Your Tech Story

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

Apple

APPLE AND GOOGLE GAVE AN IDEA ON HOW THEIR CONTACT TRACING SYSTEM WILL WORK

Leave a Comment / Google, Tech News / By

With the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, many big tech giants are trying to develop smart tools for tracking. Many websites are providing updated information about the coronavirus cases at both national and international levels. The development of apps has taken place that are marking zones with different colors to clarify the impact of the spread.

But, Apple and Google are trying to come up with something more innovative. From the beginning, these two companies are trying to help people in many ways to keep them safe during the outbreak. For example, Google launched new features in Google Maps to show the nearest takeaways, Apple is launching new products to help users stay connected, etc. This time, the two companies together have come up with a coronavirus tracking system for both IOS and Android.

Revealed more information

Yesterday, both Apple and Google have shared more information on their contact tracing system. The company explained the design of the user interfaces for potential applications. Thorough explanations were carried out on how the users will get automatic information. Also, how data will be shared between a large network of mobile phones without putting a person’s privacy in jeopardy. Yesterday, the companies have also shared a library of reference code, namely, an SDK toolkit (for Android) and an Xcode toolkit (for iOS). This will help the building of applications by health authorities with an embedded contact tracing system.  

How the contact tracing system will work?

The companies announced the contact tracing system in April. It is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of the disease. The idea is to notify people if he or she came in contact with an infected person and thus stopping people from transmitting further. And, to build this system, the companies decided to transmit data through short-range Bluetooth communication.

Since the application will get access to the user’s private data, the concern for privacy is obvious. But, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google confirmed that user’s privacy won’t be compromised. The system will be designed in such a way that it will protect the user’s privacy and notify them about positive cases as well.

The launch of the new app

When the joint venture started in April, the companies decided to launch the app for both iOS and Apple during mid-May. The companies wanted to make sure that the application of the health authorities can also use it. So, the users need to download the app and participate in the procedure of contact tracing. The most unique part of this system is using Bluetooth Low Energy Transmissions to share data.

So, the app won’t be tracking your physical location as GPS does. At an interval of 5 minutes, your phone will pick up the signals of the nearby phones and store it in a database. So, if any of these people are tested positive with COVID-19, then they can update it on their phone. Every other phone that was near it will be notified henceforth.

Rules for using this application

Apple and Google together have also set many ground rules that any applications should maintain while using it. For the private sector partners, they can use the system only for the response efforts of COVID-19. They will need prior permission or in better words opt-in consent to access the API or share a positive diagnosis. The app will neither allow using location services nor any targeted advertisement.

In case health agencies already have existing apps that use either of these mentioned above, they need to turn them off before accessing API.

UK’s contact tracing app without Apple and Google

Every nation is trying to build contact tracing applications to notify people and prevent the spread of the virus as much as possible. Recently, U.K has launched the beta version of an application that is built on the concept of contact tracing. But, the user interface of the app is very poor and the overall design is ineffective as well.

It will be hard to build a contact tracing system followed by an application without the help of tech giants like Apple and Google. Moreover, if the time taken is longer, the cases will increase rapidly. But, unfortunately, the U.K. is not a big fan of decentralizing data. Many experts have said that the app U.K. is planning to use is not so reliable for tracking COVID-19.

5g and ai

IBM And Red Hat to Launch New Services Unleashing the Power of Ai and 5g

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By

The evolution of computer programming has promised a better world for us with cutting edge technology. Today, the applications of machine learning and artificial intelligence are in great demand. They have opened a huge opportunity for every aspect of our world to grow. Not only they are useful to computer scientists but they can also help your business grow by understanding growth patterns.

With 5G network marching its way to the 21st century, the tech giants are looking for great inventions. Currently, 5G edge and AI are the two promising tools that can make a significant contribution to enterprise computing. So, the big companies are looking out for ways to capitalize on this by launching new products. Because, at the end of the day, driving customers towards the latest invention is the goal.

IBM’s collaboration with Red Hat

Today, at the Think Digital Conference, IBM and Red Hat have announced new services that will be jointly launched. The two companies backed by enormous investors will help enterprises step into the 5G era with edge computing. IBM has always focused on the working of enterprises and how to make it better with multi-cloud systems. On the other hand, Red Hat’s potential goes deep down in the open-source technology.

