Twitter can help predict emergency hospital visits

NEW YORK: Twitter can help several hospitals plan better in terms of tackling patient rush and availability of resources and staff, suggests a study.

The researchers said personal health-related tweets posted by some users could be helpful for hospitals.

"You can get a lot of interesting insights from social media that you can't from electronic health records," said lead author professor Sudha Ram from the University of Arizona.

"You only go to the doctor once in a while, and you don't always tell your doctor how much you've been exercising or what you've been eating."

"But people share that information all the time on social media. We think that prediction models like this can be very useful, if we can combine various types of data, to address chronic diseases," she explained.

The researchers looked specifically at the chronic condition of asthma and how asthma-related tweets, analyzed alongside other data, can help predict asthma-related emergency room visits.

Ram and colleagues created a model that was able to successfully predict approximately how many asthma sufferers would visit the emergency room at a large hospital in Dallas on a given day, based on an analysis of data gleaned from electronic medical records, air quality sensors and Twitter.

"We realized that asthma is one of the biggest traffic generators in the emergency department," Ram said.

"Often what happens is that there are not the right people in the ED to treat these patients, or not the right equipment, and that causes a lot of unforeseen problems," she added.

The researchers found that as certain air quality measures worsened, asthma visits to the emergency room went up. Asthma visits also increased as the number of asthma-related tweets went up.

The findings are scheduled to be published in the Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics.

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Jawbone UP4 fitness tracker integrates your credit card too

SAN FRANCISCO: On one hand, or wrist, there may be an eye-catching Apple Watch, while the other will sport with more discreet jewelry packed with internet Age smarts.

Jawbone had that vision of the wearable computing trend in mind when it ramped its UP family of lifestyle-tracking bands and teased a coming model that enables American Express users to tap and pay at shop checkout counters.

"People often wear a watch at the same time they are wearing bracelets," Jawbone vice president of product management and strategy Travis Bogard told AFP at the company's San Francisco headquarters.

"We can now put technology into those situations in a way that doesn't disrupt how you would wear it. Then you can collect that information and do interesting things with it."

A UP3 bracelet that tracks heart rate along with activity and sleep is shipping after a delayed release while technicians improved water resistance.

Jawbone introduced another new UP band with an overhauled design and almost half the mass of its predecessor.

Bogard showed off a coming flagship UP4 model with sensors capable of measuring heart rate and other biometrics, and which could be used at checkouts that have American Express contactless payment systems.

"We have created a seamless payment experience all in the tap of a wrist," said Leslie Berland, executive vice president of digital partnerships and development at American Express.

UP4 will be priced at $199 when it is released in the middle of this year, according to Bogard. The lowest priced UP model is $49.

Bogard was undaunted by the pending arrival next week of Apple Watch, which unofficial estimates indicate has about a million pre-orders and could ignite the smar watch market.

"Those are really daytime wear," he said of smartwatches.

UP bands are designed to be jewelry that "disappears on the body" while being worn all day every day, using sensors to track activity, sleep and more.

The bands synch to smartphones and feed what they learn to the Internet cloud, where "smart coach" software provides personalized advice for healthier lifestyles.

Jawbone has focused on creating a platform that can synch to applications tailored for an array of smartwatches from major players including Apple, Huawei, Asus, LG and Motorola.

Data gathered by wearable computing devices can be used by "smart coach" to coax or nudge users toward lifestyle goals from losing weight to drinking more water or getting to sleep earlier.

"Data is good, understanding is better," Bogard said.

While Jawbone believes people will want UP hardware, it has made the platform open so developers can synch devices, applications or services to the system.

"One thing that differentiates tech companies from competitors is being a platform," Gartner analyst Brian Blau told AFP.

"That is something of a Holy Grail. Getting to that point and kick-starting an ecosystem is really lucrative, and could be for Jawbone."

Having services, applications, smartwatches and more tuned to its platform diversifies opportunities for Jawbone to make money.

Gartner has found that while people have been showing interest in wearable computing, it hasn't translated into massive mainstream purchasing.

"I think that the Apple Watch is going to pique people's interest and they will pay more attention to wrist wearables," Blau said.

The analyst doubted there would be a quick shift to people using watches, bracelets or other wearable computers as wallets since it is already easy enough to use credit cards for purchases.

Overall, it remains early days for wearable computing with innovations on the horizon including virtual or augmented reality head gear and sensors or chips embedded in clothing fabric, according to the analyst.

"The wearables industry is only just getting started," Blau said.

"The conundrum the wearables industry is in today is which will stand out as the next platform or the next spot on the body where people will wear things."

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Apple expands environmental efforts with 2 new projects

PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA: Apple is expanding its environmental efforts by investing in a new Chinese solar power project and preserving 36,000 acres of "sustainable" timberland in Maine and North Carolina.

The initiatives come as the tech giant this year met a self-imposed goal of powering all its US operations with renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions -- initiatives that have won high marks from environmental groups like Greenpeace.

On Thursday, Apple announced a new focus on using paper from trees harvested under environmentally sound conditions. It's also promising to use more renewable power overseas, where Apple relies heavily on contract manufacturers -- and where a top executive acknowledged the company can do more.

"It's important to us to tackle climate change everywhere we are," Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president for environmental initiatives, told The Associated Press. "When you talk about China, you're talking about manufacturing partners. We're looking to bring the same innovation there. This is the start."

The new solar project in China has a capacity of 40 megawatts, which is smaller than some projects Apple has announced in the United States. By comparison, Apple is spending $850 million for rights to nearly half the output of a 280-megawatt solar facility planned for construction south of Apple's Cupertino, California, headquarters. That project will produce enough energy to power all of Apple's California offices, a computer center and 52 retail stores.

Still, the Chinese project will produce more than the amount of energy consumed by Apple's 19 corporate offices and 21 retail stores in China and Hong Kong, Jackson said. She added that Apple uses renewable energy for 87% of the power at its facilities worldwide.

That figure, however, doesn't include substantial power consumption by contract manufacturers. With the new project in China, Apple is looking to improve its own operations first.

"Before we go somewhere else and start asking and eventually requiring clean energy, you want to make sure you show folks how to do it," said Jackson, who was US Environmental Protection Agency administrator during president Barack Obama's first term.

Jackson declined to say how much Apple is investing in the plant, which is being built in partnership with US energy company SunPower and four Chinese firms. Although China is known for heavy reliance on coal, its government has set aggressive goals for solar, wind and hydroelectric power.

Meanwhile, Apple pledged an unspecified amount of money for a Virginia-based nonprofit, the Conservation Fund, to purchase two large tracts of timberland on the East Coast. The Conservation Fund will resell the land to commercial interests under legally binding terms that require future owners to preserve the forest and follow environmentally sound principles for cutting and replanting trees.

Larry Selzer, the group's chief executive, said that will protect the forest while keeping it in the hands of private owners who pay taxes and create jobs. Selzer said he'll use proceeds from reselling the land to buy and protect additional tracts.

Apple won't necessarily buy paper made from trees on that land, but Jackson said the investment will increase the supply of sustainable wood fiber. She said the two tracts would produce about half the non-recycled wood fiber used in Apple's product packaging last year.

That would put Apple halfway toward its goal of obtaining all its non-recycled paper products from sustainable timber. Apple wouldn't say how much paper it uses, but it says two-thirds of its paper packaging comes from recycled material. In the last three months of 2014, Apple sold more than 100 million iPhones and other gadgets, most in cardboard boxes.

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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to receive Champion of Change award from Obama

WASHINGTON: US president Barack Obama plans to honour Microsoft's Indian-origin CEO Satya Nadella with the Champions of Change award for bringing about change within his company to support working families.

"Microsoft recently announced that over the next year it will make changes to ensure that a wide variety of suppliers that do business with Microsoft in the US provide at least 15 days of paid leave each year to employees who handle Microsoft work," the White House said as it announced the names of recipients of the Champions of Change Award.

Before being named CEO in February 2014, 47-year-old Nadella held leadership roles in both enterprise and consumer businesses across the company.

Joining Microsoft in 1992, he quickly became known as a leader who could span a breadth of technologies and businesses to transform some of Microsoft's biggest product offerings.

Originally from Hyderabad, he earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Mangalore University, a master's degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Chicago.

--

Champions of Change award is given to those who support working families and have helped to bring about change within their companies, communities or organizations by advocating for commonsense paid sick and paid leave policies, equal pay and an end to pregnancy discrimination to support families, businesses, and economy.

According to the White House, the president remains focused on middle-class economics -- adhering to the simple idea that economy works best when it's working for everyone.

Republicans in Congress continue to take a different approach, offering huge tax giveaways to the wealthy and well-connected at the expense of the middle class, it alleged.

