Sandhya Gupta

What’s behind bitcoin’s latest surge?

In the midst of a gloomy winter at the beginning of the year, bitcoin was in bad shape after 2022 marked by falling cryptocurrency prices, company scandals, and bankruptcies.

In fewer than three months, bitcoin has regained its luster. It has outperformed other significant commodities this year with gains of over 70%, and on Wednesday, it was trading close to its highest level in nine months.

The first and largest cryptocurrency has been through this before; over its 15-year existence, it has experienced both dizzying price increases and drops. Interest rates are driving the increases.

Also Read: Why Google suspended China’s Pinduoduo app?

According to six investors and analysts from the crypto and conventional finance industries who spoke to Reuters, markets anticipate that central bank increases in the cost of credit are reaching their peak, which is expected to support risky assets like bitcoin.

Other factors are also in play, such as the banking industry’s unrest and persistent but unfulfilled hopes that bitcoin will become a widely accepted method of payment. On Sunday, Bitcoin recorded its greatest week in four years and has since increased by 45% in just 12 days.

Suggestions that bitcoin is an asset resistant to risks in conventional finance have gained momentum as the failure of American firms Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank served to prompt the takeover of 167-year-old Credit Suisse by competitor UBS on Sunday.

According to Usman Ahmad, CEO of Zodia Markets, a cryptocurrency exchange run by the venture arm of Standard Chartered and Hong Kong-based BC Technology Group, “It’s rather narrow-minded to say that bitcoin is going to succeed because a bank failed. But confidence is almost a critical factor – confidence in the banking system has been damaged.”

Significant changes in bitcoin’s price in the past have been closely related to changes in global monetary policy. Stay-at-home investors fueled a six-fold gain for bitcoin between September 2020-April 2021 as stimulus measures inundated the worldwide financial system during the COVID-19 pandemic.

These actions, combined with growing interest in cryptocurrencies from bigger investors and businesses, led proponents of the technology to proclaim that there was less chance that it would experience the violent crashes that have historically occurred after bitcoin rallies.

Bitcoin, however, fell by over fifty percent from the all-time high of $69,000 in merely 75 days as rates started to rise as signs of rogue inflation late in 2021 drove central government agencies and banks to curtail stimulus packages.

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The decline of a significant crypto token in 2022, brought on by higher interest rates, caused the closure of significant hedge funds and crypto lenders, and a drop in bitcoin of over 65%.

Regulatory issues and the abrupt collapse of the FTX market further battered it. Despite the claims of its supporters that bitcoin is a secure haven asset in periods of economic and political stress, the disastrous year served as another warning of its susceptibility to outside shocks.

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

Why Google suspended China’s Pinduoduo app?

After malware problems were discovered on versions of the Chinese e-commerce application outside Google’s app store, Google suspended the Play edition of PDD Holdings Inc.’s Pinduoduo app for security reasons, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday.

The spokesperson said in a statement that “Off-Play versions of this app that have been found to contain malware have been enforced on via Google Play Protect,” adding that the Play version of the app has been suspended for security reasons.

Pinduoduo, a well-known e-commerce app in China, frequently gives users discounts when they purchase several items. Users were advised by Google on Tuesday to remove any Pinduoduo apps that hadn’t been downloaded from the Google Play Store.

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Websites that enable users to download mobile apps without visiting official stores frequently have downloads of Android and even iOS apps available. According to Google’s statement, the enforcement of Google Play Protect has been configured to prevent efforts to install the aforementioned malicious apps.

Users who downloaded malicious copies of the app to their devices are notified and asked to uninstall the app. Pinduoduo was still available for download from Apple’s iOS store on Tuesday, but it was unclear whether there were any comparable security issues with the app for Apple users.

With the help of Google Play Services, Google Play Protect scans Android-based gadgets for possibly harmful apps and works to stop the downloading of malicious apps.

A Pinduoduo spokesperson told Reuters in an email that “Google Play has informed us this morning that Pinduoduo App has been temporarily suspended as the current version is not compliant with Google’s Policy, but has not shared more details.”

According to Pinduoduo, there are a number of additional apps that Google Play has temporarily suspended. He added that there are numerous causes for this.

Pinduoduo, which is primarily used in China, has been suspended amid heightened tensions between the United States and China over Chinese-owned apps like TikTok, which some American lawmakers claim pose a danger to national security.

According to their claims, these applications could be utilized to surveil American users. TikTok is at an impasse as legislators appear nearer than ever to taking the historic step of completely blocking the app.

The U.S. app’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, may be compelled to sell it to another business under duress from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which examines transactions that might have an impact on national security.

The RESTRICT Act, a bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate this month, empowers the US Commerce Secretary to impose sanctions against foreign technology firms and urges the intelligence community to make risk assessment information publicly available.

