Now, Skype users can chat with Microsoft's digital assistant Cortana

Microsoft is introducing an update for its Skype chat app that will have built-in support for its digital assistant Cortana.

Cortana "will be gradually rolled out" for Skype on both Android and iOS platforms, starting with the US, The Verge reported late on Tuesday.

Users will be able to start a private chat with Microsoft Cortana in Skype and the assistant will give them quick suggestions while responding to text chats.

"With Cortana's in-context assistance, it's easier to keep your conversations going by having Cortana suggest useful information based on your chat, like restaurant options or movie reviews. Cortana also suggests smart replies, allowing you to respond to any message quickly and easily -- without typing a thing," Skype wrote in a blog post.

The update to integrate Cortana with Skype was announced more than a year-and-half ago. However, it is not clear what has been the reason for the delay, the report added.

The integration would be similar to what we have seen Google do with its assistant in "Allo" and Facebook with "Messenger".

Fujifilm launches 'X-E3' mirrorless digital camera at Rs 70,999

Expanding its X Series range of premium mirrorless digital cameras, Fujifilm India Pvt Ltd on Wednesday launched FUJIFILM "X-E3" in India.

The camera is available in black and silver colours at a starting price of Rs 70,999 (for the body only).

"X-E3" with "23mm F2" kit is priced at Rs 89,999 and "18-55" kit is at Rs 1,02,999.

The Japanese imaging technology pioneer aims to capture the top spot in the premium mirrorless camera market by 2019.

"The X series was first introduced in March 2011 and is now the most widely accepted mirrorless camera among photographers. In India too, we see much potential in the mirrorless camera segment," said Yasunobu Nishiyama, Managing Director, Fujifilm India Pvt Ltd, in a statement.

"FUJIFILM 'X-E3' has been refined to maximise functional performance. Our endeavour will be to delight our customers by launching new X-series line-up in the coming years," Nishiyama added.

"X-E3" features 24.3MP "APS-C sized X-Trans CMOS III" sensor and X-processor pro-image processing engine.

The device has large phase detection autofocus (AF) area and an updated algorithm to deliver fastest AF speed of 0.06 sec.

"X-E3" offers 5.0 fps live-view shooting, a quick start-up time of 0.4 seconds, a shutter time lag of 0.050 seconds and a shooting interval of 0.25 seconds.

The camera is able to track moving subjects twice as fast as previous models, the company claimed.

The top plate of the camera features two dials: one for shutter speed and the other for exposure compensation.

In terms of connectivity, "X-E3" comes with Bluetooth feature to facilitate easy transfer of pictures.

Airtel partners Karbonn to offer 4G smartphone for Rs 2,899

To take on Reliance Jio in the handset space, country's top operator Bharti Airtel has partnered with Karbonn to offer a 4G smartphone for an effective price of Rs 1,399.

In an apparent reference to Reliance Jio's Rs 1,500 4G-enabled phone, the Sunil Bharti Mittal-led company said it is offering a smartphone for the price of a feature phone. Airtel said this is the first of several partnerships it plans to have with mobile handset manufacturers to bring affordable bundled 4G smartphone options.

In July, Jio had announced a 4G feature phone that would be sold for a security deposit of Rs 1,500, returnable at the end of three years for a full refund, making the device virtually free for consumers.

However, for the Airtel-Karbonn phone, a customer needs to make a down payment of Rs 2,899 and make 36 continuous monthly recharges of Rs 169. The customer will get a cash refund of Rs 500 after 18 months and another Rs 1,000 after 36 months, taking the total cash benefit to Rs 1,500.

In case the customer does not wish to opt for the Rs 169 bundled plan, the user can do recharges of any denomination and validity but to claim the cash refund, recharges worth Rs 3000 must be done within the first 18 months (to claim the first refund installment of Rs 500) and another Rs 3000 over the next 18 months (to claim the second refund installment of Rs 1000).