Earlier this week, the White House released a Middle Class Tax report highlighting his budget proposals to help those 44 million middle-class Americans.

The 'Champions of Change' programme was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities.

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Lava launches Iris X1 Atom

NEW DELHI: Lava has expanded its Iris series with another entry level smartphone — Iris X1 Atom— priced at Rs 4,444. The smartphone will compete with Motorola Moto E, Samsung Galaxy Star Advance, Micromax Unite 2 and Microsoft Lumia 435.

Iris X1 Atom runs on Android KitKat 4.4 (with an update for Android Lollipop guaranteed) and features a 4-inch (480x800p) WVGA display. Powered by 1.2 GHz quad core processor, the phone comes with 512MB RAM, and has 4GB of internal storage. For more storage, users can install microSD cards up to 32GB.

Iris X1 Atom sports a 5MP primary camera with LED flash and VGA secondary camera and packs a 1750mAh battery. For connectivity, the smartphone offers 3G, GPRS/EDGE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v2.1 and a micro-USB slot.

Lava's new smartphone will be available in white-silver, black-silver and black-gold colours and can be bought from various e-commerce portals as well as retail stores across the country beginning next week.

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Apple bans selfie sticks at WWDC 2015

NEW YORK: No selfie sticks would be allowed at the Worldwide Developers Conference 2015, Apple announced in the new rules for the event.

The attendees wouldn't be allowed to use selfie sticks or any other kind of photo monopod within the bounds of either Moscone West or Yerba Buena Gardens.

Though photography using phones or compact cameras is permitted, developers have already been barred from making audio or video recordings of WWDC events, or using professional photo equipment.

During events like the opening keynote, selfie sticks could potentially give attendees un-obstructed shots of the stage, but might also block the views of other audience members and Apple's own camera crews.

"You are not permitted to make audio or audiovisual recordings of WWDC or take professional photographic or video equipment, or wearable recording devices into Moscone West or Yerba Buena Gardens," Apple's information page announced.

"In addition, you may not use selfie sticks or similar monopods within Moscone West or Yerba Buena Gardens," it read.

A number of other major events have already banned selfie sticks over concerns about them obstructing the views of other people.

WWDC 2015 is scheduled from June 8-12 in San Francisco. Apple is expected to showcase iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 at the event.

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Cleartrip backs net neutrality, exits Facebook’s Internet.org

NEW DELHI: A day after Flipkart cleared its stance on net neutrality by stepping away from the controversial Airtel Zero plan, travel website Cleartrip has also backed the neutral net by exiting Facebook's Internet.org programme.

Join the Times campaign for a neutral internet here

In response of Net Neutrality India's questions on why it was violating net neutrality principles by being part of Internet.org initiative, Cleartrip said posted the following on its blog:

"A few weeks back, Facebook reached out and asked us to participate in the Internet.org initiative with the intention of helping us deliver one of our most affordable products to the more underserved parts of the country. There was no revenue arrangement between us and Internet.org or any of its participants — we were neither paid anything, nor did we pay anything to participate. Additionally we don't make any money out of that product. Since there was absolutely zero money changing hands, we genuinely believed we were contributing to a social cause.

But the recent debate around #NetNeutrality gave us pause to rethink our approach to Internet.org and the idea of large corporations getting involved with picking and choosing who gets access to what and how fast. What started off with providing a simple search service has us now concerned with influencing customer decision-making by forcing options on them, something that is against our core DNA.

So while our original intent was noble, it is impossible to pretend there is no conflict of interest (both real and perceived) in our decision to be a participant in Internet.org. In light of this, Cleartrip has withdrawn our association with and participation in Internet.org entirely.

We believe that the Internet is a great leveller and that freedom of the Internet is critical for innovation. Cleartrip is and always will be a fully committed supporter of #NetNeutrality."

READ ALSO: Complete coverage on net neutrality

Internet.org is Facebook's initiative to bring internet services to areas that are still not connected to the web. In India, the programme was launched in India in February 2015, wherein Reliance Communication will provide free internet to the subscribers.

READ ALSO: What is net neutrality and why it is important?

However, the programme is a little against the principles of net neutrality, which entail that all websites and apps should get the user accessibility and bandwidth. For example, Internet.org only allows users to search queries only via Microsoft's Bing, but not Google or other search engines.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, however, has said that net neutrality can co-exist with Internet.org.

Watch AIB video on net neutrality

A neutral internet is one of the hottest topics in India as netizens are slamming the net neutrality violating Airtel Zero plan left, right and centre. This plan requires companies to pay extra to Airtel in order to get their websites and apps to load faster.

READ ALSO: Airtel may withdraw Zero plan, analysts say

Despite signing up for the programme initially, Flipkart yesterday distanced itself from Airtel Zero.

Trai has uploaded a consultation paper on its website so that users can give their views on net neutrality to the regulatory body by April 23. Users can log on to www.savetheinternet.in to answer the questions and send a mail to Trai in just two clicks.

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iBerry launches Auxus Beast at Rs 13,990

NEW DELHI: IBerry has launched a new mid-range smartphone — Auxus Beast — priced at Rs 13,990. The smartphone will compete against the likes of Moto G (second generation), Gionee Elife S5.1, Samsung Galaxy Grand 2, and Micromax Canvas Selfie.

The dual-sim smartphone runs on Android Lollipop 5.0 and features a 5.5-inch HD (720x1280p) IPS display. Powered by 1.7GHz 64-bit Octacore processor, the phone comes with 3GB RAM, and also offers 16GB of internal storage. Users who want more storage space can install microSD cards of up to 128GB.

iBerry Auxus Beast sports a 13MP primary camera with LED flash and an 8MP secondary camera and packs a 3050mAh battery. For connectivity, the smartphone offers 3G, GPRS/EDGE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a micro-USB slot.

Auxus Beast is available only in black colour but users have more choice as swappable back panels for the phone are available in red, blue, and white.

The smartphone will be available exclusively on Snapdeal from April 20, and on that day, iBerry will also be giving away freebies worth Rs 3,000 like WiCam Controller, screen guards, and silicon cases.

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7 best smartphones launched in India recently

Xiaomi Redmi 2, the 4G-capable successor of Redmi 1S, was launched in India in March at Rs 6,999.

While Redmi 2 shares a few features with its predecessor, it has a few upgrades apart from the 4G-compatibility. The new model is powered by the 64-bit 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor, while Redmi 1S comes with the 1.6GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 chipset.

The front camera gets a resolution bump, from 1.6MP in Redmi 1S to 2MP in Redmi 2. The battery is also slightly beefier at 2,200mAh in the new smartphone, up from 2,000mAh of Redmi 1S. Xiaomi's Redmi 2 smartphone also supports QuickCharge 1.0 technology for faster battery charging.

Xiaomi will be preloading the Android 4.4-based MIUI 6.0 software with Redmi 2, while the Redmi 1S runs on the Android 4.3-based MIUI 5.0 custom skin. The new model is thinner (9.2mm) and lighter (134gram) than its predecessor (9.9mm and 158gram).

The remaining features of Redmi 2 are same as that of its older sibling, including the 4.7-inch HD screen with DragonTrail glass, 8GB internal storage, up to 32GB microSD card support, 1GB RAM and connectivity options.

(Buy now @ Amazon.in)

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Smartphone device to help diagnose cancer

A new device that can be added to a smartphone may be able to accurately and cheaply diagnose cancer, a technology which could be useful in remote areas, US researchers said.

Known as D3, the add-on is designed to be used by medical experts, not the general public, and so far appears as accurate as more involved and costly tests in current use, but at a price of a mere $1.80 per patient.

The research is described in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed US journal.

"We believe the platform we have developed provides essential features at an extraordinary low cost," said co-author Cesar Castro, a doctor at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Center for Systems Biology.

D3 stands for digital diffraction diagnosis, and the system "features an imaging module with a battery-powered LED light clipped onto a standard smartphone that records high-resolution imaging data with its camera," said the study.

"With a much greater field of view than traditional microscopy, the D3 system is capable of recording data on more than 100,000 cells from a blood or tissue sample in a single image."

The process involves adding microbeads to a sample of blood or tissue. The microbeads bind to known cancer-related molecules. The sample is then loaded into the D3 imaging module.

That data can be quickly sent via a secure, encrypted cloud service to a processing server.

Then, the presence of specific molecules, which show if cancer is present, can be detected by analyzing the diffraction patterns generated by the microbeads, the study said.

Results can be returned to the doctor in minutes or hours, rather than days or weeks.

A pilot test of the system using cervical biopsy samples from 25 women who had abnormal Pap smears showed a level of accuracy that matched the current industry standard for diagnostic testing, the study said.

