Category: Tech shell

Gadgets online, Tech shell

Facebook Messenger broken : May take hours to resolve

Users from various parts of the world complained that social network is not working and they are unable to connect. Might be because of Thanks giving and Black Friday overwhelming deals causes this crash of messenger app.

Messenger broken once again

However authorities admitted that the issue has been recorded and most probably due to some tech issue

Frustrated Messenger users from the US to the UK have reported that they are unable to access the service this afternoon.

Facebook’s main site also appears to be affected by the outage, though not as severely as the standalone chat app.

Facebook has confirmed the issue on Twitter, responding to users complaining about the issue.

In one tweet sent just after midnight this morning, Facebook wrote: “We’re aware of the issue and we’re working on a fix.”

However, a fix doesn’t seem to have been rolled out yet. There’s no new version of Facebook Messenger available to download on the Apple App Store or Android Google Play Store beyond v.170.

And users are still complaining well into the afternoon today.

In a statement given to The Sun, a Facebook spokesperson said: “We are aware of the issue and are working on a fix.”

Have you experienced any issues with Facebook Messenger lately? Let us know in the comments!

It comes just days after Facebook suffered a ‘total blackout’ that affected the social media site and its other platforms, including WhatsApp and Instagram.

Messenger users in Europe were hit hardest by the outage, though issues were also reported along the US West Coast
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Messenger users in Europe were hit hardest by the outage, though issues were also reported along the US West Coast

Most users (49 percent) reported they were unable to connect to the server on Monday afternoon.

Many also indicated that they were having trouble receiving messages (28 percent), while others said they could not log in at all (22 percent).

The app appears to have crashed shortly after 3 p.m. (ET), with thousands of reports streaming in before 3:30.

Messenger users in Europe were worst affected by the issue Monday afternoon, with a majority of reports coming from the UK, Ireland, Poland, Belgium, and Denmark.

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Global Thread, Tech shell

In 3 steps, How BlockChain Technology works?
What is Blockchain Technology

The blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value.”

first major application of blockchain technology was bitcoin which was released in 2009. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency and the blockchain is the technology that underpins it. A cryptocurrency refers to a digital coin that runs on a blockchain.

This is a huge part of why so many people believe blockchain technology is the future of currency, and why it is being adopted in industries other than cryptocurrency.

The blockchain behind bitcoin is a public ledger of every transaction that has taken place. It cannot be tampered with or changed retrospectively. Advocates of the technology say this makes Bitcoin transactions secure and safer than current systems.
It is not issued by a central authority.
There is a limit of 21 million.
Currently, just over 17 million are in circulation.
The first transaction using bitcoin is widely believed to be carried out by a programmer named Laszlo Hanyecz, who spent 10,000 bitcoin on two Papa John’s pizzas in 2010.
The identity of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto remains a mystery.
Bitcoin has often been used to buy illicit products such as drugs.
How the blockchain is tamperproof:
One of the advantages of blockchain is that it can’t be tampered with. Each block that is added to the chain carries a hard, cryptographic reference to the previous block.
That reference is part of the mathematical problem that needs to be solved in order to bring the following block into the network and the chain. Part of solving the puzzle involves working out a random number called the “nonce.” The nonce, combined with the other data such as the transaction size, creates a digital fingerprint called a hash. This is encrypted, thus making it secure.
Each hash is unique and must meet certain cryptographic conditions. Once this happens a block is completed and added to the chain. In order to tamper with this, each earlier block, of which there are over half a million, would require the cryptographic puzzles to be re-mined, which is impossible.

A Brief History of Blockchain:

The blockchain. Before it was ever used in cryptocurrency, it had humble beginnings as a concept in computer science — particularly, in the domains of cryptography and data structures.
The very primitive form of the blockchain was the hash tree, also known as a Merkle tree. This data structure was patented by Ralph Merkle in 1979, and functioned by verifying and handling data between computer systems. In a peer-to-peer network of computers, validating data was important to make sure nothing was altered or changed during transfer. It also helped to ensure that false data was not sent. In essence, it is used to maintain and prove the integrity of data being shared.
How Does Blockchain Work?
How does the blockchain work? Let’s recall a few key features before we get into the details:
1. Blockchain keeps a record of all data exchanges — this record is referred to as a “ledger” in the cryptocurrency world, and each data exchange is a “transaction“. Every verified transaction is added to the ledger as a “block”
2. It utilizes a distributed system to verify each transaction — a peer-to-peer network of nodes
3. Once signed and verified, the new transaction is added to the blockchain and cannot be altered
To begin, we need to explore the concept of “keys”. With a set of cryptographic keys, you get a unique identity. Your keys are the Private Key and Public Key, and together they are combined to give you a digital signature. Your public key is how others are able to identify you. Your private key gives you the power to digitally sign and authorize different actions on behalf of this digital identity when used with your public key.

