Knowledge Valley

The importance of your website to run successful business

2020-10-27T06:13:00.009-07:00

More businesses are discovering how much opportunity an online presence creates. Brands capitalized on people’s heavy reliance on web-based solutions to offer their products online, hence, creating their business website.

To know more about creating a website for your brand, here are some finer points on the Importance of a business website

A BUSINESS WEBSITE DOES THE FOLLOWING:

BUSINESS WEBSITES BUILD CREDIBILITY WITH CONTACTS

Consider a business website your online company address. It’s where potential customers, clients, and associates can find and contact you.

A company with its domain makes an e-mail more credible and trustworthy rather than generic google addresses. Websites give businesses their own unique online identity.

A survey by the Better Business Bureau shows that 84% of consumers will trust a company based on its online reviews, which will only be possible if they see a business website.

PEOPLE TRUST A BUSINESS WITH A WEBSITE

Marketing company Bright Local conducted surveyed consumer attitudes. In the study, they found out that 36% of clients trust a company more if they see a website, whereas, only 21% gamble on closing a deal with a business with no website.

In today’s time where everything from groceries to money transfers is done online, A business website establishes your legitimacy as a business. People will trust your products based on your website.

HOW MUCH DOES A BUSINESS WEBSITE COST?

Another advantage of a business website is that it does not cost a lot to set up. For a reasonable price, your business will get better online engagement.

A COMPANY WITH A BUSINESS WEBSITE PAYS FOR THE FOLLOWING:

Domain name
Web hosting
Web development
Site maintenance costs
Advertisement (Facebook ads, pop up ads, pay-per-click, etc.)

Companies also hire specialists to help them create sales strategies for online marketing. These specialists provide strategies such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Social Media Management, etc.

HOW TO START A BUSINESS WEBSITE

Building a business website starts with establishing your product, creating a domain name, having it hosted, and web development. Once the website has been developed, you will need to write a good hook to get potential customers engaged.

You’ll also have to optimize your website for search engines to drive traffic to your business. A business also needs to establish its reputation through active engagements like newsletters and ads.

Solutions Resource gives out free consultations to help you determine each need and how much it will cost. We’ll tell you what materials your brand needs and how you can get the most out of your web presence.

BOOST YOUR SALES WITH A BUSINESS WEBSITE TODAY

Multiple sources have confirmed that around 4.54 billion people use the internet every day. That gives you a chance to offer your product to more than half of the world’s total population.

Each person spends an average of six hours a day on the web, making it a larger avenue than any print or broadcast medium. Business websites are open 24/7 which extends your service beyond office hours.

Reaching potential customers is possible through Solutions Resource. Start generating revenue anytime and anywhere and let us help you create the perfect business website.

No surprise: USA top Czech Republic 88-67 to open Fiba World Cup

2019-09-02T04:59:00.000-07:00

Donovan Mitchell scored 16 points, Harrison Barnes added 14 and the US opened its quest for a third consecutive Fiba World Cup gold medal with an 88-67 victory over the Czech Republic on Sunday.

Kemba Walker scored 13 points and Jayson Tatum finished with 10 for the Americans, who pulled away steadily throughout. Myles Turner had seven rebounds and a pair of blocked shots for the US.

Tomas Satoransky, the former Washington forward who was traded to Chicago over the summer, led the Czechs with 17 points.

While the Americans’ 78-game winning streak in international games with NBA players ended last month with a loss at Australia, their long winning streak in major tournaments continued. It’s now at 54 games, starting with the bronze-medal game of the 2006 world championships and continuing with gold-medal runs at the 2007 Fiba Americas, 2008 Olympics, 2010 world championships, 2012 Olympics, 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

The Czechs scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to get within 66-52, but the Americans weren’t threatened. Walker made a three-pointer to stop the mini-run, found Mitchell in the corner for another three-pointer that made it 72-52 about a minute later and the outcome was academic from there.

The Czechs had their highlight run early for a quick 11-7 lead, and the couple thousand of their fans in Shanghai – most of them wearing either white or blue team jerseys, with a few Wizards jerseys for Satoransky mixed in there – were roaring.

It didn’t last long.

After a 9-0 run by the Czechs, order was quickly restored. The Americans scored the next 10 points, kick-starting what became a 29-9 run in all, and led by as many as 16 before going into the half with a 43-29 edge.

And it was defense that carried the Americans. Over a 10-minute stretch of the half, the Czechs went 4-for-20 with seven turnovers.

Tip-ins

Czech Republic: This was the first World Cup game for the Czechs since 1982, when the tournament was called the world championship and the country was still Czechoslovakia. That nation went 0-3 against the US in past world championship matchups. ... Jaromir Bohacik and Vojtech Hruban each scored 13.

United States: The Americans started Walker, Mitchell, Tatum, Barnes and Turner. ... Mason Plumlee, the only player back from the US 2014 World Cup gold-medal team, was the only player not in US coach Gregg Popovich’s initial 11-man rotation Sunday. Plumlee got his first action in the third quarter. ... Walker made all five of his two-point tries.

Fast starters

This is the 18th FIBA World Cup or world championship – and for the 18th consecutive time, the US have started 1-0. All but four of those opening wins were by double digits; the closest ones were a 37-33 win over Chile in the inaugural event in 1950, an 81-73 victory over Argentina in 1959, a 77-75 win over Australia in 1978 and a 103-95 victory over Greece in 1990. The average margin of victory: 22.6 points.

Popovich and the US staff wore red polos – Popovich and assistant coach Steve Kerr went untucked – and blue pants. The Czech coaches all had on dark suits, unusual for polo-preferring Fiba coaches (Canada’s Nick Nurse went with a gray crewneck sweatshirt earlier Sunday), but ditched the dress shoes for sneakers.

More talent

It’s the biggest World Cup ever – 32 teams – and that means there’s more NBA representation in the tournament than ever before as well. There are 54 NBA players from 17 countries in the World Cup. At the last World Cup in 2014, a 24-team event, there were 45 NBA players.

Up next

Czech Republic: Face Japan (0-1) on Tuesday in Shanghai.

United States: Face Turkey (1-0) on Tuesday in Shanghai.

Google's Project Stream makes 'Assassin's Creed' playable in Chrome

2018-10-02T06:07:00.003-07:00

Project Stream promises to deliver the holy grail to video game fans around the globe -- the ability to play the latest AAA games on any laptop or PC via a stable, no-lag streaming service. Google is preparing to publicly test Project Stream with a "limited number of participants" on October 5th, letting them play Assassin's Creed Odyssey for free in the Chrome browser. That's the latest game in the Assassin's Creed series, and it's a massive open-world adventure packed with 4K-capable graphics.

If all goes to plan, the game should work on any laptop or PC, regardless of how recently you've updated the graphics card. However, Google recommends a home internet connection of at least 25 megabits per second. For anyone interested in playing the new Assassin's Creed on the day it comes out, for free, in the Chrome browser, there's an application right here.

Google developers said the beta test is meant to push the limits of Project Stream. AAA video games are far more complicated to stream than a movie or TV show, offering dense worlds of animation and input-sensitive information.

"The idea of streaming such graphically-rich content that requires near-instant interaction between the game controller and the graphics on the screen poses a number of challenges," developers wrote. "When streaming TV or movies, consumers are comfortable with a few seconds of buffering at the start, but streaming high-quality games requires latency measured in milliseconds, with no graphic degradation."

Rumors have been flying for months about a potential Google-branded streaming service. Initial reports said any such service would link up to Chromecast, allowing users to play AAA games on their TVs without modern consoles. There's also buzz about Google adding Bluetooth capabilities to the next version of Chromecast, opening up the door to connected gamepads.

Google isn't alone in the streaming-game space. Sony has PlayStation Now, but it hasn't exactly solved the lag issue yet, while companies like OnLive have burst onto the scene with big streaming promises only to quietly implode soon after. One of the latest companies to enter the scene is LiquidSky, which has been fairly silent since officially launching in March 2017. Meanwhile, Microsoft is working on a game-streaming service for the next Xbox generation.

