US President-elect Donald Trump invites Silicon Valley’s top CEOs to summit, and they’d better not miss it

Image: Reuters

By Anirudh Regidi /  12 Dec 2016 , 12:29

US President-elect Donald Trump has invited CEOs of some of the largest tech companies in the world to attend a summit on Wednesday.

These invites have gone to the likes of Alphabet’s Larry Page, Apple’s Tim Cook, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Intel’s Brian Krzanich and more, reports Re/code.

Interestingly, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos also rated an invite, though it’s unclear if he’s actually going to attend the event. The meeting, slated for the fourteenth of this month, will take place at Trump Tower in Manhattan.

Silicon Valley has been very wary of Trump since he won the US Presidential Election. Many in the Valley had gone out of their way to support Trump’s rival, Hillary Clinton, in the Presidential Election and Trump himself doesn’t have an amicable relationship with them.

Jeff Bezos in particular has been targeted by Trump on multiple occasions. Bezos himself has been very critical of Trump and Trump has targeted Amazon for its outsourcing of jobs, research and development and more. Bezos-owned Washington Post has also been particularly harsh on Trump during the elections.

Bezos isn’t alone. Trump’s gone after Apple as well. He event went on to call the company out on its “tax evasion” and lashing out at it for not cooperating with the FBI in the San Bernadino iPhone case. The purpose of the summit isn’t clear at the moment, but we’re sure Trump will tweet about it soon.

Brain-drain

Jesting aside, it’s quite likely that the summit is intended to address Silicon Valley’s growing trepidation at a future under Trump. Silicon Valley’s biggest fear surrounds Trump’s stance on immigration.

The Valley relies very heavily on “highly-skilled” immigrants to fill positions that are otherwise hard to fill. Foreign students who come to the US not only bring in money, they also represent a significant investment in terms of money, time and other resources and to have their newly acquired skills deported back to their home countries would be a huge loss.

The US H1-B Visa program currently admits around 65,000 skilled workers and 20,000 graduate workers, almost all of whom are quickly swallowed up by American industries. Jeff Sessions, Trump’s soon-to-be-appointed Attorney General is very much against the H1-B program and Silicon Valley is terrified.

In an industry that lives on the cutting edge of technology, and sometimes beyond that, any delay in filling such positions, a loss of skilled labour and more, all of this represents a terrible loss for the Valley.

But that’s not all.

Manufacturing

Another issue that worries Silicon Valley is Trump’s insistence on bringing back manufacturing to the US, particularly the manufacture of the iPhone. In fact, Trump has proposed to impose heavier taxation on goods manufactured in China.

Economists and Silicon Valley see no point in doing this. Even if it was economically feasible to bring over a multi-billion dollar manufacturing and supply chain industry from Asia to the US, the sheer cost of labour in the US would push up the cost of manufacturing a product by three times or more. This would eat into the profits of companies forced to manufacture in the US, resulting in minimal gains to the economy.

A report on Forbes even suggests that bringing manufacturing to the US will provide no measurable economic benefit, making the whole endeavour meaningless.

The Indian connection

Trump has been vocal about his support for India, going so far as to say, “If I am elected president, the Indian and Hindu community will have a big friend in the White House.” But this is the same man who claimed that Pakistan “is not our friend” and then told Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, “Your country is amazing.”

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While Trump might love India, he also hates immigrants and if he gets his own way, we might see a drastic decline in the issue of work- or study-related visas. Indian firms like TCS and Infosys are heavily reliant on the H1-B visa program to get their workers to the US. These companies also rely on the ability to outsource a lot of work to India as it cuts down on their own expenditure in the US.

A lot to discuss

Clearly, Silicon Valley’s CEOs have a lot to discuss with Trump. Whether they like it or not, Trump will be the president of the United States and the only way forward is to help him understand their side of the story and the impact that any hasty decision will have on the American economy, and, indirectly, the rest of the world.

Ignoring Trump will do more harm than good.

Xiaomi launches Mi VR Play Headset for Rs 999 with Mi Live App

Image Credit: Xiaomi Mi

By tech2 News Staff /  12 Dec 2016 , 15:00

Xiaomi launched Mi VR Play headset on 11 December on Facebook as well as other social media channels like YouTube and the Xiaomi Mi Live App. Mi VR Play headset is the first VR headset by the company and it is priced at Rs 999. It will go on sale from 21 December. The headset is Google Cardboard compatible and will provide an immersive experience to the people wearing it.