Another test using the D3 to analyze fine-needle lymph node biopsy samples "was accurately able to differentiate four patients whose lymphoma diagnosis was confirmed by conventional pathology from another four with benign lymph node enlargement," said the findings.

More research is needed on a larger number of cancers to verify the preliminary findings of the new device.

But researcher Ralph Weissleder, director of the MGH Center for Systems Biology, said he expects the device will break down many of the barriers that exist in cancer diagnosis, particularly in remote or impoverished areas.

"By taking advantage of the increased penetration of mobile phone technology worldwide, the system should allow the prompt triaging of suspicious or high-risk cases that could help to offset delays caused by limited pathology services in those regions and reduce the need for patients to return for follow-up care, which is often challenging for them."

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Canon eyeing home entertainment, launches 9 projectors

NEW DELHI: Japanese camera and printing giant Canon on Tuesday announced enhancing its projectors business significantly with an eye on the burgeoning home entertainment and small office segments. The company launched as many as nine projector models that range from Rs 40,750 to Rs 5,00,000.

Canon has been present in the projectors business but so far its high-end models were targeted primarily at large enterprise customers.

With the new models -- five under LV-series and four in XEED series -- Canon has introduced in India projectors with its proprietary short-throw shiftable lens and eco-friendly technology.

The XEED series projectors include Canon's proprietary LCOS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) technology which it claims makes projections free of the "lattice effect" (a faint grid pattern appearing over the projected image). These are targeted at simulation industry, large corporates, government, education and medical segments.

"Projection requirements of Indian customers have evolved over the years. Apart from being used for projecting data, customers are now using it to project movies, videos and games as well. The new Canon projectors are equipped with high quality optics to cater to such needs," said Kobayashi.

The new projectors, he claimed would offer better projection of images with precise colours, lower operational costs, ease-of-use and energy efficiency.

LV Series is the portable range of projectors utilizing DLP BrilliantColor display technology for realistic colours, 3000 lumens of brightness, a 2300:1 contrast ratio for pure black with depth and dimension and filter-free operation. Canon claims the projector in the Eco mode lowers the cost of ownership and helps reduce power consumption by approximately 20% while also lowering fan noise. These new Canon projectors are also 3D-ready when combined with an optional DLP-Link System and other accessories.

Canon is eyeing Rs 100 crore turnover from projector sales and 10% market share in the country by 2017. According to Canon India president and CEO Kazutada Kobayashi, Canon India will be able to increase its overall sales turnover from paltry 6% last year to 14% this year.

The company has tied up with Ingram Micro as the national distributor for volume products and will tie-up with AV integrated solution providers for high-end projectors. Canon will also have a channel partner incentive programme based on the demos.

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Zomato acquires cloud-based restaurant POS product MaplePOS

NEW DELHI: Restaurant search app Zomato has announced acquiring MaplePOS, a cloud-based point of sale product for restaurants.

Renamed as Zomato Base, it has a functional Android-based POS system that uses custom hardware for better reliability and customization.

It offers restaurants features such as menu and inventory management, and has a built-in payment solution to accept debit and credit card payments. With this acquisition, Zomato claimed it will be better placed to provide business-focused solutions for restaurants, which in turn, will help the company offer highly differentiated services to the end consumer.

Zomato Base incorporates menu management, inventory management, recipe management, customer relationship management, data analytics, electronic receipts, offline transaction support, payment gateway integration and a 'stealth' feature which Zomato claims will change the way restaurants go about their business forever.

This is the first product acquisition for Zomato. Since July 2014, it has acquired seven companies in various parts of the world to extend its reach in the restaurant search space. This includes the acquisition of Urbanspoon, which gave Zomato a good footing in Australia, Canada and the United States.

Zomato will work on integrating the POS product's services with its consumer product over the next few months. Later, it will start offering Zomato Base to restaurant businesses across the world.

"Zomato is the only food-tech company in the world which is building products for consumers as well as restaurant owners," said Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal.

"There is a lot that can be done if we are able to build a technology platform that connects consumers to restaurants and vice versa, and we believe that a world-class cloud-based POS system is the first step towards building that platform. MaplePOS is a great point-of-sale product, and we are excited about the prospect of working with the MaplePOS team to build this further," he added.

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Samsung Galaxy A8 smartphone’s specifications leaked

NEW DELHI: Samsung seems set to expand its mid-range portfolio in the coming weeks, with the upcoming Galaxy A8 leaking recently.
According to a SamMobile report, Samsung's next Galaxy A series smartphone is currently under development and will be a China-only model, at least initially. It is said to have a 16MP camera on the back, something that no mid-range model currently has; however, there are no details on the camera's sensor yet.

Other key features of Galaxy A8 include a 5.7-inch Full HD Super AMOLED screen, Android 5.0 (Lollipop) software, 64-bit quad-core Snapdragon 615 processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, 3,050mAh battery.

This 4G-capable smartphone will have a 5MP selfie camera in front. It is also set to become the thinnest Samsung smartphone ever with thickness of only 5.9mm.

There is no word yet on the official launch of this smartphone, or its price tag.
Other Galaxy A series smartphones currently said to be under development are Galaxy A6 and Galaxy A9.

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14 ways to make Android phones even more awesome

Usually, the Gmail app and a separate email app are pre-loaded (and the email app only offers basic functionality).

A great replacement for the default app is a free app called CloudMagic. It lets you add up to 5 accounts and supports every type of email provider (Gmail, Outlook, Exchange, iMap, iCloud, Google Apps etc). It offers a unified inbox, password lock, push notifications, custom folder sync and lets you attach files from the cloud.

If you only want a Gmail replacement, check out the free Mailbox app. Mailbox has its own sorting system that lets you manage mails easily.

If you want a better, unified email app on your phone, try myMail (by My.com BV). It's free to use and supports all major email providers (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, Exchange, Live, iCloud + IMAP & POP3). For simple scheduling of emails and SMS, try Message & Email Scheduler by RCM Apps.

Image courtesy : Google Play

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Apple’s WWDC 2015 developer conference scheduled for June 8

NEW DELHI: Apple has announced that it will host its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2015 from June 8 to June 12. This will be the 26th edition of the conference and will be held at the Moscone Centre in San Francisco.

The company announces the new features it is adding to its key software products, namely iOS, Mac OS X and iCloud, in the coming year at WWDC. Therefore, all eyes are on event to see whether loosens its stance on software control even further this year; last year, it finally allowed widgets and third-party keyboards on iOS, whereas Android has had them for years.

Tickets for WWDC 2015 will be available starting today, until April 17 10am (PDT). Apple will host over a hundred technical sessions at the event. It will also host the Apple Design Awards to showcase the best new apps of the last year.

Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, in a statement said, "The App Store ignited an app ecosystem that is simply amazing, forever changing the lives of customers and creating millions of jobs worldwide. We've got incredible new technologies for iOS and OS X to share with developers at WWDC and around the world, and can't wait to see the next generation of apps they create."

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MTS India cuts voice tariffs

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited that provides telecom services under the brand MTS, today announced a series of exciting voice and data offers for its customers in Kerala circle on the occasion of Vishu festival.

MTS India has brought down the voice tariff to just 25 paise to add to festivities of Vishu for its customers in Kerala, a press release said.

Under the Vishu offer, MTS will provide a coloured handset with FM Radio, MP3 and Torch at just Rs 999. Adding to the festivities, the company will offer its new pre-paid voice customers, the freedom to make calls and SMS all over India at just 25 paise.

In addition, the customers will be charged just 25 paise for every MB of data consumed. Data customers of Kerala circle of MTS India would also get to avail exciting benefits under the Vishu offer.

While pre-paid data customers will get additional 5GB of data for Whatsapp and Viber, post-paid data customers will get a discount of Rs 100 in their monthly bill for a year if they opt for Rs 875 plan.

According to Radhakrishnan KV, chief operating officer, Kerala-MTS India, 'Festivals are a time when people connect with their friends and family. On the occasion of Vishu, we have introduced a range of exciting propositions for our voice and data customers in the circle.'

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Inside world's first selfie museum

LONDON: Now also known as the 'selfie capital of the world,' the Philippines has an art museum that, instead of keeping you away from art pieces, encourages you take selfies with them and share your pictures with the world.

The Art in Island in the Philippines's capital Manila uses three dimensional replicas of paintings and is rightly dubbed the planet's 'first-ever selfie museum.'

The museum not only encourages its visitors in selfie-taking in the premises, they are also invited to touch, play with, and climb on the paintings and sculptures, The Creators Project reported.

