India’s central bank is standing firm on a directive to compel global payment firms to store customer data in India, resisting calls from U.S. companies to dilute an order they say would cost them millions of dollars, people familiar with the matter said. The payment companies are worried India’s data onshoring move could set a precedent and nudge other major governments to implement similar rules at a time when there is heightened scrutiny on how companies globally handle their customers’ data. The industry’s tussle with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi aggressively pushes digital…
Author: Loknath Das
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Snapchat has rolled out its first Lens that reacts to sound. “It’s a cute animal mask overlay for your face, with ears that pulse and glow, and eyes that move based on the sounds it hears. Snapchat says it’s just the first of many,” Engadget reported late Monday, citing the company. The report says Snapchat is planning to launch more Lenses that will react to sounds over the coming weeks. Snapchat’s Lenses are filters that come in two options, Face Lenses and World Lenses. Face Lenses allows the users to turn into something different along with voice changes. On the other hand, World…
Most social media users know that bot accounts are among us, whether as fake voters with loud opinions or obsessive re-tweeters of a single corporation’s content. When it comes to telling many ‘fake’ accounts from real ones, however—or just knowing how many non-individuals are active online—even savvy users are mostly in the dark. Tallies suggest there are over three billion social media users in the world, many of whom maintain accounts on multiple platforms. The total number of social media accounts may be several times that, making the task of sorting out people (and their braver/sassier/sexier online alter-egos) from commercial, political, and general trolling…
When thinking about developing software, usually the programmers are immediately the people who come to mind. However, it takes more than programmers to get a piece of software to market. In fact, a marketing team is an essential part of the process. However, they’re often either kept in the dark or brought in a little bit too late. There is a way to fix that. It’s important that marketing professionals and programmers work on a project together to ensure success. We asked members of the Forbes Technology Council how to handle two different teams working together on the same project. The advice given offers a few different ways…
Ever had the nagging suspicion that your car’s manufacturer was charging outrageous prices for parts simply because it could? Software might be to blame. Reuters has obtained documents from a lawsuit indicating that Jaguar Land Rover, Peugeot, Renault and other automakers have been using Accenture software (Partneo) that recommended price increases for spare parts based on “perceived value.” If a brand badge or other component looked expensive, Partneo would suggest raising the price up to a level that drivers would still be willing to pay. It would even distinguish parts based on whether or not there was “pricing supervision” over certain parts (say, from insurance companies or focused…
Microsoft has confirmed reports that it is acquiring software development platform GitHub. The firm is paying $7.5B in stock … Today, we announced an agreement to acquire GitHub, the world’s leading software development platform […] More than 28 million developers already collaborate on GitHub, and it is home to more than 85 million code repositories used by people in nearly every country. From the largest corporations to the smallest startups, GitHub is the destination for developers to learn, share and work together to create software. It’s a destination for Microsoft too. We are the most active organization on GitHub, with more than…
ASMS 2018 – Scientists working in metabolomics, pharmaceuticals, food safety, and environmental and forensic science can now use a fully integrated software toolkit to transform complex, unknown mass spectra generated from small molecule analysis into actionable data. The new Thermo Scientific Compound Discoverer 3.0 software is an integrated set of libraries, databases and statistical analysis tools linked in customizable workflows. The software processes the information-rich data generated from high-resolution accurate-mass (HRAM) Orbitrap mass spectrometers and transforms it into meaningful results. The software is easy to use and designed to require minimal training or expertise. Thermo Fisher Scientific is showcasing the new software during…
Brazilian coaching legend Carlos Alberto Parreira will be leading FIFA’s Technical Study Group at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™. Having been a part of every tournament since England 1966, the TSG will be applying their considerable footballing expertise to analyse the games during the competition. Parreira himself has proven his understanding of the game at the very highest level, leading his nation to being crowned world champions at USA 1994. Meanwhile, he has also taken charge of a record five teams at the finals, leading Kuwait (1982), United Arab Emirates (1990), Brazil (1994 and 2006), Saudi Arabia (1998) and South Africa…
Veteran venture capitalist Mary Meeker recently released her annual Internet trends report, considered to be one of the most important tech analysis statements of the year, at Recode’s Code Conference in California. As part of the report, she noted that smartphone shipments and Internet adoption growth went down over the past year, as did the global average price of smartphones; AI will become a big part of enterprise spending for companies like Google and Amazon; and she also elaborated on China’s Internet success story. Smartphone shipments stagnate At the 2018 edition of the Code Conference earlier this week, in Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers’ Mary Meeker released 294 slides of her Internet…
After days of negotiation, HD Kumaraswamy’s Janata Dal Secular and the Congress have finalized the division of power — with the crucial finance ministry going to the regional party and the home department to the Congress. The cabinet expansion is expected over the week-end, said party sources. The Congress is expected to get 22 of the 34 ministries and the JD(S) 12. Last week, only Chief Minister Kumaraswamy and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara of the Congress took oath amid speculation of conflict between the coalition partners over cabinet portfolios. Sources said Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, who is currently abroad,…