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Chandrayaan-3 mission nears conclusion as Vikram lander and Pragyan rover remain inactive. (HT_PRINT) Space 

What is the Future of ISRO After the Chandrayaan-3 Mission and the Loss of Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover?

Nitin Misra,

The Chandrayaan-3 mission has been a great success for ISRO, but former ISRO chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar has now stated that there is no hope for the reactivation of the Chandrayaan-3 Vikram lander and Pragyan rover. This announcement, made on Friday, is seen as a potential end to India’s third lunar mission. Kiran Kumar, who maintains a close connection to the mission through ISRO, has stated that there is no expectation for Vikram or Pragyan to come back to life and revive the Chandrayaan-3 mission. If it were possible, it…

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And death is no barrier for this particular career, with two popular games this year choosing sports legends who are no longer with us. ( IGX) Gaming 

Sports Legends Receive New Life Through Video Games

Adarsh V.K, , ,

It can be captivating to observe the career paths of renowned sports stars after retirement, with options ranging from endorsing Viagra, engaging in property ventures, or participating in crypto projects. However, one avenue that is increasingly proving to be a guaranteed success is having your image featured on the cover of a video game. And death is no barrier to this career, as two popular games this year are chosen by sporting legends who are no longer with us. LA Lakers basketball star Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter…

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The U.S. Justice Department sued SpaceX for allegedly discriminating against asylum seekers and refugees in hiring. (AFP) Space 

Lawsuit Accuses SpaceX of Discriminating Against Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Hiring Practices

Febin Mathew,

On Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against SpaceX, a rocket and satellite company owned by Elon Musk, accusing them of engaging in discriminatory hiring practices against asylum seekers and refugees. “The lawsuit alleges that from at least September 2018 through May 2022, SpaceX routinely failed to encourage asylum seekers and refugees to apply and refused to hire or consider them because of their citizenship, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act,” the Justice Department said in a statement. In job postings and public statements for several…

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A combo photo of the Lunar far side area from the Chandrayaan-3 Mission captured by the Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera on Monday. (ISRO Twitter) Space 

ISRO May Delay Chandrayaan-3 Landing to August 27 – Here’s the Reason

Sanjay Patil, , , , , , ,

The Space Applications Centre-ISRO announced on Monday that if any aspect of the lander module is deemed unfavorable, the landing date for Chandrayaan-3 will be rescheduled to August 27. Ahmedabad-based Space Applications Centre-ISRO Director Nilesh M Desai said the decision to land will be taken based on the condition of the lander and the conditions on the moon. “On August 23, two hours before Chandrayaan-3 will land on the Moon, we will decide based on the condition of the landing module and the conditions on the Moon, whether it is…

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The race to the Moon is heating up with countries such as the USA, Russia, China, and India planning uncrewed and crewed missions. (NASA/USGS) News 

Competition to Reach the Moon Heats Up

Febin Mathew, , , , ,

The upcoming launch of Russia’s lunar lander on Friday is part of a global effort, involving major world powers as well as emerging participants, to return to the Moon. Technology, science, and politics are all essential factors in the Race for the Moon. Here’s the latest: – China’s Great Leap Forward – China plans to send a manned mission to the Moon by 2030 and plans to build a base there. The world’s second largest economy has invested billions of dollars in a military space program in an effort to…

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The company cited strong growth in all regions and among younger Gen Z listeners. (Dado Ruvic/REUTERS) News 

Gen Z listeners help Spotify exceed expectations

Febin Mathew, ,

Spotify Technology SA, the audio streaming platform from Sweden, exceeded analyst predictions in its second-quarter performance as the number of its active users surged by 27% to reach 551 million. The company cited strong growth across all regions and among younger Gen Z listeners. The number of premium subscribers increased by 17 percent to 220 million, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. That beat the 217.1 million average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Turnover, EUR 3.18 billion, fell slightly short of expectations. The company’s adjusted operating loss…

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Russia has enforced a ban on Apple iPhones and other Apple devices for government officials. (REUTERS) News 

Russian Officials Prohibited from Utilizing Apple iPhones

Adriana Marais,

Starting from July 17, Russia has implemented a ban on Apple iPhones and other Apple devices for government officials due to concerns about potential surveillance by the United States. The Federal Security Service (FSS) of the country has instructed thousands of officials to cease using iPhones and iPads, as stated by the Financial Times. Initially, this ban has been enforced at the trade ministry. Safety authorities support alternative devices Sources indicate that security officials from various ministries, especially FSS civilian employees such as deputy ministers, have expressed that iPhones are…

