Miscellanea

1. Technology

11.  China opens its first bank without bankers

A state-owned
Chinese bank has opened an automated branch equipped with facial-scanning
software, a virtual reality room, a hologram machine, talking robots and touch
screens for paying utility bills, among other functions. The branch opened last
week in central Shanghai’s Huangpu district and is being hyped as China’s first
“unmanned bank.”

Beijing-based China Construction
Bank says the high-tech branch is meant to make banking more convenient,
personalized and efficient. It also reflects growing competition from cashless
payment systems that are giving the banks a run for their money. A robot greets
customers at the entrance and answers questions using voice recognition
software. Clients can swipe their national identification cards to enter the
bank or scan their faces using the bank’s facial recognition device. Machines
inside allow visitors to buy gold, change currency, or scout real estate
investments using virtual reality googles.

The bank isn’t totally unstaffed.
Guards still stand sentry, and a room equipped with teleconference software
allows VIP clients to request help from human employees based elsewhere.
“Through the use of facial recognition, even without a human in the loop, the
system can ensure uniqueness of the individual at the time of enrollment and
can verify each time the person conducts a transaction,” said Joseph Atick, a
biometrics expert and chairman of Identity International.

(Source:
timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

12.  Competition Commission fines Google Rs 136
crore for search bias

India’s antitrust watchdog
Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a 1.36 billion rupees ($21.17 million)
fine on Google for “search bias” and abuse of its dominant position,
in the latest regulatory setback for the world’s most popular internet search
engine. CCI said Google, the core unit of U.S. firm Alphabet Inc, was abusing
its dominance in online web search and online search advertising markets.

“Google was found to be
indulging in practices of search bias and by doing so, it causes harm to its
competitors as well as to users,” the CCI said in a 190-page order.
“Google was leveraging its dominance in the market for online general web
search, to strengthen its position in the market for online syndicate search
services,” the CCI said. However, the CCI said it did not find any
contravention in respect of Google’s specialised search design, AdWords and
online distribution agreements.

A Google spokesman said the company
was reviewing the “narrow concerns” identified by the Commission and
will assess its next steps. “We have always focused on innovating to
support the evolving needs of our users. The Competition Commission of India
has confirmed that, on the majority of issues it examined, our conduct complies
with Indian competition laws,” he said. The Indian watchdog’s order is the
latest antitrust setback for Google. Last year, The European Commission imposed
a record 2.4 billion euro ($3 billion) fine on the company for favouring its
shopping service and demoting rival offerings. Google has appealed against the
order.

Source: (www.businesstoday.in)

13. Tech billionaires
parenting

Melinda Gates’ children don’t have
Smartphone and only use a computer in the kitchen. Her husband Bill spends
hours in his office reading books while everyone else is refreshing their home
page. The most sought after private school in Silicon Valley, the Waldorf
school of the  peninsula, bans electronic
devices for the under -11s and teaches the children of eBay, Apple, Uber and
Google staff to make go karts, knit and cook. Mark Zuckerberg wants his
daughter to read Dr Seuss and play outside rather than use Messenger kids.
Steve Jobs strictly limited his children’s use of technology at home. It is
astonishing if you think about it: the more money you make out of the tech
industry, the more you appear to shield your family from its effects.

(Source: Alice Thomson in The
Times)

14. Twitter urges all users to
change passwords after glitch

Twitter urged its more than 330
million users to change their passwords after a glitch caused some to be stored
in readable text on its internal computer system rather than disguised by a
process known as “hashing”.

The social network disclosed the
issue in a blog saying it had resolved the problem and an internal
investigation had found no indication passwords were stolen or misused by
insiders. Still, it urged all users to consider changing their passwords.

“We fixed the bug and have no
indication of a breach or misuse by anyone,” chief executive Jack Dorsey said
in a Tweet. “As a precaution, consider changing your password on all services
where you’ve used this password.” The blog did not say how many passwords were
affected. A person familiar with the company’s response said the number was
“substantial” and that they were exposed for “several months”.

