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Annasha

Annasha Dey is an NIT student, who apart from studying engineering is also a content writer. She has a great interest in photography, writing, reading novels, and travelling as well. She is a foodie who loves socializing and hanging out with her friends. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and a big fashion enthusiast. Dey also loves watching TV series, which includes F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Big Bang Theory. To be a better writer she prefers to read more

Samsung Neo

Samsung brings the new 2021 Neo QLED TV with Quantum Matrix Technology.

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On 14th April 2021, Samsung launched the new ultra-premium Neo QLED television range in India. Samsung has always been the leading company in India when it comes to the television sector and this new series of flat-screen will become a magnificent piece in your drawing room. The new televisions are coming with bezel-less Infinity One Design with the best real-life picture quality to level up your cinematic experience. The customers buying a model from this new line-up will enjoy Samsung TV Plus Service without any subscription or additional charges.

Samsung Neo QLED TV
Image Source: news.samsung.com

Specifications of Neo QLED TVs

The QLED TVs will soon rule the market with its Quantum Mini LED which is controlled by Quantum Matrix Technology and Neo Quantum Processor. The processor used is specially optimized for Neo QLED TVs which uses up to 16 neural network models trained by AI and deep learning technology. Picture quality is much improved in this new range of televisions displaying fine light and contrast levels. This has been possible because the Mini LEDs incorporated in this television are 40 times smaller than the regular LEDs. To make the HDR experience more authentic the luminance scale has been increased.

The display technology of Neo QLED is not like something you have witnessed before. The televisions will be available in 8K and 4K models which are the flagship products. There will be five different sizes for each of these models which are 85-inch, 75-inch, 65-inch, 55-inch, and 50-inch. Consumers who will pre-book Neo QLED TV can avail offers such as Samsung Galaxy Tabs and cashback.

Gaming Experience in Neo QLED TVs

Samsung has designed this new product range considering the gamers thus making the gaming experience out of the world. The Neo QLED TVs have the Motion Xcelerator Turbo+ feature which provides an immersive ultra-wide gaming experience. This feature allows the gamers to play both PC and console games with a Super Ultra-Wide Game View and Game Bar. The TVs also have an auto low latency mode which prevents tearing and stuttering thus providing a reliable experience. The Game Bar saves much time as it provides the gamer with direct options to connect a wireless headset, change the aspect ratio, etc.

Samsung Neo QLED TV
Image Source: news.samsung.com

The features in the Samsung Neo Quantum processor 8K includes higher frame rate, VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), and eARC (enhanced Audio Return Channel). These are some of the best features along with the Motion Xcelerator Turbo+ that minimizes blur and enhances motion clarity. The aspect ratio options are 21:9 and the ultra-wide option of 32:9. Since the beginning of lockdown, the demand for game consoles, televisions, and other entertaining devices has increased unexpectedly. Samsung rolling out a TV that will give the best gaming experience on a flat screen is like a dream for gamers.

Technology used in Samsung Neo QLED TV

Apart from the exceptional picture clarity, Samsung NEO is providing, the audio system of the television is also very impressive. The 2021 Samsung Neo comes with an Object Tracking Sound Pro (OTS Pro) that produces the audio from the point of action. This means the action moves and the sound moves accordingly. The audio system of Samsung Neo QLED also comes together in harmony as Q-Symphony syncs them with your speaker or other audio devices to get a better audio experience. There is also another feature called SpaceFit sound tech which analyzes the room environment to auto-calibrate TV sound. For noise cancellation, the Active Voice Amplifier feature is available which helps in producing clear sound.

The Samsung Neo QLED 2021 also has Quantum Matrix Technology which reduces picture blooming to a massive amount using precise lighting. It also features nano-sized Quantum Dots that helps the viewer to witness 100% color volume every time. You have never experienced this amount of vibrancy before as you are going to experience with the new Samsung Neo QLED.  For this product range, Samsung is offering a 2-years warranty on all panels and a 10-years warranty for no screen burn-in on the 4K models. The starting price of the models is Rs 99,990 and it will be available in the Samsung retail stores. You can also buy it from leading electronic stores or the official website of Samsung. 

Surface Laptop 4

Surface Laptop 4 introduced by Microsoft with Intel and AMD options.

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It has been a decade the Surface laptops have successfully enhanced user experience by bridging the gap between people and technology in a frictionless manner. Surface laptops provide premium design, top-class performance, immersive touchscreen display technologies, and many more. The series of Surface laptops target broad customers from students to professionals meeting individual needs. Currently, Surface Laptop have the highest customer satisfaction rating in its class.