The Android-based 4G smartphone, Karbonn A40 Indian, has dual SIM slots and access to popular apps like YouTube, WhatsApp and Facebook. A consumer will not need to return the handset to Airtel or Karbonn at any point to claim the cash benefit.

The partnership is part of Airtel's 'Mera Pehla 4G Smartphone' initiative wherein it will partner with multiple handset players.

"We plan to partner with multiple manufacturers to bring affordable smartphone options to the market and build an open ecosystem of low cost devices," Raj Pudipeddi, Director - Consumer Business & CMO, Bharti Airtel said.

Ever since Jio had announced handsets as part of the offers, incumbent operators too have been forced to forge partnerships with device makers. Airtel was also doing bundling offers with various handset players as also Vodafone and Idea Cellular. However, things further fired up when Jio announced the launch of Rs 1,500 feature phone, targeted at the odd 500 million customers primarily in rural areas. The move by Jio was aimed at giving 4G connectivity at the price of a 2G feature phone.

Over 5 million people downloaded Google's 'Tez' app on Play Store

Google's digital payment app 'Tez' that was launched in India on September 18 has been downloaded five million times on Play Store.

Within 24 hours of 'Tez' being launched, Google saw nearly 1.8 crore gross merchandise volume (GMV) done with over four lakh active users.

Built on the Indian government-supported Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Tez allows users, free of charge, to make small or big payments straight from their bank accounts.

According to the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), the number of transactions on UPI has crossed three crore in September.

The number of transactions on UPI platform increased to 3.07 crore in September as against 1.66 crore in August -- an increase of 85.32 per cent.

Of the 3.07 crore transactions, BHIM's share was 76.03 lakh -- a market share of nearly 24.7 per cent.

"Tez" app works in partnership with four Banks -- Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India -- to facilitate the processing of payments across over 50 UPI-enabled banks.

The app was built for India, working on the vast majority of the country's smartphones and is available in English and seven Indian languages -- Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu.

Apple iPad Pro 2018 model may have this iPhone X featureodel may have this iPhone X feature

NEW DELHI: Apple recently launched its anniversary edition iPhone - iPhone X with the much-talked Face ID feature. The company claims that it uses TrueDepth camera for its Face ID feature on iPhone X. Now, Apple tipster and KGi Securities analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo has made a prediction for upcoming lineup of Apple iPad. Kuo said that Apple will incorporate TrueDepth camera in its iPad models for the year 2018. This means that the upcoming iPads will also feature facial recognition.

According to a report by MacRumours, Kuo said that Apple will do so in order to offer similar user experience for iPhone X and iPads. The report further added that by doing this Apple is trying to build a new ecosystem, however, the feature will be limited to high-end iPad Pro lineup only. Earlier, Kuo predicted that the company will introduce the same Face ID feature in 2018 iPhone models. It is expected that the company will launch the new iPad models with Face ID feature in March next year.

Kuo also said that after the introduction of Face ID from Apple, Android developers will also work on the same technology for Android smartphones. He recommends that Android developers should shift their focus from under-glass fingerprint sensor to facial recognition technology. He also mentions that although Apple has received accolades for the new technology but its success totally depends on its users.

Apple's anniversary edition iPhone is all set to go on pre-orders in 55 countries including India starting October 27. It will hit the retail shelves starting November 3. Apple has priced the iPhone X, which comes in two storage variants 64GB and 256GB, at Rs 89,000 onwards in India. This means that the 64GB variant of iPhone X will be priced at Rs 89,000 while the 256GB variant is priced at Rs 1,02,000.

At the time of the launch, among the three iPhones, iPhone X stole the spotlight with its bezel-less display and FaceID. Apple CEO Tim Cook called iPhone X "the biggest leap forward since the original iPhone."

Apple's iCloud infrastructure executive leaves

Signalling Apple's plans to reduce dependency on external Cloud services, the company's executive Eric Billingsley, who was in charge of operating infrastructure for iCloud services, including the iCloud Drive document storage service, has left the company.

