Short-form video app TikTok has launched a new creative toolset called TikTok Effect Studio — currently in private beta testing — that will allow its own developer community to build augmented reality (AR) effects for the platform.

On a new website titled “Effect House,” TikTok is asking interested developers to sign up for early access to Effect Studio.

On the form provided, developers fill out their name, email, TikTok account info, company and level of experience with building for AR, as well as examples of their work, reports Engadget.

The website also asked if they are using a Mac or PC (presumably to gauge which desktop platform to prioritise), and whether they would test Effect House for work or for personal use.

The project was first spotted by social media consultant Matt Navarra, via a tip from Sam Schmir.

TikTok confirmed the tech website was launched earlier in August, but the project itself is still in the early stages of testing in only a few select markets, one of which is the US.

According to the report, the company could not offer a time frame as to when these tools would become more broadly available. Instead, TikTok characterized Effect Studio as an early “experiment,” adding that some of its experiments do not always make it to launch.

Plus, other experiments may undergo significant changes between their early beta phases and what later becomes a public product, the report said.

Read Complete Article

The capacity of data centre industry is expected to double by 2023 to over 1,000 MW to meet the rising demand amid sharp growth in digitalisation, according to property consultant JLL.

The industry’s capacity is expected to double from 499 MW in January-June 2021 to 1,008 MW by 2023, it added. MW indicates IT design power load.

The capacity expansion is “driven by strong digitalisation, rising cloud adoption and ambitious growth plans of data centre operators”, JLL India said in a statement.

JLL released its ‘H1 2021 India Data Centre Market Update’ on Tuesday.

Stating that acceleration of digitalisation has forced enterprises to scale up their IT infrastructure, the consultant said a strong demand for co-location/cloud facilities, which offer scalability, security, and connectivity at lower costs, has been witnessed across India.

Investors and global data centre players have increased their commitment during the last six months in the India market by announcing joint ventures to meet expected demand, it added.

“The demand momentum which picked up pace in 2020, continues to grow unabated. The Indian data centre industry witnessed 46.4 MW absorption during H1 2021 – equivalent to 90 per cent of supply addition during the period (H1 2021), indicating robust absorption growth,” said Rachit Mohan, Head, Data Centre Advisory-India; Co-Head, Office Leasing Advisory, Mumbai, JLL.

He said the demand has been growing rapidly on increased digital usage emerging from distributed workforce, growing data security concerns and business disruptions.

“Banking and financial services are adopting hybrid options to meet digital growth. Home-grown video and gaming platforms in midst of robust user growth are also fuelling the data centre industry demand. Furthermore, telecom players are formulating the rollout of 5G which is expected to drive exponential growth in data consumption, Mohan said.

Read Complete Article

Leading Wi-Fi solutions provider Netgear on Tuesday launched a new gaming router ‘Nighthawk XR1000 Pro Gaming Wi-Fi 6′ in the Indian market at a price point of Rs 31,999.

The XR1000 router operates with a Wi-Fi 6 speed of up to 5.4 Gbps and aims to enable a number of users to connect more devices simultaneously, without impacting speed or reliability, by efficiently packing and scheduling data.

Wi-Fi 6 operates with 4x increased capacity, which is faster than Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) system. One can also manage the XR1000 from their phone using the NETGEAR Nighthawk Mobile App for Android and iOS devices.

“Running on DumaOS 3.0, an operating system designed for gamers and streamers of all skill levels, the OS enables the router to stabilize ping, reducing lag spikes, and keeps the player in the game with reliable wired and wireless connectivity for fast-paced gaming and solid uploads for content creation,” the company said in a statement.

The router is powered by Triple Core 1.5Ghz Processor, the router can handle VR gaming, 4K streaming, and more.

It also comes loaded with Geo-Filter settings that help in selecting the best online connection for the games by filtering high-ping game servers. The router supports Four Wired Ethernet Ports which help you connect with PC, gaming consoles, and other devices at up to 1 Gbps wired speeds.

