QWERTY Archives - DU Beat - Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper

Outrage over the New Snapchat Update

By Bhavya Banerjee February 19, 2018

Snapchat was launched in 2011 and quickly became the world’s favourite app-based social media platform to share multiple 10-second snippets (initially) of their day. Here is a look at why the app’s recent update might be its downfall.

Upon its launch, Snapchat took the world by storm and went viral. It gained popularity because of its unique concept of sharing timed-pictures with small captions, never before seen filters, and gave its users an avenue to be goofy, silly, and experiment with various photography styles. The smart phone based application soon became the premier place to share “stories” in terms of photos and videos. In fact, the app became so popular that other social media networks, like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp inculcated stories into their own layouts in the later years. Snapchat became an way not only for the general public, but for celebrities, social media influencers, companies, and media outlets like BuzzFeed etc. to promote their business ventures as the app provided them with access to over 150 million global users on a daily basis.

Earlier this month, Snapchat announced a new update which aimed to separate content uploaded by the “media” and “friends”. The update immediately received an enormous amount of backlash from users. So much so that over 800,000 people signed a petition to bring the old layout back. Research statistics displayed that the new update pushed most of its users over to its competition, Instagram, and that 80% of the numerous tweets about the update were negative.

The latest redesign that introduced an array of interface changes to the application is terribly designed and extremely confusing. These changes do not seem to be user friendly since many muscle memory movements, such as swiping left to view stories were removed. The stories from “friends” are now included to the left of the camera and the content from the media is kept to the right. The stories are no longer in a chronological order, but are showed to its users based on a “best friend algorithm”.

This update might be the downfall of one of the most-loved social media websites since the organisation sprung these changes onto users without any explanations or warnings. The only semblance of communication from the spokesperson of the company the public has received even after the severe criticism it faced, in terms of a public statement was “Updates as big as this one can take a little getting used to, but we hope the community will enjoy it once they settle in.”

Feature Image Credits: Daily Times

Bhavya Banerjee
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WhatsApp to Roll Out Online Payment and Banking Soon After the NPCI Nod

By Radhika Boruah February 18, 2018

NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) today allowed WhatsApp to beta test its latest project of payment service within a limited customer base and transaction ceiling. This is the first step in a series of Payment Services WhatsApp is planning to launch in India over the year. With India already being a booming market for the online payment services, this latest development of this online messaging platform, which sold itself in 16 billion dollars to Facebook in 2014, will establish it in rivalry with the likes of Paytm, FreeCharge, and MobiKwik.

“Currently, NPCI has given its consent to roll out WhatsApp BHIM UPI beta launch with a limited user base of one million and low per transaction limit. Four banks will join the multi-bank BHIM UPI model in phases (in the coming weeks) and full feature product shall be released after the beta test is successful,” GadgetsNow recorded NPCI saying in a statement. The revelation was quickly followed up by a backlash from Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Paytm Founder. He pitched his allegations through his Twitter handle, which accused Facebook of arm-twisting UPI to get the and “killing beautiful open UPI system with its custom close garden implementation.” He also hinted the fact that the different algorithms would mean that the WhatsApp payment would be “unsafe”.

“After failing to win the war against India’s open Internet with cheap tricks of free basics, Facebook is again in play. Killing beautiful open UPI system with its custom close garden implementation. I am surprised, champions of open @India_Stack, let it happen!” read his tweet which surfaced earlier this day. However, Sharma ended up being the lone wolf as the founders of FreeCharge and MobiKwik, other players in the market, stood with WhatsApp and slammed Paytm’s double standards.

“All incumbents complaining about WhatsApp getting an unfair advantage in its UPI implementation to further its business interests — Those who live in glass houses … there is a clear record of private companies who got access first and exclusively when UPI was launched,” tweeted Bipin Preet Singh, CEO, and Founder of MobiKwik. WhatsApp certainly would take the lion’s share of the flourishing market once it fully establishes itself, which would only mean the demise of the small-scale startups. This would also mean that the Chinese investment in the various ventures would complete evaporate, marking the end of the days of maintaining online Wallets, as a bank to bank transaction would become the norm.

