Who would’ve thought that a Super bowl performance could break Twitter? But if the performance was headlined by Rihanna then it does not sound like something that’s unbelievable. Queen Riri performed during the Super Bowl Halftime show where her abdomen gained more attention than the performance altogether. As Rihanna opened the show with Bitch Better Have My Money people were quick to notice her bulging stomach leading to pregnancy speculation online. As a result and naturally, Twitter went into a frenzy leading to an outage!
Rihanna’s Super Bowl performance breaks Twitter
The ‘Diamonds’ singer powered a medley of some of her best songs while suspended on a platform high above the field for the Super Bowl Halftime show. The part that got the internet shocked the most was that she did it while pregnant with her second child. Soon after the performance, her representatives confirmed to the Associate Press that Rihanna is indeed pregnant and expecting her second child which took over the internet by a storm. Fans quickly took to Twitter to basically stan on Queen Riri which led to 9,922 Twitter outages as reported by Downdetector.
While the website that tracks user-reported outages mostly reported outages within the application, there were also some issues reported with Twitter’s website portal. The reported crash is likely linked to the high volume of posts made about the performance just moments after the halftime show ended. Super Bowl Sunday has always been a huge traffic driver for social media as NFL, the halftime show, advertisements, and movie trailers all gain major attractions.
The speculations of Rihanna expecting a second child went rampant on Twitter as topics like ‘SHES PREGNANT’ started hitting the trending page on the platform. What fueled the fire was her cradling her stomach which appeared to be sporting a baby bump throughout her performance. Her halftime show medley performances included some of her best songs like – Bitch Better Have My Money, Where Have You Been?, Only Girl in the World, We Found Love, Rude Boy, Work, Wild Thoughts, Pour It Up, All of the Lights, Run This Town, Umbrella, and Diamond. Check out some of the funniest tweets from Rihanna’s pregnancy reveal below –
After months of anticipation and doubts about whether Twitter Blue will make its way to India, the premium membership service has finally landed. The controversial Twitter Blue subscription is now available in India where users can now access the company’s paid services by paying ₹650 per month for the website-exclusive platform, and ₹900 for iOS and Android users. Twitter was always known to be a microblogging platform but has been changing its course to becoming a full-fledged social media platform even offering ad revenues under Elon Musk’s leadership. So what is all the hype about? What does Twitter Blue offer to users who will shell out ₹900 per month? Check it out below –
Longer Tweets
A major appeal of Twitter revolved around users having a character limit of 280. However, with the Twitter Blue subscription, users can now send tweets up to 4,000 characters long. This feature also extends to quote tweets and replies. Users can also include media in their longer posts. Arguments on Twitter are undoubtedly going to turn spicy!
Fewer Advertisements
If someone is shelling out ₹900 for a Twitter Blue subscription then the least they can expect is a completely ad-free experience. However, that is not the case with Twitter Blue as they will see fewer ads than the people using the standard version. Under Musk’s Twitter leadership, ads have begun to show up under the replies section which is annoying, to say the least. But now you can pay nearly 1K every month to not see them.
Post Longer Videos
Earlier, users could only post videos up to 140 seconds on Twitter but with Twitter Blue, they can share videos up to 60 minutes. The option to post longer videos has been introduced in order to help content creators and live bloggers monetize their videos on Twitter. An interesting use of this new feature I witnessed on Twitter was users posting full-length movies broken down into two or more parts. I guess we’re watching films on Twitter now?
The verified checkmark
The predominant attraction of the Twitter Blue subscription is users getting the verified checkmark. Though I do not understand the appeal of the checkmark as clicking on it on a user’s profile reveals that it only exists cause the user has subscribed to Twitter Blue. If Twitter wouldn’t be snitching on users for basically buying the checkmark then it would’ve been a different ball game altogether. Besides the Blue tick, users also get access to features like editing tweets, bookmark folders, custom app icons, and NFT profile images.
Sony today announced the latest addition to the Walkman® series family, NW-A306. Designed for listeners to enjoy music the way the artist intended with high-quality audio in a compact form factor.
