It was a busy week in the tech world, with numerous announcements, launches and acquisitions happening. In order to keep you updated with your tech world knowledge, we at IndianWeb2 bring to you this week Top 10 tech news that you cannot afford to miss.
1) Microsoft To Bring AI To Windows 10 As It Acquires Israeli Cybersecurity Startup
From a few weeks the technology market is rife with speculation if global software giant Microsoft has acquired Israeli cybersecurity startup Hexadite in a whopping $100 million deal. And now, the giant has gone ahead and confirmed that the acquisition rumours are indeed true. Although the terms and figures of the deal are still unknown.
According to Microsoft, the acquisition will help the company in building on the successful work that it is already doing to help commercial Windows 10 customers detect, investigate and respond to advanced attacks on their networks with Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (WDATP). With Hexadite on its side, Microsoft is optimistic that WDATP will soon include endpoint security automated remediation, while continuing the incredible growth in activations of WDATP, which is now known to protect almost 2 million devices in the world.
2) This Online Tool Estimates If You’ll Lose Your Job To AI, Robots
Designer-developer duo Dimitar Raykov and Mubashar Iqbal have developed a web-based tool called ‘Will robots take my job?’ that helps people know how susceptible is their occupation to the ever-growing world of automation and computerisation.
The web tool lets users fill in their current job role and then churns out what the odds are that their job could one day be outsourced to robots and AI. The website also provides users with additional data like the total number of people currently employed at each occupation as well as the projected growth for their field by 2024.
3) RBI Data- Paytm, Mobikwik, FreeCharge Growth Induced By Demonetization
Post the demonetisation announcement in November last year, India saw the popularity of its mobile payment service sector increasing by many folds. And now, data from the Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) has proved that demonisation indeed ended up spurring the growth of digital companies in India. According to RBI, digital payment companies like Paytm, MobiKwik, FreeCharge clocked PPI payments worth a whopping Rs 13 billion in value across 59 million transactions in November 2016.
4) Microsoft is Pissed Off by Indian Government’s Bias for Open Source Software
Software giant Microsoft isn’t happy with India. The tender process being followed by the Indian government to accept bids from technology companies to set up its eProcurement portal seems to have majorly irked Microsoft.
The software biggie is reportedly really concerned about the Indian government’s invite for open source software, and has alleged that government entities are not being cooperative in answering the queries of the bidders. In order to voice its concerns, Microsoft has also sent letters to various government departments.
5) Google Joins the $1,000 Club
Google’s parent company Alphabet has joined the prestigious $1,000 a share club. Monday saw the California-based company’s Class-A shares crossing the $1,000 per share threshold and climbing as much as 1.13 per cent to $1,007.4. The news comes just six days after US e-commerce biggie Amazon accomplished the same milestone.
For one’s keeping a close tab on Alphabet, they must have noticed that the tech giant’s shares have surged by a quarter since the start of 2017. Surging pass the $1,000 a share marker is considered a momentous achievement as it is doesn’t happen quite often. The only prime example is, Berkshire Hathaway, whose Class-A shares are currently trading at about a quarter million a pop.
6) Meet ‘AeroVoyce’ India’s First National Mobile Virtual Network Operator
State-run BSNL has partnered with AdPay, a mobile payment provider established in 2006, to bring Indians theirs first ever mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), Aerovoyce.
The MVNO will provide its users with voice and data services, fiber and broadband services, and will also address offer Internet of Things (IoT) SIM Cards, along with International Traveller’s SIM Cards. BSNL and AdPay have an aim of making Aerovoyce the top MVNO in India in a period of next three years.
7) India’s Business Intelligence and Analytics Software Revenue To Reach $245 Mn in 2017: Gartner
According to research firm Gartner, India’s business intelligence (BI) software business is on a roll as it is expected to reach a whopping US$245 million this year, which would result in a 24.4 percent increase over the revenue last year of US$206 million.
Gartner has further clarified that the US$245 figure forecasted is inclusive of revenue for BI platforms, data science platforms, analytic applications and corporate performance management suites.
