Category: IT news

Pakistan (Nut Desk)

Most awaited Infinix SMART 7 series is set to launch this month. This also means; now is the time to look at the detailed specifications of these smartphones.

Here’s a list of features of much-anticipated SMART 7 series:

6.6’’ HD+ Sunlight Readable Display

What does a sunlight readable display actually do?  It minimizes the impact of sunlight on the screen enabling users to watch movies, play games, or browse content even in bright outdoors. It’s also easier to read documents, emails, and messages on the go without having to change the setting. Combined with a massive 6.6’’ HD+ display producing accurate colors and lifelike visuals, there’s no other thing needed for an immersive viewing experience altogether. In short, now you know why Infinix SMART 7 is an ideal choice for outdoor usage.

Upto 7GB Extended RAM

Infinix SMART 7 operates onto an extended RAM of up to 7GB out of which 4GB is expandable while SMART 7 HD has also got an extended RAM of up to 4GB. It enables users to smoothly navigate through their favorite applications, play games, and utilize media. Also making it quite manageable to keep all entertainment outlets open at once in both smartphones.

5000mAh Big and Durable Battery

A 5000 mAh massive battery enables extensive browsing sessions for continuous 15 hours without needing to recharge. Also helping to stay connected and engaged through the day, both variants of SMART 7 series i.e. SMART 7 and SMART 7 HD eliminates the worry of running out of power when needed the most.

13MP Extra Clear Dual AI Camera

The camera setup of Infinix SMART 7 houses a 13MP AI Camera aiding exceptional clarity be it portraits or wide-angle shots. Additionally, the device also features a 5MP front camera accompanied by a soft front flashlight, enabling users to take well-lit selfies even in low-light settings.

Other features:

For better security and convenience, both SMART 7 and SMART 7 HD has got fingerprint and face unlock features. But here’s the fun part; SMART 7 series will be featuring four unique colors namely:  Peacock Blue, Polar Black, Coastal Green and Iceland White.

Infinix says the smartphone will be launched this month and we already have our eyes on it!

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Administrative sources of Apple said that iPhone users’ entire photo libraries will be checked for known child abuse images if they are stored in the online iCloud service.

The disclosure came in a series of media briefings in which Apple is seeking to dispel alarm over its announcement last week that it will scan users’ phones, tablets and computers for millions of illegal pictures.

While Google, Microsoft and other technology platforms check uploaded photos or emailed attachments against a database of identifiers provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and other clearing houses, security experts faulted Apple’s plan as more invasive.

In a posting to its website on Sunday, Apple said it would fight any such attempts, which can occur in secret courts.

“We have faced demands to build and deploy government-mandated changes that degrade the privacy of users before, and have steadfastly refused those demands,” Apple wrote. “We will continue to refuse them in the future.”

In the briefing on Monday, Apple officials said the company’s system, which will roll out this fall with the release of its iOS 15 operating system, will check existing files on a user’s device if users have those photos synched to the company’s storage servers.

Julie Cordua, chief executive of Thorn, a group that has developed technology to help law enforcement officials detect sex trafficking, said about half of child sexual abuse material is formatted as video.

Apple’s system does not check videos before they are uploaded to the company’s cloud, but the company said it plans to expand its system in unspecified ways in the future.

Apple has come under international pressure for the low numbers of its reports of abuse material compared with other providers. Some European jurisdictions are debating legislation to hold platforms more accountable for the spread of such material.

Company executives argued on Monday that on-device checks preserve privacy more than running checks on Apple’s cloud storage directly. Among other things, the architecture of the new system does not tell Apple anything about a user’s content unless a threshold number of images has been surpassed, which then triggers a human review.

The executives acknowledged that a user could be implicated by malicious actors who win control of a device and remotely install known child abuse material. But they said they expected any such attacks to be very rare and that in any case a review would then look for other signs of criminal hacking.

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan witnessed a detailed demonstration of a new locally-made electronic voting machine (EVM). Federal Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz along with the officials of his ministry gave a detailed briefing to PM Imran Khan about the working of the electronic voting machine (EVM).

