Apple CEO Tim Cook Admits Majority of Staff Won’t Return to Office Until June

Aliasgar Ayaz

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December 11, 2020

Apple CEO Tim Cook Admits Majority of Staff Won’t Return to Office Until June

The Cupertino, California-based technology giant, Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Cook disclosed new details during a virtual town hall meeting with employees on Thursday about the company’s plan to return to the office.

Cook admitted it seems unlikely that the majority of teams will be back before June 2021. Apple has historically had an office-centric culture, but the CEO hinted at more flexibility to work remotely in the future as the company has had a successful run this year during the pandemic lockdown.

Still, Cook has been adamant publicly that there is no replacement for office culture.

“There’s no replacement for face-to-face collaboration, but we have also learned a great deal about how we can get our work done outside of the office without sacrificing productivity or results,” he told staff, according to Bloomberg. “All of these learnings are important. When we’re on the other side of this pandemic, we will preserve everything great about Apple while incorporating the best of our transformations this year.”

Additionally, Cook believes that because of the challenges faced by the employees in recent months, Apple will be providing an additional paid holiday scheduled for Jan 4 for employees in many regions.

Cook also noticed that Apple’s employee donation program is on its strongest ever run this year. Since the initiative began, employees have volunteered more than 1.6 million hours and more than $591 million has been donated to charities. To aid people affected by Covid-19, Apple is making a $5 million donation to organizations helping those hurt by the virus.

See the source image — Apple CEO: Tim Cook. Image via: Sky News

During the town hall meeting, several other Apple executives spoke.

Senior vice president of hardware engineering, Dan Riccio, described remote work as a “huge challenge” for device design that is usually done under laboratory settings. According to him, travel restrictions in March caused the most trouble because that is when engineers typically travel to China to help kick-start the manufacturing process of the products launching in the fall.

Apple had its way around the difficulties, with engineers controlling robots from home and using iPads with augmented-reality (AR) software to guide technicians in factories across the world, Riccio said. Staff also worked at various hours to facilitate better communication with staff already stationed in China. The “very best is yet to come,” Riccio said.

Head of custom chip development, Johny Srouji, informed the Apple staff about a cellular modem that went into development this year.

Chief Operating Officer and Operations Executive Jeff Williams and Sabih Khan respectively, have praised their team’s work and ability to produce products this year with minimal delays.

SOURCE

Nintendo Switch finds its oasis in China

Nivedita Bangari

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December 11, 2020

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Nintendo Switch finds its oasis in China

The launch of next-gen consoles from Sony and Microsoft has the gaming community across the globe, running to their nearest retail stores to purchases the consoles. But there is one country in the world that has shunned Sony and Microsoft from entering its market. That’s right, we are talking about China, and the fact that PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S is unavailable in the country as of now has made another gaming console a massive hit in its market.

The absence of powerhouses like Sony and Microsoft has made Nintendo Co.’s Switch the undisputed champion in the world’s biggest market. According to sources, Switch has distributed more than 1.3 million units this year through both legal and gray market channels. It has pushed Switch’s lifetime China sales to nearly 4 million.

Much of Switch’s success is contributed to the pandemic and the fact that users wanted to escape from the boredom introduced by the strict lockdowns. Though Nintendo’s Switch is facing significant difficulties globally due to the launch of consoles from Sony and Microsoft, China has become its oasis in the desert.

China has banned foreign companies from selling video game consoles in its market for quite some time. The consoles are banned, but some of the prevalent Nintendo games are being blocked from china. Games such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Animal Crossing: the Chinese government is still banning new Horizons that has seen huge increase in their popularity.

Nonetheless, Nintendo’s games are significantly popular amongst the Chinese gaming community, and its popularity seems to keep increasing. Analysts claim that only Nintendo’s Switch can rise to such a rage in china as its games are designed primarily to target China’s audience.