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On Tuesday, shares of PDD Holdings decreased 1.8% in premarket trading. The development coincides with U.S. government efforts to strengthen its cyber security measures in response to a constant rise in hacking and other cybercrimes targeting the nation. China and Russia were cited as the two biggest threats to the USA in the government’s newly released cybersecurity strategy.

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

We may soon get an Xbox mobile gaming store. Is it a good move?

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By Sandhya Gupta

Microsoft is preparing to open the Xbox mobile game store early in the following year.

The software behemoth previously disclosed its ambitions for an Xbox mobile store, and now Xbox CEO Phil Spencer claims the store is being built in preparation for corporations like Google and Apple being compelled to make their mobile app stores public.

In a Financial Times interview, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer stated, “We want to be in a position to offer Xbox and content from both us and our third-party partners across any screen where somebody would want to play.

Also Read: Microsoft to Improve Default App Settings in Windows 11?

Today, we can’t do that on mobile devices but we want to build towards a world that we think will be coming where those devices are opened up.”

Microsoft first made mention of a “next-generation store” in the early months of last year, just one month after the organization revealed its intended acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The Xbox mobile store will rest on Activision Blizzard content like Call of Duty: Mobile and Candy Crush Saga, two hugely popular mobile games released by Activision and King, respectively, in order to compete with Apple and Google’s dominance in the mobile gaming store market.

Microsoft is developing an Xbox mobile store, but in order for it to succeed on iOS and Android gadgets, regulators will need to take some action against Google and Apple. Alternative stores are not permitted on Apple’s iPhone and iPad products, and most nations do not support competing payment options either.

Microsoft and Spotify are among the companies hoping that the EU’s Digital Markets Act will compel Apple and Google to alter the way they distribute mobile apps, eventually allowing for the opening of their portals and stores to competition.

Additionally, Microsoft is developing a larger Xbox mobile platform. Developers will also be able to manage their own app stores inside of Microsoft’s Xbox mobile platform thanks to the forthcoming Xbox mobile store.

Microsoft still needs regulatory clearance for its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard in order for any of this to materialize. Microsoft has lately engaged in combat with the CMA, calling attention to “clear errors” in the regulator’s financial calculations. The Federal Trade Commission and the European Commission are both conducting regulation investigations into Microsoft.

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The FTC filed a lawsuit to stop the Microsoft deal last year, and it is still in the document discovery phase. An evidentiary hearing is set for August 2nd, despite reports that the EU is likely to approve Microsoft’s deal.

Microsoft’s “next-generation gaming ecosystem,” which might allude to the company’s plans to develop its Xbox mobile gaming store, was the subject of a recent document request from FTC lawyers.

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

New Zealand to ban TikTok on devices linked to parliament

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Sandhya Gupta

Due to security concerns, New Zealand announced on Friday that it would restrict the usage of the video-sharing platform TikTok on devices connected to the nation’s parliamentary network. With this decision, New Zealand joined a growing list of countries that have restricted TikTok on devices used by the government.

Global worries have grown over the possibility that ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent business, could give the Chinese government access to users’ contact information and location information.

Also Read: U.S. set to further tighten chipmaking exports to China

The seriousness of those worries was highlighted earlier in the week when the Biden administration insisted that TikTok’s Chinese owners sell their holdings or risk having the app banned in the United States. By the end of March, all devices in New Zealand with network connectivity to the parliament will be prohibited from using TikTok.

Rafael Gonzalez-Montero, the chief executive of the Parliamentary Service, explained in an email to Reuters that the choice was made following consultations with cybersecurity professionals, talks within the government, and consultations with other nations. He stated, “Based on this information, the Service has determined that the risks are not acceptable in the current New Zealand Parliamentary environment.”

For those who need the app to perform their job responsibilities, special accommodations can be made, he continued. New Zealand operates differently from other countries, according to Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who was speaking at a press conference.

In terms of IT and cybersecurity policies, “Departments and agencies follow the advice of the (Government Communications Security Bureau)… we don’t have a blanket across the public sector approach,” Hipkins said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the New Zealand Defense Force both announced on Friday that they had already enacted bans on TikTok on work devices. A New Zealand Defence Force spokesperson told Reuters in an email that the action was taken as a “precautionary approach to protect the safety and security” of the personnel.

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On Thursday, Britain immediately prohibited the app from being used on government smartphones. The app must be removed from authorized devices by U.S. government organizations by the end of March.

In response to a query regarding the TikTok bans from Britain and New Zealand, Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, stated that the two nations should “stop over-extending and abusing the concept of national security, and provide a fair and non-discriminatory environment to companies from all countries.”

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

Microsoft to Improve Default App Settings in Windows 11?

