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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

joe biden

TWITTER FINALLY DECIDED TO TAKE DOWN THE FAKE JOE BIDEN AD THAT HAS TRIGGERED POLITICAL CONFLICT

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Social Media is a very powerful platform. They can be a rich source of information, righteous movements, but at the same time create mayhem through unreliable words. Fake news spreads faster than trusted facts and figures. And, especially things tend to go out of hand when famous people with thousands of followers share this type of false information as well. Among all the social media, Twitter is one of the most powerful. One single tweet can bring down the reputation of a person and can build it at the same time. And, recently, politics in America has gone aggressive through these threads of tweets. A fake ad of Joe Biden is spread worldwide by re-posting the tweet. The staff of Trump campaign has been amplifying this political bashing.

What is the tweet?

Recently, a fake Joe Biden ad has gone viral on Twitter. And, the Trump campaign members escalated the spread of this tweet. Many of them reposted it saying it might be true. But, finally, Twitter has decided to take down the fake ad of Joe Biden. Because, amongst the pandemic of COVID-19, the least world needs right now is a firework of political revolt.

The tweet is no longer available on the platform. Though, the image that was posted showed Joe Biden’s chest has been lightening up. And, it also showed a beam of light coming from it. Along with the image, the tweet read, “His brain? No. His heart.” The tweet also had the official logo of the campaign as well on top of it.

It has only been a few days that this fake tweet has been posted, and it received 1,000 retweets and 62,000 likes. Common people are hyped about any loopholes and when it is triggered by the system itself, the situation gets worse. Apart from Twitter, the post was also shared in platforms like Reddit and Tumblr. But, the real toll took place on Twitter when an accounted re-posted it saying that it is 100% authentic. But, the Biden campaign confirmed it to Twitter that it is fake and thus, asked to remove it.

Who said what?

Many members of the Trump campaign has shown interest in this tweet and shared it as well. Tim Murtaugh, the Director of Communications for the reelection campaign of Donald Trump also shared the post. Not only he shared the tweet but he also said that though Twitter is not that trustworthy at times, the Joe Biden ad is not a fake one. Another member of Trump’s campaign, Karen Giorno (chief strategist for Florida branch) also shared it claiming the ad was approved by Joe Biden.

This is not the first time

But, this is not the first time that fake images and false allegations have fired between Joe Biden and Trump’s campaign. Last month, Dan Scavino, the social media director of White House posted a tweet of Joe Biden. The content showed a doctored video of Joe Biden and Twitter applied a tag of “manipulated media” on it. This is the first time that Twitter put the tag of fake media on the tweet.

After Twitter put the tag of “manipulated media”, Greg Schultz, campaign manager of Joe Biden, said that Facebook should have also taken fast action like Twitter. Moreover, from 5th March, Twitter started putting this tag on fake media that has the potential to create political tension. This helped the platform maintain harmony by creating friction in the velocity of the spread.

Taking the necessary steps

The previous year, Twitter declared that it will ban all types of political advertising starting from November 2019. Jack Dorsey, CEO of the company made the full policy public on November 15th. Due to this ban, the opposition party was unable to boost this recklessly. But, the tweet was indeed present on the platform for a good few days and the shares weren’t labeled as false.

But, Twitter has declared that this particular post violates the Election Integrity Policy of the company. And, hence they were looking into it followed by taking some fast actions. Apart from these fake ads to bring down the image of the opposition parties, health-related conspiracy theories are cooking as well.

Motorola

Motorola New Edge Plus Has Rolled Out In The Market Today

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Though the market for laptops and PCs remains steady, the demand for smartphones increases every day. New gadgets never fail to catch the attention of tech geeks and gadget lovers. So, today’s good news is for everyone who is surfing the net for smartphones with the best features ever. Motorola is again back to building its flagship phones. And, now it is time for Motorola Edge and Motorola Edge Plus to reach the top of the mobile phone market. After Motorola was split into two companies in 2011, Google acquired the mobility division. Later, Lenovo acquired it in 2014 and since then very limited flagship phones have been released in the market. The last time Motorola made a breakthrough in the market was when it released first-generation Moto Z in 2016. Motorola is well-known for making the best pocket-friendly smartphones in the market. Let’s see what it has got for us this time.