“When compared to Microsoft and Sony, Nintendo has the best chance to seize the China market because its game characters and franchises are already well-known among Chinese consumers.”

source

[Report] There will be no more USB Cables With Future iPhone Models

Anurag Dutta

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December 11, 2020

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[Report] There will be no more USB Cables With Future iPhone Models

After the launch of the iPhone 12 series, one thing we have to say regarding it, “lesser accessories, more price”. And, this is quite true as Apple has not provided any earphones or power adapter inside the retail box of the iPhone 12 series. However, a recent report has come out stating that there will be no more USB Cables With Future iPhone Models, which means the iPhone 13 lineup of 2021 is going to provide even lesser accessories than the previous lineup. But what we’ve experienced this year, the price range of the iPhone 13 series will make a rise for sure. For this, the users of iPhones have been quite disappointed as well for increasing its price and not giving the required accessories (earphones, power adapter) with it.

Apple survey detailing questions about accessories 2 [Report] There will be no more USB Cables With Future iPhone Models

Apart from it, the biometrics of iPhones should be improved as well. Not only the fingerprint sensor but also Apple should retain and make some improvements of the face ID detection in the future models. As of now, the face-recognition of iPhones has some limitations. Like, if the user is wearing a mask, the face ID sensor will not work. The user has to put off the mask to work with it properly or he/she has to type the passcode. Apple should make some improvements in this issue as it is not like people can move freely without wearing a mask even after the pandemic. So, Apple should bring with some newer technologies regarding face ID detection in its future iPhone models, that those can work properly even the user is wearing a mask.

Apple survey detailing questions about accessories 1 [Report] There will be no more USB Cables With Future iPhone Models

Regarding the vanishing of USB-cables from future iPhones, it will be another blow for the buyers. Moreover, Apple is known for its high securities in its devices. So, we are not quite sure if we can use any third-party USB-cables with future iPhones. If we will have to buy a USB-cable from Apple, it will definitely cost much higher than the regular third-party cables. We have to keep this in mind as well.

Source

Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro will be available in black variant along with the violet and silver ones

Technology

Anurag Dutta

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December 11, 2020

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Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro will be available in black variant along with the violet and silver ones

A few days ago, we’ve got some leaked renders regarding the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro earbuds, which showed that this device will be available in violet and silver color variants. But recently, another report has come out saying that it will be available in the Black option as well.

gsmarena 001 3 Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro will be available in black variant along with the violet and silver ones

Samsung is set to launch its Galaxy Buds Pro earbuds along with the S21 series. As of now, Samsung has not revealed much about the Galaxy Buds Pro earbuds. However, from one of the popular leaker we’ve been witnessed to the first look of the new Galaxy Buds Pro earbuds.

Coming to its design, it is something different compared to the design of the Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Buds+. A pretty good quality silicone tips are there for a good fit in a rounded body. At the top, we can see a microphone and a grill is there at the bottom of each earbud. Samsung has claimed that this device will feature active noise cancellation. Now, coming to the design of the case, it is a pill-shaped case, similar to the Galaxy Buds Live. An LED light is there that will work as a charging indicator. This device supports USB-C and wireless charging.

gsmarena 003 1 1 Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro will be available in black variant along with the violet and silver ones

gsmarena 002 2 1 Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro will be available in black variant along with the violet and silver ones

After the design, let’s talk about the battery. As per the FCC listing of this device, the case of the upcoming Galaxy Buds Pro is fueled up by a 500mAH battery. Compared to the 270mAH battery capacity of the Galaxy Buds+ case, it is definitely an improvement with a 500mAH battery. You can extend your playback time by charing the earbuds by their case. As per the availability, this audio product will get launched along with the S21 series. So, we can expect it on something around mid-2021.

Image courtesy: Voice | Source

Amazon.in announces ‘Apple Days’

Raunak Saha

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December 11, 2020

0

Bengaluru, December 11, 2020: Amazon.in today announced ‘Apple Days’ bringing together a host of deals and offers on the latest iPhone 12 series, iPhone 11, iPhone 7 and more. Apple Days will be live until December 16, 2020, with great offers from participating brands and sellers.

