of the Yoga Slim 7i Pro X from Lenovo, and see if this thin and light is worth considering.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro X Review: Specs and features
Our test unit of the Yoga Slim 7i Pro X came with the 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700H which has 6 Performance cores and 8 Efficiency cores for a total of 14 cores and a TDP of 45W. Users also have the option to go for the i5-12500H. Our unit was paired with a healthy 16GB DDR5 RAM running at 6000Mhz. Users can also go for 32GB RAM in a dual-channel configuration. But do keep in mind that the RAM is soldered on, so there’s no way to upgrade.

As for the GPU, we have an Nvidia RTX 3050 with 4GB of GDDR6 VRAM, which boosts up to 1057 MHz, thanks to a healthy TDP of 55W. 

Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

For the display, we get a 14.5-inch 3K display with a resolution of 3072X1920 pixels. The display is an IPS panel, anti-glare display, and supports a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. The panel covers 100 per cent of the sRGB colour gamut and has a peak brightness of 400 nits. There are options for a touch panel as well, which do not give up any of the bells and whistles mentioned earlier. 

Our unit came with the top-of-the-line 1TB PCIe 4.0-based NVMe M.2 SSD for storage. Powering the device is a 70W 4-cell battery. 

As for the ports, the options are frugal. you get a single USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports with support for DisplayPort 1.4, Thunderbolt 4, and power delivery, and an HDMI 2.1 port. You also get a 3.5mm port for your audio accessories.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Wireless connectivity is taken care of by WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1. Considering that the Yoga Slim 7i Pro X is a prosumer notebook and is being aimed at professionals for content creation on the go, we would have loved to see a microSD card slot. 

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro X Review: Design and Build
We get a solid chassis made of aluminium, which is available in two colours – Dark Teal and Ultimate Grey. Our test unit was in the Dark Teal colourway, which is actually the better of the two options. The laptop looks stunning thanks to its colour and the way the light reflects off of the panels. And, despite weighing just over 1.5 kilograms, the laptop feels sturdy and built like a tank. It isn’t exactly built like a MacBook, but it is pretty close, and that’s saying something.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The hinge again is solid and easy to operate. Despite the fact that the hinge feels very light to operate, and that it allows the display to be tilted all the way back, it is solid enough to eliminate unnecessary wobbling of the screen. 

On the left side of the laptop, we have the two USB-C ports along with the HDMI port. On the right, we have the USB-A port, along with the power button, a 3.5mm combi port, and a webcam shutter.

The edges of the laptop are rounded and have a softish, pleasant feel. Across the laptop, we find materials that are pleasing to touch. 

Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

As for vents, the Yoga Slim 7i Pro X has an array of vents right below the display which always stays hidden, and a giant mesh at the bottom.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro X Review: The Keyboard and trackpad
Let’s start with the trackpad. Despite the fact that the Yoga Slim 7i Pro X is a 14-inch laptop, it has a huge trackpad, that would put 15-inch laptops to shame. It feels great to use, and tracks well. Moreover, it is very accurate and has no noticeable dead zones, and is hardly susceptible to fingerprints. Lenovo has utilised the space below the keyboard really well. Even when resting your palms on the palm rests, the trackpad is easy to reach for both of hands. 

Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

As for the keyboard, we get a white backlit keyboard. The layout is that of a typical Lenovo laptop and is very easy to use. We were back to our regular typing speeds in just under 15 minutes of usage. As with all thin and light prosumer notebooks, the Yoga Slim 7i Pro X uses a membrane keyboard which provides a great and satisfying typing experience. Also, because the keyboards are slightly curved at the bottom edge, they are slightly easier to type on, if you have the tendency to miss hitting the centre of each keycap.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro X Review: The Webcam and Speakers
On either side of the keyboards, you will find the speaker grills. You get dual 2W upward-firing stereo speakers, which seem pretty well-balanced for a 14-inch laptop. They are not the greatest sounding laptop speakers in the world, but we have heard worse in notebooks that cost more than the Yoga Slim 7i Pro X. They’re more than suitable for your video calls and for watching videos, but they don’t get very loud. Also, we found that it lacked a punchy bass. However, if you’re looking to use this for serious content consumption or mixing sounds, we recommend going for a better solution than the included speakers.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

As for the webcam, it uses a 1080p sensor, which is actually better than most other laptops costing twice as much offer. The output from the camera is pretty decent. The dynamic range could have been better, but at least we have the resolution to do something here. In conditions where the lighting isn’t optimal, videos do get grainy, but not to the point where you would complain. The included camera is more than enough for your work meetings. 

Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

What we love is the fact that there is an electronic privacy shutter, although, we would have loved to see a physical shutter. We also love the fact that the camera supports Windows Hello facial recognition for an added layer of biometric security. It is fast and works instantly. 

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro X Review: The Display
The Yoga Slim 7i Pro X  comes with a 14.5-inch 3K IPS display that has a resolution of 3072 x 1920 pixels, laid out in a 16:10 aspect ratio. The panel itself covers 100 per cent of sRGB colour space and has a peak brightness of 400 nits. It also has a refresh rate of 120Hz, which makes using the laptop a breeze, no matter what you’re doing. Our test unit did not have any touch capabilities, but Lenovo is offering users an option to upgrade to a touch panel. Users also have the option to go for a glassy-looking panel. The display is surrounded by very thin bezels which makes using it a very immersive experience. 

Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The taller aspect ratio of the display makes it great for working on documents and spreadsheets and also has a ton of benefits when you’re editing photos or videos on the laptop. The fast 120Hz refresh rate is another great touch, although we did see some ghosting during games. 

Speaking of editing videos and photos. the display itself is very sharp and shows great colours, with plenty of contrast. Even though it isn’t an OLED panel, the colours are bright and vibrant, with great saturation. It covers about 70 per cent of the Adobe RGB and 71 per cent of the DCI P1 colour gamuts. Needless to say, we were pretty confident in colour-grading some photos and videos using the display. 

Lenovo also gives you the option to enable G-Sycn on the integrated panel. 

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro X Review: Performance
The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro X comes with a 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700H CPU. The processor has 6 Performance cores and 8 Efficiency cores for a total of 14 cores, 20 threads and 24M cache. The E-cores boost up to 3.5Ghz whereas the P-cores go all the way up to 4.7Ghz. The i7 gets to play with up to 65 watts of continuous power and 85 watts when it boosts. 

Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

For the graphics, apart from the onboard Intel Iris XE graphics, we also have an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU, with 4GB of GDDR6 Memory. The 3050 Laptop GPU here is clocked at 1057 MHz with a maximum TDP of 55W.

Thanks to Lenovo Vantage, we get the option to choose between three performance settings. 

The Yoga Slim 7i Pro X is equipped with an Intel i7 12700H, an RTX 3050, quick storage, and a tonne of RAM, making it capable of doing most jobs without breaking a sweat. When you’re editing video, the dedicated GPU is very useful because it will cut render times in half.

With these specifications, it will also be able to play various games without any problems, which is a very appealing prospect in our opinion. Gaming laptops are often heavier, thicker, and have flashy designs made of cheap plastic. We were pleased with the Lenovo’s performance, and we consider it a huge success when it combines some gaming capability with a sturdy build, a lightweight chassis, and a simple style.

This is made possible by the powerful CPU and GPU processors, as well as the quick working memory and an NVMe SSD with high data transfer speeds. As a result, in everyday usage, the laptop seems to be quite responsive. Applications for the office and the internet are not difficult to use.

Coming to how the laptop performs, in productivity tasks, the device just eats up whatever you throw at it. Want to render some short-length high res-video for Instagram or YouTube on the go? Done. Want to process a huge batch of images in Lightroom or Photoshop to send to an agency or to your clients in a jiffy? Easy. The scores it gets on synthetic benchmarks is proof that this machine is for those who mean business.

As for gaming, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro X is a very capable gaming machine, even though Lenovo is not positioning it as one. Because of the rather odd aspect ratio of the display, and the fact that it comes with a 3K display, you will need to run your games at 1080p. But man oh man do games run smoothly. 

We ran games like Grand Theft Auto 5, Far Cry 6, and F1 2022, all AAA gaming titles at 1080P, at the highest presets, and then the second-highest presets. The gameplay we experienced was more than adequate for an enjoyable gaming experience, even at the highest levels – at the second-highest level of details, the gameplay was even better, with very little loss to the visuals. 

Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

In GTA 5, we got about 57 fps at ultra and 105 fps at high, whereas in Far Cry 6, we got 62 fps at ultra and 70 fps at high. In F1 2022, we got 32 fps in ultra and 85 fps in high. 

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro X Review: Battery Life
The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro X has a pretty solid battery life. It isn’t anything to rave about, but given the hardware that the laptop comes with, it is pretty good, especially when you consider other thin-and-light laptops in this price bracket. As for the technical details, we get a 4-cell, 70Wh battery with the laptop, which Lenovo says will last you for up to 10 hours.

