Tech News

Microsoft fires around 1,000 Employees Across Multiple Divisions

Microsoft has laid off nearly 1000 employees across multiple divisions, including the Xbox and Edge teams. The layoffs affected less than 1 percent of Microsoft’s latest reported workforce of around 221,000 people, Axios stated by citing an anonymous source.

The US tech behemoth officially confirmed the elimination of a small number of positions and the intention to increase its employee count in the future earlier in July.

In a statement released by Microsoft said, “Today we had a small number of role eliminations. Like all companies, we evaluate our business priorities regularly, and make structural adjustments accordingly.”
Source: financialexpress.com

Microsoft’s 1000 employees layoff is the latest in a string of job cuts or hiring freezes in the United States as the global economy slows. Due to the global economic slowdown, rising inflation, and other factors, several technology companies, which would include Meta Platforms Inc, Twitter Inc, and Snap Inc, have cut jobs and stopped hiring in recent months.

Meta recently laid off 60 contractors who were reportedly chosen at random by an algorithm. Snap officially confirmed its plan to reduce its headcount by approximately 20 percent of its full-time employees worldwide on August 31, 2022.

A Twitter user going by the handle KC Lemson who is a Microsoft veteran and product supervisor in the office of the Chief Technology Officer tweeted on Monday that she had been laid off by Microsoft. Several other long-serving Microsoft employees were affected by the layoffs together with KC Lemson.

When we talk about current layoffs, a Microsoft spokesperson said, “like all corporations, we consider our enterprise priorities frequently, and make structural changes accordingly. We will proceed to take a position in our enterprise and rent in key areas in the year forward.”
Source: indiatoday.in

Wipro and Infosys have both officially declared layoffs this year in India. Aside from attrition, many companies, such as Apple, Oracle, and Google also, have publicly stated a hiring freeze for the months to come. As of late July, Crunchbase revealed that more than 32,000 workers in the US software industry had been laid off in mass layoffs.

“We’ve included both startups and publicly traded companies that are based in the US. We’ve also included companies based elsewhere that have a sizable team in the United States, such as Klarna,” the analysis said.
Source: financialexpress.com

The company has recently launched its new Microsoft Surface line-up, which consisted of the Surface Laptop 5, Surface 9 Pro tablet, Studio 2+, and numerous other products. On October 25, the company will release its fiscal second-quarter financial results.

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

A new ad campaign from Meta is aimed at the iMessage service from Apple

In an advertisement that intensifies the business rivalries between the two prominent Silicon Valley tech companies, Meta has taken an aim at Apple’s iMessage.On Monday Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta shared a photo of an advertisement in New York’s Penn Station suggesting that WhatsApp from Meta is more private and secure than Apple’s iMessage and conventional text messages.

A billboard comparing WhatsApp’s “Private” bubble to the Green and Blue bubbles of Apple’s iMessage may be seen in the Meta CEO’s shared Instagram photo. Apple has consistently emphasized the privacy and safety of iMessage.

The blue and green bubbles in iMessage serve to distinguish between messages sent from an iPhone and those sent from an Android device. The blue bubble confirms that the recipient has an Apple device whereas the green bubble indicates that the receiver uses an Android device.

Zuckerberg made a post on Instagram stating, “WhatsApp is far more private and secure than iMessage, with end-to-end encryption that works across both iPhones and Android, including group chats. With WhatsApp, you can also set all new chats to disappear with the tap of a button. And last year we introduced end-to-end encrypted backups too. All of which iMessage still doesn’t have.”

End-to-end encryption refers to the design of the messaging system, which prevents the service provider from viewing the contents of the texts or providing them in compliance with a legal order. iMessage and WhatsApp are both encrypted.

On either service, however, messages and backups might be kept in a fashion that allows the company to access them. Wireless cellular carriers preserve SMS communications.

There are several factors for Meta to criticize Apple in this situation. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and other social media businesses’ advertising has suffered since Apple’s ‘App Tracking Transparency’ tool was made available in April 2021.

By using this option, social media companies are prevented from tracking a user’s data on other websites or apps. According to one report, this Apple feature would cost Facebook nearly $22 billion alone in 2022. This feature debuted with iOS 14.5.

The Meta ad follows a previous effort by Google in which it attacked the blue bubbles used by iMessage. Google wants Apple to use Rich Communication Services(RCS), a newer text messaging technology that replaces SMS communications with enhanced capabilities and encryption.

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook advised users to just purchase one iPhone for each person they wish to interact with, indicating that the company currently has no intentions to do this. However, if WhatsApp becomes a serious competition in the US, it’s absolutely feasible that its stance may change.

Over 2 billion people use WhatsApp worldwide. In the US, it isn’t the default texting app. Meta seeks to increase WhatsApp’s US user base. Recently, Meta has promoted WhatsApp focusing on security and privacy.