Customers can get iPhone 11 at an amazing price of INR 51,999 with a discount of INR 2,900. Further, customers can avail of an additional discount of INR 1,750 on Yes Bank Credit Cards EMI transactions. iPhone 7 will be available at the lowest ever price of INR 23,999.

During Apple Days, customers can enjoy attractive deals on the latest Apple products by saving up to INR 5,000 on iPad Mini and get an additional discount of INR 3,000 on HDFC Bank Debit and Credit Cards. They can also get an instant discount of INR 6,000 on the popular Apple MacBook Pro using HDFC Debit and Credit Cards.

Here are some of the best deals:

Apple iPhone 11

Price: ₹ 51,999

6.1-inch (15.5 cm) Liquid Retina HD LCD display
Water and dust resistant (2 meters for up to 30 minutes, IP68)
Dual-camera system with 12MP Ultra Wide and Wide cameras; Night mode, Portrait mode, and 4K video up to 60fps
12MP TrueDepth front camera with Portrait mode, 4K video, and Slo-Mo
Face ID for secure authentication
A13 Bionic chip with third-generation Neural Engine
Fast-charge capable
Wireless charging
iOS 14 with redesigned widgets on the Home screen, all-new App Library, App Clips, and more

Buy from here: https://amzn.to/3m7QskK

Apple iPhone 7

Price: ₹ 23,990

4.7-inch Retina HD LCD display
Water and dust resistant (1 meter for up to 30 minutes, IP67)
Single 12MP Wide camera with Auto HDR and 4K video up to 30fps
7MP FaceTime HD camera with 1080p video
Touch ID for secure authentication and Apple Pay
A10 Fusion chip
iOS 13 with Dark Mode, new tools for editing photos and video, and brand new privacy features

Buy from here

Apple iPad Mini

Price: ₹ 31,900

7.9-inch Retina display with True Tone and wide color
A12 Bionic chip
Touch ID fingerprint sensor
8MP back camera, 7MP FaceTime HD front camera
Stereo speakers
802.11ac Wi-Fi
Up to 10 hours of battery life
Lightning connector for charging and accessories
Support for Apple Pencil (1st generation)
iPadOS brings new capabilities designed specifically for iPad

Buy from here: https://amzn.to/3m97fDG

Apple MacBook Pro

Price: ₹ 1,94,900

Tenth-generation quad-core Intel Core i5 processor
Brilliant Retina display with True Tone technology
Backlit Magic Keyboard
Touch Bar and Touch ID
Intel Iris Plus Graphics
Ultra-fast SSD
Four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports
Up to 10 hours of battery life
802.11ac Wi-Fi
Force Touch trackpad

Buy from here: https://amzn.to/2IE1xfD

GlobalWafers set to purchase Siltronic in its biggest deal yet

Technology

Nivedita Bangari

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December 11, 2020

0

GlobalWafers set to purchase Siltronic in its biggest deal yet

Semiconductor industries have seen a significant shift in their business due to the ongoing pandemic and the effects of China and the US dispute. We have witnessed Nvidia acquiring ARM and AMD buying Xilinx, but recently Taiwan’s GlobalWafers Co. agreed to acquire German silicon wafer manufacturer Siltronic AG for about 3.75 billion euros.

The deal estimates the value of Siltronic’s shares at 125 euros. After both, the companies announced the news of the acquisition. Siltronic’s shares rose 1.2% to 127 euros in early trading on Thursday, whereas GlobalWafer’s shares fell as much as 8.8%.

According to sources, GlobalWafers has promised not to lay off the acquired company’s employees or close any Siltronic site in Germany before the end of 2024. The two companies currently have 20 factories in 10 countries, and Siltronic can help bolster GlobalWafers’ 5G power and Internet of Things. So the deal stands to help GlobalWafers develop a more advanced and compound-based semiconductor technology.