"Here, art paintings are not complete if you are not with them ... If you don't take pictures with them," Blyth Cambaya, the museum's corporate secretary, was quoted as saying by Mashable.

Tourists visiting the museum seem to be liking the experience as museums around the world generally do not allow visitors to be part of them, depriving them of the delight of sharing their experience of being in the museum.

"You have to be very serious in other museums. (In) this museum, you can really just let your goofy side out," US tourist Jenna Eliel was quoted as saying.

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ISIS hacks Australian airport website

SYDNEY: An Australian airport website went offline after being taken over by pro-Islamic State hackers who published messages supporting the jihadist group.

Police said hackers appeared to have targeted the web host used by the Hobart International Airport in Tasmania and not the facility itself, and no direct threats were made.

"A message placed on the site contained a statement supporting ISIS," Tasmanian police said in a statement, using another acronym for the radical group commonly known as IS.

Authorities said identical messages had appeared on websites around the world since late 2014.

"The group claiming responsibility for the hacking appear to indiscriminately target organizations who use web hosts such as the one used by Hobart International Airport," police said.

Officials were notified that the website had been defaced yesterday morning, with the site remaining down.

"Tasmania Police have been monitoring activity at the airport premises, and there has been no suggestion of targeted activities on-site," they added.

The airport's operators said website security was being reviewed with the IT service providers.

Australia is involved in the US-led coalition against IS in Iraq and has increasingly been sounding the alarm over radicalized citizens, with about 90 thought to be fighting with the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

All of the country's main carriers fly into Hobart, the state capital, including Qantas, Virgin Australia, and Jetstar.

It retains the name "international airport" despite no longer offering scheduled overseas flights.

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Apple to ramp up watch production: Analysts

Apple Inc is likely to quickly ramp production of the Apple Watch after strong pre-orders outstripped limited supply in the first weekend following its launch, some Wall Street analysts said.

Apple is widely expected to disclose weekend pre-order numbers at around 8:30am ET on Monday.

According to shopping data firm Slice Intelligence, Apple booked nearly 1 million pre-orders for the Apple Watch in the United States on Friday.

The Apple Watch, which allows users to check email, listen to music and make phone calls when paired with an iPhone, goes on sale officially on April 24.

"Based on our observations and media reports, launch day supply was largely sold out within the first 10 to 30 minutes depending on model," Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said in a client note.

Munster, who expects Apple to sell 2.3 million watches in the April-June quarter, expects Apple to ramp production between mid-May and June.

BofA Merrill Lynch expects Apple to ship 4 million smartwatches in the quarter.

The Apple Watch is chief executive Tim Cook's first new major product launch and the company's first foray into the personal luxury-goods market.

The company will sell the gadgets in Apple stores and online as well as in trendy fashion boutiques in Paris, London and Tokyo as part of a strategy to position the wearable computer as a must-have accessory.

Despite mixed reviews, which praised the watch's styling but criticized its less-than-spectacular battery life and slow-loading apps, people flocked to Apple's stores to get a close-up look.

"We think the Apple Watch will be highly disruptive to the traditional fashion watch market," Pacific Crest analysts said.

The analysts said their checks showed that Apple appeared to be ordering components for the watch that would allow it to build well over 20 million watches this year.

"While this represents just over 5 percent of the company's iPhone user base, it would be nearly half of the total (more than) $200 watch market," they said.

The brokerage expects Apple to likely have about 5 million Apple Watches available for delivery by April 24.

Analysts widely expect the Apple Watch to outsell similar watches offered by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, Sony Corp and LG Electronics, which have attracted lukewarm interest from consumers.

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IT sector drives hiring activity in March: Report

NEW DELHI: Hiring activity in India grew by 9% in March led mainly by banking and IT sectors, with the job market outlook looking bullish, says a report.

The Naukri Job Speak Index stood at 1,609 for last month, registering 9% increase in hiring activity over March 2014.

"We can expect the index to move further north as the mood is positive and there is sign of cautious optimism across sectors. In my view the year 2015-16 will bring cheer to job seekers across cities and industries," said Naukri.com executive vice president and chief sales officer V Suresh.

The sectors which recorded the maximum year-on-year growth were Banking and Financial Services (BFSI) and accounting and finance.

Sectors like accounting and finance, IT, advertising/PR/ MR and oil and gas registered a Y-o-Y growth of 43%, 27% and 12% respectively in the March 2015.

A functional area analysis shows that the demand for professionals in IT and consulting saw a Y-o-Y growth of 31% and 27% respectively in March 2015 in comparison with March 2014.

The demand for professionals in HR grew by 21% in March 2015 over March 2014. Banking/finance and accounts registered an Y-o-Y upward movement in hiring activity by 19% and 9% respectively.

City wise analysis shows that all metro cities registered an increase in hiring activity in March 2015 in comparison to March 2014. Pune led the pack with a Y-o-Y growth of 17% in hiring activity in the March 2015, followed by Delhi and Mumbai.

Chennai recorded a Y-o-Y increase of 6%, and Kolkata witnessed a Y-o-Y growth of 3% in March 2015 over March 2014.

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10 good smartphones you’ve probably never heard of

It's not an iPhone you see before your eyes, it is in fact the MEIZU MX4. With a 5.4-inch display on the front and a octa-core MediaTek processor underneath this certainly isn't a flagship phone to be sniffed at.

There's also 2GB of RAM, storage choices up to 64GB and a varied range of colour options including grey, black, white and tan.

As for the camera it's the same 20.7MP sensor you'll find in the Xperia Z3 range with a 2MP sensor on the front for selfies.

At the moment the handset is running Android but it'll soon be getting an update with Ubuntu Phone on board as well. Plus it's the only phone on this list that is available in the UK, US and Australia.

Price: $470
Availability: UK, US and Australia
USP: Ubuntu Phone coming soon

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Twitter, Instagram disguising ads as posts

PARIS: The quandary for those who run social networks is how to monetise activity on them without antagonising and thus losing users through distracting ads?

The answer, for Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, is to slip in some stealthy ads camouflaged to look like posts from listed contacts.

Each of the networks has in-house teams whose job is to think up ways to advise brands on how to sneak their marketing into members' feeds.

At YouTube, owned by Google, the effort is called "Zoo". Instagram uses the "Creative Shop" of its parent company Facebook. Twitter's name for it is the relatively straight-forward "Brand Strategy".

The strategies adapt to the specific requirements, formats and behaviour on each of the social networks.

Hiding in plain sight

In the case of Instagram, the four-year-old site which boasts 300 million users worldwide who share filtered photos and videos, the advertising push has now extended to France.

The network long resisted introducing sponsored messages, aware that many of its fans were creative types -- artists, photographers, architects -- against having screens of pure images corrupted by tawdry commercial intrusions.

But after Facebook bought it for $715 million in 2012, Instagram started putting in ads. They started in 2013 in the United States, then Australia and Canada in late 2014 and, from mid-March this year, in France.

They hide in plain sight: presented in the same square format, with the same "vintage" filter as user-generated pictures. Only the mention "sponsored" reveals that it's there to sell, not share.

"The brand has to express itself as if it's a person and respect the community," explained Cedric Atlan, of Facebook's Creative Shop.

"You have come upon the brand the same way you would a friend or someone from your family. The advertising needs to be integrated and not disturb the user."

Teams scattered around the world

The specialist teams are experienced, well versed in advertising and marketing, often having been snapped up from ad agencies. Each count around 100 employees, scattered around the planet. The job requirement is to have a deep and nuanced knowledge of local markets and to stay abreast of the latest trends.

"There are no borders. It's a global team that communicates from everywhere in the world, 24/7. If you want to know what's happening with mobiles in Asia in such and such an area, we can get an answer in an hour," said Mailine Swildens, director of YouTube's Zoo for southern and eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

In 2014, Zoo lent its talents to the Italian fashion company Fendi and the result was the first fashion show filmed with drones and broadcast live on YouTube.

"There are innovative areas where you can mix geolocalisation, mobiles, technology," Swildens said.

Rivals to ad agencies?

Laurent Buanec, brand strategist for Twitter, said: "Sometimes, we get ideas that aren't really feasible or which miss the point. Our role isn't to give scores but to accompany agencies and brands."

One campaign rolled out with the help of Twitter was for Nissan France. During a UEFA Champions League tournament, the car manufacturer turned its Twitter feed into a football-stat spouting source during the matches -- to emphasise the brand's sponsorship.

While it makes sense for the social networks that depend on advertising for their revenues to take on this consulting role, Nicolas Levy, who handles strategy for the Marcel advertising agency within the French Publicis group, said they may end up in competition with the big ad agencies.