After Motorola was split into two companies in 2011, Google acquired the mobility division. Later, Lenovo acquired it in 2014 and since then very limited flagship phones have been released in the market. The last time Motorola made a breakthrough in the market was when it released first-generation Moto Z in 2016. Motorola is well-known for making the best pocket-friendly smartphones in the market. Let’s see what it has got for us this time.

The New Motorola Edge Plus

The price of this new Edge Plus is $999 which is approximately Rs. 76,000 in the Indian market. There are two color options for the phone, Thunder Grey and Smokey Sangria. The company has decided to sell the product officially from May. Given that Motorola makes the best budget phones, the new features are going to take you by surprise.

The new Motorola Edge Plus has a display screen of 6.7 inches. This is the biggest phone that Motorola has ever launched in the market. The display has curved screens which curve at an angle almost equal to 90 degrees down the side of the phone. It can be best described as a curved display with a hole-punch design. The edge displays will be used for lighting up when a notification is received or the battery is charging.

Apart from the full HD and OLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate, the phone will be running in Android 10. It will support a single SIM and fueled by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 processor. The phone is having 12GB RAM with 256GB internal storage. Edge Plus’s battery capacity is 5,000mAh and it also has a 3.5mm headphone jack. The phone also supports 15W wireless charging and 5W reverse charging.

The Camera features

The new Motorola Edge Plus has a triple rear camera system with a 108-megapixel sensor. Some of the camera features are common with that of Samsung Galaxy’s S20 Ultra. The primary camera of 108-megapixel has an aperture of f/1.8 and 0.8-micron pixel size. And, this main camera has been designed to record videos at 6k and 30fps.

The second sensor consists of a 16-megapixel camera. It is an ultra-wide-angle camera with an f/2.2 aperture and a view field of 117 degrees. And, the third and the last camera is an 8-megapixel telephoto sensor which provides three times optical zoom. Apart from all these features, the new phone also comes with a Time of Flight sensor. Honestly, after this piece of art is released in the market, who needs a DSLR for photography?

This phone is also a blessing for the selfie-lovers. The front camera of the phone consists of a 25-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0 aperture and 0.9-micron pixel size. So, the camera system is providing all the basic lenses that one needs to buy individually with a camera. The price of the phone is worth it.

Other Specifications

Apart from all these new flabbergasting features, the company is also releasing a My UX hub in the company’s app. It will help the users to carry out functions like customize fonts, icon shapes, etc. The company is also trying to make the audio systems authentic for the new Edge series. On both, the Edge and the Edge Plus, the company is incorporating Waves-tuned dual stereo speakers.

Motorola Edge is in the list too

The size and the operating system of Edge are the same as the new Edge Plus. But, this one is a dual-SIM phone that is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765 processor. It has 4GB RAM with 129GB internal memory storage. The battery life is 4,500mAh and it doesn’t support any wireless charging. The company has kept its price down to Rs. 58,000 in the Indian market. And, it is available in Solar Black and Midnight Magenta shades.

Facebook

FACEBOOK BECOMES THE LARGEST MINORITY SHAREHOLDER OF RELIANCE SUBSIDIARY JIO

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The adaptability of people with the internet is booming in this era of digitalization. We Indians have especially engrossed ourselves in the technical development for a while now. Many companies are showing genuine interest in Indian social and economic growth. Because India is going through a rapid transformation in the sphere of economy our world has ever witnessed. And, it is happening mostly due to the involvement of India in digital technologies. With every passing day, people are showing enthusiasm to use the internet do to something valuable. They are learning new skills, opening small businesses, etc. Within the last five years, around 500 million people got internet access in India. This led one of the biggest social media platforms to invest in Jio Platforms, the technical division of Reliance Industries.

The Investment

Jio is a Reliance subsidiary that provides broadband, mobile services, and online commerce stage to the Indian people. It is one of the leading internet platforms in India currently. So, what can be better than the gigantic social media platform collaborating with one of the largest network enterprises? Facebook announced that it is investing $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms, thus making Facebook its largest minority shareholder. This deal has summed up Jio’s value to $65.95 billion.

