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Airtel

Airtel Broadband, Postpaid Users Get Free Disney+ Hotstar VIP Subscription for a Year

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On 2nd November 2020, Airtel announced that Airtel Broadband is going to offer a VIP subscription of Disney + Hotstar to its broadband and postpaid users. The users have to install the Airtel Thanks App and it can be applied by using the same. The VIP subscription of Disney + Hotstar was previously provided by the company to the prepaid users only through different recharge plans. So, now the postpaid, as well as the prepaid users, can enjoy the VIP subscription.

This new subscription plan is applicable only for Airtel users. For broadband users, the newly launched offer is applicable for Rs 999 plans and above, and for postpaid plans, it is available for Rs 499 plans and above. You can find more plan related details on the operator’s page.

How to activate Airtel offer?

  • If you already have an eligible plan, first go to the Airtel Thanks app.
  • Then go to the #airtelThanks section from the Discover.
  • You will find the Disney + Hotstar option and tap on it.
  • From here you will be enabled to activate the VIP subscription and you can switch on Whatsapp update as well.
  • Also, this subscription will be automatically enabled if you recharge with a suitable pack, for example, Rs 401, Rs 612, etc.
  • After recharging you will receive a link in your SMS. Click the link and login to the Disney + Hotstar app.
  • Remember you have to log in using the same number you used for recharge.

The validity of the newly launched offer

The one year VIP subscription will become unavailable if you downgrade your pack or port your Airtel connectivity to any other telecom network. On the other hand, your telecom services and the VIP subscription are independent of each other. It means that once your telecom services are expired you can recharge with any desired pack except the four Hotstar packs to reestablish your telecom services. This will not harm the 1 year VIP subscription which will be interrupted for the next 365 days.

Airtel
Image Source: gadgets.ndtv.com

Some users might also have the confusion if they need to subscribe to this offer separately if they already have Disney + Hotstar VIP subscription. The new offer launched via Airtel will work independently with your existing subscription.

Benefits from the Disney + Hotstar VIP subscription 

  • You will enjoy all the free and live sports like cricket, football, premier leagues, formula 1, etc.
  • All Disney movies (dubbed) especially kids movies (dubbed), any Indian movies, Hotstar specials, Star serials will be made available. You will also be able to watch the serials ahead of time they are broadcasted on TV.
  • But, one disadvantage of this one-year subscription is that you will not get any access to Hollywood movies, American TV shows, and Disney + Originals. So, choose your plan wisely.

The prepaid plans of Airtel

In August of this year, Airtel launched several prepaid plans which include the VIP subscription of Disney + Hotstar. So, if some people are not interested in the postpaid options or Airtel broadband, you can have a look at these offers. They are as follows:

  • Rs 401 pack will provide a 1 yr VIP subscription and 30GB data for 28 days.
  • Rs 448 pack will provide a 1 yr VIP subscription and 3GB/day for 28 days.
  • Rs 599 pack will provide a 1 yr VIP subscription and 2GB/day for 56 days.
  • Rs 2698 pack will provide a 1 yr VIP subscription and 2GB/day data for 365 days.

Apart from the VIP subscription and data pack, Airtel also offers 100 SMS per day, unlimited roaming, STD, and local phone calls. But, you should remember that these four packs are once in a year deal which means you will be able to recharge with any of these above only once in 365 days. Apart from this plethora of choices, Airtel from last month also started offering an “Add to bill” offer so that the broadband and postpaid users can add the Disney + Hotstar subscription to the monthly bill.

With all these new choices coming up, Airtel and Jio have become very strong competitors as they are providing very lucrative offers to the customer. Let’s see what is next for us in terms of enjoying more entertainment at a cheaper price.

Intel

Intel Announces New Iris Xe Max GPU with AI and Encoding Performance Boost

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Intel recently announced that its 11th Gen Tiger Lake Core CPUs would be the first to feature its Xe graphics. The new integrated graphics model and architecture will be a revolutionary technology, helping computers render more realistic images. While laptops powered by the new CPU go on sale around the world, Intel has more exciting news to share. The tech giant announced on Saturday that some of these laptops would also feature the Intel Iris Xe Max.  The company’s first discrete GPU, the Xe Max comes with some advanced features. Let us take a look at why this announcement has sent ripples through the tech world.