Together, IBM is planning to launch and make more efficient hybrid cloud technologies ditching the idea of the homogenous cloud. Many software solution companies provide homogenous cloud as a solution, but IBM wants to develop a much-differentiated service. Because the company thinks the working system of an enterprise should have hybrid cloud weaving all the sectors together.

A huge scope of development

With the advent of 5G telecommunication networks, there will be an increase in the speed of connectivity, reduction of latency, minimization of transmission delays, etc. So, IBM will be able to unlock its potential in many ways including emergency response, robotic surgery, road safety, etc. And, this will take place only because there will be no need to send the data to a centralized cloud.

What do the clients want?

James Whitehurst, President of IBM has explained to the media why their clients are better off without a homogenous cloud system. He has also said why the hybrid cloud is better than the homogenous cloud. Whitehurst sets a basic example of how one runs an entire factory. There is generally a mainframe that runs a set of transactional workloads. Now, every enterprise has a software sector, hardware sector, finance, etc.

So, there will be a certain set of applications that need to be run in a distributed environment. For doing so, data from one sector should be accessed by every other sector. For this purpose, a centralized cloud was used with showed latency. And, this problem can only be overcome by a hybrid cloud system. There will be no need to fit the workloads anymore in the public cloud.

Clients are looking for a more efficient and innovative user experience that is continuously available. With IBM’s multi-cloud hybrid offerings blended with Red Hat OpenShift, IBM will master edge computing and 5G network.

IBM’s new products

IBM is planning to launch new products to automate business planning, budgeting, and forecasting. With the implementation of AI, IBM is planning to build applications that will automatically run some routine tasks in an enterprise. It might minimize human labor as well. The company is also planning to develop tools for call-center automation. Precisely, IBM will launch IBM Edge Application Manager. It will be able to manage 10,000 edge nodes simultaneously. It will require only one administrator for this job.

IBM Telco Network Cloud Manager will be also released which runs on Red Hat OpenShift. Other AI-based applications include IBM Visual Insights, IBM Production Optimization, IBM Connected Manufacturing, IBM Asset Optimization, and many more. Apart from all these products, IBM will also be launching IBM Edge System. Through this platform, a set of ISVs and GSIs will help and support enterprises to understand and grab opportunities for edge computing.

Another important product of IBM in the series is IBM Telco Network Cloud Ecosystem. This will bring together a group of partners that will help the providers make use of their cloud system. These sets of partners include Cisco, Dell Technologies, Juniper Technologies, Intel, NVIDIA, Samsung, F5 Networks, etc.

silver lake

AFTER FACEBOOK’S INVESTMENT JIO PLATFORMS RECEIVE FUNDING FROM SILVER LAKE

Leave a Comment / Social media, Tech News / By

The network services globally are trying to strengthen their foundation in this emergency period. People are relying on mobile phone and internet services to communicate with their loved ones in such a crisis. So, it is one of the topmost priorities of the networking companies to improve their communication system. With the lockdown continuing for over a month, many companies are also strategizing for the post-pandemic period. In India, Jio Platforms is currently the widest and largest telecom operator. After Jio has established in our country, millions of people have received access to the internet and that is the reason companies like Facebook and Silver lake are investing in JIO. This means the network of Jio is making the basic means of communication affordable to every citizen of India. And, a company with such potential is bound to draw the attention of big investors.

Facebook’s investment

Last month, Facebook announced that it will be investing $5.7 billion in Reliance subsidiary Jio Platforms. This made Facebook the largest minority shareholder of Jio Platforms. Facebook said that if social media platforms partners with the largest network enterprise of India, it can bring a revolution. This investment was made with a strong mission to connect more people through the power of Whatsapp and Jio’s small businesses.

Who is the new investor?

After a few weeks, Jio receives a huge amount of funding from a private equity firm, Silver Lake. The new investor has announced its partnership with Jio Platforms today. Silver Lake is investing around $746.8 million in Jio which will help the company gain 1.15% of its stake. The valuation of this stake rounds up to $65 billion and the company is willing to pay a premium as well (12.5% premium).

