End-to-End Encryption Implemented on WhatsApp

WhatsApp now has advanced security, any communication done on the platform is completely secure.

Amid all the debates circling around privacy and data encryption that most of the technology companies have been caught up in, Facebook Inc. has rolled out advanced encryption for its mobile messaging app, WhatsApp. To ensure maximum security in its data encryption initiative, the social media network has taken almost one and a half year to roll out the perfect update.

Strong end-to-end encryption has been activated on the mobile messaging app across all mobile platforms. In order to get this latest update, WhatsApp users are required to upgrade their WhatsApp version to the latest one. All content, communication and media that will be shared on the messaging platform will now be protected by default. By protection here, we mean that even the company itself will not be able to access the data shared across the platform.

Facebook’s subsidiary has crossed the one billion user’s mark earlier this year, so it is safe to say that over one seventh of the world’s population is active on the mobile messaging app now – and all these users now have strong encryption security which means that it’s a milestone achieved in both the tech industry as well as the US authorities.

The encryption status is usually seen by a user at the top of the chat since the apps client makes the user aware of the chat’s encryption status. This will serve as a transitional phase for all the users since the encryption message will be right in their face on the chat. However, it should be mentioned that all those users that do not have the latest version of WhatsApp, they will not be able to access the new end-to-end encrypted security.

With the help of this latest development, any content exchanged via communication on the platform is not being stored on the company’s servers. Furthermore, the company does not even hold a decryption keys for these chats. It’s quite evident what the company has tried to do, they don’t want to be able to give any data to the authorities even if they have a warrant for it.

Recently, there was dispute between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the technology giant over an iPhone that belonged to one of the suspects in the San Bernardino Attack back in December. There was dispute because the government wanted the company to unlock the iPhone so that the authorities can get access to the data on the suspect’s smartphone however the company decline to comply. Apple helped the authorities as much as it could however when it came to creating a backdoor in the encrypted data stored on the device, the tech giant declined to do so.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp came up with it’s on advanced encryption software, it is the latest method of securing all forms of communication done on the platform. Many companies were in the favor of Apple during that showdown between the two. 

Qualcomm Up's Its Virtual Reality Game a bit

The chipmaker is advancing its chips to enhance the Virtual Reality experience for the customers

2015 was not that bad of a year for the smartphone industry as some might suggest otherwise. It should be mentioned that even though the previous year was not as bad as expected; the growth is likely to come across pressure in the future. Gartner, an IT research firm suggests that after skyrocketing years of growth in the smartphone industry, the industry will grow by only 2.6% in sales during the current year while the consumers spending in the specific category will be of 1.2%.

However, the worst is for the mobile chip maker Qualcomm Inc. as the forecast suggests that its mobile phone sales are forecasted to be flattened. Furthermore, Apple, Inc. one of the chipmaker’s biggest customers witnessed a decline in its sales and a drop in its quarterly revenue for the first time in the last 13 years. The company has been downgraded by analysts due to the financial earnings of the first quarter of the current fiscal year and the guidance for the upcoming quarter.

Having said that, the Virtual Reality technology has been sparking up; every technology companies wants to develop a VR headset for its customers. The Oculus Rift Virtual Reality headset is a much anticipated product that is scheduled to start shipping on March 28. While HTC’s Vive device will start it’s shipping a week later. However, like any other technology, customers will take time to get on board with it and get used to the idea of this technology. But it does seem like customers are anxiously waiting to get their hands on the VR headset.

How does Qualcomm fit into this? Well, the chipmaker has decided to unleash the potential of its Snapdragon 820 processor as it wants to ensure that it gets its fair share of the VR market pie. It has made its VR-ready chip to the developers with the help of the SDK – software development kit that it recently launched for IOS so that developers can start working on applications for the VR headsets. The Snapdragon downsizes some of the downsides of the VR experience which includes latency while making the experience more enjoyable as it enhances the VR world.

The biggest issue that the users have come across up till now is that of latency or buffering; some of the users who tested the device for the first time also got nauseous because of that but with the help of Qualcomm’s SD kit, developers are able to reduce latency by at least 50%.