Why is Decentralization So Important?

For enthusiasts of the blockchain, you will hear a lot about the decentralized aspect of it. What makes this so appealing is that it makes the blockchain impervious to censorship, tampering, or corruption.
Because it uses a peer-to-peer network, copies of the ledger are stored in many different locations, and unless you manage to track down every single one of them (Bitcoin is estimated to have over 35,000 nodes in its P2P network), you can’t destroy it. As well, because so many different, independent nodes are keeping track of the ledger, modifying it in an untrustworthy way won’t go very far because all the other nodes will disagree with that transaction and won’t add it to the ledger.
Global Thread, Tech shell

50 million accounts impacted by major mistake: Security breach, Company accepted

A million hacked Facebook accounts aren’t cool. You know what’s even less cool? Fifty million hacked Facebook accounts.

A Friday morning press release from our connect-people-at-any-cost friends in Menlo Park detailed a potentially horrifying situation for the billions of people who use the social media service: Their accounts might have been hacked. Well, at least 50 million of them were “directly affected,” anyway.

You’ll have to log back in to Facebook as a result – that includes any apps that you might log into with Facebook, like Spotify.

“On the afternoon of Tuesday, September 25, our engineering team discovered a security issue affecting almost 50 million accounts,” said Facebook’s Guy Rosen.

We’re taking this incredibly seriously and wanted to let everyone know what’s happened and the immediate action we’ve taken to protect people’s security.”

According to Facebook, attackers exploited a vulnerability in the website’s code.

It specifically impacted “View As”, which is a feature that lets you see what your own profile looks like to someone else.

Hackers used this feature to steal Facebook’s access tokens.

Access tokens are like digital keys that keep you logged into Facebook – so you don’t have to re-enter your password every time you use the app.

This means that hackers would’ve been able to access your Facebook account, potentially giving them access to your entire profile, your private messages and more.

“This attack exploited the complex interaction of multiple issues in our code,” Facebook admitted.

“It stemmed from a change we made to our video uploading feature in July 2017, which impacted ‘View As.’

“The attackers not only needed to find this vulnerability and use it to get an access token, they then had to pivot from that account to others to steal more tokens.”

Has Facebook fixed the problem?

Facebook says it has “fixed the vulnerability”, and told law enforcement about the issue.

The world’s largest social network has also reset the access tokens for the 50million accounts that Facebook admits were affected.

Facebook is also resetting access tokens for another 40million accounts that have been subject to a “View As” look-up in the last year – as a precautionary measure.

This means that roughly 90million users will be logged out of Facebook, and any apps linked to Facebook.

When you log back in, you’ll see a notification at the top of your News Feed explaining what happened.

Facebook has also temporarily turned off the “View As” feature so it can “conduct a thorough security review”.

Breaking news, Global Thread, Tech shell

Apple new models, how they are distinct mutually in specifications

As the matter of fact, new models of Apple are just revealed in the market and People are really in deep tension and confusion that what Apple has for them however They have a common though floating in their mind that the difference is just in the claims perhaps its not a case. We have elaborated detail features for our viewers to carefully realise the products specifications.

This article, iPhone XS vs. iPhone XS Max vs. iPhone XR:

Lets see What’s the difference?

Apple’s new iPhones aren’t one and the same.

The iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR are now fully revealed by Apple, and all of those announcements flew by fast. With the iPhone X now out of the Apple Store, your iPhone X choices for the next year boil down to one of these phones (though you could still get the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, or the iPhone 7).

All three new iPhones for 2018 share most of the same core features, but it pays to know how they’re different, and not just their price. (See chart below for pricing and specs.)