Not just Meta, but other tech firms have criticized iMessage from Apple. A valid criticism of Apple’s privacy-focused iPhone advertising is the reality that iMessage still relies on SMS and cannot be used to safely contact people who use Android phones.

In the meantime, a recent update to WhatsApp, which is owned by Meta, allowed certain beta testers to create groups with up to 1,024 members.

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.

Kanye West to buy the right-leaning social media platform Parler

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Suhani Jain

After being banned from Twitter and Instagram for anti-Semitic posts, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West has offered to buy the right-wing friendly social media network Parler. The owner of the platform, Parlement Technologies, and Kanye West, legally known as Ye, have said that the acquisition would be completed in the fourth quarter, but no price was disclosed.

The agreement, according to Parlement Technologies, includes the use of private cloud services via Parlement’s private cloud and data center infrastructure.

kanye West was kicked off of Twitter and Instagram a week ago for making anti-Semitic comments on a post, that the social media platforms, claimed violated their guidelines. According to internet archive records, Kanye West stated on Twitter that he would soon go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE”. He was trying to make an apparent reference to the US defence readiness condition scale known as DEFCON.

He was rebuked earlier this month for wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to his Paris Fashion Week show.

The acquisition or potential purchase of Parler would give Kanye West control of a social media platform as well as a new outlet for his opinions and have no gatekeeper to filter his opinions. Kanye is no stranger to controversy, having previously suggested that slavery was a choice and referring to the Covid-19 vaccine as a “mark of the beast” which indeed were nonsensible comments.

“In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial, we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves,” Kanye stated in a prepared statement.
Source: indianexpress.com

The acquisition could also revitalize and brought life into Parler, which has continued to struggle in the face of competition from other conservative-friendly platforms such as Truth Social. Parler, which was introduced in August 2018, did not gain traction until 2020.

However, it was taken offline following the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Parler announced a relaunch a month after the attack announcing its comeback. It was re-released on Google Play last month.

“This deal will change the world, and change the way the world thinks about free speech,” Parlement Technologies CEO George Farmer said in a prepared statement.
Source: indianexpress.com

Suhani Jain

Infinix Note 12 (2023) with 6.7-inch AMOLED Display Launched: Check Features

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Suhani Jain

Infinix recently introduced a brand-new smartphone in its Note 12 series to the global market. The Infinix Note 12 (2023) is a low-cost smartphone with a MediaTek processor, an AMOLED display, triple cameras, and a large battery.

Specifications

The device is positioned above the Note 12 G96 and Note 12 G88, both of which are currently available on the market. It is available in three color options which are alpine white, Tuscany blue, and volcanic grey. It has a 50MP triple rear camera setup, a 16MP selfie camera, a 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging support, and other features.

The Infinix Note 12 (2023) is equipped with a 6.7-inch AMOLED plus FHD+ display having a resolution of 2400×1080 pixels. It is equipped with a MediaTek Helio G99 SoC together with 8GB of RAM, and about storage space of 256GB of internal storage.

It consists of a 50MP primary camera, a 2MP depth camera, and an unspecified AI lens for photography. A 16MP selfie lens is located on the front of the device which looks like a waterdrop. The main camera consists of a 2 MP depth sensor and a third AI Lens. It can capture photos with high resolution and record videos up to 2K resolution at 30 fps. The brand-new Infinix Note 12 handset operates on Android-12-based XOS 10.6.

Infinix Note 12 5G Series With 108MP Camera Teased on Flipkart, India Launch Coming Soon The handset has a 5,000mAh battery and supports 33W fast charging. A 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB Type-C port, dual-band Wi-Fi, and other connectivity options are available.

Pricing

In terms of pricing, the phone is available for $199 which is approximately Rs 16,500 for the 8GB + 128GB version. Infinix has yet to announce plans for the smartphone’s release in India but when it will be available it would be available to order from both the offline and online modes.

Suhani Jain

Google Meet calls can now be transcribed into text

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

Google has revealed that Google Meet calls can now also be converted into text and saved by users in Google Doc format.

Google is constantly updating the functionality and user experience on its video-calling platform, Google Meet. In keeping with its recent trends, Google has released an update that will soon provide users access to a number of new features, such as speech transcription. Google has launched a brand-new transcribe feature for Google Meet calls.

Users will now be able to utilize this tool to convert the whole meeting’s audio file into text format and save it as a Google Doc. The saved file may be retrieved using Google Drive. The tech behemoth recently released this new feature in the Cloud Next 2022 event.

Users will find the Google Meet transcribe tool useful for recording meetings and saving important remarks.

On October 24, the company will begin to introduce the new transcribe tool for Google Meet globally. Although the transcribe option is intriguing, not everyone would have access to it. Android Central reported that Google will only make the new tool available to PC and laptop users.