Surprise Announcements by Intel

Through a surprise announcement, Intel disclosed details regarding its first discrete GPU. The model can integrate with several laptops and help them improve their performance. Furthermore, Xe GPUs help accelerates graphics performance and other AI-based tasks. Enthusiasts first got word of the new model when Intel included it as a part of its brand overhaul way back in September. Since then, there has been a lot of speculation regarding the product and its specifications. Furthermore, the GPU also showed up in the specifications list put up by other laptop manufacturers, including Acer. 

New GPU Specs

The Iris Xe Max takes a lot of inspiration from the Xe-LP GPU, the integrated GPUs which power the 11th-Gen Tiger Lake processors. The product targets thin laptops that are light and work well in conjunction with the laptop’s built-in GPU. Such integration is possible due to Intel’s software, dubbed Deep Link. Some of the primary capabilities that can receive a boost due to such integration include AI inferencing and video encoding. The software titled Deep Link can manage the thermal headroom and power requirements of the GPU and CPU. Intel claims that it leads to a 20% improvement in CPU performance, similar to how the AMD SmartShift feature works.

Intel
Image Source: newsbreak.com

Furthermore, Intel promises AI-based content formulation that is seven-times faster than previous models. The combination of the 11th Gen Core i7 with the Xe Max can hence be a revolution. This new integration performs much better than the older sequence of a 10th Gen Intel Core i7 and Nvidia GeForce MX350 GPU. Also, the latest gear achieves 1.7 times better results when it comes to media encoding capabilities.

Xe Max GPU Tech

The Iris Xe Max has around 96 execution units which most top-end GPUs nowadays have. However, the model has a higher max clock speed that reaches up to 1.65GHz. The Xe Max also leverages Intel’s SuperFin transistor tech to derive its faster processing speeds. As a result, the GPU can reach PCIe 4.0 speed to establish a connection with a CPU. The model also features a 4GB LPDDR4X memory that has a bandwidth of 68GBps. Making use of its outlets, the model can run up to four displays simultaneously. The outlet ports of the same will feature a DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0B, and internal eDP. The model also supports both variable-rate shading and adaptive sync.

Gaming Capabilities of the Xe Max

When it comes to gaming performance, the Iris Xe Max compares to Nvidia GeForce MX350. Hence, gamers can run relatively modern games with ease at frame rates greater than 30 fps at 1080p at either medium or low settings. Also, Dell, Acer, and Asus have announced a line of laptops that will feature the new GPU. Here’s a quick look at the latest laptops that will feature the Iris Xe Max and will go on sale in November.

  1. Acer Swift 3X
  2. Asus VivoBook TP470
  3. Dell Inspiron 15 7000 

Intel had promised to launch such a discrete GPU this year. The move came as a way to overhaul its discrete graphics power and capabilities. To make this dream a reality, Intel took the help of Raja Koduri, who served as AMD’s head of Radeon graphics. Furthermore, the company revealed plans to release a high-end gaming GPU that supports hardware ray tracing. The future of gaming is here, and Intel is planning to do everything in its power to stay on top!

apple

Apple reportedly ‘Setting Up’ efforts to build a Google Search alternative

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With the recent launch of iOS14 and iPadOS14, users have noticed that the queries show search results without Google Search. This is an indication that Apple is trying to build its search engine and has no further plan to use Google Search as the default search engine. Since the user queries can be answered without the support of Google, it can be said that Apple is making a pretty fast and impressive development on the way to its own search engine. This Cupertino Company with efficient search capabilities in iOS14 and iPadOS14 has proved that it will be soon ready to challenge Google’s search engine and replace it for once and all.

If we go a little backward in time we can connect the dots as Apple earlier this year posted job openings for search engineers. So, Tim Cook was determined for a long time to create the company’s default search engine followed by incorporating it in the latest version of iOS, that is, iOS14. Now, when users type a query on the home screen it displays a direct link to the websites without opening in Google Search.

Why is Apple creating a new search engine?

Recently, the relationship between Apple and Google has gone sore thus bringing the two under antitrust scrutiny. The US antitrust authorities have threatened the payment made to Apple by Google for securing the position of default search engine on iPhones and iPads. The web search capability of Apple’s smartphones always plays a major role in deciding the overall in-house development of the company. So, if they can successfully make an alternative search engine, it will increase the value of the company and make it independent of Google Search. According to some industry experts, Apple is creating its search engine mainly to attack Google. The former has not made any major official announcement regarding the search engine but where there is smoke there is fire.