At Apple’s event today in Cupertino, California, the company revealed its newest lineup of iPhones, which include the iPhone X, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR.

The iPhone XS (pronounced “10-S”, not “excess”) features a 6.5-inch OLED HDR display, a faster and more efficient A12 Bionic chip and improved photos and video technology. Pre-orders start Friday and the phone goes on sale Sept. 21.

The iPhone comes in three different colors: gold, grey and black.

The iPhone XS has two 12-megapixel cameras on the back.

Screen size and display: 5.8, 6.1, 6.5 inches

The iPhone XS has the smallest physical footprint of the three, while the iPhone XS Max has an absolutely enormous screen, with 6.5-inches of real estate to gaze upon. The iPhone XR uses the LCD screens of Apple’s past, and lacks the pressure-sensing 3D Touch feature that debuted on the iPhone 6S. Instead, it uses haptic feedback like a trackpad when you long-press an icon on the display.

• iPhone XR: 6.1-inch LCD display, Liquid Retina Display pixel density of 326ppi

• iPhone XS: 5.8-inch OLED display, Super Retina pixel density of 458ppi

• iPhone XS Max: 6.5-inch OLED display, Super Retina pixel density of 458ppi

Materials

• iPhone XR: Aluminum body with glass front and back

• iPhone XS: Stainless steel body with glass back and front

• iPhone XS Max: Stainless steel body with glass back and front

Colors

• iPhone XR: Blue, coral, yellow, white, black, Project Red

• iPhone XS: Gold, silver, space gray

• iPhone XS Max: Gold, silver, space gray

Camera features

All three new iPhones have at least one 12-megapixel rear camera (with OIS) and a 7-megapixel front-facing camera that supports Face ID unlocking and Animojis. While the iPhone XR lacks a second rear camera, it uses software to take artistic portrait-style shots with background blur (called Bokeh).

Smart HDR is a new feature that applies to the trio, automatically detecting and fixing red-eye, calling out highlights and deepening shadows. Enhanced portrait selfie software also comes to all three new phones.

• iPhone XR: 12-megapixel camera (f1.8), 5X digital zoom, three portrait lighting effects

• iPhone XS: Dual 12-megapixel camera (f 1.8 wide-angle and f2.4 telephoto), 10x digital zoom, five portrait lighting effects

• iPhone XS Max: Dual 12-megapixel camera (f 1.8 wide-angle and f2.4 telephoto), 10x digital zoom, five portrait lighting effects

The iPhone XR livens up the iPhone family. Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Battery life

Apple never shares specific battery capacity (usually measured in milliampere hours, or mAh), but does give guidance on how much longer than other devices it expects these phones to last. The iPhone XR could potentially have the longest battery life of the three, though we won’t know for sure until after we test all three phones.

• iPhone XR: Apple claims it will run 90 minutes longer than the iPhone 8 Plus, the longest-lasting iPhone of 2017

• iPhone XS: Apple claims it will run 30 minutes longer than the iPhone X

• iPhone XS Max: Apple claims it will run 90 minutes longer than the iPhone X

Internal storage

• iPhone XR: 64GB, 128GB, 256GB

• iPhone XS: 64GB, 256GB, 512GB

• iPhone XS Max: 64GB, 256GB, 512GB

Preorder and sale dates

• iPhone XR: Preorder Oct. 19; sale date Oct. 26

• iPhone XS: Preorder Sept. 14; sale date Sept. 21

• iPhone XS Max: Preorder Sept. 14; sale date Sept. 21

iPhone XR, XS, XS Max specs and price

iPhone XS

iPhone XS Max

iPhone XR

Display size, resolution

5.8-inch Super Retina OLED; 2,436×1,125 pixels

6.5-inch Super Retina OLED; 2,688×1,242 pixels

6.1-inch LCD Retina Display; 1,792×828 pixels

Pixel density

458 ppi

458 ppi

326ppi

Dimensions (Inches)

5.7×2.8×0.3 in

6.2×3.0x.3 in

5.9×3.0x0.33 in

Dimensions (Millimeters)

143.6×70.9×7.7mm

157.5×77.4×7.7mm

150.9×75.7×8.3mm

Weight (Ounces, Grams)

