Archives 2023

The big tech pack of ‘FAAMNG’ companies (Facebook (Meta Platforms), Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix and Google) in India are reportedly in a near hiring pause amid the macroeconomic headwinds and global job cuts.
According to an exclusive report in Economic Times, these companies registered a 90% drop in active job postings in India in 2023 compared with the previous year. The story cites data put together for ET by specialist staffing firm Xpheno. These companies are reported to be their lowest action point, with current active hiring numbers down by more than 98% to 200 compared with its typical active hiring volume in India.
The hiring pause comes at a time when the tech industry is grappling with the global economic slowdown, with project ramp-downs and sluggish revenue growth.
“The low to no hiring action maintained by the cohort over the year will continue to impact tech talent movements, especially in the experienced lateral layers,” said Prasadh MS, head of workforce research at Xpheno. It will be a signal for smaller companies to stay cautious, he told ET.
“Maintaining the status quo requires replacement hiring action, with no significant net talent additions recorded,” he added.
Even as of December last year, the active demand from the big tech cohort is said to have already dropped by 78% compared with July 2022, reflecting a near 18-month low for the cohort, shows the data.
“The total number of active listed openings globally is currently under 30,000 across the Big Tech players and their affiliates. Globally, Big Tech companies, including Microsoft, Amazon and Google, have cut hundreds of thousands of jobs,” the report added.
The Big Tech companies — Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix and Google — currently employs a little less than 150,000 people in their core operations and captives in India.
Rishi Jhunjhunwala, senior vice-president covering IT at IIFL Securities, said, “Hiring should slowly start picking up in 2024 as some of the over capacity got rationalised in 2023. While the growth outlook is yet to improve, there is hope that it should start improving slowly.”
Though the sentiments have turned positive for the sector, no major changes will happen with the cautious investment strategy until at least March, when the first round of rate cuts is expected, the person said. Also, inflated salaries and innumerable offers are a thing of the past.

Home security is vital, whether you’re a homeowner or an apartment dweller, as has been proven by many of those viral videos we’ve seen online of malicious individuals trying to break into someone’s home, stealing packages, or stalking a woman or a child back to their house. 

It’s why smart video doorbells and home security cameras have become so popular. Not only do they deter evil-doers, but they can also be excellent tools to help authorities catch the bad guys. What’s even better is that such smart devices have become so affordable that these days that home security is no longer reserved for the wealthy.

It’s time for your daily dose of Quordle hints, plus the answers for both the main game and the Daily Sequence spin off. 

Quordle is the only one of the many Wordle clones that I’m still playing now, around 18 months after the daily-word-game craze hit the internet, and with good reason: it’s fun, but also difficult.

Lenovo is probably best known for its personal computers, but the company produces a wide range of electrical products. This now includes business projectors, such as its new Lenovo Thinkplus AIR H6, which has a native 1080p Full HD resolution and boasts 700 ANSI Lumens of light with a maximum contrast of 1000:1, ensuring bright and clear results.

The Thinkplus AIR H6 is powered by the (admittedly now pretty dated) Android 9 operating system, and comes equipped with automatic focus and four-point keystone correction, meaning you don’t need to take too much care when placing the projector as it will deliver a square picture from most angles.

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) researchers have developed 3D-printed face implants for patients suffering from Black Fungus, which has been reported in COVID-19 patients as well as those with uncontrolled diabetes, HIV/AIDS and other medical conditions. Around 50 implants have already been done on patients from economically-weaker sections.
The Institute has partnered with ZorioX Innovation labs, a start-up founded by Dental Surgeons in Chennai, to implement this initiative, which is based on metal 3D Printing or additive manufacturing.
The outbreak of black fungus disease, also known as ‘Mucormycosis’, has been a cause of great concern in India. One of the most devastating effects of this disease is the loss of facial features, which can have a profound impact on the patient’s mental and emotional well-being.
Therefore, the reconstruction of faces lost due to black fungus is the need of the hour. Reports suggest that about 60,000 mucormycosis cases have been registered in India post-COVID.
The fungus responsible for mucormycosis can invade the tissues of the face, causing necrosis and disfigurement. In severe cases, patients may lose their nose, eyes, or even their entire face. Furthermore, the loss of vital organs can affect a patient’s ability to breathe, eat, and communicate, making it difficult to perform everyday activities.
Reconstructive surgery is a viable solution for patients who have lost their facial features due to black fungus disease. These procedures involve the reconstruction of the nose, eyes, and other facial structures using a variety of techniques, such as skin grafts, tissue expansion, and microvascular surgery. These procedures can help restore the patient’s appearance and function, allowing them to lead a more normal life.
However, patient-specific implants and procedures are expensive, rendering them inaccessible for people from weaker sections.
What makes the initiative unique
What makes this initiative unique is that IIT Madras team is able to print the implant exactly to match the patients’ face. The Researchers get the patients’ CT Data from which we design a specific implant that will suit the patient perfectly. IIT Madras is among the first to print such implants for black fungus patients specifically.
IIT Madras researchers are also identifying patients who cannot afford costly imported implants and giving these implants free of cost under the campaign called #Right2Face.
Zoriox Innovations Labs, with whom IIT Madras has a tie-up, takes part of the surgical procedures while IIT Madras handles the Design and 3D Printing. The implants are made of medical-grade titanium, which are commonly used for reconstructive procedures.
Elaborating on this technology developed by IIT Madras, Dr. Murugaiyan Amirthalingam, Associate Professor, Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, IIT Madras, said, “Additive manufacturing (3D printing) has already emerged as a viable and cost effective, net shape manufacturing process for low volume production of complex body implants with specific custom-made designs. Extensive research activities are already being carried out in IIT Madras to commercialise this technology for printing patient-specific implants in stainless steel, Ti-6Al-4V and Co-Cr-Mo alloys.”
Dr. Murugaiyan Amirthalingam added, “Using unique in-house algorithms, a patient’s MRI/CT data is converted to printable CAD format and custom implants are printed from medical-grade titanium using an indigenously-built laser powder bed facility in IIT Madras. This #Right2Face initiative aims to help poor and needy patients with patient-specific custom maxillofacial implants to treat black fungus patients.”
Speaking about this initiative, Dr. Karthik Balaji, CEO, ZorioX Innovation labs, said, “Post-Covid there has been an increase in number of black fungus cases. To save the lives of the patient, a lot of facial bones had to be removed. These patients are mostly breadwinners of the family and are now confined within four walls because of their facial deformity. #Right2face movement is aimed to help these needy patients in association with the oral and maxillofacial surgeons to restore the faces and give them back their smile.”