The requirements for every user are unique and till today Surface laptops have served them well. In the journey to provide a better experience to the people so that they can connect in a better way to the world and to their work through technology, Microsoft introduces Surface Laptop 4. The users are free to choose color, size, and price starting from $999.99 and can be currently ordered from the US, Japan, and Canada. In the US, whoever will order before 15th April will receive free Surface Earbuds as a gift.

Price of Surface Laptop 4

The price of 13.5″ laptops starts from $999 (Rs 75,196 approx) for the Ryzen 5 variants. The same size laptops for Core i5 variants are priced at $1299 (Rs 97,778 approx). The i7 variants will be available at a price of $1699 (Rs 1,27,887 approx). For the Intel processor, customers will have four color choices while in the case of AMD, the model will be only available in grey color. For the 15″ laptops, Intel processor Surface Laptop 4 is starting at $1699 (i7 variant) and Ryzen 7 models are starting from $1299.

Specifications of Surface Laptop 4

The new Surface Laptop 4 is optimized for Microsoft experiences. It will retain the same iconic design and the materials used in the previous versions of Surface laptops. The laptop will have a 3:2 PixelSense touchscreen which will come in 13.5″ and 15″ models. There will also be a number of choices for colors which includes a new option, Ice Blue finish. The built-in front-facing camera in the laptop is full HD that can work magnificently in low light.

Surface Laptop 4
Image Source: blogs.windows.com

Surface Laptop 4 has a studio microphone array that will ensure high-quality audio in meetings. It also has Dolby Atmos Omnisonic speakers to enhance your cinematic experience. One of the best features about this new laptop is it will provide you options between 11th Generation Intel Core and AMD Ryzen Mobile Processors with Radeon Graphics Microsoft Surface Edition (8 cores). For both the processors, you will experience a very highly efficient laptop pioneering your multitasking demand.

Comfortable Multitasking

Surface Laptop 4 will make you feel that the product is exclusively designed for you with its multitasking capabilities. From office workers to students, from gaming enthusiasts to content creators, you can do some serious multitasking on this laptop without the fear of compromised performance. Moreover, you can work with this laptop from anywhere and attend meetings as this product can perform well even in low light. So, no matter if you are spending a vacation inside a deep forest or camping up in the mountains, this laptop will always have your back. Surface Laptop 4 also provides brilliant typing comfort and large trackpads. This is very advantageous for content creators and bloggers.

Surface Laptop 4 has the advanced feature of face sign-in which saves your time and you can start working from right where you left. The laptop also has all-day battery life hence it will not interrupt your workflow. You can backup all your work-related files and other documents in the cloud with integrated OneDrive storage. Surface Laptop 4 also gives you a choice of memory capability of 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB LPDDR4x RAM. This option for RAM is especially helpful for developers who need extremely high capabilities. The 13.5″ laptops have comparatively more battery life in the case of both Intel and AMD Ryzen.

Surveys say that most of the employees even after the end of the pandemic prefer remote work culture. To make their working efficiency better, Microsoft is introducing Surface headphones which will provide a better experience when attending a meeting. Customers already love the technology, design, and performance of Surface laptops and Microsoft is striving to improve the existing system along with Windows.

Nuance

Microsoft makes $20 billion bets on Nuance a company pioneering speech AI

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On 12th April 2021, Microsoft and Nuance made the announcement of their joint venture as the former company is acquiring the AI firm for $56.00 per share. This implies that Microsoft paid $19.7 billion in an all-cash transaction which is inclusive of Nuance’s net debt. Nuance is a very trusted company when it comes to healthcare and enterprise AI. The current CEO of Nuance will retain his position and will be working under Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of Cloud & AI in Microsoft. Microsoft is aiming to close the deal this year.

What is Nuance?

Nuance is a famous company currently pioneering in conversational AI and cloud-based ambient clinical intelligence for healthcare providers. Healthcare is a very crucial and sensitive sector as it deals with the human body and mind and not just equipment. So, providing quality AI-based solutions to the healthcare sector is a difficult task that Nuance has been conquering. Some of the products of Nuance are Dragon Ambient eXperience, Dragon Medical One, and PowerScribe One. All these products are leading clinical speech recognition software that is built on Microsoft Azure. 