New software package automatically creates plans and factor in variables

2018-10-02T05:35:00.004-07:00

Organizing care services is a complex task and a lot of planning goes into ensuring that they operate smoothly. Developed by adiutaByte, a spin-off project of the Fraunhofer Institute for Algorithms and Scientific Computing SCAI, adiuta.PLAN is a software package that can automatically create plans and factor in variables such as traffic levels and weather conditions in real time. The software also keeps plans updated to take into account other factors such as staff availability. Its innovative algorithms provide the perfect remedy for the grave shortage of care resources.

Every day, companies produce manual plans that are then adapted throughout the day, costing significant amounts of time and effort. It might be a service roster for a hospital, fleet planning for a parcel delivery company, shelf planning in a warehouse, or indeed a service roster for outpatient care. In this instance, the care service provider has to do their best to distribute work amongst the carers on duty. Although there are already tools out there in the marketplace to help care providers with this time-consuming task, none of them are able to monitor whether the service roster is actually feasible after the plan is made. What they fail to offer is a solution that can automatically generate and optimize plans. This is the gap filled by adiutaByte, a spin-off project from Fraunhofer SCAI, and its software adiuta.PLAN, which solves complex optimization problems with new algorithmic approaches, supporting care providers in the daily planning of care routes and helping them to assign carers to patients. Sectors such as logistics and warehouse management also stand to benefit from the solution.

Combining a range of algorithmic approaches

Four people currently work on the adiutaByte team. The spin-off is planned for the first half of 2019, and is receiving funding from the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft as part of the Fraunhofer INNOVATOR program as well as through Fraunhofer Venture. Team leader Dr. Dustin Feld explains the approach that contributes to adiuta.PLAN's success: "We're combining a range of algorithmic approaches, drawing on clustering techniques and artificial intelligence methods. Isolated conventional algorithms or closed-loop mathematical modeling are not enough in scenarios in which a system must react dynamically to unpredictable events such as traffic jams, road blocks or staff absences." Using a unique mix of algorithms, the adiuta.PLAN solution monitors travel and weather data in real time, and factors it into its planning.

Different applications require personalized solutions. The goal might be to provide carers with a schedule that guarantees them a stress-free day, or it might be a tight plan run with military precision. The solution offers a choice of routes - the fastest, the shortest and the most cost-efficient. If the chosen plan can be optimized in another way, adiuta.PLAN will also display possible alternatives and suggestions.

For instance, a road or bridge closure can throw a whole service roster off schedule. In such a scenario, the priority is to automatically update the plan as quickly as possible and compare the predicted plan against the actual situation. Other factors also play a key role in the optimization, including employee qualifications, customer preferences, staff absences and type of vehicle. "If a patient has a particular preference for a specific carer, our algorithms will automatically take that into account," says Feld.

Significant savings in time and administrative effort

The new automated solution offers great potential for optimization and savings, both in terms of time and administration, as the research team has successfully demonstrated in tests run on behalf of a 20-strong care team operated by the Johanniter humanitarian organization. "Normally, it takes the heads of the care team two hours each morning to draw up a plan for the 20 carers. With our solution, all they need to do is approve the automatically generated plan proposal," says the computer scientist. The time needed for carers to get to and from appointments was also reduced by ten percent.

Using machine learning for real-life planning

Machine learning is another tool that can be used to increase the optimization potential still further: "Let's take the example of drawing a blood sample. We know that the time taken to complete the task may well vary depending on the carer and the patient. Over a longer period of time, the algorithms can learn how long it usually takes, meaning that future service rosters more accurately reflect the reality of the situation," explains Feld.

adiuta.PLAN can be integrated into existing software solutions and, first and foremost, supplies the core algorithms, so that users can continue working in their preferred environment. Care providers can manage the optimization target and prioritization via a series of controllers and buttons. adiutaByte can also supply personalized user interfaces at the customer's request. Mobile apps allow carers direct access to the plan while on the move.

Sony RX100 VI review: a peerless point-and-shoot with a DSLR price tag

2018-10-01T06:47:00.000-07:00

In 2018, when the best smartphones take phenomenal photographs, it is hard to justify a standalone camera. If you have a passion for photography, making the leap to a DSLR or mirrorless camera makes sense, but only if you’re prepared to invest in lenses and carry them with you wherever you go. Purchasing a point and shoot seems ridiculous, and yet, the photos I’ve taken with Sony’s RX100 VI — which is essentially a compact point and shoot camera — are some of the best I’ve taken.

The RX100 VI shines when you don’t have control over the subject or your environment.

Despite the tiny size of the RX100 VI, it has a massive inbuilt zoom lens and super fast autofocus that allowed me to grab portrait shots of people on a stage from ten rows back, something no smartphone camera could offer.

Most of the time I left the RX100 VI on auto, snapping landscapes, portraits, close ups and crowd shots, and letting the sensors do all the work. It was incredibly difficult to take a bad photo with this camera.

Optical image stabilisation smooths out video and eliminates hand-held blur in stills; in the few hundred photos I’ve taken, I can’t find one out of focus.

Video is just as impressive. The Sony features Hybrid Log Gamma, a HDR video specification developed for broadcast television. The one letdown is no support for an external microphone, which rules out the RX100 VI for “run and gun” video journalists.

When I wanted a little more control, mainly to adjust the aperture, it was simple to do. It’s easy to manually override the most common adjustments like aperture and focus without leaving the Auto settings safe space. Or you can take complete control with the standard modes available on most high end shooters.

Photos and videos can be transferred to a smartphone with Sony’s Playmemories app which, like all camera transfer apps, is a usable but fairly awful experience.

It hurts that even Sony makes a terrible transfer app, considering the company is capable of making some of the better Android phones on the market. At this point I’m hoping for GoPro’s collapse, if only so a traditional camera company can buy the software team from them.

Intel Z399 motherboards set to replace X299 as AMD stunts Intel naming yet again

2018-10-01T06:40:00.002-07:00

The name for Intel’s X299 platform successor has been leaked, with Z399 motherboards set to carry the torch for Intel’s HEDT (high-end desktop) platform with a refreshed generation of Skylake-X CPUs. The name wasn’t Intel’s first choice, however. Following X299 last year, X399 would’ve been the ideal name for the next-gen HEDT chips, but where have I heard that before?

The red team swooped in and claimed the X399 nomenclature for its own TR4 socket Threadripper-compatible motherboards back in August 2017. These motherboards also serve AMD’s recently released Threadripper 2 CPUs, too. Annoying Intel first and foremost, the move also allowed AMD to piggyback the branding of its largest competitor, and, potentially, also causing some needless customer confusion.

Instead of ditching the whole naming scheme, however, Intel has kept to numerical increments between generations – albeit with the prefix previously reserved for the best boards in the mainstream Core lineup. The Z399 motherboard will therefore be the successor to the X299 ‘Basin Falls’ HEDT platform, although not much else is certain about this new generation.

The new naming convention comes from an unnamed PC manufacturer close to PC Builders’ Club, who confirmed the name to the outlet. The Z399 name seems like a logical step for Intel after being Punk’d by AMD, however, these processors, that were once alluded to as Cascade Lake-X, are now looking more likely to be a Skylake-X refresh instead.

Just what this refresh will entail isn’t yet clear, but Intel has its work cut out going against AMD’s Threadripper chips in the the HEDT space. Intel’s Skylake-X chips are available with up to 18-cores, with the i9 7980XE taking the top spot for roughly $2000. AMD, on the other hand, has the 32-core Threadripper 2990WX, retailing for around $1,750.

Back at Computex Intel wheeled out a server chip that it was touting for release before the end of the year. This 28-core CPU would therefore be the top-chip to expect from Intel’s upcoming HEDT platform, however, Intel may not be in the best position right now to deliver on that promise.

Intel’s currently suffering a considerable 14nm shortage. The company’s interim CEO, Bob Swan, confirmed the shortage in an open letter last week, and the company is investing billions to start ramping up its supply chain – specifically targeting high-performance Core and Xeon segments. The cause of the shortfall has been almost entirely attributed to the delays in the 10nm nodes by third-parties, although Intel itself attribute it to PC TAM growth.

Intel is on the verge of finally banishing all 22nm chipsets from its lineup. The X299 and Z370 chipsets are some of few remaining bastions of 22nm still standing. Intel is expected to launch the Z390 chipset this month to sit alongside the Intel i9 9900K and i7 9700K, based on the 14nm process, and X299 looks to be next in line for an upgrade. Supply troubles may throw a spanner in the works, however, and has caused some issues in the past for chipset production when H310 was reportedly put on hold to ease capacity problems.