China seems to be opening up to online gaming. The change comes after the country has taken various measures against the online gaming sector in recent years. In 2021, regulators limited the amount of time children could spend on games to just three hours a week, expressing concern about addiction to video gaming. Approvals of new video games were suspended for about eight months but resumed in April 2022 as a broader crackdown on the entire technology industry was eased.
In a big change, the country’s authority in charge of press and publications has approved 105 online games. According to a report in news agency AP, the agency further said that it fully supports the industry after newly proposed curbs caused massive losses for major game companies. In a statement, the National Press and Publication Administration said that the approvals by the Game Working Committee of China Music and Digital Association were “positive signals that support the prosperity and healthy development of the online game industry.”
The list of games approved include Tencent’s “Counter War: Future” and NetEase’s “Firefly Assault” were among games approved.
The announcement reportedly comes just days after the draft guidelines for curbs on online gaming caused share prices of video game makers like Tencent and Netease to plunge, causing losses of tens of billions of dollars and dragging Chinese benchmarks lower.
The administration’s guidelines said that online games would be banned from offering incentives for daily log-ins or purchases. Other restrictions include limiting how much users can recharge and issuing warnings for “irrational consumption behavior.”
The Press and Publication Administration said that in 2023, 1,075 game version numbers had been issued, of which 977 were domestically produced and 98 were imported.
It also cited a “2023 China Game Industry Report” that it said showed sales revenue for the domestic online games market exceeded 300 billion yuan ($42 billion) in 2023, with the number of people playing the games reaching 668 million.
“The Game Working Committee hopes that member units will take this opportunity to launch more high-quality products, promote high-quality development of the online game industry, and contribute to promoting cultural prosperity and development and building a culturally powerful country,” it said.

China has said that it will provide consular protection and assistance to the arrested employees working for Chinese smartphone maker Vivo in India. The company expressed its firm backing to the Chinese businesses in protecting their lawful rights and interests.
Reacting to the arrest of some Vivo officials, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing that China is closely following the issue.“The Chinese embassy and consulates in India will continue to provide consular protection and assistance to the individuals concerned in accordance with the law,” she said.
“The Chinese government firmly supports Chinese businesses in safeguarding their lawful rights and interests. We hope that India will fully recognise the mutually beneficial nature of the business cooperation between our two countries and provide a fair, just, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment,” she said.
Last week, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested three Vivo India executives in connection with its money laundering probe against the smartphone maker and some others. Interim CEO of Vivo India Hong Xuquan alias Terry (a Chinese national), Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Harinder Dahiya and consultant Hemant Munjal have been taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The federal agency had earlier made four arrests in the case which included mobile company Lava International’s MD Hari Om Rai, Chinese national Guangwen alias Andrew Kuang and chartered accountants Nitin Garg and Rajan Malik. They are in judicial custody at present.

Now that the holiday season is winding down, it’s time to prep for the year ahead. Unfortunately, like the rest of us, you’ve probably amassed a lot of junk throughout the year. There’s a reason why spring cleaning is a thing in the first place. 

Spring cleaning isn’t an easy chore, but you can get through it easier and with less fuss when you have the right tools. A cordless vacuum, for example, will make the job more effortless since they tend to be lighter and cord-free. 

This might be your last chance for a while to get the Apple Pencil 2 at a discounted price; it’s currently $89 at Amazon, down from its usual MSRP of $129. 

We’ve seen Apple’s stylus hover around this price on and off since Black Friday 2022, and we even saw it briefly drop as low as $79 in this year’s post-Thanksgiving sales event, but with the release of Apple’s new, more affordable Apple Pencil USB-C, there’s every chance that the after-Christmas sales are the last opportunity we’ll see for a while to grab a stylus saving. 

Sometimes, you don’t need an all-singing, all-dancing smart device to clean up, and the kHelfer Electric Spin Scrubber Kh8 is the perfect example of an easy, affordable alternative. It’s one of Amazon’s best-sellers, and right now it’s discounted to $54.96 from $69.99 at Amazon in Amazon’s after-Christmas sales.

I’ve tried using vacuums with mop-heads like the $320 Roidmi X30VX before, and while its rotating rondels were great for polishing the floor and quick liquid stain cleanups, it’s a pricey device that couldn’t quite get to more stubborn or embedded dirt.