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Google One Launched : Replacing Google Drive?

Google, News, Product, Tech News / By
Google One
Image Source: techcrunch.com

In May 2018, Google had announced its new cloud storage product Google One and had been working on it for past few months. Finally, it has launched Google One, on the 15 August of this year. The ones, who have already used Google Drive, might know that Google provides you with 15 GB of free storage on Google Drive and after 15 GB, you have to pay for more storage.

Google One is similar to Google Drive and is a paid cloud storage provided for the users all over the world. No! It is not replacing Google Drive, but, Google Drive will be upgraded to Google One after its 15 GB free plan with some added perks for its Consumer.

1) Increased Data Storage: Google has been working on its newly launched Google One for a quite some time now and, has already been updating the Google Drive’s paid user’s subscriptions for the last few months. Google has come with many subscription plans, according to the user’s requirements and, that too at a good price.

The monthly plan of Google One starts with 100 GB of storage for $1.99, followed by 200 GB tier for $2.99, a 2 TB option for $9.99 and the plan ends at 30 TB of storage that will cost $299.99. Interestingly, Google has reduced the price of 2 TB storage by $10, i.e. $9.99 that was the previous price of 1 TB storage. The consumers can subscribe to any of the plans according to their need. Also, the subscription can be shared with five of the family members without paying any extra money and equal storage for all of them.

2) Customer Support: This time Google has also come with a one-tap help button, that is for the live-customer support. Meaning that the Google users can connect with the real experts, for their queries related to any Google product, instead of any AI chatbots. The customer-support will be available 24/7 and, you can contact them via a phone call or through an e-mail.

Right now, Google One is only available in the US. But, it will soon be rolling out for the consumers across other countries too. Also, the G-Suite users with the business account will get no additional benefits and their plans will remain as it is.

Google has come with some other perks for its subscribers and, will offer credits on their purchase on Google Play and Google Express. Also, if the user will search and book the Hotels through Google maps, they can earn good deals on the bookings.

So, now you can share more data like high-resolution pictures, 4K videos, documents with your family and friends with any of the above-mentioned subscription plans. And, if you are not a US citizen, you have to wait for sometime. Google is also working on launching an app for the users, to help them choose for their easy subscription to the different plans. So, hopefully, the app and Google One will be launched together in the other countries soon.

Vector: Anki’s New Smart Home Robot

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Vector Robot
Image Source: newatlas.com

Artificial Intelligence has inspired many Sci-fi Hollywood films. This time you can say that Anki (Robots and Artificial Intelligence Products manufacturing company) has been inspired by a fictional robot from the science fiction Star Wars. After Anki Drive and Cozmo, Anki has launched its new home robot named Vector which is quite similar to the fictional robot Droid in the movie Star Wars.

Vector is said to be as the elder sibling of Cozmo as it has got additional features. Like Cozmo, it is a tiny robot that can fit into your palm. Vector is like a home robot that will roam around and will give you the feel of a pet. This tiny robot is launched on 8 August 2018, on Kickstarter. It costs near $249 and will be available at a discount for the early buyers. The early-buyer campaign will start on 6 September and will last till 30 September. Vector is on the costly side as Cozmo priced $180, as it is smarter than Cosmo.

1) Look and Size: Vector is a small robot having a height of three inches and can easily fit into your palm. It has got an arm through which it can lift lightweight objects and can respond to your commands. It is so small that sometimes you can miss it on the floor, so it must be allowed to wander on the table or shelves to avoid any kind of damage.

2) No Device Connected: You just need to connect Vector with wifi and rest is on its own. It does not need any tethering device to control it. It is equipped with the 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and is fully autonomous.

3) Designed to Learn: Vector is self-sufficient as it is designed to learn. It is must be kept on all the time so that it walk around and examine things. It will go to the new things it sees, look at them, will try to push and will investigate to know more about them.