Shibli Faraz said there is no need for internet connectivity for the EVMs, the software used is in the machine is of international standard, he added.

On the occasion, PM Imran Khan witnessed a detailed demonstration of the EVM and also cast his vote. The premier also congratulated Shibli Faraz and his team for producing such EVMs.

Earlier in the month of June, Prime Minister Imran Khan had reiterated the incumbent government’s resolve to ensure transparency in the electoral process in the country.

The premier also instructed that the process of electoral reforms, electronic voting and voting rights for overseas Pakistanis be completed at the earliest.

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

With much anticipation and hype built around Windows 11 which arrives before the year end, come the refreshed versions of Microsoft Paint and Photos.

Initially spotted by Windows Latest, Microsoft has quietly posted pics of the two refreshed apps on stock photography website Unsplash.

As you might expect, the refresh updates the MS Paint app to better fit in with the overall Windows 11 design.

The old ribbon menu is bids its final goodbye once and for all and with it all our nostalgia with the app as it’s being replaced by a Fluent header.

In its revamped look, the MS Paint’s simplified toolbar has reportedly replaced the Undo and Redo buttons up at the top next to the File and View options.

Last, but not the least to be noted, the whole new packaging has rounded corners and WinUI controls as well. WinUI is a user interface layer that contains modern controls and styles for building Windows apps.

However, it doesn’t appear, not as yet anyway, that there are any additional functions and new tools. But whom are we kidding, MS Paint was never a full-featured graphics editor in the vein of Photoshop.

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Hammad Azhar congratulates Lucky Group, Samsung on entering into joint venture to manufacture smartphones in the country

In August last year, Hammad Azhar, who was industries and production minister at that time, had met with Samsung Pakistan MD and CEO. “Smartphone production in Pakistan is multiplying following DIRBS [Device Identification Registration and Blocking System] implementation and Mobile Policy launched recently,” he had tweeted after the meeting.

“They [Samsung Pakistan MD and CEO] appreciated both policies and are now actively considering setting up a smartphone assembly plant in Pakistan,” he added.

The DIRBS allows the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to stop the use of smuggled mobile devices. All mobile devices being connected to local networks using local SIMs are subject to registration within 60 days from their first use on a local mobile network.

Earlier last year, Pakistan was ranked as a 4th Generation Regulator (G4) by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), making it the only country in South Asia to have achieved the status. Of the 38 economies in Asia-Pacific, only 8% have managed to achieve the G4 status.

In the ITU report “Global ICT Regulatory Outlook 2020 (GIRO)”, Pakistan scored 88 out of 100. The country is also among the top five regulators in the Asia-Pacific region with a global rank of 48. The GIRO is built on data provided by 193 countries, which forms the basis of ‘ICT Regulatory Tracker’. The tracker is an evidence-based tool that helps decision-makers and regulators monitor the rapid evolution of ICT regulation.

Recently, Bangladesh has started exporting locally assembled mobile phones to the USA, thus joining Vietnam, India and Indonesia. Mobile phone exports out of Vietnam have surged to over $60 billion. India’s mobile phone exports – $3 billion in 2019 – are targeted at $110 billion by 2025, creating thousands of jobs.

Pakistan’s manpower cost is reportedly one-third of the Chinese and it is the seventh-largest market of mobile phones. In 2019, over 28.2 million mobile phones were imported legally into Pakistan – thanks to the full introduction of DIRBS by PTA in early 2019, which helped to control smuggling. In addition, around 12 million sets were reportedly assembled in the country.

The demand for high-quality affordable internet-enabled devices is surging as the internet is getting integrated into the lives of young tech-savvy individuals. Nearly 40% of the population has yet to cross the age of 15 and start looking for their own smartphones. Seventy-six million mobile broadband users in Pakistan today can easily double to 150 million by 2025.

As per the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, mobile-phone imports reached half a billion dollars in the Jul-Nov period of 2019. At this pace, full-year imports are expected to be over $1.2 billion. Promoting local manufacturing, together with exports, will start balancing that import bill.

In December last year, VIVO had also said that it will be setting up a manufacturing facility in Pakistan. The development was announced by Hammad on Twitter.