Samsung Chromebook Pro leaks in all its metal glory; comes with 2K display and Pen Stylus

Image Credit: Samsung

By tech2 News Staff /  17 Oct 2016 , 10:27

New Chromebook models are just around the corner. Samsung has listed the latest model, Chromebook Pro, on its South Korean website. The latest Chromebook sports a 2K, 12.3-inch display with 3:2 aspect ratio along with effective resolution of 2400 x 1600.

Image Credit: Samsung

Samsung Chromebook comes with an all-aluminium design and a 360-degree hinge which effectively turns the device into a 2-in-1, allowing it to be used as an ultrabook as well as a large tablet. On the specs front, the Chromebook comes with a hexa-core processor with two Cortex-A72 and four Cortex-A53 cores, clocked at

Facebook signs controversial EU Privacy Shield treaty after Google and Microsoft

  17 Oct 2016 , 10:06

Social networking giant Facebook has agreed to adopt a new European Union (EU) data accord that allows personal information to be transferred to the US, potentially sparking yet another privacy row, the media reported. Facebook has quietly signed the Privacy Shield — a controversial treaty that allows US technology companies to transfer EU citizens’ details abroad. It will apply to certain advertising data and its new Workplace service for businesses, the Telegraph UK reported on Saturday.

Privacy Shield, a replacement deal that was designed to provide extra safeguards for Europeans, came into force in July. Google and Microsoft have already adopted the treaty. Facebook signed up at the end of September, although only two aspects of the social network use it. The first is Workplace, a special version of Facebook that allows company employees to communicate, which was launched last week. The other is its “Ads and Measurement” technology that uses customer data supplied by other companies to target adverts.

Other user data is not covered by the treaty, although it can be transferred to the US under secondary legal measures, the report said. “We have signed up two important parts of our business to the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework – Facebook at Work and our relevant Ads and Measurement services,” a Facebook spokesman confirmed the report.

Facebook’s adoption of the treaty is significant because the prior US-EU agreement, Safe Harbour which was abolished by the European Court of Justice as a direct result of legal action against the social network by privacy campaigners. However, it is likely to lead to further scrutiny of the Privacy Shield deal from Facebook’s critics, the report stated.

IANS

Google with its fact check feature will ensure it stays ahead of Facebook and Twitter

File photo of the Wikipedia homepage. Reuters

By Nash David /  17 Oct 2016 , 13:08

The world over, politics has a negative undertone. And given the universality of the Internet, it doesn’t take too long before you find yourself impacted and eventually part of an agitated debate. With the rise of social media including Facebook and Twitter, tech and politics are intertwined.

The rise of social media

Some of my close friends stay away from social media. If you meet them, you could have hours of political discourse. But they’d rather stay away from mediums such as Twitter or Facebook. They have a firm grasp of political realities, but they stay from interacting on social media because they prefer debating with like-minded individuals with a deep sense of understanding in politics, rather than swaying from blind-sighted idolising to caustic crosstalk.

India witnessed a very confrontational form of discussion on most social networks. The run up to the 2014 general elections caused a surge in this behaviour. Irrespective of which side of the political spectrum you’re on, you’d find an incessant chatter that gets even the undemanding highly stimulated.

Impact on ‘law and order’

There have been instances across India, where social media and the Internet at large have been accused of being a threat to ‘law and order’. From Kashmir to the Patidar reservationagitation, social media access has been clamped down for a brief period. Such is the influence social media wields.

Since emotions run high on social media discourses, banning access to the Internet is the first remedy to prevent escalation of passions. The hope is lesser conversations would result in lesser dissipation of information. And eventually curb mobs.

Image Credits: Reuters

The age of digital herds

For that matter, India and the US are no different. In India, the debate is between supporters of political parties. In the US, it’s between supporters of two presidential candidates. In both cases, the attacks get increasingly personal. In both cases, there are cases of photoshopped images going viral. There are creation of memes and the comic play of satire. Sometimes to touch sarcasm. Sometimes to lighten up the otherwise hostile online environment. As the US heads to its national elections in a month, there’s a similar outburst of emotions on social media in the United States.

Image: Reuters

Supporters of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump dig out records from the past to express their leaning and portray why their favourite candidate is

Researchers develop joystick style interface for smartwatch

  16 Oct 2016 , 12:18

A team of researchers has developed a smartwatch prototype that uses the wrist wearing the watch as an always-available joystick to perform touchscreen gestures with one-handed continuous input. Checking email, tracking fitness and listening to music, are just a few things that a smartwatch can do but what if your hands aren’t free? WristWhirl is the answer.

While other studies have explored the use of one-handed continuous gestures using smartwatches, WristWhirl is the first to explore gestural input. “This shows what smartwatches may be able to do in the future, by allowing users to interact with the device using one hand (the one that the watch is worn on) while freeing up the other hand for other tasks,” said Xing-Dong Yang, assistant professor of computer science at Dartmouth College.

To develop the WristWhirl prototype, researchers investigated the biomechanical ability of the wrist by tasking a small group of participants to conduct eight joystick-like gestures while standing and walking. Participants wore the watch on their left wrist and were asked to use their wrist to make four directional marks similar to flicking a touch screen, and four free-form shapes, such as a triangle.

