Technology News

NCLT Approves Merger of Viacom 18, Star India After CCI Nod The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Friday approved a merger scheme that will allow Viacom 18 Media with Star India. The merger of Reliance Industries and The Walt Disney Co's media assets was approved earlier this week by the Competition Commission of India and will create the country's largest media empire.

Brazil Telecom Regulator Moves to Block Access to Elon Musk's X After Court Order Brazil telecommunications regulator Anatel announced on Friday that it was moving to block access to Elon Musk's X microblogging platform, in adherence to a directive from a judge after X missed a deadline to pick a legal representative for the firm in the country.

Google Pay Announces UPI Circle, UPI Vouchers and More Features at Global Fintech Fest 2024 Google Pay, the Unified Prepaid Interface (UPI) payments app, announced new features at the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2024. The company said that these new features, which will be rolled out later this year, will make it easier for users to make payments and transact through the app. Some of the features announced at the GFF include UPI Circle, UPI Vouchers or eRupi, ...

Instagram Creator Lab Launched in India; Company Rolls Out New Story Features, Birthday Notes Instagram Creator Lab was launched in India by the Meta owned company at an event in Mumbai. According to Instagram, the new creator-focused educational resource will feature content from 14 creators in English and Hindi, with captions in five other languages. Meanwhile, Instagram also launched Comments in Stories, Birthday Notes and Cutouts in DMs as the latest featu...

Reliance Announces JioTV OS With Hello Jio AI Assistant, JioHome App, JioTV+, JioPhonecall AI, and More Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) held its 47th annual general meeting (AGM) on Thursday. During the conference, RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani addressed the stakeholders of the company. Ambani spoke about the advancements the company is making in the fields of 5G connectivity, artificial intelligence, the growth of its telecommunications subsidiary ...

Nvidia's Forecast Dampens AI Enthusiasm in Other Tech Stocks Nvidia dropped almost seven percent and lost $200 billion (roughly Rs.16,77,898 crore) in stock market value after it forecast third-quarter gross margins that could miss market estimates and revenue that was largely in line. A handful of other AI-related companies shed around $100 billion (roughly Rs. 8,38,948 crore) in combined value. 

French Authorities Charge Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in Probe Into Organised Crime on App Telegram boss Pavel Durov has been placed under formal investigation by a French judge. The charges for which he was initially arrested four days ago include suspected complicity in running an online platform that allows illicit transactions, images of child sex abuse, drug trafficking, and fraud among others.

Apple Cuts Jobs in Online Services Group as Priorities Shift Apple is cutting about 100 jobs in its digital services group. The layoffs included some engineering roles, and the biggest cuts were made to the team responsible for the Apple Books app and Apple Bookstore.

OpenAI 'Strawberry' AI Model With Advanced Mathematics, Reasoning Capabilities to Launch Soon: Report OpenAI is reportedly working on a new artificial intelligence (AI) model that can offer significant upgrades in terms of mathematics and reasoning capabilities of its proprietary chatbot, ChatGPT. As per the report, the AI model was in the works for several months, but the company was being secretive about it. The existence of the large language model (LLM) was first ...

Airtel Announces Offers on Apple TV+ and Music for Mobile, Wi-Fi Subscribers in India Bharti Airtel is bringing special offers on Apple TV+ and Apple Music for its subscribers in India, the company announced on Tuesday. It has partnered with Apple to bundle the services of the two apps with its select prepaid and postpaid plans. Offers will be available for both mobile and Wi-Fi subscribers of Airtel.

Telugu Thriller Brinda’s Director Surya Manoj Vangala Opens Up About the Series, Religious Extremism, and More In a thought-provoking conversation with Gadgets360, Surya Manoj Vangala shares the inspiration behind his show Brinda, the emotionally taxing research it took, the intended audience, his views on extremism, and more.

Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Claude 3 Opus System Prompts Released by Anthropic Anthropic released the system prompts for its latest Claude 3.5 Sonnet AI model on Monday. These system prompts were for the text-based conversations on Claude’s web client as well as iOS and Android apps. System prompts are the guiding principles of an AI model which dictates its behaviour as well as shapes its personality when interacting with human users.

Arc Search AI Mobile Browser Confirmed to Get an Android App Soon Arc Search, the artificial intelligence (AI) mobile browser, is soon coming to Android, the company confirmed on Saturday. The browser made its debut at the beginning of this year and gained popularity due to its AI-powered features such as Browse for Me where the AI reads multiple web pages to show the relevant information, AI summarisation, and more.

Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Said to Be Arrested in France Over Alleged Offenses Related to Messaging App Telegram founder Pavel Durov, who has dual French and United Arab Emirates citizenship, was arrested as part of a preliminary police investigation into allegedly allowing a wide range of crimes due to a lack of moderators on Telegram.