Explaining the huge potential that the industry holds for the Indians, Zaidi, principal research analyst, Gartner said that the data and analytics market is undergoing a significant change in the Indian subcontinent. A few of these changes includes techniques for data management and analytics, settling of a potential hype cloud around big data through more mature data storage, and processing and analysing solutions.
8) Oculus Founder’s New Startup Aims To Build A Virtual Border Wall
Remember Palmer Freeman Luckey, the young visionary from America’s Silicon Valley who gained worldwide success and a fat cheque overnight right about three years ago when he decided to sell his first company, Oculus VR that was into manufacturing virtual-reality gear, to social networking giant Facebook for a whopping $2 billion?
Well, after some unfortunate turn of incidents, Luckey had to bid bye to Facebook this year. And now, the genius is back and is currently working on a new defence-related startup that will be developing surveillance technology that could be deployed on borders between countries and around military bases.
According to a NYT report, people familiar with the startup and technology have revealed that it can be used for many kinds of perimeter security, including military bases and stadium events, where it could be used to detect drones. The software would allow the system to figure out themes which objects to ignore, like birds etc.
9) Apple Will Now Let Hobbyists Build Their Own HomeKit Devices
Tech giant Apple has planned to make very notable changes in its smart home system this year. The updates will focus on two main things: making HomeKit much easier for developers to start building new products, and making it more flexible for users.
Prior to this update, anyone who wanted to create a HomeKit product had to join Apple's licensing program in order to just get started. But, with this new update, this big hurdle is now removed forever, and the giant will be allowing any registered developer to start building a HomeKit device.
10) Alphabet agrees to sell Boston Dynamics to SoftBank
Google's parent company Alphabet has decided to sell its Robotics company Boston Dynamics to Japanese telecommunications and technology giant, SoftBank. Though the terms of the deal aren't yet disclosed but it surely doesn't come as shock. The rumours of Alphabet trying to offload Boston Dynamics from its chest first started flying in March last year. This was roughly about 24 months after Android co-founder Andy Rubin left Google, where he looked after a series of prominent robotics acquisitions, and Boston Dynamics
1) Microsoft To Bring AI To Windows 10 As It Acquires Israeli Cybersecurity Startup
From a few weeks the technology market is rife with speculation if global software giant Microsoft has acquired Israeli cybersecurity startup Hexadite in a whopping $100 million deal. And now, the giant has gone ahead and confirmed that the acquisition rumours are indeed true. Although the terms and figures of the deal are still unknown.
According to Microsoft, the acquisition will help the company in building on the successful work that it is already doing to help commercial Windows 10 customers detect, investigate and respond to advanced attacks on their networks with Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (WDATP). With Hexadite on its side, Microsoft is optimistic that WDATP will soon include endpoint security automated remediation, while continuing the incredible growth in activations of WDATP, which is now known to protect almost 2 million devices in the world.
2) This Online Tool Estimates If You’ll Lose Your Job To AI, Robots
Designer-developer duo Dimitar Raykov and Mubashar Iqbal have developed a web-based tool called ‘Will robots take my job?’ that helps people know how susceptible is their occupation to the ever-growing world of automation and computerisation.
The web tool lets users fill in their current job role and then churns out what the odds are that their job could one day be outsourced to robots and AI. The website also provides users with additional data like the total number of people currently employed at each occupation as well as the projected growth for their field by 2024.
3) RBI Data- Paytm, Mobikwik, FreeCharge Growth Induced By Demonetization
Post the demonetisation announcement in November last year, India saw the popularity of its mobile payment service sector increasing by many folds. And now, data from the Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) has proved that demonisation indeed ended up spurring the growth of digital companies in India. According to RBI, digital payment companies like Paytm, MobiKwik, FreeCharge clocked PPI payments worth a whopping Rs 13 billion in value across 59 million transactions in November 2016.
4) Microsoft is Pissed Off by Indian Government’s Bias for Open Source Software
Software giant Microsoft isn’t happy with India. The tender process being followed by the Indian government to accept bids from technology companies to set up its eProcurement portal seems to have majorly irked Microsoft.