After completing the deal, the new combined company will be the world’s largest silicon wafer maker by revenue, with a market share of 32% to 35%. The deal is the largest ever by the Taiwanese wafer manufacturer is one of the biggest this year in the chip industry. The value shouldn’t come as a surprise because competition in the chip industry is heating up.

Not to mention that AMD is gaining its footing in the market and is slowly rising to take down intel. And companies like Apple, who were once significant wafer customer manufacturers, are now building their chips, leading in the market. As the semiconductor market struggles to stabilize post-pandemic, we can expect to see even more deals in the coming months.

Source

Best laptop deals on Amazon India: up to ₹ 30,000 off and No Cost EMI

Laptop

Raunak Saha

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December 11, 2020

0

Best laptop deals on Amazon India: up to ₹ 30,000 off and No Cost EMI

Looking for a laptop, hunting for best deals this year end? Amazon India is providing some great deals on everyday as well as work or gaming laptops for you. From Ryzen to Intel, we have got all of the deals covered:

AVITA PURA

Deal Price: ₹ 24,990

Processor: AMD Ryzen 3-3200 processor, 2.60 GHz base processor speed, 3.50 GHz Max speed
Operating System: Pre-loaded Windows 10 home with lifetime validity |Preinstalled Software: MS Office 365(1-year validity)| In the box: Laptop, AC Adapter, User Guide, Cleaning Cloth, 3 in 1 Sleeve
Display: 14-inch screen with (1920X1080) FHD display | Connectivity: 802.11b/n/ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2
Memory & Storage: 4GB DDR4 RAM with AMD Radeon Vega 3 Graphics | Storage: 256GB SSD
Design and battery: Thin and light Laptop| Laptop weight 1.34kg | Battery Life: Upto 8 Hours as per MobileMark
Ports and Optical Drive: 1 Full Size HDMI, USB 3.0 Type-A x 2 |Type C x 1

Buy from here: https://amzn.to/3nc3oHm

Dell Vostro 3401

Deal Price: ₹ 34,690

Processor:10th Generation Intel Core i3-1005G1 Processor (4MB Cache, Base frequency 1.2 GHz)
Memory & Storage:4GB RAM 1TB 5400 rpm 2.5″ SATA Hard Drive
Display:14.0-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) Anti-glare LED Backlight 2 Side Narrow Border WVA Display
Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics with the shared graphics memory
Operating System & Software: Windows 10 Home Single Language Microsoft Office Home and Student 2019
Others English International Standard keyboard, McAfee Multi-Device Security 15 month subscription 802.11ac 1×1 WiFi
I/O ports: Two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port, One USB 2.0 Type-A port, One HDMI 1.4 port, One Universal Audio Jack, One SD 3.0 card slot

Buy from here: https://amzn.to/2ICo7Fk

AVITA LIBER V14

Deal Price: ₹ 39,990

Processor: AMD R7-3700U processor, 2.30 GHz base processor speed, 4.0 GHz Max speed, 4MB Cache
Operating System:Pre-loaded Windows 10 with lifetime validity |Preinstalled Software: None | In the box: Laptop, adapter,User Guide, Manuals
Display: 14-inch screen (1920X1080) FHD display with Backlit Keyboard| Connectivity: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2
Memory & Storage: 8 GB DDR4 RAM with Radeon RX Vega 10 Graphics | Storage: 512GB SSD
Design and battery: Thin and light Laptop| Finger Print Reader| Laptop weight 1.25kg | Battery Life: Upto 8 Hours as per MobileMark
Ports and Optical Drive: USB 3.0 x 1, USB2.0 x 1, Micro SD X 1, USB3.0 Type-C x 1 (PD 3.0 charging, Display out), Dual Microphone|No Optical Drive

