Knowledge Update

New York, Oct 6 (IANS) Apple has reportedly bid goodbye to its third-gen Apple TV, shifting its focus on the new fourth-gen model, media reported on Thursday. According to 9to5mac.com, in an email sent out to employees and education partners, Apple said that it is discontinuing the device. "The third-gen model was introduced in 2012 and was quietly updated a year later. Since then, Apple has shifted its focus to the tvOS-powered fourth-gen Apple TV," the report said. Apple, however, said it will fulfill order backlog for the device. The company is currently selling refurbished models of third-gen Apple TV for $59. Once the refurbished models disappear, "Apple will seemingly have stopped sales of the third-gen Apple TV all together," the report added. It is also not clear if third-gen Apple TV will receive any additional software updates. According to Apple website, every Apple TV comes with complimentary telephone technical support within 90 days of its purchase. In addition, Apple TV and all accessories are covered against defects for one year from the original purchase date by a limited hardware warranty.

​San Francisco, Oct 4 (IANS) With an aim to lead the world of smartphones with its artificial intelligence (AI)-based technology, Google on Tuesday launched much-awaited Pixel -- a new premium device completely designed by the tech giant -- at a special event here. The launch also ended the Nexus branding under which the company has always released phones in partnership with other original equipment manufacturers like LG (for Google Nexus 5) and Huawei (for Google Nexus 6P). Although HTC has manufactured the smartphones, the new devices bear Google branding. With curved edges and a unibody made up of combination of aluminium and glass, the device comes in two sizes -- 5 and 5.5-inch with super AMOLED displays -- and is available in quite black, very silver and limited edition really blue colours. Pixel is first smartphone with Google Assistant -- a built in AI programme that works as an intelligent personal assistant and knowledge navigator. So now just ask questions, tell it to do things. With the highest ever DxOMark Mobile score of 89, Pixel's 12.3MP rear camera with f/2.0 click stunning photos in any light conditions -- #Nofilter needed. Catch action shots as they happen with Smartburst, which takes a rapid-fire sequence of shots. Use Lens Blur to achieve shallow depth of field and bokeh effects, making your subject pop. Google is offering free and unlimited online storage for photos and videos -- in original quality. Google's video calling app Google Duo comes preloaded on the devices. The device also has Pixel Imprint -- the fingerprint scanner on the back of the smartphone for quick access to all apps, texts and e-mails. Catering to the demand of a large battery that not only charges fast but also lasts all day long, Pixel devices come with 2,770 or 3,450 mAh battery packs that can give up to 7 hours of charge in just 15 minutes. It comes with a Type-C charging port and has retained the 3.5mm headphone jack. The device has a Bluetooth 4.2. With powerhouse specifications, both the devices have similar hardware under the hood. Pixel smartphones are fitted with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 821 Quad core (2x 2.15 Ghz and 2x1.6 Ghz) processors, 4GB LPDDR4 RAM and run on Android Nougat 7.0 operating system that was launched in August. The devices are available for $649 and up for pre-order in the US, Britain, Canada, Germany and Australia. The device will be available in India from October 13.

​New York, Oct 4 (IANS) US tech giant Microsoft is discontinuing its wearable fitness tracker called "Band" and the company has no plans to release "Band 3". "The Band 2 has been wiped completely from Microsoft's online store and is no longer available from Best Buy either," technology website The Verge reported on Tuesday. Consumers can still buy it from Amazon through its remaining inventory. The team behind the "Band" was recently dissolved and the company has also removed the device's software development kit that allows apps to be created for the device from its site. Micrsoft, however, will still support existing "Band 2" owners. The device was criticised for its uncomfortable design. Microsoft introduced a second-generation model with added features last year but it also carried forward many of the original's flaws, the report added.

​Beijing, Oct 28 (IANS) Toyota will recall 819,598 vehicles in China due to defective airbags installed in several vehicle models, the country's top quality watchdog said on Friday. The models affected were the VIOS, COROLLA, COROLLA EX and YARIS, built between May 1, 2007, and August 29, 2013, according to a report filed to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. The defective vehicles were equipped with airbags whose inflators could rupture, causing risks of injury, Xinhua news agency reported. The recall will start from November 30, 2016, and Toyota dealers will change the faulty parts at no charge.

​New York, Sep 24 (IANS) After a stupendous response from 28 countries in the first phase beginning from September 16, Apple's iPhone 7 ans iPhone 7 Plus will now be available in additional 30 countries, starting from Saturday. Todaya's launch includes the following countries: Andorra, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Greenland, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Maldives, Malta, Monaco, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia and Slovenia. iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will be launched in India on October 7. Apple also launched its new "Apple Watch Series 2", "Apple Watch Edition" and updated Series 1 models in 20 additional countries on Saturday. The new "Apple Watch Series 2 Hermes" was also launcheed for the first time in 18 countries on Saturday. Apple enthusiasts are known to swarm company stores and form long queues in the hours before any big launch and the scene at its stores in 28 countries in the first phase was no different on September 16. Coming in silver, gold, rose gold and the new black finish (jet black), iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be available in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB models, starting at Rs 60,000, in India. iPhone 7 features breakthrough new camera systems, the best battery life ever in an iPhone and water and dust resistance. "Apple Watch Series 2", the ultimate device for a healthy life, offers water resistance at 50 metre, GPS, two-times-brighter display, dual-core processor and watchOS 3. Starting at $369, the 'Apple Watch Series 2' will be water resistant to 50 metres and the speaker will literally repel the water like a piston. The device will have a dual core processor with GPU that is up to two times faster. Since Navratri -- an auspicious time for shopping -- begins on October 1 and with Diwali falling on October 30, this is a strategic time for Apple to register super iPhone 7 sales in India.

