Your Tech Story

Suhani Jain

I am a student pursuing my bachelor's in information technology. I have a interest in writing so, I am working a freelance content writer because I enjoy writing. I also write poetries. I believe in the quote by anne frank "paper has more patience than person

foldable iPad

Is Apple really coming out with a foldable iPad?

As per Ming-Chi Kuo, a Supply chain analyst, Apple could launch a foldable iPad as soon as the next year. Kuo anticipates that it will be joined by a redesigned iPad Mini, which will go into large-scale production in the initial days of 2024.

Kuo didn’t reveal much new information about the rumoured iPad foldable, but he did say it will have a carbon fibre kickstand manufactured by Chinese component producer Anjie Technology.

Image Source: macrumors.com

“I’m positive about the foldable iPad in 2024 and expect this new model will boost shipments and improve the product mix,” he tweeted.

Source: theverge.com

A 2024 launch date is much sooner than the most notable foldable iPad estimation, made by Ross Young who is a Display Supply Chain Consultant analyst last February. He claimed that Apple is working on a foldable iPad/MacBook combination with an approximately 20-inch foldable display, however, it will not be released until 2026.

Afterwards, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman revealed that Apple is looking into a dual-screen foldable, with the bottom half of the screen serving as a virtual keyboard whenever the gadget is utilized as a MacBook-style carrying case.

Also Read: Is 2023 the year for Apple to launch its mixed-reality headset?

Gurman did not provide a specifically planned release estimation but did say in October that Apple’s folding iPad could arrive eventually a bit late in the decade.

This is not the first occasion where Kuo has placed a timeline on an Apple foldable prediction. About two years ago, he predicted a foldable iPhone would be available in 2023.

However, it appears that this gadget will be much smaller, with a display size of 7.5 to 8 inches. Gurman even claims that Apple has addressed the release of a foldable device having a display size roughly comparable to the 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Considering the recent absence of rumours about a foldable iPhone, it’s difficult to envision it launching in 2023, as Kuo predicted previously.

Also Read: Why are so many tech companies laying people off right now?

Shortly, Kuo predicts a decline in iPad deliveries of between 10 per cent and 15 per cent year on year in 2023. Given the increase in sales appreciated by most customer technology firms amid the covid shutdowns, as well as the declines many have recently suffered, a drop in tablet deliveries this year would not be surprising.

Finally, Kuo predicts that Apple’s next iPad will be the iPad Mini. He anticipates that a new model will go into manufacturing in the first quarter of 2024, following its last refresh in 2021.

facebook

Facebook Bug Allows 2FA Bypass Via Instagram

A flaw in Meta’s latest centralized system for users to maintain their Facebook and Instagram account logins might have permitted cybercriminals to disable a user account’s two-factor authentication merely by knowing one‘s mobile number.

facebook
Image Source: technologistan.pk

Gtm Mänôz who is a Nepalese security researcher discovered that Meta did not impose a limit on how many attempts whenever a user inputs the two-factor code utilized to log into one‘s accounts on the latest Meta Accounts Center, which allows users to connect all of their Meta accounts, which include Instagram and Facebook accounts.

A hacker would access the centralized accounts center, enter the victim’s mobile number, connect that phone number to their own Fb or Instagram account, and afterward using brute force can guess the two-factor authentication code. This was the most important step since there was no constraint to how many tries somebody could make.

Also Read: Why major advertisers are leaving Twitter?

When the attacker correctly entered the code, the victim’s phone number was connected to the hacker’s Facebook account. A successful attack still would lead to Meta sending a notification to the victim stating that their two-factor authentication had been disabled because their phone number had been linked to a different account.

Basically the highest impact here was revoking anyone’s SMS-based 2FA just knowing the phone number,” Mänôz told TechCrunch.

Source: techcrunch.com

Provided that the target no longer had two-factor activated, a hacker might possibly attempt to obtain the victim’s Facebook account simply by spoofing the password.

Also Read: Will the metaverse be good for society?

Last year, Mänôz discovered the flaw in the Meta Accounts Center & revealed the issue to the firm in mid-September. A few days back, Meta resolved the bug and provided 27,200 USD to Mänôz for disclosing it.

“If the phone number was fully confirmed and 2FA enabled in Facebook, then the 2FA will be turned off or disabled from victim’s account,” Mänôz wrote. “And, if the phone number was partially confirmed (that means only used for 2FA), it will revoke the 2FA, and also the phone number will be removed from [the] victim’s account.”

