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Here is how you can turn off robocalls on your any Google Pixel phone

February 9, 2020, 8:00 pm
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If you are also wary of robocalls, then we have some good news for you. Google confirmed that it will be integrating a Call Screen feature in its Pixel units that will automatically block known robocalls based on Google’s database.

The feature was previously available in Google Pixel 4 devices. However, starting next week, Google will be rolling out an update in all Pixel models, whereas some Pixel 3 owners have already spotted the feature.

Robocalling is a marketing technique that most mobile phone owners dislike. According to the YouMail robocall index, approximately 4.7 billion robocalls were placed in the U.S. in January 2020. American mobile carriers such as AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint are also working on ways to prevent the automated calls but many times the phone calls get through in certain phones.

Apple has also added a similar feature in its iPhone, where phone calls from unknown numbers are automatically sent to address book. Unfortunately, this sometimes leads to ‘missed calls’ from numbers you have failed to save in the address book.

Google’s Call Screen feature will work in multiple ways. You can either opt for the Google Assistant to answer and deny the call for you or see who is calling and then decide to answer or refuse the call. Google will also, add the option to block anonymous calls even before they ring in the next few months.

To turn on the Call Screen on your Google Pixel, simply head over to the Phone app and tap on the Menu, located on the top right of the screen. From there go to Settings > Spam and Call Screen > Call Screen > Spam > Automatically screen. Decline Robocalls.

After that, go back to the previous screen, choose ‘Possibly faked numbers’ and select ‘Automatically screen. Decline Robocalls’ again.
The update is expected to roll out this week and if you are an owner of a Pixel phone, you will be able to screen calls soon. However, make sure that you have the latest Phone app from Google installed on your phone.

Google’s Pixel phones are not as mainstream as Apple iPhone and Samsung devices. Let’s hope innovative features like the call screen, which rely specifically on data by Google will make them more appealing to the consumer base.

Automatic call screening is coming to all Google Pixel devices

Read next: Google Maps is all set to surprise its users with new updates on its 15th birthday
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Apple’s New AR/VR Patent Could Change Video Forever

February 9, 2020, 10:00 pm
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Apple is a company that is typically know for the kind of phones and other hardware it makes but that doesn’t mean that the company hasn’t been looking into other forms of technology. One aspect of video recording that the tech giant has been looking into is AR as well as VR, with multi angle playback in particular being the sort of thing that can greatly improve your chances of making the most of the video that you are watching especially when that video has something or the other to do with sports and the like.

When it comes to things like VR and AR, Apple knows the kind of applications it can have especially in the field of sports viewing. Watching sports is a favorite pastime for a lot of people all in all, and a big part of the reason why this is the case has to do with the modern technology that lets us watch games even after they are done. The fact of the matter is that right now the only way you can watch things like this is by looking into the various ways in which two dimensional videos can service you, but with the new patent Apple is filing it seems obvious that the company is trying to change the paradigm associated with sports viewing.

You see, most people would agree that when it comes to sports you want multiple angles so that you can get a better idea of how the game was played. This means that Apple’s new patent, if implemented, could serve sports fans quite well, and could allow the company to rise above countless competitors by providing a sports viewing experience that is far greater than anything else we have seen previously, and it will be exciting to see where things go from here.



Read next: Apple engineers want to make two-factor authentication easier
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PC Monitor's Brightness Can Now Be Used To Steal Data

February 10, 2020, 1:00 am
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There are many creative ways to steal data from computers even without network connection or using the old physical theft tactics. Despite all the ways, the latest way of stealing data from “air-gapped” computers through the brightness of LCD, is probably the cleverest of all.

Compromised computer relay imperceptible changes in the RGB color values of LCD are detected using the camera-equipped device. Theoretically trick the target to load malware on the system through a USB and then to transfer the information, the nearest hijacking security cameras are used.

This does not mean anyone reading login details through a window or anywhere near can breach your security. The data thief would have to breathe the targeted computer and then have access to cameras that are to be controlled live.

This approach can especially be helpful for intelligence agencies when they perform Stuxnet-style intrusions. It is not possible for an attacker to read data from your computer’s screen by just sitting outside your home.

However, extremely secure facilities are placed that should be taken into consideration before planning anything. As putting cameras behind air-gapped computers is not as easy as it might seem.



Source: ACSRL.
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Good News! iPhone Users Can Now Google With Siri

February 10, 2020, 3:00 am
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Now, iPhone users can use their Siri voice assistant to search on Google. The new update in the Google app for iOS enables users to search through Siri by using Apple’s Shortcuts app.

Apple’s Shortcuts app is available in the iPhones, but if not there, users can download it for free from the Apple Store.

Here’s how you can set up the Siri shortcut for the Google App.
  • Update Google’s App
  • Open the Shortcuts app and create a new shortcut
  • Now, click on +Add Action
  • Type Google in the search bar to add it in the compatible apps
  • Choose a voice command action, such as ‘Search Google’
  • Tap on Done
You can easily search for anything on Google through Siri without any hassle.

However, if you are fond of listening to Siri’s voice when it shows you the answers, here’s the bad news for you – Siri will no longer read the answers to you.

