New Delhi, 

Meta Founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday announced the global roll out of a 32-person video calling feature called ‘Communities’ on WhatsApp.

Zuckerberg posted a video on Facebook to announce the new feature, calling it a “major evolution for WhatsApp”.

“We’re launching Communities on WhatsApp. It makes groups better by enabling sub-groups, multiple threads, announcement channels, and more. All secured by end to end encryption so your messages stay private,” he said.

The new feature will allow admins to better organise the conversations “under one umbrella”, Zuckerberg added.

Besides Communities, WhatsApp also released more features to “improve the group chat experience”, including in-chat polls, larger file sharing, reactions, groups with up to 1,024 users and shareable call links.

Meanwhile, as Meta doubled down on its monetisation drive across its family of apps, Zuckerberg had said that JioMart on WhatsApp in India was going to be a big opportunity for the paid messaging market.

During the company’s Q3 earnings call, the CEO said that paid messaging was another opportunity that we were starting to tap into.

“We launched JioMart on WhatsApp in India, and it was our first end-to-end shopping experience that showed the potential for chat-based commerce through messaging,” Zuckerberg told analysts.

क्या आपको भी बातें याद रखने में दिक्कत आती है। आप भी चीजें भूल जाते हैं और फिर देर तक परेशान होते रहते हैं। ये समस्या कई लोगों के साथ होती है। स्टूडेंट्स के सामने भी ये एक बड़ा सवाल होता है। वहीं याददाश्त में कमी या फिर धीरे धीरे भूलने की आदत बहुत परेशान करती है। लेकिन विज्ञान के पास इसका सॉल्यूशन है। आज हम आपको बताएंगे ऐसे वैज्ञानिक तरीके, जिससे आप बातों को बेहतर तरीके से याद रख पाएंगे।

·          Learn, Practice, Recall, Repeat..इस फॉर्मूले के अनुसार चलिए। किसी बात की पक्की स्मृति के लिए पहले उसे याद करें, उसकी प्रैक्टिस करें, उसे रिकॉल करें और दोहराएं। इससे आपके दिमाग में वो अंकित हो जाती है।

·         अपनी जानकारी को छोटे छोटे हिस्सों में बांटिए और फिर उन्हें मिलाकर दिमाग में एक बड़ी यूनिट बनाइये। एक साथ बड़ी चीज याद करने में दिक्कत होती है। जब आप उसे कई भागों में बांट देंगे तो ये आपके दिमाग के लिए आसान होगा।

·         किसी महत्वपूर्ण चीज को याद रखने के लिए उसे किसी रूपक या कहानी से कनेक्ट कीजिए। कहानियां बड़ी आसानी से दिमाग में बनी रहती है, ऐसे में वो बात भी आपकी स्मृति में ठहरी रहेगी।

·         हमारा दिमाग दृश्यों को आसानी से नहीं भूलता। इसलिए किसी बात को याद रखने के लिए उसे दृश्य में तब्दील कीजिए। ये आप कल्पना में भी कर सकते हैं और आजकल इसके लिए कई ऑनलाइन विकल्प भी मौजूद हैं।

·         अगर आप लगातार बातें भूल रहे हैं तो इसका कारण ये भी हो सकता है कि आपका दिमाग ओवर बर्डन हो। एक अच्छी और भरपूर नींद जरुरी है दिमाग को शांत रखने के लिए।

 San Francisco, 

Sony announced that it will launch the PlayStation VR2 on February 22, 2023, at a price of $549.99, along with a sense-controller charging station.

Pre-orders of the new headset will begin on PlayStation Direct from November 15 in the US, UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

The key features of the PS VR2 Sense Technology include eye tracking, 3D audio, and adaptive triggers and haptic feedback from the headset's sense controllers which provide a unique gameplay experience.

Additionally, the new headset features 4000 x 2040 high dynamic range (HDR) video format (2000 x 2040 per eye), which will provide next-generation gaming experience to the players.

Earlier, Sony had also announced that it will launch the DualSense Edge wireless controller, the first-ever ultra-customisable controller developed by PlayStation, globally on January 26, 2023. It will be available for a price of $199.99. The controller would offer a host of hardware and software-based personalisation options, including button remapping, the ability to fine-tune stick sensitivity and triggers, options to swap between multiple control profiles, and a unique on-controller user interface, the company said. 

 Lisbon (Portugal),

Elon Musk has given assurances to Ukraine that he will keep funding its access to a crucial satellite network providing Kyiv with battlefield and humanitarian communications in its war with Russia, a senior Ukrainian official said on Wednesday.

