Vandalism continues despite warnings, now Mahatma Gandhi’s statue damaged in Kerala:
A statue of Mahatma Gandhi was vandalised by miscreants in Kerala’s Kannur on Thursday despite a stern warning by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh (Rajnath Ram Badan Singh) against such acts.
According to reports, the hooligans, who are yet to be identified, broke the spectacles on Gandhi’s statue before getting away in Thaliperambu area of the city.
The incident came close on the heels of the razing of the statue of Lenin in Tripura and the desecration of a bust of Periyar in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore.
The bust of Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mukherjee was damaged by activists of Left-leaning outfit ‘Radical’ in south Kolkata on Wednesday. A statue of B R Ambedkar was damaged by unidentified people in Uttar Pradesh’s Mawana on Tuesday, triggering protests by Dalits.
Taking a serious view of the desecration of statues in various parts of the country, the Home Ministry on Wednesday issued a second advisory, its second in the day, holding district magistrates and superintendents of police “personally responsible” for such incidents of vandalism.
The fresh advisory came a few hours after the ministry, in its first advisory, told all states and union territories that incidents of toppling and damaging of statues must be checked immediately and stern action should be taken to prevent such incidents.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also expressed his strong disapproval of incidents of vandalism of statues and spoken to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the matter.
The home minister Rajnath Singh has appealed to political parties to ensure that those found desecrating statues are dealt with strictly.
Nagpur Municipal Corporation in association with police department and three NGOs has started to shift homeless people in city to night shelters constructed and operated by the civic body. In the last seven days, 147 homeless were shifted to five night shelters.
NMC’s social welfare department, police’s economic cell and cyber crime branch and NGOs— Sanskruti, Sahara and Sahyadri— launched a week-long special drive between February 28 and March 6. Deputy municipal commissioner Ranjana Lade and DCP Shweta Khedkar also visited various parts of the city during the night drive.
Lade told, target was to shift all 307 homeless to NMC’s night shelters. “Survey revealed there are 307 homeless in the city. Accordingly, Nagpur Municipal Corporation had constructed night shelters having 220 beds at five locations. Process to construct more night shelters is going on. We saw the homeless do not come to night shelters on their own. Therefore, special drive was launched in which a team of NMC, police and NGOs made rounds of the city between 10.30pm and 1.30am,” she said.
Lade said NGOs would continue the drive. “We have provided beds, food, clothes, washrooms and other amenities at night shelters. Regular health check up of these people is being conducted. NGOs are doing counselling of these people so they can go out to earn and return to night shelters during night daily on their own. Skills training will be given to the people so they can earn good and start to live in rented houses,” she said.
The state government had issued a circular on July 11, 2011, directing all civic bodies to provide one night shelter per one lakh population. Then, the formula was revised and directives were given to construct night shelters as per population of homeless. Accordingly, 10 night shelters were constructed between 2012 and 2014 but they got no response. Hence, the drive to search and bring the homeless to night shelters was started.
Under the central government’s Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana -National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM), the night shelters are being operated at Sitabuldi (40 beds), below railway station flyover (30), Dipti Signal (30), Indora (20) and Hansapuri (100).
Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University ( RTMNU ) has proposed to start courses in Animation Art, Visual Effect Art, Creative Production Management, Film Studies and New media Design and Innovation. These new courses have been included in the five-year Perspective Plan of the University.
The courses will be available under Bachelor degree in Vocational courses (B Voc), in the four districts under its jurisdiction – Nagpur, Bhandara, Gondia and Wardha. The courses will be started from the academic year 2018-19 to 2023-24.
Besides ensuring equitable distribution of avenues for higher education, reducing gap between Gross Enrollment Ratio at the national level and at the district level has been considered while preparing the plan. The University also aims to promote satellite centres at the place which are neither district nor taluka places.
The RMTNU has proposed to open 22 new colleges, including eight for the vocational courses and ten exclusively for women and two evening colleges for those who wish to pursue higher education while working.
The number of colleges in other districts are – Bhandara – 10, including four vocational, four for women and two evening colleges; Gondia – 12, including five vocational, four for women and two evening colleges; Wardha – 8, including four vocational, two for women and one evening college. Besides the technical courses mentioned earlier the subjects in vocational courses will include Acting, Theatre and Stage Craft, Software Development, Retail Management, Food Processing and Engineering, Building Technology, Automotive, Banking, Accounting and Taxation and Rural Development Technology.
The RTMNU has also proposed to open 11 professional colleges in the four districts. Looking at the modern trend these include seven colleges for Hotel Management and Catering Technology (HMCT) and four in Pharmaceutical Sciences. One College in HMCT in Nagpur will be exclusively for women. These courses are being considered important, when a large number of engineering colleges are facing closure for want of students.
The option of shifting the technical universities to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Technical University, Lonere, is open. The shifting of affiliation to BATU, so far has not been made compulsory.
Actor Rajkummar Rao says his upcoming film Mental Hai Kya is a very quirky and different comedy. Asked whether he has become “mental” in the film, Rajkummar said, “I am very mental and from April onwards, I will entirely become mental. People are asking me that Mental Hai Kya? So now I feel ‘#MentalHaiKya’ will trend.”
Rajkummar, who attended the second edition of Powerbrand Bollywood Film Journalist Awards on Monday in Mumbai, will be seen with actress Kangana Ranaut again in Mental Hai Kya after starring in the 2014 hit movie Queen. “It’s an amazing script as it is very quirky and different comedy. Kangana is such a powerhouse performer and we are coming together after Queen along with Ekta Kapoor (producer) so it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
He shared the film’s poster on Monday on his social media accounts and within a short period, it received a positive response from the audience. Asked about the other stars in Mental Hai Kya, he said, “As of now, me and Kangana are there in the film and to see who all are there in the film, the audience has to watch the movie”.
Ever since his debut in Hindi filmdom in 2010, Rajkummar has starred in several films like Shaitan, Trapped, Kai Po Che!, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Behen Hogi Teri and Newton.
Does Rajkummar keep a count of films he does in a year?
“I don’t keep a count. I think media will tell me how many films I have done in 2018 same as they did in 2017. So, let’s see how it goes but I don’t really keep a count. I love doing interesting work.”
Mental Hai Kya has been written by Kanika Dhillon and will be helmed by National award-winning director Prakash Kovelamudi.
Talking about winning an award at the Powerbrand Bollywood Film Journalist Awards, he said, “It always feels good whenever I win any award because last year was quite special and very interesting as whatever films I did, people liked my work and appreciated my effort so when people are honoring with awards for my performances it always feels great.”
Dassault Aviation will showcase the ultra long range Falcon 8X at this year’s edition of Wings India, India’s biggest civilian aviation exhibition. It will be the first appearance of the 6,450 nm/11,945 km trijet at this prestigious event, which opens on March 8 at Hyderabad Begumpet Airport.