VR has become a huge opportunity for the chip manufacturing company since the mobile market is ready to hit a saturating point the world of virtual reality is going to be the saving grace for the company. In addition to that, its rival Intel is also working on alternatives so that its reliance on the slow PC market lessens. However, its rival is working on chips to run of cloud based data centers, wearables and Internet of Things. It’s working on a few things unlike Qualcomm. But intel also realizes what Qualcomm says, that the VR world is a much appealing world for the customers and is the future.

Tesla Motor's Model S To Witness a Hike in Price

The automaker has not yet announced that it will be increasing the price of its Model S however a number of indirect announcements indicate that it is likely to do so in the near future.

After the launch of Tesla Motors much anticipated vehicle, the Model 3, the auto-maker is likely to change the price of its flagship automobile, Model S. Initially there were rumors regarding the modification in the price of the sedan however after an investigation by Electrek.co, it was discovered that the price for the full-sized electric vehicle will be modified early in April; basically after the company is done with its Marc 31 Event.

The automobile organization issued a statement to Electrek.co stating that the prices for the company’s auto are consistently changed throughout the world as they have to adjust prices as per the foreign currency exchange rates. Furthermore, the statement stated that the company has informed its customers regarding the change in price of the Model S in April.

However, an increase in price of the sedan has not been mentioned in the statement issued by the auto-maker. Since the price of the vehicle has not been raised for several years now, it is expected that Tesla might just increase the price of the vehicle. There’s a public form Tesla Motors Club where a number of people stated that they are feeling that the organization is likely to raise the price of the sedan.

They backed this up by saying that some representatives have stated that the price of the specific automobile will rise in the beginning of April. Since the representatives wanted people to avail the price it which it is currently being sold, they encouraged to make their bookings for the auto immediately.

However, any statement made on the Motors club can’t be considered as the final word since it does not come from the company itself but people are taking into account the statement that Tesla provided to Electrek.co and believe the fact that the price might just go up. A representative is also stated in the group that the price hike has nothing to do with the introduction of any new feature in the vehicle. As per the rumors though, the Sedan is likely to get a P100D variant. This would be a new product in the Model S product-line that indicates that the price for all Model S variant might fluctuate.

Presently, there are three variant for the Model S that include 70D, 90D and P90D (high performance). The former variants are priced at $70,000 while the latter versions are close to a price of $138,000. In addition to that, the automaker also discontinued its 85D variant which indicates that it is planning on extending its range.

Ever since its launch 2012 the price of the vehicle has not been raised which brings us to the conclusion that maybe the automaker has decide to raise the price after these four/five years. During this time, the company eliminated a number of battery options and also upgraded the vehicle whilst keeping the same price. And since it added a few additional features to the auto which includes an air wireless update; it is possible that is why the company is working towards raising the price for it. Plus the Sedan has been the highest selling vehicle in the United States due to its impressive drive experience.

In addition to that, as it expects to increase the price, the revenue generated by the sales of the model it will put the surplus amount in the development of Model 3 since that will be its mass market vehicle. Even the CEO Elon Musk has stated that the revenue generated by its high-end Model S and Model X will be used in the development of the anticipated Model 3.

Alibaba To Surpass Wal-Mart As The Top Retailer

Alibaba expects to overtake the record sales posted by Wal-Mart in a fiscal year

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is one of the biggest retailers in the world which has given tough time to not only domestic competitors but the international competitors as well. The company has always given its rivals a tough time when it comes surpassing its lead. For a very long time, Wal-Mart had been on the very top in the domestic and international market but its growth was hampered considering the pace at which American’s reigning monarch of online shopping Amazon.com, Inc. was growing. But regardless, Wal-Mart has managed to set up good business in its physical stores as well as online.

The company posted staggering sales valued at a massive $478.6 billion for the fiscal year which ended on January 31. According to sources, it is believed that the Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba Group Holding is expected to surpass the US multinational Wal-Mart Stores as the world’s largest retail marketplace in the coming times. In an official media report which was published on Wednesday, Alibaba Group currently has total trading of $463.3 billion which is set to exceed before the fiscal year ends.