It might be a little surprising, but the user will be getting more than just a voice read-over. Update your Google App and search all your queries in a simple manner.



Read next: Google Chrome will soon put an end to disruptive ads during video content
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TikTok Continues Roll Out for Web Based Upload

February 10, 2020, 6:00 am
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TikTok is one of the biggest apps to have come out in the last couple of years and it is set to make an even bigger mark on the internet and social media in this decade. Part of the expansion plan will undoubtedly mean establishing an audience in a lot more countries than might currently have the app on offer. The fact of the matter is that without looking into the numerous ways in which they can expand beyond this simple technique, TikTok would most certainly not be able to maintain the current level of success that they have managed to obtain all in all.

One thing that TikTok had to focus on was diversifying the range of applications that can be used in order to make sure that users can utilize their platform, and one really important way in which they were doing this was by working on a web browsing experience. For the past month and a half TikTok has slowly been rolling out a web based browsing experience that would allow you at the very least to upload certain videos onto the platform without having to worry all that much about having an app.

This is important because of the fact that pretty much every social media platform except for Snapchat has a web based browsing experience (particularly in terms of content management) that users and community managers can take advantage of, and this is the very thing that would end up making it easier for them to keep coming back to the platform. It also would lay the groundwork for progressive web apps in the future, something that would further make it easier for the average TikTok user to get the most out of their favorite platform. Some would say that this is short sighted though, since Snapchat’s decision to stick to a mobile app has resulted in a highly exclusive experience that can’t be obtained anywhere else.

Read next: TikTok is Expected To Introduce Instagram-Like Profile Redesign
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Is Silicon Valley Still A Best Place for Tech Startups? Mark Zuckerberg Has The Answer

February 10, 2020, 10:00 am
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Many entrepreneurs are planning to follow the footsteps of Mark Zuckerberg and are considering to move to Silicon Valley to work on their startups but the CEO world's most popular social media platform does not suggest the same.

Recently, in an interview at a conference in Utah, CEO of Facebook said if he had to launch a new company, he would not launch in San Francisco Bay Area even though it is the tech capital of America as all tech giants like Apple, Google, and Facebook.

While clarifying his point, Zuckerberg said though he likes the Bay Area but if he had to start from scratch, we would not prefer Bay Area for his startup venture.

Mark Zuckerberg’s remarks have come out as a surprise. His success story started from that area but there is already a heated debate going on about the costly living, unequal incomes and other dysfunctions in the area.

He moved to Silicon Valley when he was only 19 years old and had no idea about how to establish a company. Back then, the tools for building a company were not as developed as they are now.

Companies can now easily look for their targeted audience through social media and with Amazon Web Services, they can add new servers to new apps and websites easily by just renting capacity.

Initially, it was difficult for Zuckerberg to get servers and data centers that were required to establish Facebook. Finding capital itself was a huge struggle and thus, he had to switch to Silicon Valley to meet his needs. At one point, he literally felt like nothing will be possible.

With time, many things have changed and there are now new options for startups to start with.
According to Mark Zuckerberg, times have changed and the current infrastructure allows people to do their work at different places than just one specific. Going out of Silicon Valley is now not only easier and also beneficial.

Establishing a company in mono-culture, where there is a number of like-minded people, it is difficult to bring diversity in your work. Silicon Valley is an all-tech town and there are little chances of finding people who think differently than you do.

Zuckerberg is the most high profile and the recent person who has raised questions about the role of Silicon Valley in the tech world. Before this Reddit co-founder, Alexis Ohanian also talked about how people in their right mind will not base their startups only in San Francisco as the place has increasingly become expensive over time and it might not be easier to manage the living cost let alone managing business and recruiting talent.



Read next: 21 Places Offering Business Freebies for Your Startup (infographic)

Photo: Samuel Corum via Getty Images
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Fakebook: The story of forged Facebook accounts

February 10, 2020, 1:00 pm
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Facebook recently released its Q4 2019 report, where they acknowledged reaching around 2.5 billion monthly user base. This figure is 2% more from the 2.45 billion recorded during the Q3 of 2019. Their count for daily active users also reached 1.66 billion, also up 2% from the 1.62 billion in the third quarter of 2019.

When it came to revenue, Facebook’s growth has slowed down. According to reports, the net income was only $7.3 billion, with 7% year-over-year growth. This number is significantly lower when compared to the 61% growth observed during the year of 2018.

Apart from the revenue and user figures, Facebook also highlighted the number of fake and duplicate accounts hosted on the social media platform. In quarterly report, the social media estimated that the proportion of duplicate accounts is around 11% of the total monthly active users. This means that approximately 275 million profiles (out of 2.5 billion monthly active users) on Facebook are duplicated or copied.

Additionally, the social media giant said that around 5% or 137 million user profiles on their platform can be considered false or misclassified. However, judging from the chart below, the numbers have not changed since the year 2018, signifying Facebook’s effort to control the spread of such profiles.
As always, the company admitted to be working on more ways towards limiting such profiles and using advanced methods to eliminate them from their database. Mark Zuckerberg also claimed that his company is investing heavily on combating hate speech, election, and filtering out ‘inappropriate’ content. In fact, this has led the company’s expenses to increase whilst the profits shrink.