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By Sandhya Gupta

One of the lasting effects of the browser battles of the 1990s has been an excessive focus on how Microsoft manages default app settings in Windows 11, particularly browser settings.

Microsoft’s handling of app defaults in Windows 11 has frequently drawn criticism. In comparison to Windows 10, the latest operating system makes it harder for users to switch from Microsoft’s pre-installed apps to third-party ones.

That could soon change, though, as Microsoft intends to make it simpler for users who want to alter the default Windows 11 apps.

Also Read: With GPT-4, are we one step closer to losing our jobs?

Microsoft announced the new feature for Windows 11 users in a blog post, stating that it is “reaffirming our long-standing approach to put people in control of their Windows PC experience.” This feature will allow users to quickly control changes to their app defaults.

Microsoft stated in a blog post,”We want to ensure that people are in control of what gets pinned to their Desktop, their Start menu and their Taskbar as well as to be able to control their default applications such as their default browser through consistent, clear and trustworthy Windows provided system dialogs and settings.”

The tech juggernaut was reacting to the cumbersome app-switching procedure. For instance, if a user wishes to switch from Edge to Chrome as the default browser, they must manually set Chrome as the default for each corresponding file and link type in addition to setting Chrome as the default browser overall.

Later OS updates made switching between browsers a little bit simpler, allowing you to select a default browser with just one button by going to that browser in the Default Apps section of the Settings app. However, compared to Windows 10, the option was still hidden, and it only worked for browsers, limiting image editors and other apps to use the more complicated one-file-type-at-a-time controls.

Microsoft will now give developers of apps “the ability to make their app the default or pin their app to the taskbar” through a “commonly supported way”. Additionally, it stated that its own apps would adhere to the same standard for defaults and pinning in order to prevent favoritism for the applications in its ecosystem.

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Developers will be given a new Settings deep link URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) so they can direct their customers to the proper default settings. Microsoft will launch an API for app pinning that will let external apps be instantly pinned as the taskbar’s main or secondary tiles. According to Microsoft, these new features will initially be available on the Windows Insider Channel over the following few months.

It is not necessary to use these new features, and app developers who are already handling things distinctly won’t need to alter their apps right away. However, the business claims that later this year, after application developers have had time to implement these new best practices, it will start taking more steps to prevent “unrequested modifications to a user’s choices.”

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

With GPT-4, are we one step closer to losing our jobs?

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By Sandhya Gupta

As ChatGPT garners interest on a global scale, the robust model that underpins it, GPT-3.5, is expanding at a remarkable rate. Three months into 2023, OpenAI’s ChatGPT has already surpassed 100 million users, launched an API, and is now publishing GPT-4. GPT-4, known as “OpenAI’s most advanced system,” is accessible on ChatGPT Plus and via a waitlist for its API.

Greg Brockman, President, and Co-Founder of OpenAI showed the tasks this new model is capable of handling during the Livestream session of GPT-4’s launch. The update improves GPT-4’s capabilities on all levels. In a number of academic and professional exams, GPT-4 currently performs better than humans.

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GPT-4 and GPT-3.5 both achieved 90th percentile scores on the Uniform Bar Exam, a standardized test taken by attorneys in the US. GPT-4 achieved the 89th percentile in math and 93rd percentile in reading and writing on the SAT, a nationally normed exam for college admissions in the US.

Therefore, the most commonly asked question with a strong model like GPT-4 is if more jobs are going to be replaced. The solution is obvious. The most impacted professions, according to a recent study by Princeton University researchers, are liberal arts teachers, telemarketers, and sociologists.

Because of GPT’s exceptional text-writing skills, media professionals, particularly writers, are becoming increasingly afraid that it will replace them. But keep in mind that GPT is an NLP model and that it predicts the next word based on prior contexts, despite how impressive it may appear.

This means that it can only create output by gathering data and putting together feedback, and cannot produce original ideas (although one could argue that there isn’t any genuine originality).

The ability of GPT-4 to interpret images will continue to dazzle humans if completing tests isn’t impressive enough for AI. GPT-4 will describe every aspect of a meme image to explain why it is funny when asked to do so, much as a nerdy but fascinating friend would.

It can even analyze all the data in a chart and use that to make calculations or analyses. It can analyze it pixel-by-pixel and provide you with the information you need if you ask it to sum up a paper by giving it a screenshot with charts and text.

Also Read: Why Did Silicon Valley Bank Collapse?

Some paid consultants and foreign language instructors might also lose their companies. Morgan Stanley is placing GPT-4 in its content collection and generating responses. While Iceland’s government is collaborating with OpenAI to maintain its language, As tech companies remain to lay off workers and increase their investment in AI, even coders are losing their employment.

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

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