During our thorough battery testing, which basically is replaying a 4K video on the loop, with the display set at 200 nits and the volume at 80 per cent, the laptop conked out in just over 7 hours or so.

In an average day of work which involved a ton of writing, some photo editing, a whole lot of browsing, and quite a bit of content consumption on YouTube and Netflix, we got about 8 hours of battery life before we had to look for the charger. 

Do keep in mind that when you game on the laptop without the power cord, the battery life takes a significant hit thanks to the RTX 3050. 

The laptop comes with a 100W USB-C charger, which charges the device from 5 per cent to 100 in less than an hour and a half, and can give users 3 hours of usage time in just 15 minutes of charging. What we really love about the charger, is that it is very portable unlike some of the other charging bricks that we get with high-performance machines.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro X Review: Verdict
The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro X is a well-balanced and extremely capable laptop that has a very portable form factor. You get some of the best hardware that manufacturers are offering at this price point, and the performance to show for it. Moreover, it is very aesthetic to look at. The display, in spite of being an IPS panel, is one of the best we have tested in thin and light notebooks. Needless to say, it is a joy to use the laptop for our day-to-day tasks.

The CPU and GPU combo performs really well. The price makes the performance accessible to a whole lot more people. Thanks to the RTX 3050, the Yoga Slim 7i Pro X is also suitable for some serious gaming, even though, Lenovo isn’t positioning it as a gaming laptop. But then, any device that can carry out hard-core computing tasks such as video rendering and photo editing with ease, is bound to perform well in games. 

If you’re in the market looking for a portable thin and light but do not want to give up on the performance chops of a beefier laptop, then the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro X ticks all the right boxes for you.

Mehul Reuben DasDec 27, 2022 21:34:19 IST

Although it is not exactly a new concept, super apps are set to make a comeback in 2023, not just in India, but in a number of other countries as well. App developers and studios have realised that in order to get more and more users onto their platforms, super apps will be essential. 

A super app is a mobile application that offers a wide range of services and functions, often including social networking, messaging, e-commerce, ride-hailing, and other features. These apps are designed to be a one-stop-shop for users, providing them with access to a wide range of services and functions from within a single app.

Super apps are popular in countries such as China, Indonesia, and Singapore, where they have become a dominant force in the mobile market due to their convenience and versatility. 

Some examples of super apps include WeChat – which is extremely popular in China and is used by people for practically everything from online payments, booking a cab, instant messaging, ordering food, booking tickets etc, – Gojek, which is extremely popular in Indonesia, and Grab, which has a significant hold over Singapore.

Even in India, we have a few apps that have tried to turn into an “everything app” or a super app, but to varying degrees of success. The best example that we can think of will have to be PayTM. While a few years ago, it was just another platform to get talktime and internet plans for your cellular connections topped up, the app today has become a portal of sorts to pay for all kinds of things – from your credit card bill, rent, electricity bill to a medium to pay your local kirana stores. The app also allows you to pay for challans in certain cities, and will also let you book tickets for trains, flights and movies.

Super apps are popular in certain regions of the world, particularly south-east Asia, but they have not gained as much traction in other parts of the world. There are a few reasons why this may be the case. 

One reason is that the market for mobile apps is very competitive, and there may already be a large number of apps that offer similar services to those found in super apps. This can make it difficult for a new super app to gain a foothold in the market.  

Another reason is that the business model for super apps may not be as well-suited to certain markets. For example, super apps often rely on monetising their user base through in-app purchases and advertising, which may not be as effective in markets with lower disposable income levels.  

Additionally, the regulatory environment in certain markets may need to be more conducive to the development of super apps. For example, there may be restrictions on the types of services that can be offered through a single app, or there may be barriers to entry that make it difficult for a new super app to enter the market.

It’s difficult to say whether super apps are making a comeback, as they have never really gone away in the regions where they are popular. However, it is possible that super apps may see increased adoption in other parts of the world as the trend towards convenience and consolidation continues. 

One reason for this is that super apps offer a range of services and functions within a single app, which can be convenient for users who want access to multiple services without having to download and manage multiple apps. This can be especially appealing for users who are looking for a more streamlined and efficient way to access the services they need.  

Additionally, the rise of e-commerce and digital payments has made it easier for super apps to offer a wide range of services within a single app, as users can make purchases and transactions directly within the app. This has helped to drive the popularity of super apps in certain regions, and it may continue to do so in the future.

What will really push the development of super apps across the world though, are Microsoft and Elon Musk’s Project X or X.com as it is sometimes referred to.