​London, Sep 22 (IANS) A British consumer watchdog has told technology giant Microsoft to compensate customers whose computers have been adversely affected by the Windows 10 upgrade. Last year Microsoft rolled out a free Windows 10 update to all its customers. However, the widely accepted new operating system did not come out as good as people hoped it would. Since Microsoft's Windows 10 update became available, consumer watchdog Which? received hundreds of complaints about the software, including repeated pop-ups regarding updates, various problems regarding printers, WiFi cards, working of speakers, files being lost and email accounts no longer syncing. Many have complained about being "nagged" by Microsoft to install the new update and despite declining notifications, Windows 10 installed itself anyway, Mirror Online reported. Which? said there have also been complaints about poor customer service from Microsoft when users contacted the company about the problems they are having, the report said. Of 2,500 people surveyed, who had upgraded to Windows 10, more than 12 per cent said they ended up rolling back to their previous version of the operating system. More than half stated that this was because the upgrade had adversely affected their PC. "We rely heavily on our computers to carry out daily activities so, when they stop working, it is frustrating and stressful," Alex Neill, Which? Director of Campaigns and Policy, was quoted as saying. "Many people are having issues with Windows 10 and we believe Microsoft should be doing more to fix the problem," Neill added. Which? is now calling on Microsoft to improve its customer service and compensate its customers where appropriate.

​London, Sep 20 (IANS) British multi-national automotive company Jaguar Land Rover on Tuesday announced a tie-up with global music streaming service Spotify for an in-car app for listening to music. Available across entire vehicle range, the iOS app will be available to download from App Store from September 27, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. "Spotify for Jaguar Land Rover is the result of a year's worth of collaborative development between the two companies," the company said. Spotify, launched this month in Jaguar Land Rover's InControl Apps library, delivers the best in-car Spotify experience. Spotify users can access personalised 'Just for You' playlists containing recommended tracks in the car, saving time scrolling through music on the move. Its 'Offline Mode' also displays downloaded content despite poor internet connection. Once downloaded, the app will automatically show up on the vehicle touch screen when the smartphone is connected. Users do not need a premium subscription to access Spotify via InControl Apps.

​Washington, Sep 21 (IANS) The online shopping portal Amazon's algorithms make customers pay more for popular products giving prominence to items that benefit the retail giant, a study by ProPublica said. ProPublica on Tuesday said it reviewed 250 frequently purchased products over several weeks to see what all were chosen to appear in the highly-prized 'buy box' that pops up first as a suggested purchase. Amazon that bills itself as the "Earth's most customer-centric company", not only sells products directly itself, but also allows other retailers to sell their own products through its platform. This means that the same product could be offered by dozens of vendors at different prices and with different shipping costs. When customers search for and click on a product, the Amazon algorithm chooses one vendor's offer to put in the buy box. Having product in this buy box offers a major advantage for the retailer -- as most customers end up adding it to the cart and buying it. ProPublica found that almost three-quarters of the time Amazon would place its own products or those from companies that pay Amazon to fulfil orders into the buy box -- even though they might not always be the cheapest. If a customer bought everything recommended by Amazon's buy box they would end up paying 20 per cent more than if the same products was bought at the lowest price on the platform, the study said. Amazon, however, offers a tool to allow customers to compare product prices by producing a list that ranks sellers of the same item by "price and shipping". Although even there, the company gives itself an advantage by omitting the shipping costs for its own products. This would mean the rankings were accurate for Amazon Prime members, who get unlimited 'free' shipping for $99 per year, but for anyone else the ranking is misleading. Amazon insists that its algorithm chooses products to go into the buy box based on a range of factors -- including customer service and free delivery. Amazon founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jeff Bezos had said in 2007 that it uses "very objective customer-centred algorithms" to automatically award the buy box to the lowest priced seller, which is clearly no longer the case. At least 94 per cent of sellers who won the buy box placement without having the cheapest listing were either sold by Amazon itself or companies paying Amazon. The companies that do not pay Amazon hefty fees (between 10-20 per cent of sales) to fulfil orders, find themselves sidelined. ProPublica concluded that it shows how hidden algorithms govern online interaction from Google search results to Facebook news feeds.

​New York, Sep 16 (IANS) Facebook-owned Instagram said it will roll out four new updates of which three are related to its call to action button and the fourth works with video link ads to make ads more visible and interactive. Now when you look at an Instagram ad for at least four seconds or tap on the name of the advertiser's profile, the call to action button will be highlighted. Apart from appearing at the bottom of the advertiser's profile, now when you open the call to action button, it will also show up in the ad's comments which allows Instagrammers to engage with a business quicker without additional tapping or scrolling. "When we detect additional information from an ad like price, destination URL or app store rating, it will be automatically added to the call to action button," said Instagram in a blog post on Thursday. For video link ads, when people unmute a video they will be taken to the destination URL while the video continues to play at the top of the screen. Now people can explore, browse and take action on a landing page while continuing to watch the video. People can also go to full screen or dismiss the video player if they prefer to browse the web page.

​Munich, Sep 14 (IANS) German automaker BMW Group reported on Tuesday that it has achieved best-ever August sales. According to a statement of BMW Group, a total of 165,431 vehicles were delivered to customers around the world in August, an increase of 5.7 per cent year on year, Xinhua news agency reported. As a result, a total of 1,508,659 vehicles have been sold since the beginning of 2016, up by 5.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2015, marking the first time ever to have sold over one and a half million vehicles in the first eight months of a year. The Bavarian company has sold 329,972 vehicles so far this year in the Chinese mainland, the biggest market in Asia, representing a year-on-year increase of 9.4 per cent. "Sales are increasing across the range and our electrified models are proving extremely popular. We've already sold more alternative drive vehicles this year than in the whole of 2015," Ian Robertson, member of the board of management responsible for sales and marketing, said.