India’s small rocket SSLV-D2 lifts off with earth observation satellite

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India’s small rocket SSLV-D2 lifts off with earth observation satellite

India’s new rocket Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D2) on Friday morning lifted off with an earth observation satellite-07 (EOS-07) weighing 156.3 kg.

Piggybacking on that are two other satellites — 10.2 kg Janus-1 belonging to ANTARIS of the US and 8.7 kg AzaadiSat-2 belonging to Space Kidz India, Chennai. The SSLV-D2 is carrying a total weight of 175.2 kg.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has developed SSLV with a carrying capacity of 500 kg to the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) based on the market trend of going in for smaller satellites.

At about 9.18 a.m. the 34-meter tall and 120-ton expendable rocket costing about Rs 56 crore broke free of the first launch pad and started its upward one-way journey.

The rocket with a thick orange flame at its tail slowly gathered speed and went up and up.

As to the mission’s objectives, ISRO said it is to demonstrate the designed payload capability of SSLV in LEO and injection of three satellites — EOS-07, Janus-1, and AzaadiSAT-2 — into the 450 km circular orbit.

About 13 minutes into its flight, the SSLV rocket will eject EOS-07 and soon after that the other two satellites Janus-1 and AzaadiSAT-2 would be ejected — all at an altitude of 450 km, said ISRO.

With the new rocket in its portfolio, ISRO will have three rockets — Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and its variants (cost about Rs 200 crore), the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-MkII cost about Rs 272 crore, and LVM3 Rs 434 crore) and SSLV (Development cost of three rockets about Rs 56 crore each) and production cost may go down later.

The SSLV’s maiden flight — SSLV-D1- on August 7, 2022, was a failure as the rocket had put the two satellites — EOS-01 and AZAADISAT — in a wrong orbit resulting in their loss.

According to ISRO, the onboard sensors of SSLV-D1 were affected due to vibrations during the separation of its second stage. While the rocket’s software was able to perform the ejection of the satellites, the ejections were done into the wrong orbit. The satellites also lacked the necessary velocity to be in a stable orbit and went into oblivion.

Twitter faces major global outage

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Twitter faces major global outage

Micro-blogging platform Twitter faced a major global outage with several users having issues while posting a tweet and sending direct messages (DMs).

According to the outage monitor website DownDetector, over 59 percent of people had reported problems while using the application, 32 percent while using the website, and 9 percent with server connection.

Taking to the platform, many users reported the issues.

While one user said, “did Twitter Dms stop working #TwitterDown”, another mentioned: “Anyone else being blocked from tweeting or retweeting? #TweetLimit #DailyLimit #TwitterDown.”

Users had scheduled their tweets for reporting the issues as they were not likely to post it immediately.

After receiving multiple reports of the outage, the company posted from its @TwitterSupport account on Thursday and said: “Twitter may not be working as expected for some of you. Sorry for the trouble. We’re aware and working on getting this fixed.”

In December last year, Twitter went down for several users globally including in India, and CEO Elon Musk said the outage was due to back-end changes to make the platform faster.

For some users, timelines did not refresh and many accounts were shown as non-existent.

Also, the platform showed error messages to several users, “Something went wrong, but don’t fret — it’s not your fault. Let’s try again”.

LIC subscribers can now access policy-related info, services on WhatsApp

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LIC subscribers can now access policy-related info, services on WhatsApp

The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) on Wednesday introduced a 24×7 interactive service for its subscribers on WhatsApp, allowing policyholders to easily access information and services related to policies within the official LIC WhatsApp chatbot.

Policyholders will now be able to access over 11 services directly on WhatsApp, including information on loan eligibility, repayment quotation, policy status, bonus information, statement of units, LIC services links, updates on premium due dates, loan interest due date notification, certificate on paid premium, opt-in/opt-out option, and end conversation.

“LIC’s services on the WhatsApp business platform are redefining the conventional experience for policyholders, making it simpler, safe, secure and on the go,” Ravi Garg, Director, of Business Messaging, WhatsApp India, said in a statement.

To avail of the services, policyholders will have to first register on the official site of LIC. Users can then send a ‘Hi’ from their registered mobile number to +91 8976862090 and choose from one of the 11 services. The WhatsApp chatbot has been developed by ValueFirst.

