Your Tech Story

Athulya

Being a cinephile with a love for all things outdoorsy, Athulya never misses a chance to chase inspiring stories or poke fun at things, even when the subject is herself. Currently pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering, she is someone innately interested in technical and scientific research. Music reviews and op-eds define her as they allow her to explore different perspectives. Though sometimes she thinks she makes more sense playing the guitar than she does while writing.

Virgin Orbit

Virgin Orbit’s Rocket Launch Fails to Impress As Rocket Stutters Instead of Heading To Outer Space

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Enthusiasts who want to fly to outer space might have to wait a little while longer. As reports, the test launch done by Virgin Orbit ended up failing, after the Boeing 747 dropped the LauncherOne rocket from it. Soon after the test, Virgin Orbit confirmed that while the drop was successful, the rocket suffered an anomaly. Here’s a look at what happened and what it could mean for the company, which aims to send tourists to space soon enough. 

Not There Yet

The test flight happened yesterday, and the rocket after being dropped was to take off and ignite. However, the company confirmed that while it successfully ignited, some anomaly caused the rocket to then fall. The company has said that they will look into the data, to try to figure out what went wrong, and later try again. Virgin Orbit also made it clear that the test’s failure had not left anyone hurt or injured. William Pomerantz, VP of Special Operations at Virgin Orbit, tweeted that the team would go to bed wiser than they were in the morning. He stated that while the mission wasn’t a complete success, they were able to tackle one of the most significant technical hurdles associated with the launch.

To The Stars

Virgin Orbit, is a sister company to Richard Branson’s space tourism firm Virgin Galactic, which plans to send people to outer space. The company was out on Monday to test its small satellite launcher and rocket, which it had been developing over the last six years. The company was hoping to see the rocket successfully detach itself, ignite and then launch itself. However, while it did two of the first two correctly, some anomaly caused it to fail while in air. 

How The Virgin Orbit’s Mission Plan Looks

The main rocket used by Virgin Orbit, LauncherOne, has the capacity to launch small and medium-sized payloads. The rocket can handle payloads that are as big as a washing machine and can launch them into outer space. The rocket utilises some unique science to do so, as it does not launch itself straight from the ground. Instead, LauncherOne starts its flight from under the wing of a Boeing 747 plane. 

Nicknamed the Cosmic Girl, the Boeing 747 can carry the LauncherOne up to a maximum of 35,000 feet. Once the plane reaches that altitude, it pulls up and angles itself correctly so that the rocket can drop away. Once it falls, the LauncherOne’s engine ignites and propels ut towards outer space, along with its payload. Virgin Orbit’s CEO, Dan Hart, says that this unique science helps them stand apart. Due to this technology, they can launch outer space rockets from anywhere, as all they need is a suitable Boeing 747 plane. Therefore, this new technology gives the company incredible flexibility and accessibility.

Way Ahead

However, while this is how the technology should work, yesterday’s failure has highlighted the errors in their judgement. The test launch yesterday was the first time the Virgin Orbit would have put anything into orbit, which the LauncherOne is yet to achieve. While the company has been testing its hardware for a while, they are yet to breach the limits of space. Some of the tests that ended successfully were ignition tests for the LauncherOne engine, named NewtonThree. These tests were mainly done at Virgin Orbit’s facility situated at the Mojave Air and Space Port.

Moving Ahead

The Cosmic Girl is handled and flown by their chief pilot, Kelly Latimer, who has taken the main role in several launches. The team had even successfully launched a dummy rocket a while back to ensure that it fell the way they wanted it to. In essence, the team had tested everything except the rocket’s ignition, which is where things went wrong.

The way here has been a long one for Virgin Orbit, which had anticipated to test the LauncherOne much earlier. However, they were held up due to work developing the rocket. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the company halting its operations in Virgin Orbit factories along Long Beach. During the test, the LauncherOne carried a weighted payload that resembled a customer’s satellite. Though it did not end up how they planned, the company aims to learn from this failure and analyse what went wrong. Since more than half inaugural launches of new rockets fail, the team is prepared to rework the rocket and try again.