The future of Intel’s HEDT platform is still unclear, but we will surely be hearing more about Intel’s Skylake-X refresh very soon if the Q4 launch window is to be believed.

What is Blockchain Technology? A Step-by-Step Guide For Beginners

2018-06-11T05:58:00.000-07:00

Is blockchain technology the new internet?

The blockchain is an undeniably ingenious invention – the brainchild of a person or group of people known by the pseudonym, Satoshi Nakamoto. But since then, it has evolved into something greater, and the main question every single person is asking is: What is Blockchain?

By allowing digital information to be distributed but not copied, blockchain technology created the backbone of a new type of internet. Originally devised for the digital currency, Bitcoin, (Buy Bitcoin) the tech community is now finding other potential uses for the technology.

Bitcoin has been called “digital gold,” and for a good reason. To date, the total value of the currency is close to $9 billion US. And blockchains can make other types of digital value. Like the internet (or your car), you don’t need to know how the blockchain works to use it. However, having a basic knowledge of this new technology shows why it’s considered revolutionary. So, we hope you enjoy this, what is Blockchain guide.

What is Blockchain Technology?

“The blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value.”

Don & Alex Tapscott, authors Blockchain Revolution (2016)

A distributed database

Picture a spreadsheet that is duplicated thousands of times across a network of computers. Then imagine that this network is designed to regularly update this spreadsheet and you have a basic understanding of the blockchain.

Information held on a blockchain exists as a shared — and continually reconciled — database. This is a way of using the network that has obvious benefits. The blockchain database isn’t stored in any single location, meaning the records it keeps are truly public and easily verifiable. No centralized version of this information exists for a hacker to corrupt. Hosted by millions of computers simultaneously, its data is accessible to anyone on the internet.

To go in deeper with the Google spreadsheet analogy, I would like you to read this piece from a blockchain specialist.

Blockchain Durability and robustness
Blockchain technology is like the internet in that it has a built-in robustness. By storing blocks of information that are identical across its network, the blockchain cannot:

Be controlled by any single entity.
Has no single point of failure.
Bitcoin was invented in 2008. Since that time, the Bitcoin blockchain has operated without significant disruption. (To date, any of problems associated with Bitcoin have been due to hacking or mismanagement. In other words, these problems come from bad intention and human error, not flaws in the underlying concepts.)

The internet itself has proven to be durable for almost 30 years. It’s a track record that bodes well for blockchain technology as it continues to be developed.

Transparent and incorruptible
The blockchain network lives in a state of consensus, one that automatically checks in with itself every ten minutes. A kind of self-auditing ecosystem of a digital value, the network reconciles every transaction that happens in ten-minute intervals. Each group of these transactions is referred to as a “block”. Two important properties result from this:

Transparency data is embedded within the network as a whole, by definition it is public.
It cannot be corrupted altering any unit of information on the blockchain would mean using a huge amount of computing power to override the entire network.

In theory, this could be possible. In practice, it’s unlikely to happen. Taking control of the system to capture Bitcoins, for instance, would also have the effect of destroying their value.

Gmail’s biggest redesign is now live

2018-04-25T06:39:00.002-07:00

The world’s most popular email service is getting a big overhaul today. Google is making official the changes we saw leaked earlier this month, with email snoozing, nudging, and confidential mode making their debut alongside a substantial visual redesign for Gmail on the web. The new Gmail begins a global phased rollout today, which is to say that it won’t be available to every one of Gmail’s 1.4 billion users right away, and the first to get it will be invited to opt in rather than being able to just turn it on themselves.

Speaking with The Verge ahead of today’s launch, Jacob Bank, lead product manager for Gmail, says that Google’s redesign was done with an eye on “making people safer and more productive.” Those sound like the priorities of business users, and there’s a distinct sense among the series of changes Google has made that we’re all going to be treated a lot more like Google’s business customers. Which is no bad thing.

The safety pillar centers around a new confidential mode. This allows the sender to set an expiration date for a sensitive email or to revoke it entirely. Google makes it work by not sending the confidential content directly — you’re only sending a link to the content, which lives in your mailbox and is accessed by the recipient either via their Gmail account or, if they use another email service, https. In both cases, you, the sender, are in charge of how long the other party can access the message. You’re basically handing out a time-limited access license.

Integrated rights management (IRM) is one of a number of business-centric features making it into the new Gmail for everyone, allowing you to block the forwarding, copying, downloading, or printing of particular messages. It’s obviously not going to prevent deliberate data extraction from such emails, but Google believes there’s a wide range of circumstances where people accidentally or unwittingly share information with the wrong person, and that’s the problem the company hopes to ameliorate.

Two-factor authentication (2FA) on a per-message basis is also being added in under the umbrella of confidential mode. You can request that the recipient authenticate with a passcode received via text message before they’re able to open a confidential email.

Alas, as big a change as confidential mode and its ancillary IRM and 2FA facets are for the new Gmail, it seems like they won’t be ready straight away, with Google promising we’ll be able to start using the secure mode “in the coming weeks.”

Google is also touting some of the results of a behind-the-scenes security redesign focused on preventing phishing scams.

“We’ve increased our investment in phishing protection dramatically,” says Bank, explaining that Google’s machine-learning algorithms are running safety checks on every new message received. In terms of user-facing visuals, Google is ramping up its phishing warnings from basic banners to huge color-coded alerts. There’s now an unmissable call to action for the user when Gmail detects a potentially malicious or fraudulent message.

Email snoozing is now a common feature among third-party email clients, and Google has done the obvious thing by integrating it directly into Gmail. It works nicely with a new hover menu that surfaces the most common interactions you might want with an email — archive, delete, mark as read, or snooze for later — as you place your cursor above each message in your inbox. It makes Gmail on the web look and feel a lot more like an app, though there’s no word as to whether the change might also show up in the mobile Gmail apps. Another neat addition to the web version is the ability to tap into email attachments directly from the inbox without opening up the conversation.

Google goes a step further by adding what it calls nudging of emails, resurfacing the ones that it recognizes require a time-sensitive action or response. “We don’t nudge very often,” points out Bank, “but when we do, it can save people from making a high-cost mistake.” To determine which messages require your attention, Google looks at a bunch of signals like who sent you an email and whether it has certain content. Queried about the privacy of this new feature, Bank explains that “it shares a lot of the same machinery” as Google’s Smart Reply options, which are now coming to Gmail on the web.

Snoozing, smart reply, attachments tappable from the inbox: these were all features that were already available in Google’s Inbox app. In a slight shift from how Inbox was characterized at launch, Bank says it now amounts to an experimental test bed for future Gmail features. “Inbox is the next-gen, early adopter version, whereas Gmail is the flagship that will eventually get the best new features,” according to Bank. “We don’t want to make changes frivolously, or with a lot of risk, with Gmail.” Google isn’t removing any Gmail features in this redesign, it’s all addition by addition.

Among a smattering of visual updates, the biggest functional UI change to Gmail on the web might be the addition of a new collapsible right-hand side panel. This aims to better integrate Google’s G Suite apps, with Google Calendar, Google Keep, and a new Google Tasks all finding a new home there. The side panel will let you organize meetings, plan out your day, or just scribble down a few notes without leaving an email to go into another tab or another app. A corresponding Google Tasks mobile app is being released on both iOS and Android today.

Also a first for Google’s web interface will be the ability to collapse the left-side panel that hosts the usual navigation links and thus open up more horizontal space.

“We have a bifurcated user base,” notes Bank. “The vast majority prefer a more comfortable display, but a small but vocal minority just wants to see as many emails as possible.” To satisfy both groups, one of the first settings Google will prompt new users to decide on is the vertical display density of their inbox. There are still only three settings: default, comfortable, and compact.

Also by popular request, Google has built a robust native offline mode. Users, especially business users who travel a lot, “want to be able to take their standard Gmail tab offline and work in the same UI,” says Bank. That’s what Google is giving them, though the reason it took so long to get there was not trivial. According to the Gmail product manager, “a rewrite of the entire technical stack of Gmail was required to make this possible.”