Of course, recent privacy issues, news of penalties with the regulatory authorities, and integrating political ads in their network have also contributed to the low revenue for Facebook. Let’s hope the company resolves the issues during the year 2020 and comes back with its full potential.

16 Percent of All Active Facebook Accounts Are Fake or Duplicates

Read next: Sorry Windows users, Facebook is discontinuing its Microsoft Store App by the end of February
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Report Shows Freelancers Have The Highest Average Hourly Rate, But There Is Much More To It

February 10, 2020, 4:00 pm
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With all the technological advancements and shifting of work paradigms, there is a widespread understanding that the freelance economy is on the rise. People are preferring to work independently in order to balance their work and personal life in a better way, along with the fact that social media and online market places are giving them the opportunity to sell their work in a better way.

But with all being said, what is the current situation of the freelance market? To provide an in-depth analysis of the situation, Payoneer has come up with Freelance Income Report for 2020 and the key findings definitely include some of the very interesting insights that gives hope to budding freelancers as well.

Starting off with the earnings, freelancers around the world on average charge $21 per hour. This figure is way above the average hourly rate for salaried class and also is an increment over the hourly rate of $19 back in 2017. However, just like any other industry, the rates also vary according to the level of experience that a freelancer possesses. For instance, people who have spent years in a particular field and are now working independently at the age of 55 tend to earn more than their fellow freelancers who are just 18-24.



If you are wondering about knowing the fortunate people who earn this handsome amount, then almost 70% of the freelancers are under the age of 35, whereas 21% fall below the age group of 25. Deep diving into the statistics further, almost 82% of the young freelancers (under the age of 35), who were also respondents, have emerged from Asia and then comes North America with 47%.

But with all the money involved - and considering how workers prefer to go freelance at the start and end of their careers, no one really likes to commit to doing online work for a long time. Being a freelancer comes with its own risk of not getting stable paycheck all the time and job security, which eventually makes the workers shift to the corporate world in order to afford their lifestyle easily and families later.
These other factors also lead us to how committed a freelancer is, as those who work hard get a good hourly rate and remain content with their lifestyle. However, then again the perks of working independently doesn’t always mean that the freelancers experience the highest job-to-income satisfaction too.

"Till today, the gender pay gap remains a debated issue, especially within the freelance community.", claimed report.



A lot of freelancers do web and graphic designing work, followed by programming and IT, but since the market is very much saturated, most of the freelancers don’t get paid well. Hence, as contrary to that, professionals in administrative roles have the highest level of income satisfaction even with the lowest average hourly rate.



Two other major positives to come out of the report were; freelance earnings have nothing to do with whether the person is a graduate and how women have actively participated over the years more with female freelancers earning an average of 84% of men’s total income across all fields of freelancing.

For more details, you can go through the report here. But with all the statistics, highs and lows of the freelancing world, it all depends on you how you drive your career by working for others independently.

Read next: Front End Engineer, Java Developer, Data Scientist: These Are The Best Job Roles in America for 2020
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Is Pinterest planning to remove Facebook Messenger from its sharing option?

February 10, 2020, 8:00 pm
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Social media networks competing and copying each other’s top-ranking features is a common protocol of the industry. Whether it’s Instagram going for Snapchat’s Stories or Facebook ripping off Twitter’s Vine by integrating videos – we have seen it all.

However, we sense a new battle heating up as Pinterest may remove Facebook Messenger from its sharing option. This news was revealed by reverse engineering specialist, Jane Manchun Wong on her official Twitter handle.

Although no other description was available with her claim, Twitteratis did respond with exasperation and called it a weird move. One Twitter user also said that this was the start of ‘Social Wars 2020.’

As of this writing, Pinterest has made no official announcement regarding Wong’s findings. So just like any other discovery by Jane, we have to wait for confirmation from the relevant network.

A new feature: In a separate tweet, Jane shared the possibility of a new ‘Story Pin Templates’ that Pinterest is working on – exclusively for Android users. According to her tweet, the updated UI will give users the ability to change layout and color of the captions that they include with their pins.
Pinterest for Android is working on Story Pin Templates, and the ability to change layout and color of the caption

Read next: Pinterest Tests A Today Tab For Handpicked Trends
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Instagram Will Soon Bring Video Trimming Tool For Stories and A Separate Support Request Section

February 10, 2020, 10:59 pm
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Can you trust Instagram for making the user experience great all the time? Well, the answer would most probably be yes because as the company is owned by the social media giant Facebook, the developments tend to go one step further all the time.

Continuing with the innovation, Instagram this time aims to make life easier for people who love to put Stories in the form of creative short videos. Hence as per the latest changes, users will now also get the video trimming option to cut where required.

First revealed by Jane Manchun Wong, the video trimming tool can be easily accessed within the Stories window. It has been a feature that was not only long due but can also save a lot of time for creators who had to do it manually prior to its introduction.


