Category: Technology

Xiaomi’s Redmi 10 will be the next style-icon!

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Xiaomi is launching another phone under the umbrella of it’s Redmi series. Named as the Redmi 10, the phone  will be launched in Pakistan very soon; a confirmed date is still unknown. The mobile will be equipped with striking features and crazy specifications. The tentative price of this mobile from Xiaomi might be starting from Rs 35,000- 36,000.

In addition to this, the upcoming phone is rumored to be powered by a Octa-core (4×2.0 GHz Kryo 260 Gold & 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 260 Silver) processor that will let you enjoy a smooth and faster performance. Also, you will be able to access multiple applications and play intense graphics games without any lags or interruptions. Moreover, the phone is rumored to  have 4 GB of RAM and about 64 GB of internal storage. Space constraints is something you will not have to be worried about while saving your files such as videos, music, documents, and more.

It is expected that this upcoming phone will come with a 6.53 inches (16.58 cm) display that will have a resolution of 1080 x 2340 Pixels. Which is why you will have an immersive viewing experience while playing games or watching videos.

Talking about the optics, the upcoming Xiaomi phone is likely to come with a Single camera setup on the rear. It is rumored to have about a 50 MP camera that will let you click some amazing pictures. Some of the features included on the back camera setup might include Auto Flash, Digital Zoom, Face detection and Touch to focus. The mobile is rumored to come with a 13 MP front camera for clicking some crazy selfies and making video calls.

The Xiaomi Redmi 10, allegedly will run the Android v10 (Q) operating system and will be housing a 5900 mAh battery. This will let you use the phone for a longer time period while listening to songs, watching movies, playing games, and more.

Various connectivity options on the Xiaomi Redmi 10 might include WiFi – Yes, Wi-Fi 802.11, a/ac/b/g/n, Mobile Hotspot, Bluetooth – Yes, v5.0, and 5G supported by device, 4G, 3G, 2G. The sensors on the smartphone might include Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Compass.

According to the rumours, the dimensions of this phone are going to be around 162.3 mm x 77.2 mm x 8.9 mm; and it might weigh approximately 199 grams.

Microsoft releases official Windows 11 ISOs

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Microsoft has released the first official Windows 11 ISOs for Insiders interested in doing a clean install or in-place upgrade of the OS.

Microsoft sounded the horn on Windows Blogs with a new Windows 11 Insider build. However, before Microsoft even goes into detail about what this new build does, it declares that ISOs are now available for people to download.

The ISOs are essential for Microsoft’s testing plans because they give users the whole experience of installing Windows 11 on their PC. Beforehand, users got the Windows 11 beta by upgrading their current Windows 10 system, but this doesn’t replicate the same experience that someone has when installing the operating system on a new PC.

Microsoft calls this the “out of box experience” (OOBE) because it’s what you see between taking the CD out of the box and having a fully-working Windows 11 PC. Now, with official ISOs out for everyone to download, people can test the Windows 11 OOBE for themselves and report any problems or bugs that arise.

If you want to give the ISO a try for yourself, head over to the Windows Insider Preview Downloads page and grab it there. If you don’t see the option to download Windows 11, it’s because you’re either not signed up for the Insider builds or not signed in to your Insider account.

Of course, if you remember, this update isn’t just about the ISOs alone. Microsoft did make some changes to Windows 11, even if they’re not as exciting as the official ISOs. For instance, during the Windows 11 OOBE, you can now give your PC a name, so your network isn’t full of randomly generated device names by default.

There’s also a brand new Clock app coming to Windows 11. This includes a new feature called “focus sessions” that allow you to set a short timer to get work done. During the timer, Windows will pause your music so you can work in peace. Microsoft talks more about this on the Windows Insider Blog.

If you’ve been looking for an official Windows 11 Beta ISO, now is the time to leap into action and grab one. The Windows 11 ISO will give you an idea of what it will be like to install the operating system from scratch, so you know what to expect when it officially releases.

Now that Microsoft is going full bore with Windows 11, will Windows 10 loyalists be left in the dirt? Fortunately, Microsoft’s track record supporting older operating systems shows that Windows 10 users have nothing to worry about.