Microsoft to Host Cybersecurity Summit After CrowdStrike-Induced IT Outage Microsoft has announced that it will host a summit next month that will let industry members understand how to improve cybersecurity systems, in the aftermath of a faulty update from security firm CrowdStrike that left millions of Windows computers around the world in an unusable state on July 19. The gathering on September 10 at its headquarters will be the first maj...

Reliance Jio Launches International Roaming Packs for UAE, Canada and Other Nations: Price, Benefits Reliance Jio has launched exclusive country-specific international roaming (IR) packs for popular travel destinations such as Canada, Europe, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). These IR recharge plans come with multiple validity options, offering users choices for up to 30 days, in addition to free in-flight benefits in select regions.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Catapults 22 Starlink Satellites into Orbit; Achieves Successful Landing On August 20, 2024, SpaceX successfully launched 22 new Starlink satellites, significantly expanding its global satellite network. The launch took place at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, with the Falcon 9 rocket lifting off at 9:20 a.m. EDT. This mission was particularly noteworthy because it involved a brand-new Falcon 9 rocket making its maiden fligh...

D-ID AI Video Translate Tool Launched, Can Generate Lip Synced Videos in Multiple Languages D-ID, the Tel Aviv-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup, launched an AI-powered video translation tool in beta on Wednesday. Dubbed Video Translate, the tool can generate translated videos that mimic the voice of the original speaker and sync the lip movement to match the words. The feature is currently accessible to the subscribers of the platform, and the comp...

Google Adds Gemini AI-Powered Polish Feature for Gmail, Can Generate Formal Emails from Rough Drafts Google released a new feature for Gmail powered by its Gemini artificial intelligence (AI) model on Tuesday. Dubbed Polish, it is a new option in the Help me write feature for Gmail which can generate complete formal email drafts based on rough notes. The company said it will be available on the web as well as on mobile devices.

GPT-4o Fine-Tuning Feature Released, OpenAI to Allow Users to Train AI Model With Custom Datasets GPT-4o, OpenAI’s latest and most powerful artificial intelligence (AI) model which was released in May, is getting a new upgrade. On Tuesday, the company released a new fine-tuning feature for the AI model that will allow developers and organisations to train it using custom datasets. This will allow users to add more relevant and focused data pertaining to their us...

Microsoft Phi-3.5 Open-Source AI Models Released, Claimed to Outperform Gemini 1.5 Flash, GPT-4o Mini Microsoft released the family of Phi-3.5 artificial intelligence (AI) models on Tuesday, as the successor of the Phi-3 models introduced in April. The new release comprises Phi-3.5 Mixture of Experts (MoE), Phi-3.5 Vision, and Phi-3.5 Mini models. These are instruct models, so they will not work as a typical conversational AI but will require users to add specific ins...

Midjourney Releases Web Editor Tool With Support for Inline AI Image Editing Midjourney, the popular artificial intelligence (AI) image generation tool, added a new feature last week which will let users edit the generated images. Dubbed Web Editor, the feature enables inline editing capabilities for the AI tool, letting users make granular changes to the images. The Editor comes with multiple new tools which can be used to make several change...

HP Retains Top Spot as Indian PC Shipments Grow 7.1 Percent YoY in Q2 2024: Report HP has retained its position at the top of the Indian PC market as the country witnessed a growth in shipments in the second quarter of 2024, as per a report. India has reportedly recorded a 7.1 percent year-over-year (YoY) growth in Q2 2024, noting an increase in shipment volume in all three categories — desktop, notebook, and workstation.

Microsoft Office, Teams Vulnerabilities Enable Hackers to Access Camera and Microphone on macOS: Report Microsoft's apps for macOS are affected by eight security vulnerabilities that could allow hackers to access the camera and microphones of users without their consent, according to cybersecurity group Cisco Talos. The latest flaw detected across several Microsoft apps such as Microsoft Office, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Powerpoint, and...

X to Close Operations in Brazil Due to Judge's Content Orders X has announced that it will close operations in Brazil due to orders passed by a Brazilian judge. The Elon Musk-led platform published pictures of a document which says a daily fine and an arrest decree would be imposed against X's representative in the country if the platform did not fully comply with the judge's orders.

Google Releases Imagen 3 AI Image Generation Model to Users, Adds Improved Capabilities Google released its in-house artificial intelligence (AI) model for image generation, Imagen 3, on Thursday. The tech giant did not make any announcement for the release, and instead released the model quietly to users. Additionally, a research paper detailing the workings of the image generation model was also published in an online journal.

Google to Fix Security Vulnerability on Pixel Phones That Could Allow Remote Access or Control: Report Google Pixel phones shipped since 2017 included an application with a security vulnerability that could be used by attackers to inject malicious code or run spyware on Pixel phones, according to security firm. The Showcase app, which was found on Pixel smartphones sold globally, will soon be removed by the company in the coming days.

