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Google Seven West Media deal

Google strikes deal with the Australian media company, Seven West Media amid content payment row

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The Australian government has been pushing the enforcement of a law to compensate local news media companies in the country. Amidst the tension between the government and tech giants like Google, Seven West Media became the first Australian company to land a deal with Google. The exact monetary value of this inked deal was not revealed but some sources from Seven West Media said that the deal is worth more than $30 million a year for the media company (The Sydney Morning Herald).

Seven West Media revealed this news on 15th February 2021 and it also mentioned that the company will provide content to Google for the Google News Showcase product. The news Showcase product of Google has been launched recently and the company is paying the local publishers for “certain behind-the-paywall articles” that will go up in this new product. The media company has also mentioned that the deal is a “long-term partnership” with Google but was vague with the exact numbers.

New law enforcement caused tension in January 2021

Last month, tension rose between the tech giant Google and the Australian government as the latter announced the enforcement of a new law. According to this new law which is called the News Media Bargaining Code, tech giants like Google and Facebook have to pay the small news publishers and media companies for content. In response to this new law, Google commented that if this law is enforced then the people of Australia will get barred from receiving quality news in Google.

The response of Google was not taken very politely by the Australian government, as in response to that comment, the Australian government mentioned they are open to any businesses who want to prosper in Australia but they won’t respond to any kind of threat. Since then, a lot of bargaining has been going on and finally the Australian leading media company, Seven West Media successfully landed a paid deal with Google. 

Google-Seven West Media deal

Seven West Media is one of the most leading Australian media channels and the main source of metro newspapers in Perth, Australia. The new deal between the tech giant, Google and the Seven West Media mainly concerns the news that will be published in the Google News Showcase platform. The media company didn’t reveal any terms and conditions of the deal. But, the deal with Google also brings along the news of splitting partnership with News Corp and Nine Entertainment. These leading organizations have failed to reach an agreement with Google and backed laws that are supposed to be passed this week (Gadgets 360).

Google Seven West Media deal

The newly launched product of Google, i.e., the Google News Showcase platform, has gone live in Australia this month. Till now, only some specialist Australian publishers and a newspaper have been able to successfully land a paid deal with Google for their content. Outside Australia, Reuters has successfully struck a deal with Google. In response to the newly inked deal with Google, Kerry Stokes, Chairman of Seven West Media has commented that this deal is a sign of how important is the value of quality journalism in the country, especially in regional areas. Mel Silva, CEO of Google Australia, said that the company is “proud to support original, trusted, and quality journalism” by bringing Seven West onboard for the new Google product.

Google made a small compromise 

Today, we are witnessing a paid deal between Google and Seven West thus uplifting the local news publishers for quality content in Australia. But, last month, Mel Silva clearly mentioned in a parliamentary hearing that if the Australian government enforces this law Google search engines will pull out from Australia. The law said that if Google and a media company cannot strike a deal privately then a negotiator will be given the responsibility to set a fee. But, the deal between Google and Seven West shows that the tech giant made a little compromise from its side to thrive in Australia and not abandon quality news content due to this new law. Last month, Google was furious about the new law, but thinking from the perspective of the Australian government, it is trying to uplift the economic status of the local media publishers and help people value the power of good journalism. 

Volkswagen

Volkswagen will tap into Microsoft’s cloud computing for developing self-driving software

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Volkswagen dropped the hint of developing self-driving software in the future when the company decided to use Microsoft’s Azure software back in 2018. The two companies made a deal three years ago that Volkswagen will use Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing service and link it to the cars. And, from the announcement made on 11th February 2021, the software updates will be developed in this cloud from where they will be directly downloaded in the cars.

The technology behind developing self-driving cars has been a hot topic for quite some time now. Yesterday’s announcement was all about making it public that Microsoft’s cloud computing service will be used to streamline the software development updates for self-driving cars.