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Anthropic released a new version of its AI bot, named Claude. (AP) AI 

Anthropic Launches Updated Version of ChatGPT Competitor, Claude

Febin Mathew, ,

Anthropic, a startup specializing in artificial intelligence, has unveiled Claude, the latest iteration of its AI chatbot, which aims to be a more secure and reliable option. Anthropic said Claude 2 is available to anyone in the U.S. or U.K. online at claude.ai, and businesses can access it through an API. The new release on Tuesday comes several months after Anthropic began offering an earlier version of Claude to companies that wanted to add it to their products. The bot was previously tested by a handful of companies, including Quora…

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US prosecutors charged a Moroccan man with stealing $450,000 in cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens. (Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg) News 

Charges Filed After Primate Pilfers Products from Imitation OpenSea Site

Adriana Marais, ,

In 2021, a Moroccan man has been charged by US prosecutors for allegedly pilfering $450,000 worth of cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens, which included two Bored Apes. The charges stem from his alleged creation of a counterfeit version of the OpenSea digital marketplace. Soufiane Oulahyane, 25, set up a website to trick victims into revealing a seed phrase — a series of random words that unlock a crypto wallet — to gain access to real accounts on OpenSea, the largest marketplace for NFTs, the Justice Department said Monday. . The practice…

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The US might soon ban buying and selling of smartphone location data. (YouTube) News 

US to Impose Ban on Selling Smartphone Location Data for the First Time in History

Jim Hendler, ,

According to a report, the state of Massachusetts is on the verge of implementing a groundbreaking law that could have significant implications for the US and the global community. This law, which would be the first of its kind in the country, aims to heavily restrict the buying and selling of smartphone location data. By prohibiting entities from purchasing consumer location data obtained from smartphones, Massachusetts would be pioneering an unprecedented move to curtail a billion-dollar industry, marking a potential turning point for the nation. According to a report by…

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Federal judge declines to block Microsoft's $69 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard, stating that regulators failed to show serious harm to competition Gaming 

US Court Approves Microsoft-Activision USD 69 Billion Agreement

Adriana Marais, , ,

Microsoft has secured a significant win as a federal judge rejects attempts to halt its planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $69 billion. Regulators argued that the deal would negatively impact competition. U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said in her ruling that the merger merited review and noted that it could be the largest in the history of the technology industry. But federal regulators couldn’t show how it would cause serious harm, and likely wouldn’t if they put it to a full test, he wrote. The Federal Trade Commission,…

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Global hedge funds gained 2.2% in June as AI stocks surged and banking crisis eased. Equity hedge funds outperformed News 

June Gains of Global Hedge Funds Attributed to Artificial Intelligence: Report

Adarsh V.K,

According to data provider HFR, hedge funds worldwide experienced a 2.2% increase in June, driven by the rise of artificial intelligence-related stocks and the alleviation of the banking crisis. Throughout the first half of the year, hedge funds managed to generate a 3.45% return for their investors. “Hedge funds grew in June due to growth stocks and especially artificial intelligence. While these dynamic exposures led to gains, industry performance was strong across the board,” said Kenneth J. Heinz, President of HFR. Equity hedge funds, whose stocks are falling or rising,…

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Twitter accuses Meta Platforms of stealing trade secrets for Threads, but faces legal hurdles in potential lawsuit News 

Can Elon Musk’s Twitter Platform Show Evidence of Trade Secret Theft by Meta?

Jim Hendler, , ,

Twitter has accused Meta Platforms of stealing trade secrets to create its new microblogging site, potentially sparking a legal dispute between the two social media giants. However, experts believe that Twitter would face significant challenges if it decides to take legal action. In a letter sent on Wednesday, Twitter claimed that Meta utilized its trade secrets to develop Threads, its latest social media platform, and insisted that Meta cease using this information. Twitter said Meta had hired dozens of former Twitter employees, many of whom “improperly retained” equipment and documents…

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Threads hit the million users mark in just a matter of hours and has now surpassed the 30 million mark. Check out what Jack Dorsey has to say about the app. (REUTERS) News 

