Archives February 2023

Rumors surrounding Google’s first foldable smartphone – the Google Pixel Fold – have been swirling around for years now, but we’re finally beginning to see more concrete details emerge about this hotly anticipated device. 

According to 9to5Google (opens in new tab), the Google Pixel Fold – which is expected to debut at or around Google’s next I/O developer conference – will be heavier than its main competitor, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. In fact, a source has told the publication that Google’s foldable “can be thought of as a small tablet, in weight,” which has us slightly worried for its portability as an everyday device.

Ahsoka Tano star Rosario Dawson has seemingly revealed when the Star Wars character’s TV series will make its long-awaited debut.

Speaking on Today With Hoda & Jenna (opens in new tab), Dawson suggested that the forthcoming show would land on Disney Plus in late 2023.

Windows 11 is getting its next big update sooner than we expected, as it has already been spotted being tested by Microsoft.

This is internal testing at the company, which happens before the update is moved to beta testing – which should now be imminent, as regular Windows leaker PhantomOfEarth makes clear on Twitter (via Neowin (opens in new tab)).

India’s largest IT services company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is not considering job cuts, its chief human resources officer Milind Lakkad told news agency PTI. Lakkad said that the company believes in grooming talent for longer careers once it hires an employee. “We don’t do that (layoffs), we believe in grooming talent in the company…(there will be) no layoffs,” he said, when asked about layoffs or involuntary attrition.
Lakkad said that companies are forced to take such steps because they had hired more than they wanted while the TCS believes that once a staff member joins, it is the company’s responsibility to make them productive and derive value. In cases where we find a gap between the skill sets required and what an employee possesses, it focuses on training the employee by giving her more time, Lakkad added.

Plans to hire laid off employees
The country’s largest IT company exporter also has good news for startup employees who have lost jobs in the recent layoffs across the industry as TCS is looking to hire startup employees who have lost their jobs, particularly in the edtech sector. “It is a very large canvas, we are doing exciting work across different industries in different technologies. I think all of that requires some phenomenal talent to come in and participate. we are getting it obviously from startups, people who have actually done some good work in those companies and have short-term career challenges,” he said.
Lakkad also said that that the company, which employs over 6 lakh people, will be announcing hikes which will be similar to earlier years.
Lakkad’s comments are crucial at a time when Big tech giants and other IT companies across the world have announced layoffs due to a range of reasons. Technology companies shed more than 150,000 workers in 2022-23 amid a rapidly fading pandemic-led demand boom, according to tracking site Layoffs.fyi. More layoffs are expected as growth in the world’s biggest economies slows.

Amazon has a plethora of products across categories. Today (February 21), we look at deals on True Wireless Stereo (TWS) earbuds from brands including JBL, Boat, Ptron and others. Here’s a curated list of products along with the discounts that buyers can avail:
JBL C115: Available at Rs 3,299 after a 63% discount
JBL C115 TWS earbuds are compatible with all Bluetooth devices. The earbuds offer 21 hours of playback time and come with USB Type-C charging support. Buyers can purchase the earbuds in Black, White, Mint and Red colour options.
Boat Airdopes 170: Available at Rs 1,499 after a 67% discount
Boat Airdopes 170 earbuds promise to deliver 50 hours of playback time. The TWS earbuds are equipped with quad mics and feature 13mm dynamic drivers. Buyers can purchase the earbuds in Classic Black, Frost White and Tranquil Blue colour options.
Boult Audio Z25: Available at Rs 1,099 after a 63% discount
Boult Audio Z25 comes equipped with 13mm dynamic drivers and Zen ENC mic. The TWS earbuds promise to deliver 32 hours of playback time and can support USB Type-C charging. Buyers can purchase the earbuds in Blue Moss, Candy Cane and Sunset Grey colour options.
CrossBeats Torq: Available at Rs 4,799 after a 60% discount
CrossBeats Torq comes with a quad-mic setup and offers 3D sound effects. The TWS earbuds promise to offer 72 hours of playback time and support USB Type-C and wireless charging. The earbuds from CrossBeats can last longer with 12 hours on a single charge and 36+ hours with the additional charges in the charging case.
Portronics Harmonics Twins 25: Available at Rs 1,199 after a 52% discount
Portronics Harmonics Twins 25 claim to deliver 27 hours of playback time. It comes equipped with 13mm dynamic drivers and supports USB Type-C charging. The TWS earbuds are compatible with both Android and iOS and can be also paired with smartphones, tablets and laptops.