Volkswagen Position in the Automobile Industry

The two brands Audi and Porsche that are owned by Volkswagen are working on developing self-driving cars. Though these brands are under the same parent company, they are working independently to give their brands an exclusive presence. Self-driving cars are the future of the automobile industry and that future is not very far. Both Audi and Porsche are working on self-assisting driving features like adaptive cruise control. But these features will not be designed for every self-driving model of the companies.

Volkswagen
Image Source: gccbusinessnews.com

In an effort to make the designing process smooth, Volkswagen brought all these development efforts together into a subsidiary last year. The name of the subsidiary is Car. Software and this was an initiative taken by the company to establish proper coordination among all the makers. Though each company was responsible for handling its own work, design, and visual prototype, all of them needed to work on some features together as they were common for all cars, for example, obstacle detection. All these groups in spite of working within a common group used different systems for developing the software for self-driving cars.

So finally, the company decided to put all the updates on a common cloud server, and hence the deal was announced yesterday in collaboration with Microsoft. This information was given to Reuters by Dirk Hilgenberg, Chief Executive of Car. Software. Every brand will have an opportunity to examine the work of others and modify their software accordingly.

Work to be done

The deal between Microsoft and Volkwagen also included deploying software updates to the car so that any new feature can be instantly downloaded into the care system. This is one such practice that helped Tesla to move far ahead of the competition and ahead of time as well. Along with mentioning the reason why Volkswagen decided to update all new features in one place, Dirk also mentioned that “over-the-air updates are paramount: without which the company might lose the firm ground in the self-driving automobile field.

The main objective behind this entire practice of software updates for self-driving cars is that today you are hitting the road with a car with little self-driving assistance in it. But, subsequently, new features will come along and in no time you will be able to access them thus taking you one step towards a more flexible world of autonomous driving. In response to this new deal, Scott Guthrie, Executive Vice President of Cloud and Artificial Intelligence at Microsoft, said that. “That ability to start to program the vehicle in richer and richer ways, and in a safe way, transforms how the experience works.” while explaining how to receive updates in our mobile phones within very short intervals.

How Self-driving cars will change the future?

The main theory behind building a self-driving car is to design sensors that can track all objects around the car and embedding the technology on how to react if it is about to bump into one. But, it is easier said than done. The idea of self-driving technology is keeping almost every leading car company out there. But, with the pace of advancement taking place, the ones who won’t be able to keep up with this drastic change will face severe business problems. At the same time, experts predict that with the amount of brainstorming put into developing self-driving car technology, the next decade might bring enormous opportunities for automakers and technology developers. Evolution is the only means to survive whether they are mankind or machines.

Android 12

Leaked Screenshots Gives a Flash of the Android 12 Updated Features.

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There has been a history with the tech companies and their upcoming products’ information leak. We do not know that these companies leak the information purposely, or these are mere accidents. But those leaks have always been helpful for the general public to get a peek of new products before they get launched. This time we have got a chance to know about the features of Google’s upcoming OS for Android, i.e., Android 12, as some of the screenshots related to its features are out in the public, ‘accidentally’.

Android 12

With every Android OS release Google releases and shares the documentation and source code of the product with its partners so that they get enough time to prepare their devices for the same. This year too, before the beta release of the OS, Google shared the draft with its partners, but somehow, this draft along with some screenshots got leaked online, which is enough to derive a lot of information regarding the product.

Android 12
Image Source: androidpolice.com

Android 12 Features

The leaked documentation has got a defined summary of the features of Android 12, including the new UI and some functional changes made to the OS. Though the screenshots have revealed only a few features, these say a lot about the new Android OS. Looking at the screenshots, we can conclude that the company has done a lot of work on the UI of the new OS. The new OS has got a new notification panel, new privacy features, and a new widget selection feature.

The New UI

Android 12
Image Source: mobilesyrup.com

Google has given a new look to the notification panel of the OS, to make it look more attractive. In the previous Android OS versions, the notification panel is transparent, but the Android 12 has got an opaque light beige background. The notifications on the panel, too, have got a change in the form of an even more pronounced rounded corner for each. In the earlier OS versions, six quick setting icons would fit above the notifications, but now you will get to put only four, but bigger, icons there. The places of the date and time on the top has also been interchanged, and in the top right-hand corner, you can see new icons probably related to user privacy.

