Archives January 2024

The Samsung Galaxy Fit 3 has been dropping hints about its arrival since 2022, but a massive new leak (from Samsung itself) suggests that the Fitbit rival is finally close to launching.

A seemingly accidental posting on Samsung’s UAE website (which you can still read in its cached form) was spotted by Samsung Community and Gadgets & Wearables and has revealed pretty much everything about the wearable, which is shaping up to be a big upgrade on its aging predecessor.

In what would come as a significant blow to its operations, Paytm has been barred by RBI to onboard new customers and not accept deposits across many of its services. Following a thorough system audit report and subsequent compliance validation by external auditors, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank, effective February 29. Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) will no longer be permitted to accept deposits or top-ups in customer accounts, prepaid instruments, wallets, or FASTags.
“Withdrawal or utilisation of balances by its customers from their accounts including savings bank accounts, current accounts, prepaid instruments, FASTags, National Common Mobility Cards, etc. are to be permitted without any restrictions, up to their available balance,” the RBI said in a statement said.
Users who have balance in their accounts, wallets or FASTags don’t have to worry as RBI has said they can continue to withdraw or utilise it without any restrictions.
The RBI’s decision stems from the identification of persistent non-compliance issues and significant supervisory concerns within the bank. In response to these findings, the RBI announced the termination of Nodal Accounts belonging to One97 Communications Ltd and Paytm Payments Services Ltd. These terminations must be executed expeditiously, no later than February 29, the apex banking institution noted.
Furthermore, the RBI directive mandates the completion of all pending transactions and nodal account settlements (pertaining to transactions initiated on or before February 29, 2024) by March 15, 2024. Subsequent transactions beyond this date will not be permitted.
Paytm so far hasn’t commented on the matter.

Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s generative AI-based chatbot, ChatGPT, is popular among users. The tool is mostly used for simpler queries, but some users access ChatGPT plugins and extensions for more complex tasks. However, users should be careful about the data they share with the chatbot as it has reportedly leaked a few conversations.

Details leaked by ChatGPT

According to a report by ArsTechnica, a user has shared screenshots that show how ChatGPT is leaking private conversations.The images show that the chatbot is leaking details like usernames and passwords. The report notes that the user accessed ChatGPT for an unrelated query and curiously spotted additional conversations present in the bot’s chat history that did not belong to them. These unrelated conversations included multiple details, the report noted.
One set of conversations was by some user who was trying to troubleshoot problems through a support system used by employees of a pharmacy prescription drug portal. This conversation included the name of the app that the other user was trying to troubleshoot, the store number where the problem occurred and additional login credentials.Another leaked conversation included the name of the presentation that some other user was working on. It also included details of an unpublished research proposal.

What OpenAI has to say about the leaked details

Replying to the allegations, OpenAI officials explained that ChatGPT showed unrelated chat histories as the user’s account has been compromised. An Open AI representative said that the unauthorised logins came from Sri Lanka whereas the user said he logs into his account from Brooklyn, New York.
In a statement, the OpenAI representative wrote: “From what we discovered, we consider it an account takeover in that it’s consistent with activity we see where someone is contributing to a ‘pool’ of identities that an external community or proxy server uses to distribute free access. The investigation observed that conversations were created recently from Sri Lanka. These conversations are in the same time frame as successful logins from Sri Lanka.”
This is not the first time ChatGPT has leaked information. In March 2023, the chatbot reportedly had a bug that leaked chat titles. Meanwhile in November 2023, researchers were able to use queries to prompt the AI bot into divulging private data that was used in training the LLM.
Moreover, it is important to note that OpenAI doesn’t offer its users features like 2FA or the ability to track details such as IP location of current and recent logins to safeguard their ChatGPT accounts.

The global push towards greater AI acceptance has seen a big move towards cloud computing, with the knock-on effect of making Microsoft’s latets financial results very positive.

An 18% increase saw the company’s overall revenue climb to $62 billion in the three months that ended December 31 2023 – jmore than both Microsoft and analysts had expected.