4) Functionality: This tiny robot uses its four microphones to figure out the commands, and responds in its robotic voice. With the help of its 120-degree HD camera, it captures the faces and can recognise them later. It can call your name and will respond to your hello. You can ask it about the weather or about some new and it will give you the right answers.

Vector is smarter, yet has got an emotional quotient, as it was designed in the way that people focus on its personality, more than its functionality. Vector can behave like your pet and will play around with you just like Coszmo does. It is respondent to its owner and whirls around when called by him. Also with its touch sensors, it recognises the touch of its owner. It can also make direct eye contact with its high-resolution IPS display that gives a lively feel to its activities. It has got tank-like tread to walk and is rounded out by a 6-Axis IMU.

All in all, Vector is a complete package of a home robot that will roam around and gives you the feel of a companion around you. The robot will be shipped in the October of this year to the backers and its official release date will be October 12, 2018.

Paul Buchheit – Creator and Lead Developer of Gmail

Google, Product, start-up, Story, Tech Story / By

There is no denying in the fact that each of us has used Gmail at least once in our lives and, that fact is proved by the current number of Gmail users, i.e., more than 900 million users. Gmail was launched in 2004, and the lead developer, behind this widely used email platform, is Paul Buchheit. Paul Buchheit is the 23rd employee of Google but, has played a pivotal role in the development of many Google products, in his few years of career with Google.

Paul Buchheit
Image Source: Facebook

Early Life

Paul Buchheit was born on 6 November 1976, in Webster, New York. He did his schooling from Webster Thomas High School. He was a brilliant student and always topped the class every year. Later, he entered Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio to pursue a degree in Science followed by a PhD (Honors) degree. During his college, he was in the rowing team of the college.

Career

As soon as Buchheit completed his education, he started his internship at Microsoft, in 1995. In 1998, he joined at Intel and after one year he became the 23rd employee at Google.

He worked with Google for nearly 7 years and, had become an influential part of Google’s numerous revolutionary programs, including Google Adsense. He also gave the suggestion of the motto, “Don’t Do Evil”, that was practised as the code of conduct within Google for many years.

In 2006, Paul Buchheit left the job at Google and launched a real-time social aggregator named FriendFeed which was a huge success. But later in 2009, it was acquired by Facebook through a private transaction. He also worked for Facebook for a few years and left the job in 2010, to start an investment company named Y Combinator.

Paul Buchheit always encourages startup companies saying that startups are more than simply a clever way to make money. Before Y Combinator, he had already invested in 83 startups through Angel Investment, and with Y Combinator he is supporting many budding companies with their startups.

Founding Gmail

Before Gmail was launched, the various email service providers, like Microsoft, had given a limited storage of 4 MB. According to Paul Buchheit, every email service was getting worse instead of getting better. And the lesser storage provided by every email platforms grabbed his attention. The planning of creating Gmail was started many years before it was announced. The development of Gmail started in 2001 and in 2004, Gmail was launched, with increased storage of 1000 MB of storage, fast dynamic interface, quick and accurate search including the concept of organised emails. Even Mr Doerr from Microsoft gave a statement that Gmail was like a wakeup call for them.

Personal Life

Paul married his girlfriend April Buchheit on 10 August 2002. Currently, he is living with his wife and two children in California.

Features of Freshly Launched Samsung Galaxy Note 9

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Samsung Galaxy Note 9
Image Source: theverge.com

After the launch of Android Pie on 7 August 2018, now Samsung has come up with the launch of its flagship Smartphone, addition to its Samsung Galaxy 9 family. The smartphone was launched at the Barclays Center in New York. The online booking of the phone is already started and will be available in the market from the 24 August 2018. It is the last member of the Samsung Galaxy 9 family and costlier than the previous editions of the Samsung phones. The cost for the 128GB / 6GB RAM model will start from $999 (Appro. INR 68000) and 512GB / 8GB RAM version for $1,250. (Appro. INR 86000) Yes, you read it right. I don’t know what attracted your attention more the price or space, but both are too high. Along with the increased space, Samsung has launched its new baby with the following features added to it:

Look, Size & Color: The new Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is quite a colourful range including Midnight Black, Metallic Copper, Ocean Blue, and Lavender Purple. The famous S Pens of the Note series are of the same colours as the phone, except the Ocean Blue phone is having a yellow stylus. Now talking about the look of the phone, likewise, Note 9 is no different than the Galaxy 8 and 9 series which is a disappointment, but, the size of this phone is little bigger comparatively.