Google will let you navigate Indian roads as Mario on Google Maps from 12 March

2018-03-10T05:50:00.000-08:00

Google has rolled out a feature in Maps that will turn any ride into a fun trip as users can now include a Mario Kart on the navigation interface while using the app.

Munish Dabas, User Experience (UX) Engineer at Google Maps, said the company has collaborated with the team at Japanese video game company Nintendo "to let Mario accompany you on all of your driving adventures on Google Maps this week".

The company is celebrating the mustachioed plumber-turned-racer on his special day MAR10 Day, also known as March 10, he said in a blog post late on 9 March.

To get started, users need to first update Maps app from Google Play or the App Store.

Click on the yellow "?" icon found on the bottom right of Google Maps app on Android or iOS. Users would then see a prompt to enable Mario Time!

Happy Mar10 Day!

Navigate and share a screenshot of your #MarioMaps with us this week. https://t.co/IutHDz5C14 pic.twitter.com/MlaiLWeseG
— Google Maps (@googlemaps) 9 March 2018

Once enabled, users would notice that the regular navigation arrow has morphed into Mario, the 1990s' video game character.

The update would reportedly be available in India from 12 March .

Tips for getting started on your security deployment

2018-03-07T05:46:00.002-08:00

This past year, weve been listening to our customers questions about how to deploy and drive adoption around the full suite of Microsoft 365 Security products. The questions we get most often include:

In what order should I deploy security features?
How do I deploy quickly and with minimal business disruption?
How do I as an IT Pro get buy-in from my business decision makers?
How do I get my users to actually use the solution?
How will this impact my end users?

This blog series will provide you with our best answers to these and related questions and offer tips from our security deployment experts.

The good news is that Microsoft 365 customers already have a powerful security solution to address security challenges. Together with Enterprise Mobility + Security, Windows 10, Office 365, our Microsoft 365 Security products deliver on todays most pressing security needs.

The Security capabilities in Microsoft 365 integrate where it counts and offers specialized tools for different functions. The result is a comprehensive security solution across your identity, devices, apps, and infrastructure:

Identity & access management to protect users identities and control access to valuable resources

Threat protection to protect against advanced threats and recover quickly

Information protection to ensure documents and emails are seen only by authorized people

Security management to gain visibility and control over security tools

One of the most common questions we receive is Where do I begin? Microsoft has provided a sampling of the most common security scenarios customers like you may be wanting to accomplish.

To help you envision your plan, we provided the optimum combination of Microsoft 365 products and features you need to bring your scenarios to life Microsoft Security such as:

Work securely from anywhere, anytime
Detect and protect against external threats
Protect your data on files, apps, and devices
Protect your users and their accounts

How do I get started?

The first step to any effective security strategy is careful planning. Here are a few best practices to get you started:

Know your goals and tackle quick wins first. Trying to address every security challenge that comes along can quickly become overwhelming. Get very specific about what you are hoping to gain from a solution. And dont let the search for the perfect setup stand in the way of getting started with quick wins today. For example, setting up self-service password resets or getting company apps securely behind your cloud firewall can quickly show business value.

Map your key stakeholders and influencers. In addition to key influencers (CTO, CSO, CEO, business development managers, etc.), make sure to involve department managers and explore how the new security will impact people, processes, and data internally as well as externally with customers and partners.

Build a good communications plan. Quick user adoption starts with early user communication. Prepare your end users for the changes in advance so that there are no surprises. Communicate every step of the way during pilot and deployment phases. Dont just provide technical details, but try to capture also what they care abouthow the new scenarios will help them to do their job better, how to get started with the new software, where to go for more training, etc.

MediaTek announces Helio P60 SoC with dual 4G VoLTE and 'NeuroPilot' AI technology

2018-02-26T05:59:00.004-08:00

Chipmaker MediaTek on Monday unveiled Helio P60 system-on-chip (SoC) with dual 4G VoLTE and the company's "NeuroPilot" Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology at the ongoing Mobile World Congress 2018 (MWC) here.

It is the first chipset platform featuring a multi-core AI processing unit and will enable device makers to bring to market smarter, more capable mid-range smartphones. "Building on our legacy of innovative technology, the new MediaTek Helio P60 changes everything about what consumers can expect in a smartphone," TL Lee, General Manager, MediaTek Wireless Communication Business, said in a statement.

MediaTek. Image: GSMArenaMediaTek. Image: GSMArena

Helio P60 also packs a 4G LTE WorldMode modem and TAS 2.0 smart antenna technology to give users seamless global connectivity. "Packing big core power and performance with a processing unit purpose-built for AI applications, MediaTek Helio P60 chipset brings consumers flagship features like deep-learning facial detection, object and scene identification, fluid gaming experiences and smarter camera functions," Lee added.

MediaTek Helio P60 chip features four Arm A73 2.0 GHz processors and four Arm A53 2.0 GHz processors in an octa-core big.LITTLE configuration. ARM big.LITTLE is a heterogeneous computing architecture developed by ARM Holdings, coupling relatively battery-saving and slower processor cores (LITTLE) with relatively more powerful and power-hungry ones (big).

The SoC is fabricated on the TSMC 12nm production process and is the company's most power-efficient Helio P series chip. Compared to the previous generation Helio P23, MediaTek Helio P60 is up to 12 percent more efficient and up to 25 percent more power efficient when it comes to gaming. Smartphones powered by the Helio P60 processors will be available globally starting in the second quarter of 2018.

As Stripe backs away from crypto payments, Coinbase offers a new solution for e-commerce

2018-02-16T05:47:00.003-08:00

Popular payment enabler Stripe announced plans to end support for bitcoin last month, but crypto exchange Coinbase is stepping into the gap after it released a new option for online merchants.

Coinbase — which is best known for its service that converts fiat into bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin or Bitcoin Cash — is valued at $1.6 billion after raising $100 million last year. The company reportedly booked $1 billion in revenue last year, according to Recode, and it claims to have served over 10 million users. Now, it is looking to give retailers a more flexible option for collecting payment in crypto.

Coinbase Commerce — its new service launched this week — lets merchants add crypto payment options direct to their existing payment flow or added as a separate option. Unlike past retailer solutions from Coinbase, it is hosted independently of the exchange’s services so a merchant can receive crypto to its own wallet. It is also supported worldwide, so not just in the U.S..

The company has its first integration with Shopify, the e-commerce hosting site that claims over 500,000 merchants worldwide.

Offering a solution is one thing, but some merchants have been burned. Steam, for example, stopped support on account of the rising cost of transactions. While there are new solutions coming to the fore to reduce those fees and quicken transactions — Coinbase itself is among the trialists — and the cost has dropped noticeably of late, merchants may still be reluctant on account of price volatility.

Then there’s the question of whether crypto holders will spend their digital currency rather than keep hold of it in the hope that it’ll be worth more.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and others went on a tear last year, with huge valuation gains, but a bloody dip over the past month has seen those prices drop — with the value of bitcoin falling from an all-time high of nearly $20,000 to around $9,000 right now.

Nonetheless, Coinbase has a solution that will allow those who want in, the chance to buy and sell using crypto.

This new text bomb crashes most Mac and iOS apps with a single Unicode symbol

2018-02-16T05:44:00.000-08:00

During their development work on an international news feed, software engineers at Aloha Browser discovered two Unicode symbols in a non-English language that can crash any Apple device that uses Apple’s default San Francisco font. The bug instigates crashes on iPhones, iPads, Macs and even Watch OS devices that display text containing the symbol on their screens.

When one of the two symbols is displayed in an app, the software crashes immediately. In many cases, the app cannot be reopened and must be reinstalled.

The bug crashes apps including Mail, Twitter, Messages, Slack, Instagram and Facebook. From our testing, it also crashed Jumpcut, a copy and paste plugin for Mac. While it initially appeared that the Chrome browser for Mac was unaffected and could safely display the symbol, it later crashed Chrome and the software would not reopen without crashing until uninstalled and reinstalled.

According to the team at Aloha Browser, Apple is aware of the bug and it may have been reported by another development team, as well. [Update: Apple has confirmed that there’s a fix coming soon. Apparently this only affects current versions of the software, and this is already fixed in the betas of iOS, tvOS, macOS and watchOS.]

his is Apple’s second text bomb headache of the year. In January, software researcher Abraham Masri discovered an iOS glitch that allowed a specific URL to crash any iPhone it was texted to, sometimes resulting in a kernel panic. In 2016, another bug could crash any iPhone or the Safari browser if a user clicked the URL for CrashSafari.com. In 2015, a so-called “Unicode of Death” could overload an iPhone’s memory using some Arabic characters. Now we’re looking at Unicode of Death 2.0.