Buy from here: https://amzn.to/3m5i9uh

HP Pavilion x360

Deal Price: ₹ 51,900

Processor: 10th Gen Intel Core i3-10110U (2.1 GHz base frequency, up to 4.1 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology, 4 MB L3 cache, 2 cores)
Operating System & Preinstalled Software: Windows 10 Home | Microsoft Office Home & Student 2019 | In the box: Laptop with included battery, charger
Display: 14-Inch FHD (1920 x 1080), touch-enabled, IPS, edge-to-edge glass, micro-edge, 250 nits, 45% NTSC | Without Inking Pen
Memory & Storage: 8GB DDR4, expandable upto 16 GB | 512GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
Graphics: Intel UHD Integrated Graphics
Design & Battery: Touchscreen and Convertible Laptop | Laptop weight: 1.58 kg | Average battery life = 7 hours, 3-cell, 41 Wh Li-ion Fast Charge Battery
Camera & Microphone: HP TrueVision HD camera with integrated dual array digital microphone
Ports: 1 SuperSpeed USB 3.1 Type-C (5Gbps), 2 SuperSpeed USB Type-A (5Gbps), 1 HDMI 1.4b, 1 RJ-45, 1 SD card reader | Without CD-Drive

Buy from here: https://amzn.to/375pK7O

Lenovo ThinkPad E14

Deal Price: ₹ 57,990

ThinkPad Reliability (12 Military Specifications Certified), Built to withstand rugged usage and can handle accidental knocks, drops, and even spills
Processor: 10th Gen Intel Core i5-10210U processor, 1.6Ghz base speed, 4.2Ghz max speed, 4Cores, 6Mb Smart Cache
Operating System: Pre-loaded Windows 10 Home with lifetime validity
Display: 14-inch screen with (1920X1080) Full HD IPS Display, Anti Glare technology, 720p HD Camera with Thinkshutter, Connectivity: Intel AX201 11ax, 2×2 + BT5.0, Audio: Skype-certified mics and 2x 2W Harman speakers with Dolby Advanced Audio, Dual array microphone
Memory: 8GB RAM, Storage: 1TB HDD + 128GB SSD
Design and battery: Thin and light Laptop, 180 Degree Hinge, Laptop weight 1.69kg, Battery Life: Up to 12.8 hours as per MobileMark, Rapid Charge (80% in 1 hour)
Pre-installed software: Microsoft Office Home & Student 2019, Inside the box: Laptop with battery, Charger, User manual
Ports & CD drive: One USB 2.0, Two USB 3.1 Gen 1 (one Always On), One USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 1 (with the function of Power Delivery and DisplayPort), HDMI 1.4b, Ethernet RJ-45 (LAN Port), Headphone/microphone combo jack, Security keyhole, Without DVD-drive
Security: Integrated power button with touch FPR for power-on and secure login in one touch, Discrete TPM 2.0 chip for encryption of data and passwords, ThinkShutter for privacy from hackers and intruders, Spill-Resistant Backlit Keyboard with Trackpoint

Buy from here: https://amzn.to/343qCb9

Dell Inspiron 5408

Deal Price: ₹ 62,990

Processor:10th Generation Intel Core i5-1035G1 Processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.6 GHz,4 cores)
Memory & Storage: 8GB RAM Single Channel DDR4 3200 MHz | 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive
Display:14-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS Anti-Glare Narrow Border 300nits 72% NTSC WVA Display
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce MX330 Graphics with 2GB GDDR5 VRAM
Operating System & Software: Windows 10 Home Single Language | Microsoft Office Home and Student 2019 | McAfee Security Center 15 month subscription
Keyboard & Battery: English-International Backlit Keyboard | 4-Cell Battery, 53WHr
I/O ports:HDMI 1.4 Port | 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C | Micro SD card reader | 1xHeadphone & Microphone Audio Jack
Others: 802.11ac 2×2 WiFi | Finger Print Reader | Waves MaxxAudio Pro