The glitch was related to Twitter’s
use of “hashing” and caused passwords to be written on an internal computer log
before the scrambling process was completed, the blog said. “We are very sorry
this happened,” the Twitter blog said.

(Source: Times of India)

15. Facebook to hit e-commerce
market with B2C offering

After making inroads into India’s
payments sector via WhatsApp, Facebook is eyeing a larger piece of the
country’s fast-growing ecommerce market where the world’s largest retailers
Amazon and Walmart are gearing up for a direct faceoff.

The social media giant is in talks
with several brands and businesses to list on Facebook Marketplace. It will
begin testing business-to-consumer transactions on the marketplace ahead of a
soft launch planned for June, one of them said. Facebook “will build more tools
(on its marketplace) for businesses to upload products and manage inventory and
orders, and will also add payments to it by the end of this year”, the other
person said. “For now, Facebook will start with directing consumers to sellers’
(Facebook) pages or websites.”

Facebook launched its marketplace
as a consumer-to-consumer interface in India about six months ago only to
receive a lukewarm response to its attempt at creating a domestic Craigslist,
competing with startups such as Quikr and OLX.

India’s online retail sector is
expected to grow to $27 billion this year after registering sales worth $19.6
billion in 2017, estimates Forrester Research. Global retailers are betting
more on the massive growth potential for the fledgling market, which Morgan
Stanley estimates will be worth $200 billion by 2026. Facebook Marketplace is
available in 70 countries and has more than 800 million people visiting each
month to buy and sell goods.

(Source: Economic Times)

2.  Inspirational

16. Writing with thumb and
little finger, boy scores 90.33% in ICSE

Liron is a student of Lady Ratanbai
and Sir Mathuradas Vissanji Academy in Andheri East where his mother works in
the administration department. Born with constriction band syndrome,
16-year-old Liron D’Silva had amniotic bands resulting in partially formed fingers
with only two fully developed fingers on the right hand, his thumb and little
finger. However, this congenital defect did not deter Liron from taking his
Class X ICSE examinations without the help of a writer and he secured an
overall percentage of 90.33 with a score of 99 in Maths and 97 in Social
Studies.

“It was difficult, but I managed,”
said Liron explaining that he wanted to write his papers himself because it is
often hard to explain to a writer what he is thinking. “I also wanted to get a
good score on my own merit.” His mother Linet D’Silva wrote to the board
explaining Liron’s condition and they granted him extra time, 30 minutes for
every hour. “Liron has never let his disability get in the way,” she said. “He
has 100 per cent attendance in school and even plays sports like lawn tennis
and taekwondo.”

Liron is a student of Lady Ratanbai
and Sir Mathuradas Vissanji Academy in Andheri East where his mother works in
the administration department. “He adamantly refused to let anyone else write his
papers for him and has been consistently appearing for his own exams, barring
one time in the ninth standard when a recent surgery had left him in too much
pain to do so,” she said.

Growing up with a normal twin
brother, Rion, Liron has found life especially challenging. “But I choose to
view difficulties as opportunities. I want to inspire other people like me to
live life to the fullest,” he says.

(Source Indianexpress.com)

17.  When Sachin Tendulkar helped Indian
wheelchair cricket team realise its dream

Life can be harsh and test
someone’s willpower with all its severity. But if there is perseverance, it can
force open the doors also. Ask Somjeet Singh or Squadron Leader Abhay Partab
Singh.

They are part of an Indian cricket
team – the Indian wheelchair cricket team, which successfully completed its
first international tour of Bangladesh. It was their dream to wear the national
jersey but they also needed a
dream merchant.

