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Yahoo Back into the Chat Business with its New Yahoo Together App

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As they say, “It’s never too late”. Yahoo has followed this phrase by launching its new messenger app. Yahoo launched ‘Yahoo Together’, a messenger app, on Thursday, shutting down its older Yahoo Messenger, due to the reduced usage of the app. Yahoo Together is a Yahoo and Oath’s product that it was testing a few months ago, as the invite-only Yahoo Squirrel app. Now, the Squirrel app is out of beta, and Yahoo has launched the same as the Yahoo Together app.

Even, after the data breach happened, on Yahoo’s messenger, in 2013, Yahoo has gathered some courage to enter back into the business. Yahoo and Oath, together have made an effort in the field of chatting, when there are so many messenger apps already available online.

Yahoo Together
Image Source: 9to5mac.com

The Yahoo Together is similar to other chatting apps, except providing more organized experience for the group chats. The app is having way more similarity with the enterprise level chat apps like Slack than any other simple chat apps. But, the app is specially designed for the personnel groups, like family and friends. The look and feel, as well as the custom reactions below the messages, seems to be directly adopted from Slack only.

Like Slack, it supports private and public group chats, that has been named as Topics. One can easily share audio and video files, on these group chats. The Activity View feature of Yahoo Together shows the user every time his/her name is mentioned in the chat. Like any other chat app, the user can mute the notifications for a particular group or a person.

The only feature that differentiates the app from other chatting apps is the smart reminder feature that notifies the user about different events, or of any particular message in the group, by sending the group members a notification about that message. Also, there is no voice calling feature as well as no third-party app integration, available in the app.

The app is created by the Yahoo’s old Communications Team, but with better functionality and features. Although with the chat apps like What’s App, Facebook Messenger and Slack, already available online, the launch of another chat app from Yahoo have raised many questions on its success, in such a competitive environment, Yahoo’s effort is commendable. But, the app surely needs a lot of improvements to survive in the market.

Mercedes Showcased the Third-gen Merc B-Class at the Paris Motor Show 2018

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The Paris Motor Show 2018 has started, and every automobile company is all set to showcase their new products and inventions in the event. In between the Mercedes has already unveiled its new Mercedes-Benz B-class MPV, as the fourth member of the Mercedes’ range of eight new smaller cars.

The Benz B-class is a hatchback silhouette, made under the internal codename W247. Having a similar shape as its predecessors, it has come with better interiors and fresh sheet metals outside. The vehicle is based on the A-class platform, with new engines, autonomous tech and powertrain options.

Merc MVP
Image Source: yahoo.com

The B-class has adopted the older multi-beam LED headlamps from the A-class and has the split tail lamps at the back. This time, it has avoided the strange side sculptured look from the previous models of the series, giving the car a cleaner and upfront profile. The new Mercedes MPV is 1,557mm taller, 4,359mm longer, and 1,786mm wider, having a wheelbase of 2,929mm and a reduced drag coefficient of 0.24. The roof of the B-class is slightly lower and the wheels of the car range between 16 inches to 19 inch for the different variants.

The overhangs are also shorter, offering more interior space for people and cargo. The Merc MVP has been embedded with the voice recognition, augmented reality features and Mercedes Me connectivity. Similar to the S-class, it also includes the safety features and the driver aid for semi-autonomous driving.

The different variants of the B-class will offer five engines, two petrol and three diesel type, ranging from the 136-horsepower gasoline B180 to the 190-horsepower, 295 pound-foot B220d. Both types of engine cars will have a 7-speed automatic gearbox.

There has been no announcement of the launch of the B-class in India yet. But, we can expect the availability of this new Mercedes model in India, in the coming year, maybe after the launch of A-class hatchback or the A-class sedan.

Microsoft Unveils the Addition of New Products in its Surface Series

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Microsoft hosted its annual event, in the New York City, on Tuesday 2 October. In the event, the company launched a pack of four surface gears, including the Surface Pro 6 tablet/laptop hybrid, the Surface Laptop 2, the Surface Studio all-in-one desktop and also a $349 Surface Headphones, while the rumoured Surface Phone is still under the wraps.