Reliance Jio has launched 5G services in 20 more cities to become the first and the only operator to launch 5G services in majority of these cities. With this launch, Jio True 5G is now available in 277 cities in the country.
Jio 5G services have been launched in 20 cities, including Bongaigaon, North Lakhimpur, Sivasagar, Tinsukia (Assam), Bhagalpur, Katihar (Bihar), Mormugao (Goa), Diu (Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu), Gandhidham (Gujarat), Bokaro Steel City, Deoghar, Hazaribag (Jharkhand), Raichur (Karnataka), Satna (Madhya Pradesh), Chandrapur, Ichalkaranji (Maharashtra), Thoubal (Manipur), Faizabad, Firozabad, and Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh).

Jio True 5G offer
Starting today, Jio users in these cities will now be invited to the Jio Welcome Offer, to experience Unlimited Data at up to 1Gbps+ speeds, at no additional cost.
These cities are among the important tourism and commerce destinations as well as key education hubs of our country. With the launch of Jio’s True 5G services, consumers also get growth opportunities in the areas of e-governance, education, automation, artificial intelligence (AI), gaming, healthcare, agriculture, IT, and SMEs.
“We are proud to roll out Jio True 5G services in these 20 cities across 11 states/UTs. With this launch, Jio users across 277 cities can enjoy the transformational benefits of Jio True 5G in the new year 2023,” a Jio spokesperson said.

“We are grateful to the State Governments and Administrators of Assam, Bihar, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur and Uttar Pradesh for their continuous support in our quest to digitise the region,” the spokesperson added.
Earlier this month, Jio True 5G was launched in four cities of Himachal Pradesh, including Shimla, Hamirpur, Nadaun and Bilaspur. The telecom giant also rolled out 5G services in 17 cities across six states in the country.

YouTube has some good news for podcasters. The video streaming platform is testing a new feature that could provide podcasters with the ability to upload podcasts with the future update of the app. This will also provide them with a new platform to reach a wider audience and engage with them.
As per a report by Podnews, the feature, also titled ‘YouTube feature experiments’, will let users upload podcasts and measure them on the YouTube Studio. It will show podcast analytics on the desktop that includes performance, audience numbers, and revenue insights.

According to YouTube, users who have enrolled for the beta testing will be able to upload podcasts under the ‘create’ button. Currently, the Create button, when expanded lets YouTubers upload a video, create a text post and start a live stream.
Additionally, creators would also see podcasts under a new “Podcasts tab” in the content menu. Existing playlists will also be able to be set as podcasts using a new option in the three-dots menu.
Additionally, the content menu will be updated and a new ‘Podcast’ tab will be added to the list. YouTube will also give users the ability to set their existing playlists as podcasts. The ability to set playlists as podcasts will be located in an option (which remains unknown as of now) in the three-dots menu.

“To make it easier for creators to distribute their podcasts on YouTube, we’re running an experiment that allows you to create a podcast or set an existing playlist as a podcast within Studio. If you’re a creator in the experiment, you’ll be able to 1) upload a podcast by selecting Create > New podcast 2) view all your podcasts in the Content menu under a new Podcasts tab & 3) mark existing playlists as podcasts by selecting three-dot menu > Set as podcast. You’ll also be able to measure your podcasts in analytics, where you’ll see a set of tabs with performance, audience and revenue insights for each podcast show,” reads the YouTube support page.

Quordle needs to be approached in a different way to Wordle. With four puzzles to solve in nine guesses, you can’t blindly throw letters at it and expect to win – you’ll stand a far better chance if you think strategically.

That’s the case in Wordle too, of course, but it’s even more important in Quordle.

There are two key things to remember. 

1. Use several starting words

Firstly, you won’t want just a single starting word, but almost certainly two or three starting words. 

The first of these should probably be one of the best Wordle starting words, because the same things that make them work well will apply here too. But after that, you should select another word or possibly two that use up lots more of the most common consonants and that include any remaining vowels.

For instance, I currently use STARE > DOILY > PUNCH. Between them, these three words use 15 of the 26 letters in the alphabet including all five vowels, Y, and nine of the most common consonants (S, T, R, D, L, P, N, C and H). There are plenty of other options – you might want to get an M, B, F or G in there instead of the H, maybe – but something like that should do the trick.

If all goes well, that will give you a good lead on what one or sometimes two of the answers might be. If not, well good luck!

2. Narrow things down

Secondly, if you’re faced with a word where the answer might easily be one of several options – for instance -ATCH, where it could be MATCH, BATCH, LATCH, CATCH, WATCH, HATCH or PATCH – you’ll definitely want to guess a word that would narrow down those options. 

In Wordle, you can instead try several of those in succession and hope one is right, assuming you have enough guesses left. It’s risky, but will sometimes work. Plus, it’s the only option in Hard mode. But in Quordle, this will almost certainly result in a failure – you simply don’t have enough guesses.

