Page 36 - Technology Internet
LS polls: 10.25 per cent turnout till 9:00 am in last phase
The voter turnout till 9 am in the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha elections was recorded as 10.25 per cent, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said on Sunday. Fifty-nine parliamentary constituencies across seven states and one union territory are voting today.The voter turnout recorded till 9:00 am is - 10.65 per cent in Bihar, 3.01 per cent in Himachal Pradesh, 11.86 per cent in Madhya Pradesh, 9.73 per cent in Punjab, 8.29 per cent in Uttar Pradesh, 14.11 per cent in West Bengal, 15 per cent in Jharkhand and 10.40 per cent in Chandigarh.The seven-phase Lok Sabha election started on April 11. The first phase witnessed a voter turnout of 69.45 per cent.The result for the Lok Sabha election will be announced on May 23.
South Korean government to ditch Windows 7 for Linux
With Microsoft informing users that it would end free technical support for Windows 7 operating system next year, South Korean government has decided to switch from Windows 7 to open source operating system Linux.
Google to shut down Jump VR platform in June
A dwindling user base has forced Google to shut down its Jump virtual reality (VR) platform that would go offline by the end of June.
Amazon launches flight booking service in India
People in India can now use Amazon to book their domestic flights in addition to shopping, money transfers, utility bill payments, mobile recharges -- all through one single app, the e-commerce giant announced on Saturday.
Only 38% Indians concerned about data misuse: Survey
Just 38 per cent Internet Indians are concerned about data misuse compared with 63 per cent in Spain, shows a survey by Germany-based data research firm Statista.
Apple Park decorated in rainbow colours for Steve Jobs
Apple Park was decorated with the colours of its classic rainbow logo in celebration of the formal opening of its new headquarters and also to pay tribute to its late co-founder Steve Jobs.
Google's smart city plan upsets Toronto residents
Google-affiliate Sidewalk Labs's plan to build an Internet-based smart city in Toronto has sparked fear and anxiety among residents, the media reported.
Italy launches anti-competition probe against Google
Joining the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the European Union (EU), Italy's antitrust authority has become the latest international regulatory body to launch an anti-competition investigation against Google.
Spotify testing first hardware, car smart assistant
To help people enjoy audio while driving, Swedish music streaming giant Spotify is testing its first hardware - a voice-controlled smart assistant for cars called "Car Thing" - in the US.
Blockchain may make e-commerce cheaper, fairer
A Blockchain-based system that allows buyers and sellers to interact directly can make e-commerce platform for digital goods "cheat proof" and the products cheaper, says a study by India-origin researchers.
Samsung Galaxy S10 5G now available in US
Stepping up the rollout of the 5G smartphone in the global market, Samsung said its Galaxy S10 5G is now selling in the US markets to run on Verizon's network in Chicago and Minneapolis.
No benefit in breaking up Facebook: COO Sandberg
As the chorus grows to break up Facebook, the social networking platform's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg has said that it won't serve any purpose.
Can cheaper Pixel resurrect Google's smartphone dream?
Google's smartphone business has been struggling to gain ground even as rivals Apple, Samsung and Huawei continue to upend competition with better "specced" devices every quarter.
NASA selects SpaceX, Blue Origin, more to build next human lunar lander
After receiving an additional USD 1.6 billion funding for its space programs, NASA has announced that it has selected 11 private companies to work with for building the next human landers for its Moon program.On the official blog, NASA listed companies including Elon Musk's SpaceX, Amazon's Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin, and American aerospace giant SpaceX, among the partners which will help send American astronauts - the first woman and the next man, on the Moon's south pole by 2024 and build sustainable missions by 2028.This program, called Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP), will require participating companies to contribute at least 20 per cent of the total project cost. The total award amount for all companies is USD 45.5 million.
Facebook retweaks News Feed to show relevant content on top
In the past one year, Facebook conducted surveys to understand what exactly interests its users first when it comes to the News Feed. Based on the results, the social networking giant announced two ranking updates.Facebook will also take into account which friends are the closest based on the number of photo tags, reacting and commenting regularly, or checking-in at same places, before ranking their posts higher in the feed, the official blog notes.Secondly, the engagement with post links will also determine the ranking in the News Feed. Based on this, Facebook will show only those links higher in your feed which are worth your time.
Instagram redesigns Explore to show content of your interest
Instagram has redesigned its Explore tab in the main app to provide users with more ways of discovering content that is relevant to their interests.As the official blog notes, the Explore tab will now feature a newly designed navigation bar featuring shortcuts to IGTV and Shop, followed by other topic channels based on your interests.The redesigned Explore tab will now also feature relevant Stories based on interests and also recommend personalised Stories. The new design will be rolled out to users in the coming weeks.
LG builds AI chip for home appliances
LG announced that it has built its own artificial intelligence (AI) chip with the LG Neural Engine that is useful for various products.The LG AI Chip incorporates visual, voice, and product intelligence to better recognise surroundings. As the official blog explains, the chip leverages on-device AI to operate even without a network connection.The new chip can potentially power robot vacuum cleaners, washing machines, air conditioners, and refrigerators of the future for smart, AI-enabled home experience.
Self-repairing batteries could soon become a reality
Engineers at the University of Tokyo have developed a material which could give more life and higher capacities to batteries.The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.Atsuo Yamada and his team demonstrated that if the battery is made with a model material - oxygen redox-layered oxide (Na2RuO3) - something remarkable happens. Not only does the degradation from charge and discharge cycles diminish, but the layers actually self-repair."This means batteries could have far longer life spans, but also they could be pushed beyond levels that currently damage them. Increasing the energy density of batteries is of paramount importance to realize electrified transportation," said Yamada.From smartphones to pacemakers and now even cars, batteries power much of our world and their importance only continues to grow. There are two particular aspects of batteries that many believe need to improve to meet our future needs. These are the longevity of the battery and also its ...
Facebook breakup could boost China rivals: Sandberg
Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said Friday a breakup of big US technology would not address "underlying issues" facing the sector and suggested that such a move could help rivals in China. Sandberg, interviewed on CNBC television, was asked about the latest calls to break up Facebook and other major Silicon Valley firms which dominate key sectors. "You could break us up, you could break other tech companies up, but you actually don't address the underlying issues people are concerned about," Sandberg said in the interview. Sandberg said the social network used by more than two billion people was working to address concerns about election security, online violence promotion and data protection, but that a breakup might only serve to help competitors from China. "While people are concerned with the size and power of tech companies, there's also a concern in the United States with the size and power of Chinese companies, and the realisation that those companies are not .
New spectral analysis tech can help boost plant production
A new technology called spectral analysis can quickly scan an entire field of plants to capture improvements in their natural capacity to harvest the sun's energy, a game-changing development that could greatly improve crop performance.Researchers engineered crops to be more productive by improving photosynthesis, the natural process all plants use to convert sunlight into energy and yield."This method allows us to measure improvements we have engineered in a plant's photosynthesis machinery in about ten seconds, compared to the traditional method that takes up 30 minutes. That's a major advance because it allows our team to analyze an enormous amount of genetic material to efficiently pinpoint traits that could greatly improve crop performance," said lead researcher, Katherine Meacham-Hensold.The traditional method for assessing photosynthesis analyzes the exchange of gases through the leaf, it provides a huge amount of information, but it takes 30 minutes to measure each leaf.A ...
