With the week coming to an end, let's recap the top 10 highlights of the tech world.
1) Meet Ruuh, A Yet Another AI Chatbot by Microsoft
Microsoft went ahead and launched yet another AI chatbot on February 7 this year, and the world didn’t even notice. As described on its personal Facebook page, Microsoft’s Ruuh is a desi AI which has personal interests in “chatting, Bollywood, music, humor, travel and browsing internet.”
Prior to Ruuh, Microsoft had launched Tay.ai and Zo.ai in March and December last year, respectively. Tay.ai, built by the Microsoft Research and Bing teams together, aimed at 18- to 24-year-olds. The tech giant followed Tay with Zo, a Kik messenger bot.
2) India Gets Its First 1Gbps Broadband Service in Hyderabad
ACT (Atria Convergence Technologies) Fibernet, which is the third largest ISP in the wired broadband category in India after BSNL and Airtel, debuted its 1 Gbps wired broadband internet connection for the first time in the country in Hyderabad yesterday. With this, ACT Fibernet became the first local Internet Service Provider (ISP) to launch 1 Gbps wired broadband connection in the Indian subcontinent.
The ISP has been meticulously working over the past one year to make the launch of 1 Gbps internet connection possible. The connection will initially be launched in Hyderabad making it India’s first Giga City and will then be gradually introduced in other cities of the country.
3) Indian Startup Develops A Next-Gen Blockchain Powered Cybersecurity Solution
A recently launched Mumbai-based startup is harnessing the potential of blockchain and emerging technology to reclaim the world of cybersecurity. Blending cybersecurity insights, IT security best practices and emerging technologies together, Block Armour is looking forward to providing a base for a new breed of identity management, data/information integrity and IoT related security solutions.
The startup believes that the blockchain technology, which is an open, secure and decentralised technology, has the capability of effectively addressing multiple infosec challenges. This is why Block Armour aims to harness the potential of blockchains to counter the growing cyber security challenges in a smarter, faster way, and at a fraction of the current cost.
4) AI and IoT Attract almost Half of InsurTech Startups Funding Globally in 2016
A freshly minted Accenture Research has revealed that Artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT) now account for almost half of total investment in insurance technology (insurtech) startups all over the globe.
The report, which includes the new analysis of CB Insights data on 450 insurtech deals over the last three years, brings to attention that the combined number of deals across AI (including automation) and the IoT (including connected insurance) has increased by a whopping 79% in the year 2016.
The report written by the Irish consultancy firm notes that the insurance industry considers IoT and AI as critical technologies required for delivering increased levels of personalization and better real-world outcomes to its customers. While the AI has the capability of transforming the insurance industry from an industry that simply assesses risk based on past experience to the one that monitors risks in real-time and mitigates, or even prevents, losses for its customers. On the other hand, IoT will allow the insurance industry to provide its customers with real-time, more-personalized service, price their products with a greater precision; and boost their operational efficiency.
5) The Matrix Voice Is A Circuit Board To Turn Your Raspberry Pi Into An Amazon Echo
The week saw Matrix Labs releasing the Matrix Creator, a powerful Raspberry Pi accessory that adds a whole bunch of sensors to the miniature computer (including a microphone array, temperature, UV, pressure, and more), that will allow a user to extend a Raspberry Pi into a full-fledged development device with a lot of different uses.
In addition to this, as a follow-up to the Matrix Creator, the company has gone even smaller with the Matrix Voice — a cheaper version of the creator that focuses on voice recognition. This means, it will now be much easier to use the Matrix Voice to do something like build one's own Amazon Echo using Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service. That means that instead of the wide range of sensors, the Voice just has a microphone array and a ring of LED lights.
6) Google’s Eric Schmidt Confirms The Essential Smartphone Runs Android
The week saw Alphabet's executive chairman Eric Schmidt confirming the rumour that the the first smartphone from Android co-founder Andy Rubin's new company, Essential would be running Android.