Jack Dorsey Criticizes Threads App for Requiring 14 Permissions on iPhones

Adarsh V.K, ,

Threads was launched yesterday in over 100 countries and quickly amassed over a million users within a few hours, surpassing 30 million shortly after. However, there are significant concerns regarding the app’s handling of user privacy, with former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey even criticizing it. In comparison, Twitter boasts over 200 million daily active users. Dorsey, who now runs Twitter competitor Bluesky, tweeted about Threads, saying, “All threads belong to us,” along with a screenshot of the app’s requested permissions. iPhone threads require different permissions, including health and fitness, which…

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The system, called OpenKylin, has been designed as a rival to the ubiquitous Windows and MacOS systems News 

China Introduces OpenKylin: A Domestic Alternative to US Windows and MacOS

Febin Mathew,

According to state media, China has introduced its inaugural domestically developed open-source computer operating system, aiming to decrease reliance on foreign technology amidst growing competition with the United States. The announcement of the new system came just before US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was due to land in Beijing on Thursday for a meeting with Chinese officials aimed in part at stabilizing relations between the world’s two leading economies. The system, called OpenKylin, is designed to compete with the ubiquitous Windows and MacOS systems. Earlier versions of the software had…

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An asteroid strike against Russia? That is what this expert is suggesting as US has done a lot of research on it including NASA's DART! Space 

Expert Claims US is Exploring Use of Asteroids as Offensive Weaponry

Febin Mathew, , ,

An expert from Russia has raised concerns about the possibility of the US using an asteroid as a weapon to attack Russia. Anatoly Zaitsev, a member of the Tsiolkovsky Cosmonautics Academy and CEO of the Planetary Protection Center, expressed his views on International Asteroid Day. Zaitsev suggested that the US and other nations might be disguising their development and testing of asteroid weapons as planetary protection systems. He shared these thoughts in an interview with news agency TASS. He claimed that kinetic, laser and even asteroid weapons were being tested…

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Microsoft has been fined 2.2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in the previous decade for practices in breach of EU competition rules News 

EU Antitrust Investigation of Microsoft Launched After Negotiations Stall: Report

Adriana Marais,

According to sources familiar with the matter, Microsoft is expected to undergo an antitrust investigation by the EU in the near future. Discussions aimed at finding a solution to avoid this investigation seem to have encountered a hurdle. Microsoft, which has been fined 2.2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) over the past decade for violating EU competition rules, including tying or bundling two or more products together, found itself in the EU’s crosshairs after a complaint by Salesforce-owned Workspace. Messaging app Slack in 2020. Microsoft added Teams to Office 365 in…

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The limit, imposed to ”address extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation”, is the latest change by Twitter News 

What Impact Does Twitter’s ‘Rate Limit Exceeded’ Have on Users?

Jim Hendler, ,

Elon Musk’s Twitter account has implemented a temporary restriction on the number of tweets users can view per day. This decision has faced criticism and may potentially hinder the platform’s ability to attract advertisers. The restriction, which is set to “address extreme data scraping and system manipulation,” is the latest change at Twitter, which Musk bought last year for $44 billion. What does the latest change mean and what are the alternatives for Twitter? How will the changes affect users? Users cannot view tweets without logging into the platform. Verified…

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Sweden's privacy protection agency, the IMY, said it had examined the use of Google Analytics by the firms following a complaint by a data privacy group News 

Sweden Worries Over Data Privacy as Google Analytics is Utilized

Adriana Marais, ,

Sweden has issued an order to four companies, instructing them to cease using a Google tool that assesses and examines internet traffic. The reason behind this directive is that the tool transfers personal information to the United States. Additionally, one of the companies has been fined an amount exceeding $1.1 million. Sweden’s data protection agency IMY said it had investigated the use of Google Analytics by companies after a complaint was filed by the Austrian data protection group noyb (not your company), which has filed dozens of complaints against Google…

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CEO Elon Musk has predicted that sales will grow about 50% per year for the near future News 

Tesla’s Q2 Sales Skyrocket, Surpassing Analysts’ Predictions

Jim Hendler, , ,

After implementing multiple price reductions on its four electric vehicle models and with the help of U.S. government tax credits, Tesla experienced an impressive 83% increase in second-quarter deliveries compared to the previous year. The Austin, Texas-based maker of electric vehicles, solar panels and batteries said on Sunday it sold a record 466,140 vehicles worldwide from April to June, nearly double the 254,695 it sold in the same period a year earlier. Most of the sales were Tesla’s popular Model 3 and Model Y versions. But the price cuts on…

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