SAMSUNG S12 COMING SOON: VIEW

SAMSUNG S12 COMING SOON: VIEW

Technology sammiep   03:36:00

Samsung testing two foldable smartphones, working on special Android OS version

Samsung is debating between two foldable smartphone prototypes with one that is horizontally long and the other vertically longer when unfolded, Bloomberg reports

Samsung is reportedly working testing two prototypes of its foldable smartphone, which is expected to launch next year. According to a Bloomberg report, which cites people familiar with the matter, the foldable-screen device has the codename “Winner” and has been under work for years. Previous reports have pegged that the phone could ultimately launch as the Galaxy X. Samsung has in the past shown flexible displays for smartphones, though these were all prototypes.

Samsung is debating between two prototypes with one that is horizontally long and the other which is vertically longer when unfolded. Both the models open from side to side, however, the landscape model has fallen out of favour as some designers felt the ‘portrait type’ to be easier to handle with one hand, the report cited.

Bloomberg reports that due to technical difficulties, the foldable-display device might not feature a fingerprint sensor. However, the device is expected to include a four-inch screen on the outside to perform basic tasks like browsing emails, texts without the need of flipping it to open.

The prototype design is said to be similar to Motorola Razr with screen opening with a snap. As per the report, the display is coated with a film that is basically used in photography. The device has passed internal tests of folding more than ‘2,00,000 times,’ however, the questions are still raised regarding its yield rate in mass production.

Besides the display, the Bloomberg report also shares some insight about the device software, which could be a ‘special version’ of Android OS. The user interface is expected to heavily depend on which of the two of designs the company finalise.

Samsung could likely reduce battery size on the phone to make it lighter. The company might not introduce its foldable-screen phone until the second quarter next year, the report added.

Facebook Messenger Hits 1 Billion Users, Growing Faster Than Facebook Itself

Facebook Messenger Hits 1 Billion Users, Growing Faster Than Facebook Itself

Technology sammiep   22:00:00

Josh Edelson / AFP / Getty Images

Facebook Messenger is now used by 1 billion people each month, following a torrid period of growth that saw it add 100 million active users every few months since the start of the year. The app claimed 800 million active users in January and 900 million in April. Now, it’s reached a cool billion.

The milestone announcement was a good time to check in with Messenger head David Marcus, who answered a few questions about the standalone app.

Which is growing faster: Messenger or Facebook?

While Facebook has more users than Messenger, Marcus said the app is growing faster than its parent. But can Messenger overtake the “Blue app” as it’s called? The stat to track is what percentage of people using Messenger don’t yet have Facebook. “That’s not even a number I know right now,” Marcus said. “But Messenger [registration] is growing, and I think starting next year it’s definitely going to be one of our important vectors of growth.”

Do Messenger bots count as Messenger users?

Asked if the thousands of bots now on Messenger factored into 1 billion-user milestone, Marcus said they did not. “Bots don’t count as users,” he explained. It’s probably only a matter of time until they demand their rights.

Is Facebook considering a Messenger bot directory?

It can sometimes be difficult to find chat bots on Messenger. Now that Facebook has amassed a good number of bots, it’s working on making them easier to discover. “In the first month of opening the platform, we were focused on working with partners to get their bot experiences to a really good place,” Marcus said. “We needed to have density of bots … we’re getting to this point.”

What happened to Facebook’s “M” AI assistant?

Though you haven’t heard much about it lately, Facebook hasn’t given up on M, its artificial intelligence–powered virtual assistant. Marcus said the first “at scale” beneficiaries of M’s technology are outside developers using its AI to makes their own chat bots smarter. “It’s self-reinforcing,” Marcus said. “When it learns in other circumstances, it makes M better as well.”

WhatsApp Banned In Brazil Again

WhatsApp Banned In Brazil Again

Technology sammiep   21:56:00

The Facebook-owned company and Brazil’s judiciary have been locked in an epic struggle for months now.

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

A Brazilian court on Tuesday ordered yet another shutdown of the popular messaging app Whatsapp, shutting off service to more than 100 million people in the Latin American country.

The President of the Supreme Court, Ricardo Lewandowski, lifted the ban just four hours later, calling the lower court’s actions “disproportionate.”

Brazil’s courts claim that WhatsApp has failed to cooperate in providing investigators with information relating to a criminal court case. This is the third time in a year that the service has been shut down in Brazil as part of this feud — both times have seen higher courts lift the bans put in place by lower courts.

In the latest decision, Judge Daniela Barbosa de Souza criticized WhatsApp’s behavior, saying she was stunned by a request from the company that the court’s decision be published in English, saying that meant that Facebook was “treating the country as a “banana republic.’”

Whatsapp spokesperson Anne Yeh told BuzzFeed News in an emailed statement: “We’re working to get WhatsApp back online in Brazil. It’s shocking that less than two months after Brazilian people and lawmakers loudly rejected blocks of services like WhatsApp, history is repeating itself. As before, millions of people are cut off from friends, loved ones, customers, and colleagues today, simply because we are being asked for information we don’t have.”