Essential’s ambition is to create a high-end smartphones that will able to be compete with the likes of Apple and Samsung. But, the fact that Essential’s first phone will run Android means that it’ll be competing in an increasingly crowded marketplace that includes Google’s own Pixel and the just announced Galaxy S8.
7) Facebook Clones GoFundMe With ‘Personal Fudraiser’ Feature
Social networking giant Facebook will soon allow its users to raise money on behalf of themselves and others, as a way to help make ends meet for the costs of events like tuition, medicine and crises etc. The feature, which bears a strak resemblance to GoFundMe, a site which has become the go-to crowdfunding site for raising money for personal causes, will be rolled over the next few weeks to age 18 and up users in the US.
8) The next Generation Of RAM Will Double Current Speeds
According to JEDEC, the organization which is in charge of computer memory standards, DDR5, the next generation of RAM, will double the speeds of current DDR4 RAM when it’s released. It said, that DDR5 will “double the bandwidth and density over DDR4" and come with a greater power efficiency. Even though the standard will become official next year, DDR5 won’t be ready for manufacturers before 2020.
9) Success For SpaceX 'Re-usable Rocket'
The week saw California's SpaceX successfully re-flying a segment from one of its Falcon 9 rockets. Previously used on a mission 11 months ago, the first-stage booster helped in sending a telecommunications satellite into orbit from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. The feat marks an important important milestone for Elon Musk's company in its mission for re-usability.
10) Bitcoin is Legal Under All Existing Laws of India, Says Zebpay
In a major boost to Bitcoin in the Indian subcontinent, the country's leading bitcoin startup Zebpay has issued an official statement falsifying recent reports that suggested that bitcoin has been declared illegal by the Indian government.
“Nothing has changed regarding bitcoin’s legal status in India this week. In our opinion, bitcoin is not illegal. Bitcoin is legal under all existing laws. It’s business as usual at all Indian bitcoin exchanges, including Zebpay.”, said an official blog post by Zebpay.
1) Meet Ruuh, A Yet Another AI Chatbot by Microsoft
Microsoft went ahead and launched yet another AI chatbot on February 7 this year, and the world didn’t even notice. As described on its personal Facebook page, Microsoft’s Ruuh is a desi AI which has personal interests in “chatting, Bollywood, music, humor, travel and browsing internet.”
Prior to Ruuh, Microsoft had launched Tay.ai and Zo.ai in March and December last year, respectively. Tay.ai, built by the Microsoft Research and Bing teams together, aimed at 18- to 24-year-olds. The tech giant followed Tay with Zo, a Kik messenger bot.
2) India Gets Its First 1Gbps Broadband Service in Hyderabad
ACT (Atria Convergence Technologies) Fibernet, which is the third largest ISP in the wired broadband category in India after BSNL and Airtel, debuted its 1 Gbps wired broadband internet connection for the first time in the country in Hyderabad yesterday. With this, ACT Fibernet became the first local Internet Service Provider (ISP) to launch 1 Gbps wired broadband connection in the Indian subcontinent.
The ISP has been meticulously working over the past one year to make the launch of 1 Gbps internet connection possible. The connection will initially be launched in Hyderabad making it India’s first Giga City and will then be gradually introduced in other cities of the country.
3) Indian Startup Develops A Next-Gen Blockchain Powered Cybersecurity Solution
A recently launched Mumbai-based startup is harnessing the potential of blockchain and emerging technology to reclaim the world of cybersecurity. Blending cybersecurity insights, IT security best practices and emerging technologies together, Block Armour is looking forward to providing a base for a new breed of identity management, data/information integrity and IoT related security solutions.
The startup believes that the blockchain technology, which is an open, secure and decentralised technology, has the capability of effectively addressing multiple infosec challenges. This is why Block Armour aims to harness the potential of blockchains to counter the growing cyber security challenges in a smarter, faster way, and at a fraction of the current cost.