The inaugural Falcon 8X presentation comes just as Dassault is introducing into the market a new ultra widebody twinjet, the Falcon 6X. Unveiled on February 28, the 6X will be the most modern, spacious and versatile twin in the 5,000 nm segment and will draw on many of the advanced features of the 8X, in particular its ultra quiet cabin.
The first Falcon 8X was handed over to an Indian customer early last year and is now in operating in all major markets, including the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Brazil and China as well as India.
With 26 Falcon aircraft currently in service, Dassault is the large cabin market leader in India, where the company has long enjoyed a strong brand image, in part thanks to the Indian Air Force’s long reliance on Dassault combat aircraft. A relationship that dates all the way back to 1953 and has continued without interruption ever since, culminating in 2016 with the IAF’s acquisition of a batch of 36 frontline Rafale fighters.
The relationship received a further boost last October when a joint-venture created by Dassault Aviation and Reliance Aerospace Limited broke ground on a new production plant in Nagpur, Maharashtra. To be ready by the end of 2018, the facility will manufacture parts and component subassemblies for the in-production Falcon line and then move on to assemble Falcon as well as Rafale fighters.
All Falcons, and in particular late generation models like the Falcon 8X, 7X and 6X, draw on Dassault’s extensive experience with combat aircraft – a heritage unique among business jet manufacturers. Falcons also benefit from the advances in fighter aerodynamics, structural design, digital flight control and man-machine interface, keeping them on the cutting edge of executive aircraft technology.
“The unmatched ability of Falcons to combine short and long haul flights and fly out of short hard-to-reach airstrips with full range performance – even at high altitudes and extreme temperature conditions – make them perfect for Indian operating conditions. No other business jet line is more suited to local requirements,” said Dassault Aviation Chairman/CEO Eric Trappier.
Apple is ready to expand its audio portfolio seeing as how people have been lapping up its AirPods and loving the sound of the HomePod. Now, the company could be planning for a high-end over-the-ear noise canceling headphones to take on the likes of Bose and even its own Beats by Dre brand. As per a Bloomberg report, people familiar with the product’s development say that Apple could launch its own premium headphones by the end of 2018.
In addition to them being noise canceling, the headphones will also support wireless pairing similar to the AirPods. This makes sense since Apple has been all about going wireless by ditching the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack since the iPhone 7. The AirPods offer a quick and seamless pairing with the iPhone by simply opening the case next to it and tapping on Connect. Of course, with the over-the-ear headphone, pairing may be slightly different, but the report does not go into much detail on that.
Bloomberg’s report adds that development challenges could push back the launch of the headphones even further, but nothing is sure as of now. Apple had to delay the launch of the HomePod as well due to similar issues that also included multiple redesigns. The HomePod was scheduled to start shipping in December during the holiday season. However, Apple had to push back the shipments to early 2018 as the company needed a little more time. The upcoming headphones could possibly see some redesigns as well before it is ready for unveiling or the project could be scrapped altogether, people familiar with the matter said. The report also notes that Apple may look to a different supplier for the headphones and will not go with Inventec Corp. that manufactures the HomePod.
It is quite interesting to hear about Apples plans of developing its own noise canceling headphones considering it purchased audio product maker Beats by Dre for around $3 billion a few years ago. An Apple headphone would directly take on the company’s own subsidiary and could potentially cannabalize it, which begs one to question about the future of Beats. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that Apple’s headphones will look to offer better sound quality than what Beats products provide. Beats also makes low-end wireless headphones and earphones that will not necessarily have to face-off against Apples headphones or the AirPods for that matter. So essentially what we could be looking at is Beats targeting the lower-end of the market while Apple will price its own headphones much higher.
Apple in recent years has been focussing quite a lot on delivering high-quality sound. The HomePod – Apples first bid in the smart speaker game – has been widely regarding as probably the best sounding smart speaker in the market right now, but lacks the smarts of the Google Home or Amazon Echo. Meanwhile, as per a report last month, Apple is also working on a successor to the AirPods which will come with water-resistance and Hey, Siri voice support thanks to a new wireless chip.
After over two years of its release in India, Kabir Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan hit the screens in China on March 2. Bollywood star Salman Khan’s film Bajrangi Bhaijaan opened well in China and the audience is appreciating its cross-border story of love and compassion.
The movie is on a good streak at the Chinese box office and hence it will be interesting to see how much will the movie earn. The movie stands with a total of ($ 10.25 million) 66.58 crore.
The film tells the story of Bajrangi, played by Salman Khan, to be an ardent devotee of Lord Hanuman, partaking a journey to reunite a six-year-old Pakistani girl with her family back in her homeland. The film also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan.
The opening day collections of Bajrangi Bhaijaan in China are remarkable considering factors like Salman Khan’s debut film, delayed release, piracy and lesser screen count as compared to Dangal and Secret Superstar. However, to the films’ benefit, the Chinese market became more receptive to Indian films after the success of Dangal and Secret Superstar.
Bajrangi Bhaijaan released in India in 2015 and it was a critical and commercial success. The film’s lifetime collection in India is 320.34 crore. Bajrangi Bhaijaan is directed by Kabir Khan and it also stars Kareena Kapoor and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
Best known for essaying poles apart roles – ranging from playing a gun-toting gangster Faizal Khan in Gangs of Wasseypur to a hilariously funny journalist in Bajrangi Bhaijaan Nawazuddin Siddiqui thinks it is the ‘Bollywood hero’ who becomes stereotypical with time, but the actors do not.
In an interview, one of the most versatile performers of present-day Bollywood talked about the evolution of Indian films, lack of audience in theatres as well as his methods and aspirations as an actor.
“I think only the heroes can become stereotypical, not actors. It is the concept of hero in our films that you and I have been seeing for the last 60 years. The Bollywood hero who sings and dances with a heroine by his side, fights but still manages to look good after a beating– has become a stereotype. An actor can never become a typecast,” said Siddiqui.
SpaceX launches its largest satellite ever which is nearly the size of a bus
Elon Musk‘s SpaceX launched its largest satellite ever into space on Tuesday, which was nearly the size of a bus.
It marked the 50th time the company has flown one of its signature Falcon 9 rockets.
The payload was a 30W-6 satellite made by Spanish firm Hispasat and was launched from Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
Typically, once SpaceX has released a satellite into space, the rocket then lands back on earth so it can be reused. SpaceX said it did not attempt to do that this time due to “unfavorable weather conditions.”
Chief Executive Musk said that the Hispasat satellite is the “largest geostationary satellite we’ve ever flown.”