Nuance
Image Source: variety.com

Nuance builds its products to work with the core healthcare systems like long-standing relationships with Electronic Health Records (EHRs). This helps to reduce the burden of clinical documentation so that the healthcare workers provide better service to the patients. Nuance’s products are in high demand as it is used by 77 percent of the total hospitals in the US. Apart from the healthcare unit, Nuance also builds AI-based solutions for Interactive Voice Response (IVR), virtual assistant, biometric system, etc.

Why did Microsoft acquire Nuance?

Microsoft has been providing unique cloud offerings to a very diverse customer base. The company has significantly invested and partnered with companies that open new scopes for Microsoft in new areas. One of the new sectors Microsoft is offering is healthcare as the company introduced Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare last year. This new product by Microsoft addresses the needs of the healthcare industry as it is transforming very fast. The acquisition makes it clear that Microsoft is planning to offer better solutions in the healthcare industry with the help of AI.

The company announced a partnership with Nuance back in 2019 which turned out to be very successful. This time both the companies together are planning to augment Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare with Nuance’s solution. Also, Nuance’s expertise and relationship with EHR system providers will be advantageous for Microsoft as it will empower healthcare workers in an improved way. Microsoft is planning to do this by harnessing the power of ambient clinical intelligence and other cloud services of the company.

Moreover, the acquisition of Nuance will double the total addressable market of Microsoft in the healthcare space which in the figure is approximately $500 billion. Both the companies will also strongly commit to data privacy, security, and compliance. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft has said that Nuance provides the AI layer in the solutions it provides to the healthcare sector and it is significantly pioneering the real-world application of enterprise AI.

Harnessing the Power of AI

Currently, AI is the most important and widely used technology that is useful in any sector especially healthcare. Microsoft with Nuance is planning to provide advanced AI solutions to the healthcare sector and medical professionals so that they can make better decisions and more meaningful connections. Since Nuance also provides advanced AI-based solutions in other fields, in the future this will come together with Microsoft’s Cloud including Azure, Teams, and Dynamics 365. 

Over the past few years, demand for conversational AI solutions in the healthcare space has significantly increased and Nuance is responding to those needs effectively. But, the room for growth of Nuance is much broader and so is the demand for products it is making. With the help of Microsoft, Nuance can scale globally and try to offer more affordable solutions to people across the world. Microsoft is the right platform through which Nuance will be able to channel its expertise more effectively while Microsoft expands its market at the same time. The deal with Nuance is a very strategic decision that will make Microsoft a very eminent company providing healthcare solutions to the world. 

NortonLifeLock

NortonLifeLock – An American company well known for Cybersecurity Services.

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NortonLifeLock is a cybersecurity company that is empowering people by protecting their digital life. The company uses cutting-edge technology to build online security software to reduce the emerging rates of cyber threats. In 1982, Gary Hendrix founded the company which is now based in Arizona, US. NortonLifeLock is one of the Fortune 500 companies and in India, it has its presence in Pune, Chennai, and Bangalore. This year, NortonLifeLock made it into the Fast Company’s Annual List of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. Since the origin of the company started almost forty years from now, let’s have a look into it.

Establishing Symantec Corporation

When Gary Hendrix founded the company back in 1982 it was known as Symantec. He founded the company with help of a National Science Foundation grant and he hired several natural language processing researchers as a few of his first employees. Symantec started building projects related to artificial intelligence but a couple of years later they realized the database system they developed could not be ported from DEC minicomputers to the PC.

Since after two years of working Symantec was without any product, another software company called C&E software. After the acquisition, the merged companies decided to keep the brand name Symantec. A new product was developed combining the file management and word processing program of C&E along with an advanced natural language query system that was developed by Gary. The final product was named Q&A and it was rolled out in November 1985.

The sales of Q&A started very slowly but after a successful advertising campaign by the advertising agency Elliott/Dickens, the company started coming on the radar. Next, the company started cutting its expenses and focusing on revenue growth which enabled the company to break even. This was one of the breakthroughs of Symantec as the revenue started growing substantially after this event.

Growth of the Company

In 1985, a new division of Symantec was formed which was named Turner Hall Publishing. This division was established to publish third-party software and to diversify the revenue of Symantec. Soon the second product of the company was developed which was a 256k RAM initially released to increase the memory of Q&A. In 1987, the company completed its first merger by acquiring Breakthrough Software followed by acquiring Peter Norton Computing in 1990. Even today, the consumer antivirus and data management utilities of Symantec are still released under the name of Norton. During the time of the merger, Symantec has released Symantec Antivirus for Macintosh and Symantec Utilities for the Macintosh in the market.