Because so many apps are affected, the new text bomb could be used to create mass chaos if spammed across an open social platform or used to target individuals via email or messaging. The new bug affects a broad swath of Apple devices and crashes nearly any major app they run, making it particularly destructive if not resolved quickly.

Pokemon Go Gen 3 countdown: Rayquaza, Salamence, Altaria release date, time, Raids

2018-02-09T05:57:00.001-08:00

Pokemon Go developer Niantic is getting ready to release the final wave of Gen 3 Pokemon.

The Pokemon Go Gen 3 update has a February 9 release date, but no specific start time. Big Pokemon Go releases typically go live at 9pm, so stay tuned for more information.

The update will introduce Legendary Pokemon Rayquaza, which will be available to battle until March 16. Other new Gen 3 Pokemon from the Hoenn region include Salamence, Altaria, Metagross and lots more.

And in an unusual move, players will only encounter Gen 3 Pokemon until February 13.

"Alongside several Flying and Dragon-type Pokemon appearing in Pokemon Go for the first time, the Legendary Pokemon Rayquaza will descend from the ozone layer and become available in Raid Battles for a limited time," reads a Niantic post.

"In celebration, Pokemon originally discovered in the Hoenn region will take over wild encounters until February 13.

"Don’t miss this unique opportunity to catch powerful Pokemon such as Salamence, Altaria, Metagross, and more!"

And that's not all Niantic has in store for Pokemon Go.

Fans can also expect new Raid battles and different Pokemon to hatch from eggs. That's on top of new in-store boxes, and a special Lure module bonus.

"With all of these Pokemon to catch and power up, it’s important to stock up on supplies," Niantic continues. "Starting February 9, new special boxes–which include Raid Passes, Incubators, and Star Pieces–will be available in the in-game store until February 23.

"In addition, Lure Modules will remain activated for six hours until February 23! These items will be perfect aids in your Pokemon Go adventure."

With the new Gen 3 event ending on February 13, there's still time for a Valentine's Day event to launch.

Last year, fans were able to double the amount of Candy they earned every time they caught, hatched, or transferred a Pokemon.

Perhaps the event will launch alongside rumoured new story quests, which were discovered in the game files.

Reports suggest it will contain a multi-quest system, complete with a greater emphasis on supporting characters and story.

Instagram's latest update to allow public accounts to let others reshare their posts

2018-02-07T06:30:00.000-08:00

Instagram seems to be on a feature-rollout spree. It hasn't been many days since the new Type feature was released, where users could change fonts of the written text. Before that, it introduced GIF support.

Now, Instagram has introduced a new feature which lets you reshare to Stories. Now in order to reshare the user must have a public account as it will not work with private accounts.

According to Instagram "other people can add your posts to their stories. Your username will always appear with your post."

This is similar to Regram, a third party app, which would help the user repost pictures or videos on the photo-sharing platform.

Lenovo recalls ThinkPad Laptops due to fire hazard

2018-02-07T06:12:00.002-08:00

Lenovo is recalling ThinkPad Laptops due to a fire hazard. According to the consumer product safety commission, Lenovo is recalling more than 78,000 laptops.

The recall involves 14-inch Thinkpad X1 Carbon 5th Generation Laptops sold from December 2016 through October 2017.

The issue stems from an unfastened screw that can damage the battery, causing it to overheat and potentially catch fire.

If you suspect you have one of the recalled laptops, you should stop using it immediately.

You can find the manufacturing date codes on the bottom of the laptop and visit the Lenovo recall website to learn more.

So far, there have been no reports of incidents in the United States.

Ten lessons from Deloitte for successfully embracing artificial intelligence

2018-02-06T06:06:00.001-08:00

Despite its early forms proving increasingly popular among businesses looking to digitise their operations and cut costs, Artificial Intelligence is still in its infancy, and while the majority of organisations are exploring the benefits of the technology, those that are actually implementing it commonly struggle with its successful execution. Building on the firm’s front running position in the global AI market, Deloitte’s Artificial Intelligence Center of Expertise (AICE) has crafted the top ten lessons for successfully embracing AI within a company.

1. Ensure the support of the leadership and that AI is embedded in the strategy

The establishment of an AI organisation can be seen as an organisational change, and as with more or less all changes, it is important that the change is supported by the leadership and that a clear vision is formulated. The leadership of an organisation must back the establishment of an AI organisation and be prepared to fund it and give it sufficient time. For instance, to manage the AI community and to experiment with this new technology, it is important that the leadership understands the usefulness and necessity of this investment. Leaders should always be aware of what business needs AI can fulfil, and how the technology will influence the organisation as a whole.

Speaking at a recent round-table discussion on how AI might change the partnership model, Deloitte UK’s Director of AI & Cognitive Computing, Matthew Howard, argued consultants are essential for keeping AI implementation grounded in such a way. Howard said, “Consultants have a key role to play in fulfilling the demands of the market as part of the AI ecosystem – marrying business needs with technology,” before suggesting that consultants could soon have such an important role to play in assisting business leaders in imbedding AI in their organisations, that, “perhaps we will see the first data scientist partnerships soon.”

2. Create general awareness of AI among the employees

Even for technology-driven organisational changes, it is just as important to focus on the engagement of human labour. Getting employees to accept and participate in AI implementation is key for successful adoption, and to do this, it is important that executives are aware of AI and also understand how it will affect their organisation. With AI, this is difficult, because, as its potential is still to be realised, it is intangible.

One way around this, as seen within Deloitte, is for leaders to develop an awareness campaign to help employees become aware of AI. Deloitte did this through the firm’s AI ‘AIME’ co-worker. The self-learning machine known as AIME gently introduced the firm’s employees to the idea of AI by interacting with them in the workplace. This aroused their curiosity, and encouraged staff to voluntarily sign up for ‘AI for dummies sessions’ to learn more about the subject.

AI commitment curve

3. Get AI experts on board, starting with people with a technical background

Before AICE, numerous people within Deloitte were already working with AI across many different parts of the organisation. One problem the company did encounter as a result of this was that the people in one business unit were sometimes unaware of the activities that were taking place in another business unit. Therefore, the first step was to identify what AI developments had already taken place in the organisation and to bring together all of the people who had a technical AI focus.

Starting this by involving people with a technical background has various advantages. They are often ‘early adopters’ and therefore know more about the subject, and so they already know what is (and importantly what is not) possible and they are often more driven by content and less by commerce. This means that they can quickly find common ground with respect to content, meaning that departmental boundaries vanish. This is important when building an organisation-wide community.

Deloitte therefore appointed a technical AI leader within every business unit. When selecting the correct people, intrinsic motivation is more important than job level. However, we asked people in the more senior positions to think about who would be the right person in their unit. It is important, in addition to intrinsic motivation, for the chosen people to have an understanding of AI, and that, for instance, they have included it in their annual plan so that they want to and are able to devote time to the subject.

4. Make choices and set clear objectives

Together with the chosen AI Tech leaders, in a number of sessions, Deloitte then drew up a joint annual plan. This is something which is important to bring all of the different ambitions into line and to make choices. When making choices it is good to take (technical) feasibility into account.

When drawing up the annual plan, it is wise to include the ‘Low-hanging fruit’ at the start of the process to deliver easy wins and help build momentum. For instance, by communicating what is already happening in the area of AI or by achieving quick successes, confidence in such a programme can be increased, in the team and among the organisation’s leadership.

Optimum customer solution

5. Build the AI community but be selective

Soon after gaining a picture of the technical community, Deloitte received requests from people with more of a ‘business focus’ to become part of the AI community. In every business unit, the firm appointed an AI business leader, and the organisation found that involving people with a business focus, in addition to – and after appointing – the technical people, also has various advantages.