The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday restricted Paytm Payments Bank Ltd from taking fresh deposits and credit transactions across its services, due to non-compliance of regulations and supervisory concerns.

An audit report revealed “persistent non-compliances and continued material supervisory concerns in the bank, warranting further supervisory action,” the central bank said in a release.

Paytm Payments Bank will not be allowed to take further deposits in any customer accounts after February 29, the RBI said.

It added that no credit transactions will be allowed either, including via wallets.

The withdrawal or utilisation of balances by its customers will be permitted without restrictions, the central bank said.

Last month, One 97 Communications, parent of Paytm, confirmed a “slight reduction” in its workforce on Monday as part of cost-cutting measures without specifying the number of jobs.

A company spokesperson, however, denied media reports at that time that suggested the non-bank lender could cut more than 1,000 roles.

“We will be able to save 10-15 percent in employee costs as Artificial Intelligence (AI) has delivered more than we expected it to,” the spokesperson had told Reuters.

During its fiscal year to end-March 2023, Paytm had an average of 32,798 directly employed staff and 1,589 contracted employees worldwide across its various units, its annual report showed.

In August 2023, Paytm Chairman Vijay Shekhar Sharma said he would buy a 10.3 percent stake worth $628 million (roughly Rs. 5,195 crore) in the firm he founded from an arm of Chinese fintech giant Ant Financial in a deal that would make him its single largest shareholder.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

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Flipkart has announced a new delivery feature for its platform. The e-commerce platform has announced that it will start offering same-day delivery of products across multiple categories. This will allow users to get the products purchased on the platform delivered on the same day.
Same-day delivery to become available in these cities
Flipkart has confirmed that same-day delivery will be available in cities including Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Coimbatore, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Patna, Raipur, Siliguri and Vijayawada.
Flipkart’s same-day delivery: Details
Flipkart’s same-day delivery will be available only if users place the order before 1 pm. This means orders placed after 1 pm will get delivered the next day. Also, the products, as a part of same-day delivery, will be delivered before midnight.
Availability details
The initiative is getting rolled out starting February and will be scaled over the next several months to serve more customers across the country.
Categories that will offer same-day delivery
Flipkart will offer same-day delivery on products from categories like mobiles, fashion, beauty, lifestyle, books, home appliances and electronics.
How Flipkart is offering same-day delivery
Flipkart achieves same-day delivery by using its supply chain, investing in numerous fulfilment centres and enhancing technological capabilities. With a focus on meticulous route planning, optimised delivery routes and faster sortation through ML models, Flipkart ensures orders are fulfilled from the nearest fulfilment centre, minimising transit times and delivering products the same day.
Hemant Badri, Senior Vice President, Head of Supply Chain, Customer Experience & ReCommerce Business, Flipkart Group, explains “As we enter 2024, millions of customers across the country will be delighted to get lakhs of products delivered to them the same day of them placing the orders. Considering that customers not just from metro cities but non-metro cities love to shop on Flipkart, we are working to provide the same-day delivery to 20 cities, reinforcing our commitment to staying at the forefront of customer satisfaction. We will further scale it in the months to come, to include more cities and more categories including large appliances, to delight the customers.”