Buy from here: https://amzn.to/2W65f4A

HP Pavilion Gaming 15

Deal Price: ₹ 63,990

Processor: Intel Core i5-9300H (2.4 GHz base frequency, up to 4.1 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology, 8 MB L3 cache, 4 cores)
Memory: 8 GB DDR4-2666 SDRAM (1 x 8 GB); Storage: 512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
Display: 15.6 Inch FHD IPS anti-glare micro-edge WLED-backlit, 250 nits, 45% NTSC (1920 x 1080)
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Graphics (4 GB GDDR5 dedicated)
Operating System: Pre-loaded Windows 10 Home with lifetime validity
In the box: Laptop with included battery and charger
Ports: 1 USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C (10 Gb/s signaling rate, Power Delivery 3.0, DisplayPort 1.4, HP Sleep and Charge); 1 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A (HP Sleep and Charge); 2 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A (Data Transfer Only); 1 HDMI; 1 AC smart pin; 1 RJ-45; 1 headphone/microphone combo

Buy from here: https://amzn.to/3gA3giq

Dell G3 3500 Gaming

Deal Price: ₹ 72,990

Processor: 10th Generation Intel i5-10300H Processor (8 MB Cache, up to 4.5 GHz, 4 cores)
Memory & Storage: 8GB, 2x4GB, DDR4,Dual Channel 2933MHz upgradable to 16GB | 256 GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive | 1TB 5400 RPM 2.5″ Hard Disk Drive
Display: 15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) 120Hz 250 nits WVA Anti- Glare LED-Backlit Narrow Border Display
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR6 | Game Shift Technology
Operating System & Software: Windows 10 Home Plus Single Language | McAfee Security Center 15 month subscription
Keyboard & Battery: Backlit keyboard | 3 Cell Battery, 51 Whr, Up to 10 hours battery life | Laptop weight 2.3 Kg
I/O Ports: 2xUSB 3.2 Gen 1 port with PowerShare | 2x USB 2.0 ports | 1x HDMI 2.0 port |1x SD-card slot | 1x RJ45 port | 1x headset port
Others: Alienware Command Center | Nahimic 3D audio | WiFi 802.11ac 1×1 | Bluetooth 5 |1Yr Premium Support: Onsite Service | Finger Print Reader

Buy from here: https://amzn.to/2W0Jnb0

Which laptop are you planning to buy? Let us know in the comments down below…❤

US Govt, States File Antitrust Lawsuit against Facebook, Company in Risk of losing Instagram and WhatsApp

Technology

Aliasgar Ayaz

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December 11, 2020

0

US Govt, States File Antitrust Lawsuit against Facebook, Company in Risk of losing Instagram and WhatsApp

In a landmark anti-trust action headlined by bipartisan support, Facebook Inc. was sued by U.S. antitrust officials and 48 states that want to potentially force its breakup, by unraveling its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. The government says these deals were part of a campaign to illegally destroy competition.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and New York Attorney General Letitia James, said they filed antitrust complaints against Facebook on 9 December, alleging the company stifled competition from rivals in order to protect its monopoly in social media. The lawsuits seek court orders that could include a spinoff of Facebook-owned Instagram and WhatsApp services according to copies of the complaints provided by the states and the FTC.

The case against Facebook follows the Justice Department’s October lawsuit against Alphabet Inc.’s Google. Together, the Google and Facebook lawsuits mark the most important monopoly cases filed in the U.S. since the Justice Department took on Microsoft Corp. in 1998.

“Personal social networking is central to the lives of millions of Americans,” Ian Conner, the director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said in a statement according to Bloomberg. “Facebook’s actions to entrench and maintain its monopoly deny consumers the benefits of competition. Our aim is to roll back Facebook’s anticompetitive conduct and restore competition so that innovation and free competition can thrive.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James during an online press conference said that Facebook used “vast amounts of money” to take control of companies that could potentially threaten its dominance, particularly Instagram and WhatsApp

The FTC and the Justice Department worked out a plan to divide up scrutiny of Facebook, Amazon.com Inc., Google, and Apple Inc in 2019 and the investigations have been on thereafter. Following a 16 month investigation, a House report, which was released, determined the four companies were abusing their market power as gatekeepers of the digital economy.

