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Showing posts from May, 2019

Microsoft Patch Alert: Patching whack-a-mole continues

How to use Excel as a data visualization tool

Everyone knows Microsoft Excel as a number cruncher, but there’s a whole lot more to the popular spreadsheet program. Just as Excel can perform basic data analysis functions , it has a surprising number of data visualization tools under the hood. To read this article in full, please click here (Insider Story) from Computerworld http://bit.ly/2EIwdqR

Throwback Thursday: It happens every January

Microsoft Xbox Game Pass comes to PC: All you need to know

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One of the best things to happen to the Xbox two years ago was a little service called Xbox Game Pass. It gives gamers access to more than a hundred games for a monthly fee. The service includes all Xbox first party games at launch. Game Pass is now making its debut to the PC. Rather than being called the PC Game Pass, Microsoft is still calling the service Xbox Game Pass, which leads many to think that their service from the console could be carried forward to the PC. Whether this is the case or not isn't clear as the release doesn't detail a price for the service nor a launch date. It also doesn't highlight whether the PC version of the Xbox Game Pass will be bundled with Game Pass Unlimited. For those unaware, Game Pass Unlimited gives users Xbox Live Gold subscription and Xbox Game Pass subscription in one roof. More information about the new service will come at E3 2019. Coming back to Xbox Game Pass for the PC, the service will give players unlimited access to a cura...

Moto Z4 goes official with Snapdragon 675, 48MP camera, Moto Mod support and more

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After an ‘accidental’ listing on Amazon and being leaked in its entirety, the Motorola Moto Z4 smartphone is finally official. Moto Z4 is the smartphone manufacturer’s latest mid-range handset, which runs on the Snapdragon 675 platform. As is the tradition with company’s Z-series of phones, the Moto Z4 also comes with Moto Mod support and ships with a moto 360 camera mod in-the-box. While the specifications of the device clearly show that it is a mid-range handset, its pricing suggests otherwise. The Moto Z4 has a price tag of $499.99 MSRP (Rs 34,893 approx), which is in the same price range as the OnePlus 7, and it will be available via Verizon for a cheaper price.  Moto Z4 specifications The Moto Z4 features an updated design as compared to its predecessors. The overall display bezels are thinner and there’s a waterdrop notch on the top that houses the front camera. The smartphone comes equipped with a 6.39-inch Full HD OLED display with a 2340x1080p resolution with a 19:9 aspec...

Redmi Note 7 Pro goes on sale today at 12 PM via Flipkart, Micom and Mi Home Stores: All you need to know

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Redmi recently launched its Redmi Note 7S smartphone in India, which is now available via an open sale. However, the Redmi Note 7 Pro with 48MP camera goes up for sale today at 12 PM. The mid-range smartphone by the company is powered by the Snapdragon 675 SoC and comes equipped with a dual camera setup. Highlights of the smartphone include a 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor, which is claimed to capture good images even in low light conditions. Since the device is not yet available in open sale, one is advised to keep their trigger finger ready for buying it.  Redmi Note 7 Pro specifications The Redmi Note 7 Pro features a dual rear camera setup, which, as mentioned earlier, includes a 48MP primary sensor with an f/1.79 lens. There’s also a 5MP secondary depth sensor. On the front, it gets a 13MP shooter. The smartphone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 chipset and comes with up to 6GB RAM and up to 128GB of internal storage. It runs on Android 9 Pie out of the box with MIUI 10 lay...

Redmi Note 7S to go on open sale tonight via Flipkart, Micom: Specs, price and all you need to know

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Recently, Redmi launched the Redmi Note 7S (First Impressions) smartphone at a starting price of Rs 10,990 in India. All the variants of the phone will go on open sale at midnight (May 31) through Flipkart and Mi.com. The Redmi Note 7S was previously made available through Flipkart, Mi.com, Mi Home, Mi Store app earlier this month. The handset comes in Onyx Black, Sapphire Blue and Ruby Red colour options. The 3GB RAM and 32GB storage variant is priced at Rs 10,990, and the 4GB RAM + 64GB storage version costs Rs 12,999. Redmi Note 7S Specifications: The Redmi Note 7S sports a 6.3-inch Full HD+ display with a waterdrop notch. The display is protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and offers a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels. Under the hood, the phone has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 mobile platform and it is offered in two storage and RAM variants. The phone draws power from a 4,000mAh battery which supports Quick Charge 4. There’s a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and users can also u...