Technical employees may often focus on their technical solution, but there is a possibility that if it goes too far there is a risk that something is developed that is not based on an actual business problem (‘develop for the sake of developing’). Staff with a business focus are in close contact with the customer and therefore they can identify the problems actually faced by the organisations. By involving both groups, organisations can create a situation that allows the optimum solution to be offered to the customer – although it is important to involve both groups differently in the AI organisation. What interests the Tech community is often uninteresting for the business community and vice versa. Deloitte therefore made the conscious decision to cooperate on some activities (for instance some community events) and to keep other activities separate (for instance training sessions).

Notably, Deloitte deployed this balancing act via the development of a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) based method, which can produce strategic market analysis and benchmark reports in the blink of an eye. DeloitteSmartReports.com can browse hundreds of thousands of datasets rapidly, to tailor-make quality reports at a fraction of the cost of a human consultant.

According to Ewout Bolhuis, a Director at Deloitte in the Netherlands, the development of this service was based around customer need, avoiding development for development’s sake, while understanding the limitations of AI. “We have automated the entire process. The customer can order, pay and receive the report without the need for a human being,” he explained, adding, “These reports are the perfect addition to our current range, because they allow companies to see in which areas their rivals are innovating in.”

In order to achieve this balanced workforce, for people with a Business focus, Deloitte made it a condition that they should focus on AI in their daily work, while Deloitte did not make people who only had an interest in the theme members of the community. Instead, this group of employees were encouraged to attend the ‘AI for dummies sessions’ that would give them a basic knowledge of AI. Deloitte also included their IT Department and Risk & Reputation Office in the organisation, allowing them to optimally facilitate the community (for instance when buying software) and also identify and rapidly address data and privacy issues.

This method of classification resulted in the following groups:

Employees with AI tech knowledge

Employees with AI business knowledge

Other employees

The establishment of an AI organisation is an organisational change, more than just a technological change

6. Outline clear expectations in the organisation and be realistic

AI is not a panacea. In particular in the first stage of any AI program, it is crucially important to manage the expectations concerning AI. In general, within organisations there are two misconceptions about AI:

1. that AI is the solution to all problems

2. that the organisation is already able to do everything with AI

It is important that both the leadership and the sales people understand the current possibilities of AI. This prevents awkward situations arising, for instance that things are promised that cannot yet be realised. To be able to finally succeed as an organisation, in this initial phase the emphasis must be on building a community, gaining experience and experimenting. Therefore, it is possible that in this first phase sales are limited or absent, that less is possible than envisaged and that mistakes will be made when experimenting. The organisation’s leadership must have the courage to invest, in spite of possible setbacks, and to maintain a long-term vision.

7. Ensure technological support and appoint a programme manager from a ‘neutral’ department

It is important that the time and money that is invested in the programme is also used to facilitate the community in the area of ICT. Organisations should for instance consider establishing a data platform, a code repository (GIT) for sharing code or configuring collaboration tools, as well as appointing a programme manager.

As indicated previously, Deloitte is made up of various business units. In spite of the fact that all of the units belong to the same organisation, business units can have conscious and unconscious preferences that hamper knowledge sharing. Because the Innovation department serves a general, company-wide interest, it is easier for that arm to take on a connecting role in the process.

8. List the AI competencies

When leaders have identified the community, it is important to investigate which competencies organisations have available and at which level. This can give a clear picture of which business units are progressing well or lagging behind, which AI skills are missing and where the experts can be found.

The result of this analysis forms the basis for, among other things, the AI training plan (what training, to whom, when), and the classification of community members in workflows (business, technology) and level (potentials, experts).

AI programme fundamentals

9. Offer a safe learning environment

Many people are unfamiliar with AI. It is also a very wide domain. It is very possible that people have, for instance, experience with classification problems, but have never done anything with Natural Language Processing. As a result, there is a high chance that community members do not yet know or understand some aspects. It is essential to ask questions, and companies should record what has been learned and share it, so that others do not make the same mistakes.

It is realistic to assume that mistakes will be made in the initial phase, as staff will still be growing familiar with many concepts they are expected to engage with. This makes it important to think about risk avoidance, but it is also important to think about how an organisation might identify any compliance or security breaches as fast and effectively as possible and correct them. Involving the Risk & Reputation office (as illustrated by 5.) can help here.

10. Communication

Deloitte’s final point is for organisations to communicate a lot and frequently. Groups should make clear to the organisation what has been done in the area of AI, within the programme, and repeat the message. They should not assume that the knowledge will be known immediately, and should always work to specify short-term successes and long-term progress.

According to Marjolein Vlaming, Program Manager of Deloitte’s Artificial Intelligence Center of Expertise, “Communication at both the organisational and personal level. Enter into a dialogue with colleagues. It concerns a complex subject. Time must be allocated for explanations and, where required, clarification. Discuss things not only with the ‘AI enthusiasts’ but also with the sceptics. This will help organisaions to learn about and respond to what is going on.”

Encouraging organisations to begin work as soon as possible, she concluded, “AI is currently a hot theme in many organisations, in both the board room and among the employees. This is the moment to start to introduce AI into an organisation!”

Deloitte’s Artificial Intelligence Center of Expertise from which the lessons have been sourced is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

New SpaceX Jumbo Rocket Set for Debut Test Launch in Company Milestone

2018-02-06T06:01:00.000-08:00

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - A new SpaceX jumbo rocket in line to become the world's most powerful launch vehicle in operation was set for its highly anticipated debut test flight on Tuesday from Florida, carrying a Tesla Roadster as a mock payload.

Liftoff of the 23-story-tall Falcon Heavy was slated for as early as 1:30 p.m. EST (1830 GMT) at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral in what would be a key turning point for Silicon Valley billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's privately owned Space Exploration Technologies.

Getting the rocket off the ground would likely give California-based SpaceX a new edge on the handful of commercial rocket companies vying for lucrative contracts with NASA, satellite companies and the U.S. military.

Propelled by 27 rocket engines, the Falcon Heavy packs more than 5 million pounds of thrust at launch, roughly three times the force of the Falcon 9 booster that until now has been the workhorse of the SpaceX fleet.

The new heavy-lift rocket is essentially constructed from three Falcon 9s harnessed together side-by-side, and Musk has said that one of the most critical points of the flight will come as the two side boosters separate from the central rocket in the first few minutes after blastoff.

"It's going to be an exciting success or an exciting failure," Musk said on a conference call on Monday.

Going along for the ride in a bit of playful cross-promotional space theater will be a cherry red, electric-powered sports car from the assembly line of Musk's other transportation enterprise, Tesla Inc .

The sleek Tesla Roadster is supposed to be sent into a virtually indefinite solar orbit, on a path taking it as far from Earth as Mars. Adding to the whimsy, SpaceX has planted a space-suited mannequin in the driver's seat of the convertible.

If the demonstration flight succeeds, Falcon Heavy will rank as the world's most powerful existing rocket, with more lift capacity than any U.S. space vehicle since the era of NASA's Saturn 5 rockets that took astronauts to the moon some 45 years ago.

Fittingly perhaps, the SpaceX rocket will depart from the same launch pad used for the Saturn 5 until its final mission in 1973.

Falcon Heavy is designed to place up to 70 tons into standard low-Earth orbit at a cost of $90 million per launch. That is twice the lift capacity of the biggest existing rocket in America's space fleet - the Delta 4 Heavy of rival United Launch Alliance (ULA), a partnership of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co - for about a fourth the cost.

Like the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy is built to capitalize on cost-cutting reusable rocket technology, with each of the three main-stage boosters designed to fly back to Earth after launch.

The two side-boosters are supposed to touch down on landing pads at Cape Canaveral, while the central booster should land on a drone ship at sea.

WhatsApp Business App for SMEs Is Now Available to Download in India

2018-01-24T04:12:00.001-08:00

Just days after its initial rollout, the WhatsApp Business app has now debuted in India. The standalone app offers a simple tool for small businesses to let them communicate with their clients and customers in an easy way. Facebook-owned WhatsApp announced the plans to kick off its WhatsApp for Business initiative back in September last year and launched a pilot by partnering with companies such as BookMyShow, Netflix, and MakeMyTrip. The new app, for small businesses, arrived first in a handful of markets, including Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, the UK, and the US, on Friday. Interestingly, the app was initially tested in India and Brazil ahead of its public release.

The WhatsApp Business app is now available for free download via Google Play in India. It is compatible with devices running Android 4.0.3 and above. A version with similar features is also expected to be available for iOS devices in the coming future.