NortonLifeLock
Image Source: channele2e.com

It was one year before acquiring Norton that the company started developing a DOS-based antivirus program because it thought the antivirus market was growing and a lot of new work was going on in this branch. The Norton antivirus was a big success as by the end of 1993 Norton product group revenues added up to 82% of total Symantec revenue. Though Symantec was also known for its development tools, the company exited that section of business due to strong new competitors gaining rapid market control.

Symantec in 21st Century

In the 21st century, Symantec’s share of the market increased dramatically as the company acquired Verisign’s Certificate Authority business. In 2013, Symantec went through a major corporate reorganization with the major goal of cost reduction and improving Symantec’s product line. In 2016, the company introduced a new product called the Symantec anomaly detection for automotive which was an ML-based software providing in-vehicle security analysis. The same year, the company intended to acquire LifeLock for $2.3 billion. A couple of years ago Broadcom announced that it would acquire Symantec for $10.7 billion. After the deal was closed the name of the company was changed to NortonLifeLock.

About the Founder

Gary Hendrix is a well-known American businessman who became largely famous after founding Symantec Corporation. Gary received his undergraduate education from the University of Texas and it was then he wrote several papers on robotics and planning. His quality work got him an opportunity to work at SRI international. After working at SRI for several years he left the company with a few of his colleagues to start a venture of their own. In the beginning, their first attempt was a total failure but eventually, Gary founded Symantec Corporation which is part of a bigger corporation today.

Alibaba

Alibaba says it does not expect any material impact from the $2.75 billion antitrust fine.

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China’s biggest business conglomerate, Alibaba Group is not expecting any material impact in business and from merchants, said Daniel Zhang, CEO of the company. Alibaba Group was charged a fine of $2.75 billion for its powerful market dominance in the nation. The company is going through a giant turmoil and disturbance with the Chinese government since last year.

In October 2020, Alibaba Group’s founder Jack Ma openly criticized the Chinese regulatory system. And since then Alibaba Group has been put under strict scrutiny and faced antitrust charges. Alibaba Group has significantly improved the economic system of China through its growing and flourishing business, but the open criticism against the Chinese government is coming with a heavy price.

New Initiatives by Alibaba

Since the company has gone through strict investigations since last year, the regulatory authority will have a strong vigilance. Apart from paying the $2.75 billion antitrust fine, the company is introducing new measures to lower the entry barriers and business costs that are constantly faced by any existing or new merchants on its platform. High cost for new business is an obstacle that needs to be softened to get them a better start and opportunity. Zhang revealed the measures to be taken to lower business costs for merchants in an online conference.

Alibaba
Image Source: techzine.eu

Alibaba’s executives have made a statement that though the company has paid a huge amount of new antitrust fine and that new regulatory measures are to be followed by the company, it believes that the company has overall support from the government (Reuters). Joe Tsai, executive vice-chairman of Alibaba Group said that the government is affirmative of the business model of Alibaba.

The company executives further said that they don’t have any fundamental flaw with their business model as a platform company. The new measures will hopefully bring the turbulence between Alibaba group and the Chinese government into balance. But, it is also a major concern if anyone else criticizes the Chinese regulatory system has to go through the same strict scrutiny.

Shares Bounce

Alibaba’s share has been going down and lagging behind the overall emerging economy for some time in the past. Everbright Sun Hung Kai analyst Kenny Ng has said that now that Alibaba group is paying the penalty fee the uncertainty faced by Alibaba Group in the market will reduce. The antitrust fine along with the regulatory measures that are imposed on the company is expected to bring back Alibaba’s stock price and it will once again regain control in the market.

The antitrust fine that has been enforced on Alibaba Group is one of the highest ever antitrust penalties not only in China but across the globe. Along with the $2.75 billion penalties, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has ordered the company to make thorough rectification in order to strengthen internal compliance and protect consumer rights (Reuters). Big conglomerates like Alibaba Group often face criticism both from the government and the public due to establishing a great amount of control in the market.

Another similar example is the Australian government enforcing a law that made Facebook and Google make paid deals with local media companies of Australia. On the bright side, the government is trying to support the local media companies and in the case of Alibaba, consumer rights and internal compliance.

The new measures will likely reduce the revenue growth of Alibaba as a further expansion in the market share will be restricted. Alibaba will also face reduced profit margins in order to upgrade products and services. The company has also constrained the merchants to sell through any other platforms since 2015. This violates China’s anti-monopoly law as the free circulation of goods is hindered.