The Privacy Icons

There are speculations that these new privacy indicators are made to warn the user when an app is using their camera or microphone. The users will also have the option to turn off the camera or the microphone, through toggles. The new privacy feature will also let the users toggle their location access for the apps. In the previous versions of OS, the user could enable or disable the sensors of their device, but that was only possible if the developer’s option was enabled. But with the new advanced privacy features, there is a possibility that the option to turn the sensors on or off may be available on the Privacy settings of the device. These features have already been under tests for over two years, having them in the new OS would be an impressive move from the company.

The Converasation Widget

Apart from these new features, we can see a new conversation widget in the screenshots. Looking at the screenshot, we can guess that these conversation widgets will show recent messages, missed calls, or activity statuses from the user’s contacts. Since we can see that these widgets show pictures or avatars of the contacts sending messages or making calls and is comparatively smaller in size, it will only show one message/call/status at a time. According to the reports, we can see Google making these widgets mandatory for all its Android OS. This will act as a People’s shortcut for the contacts and will be managed under the PeopleManager class. Along with mandating the conversation widget, Google may also make the privacy indicators for the microphone, camera, and location mandatory for all its OSs.

These are the features that we have concluded from the leaked screenshots but will get to know more about the Android 12 only after the official release of the Compatibility Definition Document (CDD) for Android 12.  The OS will go under its Developer Previews and Betas later this month, and the final launch for the OS will occur by the end of the year.

Xiaomi Mi 11

New Xiaomi Mi 11 launched globally on a virtual event: Features, price, and availability.

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On 8th February 2021, Xiaomi’s new Mi 11 launch was announced globally at an online event. The new Mi 11 is the flagship phone of the company that was unveiled in China in December 2020. Xiaomi Mi 11 comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor of 888 SoC and many other jaw-dropping features to get added to your cart this year. Mi 11 has a storage of 256 GB along with a 2K display and a hole-punch design. The company along with revealing the Mi 11 also announced the launch of MIUI 12.5. It will also roll out across the globe.

MIUI 12.5 is going to give the customers a revamped UI experience as it will reduce the CPU usage of apps by 22 percent and also increase power efficiency by 15 percent. The new MIUI 12.5 will be incorporated in the upcoming models of Mi including Mi 11 which will be available in the second quarter of 2021. So, let’s have a detailed look into the specifications of Mi 11 along with its price and availability.

Specifications of Mi 11

The new Mi 11 will run on Android 10 integrated with the newly revealed MIUI 12.5. This new smartphone is featuring a dual sim (nano), 6.81 inches 2K display with 1440X3200 pixels AMOLED display Mi flagship product. The weight of the phone is 196 grams. The display of Mi 11 has Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection along with 1,500 nits of peak brightness (Gadgets 360). The refresh rate of the display is 120Hz and the touch sampling rate goes up to 480Hz. As mentioned above, the phone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Soc. It also has an LPDDR5 8GB RAM.

The Mi phones are also famous for having a good quality camera system within an affordable price range. The new Mi 11 has a brilliant camera system that will be the first choice of many budding photographers and content creators out there. This new Mi 11 has a triple rear camera flaunting a primary sensor of 108 megapixels with a lens of aperture f/1.85. The lens is also provided with great optical stabilization. Along with it, the secondary lens has a 13-megapixel sensor with an ultra-wide-angle view.

Xiaomi Mi 11
Image Source: zee5.com

The aperture of the secondary lens is f/2.4 with a field of view of 123 degrees. Sit tight because that’s not all of it. The new Mi 11 has a telenacro shooter of 5 megapixels. It’s really unbelievable that a phone camera is decked up with so many features for the camera system and not to mention the integrated Artificial Intelligence system for adding features like Time Freeze, Freeze Frame, Magic Zoom, etc. The selfie camera, i.e., the front camera has a 20-megapixel sensor and that is the entire camera system of Mi 11.