Strategies and plot twists

In 2018, Apple hired John Giannandrea, Google’s head of search to improve the existing AI capabilities of the company and to boost the performance of Siri, the virtual assistant. John came with eight years of experience in working with the Google search engine. John’s hiring along with the recent opening for search engineers will create a very strong team for the development of an alternative search engine. So, if the relationship between Google and Apple comes to an end in terms of the Google search engine, Apple will not face any adverse situation.

Apple

After the case launched by the US Department of Justice last week, Bill Coughran, Google’s former engineering chief, said that Apple already has a credible team if they want to go for developing a more general search engine. Many search marketing experts also noticed that the activity of Applebot has increased ridiculously in recent weeks. Applebot is iPhone’s web crawler and the increased rate of crawling means that it is trying to gather more information from the internet. In the new iOS14, Apple’s home screen shows a list of search suggestions generated by Apple’s search engine and not Google. The search result is based on AI thus showing results according to the common queries.

Will apple become a strong competition? 

Standing up to Google as a strong rival could take years, but currently, Apple has shown excellent developments with the alternative search engine. Apple has both a good team of engineers and capital to sign up for a long-term investment. Since the beginning, Apple has focused more on developing every bit of its product in-house starting from the smartphones to the watches. It wants to create a very strong integration between the hardware and the software components. But, for a long time, Apple was stuck with Google’s search engine. Though Apple still has the option to choose between keeping Google Search as the default search engine or become its rival, the stakes are high for the latter option.

Sridhar Ramaswamy, Google’s former head of advertising, said that to build a search engine it should have 20bn-50bn pages in its active index. Along with this, the system has to rank the pages within milliseconds when the user runs a query. It will be extremely difficult for Apple to create a search engine as big as Google but it is not impossible.

Free Fire

Reliance Jio to Host JioMart Gameathon Free Fire Esports Tournament from October 30

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Reliance is a multinational company mostly famous in the field of the oil industry. As one of the biggest conglomerates in Asia, Reliance is gradually expanding in the area of technology as well. To build digital India, Reliance is playing a big role by strengthening connectivity, collaborating with big tech giants like Qualcomm to bring a huge wave of technical revolution, investing in e-commerce, and the latest launching an online gaming event JioMart Gameathon starting this month. Online gaming events can bring huge publicity especially when the entire world is wrapping itself with the virtual mode of entertainment and communication.

This is the perfect timing for Reliance Jio to host an esports event while simultaneously working to launch a 5G-enabled smartphone. The first tournament of this Gameathon is called the Free Fire tournament and many more events will eventually follow this into the JioGames platform. The tournament will start from 30th October till 1st November.

The Free Fire tournament

The company will hold the Free Fire tournament and the following events on the JioGames platform which the company announced last year at the company’s 42nd Annual General Meeting. The JioGames platform was announced along with JioFiber set-top box. The app is still in its beta version available in Google Play Store. The three-day event of the Free Fire tournament will be live broadcasted on YouTube and JioTV. The news and updates related to the events are posted on a support page created especially for this tournament. This event also comes with lucrative cash prizes to lure as many audiences as possible. The first prize is worth Rs 16,000 which is followed by the runner-up prize money, that is, Rs 12,000 and Rs 1,000 for the most valuable player. The prize money will be credited in the JioMart’s wallet of the winners. This is also a very clever step as the prize money won will be spent on the company’s service itself. The first-ever gaming esports launched by JioMart is going to be a mobile-only tournament. So, buckle up and prepare for the game.

Free Fire
Image Source: assets.mspimages.in

Registration for JioMart Gameathon

JioMart is reaching out to more people with the #GetSetGame for the first-ever Gameathon. The registration for the tournament has started from 26th October and it will open till the 29th of this month. You can register for the event through the JioGames portal. The Free Fire tournament is a four-stage competition where the qualifying stage will be held on 30th and 31st October at sharp 11 am. The qualifying round will be followed by quarter-finals scheduled for these two days from 11 am to 3 pm. The semi-finals will take place from 1 pm to 4 pm. The grand finale of the tournament will take place on 31st October, that is, Sunday from 5 pm to 8 pm.

