Archives January 2023

Since November, OpenAI’s ChatGPT has been the hot topic for every conversation on the internet for its “chatty” mastery. It has Google worried, while Microsoft has pledged a multi-billion investment in the company for its language model and is also now integrating it within its suite of services. But, there soon may be a newer AI chatbot to talk to, at least for people in China, as Baidu, the Chinese search giant, plans to bring its own ChatGPT-like AI chatbot.
The Chinese search engine Baidu plans to release its own AI chatbot, reports Reuters. Citing people familiar with the development, the report notes that the chatbot could come as soon as March.
Baidu plans to bring artificial intelligence into search
As per the report, Baidu plans to introduce the chatbot as a separate application, much like ChatGPT. The source, who asked to remain anonymous, said it would work similarly to ChatGPT, giving conversation-style results.
The report adds that the Chinese search giant plans to incorporate the language model within its search engine to cater to chatbot-generated results instead of providing links.
Baidu has been actively researching artificial intelligence for a few years, spending billions of dollars, and transitioning from online marketing to deep technology. The ‘Ernie’ system of the company, a large-scale machine-learning model trained for several years, will reportedly be the foundation of the company’s upcoming ChatGPT-like chatbot.
Last month, at a developer conference, Baidu introduced three AI tools that take on the roles of screenwriter, illustrator, and editor/animator.
Microsoft, one of the early backers of OpenAI, has announced a $10 billion investment extending its partnership with the ChatGPT maker. The Redmond-based giant also announced the integration of ChatGPT within its cloud computing platform Azure, and the language model could soon be built into the Bing and other products of the company.

Microsoft recently surveyed 2,700 employees and 1,800 business decision makers (BDMs) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. The focus of the survey was to find out of employees in organisations feel empowered by the tools they currently have. Or whether new technology like AI and low-code and no-code tools help solve their challenges and open up new opportunities.
AI to aid the performance of employees?
According to the survey by Microsoft, nearly 9 in 10 (85%) respondents want more automation capabilities integrated with collaboration tools, “which they believe would help them spend more time on work that matters.”
Interestingly, Microsoft has made an investment commitment of billions of dollars in OpenAI, the company behind the viral chatbot, ChatGPT.
As per the survey, currently, AI benefits are not leveraged by nearly one-third (30%) of employees surveyed. “For those that do have access to automation and AI-powered tools, the vast majority (89%) feel more fulfilled because they can spend time on work that truly matters,” noted the survey by Microsoft.
Employees, as per the survey, also agreed that having the ability to automate tasks helps them work more seamlessly with other teams (88%), and they credit artificial intelligence features for improving problem-solving (54%). “As a result, 9 in 10 (89%) hope they can apply AI solutions to even more tasks and activities,” the survey report noted.
Microsoft also cited the example of iFit, an international exercise equipment company, which is using AI and machine learning tools. The company uses several AI tools — including Microsoft’s Supply Chain Center — to allow it to know where to allocate its inventory, which includes treadmills, exercise bikes, cross trainers, and rowers.“Previously, to get its products to customers within a few days, teams at the company used spreadsheets and pivot tables to determine which of its many micro-fulfilment centres should stock which items,” according to the survey report.

WhatsApp keeps adding new features to its platform allowing users to communicate with each other in a more convenient and secure way. Some of the latest additions to the app include– Community, forward media with captions, Message Yourself and others. These features are designed to make WhatsApp a secure and user-friendly platform for everyone.
WhatsApp also offers a wide range of additional features that offer users a better user interface, privacy and much more. However, some of these features are in beta version and are yet to be rolled out to users. These include PIP mode (picture-in-picture), configuring image quality before sharing, report status, and others. All these features make WhatsApp one of the most comprehensive messaging platforms available today.
Now, the Meta-owned giant is working on a new feature that will allow WhatsApp users to react within the announcement group.

According to a report by WABetaInfo, the company is planning to integrate the feature within the announcement group. The feature will be available for all WhatsApp users after installing the recent update (version 23.2.0.75) of WhatsApp for iOS from the App Store and TestFlight app for beta testers.
The company is working on an in-app banner which will alert users during an update that brings message reactions within the announcement group, the report added.
WhatsApp working on voice notes status updates
Meanwhile, WhatsApp is also testing the ability to share voice notes via status updates.
According to a report by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is rolling out a new update (version 23.2.0.70) through the TestFlight beta Program. The update will add the aforementioned ability to some selected beta testers and has been reportedly rolled out to some beta testers. WhatsApp users who are unable to share voice notes via status will have to wait for the future update of the app.
The report further cites that WhatsApp Beta for iOS users running the latest version are able to share voice notes as status updates. As mentioned earlier, the feature is placed within the text status section.
Just like images and videos, voice notes shared via status automatically expire after 24 hours but you can delete them for everyone at any time. The report also adds that users will have to update their WhatsApp app to listen to the voice notes posted as status.
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Dara Khosrowshahi, who has now headed Uber for over 5 years, could have been at another company if it were not for a sudden change of heart. In an interview with LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky, Khosrowshahi revealed the events that led to him accepting the role despite having doubts at first.
The current Uber head shared that he considered rejecting the job offer – so much that he even ignored the call – until a chat with his friend, Spotify founder-CEO Daniel Ek. He credited “a special moment” during that conversation as the decisive point for his move to the online cab-hailing giant.

