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New products boast superior technology, ultra high air delivery, and modern designs New Delhi: India’s leading consumer durables brand, Usha International, has widened its fans portfolio with the launch of new pedestal, wall, and exhaust fans. The newly launched products include Pentacool wall and pedestal fans, Colossus wall and pedestal fans, and Striker high speed exhaust fan. Pentacool 5-blade wall and pedestal fans Pentacool fans offer smooth and silent performance. The 5-blade fans come with translucent ABS blades, elevating the style quotient of any room they are placed in. It promises high air delivery of 85 cubic meter per minute, resulting in great performance and efficiency, vis-à-vis traditional 3-blade pedestal and wall fans. It has a speed of 1350 rpm, and its 100% copper motor and ABS blades ensure longer life and smooth air flow. Pentacool is available in two color variants – white body with blue blades, and black body with black blades. Colossus wall and pedestal fa

Seznam.cz, the Czech Republic’s leading home-grown web search platform, said it had claimed CZK 9.072 billion (roughly $417 million/ Rs. 3,000 crores) in damages from Google, alleging that the US giant restricted competition. Seznam said Google abused a dominant position on the Czech market with licensed operating systems and application stores for smart devices equipped with Android operating system. A spokeswoman for Google, a unit of Alphabet, said it could not comment as it had not yet received the claim. “Based on the European Commission’s decision back in 2018 which confirmed that Google was in breach with EU antitrust rules, we claim the compensation of damage that we have suffered while trying to distribute our applications and services via mobile devices with Android operation system,” Seznam deputy chairman Pavel Zima said.

SpaceX’s Starship prototype exploded while attempting to land on Wednesday after an otherwise successful test launch from the company’s rocket facility in Boca Chica, Texas, live video of the flight showed. The Starship rocket destroyed in the accident was a 16-story-tall prototype for the heavy-lift launch vehicle being developed by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s private space company to carry humans and 100 tons of cargo on future missions to the moon and Mars. The self-guided rocket blew up as it touched down on a landing pad following a controlled descent. The test flight had been intended to reach an altitude of 41,000 feet, propelled by three of SpaceX’s newly developed Raptor engines for the first time. But the company left unclear whether the rocket had flown that high.

The Delhi High Court Wednesday sought response of the Centre, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a detailed legal framework for regulating operations of techfin companies such as Facebook, Google and Amazon in India’s financial sector space. As the petition filed by an economist, techfin entities are technology, telecommunications or e-commerce companies that have ventured into the financial sector to provide financial services and need to be regulated.

Elon Musk can comfortably call himself the world’s second-richest person amid a surge in the stock of his electric car maker Tesla, and now he has added another title: Texan. The norm-shattering entrepreneur announced on Tuesday he had left California after a heated squabble earlier this year with local authorities, who ordered one of his auto factories closed to stop the spread of Covid-19. “Yes, I have moved to Texas,” he told a conference organized by The Wall Street Journal. Musk justified the move by saying he needed to be closer to two of his biggest projects: the development of rockets by his company SpaceX in the southern part of the state, and construction of a Tesla automobile plant near state capital Austin. Texas also offers a lower cost of living and no state income tax, both of which may appeal to South Africa-born Musk, 49, who overtook Bill Gates to become the world’s second-wealthiest person last month as Tesla stock reached ever-higher heights. The high-end electric a

Redmi 9 Power launch in India has been officially teased by Xiaomi sub-brand Redmi. The latest development comes days after the smartphone was speculated to be a rebranded version of the Redmi Note 9 4G that was launched in China last month. A listing on Google Play Console also recently suggested the existence of the Redmi 9 Power with model number M2010J19SI. The Redmi phone is rumoured to come in two different variants, with 4GB RAM as standard. The Redmi India account tweeted a teaser video to suggest the launch of the Redmi 9 Power. The video doesn’t give any explicit hint at Redmi 9 Power, though it shows some metaphors to suggest the performance of a new model that it calls a ‘Power Packed’ device. Xiaomi has also created a dedicated microsite on Mi.com for the upcoming launch. It teases a quad rear camera setup that includes a 48-megapixel primary sensor and fast charging-supported battery on the new Redmi phone. The latest series of teasers don’t provide any particular details

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd may discontinue its premium Galaxy Note phone next year, sources with knowledge of the matter said, a move that would reflect the sharp drop in demand for high-end smartphones due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Galaxy Note, known for its large screen and a stylus for note-taking, is one of two Samsung premium phone series – the other being the more compact Galaxy S which draws in consumers with its state-of-the-art parts. At present, the South Korean tech giant does not have plans to develop a new version of the Galaxy Note for 2021, three sources said, declining to be identified as the plans were not public. Instead, the Galaxy S series’ top model, the S21, will have a stylus and the next version of Samsung’s foldable phone will be compatible with a stylus, which will be sold separately, one of the sources said. A second source said company development efforts that normally would have been directed to the Note would now be channelled into its foldable phon