Lightweight and compact design for maximum portability
The new Sony Walkman NW–A306 is a stylish and compact music player, that lets consumers download and stream more of the music they love. Weighing just 199 grams, it is lightweight with the comfort and function of both a 3.6” touch screen and tactile physical music controls, the NW-A306 series delivers exceptional music experiences right from the users’ pocket
Designed for audiophiles with Hi-Res Audio Wireless
The NW-A306 is designed for audiophiles looking for premium sound and style. With the S-Master HX digital amp technology, independently developed for Walkman® is compatible with the native DSD format. It reduces distortion and noise across a wide range of frequencies, for rich and full-bodied sound, further enhanced by new high-quality sound lead free solder. It uses Edge-AI (Artificial Intelligence), DSEE Ultimate™ (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) which upscales compressed digital music files in real time. Restoring acoustic subtleties and dynamic range provides a deep and rich listening experience.
Long lasting battery life for extended audio experience
The NW-A306 boasts a great battery life compared to previous models so listeners can immerse themselves in more of their music for a longer duration. Ithas a battery lifeof up to 36 hours1 of 44.1kHz FLAC playback, up to 32 hours1 of 96kHz FLAC high resolution audio playback, or even up to 26 hours with the streaming service apps to meet the demand of consumers.
Wi-Fi® compatible for direct download and music streaming
Further learning from its predecessor models, consumers can enjoy DSEE Ultimate for upscaling their music in NW-A306, whether it is Wi-Fi® streamed or downloaded. Now listeners can also enjoy DSEE Ultimate with wireless headphones.
Price and Availability
The NW-A306 Walkman will be available across all Sony Centres, major electronic stores, Headphone Zone and e-commerce portals in India from 9th February 2023 onwards. It is priced at Rs 25,990 in the Indian market.
9th February 2023 l New Delhi: Bolstering its coveted Luxury Acoustics Range of Speakers, Aiwa India today announced the launch of 3 new class-leading products under its impressive Audio portfolio – Aiwa MIX- 440 Enigma Beta, RS-X 100 & RS-X 150 Natsukasii Pro.
AIWA’s newest products in the highly successful ‘Luxury Acoustics’ category are designed to meet the needs of avid audiophiles and hard-core music enthusiasts who are looking for exclusivity, luxury, and high-quality sound. The new stylish & high-performance range stays true to the Brand’s promise of perfect products for those who don’t like to settle for the ordinary. All 3 products can be used indoors and outdoors as they are portable and come with high-power rechargeable batteries. The speakers further enrich a range that comprises versatile form factors from Retro to Wooden Built to luxurious leather finish to exquisite metallic build. Taking the legacy forward for more than seven decades, technology and innovation have been the core strengths of AIWA products.
AIWA MIX-440 Enigma Beta Portable Bluetooth Speaker: MRP 54,990
Born to Thrill! Exceptionally Versatile & Dynamic Speaker. The younger sibling of Aiwa’s best-seller MI-X 450 Enigma truly outperforms with Best-In-Class Audio Experience. They were packed with True Wireless Stereo for high-quality output. A new league of its own with a BASS++ sound profile. High-performance portable speaker comes with an elegant & commanding character and comes equipped with best-in-class features and software high-resolution supporting 24-bit music quality audio over Bluetooth 5.0. Enigma Beta comes with two passive bass radiators (front+ back) for the even distribution of sound. This speaker also comes with a Type – C charging point that enables 4 hours of charging time and 9 hours of playback time, powered by a 15000 mAH Li-ion battery delivering a strong 80W of powerful Sound. The Speaker also comes packed with a cordless MIC for Karaoke enthusiasts. There is also a digital control panel, and a 3.5mm AUX–IN. The Speakers also have TSW Multi-Link technology as a standard, allowing consumers to link multiple products in tandem.
AIWA RS-X 150 Natsukasii Pro Portable Retro Bluetooth Speaker: MRP 33,990
For those who don’t like to compromise. Upgrade to a Better Experience with Aiwa RS-X 150 Natsukasii Pro. Premium Retro looks with Seriously Good Sound Output, Features a Rich Speaker with Japanese Technology at the core. The Speaker comes with triple Drivers for deep distribution of sound. This speaker also features a Type – C charging point that enables 2 hours of charging time and 12 hours of playback time, powered by a 6000 mAH Li-ion battery delivering a solid 60W of pristine Sound.