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 vs Nokia 8 vs OnePlus 5: A comparison

NEW DELHI: Xiaomi launched its first bezel-less smartphone in India. Priced at Rs 35,999, the Mi Mix 2 is the most expensive smartphone of the company till date. The smartphone is powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and runs Android 7.1 Nougat. The company also announced that it will receive Android Oreo update by the end of this year. Going by the price and specifications the smartphone will face tough competition from the recently launched Nokia 8 and the OnePlus 5. Wondering what's the difference between the three smartphones? Here's a spec-spec comparison of all the three...

Display

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2: 5.99-inch full HD+ display with 1080x2160 pixels resolution

Nokia 8: 5.3-inch QHD display with 1440 x 2560 pixel resolution

OnePlus 5: 5.5-inch Full HD display with 1080x1920 pixel resolution

Processor

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2: Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835

Nokia 8: Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835

OnePlus 5: Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835

Operating System

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2: Android 7.0 Nougat (upgradable to Android 8.0 Oreo)

Nokia 8: Android 7.0 Nougat (upgradable to Android 8.0 Oreo)

OnePlus 5: Android 7.0 Nougat (upgradable to Android 8.0 Oreo)

RAM 

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2: 6GB

Nokia 8: 4GB

OnePlus 5: 6GB/8GB

Storage

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2: 128GB

Nokia 8: 64GB

OnePlus 5: 64GB/128GB

Camera

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2: 12MP rear and 5MP front camera 

Nokia 8: 13MP dual rear and 13MP front camera

OnePlus 5: 16MP + 20MP rear and 16MP front camera 

Battery

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2: 3,400 mAh battery

Nokia 8: 3,090 mAh battery

OnePlus 5: 3,300 mAh battery

Price

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2: Rs 35,999

Nokia 8: Rs 36,999

OnePlus 5: Starting at Rs 32,999

Honor 7X smartphone to be launched tomorrow in China

NEW DELHI: Chinese smartphone maker Huawei's sub-brand Honor is all set to launch its latest smartphone in China. The company has sent out media invites for the launch event on October 11, where it will unveil the Honor 7X smartphone.

The smartphone was recently listed on the certification site TENAA. The listing reveals that the smartphone will come in two variants. The device will feature a 5.9-inch full HD+ display with 1080x2160 pixel resolution. The display will offer 18:9 aspect ratio with 2.5D curved glass on top.

It is also expected that the smartphone will be powered by an octa-core Kirin 665 processor which was spotted in the recently launched Honor 9i smartphone. The smartphone will offer 4GB of RAM and 64GB internal storage. Users will also be able to expand the storage by adding a microSD card of up to 256GB.

The Honor 7X is the successor to the Honor 6X which the company launched last year. So, it is expected that just like its predecessor, the device will also sport a dual rear camera setup. The TENAA listing reveals that it will flaunt a 16MP + 2MP rear camera with LED flash and an 8MP selfie shooter. The device will run Android 7.0 Nougat operating system topped with company's own EMUI 5.1 on top.

It is also expected that the smartphone will feature a metal unibody design and will also incorporate a fingerprint sensor placed on the rear panel. The device is said to be backed by a 3240mAh battery.

Honor, last week, launched its Honor 9i smartphone in India priced at Rs 17,999. The smartphone follows this year's trend and sports a near bezel-less display, something similar to what the aforementioned TENAA listing shows.

The smartphone comes in three colours -- Prestige Gold, Aurora Blue and Graphite Black. The smartphone will exclusively be available on Flipkart starting October 14.

BlackBerry Motion with Snapdragon 625 SoC, 4,000mAh battery launched

China-based TCL Communications, which has global rights to BlackBerry phone brand, on Sunday launched a new smartphone, called the BlackBerry Motion. The smartphone is said to be similar to the BlackBerry KEYone but comes with a full touchscreen instead of a physical keyboard and touchscreen combination.

The BlackBerry Motion will be initially available in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the moment, with a price equivalent to about $460 (Rs 30,000 approximately).

