Technology News

SoftBank-Backed Chip Firm Arm Said to Meet Investors Ahead of IPO: Details Softbank Group-owned chip firm Arm Holdings plans to launch its roadshow for investors after Labor Day, as the chip designer prepares for its much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) in September, according to people familiar with the matter.

Baidu, ByteDance, Other Chinese Firms Launch ChatGPT-Like Chatbots to Public Five Chinese tech firms, including Baidu and SenseTime Group, on Thursday launched their artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to the public after receiving government approval, as China's government pushes to widen the use of such products amid competition with the United States. Baidu, China's leading online search provider, said in a statement that its ChatGPT-lik...

Apple Plans to Drop Chat Support for Customers on X, YouTube Soon: Report Apple will reportedly stop providing assistance to the users on social media platforms including X (formerly known as Twitter) as well as YouTube and the Apple Support Community online forum. A recent report has claimed that the Apple customer chat support functionality will be dropped from the platforms in October.

Elon Musk Soon Plans to Launch Video, Audio Call Support on X Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, plans to launch video and audio calls as owner Elon Musk races to build an "everything app" to stay ahead of competition from Meta Platforms-owned Threads. Users will not need a phone number for the features that will be available on Apple's iOS, Google's Android and personal computers, Musk said in post on X on Thursday.

Microsoft to Unbundle Teams From Office Product to Avert EU Antitrust Fine Microsoft will unbundle its chat and video app Teams from its Office product and make it easier for rival products to work with its software, the US company said on Thursday in a move aimed at staving off a possible EU antitrust fine. The proposed changes came a month after the European Commission launched an investigation into Microsoft's tying of Office and Teams.

US Judge Refuses to Dismiss Lawsuit Accusing Elon Musk's X of Age Bias in 2022 Layoffs A US federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit accusing X, the social media service formerly called Twitter, of disproportionately laying off older workers when Elon Musk acquired the company last year.

The Elder Scrolls 6 Is Officially in Early Development, Bethesda Confirms The Elder Scrolls 6 has now entered the early development phase, Bethesda has confirmed. In an interview, Bethesda’s Head of Publishing Pete Hines claimed that a portion of its studio has been working on the next Elder Scrolls game, though further news on the same will be revealed years from now. The developer is currently anticipating the launch of its sci-fi space...

PS Plus 12-Month Subscriptions Getting a Price Hike, Monthly Free Games for September Announced: Details Sony has confirmed price hikes for PS Plus’ 12-month plans, which will take effect starting September 6. The price increase will take effect across all tiers and raises the cost by at least 30 percent. The company has also revealed the three free games available to PS Plus members this month, which include the Saints Row reboot, Black Desert, and Generation Zero.

YouTube Removed 1.9 Million Videos in India Between January and March 2023 for Community Guidelines Violation Over 1.9 million videos were removed between January and March 2023 in India for violating YouTube's community guidelines, marking the highest removals among nations, according to a report released by the popular video streaming platform.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 2 Coming Soon With Performance Fixes, New Ending for Karlach, More Baldur’s Gate 3 patch #2 is right around the corner, and it is largely aimed at fixing performance issues in Act 3. The update will also add a new optional ending for our Tiefling companion Karlach that provides much-requested closure, and in the future, will expand the epilogue. Larian Studios has also found the bug which prevented 1,500 lines of Minthara content f...

Starfield’s ‘Boundary Reached’ Message and Potential Exploration Limits Have Raised Concerns Among Fans A Starfield leak over the weekend raised concerns among fans about its possible limits of exploration. In the leaked clip, it was claimed that players could run non-stop for 40 minutes on a planet, before reaching a dead end in the form of a ‘Boundary Reached’ menu. While some fans are worried that developer Bethesda might have lied to them about the boundless exp...

OpenAI Introduces ChatGPT Version for Large Business With More Security Artificial intelligence leader OpenAI said on Monday it is releasing a version of ChatGPT targeted to large businesses, increasing the overlap in what OpenAI and its financial backer Microsoft offer to customers. ChatGPT Enterprise offers more security, privacy and higher-speed access.

Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani Push Artificial Intelligence Plans: Jio Promises AI to Everyone, Everywhere in India Jio Platforms is keen to lead efforts in developing India-specific AI models and AI-powered solutions across domains, delivering the benefit of this new-age technology to Indian citizens, businesses and government, RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani said on Monday.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Review: A Critically Successful Dice Roll Into the Colossal Forgotten Realms Baldur’s Gate 3 Review: It is a must-play CRPG that rewards imagination above all in a gorgeous presentation that brings the Forgotten Realms to life. Larian Studios’ ambitious scope has birthed one of the most reactive worlds in all of gaming, where player choices govern both landmark events and smaller romantic flings with its delectable cast of companions. Thro...

Jio AirFiber India Launch Date Set for September 19; Jio 5G Said to Cover Entire Country by December: Details Reliance Jio AirFiber will be launched on Ganesh Chaturthi, September 19, RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani said at the 46th AGM of Reliance Industries. Jio's 5G services are "on track" to cover the entire country with the ultra-high-speed network by December this year, Ambani said on Monday.

Google Unveils AI-Powered Tools to Enterprise Customers at $30 Monthly Fee Google on Tuesday made its artificial intelligence-powered tools available to enterprise customers at a monthly price of $30 (nearly Rs. 2,500) per user, as the Alphabet-owned firm looks to cash in on the technology's surge in popularity this year. The price is the same as rival Microsoft's "Copilot" AI-powered office software suite that includes Teams and Outlook.