Falcon 9 flight 50 launches tonight, carrying Hispasat for Spain. At 6 metric tons and almost the size of a city bus, it will be the largest geostationary satellite we’ve ever flown.
A geostationary satellite orbits around the earth. It takes one day for them to complete each orbit and are typically used for communications like satellite TV or satellite navigation systems.
SpaceX said Hispasat’s satellite will allow the Spanish company to expand its broadband offering in Europe and northwest Africa.
Musk has been pushing SpaceX to do more regular launches this year and has also expanded its offerings, after it successfully launched the Falcon Heavy last month, the world’s most powerful commercial rocket.
Skype is now optimized for lower-end Android phones
Skype, one of the most popular chat apps for video and voice calls, now has an update that will improve audio and video quality on budget-friendly Android devices.
For those with inexpensive Android phones, older models or poor network coverage, this upgrade for Android 4.0.3 to 5.1, is supposed to bring “greater speed and better audio and video quality,” says Microsoft.
Adapting apps to be “lighter on both disk and memory consumption,” as Skype is doing, is a new and necessary trend to accommodate the growing markets who seek out affordable phones. And there is no shortage of them as many manufacturers are now competing to provide the best-performing ‘under $200′ models, rather than trying to outdo the latest flagships.
Affordability usually comes at a cost — less internal storage — therefore each installed app will slow things down. Hence the start of a battle for data.
To accommodate these issues, Twitter released its “data-friendly” Lite version last September, which, under 1MB, loads more quickly, takes up less space and functions better over poor networks. Shortly after, Facebook introduced its Messenger Lite for Android.
Since then, Google has reinforced this movement by releasing the Android Oreo (Go Edition), to bridge the performance gap for those not buying the latest flagships.
“In the coming weeks, the update will be rolled out around the world, so no need to worry if you are not seeing the update just yet,” the Skype Team concludes.
So it’s not surprising that Skype for Android, which has been downloaded from Google Play Store over one billion times, rolls out its own solution. This version is set to reach devices worldwide in the next few days, however some areas may have to wait a few weeks.
NAGPUR: The speed of Nagpur Metro rail on at grade (priority section) section of 5.05km between Khapri station and Airport South station on North-South corridor has been restricted to 25 kilometre per hour (kmph) for lack of requisite signalling systems. Average speed of MahaMetro Rails in the nation is 80 kmph. This makes Nagpur MahaMetro slowest among all.
Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MahaMetro) has planned commercial run on the at grade on North-South corridor in the first phase.
Ministry of Railway’s Research Designs and Standards Organization (RDSO) and Commissioner of Metro-Railway Safety (CMRS) had inspected the stretch and also six rolling stock/cars obtained by MahaMetro from L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited (LTMRHL) on rental basis for trail and commercial run.
As per documents obtained under RTI Act by activist TH Naidu, RDSO issued provisional speed certificate on December 1 last year in which Metro Rail’s speed for at grade section was restricted at 25 kmph. Based on its inspection on January 16, CMRS issued a detailed note of 20 pages in which it also restricted Metro Rail’s speed at 25 kmph. “Trains will be operated in safety cut out switch (SCS) mode. Communications based train control (CBTC) and automatic train protection (ATP) have been not planned for commissioning of priority section. Also, signalling automatic train control (ATC) system is unavailable. Therefore, no other mode of operation — ATP, automatic train operation (ATO) and auto turn back (ATB)— will be functional,” report said.
CMRS also directed MahaMetro to ensure opening of cars’ doors on correct side manually through train operator. “In SCS cut out mode, the train shall be operated by train operator in accordance with line side signals and on radio verbal instructions from the traffic controller.”
India cricket team coach Ravi Shastri on Monday likened skipper Virat Kohli to Pakistan’s World Cup winning captain Imran Khan. Showering praise on Kohli’s exploits in the recently-concluded South Africa tour, Shastri said the India skipper is already among the very best.
“It’s still early days for Virat. He is still very very young. But he is already there among the very best. He wants to lead by example. He reminds me a lot of Imran. He is still very young but he has got lot of qualities that Imran had when it came to leading a side. Which is great,” said Shastri. Virat, ranked No.1 batsman in One Day Internationals, was in imperious form against the Proteas becoming the first batsman ever to score 500 or more runs in a bilateral ODI series.
The dashing right-hander, rated as one of the finest in modern times, finished the series with 558 runs racking up three centuries, a record for an Indian batsman, and one fifty in six innings.
Asked about the similarities between Imran and Virat, Shastri said the desire to always be on top and having an infectious energy level made him draw the comparison.
“Just the ability to always want to dominate, want to compete, irrespective of whatever conditions you get, believe that you can do it and when you have that kind of quality it spreads among the other players as well. And that was very similar to the way Imran led.”
“I think he was fantastic on the last trip. It was a tough trip,” Shastri said on Kohli’s leadership and performance in South Africa.
India lost the Test series 1-2 but came back strongly in the 50-over format, winning the six-match series 5-1. In the T20Is, India edged past the hosts 2-1.
“When you are the leading batsman in the side plus the captain, plus the conditions you get, plus the side that you are playing which is formidable, you need to be on top of your game.”
“Mentally and physically. And he did just that. For someone to score 870-plus score on a single tour in two months, is an unbelievable achievement. Really unbelievable achievement,” said Shastri.
Ravi Shastri lashed out at former cricketers asking Kohli to cut down on his aggression on the field, saying they should allow him and his captain to go about their business.
“My only advice to them is to mind their own business. I will keep it very simple. Whoever is saying that, mind your own business. Let us get on with our job.
“I think he is absolutely fine. If there was a problem, the umpires are there. The match-referee is there to sort it out.
What are they there for? He is hardly been called by the match-referee for going over the top in his career. So where is the problem?”
Shastri also rated India’s batting performance in the third Test at the Wanderers in Johannesburg as “one of the most courageous and bravest batting performances ever.”
“It has to go down as one of the most courageous and bravest batting performances ever,” the 55-year-old opined.
“Not only in the history of Indian cricket but in the history of the game. Absolutely no question about that because the conditions were such and with the kind of attack they had, it needed a lot of guts, courage, application, determination to do what they did. And above all, belief. And there is a reason why I give them credit.
“On that track, everyone was surprised that we batted first. But the end result shows we were right,” the former all-rounder added.
The South Africa sojourn, Shastri said, was the toughest of all, owing to the surfaces the tourists played on and still fought hard.
“It is one of the toughest tours and if you look at the pitches that were on offer to us, it is chalk and cheese when you look at the track that has been given against Australia.A
“When you look at the track now in Durban and looked at the tracks we played on, they look like chalk and cheese. And on those tracks, to perform the way they did, I think, was simply outstanding,” Shastri said.
Australia are currently playing their first Test against South Africa in Durban.