The smartphone sports a 5.5-inch full HD LCD display. It runs on a customised version of Android 7.1 Nougat operating system and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor coupled with 4GB of RAM. It comes with 32GB of built-in storage, an Engadget report said late on Sunday.

The BlackBerry Motion comes with a 12-megapixel rear camera with f/2.0 aperture and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. It is powered by a 4,000mAh battery and has a front-facing fingerprint scanner.

You’ll get the same security-focused apps intended to make it business-and privacy-friendly”, the report added.

In comparison, the BlackBerry KEYone has a 4.5-inch display with 1620 x 1080 pixels resolution, 433ppi and 3:2 aspect ratio. The smartphone runs on Android 7.1 Nougat and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor coupled with 4GB of RAM.

Other important features of the smartphone include 64GB built-in storage, 12-megapixel rear camera, USB Type-C support, and a 3,500mAh battery. The BlackBerry KEYOne is 

7 things to keep in mind before starting a YouTube channel

If anyone tells you it's too late to start a YouTube channel now, ignore them. The platform is booming, and while there have been some controversies over the years, it's still possible for a new content creator to grow and do well from scratch.

But before you dive in, there are some things you need to think about if you want to maximize your chances for success. There are no guarantees when it comes to YouTube.

1. Motivation

Not motivation in the sense of "being eager to act and work," but rather "the reason why you act and work." What's your motivation for starting a YouTube channel?

Maybe you want to teach others how to do something, like DIY home repair or programming web and mobile apps. Maybe you want to tell brilliant stories through short film. Or maybe you want to play and review video games. It can be anything, but it has to be something.

Your motivation is the basis for three key elements shared by every successful YouTube channel: topic coverage, target audience, and reason for existence.

-Topic coverage is WHAT your videos will be about.

-Target audience is WHO your videos are intended for.

-Reason for existence is WHY they should watch your videos.

For example, MakeUseOf's YouTube channel includes gadget reviews and tech tutorials (what) intended for people who want to level up their tech-savviness (who) and we do it in a way that's down-to-earth and approachable for even the newbiest of newbies (why).

Before you launch your channel, you must define these things. Otherwise you'll end up with a hodge-podge channel that fails to capture any kind of meaningful viewership, and no meaningful viewership means no long-term success.

2. Frequency

Once you know what kind of content you'll make and who will be watching it, you need to decide on a production schedule. How often will you release new videos?

It mainly depends on content type:

-For vlogs and Let's Plays, maybe every day (e.g., Northernlion).

-For research-heavy trivia, maybe every week (e.g., Wendover Productions).

-For high-quality skits, maybe every month. (e.g., Epic Rap Battles of History).

Be realistic and think long-term. You might have the energy to do one video per day right now, but can you keep that up for six months or a year? Do you want this to be a full-time endeavor or would you rather have some leeway for when wrenches are thrown into your schedule?

It may sound silly, but changing up your frequency later on down the road could really tick off your viewership — so much so that they unsubscribe. Even missing one day (or week or month) could trigger discontent with fans. When in doubt, go with a lesser frequency.

3. Style

Many people will tell you that success is all about "substance over style." Well, they're wrong. The true key to success is "substance and style." YouTube viewers eat with their eyes, and if you serve up a dish that's healthy but bland, many will turn their noses up at it.

Of the many ingredients to a successful YouTube channel, three involve style:

-Smart titles

-Consistent format

-Video thumbnails

If your channel will involve audio, then you need to work on articulation, confident voice, and getting rid of annoying speech patterns (like upspeak). If you're going to be on camera, you'll want to work on standing steady, looking into the camera, smiling, not fidgeting, and so on.

A few ways you can do this: confront and slay your fear of public speaking, then learn how an engaging speaker speaks by watching and studying notable TED Talks, and lastly, check out these free sites and resources for improving communication skills.

But you also need to edit your videos well. No, I don't condone joining in on the jump-cut trend for viewers with no attention span. It just means picking a good video-editing app (we haverecommendations for Windows, Mac, Linux), making sure the quality and framerate are high enough, and cutting out all the unnecessary bits.