Feature Image Credits: The Independent

Nikhil Kumar
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Everything Bright and Beautiful at CES 2018

By Nikhil Kumar January 25, 2018

The tech showdown of CES was full of surprises, ensuring that the year will be full of thrilling electronic goods for everyday use.

The latest edition of the International Consumer Electronic Show- CES 2018 was held from 9 – 12 January at Las Vegas Convention Centre, Nevada, The United States of America. The exposition was power packed with the best innovations from the biggest global brands, but the teeming companies and promising start-ups were not far behind.

We bring to you our pick of CES products and services which would be hitting the Indian market in 2018:

1. The Voice Assistants:

Be it Alexa or Google Assistant – voice assistance technology was virtually seen everywhere at the CES. They were integrated with a staggering range of products, from cars to water systems. Google also introduced “Smart Screens”, purely dedicated to its Assistant. This device would let you use all the Google services including YouTube, something its nearest rival Amazon Alexa is not yet capable of.

2. Your Latest 2017 TV is Now Outdated:

The biggest take-away from the tech show has been the exciting range of televisions that are to hit the market. LG introduced a 65-inch, 4K OLED rollable-like-a-poster TV. It comes with an aesthetic box which the screens-pops out from. The best part, it can roll up to different sizes – it can be an ultra-wide TV for movie or gaming experience, or just be a notification panel. LG also introduced Crystal Sound technology which would mark the end traditional speakers. Samsung, not being far behind, introduced “The Wall”, mammoth 146 diagonal-inch TV.

3. Wireless is the New Normal:

Wireless charging and wireless headphones would be taking over the market this year, going by the CES trends. A lot of brands have debuted into the market, and it would be no surprise if the upcoming releases from One Plus, Pixel, and Galaxy ecosystem come with wireless audio and charging features.

4. VR becomes more real.

Virtual reality headsets have become a lot better this time. HTC introduced Vive Pro with high resolution display and the wireless adaptor. The biggest player however would be the Lenovo Google collab- Lenovo Mirage Solo. This would end the need to place the phone before your eyes and has an additional 3D recording feature.

Feature Image Credits: Business Insider

Nikhil Kumar
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The Flagships to Look Forward in 2018

By Nikhil Kumar January 9, 2018

Almost all the major smartphone companies are primed to come up with the new releases throughout this year. Not unlike 2017, the bezel-less screen and powerful cameras will continue to be in vogué and the latest released Snapdragon 845 will also be sought after.

Here is a list of the ones you should look forward to:

1. Samsung geared up with foldable screen:

It is no news that keeping secrets is not Samsung’s USP. If the major rumours in the tech world and hints dropped from the Company are to be believed, the next flagship, Samsung Galaxy X can come with a foldable OLED screen. The CEO has, as tom’s guide suggests, already sanctioned the new project. Moreover, the official Samsung website last November even came up with a support page for a similar model. This phone might actually land in the market in the first quarter of 2018, as Axon M from ZTE already features this technology and the Korean will not want to be too late to the party. Also coming this year would be Galaxy S9 with the tried and tested curved Infinity display and dual rear cameras.

2. One Plus getting better of the best:

The One Plus is what every start up dreams to be. The Pete Lau- Carl Pei company has already established itself in the big league with some ground breaking smartphones with the best value for money over the last four years and there is no reason to not expect something similar from One Plus 6 – unless it decides to skip a number again this time. Having already mastered bezel minimisation and dual camera with 5t and 5, this brand of powerful phones may actually feature Face Recognition System with on screen fingerprint sensor and even stronger battery and QHD screen this time.

3. New iPhones X plus and X2 in times of falling trust:

The digital market research firm TrendForce has indicated that Apple would be coming up with iPhone X plus and X2 by September this year. Also mooted to make an appearance is the SE series, after the two year hiatus. The company majorly will be focussing on enhancing the size this time, with the all the three iPhones plnned to have a screen size exceeding six inches. However, the company will be making it a point to resolve the trust of their customers by cutting down on most notorious updates and also by making them more transparent over the issues of performance and battery life starting with iOS 11.2.5.

Feature Image Credits: Appleinsider

Nikhil Kumar
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Qwerty: 5 Tips to Increase Engagement on Social Media

By Anagha Rakta November 28, 2017

Whether it is for a business, a client, or even for yourself, social media platforms can be a helpful tool to reach out to a wide audience. But maintaining reach can be tough, so here are some handy tips to help increase engagement!

