Global Technology News Updates

Xiaomi to bring ISRO’s NavIC to its upcoming Redmi smartphones in 2020

Xiaomi has announced that it would be bringing ISRO's Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, NavIC technology to its upcoming Redmi smartphones. The capability has been currently enabled by Qualcomm Technologies on several of their Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile platforms. NavIC will be made available across multiple Xiaomi smartphones in India this year, the company said in a statement.
read more at Hindustan Times

Apple doesn't allow villains to use iPhones in movies: 'Star Wars' director

'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' director Rian Johnson in an interview with Vanity Fair said, "Apple lets you use iPhone in movies...but bad guys cannot have iPhones on camera." He said, "It's gonna screw my next mystery movie," adding that, "every filmmaker that has a bad guy in their movie...that's supposed to be a secret...wants to murder me right now."
read more at The Next Web

Indians now consume over 11GB data per person in a month: Report

Indians now consume over 11GB data per person per month, according to a report by Nokia. One GB data usually allows users to stream about 200 songs or watch an hour of video. The report added that 4G constituted 96% of the total data traffic consumed across India while 3G data traffic registered its highest-ever decline of 30% in 2019.
read more at Hindustan Times

Porsche to let 911 buyers get their fingerprint printed on car for ₹5.8 lakh

Porsche has announced it will let its Porsche 911 buyers customise the car by adding a print of their fingerprint on the car's hood. "The operating principle is similar to that of an inkjet printer," said Porsche, describing the printing process. The service costs 7,500 euros (over ₹5.8 lakh) in Germany and will be provided by Porsche from March 2020.
read more at Porsche Newsroom

TikTok user says he was 'close to dying' during stunt at frozen lake; shares video

TikTok user Jason Clark, who has over 4 lakh followers, has shared his story about how he was "close to dying" while filming a stunt for his account. Jason became trapped under a sheet of ice and couldn't find his way out until the very last second. "I was so short on breath...I had accepted that was it," said Jason.

TikTok fundamentally parasitic, would never install it on my phone: Reddit CEO

Reddit Co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman during an event on Wednesday called the TikTok app "fundamentally parasitic" adding that it is "always listening and its fingerprinting technology is truly terrifying". "I could not bring myself to install an app like that on my phone," said Huffman. "I actively tell people, ‘Don’t install that spyware on your phone'," he added.
read more at TechCrunch

Creator of 'Konami Code' that let players get 30 free lives in Contra passes away

Kazuhisa Hashimoto, the former Konami employee who created the Konami Code (Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A and start), passed away at the age of 61. In the NES home version of Contra (1988), the code allowed the player to obtain 30 free lives. The first game in which the Konami Code featured was 1985's Gradius.
read more at TechCrunch

Apple to open its first physical retail store in India in 2021: CEO Tim Cook

Apple will open its first physical retail store in India in 2021, confirmed CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday. He said that the company needed to get approval from the government to go into India on its own rather than with a domestic partner. "I don’t want somebody else to run the brand for us," he said.
read more at The Financial Express

Hyderabad police file case against WhatsApp, TikTok over anti-national content

Hyderabad's cybercrime police have filed criminal cases against WhatsApp, TikTok, among others for hosting anti-national content on their platforms. The petition was filed by journalist-turned-activist Silveri Srisailam which claimed that "some vested interests from Pakistan" were posting content against CAA and NRC. The police said that notices would be served to the management of the platforms.
read more at Hindustan Times

Facebook to remove ads that promise cure for coronavirus

After Facebook announced removing misinformation regarding coronavirus on its platform, the social media giant said it will start banning ads that show cure for the virus. Facebook will also remove ads that "create a sense of urgency" about the deadly virus. Facebook uses its third-party fact-checkers to review posts and has previously removed content including fake cures like drinking bleach.
read more at Engadget