Camera Added With New AI Features: Except the new AI features embedded in it, its camera is no different from the Note S9 camera. It still has the 8-megapixel selfie camera, with the dual 12-megapixel camera on the back. But AI has enabled it to detect what you actually need to capture and bring that thing into focus. It has also got a Flaw Detection feature that prompts when there is a flaw in the captured image, like the blink of the eye. Also, it has got a scene optimizer to adjust the white balance, saturation and contrast. Also, it can identify 20 scenarios like snowflakes, fire, food, pets, sunsets, plants, cityscapes, etc.

Bluetooth Stylus: The Note 9 SPen is all similar to the other SPens of the Note series with an addition of Bluetooth to it. With the help of the Bluetooth, the Stylus is turned into a remote control which can be used to click pictures, slide the presentations, play/pause your music apps and also, you can use it to open any app by creating a shortcut for the apps.

DeX software embedded to Note 9: Now this time the DeX software resides inside the Note 9 phone itself, so you can connect the phone to monitor independently using a USB, for the desktop-experience without a dock.

Samsung has claimed to replace the laptops with their Galaxy Note 9 by including with a high-performance processor, Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and battery is also bigger than before i.e. 4,000-mAh. The position of its Fingerprint reader has also moved to below the camera whereas it was on the side of the camera in the S8 and S9 series. Samsung Galaxy Note 9 will be the last of its series as Samsung has announced the launch of Galaxy S10 by the month of March next year. Till then Note 9 will be their latest innovation of 2018. Though it is on the high end due to its price maybe it will be able to grab customers with its new features.

Analog Devices – American Multinational Semiconductor Company

Product, start-up, Tech Story / By

This century is highly technologically dominated one. Each aspect of our lives involves technology in one or other way in the form of various devices. These devices that are dominating our lives are made by combining small and tiny electronic parts such as semiconductors and ICs. Companies, like Analog Devices, thrive on the production of these small parts and, has become one of the largest American multinational semiconductor production company across the world.

History of Analog Devices Inc.

It was on 18th January 1965, that two MIT graduates, Ray Stata and Matthew Lorber, came up with an idea, to start a business focusing on manufacturing electronic devices. The company launched its first product the same year. It was a model 101 op amp device, used in test and measurement equipment. The size of this model was almost similar to a hockey puck. The company has become a leader, in the production of electronic equipment used in signal processing. Their equipment is widely used in defense, space research, communications, and various such sectors.

In 1967, the company launched its first issue of Analog Dialogue – a technical magazine which focuses on newest development in engineering across the globe.

Analog Devices went public in 1969 and filed an initial public offering. A decade later the company was listed on New Your Stock Exchange. The company now focused more on the research and development of its products. This included the launching of the first digital to analog device – CMOS and first laser trim wafers, in 1973.

Analog Devices
Image Source: www.flickr.com

During Stata’s CEO period, the company achieved humongous success in the market all over the world and in 1996, it reached $1 billion in revenue. The same year, Stata retired from the post of CEO and Jerald G. Fishman took over the President and CEO position, serving till 2013.

By 2000, ADI’s sales reached $2.5 billion. Analog Devices acquired five companies, including the thick film semiconductor manufacturing company, BCO Technologies, for a huge $150 million.

Fishman retired in 2013 and, was replaced by Vincent Roche as the new President and CEO. Executive Vice President Position is helmed by Rick D. Hees, Chief Technology Officer by Peter Real, and Director of Finance by David A. Zinser.