Exclusivity Issues

Alibaba will be giving the penalty and along with that, it has accepted to ensure compliance and determination. Tsai has said that apart from reviewing the company’s mergers and acquisitions so far the company doesn’t expect any further investigation. He also mentioned that apart from that he doesn’t know of any other anti-monopoly related investigation.

Tokyo Electron

Tokyo Electron: A 57-years old Japanese Semiconductor Company leading in Asia.

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Tokyo Electron Limited, mostly known as TEL was founded in 1963. The company then was established as Tokyo Electron Laboratories. Present day TEL is based on Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan. The founder of the company is Tokuo Kubo. TEL currently serves Japan, China, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, North America, and Europe. Tokyo Electron Group has many subsidiaries which include TEL as well.

In the semiconductor industry, TEL is involved in producing Semiconductor Production Equipment (SPE) for thermal processing, photoresist development, wet surface preparation, material doping, wafer probing, etc. TEL invests a hefty amount in the research and development cell of the company. Some of the company’s leading technology and development centers are situated in Nirasaki, Sendai, Albany, etc. Let’s have a detailed look at the journey of TEL and milestones received in these 57 years.

The Early Age of Tokyo Electron

The company was founded in 1963 as Tokyo Electronic Laboratories with a capital amount of 5 million yen. It was established as an affiliate of the Tokyo Broadcasting System. At this time TEL dealt with the sales and delivery of diffusion furnaces, leak detectors, and IC production systems. After one year of its establishment, it started selling diffusion furnaces manufactured by Thermo Products Corp. In the following years, TEL came into partnership with Fairchild Semiconductor Corp, established Pan Electron Inc, and opened many new branches of the company.

Tokyo Electron
Image Source: tel.com

In the 1970s, many new subsidiaries of TEL were established like TEL Engineering Inc, TEL America, Tokyo Process Development Inc, etc. In 1973, TEL opened its first European office and in the following year, it received an award from Fairchild Semiconductor Corp as TEL expanded the sales of their IC testers. Till now the company was involved in the production and export of consumer electronic goods but in 1975 TEL withdrew from it. In 1978, the company was renamed Tokyo Electron Limited and established Japan’s first IC test center.

Growth and Expansion

The next decade started with TEL receiving the Noda Institute of Economic Research Excellence Management Award and getting listed on the Second Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In 1982, the company established Central Research Laboratory and a few new subsidiaries in Japan. From 1983 the company was in the number 4 position in Nikkei Excellent Companies Ranking for three consecutive years. After a year TEL was listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and by the end of the decade, it was among the top companies in terms of sales in the semiconductor industry.

In the next ten years, many more subsidiaries of the company were developed such as Tokyo Electron Device Ltd, Tokyo Electron Saga Ltd, etc. In 1994, the company shipped its first single-wafer CVD system. The company expanded its many subsidiaries in Massachusetts, Phoenix, Texas, Arizona, Israeli, etc. In 1999, TEL received the Annual Award for Excellence in Disclosure from Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The Digital Era

With the advent of the digital era, TEL formulated its new corporate message as “People. Technology. Commitments. ” TEL acquired Supercritical Systems Inc and Timbre Technologies Inc in 2000 and 2001 respectively. In 2003, TEL received the Prime Minister’s award for its excellent contribution to Industry-Academia-Government collaboration. In 2008, TEL received the  Intellectual Property Achievement Award. Next year, the company entered a new sector of photovoltaic production business after acquiring Swiss Oerlikon Solar.

In 2011, Tokyo Electron Scholarship was launched at Peking University. The same year TEL was named as one of the world’s most sustainable companies. In 2014, the company’s single wafer cleaning system, CELLESTA won “Semiconductor of the year 2014.” In 2018, the company made it into the list of Top 100 Global Tech Leaders by Thomson Reuters. Last year, the company was recognized as “Most Honored Company” in the All-Japan Executive Team Rankings for five years in succession.

CEO of Tokyo Electron

Tetsuro Higashi has been working at Tokyo Electron for 42 years from 1977 to 2019. He contributed immensely in TEL and for his vivid contributions in both TEL and the semiconductor industry, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star Award in the 2020 Spring Conferment of Decorations. The position of Tetsuro Higashi in TEL was offered to Toshiki Kawai as he became the President and CEO of TEL in 2016.