Microsoft Bing Chat, Bing Chat Enterprise Now Supported on Google Chrome for Desktop: All Details Microsoft has expanded Bing Chat support to Google Chrome. The feature started rolling out on August 25 and the tech giant has shared details of the rollout via a blog post. Until now, Bing Chat was accessible on Microsoft Edge, but the new expansion has made it accessible on Chrome for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Netflix Unveils December Release Date for Zoya Akhtar’s The Archies Movie Zoya Akhtar’s The Archies movie has set a December 7 release date on Netflix. The musical drama is set in the swinging 1960s, and serves as an Anglo-Indian adaptation that follows its iconic characters as they explore friendships, heartbreak, youth, and more. The film stars Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor, Suhana Khan, and Mihir Ahuja in the lead roles.

The Idol Has Been Cancelled at HBO After Five-Episode-Long First Season The Idol has been cancelled at HBO after a five-episode-long first season. While an interview with star Da'Vine Joy Randolph raised speculations about a second season, studio HBO has now come forward stating their decision not to move forward with season 2. The show was received poorly by critics and audiences alike for its overtly graphic sexual scenes and poor direc...

OpenAI Introduces ChatGPT Version for Large Business With More Security Artificial intelligence leader OpenAI said on Monday it is releasing a version of ChatGPT targeted to large businesses, increasing the overlap in what OpenAI and its financial backer Microsoft offer to customers. ChatGPT Enterprise offers more security, privacy and higher-speed access.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Review: A Critically Successful Dice Roll Into the Colossal Forgotten Realms Baldur’s Gate 3 Review: It is a must-play CRPG that rewards imagination above all in a gorgeous presentation that brings the Forgotten Realms to life. Larian Studios’ ambitious scope has birthed one of the most reactive worlds in all of gaming, where player choices govern both landmark events and smaller romantic flings with its delectable cast of companions. Thro...

Jio AirFiber India Launch Date Set for September 19; Jio 5G Said to Cover Entire Country by December: Details Reliance Jio AirFiber will be launched on Ganesh Chaturthi, September 19, RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani said at the 46th AGM of Reliance Industries. Jio's 5G services are "on track" to cover the entire country with the ultra-high-speed network by December this year, Ambani said on Monday.

Baldur’s Gate III Is Coming to Xbox This Year After All, but No Split-Screen Co-Op on Xbox Series S Baldur’s Gate 3 is coming to Xbox console this year, as confirmed by Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke. However, the Xbox Series S version will not be getting the split-screen co-op feature, which is something the studio has been struggling with, for a while now. Additionally, Baldur’s Gate 3 just received its first major patch, bringing several bug fixes, in additio...

Dune: Part Two Release Date Delayed to 2024 Due to Hollywood Actors’ Strike Dune: Part Two has been delayed to March 15, 2024, due to the ongoing Hollywood actors’ strikes. The move seems like the smarter decision, considering Warner Bros. won’t be able to use its starry cast to promote the movie anytime soon. However, the studio will keep its December release calendar intact, which includes Wonka, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and The Co...

Microsoft President Brad Smith Calls for Clarity on AI Regulation: Details Microsoft President Brad Smith on Friday asserted the need for "real clarity" around goals and principles of artificial intelligence (AI) regulation, as he called for a "regulatory blueprint" which will require action at the private sector, national and global levels.

Two British Teens and Their Audacious Hack of Nvidia, Grand Theft Auto and Uber At 9pm on September 22 last year, a group of City of London police officers waited outside room M15 at the Travelodge Bicester, a one-star budget hotel in Oxfordshire, England, for the right moment to bust in. On the other side of the door was someone they believed to be behind two serious data hacks: one on Uber Technologies Inc. and the other an unprecedented leak o...

Former US President Donald Trump Returns to X, Posts Mugshot; Elon Musk Calls it ‘Next Level’ Former US President Donald Trump returned to the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, with a post on Thursday showing his mug shot from his booking at Fulton County Jail in Georgia earlier in the day. Elon Musk reacted to the same and called it 'next level'.

Google Vows Transparency on Ads, Says Will Provide More Data on Its Products as EU Content Rules Kick In Google will provide more information on targeted advertisements and give researchers more access to data on how its products work, to comply with landmark European Union online content rules, the Alphabet unit said on Thursday.

Britain to Host Global AI Summit to Understand Risks of AI and Discuss How They Can Be Mitigated Britain will host a global summit on artificial intelligence at the old home of Britain's World War Two codebreakers in November as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pitches Britain as global leader in guarding the safety of the fast-developing technology. The summit will take place on November 1 and 2 at Bletchley Park.

Apple, Meta, Other Tech Giants Brace for Rollout of EU’s Digital Services Act More than a dozen of the world's biggest tech companies face unprecedented legal scrutiny, as the European Union's sweeping Digital Services Act (DSA) imposes new rules on content moderation, user privacy and transparency this month.

Chandrayaan-3's Lander Module Set for Automatic Landing Sequence, Says ISRO ISRO on Wednesday said it is all set to initiate the Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS) for its ambitious third Moon mission Chandrayaan-3's Lander Module (LM) to touch down on the lunar surface this evening.