Times of India reported that Alibaba Group Holding will soon make an official announcement at the end of the fiscal year on March 31. Alibaba said a couple of days ago, “WalMart Stores Inc posted net sales of $478.6 billion for its fiscal year ending Jan 31, while the latest trading volume figure for Alibaba amounted to three trillion yuan ($463.3 billion)”.

The current ongoing sales which Alibaba just posted are equal to the last year’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of one of the China’s provinces, Sichuan. The GDP of Sichuan is ranked sixth on the Chinese mainland.

The CEO of the firm, Daniel Zhang Yong, said in a conference which took place in Hangzhou that the sales figure was recorded on its multiple online marketplaces such as Tmall which is the business to consumer platform, Taobao Marketplace and Rural Taobao which are the consumer to consumer platform, and Juhuasuan which is the group buying site.

At the beginning of this week, Zhang Yong said that it expects Alibaba Group to achieve a milestone by having an annual trading volume of $980 million approx. (six trillion Yuan) in the coming four years. He added, “In 2024, we wanted to be a business platform serving 2 billion consumers and tens of millions of enterprises at home and abroad.”

Zhang continued, “the company will strive to combine cloud computing and big data technologies with the Internet and the Internet of Things, as well as consumer terminal equipment, to spur its development. The Internet of Things is the network of physical objects - devices, vehicles, buildings and other items - embedded with electronics, software, sensors and network connectivity that enables these objects to collect and exchange data.”  

Apple Inc. Didn't Have Much To Offer At The Event Yesterday

Saturating smartphone market, increased competition, threat of substitutes – could it be game over for Apple Inc.?

At the Apple event held yesterday at Cupertino, California, the technology company introduced a number of latest additions to its product line including a 16 GM 4-inch iPhone SE, Apple Watch with neon colors along with a 9.7 – inch iPad Pro. Similar to their names, the devices that have been launch in yesterday’s event they look the same aw well. For now, people are simply referring to these devices with their length, storage capacity etc.

The Apple Watch which was launched here has been introduced in a variety of different colors however the price has been slashed down to $299 which was the price pertaining at certain stores including Target and Best Buy. In this aspect, the iPhone maker has simply caught up with the rest of the market. Considering that the Cupertino based tech company has slashed the price of a device which doesn’t have a new model yet is alarming as the company has never had to do something like this.

Furthermore, it showcased a number of bands with the smart sports watch, one of which was leaked back in January, the black Milanese loop. Along with this they have introduced a new nylon band as well that will come in a variety of over seven colors, as this nylon band features a four layered construction. This new range of band colors has been dubbed as the ‘spring line’ by the Apple which simply means that we might be getting a new collection every season now.

On the other hand, the launch of the latest 4-inch iPhone SE came as a disappointment for many as in the past seven years, ever since the launch of the company’s iPhone 3Gs which has the same 16GB capacity, apps have gotten heavier and people have started to rely on storage. This issue was raised initially as well however it is sad to see that the organization didn’t focus on the feedback given by people.

When this subject of storage came up last time, the Senior Vice President, Phil Schiller stated that iCloud is likely to serve as a substitute for local storage. He added that the idea behind it is that more price-conscious people are more to buy cheaper priced iPhones and sync their local storage documents, photos and videos on the iCloud service. However, what the company isn’t taking into consideration is that to use the iCloud service, the users will have to rely on cellular data just to retrieve or sync their data which would ultimately cost them more. IPhone SE has been put up at a price of $399 for 16 GB while a price tag of $499 has been put on 64GB.

Additionally, during the event, the CEO Tim Cook talked about the future of the planet as well stating that 93% of Apple’s global operations are carried on sustainable energy. Even though that’s an impressive number, the technology organization’s competitors are aiming at reaching the 100% mark. However, it should be noted that currently Apple is at the top of that list.

Overall, it seemed as though the technology organization did not have much to offer; only interesting thing going on with the company might be its battle with the FBI over unlocking an iPhone of a terrorist that was involved in the San Bernardino attack. Appel might want to up its games a bit soon since more people were disappointed than impressed by what the company has to offer now.