They were asked to make these gestures with their hand-up in front of their body during which they could see the gesture being drawn on the watch’s screen, and with their hand-down alongside their body. They were able to make directional marks at an average rate of half a second and free-form shapes at an average rate of approximately 1.5 seconds. WristWhirl was built from a 2-inch TFT display and a plastic watch strap augmented with 12 infrared proximity sensors and a Piezo vibration sensor placed inside the wrist strap.

The project will be presented at the ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology in Tokyo on October 19.

IANS

T-Hub launches program to network startup ecosystems

  16 Oct 2016 , 12:10

T-Hub, one of India’s largest startup ecosystem builder, in partnership with Uber and TiE Silicon Valley has announced the launch of T-Bridge — a unique initiative to connect startup ecosystems from around the world to India. The programme will connect Indian startups with global market opportunities, and help bring global startups to India. T-Bridge will help startups access UberEXCHANGE — Uber’s flagship startup mentorship program and TiE Silicon Valley’s mentor network.

Telangana’s Information Technology Minister K.T. Rama Rao, who is currently on a visit to the US, inaugurated T-Bridge at Uber’s headquarters in San Francisco. He opened T-Hub’s first outpost in the US in association with Uber and TiE Silicon Valley. T-Bridge will enable startup communities in India and around the world to cross-pollinate ideas, innovate and create channels for knowledge transfer.

It will also create a network of mentors, VCs, incubators and accelerators that is advantageous to the Indian startup ecosystem, said a statement released from the minister’s office here on Saturday. T-Bridge will provide a platform for such fast-track tech companies looking to tap into India’s huge consumer market for technology. “We have a strong vision to make Hyderabad one of the top 10 startup cities in the world. T-Bridge is one such move towards opening a channel of investment from the world to the state of Telangana,” said Rao.

“The Telangana government has been one of India’s most progressive states. The vitality and transformational mindset of its leadership gained quick notoriety within the startup world. TiE Silicon Valley is pleased to host the first T-Bridge outpost in Silicon Valley,” said TiE Silicon Valley’s incoming President Ram K. Reddy. “Today more and more people around the world want to build something themselves. Through initiatives like UberEXCHANGE, our mentorship program for Indian startups, we hope to spur entrepreneurship,” said Uber’s senior Vice President for policy and communications, Rachel Whetstone.

Creative partnerships like T-Bridge will strengthen ties between India and the global startup scene, Whetstone said. T-Hub’s CEO Jay Krishnan said since the launch of T-Hub last year, Hyderabad witnessed a threefold increase in startup activity, and added “The city is abuzz with over 30 incubators and co-working spaces. There is something happening in every corner.” “We’re committed to enabling and growing this community and helping Indian entrepreneurs access global resources. T-Bridge is one such initiative in that direction,” Krishnan said.

T-Hub is a unique public/private partnership between the government of Telangana, three of India’s premier academic institutes (IIIT-H, ISB and NALSAR) and key private sector leaders.

IANS

India and Russia sign agreements across multiple sectors

Image: Reuters.

  16 Oct 2016 , 12:05

India and Russia on Saturday signed 16 agreements across multiple sectors following delegation-level talks co-chairedd by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin here. “New horizons in the #IndiaRussia partnership. PM & Prez Putin witness exchange of 16 agreements and 3 announcements across fields,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted following the 17th annual bilateral summit between the two countries.

Among the agreements signed were procurement of the S-400 air defence system and construction of 1135 series of frigates in India. Another agreement was signed to set up a joint venture to manufacture helicopters. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed for setting up an investment fund of $1 billion. Agreements were also signed for developing smart cities in Andhra Pradesh and Haryana, and for developing transport logistics systems for such cities.

Another important agreement was signed for the joint study of a gas pipeline to India from Russia. According to separate agreement, a Russian consortium comprising energy giant Rosneft Oil Company, commodities trader Trafigura and private investment group United Capital Partners agreed to purchase 98 percent of Essar Oil for $10.9 billion. Rosneft also signed an agreement with ONGC Videsh for education and training in the oil and gas sector.

Both sides agreed to extend cooperation in railways development and to increase the speed of trains between Nagpur and Secunderabad. An MoU was signed between India’s ISRO and the Russian state space agency on collaboration in space technology. An agreement was signed on cooperation on international information security.

Another MoU was signed for expansion of bilateral trade and economic cooperation between India and Russia. A road map for celebrating 70 years of India-Russia diplomatic ties was also announced. Another announcement pertained to cooperation between the two countries on international issues.

IANS

Panasonic develops a invisible glass pane television

Image: AFP

  16 Oct 2016 , 11:58

Imagine a TV that looks like glass and can be fit into your furniture’s glass panes. Panasonic has developed a protoype of an “invisible” TV which generates bright, clear images as normal TVs. According to tech website Engadget, Panasonic has improved the image quality in the new prototpye. “The OLED screen is made from a fine mesh, embedded into the glass sliding door,” the report added.

The TV image is visible even with the backlighting on. Once it’s dimmed, the image is bright enough to be almost indistinguishable from existing TV sets. The screen shifts between “transparent mode” where you can see the shelving behind it, and “screen mode”, where you can see the screen.

“Because the display is on a railing, you can move it up and down the shelf for even greater customisability,” Engadget reported. According to Panasonic, the television is likely to hit the market in the next three years.

IANS