PayPal Moves Delhi High Court Against Order Holding It as ‘Payment System Operator’ Under Money Laundering Law American online payment gateway PayPal on Wednesday moved the Delhi High Court against an order which ruled that it was a "payment system operator" under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and has to thus comply with "reporting obligations" under it.

Huawei Said to Be Building Secret Chip Network Across China to Skirt US Sanctions: Report Huawei Technologies is reportedly building a collection of secret semiconductor-fabrication facilities across China to let the company skirt US sanctions, a Washington-based semiconductor association has warned.

Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Other Arm Clients Turn Chip Firm's IPO Into Tug of War for Semiconductor Influence A scramble among Arm Holdings's clients, including Apple, Amazon, Intel, Nvidia, Alphabet, Microsoft, Samsung Electronics and TSMC, to snap up shares in its initial public offering (IPO) is testing the semiconductor designer's adherence to not picking sides in the chip industry.

US FTC to Probe Qualcomm's Israeli Chipmaker Autotalks Aquisition Deal: Report US FTC s expected to open an in-depth probe on Wednesday of Qualcomm’s purchase of Israeli auto-chip maker Autotalks, Politico reported on Tuesday. In May, Qualcomm had said it would acquire Israel's Autotalks, a maker of chips used in crash-prevention technology in vehicles, but had not disclosed the terms of the deal.

VMware, Nvidia Partner to Develop Software Tools for Companies That Want Their Own AI VMware on Tuesday said it has developed a new set of software tools in partnership with Nvidia aimed at businesses which want to develop generative artificial intelligence in their own data centers rather than the cloud. VMware, which is close to being acquired by chip firm Broadcom in a $69 billion (nearly Rs. 5,73,000 crore) deal, makes software that corporations ...

Meta Prioritising Profit Over Safety by Blocking Wildfire News, Says Canada PM Justin Trudeau Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday criticized Meta for blocking domestic news from its platforms, saying the Facebook-parent was prioritizing profit over safety as devastating wildfires force tens of thousands to evacuate their homes.

Softbank-Owned Chip Firm Arm Reveals Filing for Blockbuster US IPO: Details SoftBank Group Corp's Arm Holdings Ltd reported a 1 percent fall in annual revenue due to a slowdown in smartphone sales, after the chip designer disclosed the paperwork for an initial public offering (IPO) that is expected to be the largest of the year.

Nvidia Quarterly Earnings Will Test AI Demand, Dictate Tech Market Nvidia investors expect the chip designer to forecast quarterly revenue above estimates when it reports results on Wednesday. Their only question is, by how much? The company has been the biggest beneficiary of the rise of ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence apps, virtually all of which are powered by its graphics processors.

Facebook Parent Meta Seeks to Stop Privacy Breach Fine in Norway Court: Details Meta Platforms will ask a court in Norway on Tuesday to stop a fine the country's data regulator has imposed on the owner of Facebook and Instagram for breaching users' privacy, in a case that could have wider European implications.

AI-Created Work of Art Cannot Be Copyrighted Under US Law, Rules American Court A work of art created by artificial intelligence without any human input cannot be copyrighted under United States law, a US court in Washington, DC, has ruled. Only works with human authors can receive copyrights affirming the US Copyright Office's rejection of an application filed by computer scientist Stephen Thaler on behalf of his DABUS system.

BYJU'S Senior Vice President Cherian Thomas Resigns, to Lead US-Based Firm Next BYJU'S Senior Vice President for international business Cherian Thomas has resigned from the company and will now helm US-based Impending. As the CEO, Thomas will focus on building and scaling the product portfolio, while strengthening and growing a global talent pool, Impending Inc said in a statement.

How to Create AI-Generated Stickers on WhatsApp: Steps to Follow WhatsApp Beta was reported to have added support for AI stickers on the instant messaging app. On WhatsApp, this is the first feature that uses artificial intelligence. As reported, the option to create AI stickers is currently rolling out only to select users in the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.17.14 update.

Google One Dark Web Report Rolls Out for Users in India: How It Works Google is making the Dark Web Report feature available to Google One subscribers in India. As the dark web is intended to conceal users' identities and whereabouts, it serves as a hub for hackers and miscreants to conduct illicit businesses, such as the sale and purchase of sensitive personal data of persons worldwide.

X to Delete 'Block' Feature Except For in DMs, Announces Elon Musk X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, will remove the ability for users to block other accounts, owner Elon Musk said in a post Friday. Musk said blocking will still be possible for direct messages, but that it would be deleted as a “feature.”

SoftBank Said to Have Bought Vision Fund's Stake in Arm for $64 Billion SoftBank Group has acquired the 25 percent stake in Arm it does not directly own from its Vision Fund unit in a deal that values the chip designer at $64 billion (nearly Rs. 5,32,350 crore), according to people familiar with the matter. Details of the transaction will be unveiled on Monday when Arm makes public the filing for its blockbuster stock market launch.

Generative AI Being Used by Advertisers Across Firms, With Risks of Copyright and Security Involved Generative AI softwares like ChatGPT and DALL-E are being used by some of the world's biggest advertisers, from food giant Nestle to consumer goods multinational Unilever to cut costs and increase productivity. But many companies remain wary of security and copyright risks as well as the dangers of unintended biases.

What Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg’s Canceled Cage Match Says About Masculine Anxiety Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg appear to have put their cage fight on hold and the billionaires have clashed online in the past. While the Tesla CEO and Meta CEO are now competing with rival social networks Twitter and Threads, respectively, they might try to frame their cage match as a once-in-a-generation event. However, this is far from the truth as several high-pro...