Microsoft lost the smartphone war to Apple and Google and has been desperately trying to get its footing back. In order to do this, they are considering developing a “super app” that would offer services like search, shopping, messaging and news.

In addition to boosting the tech giant’s ad business, Microsoft executives hope such an app could help bolster its Bing search engine and drive more people to Microsoft tools like Teams.

Although Google and Apple’s ecosystem currently work well, and already come with all the features in-built that a person might need, these functions and features are scattered across apps. As a result, no matter how well these apps are integrated to the ecosystem, jumping from one app to the other, setting them up, kills the seamless user experience that mobile developers are aiming for.

Elon Musk’s Project X, on the other hand, will be something similar to what WeChat does. Musk essentially views X.com as a global WeChat and not restricted to a particular country. 

“WeChat is actually a good model. If you’re in China, you kind of live on WeChat. It does everything. It’s sort of like Twitter plus PayPal plus a whole bunch of other things all rolled into one with actually a great interface,” Musk said on the All-In the technology podcast, back in May. “And we don’t have anything like that outside of China. So I think such an app would be really useful.”

Sunil YadavDec 21, 2022 10:02:58 IST

This article is a part of a larger series on Online Gaming in India. The previous article deals with the dark side of online gaming in India, and how, if unregulated these games can potentially ruin families and even lives. Click the link to read the article.

The third decade of the twenty-first century was marked by a big-bang moment in the Indian gaming industry. Coronavirus ravaged economies and forced us to remain indoors for a prolonged period. All of a sudden, modes of recreation became so limited, that people turned to online gaming big time.

This snowballed the segment’s expansion and set the hitherto niche community rolling on a growth trajectory, which will surely not lose steam for the next five years. India finally recognised online gaming as a legitimate form of entertainment and welcomed a culture centered purely around gaming. As developers release new games with fantastic experiences and more immersive gameplay, we are looking at a market anticipated to more than double in size from Rs. 136 billion in 2021 to Rs. 290 billion in 2025. Little wonder that the number of online players is slated to increase at this rate year over year.

There are a host of reasons for online gaming to become one of the biggest and most lucrative industries worldwide today. A spike in digitization, aided by the expansion of digital infrastructure has caught the fancy of the robust, young audience with better disposable incomes and access to less expensive smartphones and Internet data. Encouraged, game developers are expanding their categories. Crystal-gazing at the future of the industry, here are some of the other developments that will soon go mainstream and aid the growth of online gaming:

Rise of Cloud Gaming 
The advent of improved cross-platform gameplay and the rising popularity of cloud gaming are two factors that are anticipated to fuel market expansion. Social media is the next big destination for cloud-based games. A sizable portion of the world’s population engages in gaming on social networking sites like Instagram, Facebook, and Reddit. Additionally, it offers increased speed, enhanced user insights, and scalability, making it easier to restructure content on several smart devices and improve content delivery across all media.

Wide acceptance of casual gaming and local Indian games
Localization of games, the involvement of foreign creators, and respect for regional dialects in game development all contribute to the gaming business’s organic growth. Who, in their wildest dreams, could have imagined playing Kho-Kho online? But it is happening today. There is a gradual increase among “mid-core” players, who are less likely to put as much time, effort, and money into gaming as “hardcore gamers,” even though casual gamers—those who play for enjoyment without displaying any desire to compete—predominate the Indian market.

Early access to gaming
An essential factor that aids in testing the waters, particularly from the perspective of the game creator, is early access game releases. They allow for open beta testing, which gives creators insightful input from Early Access users before the game’s official release. This saves the studio time and money from having to repair significant faults after the release. An avid gamer will instantly recall the embarrassment a game-developing brand faced from its target audience in 2020 when the much-anticipated game featuring a fictionalized avatar of a Hollywood superstar, fell flat with obvious glitches in gameplay. It’s always wise to avoid such scenarios, which is why early access releases are required. They also foster a sense of ownership and assist in converting one-time purchases into devoted patrons.

The 5G booster shot
Cloud gaming companies are anticipated to take advantage of mobile accessibility and quick 5G connections with the rollout of 5G services in numerous nations to provide smartphone users with AAA-quality gaming. In addition, gamers can stream XR games smoothly, thanks to 5G’s increased bandwidths and decreased latency. The increasing number of mobile network operators and cloud games from game producers will also fuel global market growth.

Evolution of Technology
While other industries are hung up comprehending Web 3.0 and Metaverse, the gaming sector has gone far ahead with high-definition displays, cutting-edge graphics, facial identification, voice recognition, or techniques using gesture control. Overall, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) go above and beyond to create captivating experiences in both real and virtual environments. Since many cryptocurrency investors have their own assets, gamers can also anticipate NFT profit prospects. NFT games can take advantage of this chance and assist in creating new revenue sources.