Silver Lake is a private equity firm based on Menlo Park, California, United States. The company has invested in many tech giants making it one of the largest technology investors around the globe. The company’s total combined assets and committed capital round up to $40 billion. Founded in 1999, Silver Lake has made investments in more than 40 companies through minority growth investments, PIPE investments, and leveraged buyout transactions.

Some of the biggest companies that Silver Lake has invested in are Dell, Alibaba, Seagate Technology, IMG Worldwide, Skype, etc. The company has already invested in Airbnb, Twitter, and Waymo this year. After investing in Eka, this is the second time Silver Lake is investing in an Indian enterprise.

Jio Platforms and Silver Lake

Ambani said that’s several firms are showing interest in investing in Jio Platforms. With the recent developments in the Indian telecom industry taking place due to Jio, it is obvious to attract investors. Ambani has invested over $30 billion to make Jio Platforms a big success over the years. And, he believes that after partnering with Facebook for e-commerce, Silver Lake will help in expanding its service.

In response to coming into a joint venture with Silver Lake, Ambani said that it’s outstanding to have such a valuable partner onboard. Moreover, Silver Lake being one of the most famous investors for tech has an advantage. He is looking forward to making significant contributions along with Silver Lake to transform the Indian Digital Society.

Although Jio Platforms is selling 1.15% of its stake, the class of shares is still vague. The company hasn’t shown much light on this topic. But, if the class of shares is the same as it sold to Facebook, there are high chances Jio Platforms is planning to file an IPO. Currently, the main target of the company is to cut its net debt from $21 billion to zero by next year. Also, due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus, the company has suffered huge losses in the sector of petrochemicals and oil refining. So, the company is looking forward to making up the damages through this new partnership.

An already powerful platform

From the beginning of Jio’s establishment, it has been a very strong service provider. Jio Platforms is the most valued subsidiary of Reliance Industries according to the market value. After the company was launched until now, it has managed to provide 338 million people with internet and other mobile services. Jio realized the importance of digital services and thus targeted low-cost digital services for mass consumers.

Egon Durban, co-chief executive and managing partner of Silver Lake said that Jio has extraordinary engineering capabilities. And, they are honored to have partnered with Jio to help them get once step closer toward the digital goal.

Imangi

IMANGI STUDIOS- THE COMPANY THAT BUILT ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS MOBILEPHONE GAMES

Leave a Comment / start-up, Tech Story / By

Apart From the hardcore game developers and video game lovers, we all love a little bit of fun gaming. Many of us also play games on mobile phones to kill time. Nowadays, kids also love playing video games. Among all the mobile phone games we have been playing since childhood, Temple Run is one of the tops. Temple Run has a very wide fan base and it is the topmost game ever launched by Imangi Studios. Imangi Studios is an American-based video game company. It develops video games for Windows, Android, and iOS phones. Natalia Luckyanova and Keith Shepherd the famous husband-and-wife team founded the company in 2008.

About the Founders

Natalia went to Harvard University to study Physics and Chemistry for her bachelor’s degree. After graduating in 2003, she went to Boston University and completed her master’s in Computer Science. Her career started as a Software Engineer for Vecna Technologies followed by a Senior Consultant at Appian Corporation. In 2008, she joined The Advisory Board Company as a Technical Business Analyst and carried out her game developing project simultaneously. After a year, she left the company and co-founded Imangi Studios.

Keith Shepherd, husband of Natalia worked in the computer industry for many years. He along with his wife founded Imangi studios. And, the release of Temple Run helped them make billions. He is the CEO of Imangi Studios.

The idea of a new company

Natalia and Keith always wanted to start their company. They didn’t want to go for a conventional 9to5 job and wanted to think something out of the box. Natalia said it was right after they got married, they decided to develop a gaming company. The couple was very intrigued by the products of Apple which pushed them a bit further so they finally took the big decision.

Keith is a huge fan of Apple. So, when the company announced that they are entertaining outside developers who can develop apps for it, the two decided to give it a shot. But, since the couple was newly married, job security became a very huge factor. So, while Keith dedicated all his time to Imangi while Natalia continued her job to support the family.