Learn more with tips for editing video like a pro and tips for creating shareable videos.

4. Equipment

Again, forget about "substance over style." Drill it into your brain that "substance and style" is key to YouTube success — and this means acquiring the essential equipment necessary to create videos. Fortunately, you don't have to spend much to get started.

At a bare minimum, you'll want to have:

-Camera: Before you drop $500+ on a decent DSLR or mirrorless, know that a quality webcam is more than enough at the start and costs less than $100. Or you can just use your smartphone! Save the high-end fancy cameras until you've been doing this for 6-12 months and know you're going to keep at it for years to come.

-Tripod: If you do have a separate camera, or if you end up using a smartphone, then you'll want a tripod to hold it up and keep it steady. You could put it on a desk or shelf, but tripods offer more flexibility and don't cost much. See our camera tripod recommendations and our smartphone tripod recommendations.

-Microphone: The built-in microphones that come with cameras — whether webcam, smartphone, DSLR, or mirrorless — are often terrible, because most of the work goes into the video aspect. So get an external microphone, record audio separately, then mix it with the video afterwards. Learn more about condenser vs. dynamic microphones to pick the right one for your content type.

Green Screen: A green screen is necessary if you want to change the background in your video. While an actual green screen kit could cost upwards of $50, you can just use a literal green sheet or DIY one with an unused white sheet and some green dye.

Screen Capture Software: Only necessary if your videos involve content from your screen, such as Excel video tutorials or PC gameplay. I highly recommend OBS Studio, which can record your screen directly as an MP4 video file.

This is just a quick overview. If you want to learn more about each part, see our full article on what equipment you need to start a YouTube channel. When you start getting serious with your channel, you may eventually want to consider building a YouTube studio at home.

5. Promotion

"If you build it, they will come" — nope. Not true at all for YouTube. You can go five years producing a new video every single day and it's entirely possible to never crack 1,000 views on any video.

If you want to succeed, you have to promote yourself — and there's a thin line between spam and self-promotion. Here are a few ideas you might use:

-Social Media: We've written about promoting a cause on social media, but the tips also apply to YouTube channel promotion.

-Forums: These are great, especially the big ones like Reddit. Find a community for which your content will be relevant, then share your best content (not all your content). Don't share too frequently though, else you may be banned for spamming.

-Giveaways: People love free stuff. By running a giveaway that involves social sharing as a method of entry, your channel can reach a lot of people within days. Just make sure follow our guide to running social media giveaways and that you offer a prize that's valuable to your target audience.

-Collaborate: Working with others isn't just a good way to network and expand your contacts — when they share your collaborations with their audiences, it exposes their audiences to you. It's a win-win for everybody.

Bear in mind that promotion is a long game. It may takes months, or even years, for your channel to gain popularity. Perseverance is the number one trait shared between YouTube creators!

6. Monetization

Making money through YouTube is harder than it used to be, but it's still possible today even if you're just starting out.

While most people think YouTubers earn boatloads of cash through advertisements, the truth is that ads rarely pay well for the effort. As of 2016, the average revenue per 1,000 views on YouTube was about $1.50 (after YouTube takes its cut). That comes out to $1,500 per 1 million views, and users have reported that rates dropped further in 2017.

In short, don't expect to get rich off ads even if your channel goes viral. So how do the top YouTubers make their money? A combination of many monetization methods:

-Affiliate sales and product promotions

-Consultation services

-Direct advertisements that aren't Adsense

-Public speaking events

-Support from fans who donate

7. Goals and Milestones

The quickest way to grow discouraged as a YouTube creator? Compare yourself to others.

Before you even start your first video, lay out a few goals and/or milestones that you want to reach. Not only will these keep you focused on your own path, and not only will they give you a sense of progress, but they show you what to do when you feel stuck.

An effective goal has three core elements:

-Measurable: The goal should have a quantified component that lets you know, at any given moment in time, whether you've reached it or not.