Photo courtesy of Jane Manchun Wong / Twitter

While Instagram wants to make creating Stories even more fun for its users, one of Jane’s followers passed an interesting remark about Instagram deciding to include the trimmer, stating that the platform is trying to become more and more like TikTok.

However, if we look at the brighter side, this subtle imitation is leading great engagement for Instagram as looking at the benefit of the new tool, it can turn out to be so useful for all the Insta-freaks and yet don’t get the chance to record a perfect clip at one go. Previously they had to compromise on the unnecessary part, but with the trimming option, they can make their videos much more effective and engaging now.
Moreover, that’s not the only news coming from Instagram’s headquarter as within a span of just few hours there was another screenshot shared by Jane which shows that Instagram is also planning to launch in-app Support Requests to let users manage and see the results of content/profiles that they report on and off.


Screenshot: Jane Manchun Wong / Twitter

Lately, Instagram has been becoming more strict about the content policies along with its parent company, Facebook. Therefore, the Support Request section serves to be one more sign that the company not only takes reports seriously but wants you to be completely informed about the results of what offended you or if you have posted something that stands unacceptable.

Read next: Clean up your follows easily on Instagram, thanks to the new update
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Facebook Might Still Be the Social Media of Choice for Younger People

February 11, 2020, 3:00 am
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About a decade ago, Facebook was seen as a definitive sign of the times. If there was one thing that pretty much all adults associated with the younger generation, it was the fact that all the kids were using Facebook at the time even though a lot of adults were using the platform on a day to day basis as well.

As time went on and newer social media platforms started to pop up, a lot of people started to speculate that Facebook was not the platform of choice for young people anymore. With platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat beginning to capture the consciousness of Gen Z, which became the definitive market for any social media platform to aim to capture in the previous decade, Facebook it seemed was beginning to become a lot less popular than it might have been otherwise.

However, recent data that was collected by UK based company Ofcom seems to indicate that Facebook is still going as strong as ever. The study involved a survey that asked questions of around 2,300 people in the UK which included children between the ages of five and fifteen as well as their parents. The main thing that was discovered was that teenagers on average used Facebook just a bit more than they used other platforms.

Around 69% of teenagers who participated in the survey said that they use Facebook on a daily basis, compared to 68% saying they use Snapchat and 66% saying they use Instagram. Now, this isn’t a big difference, but Snapchat has been a thorn in Facebook’s side for quite some time now when it comes to the younger generation, but with Instagram being Facebook owned this creates a unique competition for who would end up at the top spot and who would be coming up just behind.

While, another report from 5WPublicRelations, which is based on 1000 adults from United States, reveals that Facebook still dominates across all age groups, however, the social network is most popular among 18-34 year-old age bracket.
Social Influencers or Socially Influenced? - chart

Read next: Has Social Media Really Been Our Worst Enemy?

Hat Tip: Socialmediatoday.
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How to grab users’ attention with your website

February 11, 2020, 3:10 am
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Have you ever looked at your website’s stats and been amazed by how many people visit, but how few sticks around? Most people have limited attention spans and browse the internet quickly. In fact, unless you manage to grab their attention in 15 seconds, they’ll probably be gone forever. In this highly competitive digital marketplace, it’s crucial that you spend some time making your website stand out from the crowd. Here are some tips on how to optimize your home page’s design and content for a website that grabs and holds your viewers’ attention.

Clear, crisp design

The way your website looks is the first thing your visitors will notice. People make most of their decisions about the trustworthiness and credibility of a brand based on appearances. If your website looks dated or poorly designed, most viewers will assume the product and the content is also subpar. If you aren’t a graphic designer, it’s worth getting help with your new website to make sure it looks the part.

Easy to navigate

If your users need to spend more than a few seconds finding the page they want, they will become annoyed and will move on. Make sure that your website’s navigation is easy to find and use. This means placing it at the top of the page and using crystal clear text to explain where each link leads. Try not to use clever, coded words - say “about us” rather than “the crew”, for example.

Fast loading times

If your home page takes ages to load, your new visitors will give up before they even see your beautiful landing page. 53% of users will leave a website that doesn’t load in 3 seconds. Google also takes loading times into consideration, so if your website is slow, your SEO ranking will suffer.

Concise, punchy content

While your website may look fantastic, if the content is bland, or even worse, vague, your users will lose interest. The home page should clearly state what your website sells or does so your users know what they’re looking at. If you have a blog, make sure the posts are relevant, timely and well-written. No one wants to read something they’ve read before.

Appeal to your target audience

Knowing your target audience is essential to creating an appealing website. For instance, if your target audience is young moms, you’ll want your design and content to appeal to them. This means choosing the right colors and using the right tone of voice. These decisions will be very different if you’re trying to appeal to middle-aged motorcycle enthusiasts.

Optimize for mobile users

Most people these days browse the internet on their phones or tablets. If your website looks great on a desktop but is ugly on a mobile phone, you’ll lose a huge percentage of potential users. In fact, 58% of website visits are made on a mobile device. Make sure your website looks great on any device to reduce your bounce rate and retain viewers.