Universal Music Group (UMG) is dropping a bombshell on TikTok. Universal Music Group (UMG) has announced that it will pull its entire music catalogue from TikTok when its contract with the service expires on January 31. For those unaware, UMG’s roster includes such megastars as Taylor Swift, BTS, Drake, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, Lady Gaga, Lana Del Rey, Billie Eilish, Eminem, Nicki Minaj, Justin Bieber, Karol G and Post Malone.
Why UMG is cutting ties with TikTok
Citing unfair compensation, rampant piracy, and a disturbing AI agenda, UMG announced the decision in an open letter. In a fiery open letter to its artists and songwriters, UMG blasted TikTok for its “exploitative” tactics. They accuse the platform of offering a pittance compared to other social media giants, failing to protect artists from piracy, and even actively promoting the creation of AI-generated music that could potentially replace human artists.
“TikTok proposed paying our artists and songwriters at a rate that’s a slap in the face,” the letter reads. “They want to build a music empire on the backs of our artists, while offering them pennies on the dollar.”
UMG further alleges that TikTok attempted to bully them into accepting a bad deal, even resorting to selectively removing music from up-and-coming artists while keeping megastars as bait. This move, UMG claims, is an attempt to divide and conquer, forcing them to accept unfair terms. In the letter, UMG said that when it proposed that TikTok take “similar steps as our other platform partners to try to address these issues, it responded first with indifference, and then with intimidation.”
What UMG leaving TikTok means
The consequences of this divorce can be hurtful for TikTok. Reason being that UMG boasts a roster of A-listers like Taylor Swift, BTS, Drake, and Ariana Grande, meaning a significant portion of TikTok’s soundtrack will disappear overnight. This could have a major impact on both platforms, leaving millions of users searching for new tunes and UMG artists potentially losing a key promotional platform.
UMG’s decision marks a turning point in the battle for fair compensation in the digital age. It’s a bold statement against tech giants who prioritize profits over artists’ rights. Whether this move inspires other music giants to follow suit or ultimately proves a Pyrrhic victory remains to be seen. But one thing’s for sure: the music on TikTok is about to get a whole lot quieter.

Google is back with yet another Pixel 8 vs iPhone 15 ad which, just like the previous ones, is aimed at promoting its features and at the same time taking a dig at Apple’s newest flagship smartphone in a funny way. With the latest ad, Google is promoting its newly-released Circle to Search feature, among other AI-powered ones.
The video starts with a ‘coach’ iPhone 15 Pro giving a speech to his team of ‘iPhone 15 Pros’ saying “the momentum is shifting, but this game isn’t over yet”.The ‘team members’ then go on to say that “the other team”, which is Google, “keeps getting new AI features!” such as Circle to Search and AI-powered Video Boost.
The conversation also brings up other features like “advanced AI to fix group photos and summarise recordings and reduce noise in videos” that Google has already advertised in its previous advertisements.
The ad then goes on to take a veiled dig at iPhone 15 Pro that got significant design changes, including “contoured edges, a different-shaped charging port (USB Type-C)” and it got 0.67 ounces lighter as compared to previous model.
“Yeah / Coach is right / Mmmhmm,” the team agrees, to which the coach iPhone 15 Pro replies, “See? You don’t need fancy schmancy AI to edit photos and screen spam calls..”
“FOCUS! This is our moment! Let’s get back out there. And you make sure they remember forever the night they played the team that dared to turn a switch into an action button!,” the coach says, highlighting that the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max come with an Action Button.
Watch the ad below:

Google Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 8 new colour
Recently, Google launched a new colour, Minty Green, on the Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 8 smartphones. In India, however, Google has launched the new colour only for the Pixel 8.

Destiny 2 game director Joe Blackburn has announced he will be leaving Bungie next month. 

In a thread posted on January 30 to Twitter (now known as X), Blackburn shared that next month, at the start of major testing for the upcoming Destiny 2 expansion The Final Shape, he will be stepping away from the role.

A new post is circulating on social media platforms regarding working days for government employees. The post talks about the Union Finance Minister making some changes to the working hours and working days during the sixth budget announcement on February 1.
What does the post claim
The post circulating on the social media platform claims that the Union Finance Minister will announce a 3-day week off policy in the next budget announcement.Employees will get three days off in a week instead of two.
Read the message from the post:

This message is fake: PIB Fact Check
PIB Fact Check, the government fact-checking agency that verifies information circulating on the internet and other places, for its authenticity and confirms whether the message is true or false, has confirmed that this message is fake and our Union Finance Minister is not going to make any such announcement at the budget.
According to the message posted on the X by PIB Fact Check, FM Nirmala Sitharaman is not supposed to make any such proposal for the upcoming budget on February 1.