The term ‘engagement’ in the social media world refers to the measurement of likes, shares, and comments, and it is an important aspect within digital marketing because more engagement gets the user more reach. Engagement in social media is a powerful instrument that can help achieve a larger viewership for your venture, and for young students like us, it is difficult to splurge money on sponsoring posts. So here are some tips to organically increase engagement on your posts –

Call to action: Adding a simple instruction at the end of your post can get the viewer excited, assigns a purpose to your post, and brings attention to the highlight of your content. The call to action in your everyday post could be a simple hyperlinked ‘Click here for more’ to your website or can be an elaborate content or promotional activity.
Engaging images: Visually pleasing posts with mediocre textual content catch a viewer’s attention faster than mediocre pictures with brilliantly written text. Make sure the images you post are clean, follow the rule of thirds, and with adjusted contrast. Any sort of text on the graphic or picture should be as minimal as it can be – more text can be added to the post but the images best look neat.
Ask questions: Likes are easy to get as compared to comments. Hence, asking an open-ended question at the end of your post can spark a viewer’s interest and make them leave a comment, or even tag a buddy. Fun, light questions can be a part of the copy or the post for this purpose.
Hashtags: An important tool for reaching out to more people (than just those who follow you), hashtags may seem overdone in today’s time but are still extremely useful with engagement on social media. Pro tip: don’t use more than three hashtags on Twitter and use a maximum of 30 on Instagram.
Check insights: A vital ritual to practice frequently, checking insights and stats on your posts can prove to be very helpful. Figure out what works and create more of that content, and also note down what doesn’t work and avoid making the same mistakes again.

Feature Image Credits: ActOn

Anagha Rakta

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QWERTY: Big acquisitions of companies built by Indian techies

By Kavach Chandra February 5, 2017

Many Indians take the risk of starting their own venture, especially in the field of technology. However, there are only a few who are rewarded handsomely for taking that risk. Making the right decisions can lead to the success of a company, and when it comes to selling the company, the right choice is what makes it or breaks it. Selling too early and selling too late, both roads lead to financial regret and loss of zeros at the end of the number on the cheque. Here’s a list of few Indians companies that sold to the western giants such as Facebook, Google and others:

1. TupleJump

TupleJump was a Hyderabad based startup which focused on machine learning, a field of artificial intelligence. The company was acquired by Apple very quietly, sometime in 2016, for a whopping $20 million. The company comprised a very small team of 16 at the time of acquisition. It was started in 2013. It is Apple’s first acquisition in India.

2. Flutter

Navneet Dalal and Mehul Nariyawala founded Flutter, a startup focusing on gesture based technology. The company is known for their “flutter app” which allowed users to control apps such as iTunes, VLC and others using hand gestures and movements. The brilliance of the app lay in the fact that no additional hardware was required, unlike Microsoft’s Kinect, at that time. It was acquired by Google in October 2013 for $40 million.

Image Credits: Wikipedia

3. AppDynamics

Jyoti Bansal founded AppDynamics in 2008. It is an IT operation and application performance maintenance company, working majorly in the area of managing performance and availability of applications on cloud platform. It was acquired by Cisco for $3.7 billion.

Image Credits: appdynamics.com

4. Little Eye Labs

This Bangalore based startup makes software which analyses the performance of android apps and generates detailed reports. It was acquired by Facebook in January 2014. Although the actual amount hasn’t been disclosed, the deal is said to have been sealed in the range of $10-15 million. It was the first Indian company acquired by Facebook.

Image Credits: littleeye.co.in

Kavach Chandra

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QWERTY: From Fiction to Facts

By Kavach Chandra January 28, 2017

Necessity has been called as the mother of invention but imagination is what creates the idea for that invention. Impossibility finds a way to seep into our dreams but it’s their depictions that brings them into existence.