The storage of Mi 11 is also adequate with 256 GB UFS 3.1 storage. The network connectivity options are 5G, 4G, LTE, Wifi, 6E, and Bluetooth 5.2. Mi 11 has a USB Type-C port and some of the other connectivity options are GPS/A-GPS, NFC, and Infrared (IR). The fingerprint sensor which is present in the display of Mi 11 can also be used as a heart rate sensor.  The battery of Mi 11 is a 4,600 mAh battery. Mi 11 supports the Mi Turbocharger of 55W and wireless charging of 50W. The reverse charging support of Mi 11 gives up to 10W of wireless charging. 

Price and availability

The price of Mi 11 starts from Rs 65,800 approximately. This price is set for the Mi 11 model with an 8GB + 128GB variant. The price of the Mi 11 providing 8GB and 256GB of storage is roughly Rs 70,100. Another variant of the Mi 11 which comes with the 12GB and 128GB combo is limited to the Chinese market. The phone comes in three color options which are Cloud White, Horizon Blue, and Midnight Grey. The phones offer a two-year warranty and one-time screen replacement which is for one year. Apart from the upcoming Mi 11 models this year, the company will also launch Mi 11 special edition which is going to be very exclusive.

Share Presentation

Share Presentation: Best presentation sharing platform to promote your products and services.

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Today, every industry is transforming their business online and wants to grow more with numerous ways of marketing. Spending on different marketing strategies for branding your business online is getting very expensive. One cannot keep on spending on several marketing strategies to build their brand’s presence online, especially for small businesses. We have to find some best marketing practices that are pocket friendly yet effective.

Share Presentation is one of the platforms that give this opportunity for free. By knowing your target audience, you can promote your products and services presentations on the Share Presentation website. One can generate good leads by knowing some key elements like your potential customers and the way you market your brand effectively. Now, Why to choose the Share Presentation platform? Here are some of the reasons that can help you promote your brand on the Share Presentation website.

Give your Business Global Presence

Share Presentation is a public content sharing platform and is open for all to showcase their creativity and knowledge. By promoting your products and services at Share Presentation, you can generate good leads because of the global traffic that the website is getting. You have to remember some key points like adding a logo on every slide and your brand details which can lead to several meaningful collaborations with people who are interested in your brand.

Share Presentation
Image Source: sharepresentation.com

Share Presentation platform also enhances your online visibility and promoting well-organized presentations can lead to an increase in your rate of conversion.

Helps in SEO to rank your business on Google

Search Engine Optimization plays a very important role in branding your business online. One has to wait for 6 months to 1 year to get ranked your website on the first page of Google. For that, you have to generate quality backlinks which can lead to improving your website’s quality score. Promoting your products and services at Share Presentation leads to generate quality inbound traffic to your website which can improve your SERP’s ranking.

There are some key elements that you can use while promoting your products on Share Presentation i.e. Always optimize the Title and Title slide of your presentation, add relevant keywords, select a relevant category of your products, and never forgot to give your brands contact details on the last slide of your presentation.

Seamless experience and good user interface

Share Presentation provides you a seamless user interface that saves your time. You just have to sign-up with Google, and your account is ready. You can upload your presentations category wise so that you can promote your products and services in your niche. Keeping in mind several marketing strategies to stay ahead of your competitors, Share Presentation provides you the ease of sharing your product presentation online on all social media platforms.

Share Presentation also provides an option to embed your presentation in any blog post and on any other platform on which you want to embed. Also, the website provides you a one-click download button in case you want to download your presentation online.

As, Share Presentation is free you can promote your products and get better clarity on marketing your products online. You can get better clarity on your potential customers and several insights of your product target audience. Also, on this platform, you can get numerous marketing strategies that the industry is using to promote their products and services online.

Get your Presentations Featured

Share Presentation provides you an option to get your product presentation featured on the website. There are some key practices that you can follow to get your presentation featured on the website. Some of the practices are to Present in-depth knowledge of your product, make the presentation audience-centric and optimize the Title and Title slide according to the content of the presentation.