Once the rockets clear the test, the company’s first commercial service is launching over 10 satellites for NASA, via mission ELaNa XX.  Once that is done, the company will then move on to launching small payloads into orbit. The other significant players in this market include Elon Musk-founded SpaceX, which is also trying to launch vehicles into space. We will have to see how all these plans pan out in the future. But for now, Virgin Orbit needs to focus on getting their launching right!

disney

Disney Plus Head Kevin Mayer Quits Disney to Join TikTok!

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The entertainment industry has been set ablaze by news of a resignation. Kevin Mayer, who heads the Disney Corporation’s video streaming venture, has officially stepped down from his post. In a rather shocking move, Mayer will now join as the CEO of TikTok. Furthermore, he will also become the COO of the company that owns TikTok, ByteDance. Here’s a look at how the shift came to be, and what it means for the entertainment industry. 

Wheels in Motion

TikTok is an industry leader when it comes to short-form video content, but the move has shocked millions. Disney CEO, Bob Chapek released a statement yesterday, wherein he thanked Mayer for all his input and work. He also stated that Mayer had a massive impact on Disney and that he was a fantastic head to their direct-to-consumer market.

Mayer’s responsibilities at ByteDance will include overseeing the development, sales, public affairs, and moderation. The company released its own press release, wherein they stated that Mayer will lead divisions such as music, Helo, new businesses, and even gaming. Mayer will begin working at ByteDance from the 1st of June, and as CEO of TikTok, will be responsible for aiding in its stellar growth, moving forward. 

Years at Disney

Mayer will forever be known in the entertainment and media industry for being the brain behind Disney Plus. The corporation’s large streaming platform launched last November to widespread acclaim. Within such a short period, the platform has already gained over 50 million subscribers. Other than this, his other claim-to-fame include paving the way for significant acquisitions such as Pixar, Marvel, 21st Century Fox, and Lucasfilm.

Mayer, along with CEO Bob Iger, brought in a new era for Disney, through their lucrative partnerships and deals. While at Disney, Mayer was also involved with ESPN+ and the integration of Hulu, apart from his other high-profile acquisitions. Within the industry, there were already talks of Mayer taking over the mantle from Iger. However, when Iger finally made the decision in February, he chose Chapek over Mayer. Speculations have already risen, stating that this might have been the biggest reason for this sudden switch. 

Disney’s Way Ahead

Before taking over Disney, Chapek was in charge of the company’s various theme parks. Rebecca Campbell, who will now serve as the Chairman of Disney’s direct-to-customer services will replace the void left behind by Mayer. Campbell is an experienced veteran with over 23 years’ worth of experience within the industry. She served previously as the President of Disneyland Resort and oversaw their properties in California. Disney made further announcements stating that Josh D’Amaro would take over as chairman of Disney Parks. Both these new heads will also directly report to Chapek.

Role at TikTok

Mayer will face several challenges while trying to grow TikTok, in the years to come. The social media industry is one of the most competitive out there. Therefore, keeping TikTok popular alongside competitors like Facebook and Snapchat will not be easy.

In Mayer’s statement, he made it clear that he would love to take on the new challenge. He also stated that he was delighted to have gotten the opportunity to help lead their next phase of growth and development. Mayer will work on expanding the short-form video content generator across the world and improving its products and services. He also stated that he loved working for Disney and that he was very proud of the work he had done there. The opportunity presented to him by TikTok was huge, and Mayer states that he thought it was the right time to move to bigger opportunities.

giphy

Facebook to Acquire GIF-giant Giphy in A Major Tech Buy-Out

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There have not been major acquisitions in the tech space in recent times due to the impact of the COVID-19. However, that seems to be changing, with a significant announcement coming from Facebook yesterday. Facebook has decided to acquire the GIF-giant Giphy in a bid to control the GIF industry. Here’s a look at what the acquisition will mean for Facebook and its competitors.

Facebook Buys Giphy

Facebook’s acquisition of Giphy can change the way we send and receive GIFs forever. Studies have shown that over 700 million people use Giphy to send and receive short video content daily. Most of this happens over popular social media apps such as Twitter, TikTok, WhatsApp, and iMessage. All these applications make use of Giphy’s API to send others GIFs and other such content. An issue will arise because of these companies will not want to integrate with a Facebook platform. Since Facebook has had notorious privacy issues, they would prefer not to utilise Facebook-owned platforms for their content. Also, Facebook’s reliability has taken a big hit due to frequent bugs, crashes, and upgrade issues. 