Google AI Overviews Gets New Experimental Features, Expands to India and Six Other Countries Google announced that its AI Overviews is getting several new features and being expanded to new regions on Thursday. With this update, the Google Search-based snapshot feature will be available in India and six other countries. The expansion will also include local language support in each country. Notably, it was rolled out in May and was made available only in the ...

Grok-2 and Grok-2 Mini AI Models Launched in Beta, Said to Outperform GPT-4 Turbo Grok-2 family of artificial intelligence (AI) models have finally been released in beta by xAI. The Elon Musk-owned AI firm launched Grok-2 and Grok-2 Mini on Tuesday and claimed newer capabilities and improvements in the large language models (LLMs). Both models are available to Premium and Premium+ X (formerly known as Twitter) users. Interestingly, the Grok-2 model...

RBI Raises UPI Limit to Rs. 5 Lakh for Tax Payments, Introduces Delegated Payments Feature The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently announced an increase in limit of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions for tax payments. The decision was made as a part of RBI’s Monetary Policy announcement last week. With this, users can now transact up to Rs. 5,00,000 while settling their tax liabilities. Earlier, this limit was kept at Rs. 1,00,000.

Intel Sells Stake in Chip Designer Arm Holdings Intel, which is cutting thousands of jobs as it struggles to stay relevant in the chip industry, sold its 1.18 million share stake in British chip firm Arm Holdings in the second quarter, a regulatory filing showed on Tuesday.

US Considers Breaking Up Google in Rare Antitrust Move The US department of justice is considering breaking up Google after a court ruling recently said the company has monopolised the online search market. The move would be Washington’s first push to dismantle a company for illegal monopolisation since unsuccessful efforts to break up Microsoft two decades ago.

Sakana AI Introduces The AI Scientist, Claims It Can Fully Automate Scientific Discovery Sakana AI, a Tokyo-based artificial intelligence (AI) firm, introduced its latest AI model that can conduct scientific research on Tuesday. The company claims that the AI model, dubbed The AI Scientist, can run an end-to-end scientific discovery process in the AI and machine learning (ML) fields on its own. This would include idea generation, running experiments, writ...

Polish Billionaire Plans to Sue Meta Over Fake Advertisements on Facebook, Instagram Polish billionaire Rafal Brzoska and his wife plan to sue Meta over fake advertisements on Facebook and Instagram that feature his face and false information.

Turkey Restores Access to Instagram after Nine-Day Block Turkey has restored access to Instagram after the company agreed to cooperate with authorities to address the government's concerns. Instagram was blocked in Turkey on August 2 for not complying with the country's laws, rules, and public sensitivities.

Signal Private Messenger Blocked in Russia by Roskomnadzor: Report Signal Private Messenger has been blocked in Russia by Roskomnadzor, the country's state communications watchdog, according to news agency Interfax. The app has reportedly been blocked in the country for violating laws linked to anti-terrorist operations, but Signal users in Russia have reported that the service is working normally when accessed via a VPN or used in t...

Amazon Great Freedom Festival 2024 Sale: Best Deals on Home Theatre Systems, Bluetooth Speakers Amazon Great Freedom Festival 2024 sale is live and the sellers on the e-commerce website are offering discounts on home entertainment devices like projectors, soundbars and surround sound systems, and Bluetooth speakers. Meanwhile, SBI credit card holders can avail of an additional 10 percent instant discount aside from the offers available during the ongoing Amazon ...

Amazon Great Freedom Festival 2024 Sale: Top Deals and Discounts on Monitors and Printers Amazon Great Freedom Festival 2024 sale has brought several discounts on computer peripherals, including monitors and printers. These devices are available at cheaper prices during the ongoing Great Freedom Festival sale, including models from Acer, Samsung, Benq, LG, Zebronics, HP, Canon, Epson, and Brother.

Elon Musk's X Sued for $20 Million in Shares by Ex-Twitter Chairman A former Twitter chairman has sued Elon Musk's X platform for $20 million in shares, after the billionaire allegedly refused to pay the ex-executive's compensation. Earlier this year, former Twitter executives previously sued Elon Musk for allegedly withholding more than $128 million in severance payments after they were ousted.

Amazon Great Freedom Festival Sale: Best Deals on Gadgets for Creators Amazon Great Freedom Festival 2024 sale, the e-commerce giant’s annual sale on the occasion of the Indian Independence Day celebrations, is currently underway. The sale brings discounts on a wide range of products across various categories. Consumers can find smartphones, laptops, tablets, smart TVs, home appliances, cameras, and more at slashed prices during this p...