Elon Musk “told me personally that he will continue to support Ukraine and continue to provide Starlink to Ukraine”, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, told The Associated Press.

“There are no problems for now with Starlink,” Fedorov said through an interpreter.

Doubts arose last month about whether Musk would continue to offer the SpaceX Starlink system to Ukraine. Its more than 2,200 low-orbiting satellites provide a broadband internet service to more than 150,000 Ukrainian ground stations.

But Musk tweeted in mid-October that it was costing SpaceX USD 20 million a month to support Ukraine’s communications needs. He also noted his company has to create, launch, maintain and replenish satellites and ground stations. Musk, the world’s richest man, also spent billions to take control of Twitter last week.

US officials confirmed at the time that Musk had asked the Defence Department to take over funding for the service Starlink provides in Ukraine.

The Starlink satellite internet’s role is central to Ukraine’s defence. For example, it helps front-line reconnaissance drone operators target artillery strikes on Russian assets and positions. The fighting in Ukraine is Europe’s first major war of the internet age.

Fedorov, speaking to the AP on the sidelines of an international tech conference in Lisbon, Portugal, wouldn’t lift the lid on how Starlink assists Ukraine’s military.

He noted that its importance stretches beyond military use, allowing soldiers to call home, permitting humanitarian operations and enabling the Ukraine government to continue rolling out e-services for its citizens, even in wartime.

“Starlink is now crucial for all the critical state services,” he said.

 Toronto,

Triclosan, a chemical often included in household items like hand soaps, toothpastes and cleaning products to fight off bacteria, has now been linked to antibiotic resistance.

According to the study by assistant professor Hui Peng's research group at University of Toronto, among thousands of co-occurring chemicals in the sludge, triclosan was found to be the predominant antibacterial compound impacting E coli.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria -- also commonly known as "superbugs" -- are strains of bacteria that are not killed by antibiotics.

They are produced when continuous exposure to antibiotics causes bacteria to evolve over several generations to survive antibiotic effects.

These bacteria can be very dangerous to humans, especially those with impaired immune systems. Between 2014 and 2016, there were seven lakh deaths around the world attributed to antibiotic resistance.

"Since there are so many different antibiotics in the sewage sludge, we were surprised to find that the majority of antibacterial activity of the sludge could be directly linked to triclosan alone," said Holly Barrett, a PhD candidate in the Peng group and lead author on the study.

 BMW Motorrad India’s latest offering in the sub-500 cc class — the newly launched BMW G 310 RR — has proven to be a big hit in India. More than 1,000 units of the smart road racer have been delivered to customers since launch on July 15.

Moreover, an additional 2,200 bookings have been collected during the festive season. Deliveries will commence soon.

India is the first market for the BMW 310 RR. With the combination of a superbike design and modern technology, it is a road bike that one can take racing as well.

The BMW G 310 R, BMW G 310 GS and the BMW G 310 RR have been developed in Munich, Germany, by BMW Motorrad and are locally made by TVS Motor Company.

 Before the pandemic, lipsticks were trying to escape its form factor in way of markers and squeezable plastic vials instead of the traditional twist-up metal tubes. The experimentation sort of stopped because the sale of lipsticks went down in the era of masks (thankfully things are looking up). Here’s a tech company taking cue from the design of the lipstick case to achieve a simple objective — make tech fun.

Nothing, the London-based company from Carl Pei, has a third product (after Ear 1 and Phone 1) — the Ear Stick, a new truly wireless audio product. To make things clear, it’s not a replacement or successor to Ear 1 because the feature set is different here. (A question for Team Nothing: Why isn’t it called Ear Stick 1?)

Design dive

The design team at Nothing obviously had a lot of fun working on the Ear Stick and the inspiration is obvious — the lipstick. There are a few advantages the new design enjoys. First, it’s so slim and compact that it can fit into any pocket or bag. Second, if the device falls from your hand, unlike the usual earbuds, the box won’t open up, making the sound cans fly out. Third, it’s a fun design and women may love it more than men.

The downsides of the design cannot be overlooked. First, you can’t keep it flat on the table because it will roll off. Second, not having a flat side means no wireless charging but to give Nothing credit, they have planned the product for those who don’t need wireless charging. Third (and only time will tell), it doesn’t appear easy to clean. Fourth, inside the pocket of men’s trousers, the shape of the device may look odd.