Twitter tests feature to report ‘misleading’ content

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-Desk)

Social media platform, Twitter unveiled a new feature to allow users to flag content that could contain misinformation, a scourge that has only grown during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Starting Tuesday, a button would be visible to some users from the United States, South Korea and Australia to choose “it’s misleading” after clicking “report tweet.”

“We are testing a feature for you to report Tweets that seem misleading – as you see them,” the social network said from its safety and security account.

Users can then be more specific, flagging the misleading tweet as potentially containing misinformation about “health,” “politics” and “other.”

“We’re assessing if this is an effective approach so we’re starting small,” the San Francisco-based company said.

“We may not take action on and cannot respond to each report in the experiment, but your input will help us identify trends so that we can improve the speed and scale of our broader misinformation work.”

Twitter, like Facebook and YouTube, regularly comes under fire from critics who say it does not do enough to fight the spread of misinformation.

But the platform does not have the resources of its Silicon Valley neighbors, and so often relies on experimental techniques that are less expensive than recruiting armies of moderators.

WhatsApp brings five new features for iPhone and Android fans.

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

It’s been a busy month for WhatsApp. Since July, the chat app has dropped several new features – some of which users have been waiting a long time for. Here’s everything you need to know about the latest updates and upgrades which are set to make your life a whole lot easier.

Joinable calls

Rolled out in late July, this feature provides a very useful addition to video and voice calls that lets users jump into a chat after things have begun. People who miss the start of a group video conversation will be able to join at any time during the call – just like in Zoom or Google Meet – or even leave and come back whenever they like. Before this, letting a new person into a call meant hanging up and restarting the call for everyone, which was a bit of a pain.

To make it even smoother, WhatsApp added a new call info screen to show who’s already on the call and who was invited but hasn’t yet joined. Anyone who hits the ignore button when the call starts can simply join later from the calls tab in WhatsApp.

Smart Switch

Ever been frustrated when upgrading your phone by how difficult it is to switch between Android and iOS? The operating systems make it as much of a pain as possible to cut down on users jumping ship. However, WhatsApp has just announced a new feature to smooth the road.

Previously, there was no way to move your chat history from one system to another. Years of chat history, data and photos could be lost. But this week the Smart Switch feature made its debut to give users a simple way to backup your chat history and files and transfer them to a new phone. It will be coming to all Samsung phones that run Android 10 or higher in the next few weeks, followed shortly by all Android and iOS devices.

Multi-device support

It’s been years coming but WhatsApp users can finally use the app without needing a phone. Until now, using the app on your laptop or PC meant keeping an active connection to your smartphone – useless if your phone was lost or out of power.

Now, you can use WhatsApp on up to four devices at once as well as your phone. Even better, you don’t need to have a phone connection at all. All your messages and data including stickers, new contacts and starred messages will be shared seamlessly between devices. You can start and answer calls from any device.

Disappearing messages

Snapchat was the first to introduce photos and videos that can only be viewed once before disappearing. Now, WhatsApp has adopted the feature with its “View Once” option. Photos and videos sent using this feature will be deleted straight after being opened and viewed. WhatsApp says the feature will be useful for sending temporary information, like passwords. It’s also handy for those who don’t want every off-the-cuff snap they send to live on forever in their friends’ hard drives.

To send one of the disappearing messages, load up a picture or video as usual. Then tap the “1” button in the lower right corner to enable View Once mode.

Archived chats update

Finally, WhatsApp rolled out an important change to archived messages. Previously users could select to hide chats with groups or individuals from the main conversations screen. But whenever someone replied to an archived conversation, it would pop straight back up. This wasn’t ideal if you were truly trying to avoid an irritating contact – like that group chat for a stag party that’s still over a year away.

With the new update, archived chats will stay safely tucked away in their own folder, even if someone sends a new message. And it couldn’t be simpler to bring them back to the main chat screen through the Settings menu.

FBR thwarted the ‘Cyber Terrorism’.

