Gadgets And Technology Daily News | 18 May 2023
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Zebronics Zeb Pods-1 With Bluetooth v5.2 Connectivity, 28 Hours Playback Launched in India: Price, Features
Zebronics introduced the new Zeb Pods-1 earbuds on May 17 with dynamic 13mm drivers. The true wireless stereo (TWS) earphones come with support for Google Assistant and Siri. The newly launched earbuds feature Bluetooth v5.2 connectivity and a low latency of just 60ms for gaming. They are said to be the first Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) earbuds from the company. They also feature ENC calling with noise cancellation during calls. The earbuds are likely to compete with boAt Airdopes 111 TWS earphones, Boult Audio Z40 True Wireless, and others.
The new Zeb Pods-1 from Zebronics sale are live on Amazon India. They are available for purchase at a price of Rs. 1,499. Buyers can also avail of a 5 percent instant discount up to Rs. 250 on select bank cards.
The Zebronics Zeb Pods-1 sport an in-ear design. They feature 13mm drivers and support Bluetooth v5.2 connectivity. The newly launched earbuds also support voice assistants like Google Assistant and Siri. The Zeb Pods-1 are said to be the company's first Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) earbuds. They are equipped with ANC technology powered by advanced signal processing that cancels all the background noise while on calls.
The Zeb Pods-1 also have ENC calling and a built-in microphone. They come with a low latency of 60ms, to offer lag-free gaming sessions.
The Zeb Pods-1 are equipped with a rechargeable battery that supports a Type-C charging cable. They are claimed to offer up to 28 hours of playback time without ANC and up to 22 hours with ANC enabled. The earbuds feature touch controls to play media and take calls. They are said to be able to pair with devices as soon as the charging case is opened.
Hyundai Ties Up With Shell to Install Fast EV Chargers at 36 Dealerships Across India
Hyundai Motor India on Wednesday said it has tied up with Shell India to install 60 kW fast chargers across 36 of its dealerships in the country.
The company has signed a memorandum of agreement with Shell India Markets in this regard, the automaker said in a statement.
The strategic partnership aims to increase the expansion of charging infrastructure for battery electric vehicles in the country, it added.
"Such strategic partnerships are fundamental in accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles by customers to achieve the national goal of carbon neutrality," Hyundai Motor India MD & CEO Unsoo Kim said.
Hyundai currently has an existing network of 72 electric vehicle dealers in 45-cities.
Shell India Director Sanjay Varkey said the strategic partnership with Hyundai aims to improve the charging infrastructure for battery electric vehicles in India by offering easy access and dynamic availability for a safe, reliable, and seamless charging experience.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Instagram GIF Comments on Posts, Reels Begins Rolling Out to All Users: How It Works
Instagram has announced that it is rolling out the ability to comment on posts or Reels using GIFs to users globally. The Meta-owned photo and video sharing platform allows users to comment on the posts with text and emoji. The GIF responses feature was previously rolled out to select users in some regions, allowing them to use animated images to express themselves in a post's comment section. While the feature is now available to users globally, it will gradually roll out to users in India, according to the company.
The company has announced that the ability to respond with GIFs in comments has begun to roll out globally and will roll out gradually in India. Users can share GIFs in the comments section on any post by simply tapping on the GIF button. As of now, users have been using text replies and emoji in the comment section, while select users in some regions had access to the GIF replies feature.
To use GIFs in comments, users must open the comment section of a post and then tap on the GIF button located at the right side of the text box. The GIF library, powered by Giphy, will let users search for relevant GIFs and share it in the comments section. The feature has been rolled out globally and will be made available to all users gradually.
Last month, Instagram rolled out the ability to add up to five links on a user's profile bio. At the time, the company said the highly-requested feature was aimed at helping creators showcase more of their work. Instagram users can now share links to their online businesses, content, and other social networking profiles in their profile bio.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the ability to add more than one link to a profile bio was requested by several Instagram users. To add more links to the bio, users are required to tap on the Edit Profile button after visiting their profile page, then tap on the Links section, followed by Add External Link. There they can add up to 5 links which will be displayed on the users' profile bio, according to details shared by the company.
France Extends Invitation to Crypto Firms Looking to Exit US’ Loose Crypto Ecosystem
The US, which is currently undergoing a tumultuous financial time, could be scaring crypto companies to flee out to the international markets. France, meanwhile, seems to be looking at this difficult situation in the US as a way to boost its own crypto and Web3 ecosystem. The country has invited crypto players looking to set their businesses outside of the US to do so in France. The development comes just a day after the European Union (EU) gave its final approval to a comprehensive set of regulations that have been curated to uniformly govern the digital assets sector in all of the EU regions.
“If American players want to benefit, in the very short term, from the French regime, and from the start of 2025 from European arrangements, clearly, they are welcome. In France, we are proud to be pioneers,” a CoinDesk report quoted Benoît de Juvigny, Secretary General of the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF). The AMF is essentially the financial markets authority of France.
At present, the crypto market as well as the overall financial sector is undergoing a volatile run in the US. In addition, the consecutive interest rate hikes from the Fed in the US have added to the prevailing pressure on the financial market, including the crypto sector.
Between November 2022 and January 2023, the nominal broad dollar index fell almost seven percent, according to a JP Morgan insight.
