The pink ball feels like a “heavy hockey ball” to Virat Kohli, who is extremely wary of the challenges its weight, hardness and colour could pose while fielding.

Indian cricket will finally embrace the pink revolution when Kohli’s formidable team lock horns with a deflated Bangladesh in their maiden Day/Night Test starting here on Friday.

“One thing that surprised me was the fielding sessions. In the slips balls hit so hard it almost felt like a heavy hockey ball, all those synthetic ball that we’re used to play with in the younger days,” Kohli said on the eve of the match.

“It’s purely because of the extra glaze on the ball, it is definitely much more harder. For some reason it felt heavy and even the throws took a lot more effort than the red colour to reach the wicketkeeper.”

India had their first brush with the SG pink ball after they wrapped up the opening Test inside three days in Indore. Read Complete Article

Shoppers will soon be able to work out the true carbon footprint of their purchases thanks to an app from one of the most digitally savvy nations in the world.

Unlike other carbon-footprint calculators already on the market, the application developed by Enfuce Financial Services Oy, a Finnish payment services provider, does not rely on users inputting the data manually. Instead, it combines data from credit cards and banks with purchase data from retailers to provide real-time calculations of how a given product affects the climate.

With an estimated 70% of carbon emissions globally attributed to end users, Enfuce chairman and co-founder Monika Liikamaa says the app will help people adapt their lifestyles and make them compatible with the goal of keeping global warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius. Read Complete Article

Amazon added a new device to its Echo lineup today in India. Called Echo Flex, the plug-in device is a multi-functional smart speaker.

The Amazon Echo Flex plugs directly into a standard electrical outlet and comes with built-in Alexa voice support that lets you control other smart home devices, the official release notes.

The smart speaker also comes with a USB-A port that allows you to charge a phone or other devices. The Amazon Echo Flex is available for pre-order starting today and will ship next month. It is priced at INR 2,999.

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Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram lander hard-landed as reduction in velocity during its descent was more than the designed parameters, the government said on Wednesday throwing more light on ISRO’s dashed hopes of making a soft landing on the lunar surface in its maiden attempt.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Jitendra Singh, the minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office, who looks after the department of space, said the first phase of descent was performed nominally from an altitude of 30 kms to 7.4 kms above the moon’s surface and velocity was reduced from 1,683 metres per second to 146 metres per second.

“During the second phase of descent, the reduction in velocity was more than the designed value. Due to this deviation, the initial conditions at the start of the fine braking phase were beyond the designed parameters. As a result, Vikram hard-landed within 500 metres of the designated landing site,” he said.

Singh, however, said most components of technology demonstration, including the launch, orbital critical maneuvers, lander separation, de-boost and rough braking phase were successfully accomplished. Read Complete Article

Digital tech major Wipro on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Oulu in Finland to collaborate in the areas of wireless communications in 5G/6G at GHz, THz and lightwave frequencies under the university’s 6G flagship programme.

The University of Oulu is an international science university, which focuses on innovation for the future, well-being, and knowledge through research and education.

“The new research partnership between Wipro and University of Oulu regarding 5G and 6G will boost innovation and is an excellent start for the mutually beneficial cooperation between Finland and Wipro,” said Timo Harakka, Minister of Employment at Finland’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

Kari Leppanen, Professor of Practice at the University of Oulu, said as the leader of world’s first major 6G research programme, 6G Flagship focuses on wireless communications leading to 6G technologies. “We look forward to targeted research initiatives with Wipro to enable future wireless end-to-end solutions for diverse end-user needs.” Read Complete Article

Lenovo India on Tuesday launched ThinkBook — a new sub-brand dedicated to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the country.

The company has made two additions to the ThinkBook sub-brand with the ThinkBook 14 and ThinkBook 15 which will be available in the first week of December at a starting price of Rs 30,990.

Backed by customer research, ThinkBook is specially designed for the SMBs, thus, providing a unique balance of premium metal design to appeal to the new workforce with business grade security and services.

“Our vision of smarter technology for all is a world where every person and business has access to technology that enables them to achieve their own intelligent transformation.

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Google has updated its My Devices page to add desktop computers.

As the official blog notes, the page now includes both mobile and desktop devices. Google will also redirect visitors to the new mydevices.google.com site.

The updated page continues to offer detailed device information and the options to manage device access and wipe the device if desired. The new My Devices page is being rolled out to everyone. Readmore

The Bihar School Examination Board or BSEB has released the Bihar Board 12th date sheet and BSEB 10th date sheet. The Bihar Board 10th examination will start from February 17, 2020 and the 12th board exams will be held from February 3, 2020.

The 12th and 10th board exams will be held in two shifts – from 9:30 am to 12:45 pm and then from 1:45 pm to 5 pm. To know the detail, students can visit the official website of BSEB, biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in.

Bihar Board 12th date sheet 2020

February 3: Morning shift – Physics; Afternoon shift – History, RB Hindi

February 4: Morning shift – Chemistry; Afternoon shift – Political Science, English

February 5: Morning shift – Biology, Afternoon shift – Economics, Foundation Course

February 6: Afternoon shift- Computer Science, Multi Media and Web Tech, Yoga and Physical Education

February 7: Morning shift – Mathematics, Afternoon shift – M.B, Vocational Trade-I

February 8: Morning shift – Agriculture, Music, Afternoon shift – Entrepreneurship, Geography

February 10: Morning shift – Language subject, Afternoon shift – Psychology, Vocational Trade-II

February 11: Afternoon shift – Philosophy, Vocational Trade- III

February 12: Morning shift – Language subject, Afternoon shift – Sociology, Business Studies, Related Subjects

February 13: Morning shift – Home Sciences, Economics, Afternoon shift – Accountancy

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South Korean tech giant Samsung is reportedly planning to introduce 8K video recording support to its upcoming smartphone Galaxy S11.

A new code in the APK file (the Android app software file) for Samsung’s camera app suggests that Galaxy S11 lineup would support 8K video recording, XDA Developers reported on Sunday.

The Exynos 990 chipset, which is expected to power the international variants of the device, features 8K@30fps video decoding/encoding capabilities.

Additionally, Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 865 chip, which will power the US variants of the S11, is also expected to have enough horsepower to offer 8K video recording.

Earlier, famed leakster Ice Universe had claimed that the Galaxy S11 would not use the 108MP ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor that it launched earlier this year, but would instead utilise an upgraded second-generation sensor. Read Complete Article

YouTube has announced prepaid plans for its music services in India.

Users will be able to purchase one-month or three-month prepaid plans for YouTube Premium and Music Premium in India, the official blog notes.

To sign-up for a prepaid plan, one can follow the sign-up instructions for a YouTube Premium or YouTube Music Premium membership, and select the required plan. The users will also be able to purchase additional top-ups for their membership.