Targeted at small businesses, the WhatsApp Business app allows companies to connect with their customers and be a part of the messaging platform that has over 1.3 billion users worldwide. Unlike the original WhatsApp app, the business-centric offering allows businesses to create their own profiles with information such as business description, email, or store addresses, and website. It also provides smart messaging tools to let businesses use quick replies and give fast answers to frequently asked questions. The app also has options to send greetings messages to new customers and set away messages when the companies are busy. Further, there are metrics such as the number of messages read and WhatsApp Web support to let companies send and receive messages directly through a desktop.

Alongside delivering the features to enable corporate communication for small businesses, WhatsApp is in plans to mark some businesses as Confirmed Accounts over time. Citing a study conducted by Morning Consult, more than 80 percent of small businesses in India and Brazil consider WhatsApp helps them communicate with customers and grow their business. As many as 84 percent of SMBs (Small and Medium Businesses), particularly from India, think that WhatsApp helps them communicate with customers, while 80 percent of Indian SMBs believe that WhatsApp helps them grow their business, as per the data provided by the company last week.

In terms of some major similarities with the original WhatsApp, the WhatsApp Business app allows businesses to set privacy for their profile photo, about information, and status as well as lets them block any of their contacts and enable read receipts. The app also has a live location feature that helps companies share their live location with their clients and customers. It additionally allows businesses to make voice and video calls. Notably, the app offers end-to-end encryption for all the messages and calls it circulates to restrict any third-party access.

We've reached out WhatsApp for more clarity regarding the rollout and will update this space accordingly.

As per the official data provided in February last year, WhatsApp has over 200 million monthly active users in India. The instant messaging platform is making things difficult for its rival by introducing compelling features such as Delete for Everyone, YouTube integration, and Notification Channel support for Android Oreo devices. Moreover, it is exploring new avenues and is apparently even set to integrate a UPI payments feature in the near future.

2018’s first full moon will be a supermoon

2018-01-01T04:04:00.003-08:00

The first full moon of 2018 will be a supermoon and will occur on Tuesday. In the wee hours of that day, the moon will appear 14 percent larger and nearly 30 percent brighter than a normal full moon.

A supermoon is a full moon which occurs when the Moon is closest to the Earth, making it appear bigger

and brighter.

The moon goes around the earth in an elliptical orbit. The point at which the moon is closest to the earth is called perigee, and the farthest point in the orbit is called apogee.

In about one hour, the distance between the earth and the moon changes by nearly 667 km.

The moon is set to reach its perigee, at a distance of 356,565 km from the earth, at 3.34 am and will set around 7.54 am.

“The best time to watch this supermoon would be when it is setting over the western horizon in the early morning. People can witness it from any place where the western horizon is clear,” said Arvind Paranjpye, director of the Nehru Planetarium.

The last supermoon had occurred on December 3, 2017. “However, Mumbai could not see it as the sky was quite overcast that day,” Paranjpye said.

People in Mumbai will also get to experience the phenomenon of supermoon zero shadow. On Monday night, as the supermoon passes directly overhead at 20 degrees latitude, the shadows of vertical objects will disappear for a while.

Some of the places close to 20 degrees latitude, starting from the east, are Puri, Bhubaneshwar, Cuttack, Bhawanipatana, Bhadravati, Chandrapur, Pusad, Jalna, Aurangabad and Nashik. Some places north and south of this line where one can feel the moon overhead are Raipur, Durg, Nagpur, Yavatmal, Amravati, Bhusawal, Bid, Ahmednagar, Pune, Mumbai and Surat.

At midnight, Indians crashed WhatsApp for 1 hour with Happy New Year messages

2018-01-01T03:48:00.000-08:00

While you were busy making new year resolutions and celebrating the end of another year, WhatsApp suffered a massive global outage. At the stroke of midnight, the popular messaging application stopped working for a lot of people around the world. A lot of people, including folks here in India found themselves unable to send new year wishes to their friends and family creating a lot of confusion and chaos. The app stopped working for around 1 hour -- approx from 12AM to 1AM (India time), however services have now been restored and WhatsApp is working fine.

India is one of the key markets for Facebook owned WhatsApp, as the application is used by millions, and the number is only on the rise. The reason behind the outage was possibly because of heavy usage of the app to send in New Year greetings to family and friends. Users were able to send messages, but they were not getting delivered to the recipient, as it showed only one single grey tick and no blue tick even though the internet connection of both the sender and the receiver was working perfectly fine.

Soon after, users, obviously angry because they were unable to send New Year greetings to their friends took to Twitter to talk about WhatsApp's server down. Some users also received notifications like -- "Our service is experiencing a problem right now. We are working on it and hope to restore functionality shortly. Sorry for the inconvenience." Soon, hastags like -- #WhatsAppisdown, #WhatsAppstoppedworking started trending on Twitter and users started posting angry statuses and funny memes.

WhatsApp did restore its services sometime around 12:40AM (India time), but it reportedly stopped working again. According to reports, this happened due to some server issue that the app suffered worldwide. It was posted 1AM (India time) that the services were completely restored, and WhatsApp is working perfectly fine now.

A WhatsApp spokesperson told Digital Trends, "WhatsApp users around the world experienced a brief outage today that has now been resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience."

Meanwhile, WABetaInfo -- a Twitter handle that is quite accurate with information regarding WhatsApp had this say -- "WhatsApp is currently working now, and the team confirmed the server issue has been fixed. Note that it is possible that some outages may happen again in the next few hours, also if the worst is over." Although, there's no official statement if WhatsApp may experience service outage again or not.

The scenario has become very common these days. This is not the first time that we have heard about WhatsApp server issues. In the last 5 months, reports of WhatsApp crashing have come up quite often, around 3 to 4 times to be specific. A reason behind the outage could be the death of SMS. Earlier, SMS shared the load of new year greetings with messaging services like WhatsApp.

Volkswagen T-Roc review

2017-12-23T05:17:00.000-08:00

Does the most style-pitched SUV yet from Volkswagen offer enough to stand out in an overcrowded market?

Fans of SUVs, who we are led to believe are increasingly becoming the majority of today’s car buyers, have never had it so good. The choice is bewildering, and being added to virtually every month.

Clearly indicative of this is the launch by Volkswagen of a new compact SUV, despite the fact it already has a model competing in the same market. However the Volkswagen T-Roc, arriving on UK roads early in 2018, is pitched as a very different car to its established sibling the Tiguan.

At 4.2m long, the T-Roc is some 25cm shorter than the Tiguan, but the differences run far deeper than that. This is the most style-focused SUV Volkswagen has yet made – it’s a proper example of the new breed of crossovers, expected to appeal to three times more private buyers than fleet ones. They will be drawn in by sharp styling and personalisation options such as two-tone exterior finishes with contrasting roofs.

Certainly viewed from the outside the T-Roc is one of the more attractive compact SUVs on the market, looking lower and more purposeful than many of its rivals, with a hint of coupé about it. In fact, in both size and style the car is much closer to the Volkswagen Golf hatch chassis it shares, and it is also effectively a VW version of the Audi Q2.

As such this new model effectively bridges the gap between traditional compact SUVs such as the Tiguan and the new breed of supermini crossovers such as the Kia Stonic, the Hyundai Kona and such like. But just to further muddy the waters, Volkswagen will in 2018 launch a smaller sister to the T-Roc and a proper supermini SUV, in the T-Cross – confused yet?

Buying and owning the Volkswagen T-Roc

Volkswagen is phasing in the T-Roc, with initially only petrol versions available. There are three such engines on offer, a 1.0-litre with 115hp, a 1.5-litre 150hp and the range-topping 2.0-litre with 190hp.

The 1.0-litre comes with a six-speed manual gearbox, the 150 with either the manual or a seven-speed dual-clutch auto, and the 190 only with the auto. And one major plus that the T-Roc offers compared to many rivals is the feature one used to specifically buy SUVs to take advantage of – four-wheel-drive. It’s an option on 150 models, standard on the 190.

In the Spring of 2018, the diesels will join the range. There are two, a 1.6-litre with 115hp and the manual gearbox, and a 2.0-litre putting out 150hp. It can be specified in manual or auto form, and if desired with the 4WD on the manual variant.

