Friday, December 30, 2016

Apple’s made-in-India iPhone: This is what makes Bengaluru so special

Apple’s made-in-India iPhone: This is what makes Bengaluru so special

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The news that Apple has decided to start manufacturing phones not just in India, but specifically Bengaluru, is interesting, to say the least. It begs the question, why Bengaluru? Why not Hyderabad or Noida or even Chennai?
The answer to that question is neither easy to give, nor is it definitive; all I have to offer are pointers.
Startup heaven
Bengaluru is the only city from India and the second city from Asia to make it to the Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking. This is a list compiled by Compass and ranks cities on their ability to produce and support great startups. In fact, judging by the report, Bengaluru only ranks behind Berlin in terms of growth in the startup space and is the seventh largest investment destination in the world!
Startup growth stats
Image: Huffington Post
Other Indian cities haven’t even made it to the list.
The report also explains that Bengaluru has some of the youngest tech entrepreneurs in the world. In fact, the average age of an engineer in the city is much less than that of Silicon Valley (25 vs 36).
Nasscom’s 2016 Startup Report also states that Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi-NCR account for 70 percent of startups in the country. India is also home to the third largest startup ecosystem in the world, and this is led by Bengaluru, with Delhi-NCR close on its heels and Mumbai a distant third.
Start-up geographical clusters 1
Image: Nasscom
Bengaluru is also reported to be the “biggest investment destination”, accounting for over 40 percent of overall funding in the startup space in India. If you’re looking to start something new, Bengaluru is certainly the place to be.
As one entrepreneur explains, “I find this space more exciting. I find the energy and the sheer number of people starting up here are far more”, when comparing Bengaluru’s startup scene to Silicon Valley’s.
Government support
The Nasscom report goes on to state that the Karnataka government is “leading the wave of Indian startup ecosystem.” That’s saying something.
Government support startup
Image: Nasscom
Karnataka’s permanent secretary of e-governance has been quoted as saying, “Silicon Valley will be Bangalored!” With statements like that, and the amount of work the state government is putting in to back startups and the necessary ecosystem, the government’s commitment is in no doubt.
There’s a dedicated startup cell to implement the government’s startup policy, government grants and a great deal of supporting infrastructure.
Where else will Apple go?
Considering what these reports suggest, where else will Apple go? The company’s already investing in a massive, 40,000 square foot complex in Bengaluru for the development of apps; the engineers are there, the money is there and the manufacturing is coming up.
Start-up geographical clusters 2
Image: Nasscom
Microsoft, Amazon and IBM are also investing heavily in Bengaluru. In fact, data centres are already being set up there. It’s not without reason that Bengaluru is being called the Silicon Valley of India.
If you’re an engineer fresh out of college, would you rather be in Bengaluru or Chennai/Hyderabad? For most, the choice is obvious.
From that perspective, there’s no reason for Apple to want to go anywhere else.

New Audi Q8 to usher in new design language for the car maker

New Audi Q8 to usher in new design language for the car maker

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Speculations and rumours around Audi’s new luxury SUV have finally turned into reality as a quick preview of the upcoming Q8 was given by design chief Marc Lichte.
Expected to go official at the 2017 Detroit motor show, the car’s front end was revealed during a highly-publicised photo shoot and interview with German website Die Welt. The new Q8 will have a new distinctive muscular design and it will be unlike any Audi SUV till date. The new Q8 is said to be production ready and according to the design chief, future buyers will not mistake an A4 with an A5, or a Q3 with a Q5 in future.
Lichte also said that the “sausage factory” syndrome, where each car in the range has a different size but similar appearance, will no longer be followed by Audi.
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From the teased photo of the Q8 we can see a bold single frame grille along with prominent vertical lines. The headlight and lower bumper also see a radical change. The four-seat luxury SUV will be placed above the Q7 and will be targeted to customers who want a sporty coupe like feel with a tall ride of a large SUV.
There is also a speculation that it will be offered in a plug-in hybrid and potentially fully electric motors, along with petrol and diesel offerings.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey hints at a ‘tweet edit’ function for the microblogging site

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey hints at a ‘tweet edit’ function for the microblogging site

Jack Dorsey is the CEO of both Square and Twitter. Image: Reuters
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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has hinted that the ‘edit’ functions to edit mistakes may soon be coming to the platform. Dorsey started an impromptu Twitter town hall with the users last night asking them about the most important things that Twitter can improve or create in 2017. He posted his thoughts about the edit feature as a response to the tweets asking for the implementation of the feature.
He pointed out that the company was looking into the request since a long time and that the feature is “def needed” for all the users to improve the platform as a product.
Dorsey responded to users by asking for suggestions on how to implement the feature because of the complexities involved in adding the feature. He asked if the users need a 5-minute window to correct the mistakes done while tweeting or the edit anytime implementation better for the users.
Dorsey did point out that anything beyond a time window based edit feature would require tweet ‘revision’ history so that users can check what the original tweet was in case any troll tries to take the conversation out of context. One Twitter user suggested that the edit function should be rolled out for users with verified Twitter accounts. Dorsey clarified that the feature would roll out to all the users and not just the ones with verified accounts.
Even though he identifies edit feature as one of the most requested and important things on the platform, the discussion does not automatically mean that the feature is confirmed. There is no official confirmation at the moment, but the discussion itself is better than a situation where users think that Twitter is not taking their feedback into account. This comes right after the company launched 360-degee live videos on Twitter and Periscope.
One interesting conversation in the Twitter town hall was the interaction between Dorsey and Bored Elon Musk, a parody account of Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk. Bored Elon Musk suggested verifications for parody accounts to which Dorsey replied with “boring”. Bored Elon Musk quipped with “Multiverse Twitter access for seeing tweets from yourself and yourself and yourself” as an improvement by Twitter. Dorsey responded with humour that “now we’re talking”. Not Jony Ive jumped in to approve of the ongoing interaction with a classic “+1”.

Amazon wants to build warehouses in the sky to store products

Amazon wants to build warehouses in the sky to store products

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Amazon.com Inc has filed for a patent to use airships to store products and serve as a base for delivery-drones. The patent application was filed two years ago but was spotted only on Wednesday by Zoe Leavitt, an analyst at technology data and research firm CB Insights. According to the patent filing, drones launched from the so-called “airborne fulfillment centers” (AFCs) would use far less power than those launched from the ground.
The AFCs would hover at about 45,000 feet (13,700 meters) and be restocked and resupplied by “shuttles or smaller airships.” The AFC can function as an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), but the patent application includes a provision for shuttles to the airship. There is a known Airship with a dual configuration that can work as a manned or unmanned vehicle. The Airlander-10 crash landed, but the test flights were successfull. The Airlander-50 is a bigger version, specifically meant for lifting heavy cargo.
airlander_50
The drones on board the airship can use very little energy on their way down, which would help Amazon cut costs during delivery. The patent covers an inventory management system, and drones can also be used to ferry goods from one airship to another. Amazon, which was not immediately available for comment, has laid out plans to start using drones for deliveries next year.
With inputs from Reuters 

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