How to Get Access to Google Chrome’s AI-Backed Summary Feature for Online Articles Google Chrome is getting a new feature called Search Generative Experience (SGE) that is gradually rolling out to users on iOS and Android. It is first being made available on the Google app for Android and iOS and will later roll out to desktop users. Those looking to try this feature can do so via Google’s Search Labs with just a few steps.

EV Battery Swapping Firm Gogoro Announces Electric Scooter Partnership With Swiggy for Last-Mile Delivery Electric vehicle battery-swapping solutions provider Gogoro on Thursday announced a partnership with Swiggy to promote its electric Smartscooters to last-mile delivery partners of the on-demand convenience delivery platform across India.

Vodafone Idea Seeks 30-Day Extension to Pay Rs. 1,680 Crore for Spectrum Auction Instalment Debt-ridden Vodafone Idea has sought 30 days more time to pay around Rs. 1,680 crore for spectrum auction instalment due on Thursday, a senior company official said on Wednesday. The company has proposed to pay the amount with interest.

Opera's Aria AI Assistant Makes Its Way to iPhone, iPad; Reaches 1 Million Users Opera on Thursday announced the addition of Aria to Opera's browser for iOS. The AI assistant built in association with OpenAI is integrated directly into the Web browser. Aria provides AI service for free and users can access real-time Web results.

Digital Economy to Contribute Over 20 Percent of India's GDP by 2026: IT Minister Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Thursday forecast that the digital economy will contribute more than 20 percent of the country's GDP in 2026. Addressing the 'G20 Digital Innovation Alliance Summit' here, he said India is a preeminent nation that adopted technology very fast and has started offering solutions t...

Xbox Introduces New Strike System to Curb Toxic Behaviour Among Online Players: Details Xbox has introduced a new strike system, in the hopes of curbing toxic behaviour among its gamers. Each time a player gets banned for toxic behaviour, they will receive a strike on their account. Each player can receive up to eight strikes — upon hitting that number, they’ll be suspended from Xbox’s social features for an entire year. Affected players can also s...

Rapper Raftaar to Make Acting Debut with Musical Comedy Series Bajao, Releasing August 25 on JioCinema Popular Indian rapper Raftar is set to make his debut in musical comedy web series Bajao, which will stream on JioCinema from August 25 onwards. The series also features actors Tanuj Virwani, Sahil Vaid, Sahil Khattar, and Mahira Sharma.

India Second Largest Phone Maker With 2 Billion 'Made in India' Shipments Between 2014 and 2022: Counterpoint India's mobile phone manufacturing industry produced over 2 billion mobile phones cumulatively between 2014 and 2022, making it the second-largest mobile manufacturing country in the world, according to Counterpoint Research. This growth can likely be attributed to a number of factors, including the government's Make in India initiative, growing internal demands and i...

Intel, Tower Terminate Proposed $5.4 Billion Deal After Failing to Get Regulatory Approvals Intel and Israeli contract chipmaker Tower Semiconductor's proposed $5.4 billion (roughly Rs. 44,919 crore) deal has been mutually terminated as they were unable to get timely regulatory approvals, the companies said on Wednesday.

House of the Dragon Season 2 Will Be Shorter Than the First Chapter House of the Dragon season 2 will only have eight episodes — two shorter than season 1. This has to do with showrunner Ryan J. Condal wanting to deliver a good start and a good ending, instead of stretching it out to a 10-episode structure. Unlike the last couple of Game of Thrones seasons, the intention isn’t to rush through the chapters, but rather structure it ...

Elon Musk’s X Will No Longer Allow Advertisers to Promote Their Accounts: Report Social media company X, formerly known as Twitter, will no longer allow advertisers to promote their accounts within the platform's timeline to attract new followers, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing an email to advertising clients.

WhatsApp Beta Adds Screen Lock for Web Interface, Tests Support for AI-Generated Stickers on Android WhatsApp AI stickers is the latest feature that is part of the new beta update for Android. These artificial intelligence-generated stickers can be generated using prompts. On the other hand, the newest WhatsApp Web beta allows users to prevent unauthorised access to their chats when they are away from their screen using a password.

India, Thailand Emerge as Asia's Semiconductor Manufacturing Hubs Amid US-China Chip War: Report India and Thailand have engaged in a full-fledged race for semiconductor--manufacturing investment to win a spot on Asia's chipmaking map, Nikkei Asia reported. As China and US are engaged in the chip war, India has come out as an alternative option and is also exploring every opportunity to be recognized as a major player in the supply chain.

Elon Musk's X Adds 5-Second Delay to Links for NY Times, Reuters and Social Media Rivals Like Facebook: Report Social media company X, formerly known as Twitter, delayed access to links to content on the Reuters and New York Times websites as well as rivals like Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram, according to a Washington Post report on Tuesday.

From Chandrayaan-3 to Web3: Landmark Developments in India's Evolution Towards Tech Independence The integration of technology in India is happening at a rapid pace in the fields of automation, big data, blockchain, distributed architecture, Internet of Things (IoT) among other sectors. On this Independence Day, we revisit the country's recent milestones in the fields of health tech, space tech, edtech, fintech, and other tech sectors.

