Tech talks#14 Canon Announced EOSR5,Pubg v6.2,Jio fiber
Published on 14/Feb/2020
1.
Canon Announces Development of EOS R5 With 8K Video, In-Body Image Stabilisation
Canon has announced the development of its latest mirrorless camera called the Canon EOS R5. According to the company, this is the most advanced full-frame mirrorless camera that they have ever made. The key highlight of the Canon EOS R5 is its newly designed CMOS sensor and a new image processor. In addition to the EOS R5, Canon in 2020 also plans to release a total of seven RF lenses and two RF lens extenders which are at the moment under development.
The upcoming Canon EOS R5, which as we mentioned at the start is currently under development, will make use of a newly designed CMOS sensor. With this, the camera will be able to support advanced features such as continuous shooting up to approximately 20 fps using an electronic shutter and up to approximately 12 fps using a mechanical shutter that will help in capturing fast-moving objects with ease. Additionally, the camera will also be able to capture 8K videos which will enable users to extract high-resolution still images from video footage as well as process 8K video into higher-quality 4K video.
Moreover, the Canon EOS R5 also sounds promising when it will come to image stabilisation, at least on paper. The upcoming camera will be the first Canon camera to integrate the camera's in-body stabiliser with the image stabilisation systems found in the attached RF lenses, resulting in better-stabilised shots. And to capture all the stuff, the camera will also feature dual media card slots and will support automatic transfer of image files from the device to the image.canon cloud platform.
As we mentioned above, Canon is also planning to release a total of 9 RF lenses in 2020, including the RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM, Extender RF 1.4x, and Extender RF 2x. These lenses alongside the EOS R5 mirrorless camera are set to be showcased from February 27 to March 1, at the CP+ Camera and Photo Imaging Show 2020, scheduled to be held at the Pacifico Yokohama convention hall in Yokohama, Japan.
2.
PUBG v6.2 Update Brings 8v8 Team Deathmatch Mode, Now Live on Test Server
Team Deathmatch has finally made its way to PUBG. The PUBG v6.2 update is now live on the test server and has introduced Team Deathmatch mode, alongside a host of UI changes, weapon balancing tweaks, and more. And just in case you are wondering, PUBG's Team Deathmatch is available on both console and PC. It promises exciting 8v8 combat experience spread across a total of four maps and seven battlefields. As usual, there will be unlimited respawns and the first team to reach the target kill count secures the victory.
PUBG's Team Deathmatch mode will be playable across four maps and seven areas that include Erangel (Stalber and Sosnovka Military Base), Sanhok (Paradise Resort and Docks), Vikendi (Podvosto and Peshkova), and Miramar (Campo Militar). The rules are simple. It will bring an 8v8 combat with spawn kits and respawns enabled. The first team to get 50 kills wins the round (or the one with highest kill count in 10 minutes), and acing two rounds secures the victory.
The PUBG Dev Team says more battlefields for Team Deathmatch will be added soon. Also, new game modes have been teased to arrive in the Arcade section in the near future. Aside from Team Deathmatch, PUBG v6.2 update also brings changes to weapon balancing and peeking mechanism, a few tweaks have been made to the new Karakin map, and adjustments have been done to the Blue Zone effects as well. A parachute follow feature to help teammates land together has also arrived, alongside blood effect improvement, changes to skins and items, updated replay system, and a tonne of bug fixes. You can read the entire changelog here.
3.
Jio Fiber Regains Top Spot in Netflix ISP Speed Index
Reliance Jio Fiber has consistently maintained its position among the fastest Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Netflix's ISP speed index, but in recent months, it had dropped. Now, for the month of January, Jio Fiber has regained the crown of the fastest ISP, leaving behind Airtel, Spectra, and 7 Star Digital. Jio Fiber provides an average speed of 3.63Mbps while Spectra offers 3.50Mbps and Airtel gives 3.48Mbps. In November and December last year, 7 Star Digital had the top spot but has now fallen to second place with 3.62Mbps in January's list.
Netflix measures the streaming speed by looking at prime time Netflix performance on several ISPs. Some of the others on the list are You Broadband at 3.41Mbps, ATRIA Convergence Technologies (ACT) at 3.40Mbps, Syscon Infoway at 3.22Mbps, D-VoiS at 3.18Mbps, One Broadband at 3.15Mbps, and Hathway at 3.14Mbps, among others. You Broadband and Syscon Infoway gained one spot compared to the last speed index while Atria Convergence Technologies, D-VoiS, along with 7 Star Digital lost a spot.
JioFiber was at the top spot at the beginning of last year till April, after which it lost its lead to 7 Star Digital. By September 2019, JioFiber's performance dropped quite a lot when it was commercially launched. Then, in November it climbed to the top three and has now taken the top spot once again.
Reliance Jio Fiber gives a minimum speed of 100Mbps. It is a full-fibre connection that provides services in major cities all over India. Along with the 100Mbps, there are 250Mbps, 500Mbps, and 1Gbps plans as well but all of them have an FUP limit.
