Archives January 2024

Artificial intelligence, aka AI, has been around in smartphones for a good few years, in features ranging from clever ways to get the most out of your photos to smartly transcribing voice recordings. But recently we’ve moved from the idea of AI doing the heavy lifting of tedious tasks to generative AI, whereby machine learning algorithms can actually make new stuff or serve up fresh information based on user prompts. 

Both the Samsung Galaxy S24 series and new Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro phones come with generative AI features. These have been focused on photo editing and live translations; the letter I turn my nose up at a little, preferring to try and get the best shot first time than editing to perfection – heck, I’m not even a fan of filters in the likes of Instagram – and I’ve not felt the need yet to stick my phone near someone’s mouth in order to get their speech translated, though that’s more a perk of English being one of the most widely spoken languages. 

Clipboard Protection feature available in Android 13 and 14 is your latest safeguard for critical information copied on your smartphone. Functioning as a vigilant guardian, it serves as a gatekeeper, overseeing and controlling app access to the clipboard. This proactive measure aims to mitigate the potential risk of sensitive data, such as passwords, addresses, or credit card numbers, being inadvertently exposed to unauthorised apps.

How Clipboard Protection Feature Works

Important things to remember:

Obsidian Entertainment’s upcoming fantasy role-playing game Avowed is set to release later this year, and its director Carrie Patel has spoken more about what players can expect from the experience. 

In a new interview with PCGamesN, Patel admitted that it’s “hard in 2024 to escape some comparison to Skyrim if you’re making a first-person fantasy action RPG,” but clarified that Avowed is more comparable in its scope and world structure to Obsidian’s 2019 RPG, The Outer Worlds.

With the convenience of streaming services like Amazon Prime Video, entertainment options have expanded beyond traditional cable TV channels. However, accessing your favourite shows and movies while travelling can sometimes be a challenge, especially when it comes to connecting your streaming accounts to hotel TVs. Fortunately, many hotels now offer smart TVs or compatible devices that allow guests to enjoy their preferred streaming platforms during their stay.
In this article, we’ll walk you through the steps to connect Prime Video to your hotel TV, ensuring you can unwind with your favourite content wherever you go.

Google Assistant is set to get a major upgrade with Bard. As per what Google told us, Google Assistant as we know it may not be with us for long. The company announced that it wants to enhance its voice Assistant with generative AI, creatively calling the upcoming experience Assistant with Bard. Google already gave us an extensive preview of what capabilities we can expect, but we haven’t heard much official about it since October.That’s finally changing, with a new video of Assistant with Bard in action showing up within the Pixel Tips app on Google’s phones. The video has been spotted by Google News Telegram channel owner Nail Sadykov on X, formerly Twitter.
What the leaked video shows
The leaked video offers a demo of what Android phone users can expect with Assistant with Bard once it rolls out to them in a future software update. It reveals that there will be a new native Bard app, likely replacing the old Assistant app, that users can use to start a chat with the AI. This no way means that the old method is going altogether. This means you can still use on the good old “Hey Google” hotword or long-pressing your power button.

What is Assistant with Bard
Assistant with Bard is a new AI-powered assistant that will be available on Google Pixel phones. It will allow users to interact with Google Assistant in a more natural and conversational way. You can use Bard to ask questions, get things done, and even have creative conversations.
How does Assistant with Bard work
Google Assistant with Bard works by using generative AI to understand your requests and generate responses. This means that Bard can understand the context of your conversation and provide more helpful and informative responses. For example, if you ask Bard “What is the weather like today?”, it will not only tell you the current temperature, but it will also tell you if you need to bring an umbrella.
When will Assistant with Bard be available
Assistant with Bard will be available to Google Pixel phone users in March 2024. It will initially be a limited release, but Google plans to make it available to more users later in the year.
What are the benefits of using Assistant with Bard
There are many benefits to using Assistant with Bard. Here are a few:
* More natural and conversational interactions: Bard can understand the context of your conversation and provide more helpful and informative responses.
* Get things done more easily: Bard can help you with a variety of tasks, such as setting alarms, making appointments, and sending messages.
* Have creative conversations: Bard can have creative conversations with you on a variety of topics.

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.