4) AI and IoT Attract almost Half of InsurTech Startups Funding Globally in 2016
A freshly minted Accenture Research has revealed that Artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT) now account for almost half of total investment in insurance technology (insurtech) startups all over the globe.
The report, which includes the new analysis of CB Insights data on 450 insurtech deals over the last three years, brings to attention that the combined number of deals across AI (including automation) and the IoT (including connected insurance) has increased by a whopping 79% in the year 2016.
The report written by the Irish consultancy firm notes that the insurance industry considers IoT and AI as critical technologies required for delivering increased levels of personalization and better real-world outcomes to its customers. While the AI has the capability of transforming the insurance industry from an industry that simply assesses risk based on past experience to the one that monitors risks in real-time and mitigates, or even prevents, losses for its customers. On the other hand, IoT will allow the insurance industry to provide its customers with real-time, more-personalized service, price their products with a greater precision; and boost their operational efficiency.
5) The Matrix Voice Is A Circuit Board To Turn Your Raspberry Pi Into An Amazon Echo
The week saw Matrix Labs releasing the Matrix Creator, a powerful Raspberry Pi accessory that adds a whole bunch of sensors to the miniature computer (including a microphone array, temperature, UV, pressure, and more), that will allow a user to extend a Raspberry Pi into a full-fledged development device with a lot of different uses.
In addition to this, as a follow-up to the Matrix Creator, the company has gone even smaller with the Matrix Voice — a cheaper version of the creator that focuses on voice recognition. This means, it will now be much easier to use the Matrix Voice to do something like build one's own Amazon Echo using Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service. That means that instead of the wide range of sensors, the Voice just has a microphone array and a ring of LED lights.
6) Google’s Eric Schmidt Confirms The Essential Smartphone Runs Android
The week saw Alphabet's executive chairman Eric Schmidt confirming the rumour that the the first smartphone from Android co-founder Andy Rubin's new company, Essential would be running Android.
Essential’s ambition is to create a high-end smartphones that will able to be compete with the likes of Apple and Samsung. But, the fact that Essential’s first phone will run Android means that it’ll be competing in an increasingly crowded marketplace that includes Google’s own Pixel and the just announced Galaxy S8.
7) Facebook Clones GoFundMe With ‘Personal Fudraiser’ Feature
Social networking giant Facebook will soon allow its users to raise money on behalf of themselves and others, as a way to help make ends meet for the costs of events like tuition, medicine and crises etc. The feature, which bears a strak resemblance to GoFundMe, a site which has become the go-to crowdfunding site for raising money for personal causes, will be rolled over the next few weeks to age 18 and up users in the US.
8) The next Generation Of RAM Will Double Current Speeds
According to JEDEC, the organization which is in charge of computer memory standards, DDR5, the next generation of RAM, will double the speeds of current DDR4 RAM when it’s released. It said, that DDR5 will “double the bandwidth and density over DDR4" and come with a greater power efficiency. Even though the standard will become official next year, DDR5 won’t be ready for manufacturers before 2020.
9) Success For SpaceX 'Re-usable Rocket'
The week saw California's SpaceX successfully re-flying a segment from one of its Falcon 9 rockets. Previously used on a mission 11 months ago, the first-stage booster helped in sending a telecommunications satellite into orbit from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. The feat marks an important important milestone for Elon Musk's company in its mission for re-usability.
10) Bitcoin is Legal Under All Existing Laws of India, Says Zebpay
In a major boost to Bitcoin in the Indian subcontinent, the country's leading bitcoin startup Zebpay has issued an official statement falsifying recent reports that suggested that bitcoin has been declared illegal by the Indian government.
“Nothing has changed regarding bitcoin’s legal status in India this week. In our opinion, bitcoin is not illegal. Bitcoin is legal under all existing laws. It’s business as usual at all Indian bitcoin exchanges, including Zebpay.”, said an official blog post by Zebpay.
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