Tech Roundup: Climate Change, Twitter IPO & More
[A recurring feature on the latest trends in Science & Technology.]
Humans responsible for climate change, says IPCC:
A latest report by climate experts over at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says they are 95% sure that humans are the "dominant cause" for climate change since the 1950's. The average global temperature has increased by 0.85C over the period 1880-2012, the authors add. "The panel also warns that continued emissions of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and changes in all aspects of the climate system. To contain these changes will require substantial and sustained reductions of greenhouse gas emissions," writes the BBC.
Amazon Kindle Fire HDX has one killer feature - Mayday:
Electronic commerce giant Amazon has unveiled its latest iteration of Kindle Fire tablets (7 and 8.9 inch) in time for the upcoming US holiday season with upgraded specs and a much better disguised version of Android (now called Fire OS). While these are to be expected year over year, one stunning new feature is Mayday. See this video from The Verge for a quick preview.
In what could potentially revolutionize customer support, Mayday is nothing but a one-touch access to a 24-hour help technician through a free video call. As you can see in the video, they appear in a small movable pop-up window (the agents can't see you however) and can control your tablet to help you around with your questions. Can't imagine how Amazon can serve millions of users once the tablets go on sale, and not to forget the privacy concerns either, but if they can crack this, they have a winner all the way (beating Google's Helpouts to the punch).
Twitter files for billion dollar IPO:
Social network Twitter finally followed Facebook's footsteps by filing for an initial public offering, aiming to raise $1bn in the process. The filing with USA's Securities and Exchange Commission, with bankers Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as its lead underwriters, is the latest high-profile tech offering post Facebook's over-hyped IPO back in May 2012. In the financial documents submitted, the seven-year-old company revealed that it had 218 million monthly active users as of June 30, and that its incomes had tripled in 2012 despite some losses. The company's stock would be traded under the ticker symbol TWTR, but refused to comment if it would trade on NYSE or NASDAQ, the two major stock exchanges in the USA. Twitter has been treading the ground with great caution no doubt, considering that the Facebook IPO debacle is still fresh on people's minds!
Samsung caught rigging benchmarks again with Galaxy Note 3; others too:
Do benchmarks really matter? In a time when every manufacturer is waging a spec-battle for the ultimate (Android) smartphone, what makes more sense than inflating the benchmark scores that are employed to judge and compare the hardware performance of these devices! Samsung, which was earlier caught pulling a software trick to run the Galaxy S4 at maximum performance when running benchmark apps, had defended its actions stating it does the same for other demanding apps such as Camera, Gallery, Video Player and the likes.
Now Samsung has repeated this tomfoolery again with the Galaxy Note 3 according an extensive report by Ron Amadeo from Ars Technica, who found that the CPU boost mode is triggered by a Java file named DVFSHelper.java which "contains a hard-coded list of every package [Android app package files or the .apk files] that is affected by the special CPU boosting mode", but not when a renamed version of the same benchmark app is running. AnandTech, which brought to light the Samsung's shenanigans with S4, did a follow-up report claiming that with the exception of Apple and Motorola, literally every single OEM we’ve worked with ships (or has shipped) at least one device that runs this silly CPU optimization. Most people who buy the Note 3 or any high-end phone really don't dig into the benchmarks, they buy it because it has the features they want, and certainly not because it bests the benchmark scores!
BlackBerry sailing through rough weather:
The Canadian handset maker has been experiencing nothing but a bloodbath of late. With its flagship devices like the Z10 failing to excite the consumer market, BlackBerry is now reportedly in talks with Google, Cisco, SAP, LG and Samsung about a potential sale of its business. In addition, it has written down $960 million on unsold Z10 smartphones, and plans to retreat from the consumer market offering only a select few devices. In India, it has also slashed the price of Z10 by a whopping Rs.13,500 to Rs.29,990.
YouTube comments integrated to Google+:
Ever bothered about the tasteless, insensitive comments on YouTube videos? Well, Google seems to be concerned nonetheless and has now begun rolling out substantial changes. For a start, the new commenting system necessitates that you have a Google+ account, and in doing so Google is slowly making its social network more relevant and noticeable. With no real alternatives to YouTube yet, will this move be a win-win situation for both Google and users?
In other news:
Humans responsible for climate change, says IPCC:
A latest report by climate experts over at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says they are 95% sure that humans are the "dominant cause" for climate change since the 1950's. The average global temperature has increased by 0.85C over the period 1880-2012, the authors add. "The panel also warns that continued emissions of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and changes in all aspects of the climate system. To contain these changes will require substantial and sustained reductions of greenhouse gas emissions," writes the BBC.