Moving Forward

However, Facebook has made it clear that developers will be able to utilise Giphy even after the acquisition. Instagram VP for product, Vishal Shah remarked that users will still be able to use Giphy to send and receive content. Further, Giphy’s in-house team will also continue to create and upload new GIFs. Furthermore, the GIFs do not contain any cookies or tracking mechanisms, meaning people do not have to worry about privacy. Giphy has also confirmed that the app can view only search terms, and not any of the data stored on your phone. However, many experts worry that after the acquisition, Facebook can change how the company works. Therefore, a lot of applications that now use Giphy could drop the service after the big buy-out. 

Major Applications Which Use Giphy

Here’s a look at some of the world’s most popular apps that make use of Giphy. 

iMessage: The #images application, which is pre-built into the iOS, allows users to send GIFs via the iMessage. However, the integration with Facebook could lead to some tension between Apple and the social media giant. Apple has strong privacy norms, which they will not like to dilute, which can lead to them stopping their collaboration with the GIF company. 

MailChimp: MailChimp, which is one of the world’s most used email marketing, and mailing list software, allows users to add GIFs into emails. Reports state that the company will continue offering this service, even after the buy-out. This does not come as a surprise as the company already had some Facebook integration built into their software.

Signal: Signal sources a lot of their GIFs from Giphy, and also allows users to add GIFs to their messages. Since it is a privacy-focused messaging application that provides end-to-end encryption, we are unsure whether they will continue this service post-acquisition. Even if they do, due to their high-security measures, Facebook might not be able to access any data. 

Slack: Slack also allowed users to add GIFs into their messages and chats while using the messaging app. Their VP, Brian Elliot, released a statement that Giphy had information only about GIF searches, and hence, privacy would not become a pressing concern. 

Snapchat: Snapchat added a Giphy integration in 2018, and has not yet decided whether it will continue to allow the union to function. 

Telegram: Telegram, coupled with Giphy to allow users to add GIFs to their messages. The application also confirmed that Giphy receives no information regarding the users who utilise Telegram. Therefore, they were not concerned with privacy issues. However, they are in plans to transition away from their dependence on Giphy. 

TikTok and Tinder: TikTok allows you to send GIFs and stickers through Giphy. However, they have not released any comment regarding the future of this partnership after the acquisition. Tinder, too, has refused to comment on the issue. However, since both these apps allow users to log in using their Facebook account, in most likelihood, the union will continue. 

Twitter: Twitter makes use of both Tenor and Giphy to source their GIFs. Since Twitter and Facebook have a running feud, it is highly likely that the company will now depend entirely on Tenor for their GIFs. 

The deal is reportedly said to cost somewhere around $400 million, and once in place can have a lot of implications to the way we send and receive GIFs. We will have, however, have to wait and see how the deal plays through, and how these companies react to the acquisition. 

Feluda

CSIR-IGB Lab Develops COVID-19 Test kit Named FELUDA for Faster, More Affordable Testing

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The novel coronavirus is spreading across India quickly, with the last week has added a lot more patients and deaths to India’s toll. However, there might be some good news coming our way. Reports state that an accurate and affordable strip test capable of detecting Covid-19, within an hour, is expected to hit the market in four weeks. Let us take a good look at this new Test kit Named FELUDA, and how it could help us in the fight against the coronavirus.

Also Read: COVID-19 testing kit from an Indian company that needs only 53 seconds!

Feluda to the Rescue

Christened Feluda, the test gets its name from a famous fictional detective penned by the late Satyajit Rai. However, the name is also an acronym for the more technical term – FNCAS9 Editor-Linked Uniform Detection Assay. The test makes use of CRISPR gene-editing technology to identify the genetic material, which makes up the virus Sars-CoV2. It is this virus that causes Covid-19. Senior scientists Dr. Debojyoti Chakraborty and Dr. Souvik Maiti, are being credited for developing this new test. They are top scientists at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Institute, under their Genomics and Integrative Biology wing in New Delhi.

Science Behind It

The Feluda testing kit uses CRISPR-based technology, which combines CRISPR biology and the chemistry of paper strip testing. CRISPR stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, which is a genome-editing technique. The Cas9 protein, which makes up the CRISPR system, is identified and marked, and then made to interact with the Sars-CoV2 sequence found in the patient’s genetic material.