TelecomTalk states that Airtel Broadband used to be the largest ISP in India before Jio Fiber entered the game. Airtel also aims to bring 100Mbps base speeds and is working to expand coverage to other cities, and not just the major ones. On the other hand, BSNL is unable to enter the top 10 list even though it also has 100Mbps plans.
4.
Android 11 Developer Preview Site Briefly Goes Live, Gets Quickly Pulled by Google
Android 11 is expected to be officially revealed at Google I/O 2020
Android 10 is still fairly fresh, but it appears that work on Android 11 has already begun and it might soon be ready in its Developer Preview avatar. At least that's what Google's latest misstep suggests. Google reportedly updated its Android Developer website with the full developer preview for Android 11. Unfortunately, the landing page for Android 11 Developer Preview was listed only for a small interval before being pulled. And before you get your pulse racing, there was no mention of any notable new feature that Android 11 will bring to the table, and no downloadable content either.
As per a report by Android Police, the Android Developer site was briefly updated with a page titled Android 11 Developer Preview. The page told devs to get their apps ready for Android 11. It further mentioned that the Android 10 successor will come with stronger protection for user privacy. More importantly, it also hints that Android 11 will introduce extended support for foldable devices, which sounds promising and suggests that foldable phones are here to stay.
The site also mentioned setup guides and other relevant information for devs who are looking to test Android 11 and get their apps ready for the next major version of Android. The external pages linked on the now-removed Android 11 Developer Preview site were reportedly blank. But as mentioned earlier, Google pulled the page down, while the URL now redirects users to the Android 10 Developer Preview page.
While nothing of much importance for end-users could be extracted from the brief listing, the Android 11 Developer Preview site going live is a sign that it is ready. However, it would be surprising if Google actually releases the Android 11 Developer Preview anytime soon, as it would be way ahead of the company's usual schedule compared to Android 10. If you are unfamiliar, Google usually conducts a lengthy testing phase before making new Android versions official at its annual Google I/O event, and that usually happens in May. The developer-specific builds are released in March, while the stable rollout begins in second half of the year.
5.
Sony WH-H910N Wireless Active Noise Cancelling Headphones Launched in India, Priced at Rs. 21,990
The LDAC Bluetooth codec is supported on the WH-H910N headphones
When many of us think of high-end headphones from Sony, the first headset that comes to mind is the Sony WH-1000XM3, the company's flagship wireless active noise cancellation product. However, the Japanese electronics giant has a growing range of similarly feature-filled headphones that are priced more affordably than the flagship 1000X series. One of these is the H.Ear On series, and the latest product launch in this segment is the H.Ear On 3, or the Sony WH-H910N headphones that go on sale today.
Priced at Rs. 21,990, the Sony WHH910N are Sony's first pair of headphones to go on sale exclusively on Flipkart. Although the product is available globally in five unique colour options, only the black variant will be on sale in India, according to Sony. The over-ear headphones feature wireless connectivity through Bluetooth 5.0, as well as active noise cancellation. The SBC, AAC, and LDAC Bluetooth codecs are supported, with LDAC allowing for high-resolution wireless sound.
Battery life is claimed to be 35 hours on a full charge, while a 10-minute charge with a good USB adapter will allow for 2.5 hours of use when the battery is completely drained. There are touch controls for music playback, phone calls, and voice assistant functions, with a touch-sensitive pad on the right ear cup. The headphones have 25mm dynamic drivers, a frequency response range of 5-40,000Hz, and can be customised and controlled using the Sony Headphones Connect app.
The Sony WH-910N are the successor to the Sony WH-H900N which were launched in late 2017 alongside the WH-100XM2 headphones. Although the next-generation flagship WH1000XM4 are expected to launch soon, buyers looking for a more affordable option with similar features will be interested in the Sedony WH-H910N.
6.
Xiaomi Testing New MIUI Feature to Alert Users of Suspicious App Actions: Report
MIUI 11’s new security feature is not available to all users
Android 10 made its debut with more granular control over app permissions, allowing users to check and specify which apps are using services such as location or accessing their data in the background. Now, Xiaomi is planning to take that security approach to the next level with a feature called 'App Behavior Records' in MIUI 11, which maintains a log of apps that perform certain actions like using permissions, launching another app in the background, automatically starting in the background, and more. MIUI 11 defines a whole set of app behaviour that classifies as 'sensitive actions', and accordingly maintains a log.
As per an XDA-Developers report, Xiaomi has begun testing the aforementioned feature in MIUI11. MIUI 11 describes the feature as “MIUI can show when apps launched other apps, autostarted, used permissions, and performed sensitive actions”.
MIUI has an exhaustive list of actions that come under the category of sensitive actions, and they include recording audio in the background, making a phone calls, capturing a video or photo, reading text messages, or accessing data such as calendar events, contacts, items saved to clipboards, location, call history, and device information to name a few.
Users will receive a notification every time the system detects an app doing something that classifies as a sensitive action. But, users can choose to opt out of receiving such notifications or adjust it on a per-app basis to only cover apps that are important to them.
However, Xiaomi says that some of the log records for suspicious app activities might not be accurate due to Android version compatibility issues. It must be noted that the feature is currently under testing and is not available to all users and on every Xiaomi or Redmi-branded phone. But it is definitely a very neat feature for privacy-conscious users who are wary of apps gobbling up sensitive information.