Jack Dorsey's Twitter Inc.'s Turn 10

The micro-blogging platform that has been making the headline for quite some time now has officially turned ten; maybe it should be treated like a ten year as well.

Twitter Inc. has officially marked its tenth anniversary; since its inception on March 21, 2006, the micro-blogging website has managed to go public and has accomplished to get over 300 million users on its platform. It has launched a two and a half minute video where it has penned to get a ‘thank you’ note across to the users all around the globe.

However, like most ten year olds, the social media platform is still misunderstood by many and its shareholders have been confused about the power of it ever since it came into being. In its 2 minute note, the social networking website had tried to summarize all that it has done and what the website actually stands for.

Much of what the company had tried to portray in the video signifies that it has been a great platform for breaking news from the Tsunami to the Arab Spring events; it has nicely shown how Twitter was the perfect platform to get informed. Furthermore, it has also highlighted how the platform has served as a Social Activist platform as many movement were began on it, some of which include the ‘Black Lives Matter’, ‘Bring Back out Girls’ etc. all of which were the most popular and trending hashtags.

The video further goes on to show popular tweets from celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, LeBron James along with other public figures including Malala Yousufzai, Emma Watson etc. Other videos and GIFs that had gone viral on the platform throughout that time were also showcased in the video.

The author of the note tried to write the message under the platform’s 140-character count limit. Initially however he goes past the character limit but brings it back to the initial count. This move by the writer signifies that micro-blogging platform’s commitment to the character limit. Initially there were rumors that they were going to get rid of the character limit exactly how they did in their direct messages however Jack Dorsey got rid of that idea as it didn’t reflect the purpose of the platform. They did not want to lose the essence of Tweet just to attract more customers; it would have been a desperate move on the company’s part to copy Facebook, Inc.

Despite the fact that Twitter Inc. had a tough time proving itself throughout these ten years, it has managed to become a popular platform for politics and a marketing place for companies. This fact is undeniable that along those lines it has definitely proved itself to be useful. The CEO who was also the co-founder of the platform, has been given the challenging task of Fixing Twitter which, on one hand, many believe that he is capable of while on the other hand, many say that since he is also the CEO of a payment solutions company, Square, might not be able to fulfill the task.

Users Can Now Make Purchases on Amazon With a Selfie

The retail giant is now allowing its customers to make payments with the help of selfies now instead of typing long passwords.

As technology evolves, turns out you can make purchases through a selfie instead of a secure password. Amazon.com is taking up the same strategy as the retailer believes that passwords can be stolen or forgotten and can be impersonated by another human being while selfies are more authentic.

The e-commerce giant has filed for a patent to use photos or videos of users to make payment for an online purchase. Even though the company stated that passwords are unsafe but at least selfies cannot be stolen or misused, however the facial recognition systems can be spoofed by users by simply holding up a picture of the person and not their actual face in front of the camera.

The Seattle based e-commerce organization has worked a way across that as well; it has stated the facial recognition system will ask the user to blink hence having a two-step system. The facial recognition software will take two selfies of the user, in which the first one will be for the user’s identity while the second one will be to avoid spoofs.

In the second selfie, the computer or smartphone will ask the user to do a few actions including motions as well as certain gestures like to smile, blink or tilt their head in different directions. The computer or smartphone will ask the user to perform these functions to verify that it’s the same person do is making the purchase.

Amazon is not the first e-commerce company to adopt this mode of payment verification; initially a number of other e-commerce companies along with financial services firms have also adopted this payment method as they believe this is more secure and efficient.

As per research, it has been reported that as many as one person in every five people use the same password for most of their things while approximately 58% of people use a few password while the rest use small variations in their password. As per the research, it can be concluded that it become way too easy for anyone to copy passwords.

In the United Kingdom, MasterCard has also introduced this service for its customers where they can make payment via selfies and fingerprints and can leave the hassle of typing passwords behind. On the other hand, android smartphones as well as Microsoft 10 already allows its users to unlock their phones by just looking directly into the camera. Additionally, smart payment solutions also allow users to simply make payments via Samsung Pay and Apple Pay with the help of a fingerprint.