Current Final

Category: Tech

  • Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee dies after long illness

    Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee dies after long illness

    Lee Kun-hee, the controversial yet legendary business titan who led Samsung’s rise from a modest South Korean company to a multinational conglomerate, died Sunday at the age of 78.

    “All of us at Samsung will cherish his memory and are grateful for the journey we shared with him,” the company said.

    Chairman Lee had been incapacitated for many years after he suffered a heart attack in 2014, which forced him to withdraw from public life. His son and vice-chairman of the company, Lee Jae-Yong, also known as Jay Y. Lee has been widely expected to take his father’s position.

    However, Lee has been involved in controversies time and time again. In 1995, he was found guilty of bribing President Roh Tae-woo through a slush fund, and in 2008 he was accused of tax evasion and embezzlement of funds. He was formally pardoned for each conviction.

    It’s not clear who will eventually inherit Lee’s shares in the conglomerate. Lee owns more than 4% of Samsung Electronics, more than 20% of Samsung Life Insurance, and nearly 3% of Samsung C&T, a construction and investment entity. His shares are worth billions of dollars.

    Lee’s father, Lee Byung-Chul, created Samsung in the 1930s as a small trading company and steadily expanded into retail, electronics, and other fields.

  • WhatsApp to charge business customers for ‘some services’

    WhatsApp has decided to charge its business account users for some of the services it provides to help it “build a business of its own”.

    According to a statement issued by the WhatsApp, it will charge “business customers for some of the services we offer, which will help WhatsApp continue building a business of our own while we provide and expand free end-to-end encrypted text, video and voice calling for more than two billion people”.

    “The global pandemic has made clear that businesses need fast and efficient ways to service their customers and make sales,” the messaging platform said in a press release. “Our research shows people prefer to message a business to get help and they’re more likely to make a purchase when they can do so.”

    “We’ve provided the WhatsApp Business app and WhatsApp Business API to help businesses of all sizes manage their chats. We’ve listened to feedback on what’s worked and believe WhatsApp can help make messaging the best way for consumers and businesses to connect,” read the statement.

    “The global pandemic has made clear that businesses need fast and efficient ways to service their customers and make sales. WhatsApp has become a simple and convenient resource in this time. More than 175 million people every day message a WhatsApp Business account. Our research shows people prefer to message a business to get help and they’re more likely to make a purchase when they can do so.”

  • PayPal enters cryptocurrency market

    PayPal, one of the largest merchant network for online payments has entered the cryptocurrency market, announcing that its consumers will be able to buy and sell Bitcoins and other virtual currencies using their PayPal accounts.

    Other payment firms, such as Square’s Cash app and Revolut, have already offered cryptocurrencies for sale.

    When it comes to using virtual coins, PayPal will convert the cryptocurrency into the relevant national currency, so the company being paid will never receive the virtual coins – just the correct amount of pounds or dollars.

    Those virtual coins could then be used to buy things from the 26 million sellers which accept PayPal, the company said.

    PayPal plans to roll out buying options in the US over the next few weeks, with the full rollout due early next year.

    Bitcoin prices rose alongside the news, breaking the $12,000 (£9,170) mark.

    The other cryptocurrencies to be added first will be Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash (a spin-off from Bitcoin).

    All could be stored “directly within the PayPal digital wallet”, it added.

    Cryptocurrencies are still a niche payment method because of the rapid change in prices they can experience as compared to traditional state-backed currencies. However, they became really popular among some types of investors.

    PayPal said it was aiming “to increase consumer understanding and adoption of cryptocurrency”.

    “As part of this offering, PayPal will provide account holders with educational content to help them understand the cryptocurrency ecosystem,” it said.

  • ‘Social networks are amplifiers for idiots’

    ‘Social networks are amplifiers for idiots’

    Former Google chief executive officer (CEO) Eric Schmidt has said that social networks are amplifiers for idiots.

    According to Bloomberg, he said: “The context of social networks serving as amplifiers for idiots and crazy people is not what we intended.”