7.
Apple to Reopen Some Stores in Beijing Today, Company Site Says
Apple will reopen some stores in Beijing from February 14 with reduced opening hours, it said on its website, while many of its other stores in mainland China will remain shut as the country continues to battle a coronavirus outbreak.
The iPhone manufacturer said on February 8 it was extending its retail store closures in China, even as it worked toward opening its corporate offices and contact centres.
Its decision to shut its stores came after local authorities across China imposed travel curbs and warned residents to stay away from public areas in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus, which has so far killed 1,367 people.
Its five stores in Beijing will open from February 14 between 11am and 6pm, according to Apple's website, shorter than its usual hours of 10am to 10pm. Stores in cities such as Shanghai and Shenzhen remain shut.
"In view of public health and prevention, some of our retail stores are temporarily closed," it said in a notice on its website, which also asked customers visiting outlets that were open to wear a mask and cooperate with temperature taking.
8.
Amazon Wins Suspension of Pentagon's $10 Billion 'JEDI' Contract to Microsoft
A judge blocked the US military from awarding a cloud computing contract to Microsoft
A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the US military from awarding a $10 billion (roughly Rs. 71,300 crores) cloud computing contract to Microsoft, after Amazon claimed the process was tainted by politics.
A preliminary injunction requested by Amazon was issued by Judge Patricia Campbell-Smith, barring the Department of Defense from starting work on the contract known as JEDI, according to a summary of the ruling.
Details of the ruling were sealed for unspecified reasons.
Amazon has alleged it was shut out of the deal because of President Donald Trump's vendetta against the company and its chief executive Jeff Bezos.
It's seeking testimony from the president and other top officials on the reasons for awarding the $10 billion, 10-year US military cloud computing contract to Microsoft.
"We are disappointed in today's ruling and believe the actions taken in this litigation have unnecessarily delayed implementing DoD's modernisation strategy and deprived our warfighters of a set of capabilities they urgently need," Department of Defense spokesman Lt Col Robert Carver said.
He added that the Pentagon remained confident in its decision to award the contract to Microsoft.
The Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) program will ultimately see all military branches sharing information in a cloud-based system boosted by artificial intelligence.
An earlier court filing by Amazon detailed alleged errors that ended with Microsoft being chosen over its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing division, part of the technology group led by Bezos.
"We have confidence in the Department of Defense, and we believe the facts will show they ran a detailed, thorough and fair process in determining the needs of the warfighter were best met by Microsoft," said Frank Shaw, the company's vice president of communications.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Amazon was considered the lead contender to provide technology for JEDI, with AWS dominating the cloud computing arena and the company already providing classified servers for other government agencies including the CIA.
Amazon argued in court documents that the Pentagon's choice of Microsoft was mystifying if not for Trump's repeated "expressed determination to, in the words of the president himself, 'screw Amazon.'"
The protest filed in the US Court of Federal Claims urges that the rival JEDI bids be re-evaluated.
As a condition of the injunction, Amazon was directed to provide $42 million to the court that would be used to cover any costs or damages incurred if it is determined that the injunction was issued wrongly.
9.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Said to Visit India Later This Month
Satya Nadella is planning to be in India between February 24 and February 26
Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella is planning to visit India later this month, multiple sources familiar with the plans told Reuters, a test for the Indian-born head who recently criticised Indian immigration policy.
India is a major market for Microsoft and other technology companies. India's southern city of Hyderabad, where Nadella grew up, is home to Microsoft's biggest research and development centre outside of the United States.
Nadella is planning to be in India between February 24 and February 26 and will likely visit New Delhi, tech hub Bengaluru, and the financial capital of Mumbai, two people familiar with the plans said.
He is also likely to meet senior Indian industry leaders during his visit, the sources said. The sources did not want to be identified because the company has yet to make a public announcement.
Microsoft declined to comment when asked about a visit. "We don't have anything to share at the moment," a company spokeswoman said.
Microsoft also is trying arrange for Nadella to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, one of the sources added, although the meeting has yet to be confirmed. The Prime Minister's office did not respond to requests for comment.
Nadella last month stoked controversy in India when he was quoted by Buzzfeed as saying a new law implemented by Modi's government that eases the path to citizenship for non-Muslims in nearby nations was "just bad".
His comments drew sharp criticism from PM Modi's ruling party. Microsoft issued a statement later quoting Nadella as saying that every country has the right to protect and define its borders.
A visit by Nadella would be in the midst of the government taking a tougher stance against foreign technology companies competing in the domestic market by drafting laws aimed at more tightly-controlled cross-border data flows.
The visit would also be a month after Amazon .com CEO Jeff Bezos made a trip to the country and was snubbed by senior members of the government.
India has taken a hard stance against the US e-commerce sector, with Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart facing an antitrust probe and criticism from brick-and-mortar traders against their business practices.
When Bezos visited India last month and announced a new $1 billion investment, India's trade minister brushed him off by saying Amazon was doing no "great favour" to India. Modi also did not meet Bezos despite repeated requests by the company.
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