Starting with the new Surface Pro 6 laptop/tablet, it consists of Intel’s quad-core 8th Gen processor, with an improved battery life that can last for 13.5 hours, when fully charged. The laptop has a 12.3-inch display, and no USB-C ports, like its predecessor, Surface Pro and Surface Pro 2. It supports up to 16GB of RAM, and it is 1.5 times faster than the other previous laptops of the same series. The laptop is the first of its family to have a matte black finish. The laptop/tablet is available at a starting price of $899.

microsoft-surface
Image Source: idgesg.net

The Surface Laptop 2 is a striking black matte finish laptop, having a 13.5-inch touchscreen. The laptop operates on the quad-core 8th Generation processor. Microsoft has again neglected the USB-C port in the Surface Laptop 2, instead, it has a USB-A. This time Microsoft has introduced a more silent and easier to type on Alcantara fabric-covered keyboard. The laptop costs $999, for its basic model.

The second version, in the Surface Studio range, the Surface Studio 2, is an all in one desktop that converts into a flat drawing panel with the help of its classic Studio hinges. The desktop has a 28-inch display screen, similar to the Surface Studio, but, brighter and with better contrast. The desktop has the 7th generation Intel Core i7 processor, and a speedier SSD storage that can range between 1 TB to 2TB, based on the model. The system has the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 or GTX 1070 chipset, specially designed for the creative professionals. Also, the system has got the inbuilt Xbox Wireless support and a USB-C port. The price of the Studio Pro 2 is $3,499 for the base model and may vary with the higher models.

Microsoft has also announced its first smart Surface Headphones. Having the noise-cancelling feature, the user can adjust the sound of the headphones, using the dial on the left ear cup, to eliminate noise. It supports the hands-free voice commands, with the help of the Hey Cortana technology. The headphones consist of the USB Type C port that is used for the charging purpose. It stops the track or the music as soon the user removes it from the ears. It also consists of the touch controls on the ear cups. The headphones can work for 15 hours after they are fully charged. The Surface Headphones costs approximately $350.

Microsoft has also launched the ‘All Access’ payment plan for the Surface products. This is not a monthly subscription plan, but similar to one, as the buyer will pay a fixed amount every month, till the completion of 2 years, to buy any of those Surface products. The buyer will also avail the access to Office 365. But, in this plan, the buyer cannot upgrade to the newer version of the Surface series.

All the new Surface Series gadgets have been available for pre-orders, starting on Tuesday, in the US, with shipments expected later this month.

Flipkart Hosts the Sale for the Latest Nokia 5.1 Plus Today

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In the August month of this year, HMD had announced the launch of the new Nokia 5.1 plus smartphone. But, it did not disclose the date of the launch and the price of the smartphone. Finally, last week HMD launched the smartphone, and the sale is about to start in less than an hour, today, on Flipkart.

Last week, HMD unveiled the Nokia 5.1 plus, having an iPhone X-like 5.86-inch HD+, 2.5D rounded edge glass display screen. The smartphone is a look-alike of the Nokia 6.1 plus, supporting 3 GB RAM and 32 GB storage expandable up to 400GB external storage.

nokia
Image Source: gadgets360cdn.com

The Nokia 5.1 Plus runs on the Android 8.1 Oreo and is powered by octa-core MediaTek Helio P60 SoC, having advanced AI features. The smartphone will get regular security updates, and soon it can be updated with the latest Android Pie. The Nokia 5.1 plus has a glass sandwich design providing a great grip and better touch properties for the user. The smartphone will be available in Gloss Black and Gloss Midnight Blue colours.