"Right now, it's in everybody's interest. But in the longer term, Google and Facebook -- which are the most innovative and the biggest -- are potentially rivals," he said.

"The solution for the big advertising group is to grow, especially in the data field, so that they don't leave client understanding to the social networks," Levy said.

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Spectrum auction: Government gets Rs 32,300 crore from telcos

NEW DELHI: The government has received a total upfront payment of over Rs 32,300 crore from telecom players against the spectrum sold during the March auction, well above the minimum outstanding due of Rs 28,835.34 crore.

Telecom major Bharti Airtel has paid the entire sum for Rajasthan and North East circles.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has received Rs 32,377.85 crore, nearly Rs 3,500 crore above the minimum due, sources told .

Bharti Airtel, the country's largest telecom operator, has paid Rs 11,374.7 crore, while the upfront amount due from it was Rs 7,832.20 crore. All other telecom operators have paid the minimum amount due from them.

The bank guarantees have also been received as per demand, they said.

India's biggest telecom spectrum auction ended on March 25 after 19 days of fierce bidding that fetched bids worth about Rs 1.10 lakh crore to the government.

After the completion of the auction, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad made an appeal to all successful companies to make payments.

The proceeds from the auction of airwaves are expected to help the government keep the fiscal deficit within the target of 4.1 per cent of the GDP, or about Rs 5.12 lakh crore, for 2014-15.

As per DoT, Aircel has paid Rs 742.5 crore, Idea Cellular Rs 7,734.2 crore, Reliance Communications Rs 1,104.1 crore, Reliance Jio Infocomm Rs 2,591.8 crore, Tata Teleservices Rs 2,013.3 crore and Vodafone Rs 6,817.2 crore. Many successful spectrum bidders, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone and Idea Cellular had paid about Rs 10,808 crore towards upfront payments till March 31, helping the government meet its fiscal deficit target of 4.1 per cent for 2014-15.

As per the final results, Idea made total commitment of Rs 30,252.87 crore followed by Airtel at Rs 29,129.08 crore, Vodafone Rs 25,806.06 crore, Reliance Jio Infocomm Rs 97,632.81 crore, Reliance Communication Rs 4,290.49 crore, Tata Teleservices Rs 7,851.33 crore and Aircel Rs 2,250 crore.

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Kingston HyperX Cloud 2 gaming headset review

Gaming, watching media, and consuming music has become a very large part of our day to day lives. With movies increasingly being associated with names like THX and Dolby in the race to provide the most immersive sound. Video games are taking surround sound engineering to new levels with 3D positional audio. Yes, not to mention, everyone loves explosions. A new breed of headphones is on the rise. That of the 7.1 surround sound USB headset which lets you fully experience all of this and more.

Kingston's HyperX Cloud II is about to enter the fray, lets see how it fares.

Build quality
This aspect of headphones is a double edged sword. More durable materials usually weigh a lot more and as a result cause neck fatigue. So manufacturers have to use cheaper plastics which are lighter, but less durable. The Cloud II's build quality is fantastic, with a thin metal band as the frame, going around the headband and holding up the ear cups in a horseshoe hold with rotators at each end. The headband is clad in comfortable leatherette red stitched accents and Hyper X logo emblazoned on the top of the headband in fabric. All of this, and the unit is still pretty light.

On the whole the unit is very sturdy. With the cups in a nice matte finish hard plastic. The leatherette cups feel plush. If you get sweaty eared with leatherette, then there's also fabric cups you can easily swap out. The cord is thick and braided ending in a four pole headphone jack. The mic comes as a separate attachment and can be inserted into the slot above the wire.

While the unit's style may not be as good as that of the Corsair Vengeance series or the Sound Blaster Tactic 3D range, it still looks decent. Plus the Cloud II packs a lot more in the box, which, incidentally is big, red and doubles as a storage unit for the headphones. A good move considering most manufacturers save costs by packing the units in disposable boxes. Also, what's worth mentioning is that you get a nifty carry bag with your Cloud II's.

Comfort and ergonomics
The Cloud II's ergonomics are very comfortable. The cups are large and over the ear, with the ear pads made of memory foam. So rather than press your ears down so the cartilage pains after long hours of listening, the Cloud II's ear pads mould themselves. In the process cutting out external sounds. Which works fantastic. Isolating outside sounds so you can fully appreciate the 7.1 immersive audio. There was no sound leakage at all in normal conditions, with normal traffic and day to day work ambient noise around.

What also increases the comfort is that the headphones do not pinch the head. The metal band has enough play in it to stretch, but enough taut in it to hold the headphones in place without pressing down. Which made long gaming or music listening sessions possible.

That said, the Cloud II is fairly small, and is designed for small to mid sized heads in mind. The ear cups can extend quite a bit, but not enough if you have a large head. An aspect which Coolermaster's CMStorm and Asus's Strix line have nailed. Though, those who have small to medium craniums, will really feel the comfort the Cloud II offers.

Performance
In the Cloud II's closed ear cups are large 53mm neodymium magnets with a frequency response of 15 hz to 25,000 hz. Providing powerful clear sound. The unit's 4 pole connector can be easily connected to any laptop, tablet, smartphone and most importantly your Playstation 4's DualShock 4 controller.

Without the USB DSP sound card connected, the sound quality was fantastic. The music sounded great, with the closed cup design, with a great dynamic range of sound. Playing Bloodborne on the PS4 with the headset on was superb, and it handled the surround sound from the game very well. There was a density to the sound, though there were times where the bass would bubble up with the mids in a low whoosh. It could be BloodBorne sound design though. Far Cry 4's world of Kyrat on the PS4 was clear, crisp as you can hear the ambient sounds perfectly. The passive noise cancellation did help a lot.

With the USB DSP Soundcard on PC added the 7.1 surround sound. Installation was just a simple plug and play. No fiddling with drivers here. The sound quality was a little better, with the mids and highs moderated nicely by the USB unit. Which is also handy with the volume buttons for mic and headphones, as well as the surround sound on and off. The 7.1 worked really well with Battlefield 3 and 4, with the wartapes option on. The war just explodes in your head, with pretty accurate 3D positional audio at work. Was pretty easy to hear tanks creeping up on you or get the general direction of distant firefights in progress.

No complaints on the mic front, tested on Skype as well as in game. The other person could hear me clear, without any background interference.

Conclusion
While it may not be the best looker on the block, Hyper X has nailed the comfort level and ergonomics of the Cloud II. With superb sound quality, very comfortable ear cups and lots of freebies packed in the box. The Cloud II does not have an official price as yet, however it's pegged to be sold between Rs 7500-8000 putting it right at the price point of the Strix DSP , Sound Blaster Tactic3D and a bit lower than the Corsair Vengeance. Highly recommended for those who want good audio from their games and movies with really good comfort.

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Fight for net neutrality unites internet

NEW DELHI: For once, the constant bickering on the internet and social media has been put aside. People of all beliefs and affiliations have come together to unite on the net neutrality issue, campaigning, persuading, and getting more people involved.

In a span of 24 hours, over 27,000 emails have been sent to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) through the website savetheinternet.in responding to the regulator's call for public consultation. An online petition on change.org has nearly 150,000 supporters petitioning Union minister for communication and information technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad, the department of telecom, and the TRAI to act against the violation of net neutrality by corporate interests. A visit to the r/india forum Reddit will show you backroom activities in coordinating online campaigns and debates on the same.

Put together by a group of netizens, savetheinternet.in has a ready template response to the 20 questions that TRAI posed in its 118-page long consultation paper on the regulation of over the top (OTT) services, or services that use the internet through telecom service providers (TSPs), like Viber, Skype, Whatsapp etc. This paper is what has prompted the wave of activism online.

On savetheinternet.in, one can choose to edit the response before sending it - a two-click process. The answers are in favour of net neutrality and offer arguments against the slicing up of the Internet into various services available at differential prices.

Read also: Time to fight for net neutrality in India

The questions pertain to the licensing and regulation of these services, the competition they pose to TSPs by providing the services like calling and texting, and their role in investing in the internet infrastructure. Overall, they cover how different data packets travelling across the internet (voice or text or transactions) should be treated differently, if at all. That is the point central to the net neutrality debate. And as it moves further, questions are also being asked of deals between TSPs and internet companies like Facebook and Wikipedia, wherein their services can be provided to a customer either for free or at a special cost, building a walled garden and making only a part of the internet available to her.

Flipkart's recent deal with Airtel on the same came in for flak after it was seen as a violation of the net neutrality principle.

For those who want to be better informed before taking a stand, there is plenty of reading material on another website, netneutrality.in. Currently, there are people volunteering online to translate the basics of the same into other Indian languages for wider reach.