Android’s version of Apple’s AirDrop feature is finally starting to roll out to Pixel devices following its announcement at CES 2024 earlier this year.

Google’s Nearby Share and Samsung’s Quick Share have always behaved a lot like AirDrop. The functions allow you to quickly exchange files and photos with nearby devices, but annoyingly only work with devices using the same sharing system – so if you were using a Samsung Galaxy phone and your buddy had a Google Pixel then you’d have to transfer files a different way.

Wipro is reportedly cutting ‘hundreds’ of jobs in a bid to enhance its margins, which was 16% for the December quarter – significantly lower compared to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) at 25%, Infosys at 20.5% and HCL Technologies at 19.8%.
Citing two sources familiar with the matter, The Economic Times reported that India’s leading IT company is in the process of slashing mid-level roles at its onsite locations.
“The intimations started being sent earlier this month. Hundreds of mid-level executives onsite are being let go,” a source was quoted as saying.
“They have very expensive resources onsite in Capco, and even though the growth is coming back, it is not enough. Aparna (Iyer – Wipro chief financial officer) has been tasked with showing better margins this quarter,” the source added.
In 2021, Wipro acquired consulting firm Capco for $1.45 billion, however, the consulting business slowed down as customers curbed spending after growth fell post-Covid and world economies cooled.
Another source familiar with the job cuts indicated that it’s part of a ‘Left-Shift’ strategy, where tasks of higher-level employees are shifted downward, often with automation playing a role.
“The work of a level 3 employee is shifted to a level 2 employee, who is given appropriate tools. A level 1 employee does the level 2 work, and the idea is that the work of a Level 1 employee is automated,” said the second source.
What Wipro has to say
In response to queries from the publication, a Wipro spokesperson emphasised the company’s commitment to investing in people, processes and technology to meet evolving client and market needs.
“Aligning our business and talent to the changing market environment is a critical part of our strategy as we look to build a resilient, agile, and high-performance organisation,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying.
In the December quarter, Wipro’s revenue fell 12% year-on-year – the fourth consecutive quarter in which the IT company reported a fall in profit.

Apple Vision Pro — the wearable ‘spatial computer’ from the iPhone maker — might have a hefty $3,499 (roughly Rs. 2.9 lakh) price tag, but that hasn’t stopped the company from selling over 200,000 units in the US, over a 10-day period, according to a report. The headset is set to go on sale via Apple Stores in the US starting on February 2, nearly eight months after it was unveiled by the company at WWDC 2023. There’s no word from Apple on plans to launch the Vision Pro in other regions, including India.

According to a MacRumors report citing a source with knowledge of the company’s Vision Pro sales performance, Apple has sold over 200,000 models of its first mixed reality headset as of January 29. Customers will be able to purchase the Vision Pro at the company’s stores in the US starting on Friday. Apple announced the launch of the device in the country on January 8 and pre-orders started on January 19.

Earlier this month, TF Securities International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed that Apple “sold 160,000 to 180,000 Vision Pro units” between January 19 to January 21. Kuo claims that shipping 500,000 Vision Pro units should not be challenging for Apple, but points to the possibility of the demand for the headset waning after the initial order period.

These figures were in line with Kuo’s earlier predictions related to the headset, but the analyst says that shipping times remained the same during the pre-order period, which suggests that demand for the headset could “quickly taper off after the core fans and heavy users place their orders.”

Meanwhile, reviews for the Vision Pro arrived on Wednesday, giving us an idea of what to expect from the company’s wearable headset. Previously unknown details about the device have also surfaced online, such as how the headset is powered and the software interface.

For example, John Gruber points out in his review that the Apple Vision Pro does not have an inbuilt reserve battery. This means that if you buy a second battery, you can’t hot swap it with the original one as the device will simply be powered down — instead, you will need to shut down the headset, connect to the second battery pack and power it on again, according to Gruber.

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Spotify Wrapped – an automated year-end playlist of all your most-listened-to tracks on the music-streaming service – has spawned a legion of imitators, with everything from web-hosting providers to credit agencies offering to sum up your year in statistics and charts.

Spotify’s arch-rival Apple Music has its own version of Wrapped, and it’s just started rolling out to users. But it surges ahead of Spotify’s version in one respect, and that means you might find it much more interesting to use.