Details about the tournament 

You should hurry up for registration if you haven’t as a total number of 576 teams will enter the first stage (qualifying stage) of the tournament. The total number of teams will be divided between 48 lobbies. In the quarter-finals, the top two teams from each lobby will participate, which means 96 teams will compete to reach the semi-finals. In this stage, teams will be divided into 8 lobbies and the top three from each lobby will make it to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, 24 teams will be competing with each other in two lobbies. Six participants from each lobby will make it to the grand finale. In the grand finale, there will be one single lobby and three maps will be played to declare the winners. The registration page of the tournament has every necessary detail from the scoring system to the general rules of the game.

Reliance Jio and Gaming

Mukesh Ambani has bigger plans for online gaming pushing the company deeper into the tech world. Apart from the oil industry, Reliance will emerge out as one of the successful tech giants of our country very soon. At the beginning of this year, Mukesh Ambani, in an interview with Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, gaming has the potential to be bigger than any other aspects of entertainment put together. And, it seems like Reliance Jio has been marching in the direction to make it come true.

Facebook

Facebook Locks Horns with NYU Over Ad-Targeting Data Collection

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Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic ballooned out of proportion, tech companies have been feeling the heat. Most countries around the world, with the EU in particular, have started holding them accountable for information shared online. As a result, there have been a lot of discussions and debates regarding how to ensure such companies use their power wisely. The world is still debating on the data tax bill, and Google and Facebook have been asked to fact-check the information they share. Amidst all of this, Facebook has now asked NYU to stop a study they were conducting on political advertisements. Here’s a look at everything you need to know about Facebook’s stand, and how the world is reacting to it.

Facebook Blocks the NYU

New York University seems to be in a lockdown contest against Facebook. The tech giant has asked NYU to stop collecting data for a study it is doing on political ads propagated by Facebook. However, journalists, lawyers, academics, and First Amendment activists have come to the support of NYU. The study essentially focuses on how the tech giant micro-targets specific individuals with their political ads. While Facebook has asked the university to shut down its data collection tool, researchers believe that the tool is integral to their study. In essence, the tool helps the academics track how Facebook serves as a source of misinformation and manipulation by several extremist political groups.

Disable Tools Collecting Data

A Facebook executive order that came out on October 16 demands that researchers disable their data collection tool. The University depends on a special plug-in for both Firefox and Chrome browsers to collect data regarding the ads. The University has signed on over 6500 volunteers across the US to help with the data collection. Facebook’s new order demands that the University halt its data collection and delete the information obtained. The plug-in essentially allows the researchers to see what ads each volunteer views, helping them understand how Facebook targets users. The researchers claim that Facebook’s algorithm for tailor-made ads depends on a lot more than gender, race, age, and political afflictions. 

Facebook

Facebook’s Side of Things

Allison Hendrix, the executive from Facebook, states that the tool violates Facebook’s rules. She also noted that the social media giant does not allow the automatic collection of bulk data from it. The letter also warned of enforcement action in case the NYU did not comply with November 30th. Also, Joe Osborne, who serves as Facebook’s spokesperson, stated that the tech giant had informed NYU months ago to not move forward with their study. He claims that the company had warned them that doing so would be a violation of their terms. Furthermore, he also stated that Facebook works extensively to ensure the privacy of its users’ data. However, researchers at NYU claim that their tool does not violate any terms as it collects data from volunteers anonymously.

Reaction to the Threat

The public seems to be rallying against the social media giant with several prominent personalities calling out the social media giant. Ever since the Wall Street Journal broke the news on Friday, public sentiment seems to be on the side of the researchers. The WSJ quickly pointed out that NYU’s Ad Observer tool may shine some much-needed light on Facebook’s policies on advertisements. The tool has been in effect since September by volunteers from Utah to Florida to Wisconsin. Ramya Krishnan, who works as a lawyer with Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute, represents the researchers. She was quick to point out that it was unfortunate that Facebook is attaching a tool that will help identify gaps within the current framework. Since the study aims to expose disinformation related to the American elections, Krishnan believes the paper should not be halted. She also pointed out that the public deserves to know how they are being targeted and that Facebook cannot serve as a gatekeeper to information. 