"The main problem in the consultation paper is the legalese. I am a programmer, and I don't understand this and the industry jargon used in the document. Even if I have to submit it to the TRAI, I don't have the vocabulary to do it. We got some lawyers to help with that," says Kiran Jonnalagadda, Bangalore-based techie and co-founder of hasgeek.com, who is behind savetheinternet.in.

Read also: Airtel Zero not against net neutrality, says Flipkart CEO

The group that has propped up the massive campaign, informally calls itself the save the internet dot in coalition.

"There are about 50 people from across India working on this. As and when we required help in different areas
— communication, policy, or videos — they offered to pitch in and join us," says Nikhil Pahwa, founder of Medianama, who is among those leading the charge in the campaign for net neutrality.

"When the IT Act was passed, there was no discussion, no public awareness, and we suffered for it. That can't be repeated. This is a clear and present danger. This will change the way we use the internet," says Pahwa.

Much effort has been put into simplifying the complex telecom policy issues, licensing processes, and regulatory laws for the layperson. Humourous analogies apart (eg: would you pay differently for the same shampoo depending on whether you use it to wash your hair or beard?), there are also memes succinctly presenting what buying a regular data pack would be like in the future if net neutrality is violated.

(Memes courtesy: Imgur)

Stand up comedy group AIB came up with a video explaining the net neutrality issue a la John Oliver in the US.

Oliver's video prompted a barrage of emails to the American regulator in favour of net neutrality just last year.

While one can see tech geeks, lawyers and policy wonks take the lead the online conversations, others have gotten involved too. #SaveTheInternet has been trending on Twitter since Saturday. Even the likes of actor Shah Rukh Khan and Congress politician Ajay Maken have taken note and tweeted their support.

Meanwhile on Reddit, a scroll through the r/india forum shows discussion threads such as "Why 'zero rating' is the new battleground in net neutrality debate," and even, "And finally we have #SaveTheInternet trending in India!! Thanks to all redditors who took the effort, you showed the path."

Those campaigning are not going to hang their boots up just as yet. "This is not the end of it. There needs to be constant citizen awareness. Regulators generally do not consult the public. We can now make them understand that there is an actual public sentiment against the move," says Jonnalagadda.

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Nokia has identified "serious" buyer for Chennai plant: Tamil Nadu Government

NEW DELHI: Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia has identified a "serious" buyer for its manufacturing plant in Chennai, a top Tamil Nadu government official said.

"Nokia has been telling us that they have identified a very serious buyer, but due to their non-disclosure agreement they are not willing to give out their name," Tamil Nadu Additional chief secretary C V Shankar told reporters here.

Nokia plant, near Chennai, had started operations in 2006, but was shut down in November last year.

Nokia, which sold its global devices and services business to Microsoft in April last year, left the manufacturing plant out of the deal due to ongoing tax issues faced by the Finnish firm in India.

"Essar chief Ruia (Shashikant Ruia) was in Chennai and he also mentioned that he has looked at the plant but he has not committed saying yes or no. So we really do not know who the prospective buyer is," Shankar added.

On the tax cases being faced by Nokia, he said it is an individual company's case with the Income Tax department of government of India.

"Obviously the state government can not say yes or no to any of them at the particular issue in hand. Nokia has now come up with a proposal for defreezing the assets and selling it to some one outside the company and the money to be parked in an escrow account etc.

"We have said this is a good thing to happen and Prime Minister has made an statement in Rajya Sabha on this. So once it is opened then some other company can come. The employment would start," he added.

Shankar said it would be in everyone's interest if the factory is started.

"To that extent going into the issue, merit of the case or otherwise, we would prefer that unit is open. GOI should take a call on this very quickly," he said.

When asked if the Tamil Nadu government has not been supportive of the firm, Shankar said that government has always supportive of Nokia.

"In fact in 2012 we signed an MOU for an additional Rs 250 crore and the land at that time was given at below market price. State has been fully behind them.

"That has not been our attitude basically because of the employment otherwise what is the interest of a state government in a company like this," he added.

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RBC CEO sees tech firms as threat

Technology companies pose a competitive threat to established lenders, the head of Royal Bank of Canada has said, adding he was keen to work with start-ups to improve the company's mobile offerings.

RBC chief executive David McKay said he was positioning Canada's largest bank to compete with technology firms that have expanded into the money-moving business but don't "bear the financial and social costs of a deposit taking organization, nor the obligations of financial regulation."

"Many of these new entrants are excellent competitors - innovative, driven, and responsive to their clients, but they also may distort the financial system with unintended risks that regulators cannon clearly see," he told the bank's annual general meeting in Toronto.

The CEO did not specify which companies he was speaking about. But banks in Canada and abroad took notice last year when Apple Inc launched its Apple Pay service, which allows consumers using new Apple devices buy things by simply holding them up to readers installed by store merchants.

McKay said RBC was prepared to partner with small venture firms to develop applications for banking through mobile devices.

"(It's) how do we apply the world of banking to the mobile phone? Not only from a payments perspective, but from pure banking perspective, how to you pay? How do you transact in general?" he told a media briefing.

"A second area where we're certainly looking at technology to help innovate is in our processes, in the back office."

Separately, McKay also told investors that while the Canadian housing market was softening in some regions due to weaker oil prices, its fundamentals were solid.

"Overall the Canadian housing market is supported by strong trends in employment, household income, population growth and low interest rates," he said.

Canada's central bank unexpectedly cut interest rates in January as an "insurance" against falling oil prices. The cut reignited fears of a housing market bubble, just as the market had finally begun to cool.

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Apple Watch: Brisk online sales, but store queues missing

PALO ALTO: An online rush replaced the traditional overnight queues outside Apple stores as the iconic tech company began taking orders and letting shoppers get their hands on its much-vaunted smartwatch for the first time.

Eager customers placed online orders for the Apple Watch as soon as Apple's website began accepting them, shortly after midnight Pacific Time. Within half an hour, the company appeared to sell out the initial batch of watches that were available for the first official day of shipping on April 24. By mid-morning, Apple's website was showing the earliest shipping date for many watch models would be in June or later.

Demand was difficult to gauge, since Apple hasn't said how many watches were available for shipping in the first wave on April 24. And in contrast with earlier releases of new Apple products, there were no big lines of shoppers waiting all night outside the company's retail stores.

That's because Apple encouraged customers to make appointments for a 15-minute opportunity to try on different models -- which are priced starting at $349 and go up to $17,000 for a luxury edition -- while specially trained employees explained their features. Apple is only accepting orders online, for now.

But the debut still came with some of the anticipation and marketing sizzle for which Apple Inc is famous.

Apple retail staffers in New York, Atlanta and other cities clapped and cheered as the first customers streamed through their stores' signature glass doors just before 10am. Eager shoppers also examined the watch at shops in London, Shanghai and Tokyo.

Student Victor Leung was grinning from ear to ear after finishing his watch appointment and placing his order for a lower-priced sport model at the Apple store on New York's 5th Avenue. He said he'd been waiting eagerly for the opportunity to buy one.

"It's awesome," Leung said. "You get texts on your watch, make phone calls." While he has tried other smartwatches, he thinks "Apple is different."

Despite Leung's enthusiasm, analysts said Apple may have good reasons to sell the watch through pre-orders and appointments. Online ordering should help Apple manage its inventory and manufacturing. The try-on visits should help ensure that early buyers know what to expect and how to use the watch, said Carolina Milanesi, a tech analyst at Kantar Worldpanel. She said that could build positive "word of mouth" recommendations.

And some analysts said the lag time in shipping may help build anticipation while the company works to convince other customers -- those who aren't early tech adopters -- why they should want this new category of gadget.

"Our view is it's going to take time for the consumer to adopt wearable technology," said Angelo Zino, analyst at S&P Capital IQ.

"We're very positive on the long-term trends for wearables and we think Apple is going to be a clear leader in the category," Zino said this week. But he added, "We think initial sales are going to be below expectations."

Apple, which is based in Cupertino, California, hasn't offered any estimates, but some analysts have predicted the company could sell 10 million to 20 million watches this year. By comparison, it sold more than 10 million of its new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus smartphones in the first weekend they were available last September, and a record total of 74.5 million iPhones in the fourth quarter last year.

Some shoppers needed no convincing. Jack Weber, a retired University of Virginia professor, said he woke up at 3am to order a $1,000 stainless steel Apple Watch online. He and his wife, Carol, were first in line for a 9am appointment to see the watches at a New York Apple store.

Carol Weber tried on a $15,000, 18-karat gold model that Jack thought would be nice to buy for their upcoming 50th anniversary. Carol also liked the steel, though, since it would go with her white gold wedding ring. She said she hasn't decided which to get yet, but is leaning toward both.