Zero compromise on sound

To get the buds out, the box opens up with a swivel and the transparent stems are as stunning as on the Ear 1. The first thing you will notice is the absence of rubber tips, which obviously has an effect on sound. There are people who like active noise cancellation and for them a rubber seal is needed. Personally, I am a fan of ANC because I tend to use sound cans while travelling and like to cut myself off from the noises around me. My wife hates ANC and prefers an open-ear design, which is what Ear Stick offers. So, the world is divided, perhaps down the middle, on ANC versus open ear.

Either way, the fit is fantastic and even after hours of listening to music over the weekend I didn’t have any earache. Expect roughly seven hours from the earbuds and up to 29 hours from the charging case, which is as good as from any big brand.

How is the sound? It’s excellent. In case you find a better product in the market, chances are you would be spending two-three times the price of the Ear Stick.

There is a custom-designed 12.6mm dynamic driver, which offers a well-balanced sound. The bass is rich and the highs are nice and clear. The treble is just right while the entire soundstage shines. Listening to the mid-tempo Break My Soul from Beyonce on the Ear Stick captures the keyboard bass sound well while the dirty blues sound of the ZZ Top repertoire has a wow feel. Since there is no rubber tip, there will be sound leakage but the software, in a way, tackles it with something called Bass Lock. The software tweaks the equaliser curve to reduce the lack of a full seal. I also like the custom EQ which allows adjustment to the bass, mids and trebles but I miss granular controls.

There are three high-definition mics with an upgraded algorithm. It can filter out louder background sounds more than Nothing Ear 1. It isolates and amplifies your voice and it should help in street environment or windy places. Does it beat the AirPods? Not yet but Ear Stick does a far better job than most brands in the market.

Nothing keeps listening to suggestion and perhaps that’s best seen in the touch controls. This time there are no accidental touches; you need to make a purposeful touch to make features work.

There is in-ear detection, so music will stop as soon as you take the earbuds out and resume as soon as the earbuds are back in the ears. Plus, you have support for Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair while you can use it with any Android Phone (running Android 5.1 and above) or the iPhone (running iOS 11 and above).

Should you buy it?

Make no mistake, this is a conversation starter and technology that’s fun and engaging. There are many who don’t like ANC, making this device a great choice. The sound is great and the microphone quality is more than good. There is also IP54 dust and water resistance. My only two quibbles — keeping it flat on the table is difficult and no multipoint connectivity support. Nothing Ear Stick shows that the company is thinking out of the box to make tech fun.

 Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Rourkee, have come up with an affordable novel material that can remove arsenic as well as other heavy materials from water. Arsenic contamination of groundwater is a major problem in West Bengal as well as in other parts of the country, and scientists have long been working on making cheap and easy-to-use products that will remove arsenic from water and make it safe for drinking.

 New Delhi, October 30

Elon Musk on Sunday said that Twitter can soon expand or even get rid of the 280-character limit on the platform.

He also confirmed that the company under him will look into increasing the length of videos so that users can post longer videos.

Responding to a user who asked if we can get rid of character limits, or at least greatly expand it, Musk said: “Absolutely”.

Another user asked him about posting longer videos on Twitter, to which he said: “100 per cent”.

Musk, who has acquired Twitter for $44 billion after a bitter battle, said in April this year that the micro-blogging platform needs long-form tweets which is “way overdue”.

Twitter currently allows people to post in 280 characters.

Reacting to a follower’s tweet thread, Musk said: “My most immediate takeaway from this novella of a thread is that Twitter is way overdue for long form tweets!” Earlier, Musk demanded an Edit button, and the micro-blogging platform announced that it is working on such a feature that will allow users to correct errors in their tweets, albeit with some rules.

Twitter launched 280 characters in November 2017 to all users in supported languages, including English.

The company first announced the controversial plan to move beyond its traditional 140 characters in September 2017 with a small group of users.

Several Twitter users had argued that 280 characters would make Twitter less readable as the platform’s defining characteristic is the brevity of posts.

However, Twitter’s decision to double its character count from 140 to 280 characters did not dramatically change the length of Twitter posts.

According to the company, Twitter is still a place for briefer thoughts.

Only 1 per cent of tweets hit the 280-character limit, and only 12 per cent of tweets were longer than 140 characters, according to the data provided by the company a couple of years back. Only 5 per cent of tweets were longer than 190 characters.

 Growing up in the Netherlands, with its network of pathways, its flat landscape and its bicycle-friendly traffic laws, brothers Ties and Taco Carlier were commuting with their parents on bikes by age 4. Many families in the country didn’t own cars.