6.24 oz; 177g

7.3; 208g

6.8oz; 194g

Mobile software

iOS 12

iOS 12

iOS 12

Camera

Dual 12-megapixel

Dual 12-megapixel

Single 12-megapixel

Front-facing camera

7-megapixel with Face ID

7-megapixel with Face ID

7-megapixel with Face ID

Video capture

4K

4K

4K

Processor

Apple A12 Bionic

Apple A12 Bionic

Apple A12 Bionic

Storage

64GB, 256GB, 512GB

64GB, 256GB, 512GB

64GB, 128GB, 256GB

RAM

N/A

N/A

N/A

Expandable storage

None

None

None

Battery

N/A, but Apple claims it will last 30 min. longer than iPhone X

N/A, but Apple claims it will last 90 min. longer than iPhone X

N/A, but Apple claims it will last 90 min. longer than iPhone 8 Plus

Fingerprint sensor

None (Face ID)

None (Face ID)

None (Face ID)

Connector

Lightning

Lightning

Lightning

Headphone jack

No

No

No

Special features

Water-resistant (IP68); dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM); wireless charging; Face ID, Animoji

Water-resistant (IP68); dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM); wireless charging; Face ID, Animoji

Water-resistant: IP67, dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM); wireless charging; Face ID, Animoji

Price off-contract (USD)

$999 (64GB), $1,149 (256GB), $1,349 (512GB)

$1,099 (64GB), $1,249 (256GB), $1,449 (512GB)

$749 (64GB), $799 (128GB), $899 (256GB)

Price (GBP)

£999 (64GB), £1,149 (256GB), £1,349 (512GB)

$1,099 (64GB), $1,249 (256GB), $1,449 (512GB)

£749 (64GB), £799 (128GB), £899 (256GB)

Price (AUD)

AU$1,629 (64GB), AU$1,879 (256GB), AU$2,199 (512GB)

AU$1,799 (64GB), AU$2,049 (256GB), AU$2,369 (512GB)

AU$1,229 (64GB), AU$1,299 (128GB), AU$1,479 (256GB)

Everything Apple announced at its Sept. 12 event: Our exhaustive roundup.

iPhone XR, XS, XS Max: Apple’s three new iPhones start at $749.

Breaking news, Global Thread, Tech shell

China & Google finally borne: Accept our terms or stay out

It was a long way of negotiations between China and Google, Chinese are way to particular about there norms and values and don’t allow any one to breach their sentiments no matter you ranked in top brands of the world. Back in 2006 Google started negotiations with China to launch its search engine in China but China has some serious reservations and they drive there people according to their law and pattern.

Google to launch Censor Search Engine in China: sources

It took almost 10 years to both sides to understand each other and realize the business they are missing and service. Now According to a report by the Intercept’s Ryan Gallagher on Wednesday, the search engine will “blacklist sensitive queries” and filter out websites blocked by the Chinese government. Search terms about sensitive subjects such as human rights, democracy, religion, and peaceful protest will be among those blocked.

China censors online information to quash political dissent — and just about anything the government deems dangerous. Google is currently blocked in the country, along with other media giants like Facebook, the New York Times, and YouTube.

With 750 million internet users, China is a huge untapped market for Google. The move to launch a censored search engine in the nation is likely to be great for both Google’s stock and its shareholders.

Google has already proven it’s more comfortable in moral gray areas these days. Now that the U.S. government is less likely to discourage Google from helping a government censor its media, why wouldn’t Google cash in on the opportunity?

A whistleblower provided the site with internal documents on the project, codename Dragonfly, which launched in the spring of 2017. Through Dragonfly, Google is building a special Android search app that follows the Chinese government’s strict censorship guidelines.

The government has already seen a version of the app, and the final product could launch in the nation within the next six to nine months, according to The Intercept’s report.

Breaking news, Tech shell

Apple’s this quarter revenue beats all anticipations explicitly flagship product remained impressive

Apple Inc. delivered its best-ever revenue for the June quarter, typically its weakest period, as demand for high-price iPhones remained resilient and services like app-store sales swelled to all-time highs.

The results for Apple’s fiscal third quarter show how the world’s most valuable company is finding ways to grow amid a contracting global smartphone market that is roiling its rivals.

