Tech: Virtual Assistant of Google Facing Widespread Outage on "Home" Devices

Google pinned a lot of hope on its virtual assistant ‘Home’ to take on Amazon’s ‘Alexa‘ but it appears that it has gone bonkers with the users reporting indifferent behaviour from ‘Home’.


The virtual assistant is spitting out errors instead of controlling smart home devices and answering questions. “According to multiple online complaints, there’s a Google Home outage affecting a significant portion of users,” tech website, Android Police, reported on Monday. To know if Home is affected, users need to use a trigger phrase and it will respond with “Hmm, something went wrong. Try again in a few seconds,” or “There was a glitch. Try again in a few seconds.”

“Most users say the issues started popping up in the last day or two and today Google Home has a nearly 100 percent failure rate,” the report said. What is interesting is that other devices with Google Assistant are working fine.

While some owners reported that a hard reset of ‘Home’ fixed the issue, many others still had problems after resetting.

Early in May, according to
reports , Google had introduced ‘Assistant’, at its annual developer conference, and could understand different voices while Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant, had difficulty in understanding Indian accents.

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Tech: Google's Waymo Begins Testing of It's Autonomous Truck

Amid the tussle with Uber on the theft of its self-driving car technology, Google’s Waymo has started testing its own autonomous truck. According to a report in BuzzFeed, Waymo’s self-driving truck was spotted in a photo and the development was later confirmed by the company.


A spokesperson from Waymo — Google’s self-driving car arm — said that it took “eight years of experience in building self-driving hardware and software and conducting a technical exploration into how our technology can integrate into a truck.” Safety was the focus of the expansion into the sector, the spokesperson said, with the aim of reducing “thousands of trucking-related deaths each year”.

Waymo confirmed that it was only testing one vehicle at the moment and it was still manually driving it on a public road in order to collect data. Its rival Uber has already delivered its first shipment in a self-driving freight vehicle last August — a short time after it bought trucking startup Otto for $680 million.

Waymo and Uber became fierce rivals when the former sued and filed a lawsuit against the latter for allegedly stealing trade secrets and self-driving technology from it. The lawsuit argued that former Waymo manager Anthony Levandowski took information when he left the company and later co-founded Otto in January 2016. Earlier this week, Uber fired Levandowski for allegedly stealing some 14,000 documents from Waymo.

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Tech: Microsoft Mistakenly Releases Internal Windows 10 Builds

Microsoft has apologised for accidentally releasing builds from some of its internal branches for PC and mobile that were rolled out due to the “inadvertent deployment” to the engineering system that controls the release of builds to the Windows Insiders. Microsoft was forced to apologise late on Friday night after some confidential and internal Windows 10 builds were leaked and it has now reverted the issue to ensure these development builds do not reach more people, Dona Sarkar, Microsoft’s head of its Windows Insiders programme, wrote in a blog post.

“We apologise for this inconvenience and thank you for being a Windows Insider,” Sarkar added, saying Microsoft will not release any new builds this week. The Windows Insider by Microsoft is a programme that allows users who own a valid Windows 10 license to sign up for early builds of the operating system previously only accessible to developers. The term build refers to the process by which source code is converted into a stand-alone form that can be run on a computer.

Microsoft said although it has put blocks in place to check the dissemination of the build, a “small portion” of Windows 10 users still received them. What is worrisome is that Windows 10 testers who installed the mobile build, had their phones into a reboot loop which led the devices to crash. To come out of this problem, testers will have to recover and wipe the device using the Windows Device Recovery Tool.

Meanwhile, Windows 10 testers who installed the PC build will have to wait for Microsoft to publish a newer build or roll back using the recovery option in Windows 10 settings.

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Tech: Toyota's Flying Car to Light The Olympic Flame at Tokyo 2020 Summer Games

Engineers, supported by Toyota Motor Corp, demonstrated their flying car on Saturday, which they hope will be able to light up the Olympic flame for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games.


“Cartivator”, a start-up group of about 30 engineers including some young Toyota employees, started to develop a flying car “SkyDrive” in 2014 with the help of crowdfunding. Head of Cartivator, Tsubasa Nakamura, said that while the car was still at an early stage of development, the group expects to conduct the first manned-flight by the end of 2018.

During their demonstration, the current test model was able to get off and float on the ground for a few seconds. Nakamura said the design needed more stability so the prototype would be able to fly long and high enough to reach the Olympic flame.

Engineers of Cartivator are aiming to make their flying car the world’s smallest electric vehicle, which can be used in small urban areas, and hopes to commercialize the car in 2025.