Amazon Kindle Fire HDX has one killer feature - Mayday:
Electronic commerce giant Amazon has unveiled its latest iteration of Kindle Fire tablets (7 and 8.9 inch) in time for the upcoming US holiday season with upgraded specs and a much better disguised version of Android (now called Fire OS). While these are to be expected year over year, one stunning new feature is Mayday. See this video from The Verge for a quick preview.
In what could potentially revolutionize customer support, Mayday is nothing but a one-touch access to a 24-hour help technician through a free video call. As you can see in the video, they appear in a small movable pop-up window (the agents can't see you however) and can control your tablet to help you around with your questions. Can't imagine how Amazon can serve millions of users once the tablets go on sale, and not to forget the privacy concerns either, but if they can crack this, they have a winner all the way (beating Google's Helpouts to the punch).
Twitter files for billion dollar IPO:
Social network Twitter finally followed Facebook's footsteps by filing for an initial public offering, aiming to raise $1bn in the process. The filing with USA's Securities and Exchange Commission, with bankers Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as its lead underwriters, is the latest high-profile tech offering post Facebook's over-hyped IPO back in May 2012. In the financial documents submitted, the seven-year-old company revealed that it had 218 million monthly active users as of June 30, and that its incomes had tripled in 2012 despite some losses. The company's stock would be traded under the ticker symbol TWTR, but refused to comment if it would trade on NYSE or NASDAQ, the two major stock exchanges in the USA. Twitter has been treading the ground with great caution no doubt, considering that the Facebook IPO debacle is still fresh on people's minds!
Samsung caught rigging benchmarks again with Galaxy Note 3; others too:
Do benchmarks really matter? In a time when every manufacturer is waging a spec-battle for the ultimate (Android) smartphone, what makes more sense than inflating the benchmark scores that are employed to judge and compare the hardware performance of these devices! Samsung, which was earlier caught pulling a software trick to run the Galaxy S4 at maximum performance when running benchmark apps, had defended its actions stating it does the same for other demanding apps such as Camera, Gallery, Video Player and the likes.
Now Samsung has repeated this tomfoolery again with the Galaxy Note 3 according an extensive report by Ron Amadeo from Ars Technica, who found that the CPU boost mode is triggered by a Java file named DVFSHelper.java which "contains a hard-coded list of every package [Android app package files or the .apk files] that is affected by the special CPU boosting mode", but not when a renamed version of the same benchmark app is running. AnandTech, which brought to light the Samsung's shenanigans with S4, did a follow-up report claiming that with the exception of Apple and Motorola, literally every single OEM we’ve worked with ships (or has shipped) at least one device that runs this silly CPU optimization. Most people who buy the Note 3 or any high-end phone really don't dig into the benchmarks, they buy it because it has the features they want, and certainly not because it bests the benchmark scores!
BlackBerry sailing through rough weather:
The Canadian handset maker has been experiencing nothing but a bloodbath of late. With its flagship devices like the Z10 failing to excite the consumer market, BlackBerry is now reportedly in talks with Google, Cisco, SAP, LG and Samsung about a potential sale of its business. In addition, it has written down $960 million on unsold Z10 smartphones, and plans to retreat from the consumer market offering only a select few devices. In India, it has also slashed the price of Z10 by a whopping Rs.13,500 to Rs.29,990.
YouTube comments integrated to Google+:
Ever bothered about the tasteless, insensitive comments on YouTube videos? Well, Google seems to be concerned nonetheless and has now begun rolling out substantial changes. For a start, the new commenting system necessitates that you have a Google+ account, and in doing so Google is slowly making its social network more relevant and noticeable. With no real alternatives to YouTube yet, will this move be a win-win situation for both Google and users?
In other news:
- Cyber criminals steal source code of several Adobe products; 2.9 million customers' encrypted info exposed.
- Android is 5 years old, while Google turns 15; revamps its search algorithm.
- Oppo's N1 becomes the first smartphone to ship with Android custom ROM CyanogenMod and a rotating camera.
- Samsung and HTC to reportedly offer gold variants of their respective flagships Galaxy S4 and One.
- Android 4.3 update rolling out for HTC One.
- Microsoft's Bill Gates says 'Ctrl+Alt+Del' was a mistake, blames IBM Keyboard design for it.
- USA's Federal Trade Commission will not challenge Google's acquisition of Waze.
- Ads to show up on Gmail for Android in Promotions tab of the inbox.
- HTC headed for a quarterly loss; ends partnership with Beats Audio.
- Nokia launches Lumia 1020 in India.
- Nexus 5 is a stock Android version of LG G2, going by the latest leaks.
- Apple iOS 7 users complain of dizziness and nausea due to animations.
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