Source: darkreading.com

According to Meta spokesperson Gabby Curtis, the login system was still in the early stages of a limited public test at the time of the flaw. Curtis also stated that once the bug was revealed, Meta carried out an investigation and discovered no indications of mistreatment in the wild, as well as no sudden increase in the utilization of that particular function, indicating that nobody was misusing it.

Baidu

China’s Baidu to launch ChatGPT-style bot in March

As per a person with knowledge of the matter, Baidu is preparing to launch an artificial intelligence chatbot system similar to ChatGPT by OpenAI, possibly becoming China’s greatest influential entrance in a race sparked by the tech trend.

According to the person who requested anonymity to describe personal information, China’s biggest search engine firm plans to launch a ChatGPT-style software in March, at first incorporating it within its primary search services. The unnamed tool will provide users with chat-style search results similar to OpenAI’s popular service.

Baidu
Image Source: tribune.com.pk

Baidu has invested billions of dollars in artificial intelligence research in a multi-year attempt to transform from internet advertising to profound technology.

According to the source, the Ernie system is a big-scale machine-learning framework that has been specialized in data for several years. It will serve as the foundation for its impending ChatGPT-like tool. A delegate for Baidu declined to answer questions.

Also Read: BuzzFeed will use ChatGPT bots instead of writers

Since its public debut in November, ChatGPT which is the OpenAI’s artificial intelligence software has captured the internet, accumulating over a million users in days as well as sparking a debate about the importance of AI in schools, offices, and homes.

Firms such as Microsoft are putting in billions of dollars to try to develop practical applications, while others are using a lot of buzz to obtain financing. Buzzfeed’s stock massively increased this month just after the company unveiled its plans to include ChatGPT within its content.

Baidu, Tencent Holdings, Alibaba Group Holding, and ByteDance control a large portion of the Chinese internet. The search company has been attempting to resurrect progress in the mobile world, after falling behind its larger competitors in areas such as mobile advertising, video, as well as social media. Aside from AI research, Google is now working on technology for autonomous driving.

Also Read: Quora introduces Poe, a way to talk to AI chatbots like ChatGPT

ChatGPT caught the attention of Chinese online consumers, who, like others, disclosed screenshots of unexpected discussions with the Artificial Intelligence bot on local social networking sites.

Even after a highly censored residential internet which is largely disconnected from the remaining of the world, businesses like Baidu have thrived as native alternatives to Google, Amazon, as well as Facebook.

Aside from Baidu, many Chinese start-ups are experimenting with generative Artificial Intelligence and have captivated shareholders including Sequoia & Sinovation Ventures.

BuzzFeed

BuzzFeed will use ChatGPT bots instead of writers

Based on a memo sent out to staff by Cheif executive officer, Jonah Peretti & answers provided to The Verge, BuzzFeed will be using Artificial intelligence technology provided by ChatGPT maker OpenAI to strengthen and “personalize” the data.

Jonah Peretti claims in the document that AI will be among two significant developments establishing the future of digital media and the other being creators.

BuzzFeed
Image Source: nytimes.com

So, as per Peretti, BuzzFeed’s AI-influenced content will debut on the site in 2023 which will be improving the trivia experience, guide our pondering, and customize our information for the public. The Wall Street Journal broke the story about the memo.

“Our industry will expand beyond AI-powered curation (feeds), to AI-powered creation (content),” says Peretti. “AI opens up a new era of creativity, where creative humans like us play a key role in providing the ideas, cultural currency, inspired prompts, IP, and formats that come to life using the newest technologies.”

Source: theverge.com

AI could be utilized to create customized rom-com pitches for readers, according to one example cited by the Wall Street Journal but not mentioned in the memo. They would indeed be asked a variety of questions, along with private details such as naming an alluring flaw or picking a favorite rom-com trope, and the results would be universally accessible.

In the memo, Peretti stated that he’ll share a sneak peek of the material he’ll be introducing in February at an all-hands gathering later.

Also Read: Chrome Adds Fingerprint Unlock to Incognito Tabs on Android

When questioned if BuzzFeed was thinking about the use of AI in its news department, the firm’s, Matt Mittenthal, VP of communications, denied it and said they will be using OpenAI for sure.

The escalating ability of AI-based tools such as ChatGPT to compose prose has created the technology, appealing to media companies suffering from declining advertising rates. BuzzFeed, in specific, has experienced a bumpy market ride until coming out publicly in December 2021.

By June 2022, the firm’s stock price already had dropped 40 percent and has continued to drop since. Following the announcement, that BuzzFeed will use AI to create content, the company’s stock price had increased well over % at the moment of writing.