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Review: New Macbooks

-- By Anick Jesdanun

NEW YORK: From the moment I took it out of the box, Apple's new MacBook looked and felt like an iPad.

The laptop is Apple's lightest and thinnest yet and borrows many of the iPad's designs, including the lack of a fan. The result is a 2-pound (0.92 kilogram) laptop that feels almost non-existent on my lap. Yet it packs in a lot of power, including a high-resolution display and a sturdier keyboard.

The new MacBook goes on sale starting at $1,299 in silver, gold or gray (the same choices as the iPad). Its box even resembles the iPad's.

New keyboard
To make the MacBook as thin as it is -- a half-inch (13.1 millimeters) at the thickest point -- Apple had to redesign the keyboard. Traditional keys need to be tall to properly strike the mechanism that records the keystroke. Otherwise, you'd need to strike at the center, which many people don't do. With the redesign, you can strike shorter keys from the edge. Those shorter keys help keep the laptop thin.

The new keyboard takes getting used to, even after a week of testing. I feel as though I need to press more firmly. But taller, old-style keys on some keyboards have started to feel flimsy by comparison, as though about to come off their springs. The new keyboard does get more comfortable over time -- just don't expect to write a novel on Day One.

Although it's small, the new MacBook retains a full-size keyboard. In fact, that's why the screen is 12 inches -- it matches how much space the keyboard needs. (The screen, incidentally, is stunning -- compared with MacBook Air's lower-resolution screen. The fish in "Finding Nemo" look colorful and sharp.)

New touchpad
Also contributing to thinness is a new touchpad that Apple calls Force Touch. On earlier MacBooks, the touchpad acts like a springboard. When you press it, you're physically moving it to activate the sensor. You also have to press harder toward the back, near the springboard's hinge, than you do in front. In the new MacBook, sensors are embedded, so you can get the same response anywhere.

There's also a second sensor now to record the amount of pressure you're applying. A click followed by a firm press activates a number of features. Press on a document icon, and a preview pops out. Press on an address in an email, and a map opens up. On some video apps, the pressure determines how quickly you forward or rewind. These gestures primarily work with Apple apps for now, but other app developers can incorporate the functionality.

The MacBook does all this magically without the touchpad actually moving. Apple added a haptic engine to replicate the feeling of clicking and pressing. It isn't needed technologically, but will help keep things familiar for users.

Apple also updated its high-resolution, 13-inch version of the MacBook Pro with this new touchpad. I imagine future models getting it, too.

Minimalism
Most of the expansion ports have disappeared. In its place is a single charging port that's also used for accessories and video output. It uses a new standard called USB-C.

The problem is most gadgets still use older USB ports, so you'll need a $19 adapter for a single device. It's likely outside parties will soon make adapters to connect multiple USB devices simultaneously, but if you use USB regularly, you might consider getting an Air or Pro model instead.

A $79 adapter gives you video output, with a USB port thrown in. You also might need a $19 extender for the power cord, as the box no longer comes with it. I find the included cord too short. Cord extenders from older MacBooks will work, too.

Speaking of power, I got eight to 11 hours of battery life on a single charge, which is impressive given that the high-resolution screen requires more power than regular screens. Apple saved energy by having individual pixels on the screen let through more light. It also squeezed in more battery by shrinking the circuit board and using odd shapes to fit into all remaining space. The battery life isn't as good as what you get on a 13-inch Air, but it should be adequate for most days.

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Review: New Apple MacBooks

-- By Anick Jesdanun

NEW YORK: From the moment I took it out of the box, Apple's new MacBook looked and felt like an iPad.

The laptop is Apple's lightest and thinnest yet and borrows many of the iPad's designs, including the lack of a fan. The result is a 2-pound (0.92 kilogram) laptop that feels almost non-existent on my lap. Yet it packs in a lot of power, including a high-resolution display and a sturdier keyboard.

The new MacBook goes on sale starting at $1,299 in silver, gold or gray (the same choices as the iPad). Its box even resembles the iPad's.

New keyboard
To make the MacBook as thin as it is -- a half-inch (13.1 millimeters) at the thickest point -- Apple had to redesign the keyboard. Traditional keys need to be tall to properly strike the mechanism that records the keystroke. Otherwise, you'd need to strike at the center, which many people don't do. With the redesign, you can strike shorter keys from the edge. Those shorter keys help keep the laptop thin.

The new keyboard takes getting used to, even after a week of testing. I feel as though I need to press more firmly. But taller, old-style keys on some keyboards have started to feel flimsy by comparison, as though about to come off their springs. The new keyboard does get more comfortable over time -- just don't expect to write a novel on Day One.

Although it's small, the new MacBook retains a full-size keyboard. In fact, that's why the screen is 12 inches -- it matches how much space the keyboard needs. (The screen, incidentally, is stunning -- compared with MacBook Air's lower-resolution screen. The fish in "Finding Nemo" look colorful and sharp.)

New touchpad
Also contributing to thinness is a new touchpad that Apple calls Force Touch. On earlier MacBooks, the touchpad acts like a springboard. When you press it, you're physically moving it to activate the sensor. You also have to press harder toward the back, near the springboard's hinge, than you do in front. In the new MacBook, sensors are embedded, so you can get the same response anywhere.

There's also a second sensor now to record the amount of pressure you're applying. A click followed by a firm press activates a number of features. Press on a document icon, and a preview pops out. Press on an address in an email, and a map opens up. On some video apps, the pressure determines how quickly you forward or rewind. These gestures primarily work with Apple apps for now, but other app developers can incorporate the functionality.

The MacBook does all this magically without the touchpad actually moving. Apple added a haptic engine to replicate the feeling of clicking and pressing. It isn't needed technologically, but will help keep things familiar for users.

Apple also updated its high-resolution, 13-inch version of the MacBook Pro with this new touchpad. I imagine future models getting it, too.

Minimalism
Most of the expansion ports have disappeared. In its place is a single charging port that's also used for accessories and video output. It uses a new standard called USB-C.

The problem is most gadgets still use older USB ports, so you'll need a $19 adapter for a single device. It's likely outside parties will soon make adapters to connect multiple USB devices simultaneously, but if you use USB regularly, you might consider getting an Air or Pro model instead.

A $79 adapter gives you video output, with a USB port thrown in. You also might need a $19 extender for the power cord, as the box no longer comes with it. I find the included cord too short. Cord extenders from older MacBooks will work, too.

Speaking of power, I got eight to 11 hours of battery life on a single charge, which is impressive given that the high-resolution screen requires more power than regular screens. Apple saved energy by having individual pixels on the screen let through more light. It also squeezed in more battery by shrinking the circuit board and using odd shapes to fit into all remaining space. The battery life isn't as good as what you get on a 13-inch Air, but it should be adequate for most days.

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Apple has a TV plan for new Watch

LOS ANGELES/SAN FRANCISCO: As Apple Inc debuts its smartwatch on Friday, the technology company focused efforts to drum up buzz on US television, using expensive primetime spots to entice customers to the fledgling wearable technology market.

Since showing off the watch at a March 9 event, Apple has spent $38 million on its "Watch Reimagined" television campaign, according to figures from iSpot.tv, which tracks US TV ads and digital responses in real time.

That's a little less than the $42 million Apple spent over the past five months on TV ads for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Unlike the iPhone 6, which has developed a loyal customer base, the watch is Apple's first new product under CEO Tim Cook and the Cupertino, California company's first foray at in the emerging wearable technology market.

"The iPhone 6 was a barn burner from the get-go. But with the Apple Watch, which is new product category with less familiarity, it makes sense that they'd go after it with more intensity," said JMP analyst Alex Gauna.

Starting Friday, the Apple Watch will be available for preview in stores and preorder on the internet ahead of its April 24 on-sale date.

An Apple spokesman declined to comment on the company's marketing strategy.

Out of 300-plus airings of the Apple Watch commercial since March, almost half have been in primetime spots tied to shows such as AMC's "The Walking Dead," the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball tournament and NBC's talent competition "The Voice."

Data also showed that Apple Watch advert airings were ramped up on Monday this week, capitalizing on a widely viewed NCAA final between Duke and Wisconsin.

Apple's device will likely account for 55% of global smartwatch shipments this year in a market worth about $11 billion, according to market analysis group Societe Generale.

But Apple still faces a challenge in selling the new concept. Reviewers, dismayed by short battery life and slow-loading apps, said it is more for tech pioneers than the masses.

Nevertheless, Apple is out-spending other smartwatch makers like Samsung Electronics and has a history of getting a big return from its TV advertising spending.