Products

The company started with, manufacturing analog signal processing and digital signal processing technologies, which include data converters, radio frequency, etc. Company’s main products include data converters used in fields, like medical systems, scientific instrumentation, radar, defense equipment, etc. Data converters account for more than 50% of ADI’s revenue.

Power management products are used in wireless, industrial, and digital camera manufacturing industries. Radio Frequency integrated circuits product portfolio includes TruPwr, RMS power detectors, etc.

Analog Devices’ most popular product micro-electromechanical systems (MEMs), which was found in smartphones, tablet PCs, security systems, etc., was sold to InvenSense in 2013.

The company has become a pivotal player in various fields including healthcare, automotive, industrial, and consumer-based markets. Its main competitors include Texas Instruments, Maxim Integrated Products, and Linear Technology. Analog Devices was ranked at number three analog semiconductor supplier in 2011.

Employees and Company Locations

As of 2016, around 10,000 employees work for Analog Devices. Each employee is given a health care benefit and, shares in the company stocks. The employees are also given the housing and transportation allowances.

The company’s headquarters is situated in Norwood, Massachusetts, United States and, its subsidiaries are situated all across the world in countries, such as Israel, India, China, etc. There are four regional headquarters situated in Tokyo, Munich, Shanghai, and Limerick.

To encourage new innovations and, start a conversation between engineers, the company launched ‘Engineer Zone’ – an online support platform. Analog Devices publishes about the latest technological advances in the engineering field, every month.

The company’s dedication, towards supplying top-quality products to its customers, has led to the rise in its stocks and, gain the trust of their thousands of customers.

Quora: A billion dollar question

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When you have a question or query in mind where you head for? Google, right? And when even Google fails to provide you satisfactory answer, you look for experts whom you can ask your question. While there are many forums and question answer platforms for specific niche like programming, android, Quora is one of the most popular question answer platform where you can ask or answer literary anything. Which other platform offers such liberty, engagement and answers from experts like Mark Zukerberg (Facebook CEO), Reed Hastings (Netflix CEO), Demi Moore, Marc Andreessen (VC)?

While working for Facebook,  Adam D’Angelo felt that Facebook was stable now and he could leave. The co-founders of Quora Adam D’Angelo and Charlie Cheever were having lunch in a Chinese restaurant and had a talk about the knowledge that is not shared on the internet or the knowledge that one has in his brain but is not shared. This problem statement gave rise to the development of “Quora”. Both had a vision in mind that there are lot many questions in our mind which are left unanswered and where many use internet to find answers, Quora could be the best solution to help with answers for these questions. They had a hard time deciding the name. After a lot of research and shortlisting many names which delineated questions and answers finally “Quora” was finalized.

Image Credit: WIkipedia
Image Credit: WIkipedia

With a prototype code ready to be enhanced and developed they started with the development process in 2009. They had a code ready which they had to further develop. In a year they made the website available for public use. In the beginning they invited their friends to the site, who invited their friends which led to increase in the number of users significantly.

Quora has a community of people which consisted of Mark Zuckerberg, big business tycoons, VC’s, Entrepreneurs, people with excellent knowledge about a particular field, authors and bigwigs like Barrack Obama. This increased the quality of knowledge shared on Quora. Later on they also added credits and gifts feature, wherein if your answer was the best and good quality you would get credits for that. Quora also added a feature of blogging to let people share their knowledge and thoughts without limiting it to question answers format.

Once Mark Zuckerberg asked the Quora community that which company could help Facebook grow, and he ended up in buying “NEXTSTOP” which was a start-up. So this is what made Quora different than other sites. It bridged the gap between Twitter and Facebook.  Since then Quora has come a long way where users can Upvote, Downvote and see the number of views. The continuous innovation has kept users engaged and its popularity has grown. Today there are approximately 100 million monthly users who visit the website.