The new Nokia 5.1 plus like its contemporaries, support the dual camera. It has a 13 MP f/2.0 primary sensor, and a 5 MP depth sensor. The camera is placed vertically on the back of the phone, along with the LED flash, and the fingerprint sensor. Also, it has an 8 MP f/2.2 camera with 80.4-degree wide-angle lens, on the front. The old Nokia phones were known for its battery backup and the Nokia 5.1 plus is backed up with a 3060mAh battery. It is a dual sim 4G smartphone, having a type-C USB port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Nokia 5.1 plus sale will take place on Flipkart, that will start today in the afternoon. The sale will start in less than an hour, and the smartphone will cost 10,999 INR. The buyers must update their address and the payment method on the site. It is expected that, with such a price, the smartphone will lack the availability soon on successful completion of the sale. The buyer will receive multiple offers, like Rs 1800 cashback for the Airtel postpaid users, and other EMI offers on various bank’s cards.

Microsoft Announced the Office 2019 Setup for Windows & Mac OS

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Microsoft-Office-2019
Image Source: fonearena.com

During the Microsoft’s Ignite conference held in Orlando, Florida, Microsoft announced many new products, and have upgraded many older products, too. Among all those products, Microsoft has announced the new Microsoft Office 2019. The Office 2019 is the successor of the Office 2016 and has been embedded with all the Office 365 ProPlus features, that were added to it, in the past three years. Most importantly, the Office 2019 is built for both Windows and Mac operating systems and is available for volume licensed customers.

The new Ms Office 2019 has got different updates for each of its members, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Project, Visio, Access, and Publisher. With the cinematic presentation included to PowerPoint, Microsoft has also added SVG, 3D model support, and 4k video export to it. The Office 2019 has also added the play in-click sequence feature, and for better presentation, features like Morph and Zoom to Powerpoint. The Word has got a new translator along with the focus mode feature. There have also been upgrades in the security features, usability and accessibility of the Ms Office.

The Office 2019 is focused on lesser network consumption, security, streamlined administration and time efficiency. The setup is going to have a roaming pencil case, ribbon customizations, pressure sensitivity and tilt effects added to it, to help the user to create a document more easily. The Ms Excel is also upgraded with the new data analysis feature along with formulas, charts etc.

By the coming week, Microsoft will also have upgrades to its servers including the Exchange Server 2019, Skype for Business Server 2019, SharePoint Server 2019, and Project Server 2019. The Office 2019 is equipped with all the previous useful updates and according to Microsoft, it is not going to receive any further updates in the future. However, the Office 365 ProPlus will continue receiving regular monthly updates.

Facebook Unveils the Latest Standalone VR Headset Oculus Quest

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Oculus Quest
Image Source: businessinsider.com

Oculus Connect conference took place in San Jose, California, on Wednesday. The Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook’s latest VR headset, during the event. The VR headset is called the Oculus Quest. Facebook had already unveiled its prototype two years ago that gave a hint of its being similar to the Gear VR pro or the Rift lite.

Now, when it has been showcased, in the yesterday’s event, we found it most similar to the Rift, but without having a PC base. The new Quest is a wireless, independent VR box that lets you move across 4,000 square feet of space. The Oculus Quest is embedded with the inside-out tracking technology, i.e., the headset has its inbuilt movement detection sensors, rather having it on the external bases.

The Quest supports the 6DOF (Six Degrees of Freedom), i.e., the headset can measure the user’s position in 6 different directions, in the virtual environment, with accuracy. It has a 1600×1440 resolution display that makes the experience more realistic.

Along with the Quest headset, Facebook also unveiled the Touch Controllers, a set of controllers. The controllers are similar to the Rift’s handheld motion Touch Controllers and are made compatible with 50 existing Oculus applications.

Facebook also previewed new and more realistic Avatars for the VR developers. The Avatars will be more expressive with their eye movements and lip sync properties. The Oculus Quest is Facebook’s first all-in-one standalone VR system, that doesn’t need any computer-based setup and gives you the freedom to walk around freely. This amazing product will cost around $399 (Rs. 28000) and will come in the market by the spring of next year.