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Showing posts from June, 2017

Google is streamlining its chat apps again

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Google has a baffling array of chat apps and platforms out there at the moment, so the tech behemoth has decided to try and simplify its approach just a little bit: firstly it's phasing out Google Talk for good by June 26, the Hangouts precursor that really should've been shuttered a long time ago. Secondly, SMS support is being pulled from Google Hangouts, an app that is now being positioned as more of a business-focused tool for your workplace group chat needs. However, ordinary, non-paying users will be able to carry on using Hangouts (minus the SMS feature) for the time being. This isn't really a big surprise: messages inside Hangouts have been pushing users towards Android Messenger for SMS for more than a year now, and support for the vintage messaging format might even get added to the Allo app eventually. SMS options in Hangouts will disappear from May 22. Leaving the labs Thirdly, some of those weird and wonderful Labs experiments in Gmail are getting

Biggest "country" on Earth, Facebook hits 2 billion monthly users

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Social network giant Facebook has reached yet another milestone! The total number of monthly active Facebook users is now much more than the population of any country in the world! Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced, "Facebook community is now officially two billion people." Its colossal user base is roughly a quarter of the world's population, which is about 7.5 billion. Growth numbers: Facebook continues to grow steadily Critics, who said Facebook's growth would be slow as users are attracted to other social networks, have been proven wrong again. The internet giant has reached the major milestone of 2 billion monthly users only 13 years after being launched. In Oct'12, Facebook crossed one billion monthly users only two years after it announced that 500 million people monthly use it. Fact: Zuckerberg launched Facebook from his college dormitory room When Zuckerberg founded "The Facebook" in 2004, he was still at Harvard University.

Banks are increasingly using robots to answer basic consumer queries

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There's no denying the fact that the banking sector is the life-line of the bustling Indian economy and it caters to millions every day. Over the years, the banking sector has been including a lot of technology in its system. The objective here is simple - get rid of repetitive tasks, provide better services and make the sector run smoothly. Banking: Things will always change In order to provide better services to the populous nation, banking needs all the help it can get. Automation is not a dirty word. While it takes over certain jobs, it gives birth to several more. Recently, the 50th anniversary of ATM was celebrated. ATMs radicalized the system of bank withdrawals. That was needed then; this is needed now. Change is the only constant. Robot: You have got a "Mitra" to help you out There is hardly any point in deploying skilled labor on a task which is basic or repetitive in nature. Now, if one walks into the Canara Bank head office, he/she will be gree

Android O First Impressions: Quick Toggles, Smart Text Select, Picture in Picture and More Features

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Android O  was the most awaited segment at  Google I/O 2017 . The update will be crucial for Google now that it already has 2 billion active users on its platform. To test waters the search giant has also released Android O in a public beta. Users wanting to try the new operating system can do so by enrolling in the  Android O beta . Do keep in mind that you’ll need to have an eligible  Google  smartphone. Currently, the only supported phones for the Android O beta are the  Nexus 5X ,  Nexus 6P ,  Google Pixel , and the  Google Pixel XL . We installed the Android O beta on a Google Pixel, to see what's changed. Here are our first impressions of Android O, and a deep dive into the new features it brings. Redesigned Settings At first glance, there aren't major design changes that you'll notice. The Android O UI is quite similar to  Android Nougat  but there are a few tweaks that enhance the overall look of the OS. The settings menu and the notification bar are where maj