Khosrowshahi considered phoning the board
According to Khosrowshahi, there were sound reasons for him being hesitant about the Uber offer back then. First off, the company was embroiled in what the executive calls a “historically difficult time.” Additionally, Khosrowshahi, who was in his twelfth year as the Expedia CEO, was in no hurry to switch jobs. He revealed that, back then, he was “having a great time” at the online travel booking company.
Initially, the ex-Expedia head felt that his intention to turn down Uber was a no-brainer. He recalled, “When I first got the call, my first thought was, ‘Heck no’ … I thought, ‘Why would I ever do that?’.” Khosrowshahi’s conviction was firm, and he considered calling up Uber’s board to tell them of his answer to the offer.

Spotify CEO stepped in, convinced him to “make an impact”
When Khusrowshahi met Spotify’s Daniel Ek at an investors conference, he learned that the latter had recommended him for the Uber job. The then Expedia CEO informed Ek of his decision to refuse the offer, basing it on his ‘happiness’ with the status quo. To this, Ek had a response that would convince Khusrowshahi to reverse his decision.
The Uber boss said, “Daniel looked at me with his cold, Scandinavian eyes and said, ‘You know Dara, since when is life about being happy? It’s about having (sic) impact. You have to make an impact.” According to him, it was a “special moment” that spurred him to take charge of Uber and steer it in the right direction – something that would enable him to have an “outsized impact”.

Oppo is all set to expand its lineup of Reno series smartphones with the launch of Reno 8T 5G in India. The company has now confirmed the arrival of the Oppo Reno 8T smartphone which will be added to the existing Oppo Reno 8 series launched last year. The series comprises the Oppo Reno 8 and Oppo Reno 8 Pro models.
Oppo Reno 8T: Launch (India, Philippines)
Oppo took to Twitter where it officially confirmed the launch of the upcoming Reno 8T smartphone. The Chinese smartphone maker will unveil the Reno 8T 5G in India on February 3. Meanwhile, it has also been confirmed that the smartphone will also make its way to the Philippines market.

Oppo Reno 8T: Price, availability
According to a report by Revu, Oppo Reno 8T is likely to be priced at PHP 18,999 (approximately Rs 28,500). As per the teaser video shared by the company, Oppo Reno 8T will make its debut on February 8 in the Philippines.
Oppo Reno 8T: Expected specs and availability
Oppo Reno 8T is said to feature a 6.43-inch AMOLED display panel with a punch-hole display on the corner. The display is likely to offer an FHD+ resolution with 90Hz refresh rate.

The smartphone is expected to house a triple rear camera setup comprising a 100MP main sensor and a 2MP micro sensor and a 2MP mono lens. The front could be home to a 32MP sensor for selfies and video callings.
In a previous Geekbench listing, Oppo Reno 8T is expected to be powered by the MediaTek Helio G99 chipset coupled with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of inbuilt storage.
The Bluetooth SIG listing revealed that the Oppo Reno 8T will support Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity and will run ColorOS 13 out-of-the-box.
Previous certifications have revealed that the upcoming Oppo smartphone will offer 33W wired charging support.
Oppo Reno 8T was earlier spotted on multiple certification sites including India’s BIS and Malaysia’s SIRIM. According to a report by GizmoChina, the upcoming smartphone has now been spotted on the Bluetooth SIG certification site with the model number CPH2481. These certifications have revealed a few key specs of the Oppo Reno 8T.
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OnePlus has already confirmed that it will launch the OnePlus 11R smartphone in India on February 7 along with its flagship smartphone OnePlus 11. Now ahead of the official launch the Chinese smartphone maker has confirmed an important detail about the upcoming OnePlus 11R smartphone.
OnePlus has confirmed that the OnePlus 11R will be powered by octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset.