An all-inclusive diverse sector
At its heart, the gaming industry encompasses all facets of society, regardless of gender, location, or skill sets. Games are gradually beginning to represent this increased diversity by adding the female factor, with women making up roughly half of the gaming business. By 2028, it is anticipated that the enthusiastic gaming market, which comprises members of the thriving gaming community who rely on YouTube for news and reviews, will have increased to more than $17,693.0 million. Among the nations with the largest contributions to the global gaming sector are Japan, China, and India. The gaming industry in these nations is developing due to the quick advancement of technology and numerous important game businesses, including Konami, Sony, and Nintendo, which have long been household brands. 

However, the industry also faces specific challenges.

Surviving the Regulations
The emergence of internet gaming has put its operators in the nightmare predicament of abiding by drastically disparate national rules. A specific game could be legal in one state but illegal in another. Therefore, it is necessary to update the legal system for the gaming sector across the board, with particular emphasis on online gaming.

Building trust through transparency
An honest, transparent business model must be fundamental in intangible product or service industries such as gaming. The developers must prioritise human connection consistently. Through authentic communication, a brand can guide its users with the correct solutions and treat them with utmost respect and attention. Once they do that, they will not have to give extra efforts to win an already trustful user, who might spread goodwill about the brand out of their own volition.

Promoting responsible gaming
Any business is directly accountable for what it does, and it has a responsibility to make sure everyone understands and abides by the rules of responsible gaming. Any gaming platform, including ours, must make sure that its software products are integrated into a comprehensive management system that offers a secure and ethical gaming environment that protects against cyber fraud and breach of any form of user privacy.

Positive signs
If Indian online gaming were to be visualised as one of several cars on a racetrack, we are hitting the accelerators with nitro boosters on! Around $2.9 billion has been raised to support 76 online gaming firms between 2014 and 2022 (Q1). Online gaming funding surpassed a record $1.7 billion in 2021! It’s $383 million more than it was in 2020. We anticipate that soon, investors will be even more interested in the iGaming industry. Friends are recommending relatives to join in and the user base of online gaming is eventually developing into a self-reliant ecosystem. 

The author is the CEO of PlayerzPot, one of India’s leading online gaming platforms, which includes games like online rummy and online fantasy leagues.

This article is a part of a larger series on Online Gaming in India. Click here to read the other articles that are a part of this series.

Mehul Reuben DasDec 21, 2022 08:58:34 IST

Elon Musk has announced that he will be stepping down as the CEO of Twitter and abide by the results of the poll he had put up, which asked if he should continue managing the social media platform. Of all the people who voted in the poll, over 57 per cent voted for him to step down.

Elon Musk has confirmed that he will be stepping down as Twitter CEO, as soon as he finds someone ‘foolish’ enough to take up the job. In the poll that he put up asking if he should step down as CEO people overwhelmingly for him to step down. Image Credit: AFP

Taking to Twitter, Musk announced,  “I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job! After that, I will just run the software & servers teams,”

Although Musk has often claimed that he does not want to be the CEO of any of his companies, this is the first instance of him publically saying that he doesn’t want to be the CEO of Twitter.

Musk stepping down as the CEO of Twitter has more layers to it than it seems. Recently, the tech mogul met up with a number of potential investors from Saudi Arabia and Qatar in a meeting that Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner brokered. The Saudis, apparently, have agreed to invest in Twitter, provided Musk steps down as CEO.

Ever since Musk took over Twitter, Tesla’s stocks have plummeted. The fall hit critical mass in recent weeks when he went after a group of journalists covering him and his activities in managing Twitter. Wall Street calls for Musk to step down had been growing for weeks and recently especially when his own fan base and investors at Tesla have questioned his focus on the social media platform and whether that is distracting him from properly steering the electric vehicle business, where he is central to product design and engineering.

Musk has himself admitted he had too much on his plate, and said he would look for a Twitter CEO. He said on Sunday, though, that there was no successor and that “no one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive.”

Elon Musk stepping down as the CEO may not be as big a change as people hope it to be, What his stepping down as CEO means, is that he won’t be the man leading the company, at least officially. By leading the software & servers teams, Musk will be basically taking all the calls, even related to the various policies – it’s just that Musk won’t seem to be at the helm of things. In reality though, whoever Musk appoints as the CEO may turn out to be a puppet figure at best, or maybe a scapegoat even, in the possibility that Twitter goes bankrupt.