Shastri signed off by priding that they don’t shy away from playing in any condition and never whine.
“I have always said that we don’t want a team that would complain about the tracks. We will play on whatever is on offer.
And we will try and get the right combination to counter that.”
Indian-arm of German automaker Volkswagen India will soon be rolling out a special edition of its sedan Volkswagen Vento with the Sport badging.
Volkswagen Vento Sport will feature an array of cosmetic changes, mostly visual and expect no mechanical changes on the sedan. To sustain sales until the next generation Vento makes way for the Indian market, Volkswagen Vento Sport Edition will keep the sedan a bit more fresh with this latest upgrade.
Volkswagen India is also offering benefits worth Rs 1.90 lakh and additional discount of Rs 25,000 if the car is booked before 20th March 2018.
While the prices of the new Volkswagen Vento Sport is still unknown it is expected to be the top-trim and the Sport pack will be added to either current Highline variant or Highline Plus variant of Vento. Expect the price of the Vento Sport Edition to be about Rs 20,000 more than these variants. Currently Volkswagen Vento Highline variant is price starts at Rs 11.58 lakh.
Cosmetic upgrades on the Volkswagen Vento Sport Edition includes the front grille finished in black, gloss black roof wrap, ORVMs get a carbon-fibre treatment and will also host a ‘Sport’ badge on the front fender. The car also gets black decals on the side and rear lip spoiler finished in dark colour. The 16-inch alloy wheels are finished in dark grey complementing the overall look. Upgrades to the cabin aren’t known yet, but the Sport edition is likely to be offered on the range-topping Highline Plus variant.
The cabin of the car is still not revealed but expect only a few minor changes. Volkswagen Vento Sport Edition will get faux leather seats, steering wheel wrapped in leather, 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system. On the safety front, dual airbags, ABS with ESP, reverse parking camera with sensors will be standard across all variants.
With no mechanical changes, Volkswagen Vento Sport will get the same 1.2L TSI petrol engine with a maximum power output of 103 bhp mated to a 7-speed DSG gearbox. Diesel engine duties are done by the 1.5L TDI block shedding a power of 108 bhp mated to a 5-Speed manual gearbox or an optional DSG transmission.
Volkswagen Vento takes on the likes of Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, Honda City, Hyundai Verna and the car it shares its platform and engine with, Skoda Rapid. Toyota Yaris will soon join these executive sedans and is expected to launch in India in May 2018.
5G in India: Government Harmonising Spectrum, Says Telecom Secretary
The government has started tuning spectrum for 5G services as part of its roadmap to become early adopter of the next generation services, which is expected to provide download speed over 1000Mbps on mobile devices.
“On spectrum we are already more or less aligned with global position in 5G. Those bands we are harmonising in line with global community,” Telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan told in an interview.
She was in Barcelona to attend global telecom event Mobile World Congress and held meeting with key players in the sector, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei, Qualcomm, MediaTek, NTT, Intel, etc.
The Department of Telecom has started harmonising spectrum in 3500MHz band and 26GHz band along with E and V band, she said.
At present 4G services are provided in spectrum band below 2600Mhz. With increase in frequency band count, the signal coverage area reduces, but as per technology trend, speed of transmitting data has been increasing.
The government has already harmonised spectrum in 700MHz band which can be used for 5G services.
Telecom players are running trials to use 5G in automated cars, robotic surgery from remote locations, education, etc.
Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha has asked technology companies to look for using 5G services in agriculture sector as well, she said.
“All the players are positioning themselves for India as a big 5G market. One of the leading chipset company in a meeting told us that India will have one of the biggest IoT (Internet of things) user base and the company is keen to partner with C-DoT for developing various IoT solutions. India is a forerunner and will be an early adopter of 5G,” she said.
According to Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, 5G services in India will start once standards for the technology will be freezed by global telecom body International Telecommunications Union next year.
Sundararajan said before finalisation of standards telecom gear makers – Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, ZTE, NTT and Samsung have started deepening their work on 5G in India.
“Ericsson has plans to scale up manufacturing facility. They are also going to set up 5G test bed in IIT Delhi. Huawei is going to set up their test lab for 5G,” she said.
Chinese telecom gear maker ZTE, which has recently won major 4G contract from BSNL, is planning to start capacity building around new technology in India, the telecom secretary said.
Finnish telecom firm Nokia will start smart village pilot in which they will showcase health and education using 5G.
Nokia will set up 400-500 centres and in third phase pan India rollout will take place, Sundararajan said.
She also said 5G is like steam engine and it will drive everything.
“Another significant message that came out here was that a lot of Indian software companies are behind of lot of the technologies in 5G. The corresponding software has to be made. Indian companies are developing software for that. Already C-DoT has developed standard M2M platform,” she said.
When asked about timing for spectrum auction, she said that the government will decide on it only after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India submits recommendations to the government.
Listen to music while exercising to workout longer
Listening to music while exercising can help you work out for a longer time than those who do not have music playing in their ears, a team of researchers, including one of Indian origin, suggested. Music can have a powerful impact on our mood, signalling the brain to release feel-good and energy-boosting chemicals. Being inactive or not exercising ranks alongside high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking and obesity as one of the five major risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
“At least on a small scale, this study provides some evidence that music may help serve as an extra tool to help motivate someone to exercise more, which is critical to heart health,” said lead author Waseem Shami, cardiology fellow at Texas Tech University Health Sciences in the US.
For the study, to be presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 67th Annual Scientific Session in Orlando, the team randomly selected 127 heart patients in two groups for a routine electrocardiogram (ECG) treadmill stress test and assigned to either listen to up-tempo music or have no music playing during their stress tests.
The results showed that the exercise time was significantly longer in the music group compared with the control group, 505.8 versus 455.2 seconds, respectively — an absolute difference of about 50.6 seconds.
Adults need to get at least 30 minutes of moderate (aerobic) activity most days, including taking a brisk walk, swimming, playing tennis, riding a bicycle, dancing, water aerobics, gardening and even busy housework, experts suggested.
“Our findings reinforce the idea that upbeat music has a synergistic effect in terms of making you want to exercise longer and stick with a daily exercise routine,” Shami said. “When doctors are recommending exercise, they might suggest listening to music too,” he noted.
It seems that Apple, just like how it did last year, is planning to launch three iPhones in 2018. The latest information suggests that talk of Apple killing the special iPhone aka the iPhone X this year was just a talk. According to reports, the Cupertino major is gearing up to announce a huge 6.5-inch OLED iPhone with dual-SIM support, while the other two iPhones will be slightly cheaper and are tipped to come with LCD displays. Along with the iPhones, Apple is also expected to launch a cheaper variant of the 13-inch MacBook Air in 2018, suggests KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
According to what Ming-Chi Kuo, a reliable analyst at KGI Securities, believes, and as first reported by 9to5 Mac, Apple is seemingly planning to release a new MacBook Air “with a lower price tag”. The company is expected to launch the new MacBook Air version fairly soon, which indicates that it may launch the Apple’s WWDC conference in June. The report suggests that we may see the upcoming cheaper version of the 13-inch MacBook Air going official sometime around the second quarter this year.