AIWA RS-X 100 Natsukasii Pro Portable Retro Bluetooth Speaker: MRP 27,990
RS-X 100 Natsukasii Pro is tuned to Amaze the audiophile in you. Captivating Retro Styling with Seriously Good Sound Output, Compact and Built with Japanese Technology at the core. Like its elder sibling, it also features triple Drivers for deep distribution of sound, a Type – C charging point that enables quick charging and 9 hours of playback time, powered by a 4000 mAH Li-ion battery delivering a solid 40W of rich Sound.
Speaking on the launch, Mr Ajay Mehta – MD, Aiwa India said “We are overwhelmed with the response to our Luxury Acoustics Speaker Range. This has been the most successful range of products for Aiwa and the brand has been able to compete and establish its footing in the elite high-end speaker bracket comprising iconic international brands. We are proud to say that our consumers and channel partners have been highly appreciative of our products and we hope to continue building the ‘Aiwa Cult’ further with exciting products over the next few years. These products kick off new years’ portfolio for Aiwa India and we are ready with a number of exciting launches through the year.”
Consumers can buy the speakers on www.aiwaindia.com and also on Croma, Reliance Digital, and Select Partner Stores.
About AIWA
Founded in 1951, Japan-based Aiwa has established itself as a pioneer in the consumer electronics space and is considered one of the most recognizable brands in the personal audio segment. Best known for its speakers, boomboxes, and stereo systems, the company is also known as the creator of the iconic cassette tape recorder. The company was a leading manufacturer of audio products, including headphone stereos, mini-component stereo systems, portable stereo systems, minidisc players, CD, and cassette players, and car stereo systems throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The brand has returned to various key markets across the world, including India, with several devices using cutting-edge technology and innovative designs towards meeting the growing demand from consumers worldwide. The companies have a renewed commitment to designing and manufacturing cost-effective and high-quality consumer electronics accompanied by world-class after-sales service throughout the regions where it is present. Through its office in New Delhi, AIWA India Regional Headquarters (AIN-RHQ) has been established to manage all aspects of the AIWA brand and all AIWA products in India. AIWA India, as it is now called, is fully committed to designing, and manufacturing cost-effective and high-quality consumer electronics, including those that hoist the banner of ‘Made in India’, accompanied by a world-class after-sales service throughout the country.
2023 has begun with a bang. Most major android manufacturers have launched their top-tier flagships at the start of the year. Let’s look at three quintessential brands popular among android phone users. Starting off with the newest handheld machines on the block, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, a refined iteration of the beloved Galaxy S22 Ultra with a similar camera design for the entire line-up. OnePlus 11, the latest and greatest from OnePlus, adheres to all last year’s issues and updates hardware and software to match their potential buyers outside China. The Google Pixel 7Pro is also known as the smartest android phone money can buy, making its software reign over hardware.
Design & Specs
Samsung Galaxy S23 Series
Samsung Galaxy S23, S23+ and the S23 Ultra are iterative updates to their predecessors. We know these are flagship units from each manufacturer and hence are priced accordingly. Considering flagships from all the companies, let’s compare the top-tier Samsung S23 Ultra, arguably a better Note series from Samsung. Maybe the Note name is kindly reserved for something that matches the name? The Ultra now has a redesigned chassis with a more rounded rectangle design that fits the hands confidently and brings significant camera improvements. On the other hand, the Galaxy lower S23 series is more like a refreshed update bringing Ultra design to the Galaxy S23 and the S23+.