Read Complete Article

Apple on Wednesday announced that the American technology giant has integrated India’s Gaana and JioSaavn music streaming services to its HomePod mini smart speaker. Powered by Siri, the HomePod mini can now take voice command to stream content from these music services, besides Apple Music. However, the newly integrated music services need to be added to the HomePod mini. Here is how to do it:How to set-up Gaana and JioSaavn on the HomePod

Step 1: On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, open the app for your streaming service and go to the app settings. A subscription might be required for some streaming services.

Step 2: Tap the option to Connect with HomePod. 

Step 3: Follow the onscreen instructions to set-up music streaming services on the HomePod. How to choose a default music streaming service on the HomePod

Step 1: Open the Home app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. 

Step 2: Tap Home , go to Home Settings and choose the home that you want to edit.

Step 3: Tap your name under People.

Step 4: Tap Default Service under Media. Select the streaming service that you want to set as default. 

Step 5: To stream audio from other supported streaming services, just name the service when you ask Siri. 

Note: If Siri does not play your default streaming service after set-up, you might need to sign in as the Primary User. Open the Home app and press and hold the HomePod tile. Then scroll down, tap Primary User, and sign in with your Apple ID.

The Apple HomePod mini is available on Apple Store online and Apple authorised resellers in white and space grey colours for Rs 9,990.

Read Complete Article

OneWeb, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications company backed by Bharti, on Monday announced the launch of 34 satellites by Arianespace from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in southern Kazakhstan.

The latest launch brings the company’s total in-orbit constellation to 288 satellites. OneWeb said it is on track to commence service this year and deliver global service in 2022.

The move highlights the business momentum as the company prepares to introduce commercial service and focus on scaling to global service.

“Bharti-backed OneWeb, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications company, today confirmed the next successful launch of 34 satellites by Arianespace from the Baikonur Cosmodrome,” the statement said.

The satellites would form part of OneWeb’s 648 LEO satellite fleet that aim to deliver high-speed, low-latency global connectivity.

“OneWeb remains on track to deliver global service in 2022 and is seeing growing demand from telecommunications providers, ISPs, and governments worldwide to offer its low-latency, high-speed connectivity services to the hardest to reach places,” it said.

Since early 2021, OneWeb has announced distribution partnerships across various industries and businesses, most recently with Northwestel in Canada and BT in the UK.

OneWeb is fully-funded to deliver its constellation and take its satellites into commercial service, the statement informed.

Read Complete Article

American tech-giant Google is working on a new Android 12 accessibility feature to let users control their phone using facial expressions.

Mashable India quoted a report by XDADevelopers that says the ‘Camera Switches feature’, which is one of the accessibility services in the Android Accessibility Suite app, will support setting gestures to specific controls.

Smiling, opening the mouth, and looking out right, left, or down are reportedly the possible gestures, the app will include.

The corresponding camera actions include getting to the homepage, scrolling backward and forward, and selecting. The app will also allow the users to adjust the gesture size and duration.

As per The Verge, the new feature would require the device’s camera to be switched on, and Android 12-enabled devices will show a standing bar indicating the camera is getting used.

The feature will reportedly use an additional battery. It is currently in beta mode and is claimed to be convenient for users with disabilities.

Read Complete Article

Lenovo on Monday launched an upgraded IdeaPad Gaming 3i laptop, powered by Intel 11th Gen Core processors and the latest NVIDIA RTX 3050 GPU, at a starting price of Rs 89,990.

This entry-level and affordable gaming laptop is built for overall performance, and aptly fits the needs of young adults and students.

Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i goes on sale on August 24 on Amazon.in and Lenovo.com. It will soon be available on Flipkart.com and other offline channels.

“Boasting of an upgraded keyboard and thermal design, it is a reliable machine for daily tasks, essential gaming needs, and all round performance,” Dinesh Nair, Head of Consumer Business, Lenovo India said in a statement.

Lenovo said it will offer one-year of warranty, one-year of premium care support, and one-year of accidental damage protection services, bundled with this device.

In terms of specifications, the device offers up to Intel 11th Gen Core i7, and the latest NVIDIA RTX 3050 GPU with maximum TGP of 90W.

The device features a 15.6-inch FHD IPS display with three sided narrow bezel and a screen refresh rate of up to 120Hz.