Twitter

Ad Spending on Twitter Falls by Over 70%

As per some data from an advertising research company, advertising spending on Twitter Corporation declined by 71 percent in December, since top marketers cut their investment in the social media network following Elon Musk’s buyout.

The latest Standard Media Index (SMI) figures come as Twitter attempts to overturn the advertiser exodus. It has launched several measures to woo back advertisers, including providing a few free advertising, removing a restriction on political ads, and giving businesses more control over the placement of their ads.

Image Source: investing.com

According to SMI data, advertising spending on Twitter dropped 55 percent from the previous year in November, irrespective of the fact that these months are traditionally times of relatively high advertising expenditure since brands advertise their goods during the holiday rush.

Twitter did not respond right away to a request for a reply from Reuters.

According to a research firm, Pathmatics estimates, most of the businesses stopped investing in November, the very same month Musk recovered eliminated accounts as well as launched a paid account identification that ultimately led to fraudsters imitating companies.

Also Read: DOJ poised to sue Google over digital ad market dominance

According to Pathmatics, soft drink brand Coca-Cola stopped investing in Twitter ads in the October middle of 2022 after investing an estimated 1.1 million USD previously in the month, whilst also tv network HBO’s investment dropped from 1.1 million USD in November to 38,000 USD in December.

Other consumer brands, including Nestle as well as Heinz ketchup producer Kraft Heinz, have also suspended all advertising.

According to Pathmatics estimates, 14 of the best 30 advertising companies on Twitter ceased all marketing on the company after Musk took over on Oct. 27.

Musk discussed the problem of businesses pausing advertisements in an event in November on Twitter Spaces, saying that he knows if advertising companies “want to give it a minute.”

At the same time, Musk accused activist communities of forcing advertisers to pull advertisements from the social media platform. Advertising revenue generates roughly 90 percent of Twitter’s earnings.

Twitter’s fourth-quarter sales dropped 35 percent year by year due to a drop in marketing, according to the Info, referencing detailed knowledge by a leading Twitter ad executive at a team meeting last week.

Google

DOJ poised to sue Google over digital ad market dominance

According to Bloomberg News, the US Justice Department is preparing to file a lawsuit against Alphabet Inc’s Google as shortly as Tuesday above its dominant position in the market for digital advertising referencing individuals with knowledge of the situation.

The dispute would be Google’s second federal antitrust complaint, accusing antitrust infringements in the way the technology giant obtains or retains its dominant position. The Justice Department’s 2020 civil suit against Google emphasizes its browse monopolization and is set to proceed to a sentencing hearing in September.

Google
Image Source: nypost.com

The Justice Department didn’t respond instantly to a request for information from Reuters, and Google turned down to address the report.

The lawsuit we have filed today seeks to hold Google to account for what we allege is its longstanding monopolies in digital advertising technologies that content creators use to sell ads and advertisers use to buy ads on the open Internet,” said the Justice Department’s antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter in a news conference Tuesday announcing the suit.

Source: bloomberglaw.com

Also Read: Netflix founder Reed Hastings stepping down as co-CEO

The lawsuit is predicted to target Google’s ad business, which accounts for roughly 80 percent of its earnings. Google generates revenue from its interrelated ad technology firms, which link up advertisers to publications, websites, as well as other businesses looking to broadcast them, furthermore adding its well-known free search.

Advertising agencies as well as website publishers have voiced concerns that Google has not been forthcoming about where advertising dollars are spent, particularly how much ends up going to publishing companies and what is the amount that goes to Google.

Also Read: Google Parent Alphabet cuts 12000 Jobs

The tech behemoth made several takeovers, such as DoubleClick in 2008 as well as AdMob in 2009, to help position itself as a dominant player in online ads.

The search engine giant previously claimed that the advertising tech ecosystem battled with Facebook Inc, Comcast, AT&T, and others.

When Google stays by far the industry leader, its proportion of digital ad revenue in the United States has already been diminishing, dropping from 36.7 percent in 2016 to 28.8 percent last year, as per Insider Intelligence.

Google said in a blog post that the lawsuit “attempts to pick winners and losers in the highly competitive advertising technology sector. The case largely duplicates an unfounded lawsuit by the Texas Attorney General, much of which was recently dismissed by a federal court. DOJ is doubling down on a flawed argument that would slow innovation, raise advertising fees, and make it harder for thousands of small businesses and publishers to grow.”

Source: bloomberglaw.com