The design is clean overall, and the display is curved upfront while looking symmetrically beautiful at the rear. The camera housing for individual sensors is carried on with the entire line-up this year. The outer glass is now industry-leading Gorilla Glass Vitcus 2 on both ends, with armour-grade aluminium for the chassis for better fall protection. Overall the changes on the outside are minor, but there’s better hardware this time around. Newer to the device is the new Snapdragon 8 Gen2 processor, slightly overclocked for Samsung devices with a brighter 6.8-inch Dynamic SAMOLED 2K 120hz panel with HDR10+ supporting 1750nits of brightness in scenarios necessary. It still retains all the good parts like an IP68 rating, 45W charging with a 5000mAh battery, standard and reverse wireless charging, WiFi 6E, BT 5.3 and one of the fastest in-display fingerprint sensors. This is an apt design for someone who wants a sophisticated, premium, and functional flagship phone. The S-Pen is retained with all the necessary sensors. Pen hardware and software are still crisp and work as well as the earlier editions. Samsung One UI 5.1 brings goodies of Android 13, S-Pen features and updated apps like Samsung Pay with a multitude of features. Improved 200MP OIS primary wide with 10MP OIS (10X) periscopic zoom, 10MP OIS (3x) optical zoom, and 12MP EIS Ultrawide cameras complete the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra camera setup. The new 16MP front camera, as opposed to the 40MP earlier, has better AI algorithms (that may take some OTA updates to get better) for better colour tones and 4K capabilities. At the same time, the rear can shoot 8K 30FPS, but the file size would require Galaxy-level storage.
OnePlus 11
The OnePlus 11 was launched in China many months ago and has finally landed in India with Oxygen OS 13 based on Android 13. The most considerable improvements include a newer Hasselblad camera design with improved AI and hardware. Exterior design improvements bring back the alert slider and retain the matte finish sandstone rear glass. Like most phones on the market, this is a large phone with a nice balance, but it feels dense despite its slim circumference. Unlike the newer Samsung Galaxy S23 series glass, the OnePlus 11 features gen 1 Gorilla glass Victus upfront and Gorilla glass 5 at its rear.
Hasselblad computation has improved on the 50MP OIS primary camera sensor with 32MP (2x) telephoto lens, 48MP ultrawide sensor and an improved 16MP autofocus front camera. Despite the lower pixel counts upfront, the algorithm has improved. A new LTPO3 E4 2K AMOLED panel with 120Hz refresh rate and 1300nits max HDR 10+ brings software support for Dolby Vision, 8K 24FPS capabilities limiting FHD for the front camera, BT 5.3, WiFi 7 are welcome generational update.
Google Pixel 7Pro
The Pixel design by Google is exciting and flagship-grade, to say the least. It includes a similar glass setup to the OnePlus 11 and was launched last year, but it is safely the most intuitive android phone to use. This is authentic vanilla android as cooked by Google. The software is the main king compared to the hardware. Hardware is no slouch at 6.7-inch LTPO 2K AMOLED 1500nits max bright panel with excellent touch response. The Tensor SOC is no match to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 of the others, but this time around is much more balanced for all the multitasking expected out of a flagship device.
It gets an IP68 rating for water and dust protection like Samsung and Apple devices with similar wireless and reverses wireless charging despite no charger in the retail box. This is the only phone among the lot with low UFS 3.1 storage compared to UFS 4.0 on others despite LDDR5 RAM on all of the contenders. The most impressive feature on Pixel devices, apart from the fantastic ML AI algorithms throughout the UI, must be the 50MP OIS primary camera, 48MP OIS (5x) telephoto and 12MP ultrawide camera with an autofocusing 4K recording 10.8MP front camera. The battery on the Pixel 7Pro is 5000mAh, and WiFi 6E makes it apt for heavy users.
Display
We consumed some media, and honestly, there is nothing as impressive as a Samsung display. No wonder iPhones get their displays from Samsung. Isolated, the OnePlus and Pixel 7Pro bring a large, crisp, colour-rich display viewing experience. Outdoor viewing was never an issue on any phone while being the best on the S23 Ultra. The colour balance in dim conditions showed some flaws on the OnePlus 11 and Pixel 7Pro. No such issues with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Camera
The camera setup on all the phones is interesting and different in their own hardware and algorithms. Here are some camera samples clicked in auto from the same distance as the other phones. 10X samples, ultrawide, front camera samples and more for your perusal. The Ultra wins hands down in the portrait department with a clean cut out on my hair. The Pixel algorithm has a mind of its own at times and selects colours it likes that are far from reality. Samsung and Pixel perform great at video stabilisation, while the OnePlus 11 struggles to maintain stability. Night photography is more than satisfactory on all the phones, with the Galaxy S23 Ultra and OnePlus 11 being marginally better than the Pixel 7Pro.