To recall, in 2016, the company decided to officially discontinue the 11-inch MacBook Air. While in 2017, Apple updated the 13-inch MacBook Air with a modest specs bump. Now with plans to launch a cheaper variant of the 3-inch MacBook Air, Apple is seemingly looking forward to boost its laptop shipment by at least up to 10 – 15 per cent this year.
According to a report coming from TrendForce, Apple has overtaken Asus in global laptop shipments and has moved up a step higher to the fourth position. Report further suggests that the company shipped approx 4.43 million MacBooks in the third quarter of 2017.
Details on the upcoming cheaper version of the MacBook Air are sparse. Currently, Apple sells the 13-inch MacBook Air at a starting price tag of $999, which is roughly around Rs 65,059. This also means that the toned down version of the 13-inch MacBook Air, which is to launch this year, will be much cheaper than this, and should cost under Rs 50,000.
The KGI Securities analyst has also managed to gather some additional supply chain details about the upcoming iPhones as well as Airpods. The report suggests that KGI is “positive” on shipments of AirPods and also predicts that Apple may also bring a refreshed model of its existing Airpods in the second half of the year. On the other hand, as for the new iPhones coming this year, Kuo says that the entry-level 6.1-inch model of 2018 iPhone lineup will make for a strong year for suppliers such as Unimicron and Apple partners Wistron and Pegatron.
In addition, Kuo also notes that demand for HomePod has been “mediocre” as of now. Overall, the analyst notes that he holds a “neutral” view on the demand of the HomePod based on “shipping time.”
Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will launch in India on March 6, which is tomorrow. Samsung is hosting the event in Delhi at 11:30 am IST. The Galaxy S9 launch takes place in India just over a week after the phones were first unveiled in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018. Samsung usually introduces the flagship Galaxy S series in India a month after the global launch, but this time around the strategy is different and the phone will make their India debut along with the global launch.
Samsung India online store is already accepting pre-bookings for the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ for a token amount of Rs 2000. The Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are to go on sale on March 16 globally, and the company will likely follow a similar date for the Indian market. Samsung’s new Galaxy S9 series comes with offer improved camera experience to take on Apple’s iPhone X and Google Pixel 2. Recently DxOMark, which is known for testing and rating smartphone cameras, has placed Samsung Galaxy S9+ as the best camera ahead of both its rivals.
Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+ expected price in India
With the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S9, the price will be closely watched. In the US, the smaller Samsung Galaxy S9 is priced at $720, which is nearly Rs 47,000, while the Plus variant starts at $840 or nearly Rs 54,000. The Galaxy S9 will likely cost more in India with a price of Rs 50,000 plus for the base 64GB variant, while the Galaxy S9+ will likely cost Rs 60,000 plus for the 64GB variant. Samsung Galaxy S9 series has launched in three storage variants this time: 64GB, 128GB and 256GB versions. Samsung will likely bring only the 64GB and 256GB variants to the Indian market.
Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+ specifications
Coming to the specifications, the Galaxy S9 has a 5.8-inch Super AMOLED display, comes with 4GB RAM and a single rear 12MP rear camera with dual variable aperture of f/1.5 and f/2.4. The front is 8MP, while the battery is 3000 mAh. The rear camera is capable of super-slow motion video at 960fps at 720p resolution. Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will both be powered by the Exynos 9810 chipset, which is an octa-core processor. Both phones are on Android 8.0 Oreo with TouchWiz UI on top.
The bigger Samsung Galaxy S9+ comes with a 6.2-inch Super AMOLED display, 6GB RAM and 3500 mAh battery. Galaxy S9+ has a dual rear camera: 12MP+12MP with dual OIS. The wide-angle sensor, which is 12MP comes with dual variable aperture of f/1.5 and f/2.4. The telephoto lens is also 12MP with f/2.4 aperture. The front camera is 8MP with f/1.7 aperture.
Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+ also come with a new AR Emoji feature, where users can convert their selfie into a customised emoji, which can then be shared via SMS, or other third-party messaging apps. AR Emoji is a similar idea to Apple’s Animoji, which is available on the iPhone X.
After a gap of about four months, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has resumed the production of the Toyota Camry hybrid. TKM had stopped the Camry hybrid production in India citing higher tax on hybrids under the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) as the main reason.
The Toyota Camry hybrid production resumes after the carmaker had stopped assembling the hybrid Camry due to a sharp decline in sales resulting in excess inventory.
Sadly, the government’s approach of incentivising electric vehicles in India is punishing hybrid vehicles.The GST rollout in July 2017, tax on hybrid vehicles was increased from 30.3 percent to 43 percent. Since the tax rate went up, the Toyota Camry Hybrid price went from Rs 31.98 lakh to Rs 37.22 lakh.
With the price increase, the sales of the Toyota Camry Hybrid reduced from monthly sales of 100 units to 25 units after the GST was rolled out. Commenting on the matter, Shekhar Vishwanathan, Vice Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said: “We had to stop the production of hybrid Camry for a while because our stock had built up as the tax rate had gone up.”
With the intention of going all-electric in the future, the government of India had increased the taxation of hybrid vehicles in India. However, the lack of charging infrastructure and an effective strategy has not helped in the development of EVs in India, but hybrids could change that.
“Once you push enough number of hybrids into the market with enough battery manufacturing taking place in India, then the volumes go up. When the volumes go up, the battery cost will come down,” said Shekar Vishwanathan, Vice-Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar. The Toyota Camry hybrid is the first hybrid model from the carmaker to launch in India, which is locally assembled at its Bangalore plant.
The Toyota Camry Hybrid draws power from a 2.5-litre petrol engine which produces 158bhp and 213Nm of torque which is mated to an E-CVT automatic gearbox. The petrol engine is aided by an electric motor which churns out 141bhp. The Toyota Camry Hybrid can run in full electric mode only at low speeds and on mild throttle inputs. Upon further higher acceleration, the system switches to a combination of electric and internal combustion power with a total power output of 203bhp.
Instagram might soon launch a feature that would allow both audio and video calls. All the social networking platforms are in a constant state of competition for being the best and capturing the most users. Instagram—the Facebook owned application is soon to introduce the Voice and Video Calling Feature.
As per the reports of TechCrunch, there are files found in the Instagram and the Instagram-Direct standalone app’s Android Application Packages (APKs) which are the icons for an interface that would permit audio and video calls.