Julia Angwin, who serves as an editor of The Markup, which is a tech news website, also tweeted in disappointment after Facebook’s statement. Since the NYU’s Ad Observatory was the only way researchers could explore micro-targeting of political ads, she deemed this move extremely controversial and disappointing. In a statement released by NYU, researcher Damon McCoy stated that the study focuses on how Facebook profiles citizens. After profiling, the company sends them misinformation regarding policies and candidates to influence their votes.

While 2016 witnessed social outcry over Facebook’s political ad-running algorithm, history seems to be repeating this time around. Ads on traditional media are accounted for as they have to create an ad archive that lists who paid for the ad and how long it ran. However, social media companies do not have any such rules in place, making it difficult to see their political biases. With right-wing content trending in the last few weeks on the platform, the move to block the study will only further hurt Facebook’s public standing. Last year, over 200 researchers asked Facebook to lift bans on the collection of data. It will be interesting to see if Facebook’s terms hold in a court of law and whether the study ends u exposing the company’s biases.

Twitter

Government issues warning to Twitter; conveys strong disapproval over map misrepresentation

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Geotagging manipulation is a very serious threat and disrespect towards the sovereignty of a country. A very important matter regarding the map representation in Twitter which involves Leh, headquarters of the Union Territory of Ladakh has come up this week. Twitter has caused map misrepresentation of Leh showing its location in China. India has warned Twitter with very strong disapproval as it insults the integrity of a nation. Twitter has received heavy criticism from Indian people which it might have seen coming. Social media users have raised a very strong voice against this map manipulation. The question of this act whether it was a genuine mistake of the location setting or done purposely is secondary. Since the relationship between India and China has already got on the wrong foot; this is the worst time to commit a blunder like this by a major-micro blogging platform.

India’s response to this map misrepresentation 

India has sent a letter to Twitter where Ajay Sawhney, Secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, has asked the CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey to respect the sensitivities. A small yet such an intense mistake can cost both the nation and its people. This act of Twitter can be seen as triggering a sleeping volcano. The geotagging feature of Twitter displayed “Jammu & Kashmir, People’s Republic of China” in a live broadcast. It was taking part in Leh’s Hall of Fame, a war memorial to respect the soldiers of Union Territory of Ladakh those who sacrificed their life. A war memorial is a very sensitive and respectful place of a nation where people pay homage to the fallen soldiers. Showing that this part of India belongs to the People’s Republic of China is disrespecting the entire foundation of the country.

Twitter
Twitter CEO: Jack Dorsey
Image Source: cbsnews.com

The angry netizens have heavily insulted Twitter and they demand strict action in response to such an audacious act. On the other hand, Twitter has accepted that it was a technical issue from their side and that it has been resolved. But, the degree of damage it has already caused by wrong geotagging in a live broadcast is immeasurable. The entire world has witnessed a map misrepresentation which is enough to build theories and wage a war on social media and outside.

A warning to Twitter

The letter that was sent to Twitter by Mr. Sawhney on behalf of India clearly mentioned that any sign or attempt to disrespect the sovereignty and integrity of India will not only result in dispute but also questioning the neutrality and fairness of this micro-blogging platform. Even if it was a technical glitch from Twitter’s side, they should be extra cautious and take proper measures to prevent such “mistakes”. The damage it has caused to the reputation of Twitter will also take days to mend. Apart from the gentle warning, India has also reminded Twitter that Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir are integral and inalienable parts of India, governed by the Indian Constitution. In response to this mail, Twitter has immediately mailed back saying “Twitter is committed to working with the Government of India. We respect the sensitivities involved and have dully acknowledged the letter.”

Was it just a glitch?

Nitin Gokhale, National Security Analyst has pointed out the anomaly in the first place which was followed by sending out a warning to Twitter. Moreover, this is not the first time a nation is facing difficulties due to the technical glitches of Twitter. So, it is high time that the platform fixes all the platform before any other nation is hurt. Gokhale said that he went live on Twitter to share his journey to Ladakh from Himachal Pradesh and after the broadcast was ended, he saw the location of Leh showing as a part of China. First, he thought if it was an isolated incident or a glitch so he conducted another experimental live broadcast and the same thing happened yet again. So, has it been a technical glitch, why was a part of India was constantly showing as a part of another nation? Twitter in response to this issue said that investigation teams are trying to resolve the matter as it seems to be a geotagging issue.