Reserve Bank of India to Launch 'Public Tech Platform' Pilot on August 17 to Provide Information to Lenders Reserve Bank of India is set to launch a 'Public Tech Platform' pilot on August 17, according to the central bank. The system will allow credit to be approved by providing digital information to lenders more effectively.

Overwatch 2 Becomes Steam’s Worst-Reviewed Game of All Time Overwatch 2 has made history as the worst-rated game on Steam, within three days since its arrival on the platform. Most of the negative reception — 101,826 at the time of writing — is attributed to the cancellation of the long-advertised PvE mode and its change in direction to a live-service system. Only nine percent of the overall ratings are positive, marking a...

Hackers Use 'Bad Math' to Trick Generative AI Models to Show Flaws and Biases at DEF CON 2023: Details Hackers are tricking and fooling some of the most intelligent generative AI systems from Google, Meta, and OpenAI at the annual DEF CON 2023 hacking conference in Las Vegas. These experts used "bad math" to coax large language models into providing incorrect answers to queries, while using other techniques to make the AI tools claim to be human, spread incorrect claim...

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Is Still Coming to PS4 and Xbox One, Will Be a ‘Premium’ Standalone Release Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is still coming to the previous-gen PS4 and Xbox One consoles, despite rumours flaring up over the weekend. Confusion about the lack of previous-gen release arose when content creator TheGamingRevolution tweeted an image from the Microsoft store, which only showed the Xbox Series S/X logo, while the official teaser from Activision mentio...

Twitter.com Starts Switching Over to X.com; iOS Users Reportedly See Changed URLs Elon Musk's X might have started to shift towards X.com. As per a new report, URLs generated from the share sheet of the X app on iOS are now showing X.com instead of the old twitter.com. However, the Web link and Android app are currently redirecting users to the old domain. The company could change this in the coming days.

Digital Personal Data Protection Bill Is Now Officially an Act, Receives President's Assent The Digital Personal Data Protection bill, passed by Parliament this week, has received President's assent, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday. Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) law aims to protect the privacy of Indian citizens while proposing a penalty of up to Rs. 250 crore on entities for misusing or failing to protect digital data of individua...

AI Program Now Being Used to Spot Wildfires in California California firefighters are using artificial intelligence to help spot wildfires, feeding video from more than 1,000 cameras strategically placed across the state into a machine that alerts first responders when to mobilize. In an example of the potential of the ALERTCalifornia AI program launched last month, a camera spotted a fire that broke out at 3am local time (3...

Battle Stars: Battle Royale to Celebrate Independence Day With Delhi-Inspired Map, Surpasses 5 Million Players Pune-based developer SuperGaming has confirmed that their casual battle royale game Battle Stars has crossed five million players since its launch in June. As part of the celebration, the shooter is getting a new map inspired by the city of New Delhi, available as a free update. It will feature familiar locations such as the India Gate, Red Fort, and Connaught Place, ...

India’s Homegrown Web Browser May Come With Crypto-Loaded Features: Details India’s IT ministry has launched a competition, inviting developers to help create India’s own Web browser. The aim of the competition is to get India’s developer talent to create this indigenous browser for India, hoping to reduce our reliance on established foreign players like Chrome, Safari, and Edge, among others.

Destiny 2 The Witch Queen, Sea of Stars, and Lost Judgement lead PlayStation Plus Extra, Deluxe Games for August 2023 Sony has revealed the list of games coming to the PlayStation Plus Extra and Deluxe catalogue in August. Key highlights include Destiny 2: The Witch Queen, Sea of Stars, Lost Judgement, Moving Out 2, Midnight Fight Express, and more. The games will be available on PS Plus’ higher-tier plans, starting August 15.

Apple, Broadcom Reach 'Potential Settlement' With Caltech in WiFi Chip Patent Infringement Lawsuit The California Institute of Technology has reached a "potential settlement" in a high-stakes patent infringement lawsuit against Apple and Broadcom over Wi-Fi chips, according to a Thursday filing in federal court.

Heart of Stone, Starring Gal Gadot and Alia Bhatt, Is Out Today on Netflix Heart of Stone, the new action-thriller starring Gal Gadot in the lead, is releasing today on Netflix. In it, she plays intelligence spy Rachel Stone, who is on a mission to stop a hacker from stealing a nefarious world-threatening item. Alia Bhatt stars opposite her as hacker Keya Dhawan, while Jamie Dornan plays the leader of the MI6 agency.

RBI Increases UPI Lite Transaction Limit to Rs. 500, Proposes AI-Powered ‘Conversational Payments’ RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das announced an increase in UPI Lite transaction limit to up to Rs. 500 in offline mode. Besides, a few other features including conversational payments and NFC support on UPI have also been proposed to make transactions more seamless. UPI Lite was first introduced in September 2022 with a transaction limit of up to Rs. 200.

Microsoft, Aptos Labs Partner to Unite Web3, Artificial Intelligence: Details Microsoft has struck a partnership with Aptos Labs to merge AI with blockchain for industry-level solutions. As part of the deal, Aptos will utilise Microsoft’s AI infrastructure to curate industry solutions related to banking, agriculture, health, and education among other sectors.

Zee-Sony Merger Approved by NCLT, Paving Way For Creation of $10 Billion Media Company The NCLT on Thursday allowed the merger of Zee Entertainment Enterprises and Culver Max Entertainment and will now pave the way for the creation of a $10 billion media company, the biggest in the country.