Last month, Toyota Motor and its group of companies agreed to invest 42.5 million yen ($385,000) in the project for the next three years. Nakamura said the group is working hard to improve the design, hoping to receive further investment from the company.

Companies in the world have been competing to develop the first flying car or vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicles. Uber Technologies Inc announced its plan to deploy its flying taxi service by 2020 in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and Dubai. Airbus Group is also working on developing its flying car under its division called Urban Air Mobility.

But makers of “flying cars” still face hurdles, including convincing regulators and the public that their products can be used safely. Governments are still grappling with regulations for drones and driverless cars.

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Tech: Is Technology Portfolios Still Going To Top The Stocks In US?

Technology shares have led US stocks to record highs and are expected to continue to rise, but as market value becomes concentrated in the largest companies, some are beginning to look for the next rally leader.



The technology sector of the S&P 500 has risen roughly 20 percent so far in 2017, led by Apple,
Alphabet, Facebook and Microsoft. The only other company with comparable gains in market value this year is Amazon, a market darling not in the tech sector despite being a big player in cloud services and data storage. “These are the dominant players in their specific spaces and the hottest areas in tech,” said Daniel Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust Company in Atlanta, highlighting their exposure to the cloud and artificial intelligence.

“You will continue to see money flowing into those names. People want to be exposed to the hottest areas,” he said. Active funds have continued to throw their money behind the leaders with a record overweight on the technology sector, according to BofA/Merrill Lynch data going back to 2008.

But more than a third of the 2017 gains in the S&P 500 have come from these five companies, and the concentration of the advance has some investors jittery. “Given how significant the (large cap) leadership has been year to date, I kind of think you need to find another group to produce that leadership,” said Jim Tierney, chief investment officer of concentrated U.S. growth at AllianceBernstein in New York.

Echoing Dell, Cisco, Intel and yes, Microsoft itself, the leaders of the Y2K tech boom, these new “five horsemen” have added more than $612 billion in value to the stock market this year. Their 2017 gains alone could buy the 85 smallest companies of the S&P 500. Their combined value, near $3 trillion, is not far from the market value of all the other components of the Nasdaq 100.

NOT THAT EXPENSIVE, BUT…
This tech rally has come hand in hand with heightened expectations for profits. Investors are currently paying $18.50 for every $1 in earnings expected over the next 12 months in the sector, compared to the more than $40 they paid during the dot-com bubble and even the $20-plus seen during the most recent market peak in 2007.

Tech sector earnings are expected to grow 11 percent in the second quarter after rising near 21 percent in the first, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data. However, with gains of more than 33 percent for Apple, Facebook and Amazon, near 25 percent for Alphabet and 15 percent in Microsoft, compared to a gain of 8.5 percent for the S&P 500, the room for more upside is declining.

Despite expecting gains upward of 20 percent for the rest of the year on the so-called FANG stocks – Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet – and their ilk, analysts at Fundstrat recommended in a Friday note balancing portfolios by scooping up the year’s underperformers: banks, energy and telecoms.

They are not alone in searching for exposure outside technology. “We’re most overweight in technology but I don’t want to stay too long at the party,” said Alan Gayle, director of asset allocation at RidgeWorth Investments in Atlanta. “What I’m watching for is an opportunity to lighten up on tech exposure and put it into some of the more cyclical areas,” he said. “Financials are going to be catching a tailwind.” AllianceBernstein’s Tierney bets beyond tech on healthcare, the second-largest sector weight on the S&P 500.

“Healthcare has really lagged the last 18 months or so. They could certainly pick up the mantle.”

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Tech: Mobile-friendly Webpage of Ministry of Finance Launched By Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday launched a mobile-friendly common landing webpage of the Ministry of Finance (www.finmin.nic.in) to provide a single-point access to all websites of five departments under the ministry.


“The website is mobile format friendly across all platforms viz. Android, Windows, and iOS. The new website also has features of in-built search options, enabling text to speech, language translation, and visitor analytics, among others,” a Finance Ministry statement said here. Jaitley also launched the new website of the Department of Expenditure under the Ministry — wwww.doe.gov.in.

“With diversification of the information and communication technologies (ICT) landscape, it has become absolutely imperative for the government websites to bring in qualitative and quantitative transformations in the wake of changing user expectations,” the statement said.

“As part of the Digital India Programme, the upgraded common landing webpage of the Ministry and the new website of the Department of Expenditure is a major step towards standardisation and improvement in presentation and content delivery using the Content Management Framework. Both are GIGW (Guidelines for Indian Government Websites) compliant,” it said.

