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Google Maps Comes With a New Feature ‘Stay Safer’ for the Indian Users

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The ride-hailing services like Uber and Ola have been already providing the safety features over the apps, and now for the first time, Google Maps is going to introduce a safety feature for the Indian users. The new safety feature is called ‘Stay Safer’ and will be another India-first feature.

Google map stay safer
Image Source: zeebiz.com

Though people are already able to track their path through the Google Map, the new Stay Safer feature, will notify the users if they are on the right path or not, while riding a taxi or an autorickshaw. The users will also be able to share the live status of their trip, similarly as they can using an Uber and Ola app, with their family members or friends.

“Through our extensive research across India, we found that a lot of people limit their mobility due to safety-related concerns. To address this, we are launching another India-first feature that will deliver a more relevant and reliable experience to our users. Our new ‘Stay Safer’ feature on Google Maps will alert users who are travelling in taxis, auto-rickshaws etc. in case their vehicle goes off route, giving them peace of mind.” said Amanda Bishop, the Product Manager at Google Maps, while announcing the new feature on Wednesday.

How to Use the New Stay Safer Feature on Google Maps

The feature has already been launched for Android, and the users will now be able to see it on the updated Google Map app. To use Stay Safer, the users need to select a destination, where they want to go. Like earlier, the users will get to choose the direction and will see the shortest path to the destination. Now with the ‘Start’ option, they will also be able to see the ‘Stay Safer’ option. Upon clicking the option, they will further see two more options ‘Share Live Trip’ and ‘Get Off-route Alerts’.

By choosing the first option, there will appear multiple options to share the trip status with their contacts, like Hangouts, Whatsapp, Facebook, Gmail, Instagram, etc.

With the ‘Get Off-route Alert’, the users will be able to get the notification on whether they are following the right path or have got off the route. If they will get an off-route notification from Google Maps, they can share their live location with their contacts for any emergency.

The feature is another India-first feature after Google Map recently launched three new India-focussed public transport features including the live train status, bus, auto-rickshaw and public transport total travel time calculated by looking at the live traffic.

Apple Acquires Drive.ai, a Dying Startup that Once Valued $200M

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Drive.ai van
Image Source: macobserver.com

Reportedly, Apple has just acquired the California based technology company, Drive.ai, for an unknown amount. Noticeably, around a fortnight ago, Drive.ai started planning to cease all its operations, and now, Apple has taken over its regulations, in order to strengthen this four years old self-driving startup, which once even valued a $200 million.

The startup was founded by a group of PhD students in 2015, and since then, it has developed various retrofit kits to transform a simple vehicle into a self-driving car. The kits developed by Drive.ai includes camera-based and LIDAR sensors that help the vehicles drive by themselves. In fact, it is the second AI company that removed the human assistance from its autonomous vehicles. The company had been successfully operating a ride-hailing service in Texas, but due to some failed experiments, it had to shut down.

According to a June 12 filing with California’s Employment Development Department, the company decided to cease its operations and layoff over 90 employees. In fact, the cofounders Sameep Tandon and Tao Wang left the company in June only, and there are a few other key people who have left the company till now.

But with the acquisition, there are chances that the company may be back in the business. According to a report, with the takeover, Apple has also hired a dozen engineers from Drive.ai. All the company’s autonomous and the other assets have also come under Apple’s acquisition. But still Apple would be cutting off 200 of Drive.ai’s employees from Drive.ai’s Titan self-driving car project, and that would be at the beginning of 2020.

The acquisition of a dying autonomous vehicle manufacturing company is only indicating that Apple is still interested in self-driving car software development. This way, it will be a great step for the company in the field of the self-driving car business. The issue here again maybe for Drive.ai, as it has already raised a good amount of money from the biggest of the investors around the world, but it could not survive the pressure. Now we need to see if it can survive with Apple or not.

Waiting for the Whatsapp Dark Mode? Get it on Android, iOS Smartphones Before the Release

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The dark mode on Whatsapp has been in a buzz for at least a year now, and there have also been a few leaks about the features that the dark mode from Whatsapp will possess. The Whatsapp’s owner company Facebook has already provided the dark mode or the night mode for Facebook Messenger, and soon it will be available for all the Whatsapp users too.