If Joe Simons, who was appointed by Trump for the Justice Department, leaves the agency, it will be up to President-elect Joe Biden’s Justice Department to carry the Google case forward. The Facebook case will fall to whoever picked as the FTC chairman by Biden.

Facebook believes its investments in Instagram and WhatsApp is what made them successful. The multi-billion-dollar acquisitions were investigated and approved by the FTC when they were announced.

“The government now wants a do-over, sending a chilling warning to American business that no sale is ever final,” Jennifer Newstead, Facebook General Counsel, said in a statement. “People and small businesses don’t choose to use Facebook’s free services and advertising because they have to, they use them because our apps and services deliver the most value.”

The FTC believes that Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram when it had only 25 million users “squelched the direct threat that Instagram posed.”

The states’ complaint says Zuckerberg reached an agreement with former Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom to sell the company “based in no small part upon Zuckerberg’s growing reputation for wielding Facebook’s power as a sword.” According to the complaint, Systrom later said, “bottom line I don’t think we’ll ever escape the wrath of Mark…it just depends how long we avoid it.”

The FTC and the states said Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp, the mobile messaging leader, in 2014 for $19 billion was a repeat of its anti-competitive strategy and that Facebook always looked at any direct-messaging app as a threat. According to a 2012 email, Zuckerberg said messaging apps could be used “as a springboard to build more general mobile social networks.”

Another strategy of Facebook that the lawsuits highlight is the thwarting of competition in violation of antitrust laws by preventing apps that could be possible competitive threats from accessing its platform.

“The two most utilized strategies have been to acquire smaller rivals and potential rivals before they could threaten Facebook’s dominance and to suffocate and squash third-party developers that Facebook invited to utilize its platform,” James’s office said in a statement.

Mark Zuckerberg_TechnoSports.co.in — Facebook CEO: Mark Zuckerberg

Zuckerberg told Congress in July that the company faces intense competition around the world, while Facebook has long denied the allegations, the CEO says that the company is constantly innovating to develop products according to the preferences of the user to avoid falling behind.

“With hindsight, it probably looks like obvious that Instagram would have reached the scale that it has today, but at the time it was far from obvious,” he told Representative Jerrold Nadler, the New York Democrat who chairs the Judiciary Committee. “This has been an American success story.”

The FTC is taking on Facebook just as it’s coming off a stinging loss in a monopoly case brought against American public multinational corporation Qualcomm Inc. A federal appeals court in August ruled in favor of the chipmaker and by doing that reversed a lower-court decision that Qualcomm abused its dominant position in the market for cell-phone chips.

SOURCE

Google’s Look to Speak is targeted to help those with speech and motor impairments

Technology

Nivedita Bangari

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December 11, 2020

0

Google’s Look to Speak is targeted to help those with speech and motor impairments

Google has been keeping up with the latest in-demand trends in the market. The developers at the world’s largest search engine company have been extremely busy releasing new updates and new Apps to its Android operating platform. Under the company’s ‘Experiment with Google’ initiative, a new app has been developed by the Android maker.

The app in the discussion is called Look to Speak, and it allows users to select pre-written phrases using their eyes. The selected words are then spoken aloud. The app is now available on Play Store and is only compatible with Android 9.0 and above, as well as for Android One.

Google states that the new app is used to help the people who need such an assistive service. The technology is targeted towards the community of people who are living with speech and motor impairments. The users who are non-verbal or requires communication assistance will significantly benefit from the new service.

According to sources, users have to select the phrases by looking left, right, and up-down. It can even simulate the user’s actual voice. The developers have provided a feature to adjust the eye gaze sensitivity settings. Googles claim that the Look to Speak is a ‘Start with One’ project on the “Experiments with Google” platform. It also claims that Look To Speak could work where other communication devices couldn’t quickly go—for example, outdoors, in transit, in the shower, and urgent situations.