“Growth was strong all around the world,” Apple finance chief Luca Maestri said during an interview.

Though iPhone sales usually weaken in the spring and summer as anticipation builds for new devices expected in September, Mr. Maestri said demand has remained consistent, particularly for the iPhone X, 8 and 8 Plus. “Customers are really valuing the features in the products,” he said. Shares of Apple, up 28% over the past year, rose 2.6% to $195.30 in after-hours trading.

Apple’s move to raise iPhone prices continued to pay off in the period with sales of its flagship product rising 14.4% to $29.91 billion even as shipments rose less than 1% to 41.3 million. Meanwhile, the company’s services business reported record revenue of $9.55 billion, a 31% increase from a year ago, strengthening the case that Apple is in the midst of a transformation from a device-driven business into one increasingly reliant on sales of subscriptions and software.

The combination drove total revenue up 17% to $53.27 billion in the latest period, above Wall Street expectations and near the high end of its own guidance. Profit rose 32% to $11.52 billion, or $2.34 a share, also above analysts’ consensus estimates.

Apple signaled it expects to sustain strong iPhone sales in the current quarter with a forecast for total revenue of between $60 billion and $62 billion, which would represent a healthy 14% to 18% increase from a year ago. The expected jump reflects a small boost from a trio of new devices the company is expected to release in September, analysts say, including an update to the $999 iPhone X, its first oversize phone with an organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, display and a 6.1” LCD phone with facial recognition technology.

The new phones are projected to be priced between $699 for the LCD device and $1,099 for the plus-size handset, according to UBS, potentially ensuring another year of higher average iPhone prices to lift Apple’s total revenue.

Analysts had estimated the $999 iPhone X made up one-quarter of total iPhones sold, which helped lift average selling prices per iPhone by nearly 20% to about $724.

Gadgets online, Tech shell

China steering close to US in World’s listing of Top tech giants in 2018

The world’s 20 largest tech companies now exclusively

IT industry is overall progressed drastically in regards of innovation and technology in last five years. More than 1.5 millions entrepreneurs globally have registered themselves and have shown keen interest in adding value in the industry. However it has been observed that Silicon valley has declining trend of inviting overseas in IT firms in last few months explicitly from Asia the low economic region, reason of such trend is cost cut.

On the other hand Large companies can be located all over the globe.

For example, massive auto companies can be found practically anywhere on a map. Ford (USA), Toyota (Japan), Volkswagen (Germany), Hyundai (South Korea), Volvo (Sweden), Tata Motors (India), and Magna (Canada) are just some of the biggest companies involved in the production of vehicles or parts.

While the banking, pharma, energy, and retail industries also have geographic spread as well, the same cannot be said for the rapidly-growing tech industry.

Image: Visual Capitalist

The clash of tech titans

The most recent edition of Mary Meeker’s famous Internet Trends 2018 report highlighted the top internet companies in the world by valuation, with an interesting and perhaps unintended outcome.

Of the 20 largest tech giants globally, a total of zero are located outside of the United States and China.

Here are the latest rankings of internet companies, using updated market caps for all public companies:

*In Meeker’s chart, she kept eBay-Paypal together as one entity. We’ve separated them based on the 2015 spinoff.

**Xiaomi’s valuation has been in question ahead of its July 9 IPO in Hong Kong, and we’ve used the most recent valuation estimate of $54 billion here.

In total, the above list of companies is worth $5.9 trillion, with a 75%-25% split in terms of USA/China.

It’s also worth noting that the list excludes Samsung, likely because the South Korean company is quite diversified in its manufacturing activities (TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners, batteries, microwave ovens, etc.).

A steep dropoff

Aside from the USA-China duality, the other major noticeable aspect of the list of the world’s largest tech giants is that it clearly shows a divide between top-tier companies and those further down the ladder. In fact, there is not a single company with a valuation between $200 billion and $450 billion.

The top seven companies on the list account for 81% of the total value of the list, and they are all above the $450B mark. These include behemoths like Apple, Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft, but also two big Chinese companies as well (Tencent, Alibaba).

Meanwhile, the bottom 14 companies muster up just 19% of the value – a fact that underlines how hard it is to vault a tech company into the upper echelon of the market.