A complex consisting of both Cas9 and Sars-CoV2 is then applied to a paper strip. The strip will have two lines, wherein one is the control line and the other a test line. These lines will help identify if the patient has COVID-19. The entire process of diagnosing COVID-19 will roughly take an hour, making it a speedy and agile process. The whole process, which involves everything from identifying the RNA to taking the readout, will be done within this one hour.

Difference Between Old and New Method

In India, presently, most labs are using the PCR method to diagnose COVID-19. Not only is this method more expensive, but it also takes more time to give a result. The paper strip test kit will make the process of diagnosis much more straightforward, faster, and affordable. The test does not require Level 2 or Level 3 biosafety labs, making it much more accessible. As per CSIR-IGB Director, Anurag Agarwal, the test can be done in any regular pathology lab.

Around the World

The US Food and Drug Administration gave the CRISPR-based testing an emergency-use approval on Friday. However, unlike Feluda, US’s CRISPR test can only be done in hi-tech laboratories. The American counter-part to this test was developed by the combined efforts of MIT, Harvard, Ragon Institute, and the Howard Hughes Institute. However, unlike the American test, which uses CAS12 and CAS13 protein, India’s test utilizes CAS9 protein. The test is extremely accurate and accessible as it does not require any high-tech lab, according to the former Director-General of the ICMR, Dr. Nirmal K Ganguly.

The team had been working on this test kit for over two years. Its functionality is not limited to the COVID-19, but rather to assess and detect DNA-RNA mutations. It was by the end of January that the team began focusing on using the test to detect the novel coronavirus. In India, this is the second CRISPR-based kit which has been developed. Feluda has been backed by Tata Sons, who had pledged support for the testing team and division.

The testing protocol is simple, and the results take much less time, making it easy to use this technology to test millions of people, as per Tata Sons. Each of these test kits will cost INR 500, which is a significant improvement from the INR 4500 cost, which the RT-PCR test bore. It will be interesting to see how this new test revolutionizes the way India, and maybe, even the whole world battles the novel coronavirus.

Tesla

Musk Threatens to Move His Production Center Out of Fremont

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Since the coronavirus began its aggressive rampage across the US, most schools, colleges, and offices still remain shut. The US had no option but to shut down all nonessential shops and production centers in a bid to prevent the spread of the virus. Amidst all this chaos, a few industrialists have spoken out against the shutdown. For the most part, these people have been heavily criticized for not being able to understand the severity of the situations. One of the most prominent of these critics have been Elon Musk, who’s comments have startled everyone. Here’s a look at everything you need to know regarding the issue and how it impacts the economy.

Caution for Tesla

Alameda County health officials warned Tesla against restarting operations at its car factory in California yesterday. Right after this incident, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the company is moving to sue the county. He also stated that the company is planning to move its operations out of the state. As he had mentioned, a few hours later, Tesla filed a suit in the US District Court of the Northern District of California. The lawsuit seeks an injunction against the county’s lockdown order. The suit explains that it is because the lockdown contradicts the Governor’s Order by restricting the operation of businesses in the area. 

To add further fuel to the fire, Tesla tweeted about the same. On Twitter, Musk said that the “ignorant and unelected” Health Officer of Alameda is acting up. Musk believes that the Health Officer’s statements and steps are in direct contrast to the Governor, President, and Constitutional freedom.

Critic for Long

Musk has been a very vocal critic of the lockdown that the coronavirus has brought on in the US. Recently, on April 29th, during Tesla’s earnings call, he called these restrictions’ fascist’ and ‘undemocratic,’ stating that the Constitution allows Americans freedom. These statements highlight the pressure that Musk feels due to his factories in the Bay Area being shut down. He further called for his supporters to voice their own criticism and disagreement with the Alameda County administration. However, the Alameda County Public Health Department recently said that it was trying its best to reach an understanding with Tesla. The team stated that they were trying to come up with safe and standard manufacturing protocols that would help with the reopening of the factory. However, the county made it clear that the safety and well-being of thousands of employees are essential for them. Also, they stated that Tesla had been responsive to recommendations and that they should reach an agreement soon.