Whatsapp dark mode
Image Source: cnbctv18.com

Though the dark mode for Whatsapp has still not been launched officially, the company has provided a way to get the beta version of dark mode, before it will be released for the general public.

The first condition to get the Whatsapp’s dark mode on an Android smartphone or the iPhone is to get the latest Android Q on an Android phone and iOS11 or the latest version of iOS on the iPhone. So, this is clear that a lot of people will not be able to enjoy the new dark mode at least for some more time.

Android Q is still in beta which is also available for only a few Android smartphones, including Google Pixel 2, 2 XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, OnePlus 6T, Huawei Mate 20 Pro, LG G8, Nokia 8.1, Oppo Reno, Realme 3 Pro, Sony Xperia XZ3, Vivo X27, Vivo Nex S, Nex A, Xiaomi Mi 9, Mi Mix 3 5G, Essential Phone, Asus 6Z.

So who are among the owners of mentioned phones or the ones who can get the Android Q on their Android phones, can follow the steps below to get the dark mode on their Whatsapp:

  • Go to the Settings of the phone and select Display from the list.
  • In the Display settings, select the Theme option and then Dark.
  • Again you need to go to the Settings under which you need to select About Phone option.
  • Now tap on the Build Number seven times in order to activate Developer Mode.
  • As the Developer Mode has been activated, go to the Developer Option and then tap on Override Force Dark.

Now the dark mode will be activated on every single app on your phone. Though after enabling the dark mode, you will need to change the background wallpaper of your Whatsapp to make the dark mode completely enabled.

To get the dark mode for the Whatsapp on the iPhones, you need to take the following steps:

  • Go to the Setting and select General.
  • Under the General settings, select Accessibility and then Display Accommodations.
  • Here you will find the Invert Colours option, under which you need to select Smart Invert.

This way, you will get the dark mode for the Whatsapp on iPhone. Though you still need to change the wallpaper in order to get the dark mode completely.

The sparkling AMOLED displays in smartphones are clearer but brighter. There are only a few people who reduce the brightness of their phone while using it. Getting dark mode on the phones will help people with their vision, that is at risk because of their increased screen time. In fact, Apple has also included a dark mode in its latest iOS13.

Apple Releases the iOS13 Beta for Public

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Apple just launched the public beta of its next operating system, iOS13, for the iPhone and iPad. The company has developed separate operating systems for iPhone and iPad for the very first time, naming them iOS, for the iPhone and iPadOS, for the iPad. The iOS13 will also empower the iPod touch. And, both the OSs are now available as a beta for the general public.

The company plans to release the original iOS13 by the coming fall, but before that, it will be testing the OS and will keep on updating it to fix the bugs prior to the original release.

iOS13
Image Source: macrumors.com

With the release of the iOS13 beta, it revealed the various features that will be embedded to the OS, including the dark mode, new photo gallery and editing options, revamped Apple maps and reminders, etc.

The company has finally brought the dark mode to iPhones and iPads. There are various options to activate the dark mode. The user can apply the dark mode manually or can schedule the on and off time for the same. There is also an option through which the iPhone and the iPad automatically adapt to the dark mode when it senses darkness around. For now, all Apple’s pre-installed apps are enabled with dark mode, whereas the third party apps that do not support dark mode will not respond to the iOS dark mode.

With the iOS13, Apple has brought a new photo app, that sorts pictures on the basis of time, date, month and year, and also provides various new editing features. These amazing editing features allow you to make changes to the white balance, definition, vignette, brilliance, contrast, saturation, sharpness, noise reduction on pictures, highlights, and shadows, etc. This new app has got great UI and is faster.

iOS13 also brings new renovated Apple Maps that allow the users to set icons for the places they visit often, like their home, office, a favourite restaurant, a friend’s house, etc. The new app now has more precise data about locations and is faster when showing the directions. The company has also made some good changes to the app’s street view and CarPlay features. The street view option is now better with its new 3D feature ‘Look Around’.