Fiction has been one of the key mediums for people to connect with versions of themselves, who they inspire to be. It deals with imagination which is the first component of any technological invention, advancement or venture. Science fiction is a genre of fiction that deals with imagining technology that does not exist presently. The ideas behind a lot of modern technology has been inspired from the field. Here’s a short list of tech inspired from science fiction:

Payment Cards: Before moving pictures depicted fictions scientific technology, written word was the way that jogged the most powerful graphic chip on the planet – the human brain. Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward 2000-1887 published in 1888 was the first novel that introduced the concept of “universal cards”. These cards were used by the author’s citizen of utopia to purchase goods and services anywhere in the world. Credit cards have been around since the 50s but the idea dates back half a century.
Payment cards

2. Video Chatting :

Inventors struggled for nearly two centuries to invent the technology that enabled humans to communicate with each other without being in the range of sound emitted by human mouth i.e. the telephone. While people were getting used to idea of talking to one another on the phone, someone thought of seeing the person at the other while doing that. That man was Hugo Gernsback. It was his novel, Ralph 124C+1 published as a twelve-part series in Modern Electrics that had a device called “telephot” that led people to see each other while talking across large distances.

Video chatting

3. Antidepressants and Genetic Engineering :

Gadgets and gizmos aren’t the only areas where science has benefitted from fiction. Medicine has been influenced as well. In 1931, Aldous Huxley gave the concept of antidepressants in form “mood altering” medicine that was given to the citizens of 2540 London to keep them mentally balanced. Apart from this, the novel details a society where humans are engineered as per their role in the society. Sounds a lot like tinkering with the genome to modify and produce desired living things, doesn’t it?

Anti Depressants

4. 3D Printing:

The earliest reference that I came across about 3D printing was from Eric Frank Russell’s novelette, the Hobbyist. Published in 1947, he describes machines which are manufacturing different things, both living and non-living. We haven’t come across the former, but the latter is something that we have all witnessed, either in person or in countless videos on YouTube. Who’s to say how far we are from creating something or someone using a combination of Russell’s fabrication device and Huxley’s notion of genetic engineering?

3D Printer in action

Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons

Kavach Chandra

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Reliance JIO: Taking the Telecom Industry by Storm

By Kavach Chandra September 21, 2016

With the entry of Reliance Jio into the market, the telecom industry faces more rivalries and competition than ever before. After all the hype, can Jio live up to expectations?

The commercial launch of the Reliance Jio 4G SIMs on 5 September 2016 created large-scale unrest in the world of telecom. Telecom charges are among the primary expenses of today’s individuals. Jio effectively targeted this pain point of the Indian customer with its ‘free call’ plan. This one move has pushed people into a frenzy to get the Jio SIMs, which are now in extremely high demand. In fact, many retailers ran out of Jio SIMs on the very first day. The problem with this is that new SIMs are not easily available. It is therefore easy to believe the rumors of the SIMs being sold on the black market.

SIM unavailability is not the only issue that the company faces. Although the data services provided by the company have lived up to the customers’ expectations, the calling services have not. This is highly prevalent when it comes to internetwork calls. In response to the issue, Reliance has accused rival telecom brands of not providing more point-of-interconnections (POIs) despite the large number of requests. The company has criticised this behaviour of the telecom companies as poor ethics of business, and has made several complaints to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) as well. Another issue that has cropped up in the last few days is of Mobile Number Portability (MNP). Reliance has accused other major brands of not granting MNPs as per requests, thereby violating the MNP rules and regulations. Vodafone and Airtel representatives have refuted this claim, stating that they are doing everything they can on their end. Idea has yet to comment on the matter.

Reliance Jio has truly disrupted the standards of the industry, consequently facing a lot of resistance. The future of the company looks bright due to the overwhelming response of the Indian public. Nevertheless, only time will tell the outcome of the competition between Reliance and the dominant players in the industry.

Featured Image Credits: India TV News

Kavach Chandra
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QWERTY: Online Shopping at its barest- the Lingerie industry

By Vineeta Rana September 14, 2016

Online shopping has revolutionized the fashion industry over the past few years. With regard to women’s lingerie, this revolution has been even more rapid and tangible.

COMFORT AND CONFIDENCE

In a conservative society like that of India, lingerie shopping can often seem a hassle to middle class consumers. Unless one shops at luxury brands such as LaSenza and Victoria’s Secret, lingerie shopping in real life has the potential to lead to feelings of discomfort and embarrassment, especially if one wants to experiment with their wardrobe. In this context, the introduction of lingerie brands that cater to women’s requirements is a welcome change in the online industry. It allows women to explore their options and find what fits them best.