"Apple occupies 13% of spending in the smartphone category, while generating 40% of the buzz garnered from TV ads", said Sean Muller, CEO of iSpot.tv.

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Amazon India trolls Zomato, gets trolled back

NEW DELHI: On Twitter, funny banters seem to be the new norm for Amazon India.

Zomato, whose logo has seen a number of redesigns over the past few months, was the target of the e-commerce giant. Amazon quipped on Twitter that the designers who worked on Zomato's numerous logos were given the brief 'aur dikhao', in a nod to its own #AurDikhao campaign.

But Zomato gave Amazon a taste of its own medicine with its witty reply.
Amazon India replied with this tweet:
This was followed by the following conversation between the Amazon India and Jaguar Land Rover India Twitter handles:
This is not the first time Amazon has had such conversations with major brands on Twitter. Just a couple of months ago, it had a similar conversation with Flipkart when a Reddit user spotted an Amazon box in a Flipkart office.

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Facebook craze not dying: Survey

NEW YORK: Despite threats from mobile messaging services, the social networking site Facebook is not going into history books, at least for now.

Facebook remains the most popular social network among teenagers of 13 to 17 years, according to a new Pew survey.

Though such sites as Instagram and Snapchat increasingly appeal to teenagers, Facebook is still a "dominant force", the survey found.

Among the more than 1,000 teenagers surveyed, 71% said they use Facebook, while 41% said Facebook is the site they use the most frequently over all other social networks.

Instagram and Snapchat scored as the second and third most frequently used sites, respectively, CNET reported.

Some surveys had concluded that Facebook's popularity among teenagers has dropped over the past few years.

According to the new Pew survey, most teenagers spend their time on more than one social network.

But among the 22% who still use only one site, 66% pick Facebook, 13% use Google+, 13%, Instagram and 3% Snapchat.

Boys were more likely than girls to say they visit Facebook most often (45% of boys versus 36% of girls).

Girls polled were more likely than boys to say the same for Instagram and Tumblr.

Older teens from 15 to 17 years old were more likely than younger teens aged 13 to 14 to point to Facebook as their most used site (44% of older teens versus 35% of younger teens).

Younger teens were more keen on Instagram than were older teens.

But that's not going to hurt Facebook as it has already acquired Instagram for one billion dollars in 2012.

Pew also questioned teens about their number of Facebook friends. Among those polled, the typical teenager has 145 friends on the network.

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Intel, Altera takeover talks break: Source

Discussions over a takeover by Intel Corp of smaller chip maker Altera Corp have ended as the companies were unable to agree on price, a person familiar with the matter said, but Altera shares rose, suggesting it is still a potential target.

Altera's shares surged 4% at $43.75 in afternoon trading on Nasdaq after earlier falling as much as 8%.

Intel shares were up slightly at $31.44 after falling earlier in the day.

Intel's offer was in the neighborhood of the low-$50 per share range, CNBC reported earlier on Thursday.

That represents a premium of almost 50% to Altera's price before news of the talks was first reported on March 27.

Intel declined comment. Altera did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

"If, in fact, (Altera) management did turn down a $50+ offer, investors will want to know what kind of plans management has to achieve a $50+ stock price in the next number of years," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Doug Freedman, in a note to clients.

Late last month, Intel was reported to be in talks to buy Altera in a deal that could have topped $10 billion.

Altera had a market capitalization of $12.6 billion as of Wednesday. Its shares had surged more than 20% since merger talks were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Had the deal gone through, the takeover would have been Intel's largest acquisition, topping its $7.7 billion purchase of security software maker McAfee in 2011.

Altera would appeal to Intel for its line of programmable chips, increasingly used in data centers and customized for functions such as providing web-search results or updating social networks.

Deals in the chip sector have been expected after NXP Semiconductors' $12 billion purchase of Freescale Semiconductor was announced last month.

Worldwide semiconductor mergers and acquisitions were worth $31 billion last year, the most since 2011, Thomson Reuters data shows. In the 12 months through March 2, 472 chip M&A deals were made worldwide, up from 383 in the previous year.

Market analysts said they expect the chip M&A boom to continue despite the end of the Altera-Intel talks.

"Perhaps it impacts those two stocks but I don't see it offsetting the major trend, which is certainly for more deals," said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments LLC.

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India to be the launchpad for Xiaomi's next smartphone

NEW DELHI: In a sign of the country's growing importance in Xiaomi's global plans, the company has announced that it will unveil its next smartphone in India ahead of other markets.

In a tweet, Xiaomi India said that the global premiere of its next smartphone will be on April 23, with registrations already started on its official India website. CEO and founder Lei Jun, president Bin Lin and global vice president Hugo Barra will attend this event.

Though the tweet above doesn't say much, it intrigues users with the 'i' reference, which has traditionally been associated with Apple. Xiaomi has long spoken of its admiration for Apple, and has been accused of copying the Cupertino giant many a times.

Earlier this week, Xiaomi ended its exclusive partnership with e-commerce website Flipkart, expanding its products' availability to Amazon as well as Snapdeal. It also sells products on its official website.

It also entered the Guinness Book of World Records for selling over 2 million smartphones in less than 12 hours.

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New technology makes drones safer, smarter

GENEVA: Researchers have developed a new technology that enables drones to mimic human sense of balance to recover stable flight from any position and land autonomously in failure situations.

It will even be possible to launch drones by simply tossing them into the air like a baseball, researchers said.

Drones will be safer and smarter, with the ability to identify safe landing sites and land automatically when necessary, they said.

"Our new technology allows safe operation of drones beyond the operator's line of sight, which is crucial for commercial use of drones, such as parcel delivery," said professor Davide Scaramuzza, co-inventor and director of the Robotics and Perception Group at the University of Zurich.

The growing popularity of drones has raised major safety concerns. Because drones can run out of power, forcing them to land immediately, they must be able to detect safe landing spots and properly execute landing operations.

Furthermore, potential crash situations arise when drones temporarily lose their global positioning system (GPS) information, for instance, when flying close to buildings where GPS signal is lost.

In such situations, it is essential that drones can rely on back-up systems and regain stable flight.

The drones of the UZH research group are equipped with a single camera and acceleration sensors. Their orientation system emulates the human visual system and sense of balance.

As soon as a toss or a failure situation is detected, computer-vision software analyzes the images to identify distinctive landmarks in the environment and restore balance.

All image processing and control runs on a smartphone processor onboard the drone. This renders the drone safe and able to fulfil its mission without any communication or interaction with the operator.

"Our system works similarly to a tight-rope walker. When you balance on a rope, you fixate on some static points in the environment and shift your weight accordingly to restore balance," said Matthias Faessler, co-inventor of the technology and researcher in Scaramuzza's group.

The same software builds a 3D model of the environment, which is used to group the terrain beneath the drone into "risky" and "safe" landing sites.

If an emergency landing is required due to low battery or system failure, the drone will automatically detect and land on a flat, safe location without any human intervention.

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Uber launches autorickshaw service in Delhi

NEW DELHI: Online cab-hailing company Uber will allow passengers in the Indian capital to book autorickshaws, the cheaper three-wheeled taxis, as part of a drive to boost its presence and compete with a local rival in one of its key markets.

Under the UberAUTO service, the company will not charge a fee for booking autorickshaws, users will be allowed to pay for the journey in cash, and the pricing will follow government fare rules, Uber said in a statement on Thursday.

The launch of the service in New Delhi marks a shift from the company's global business model. So far, Uber's mobile application that connects riders with taxis in cities around the world has charged customers through credit cards or other electronic payment means, but not in cash.

The launch in Uber's largest market outside the United States comes against the backdrop of stiff competition with India's biggest online cab-hailing company Ola, which already lets customers hail autorickshaws.

"There were a lot of people who were not able to use an Uber because cash payment was not allowed," Gagan Bhatia, general manager for Uber in New Delhi, told Reuters. "There is huge potential in this segment."

The launch comes at a time when Uber is battling regulatory uncertainty over how it will continue to operate in New Delhi.

Uber was banned in the city following allegations of rape against one of its drivers in December, but has found support from India's transport ministry.

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Reliance Jio launches WhatsApp rival, Jio Chat

NEW DELHI: Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecom firm of the Mukesh Ambani-led group, has launched its instant messaging application on iOS and Android mobile phones, which went live on April 7, according to sources.

The application, Jio Chat, is similar to other chat applications like WhatsApp, Line, Hike and Wechat.

The Jio Chat description in the Google Play Store says it connects for free across any mobile data connection or Wi-Fi, "no matter where in the world you are."

Along with "voice, video, conferencing, messaging, instant video, sticker, doodles, and emoticons" facilities, the application also offers location-sharing and status-sharing.

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