The old Reminder app that Apple offered to its users was quite a useless one, but this time, the users will be able to add geofences, times, or pictures to reminders. The app has got new options, like filters for the due work, for the work that is already done, and for the scheduled work. Siri will also play a role in the Reminder, and the user will also be able to add contacts to the app.

Apple has also worked on enhancing the security for the Apple devices, and has introduced a new signup option called “Sign in with Apple”. Along with that, it has also released new permissions for the Bluetooth, wifi, as well as location tracking.

The other new features include adding a profile picture to the messaging app, which will be visible to the user’s contacts only, Mail with new formatting options, and Safari with a new website settings menu, etc.

Nasa’s Curiosity Detects Methane Spike on the Martian Surface

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Many of the scientists are curious about the whereabouts of Mars, and the biggest space organisation, NASA, is one of them. According to a report by the New York Times, Curiosity, the motor vehicle sent by Nasa to Martian surface, has discovered the largest amount of methane ever measured during its mission. Times published the news on Saturday, after receiving a private email from Ashwin Vasavada, one of the project scientists on the mission.

Curiosity Mars Rover
Image Source: bgr.com

NASA on Monday confirmed the news, by saying that the amount of the methane that Curiosity has found, in the span of seven years of its mission, is about three times higher than previous detections. The organisation also doubts that the origin of the gas may be biological, arising hopes for the possibility of life on Mars, one of the sources of methane can be microbial life. Though, methane can be originated through other sources including geothermal reactions involving water and heat, or through interactions between water and rock. But, Curiosity lacks the tools that can identify the origin of methane on Mars, and from where it is generated. So Nasa has also denied commenting on the same.

According to the blog post published by Nasa on Monday, the finding reveals that the rover discovered about 21 parts per billion units by volume (ppbv) of methane, through its Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) tunable laser spectrometer. And, one ppbv means that if a volume of air is taken to Mars, one billionth of the volume of air will be methane.

The organisation also revealed that the rover has detected Methane on the Martian surface several times before, and always there was a difference between the level of methane during every other season. Nasa hasn’t been able to know the reason behind the difference in the level of methane in these different seasons. The organisation also detected the gas on the surface of Mars in 2004, but the scientists were unable to detect its source, at that time.

Nasa will be conducting a few more experiments to know more about the sources of Methane and will be collaborating with different space organisations, including the European Space Agency’s Trace Gas Orbiter. The latter has been exploring the Mars’ orbit and has notified that it has not detected any methane during the period of one year of its research. Nasa mentioned that it will be matching up the reports from the latter and will carry out some experiment to get extra details on the finding.

Razer Collabs with Visa to Move Forward with its Fintech Arm

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Razer and Visa Partenership
Image Source: comentr.com

Razer the fintech gaming company has joined its hands with the world’s leader in digital payments, Visa, to initiate an unusual type of partnership. The two companies will be working together to develop a new virtual prepaid solution for many of Southeast Asia’s, especially the unbanked and underserved, consumers.

The company announced that its fintech arm, Razer Fintech, will be joining the fast-track program from Visa, as a revolutionary idea, aiming to transform the way the gamers make payments. The fast-track program from Visa has been specially designed for fintech companies to help them easily access 54 million merchant locations around the world that accept Visa.

The partnership between the two companies will lead to developing a new virtual payment service, that will empower the Razer Pay e-wallet and give its users access to the global Visa payment network. With this new service, the unbanked users will be able to top up the wallet, make online payment through it, and also, will be able to withdraw cash through it. The scope of Visa is already huge, and with the collab, the two companies will be targeting to the 60 million Razer users. Noticeably, the company has not talked about rolling out a physical payment card along with the service.

“We are pleased to partner with such a forward-looking and innovative company that understands the value and importance of expanding access to digital payments. This announcement reaffirms Visa’s commitment to the fast-growing and digitally savvy Southeast Asia region. Together, Visa and Razer Fintech have the opportunity to transform the payments experience for not only the gaming community but many of Southeast Asia’s unbanked and underserved consumers as well”, Chris Clark, Regional President, Asia Pacific, Visa, stated during the announcement.

The two companies have said that they will be rolling out a mini app for the new payment service and will also include great offers for its users. The app will be integrated into Razer’s virtual wallet app.