The Railway Ministry recently launched free Wi-Fi at 28 stations on Konkan railway in Maharashtra in line with the Digital India Initiative in May this year.

With Inputs from IANS

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Tech: Samsung Galaxy S8 Pirates of The Caribbean Special Edition Launched; Rumored Pink Edition Leaked (Photo)

After the global launch of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ two new editions of the same models have surfaced online. According to a Weibo listing, a Pirates of the Caribbean edition of the Galaxy S8 has been launched in China, while both the S8 and S8+ are expected to arrive in a new Pink (or Rose Gold) finish. Images of the same leaked out on Chinese social media network and the were first reported by PriceRaja.


The rumored pink version of the phone is expected to be available in Samsung Galaxy S8 and samsung Galaxy S8+ models and the specifications are expected to remain the same as before.

The limited edition Galaxy S8 model has the logo of the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. The version officially went on sale in China on Thursday with a price tag of CNY 5,988 (approximately Rs 56,500).


The smartphone includes a customized phone case, buckle ring and the theme of Pirates of the Caribbean theme printed on to the case (image above). The limited edition Samsung Galaxy S8 will only be available in 4 GB RAM and 64 GB of internal storage variant.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ arrived in India back in April 2017. While the initial variants came with 4GB RAM and 64 GB internal storage, Samsung Mobile India on 1 June announced a new 6 GB RAM/128 GB internal storage variant of the Galaxy S8+. The new model is priced at Rs 74,990.

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Tech: Manufacturing of New Jeep Compass SUV Commence India, To Arrive In Dealerships From Q3 2017 (See Photo)

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has announced the rollout of the first 2017 Jeep Compass SUV in India from join-venture facility in Pune. This is one of the four locations (globally) where the new 2017 Jeep Compass SUV will be manufactured. The FCA’s Ranjangaon manufacturing plant will be special because it will be the company’s only RHD plant in the world, one that will also cater to export demands.


The plant as per the report has been set up with a total investment of $280 million with a new paint facility.

The rollout of the plant was attended by Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, FCA COO Paul Alcala, FCA India president and MD Kevin Flynn, Gurpratap Boparai, CEO, FIAPL and Girish Bapat, guardian minister, Pune.

The 2017 Jeep Compass was unveiled in India in April 2017. For now the introductory price is expected to be set to Rs 16 lakh.


The SUV features a brand new design compared to the old model and features a 1.4-litre MultiAir petrol engine that delivers about 160 PS and 250 Nm. The diesel option delivers 170 PS and 350 Nm.

Both engines are literally futureproof when it comes to compliance. Both are BS-IV compliant and can be scaled up to meet BS-VI as well and are mated to a 6-speed manual and a 7-speed automatic for the petrol models. The SUV offers a multitude of drive options with features like Jeep Active Drive, Selec Terrain Traction management system and more.

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Tech: CEO Pete Lau Says OnePlus 3 and 3T To Receive Android O

With Android O all set to deploy this year, Google has started pushing developer previews to Pixel and Nexus users. While it is obvious that the final build will arrive only after the next-generation of Pixel smartphones are announced, it seems that the first OEM to confirm the update for its devices is OnePlus.

According to a tweet by OnePlus CEO and founder, Pete Lau, the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T will receive the upcoming Android O update. While he hasn’t confirmed a launch timeline, we can expect it to arrive a month or two after the official builds are out. Of course this is just a presumption considering Android Nougat arrived about three months after the update released on the Pixel and Pixel XL.

It is good to know that the company is already high on the heels of getting the new update, especially when they have a new flagship to launch. Rumors suggest that the new OnePlus 5 could launch this month and will feature a dual-camera setup. It is also expected to feature the latest Snapdragon 835 SoC, 6 GB or up to 8 GB of RAM and the usual 64 GB and 128 GB storage variants. The company has been sending out teasers on Twitter as well, hinting that the launch is not too far.


There is some bad news too, as according to the official OnePlus forums, the OnePlus 2 will not be getting the Android Nougat update. That is going to disappointing as owners of the handset have been waiting patiently for the new update.

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Tech: Android Pay Launched In Canada

Android Pay launched in Canada on Wednesday, with support for a number of major banks at launch, and additional banks to be added soon. The Android Pay debut in Canada was teased at Google’s I/O developer conference keynote earlier this month, and reported as imminent last week by MobileSyrup.