People are Important

However, these statements, which were made hours after Musk’s tweet, did not refer to him by name or talk about his comments on the topic. The tweet had said that Tesla has had enough and that this was the final straw for the company. The tweet also threatened to move all their future programs to Nevada immediately. All planned activities in Fremont would depend on how the authorities there treat Tesla from now on.

Tesla had made it clear that they were going to resume their production in limited means at the Fremont facility yesterday. Limited operations would require around 30% of its total workforce. But, the health officials stated that as the county still had shelter-in-place orders intact, they cannot give the car manufacturer approval to move ahead with their plans. California Governor, Gavin Newsom said that the state’s production must be in tune with the manufacturing guidelines set by each county.

Fremont Shutdown

The Fremont plant assembles Tesla’s Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model X vehicles. It shut down on March 23rd, with the company reducing pay for all US employees as of April 13th. Furthermore, the company has also put all their hourly workers on unpaid furlough. If Musk does carry out his plan of moving out of Fremont, it remains unclear what will happen to his 10,000 workers.  Musk had made a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2018 over his tweets. They had come to an agreement that the entrepreneur should run his tweets by a company lawyer before posting them. All announcements that lead to unscheduled events require the filing of an 8-K form, as per the agreement. However, Musk has not filed an 8-K before announcing or threatening to move his plant out of Fremont.

Slack

Slack Out with Beta Version of Major Update That Betters User-Interface

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Slack’s mobile applications are now trying to duplicate a desktop or browser experience by using a single home screen. The company is also working on improving its swipe-based navigation. However, a new update, which will roll out on an Android Beta channel, will try to do away with these cumbersome issues. The latest beta version aims to create a more straightforward and more user-friendly app that introduces significant interface changes.

New Features in the Update

Without a doubt, the most significant change the update will bring is a new navigation bar that will allow users to switch between sections. Such a bar, which will be at the bottom of the page, will enable users to move between sections without excessive swiping. Also, it makes it easier to scan through menus and read chats with ease in the beta version. The bar will also have a home screen button, which will showcase all channels on your device. When on this screen, you can swipe right to go to your other workspaces, and left, if you wish to backtrack to the last channel you visited. Near the home tab, there will be a DM tab to help you access your private message tab.

Also, the bar will have a Mentions tab that enables you to organize your activity session, which used to be hard to get to in the older versions of the app. The last tab on the right will take you to your profile, and will serve as a You tab. Furthermore, the new compose tab will help you start new chats with people via DM. These new upgrades will significantly help with improving Slack’s Android user experience. The app was notorious for burying features and limiting ease of access to vital functions via drop-down menus and options.

Easier for Users

The cluttered sidebar, which was notorious for making remote collaboration more robust, has been improved to make it easier for users to find and join new channels. Furthermore, the addition of a new drag and drop option also makes it easy to group channels and conversations into sections that can collapse when needed. Users can also easily access files, apps, reactions, and mentions from the bar perched on top of the search bar.

The new Compose DM button also makes it easier for users to draft a new message when something comes up urgently, as you get to prepare the message and then attach a recipient to it. The latest update will also make it possible for users to drag, drop, and group channels, folders, and DMs into customizable sections. However, this feature will be available only to customers who pay to use the app, and not for the freeware users.  Additionally, there will be a new lightning bolt button, which will be put next to the message field to allow users to open a new app or utility tool when required.

Current App Issues

In the current beta version, you can access the channel list via the workspace icon, which is present on the upper-left corner of the screen. Another way to do this is to swipe left, in case you do not use the new Q gesture system, which has changed the gesture system tremendously. The DM tab and workspace are buried below layers of buttons and swipes, with them coming out only after you swipe to bring it out. However, ease of use has not changed drastically when you look at Slack on iOS.

The iOS update does not have a navigation bar, though it does come with better swiping options, which allow users to access more parts of the application. Therefore, it is safe to say that the new updates will help make Slack more user-friendly and fast. Once people get used to the new interface, they will find it a lot simpler and efficient. However, we are still not sure when Slack will come out with a public and final version of this update, and whether it will carry additional changes as well.

Whatever might be the case, the changes that have been discussed by the app are welcome ones, which users will definitely appreciate and encourage! In case you want to switch to the version anyway, you can download the Beta version from the PlayStore.