Hyderabad: Science and Tech stories of the week.
NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover Safely Lands on Red Planet
The largest, most advanced rover NASA has sent to another world touched down on Mars Thursday, after a 203-day journey traversing 293 million miles (472 million kilometers). Confirmation of the successful touchdown was announced in mission control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California at 3:55 p.m. EST (12:55 p.m. PST). Read More.
NASA rover sends 1st colour images of Mars, a selfie too
Images of NASA's Perseverance Rover Mission are pouring in. Most of the cameras capture colored images. After landing, two of the Hazard Cameras (Hazcams) captured views from the front and rear of the rover, showing one of its wheels in the Martian dirt. Read More.
Indian-American Swati Mohan spearheads NASA rover landing on Red Planet
As the world watched the new NASA rover touchdown on the Martian surface, it was Indian American Swati Mohan who virtually spearheaded the successful landing of Perseverance that will search for signs of life on the Red Planet. Swati Mohan has been a member of the Perseverance Rover mission since its inception at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Read More.
NASA rover streaks toward landing on Mars
Percy, as NASA rover is nicknamed, was designed to drill down with its 7-foot (2-meter) arm and collect rock samples that might hold signs of bygone microscopic life. The plan called for three to four dozen chalk-size samples to be sealed in tubes and set aside on Mars to be retrieved by a fetch rover and brought homeward by another rocket ship, intending to get them back to Earth as early as 2031. Read More.
7 minutes to MARS: NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover arrives at the Red Planet on Feb.18, 2021
ASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is on target to touch down in Jezero Crater. It is the most challenging Martian terrain ever targeted for a landing. Learning from past experiences, the Perseverance team is employing new technologies for the success of the mission. The Perseverance team is putting the final touches on the complex choreography required to land in Jezero Crater. Read More.
There is a tantalizing sign of a habitable zone planet in Alpha Centauri
An international team of astronomers has found signs that a habitable planet may be lurking in Alpha Centauri, a binary star system a mere 4.37 light-years away. It could be one of the closest habitable planet prospects to date, although it’s probably not much like Earth if it exists. The Alpha Centauri system’s potential to host life-bearing worlds has always intrigued scientists, but no known exoplanets have ever been established there. Read More.
Know how to keep Facebook Privacy Settings safe
Hyderabad: Do you know that Facebook keeps a track of your surfing data and all the activities? You downloaded an app, Facebook will know about it. You have spent even little time on any app or website, Facebook keeps a record of it. If you want Facebook not to know your surfing details or any other activity, you can use Facebook Privacy Settings. Then, you have to follow certain steps which are shown in the video. After completing the steps and you will be able to 'Off- Facebook Activity.' You can clear history and manage your future activities as well. Read More.
Features and specifications of Nokia 5.4 and Nokia 3.4
Nokia 3.4 will be available in India starting February 20 in fjord, dusk and charcoal colour options. Earlier, HMD Global-owned handset maker Nokia had unveiled two new smartphones; Nokia 5.4 and Nokia 3.4 in India. The Nokia 5.4 features a 6.39-inch HD+ punch-hole display with a quad-camera setup and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 processor. The Nokia 3.4 comes packed with a powerful processor -- Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 -- along with a 6.39-inch HD+ screen. Both the smartphones come in a Finnish-inspired, brand-new contemporary colour -- Dusk, in addition to other colours. The company also launched Nokia Power Earbuds Lite. The earbuds come with universal Bluetooth compatibility and provide an immersive sound experience and crystal-clear audio. Read More.
Know all about Galileo Galilei on his 379 Birth Anniversary
Founder of observational astronomy, father of modern physics, father of the scientific method, and the father of modern science are some of the names by which Galileo Galilei is known for. He was born in Pisa, Tuscany on February 15, 1564. He made pendulums of string and small weights. He wrote a short treatise, La bilancetta (“The Little Balance”). Galileo also made series of telescopes whose optical performance was much better than that of the Dutch instrument. The astronomical discoveries he made with his telescopes caused a sensation. Read More.
Features and specifications of Samsung Galaxy F62
Samsung lovers can avail themselves of yet another Samsung Phone, Galaxy F62. It launched today, Feb 15, 2021, and is scheduled for a sale on February 22, 12 noon. Some of the features of the Samsung Galaxy F62 include: a 6.7-inch FHD+, Super AMOLED Plus Infinity-O display,7000mAh battery, a quad-camera setup, 32MP front camera with 4K video recording, and slow-mo selfies, etc. Read More.