Image Credit: Xiaomi Mi

One interesting thing to note is that the headset will incorporate a unique two-way zipper design with the entire thing made out of lightweight Lycra. The company has included Anti-reflective lenses to ensure that the Mi VR Play provides clear images through aspherical lenses. In addition, the headset comes along with a metal button for interaction.

Mi VR Play will support smartphones ranging from 4.7-inch to 5.7-inches. As outlined in the Livestream and later on the website, Mi VR Play headset is the easiest way to experience immersive theatre or cinema experience with compatible smartphones and headphones says Xiaomi.

Image Credit: Xiaomi Mi

In addition to the normal VR apps from third party developers, you can scan the QR code to download the Google Cardboard app and use the app along with Cardboard Camera app to experience new VR content until the time Google Daydream comes to budget smartphones. Some interesting apps that you can experience include YouTube VR app for 360-degree video content almost a host of games like VR Theatre.

Xiaomi also launched the new Mi Live app, a new live streaming app which will use content sourced from local content creators. The content creators will get a chance to showcase their talent to the Mi Live app users. Mi Live will also support VR content with the help of Mi VR Play headset. The company announced that the app will go online in India and China from today. Xiaomi also bragged that Mi Live is the only live streaming app in India to support VR live streaming. Currently, only the Android app is on Google Play Store, there was no announcement for the iOS version of the app.

NASA to launch CYGNSS hurricane tracking constellation from the belly of Orbital ATK’s Pegasus aeroplane

By tech2 News Staff /  12 Dec 2016 , 14:56

NASA is launching a constellation of eight satellites to better monitor hurricanes. The Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) is a flock of eight micro-satellites, which which will improve weather forecasts for the intensity of cyclones. Although forecasts of hurricanes have improved by 50 percent since the 1990s, there has been little progress when it comes to correctly predicting their intensities.

A CYGNSS craft being prepared in a lab. Image: NASA

The CYGNSS constellation will scrutinise the regions beneath the eyewall, as well as the inner rainbands of hurricanes. Both measurements are possible for the first time from space because of the CYGNSS flock. Frank Peri, director of the Earth Systems Science Program Office (ESSPO), based at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, says “This mission will help us get a better idea of the intensity of tropical cyclones.”

The launch for the CYGNSS constellation is not a regular rocket launch. Instead of being a passenger on board a rocket that lifts off a launchpad, the rocket with the payload will be launched in mid air from the belly of Orbital ATK’s Pegasus aircraft, at an altitude of 39,000 feet. The rocket will free fall for five seconds, before firing in the air, and re-orienting itself upwards towards space. Three stages of the rocket will fire and fall away, before the CYGNSS constellation is released into orbit. The Pegasus is the world’s first privately developed launch vehicle.

There is a 40 percent chance that the launch could be delayed because of bad weather. If that happens, the launch will be postponed by one day, with a 20 percent chance of disruption by bad weather. The launch coverage will begin Live on NASA TV and can be seen here from 5:30 PM, IST, today.

In-flight Wi-Fi in India to be delayed indefinitely by “spurious” security concerns and red tape

By tech2 News Staff /  12 Dec 2016 , 14:48

Wi-Fi over the skies of India will remain a pipe-dream for now. In August, Civil Aviation Secretary Rajeev Chaubey had stated that we can expect to see in-flight Wi-Fi “in the next 10 days.” It’s now December.

A report on The Wall Street Journal reveals that the plans for in-flight Wi-Fi in India will remain banned, pending approval from the “communications ministry.” The Home Ministry has reportedly been opposed to the plan, citing security concerns.

As it stands today, any commercial passenger aircraft is required to disable in-flight Wi-Fi access when flying over Indian airspace. This includes international flights.

As Mashable points out, airlines such as Jet Airways already have approval from the Federal Aviation Authority and other regulatory bodies. Even our neighbours, Pakistan and China included, already allow in-flight Wi-Fi.

International flight safety norms are quite stringent and it’s hard to see what’s worrying the Home Ministry so. Mashable also adds that aviation technology specialists have dismissed these security concerns as “spurious”.

In fact, one can easily make the case that free Wi-Fi at railway stations is a far greater cause for concern than in-flight Wi-Fi in a closed, isolated environment 36,000 feet above the ground.

With this push for Digital India, demonetisation pushing the country to digital transactions and myriad such future-looking plans, it’s hard to believe that the fastest, most modern system of transportation is still held back in such a way.

OnePlus 3T goes on sale today for Amazon Prime members

By tech2 News Staff /  12 Dec 2016 , 14:05

The OnePlus 3T was officially announced in India just a week ago. Back then all eyes were on the price tags for both the 64GB model and the 128GB model. And today it’s all about availability, as the OnePlus 3T flagship goes on sale at 2PM IST, but only for Amazon Prime members.