PUBG Mobile ESL tournament offers total prize pool of EUR 120,000, trip to Milan: How to participate, rules, and all you need to know

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There seems to be no dearth of PUBG Mobile tournaments. While the PUBG Mobile Club Open is already going on, players now have another chance to try and win some hefty rewards. The Vodafone 5G ESL Mobile Open has been announced and is open to teams from Europe, India and Egypt. In fact, India gets its own completely separate region for qualifier. The tournament is offering players a trip to Milan and a total prize pool of EUR 120,000. Those interested can register here. Indian players have been grouped into Region B and qualifiers for the same will kick off from June 1. The qualifiers will consist of 80 players, making for a total of 20 teams with four players each. The qualifiers have been divided into three cups, with one team winning each of the cups. Cup 1 kicks off from June 1, Cup 2 starts from July 6, and the final Cup will start from August 3. The games in the qualifiers will support cross play, so participants can play on any device together. However, the finals will be played...

Google restricts marijuana facilitating apps on Play Store

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Google has updated its content policy for the Play Store and it has now restricted the functioning of all apps that sell or facilitate the sale of marijuana, regardless of legality. According to the new guidelines, "allowing users to order marijuana through an in-app shopping cart feature, assisting users in arranging delivery or pick up of marijuana, and facilitating the sale of products containing THC" are no more allowed on the platform. Google has apparently pointed out two popular apps, Weedmaps and Eaze, and restricted their functioning. “These apps simply need to move the shopping cart flow outside of the app itself to be compliant with this new policy. We've been in contact with many of the developers and are working with them to answer any technical questions and help them implement the changes without customer disruption,” Android Police quoted Google as saying. The move is linked to the company’s efforts towards making the Google Play Store safer for children...

Samsung Galaxy A10e with Exynos 7885 chipset visits Geekbench

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Samsung has refreshed its smartphone strategy to gain the lost market share. Under the new scheme of things, the company is populating every segment with various smartphones. One such phone is the Galaxy A10e that has now appeared on Geekbench. The phone with model number SM-A102U is seen sporting an Exynos 7884 mobile processor, along with 2GB of RAM. The phone is seen running Android 9 Pie. The phone scores 1,163 points in the Single-Core test and 3,581 points in the Multi-Core test on Geekbench. Interestingly, the Galaxy A10e scores similar points as the Galaxy A10. The Galaxy A10 has the same Exynos 7884 chipset, which is coupled with up to 3GB RAM. In the case of Galaxy S10 Series, we have seen that Samsung has kept the key hardware in Galaxy S10e same as its larger variants. The main difference is in the display size and the number of cameras. The company is likely to repeat this trend with the Galaxy A10e. The Samsung Galaxy A10e has already been certified by the Bluetooth Sp...

Sony Xperia F could be a foldable phone with Samsungs flexible OLED display, 5G connectivity

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Sony has ceased its smartphone operations in India, and most other regions, to focus on releasing phones in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Europe. The smartphone maker was rumoured to be dropping its Xperia lineup and shift to a new series. However, a new report out of China suggests that the company might be working on a foldable phone called the Xperia F, which could be launched next year. This phone is said to adopt Samsung’s flexible OLED display technology with a 21:9 aspect ratio, which the company’s current flagship Xperia 1 smartphone features. Additionally, the handset is said to support 5G connectivity and the company is expected to announce the Xperia 2 smartphone next year.  While there are no specifics about the Xperia F, the report hints at the growing popularity of foldable phones. Samsung and Huawei have already unveiled their respective foldable phones and while things aren’t looking too good for Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, we are yet to come across any initial impressio...

Moto Z4 with Snapdragon 675, 4GB RAM appears on Geekbench

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The Moto Z4 has been leaked in the past and now the phone has been spotted on the Geekbench website. It scores 2346 points in Single Core and 6248 points in Multi Core benchmarking tests. The phone is seen featuring a Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 mobile platform along with 4GB of RAM. The hardware is in line with previous reports, which also claimed that the phone will ship with 6GB RAM. As per the new listing, the Moto Z4 would run on Android 9 Pie. The development comes a day after media reports said that the phone, which is yet to be announced officially, was sold to a person via Amazon. The customer who bought the phone even posted a hands-on video after he received the device. The Amazon listing not only confirmed the 6.4-inch display, but also gave information about the type of the panel used. It said that the phone features an OLED FullVision display with a 2,340 x 1080 pixel resolution. The Moto Z4 is likely to feature an in-display fingerprint sensor. In terms of c...