Jailer, Starring Rajinikanth, Is Out Today in Theatres: Plot, Box Office Estimates, More Jailer, Rajinikanth’s 169th film, has finally released in theatres across India. Marking his return to the silver screen after two years, it follows a retired jail warden Muthuvel Pandian, who must prevent a crime syndicate from attempting to free its leaders from prison. Jailer is reportedly expected to collect Rs. 49 crore at the Indian box office, setting the big...

US Government Launches Cyber Contest on AI to Find and Fix Security Flaws The White House on Wednesday said it had launched a multimillion-dollar cyber contest to spur use of artificial intelligence (AI) to find and fix security flaws in US government infrastructure, in the face of growing use of the technology by hackers for malicious purposes. 

News Organisations Call for Regulations on Content Use by AI Makers, Reveals Letter A group of the world's biggest news media organizations called for revised regulations on the use of copyrighted material by makers of artificial intelligence technology, according to an open letter published on Wednesday. The note batted for a framework enabling media companies to "collectively negotiate" with AI model operators regarding the operators' use of their ...

PS5 Cloud Streaming Beta Rolls Out to Select PS Plus Premium Members: 4K Support, Save Syncing Sony has begun rolling out beta access for cloud streaming on the PS5 to select PS Plus Premium members. Announced in June, the feature lets you stream games at up to 4K resolution without needing to own or download games. For now, the beta catalogue includes acclaimed titles such as God of War Ragnarök, Death Stranding, Horizon Forbidden West, and more.

Curbing Misinformation Critical in Age of AI, Will Act Against Misleading Content: YouTube India Director YouTube on Wednesday said curbing misinformation is critical for platforms and society as tech evolves and AI powered tools come in, and asserted that the video streaming platform will act swiftly against technically manipulated content that aims to mislead users and cause real world harm.

Netflix Launches Game Controller App for iOS, Connects to TV Screens Netflix has launched a Game Controller app that lets subscribers play games on their TVs. The app is now available to download on the Apple App Store and functions as a touchscreen controller with an analogue stick and action buttons. For now, it’s unclear how it connects to a TV and whether the games will be streamed from your phone onto the big screen. Netflix has...

Made in Heaven Season 2 to Only Murders in the Building 3: Top Web Series to Watch This Week What are the top TV series trending on OTT platforms this week? We’ve listed the most interesting picks for you to binge-watch this weekend, ranging from Zoya Akhtar’s Made in Heaven season 2, The Jengaburu Curse, Only Murders in the Building season 3, and a Commando web series based in a familiar universe, but which does not see Vidyut Jamwal returning to the rol...

Sony Quarterly Profit Slides 31 Percent as Movie Business Disappoints, PS5 Sales Bring Relief Japan's Sony on Wednesday said first-quarter profit tumbled due to weaker performances from its movies and financial businesses. In April-June, operating profit slid 31% to 253 billion yen ($1.8 billion), in line with estimates.

MOVEit Hack Compromised Data at Around 600 Organisations Globally; Fallout Is Only Beginning: Cyber Analysts A hydra-headed breach centered on a single American software maker has compromised data at about 600 organizations worldwide, according to cyber analyst tallies corroborated by Reuters. But more than two months after the breach was first disclosed by Massachusetts-based Progress Software, the parade of victims has scarcely slowed. The tallies show that nearly 40 milli...

Meta Asks Norway Court to Halt Daily Fine Imposed by Regulator Over Privacy Breaches Meta Platforms is asking a court in Norway to stop a fine the Nordic country's data regulator imposed on the owner of Facebook and Instagram for breaching users' privacy, according to a court filing. Meta Platforms will be fined NOK 1 million ($97,700 or roughly Rs. 81 lakh) per day from August 14 over privacy breaches, Norway's data protection authority told Reuters ...

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Is Now Available to Watch On-Demand on YouTube, Apple TV, Zee5, More Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is now available to watch on-demand via Apple TV, Youtube, Amazon Prime Video, and Zee5. Both YouTube and Apple TV only provide options to buy the film, with the latter offering a 4K print with Dolby Atmos Audio. Meanwhile, Amazon Prime Video and Zee5 only provide options to rent the film. Additionally, the Zee5 version comes includ...

Global Video Gaming Revenue Expected to Hit $187.7 Billion in 2023 as Console Sales Rise by Over 7 Percent The global video games market would return to growth in 2023 on the back of strong sales of consoles such as Sony's PlayStation 5, according to gaming market research firm Newzoo. The research firm said it expects industry revenue to rise 2.6 percent to $187.7 billion (roughly Rs. 15,54,231 crore) in 2023, driven by a 7.4 percent rise in console sales in the year.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III Release Date Set for November 10 Call of Duty 2023 is confirmed to be Modern Warfare 3, and it’s coming on November 10. Activision dropped a teaser for the same, which hints at the Russian ultranationalist Vladimir Makarov playing the antagonist, like the original 2011 version. The soft reboot was originally planned as a ‘premium expansion’ before getting bumped up to a standalone sequel, earli...

WhatsApp Beta Version Allows Testers to Try New Voice Chats, 'Send for Admin Review' Features WhatsApp beta version 2.23.16.19 is rolling a new voice chat feature that will allow users to join a voice chat in groups. Meanwhile the Meta-owned messaging app will soon allow group administrators to decide whether users can send them chats to for review.