“Policyholders will now be able to interact with LIC at their convenience at their fingertips on use cases such as premium due date, policy status, loan eligibility, and much more. This conversational AI solution will help LIC strengthen its brand even more through better customer engagement,” Vishwadeep Bajaj, CEO & Founder, ValueFirst, said in a statement.

E-commerce giant eBay to lay off 500 employees

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E-commerce giant eBay to lay off 500 employees

E-commerce giant eBay has announced to lay off around 500 workers, about 4 percent of its staff globally, citing the macroeconomic situation.

Jamie Iannone, CEO of eBay, announced the layoffs on Tuesday in a note to staff that was also filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Iannone said that actions taken are designed to strengthen the company’s ability to deliver better end-to-end experiences for its customers and to support more innovation and scale across the platform.

“This shift gives us additional space to invest and create new roles in high-potential areas — new technologies, customer innovations, and key markets — and to continue to adapt and flex with the changing macro, e-commerce, and technology landscape. We’re also simplifying our structure to make decisions more effectively and with more speed,” he said in the note.

He further added that the move will allow eBay to focus on “where we can make the biggest impact”, including expanding the company’s categories of focus.

Meanwhile, video communication app Zoom is also laying off about 1,300 people, or 15 percent of its workforce, its CEO Eric Yuan has announced.

Yuan also said that he is reducing his salary for the coming fiscal year by 98 percent and foregoing his FY23 corporate bonus.

Google to soon blur explicit images in search results by default

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Google to soon blur explicit images in search results by default

Tech giant Google has announced that it will blur explicit imagery in the search results by default “in the coming months”.

SafeSearch filtering is already on by default for signed-in users who are under the age of 18, the tech giant said in a blog post on Tuesday.

However, soon, a new setting will blur explicit imagery if it appears in search results even when SafeSearch filtering is not turned on.

“This setting will be the new default for people who don’t already have the SafeSearch filter turned on, with the option to adjust settings at any time,” the company said.

Google also launched its new YouTube Kids playlist ‘Build a Safer Internet’, which will feature content that raises awareness about the safe, responsible, and positive use of technology for families.

“When it comes to kids and families using our platforms, we know keeping them safe is a priority. That’s why we’ve invested in building experiences that align with kids’ and teens’ developmental stages and needs,” it added.

Moreover, for the supported computers, the company is adding the option to use biometric authentication before filling in users’ saved passwords from the ‘Google Password Manager’, for verification.

Soon, iOS users will be able to set up Face ID to protect the privacy of their Google application, making sure that if someone has their device they won’t be able to open it and gain access to their data, the tech giant mentioned.

WhatsApp may soon let users schedule calls within group chats

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WhatsApp may soon let users schedule calls within group chats

Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new feature that will allow users to schedule calls within their group chats.

Users will be able to select a title, date, and time for their call, making sure that everyone in the group is aware of when it will take place, reports WABetaInfo.

It is useful when the group is organizing an event, by allowing members to schedule a call to discuss the details and confirm that everyone is available.

The ability to schedule a call within the group chats is currently under development and is expected to be released in a future update of the application, the report said.

Meanwhile, last week, it was reported that the messaging platform was working on a new feature that will allow users to create calling shortcuts.

With the new feature, it will be possible to create a calling shortcut by just tapping the contact cell within the list of contacts. This feature will be helpful for users who frequently make calls to the same person and do not want to go through the same process again and again, that is, opening the application and searching for the contact every time.

Meta introduces new comment moderation tools for creators on FB

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Meta introduces new comment moderation tools for creators on FB

Meta has introduced new comment moderation tools for creators on Facebook, making it easier for them to view moderation statistics and manage conversations.

The company made the announcement on Tuesday from its ‘Meta for Creators’ account on Facebook.

“View what criteria are met for hiding comments with the inline comment preview and criteria tag in the activity log of Moderation Assist,” the company said.

Creators can also now view “moderation statistics”, like the number of comments hidden in the last 30 days, by seeing the insights in the “Moderation Assist’s Activity Log.”

Moreover, creators can now search comments by keywords including emojis, commenter names, and dates on their posts and “take bulk actions, such as liking or hiding, through Comments Manager in Professional Dashboard,” the company said.

Meanwhile, last month, Meta announced that it is bringing updates to its ad system, including removing gender as an option for advertisers to reach users under 18 on Facebook and Instagram.

Age and location will be the only information about a teen that the company will use to show them advertisements, which will make sure that teens see ads that are meant for their age and products and services available where they live.