    The United States (US) government antitrust lawsuit filed against Google on Tuesday was disturbing, and the excesses of social media are likely to result in greater regulation of internet platforms in the coming years, he added.

    Schmidt personally controlled YouTube for many years. He then stayed on as Google’s CEO until 2011 and was Alphabet’s executive chairman until early 2018.

    Google’s YouTube has tried to decrease the spread of misinformation and lies about COVID-19 and US politics over the last year, with mixed results. Facebook and Twitter have also been under fire in recent years for allowing racist and discriminatory messages to spread online.

  • PTA removes ban on TikTok after management assures monitoring

    PTA removes ban on TikTok after management assures monitoring

    The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has removed the ban on video-sharing application TikTok, after assurances from the platform’s management. According to details, TikTok has assured the regulatory body that they will block all accounts indulged in spreading ‘obscenity and immorality’.

    PTA, in a tweet, confirmed that TikTok will moderate all accounts in accordance with local laws.

    Earlier on October 9, PTA had blocked the social media application after receiving multiple complaints from “different segments of society against immoral/indecent content on the video-sharing application TikTok”.

    This came after a final warning to TikTok was issued in July over explicit content posted on the platform. PTA said TikTok was given “considerable time to respond and comply with” instructions for the development of an effective mechanism for proactive moderation of “unlawful online content” but TikTok “failed to fully comply” with the regulator’s instructions.

    TikTok is one of the most popular social media apps in Pakistan. According to some estimates, the app has been installed 43 million times in Pakistan, with 14.7 million of those coming in the year 2020 alone.

    Meanwhile, TikTok had issued a statement on Saturday which called for the lifting of the ban on the app.

    “If the Government of Pakistan decides to reopen access to our services in the future, we will certainly assess our allocation of resources to this market,” the Chinese social media giant had said in a statement.

  • All about the new, upcoming OnePlus 8T

    All about the new, upcoming OnePlus 8T

    The OnePlus has finally launched 8T variant with features like improved 65W fast charging, 120 Hz refresh rate of the display and improved design. 

    Design and Display

    The 8T has a flat display panel unlike the base OnePlus 8 and has thinner surrounding bezels as well. It has a 6.55-inch AMOLED panel with FHD+ resolution, but increased refresh rate to 120Hz akin to the 8 Pro. The cornered punch-hole and the in-display fingerprint sensor is still there.

    The back now has a large L shaped camera set up in a rectangular housing similar to Huawei’s P40 series.

    Storage and processing power

    OnePlus 8T has installed its flagship Snapdragon 865 with the same storage configurations going up to 12GB RAM and 256GB. 

    There is no memory card slot for storage expansion. The device will boot Andriod 11 with Oxygen OS 11 which will let you upgrade to newer Android versions for the next 3-4 years. It is commendable because many smartphones get slower after three to four android updates. 

    Camera

    The installed camera setup is virtually the same, but they have added 2 megapixels (MP) depth sensor. Rest of the cameras are the same: 48MP primary lens, a 16 MP ultrawide lens, and a 5MP macro lens. An ultra-zoom lens is still missing in this variant. 

    The finest improvement is 4,500 mAh power cell that can be charged from 0 to 100% in just 40 minutes. This is one of the biggest improvements that the 8T brings is fast charging. It has a 4,500 mAh power cell that can be charged from 0 to 100% in just 40 minutes thanks to 65W fast charging.

    The OnePlus 8T will be available in Aquamarine Green and Lunar Silver colour options once it goes for sale on October 23 for $750.

  • Couple receives tiger cub after ordering kitten online

    Couple receives tiger cub after ordering kitten online

    A couple in France was shocked when they discovered that they received a tiger cub instead of the kitten they had ordered online.

    According to details, the couple had paid 6,000 euros (Rs 1,157,793) to buy a ‘Savannah cat’. The French couple said they were doubtful about the animal after taking care of it for a week. When they called the cops, the investigation resulted in a very strange revelation that the animal was a Sumatran tiger cub.

