Author: Tanmay Patange

Categories
Social Media

One meeting will decide TikTok’s future in India

TIkTok India ban

Now that the Government of India has imposed a ban on TikTok and 58 other ‘Chinese’ apps citing national security concerns, China’s ByteDance-owned TikTok is trying so hard to prove that the app has no secret ties with China or Xi Jinping-led Communist Party of China whatsoever. But despite so much flak from India, TikTok cannot possibly say that they have absolutely nothing to do with China, nor will they, unlike Truecaller, and for a reason.

TikTok is owned and operated by ByteDance, a Chinese multinational internet technology company, which is reportedly valued at more than $100 billion (Rs 74,67,94,50,00,000.00). But given the extreme pressure and criticism from all corners, TikTok may want to keep a safe distance from China, at least for now. This has also been validated by a recent report from an international news agency Reuters.

On June 28, 2020, one day before India officially announced its decision to ban 59 ‘Chinese’ apps including TikTok, the ByteDance-owned company wrote a letter to the Government of India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. In this letter, TikTok Chief Executive Kevin Mayer said that the Chinese government has never requested user data, nor would TikTok entertain any such request if asked.

“I can confirm that the Chinese government has never made a request to us for the TikTok data of Indian users… If we do ever receive such a request in the future, we would not comply.”

TikTok is likely to meet with officials from the Government of India next week. During this meeting, TikTok is likely to address concerns around data being stored outside India. TikTok has made it clear that India’s data is stored on servers located in Singapore. In fact, TikTok already has plans to build a data center in India in the coming months. During this meeting, TikTok will likely emphasize the company’s expansion plans for India.

Earlier this week, Nikhil Gandhi, Head of TikTok India issued a statement:

“We have been invited to meet with concerned government stakeholders for an opportunity to respond (to this ban) and submit clarifications.”

Gandhi further said TikTok continues to comply with all data privacy and security requirements under Indian law and has not shared any information of our users in India with any foreign government, including the Chinese government.

Categories
Social Media

New redesigned Facebook is now generally available to the masses

Facebook redesign

New redesigned Facebook is now generally available to the masses. The ‘new Facebook’ claims to be faster and easier to use and most importantly, it brings the Dark Mode update. In its blog post, Facebook wrote:

“We’ve grown since Facebook.com launched 16 years ago. We’ve built new features, optimized for new devices and operating systems, and expanded to hundreds of languages. Recently we’d focused on the mobile Facebook experience, and realized our desktop site had fallen behind. People need it to keep up.”

Features of new, redesigned Facebook

  • Discover things faster with new streamlined navigation
  • Reduce screen glare in low light using dark mode
  • Easily create Events, Pages, Groups, and ads

Categories
Telecom

New Jio Rs 2399 Work-From-Home plan announced: Everything you need to know

Jio-Rs-2399-plan

Reliance Jio has announced a new annual plan for its prepaid customers. The ‘work-from-home’ plan costs Rs 2399 and remains valid for 336 days (28 days multiplied by 12 months). In this article, we will take a detailed look at what the Jio Rs 2399 plan is all about.

Jio announces Rs 2399 plan

In an informal note shared with The Next Crunch, Reliance Jio has revealed details about its newly-announced prepaid plan in the Indian market. At the time of writing this, Jio Rs 2399 prepaid plan has not been listed on the official website.

Jio Rs 2399 features

Jio Rs 2399 plan is suitable for those whose data consumptions if considerably higher and those who are looking for longer validity.

1. Jio Rs 2399 plan offers 2GB high-speed data per day for 336 days
2. Users will end up availing 672GB data at the end of validity
3. The cost per 1GB of data is Rs 3.56, with 2GB FUP limit
4. Jio Rs 2399 plan effectively costs Rs 200 per month
5. The plan offers unlimited voice and SMS

Jio claims its Rs 2399 plan offers 33 percent more value-for-money than its competitors.

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Categories
Technology

Copy text from physical paper to your computer using Google Lens app

Google Lens Productivity

Google Lens app is launching a new productivity feature. This feature will help users copy-paste text from paper notes and documents to another signed-in device with Chrome using Google Lens app on their smartphone. All users need to do is select text with Lens and tap “copy to computer” to quickly paste it on another signed-in device with Chrome.

In its blog post, Google wrote:

“This is great for quickly copying handwritten notes (if you write neatly!) and pasting it on your laptop without having to retype them all.”

Copying text to your computer requires the latest version of Chrome, and for both devices to be signed into the same Google account.

Over the last few months, Google has also witnessed a surge in searches for “learn a new language.” The Google Lens app allows users to translate words in Spanish, Chinese, and more than 100 other languages, by pointing your camera at the text.

You can also use the Google Lens app to practice words or phrases that are difficult to say. Select the text with Lens and tap the new Listen button to hear it read out loud. Now with in-line Google Search results, you can select complex phrases or words to quickly learn more.

These features are rolling out today. Meanwhile, the Listen feature which already is available on Android is coming soon to iOS.

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Categories
Podcast

Podcast: What is Amazon Prime Gaming?

What-is-Amazon-Gaming-with-Prime

Amazon Prime has announced a new initiative for its Prime members in India, it’s called Amazon Gaming with Prime. As part of this new gaming content plan, Amazon Prime subscribers will receive free, complimentary access to in-game content on a variety of popular smartphone games. Amazon also says its offerings are refreshed frequently.

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The purpose of Amazon Gaming with Prime is to allow Prime subscribers to gain access to in-game content without having to pay anything. For example, if you are playing a game, let’s say Mafia City — well, I haven’t played Mafia City in particular — but nearly all mobile games out there support in-app purchases, where you need to pay the actual money to unlock a specific part of the game, PUBG allows users to pay for a lot of stuff, but unfortunately it’s not supported yet.

The content would be available for free to all Amazon Prime members. So, as long as you have a valid Prime membership, you can easily unlock new items — but only on supported games.

For now, Amazon Gaming with Prime supports a limited number of games. For example, it supports Mobile Legends, World Cricket Championship, Black Desert Mobile, Words with Friends 2, Mafia City, and The Seven Deadly Sins.

Claiming in-game content on these games is a fairly simple and straightforward process. All you need to do is download and start supported games. Once you start the game, discover the option to log in with Amazon. But before that, make sure you have an active Amazon Prime membership.

In case you don’t have active Amazon Prime membership, make sure to subscribe to Prime before you can avail free in-game content on your favorite, supported mobile games.

In addition to Gaming with Prime, Amazon offers certain logistical benefits to Prime members such as unlimited, free one-day, and two-day delivery on products you want to purchase on Amazon. Also here is an Amazon Prime Video that offers a wide range of popular movies and TV shows, including my all-time favorite, the American version of The Office.

Then comes Amazon Prime Music. Well, Amazon Prime Music is free to stream for all users any way but you are a prime member, you enjoy an ad-free music streaming experience.

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