Facebook already has a mammoth size market in India. It has the largest number of Whatsapp users from our country, that is, 400 million users. So, further investment in the Indian market will help the company operate more effectively and contribute to the digital economy. Everything happens today with a few swipes on our mobile screen. And, Facebook aspires to connect more people through the power of Whatsapp and fuel Jio’s small businesses like JioMart.

A New Partnership

Facebook says that Jio has gone through some excellent development in less than three years of its launch. Moreover, after Jio has come into the market, the number of Internet users in India has escalated very fast. So, the company looks forward to opening new opportunities for people through the services of Jio. Already, 388 million people are using the internet service of Jio and the number is expected to rise soon.

Facebook is currently targeting small businesses in India. There are around 60 million small enterprises that can grow bigger with stronger connectivity. But, the pandemic of COVID-19 is indicating a huge downfall in the economy which will affect these small businesses. So, responding in the need of the hour, Facebook along with Jio commits to helping businesses grow again. With affordable internet collection and a huge audience, businesses can digital and hence expand internationally.

Something big is coming up

Facebook and Jio have come together to make a stronger community in the sphere of digital business. The plan is to make a new app that will connect people around the world and help in purchasing products as well. Though, the companies didn’t make any big announcement about releasing the app as it is an ongoing project. The companies want to create something similar to WeChat, a multipurpose app for the Indian market.

Delays have been caused in this project due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus. But, it is clear that a multipurpose app is coming in its way. It will help people buy groceries, do shopping, and also make the payment from JioMoney. But, the final model of this new business isn’t clear yet. Reliance has not mentioned if there will be more than one investor for Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail. But, both the companies have set off to launch this new super at the earliest.  

Future planning

The whole world is losing its financial stability due to the lockdown. Recently, the oil price has also gone negative. But, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance brings a ray of hope. He said that this new collaboration will help Indi recover economically during the post-Corona phase. So, Reliance is looking forward to a long time commitment with Facebook to heal and embrace the digital environment of India.

With this new partnership, it is predicted that India might have 2.1 billion devices connected to the internet by 2023. In this collaboration, Morgan Stanley acted as the financial advisor of Jio Platforms. This partnership will open new opportunities for the people of India.

Sachin Dev Duggal

Sachin Dev Duggal’s Start-Up Is Helping To Strengthen The Digital Marketing Community

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As a part of our secondary education, we might know the basics of web development, running a program, etc. But, to establish in the real-life marketplace, we need more than that. Today, the knowledge of web development, software development, app development, etc is very demanding. Because they have a very huge potential to grow in the future. The IT sector is booming and yet many individuals are just scared to put their idea in front. They think what if it is not good enough and the business fails. Well, you have the right to be in a dilemma but you cannot step out. Builder.ai is a software which through the help of its platform helps you to build a website, an app, an e-commerce platform, and many more. Sachin Dev Duggal founded the company in 2013. The company is based in London, United Kingdom. Builder.ai uses a library of reusable features which along with the implementation of AI gives your idea a shape. Through this platform, you can work more time efficiently and at a cheaper price to pay.

About Sachin Dev Duggal

Sachin is a serial entrepreneur. He went to Imperial College London and acquired his bachelor’s degree in Information Systems. To complete his master’s he went to Massachusetts Institute of Technology & Entrepreneurship Organization and graduated in 2011. Sachin worked at Deutsche Bank AG as an Advisor & Consultant for five years.

In 2004, he founded Nivio and served as the Chief Wizard for eight years. He also co-founded shoto in December 2012. Currently, he is the CEO of the company, Builder.ai that he founded in 2013.

Why Sachin built Builder.ai?

Sachin’s vision is for the betterment of the entrepreneurial network throughout the globe. He wanted to launch software that would help people get the idea of his or her business before investing. Because it is important to witness a prototype of your product before launching it publicly. So, Sachin made it very sure taking care that no expert advice is needed and no huge capital.

Experience matters

Sachin was very well-experienced in the business world. Before founding Builder.ai, he founded two other companies. His first start-up Nivio was the world’s one of the first cloud computing company. Sachin had a very clear vision of the business world from a very young age. He was only seventeen when he worked at Deutsche Bank making him the youngest employee in the company.