Read next: Analysis of 450K Websites Reveals How World's Most Popular Websites Acquire Their Visitors
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Mobile carriers can collect more personal information than we think

February 11, 2020, 7:00 am
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We are all aware of our mobile phone carrier’s abilities to track our phones based on our last location. However, Australian authorities went a little more advanced to find out the exact visited locations of a couple who stayed their country from Wuhan.

Hailing from China, the coronavirus epidemic is on the rise and health experts all over the world are in search of a treatment plan that can minimize the effects of this deadly disease. Countries around the world are also restricting travel to and from China to avoid the spread of the contagious illness from travelers.

Unfortunately, a couple traveling from Wuhan China to Australia was diagnosed with the coronavirus. And to find out where precisely the two have been in the country, Australian authorities turned to a phone tracking system that is usually limited to track criminals.

This protocol was used by the Aussie government to find out if there were any other Australians who had been exposed to coronavirus through the couple. However, this made us wonder how much information our mobile network operators are able to collect?

According to Wikipedia, a majority of countries – including Australia allow telecommunication service providers to store metadata from 6 months to around two years. Through this data, the mobile carriers are able to determine both – past and the current location of a device, without having physical access.

But did you know, that mobile carriers and apps can also collect other information, based on just your phone number. This includes:

· The location of the device, when you make calls

· The contacts you communicated with along with the date, time, and duration

· The contacts that call you

· The contact that you send a message to along with the location of your device

· The email address you use

· The date and time of the emails you receive or send

· The size of the attachments in these emails and the used file formats

· The IP address of the internet connection

· The location where the phone connects to a cell tower

· The unique identifier number linked with the phone

On the other hand, the phone companies don’t log sensitive information such as:

· The content of the message

· The content of the email

· Phone calls

In the majority of the countries, all the information, described above is used to track criminals. Some authorities also issue a warrant to access the information. However, this can also be used easily to create a persona of the mobile user and track their location and activities quiet accurately.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!



Read next: You are being tracked 24/7 by many applications and there’s nothing you can do about it
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Artificial Intelligence Allows Improving The Quality Of 19th Century Video Clip, Here's How!

February 11, 2020, 10:00 am
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In 1896, a silent film of 50 seconds, L’Arrivee d’un train en gare de La Ciotat, was released and many of the viewers ran away thinking the train in the film would come out of the screen and run over them. Even though it was a blurry and low-quality film, still people perceived it to be real.

Eyeballs of them would have popped out if they had seen the new AI-enhanced version, released by Denis Shiryaev with better quality.

Publicly available enhancement programs, DAIN and Gigapixel AI of Topaz Labs were used by Denis Shiryaev to covert the low-quality film into a 4K 60FPS clip. The proprietary interpolation algorithm is used by Gigapixel AI to analyze and recognize the details and structure of an image and then give it a final look.

Topaz has trained AI to sharpen and clear images that even after enlarging it by 600 percent, remains clear. Whereas, DAIN add frames in between the keyframes of the video clip, the same as the motion smoothing feature on 4K TVs. Enough frames are added by DAIN to increase the rate of the film to 60 FPS.

Since the first high definition television in the market, these have played a vital role in broadcast entertainment and uplifting the technology. The resolution of HD televisions is six times the resolution of SD. Standard definition televisions have a 720x480 resolution, 345,600 pixels in total whereas high definition televisions display 1920x1080 or at 2,073,600 pixels. On the other hand, 4K has a resolution of 3840x2160, which means 8,294,400 pixels.

To enlarge the HD image to fit on a 4K screen, 6 million pixels need to be added. The interpolation process comes when the upscaler look where to fit an extra pixel display. It analyses what the pixel should display, depending upon what the nearby pixels are showing. It can be measured in several different ways.
The “Nearest neighbor” method is used in which blank pixels are filled with the same color as the nearest pixel. It gives effective results but pixelated to some extent. Bilinear interpolation involves more processing, allowing the TV to identify every blank pixel based on the nearest neighbor pixel, creates gradient and sharpens the image.

Whereas, Bicubic interpolation analyze the nearest 16 neighbors, giving accurate colors to image but makes it blur.

Deep convolutional neural networks are used by programs like DAIN that analyze and place the filler images in the existing frames of video clips.

The results of images may not be as impressive as one of the video producer Chris Schodt noticed several visual artifacts. According to him, it looks better in YouTube-sized pieces but playing on the large screen shows the edges of objects in an image are not defined and look a little apart.

Though there are some deficiencies but techniques used by Shiryaev can be beneficial and could lead to tempting opportunities.



Read next: Google-owned Jigsaw comes up with a tool to spot fake and tampered images
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8 Facebook trends you need to know in 2020

February 11, 2020, 1:00 pm
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The year 2020 is anticipated to be an interesting year for Facebook. Political ads, recurring data privacy issues, and scrutiny from the regulatory bodies – the social media network will continue to face all.

However, CEO Mark Zuckerberg also plans to shift his focus from all the criticism he is addressed to and integrate several new innovations to his brainchild. For starters, we can expect to see ‘FB5,’ the fifth redesign of Facebook rollout fully in a couple of months. Libra, the cryptocurrency project by Facebook is also launching in the summers of 2020 while advancements in augmented and virtual reality to keep FB’s operations seamless is also under development.