Overall it is an excellent initiative by google as it is aimed at helping the needy. When asked about the app’s privacy regulations, Google stated that its data will be collected or will share.

Source

Red Bull M.E.O. 2020 India – World Cricket Championship National Final along with Top Sports personalities, Influencers, and Pro-Gamers to take place on 13th December

Gaming

Raunak Saha

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December 11, 2020

0

Red Bull M.E.O. 2020 India – World Cricket Championship National Final along with Top Sports personalities, Influencers, and Pro-Gamers to take place on 13th December

~ Find the best World Cricket Championship Player

~ National finals on Sunday 13^th December accompanied by the invitational tournament

~ Riyan Parag, Mira Erda, Tania Sachdev, Ankit Panth, Samay Raina, Yashraj Mukhate, Scout and Mortal to compete in the invitational tournament

11^th December 2020, India: Red BullM.E.O. 2020 India – World Cricket Championship National finals to take place on 13^th December to find the best World Cricket Championship player. The qualifiers of tournament, being conducted in World Cricket Championship 2 and World Cricket Championship 3 and held daily from 15th November to 5th December received more than 2.3 lakh registrations.

48 winners of the qualifying rounds moved to the play-offs on 7^th & 8^th December and competed in a 1v1 format. The top 4 (Krunal Mangukia from Surat, Charan Teja from Chittoor, Yogesh Bhuva from Mumbai and Ravi Ranjan Kumar from Muzaffarpur) will compete in the national finals in Gurgaon where the winner will be announced as the national champion.

On Sunday 13^th December, the National Final of Red Bull M.E.O. 2020 India will be accompanied by a special invitational tournament 5pm onwards which will witness participation from Red Bull Athletes Tania Sachdev (Chess), Riyan Parag (cricket), Mira Erda (Motorsports) and Ankit Panth (esports). Tania Sachdev is an Indian chess player, who holds the titles of International Master and Woman Grandmaster. Mira Erda is one of India’s foremost female open wheel racers while Riyan Parag is a Rajasthan Royals all-rounder and rising cricket star who is also an avid gamer.

One of India’s most popular Counter-Strike gaming professionals, Ankit ‘V3nom’ Panth has been a figure of inspiration for the gaming community for many years, while also being the face of Team Brutality. Joining the Red Bull athletes, Musical Composer and social media sensation Yashraj Mukhate along with Indian chess streamer, YouTuber, stand-up comedian Samay Raina will compete with pro gamers like Scout and Mortal. Tanmay “ScoutOP” Singh is the most followed professional player for Fnatic on social media with over 1M followers on both YouTube and Instagram while Naman Mathur (Soul Mortal) is arguably India’s most popular PUBG MOBILE player/streamer.

Red Bull M.E.O. National finals and the invitational will be conducted in World Cricket Championship Rivals. WCC Rivals has been purely built keeping competitive play in mind and is the world’s first mobile game which features 2v2 real-time cricket multiplayer experience. WCC Rivals is a part of the WCC franchise which boasts of more than 143 million downloads.

Looking forward to the national finals of Red Bull M.E.O. along with the invitational, PR Rajendran, Founder and CEO, Nextwave Multimedia said, “Being a cricket loving nation, we at WCC are extremely glad that through this tournament we can leverage our fans into the esports circuit, building the space further. Also, we at WCC, take pride on how this ‘home grown’ game has managed to embed cricket into the esports ecosystem for future.”

“Red Bull has had the wonderful opportunity of bringing a new wave of esports through World Cricket Championship in Mobile Esports Open. NODWIN is elated to see the overwhelming response from the community in the first go. The competition is onto its last leg, a hearty congratulations to all the finalists. Let’s embrace the onset of cricket esports”, said Akshat Rathee, MD & Co-Founder, NODWIN Gaming.

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