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphone 700 with eight mics, active noise cancellation announced

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Bose has announced its new flagship Noise Cancelling Headphone 700 that succeeds the much lauded QC35 IIs. The new headphone is touted to deliver even better sound quality with the company’s proprietary active equalization, which is said to refrain from boosting lows, mids and highs as this can contribute to listening fatigue over time. The device should also be able to pick up conversations easily with the help of four microphones, two of which are said to isolate a user’s speech while the other two work on detecting and reducing ambient noise. In addition to the new NC Headphone 700, Bose has also laid out its roadmap that consists of the Bose Earbuds 500 which launches later this year, and the Noise Cancelling Earbuds 700 which will be revealed next year.  The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphone 700 is priced at $399 (Rs 27,824 approx) and will go on sale from May 30 in the US. The company has not announced the pricing of the Bose Earbuds 500 and the Noise Cancelling Earbuds 7...

Latest smartphones with 8GB to 12GB RAM

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The amount of RAM included in smartphones has increased to a point where 6GB and 8GB RAM doesn’t turn heads anymore. Now, phones with 10GB and 12GB RAM are also a thing. While we are still pondering over what we can do with so much RAM, it’s never a bad thing to have more than you need. Who knows, maybe in the future, there could be applications and games that will demand more RAM. Presently, the minimum RAM you’d require to ensure smooth performance in general is 4GB. Anything above that is ensuring you have enough resources available should you need it while multitasking. More RAM also ensures your system doesn’t have to sacrifice resources to make a game run smoother. With at least 8GB RAM, you can swiftly minimise your game, make a call, take a photo and then go back to the game, while with 10GB RAM and above, you can actually keep your game minised for long hours. We do that regularly with the OnePlus 7 Pro where PUBG Mobile is kept pinned to the recents menu and loads straigh...

World Cup with Mi TV Days: Xiaomi announces 30-day keep or exchange offer on Mi TVs

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As the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 starts in England and Wales, Xiaomi has announced new offers on a select range of Mi TVs on Flipkart. The company has started “World Cup with Mi TV Days” campaign and has announced a 30-day keep or exchange offer on Mi TVs. Under this offer customers can purchase a television from Flipkart and if they don’t like it, they can exchange it for 90 percent of its value in 30 days. The offer is only available for two days: May 30 and May 31. To avail the offer, customers first have to choose the TV they wish to purchase, and check for ‘30 day keep or exchange plan’. Once selected, click on ‘buy now’ and complete the purchase. Following is a list of TVs that are covered under this offer. Deals on Xiaomi Mi TVs: Mi LED Smart TV 4A Pro (43-inch) (Buy here): Xiaomi is offering the full HD smart TV for Rs 22,999, down from the original price of Rs 25,999. The television comes with AndroidTV and supports Google voice search. Users can also get Rs 1000 Off on al...

Samsung Galaxy M40 officially revealed ahead of June 11 launch, will be available via Amazon

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Samsung has revealed that it will soon launch its Galaxy M40 smartphone in India on June 11, at 6 PM. Amazon is hosting a dedicated microsite for the device, more or less confirming that it will go on sale via the online retailer. Ahead of the official launch, the company decided to unveil the smartphone, which comes soon after its press renders were leaked online. Samsung’s ‘Notify Me’ page for the Galaxy M40 shows off the phone’s design in its entirety. The handset can be seen featuring an Infinity-O display, where the punch hole houses the front camera on the top left of the screen.  The rear panel is also shown off and while it’s not clear whether the rear panel is plastic or glass, there surely are three cameras present. The triple-rear camera module is on the upper left corner, and is vertically aligned. There’s a flash beneath the camera setup and a fingerprint sensor can also be seen beside it. Going by the image, the phone sports a design similar to the Galaxy M40, except...

Microsoft introduces Google Lens-like Character Recognition in Excel for iOS to convert smartphone photos into spreadsheets

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Microsoft seems to be taking hints from Google’s image recognition techniques. The software giant has introduced a new feature on Microsoft Excel for iOS, to help users covert their images into spreadsheets. Data presented on a piece of paper within columns and rows can simply be snapped using a smartphone camera. This data can then be converted into an editable Excel spreadsheet using the app’s Data from Picture feature. Microsoft uses a combination of optical character recognition (OCR) and machine learning to identify the characters on the paper and input them into a digital spreadsheet. In the past, we’ve seen OCR implementation on Google Lens which allows users to scan any image using their smartphone camera and extract text from it into an editable digital format. Microsoft Excel's OCR feature was first announced in September 2018 and was made available on Android in March 2019. The image recognition tool in the Microsoft Excel Android and iOS apps is available through a but...