As we said before, the first year of the new decade will be an interesting one and we have all the news. So without further ado, let’s take a look at the top 8 Facebook trends to watch out for in 2020.

1. More focus on private channels

During the F8 developer’s conference last year, Mark Zuckerberg emphasized the need to prioritize ‘private channels’ such as Instagram, Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, and Facebook Groups. He said that in the next five years, we can expect digital interactions to evolve significantly and thus, securing private interactions and building smaller communities becomes apparent.

2. Groups in the center

The fifth redesign of Facebook is ready to roll out and as per the showcasing of FB5, the Facebook Groups will be at the core center of the platform. This will make it easier for the users to access and find the groups of their preference. It will also feature a personalized feed so group members can be more updated with its activity.

Support for the group will also be introduced with the new layout. For example, members of Health-related groups will be able to ask sensitive information anonymously while Gaming groups would allow threads for different topics.

3. Pivot to desktop

While mobile remains the most-used medium for apps like Messenger, Facebook plans to revive the era of desktop as well.

During their annual F8 developer’s conference, Mark Zuckerberg announced a desktop app for Messenger. According to news sources, the app will function just like the mobile app and will include group video calls among other integrations.

Facebook-owned Instagram is also planning to test Direct Messages on its web-based app.

4. No more likes?

Last year, Facebook confirmed that it would test hiding the like counter in Australia. Instagram also followed the protocol and gradually started to conceal the number of likes on member’s posts.

As of yet, it is too early to say whether the upcoming trend to hide the like counter will work for the leading social media platforms. However, influencers and marketers are apprehensive about the tactic and only time will tell how it affects their engagement.

5. Ads via AR and VR

Facebook is working on innovative ways to allow advertisers to integrate AR and VR in their posting. Since September 2019, it enabled the Spark AR Studios that allowed advertisers to create and publish their own AR effects.

AR Shopping is also becoming popular with MAC Cosmetics leveraging to its maximum potential by allowing visitors to ‘virtually’ try on the lipstick shades before making a purchase.

6. Continuous rise of chatbots

Facebook claims to have over 100,000 chatbots providing consumer service on Messenger. These bots are not only capable of answering basic queries but can also offer automated interactions to increase sales.

In the year 2020, the trend will continue to develop and platforms businesses and marketers will employ more chatbots to decrease the manual work.

7. Ad-targeting

After the implementation of GDPR, Facebook and other tech giants were forced to make changes to its ad-targeting policy. Media also played a pivotal role in creating awareness and led many users to opt-out of letting Facebook use their data for ad-targeting.

Since users will now have more control of the data they share with Facebook, there would be less information available to the marketers for targeting.

Facebook is facing severe scrutiny over political ads and content shared by the candidates. While several other tech companies have announced a ban of political ads, Mark Zuckerberg says that he will continue to show the election-related content in lieu of democracy.

However, they have provided more controls for the political pages and ads. Facebook also claims to enhance its fact-checking policy for transparency.

8. Launch of Libra

Rumors surrounding Libra, Facebook’s cryptocurrency project has been making the news for some months. If development continues seamlessly, Facebook will launch the digital wallet for its cryptocurrency by the summer. The same will be available with Messenger, Whatsapp and as a standalone app.

Unfortunately, major U.S. payment gateways such as PayPal, Visa, MasterCard and Stripe have dropped out of the Libra project. Critics believe that Facebook does not have a solid plan for the launch of Libra.

All we can do is wait and see if the global cryptocurrency project along with the other Facebook trends mentioned in this article falls through successfully or not!

8 Facebook trends you need to know in 2020

Read next: 16 Percent of All Active Facebook Accounts Are Fake and Duplicates
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Facebook Messenger has Rolled out an Update that Determines who can Reach your Chats List!

February 11, 2020, 5:30 pm
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Facebook is at it again. The king of social media doesn’t need any introduction whatsoever. In less than 2 decades, it has amassed over two billion users and the numbers are all set to increase over the coming years. One of the main reasons why Facebook has managed to sit on the throne for so long is that it continues to evolve with time and keeps things fresh.

Well, today isn’t any different either. A couple of days ago, renowned social media consultant Matt Navarra tweeted about a new addition to Facebook Messenger. The addition we are referring to is a new “Messaging settings” option.

Navarra also shared a screenshot with his tweet to give us a better idea about this new option. From the looks of it, “Messaging settings” will be accessed from “Preferences”. The settings in question will allow you to choose whether people who have your phone number can reach your chats list or not.

As for now, Facebook allows messages from friends to directly reach the chats list. Messages that are not from friends, on the other hand, enter “Requests” directly. It will be interesting to see the impact of the new settings on how Messenger operates.

If you are a user of Messenger and have your App updated to its latest version, you can check if you can access “Messaging settings”. Stay tuned for any potential updates on this story.