Application Packages usually display files or icons for the features that are not released yet and are ready for launch by the company. So, it seems, that ‘Instagram’ is soon to introduce audio and video calling within its Direct Messaging system.
The addition of audio-video calling to ‘Instagram’ would make it a better alternative to Snapchat—which launched the video calling feature back in 2014. This is like ‘Instagram’ copying Snapchat again at the cost of weakening the app’s experience.
Snapchat’s calling experience is kind of buried and one has to go through a series of steps before the call could be placed. Additionally, Snapchat is under negative criticism because of the recent redesign of the app, so if Instagram releases the calling feature and makes it simple and straightforward, then it would just give users another reason to remain stuck to the application.
Last week, ‘Instagram’ released a feature that allows one to control who replay photos, videos shared through Instagram-Direct.
As per the new update, the users who send their photo or video from the platform of Instagram-Direct camera could now decide whether they want the recipients to view their shared content once or replay it temporarily or could see a permanent thumbnail of it in the chat log. Thus, the new update gave complete power to the users to decide who could see their photos or videos.
‘Instagram’ has yet given no indication that whether the voice and video calling feature would be launched and if it would, then when.
Ever since Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) didn’t retain skipper Gautam Gambhir during the IPL 2018 auction, speculations were rife on who would succeed him in the coveted job. There was no inkling regarding who would take up the top job. With a few options — Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik and Chris Lynn (and perhaps Vinay Kumar) — available, KKR have finally went ahead with Uthappa. The franchise announced their skipper on national television.
Robin Uthappa was a part of KKR’s winning side in 2014. With 660 runs at 44, he also won the Orange Cap. Overall, Uthappa has featured in 58 games for KKR.
With his experience and knack of providing flourishing starts, Uthappa will be expected to fill in the big shoes of Gambhir. It would be interesting to see how the added responsibility turns his attacking style of play.
In an interview with Star Sports, Sourav Ganguly revealed Uthappa as his first choice: ”When I look at the current KKR squad, I feel Uthappa is the best player to lead the team. Though the team has experienced campaigners in Karthik and Lynn but Uthappa has been with the team for over four years now and he’s had considerable experience in dealing with the dynamics of the side, not to mention that he’s a fan favourite as well. An aggressive batsman himself, he will be the right successor to the legacy that KKR has come to build over the last decade.”
Riders will open their campaign against Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 8 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
NEW DELHI: Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has invited applications for recruitment to 23 posts of Deputy Engineer (Computer Science, Electronics). Interested and eligible candidates can submit their application to the Deputy General Manager (HR/ Mil Com), Military Communication SBU, Bharat Electronics Limited, Jalahalli Post, Bengaluru – 560 013 on or before 14 March 2018.
‘Candidates are required to possess at least one valid e-mail id and mobile number, which is to be entered in the application form,’ reads the official job notification. Details of the recruitment are available at bel-india.com.
Candidates must visit the official website as all the details are available on the official website. Candidates will be qualified on the basis of written exam. The candidates who will qualify the written exam will be sent a call letter for the interview. After the interview round, the final result will be displayed. The candidates who will be selected will be asked for the joining.
In order to be eligible for the posts candidates must have BE, BTech, AMIE, BSc Engineering in Computer Science / Computer Science and Engineering / Computer Science Engineering, Electronics and Communication, Electronics, Telecommunication, Communication, Electronics and Telecommunication disciplines. Applicants should also have minimum one year of post qualification experience as on 1 February 2018. ‘First class for General & OBC Candidates and Pass Class for SC/ ST/ PWD (Person with Disability) candidates from an AICTE approved College/ Institute or a recognized University,’ clarifies the recruiting body regarding the educational qualification. The upper age limit for applicants is 26 years.
Candidates belonging to General and OBC categories are required to deposit Rs. 500 towards application fee through SBI Collect (through online mode or through SBI Branch).
Candidates must keep a check on the website for the updates of admit card and the exam date details. The official website is bel-india.com.
It is known that Anil Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are reuniting in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s production, Fanne Khan. The two stars, who had previously shared screen space in Satish Kaushik’s 2000 directorial, Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai and Subhash Ghai’s 1999 musical, Taal, wrapped up the film in December 2017.
In the latest reports, we have learned more about Anil Kapoor’s character in Fanne Khan and his different looks in the film. If there’s one man who literally has stopped ageing, it is Anil Kapoor. The actor is all set to play a younger version of himself in the film. He will reportedly play 22-year-old in the film and has already shot the scenes. In the film, he is essaying the role a failed singer. In the flashback scenes, he will be seen playing 20- something age. Now, it seems like the makers will be using the age reduction technique to get Anil Kapoor’s younger version role proper and authentic.
One may know that age reduction technique through VFX has been used in many Hollywood films. In the most recent ones, Robert Downey Jr played younger version of Tony Stark in Captain America: Civil War. Even Ali Abbas Zafar is trying to do same with Salman Khan starrer Bharat.
Earlier, Anil Kapoor’s salt-n-pepper looks from Fanne Khan took over Internet by storm. The film shooting has been completed. Only one romantic song shoot is left which will feature Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Rajkummar Rao.
Fanne Khan is an official adaptation of the Dutch film Everybody’s Famous! The film revolves around a man who takes a drastic step to make her daughter’s career. It was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 73rd Academy Awards.
Fanne Khan is produced by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Prernaa Arora. The film, directed by Atul Manjrekar, also stars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as a diva singer with Rajkummar Rao playing her love interest. Divya Dutta will play the role of Anil Kapoor’s wife. The film is scheduled to release on July 13, 2018.
WhatsApp has extended the time frame in which you can delete a sent message to over 1 hour. Since the Delete for Everyone feature was introduced in November last year, a sent message could not be deleted after 420 seconds (7 minutes). Now the time to recall that un-thoughtful message has been extended to 4096 seconds, that is, 68 minutes and 16 seconds to be exact.
The update is available for beta users right now but would soon roll to all WhatsApp users. In fact it is only available for beta users on Android and is yet to make it to iOS as well.
Apart from this upgrade, the new update fixes the gif section crash and modifies some Emojis in stickers. Some users reported that they could not add Gifs in messages as the section would stop working as soon Gifs tab was opened. WhatsApp has also brought back text-only profile update and it will reflect in the profile menu in settings.
WhatsApp is also known to be working on a forward message tag that will help users fight off spam and overload of forward messages. Every forwarded message will carry a Forward message tag to make user aware that is probably comes from some other chat of chat group.
This along with the stickers feature is said to be hidden from the app right now and disabled by default but was reported by WaBetaInfo.
WhatsApp recently brought payments feature in India that allows you to send (and receive) money to a WhatsApp number directly from the app. The feature is UPI-based (Unified Payments Interface) which means it directly links to your bank account and doesnt — rely on or act like — a third-party wallet service. Currently, WhatApp Payment supports several Indian banks including Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank Of India, Yes Bank and Airtel Payments Bank among others.