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-Desk)

On Pakistan’s 75th Independence Day, the official website of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBE) has been hacked by unknown hackers and the cyber attack affected “virtual environment of data center” primarily.

The FBR’s website is temporarily down for scheduled maintenance,” read the website when it was opened. An FBR official said, “It is cyber terrorism on our Independence Day, adding that the attackers have not yet been identified.

The hackers were making attempts to break the data rooms for the last few days and there was also a warning issued that a serious cyber-attack might take place soon, he added. He said Pakistan contacted Microsoft that was helping to recover it from the attack.

“Since the virtual environment has been damaged, we are trying to create a new virtual environment that may take up to two days,” said another official from the information technology department.

“We are trying to restore the websites by tomorrow afternoon and the essential data centre by tomorrow evening, as we do not want to cause more damage by shifting data in haste.”

However, the revenue collecting authority released a press release regarding in-progress service optimization activities at the FBR House Data Center, Islamabad.

The release read, “A technical team is currently migrating services. The completion of this migration shall result in the increased overall productivity of FBR IT Operations. This migration is necessary to facilitate the up gradation of the system in order to enhance the best services to our clients, the statement added.

“The stakeholders, who are being provided services from the data centre, are informed that there were unforeseen anomalies during the migration process, which has resulted in the unavailability of services, since early hours of the last night. The FBR team is ensuring restoration of services as soon as possible to keep the downtime to a minimum. This activity is expected to be completed in the next 48 hours.

“FBR regrets and apologizes for any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciates continued cooperation of the stakeholders.”

 

Samsung unveils new foldable smartphones with lower prices to expand market

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Samsung Electronics unveiled its latest high-end foldable smartphones with lower prices than last year’s offerings in a push to expand foldable demand beyond niche devices.

The tech giant priced its 5G-enabled Galaxy Z Fold3 with 7.6-inch main screen to start at $1,799.99 in the United States, and clamshell Galaxy Z Flip3 at $999.99 – down from the launch prices of last year’s models at $1,999 and $1,380, respectively. The Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3 will launch on August 27 starting in markets such as the United States and Europe.

“There’s definitely demand for bigger screens as people consume more media content, and foldables are the only form that makes big screens very portable… the price hurdle is the issue,” said Park Sung-soon, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities.

Foldable phones, with about 8.6 million units expected to be shipped this year, are expected to account for just 0.6% of estimated 1.447 billion smartphones to be shipped.

However, that is more than double the 3 million foldables shipped in 2020, and Samsung will lead the market with over 88% market share, according to Counterpoint Research.

Besides price drops that analysts said could help capture more demand in the United States and perhaps China, Samsung’s foldable unveiled on Wednesday touted lighter, thinner and improved design, durability, and compatibility with a stylus, which could absorb users of Samsung’s Galaxy Note phablets whose key feature is the “S Pen”.

Samsung has said it is not discontinuing the Note, and mobile chief Koh Dong-jin said in March that the company is preparing a Note product launch for next year.

In order for foldable smartphones to expand beyond niche models, prices of flagship models must drop to around $1,000-1,500, there must be more offerings from firms besides Samsung, and Apple’s (AAPL.O) entry, which is expected around 2023, would be needed, Counterpoint analysts said in a report this year.

Samsung also unveiled new smartwatches and earbuds on Wednesday with fresh designs and functions. Brisk sales of such high-margin accessories have added to the mobile division’s profitability in recent quarters.

TikTok rolls out privacy updates for teenaged users

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

TikTok became the latest tech company to announce tighter protections for teenagers as social media platforms come under increased scrutiny over their privacy safeguards.

The short video-sharing app will roll out a number of features in the coming months, including a default curb for 16 and 17-year-olds on in-app messaging unless it is switched to a different setting. Under 16s will see a pop-up message when they publish their first video, asking them to choose who can watch.

And users aged 16 and 17 will be able to receive a pop-up asking them to confirm who can download their videos. Downloads are already disabled on content posted by under 16s.

The Chinese-owned platform will also stop sending push notifications to users aged 13 to 16 from 9pm — and an hour later for 16 to 17-year-olds — with the aim of reducing their screen time at night.