Call of Duty 2019 reveal set for May 30 10:30PM IST

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Call of Duty's official Twitter account has revealed a short teaser which reveals the date and time for the reveal of the 2019 trailer. The trailer for the 2019 Call of Duty game will go live today, May 30 at 10:30 PM IST. The official tweet reads, "Going Dark". There is little official information about the upcoming Call of Duty game however, rumours suggest it could be the next game in the Modern Warfare series off Call of Duty games. Various sources have claimed that the title of the upcoming game is Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.  Infinity Ward, Raven Software, Treyarch, Aspyr and n-Space are the developers that share the development of the Call of Duty franchise to ensure a new entry in the game is released every year.  Call of Duty Mobile has taken Indian mobile gamers by storm. Currently, in a Beta phase, the game is expected to launch officially at the end of the year. You can check out our impressions and gameplay video of Call of Duty Mobile here.  Speaking ...

WhatsApp update allows consecutive audio message playback on Android

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WhatsApp has rolled out an update for the app's Android version that allows consecutive playback of audio messages received in a chat. The Android update version 2.19.150 brings this support and now both the OS platforms have this capability. The support on iOS was rolled out in October 2018 with version 2.18.10022. The first mention of this feature was in March when WABetainfo reported that the instant messaging app would release the update later in the year. This may not be a big update for many of us but it will certainly save the hassle of tapping the ‘Play’ button over and over again to listen to a string of voice messages. You just have to tap on the first message received and others will automatically play by themselves. It should be noted that if a users sends an audio message, a text message and again an audio message, then the two audio files will not be played one after the other. Further, WhatsApp has also added two new sounds to the app. The first sound, a short chi...

Microsoft hints at always connected modern OS that delivers invisible background updates and more

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Microsoft is rumoured to be working on an OS but has not yet confirmed whether it is Windows 11, a lite version of Windows or something completely new. However, the company has started dropping some hints about its next OS. At the ongoing Computex 2019 event, it hinted at an OS that is touted to enable better computing on devices coming out in the future. First spotted by The Verge, Microsoft has delved some information on the OS in a blog post. Microsoft envisions its "modern OS" with ‘seamless updates’ that are invisibly carried out in the background without causing any interruptions. If these features sound somewhat familiar, it’s because Chrome OS already follows the same philosophy with background updates and no interruptions.  “An OS that provides a set of enablers that deliver the foundational experiences customers expect from their devices, and includes a set of delighters that deliver innovative human centric experiences,” states Microsoft’s blog post. Addi...

Huawei returns on SD Association, Wi-Fi Alliance member lists

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Huawei has made a return to the company lists of SD Association and Wi Fi Alliance after a brief removal. The company’s name was removed from their respective lists following the ban imposed by the Trump Administration earlier this month. The SD Association is a global ecosystem of companies setting memory card standards that simplify the use of consumer electronics, including mobile phones. Meanwhile, the Wi-Fi Alliance is an organisation that certifies Wi-Fi products for conformity to certain standards of interoperability. This may not be an indication that everything is going to be fine for Huawei. It is possible that both these authorities have added the Chinese tech company to their list for the 90-day permit to push out updates for existing phones. Just a day after blacklisting it, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the US Department of Commerce offered Huawei a temporary 90-day license to conduct business and provide updates for the smartphones that are already in the...

iOS apps reportedly sharing massive amounts of data with tracking companies when you sleep

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Ever since Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica data fiasco was exposed, users have become more aware and intersted in knowing how their data is collected and/or shared. Multiple companies are also touting to be more privacy centric now and Apple is one such conglomerate that has always expressed how it values user privacy and takes steps to ensure its users are protected. However, a new report by The Washington Post's Geoffrey Fowler sheds light on how iPhone apps are using trackers that users don’t know about to send a high volume of user data to tracking companies. Fowler took help of the privacy firm Disconnect to test his iPhone, apps on which reportedly sent 1.5GB worth of personal information to tracking companies over a period of one month.  In the research, Fowler found that apps from some top companies were sending user data to tracking companies. These apps included Nike, Yelp, Spotify, Microsoft OneDrive, Mint, IBM’s The Weather Channel, DoorDash, the crime-alert s...

Disney's Star Wars land food: Everything to eat and drink in Galaxy's Edge - CNET

All the delicious bites from a galaxy far, far away. from CNET News https://cnet.co/30US47O

Star Wars land: Everything we saw at Disneyland's Galaxy's Edge - CNET

What we saw, smelled, ate, experienced and got way too excited about. from CNET News https://cnet.co/2VYZyTQ

Boeing CEO says he wouldn't hesitate to put his family on a 737 Max - CNET

Dennis Muilenburg apologizes for a pair of fatal crashes but says during a CBS News interview that he never considered resigning. from CNET News https://cnet.co/30W6iFo

Alaka'i's Skai wants to be the fuel cell-powered aircraft of the people - Roadshow