    The Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) is a protected species of big cats and is forbidden for private ownership. The Savannah, on the other hand, can be kept as a pet. According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), a tiger cannot even be transported without paperwork.

    After the case came to the light, the couple and nine other suspects were arrested for trafficking the protected species. Meanwhile, others involved in this incident are facing charges of being involved in organised crime.

    The cub is in good health and was handed over to the French Biodiversity Office.

  • Beast of a phone: Is iPhone 12 the next one for you?

    Beast of a phone: Is iPhone 12 the next one for you?

    Whenever Apple launches a new iPhone, they integrate new chipsets to improve users’ experience while also enabling them to do things like edit Ultra High Definition (UHD) videos and play graphic-intensive games.

    In the iPhone 12, Apple is expected to further upgrade its features, including cameras, chips and the company’s newest software, iOS 14. Besides, the company is said to have reduced the chipset transistors to the size of only 25 atoms that will pack millions more in the processor. 

    Furthermore, all this will further increase the processing power of the chipset and the handset will also have the fastest 5G wireless connectivity.

    The launching ceremony is on October 13th, and it will be held virtually. Those who are interested can stream the ceremony on Apple’s website.

    Apple’s invite, which often has some clues, this time has an Apple logo inside circles with different hues of blue, orange and red. And there’s a pun, “Hi, Speed.” 

      Apple might also announce new over-ear headphones, AirPods Studio, at the event, driving some people to wonder whether the said circles have to do with audio sounds.

      In 2019, the price of iPhone 11 was $799, iPhone Pro and Pro Max started at $1,099. But according to rumours, the price of the iPhone 12 will largely remain the same.

    • Govt bans TikTok

      Govt bans TikTok

      The Government of Pakistan has banned TikTok due to “immoral/indecent” content being shared on the social media platform. 

      According to details, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued instructions for the blocking of the application across the country. 

      Keeping in view the complaints and nature of the content being consistently posted on TikTok, PTA issued a final notice to the application and gave it considerable time to respond and comply with the Authority instructions for the development of an effective mechanism for proactive moderation of unlawful online content.

      However, the application failed to fully comply with the instructions, therefore, directions were issued for blocking of TikTok application in the country.

      TikTok has been informed that the Authority is open for engagement and will review its decision subject to a satisfactory mechanism by TikTok to moderate unlawful content.

      According to Tiktok’s transparency report, the social media app had earlier issued a statement that the company had “removed 3,728,162 user videos that were found in violation of regulations from Pakistan from July 1 to December 31, 2019, 

      Earlier, in an interview, Minister for Information Minister and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz said that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan had remarked that the video-sharing app is affecting society’s values badly and should be blocked.

       “PM Imran is extremely concerned about the ‘growing obscenity and vulgarity’ in the society and has directed all relevant sections to check the trend before it destroys the socio-religious values of Pakistani society,” Senator Faraz had said. 

    • PM Imran, Facebook join hands for a comprehensive digital literacy project

      PM Imran, Facebook join hands for a comprehensive digital literacy project

      A virtual meeting between Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sheryl Sandberg has been held to discuss the social media giant’s investments in Pakistan.

      PM Imran appreciated Facebook’s investments and said he recognised the immense potential of digital platforms like Facebook and the role that they can play in giving global opportunities to Pakistani youth and entrepreneurs and how the opportunities they create can lift people out of poverty.

      The premier with Sandberg also discussed Facebook’s #SheMeansBusiness programme under which over 6,000 women will be trained across Pakistan.

      Facebook’s Vice President (VP) for Global Affairs and Communications Nick Clegg and Head of Public Policy Pakistan Sarim Aziz also attended the meeting along with Focal Person to the PM on Digital Media Dr Arslan Khalid.

      In an exclusive conversation with The Current, Dr Arslan Khalid said that the federal government is working on a comprehensive project to introduce topics on digital literacy in the curriculum for students.

      “Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) are already on board with the federal government while negotiations are underway with Sindh and Balochistan to bring them on board for this initiative,” he added.

      The premier and Sandberg had last met in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this year.