Digital Personal Data Protection Bill Passed in Lok Sabha Amid Opposition: Details The Lok Sabha on Monday cleared the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill by a voice vote amid slogan shouting by opposition members over the Manipur issue.

ISRO Releases First Images of Moon Captured by Chandrayaan-3 After Entering Lunar Orbit The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday put out the first images of the moon as captured by Chandrayaan-3, India's third lunar mission.

Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma to Buy 10.3 Percent Stake in Firm From Antfin Amid China Concerns Paytm Chairman Vijay Shekhar Sharma will buy a 10.3 percent stake worth $628 million (roughly Rs. 5,195 crore) in the firm he founded from an arm of Chinese fintech giant Ant Financial in a deal that would make him its single largest shareholder.

ISRO Successfully Performs Orbit Reduction Manoeuvre, Brings Chandrayaan-3 Closer to Moon The Indian Space Research Organisation on Sunday said it has successfully carried out the orbit reduction manoeuvre of India's third moon mission Chandrayaan-3, a day after inserting it into the lunar orbit.

Netflix Subscription Plans Detailed: Price, Features, Devices, More With Netflix introducing the password-sharing crackdown in India, you might be considering signing up for an account to stream your favourite shows and movies. We’ve made a guide with all the available plans with pricing, in addition to the best way to stream content if you’re an avid PC/ laptop user.

Elon Musk Says X Will Pay Legal Bills of People ‘Unfairly Treated’ by Employers for Posting on Platform Elon Musk has said his X social media platform will pay the legal bills and sue on the behalf of people who have been treated unfairly by employers because of posting or liking something on the site formerly known as Twitter.

Payday 3 Closed Beta Impressions: Rounding Up the Old Gang for Stealthy Business Payday 3 Closed Beta Impressions: Payday 3 comes across as a remarkable evolution over its predecessor’s ethos, focusing on mechanical depth through a myriad of new high-tech toys and expanded stealth. The switch to Unreal Engine 4 for development has hugely improved the texture and lighting, while the game’s timeline being set in the modern day allows for timeles...

Elon Musk Says Cage Fight With Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Will Be Livestreamed on X Elon Musk said in a social media post that his proposed cage fight with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg would be live-streamed on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Amazon Great Freedom Festival Sale 2023: Best Deals on Computer Components for Your PC Builds Amazon Great Freedom Festival Sale 2023 is well underway and will be live till August 8. The sale is offering discounts and offers on a wide range of products — smartphones, laptops, cameras, appliances, and more. In addition to listed discounts, the sale is offering additional 10 percent instant discount of up to Rs. 2,500 on SBI credit card transactions.

Payday 3 Closed Beta Impressions: Rounding Up the Old Gang for Stealthy Business Payday 3 Closed Beta Impressions: Payday 3 comes across as a remarkable evolution over its predecessor’s ethos, focusing on mechanical depth through a myriad of new high-tech toys and expanded stealth. The switch to Unreal Engine 4 for development has hugely improved the texture and lighting, while the game’s timeline being set in the modern day allows for timeles...

Infinix GT 10 Pro to Amazon Great Freedom Festival Sale: A Technology News Recap Infinix GT 10 Pro — the latest mid-range smartphone aimed at gamers — was launched by the company in India this week. On this week's episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, we discuss the prices of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Fold 5 in India Meanwhile, the Amazon Great Freedom Festival sale started at midnight on Friday, bringing deals, discounts and offe...

Mi 11X Pro, Redmi Note 10S, Mi 10T, More Discounted as Part of Amazon Great Freedom Festival 2023 Sale Mi 11X Pro, Redmi Note 10S, Redmi 9A Sport, Xiaomi MI 10T, Redmi Note 11T and more are available at discounted prices during the ongoing Amazon Great Freedom Festival 2023 Sale Day. Shoppers can avail of no-cost EMI options, coupon-based offers and additional exchange offers on these handsets.

Amazon Great Freedom Festival 2023 Sale Day 1: Here Are the Top Deals on Gaming Laptops Amazon Great Freedom Festival 2023 sale is live on the ecommerce platform, with impressive deals, discounts, and offers on gaming laptops. If you're in the market for a new gaming laptop, you can consider models from Asus (ROG), Lenovo, HP, and Acer which are on sale at discounted prices during the sale.

India Saw Massive Surge in Ransomware, IoT Cyber Attacks in H1 2023: Report While major economies like the US and the UK witnessed a decline in ransomware attacks, India (up 133 percent) and Germany (52 percent) are among the countries that saw a huge surge in such attacks, the 2023 SonicWall Mid-Year Cyber Threat Report for the January-June period stated. At the global level, a variety of other attacks have trended up, including cryptojackin...

Amazon Great Freedom Festival Sale 2023 Now Live for All Users: Grab Best Deals and Discounts Amazon Great Freedom Festival Sale 2023 is now live for all the users — including Prime and non-Prime members. The sale includes a number of offers and discounts on smartphones, wearables, laptops, home appliances and other electronics. The Great Freedom Festival Sale, which started for Prime users on August 3, will conclude on August 8.

Amazon Great Freedom Festival Sale 2023: Top Offers on Amazon Devices Amazon Great Freedom Festival 2023 has kicked off in India and is offering discounts on a range of mobile phones, laptops smart TVs, wearables, electronics, and audio products. The sale is live now on the e-commerce platform with no-cost EMI options and exchange discounts on various products.