Skai, if built, would mark the first appearance of hydrogen fuel cell power in an aircraft. from CNET News https://cnet.co/2HISab3

Waymo's back to testing self-driving semis in Arizona - Roadshow

The tests will start in the Phoenix area and expand from there. from CNET News https://cnet.co/2YT7SWU

Sleeping with a phone: Study shows we're taking devices to bed - CNET

Stats show parents and teens alike are spending more time on devices, even overnight. from CNET News https://cnet.co/2KdQt76

Huawei scientists reportedly banned from reviewing IEEE science papers - CNET

An American science publisher prohibits the Chinese tech giant from reviewing papers, a report says. from CNET News https://cnet.co/2K9ePis

Apple WWDC 2019: How to watch, start time, livestream - CNET

Things are expected to get "dark" at this year's keynote, especially iOS. from CNET News https://cnet.co/2JOfTJ5

Adam Savage teams up with Peter Jackson and NASA for Savage Builds TV series - CNET

Former MythBusters co-host Adam Savage creates an Iron Man suit, a WWII weapon and more in Savage Builds on Science Channel on June 12. from CNET News https://cnet.co/2K9eM6g

MacOS 10.15 leak shows new Music and TV apps - CNET

Screenshots from Apple's new MacOS leak ahead of WWDC. from CNET News https://cnet.co/2Werc48

7 things to buy instead of the new iPod Touch - CNET

Apple's device isn't the only MP3-playing-portable-game device in town. from CNET News https://cnet.co/2Ik7Alt

Gogo plans to launch in-flight 5G in 2021 - CNET

Air-to-ground system will be built upon the in-flight Wi-Fi provider's network of cell towers. from CNET News https://cnet.co/2WbS0Cb

America ruled commercial aviation, but then came Airbus - CNET

Fifty years ago Wednesday, Europe began to challenge the US monopoly on building commercial airliners with the development of the Airbus A300. from CNET News https://cnet.co/2X9Gtj0

Tesla's Elon Musk urges employees to double their efforts on deliveries, report says - Roadshow

Tesla is on track to have a banner quarter if it can manage to get its cars into customers' hands. from CNET News https://cnet.co/2EGJKiO

Would you try and jump a UTV 247 feet on a windy day? Tanner Godfrey did - Roadshow

And he did it without full use of his legs, setting a world record in the process. from CNET News https://cnet.co/2HJenpu

Square Enix's mysterious 'Marvel Avengers' game will be unveiled at E3 2019

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Streaming for Square Enix's conference is expected to kick off at 6PM PT. As usual, you'll be able to watch the event live across a wide variety of platforms, including YouTube, Twitch, and Microsoft's Mixer. from TechSpot http://bit.ly/2JMcjiW

Bose's new Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 are based on the legendary QuietComfort series

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Bose on Wednesday introduced a new set of over-ear headphones built off the legendary performance of the QuietComfort series. from TechSpot http://bit.ly/30UdbXN

Gigabyte's PCIe 4.0 SSD can reach speeds of up to 15 GB/s

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For further context, a latest generation PCIe 3.0 NVMe drive like Samsung's 970 EVO Plus peaks at around 3,500 MB/s reads amd writes. from TechSpot http://bit.ly/2QwW6yB

Hideo Kojima teases fans for 22 hours before revealing Death Stranding release date

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This PlayStation Twitch channel teaser went on for 22 hours with the final few hours adding more hands until the screen was fully revealed and a new trailer for the game played. The whole stream was actually the obscured trailer on loop with eerie sound effects playing instead of the... from TechSpot http://bit.ly/2VYMuxq

Death Stranding's Collector's Edition has been revealed, and it includes a pod with a baby inside

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Hideo Kojima's latest project, Death Stranding, already looked like one of the most bizarre games of this console generation (if not all time). From the trailers we'd been shown up until today, it's always been pretty difficult to make heads or tails of what the game's story will be, or... from TechSpot http://bit.ly/2JHieFK

Microsoft envisions a modern Windows OS that seamlessly updates in the background

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On Tuesday, Microsoft’s keynote at Computex revealed how the company is looking to adapt to new types of devices. As the industry continues to innovate with variants on the traditional PC and laptop such as Intel’s dual-screen gaming laptop, Microsoft is hoping to adapt to accommodate and evolve with manufacturers.... from TechSpot http://bit.ly/2HJ3oN1

Uber to deactivate riders with significantly below average ratings

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Uber drivers have long been expected to maintain a minimum rating threshold or face expulsion from the platform. Now, riders are being held to similar standards. from TechSpot http://bit.ly/2Iae6et