San Francisco: Facebook is testing a new feature called “Add Voice Clip” that appears in its status update composer menu that allows users to record a short audio snippet to use as a status update. The new feature was first spotted by an Indian user and the social media giant is testing “Voice Clips” as a status update option with a small percentage of users in the country.
“More intimate than text but easier to record than video, Facebook hopes voice could get people sharing more on its aging social network. And internationally, where users may have to deal with non-native language keyboards, voice lets them speak their mind without a typing barrier,”.
“We are always working to help people share and connect with their friends and family on Facebook in ways that are authentic to them. Voice Clips gives people a new medium through which to express themselves,” a Facebook spokesperson was quoted.. However, it is not yet known if the feature would be rolled out globally.
Voice Clips could let people share compelling, deeply personal content even if they’re home and not anywhere interesting, don’t have video capture or editing savvy, aren’t attractive on screen or lack a nice smartphone camera. Making people less self-conscious about what they share is partly why Facebook introduced ephemeral Live broadcasts, and augmented reality masks that cover your face.
The social media giant is getting more serious about voice-enabled features and it is already working on smart home speakers named Fiona and Aloha which are reportedly slated to launch around July. Designed by Facebook’s Building 8 hardware lab, the Aloha model is reportedly more sophisticated than Fiona.
“The Aloha model, to be marketed under the official name Portal, will use voice commands but will also feature facial recognition to identify users for accessing Facebook via a wide-angle lens on the front of the device,” a Digitimes report said.
MUMBAI – The singing sensation Daler Mehndi is all set to surprise his fans through a latest song on International Women’s Day.
DRecords, a music label run by popular singer Daler Mehndi and his wife Taran Kaur Mehndi, is coming up with a track on saving the girl child. Titled “Gudiya rani,” the song will be unveiled on International Women’s Day, which falls on March 8.
“Gudiya rani” has been composed, sung and written by Udit Shandilya, who started his career at an early age and has been trained in Indian classical music.
“‘Gudiya rani’ is a melodious song. It has been performed very well by this young rising star (Udit). Support him with your love. I request music directors in Bollywood to take note of this rising star,” Daler said.
There are six girls in the video, who have been selected through a competition on Facebook.
NASA launches advanced weather satellite for western U.S.
NASA launched another of the world’s most advanced weather satellites on Thursday, this time to safeguard the western U.S.
The GOES-S weather satellite thundered toward orbit aboard an Atlas V rocket, slicing through a hazy late afternoon sky. Dozens of meteorologists gathered for the launch, including TV crews from the Weather Channel and Weather Nation.
GOES-S is the second satellite in an approximately $11 billion effort that’s already revolutionizing forecasting with astonishingly fast, crisp images of hurricanes, wildfires, floods, mudslides and other natural calamities.
The first spacecraft in the series, GOES-16, has been monitoring the Atlantic and East Coast for the past year for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . The same first-class service is now coming to the Pacific region.
Besides the West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii, GOES-S also will keep watch over Mexico and Central America. It will become GOES-17 once it reaches its intended 22,000-mile-high orbit over the equator in a few weeks, and should be officially operational by year’s end.
“We can’t wait!” tweeted the National Weather Service in Anchorage just before the rocket soared from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The weather service’s Jim Yoe said on NASA TV that he was “really excited” to see his first launch in person.
“I’m even more excited about the work that’s coming up for me and my colleagues, putting these new data to work for better forecasts and warnings for the American public,” said Mr. Yoe, an official at the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation.
With these two new satellites, NOAA’s high-definition coverage will stretch from the Atlantic near West Africa, a hotbed for hurricane formation, all the way across the U.S. and the Pacific out to New Zealand.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni may be nearing his cricket retirement, but there is no doubt that the former India skipper will go down as one of the greatest players to grace the gentleman’s game. The veteran wicket-keeper batsman’s consistency may have decreased over the years, but he still brings a lot to the table in the limited-overs format.
The 36-year-old is often spotted offering his valuable inputs to bowlers from behind the stumps, taking a DRS call or even helping skipper Virat Kohli in field placements. Team India head coach Ravi Shastri on Friday singled out Dhoni and showered praise on him, stating there was no substitute for his experience in the market.
“And like I said, there is no substitute for experience. That cannot be bought or sold in the market. He’ll (Dhoni) go down as one of the greatest one-day players the world has ever seen. And when you have that kind of experience, the level of fitness and what he’s maintained,” Shastri was quoted.
Dhoni’s batting role has immensely changed over the years, from a hard-hitting batsman to an anchor who steers the innings. But Shastri feels Dhoni’s presence makes a big difference irrespective of the batting position he is slotted in.
“When it comes to finishing a game or batting in the final overs, there have been very few better than him in the history of the game. When you have that cushion of someone like him coming at No. 5, 6 or even 7 it makes a big big difference,” he concluded.
Even former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has faith in the Ranchi born batsman. Praising his ability Ganguly said if Dhoni would have been part of his 2003 World Cup squad the results could’ve been different. Dada’s team India was beaten by Australia in the final of the 2003 World Cup.
“I wish I’d Dhoni in my 2003 World Cup team. I was told that when we were playing the 2003 World Cup final he was still a ticket collector with Indian Railways. Unbelievable!” Ganguly wrote in his autobiography ‘A century is not enough’.
Pakistan bans Anushka Sharma’s film Pari for promoting ‘non-Islamic values
The much-awaited Anushka Sharma’s horror film ‘Pari’ has been banned from releasing in Pakistan .
The Chairman Central Board of Film Censors Islamabad, Mobashir Hasan, made the announcement through his twitter account.
He took to twitter to share this news and wrote, “Imported film Pari has been declared ‘Unfit’ for public exhibition by a panel followed by CBFC’s Full Board review as it flouts various sections of the existing rules and code of CBFC. Innumerable dialogues and scenes are against the established religious, social and moral ethos.”
Imported film #Pari has been declared ‘Unfit’ for public exhibition by a panel followed by #CBFC’s Full Board review as it flouts various sections of the existing rules and code of #CBFC. Innumerable dialogues & scenes r against the established religious, social and moral ethos. pic.twitter.com/g6ZGnNnhg6
The film has been unanimously declared unfit for public exhibition first by a panel of CBFC and then by a full board which was convened on filing of an appeal by the distributor against the decision of the panel.
According to the media reports, the film is banned because it contains numerous scenes of black magic with Quranic verses and Hindu manters being recited together. The members of the CBFC are unanimously of the opinion that Pari is unsuitable for public exhibition as it contradicts the existing rules and codes.
