tech news

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

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

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

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.

Netflix to charge $6.99 a month for ‘Basic With Ads’ Plan

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

Beginning in November, the American streaming provider Netflix will launch a new, inexpensive tier subscription “basic with ads” that is supported by advertisements.

In twelve nations, Netflix will launch a subscription model in November that is subsidized by advertisements as the company attempts to increase sales and subscriber numbers. The subscription, dubbed “basic with ads,” will cost $6.99 in the US, $3 cheaper than the country’s basic option without advertisements.

Netflix battled user churn after suffering the largest-ever quarterly decline in subscribers recently in June. This new model will soon launch in Brazil, Australia, Britain, Britain, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, France, and the United States. This ad-supported subscription is a first for Netflix. This move is a significant change for a company that pioneered the concept of ad-free membership-based streaming.

Users of Netflix’s “Basic with ads” tier won’t be able to download films and television shows, and there will often be four or five minutes of adverts every hour. Due to licensing limitations, a few TV shows and films will initially be inaccessible.

Before and throughout Netflix’s content, there will be 15-30 second advertisements. Firms will be able to stop adverts from showing up on content they consider objectionable or nasty. Nielsen, a rating business, will start using its Digital Ad Ratings in the United States in 2023 to assist marketers in understanding its reach.

When Disney+’s ad tier debuts in December, it will cost $7.99 per month, while Hulu will cost $7.99. Netflix is less expensive at $6.99 per month. The monthly cost of HBO Max with advertisements is $9.99.

Netflix has set the price of the service such that any customers who convert from the ad-free standard plan to the ad-supported plan will have a “neutral to positive” impact on the business’s income. This indicates Netflix will earn at least $3 in advertising income per customer each month.

Instead of 1080p, the resolution of Netflix’s normal plan, which costs $15.49 per month, the video resolution for the ad-tier plan will be 720p. The company’s entry-level plan, which features 720p resolution but no advertising, costs $9.99 per month.

Netflix referred to the new tier as “pro-consumer” during a press conference where it unveiled it. It also revealed that its inner content tagging specialists were charged with locating natural breakpoints in numerous series and movies to insert adverts in.

As reported by The Verge, Netflix’s ad tier is a reaction to an unexpected slump for the streaming service, which earlier this year lost over a million users in the United States and Canada. The company also saw a decline in its stock price as a result of investor doubts that its phase of significant growth has come to an end.

Although the company has stated that it aims to roll out the new ad tier in more countries over time, India is not among the 12 countries wherein Netflix is first introducing the ad-supported plan. Given the price-sensitive character of the Indian market, it is important to note that Netflix offers some of the most affordable subscription plans when compared to its offerings in other regions.

Netflix plans in India start at Rs 149, or roughly $2 per month for phone devices only. The cheapest Netflix subscription in India starts at Rs 199 per month, which translates to about $2.6 per month for other devices such as smart televisions. The “regular” version of the streaming service costs Rs 499 per month in India, offers high-definition content streaming across two devices, and is ad-free.

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.

Google to introduce Chromebooks for Cloud Gaming

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

It’s only been a few weeks since Google announced that its cloud gaming service Stadia will be discontinued next year. And now, the company has made a new cloud gaming announcement that it is launching Chromebooks made by various manufacturers that are optimized for cloud gaming.

To bring users marquee titles, Google has also partnered with cloud gaming services such as Nvidia GeForce Now, Microsoft Xbox Cloud Gaming, and Amazon Luna. Furthermore, Acer, Corsair, HyperX, Lenovo, and SteelSeries have collaborated with the company to create “Works with Chromebook” certified peripherals for these devices.

“Chromebooks have always been known for being fast, secure, and easy-to-use devices. Since their launch more than a decade ago, we have improved their capabilities and expanded the variety of devices for people to choose from,” the company said in a blog post.
“Today, we are taking that effort a step further by introducing the world’s first laptops built for cloud gaming along with our partners Acer, ASUS, and Lenovo,” it added.
Source: business-standard.com

Hardware specifications

This first generation of Chromebooks for cloud gaming from Acer, Asus, and Lenovo includes numerous gaming-related features. High-resolution displays with refresh rates of 120Hz or higher, Wi-Fi 6 or 6E compatibility, high-quality audio, and RGB keyboards with anti-ghosting are among them. Anti-ghosting is a feature that registers all the key presses accurately even when you press multiple keys at once.

The first set of devices is priced between $399 and $799 to appeal to a wider audience. These laptops use Intel processors ranging from Core i3 to Core i7, depending on the price. Here’s a quick rundown of the three launch models’ specifications.

Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook

It sports a 16-inch display with a WQXGA screen (2560 X 1500), and a 120 Hz refresh rate and has a 12th Gen Intel Core i3/i5 processor and 8 GB RAM. There are two versions with storage of variations of 256 GB/512 GB SSD and 128 eMMC. It features 4 X 2W speakers with Waves Audi and supports 2 X 2 Intel Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5. Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook contains 2 USB 3.2 gen 2 type C ports, 1 X USB 3.2 Gen 1 type A, 1 X HDMI 2.0, 1 X audio combo jack, 1 microSD card reader, and a battery backup of 71 Wh.

Acer Chromebook 516 GE

Acer Chromebook 516 GE features a display of 16-inch WQXGA screen (2560 X 1500) with a 120 Hz refresh rate. It contains a 12th gen Intel Core i5 processor with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD. It sports DTS audio with quad-force vibration cancellation stereo. Some other features are 2 X 2 Intel Wi-fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, 2 x USB 3.2 gen 2type C, 1 x USB 3.2 gen 2 type A, 1 x HDMI 2.1, 1x audio combo jack, 1 x Ethernet RJ-45 port and battery backup of 65 Wh.

Asus Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip

Asus Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip sports a 15.6-inch Full HD (1920 X 1080) IPS touchscreen with 144 Hz refresh rate, 11th Gen Intel Core i3/i5/i7. It is available in 128GB/256GB/512GB SSD. It sports 2X Harman/Kardon certified speakers. Other features are 2X2 Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, 2 x USB 3.2 gen 2 type C; 1 x USB 3.2 gen 1 type A; 1 x HDMI 2.0; 1x audio combo jack; 1 x microSD card reader and a battery backup of 57 Wh.

Google does not currently have a set of requirements or certification for Chromebooks for cloud gaming. So, we don’t know if future devices must meet certain specifications to be included in this initiative, but Google will prioritize future devices with high refresh rate screens and good Wi-Fi connectivity.

However, the company stated that GameBench independently tested all three launch devices to ensure they provide a consistent and smooth gaming experience at 120 frames per second with a latency of less than 85ms.

All of these devices will be available for purchase in October. Acer, Corsair, HyperX, Lenovo, and SteelSeries supported accessories including headsets, mice, and controllers.

Suhani Jain

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