The launch today includes support for Visa and MasterCard credit and debit, as well as Interac debit cards (starting June 5) from leading national banks BMO, CIBC and Scotiabank, as well as from smaller regional and specialist institutions like ATB Financial, PC Financial, Desjardins, Banque Nationale and ATB Financial. Android devices running version 4.4 of the OS or higher will be able to add cards from these banks and make mobile payments at compatible, tap-enabled terminals – which are actually very prevalent in Canada.

American Express and Tangerine support are “coming later this summer,” Google says. The noteworthy absentees from this list of supporting financial institutions are RBC and TD, which are the largest of Canada’s “Big Five” banks. Both RBC and TD do support Apple Pay, though, indicating a willingness to support mobile payment options. Spencer Spinnell, Google’s Director of Emerging Platforms, would only say at a launch event that it “expects banks will come on board over the next several quarters.”

Spinnell also noted at a launch event that the progress of Android Pay represents the result of a tremendous amount of work, since it means bringing together and satisfying a large number of stakeholders, from merchants, to financial institutions, to payment networks and to customers.

Unlike Apple, Google doesn’t charge transaction fees to any parties involved for use of Android Pay (Apple charges banks).

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Android Pay uses NFC tech to transfer tokenized payment information from the device to a merchant terminal. Like Apple Pay, which launched in Canada last year, Android Pay doesn’t pass on your actual original payment card details to a merchant, but instead generates a unique token to use for transactions. To use it, once you register your card you simply wake your device, authenticate using one of your phone login methods, and tap it to a payment terminal. Also, once your cards are registered, if they’re lost or stolen, you can use Android Pay to remotely lock or wipe or disable your card.
Android Pay first launched in the U.S. in 2015, and has been rolling out to additional markets gradually since then, covering 12 in total. Other new markets coming online this year include Brazil, Russia, Spain and Taiwan, and Google will also be offering improved loyalty card integration on the merchant side. Android Pay also works in-app with a range of partners, including Uber, 1-800 Flowers and more.

Android Pay has had 1.5 million new registrations per moth on average in the U.S. alone, Spinnell said, which he argued is all the more impressive given the current state of the contactless payment system in America, which lags its equivalents in Canada, the UK and other countries. He said that one in three Canadians who own smartphones have used their device to pay for something, and noted that in Q4 2016, Canadian contactless payments rose 120 percent. Spinnell also noted that eight out of 10 Canadian retailers support NFC capability, making the market an ideal target for an expansion of Android Pay.

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Car Dealer Got Arrested by EFCC For Alleged Forgery

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Sunday arrested one Oruku Oluwafemi, a car dealer, for forgery in the case involving five former students of Federal University of Technology Akure and Adekunle Ajasin, Akangba (AAUA) respectively.

His arrest followed an investigation on the real owners of the cars belonging to Fasakin Adeleke Paul (21), Ogundile Ademola James Olasunkanmi (23), Abudu Adeniyi Tayo (a.k.a) Kolawole Tajudeen) (20). Others are Ifeobu Ugochukwu (21) and Olusola Franklin Akusanmi (21), after their parents approached the court for a release of the cars recovered from them at the point of arrest and stating that they bought the cars for their children. Oluwafemi who is a car dealer, after he was approached by the parents of the suspects, with intent to hide the source of the cars, forged some receipts by changing the names of the initial owners of the cars to that of their parents.

Olusola however confessed to his actions and that he was not aware that they were being prosecuted by the EFCC.

It would be recalled that suspected internet fraudsters were arraigned by the Commission on Friday January 12, 2017 before Justice Abdu-Dogo of the Federal High Court, Akure on a 53-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence, possession of fraudulent documents and forgery.

The cars includes a 2006, black Toyota highlander with registration number(Lagos) LND 112 EG, 2010 light- green Toyota Camry (Muscle) registration number (Lagos) AAA 850 EF. Other items recovered from the suspects includes; laptops, three Apple iphone6 and three Blackberry phones from them. Some implicating documents were also found and downloaded from their laptops.

Paul who go about with the name Tsunami Gang and Young Pablo Money alongside his co-travelers were arrested sometimes in July 2016 following series of intelligence gather by the operatives over their fraudulent activities. The suspected internet fraudsters allegedly swindled unsuspecting foreigners and others to the tune of Sixteen million naira (N16M) by engaging in internet scams and obtaining money under false pretences.

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Meet Woman Who Make and Sell Bean Cake in a Boat (Photo)

This photo has been trending on twitter. It shows a woman frying and selling bean balls popularly known as Akara from a boat. Wow!

Kudos to Babatunde Fadoju for the shot.

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