In a Facebook post, Nueplex cinemas also announced the news and wrote: “We have just been informed that PARI has been banned by the Central Board of Film Censors, Pakistan . Hence the film will not be screened at Nueplex Cinemas. Tickets already sold can be refunded from our boxoffice. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.”
Google’s Hangout received an update with the objective of making the program work effectively across organizations. The update makes Hangouts Chat compatible with the leading business software deployed in companies and communicating within a networked business setup will become easier. As employees create chat groups to instantly share messages, Google Hangouts Chat will make it possible for them to seamlessly exchange information, data and images. It will also permit the users to access data from other programs running within the organization’s network and share it where relevant.
This Google Hangouts Chat has now become a part of the G-Suite package that Google offers its customers for a fee. It will sit alongside the other programs like word processing tools. Google has over 4 million subscribers of G-Suite internationally. Though the subscribers pay $25 per month for availing these services, Google had offered it for free when it was launched in 2013 first. Google is intending to facilitate businesses in conducting their operations smoother and faster.
The update that Google/Alphabet has now released is also meant to take on competition from Microsoft and Slack. Microsoft offers the feature with similar functionalities within its Office 365 suite that is also not a free service and it has many more subscribers than Google has.
Chat app Slack is also seen by many customers as a more convenient alternative to emails within organizations and is ramping up its subscription base. A survey by IDC puts the share of the collaborative software market at around 37% for Microsoft and 5% for Slack. The overall market is being assessed at around $2billion.
For individual one-to-one chats the Google Hangouts applications comes free. The enterprise version now integrated into the G-Suite permits up to 8,000 participants in a single group. Google runs many of these new programs in-house and then offers them commercially. In Hangouts used within Google for example, they have added the bug-tracking, employee directory and IT support systems also into it. Similar options are given to the customers.
Going beyond these features, Google has developed artificial intelligence based tools to help in routine business activities. One of them is a meeting scheduler tool. This gets integrated into the Google Calendar program where it can analyze the seating requirements and conference room availability to suggest the ideal location to hold the meeting. Finally, Hangouts Chat also pairs with the tele-conferencing software Hangouts Meet.
Xiaomi may have just unveiled its Mi LED TV 4 in India but the company seems preparing for another TV series launch. Xiaomi India has just tweeted out a new teaser where the company confirms a new series is coming soon.
“Mi fans! It’s time to switch to something smarter, slimmer and sleeker. Time to #SwitchToSmart TV. A new series coming soon!” Mi India tweeted out on Thursday.
Notably, the Chinese company has received massive response on the debut of first Mi TV model. The first sale of the Mi TV 4 saw the units going out of stock in 10 seconds. The company hasn’t revealed the sale details for the second sale on Tuesday. Considering, the company has already launched the Mi TV 4 series in India. We can expect the company to launch the Mi TV 4A series of televisions. In China, the Mi TV 4A series was launched featuring 43-inch and 49-inch models. The company also unveiled the 55-inch and 65-inch Mi TV models in China.
Refreshing on the Xiaomi Mi TV 4A, the TV series included 43-inch and 49-inch models. Both came with full-HD display featuring 1920×1080 pixels with 178-degree viewing angle. Much like other Mi TV models, the Mi TV 4A also packs Amlogic T962 processor and comes with 2GB DDR4 RAM and 8GB storage. The Mi TV 4A also comes with MIUI TV based on Android with the company’s PatchWall UI.
The Mi LED TV 4 created headlines with its 4.9mm thickness which Xiaomi claims is “thin as a coin.” It comes with 4K HDR frameless display and the company’s PatchWall TV UI. Mi LED TV 4 55-inch model is being marketed as the “world’s thinnest LED TV” and comes with a price tag of Rs. 39,999. It comes with a lot of limited period offers where consumers who buy it in first three months will get onsite installation for free which will cost Rs. 1,099 after the end of the offer. The Mi TV is powered by quad-core Amlogic Cortex A53 processor clocked at 1.8GHz coupled with 2GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. It features Dolby+DTS Cinema Audio and universal search support with Mi Remote.
Vodafone plans to create the first 4G network on the Moon to support a mission by PT Scientists in 2019 and has appointed Nokia as its technology partner.
Berlin-based company, PT Scientists is working with Vodafone Germany and Audi to achieve the first privately-funded Moon landing. Mission to the Moon is due to launch in 2019 from Cape Canaveral on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Vodafone said in a statement.
Vodafone’s network expertise will be used to set up the Moon’s first 4G network, connecting two Audi lunar quattro rovers to a base station in the Autonomous Landing and Navigation Module (ALINA).
Nokia, through Nokia Bell Labs, will create a space-grade Ultra Compact Network that will be the lightest ever developed – weighing less than one kilo, the same as a bag of sugar.
The 4G network will enable the Audi lunar quattro rovers to communicate and transfer scientific data and HD video while they carefully approach and study NASA’s Apollo 17 lunar roving vehicle that was used by the last astronauts to walk on the Moon (Commander Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt) to explore the Taurus-Littrow valley in December 1972.
Vodafone testing indicates that the base station should be able to broadcast 4G using the 1800 MHz frequency band and send back the first ever live HD video feed of the Moon’s surface, which will be broadcast to a global audience via a deep space link that interconnects with the PTScientists server in the Mission Control Centre in Berlin.
A 4G network is highly energy efficient compared to analogue radio and that will be crucial to Mission to the Moon and is the first step to building communications infrastructure for future missions.
Vodafone Germany CEO, Dr Hannes Ametsreiter, commented: “This project involves a radically innovative approach to the development of mobile network infrastructure. It is also a great example of an independent, multi-skilled team achieving an objective of immense significance through their courage, pioneering spirit and inventiveness.”
Robert Böehme, CEO and Founder of PTScientists, said: “This is a crucial first step for sustainable exploration of the solar system. In order for humanity to leave the cradle of Earth, we need to develop infrastructures beyond our home planet. With Mission to the Moon we will establish and test the first elements of a dedicated communications network on the Moon. The great thing about this LTE solution is that it saves so much power, and the less energy we use sending data, the more we have to do science!”
Nokia Chief Technology Officer and Bell Labs President, Marcus Weldon, said: “We are very pleased to have been selected by Vodafone to be their technology partner.
This important mission is supporting, among other things, the development of new space-grade technologies for future data networking, processing and storage, and will help advance the communications infrastructure required for academics, industry and educational institutions in conducting lunar research. These aims have potentially wide-ranging implications for many stakeholders and humanity as a whole, and we look forward to working closely with Vodafone and the other partners in the coming months, prior to the launch in 2019.”
Makar Sankranti Wishes : Makara Sankranti (Sankranthi) is a Hindu festival that encourages people to live in peace and harmony. Here are best quotes,...