Zoom lays off 1,300 employees, CEO takes 98% pay cut

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Zoom lays off 1,300 employees, CEO takes 98% pay cut

Video communication app Zoom is laying off about 1,300 people, or 15 percent of its workforce, its CEO Eric Yuan has announced.

Yuan also said that he is reducing his salary for the coming fiscal year by 98 percent and foregoing his FY23 corporate bonus.

“Members of my executive leadership team will reduce their base salaries by 20 percent for the coming fiscal year while also forfeiting their FY23 corporate bonuses,” he announced.

During the pandemic, Zoom usage surged significantly as millions stayed home. Yuan said the company is still seeing that people and businesses continue to rely on Zoom.

“But the uncertainty of the global economy, and its effect on our customers, means we need to take a hard – yet important – look inward to reset ourselves so we can weather the economic environment, deliver for our customers and achieve Zoom’s long-term vision,” he said in a blog post.

“We have made the tough but necessary decision to reduce our team by approximately 15 percent and say goodbye to around 1,300 hardworking, talented colleagues,” Yuan informed.

Departing full-time employees in the US will be offered up to 16 weeks’ salary and healthcare coverage, payment of their earned FY23 annual bonus based on company performance, and stock option vesting for six months for US employees and through August 9, 2023, for non-US employees.

“I know this is a difficult message to hear, and certainly not one I ever wanted to deliver,” said Yuan.

Zoom will announce its earnings for 2022 on February 27.

$20 bn worth 5G smartphones shipped in India in 2022 at 74% growth

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$20 bn worth 5G smartphones shipped in India in 2022 at 74% growth

The 5G smartphone shipment share in India increased to 31 per cent in 2022, with 5G shipments growing 74 per cent (year-on-year), a report showed on Tuesday.

5G smartphones worth $20 billion (in value) were shipped in the country in 2022. Samsung led the 5G segment with a 23 per cent market share, followed by OnePlus with a 15 per cent market share.

“Driven by a resilient consumer appetite to switch and upgrade, the premium smartphone market continued to gain traction. In fact, the uber-premium smartphone segment (Rs 1,00,000 and above) grew a whopping 95 percent YoY,” said Menka Kumari, Analyst- Industry Intelligence Group, CyberMedia Research (CMR).

However, the overall mobile market in India declined 17 percent YoY in 2022 and smartphone shipments declined 8 per cent YoY.

“All said, the overall smartphone market continued to post a decline, driven by the tough market conditions in H2 2022,” Kumari added.

On a quarterly basis, smartphone shipments declined by 28 per cent in Q4 2022.

However, the Premium smartphone segment and the super-premium smartphone segment saw shipments increasing by 12 per cent and 41 per cent YoY, respectively.

Xiaomi (21 per cent), Samsung (19 per cent), and Vivo (14 per cent) captured the top three spots in the smartphone market, followed by realme (14 per cent) and OPPO (10 per cent).

The overall feature phone segment declined by 34 percent YoY, driven by weak consumer sentiment, owing to high device prices.

“We anticipate the tough macroeconomic conditions to persist in the first half of the year. The silver lining continues to be the growth in 5G smartphone shipments. It will be a big year for 5G in India,” said Shipra Sinha, Analyst-Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR.

Google introduces ChatGPT competitor ‘Bard’

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Google introduces ChatGPT competitor ‘Bard’

Google has unveiled its new artificial intelligence (AI) service ‘Bard’ to compete against OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which is now opened up to “trusted testers” before the company makes it “more widely available to the public in the coming weeks”.

Bard is an “experimental conversational AI service” which is powered by Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA), Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a blog post on Monday.

The tool aims to combine the depth of the “world’s knowledge with the power, intelligence, and creativity of our large language models”. It uses data from the web to provide fresh, high-quality responses.

“Bard can be an outlet for creativity, and a launchpad for curiosity, helping you to explain new discoveries from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to a 9-year-old, or learn more about the best strikers in football right now, and then get drills to build your skills,” Pichai explained.

The tech giant is initially releasing it using LaMDA’s lightweight model version. This much smaller model requires significantly less computing power, allowing the company to scale to more users, resulting in more feedback.

Google will combine the external feedback with its own internal testing to make sure that Bard’s responses “meet a high bar for quality, safety, and groundedness in real-world information”, Pichai mentioned.

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