The first game

Back in 2008, when Apple decided to give a chance to the outside developers, the couple saw it as a great opportunity. Thus, both of them designed their first game which is known as Imangi. It was a type of word puzzle and very soon it was released in the App store of the company.

Since the first game worked out just fine, they deiced to hire an additional member of the team. Kiril Tchangov, an artist joined Imangi, and together they continued building games for iPhone. Imangi’s first breakthrough was when the company released Harbor Master, a sea traffic game.

History and Success of Temple Run

After the sale of Harbor Master started reducing slowly, Imangi studios came up with Temple Run. The development of Temple Run was to experiment on different ways of controlling the characters in a three-dimensional perspective. Imangi’s previous game, Max Adventure created a problem for the touchscreen users to control it. So, this time they wanted to create something better which finally led to the designing of Temple Run.

After the couple was sorted with the movements of the main character, the next tough decision was coming up with a proper theme. Since the main character was only running, they decided to make a maze theme in a jungle environment. Keith also said that they drew inspiration for their game theme from the Great Wall of China.

This is how the team builds most of its games. First, they try to define the characters, and eventually, everything falls into place surrounding them. But, the hardest thing about developing a game is adding the fun element in it. Because there is no rulebook for creating anything fun or mystery about a game. So, that needs brainstorming and experimenting with by hit and trial method. What the audience might like or dislike is often the hardest yet most important question to be answered.

Before, releasing Temple Run in the market, the company has moderate expectations. But, they were surprised to witness the high demand and positive feedbacks. It was released in 2011, and by mid-2012, the game has more than 70 million downloads.

Hulu

Jason Kilar- Founder And CEO Of Hulu To Become The Next CEO Of Warnermedia

Leave a Comment / start-up, Tech Story / By

The film industry has witnessed rapid growth for our love for entertainment. From the film studios to the movie theatres, from the orchestras to the operas, everything has bloomed over the past century. Every business has its ups and downs, but the annual revenue of the entertainment industry is rather hefty. Moreover, the pandemic has opened a huge slot of making money for the modern ways of entertainment, that is, the internet. The video streaming websites are having far more visitors during this lockdown than ever. Among these famous websites like Netflix and YouTube, Hulu has quite a remarkable journey. Founded in 2007, Hulu’s majority is owned by Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International. Jason Kilar founded the company along with five other founding executives and he became the CEO of Hulu in late 2007. John Stankey, CEO of WarnerMedia announced that Jason Kilar will be replacing him as the new CEO effective 1st May 2020.

Early Life of Jason Kilar

Born in Pittsburgh, Jason went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1989. He acquired a double major in journalism and business administration and later went to Harvard Business School. After completing his bachelor’s, Jason worked as an Analyst at The Walt Disney Company for two years. He graduated from Harvard in 1997.

Career Life

In 1997, he joined Amazon as Director of Retail and left the company in 2006 after his post as Senior Vice President. Next year, Jason founded Hulu and became the CEO of the company. He also co-founded Vessel and served as its CEO for four years. Currently, he is a member of the Board of Directors for Univision Communications Inc, Opendoor, Habitat for Humanity International, and Wealthfront Inc.

New Responsibilities

As a grave position of responsibility is passed to a person with lucrative former experience, both the company and the audience embark on a new journey. For the starters, Jason’s responsibility will start with launching the ad-supportive HBO Max and making it a hit. But, Jason has said he would prefer sitting at the backseat while praising the work of Bob Greenblatt, CEO of WarnerMedia Entertainment and Director to Consumer.

Given what are the consequences of the global pandemic, the timing to welcome the new CEO of WarnerMedia is a bit odd. Movie theatres are closed for over a month, the advertising market is collapsing and negativity is winding up. So, to lighten up the mood in the room, Jason will just order pizzas and drinks for the team members of the project. And, he will give the liberty to take decisions and support them for the commendable work they have done so far.

Leadership at Hulu

Jason had shown an immense sense of responsibility and leadership at Hulu which has brought him here today. It is believed that the main reason for Hulu’s success is its smooth user experience. Hulu always had an easy and clean user interface with less load of advertising. And, most users found it very appealing although many media partners criticized it.