What the chipset offers
The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 features the Cortex-X2 prime core clocked at up to 3.2GHz. And the other two clusters are 3x Cortex-A710 performance cores running at a frequency of up to 2.8GHz and 4x Cortex-A510 cores with a clock speed of up to 1.8GHz. Also, this one is based on TSMC’s 4nm node process. The chipset is paired with the Snapdragon X65 modem, with peak speeds of up to 10Gbps. Also, there is Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, including support for aptX Lossless and Bluetooth LE Audio. It supports display up to QHD+ at 144Hz or 4K at 60Hz, with HDR10+ support. And the phones running the chip can have Up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. And the chipset comes with Qualcomm Quick Charge 5.
Apart from this, the smartphone maker has not yet confirmed any other details about the smartphone. However, multiple online leaks have revealed the likely specifications of OnePlus 11R.
OnePlus 11R likely specifications
The OnePlus 11R may sport a similar design as the OnePlus 10T. aThe smartphone may come with a triple rear camera setup placed inside a rectangular module same as the OnePlus 10T.
Along with this, the tipster has also revealed that the yet to launch OnePlus 11R smartphone may sport an AMOLED display with 1.5K resolution. As per the leak, the OnePlus 11R may come with a punch-hole display surrounded by minimal bezels. The smartphone is tipped to be powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset.
The mid-range OnePlus smartphone is expected to sport a 50MP main camera with OIS support. OnePlus 11R is also said to come with the much-loved alert slider button and an IR sensor.
The smartphone is also tipped to house a 5000mAh battery with 100W fast charging support.

Samsung is all set to launch its latest flagship smartphone series — Galaxy S23. Under the series the smartphone maker will launch three smartphones — Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+ and Galaxy S23 Ultra. Now ahead of the official launch, the smartphone maker has slashed the price of its last year launched Samsung Galaxy S22.
This is the second price cut for the smartphone. In November last year, the Samsung Galaxy S22 received a price drop of Rs 10,000. After the price cut, the 128GB variant was available at Rs 62,999 and the 256GB version was selling at Rs 66,999. Now the smartphone has witnessed another price drop of Rs 5,000.
New price and offers
After the price cut of Rs 5,000, the customers can now purchase the 128GB version of Samsung Galaxy S22 at Rs 57,999, while the 256GB variant costs Rs 61,999. The smartphone can be purchased in Phantom White, Phantom Black, Bora Purple and Green colour options.

The smartphone maker is also giving some offers to the buyers of Samsung Galaxy S22. The customers purchasing the Samsung Galaxy S22 will get a disocunt of Rs 2,000 on the Samsung shop app. Along with this, they will also get 100GB of free cloud storage from OneDrive.
Samsung Galaxy S22 specifications
Samsung Galaxy S22 comes with a 6.1-inch FHD+ display with up to 120Hz refresh rate. The smartphone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset paired with 8GB of RAM. Samsung Galaxy S22 comes in two storage options — 128GB and 256GB. The smartphone runs Android 12 operating system topped with the company’s own layer of One UI.
The device sports a triple rear camera setup with 50MP main sensor, 12MP ultra-wide camera with f/2.2 aperture and a 10MP telephoto lens with f/2.4 aperture. Front is home to a 10MP selfie shooter.
Samsung Galaxy S22 comes with an IP68 rating which makes the smartphone dust and water-resistant. The smartphone is backed by a 3,700 mAh battery with 25W fast charging support and 15W wireless charging support.

The initial registration for the 2024 H-1B cap will be open from March 1-17, 2023 as per a notice by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives will be able to complete and submit their registrations using the online H-1B registration system.
As per the notice, USCIS will assign a confirmation number to each registration submitted for the FY 2024 H-1B cap. This number will be used solely to track registrations; applicants and representatives cannot use this number to track their case status in Case Status Online.
Applicable fees
Prospective H-1B cap-subject petitioners or their representatives are required to use a myUSCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee for each registration submitted on behalf of each beneficiary. Prospective petitioners submitting their own registrations (US employers and US agents, collectively known as “registrants”) will use a “registrant” account. Registrants will be able to create new accounts beginning at noon Eastern on February 21.
Representatives may add clients to their accounts at any time, but both representatives and registrants must wait until March 1 to enter beneficiary information and submit the registration with the $10 fee. Prospective petitioners or their representatives will be able to submit registrations for multiple beneficiaries in a single online session. Through the account, they will be able to prepare, edit, and store draft registrations prior to final payment and submission of each registration.
If USCIS receives enough registrations by March 17, it will randomly select registrations and send selection notifications via users’ myUSCIS online accounts. If it does not receive enough registrations, all registrations that were properly submitted in the initial registration period will be selected. “We intend to notify account holders by March 31,” says the notice.

Temporary increase in daily credit card transaction limit
The US Department of Treasury has approved a temporary increase in the daily credit card transaction limit from $24,999.99 to $39,999.99 per day for the FY 2024 H-1B cap season. This temporary increase is in response to the volume of previous H-1B registrations that exceeded the daily credit card limit. Additional information will be provided before the start of the initial H-1B registration period.
An H-1B cap-subject petition, including a petition for a beneficiary who is eligible for the advanced degree exemption, may only be filed by a petitioner whose registration for the beneficiary named in the H-1B petition was selected in the H-1B registration process.
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