Read next: Facebook now Allows you to Adjust Your "Active Status" Settings, Messenger App Getting a "Face ID" Feature?
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YouTube Analytics Dashboard updated with a new video level notification metric

February 11, 2020, 10:00 pm
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In the summer of 2019, YouTube announced the introduction of ‘notification metrics in Analytics.’ According to the official statement by the Google-owned platform, the updated analytics feature would help creators assess the percentage of subscribers that are set up for notifications from their channels.

The metrics are starting to roll out today and YouTube asserts that the feature will be available to all creators within the next few weeks. Here are some of the key metrics that will be part of the updated analytics for YouTube creators.

· Bell notification sends: This will signify the number of notifications sent based on the number of subscribers that turned on YouTube notifications through the bell icon on their device.



· Views from bell notifications: The feature will notify the creators about the number of views that is generated from bell notifications.

· CTR for bell notifications: The click-through-rate (CTR) of bell notifications.

· Breakdown of the type of notifications: This will include bell notifications, email and other app notifications for the specific channels.
Here, it should be noted that most videos on YouTube receive 100% bell notifications. However, there are some limitations that include:
  • YouTube’s restriction of bell notification after 3 videos in a 24-hour period. This means that if you publish more than three videos in one day, YouTube will automatically turn off the bell as ‘too many’ notifications may disrupt the user.
  • Publishing videos in bulk. If you upload multiple videos altogether, YouTube stops notification for all the videos.
  • Creator choosing not to notify subscribers.
  • Creator setting the video to private/unlisted.
As mentioned above, the metrics will be rolling out to worldwide creators in a couple of weeks. If you are a creator and have received the upgrade, let us know your experience in the comments section below!

Related: YouTube’s Older Web Interface Will Be Switched To Latest Desktop Version in the Coming March

Featured photo: Olly Curtis/Future / Getty Images
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The Truth About VPNs: Here's How They Can Protect Your Data Online in 2020

February 12, 2020, 12:00 am
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One of the most effective ways to protect yourself online is through the use of a virtual private network, or VPN. The ultimate goal for many people using a VPN is to rest easy knowing the virtual transmission of sensitive company or personal data is done so safely and securely.

In a new study conducted by TheBestVPN, the company tested participants on their knowledge about VPNs and discovered the top privacy concerns behind virtual private network usage.

What exactly is a VPN? A virtual private network provides users with a higher degree of protection and privacy when online. By routing your online activity through specialized servers and encrypting your data, VPNs hide online activity and protect consumers from the many dangers of the internet, including hackers, identity theft, and much more.

Debunking Myths

According to the study, more than 1 in 4 people believed virtual private networks are difficult to use; however, many thought this because they’ve been exposed to various myths about VPNs. While extremely tech-savvy people were more likely to identify a higher percentage of VPN myths than those considering themselves technology newbies, 90% of people were able to identify the myth that VPNs are all the same. VPNs are, in fact, not the same and differ based on your connectivity needs and demands.

Whether you use VPNs for personal protection, entertainment, or business, it’s vital to understand the technology’s capabilities and recognize fallacies.

The Truth About VPNs: Here's How They Can Protect Your Data Online in 2020
Debunking Myths about VPNs

Unfortunately, about 1 in 4 people did not know why VPNs are used and were unable to confidently confirm their role in encrypting data and hiding IP addresses. More than a third of consumers thought VPNs make them completely invisible and anonymous online, despite this not being true.

Along similar lines, 65% of consumers falsely believed you have to pay for a VPN to reap the benefits of a private network. While there are free VPNs available, it’s important to note that they are more prone to malware and could present a greater risk.

Top Privacy Concerns

Cybersecurity threats and concerns have become increasingly common in today’s digital world. In fact, data breaches happen so often that it’s difficult to keep count.

One of the largest data breaches involved Yahoo. In 2016, Yahoo announced it had fallen victim to a data breach in 2014. The cyberattack compromised the real names, email addresses, dates of birth, and telephone numbers of 500 million users. A few months later, Yahoo revealed that a different group of hackers had compromised 1 billion accounts in 2013. However, in 2017, Yahoo amended its previous estimates and said all 3 billion of its user accounts had been compromised.

Another notable data breach happened just a few years later involving Marriott International. In the final months of 2018, Marriott announced that hackers had seized the personal data of approximately 500 million customers.

The cyberattackers infiltrated Marriott’s system in 2016, remained there for two years, and were not discovered until September of 2018. The hackers were able to steal passport numbers, Starwood Preferred Guest numbers, travel information, along with other personal information, such as credit card numbers.

Experts predict that cyberattacks will only continue to increase in frequency and scope in the near future.

So, what are the greatest online threats for the coming year? Common predictions include more targeted ransomware, more ways to attack the cloud, and an explosion of problems with fake technology. However, there are several disagreements on the most important cyberthreats that could 2020, but most experts agree that cybersecurity is more important than ever before.

There are many reasons why consumers elect to use a VPN, but based on the frequency of data breaches, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the top reason is to boost security. In fact, TheBestVPN discovered 47% of consumers decided to start using a VPN to increase their overall online privacy, 43% of consumers wanted more privacy while browsing, and 2 in 5 people didn’t fully trust public Wi-Fi.

Why we use VPNs

Nearly 1 in 3 people also used a VPN to send secure online communications and to overcome geo-blocking restrictions.