Following the Supreme Court stepping in, Yeh said that WhatsApp is “pleased” by Lewandowski’s action. “In his decision, the chief justice stressed how people from across Brazil, including members of the judiciary, rely on WhatsApp to communicate with others every day, and that they bear the greatest burden when a service is blocked,” she wrote in an email to BuzzFeed News.

In issuing the injunction on behalf of the Popular Socialist Party of Brazil, Lewandowski said that the ruling from de Souza struck at the heart of the freedom of communication. The case in which the decision was ordered, over the authorities’ access to encrypted data when investigating crimes, is still ongoing.

The now suspended decision ordered Brazil’s telecommunications companies to block access to WhatsApp — the service will only be suspended once all telecoms operators have been notified. It also set a fine of 50,000 Brazilian real (US $15278) per day for as long as Facebook does not comply with the court’s request for information.

Company Manager Tells Workers he Will Fire Anyone Who Buys An iPhone

Company Manager Tells Workers he Will Fire Anyone Who Buys An iPhone

Technology sammiep   21:52:00

The proposed boycott from the small company, whose warning went super viral, is the latest pitched over a dispute between China and the Philippines.

A photo of a company’s internal notice threatening to fire anyone who buys the yet-to-be-released iPhone 7 has gone absolutely viral in China.

weibo.com

The Hangzhou-based Bina Industry issued a “Patriotic Notice” on its public WeChat page banning its employees from using iPhone products.

gph.is

Bina Industry has about 50 employees and calls itself an expert in “non-formaldehyde benzene custom interior design.”

The notice itself, signed and dated by the company’s general manager Zhang Yunlong, threatens to fire and never rehire employees who buy an iPhone 7. For those who already have iPhones, don’t worry, the company will help, by destroying the old iPhones and compensating if the employees prove to change brands.

The compensation rates as stated in the notice for the iPhone 4, 5, 6 are 1,000 yuan (equaling $150), 1,500 yuan ($225) and 2,500 yuan ($375).

In a response to The Paper, a shareholder of the company said that Chinese brand phones were also good, asking, “Why bother following the trend to purchase expensive iPhones?”

(BuzzFeed News has reached out to Bina Industry for comment.)

So why the sudden iPhone hate? The short answer is the Philippines.

Ted Aljibe / AFP / Getty Images

China recently lost a key international ruling to the Philippines in its claim over disputed waterways in the South China Sea. The US is not directly involved in the ruling, but it has openly shown support of the ruling. (It also has a Mutual Defense Treaty that promises to protect the Philippines during conflicts.) Hence why the iPhone is now under attack.

The reactions, however, might not be anything close to what the company, whose motto is “Make Chinese Love China-made,” expected.

weibo.com

“Perfect,” user “Doing” commented standing in for the company’s employees, “[I’ll] buy the iPhone 7 immediately so that he could fire me, and deal with him in Labor Arbitration the next day. [It’s like] salaries worth several months to come for free.”

“Delete the Windows system in your company computers,” another user said.

weibo.com

“Brainless, we are an export-oriented company,” a third user replied. “If other countries also boycott China-made products, it means seclusion. Stupid.” The reply has been liked by 2,300 people.

weibo.com

Other users agree with the company but disagree with its “blind patriotism” and urge the employees of the company to quit.

weibo.com

China has called the ruling a “political farce” and said to continue “safeguarding” its interests in the waters. And other products have also been threatened with boycott.

Greg Baker / AFP / Getty Images

People have protested in front of KFCs in Hebei, Jiangsu, and other Chinese provinces holding banners that read “Eating American KFC is a loss of face for our ­ancestors,” and reportedly caused branches to close.

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THAT'S @ThatsOnline

Update: Protestors Demand Boycott of American/Japanese/Korean/Philippine Goods at Hebei KFChttp://www.thatsmags.com/china/post/14538/hebei-students-boycott-kfc-after-south-china-sea-ruling …

11:20 AM - 18 Jul 2016

 
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•  55 likes

Even McDonald’s has been boycotted.

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Dali L. Yang @Dali_Yang

KFC and McDonalds under siege in some Chinese cities following tribunal ruling on the South China Sea.https://twitter.com/letscorp/status/755211187546050560 …

2:32 AM - 19 Jul 2016

 
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Vendors on online retailer Taobao are now quick to emphasize that their dried fruits are not from the Philippines.

Taobao

Taobao

Some product pages even have images like these with captions reading “come order if you support the Philippines~ see if I will follow the shipment address and take care of you!!”

“How is this different than smashing Japanese-brand cars?” asked one Weibo user, referring to the 2012anti-Japanese demonstrations over another disputed set of islands.

weibo.com

“Isn’t it one’s own freedom to decide what to buy! Why always the moral coercion of others,” the user wrote.