Personal Data Protection Bill: Entities May Face Penalty of Up to Rs. 250 Crore on Failing to Protect Data Entities misusing or failing to protect digital data users may face penalty of up to Rs. 250 crore, according to the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023 which lays down obligations of entities handling and processing data as well as rights of individuals. The bill which was introduced in Parliament on Thursday moots creation of Data Protection Board of India a...

Tencent Begins Testing of Self-Developed AI Model; Integrates With Internal Services, Products China's Tencent Holdings said on Thursday that it has started internal testing of its self-developed artificial intelligence (AI) model, which is now being integrated with a number of internal services and products. In a statement sent to Reuters on Thursday, Tencent said its foundation AI model named "Hunyuan" has been integrated with a range of products such as Ten...

Amazon Great Freedom Festival Sale 2023: Top Deals on Wearables Under Rs. 5,000 Amazon Great Freedom Festival Sale 2023 is underway in India. The sale will end on August 8. There are several deals, offers, and discounts on smartwatches in the ongoing sale. Here is a list of smartwatches that are available with discounts during the yearly sale.

Amazon Great Freedom Festival 2023 Sale: Best Prime Early Deals on Smartphones Under Rs. 30,000 Amazon Great Freedom Festival 2023 sale is live for Prime members and the platform's ongoing Prime Early Deals offers include discounts on the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, Realme GT Neo 3, and Redmi K50i 5G. SBI Bank customers can also get a 10 percent instant discount when they use their credit cards to purchase eligible products.

Amazon Great Freedom Festival Sale 2023 Begins: Here's How to Get Prime Membership Amazon Prime subscription offers a large number of benefits at a fixed price, including early access to deals and offers during the Amazon Great Freedom Festival 2023 sale. A Prime member can avail free shipping with no minimum order value and will have early access to deals and offers. Amazon is also providing free access to Prime Video and Prime Music for Prime memb...

Apple Supplier Foxconn to Invest $600 Million for iPhone Components, Chip-Making Machinery Projects in Karnataka Taiwan's Foxconn will invest $600 million in two projects in the southern Indian state of Karnataka for chip equipment manufacturing and casing components for iPhones, the state government said on Wednesday.

Elon Musk’s X Challenges Karnataka HC Ruling on Content Removal Orders Social media platform X has sought to quash an Indian court decision that found it non-compliant with content removal orders, arguing the ruling could embolden the government to block more content.

Baldur’s Gate III Might Not Arrive on Xbox Consoles Until 2024, Larian Studios Says Baldur’s Gate 3 won't arrive on Xbox consoles until 2024. As per Michael Douse, Director of Publishing at Larian Studios, the team is facing technical limitations when trying to implement a split-screen co-op feature on the lower-end Xbox Series S. The studio insists on including all the features in parity across both Xbox consoles and that requires a lot of time. L...

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Is Headed to Old-Gen PS4 and Xbox One Consoles Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is coming to more platforms in the future. During EA’s Q1 2024 earnings call, the company confirmed that developer Respawn is in the early stages of developing a dedicated version for the old-gen PS4 and Xbox One. Currently, there’s no release window, but it will be interesting to see how a downgraded version of a demanding AAA game runs o...

Meta Starts Blocking News in Canada on Facebook, Instagram Over Law on Paying Publishers Meta Platforms has begun the process to end access to news on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada, it said on Tuesday, in response to a law requiring internet giants to pay news publishers.

AMD Aims to Ramp Up AI Chip Production for Release by Q4, Raises Q3 Forecast to $5.7 Billion Advanced Micro Devices on Tuesday forecast a strong finish to the year, driven by the planned launch of artificial intelligence chips that could compete with Nvidia semiconductors.

Snapchat Announces Rewards Program for AR Creators in India, Viral Lens Makers Can Win Up to $7,200 Snapchat has announced the ‘Lens Creator Rewards’ that aims to incentivise the creators of AR filters that go viral on the platform. Under the programme, an Indian Lens creator, every month could win rewards up to $7,200 (roughly Rs. 6 lakh) if their lens emerges as top performing in India, Mexico, and the US.

Australian Lawmakers Recommend Potential WeChat Ban on Government Devices A senate committee in Australia has recommended a swathe of rules and restrictions for social media platforms, including potentially banning WeChat on government devices. Companies like TikTok and WeChat posed "unique national security risks" because their parent companies, ByteDance and Tencent, are headquartered in China and subject to its national security laws, co...

Baldur’s Gate III, Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon, and More: New Games on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X in August What are the biggest games releasing in August 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X? Baldur’s Gate 3, FromSoftware’s Armored Core 6 Fires of Rubicon, the magic-heavy Immortals of Aveum, Madden NFL 24, and Goodbye Volcano High are among the standout titles this month.

Ahead of Meg 2: The Trench, Here Are Our Favourite Animal Attack Movies Jason Statham-led Meg 2: The Trench’s tickets are now up for sale, ahead of its August 3 theatrical release. Ahead of that, we figured it’d be best to list our favourite animal attach movies, ranging from the ruthlessness in The Revenant and Jaws, to something far more campy as seen in Cocaine Bear and Crawl.

Elon Musk's X Sues Nonprofit That Tracks Hate Speech, Disinformation Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday, sued a nonprofit that fights hate speech and disinformation, accusing it of asserting false claims and encouraging advertisers to pause investment on the platform. The lawsuit stems from a media report published in July that stated findings from CCDH's research saying that hate speech had increased towards...