Google Assistant on the Pixel can now control your smart home devices

Google is rolling out a new voice-controlled hub in Pixel phones so you can manage your smart home devices straight from Google Assistant reports The Verge. The search giant appears to be rolling out a “Home control” center in the Google Assistant settings, from which you can send out commands to your smart home devices using just your voice, as spotted by Android Police. According to The Verge, the feature called Home Control, lets you use voice commands to control products like Belkin’s WeMo, Nest, Philips Hue, and Samsung SmartThings.…

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Samsung Pay to launch in India in first half of 2017

samsung

Samsung plans to launch its Samsung Pay mobile payment solution in India in the first half of 2017, according to a person familiar with the matter Mashable Reports. For bringing Samsung Pay in India, the company has partnered with American Express (Amex), said the person, adding that the company may be exploring opportunities with giants such as Visa and MasterCard as well. American Express has been one of the partners of Samsung for the epayment solutions in several other regions including the USA, South Korea and Australia. Elsewhere, Samsung has…

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Facebook Loses $500 Million Virtual Reality Headset Verdict

Facebook

Facebook Inc. and its co-defendants were ordered to pay $500 million to ZeniMax Media Inc. after a jury found the social network’s Oculus VR unit unfairly used ZeniMax code to build a virtual reality headset Bllomber Technology reports. The verdict in Dallas federal court is a rebuke to Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg, who isn’t a defendant but who told jurors in his first-ever courtroom testimony that it was important for him to be there because the claims by ZeniMax were “false.” An Oculus spokeswoman said the company will…

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Google Maps now tells you how hard it is to park in some cities

Google

Google Maps has been a staple of the internet for over a decade now. To better its use, the application now has a new feature that gives users a warning on how hard it is to park at their destination. According to The Verge, the new feature is currently available only on Android devices, and in 25 select cities, such as New York, San Francisco, Washington and Los Angeles. When users in those cities punch in an address Google Maps will pull up a parking difficulty icon on the directions…

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Google starts testing Instant Apps

Instant App

Android Instant Apps are now one step closer to reality after Google started their pilot testing. These new kinds of apps are meant to help bridge the gap between web apps and native apps. The idea is to break native apps into very small packets that, because they are so small, can run almost instantly — and without having to go to an app store — when you tap on a URL. According to Tech Crunch, Google says that it has been working with a small number of developers to test the…

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Marissa Mayer to exit after Verizon acquisition as Yahoo becomes Altaba

Yahoo Inc. said on Monday that it will cut down its board after completing acquisition deal with Verizon Communications Inc., it is reported also that several executives including Chief Executive Marissa Mayer and co-founder David Filo, will step down as directors. After the sale of its core internet business, the company will change its name to Altaba Inc. from RemainCo, Yahoo said in a regulatory filing. Altaba’s remaining assets include Yahoo’s stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Yahoo Japan. The name is a combination of the words “alternate” and…

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Apple celebrates the tenth anniversary of the iPhone

Apple

Apple celebrated the tenth anniversary of the iPhone on January 9th. The company posted a press release today marking the occasion. Ten years ago today, Steve Jobs took to the stage at Macworld 2007 to introduce a device that would become Apple’s most recognizable and successful product: the iPhone. To celebrate the anniversary, Apple launched a tribute page dedicated to the famous handset. The press release quote that iPhone has enriched the lives of people around the world with over one billion units sold. It quickly grew into a revolutionary platform for…

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British Government Launches Cyber Security Review

Cybersecurity

Cyber security has become one of the priority risks to be dealt with by organisations given that the number of cyber-attacks is on the rise. They are increasingly sophisticated and have an enormous economic and reputational impact on organisation. Governments are not immune to this threats. According to Reuters, the British government said on Monday it is launching a national inquiry into cyber security to assess the extent to which the UK is protected from an ever-increasing tide of attacks worldwide. Cyber-attacks in the UK have been on the rise, with businesses…

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Russia Requires Apple and Google to Remove LinkedIn from Local App Stores

LinkedIn

Russian authorities have required Apple and Google to remove the LinkedIn app from the App Store and Google Play in Russia, reports The New York Times. The move comes a couple weeks after Russia blocked LinkedIn’s website. When LinkedIn’s website was blocked, the apps stopped functioning properly. Removing them from the Google Play store and Apple’s App Store may not have cut off access to content, but it sent a signal that countries can push the tech giants to remove the apps. The New York Time Reports that Direct blocking of websites has been done by…

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Technology firms team up to curb ‘terrorist content.’

Facebook to invest $57 Billion in Africa’s Economy in next five years

Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter and You tube have embarked on a move to curb online terrorism responding to pressure from governments around the world. The announcement by Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft and Google-owned YouTube aims to use “digital fingerprints” to block or remove violent content or efforts to recruit social media users for attack cells. “There is no place for content that promotes terrorism on our hosted consumer services. When alerted, we take swift action against this kind of content in accordance with our respective policies,” said a statement issued by the…

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