While many don’t realise that 4WD is a safety feature, only around 10% of T-Roc buyers are expected to choose their car with it – this compares to a 50/50 split on the Tiguan and reflects the fact that as many as three quarters of T-Roc buyers will likely be private motorists buying the car firstly for its visual appearance.

Equally eight out of 10 sales are expected to be of petrol-powered cars, and the most popular trim level predicted to be SE, the second of currently four options (a fifth is due in 2018). However the specification of even entry-level S models is impressive, including electronic climate control; an infotainment system controlled by an eight-inch colour touch-screen, Bluetooth telephone and audio connection, DAB radio and 16-inch alloy wheels.

The T-Roc also scores well on safety. Euro NCAP has given it a top five-star rating, courtesy of such standard-fit features as autonomous emergency braking, lane-keeping systems and pedestrian alerts.

Inside the Volkswagen T-Roc

Volkswagen T-Roc dashboard

Dashboard layout is standard Volkswagen fare but quality of plastics is poor

Volkswagen claims that the T-Roc is compact on the outside and spacious on the inside, with the best bootspace than all its direct rivals – 445 litres extending to 1290 with the rear seats dropped. It’s a nice flat boot too, partly due to the fact that T-Rocs come with a choice of a space-saver or a proper spare wheel.

Certainly when one settles inside it feels comfortable, with adequate room up front, though those attempting to carry three adults in the rear will likely find their passengers feeling rather more cosy – especially in the middle seat. Except above their head, where space should be adequate for all but the tallest occupants, despite the high seating positions which give an elevated view outside and provide one of the major advantages the T-Roc offers over the Golf.

The dash layout is generally standard Volkswagen fare, but it is well laid out with the instrument display and the centre console touchscreen on the same axis. Depending on model choices on the options list can extend up to the digital Active Info Display version of the instrument panel, which for example includes the option to flick a button and have a navigation map stretching right across the panel instead of the speed and rev dials.

Personalisation options include four different finishes on the interior panels – the plastic on the door cards, dash panel and the edges of the gear console can be supplied trimmed in yellow, brown, orange or blue.

However the general quality of the interior plastics on the T-Roc is slightly disappointing, hard, scratchy and a bit low rent compared to what we are used to from VW.

Driving the Volkswagen T-Roc

Volkswagen T-Roc on the road from the rear

Driving the T-Roc is a far more enjoyable experience than for many of its rivals

At the UK launch event, The Car Expert was able to try both the expected best-selling 1.0 petrol unit and its larger 1.5 stablemate. Of course these are both proven units, though the 1.5 is also the most recently developed engine in the range. This is both plentiful with its performance and boasts the ability to shut down two of its four cylinders when not under load to improve efficiency.

However on the evidence of our test it’s only worth going for the more powerful option if you really feel you need the pace. The three-cylinder turbocharged 1.0 is a very efficient little unit, no less refined than its bigger sibling. And while 10.1 seconds to 62mph is not exactly rapid, it is not that slow either, and in the T-Roc feels swifter than a stopwatch might suggest.

The real revelation of the T-Roc, however, is in its chassis. We’ve tested a whole host of new SUVs over the past year as the market has exploded, and we have got used to describing dull, lifeless handling and indifferent ride quality – “no worse than rivals in the market” has almost become a catchphrase.

Not so the T-Roc – the driver enjoys a good view all round, with no significant blind spots, and their passengers a comfortable ride as the car smothers the bumps and potholes of a typical UK road surface. Note however, that the 17-inch wheels on our 1.0-litre test car were more efficient in this respect than the 18-inch equivalents with their lower-profile tyres on the 1.5 version.

Ride comfort does not come at the expense of handling prowess, and it is here where the T-Roc excels. It turns in precisely, stays upright under cornering load, and displays impressive levels of grip. This is the best-handling SUV in its market, a much more enjoyable driving proposition than all its rivals.

Summary

The Volkswagen T-Roc is not the cheapest compact SUV for its overall size and specification, though it compares well with some of its rivals and it comes with some not VW-like elements such as the dodgy interior plastics.

However the car also offers another not very VW-like trait in that style and on-the-road dynamics are given as much importance as practicality. The car looks good without sacrificing interior space, and on the road it proves a revelation – the powertrains are enthusiastic yet refined, the handling to a standard way above the norm in this market.

On that basis, it’s easy to agree with Volkswagen’s prediction that the T-Roc will become one of the brand’s best-selling models. Overall, it’s an impressive package.

Google Play offers heavy discounts ahead of Christmas

2017-12-23T05:04:00.000-08:00

Technology giant Google is offering Android users 12 days of Play Store deals, called 12 Days of Play, for the holidays. The sale offers discounts on apps, books, games, and movies and until January 2.

According to The Verge, deals such as renting movies from USD 0.99, four months of free Google Play Music, and 50% off the first three months for new subscriptions to DisneyLife and HBO Now, are being offered by Google.

Moreover, some premium games such as Minecraft: Story Mode Season Two, Need For Speed Most Wanted, and Final Fantasy Tactics have been slashed by upto 80%.

Popular TV shows including Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, and The Walking Dead are also discounted.

Google is also offering upto 75% off on books.

Edward Snowden releases Haven app that aims to turn your Android phone into an anti-spy device

2017-12-23T04:54:00.001-08:00

Former CIA employee Edward Snowden, popularly known for revealing spy programs of America's National Security Agency, has released an Android app called Haven: Keep Watch. The app description says it is meant to keep your Android phone secure, having tools that make it a high security communication and anti-spy device that can also detect intrusions.

The app, designed with The Guardian Project and the Freedom of the Press Foundation, is "for people who need a way to protect their personal spaces and possessions without compromising their own privacy"

Haven is available on Android Play Store and has already been downloaded by 10 thousand people in less than a day since it went live. The free app is in Beta right now and is looking for contributors.

The app basically uses on-device sensors like the microphone, camera and accelerometer to monitor the space around you for " unexpected guests and unwanted intruders".

You can use any old Android phone, setup the app on it and place it in the surroundings you want to monitor. The app wakes up by motion or sound and starts recording audio and camera streams. The data, the descriptions says, is saved locally or is sent via the Internet to a master device through encrypted channels like Signal and Tor.

The app has been developed using parts of code from various open source and community projects hosted on Github and the links to source code provided in the description, for preview and improvement of the app and probably to show that the app itself doesn't intend to hoard user data.

"We are announcing Haven today, as an open-source project, along a public beta release of the app. We are looking for contributors who understand that physical security is as important as digital, and who have an understanding and compassion for the kind of threats faced by the users and communities we want to support." says the app description.

Snowden published a video on YouTube introducing the app in which he says "Haven makes it harder to silence citizens, raids, searches, arrests without getting caught in the act themselves. This creates a kind of herd immunity where before people launch a crackdown they have to think will I be witnessed in a way that I can't stop."

Rocket lights sky as it carries satellites from California

2017-12-23T04:50:00.001-08:00

A reused SpaceX rocket carried 10 satellites into orbit from California on Friday, leaving behind a trail of mystery and wonder as it soared into space.

The Falcon 9 booster lifted off from coastal Vandenberg Air Force Base, carrying the latest batch of satellites for Iridium Communications.

The launch in the setting sun created a shining, billowing streak that was widely seen throughout Southern California and as far away as Phoenix.

Calls came in to TV stations as far afield as San Diego, more than 200 miles south of the launch site.

Cars stopped on freeways in Los Angeles so drivers and passengers could take pictures and video.

The Los Angeles Fire Department issued an advisory that the "mysterious light in the sky" was from the rocket launch.

Jimmy Golen, a sports writer for The Associated Press in Boston who was in Southern California for the holidays, said he and other tourists saw the long, glowing contrail while touring Warner Bros. studio in the Los Angeles suburb of Burbank.

"People were wondering if it had something to do with movies, or TV or a UFO," he said. "It was very cool."

The same rocket carried Iridium satellites into orbit in June. That time, the first stage landed on a floating platform in the Pacific Ocean. This time, the rocket was allowed to plunge into the water.

It was the 18th and final launch of 2017 for SpaceX, which has contracted to replace Iridium's system with 75 updated satellites. SpaceX has made four launches and expects to make several more to complete the job by mid-2018.

The satellites also carry payloads for global aircraft tracking and a ship-tracking service.