The software biggie is reportedly really concerned about the Indian government’s invite for open source software, and has alleged that government entities are not being cooperative in answering the queries of the bidders. In order to voice its concerns, Microsoft has also sent letters to various government departments.
5) Google Joins the $1,000 Club
Google’s parent company Alphabet has joined the prestigious $1,000 a share club. Monday saw the California-based company’s Class-A shares crossing the $1,000 per share threshold and climbing as much as 1.13 per cent to $1,007.4. The news comes just six days after US e-commerce biggie Amazon accomplished the same milestone.
For one’s keeping a close tab on Alphabet, they must have noticed that the tech giant’s shares have surged by a quarter since the start of 2017. Surging pass the $1,000 a share marker is considered a momentous achievement as it is doesn’t happen quite often. The only prime example is, Berkshire Hathaway, whose Class-A shares are currently trading at about a quarter million a pop.
6) Meet ‘AeroVoyce’ India’s First National Mobile Virtual Network Operator
State-run BSNL has partnered with AdPay, a mobile payment provider established in 2006, to bring Indians theirs first ever mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), Aerovoyce.
The MVNO will provide its users with voice and data services, fiber and broadband services, and will also address offer Internet of Things (IoT) SIM Cards, along with International Traveller’s SIM Cards. BSNL and AdPay have an aim of making Aerovoyce the top MVNO in India in a period of next three years.
7) India’s Business Intelligence and Analytics Software Revenue To Reach $245 Mn in 2017: Gartner
According to research firm Gartner, India’s business intelligence (BI) software business is on a roll as it is expected to reach a whopping US$245 million this year, which would result in a 24.4 percent increase over the revenue last year of US$206 million.
Gartner has further clarified that the US$245 figure forecasted is inclusive of revenue for BI platforms, data science platforms, analytic applications and corporate performance management suites.
Explaining the huge potential that the industry holds for the Indians, Zaidi, principal research analyst, Gartner said that the data and analytics market is undergoing a significant change in the Indian subcontinent. A few of these changes includes techniques for data management and analytics, settling of a potential hype cloud around big data through more mature data storage, and processing and analysing solutions.
8) Oculus Founder’s New Startup Aims To Build A Virtual Border Wall
Remember Palmer Freeman Luckey, the young visionary from America’s Silicon Valley who gained worldwide success and a fat cheque overnight right about three years ago when he decided to sell his first company, Oculus VR that was into manufacturing virtual-reality gear, to social networking giant Facebook for a whopping $2 billion?
Well, after some unfortunate turn of incidents, Luckey had to bid bye to Facebook this year. And now, the genius is back and is currently working on a new defence-related startup that will be developing surveillance technology that could be deployed on borders between countries and around military bases.
According to a NYT report, people familiar with the startup and technology have revealed that it can be used for many kinds of perimeter security, including military bases and stadium events, where it could be used to detect drones. The software would allow the system to figure out themes which objects to ignore, like birds etc.
9) Apple Will Now Let Hobbyists Build Their Own HomeKit Devices
Tech giant Apple has planned to make very notable changes in its smart home system this year. The updates will focus on two main things: making HomeKit much easier for developers to start building new products, and making it more flexible for users.
Prior to this update, anyone who wanted to create a HomeKit product had to join Apple's licensing program in order to just get started. But, with this new update, this big hurdle is now removed forever, and the giant will be allowing any registered developer to start building a HomeKit device.
10) Alphabet agrees to sell Boston Dynamics to SoftBank
Google's parent company Alphabet has decided to sell its Robotics company Boston Dynamics to Japanese telecommunications and technology giant, SoftBank. Though the terms of the deal aren't yet disclosed but it surely doesn't come as shock. The rumours of Alphabet trying to offload Boston Dynamics from its chest first started flying in March last year. This was roughly about 24 months after Android co-founder Andy Rubin left Google, where he looked after a series of prominent robotics acquisitions, and Boston Dynamics
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