The handset is priced at Rs 29,999 for the 64GB model while the model with 128GB internal storage will be priced at Rs 34,999. Both models will officially go on sale on 14 December on Amazon India, which is why today is the day all those Prime members get early access.

While today is the day the sales for the same kickoff for an hour’s time, OnePlus has hinted at the bottom of the page, that stocks will be limited. Delving into the buying process, only Prime customers will be able add a OnePlus 3T smartphone to their shopping cart. Once successfully added, the customer will need to checkout the product in 15 minutes. Failure to do the same will see the smartphone disappearing from the customer’s cart and will in turn go to a waitlisted customer. Purchases are limited to one smartphone unit per customer and orders from wishlists, customer reviews section and ll other platforms and functionalities will be disabled during this period.

The new features of the OnePlus 3T include the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 clocked at 2.35GHz, Adreno 530 with 6GB RAM. The battery capacity has been increased to a 3,400mAh lithium-ion from the 3,000mAh battery that was on the OnePlus 3. There is also a new 16MP Samsung 3P8SP camera sensor on the front, replacing the 8MP sensor. Apart from the standard 64GB variant, OnePlus had introduced a new storage size variant of 128GB. This version has also launched. As an added protection to the rear camera, the new OnePlus 3T gets a sapphire crystal glass cover.

You can have a look at our first impressions of the OnePlus 3T by clicking here or in the video below. If you are confused about purchasing one, you can quickly head to our list of drawbacks to help you make up your mind, as to what you really need.

Bill Gates leading over $1bn fund for innovation in clean energy technology

By tech2 News Staff /  12 Dec 2016 , 13:48

Microsoft co-founder and noted philanthropist Bill Gates is leading a round of investmentsfocussing on fighting climate change. With the announcement of the Breakthrough EnergyVentures (BEV) fund, Gates has got together the who’s who of technology world to participate in the energy ventures fund. Unlike most VC investments, the BEV fund has a 20-year duration and it aims to invest in the commercialisation of new technologies which will help fight climate change.

Bill Gates formed the Breakthrough Energy Coalition last year along with 28 private investors from around the world. The BEV fund takes the coalition forward with the aims of investing in next generation technologies which will “provide reliable, affordable, zero-carbon energy, food and products to the world.” The idea is to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by having green electricity generation and storage, transportation, industrial processes and so on. The investments will start happening from 2017 onwards.

The directors of BEV fund include Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Alibaba Group executive chairman Jack Ma, Khosla Ventures’ founder Vinod Khosla, SAP co-founder Hasso Plattner. Bill Gates will be the chairman of BEV and plans to be actively involved in the venture. According to Forbes and Bloomberg, the combined estimated wealth of all the directors is in excess of $170bn.

BEV fund is like a starting step to deploy the ideas which lead to the formation of the Breakthrough Energy Coalition. Gates himself has set aside $1bn for this fund. According to Gates, advances in clean-energy technology could reduce our dependence on carbon-emitting fossil fuels.

According to Quartz, Gates acknowledges that investments in energy are harder than those in IT. “People think you can just put $50 million in and wait two years and then you know what you got. In this energy space, that’s not true at all,” he said. But at the same time he maintains that this space is not crowded and the return on investments over a longer period could be huge. BEV estimates that global energy market will be pegged at $6 trillion and energy demand to increase by one-third by 2040.

BEV has identified the area of energy storage technology which will see the first wave of investments. This is because efficient and affordable energy storage allows you to be reliant more on clean energy sources such as solar and wind energy.

Apart from BEV, Gates has also invested independently in nuclear energy startup TerraPower which he helped launch and where he serves as the chairman as well. Gates is also involved with an initiative called Mission Innovation where 22 countries and the EU aim to double the investment in clean energy tech over the next five years.

The United States is part of Mission Innovation, but its President-elect Donald Trump has questioned climate change time and again. In fact, he has appointed Myron Ebell as his choice for the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Ebell has been calling climate scientists as ‘global warming alarmists‘. So clearly, there are challenges ahead for Gates.

Gates sats that a dialogue with the new administration regarding energy research will be important.

BEV is open to partnering with other organisations in the future. “BEV will explore opportunities to engage strategic corporate partners to coordinate expertise and capital to move breakthrough technologies forward. BEV will also partner with research institutions to develop an investment pipeline of projects as well as identify other investment partnership opportunities,” it says on its homepage.