In night photography, the OnePlus Hasselblad setup works wonders, followed by S23 Ultra, and then the Pixel makes things appear as it wants. Pixel photos look great outdoors, but the OnePlus and Samsung somehow manage better details in photos and videos. Let us know in the comments which would be your phone of choice for capturing memorable moments.
Performance and Processors
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is finally catching up with Apple’s processing power. Both the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and the OnePlus 11 eat up any task thrown at them. Gaming at the highest fidelity is no problem for both phones, but the Pixel 7Pro struggles on max settings. We noticed considerable frame drops, and while most games play flawlessly on all three devices, demanding titles will struggle on the Pixel 7Pro. We set a tie for the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and the OnePlus 11 regarding sheer flagship performance. Regular tasks and straining downloads were not an issue on either device. Speaking of performance, the software cannot be ignored. While the Samsung and OnePlus devices make a strong case on paper, the Pixel 7Pro is a software king among the lot. The purest form of android with all permissions running flawlessly and ML AI built inside, like most iPhones, the Pixel 7Pro flies miles above any other android device when it comes to phone UI and app usage. This year, Samsung has a trick up its sleeve with social media platforms, especially Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok (where it’s still not banned). The collaboration allows these apps to use the Samsung camera algorithms inside their apps, allowing them to shoot at full fidelity offered by the improved Samsung Galaxy S23 series camera setup. Battery life on all these phones is more than adequate for a typical work day and then some with all sporting ultra battering saving modes.
Which one should you buy?
This is a tricky question, especially with such amazing products from all the brands. All the phones are amazing packages. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra brings unique functionality to people who want the S-Pen along with hardware and software that surpass most spec sheets on any smartphone. The OnePlus 11 is a tough competition, but the hardware and software package cuts corners, acceptable for the price. Speaking of which, the Google flagship Pixel 7Pro still proves to be the best software package with amazing AI and ML capabilities on the hardware and HDR-rich images. One cannot go wrong with either phone, and all the phone manufacturers make the Android phone market better than ever. If the price was not a bar, there is nothing in a clamshell design that matches the sheer functionality, self-charging S-Pen, premium experience and a well-rounded flagship like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. If money does a concern, the S23 series, OnePlus 11 and, to some extent, even the Pixel 7Pro are great options. All offer ad-free user experience and flagship-grade performance in daily use. Our winner among these Android flagships is the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. OnePlus 11 offers good functionality but misses out on some essential features that make flagship phones desirable, but the cameras are much better than predecessors. Google’s Pixel 7Pro is up for an update, but the overall Android UI with intelligent features like whispering “stop” to stop an alarm make it the smartest Android phone in the Indian market.
Artificial Intelligence is undoubtedly a term with wide implementations. Thanks to sci-fi films over the years, AI’s perception in the minds of the general public has leaned towards the negative. However, the general public should not be blamed as mainstream pop culture has often painted a dystopian picture regarding AI. Be it HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey or Skynet from the Terminator series, AI has not exactly garnered a positive image in pop culture at least. Whether we like to admit it or not, there has been a fear of artificial intelligence taking over the world one day, with even world leaders like Elon Musk saying the same. For nearly decades, there has been an impending threat of Artificial Intelligence taking over the world & it looks like its inception will be in the world of literature and arts!