A month back,
36-year-old Pradeep Raj, who is the secretary of the Wheelchair Cricket India
(WCI), was trying to raise funds to the tune of Rs 6.5 lakh so that the Indian
team could travel to Bangladesh for a bilateral series. It was then the idea of
writing to Tendulkar crossed his mind. “Despite my best efforts, I could only
get only one sponsor, who gave Rs 2 lakh. I had knocked many doors for our
wheelchair team but to no avail. I had Sachin sir’s email address as during my
days as a para-athlete (he was a cricketer and then a para TT player), I had
e-mailed him. This time also I mailed Sachin sir asking for help,” Raj
said.

“To my pleasant surprise, his
office got in touch with me within three days and in next few days, he donated
the outstanding Rs 4.5 lakh. Without his help, the Indian Wheelchair cricket
team would have had to cancel their trip to Bangladesh. The financial help
provided by him went a long way in booking air tickets for the 19-member
team,” Raj said.

“Some political party and
Actor too donated small amount to play players fees. So for the first time, Indian
players got Rs 20,000 each for playing a tournament,” Raj said. The Indian
team beat Bangladesh 2-0 in the three match series.

In wheelchair cricket, the matches
are held in T20 format. They are trying to use lighter balls (used for women’s
cricket). If the wheelchair is used by batsman to obstruct a delivery, then he
is adjudged lbw. The boundaries are at 45 yards.

“In the Indian team, there are
different stories. There are players, who have had their legs amputated because
of road accidents. We have players, who are paralysed waist down. There are a
few who have been affected by polio. They have come from all parts of the
country, appeared for trials and got selected. We organised a national
tournament last year and champions were rewarded with cash prize of Rs
50,000,” the secretary said.

(Source: Times of India)

18.  You will be always loved

If you want to be loved then you
have to kill your expectations because expectations are that one thing which
prevents us to holding on to a relationship. Expect from your own self that
what you can do and what you can give to your family, friends and to society.
Without giving, you will get nothing. Make a habit of giving and sharing.

Believe me;
giving love is the best feeling in the world. You feel like a complete person.
Nowadays people are so upset because they give nothing and expect everything.
This is wrong thinking. First put then receive. You have to love first then you
will be loved. There is a lack of love around the world. People are so sad because
everybody needs love and people don’t know how to love? Stop searching for
love, be a loving person so that everybody itself attracts towards you. Spread
love, if you want to be loved.

Now the question arises how we can
love. For love, you first need forgiveness. How you forgive and forget your
mistakes easily learn to do so with others. In love, you can be with a person
during his bad times. Encouraging someone, listen to someone’s heart. If you
still can’t do so then never discourage anyone.

Listening is an excellent habit.
Giving your time and attention. Believe me if adopt these habits you will be
loved by everybody. Everybody has a lot to speak, more to share but there is
nobody to listen. The more you listen, the more you will come to know the best
out of the person. When you start listening believe me you will be flooded with
friends.

Love everybody, every little things
around you i.e Love your bed, pillow, clothes, doors, windows, etc love all
animals, birds, fishes etc. When you fill yourself with love for others, others
will also full of love for you and you will be delighted.

Have you noticed one thing that we
usually love children than to adults, puppy instead of dogs, kittens instead of
cats. You know why? Because kids are innocent, free from jealousy and full of
love. Nobody teaches them how to love, smile, laugh etc. Kids don’t even know
the word hatred. Let’s be like a child for being loved.

Put smile on your face and be
positive. Now ask one question to yourself that what kind of person do you like
the most? Mine answer is I like those who always smile, polite, truthful,
honest, decent etc. So be the person you want to be with than how can people
ignore you. You will always be loved.

Be yourself, be polite and
generous. These are some qualities which attract Almighty as well. Why to only
being loved by world. Why not by Almighty as well. God’s love is true love. He
expects nothing and gives everything we need. So you can also be God for
others. Fulfill people’s need if you can and share gifts. We feel so delighted
when we are gifted so the people feel. Make a habit of giving gifts to your
loved one. I wish all of you to be loved throughout your life.

(Source: sunnyskyz.com)