The moves announced by head of child safety public policy Alexandra Evans and global head of privacy Aruna Sharma build on previous measures to protect young users from predators, bullies and other online dangers.

“It’s important to ensure even stronger proactive protections to help keep teens safe, and we’ve continually introduced changes to support age-appropriate experiences on our platform,” Evans and Sharma said.

“We want to help our younger teens in particular develop positive digital habits early on.”

Google, YouTube and Facebook-Instagram have all recently bolstered defenses for teen users, while critics have been urging Facebook to abandon plans for a children’s version of Instagram.

TikTok was the world’s most downloaded app last year, overtaking Facebook and its messaging platforms, according to market tracker App Annie. The video app surged in popularity, according to market tracker App Annie, despite efforts by former president Donald Trump to ban it or force a sale to US-based investors.

WhatsApp introduces new ‘Friends Are Family’ stickers.

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

WhatsApp have introduced a new series of beautiful stickers depicting beautiful emotions as stickers are the new language well understood, loved and binge-used by social media users across all platforms, as they form one of the most creative ways to communicate.

A new sticker pack called ‘Friends Are Family’ has been released and can be downloaded for free. The Twitter handle releasing updates about WhatsApp, WABetaInfo, captioned the stickers pack image: “‘Friends Are Family’ is available now as new WhatsApp sticker pack, on WhatsApp for iOS and Android.”

Mexican graphic artist WOAO has produced the recently launched sticker pack. The WABetaInfo-shared image says: “A good friend can make a problem disappear or turn a good time into a great one! So, here’s a pack for you and the ‘family you choose’ – your besties!”

The ‘Friends Are Family’ stickers have been themed around love, memories, happiness, sadness, anger and celebration. Mexican artist WOAO has a name for drawing multicoloured 3D images with striking features.

He sparingly dabbles with select colours, including red, purple, pink and lilac. With a few colours from his palette, he paints his characters with exaggerated features and disproportionate body parts. His graphic style is remotely reminiscent of ‘The Escape from the Chickens’.

The sticker pack is free and available for download on iOS, Android and desktops, regardless of what version of WhatsApp you are using. After you download them, you may update the app to avoid bugs and other glitches.

TikTok tops Facebook as most downloaded app of 2020

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

TikTok was the world’s most downloaded app last year, overtaking Facebook and its messaging platforms, market tracker App Annie report yesterday. The Chinese-owned video app surged in popularity despite efforts by former president Donald Trump to ban it or force a sale to US-based investors, according to the research firm.

TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, is believed to have one billion users worldwide including more than 100 million in the United States, and its short-form videos are especially popular with young smartphone users.

US President Joe Biden in June revoked executive orders from his predecessor seeking to ban TikTok and Chinese-owned WeChat from US markets on national security concerns but ordered a review of the potential risks of foreign-owned internet services.

While the political debate about the video-snippet sharing sensation roiled, TikTok climbed from the fourth most downloaded app in 2019 to the top spot last year, according to App Annie data.

On the way, TikTok stepped over Facebook and two of the US internet giants texting apps Messenger and WhatsApp, the market tracker determined. TikTok’s popularity has prompted Facebook-owned Instagram to add video features to ride the hot trend.

Meanwhile TikTok last month began letting users post videos up to three minutes in length, tripling the prior cap to stay ahead of competitors.

Facebook has argued that the surge in TikTok’s popularity undercuts claims from antitrust enforcers in the United States that the California group dominates social networking.

Google to launch Pixel 5a on August 26

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Google’s latest cellphone Pixel 5a will be released on August 26, according to the reliable sources of NUT. A new leak has revealed that the phone may get official later this month and has revealed the key specifications of the successor to the Pixel 4a. The features will include 6GB RAM and Snapdragon 765G processor. It comes with a 6.4-inch screen as well.

There will be no wireless charging feature.

Pixel 5a will be available for sale in the United States and Japan markets. It will have a price of $450. The report said that it will have the same camera as its predecessor, Pixel 5.