Pokémon Go Tour: Kanto Event is around the corner
Pokémon fans can participate in the Pokémon Go Tour: Kanto Event by selecting the Red or Green version of the event. 18+ can only participate in this event. Earlier the company had announced about Pokémon GO Tour to coincide with Pokémon’s anniversary and Pokémon GO’s fifth anniversary. The first 150 Pokémon originally discovered in the Kanto region will be available as Shiny Pokémon, some of them for the first time ever. Read More.
Features and specifications of Samsung Galaxy A12 unveiled in India
'Samsung unveiled a new smartphone of its A-series, Galaxy A12 in India. The smartphone comes in 2 variants; 4GB+64GB and 4GB+128GB. Some of the features of Galaxy A12 includes; 6.5-inch HD+ Infinity-V display with 20:9 aspect ratio, a quad-camera setup, Mediatek Helio P35, 5000mAh battery with 15W adaptive fast-charging technology, etc. Read More.
Twitter testing a new feature '140 seconds long voice messages in DMs' in India
For better and easier DM conversations, Twitter is testing voice messages up to 140 seconds long. This feature will be available for iOS and Android users in India, Japan, and Brazil. Anyone will have the ability to listen to these messages wherever and however they use Twitter. The experiment will be rolled out in phases to the audiences. Read More.
Features and Specifications of Xbox Wireless Headset
Xbox Wireless Headset is light and flexible. It can be paired with the console directly. It gives a crystal clear sound. Some of the other features include; 15 hours of battery life with the internal, rechargeable battery, supports Spatial Sound technologies, soft rotating earcups, etc. Read More.
Android 12 may bring face-based auto-rotate feature
Wearable brand Fitbit, recently acquired by Google has rolled out a major update by making new health data available to Charge 4 users and expanding access to previously paywalled information to more users. The major update includes the accessibility of blood oxygen readings. Premium subscribers still get a little extra information. Read More.
Foldable iPhone to offer support for Apple pencil: Report
Foldable iPhone soon to be launched by Apple. The tech giant has supposedly developed two prototypes, the clamshell, and the book-like shape. The work is still in its early stage, and the company is reportedly testing the shell of a clamshell-like iPhone at a Foxconn factory in Shenzhen, China. A report has claimed that the company might also discontinue the iPad Mini after the launch of its foldable iPhones. Read More.
This is how we lost control of our faces
In 1964, mathematician and computer scientist Woodrow Bledsoe first attempted the task of matching suspects’ faces to mugshots. He measured out the distances between different facial features in printed photographs and fed them into a computer program. His rudimentary successes would set off decades of research into teaching machines to recognize human faces. Now a new study shows just how much this enterprise has eroded our privacy. It hasn’t just fueled an increasingly powerful tool of surveillance. The latest generation of deep-learning-based facial recognition has completely disrupted our norms of consent. Read More.
Insight into the Indian online gaming industry
Indian gaming industry started around the mid-2000s and grew from social games to adventure, sports, puzzles, and other games. With international games coming to India, the gaming industry saw an increase. Even the gaming job searches increased from March to June 2020, then declined sharply from July to September 2020, and have steadied at a level slightly higher compared to January. Read More.
Google removes Trump's campaign app from Play Store
The Trump 2020 campaign app recently stopped working and Google had to remove Trump's campaign app from Play Store. The app hadn't been updated since October 30. The Trump 2020 app dates back to 2016, where it was used in the former president's first campaign. Read More.
Facebook blocks Australian users, publishers from sharing news
In response to Australia's proposed new Media Bargaining law, Facebook with a heavy heart stopped allowing news content on its services in Australia. Facebook said that the law does not understand properly the relationship between its platform and publishers who use it to share news content. Last year Facebook generated approximately 5.1 billion free referrals to Australian publishers worth an estimated $407 million Australian dollars. Read More.
Zuckerberg, Pichai, Dorsey to face US misinformation hearing
Set for March 25, the US house hearing will grill the tech CEOs; Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. They will be grilled regarding the misinformation and disinformation being spread on their online platforms. This will be the first hearing by the tech giants after the Capital Chaos on January 6. The tech platforms are facing intense scrutiny over the spread of fake news, hate speech, and misinformation on their platforms for quite some time. Read More.
Features and specifications of Moto E7 Power, Motorola's cheapest phone for the Indian market
Moto E7 Power will change your entertainment experience as it comes with power-packed features. One of the cheapest phones by Motorola that is being launched for the Indian market. Some of the features include; 6.5-inch HD+ MaxVision waterdrop-style display notch, a MediaTek Helio G25 chipset, a dual-camera setup with a combination of a 13MP primary shooter, a 5000mAh battery, etc. Read More.