Chrome OS 87 rollout has started for Chromebook models and it brings some new features that makes web browsing as well as using Bluetooth accessories easier. The new version of Chome will get a Tab Search feature, which was added to the Windows version of the browser last month. It will allow you to locate a tab among multiple open tabs in a browser. Chrome OS 87 will also show battery level for wireless headphones connected to your Chromebook. This update also brings several new wallpapers from four different artists and some bug fixes. Through an official post on the Chromebook support page, Google shared that Chrome OS 87 has started rolling out for devices and will reach all devices in the coming days. The new OS version brings a Tab Search feature to Chrome that will help users easily locate a tab among multiple open tabs. Clicking the Tab Search button next to the minimise icon will bring up a drop-down menu where you can search for a particular tab. This can also be triggered wi

South Korean battery makers LG Chem and SK Innovation are sparring over whether the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) should consider recent electric vehicle recalls in a trade secrets case. LG Chem, an EV battery supplier for Tesla and General Motors, filed its trade complaints against SK Innovation last year in the United States. Alleging trade secret theft, LG seeks to block SK from producing battery cells in the United States and from importing the components necessary to make them. SK has denied wrongdoing. Last month, SK asked the ITC to consider that “LG Chem batteries have been involved in a series of fires and explosions, raising substantial public interest concerns.” In the request, SK said General Motors Co and Hyundai Motor Co had each issued recent recalls for EVs with LG Chem batteries. The recalls “raise questions of public safety and underscore the critical need for SK batteries in the United States,” the company said.

IBM is sounding the alarm over hackers targeting companies critical to the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, a sign that digital spies are turning their attention to the complex logistical work involved in inoculating the world’s population against the novel coronavirus. The information technology company said in a blog post published on Thursday that it had uncovered “a global phishing campaign” focused on organisations associated with the COVID-19 vaccine “cold chain,” the process needed to keep vaccine doses at extremely cold temperatures as they travel from manufacturers to people’s arms. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency reposted the report, warning members of Operation Warp Speed, the US government’s national vaccine mission, to be on the lookout. Understanding how to build a secure cold chain is fundamental to distributing vaccines developed by the likes of Pfizer and BioNTech because the shots need to be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius (-94 F) or below

Chinese fintech giant Ant Group is considering selling its 30 percent stake in Indian digital payment processor Paytm amid tensions between the two Asian neighbours and a toughening competitive landscape, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. Financial details of the possible transaction have not been firmed up and Ant, the Alibaba-backed payments-to-consumer credit behemoth, has not launched a formal sale process yet, four people told Reuters. Paytm, which is also backed by SoftBank among others, was valued at about $16 billion (roughly Rs. 1,18,000 crores) during its latest private fundraising round a year ago. At that valuation, Ant’s stake in the Indian firm is worth about $4.8 billion (roughly Rs. 35,400 crores).

Amazon’s cloud unit on Tuesday offered a new supercomputing service based on its self-designed processors, a further sign of how chips based on Arm’s technology are encroaching on Intel and Advanced Micro Devices turf. Amazon Web Services, or AWS, sells its computing services based on the customer’s choice of an underlying central processor chip. Software developers have traditionally chosen between Intel or AMD products, but since 2018 Amazon has also offered its own Graviton chips designed with technology from Arm, which is in the midst of a $40 billion (roughly Rs. 2,93,600 crores) takeover by Nvidia. Arm-based chips have long powered mobile phones because they can operate on very low power levels, but they are increasingly used in data centers where their power efficiency helps control costs. The world’s fastest computing system, the Fugaku supercomputer in Japan, is based on Arm chips.

Vivo V20 Pro is set to launch in India on Wednesday, December 2, the Chinese company confirmed through a media invite. The flagship Vivo phone was unveiled alongside Vivo V20 at an event in Thailand in September. Key highlights of Vivo V20 Pro include dual selfie cameras, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G SoC, and 33W fast charging support. The smartphone also comes preloaded with a list of camera-focussed features that include Dual-View Video, Slo-Mo Selfie Video, Super Night Mode, and Motion Autofocus, among others. Vivo V20 Pro India launch date As per a ‘block your date’ invite sent to the media, the Vivo V20 Pro India launch will be held on December 2. The company is likely to host a virtual event to announce the arrival of the new phone.

Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G, Redmi Note 9 5G, and Redmi Note 9 4G have been launched in China. The anticipated smartphones launched by Xiaomi will be available for purchase in China from December 1. International availability of the three new phones in the Redmi Note 9 series has not been announced yet. The earlier models in the Redmi Note 9 series, which include Redmi Note 9 Pro Max, Redmi Note 9 Pro, and Redmi Note 9, were launched in India earlier this year. Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G, Redmi Note 9 5G, Redmi Note 9 4G price Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G is priced at CNY 1599 (roughly Rs. 17,900) for 6GB RAM + 128GB model, CNY 1799 (roughly Rs. 20, 200) for 8GB RAM + 128GB, and CNY 1999 (roughly Rs. 22, 400) for 8GB RAM +256GB in China. It is offered in black, blue, and Lake and Autumn colour options. The Redmi Note 9 5G, meanwhile, starts at CNY 1299 (roughly Rs. 14,600) for the 6GB RAM + 128GB model, CNY 1499 (roughly Rs. 16,800) for the 8GB RAM + 128GB, and CNY 1699 (roughly Rs. 19,100) for the 8GB RAM +

Foxconn is moving some iPad and MacBook assembly to Vietnam from China at the request of Apple Inc, said a person with knowledge of the plan, as the U.S. firm diversifies production to minimise the impact of a Sino-U.S. trade war. The development comes as the outgoing administration of U.S. President Donald Trump encourages U.S. firms to shift production out of China. During Trump’s tenure, the United States has targeted made-in-China electronics for higher import tariffs, and restricted supplies of components produced using U.S. technology to Chinese firms it deems a national security risk. Taiwanese manufacturers, wary of being caught up in the tit-for-tat trade war, have moved or are considering moving some production from China to countries such as Vietnam, Mexico, and India. Foxconn is building assembly lines for Apple’s iPad tablet and MacBook laptop at its plant in Vietnam’s northeastern Bac Giang province, to come online in the first half of 2021, the person said, declining to

Dedicated servers are often looked upon as over-expensive web hosting solutions. You may consider them an overkill for your business, but there is no denying the fact that they are the best hosting solution out there. Today, we will tell you some features of a dedicated WordPresshosting that makesit the best for your business. Reliability This is the key factor why most businesses choose a dedicated WordPress server hosting to host their website. A dedicated WordPress hosting server is administered and maintained by a team of professionals who provide online support and work towards optimising the performance of the server. Unlike shared and VPS hosting plans which give you access to limited resources, dedicated server hosting provides a good hosting support. This in turn increases the reliability. Scalability Every business aims to grow their customer base and increase revenues. However, with the limited resources provided by theshared hosting, it can be challenging to handle the high

The government’s tight control of quality clearances for electronic goods from China slowed the import of Apple’s new iPhone model last month and held up other products made by companies like Xiaomi, according to two industry sources. Applications to the quality control agency, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), typically used to be processed within 15 days, but some are now taking up to two months or longer. BIS started delaying approvals in August for China-made imports of devices like smartphones, smartwatches, and laptops, part of the fallout from deteriorating ties with China after a border clash in June that left 20 Indian soldiers dead. Since the clash, the country has tightened rules for investments from China and banned hundreds of Chinese mobile apps, including from tech giants Tencent, Alibaba, and ByteDance. It banned 43 more apps on Tuesday. When Apple’s new iPhone 12 was caught in the delays, Apple India executives called on BIS to speed its approval up, giving assuran

Mumbai, November 2020:  The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has introduced guidelines to make real-money gaming advertising safer and more responsible. The guidelines have been developed to ensure that such advertising makes users aware about financial and other risks that are associated with playing online games with real money winnings. As per a recent KPMG study, online gaming grew 45% in FY20 with the user base surpassing 365 million by March 2020 on real-money games (RMGs). The card-based and fantasy segments both achieved strong traction. As India is a mobile-first country, more than 90% of online gamers play games on their phones. The online gaming market, worth more than $500 million now, could be worth $1.1 billion by 2021. In 2019, around 5.6 billion mobile gaming apps were downloaded in India – the highest in the world and representing nearly 13% of gaming apps globally. Internet penetration in India is 31% and KMPG expects it to reach 53% by 2021 – which would

The U.S. will soon issue the results of probes into Austria, Italy and India’s decisions to tax local revenue of Internet companies such as Facebook Inc., which could pave the way for retaliatory tariffs, people familiar with the situation said. Determinations on the three countries are due because all of them have instituted so-called digital services taxes — or levies on local sales of companies such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google — this year, said the people who couldn’t be identified because the information is private. There may also be findings on Indonesia, U.K. and Turkey, one of the people said. The U.S. Trade Representative in June started investigations into the moves of at least 10 countries, citing Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974, which allows it to retaliate for trade practices it deems unfair. It’s the same tool used to justify U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods for alleged theft of intellectual property. In addition to the three countries where determinations will soon b

Google Tasks Mate is being tested in India, and will let users earn money by doing simple tasks on their smartphones. Task Mate will provide access to a variety of tasks, posted by businesses from around the world. These include things like clicking a picture of a restaurant, answering survey questions about personal preferences, or helping translate sentences from English to other languages. The app is currently in beta and is limited to selected testers through a referral code system. Users will be paid in local currency for the tasks that they complete. The Task Mate testing was spotted by a Reddit user, as reported by 9to5Google. While the app is available to download on Google Play, you can’t use it unless you have a referral code, which is available through invite only. There are essentially three steps to using Task Mate, as written in the app description on Google Play: find tasks nearby, complete a task to begin earning, and cash out your earnings. Tasks are categorised as Sit