Jason understands how the approach of a website can change the preference for the users. For years, he has been dealing with customers in this industry. So, he always prefers establishing a trustworthy relationship with the audience and listen to their feedback carefully. Because, at the end of the day, the company is selling its product to the global audience. So, if any new invention or changes are amended, it should be for their better experience.

Future Goals

Jason has also spoken of the future planning for the company. According to him, the world has started becoming a fan of VOD. In a population of approximately 7.5 billion, only 200 million users pay for video services. So, the platform for video streaming has only started gaining popularity, and it has to go way too far. Jason also plans to invest in the right technology.

For the time being, the industry has taken a pause and it will bounce back hard after the novel coronavirus crisis. He also says that a pandemic like this will bring changes in the mentality of the customers. So, they have to play accordingly as well. The consumer behavior will change in the next ten years which will bring significant changes to how WarnerMedia thinks today.

wwdc

APPLE’S REVENUE ACHIEVES A POSITIVE SLOPE DESPITE THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By

Big businesses are hit and rupturing drastically during the pandemic. The outbreak of novel coronavirus has suppressed the hope for future recovery for the economy. Every nation is facing a big dilemma as saving people’s lives and planning the post-pandemic survival strategy are equally important. All of a sudden everything in this world has hit a pause, yet some companies are still emerging successfully. While every big business companies are strategizing about how to save their business, Apple’s second-quarter earning shows positive results. It is quite impossible to believe that amongst the crisis, Apple still managed to keep its business on track. Although the sale of the iPhone declined, Apple’s revenue in the past quarter slightly increased.

Revenue Growth

Yesterday, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, in a press release said that the company is proud to report the growth of revenue in the past quarter. It is a great achievement for the company given that the world is facing a current serious crisis. The quarterly revenue of the company that ended on 28th March turns out to be $58.3 billion. This shows an increase of 1% as compared to the quarterly revenue of the previous year. Earnings per diluted share are up by 4%. Analysts said that they expected the revenue to be around $53.8 billion and diluted earnings per share of $2.23. Tim also said that the company is glad that customers are choosing their products to stay connected during this pandemic. But, the sale of Apple’s products in the Great China region has decreased to $9.46 billion from $10.22 billion.

Though the sale of iPhone has plummeted in the quarter last year, Apple’s Wearables and accessories have pushed up the revenue slightly. The company confirmed that Apple Watch and AirPods have led to a growth of 22.4% than last year. The cash dividend per share witnessed an increase of 6% of the company’s common stock.

The market opened for Apple

Taking care of the medical guidelines regarding social distancing due to the pandemic, Apple has decided to open some stores. But, the decisions will have a different impact on different places as Apple will go through the condition of every city and every county. Tim Cook is planning to reopen the retail stores in Austria and Australia within the next couple of weeks. Tim also said that a few of the many retail stores in the U.S will also reopen in early May. The stores in the U.S are closed since mid-March. And, a few of them already opened maintaining the social distancing guidelines. But, the mainland of China and South Korea the exceptions to the reopening of retail stores. Cook has already said that the campus in Cupertino won’t be opening at least for the next month.

New Products

Apple is not only cherishing the revenue growth during this pandemic but also launching new products in the market. Since customers are buying more Apple Wearables and Home in this crisis, why should Apple stop from giving them something extra?

Some of the new products that have hit the market in recent weeks are MacBook Air, iPad Pro, and a $399 second-generation iPhone SE. The company is also planning to conduct an online version of its annual Worldwide Developers Conference next month. In this conference, the next upcoming features of Apple’s existing products will be revealed to the world. But, rumors have spread that there might be a little delay in shipping this year’s iPhone lineup due to the infected disease.

Joint Venture of Apple and Google

In response to fighting COVID-19, Apple and Google are planning to create a system that will be helpful for contact tracing. This tech will be available both for iOS and Android users. The companies have decided to build such a system as in many regions people are revolting against the lockdown. So, this might help in tracking new cases of coronavirus. It will allow the users to share data through Bluetooth Low Energy transmissions and from apps approved by health organizations.

The official apps approved by the public health authorities can access this data. This is very beneficial as the users can easily report and alert people if they are diagnosed with COVID-19. The system will also help the user known if he or she was near an infected person.