ONLINE PLATFORMS

Amazon and Flipkart – Platforms that cater to all varieties of items such as Amazon and Flipkart have a relatively inadequate range of innerwear. They are successful due to the ease and convenience that they provide customers, and benefit hugely from merely their brand name, but fail to offer a fulfilling experience when it comes to lingerie shopping. At best, they are quick fixes for women unwilling to spend more than a few minutes on shopping for intimatewear. The clean and crisp interface makes it a no-nonsense affair, with impersonal filters and preferences.
Jabong and Myntra – Fashion platforms definitely one-up mass retailers for the simple reason that they cater to the needs of the consumers more directly. Lingerie is easier to find, as well as easier to explore on fashion-only websites. Jabong and Myntra make it simpler to search for what one wants, especially as they offer a wide range of different brands and their products. This adds variety to the choices available to women, in terms of both style and price.
Zivame and Clovia – Entire platforms dedicated to lingerie are naturally the most preferred choice for women looking for something unique and specific. The number one selling point of these brands is that they offer a plethora of choices, from everyday essential bras to corsets and bridal lingerie. More importantly, they provide filters with precise categorization to cater to the needs of every woman. Due to the immense range of products, there is a higher chance of finding something that fits in the budget and size of every consumer. Most such websites provide a guide to the best fitting lingerie for every body type, including self-measure guides to help women determine their bra size. Some platforms such as Clovia also offer discreet packaging. The only drawback of these platforms is that they largely, if not entirely, offer only their own products and do not sell clothing from other brands.

The online lingerie industry has only recently taken off as a major subset of the fashion industry. If it continues to progress at the same rate, it is possible that it could become the number one choice for women to carry out their shopping.

Vineeta Rana
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ABCs of Tech Business in 2016: Acquisitions, Buyouts and Consolidation

By Kavach Chandra August 16, 2016

The business part of any venture witnesses the most extreme of situations. There are companies which face the ruthless tyranny of a buyout while some thank their stars when saved by acquisitions. Whatever the path may be, cruel or rewarding, it always ends in consolidation of industry. Suffice it to say, the ‘A’ and ‘B’ always lead to ‘C’. So, here is a list of ‘A’s and ‘B’s this year, some of which lead to the ‘C’ of that industry:

1. Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn

While Facebook and Google are thought of as cool kids on the block, Microsoft has always ensured that its identity remains like that of men in suits in the tech world. And its latest acquisition, for a whooping amount of $26.2 billion, further strengthens that image. Being a highly professional organisation, Microsoft acquiring a professional social network wasn’t surprising at all. The LinkedIn social network will be quite helpful in taking the MS Office suite to the next level, adding a social component to the work, thereby connecting professionals and their work more effectively. Also, Lynda.com, a website which offers tutorials was acquired by LinkedIn some time back, which Microsoft sees as an opportunity.

2. Dell merges with EMC

If you thought $19.3 for WhatsApp was high, then this will blow your mind. Dell, the computer multinational behemoth, has acquired EMC, a computer storage company for the highest amount ever in the tech world for $67 billion. Yes! You read it right, it’s 67 billion. The merger has started and will take some time to complete. The effects and verdict of this merger will probably be visible to us by 2017 or 2018. A lot of things, from policies to name, from logos to software design, will change. Only time will tell the verdict of this expensive marriage.

3. Verizon buys the struggling Yahoo!

What once was a company valued at over a $100 billion, got sold at an amount of $4.8 billion. Verizon, the telecom giant acquired Yahoo, which had been fighting for survival for quite some time now. The deal includes the real estate and some intellectual property of the company but doesn’t include the valuable stake of Alibaba group in the company. With this deal, Verizon can go head to head against Google and Facebook in the field of advertisement.

4. Myntra buys Jabong

Flipkart owned Myntra acquires Jabong for $70 million. This move is one of those that will consolidates the e-commerce market in India today. Flipkart has made a statement that it still is one of the key players in the business and is here to stay. With Jabong and Myntra, Flipkart has gained the majority in terms of fashion e-commerce. With this buyout, Flipkart and Amazon are currently the two major pillars while Snapdeal and others are in supporting roles.