It is equipped with the super tactile Lenovo TrueStrike Keyboard, featuring 1.5 mm key travel with backlighting, large arrow keys, a full size number pad and 22 per cent larger touchpad that gets the work done easily.

The IdeaPad Gaming 3i also features a 720P webcam with Trueblock Privacy Shutter for additional security, and a Military Grade certified chassis, which makes it an extremely tough and reliable device.

Read Complete Article

Samsungs latest mid-ranger — Galaxy M32 5G — will come in two variants and will be priced between Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000, industry sources said on Monday.

The smartphone will launch on August 25 and is likely to go on sale from September 2 in the country, sources told IANS.

The Galaxy M32 5G will be the second 5G-enabled phone in the budget M-series, after Galaxy M42 5G.

Under the hood, the device will Powered by Dimensity720 processor.

Galaxy M32 5G, Samsung’s second M Series 5G smartphone after Galaxy M42 5G, supports 12 5G bands to make consumers future ready for the coming 5G revolution.

Galaxy M32 5G will also get two years of the free OS upgrade.

Continuing with the USP of M Series, Galaxy M32 5G would come with a 5,000mAh battery.

It is expected to sport a 48MP quad camera setup and a 13MP selfie camera.

Galaxy M32 5G will also come with Samsung’s defense-grade Knox Security, making it one of the most secure smartphones in the mid-segment.

Galaxy M32 5G will be on sale on Samsung.com, Amazon.in and leading retail stores.

Read Complete Article

Two young men can proceed with a claim that Twitter Inc. benefited from sex trafficking involving them as teenagers when it published child pornography videos on its website, but they can’t pursue other claims, a federal court in California ruled.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act’s requirements for civil claims, including knowledge requirements, are less strict than those for criminal charges brought under the Act, Chief Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero said Thursday for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, allowing the benefit claim.

The remainder of the claims fail, either because the plaintiffs alleged them inadequately or because they’re blocked by the Communications Decency Act, he said.

Their product liability claim is distinguishable from one that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently allowed in a case against app maker Snap Inc. over a “speed filter” that allegedly led to a fatal car crash, Spero said. Unlike the speed filter, “the nature of the alleged design flaw in this case—and the harm that is alleged to flow from that flaw—is directly related to the posting of third-party content on Twitter,” he said. The CDA bars the product liability claim, he said.

The plaintiffs, who are suing under the pseudonyms John Doe #1 and John Doe #2, allege they were solicited at age 13 for sex trafficking and manipulated into providing pornographic videos of themselves to the trafficker, according to the court. Later, while they were in high school, links to the videos allegedly appeared on Twitter.

Twitter allegedly refused to remove the tweets when first informed of them. The posts were allegedly viewed more than 167,000 times.

Read Complete Article

India’s startup growth story racked up impressive numbers in the second quarter of 2021 (April-June). Apart from being the most funded quarter, it also saw the addition of the most number of unicorns. This report has been developed by Nasscom and PGA Labs to understand India’s tech startup landscape.

Unicorn ecosystem

• Total unicorns as of June 2021 – 53; 15 added in H1 and 11 Q2, 2021
• Tiger Global invested in 64% of the unicorns in Q2 2021
• CRED turned unicorn within just 29 months of its inception
• 6 unicorns have filed for IPOs, of which Zomato got listed
• More than 50% of funding was concentrated on 3 sectors: FinTech, FoodTech and Enterprise Tech

Growth-stage funding for B2C tech startups drives deal flows

• Deal split: B2C – 71%, B2B – 29%
• Series D & E together account for 45% of deal value
• B2B startups raised $1.9bn across 85 deals
• B2C startups raised $4.2bn across 75 deals
• Prominent investors: Elevation Capital, Sequoia Capital, 100x and Tiger Global

DeepTech deal flow

• 19% of deal volume catered to startups leveraging DeepTech solutions, as did 7% of Q2 2021 funding in value
• DeepTech startups raised $450mn across29 deals
• Sequoia Capital and WestBridge: Top two investors investing in AI and ML
• 22 deals across early stages in DeepTech startups

Read Complete Article