Amazon Great Freedom Festival Sale: Best Deals on Cameras Amazon Great Freedom Festival 2024 started in India on August 6 with the e-commerce offering a wide range of products at discounted prices over their usual rates. Customers can avail of additional benefits like coupons and bank offers to get further discounts. To help you out, we made a list of some of the top deals Amazon is offering on cameras.

Elon Musk's X Files Lawsuit Accusing Advertisers of Boycotting Platform Elon Musk-owned X has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Texas against the World Federation of Advertisers, Unilever and Danish renewable energy company Orsted, in addition to Mars and CVS Health. The lawsuit has alleged that advertisers have collectively withheld billions of dollars in advertising revenue from X.

WordPress Adds Write Brief With AI Tool Which Lets Users Make the Content More Precise WordPress, the major web content management system, added a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool for the self-hosted WordPress sites on Tuesday. Dubbed Write Brief with AI, the tool was launched by WordPress’ parent company Automattic. The AI tool assists users in making long winded sentences shorter and more readable, as well as enhances the confidence of the cont...

CrowdStrike Conducts External Review to Better Understand What Triggered the Global Outage CrowdStrike, the US-based cybersecurity firm, caused a global outage on July 19 after an update resulted in Windows laptops and desktops crashing and getting stuck in the boot loop. After fixing the issue, the company published a post-incident report highlighting that its artificial intelligence (AI) system dubbed Falcon sensor caused an error. Now, the company has pu...

Amazon Great Freedom Festival Sale: All Deals on OnePlus Phones Listed Here Amazon Great Freedom Festival 2024 sale is currently live for all Amazon users in India. From large appliances like air conditioning units, refrigerators and more to personal gadgets like smartphones, laptops, tablets are available at discounted prices during the ongoing sales. Now we bring to you some of the best offers that the e-commerce site is offering on OnePlus...

Google Pay, PhonePe Other Payment Firms Seek to Join RBI's CBDC Pilot, Said to Offer eRupee Transactions The RBI has started onboarding UPI platforms like Google Pay and PhonePe to the advanced trials of the eRupee CBDC. Payment firms are working closely with the RBI and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the domestic payments authority, and are expected to roll out access to e-rupee over the next three-to-four months

Amazon Great Freedom Festival Sale 2024: Best Deals on Amazon Alexa Devices Revealed Amazon Great Freedom Festival sale is all set to begin on August 6 at 12pm for all shoppers after providing 12 hours of early access to Prime members. Besides smartphones, laptops, and tablets, the e-commerce website will provide discounts on Amazon Alexa-compatible devices during the sale. With additional exchange, bank based, and cashback offers, the final price is...

Amazon Great Freedom Festival 2024 Sale Starts Tonight: Best Deals on Smartphones Revealed Amazon Great Freedom Festival 2024 sale will kick off on August 6 for users in India. At 12am IST or midnight, the sale will be live for Amazon Prime users in the country, while for non-prime users, the sale will begin at 12pm IST or noon on the same day. Amazon has now revealed some of the best deals on smartphones that you can grab during the upcoming sale.

Gemini AI Olympics Ad Receives Backlash Online, Google Reportedly Takes It Down Gemini AI ad that was recently aired in the US for the Paris Olympics 2024 has reportedly been taken down after receiving backlash online. Google is said to have issued a statement highlighting that it took public feedback to remove the ad from airing during the Olympics event, but also proceeded to defend the idea behind it.

OpenAI Reportedly Withholding ChatGPT Text Detection Tool Due to Fear of Backlash OpenAI reportedly has built a tool that can detect when text has been generated using its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, but is unwilling to release it to the public. As per the report, the tool is ready to be launched for quite some time, but the AI firm is concerned that such a detection tool might make the chatbot unpopular among users.

Amazon Great Freedom Festival Sale 2024 to Kick Off Next Week; Deals Revealed Amazon has revealed the dates for the much-anticipated Great Freedom Festival 2024. The yearly discount sale will begin on August 6 and will be open to all shoppers in India. As always, Prime subscribers will get early access to the sale. Different gadgets and electronics with impressive specifications will be listed with discounted price tags during the sale.

Apple Says AI Features Will Boost New iPhone Sales After Sluggish Third Quarter Apple predicted that its new artificial intelligence features will spur iPhone upgrades in coming months, helping the company reemerge from a sales slowdown that has hit its China business especially hard. 

Reddit Acquires Generative AI Startup Memorable AI Reddit is acquiring Memorable AI, a startup that uses generative artificial intelligence to help marketers create better ads, in its first acquisition since going public in March.

Google Search Updates Content Removal and Ranking System to Combat Explicit Deepfakes Google Search updated its removal processes and ranking systems on Wednesday to combat non-consensual fake explicit imagery, also known as deepfakes. The tech giant’s new strategy involves quickly removing explicit deepfakes and demoting websites that host such content so that this type of content does not appear high up in Search results.