Only 14% of VPN users decided to use a VPN to increase their protection after a data breach and/or to stop Google tracking. The least common concerns that sparked VPN use were for internet gaming (8%) and to secure VOIP phone calls (3%).

Generational VPN Habits

Sixty-three percent of men used a VPN, compared to only 41% of women. This could be linked to the gender gap in technology use and involvement that encompasses VPNs, as well.

Meanwhile, millennials were the most likely to use VPNs. More than half of millennials used a VPN, compared to 48% of Gen Xers and 43% of baby boomers.

Concerns may take priority based on generation, but the top concern across all generations was overall online privacy. However, there were very notable differences.
For instance, baby boomers were more likely than any other generation to start using a VPN to protect themselves after a data breach. Nearly 1 in 4 baby boomers used a VPN for this reason, compared to only 14% of millennials and 12% of Gen X users.

Although baby boomers placed a larger emphasis on protecting their data via a VPN after a breach, they were far less concerned about geo-blocking restrictions and hiding their internet browser history than younger generations. More than 1 in 4 millennials hid internet activity from their internet service provider with a VPN, while only 16% of Gen Xers and 14% of baby boomers did the same.

Generational VPN Habits

Younger generations were much more likely to use a VPN when downloading files through peer-to-peer sharing platforms. Torrenting, while not illegal itself, is still a gray area regarding what can and cannot be shared online.

Millennials were also two times more likely than baby boomers to use a VPN for entertainment purposes, such as online gaming. Nearly 1 in 10 millennials used a VPN for this reason, but only 3% of Gen Xers used a VPN for internet gaming.

Verdict on VPNs

Setting up a VPN alongside your current internet safety arsenal allows consumers to remain encrypted and safe online in an increasingly visible and connected world.

In the U.S., VPNs are legal as long as the user’s internet activity doesn’t break the law or violate the terms of service of the websites they’re using. Make sure that you stay informed about the myths surrounding VPNs to maintain online data security.

Read next: The Latest In Physical Data Theft Threats (infographic)
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Famous YouTuber Marques Brownlee Gives Advice to Newer Creators

February 12, 2020, 1:00 am
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These days pretty much everyone wants to become a YouTube star. Not only is this the sort of career that ends up making it so that you would have an amazing source of income if you manage to play your cards right, adopt all of the right strategies and eventually create a much better income source than anything you would have managed, but at the same time it can help you to develop a brand for yourself as well and get a considerable amount of adulation as well as acclaim from people which is something that a lot of people would find to be extremely worth it at the end of the day.

Marques Brownlee is one of the well known and successful technology YouTubers out there. With an incredible ten million subscribers on his channel and eleven years of experience under his belt, he is someone that can be sure to give you quite a bit of advice when it comes to making the most of the kind of experience you would like to obtain and how successful you want to be.

In a recent interview, Brownlee talked about some of the things that can help a YouTuber start out. For one thing, he said that you don’t really need expensive equipment especially when you are just starting out. You can just use your smartphone since it probably has a good camera already, and what’s more is that you can look into editing on your phone as well since apps that allow you to do so are quite cheap when compared to software you would use on a computer. He also says that it is important to create content about something that you are passionate about, something that you would find to be exciting enough that it would inspire you to make all of the right kinds of content all in all.
Marques Brownlee who is famous for creating quality tech videos reveals how to launch a YouTube channel in 2020
Photo: Roy Rochlin / Getty Images

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Facebook Introduces PyTorch3D, a Deep Learning Library!

February 12, 2020, 5:22 am
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A couple of days ago, Facebook AI Research team revealed PyTorch3D, a library that will allow developers and researchers to blend 3D objects and deep learning. Moreover, Facebook is making Mesh R-CNN publicly available. Mesh R-CNN was rolled out last year and it can be used to render 3D objects from 2D shapes that assume the form of images of interior spaces.

As a matter of fact, Mesh R-CNN inspired the creation of PyTorch3D and a bunch of 3D work done by FAIR lately, as per FAIR engineer Nikhila Ravi.

Operating in 3D is quite essential when it comes to rendering 3D objects as well as scenes that we usually find in VR/mixed reality. It also comes in handy while dealing with numerous AI challenges that involve autonomous vehicles and robotics.

PyTorch3D is packed with commonly employed 3D operators in addition to loss functions reserved for 3D data and a differentiable mesh renderer for forming 3D objects. Facebook AI researchers also boasted about a number of other perks of PyTorch3D such as CUDA support, differential rendering API etc.

Facebook AI team also added that using PyTorch3D, researchers can easily use these functions with the already available deep learning system in PyTorch. It saves everyone the time that would otherwise be spent on 3D planning research, something that requires loads of expertise just to get started.

PyTorch3D employs meshes, an essential data format for constituting 3D objects, and can utilize a patch tensor which (in simpler terms) is helpful when it comes to batching, a usual process for deep learning research.

PyTorch3D comes after PyRobot robotics framework that was rolled out last year, and FAIR 3D research that draws out characters from real-life videos.



Read next: This AI can reconstruct motion blurred Human faces
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