Attendees will be informed that the call is being recorded before they join the Google Meet call. The purpose of these transcripts is to document the discussion from the meeting, serve as a record, and be useful to attendees or the host if they wish to refer back to a specific section or idea from the entire discussion.

Similar to the recording option, if the transcription is activated for the Google Meet call, all participants will receive a notification. According to Google, the Google Meet transcription file may also be kept in the Google Drive storage system in the “Meeting Recordings” folder.

Following the meeting, a link to the transcript will be sent to every participant’s email address, including the hosts and the person who started the transcript. Google will also include a link to the transcription with the “associated calendar invite for the meeting” in addition to that.

Regarding accessibility, Google has said that in all meetings with 200 or fewer participants, the meeting host, co-hosts, or the person who initiated the transcription will only have access to the link to the transcription file by email after the meeting concludes.

Only the meeting organizers, hosts, and co-hosts will have access to the transcription for meetings with 200 or more invitees.

Notably, the transcribe option “can be configured at the group, domain, or OU level” and will be enabled by default. Only users of Google Workspace Business Standard, Enterprise Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade will have access to the feature.

Google users with personal accounts will not be able to access the new feature. It’s also important to note that only English-speaking people can use the transcribe tool. So, the feature cannot convert audio into text when users talk in any other language.

Google Meet( formerly Google Hangouts) is a video-communication service by Google. Google Meet is amongst the most used meeting apps especially when it took the place of Google Duo on Android and iOS smartphones.

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.

Apple and Goldman Sachs collaborate to provide high-yield savings accounts to Apple Card customers

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Suhani Jain

Apple is taking a major step toward providing its customers with more banking services. The company announced today, that it is collaborating with Goldman Sachs to launch a new high-yield savings account feature for Apple Card credit cardholders that will allow them to save and grow their Daily Cash which is the cashback rewards earned from Apple Card purchases.

In the upcoming months, Apple says cardholders will be able to automatically save this money in a new, high-yield savings account from Goldman Sachs which will be accessible through Apple Wallet. Customers can also deposit their own funds into this account.

“Savings enables Apple Card users to grow their Daily Cash rewards over time, while also saving for the future,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet,” Bailey said in a statement late on Thursday.
Source: in.investing.com

According to Apple, the account has no fees, minimum deposit, or minimum balance requirements, making it competitive with various neobanks that are often used as a way for customers to reserve digital cash and monetize interest payments.

However, Apple did not specify what interest rate would be paid out on these high-yield accounts in its press release. According to Bankrate data, competitors are currently offering APYs ranging from 2.20% to 3.05%. According to Investopedia data, some are going even higher, with APYs currently exceeding 3.1%. Apple stated that it is not prepared to announce the APY due to the current highly volatile interest rate environment.

When the new service becomes available, Apple Card users will be able to set up and manage their Savings account directly in the Apple Wallet mobile app. From then on, all Daily Cash earned through Apple Card purchases will be automatically deposited into this account, unless customers choose to have the cash added to their Apple Cash card in Wallet instead, as they do at the present time. According to Apple, this option can be changed at any time.

An in-app Savings dashboard will show the account balance as well as the interest earned over time.

Apple currently offers 3% cashback on Apple Card purchases made with Apple Pay at select merchants such as Apple, Uber/Uber Eats, T-Mobile, Walgreens, Panera Bread, Nike, ExxonMobil, and Ace Hardware. Apple Card purchases will earn 2% cashback when using Apple Pay, and 1% cashback when using the titanium card or a virtual card number to shop online.

Cardholders would not have to depend solely on Apple Card purchases to fund their brand-new Savings accounts. Customers will be able to deposit additional funds via a linked bank account or their Apple Cash balance, as per Apple’s statements.

They can also withdraw this money at any time by transferring it to the same linked bank account or any linked bank account or even their Apple Cash card, without incurring any fees.

Apple has been steadily moving into the payments market with the launch of the Apple Card, allowing it to establish a more direct connection with its customers as it accelerates its “services” business, which perceives it selling subscriptions to a variety of offerings, including Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple TV+, iCloud+, Apple Fitness+, Apple News+, and more.

It’s also attempting to make Apple Pay a more realistic choice for online shopping, with the announcement of an Affirm competitor, Apple Pay Later, for dividing purchases into four interest-free payments. This offering, however, has been postponed until 2023, according to Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs has been repositioning itself as a more traditional bank with its Marcus by Goldman Sachs product, which announced last year that it had reached a milestone of more than $100 billion in customer deposits after five years of operation. The collaboration with Apple will give it a new perspective on the consumer deposits market.

Apple did not provide a specific launch date for its high-yield Savings account, only stating that it would be available in the coming months. The company stated that the Savings account feature will be included in an upcoming iOS release, but did not specify which version number would include the option.

Suhani Jain

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