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Google Assistant adds new features to helps families on Mother’s Day 2021

Google Assistant adds new features to helps families on Mother’s Day 2021

Ahead of Mother’s Day 2021 on May 9 this year, Google Assistant is bringing a couple of new features for mothers around the world. A new update to the assistance service brings new entertainment content, a family bell feature and a new enhanced broadcast messaging feature. Google announced the new features in a blog post on May 6. Here’s a detailed look at everything new that Google Assistant can now do, that can help not just moms, but the whole family. Enhanced Broadcast Feature The new enhanced broadcast feature lets…

India’s Cyber Agency Issues High Severity Security Warning for WhatsApp Users

India’s Cyber Agency Issues High Severity Security Warning for WhatsApp Users

India’s cybersecurity agency has warned WhatsApp users in the country about certain vulnerabilities detected in the messaging app. These vulnerabilities could lead to a breach of sensitive information of WhatsApp users. The CERT-In or the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team has issued a “high” severity rating advisory. The agency has stated that vulnerability has been discovered in software that has “WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business for Android prior to v2.21.4.18 and WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business for iOS prior to v2.21.32.” The CERT-In is the national technology arm that tackles cyber attacks…

Koo launches ‘TalkTo Type’ feature, to support 22 Indian Languages

Koo, the ‘desi’ version of the microblogging site Twitter, on Tuesday announced a new Talk to Type feature that allows its users to post content on the platform using voice commands. “This ‘Talk to Type’ feature is magical and takes creation for regional language creators to the next level,” said Aprameya Radhakrishna, CEO and Co-founder of Koo. Koo also claims that it is the first social media platform globally to use this feature in the Indian regional and local languages – Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, and Marathi – apart…

PUBG to Relaunch in India as Battleground Mobile India

South Korean gaming company Krafton will relaunch the India version of its popular game – PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), for mobile users. This will come in a new avatar called Battlegrounds Mobile India. Krafton has not set a timeline for the launch of the mobile multiplayer game in the country. In September last year, PUBG Mobile, which was published in India by Chinese internet giant Tencent, was banned along with other Chinese apps after a prolonged border standoff between the neighbours. Following the ban, PUBG Corp, the subsidiary of Krafton, severed…

Facebook Plans to Build a ‘Parent-Controlled’ Instagram for Children Under 13

Facebook is building a version of Instagram that will be tailored to children under the age of 13, PEOPLE confirms. “Increasingly kids are asking their parents if they can join apps that help them keep up with their friends,” a Facebook spokesperson tells PEOPLE. “Right now there aren’t many options for parents, so we’re working on building additional products — like we did with Messenger Kids — that are suitable for kids, managed by parents.” Messenger Kids debuted in late 2017 as a privacy-focused app for children, according to Tech…

Facebook’s Trump Ban Upheld by Oversight Board for Now

Donald Trump’s ban from Facebook and Instagram has been upheld by Facebook’s Oversight Board. But it criticised the indefinite nature of the ban as beyond the scope of Facebook’s normal penalties. It has ordered Facebook to review the decision and “justify a proportionate response” that is applied to everyone, including ordinary users. The former president was banned from both sites in January following the Capitol Hill riots. The Oversight Board said the initial decision to permanently suspend Mr Trump was “indeterminate and standardless”, and that the correct response should be…

XRSpace Headset Opens Door to New Virtual World

A new virtual reality headset designed for mobility will serve as an entry point into a new virtual world, its maker announced Tuesday. The US$599 Mova headset from XRSpace, founded by former HTC chief Peter Chou, will support 5G and be the exclusive on-ramp to Manova, a social reality platform that aims to defy the boundaries of space and time to bring people together. Users can roam Manova as full-body avatars with a user’s personal features to socialize, work and play in a number of public and private spaces, according…

Spotify Buys Megaphone for $235 million

Swedish music streaming giant Spotify has acquired podcast advertising and publishing firm Megaphone, in a deal worth a reported $235 million. The deal will help Spotify provide targeted ads, and expand advertising monitoring tools to third-party podcast providers. The Stockholm brand’s advertising revenue will rise this quarter, executives have claimed. It is the latest in a flurry of deals made by Spotify, which is trying to boost its presence in the booming podcast industry. Since last February, when it bought Alex Blumberg’s network Gimlet Media, Spotify has bagged high-profile shows…

India, UK to Ramp Up Cooperation in Science, Technology, Innovation

New Delhi: India and the UK will step up cooperation in the area of science, technology and innovation including strengthening the role of women in STEMM disciplines at schools, universities, and research institutions, the Department of Science and Technology said on Friday. The two sides will work to create an enabling environment for equal participation of women in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicines) disciplines through collaboration on new initiatives like Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions (GATI) project. In a virtual meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his…

IIT Chennai Startup Builds ‘India’s First’ 3D Printed House

Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions, a start-up founded by alumni of IIT Madras, has made what it says is India’s first 3D-printed house. The team printed the structure using a specialty concrete that it had developed to print large-scale 3D structures in short periods. They say the mix is based on ordinary portland cement, which has a lower water-cement ratio. Though concrete is the primary material typically used in construction projects, it cannot be recycled and requires a lot of energy to mix and transport. So, the team’s effort to use technology…