So, you just need a good presentation of your product and services to get good leads from the Share Presentation website. It also saves a lot of money and gives you a bunch of potential customers and quality leads. Being a marketer, you can just give it a try.

Facebook

Facebook Starts a Three-Step Initiative to Fight Fake News and Misinformation

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Though social media was developed for entertainment purposes, it has become the biggest source of spreading misinformation and fake news. We have seen the impact of all the misinformation in the form of major steps taken by the general public, violence being one of them. Being the biggest social media platform, Facebook is the one that is most of the time blamed for spreading misinformation and hate among people.

Last month too, after the Capitol Hill riots, Facebook had to face a lot of criticism and had to suspend a few groups for spreading misinformation and call for violence. For the past many years, too, the company has been warned by several governments to work on its moderation policies.

Now, after the misinformation spread about COVID-19, the company has come up with its new three-step policy, to help to reduce the rate of spread of rumors. The three steps include, “Remove, Reduce, and Inform”. Maybe, the company has finally realized that it is losing its credibility. So it has to take some serious steps to maintain its position as one of the most used social media platforms.

Facebook Three-Step Initiative Remove, Reduce, and Inform

Facebook on Thursday held a small briefing session, where it addressed the issue of the spread of fake news and rumors. In this virtual meeting, the company talked about its new “Remove, Reduce, and Inform” policy, which would help curb the spread of fake news and misinformation in the coming future. Facebook already includes the option to report and take down posts related to hate-speech or misinformation. It also has its native similarity detection system used to filter the content posted on the platform. Now, for the new policy, Facebook has tied up with more than 80 fact-checker companies, including Fact Crescendo and Boom. These companies deal in over 60 languages and are certified by the nonpartisan International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN).

Facebook
Image Source: Pixabay

These fact-checkers will help Facebook identify false, altered, or partly false information on the platform. Currently, the company along with its partner fact-checkers is working towards labeling and checking vaccine-related posts, such that to identify their authenticity. It is also keeping a check on the ads and posts that includes selling of COVID-19 vaccine. The visibility of the groups that are spreading any sort of fake or partly false information about COVID-19 and its vaccine, has also been reduced, such that to lessen the reach of their posts.

Though the company is taking Stringent steps to fight misinformation, the Facebook Product Policy Manager, Misinformation Alice Budisatrijo admitted that it is impossible to combat this issue completely. “However, we take our responsibility seriously. We are a service for more than 2 billion people around the world. So we know how essential it is for people to have access to credible information, and for us to remove harmful content,” she said. “Even with the combination of artificial intelligence and the human reviewers that we have all over the world, we can never 100% guarantee that content that violates our policies is not on the platform,” she added.

Losing Credibility

Facebook has been facing a lot of criticism from around the world for being a major source of misinformation and hate spread. According to Rahul Namboori, co-founder of Fact Crescendo, Facebook was one of the most used social media platforms to cause chaos and hate among people in India in 2020. The year started with misinformation about the CAA and NRC bill proposed in India and lead to spreading fake news about COVID-19. 2021 also started with another protest about the Farm bill and people around the world have witnessed what happened on 26th Jan in Delhi, because of the misinformation on different social media platforms, including Facebook.

Facebook has also marked a ban from the Myanmar government recently, so to oppose possible violence over the military coup due to fake news in the country. After facing so much criticism from all around the world, the company is now trying to fix its image by added new policies against misinformation. Recently, it took some steps to oppose the spread of fake news about COVID-19 and its vaccine. It has removed many posts as well as suspended a few pages on the platform that included false information about the disease.

Controlling the Fake News on Other Platforms

Apart from Facebook, the company is going to strict its policies for its other platforms, i.e. Instagram and What’s App, too. On the other hand, Twitter is also taking some stringent actions on the same. It has started to label the posts that offer baseless rumors, disputed claims, incomplete information, and the information that is out-of-context for COVID-19 vaccines. Even Google has announced a fund of $3 million to fight the misinformation regarding the COVID-19 vaccines, such that it will try to show the most authentic results about the disease and its vaccine on every search on Google.