Circle Pay CEO Jeremy Allaire had recently said that US' ongoing financial slump is deepening the phenomenon of de-dollarisation in several parts of the world.
When other countries in the world begin to reduce their dependency on the US dollar as a reserve currency or a medium of exchange, the process is called ‘de-dollarisation'. The US dollar has reigned over the global economy for decades. Consecutive interest rate hikes in the US, however, have caused many international central banks also to spike their interest rates and save their fiat currency against depreciation.
Last month, three traditional crypto-friendly banks collapsed in the US within one week, scaring investors and the common public.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (FRBC) in its recent report blamed that the downfalls of crypto projects like Terra and FTX last year has caused the ongoing banking crisis in the US in its aftermath.
In addition, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been tightening its noose around crypto businesses. Companies like Binance and Coinbase have been roped-in by the SEC for probes around their business practices.
Accessing the magnitude of this ongoing financial chaos in the US, France has extended an invite to crypto firms wishing to flee the complexities.
Presently, Bitstamp and Binance are among the 74 crypto firms that have secured operational licences in France, the CoinDesk report noted.
It is estimated that around 3.4 million French citizens held cryptocurrency in 2021 and the holders in the country are projected to grow by 7.43 percent to sit at a valuation of around $980.10 million (roughly Rs. 8,072 crore) by 2027.
AI Technology Could Put Humanity at Risk, Over 60 Percent of Americans Believe: Poll
The swift growth of artificial intelligence technology could put the future of humanity at risk, according to most Americans surveyed in a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Wednesday.
More than two-thirds of Americans are concerned about the negative effects of AI and 61 percent believe it could threaten civilization.
Since OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot became the fastest growing application of all time, the widespread integration of AI into everyday life has catapulted AI to the forefront of public discourse. ChatGPT has kicked off an AI arms race, with tech heavyweights like Microsoft and Google vying to outdo each other's AI accomplishments.
Lawmakers and AI companies are also concerned: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Tuesday testified before U.S. Congress, voicing concerns about potential misuse of the technology and asking for regulation.
"There's no way to put this genie in the bottle. Globally, this is exploding," said Senator Cory Booker, one of many lawmakers with questions about how best to regulate AI during a Senate panel on the uses of AI Tuesday.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that the number of Americans who foresee adverse outcomes from AI is triple the number of those who don't.
According to the data, 61 of respondents believe that AI poses risks to humanity, while only 22 percent disagreed, and 17 percent remained unsure.
Those who voted for Donald Trump in 2020 expressed higher levels of concern; 70 percent of Trump voters compared to 60 percent of Joe Biden voters agreed that AI could threaten humankind.
When it came to religious beliefs, Evangelical Christians were more likely to "strongly agree" that AI presents risks to humanity, standing at 32 percent compared to 24 percent of non-Evangelical Christians.
"It's telling such a broad swatch of Americans worry about the negative effects of AI," said Landon Klein, director of U.S. policy of the Future of Life Institute, the organization behind an open letter, co-signed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, demanding a six-month pause in AI research. "We view the current moment similar to the beginning of the nuclear era, and we have the benefit of public perception that is consistent with the need to take action."
While Americans are concerned about AI, crime and the economy rank higher in the list of kitchen table issues: 77 percent support increasing police funding to fight crime and 82 percent are worried about the risk of a recession.
Those in the industry said the public should understand AI's benefits more.
“The concerns are very legitimate, but I think what's missing in the dialogue in general is why are we doing this in the first place?” said Sebastian Thrun, a computer science professor at Stanford who founded Google X. “AI will raise peoples' quality of life, and help people be more competent and more efficient.”
The positive applications of AI, such as revolutionizing drug discovery, are not as visible as ChatGPT, said Ion Stoica, a UC Berkeley professor who also co-founded AI company Anyscale.
"Americans may not realize how pervasive AI already is in their daily lives, both at home and at work," he said.
The online poll of 4,415 U.S. adults was conducted between May 9 and May 15. It has a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Meta India's Director and Head of Partnerships Manish Chopra Announces Resignation
Meta's Director and Head of Partnerships in India Manish Chopra has announced his resignation from the company in a LinkedIn post. Chopra joined Meta in 2019 and has been serving as its director and head of partnerships in India.
The Director and Head of Partnerships posted a message of his resignation on Tuesday. He also said he would assist with the transition over the next few weeks.
Chopra posted on LinkedIn, "I am grateful to the company for trusting me with building out our efforts to drive growth and engagement across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. I am super proud of the work the team and I have done to become an ally for creators and businesses around the country. My heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you!"
Manish Chopra, Meta's Director and Head of Partnerships in India, had joined the company in January 2019.
He posted on the social media site, "It's been 4.5 years of an incredible journey leading Meta Partnerships in India! I am stepping down from my role at Meta and will help with the transition over the next few weeks."
On the lines of ongoing layoffs in the tech world and in the company itself, he said, "The recent months have been trying times for everyone in so many ways. I know this team has shown so much care and has helped each other selflessly. At so many moments in doing one's very best, I have seen folks embody 'what would you do, if you were not afraid', and surpass our wildest dreams."
On his new venture, he said, "I will share more in due course."
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