-Timed: The goal should have a realistic deadline — not so far out so that you still feel pressure, but not so close that it's overwhelming.

-Controllable: The goal should be an action you can perform, rather than an outcome that you hope will come as a result of an action.

For example, you might aim to put out 10 videos (measurable) by the end of October (timed). Note that "putting out a video" is an action you can do, whereas "reach 1,000 viewers" is not an action but rather an outcome. "Earn $50 this month" isn't a goal, whereas "find and negotiate a sponsorship deal" is.

Create a few goals, then keep creating more as you reach them. You'd be surprised how effective this can be at keeping you motivated and on track to success.

What Kind of YouTube Channel Are You Making?

I hope this post has been empowering and not discouraging. The main takeaway is this: creating and running a YouTube channel is easy, but building one that's successful takes a lot of effort. There's a lot to learn, a lot to practice, and a lot to keep in mind.

But if you take it seriously, there's no reason why yours can't succeed.

Credit: Make Use Of

Telangana IT minister has sent a letter to telecom minister, read why

HYDERABAD: Welcoming the TRAI's suggestion that mandates every building plan to have a broadband cable duct, Telangana IT Minister K T Rama Rao today requested Union minister Manoj Sinha to make this a law to ensure that last meter connectivity issues for broadband networks are resolved.

In a letter addressed to Sinha, the MoS for Communications, Rao said, "We are of the understanding that the recently held Telecom Commission meeting has cleared the TRAI's recommendation that mandates every building plan to have a broadband cable duct, and that a completion certificate (CC) to the building should only be given if it has incorporated such duct in the building.

"We strongly support this recommendation and request you to ratify this to make it law of the land so that the last meter connectivity issues are resolved," Rao said.

Rao, popularly called as KTR, also requested Sinha's intervention in directing the Ministry of Urban Development to give similar directive to all state governments to implement and make broadband as a utility, and make it as a part of conduct to give clearance /completion certificate to only those buildings having duct for broadband in place.

7 things to keep in mind before starting a YouTube channel

But before you dive in, there are some things you need to think about if you want to maximize your chances for success. There are no guarantees when it comes to YouTube.

"We expect that this categorisation of broadband service as a utility and mandating duct laying in building will pave the way for an unprecedented and exponential increase in broadband penetration in our country," Rao added.

He also said the state has created the Telangana Fiber Grid Corporation Limited to build a broadband network reaching every home, government office and institution.

"To do this, we are riding along Mission Bhagiratha programme of our state which connects homes with tap water connection," he stated.

Telangana Fiber Grid (T-Fiber) is envisioned to establish a state-of-the-art network infrastructure to facilitate the realisation of 'Digital Telangana' objective by piggybacking on Mission Bhagiratha, an ambitious drinking water project. 

It's official, Windows Phone is dead

NEW DELHI: Windows Phone is officially dead. The company's Vice President Joe Belfiore took to Twitter to confirm the news. He said that the company will no longer focus on Windows 10 Mobile features and hardware. He further added that the company will help the end user if they wish to shift from Windows to Android or iOS operating systems.

The company will no longer introduce new features to the OS but it will still roll out security patches and bug fixes for the enterprise market that still rely on Windows 10 Phone.

It's been a year that Microsoft is not doing anything for the Windows Phone platform and now the company has officially admitted to its demise. Recently, the company's co-founder Bill Gates also switched to Android operating system. 

Belfiore further tweeted that the lack of apps on the platform created problems for the end user and the developers also showed no interest. The company, however, offered to pay to the developers to build apps for Windows platform but nothing worked out.

The company is now focusing on bringing out their best features on Android and iOS. Recently, Microsoft launched its browser for Android and iOS as part of a beta programme and it also re- introduced the Arrow launcher for Android with some improved features.

The company will now focus on other platforms and will encourage the users to use their services on that. It is sad news for Windows Phone fans but you will still receive the bug fixes and security patches from the company.