In the scenario above, CLAMP would be a great guess, as it could point the way to four of the seven words in one go.

Google is expected to reveal its highly-anticipated first-ever foldable smartphone soon. Rumours regarding this smartphone have been making the rounds of the internet for some time now. The tech giant hasn’t confirmed the Pixel Fold, yet the rumour mill often keeps churning out new speculation . The latest rumour claims that the Pixel Fold is expected to be a heavy device. According to a report by 9to5Google, the smartphone will likely ship with the largest battery in a foldable ever. In December, another speculation suggested the precise dimensions of the upcoming Pixel Fold phone. Apart from this, leaked renders that surfaced earlier also revealed that the Google smartphone will look similar to the Oppo Find N2 clamshell foldable phone.
Google Pixel Fold: Expected design
This foldable smartphone is expected to be around the same height at 140mm (5.5 inches). However, the Pixel phone is likely to be wider by 7mm (.25 inches) at just under 80mm (3.14 inches). To compare, Pixel 7 Pro is 76.6mm wide (3 inches), Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is 155.1mm (6.1 inches) tall and 67.1mm (2.64 inches) wide in the folded state. To offer a better picture, the Surface Duo is also supposed to be 5mm (.2 inches) taller and 13.3mm (.52 inches) wider than the Pixel Fold.
Microsoft’s foldable smartphone can be used with one hand and Google may make the Pixel Fold narrower to assist single-handed usage, the report suggests. As per the report, the upcoming foldable might not be easier to hold compared to the Galaxy Fold 4, especially when folded. The report also adds that the primary reason for Google to make a wider foldable phone is an internal display. It allows apps to use a large-screen optimised UI in a landscape rectangle. Meanwhile, apps in Samsung’s foldable use near-square ones.
Google has primarily worked on large-screen optimisation for tablets which is expected to transform into the Pixel Fold’s expected aspect ratio. This optimisation is likely to fit two apps side-by-side while multitasking. Moreover, the larger size even ensures that the tablet interfaces won’t feel cramped up, which is also a common issue on Oppo’s Find N2 smartphone, the report adds.

The report also claims that the Pixel Fold is expected to be heavier than the Samsung Z Fold 4 (263g). To compare the original Surface Duo was 250g and the Oppo Find N weighed 237g. The Pixel Fold can be treated as a small tablet in weight while being heavier than the hefty Pixel 7 Pro.
Google Pixel Fold: Expected Battery
Google Pixel Fold is also rumoured to have a bigger battery than both Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 (4,400mAh) and the Oppo Find N2 (4,520mAh). The upcoming smartphone’s battery will be bigger than both of these phones but will be below 5,000mAh.
The report suggests that as brands opt for thinner designs in their foldable, they often need to make compromises on the battery capacity. Google Pixel Fold’s biggest advantage is expected to be its software as the Google apps and Android will be more closely optimised to the hardware, the report adds.

Loco, the esports and live-streaming platform has announced that it is building a suite of Web3 products which will offer innovative fan experiences utilizing a custom Avalanche Subnet.
Loco recently raised $42 million and the platform has also partnered with other gaming publishers like Krafton, Activision Blizzard and Riot Games. Loco has revealed that it will run its own Avalanche validators, reflecting a deep commitment to securing and building on the network.
Loco’s initial products will be designed to give back control to the user, bringing collectibles to the fantasy gaming experience. The Web3 initiatives will allow fans to express their fandom and put them in the role of talent managers and scouts, helping them leverage their knowledge and adding a new exciting layer to their watching experience.
Viewers who enjoy watching their favorite creators can now directly engage in the action by building the best entertainment roster or esports team and competing with other fans in fantasy games on these platforms. These collectibles will be unique, scarce, and will have publicly verifiable ownership.
An Avalanche Subnet allows Loco to tailor the properties of a custom blockchain to its apps and scale to a user base of hundreds of millions of customers, all while keeping network fees and transaction latency low.
With the recent Avalanche upgrade to Avalanche Warp Messaging (AWM), Loco’s users will also be able to freely trade Loco Legends collectibles with other assets on Avalanche. Additionally, Loco will receive support from Ava Labs through the Multiverse incentive program, helping launch its collectibles marketplaces.
Here’s what the company said
“We are excited to begin 2023 with this partnership with Ava Labs,” said Anirudh Pandita and Ashwin Suresh, co-founders of Loco. “We are aligned with Avalanche in our vision of bringing fun games to millions of users. These skill-based games will allow fans to deepen their connection with their favorite creators and help amplify the enjoyment they derive from watching digital content. Our endeavor is to provide users with reliable and secure platforms to store, buy, and sell digital assets while ensuring that the user experience is simple yet fun.”