Sachin’s main point of interest lied in how to bring down the price of building an app. To make it happen, he founded Builder.ai along with Saurabh Dhoot. They knew each other from the university.

The business model

The way how the platform of Builder works is very interesting. Since the software uses AI to analyze the idea of a business, the output is better where there are many users. Because, when plenty of people build a similar product, the rigorous use of the marketplace brings down the cost. Sachin also says that the prediction is 100% true.

Once you create an application in the platform of Builder, you need to buy insurance followed by other services. Otherwise, many people would just buy the application and stop using it though the platform is cheaper.

Success of Builder.ai

Sachin sold Nivio for $100 million and used it as a capital investment for Builder.ai. He didn’t spend the entire money in it. Sachin wanted to minimize the investment in turn for profitable cash flow. When they were testing the platform, many people were willing to pay with a credit card. It was just a public beta and that was unexpected.

Initially, the company has 5 members which expanded to 150 by 2018. They grew 180% of its original size within six years of launching the business. Their main offices are in London, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Mumbai, Delhi, etc.

Piece of advice from Sachin

Sachin says that it is very important to spend money judiciously. Instead of thinking that someone is investing in your company, you should spend like it is your own money. Because one should always consider how to minimize the investment for maximum profit. And, when it comes to online platform always keep your customers engaged and updated.

Also, doing something to catch your customer’s eye is important. So, do something extra and make them come back to your service.

Pierre Betouin

Application Security Gets Better With Pierre Betouin’s Sqreen

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Cybercrime is a big threat to any online company and individual as well. The possibility of leaking information, tampering with personal details, and fraud has increased over the years. In this scenario, it is hard for common people to believe which companies or web applications can provide proper security. Because it is not a good idea to take risks when it comes to very sensitive and vulnerable issues. Similarly, it is also the responsibility of a company to provide proper safety. The security systems should be updated regularly and it should be able to provide real-time defenses. An outdated security system is as good as not having one at all. So, Pierre Betouin launched Sqreen, a security platform in 2015. The platform can be installed for any web applications and it will detect anomalies and provide an automatic response. So, a company can just buy this software instead of going through the chaos of managing its own. It can save a lot of time as well along with better experience for both parties. Sqreen is based on the San Francisco Bay Area.

About Pierre Betouin

Pierre graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science in 2006. While he was in college, he founded Challenge-SecuriTech (a security contest) and was also a Security Researcher at EADS. In 2006, he joined SAGEM Defense and Security and left the company in the same year.

In November 2006, Pierre joined Apple as a Software Security Engineer. After two years, he became Security Engineering Manager and left the company in 2015. Currently, he is the CEO of Sqreen.

How did it start?

Pierre has more than eight years of working experience at Apple. He was part of a team working for responsible for offensive security assessment and predicting external attacks. While he was managing the team, half of the work took place in Europe and the other half in the United States. So, his time at Apple allowed him to get exposed to two different kinds of work environments.

When he decided to open his security platform, Sqreen, he had a better picture. Pierre noticed that it is easy to hire engineers in Europe. Because people are very committed to working for a company as big as Apple. But, in the U.S. the competition was very tough due to Facebook and Google. So, Pierre decided to focus on engineering and create a great product before devoting time to marketing.

Expansion and Growth

When Pierre started the company, it was located in Paris. And, the entire team worked in one office. It was just the beginning and Pierre wanted to be more specific about proper communication. In 2016, the company raised $2.3 million in the seed round. The company invested it in making secure products to fight against illegal coding practices. In 2019, Sqreen raised $14 million in Series A funding led by Greylock Partners, along with participation from Y Combinator, Alven Capital, and Point Nine. Participating in the Y Combinator was one step forward for the company to launch more realistic products.

Currently, Sqreen provides an Application Security Management Platform to the companies. Some of the companies that use the product of Sqreen are ZipRecruiter, Le Monde, BlaBlaCar, etc. Apart from the in-house employees of the company, Sqreen also shows interest in hiring freelancers. And, Pierre also said that hiring freelancers doesn’t mean treating them differently. They are equally part of the company and get the same information as everyone.

The U.S. is the main market

From opening an office in Paris, it gradually expanded to the U.S. to get feedback. And, according to Pierre, the U.S. in the main focus now. He thinks that the engineers, the customers, and the marketplace is very energetic in America. So, it is easier to get feedback on any new product very easily and quickly. An energetic team is very important in making a great company.

Implementation of Machine Learning

It is important to bring the applications of machine learning in cybersecurity due to the volatile cyber-threats. It not only helps Sqreen to prevent potential cybercrime but also analyzes emerging technologies, enhances the capability of data analytics, and estimates the degree of potential failure. ML also includes the concept of AI and deep learning that was slowly introduced in the platform of Sqreen.

Facebook

Facebook Is Launching Its New Gaming App Giving Competition To Twitch And Youtube

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The gaming community is becoming more significant in today’s world with every passing day. It has become a prominent source of income for many big companies. Companies like Twitch and YouTube are very popular for streaming video games for the gaming community. It is also a great opportunity for independent game developers.

But, apart from Twitch and YouTube, Facebook also declared its new gaming application. The company will be launching the application today focusing mainly on the streaming community. Facebook is also thinking about the casual audience and hence will be also adding casual games in the application. It will include games like Words with Friends and similar types that can be played to kill time.

The timing of the launch

It seems like, with the advent of the modern age, the orthodox of not enhancing the idea of gaming is eventually disappearing. Moreover, big companies like Google (Stadia), Twitch, YouTube, and now Facebook are trying hard to promote the gaming culture. But, with the pandemic holding us prisoners in our homes, the hype of gaming has increased overnight. In this outbreak, around $160 billion business in gaming is making success rapidly.

After, Google made the Pro version of Stadia free for two months and Trivia is back on track, this is the perfect timing. So, Facebook also decided to roll out its new gaming application and help people coping in this quarantine phase. Moreover, the gaming community also strengthens social interaction while maintaining social distancing at the same time.

Investing in gaming is one of the top priorities

Facebook has around 2.5 billion active monthly users. And, out of these 700 million users shows an active interest in gaming content. So, Facebook was planning to launch a gaming app around June. But, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Facebook decided to prepone the launch in April.

Fidji Simo, the head of the Facebook app said that it is important to invest in the gaming community. Because it is not just a form of entertainment but also connects and brings people together. She has also declared that many new features will roll out eventually as they are currently focused on gaming. The app will be available only on Android devices for the time being. After the company receives permission from Apple, it will be available on iOS as well. The new app was tested in Southeast Asia and Latin America for the past eighteen months.

Facebook Gaming

Facebook has thrived since forever especially after acquiring Instagram and Whatsapp. And, with the launching of this new app, it will give tough competition to Amazon and Google as well. The company has been investing in the gaming sphere for a very long time now. It has collaborated with many creators and hosted many esports tournaments. Facebook Gaming is growing exponentially.

Facebook Gaming has witnessed an increase of 210% hours watched within a single year (2018-2019). StreamElements, a streaming software company has reported that the company’s streamers have increased by 6%. And, along with that the average number of viewers per hour has also increased by 78%. All these happened within a single year.

Twitch and YouTube are the main competitions in the market for Facebook Gaming. So, the company followed its strategies closely and partnered with Gonzalo “Zero” Barrios (Twitch streamer) and Corinna Kopf (YouTube personality).

New features

Facebook has also launched new tools that will help the users to stream videos. And, more users will be attracted to the platform if the tools are simpler to use. So, the company has added a “Go Live” button which will instantly help the users to go live. Facebook has also launched the Level Up Program to help some creators earn money through it.

This program is of immense advantage to those who are already streaming games on Facebook. They will get access to high-quality premium transcoding which includes 1080p and 60fps. Other features like unlocking Facebook Stars, limited access to beta products and features, and many more will be available. The user needs to create a “Gaming Video Creator” page and keep streaming videos for the next 14 days. These two are the prerequisites along with some other conditions and age bar.

Vivek Sharma, Facebook’s Vice President got gaming said that the craze for becoming a streamer increases every day. So, they are expecting the idea of live streaming to boom within a few days maximum.