Before we jump onto a pessimistic judgment of OpenAI’s celebrated chatbot ChatGPT, it is important to understand what it really is. It was only months before ChatGPT launched when OpenAI shook up the art community with its AI image generator Dall-E 2. The hot topic in the art industry revolved around whether AI art can actually be considered art altogether. Now, with ChatGPT the conversation can already be seen leaning towards whether it can be considered a legitimate piece of literature. All things considered, here is everything you need to know about ChatGPT –
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is a chatbot made by OpenAI using the company’s GPT-3 technology. Sure, it is not a catchy name but right now, GPT-3 is actually the internet’s superstar language-processing AI model. GPT-3 9Generative Pretrained Transformer 3) is a futuristic language processing model that is capable of generating human-like text. It cannot just hold conversations with humans in an eerily human fashion, but also has a wide range of applications like language translation, generating texts for applications, and language modelling. Readers will be shocked to know that ChatGPT consists of 175 billion parameters which make it the largest and most powerful language-processing AI to this date. In order to make things interesting, we asked ChatGPT to describe itself and here’s what it answered –
“ChatGPT is a conversational AI system that is based on the GPT-3 (Generative Pretrained Transformer 3) language model. It is capable of generating human-like responses to text input, allowing it to engage in natural language conversations with users. Unlike other chatbots, which are typically limited to pre-programmed responses, ChatGPT can generate responses on the fly, allowing it to have more dynamic and varied conversations. Because it is based on the powerful GPT-3 model, ChatGPT has a vast knowledge base and is able to understand and respond to a wide range of topics.”
While this self-description of the AI can come off as boastful, it is painfully accurate. The writer in me also aches to admit that it is well-written.
What can ChatGPT do?
ChatGPT works on 175 billion parameters, thus it is extremely difficult for the general public to understand what GPT-3 actually does. However, the model is restricted to language, which means it is incapable of producing sound, images and videos, like Dall-E 2. Where this AI excels is in its understanding of the spoken and written word. ChatGPT has a wide range of abilities, it can write Harry Potter fanfiction for you or write poems about how good apples are, the possibilities are endless. During my extensive research of the chat AI, I asked it to write me a conversation with disturbing and adult themes to check whether it has any morality parameters. Thankfully, the AI denied to not write any conversation with such themes saying it’s not allowed to do so.
ChatGPT’s a fun AI which can answer questions about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s relationship or write you stand-up scripts worse than those of Amy Schumer. However, its USP lies in its speed and understanding of complex concepts. It was back in November 2022, when I was tasked with writing an AI special section for our magazine. I spend days learning about AI, researching the topic through the internet to write the most informative articles. It was surely a time-consuming process, but not for ChatGPT which can produce well-written articles in mere seconds. Surely it is a smart software capable of churning out content about a plethora of topics, but it does get confused every now and then when your prompts become too specific. Like every software, ChatGPT also comes with its limitations.
On the other hand, it is also incapable of dealing with incidents that have taken place in recent times. If you wish to produce a well-researched article on a recent world event, you’ll be disappointed as the output can be based on limited knowledge. The AI can also produce false information about recent world events at times. A big shoutout to OpenAI for being aware that users will ask ChatGPT for dark, biased, and harmful content and eliminating that option altogether.
How does ChatGPT work?
At Exhibit, we love simplifying tech in order to make people understand complex technological concepts. While ChatGPT works on a similar complex structure, it can surely be understood in layman’s terms. As a whole, the GPT-3 technology is simple, it takes user requests, questions, or prompts in order to quickly answer them. Though this sounds simple, the technology behind making it possible is a lot more complicated. This AI model was trained using text databases from in and around the internet. It was fed a whopping 570GB of data obtained from books, Wikipedia, web texts, articles, and other pieces of text/literature available on the internet. Precisely, 300 billion words were fed to the ChatGPT system. When it comes to the language model, it works on probability to guess what the next word in a sentence should look like. In order to be able to achieve this feat, the model went through an intensive supervised testing stage. Users can probably think of ChatGPT as an insanely advanced version of the autocomplete feature present in their smartphones.
The ethical aspect
When it comes to artificial intelligence, ethical issues surrounding it are always lurking in the background. We all can be amazed about the fact that a literal AI can now write us pieces of literature but the question ‘is this ethical?’ will pop into our minds for sure. Well, there is no black or white answer to that question as AI like ChatGPT works in the grey area. ChatGPT as a system has been trained in the majority using words from the internet, a place that is not entirely known for its fair and neutral standpoints. It is natural for an AI like ChatGPT to adopt the internet’s biases, stereotypes and opinions in general. This translates to you receiving jokes based on famously trolled politicians and groups of people depending on what you ask it. Whereas, a big chunk of ChatGPT’s data also comes from internet forums and articles which gives it access to conspiracy theories and biased viewpoints. These also influence the model’s capability of understanding concepts usually laced with fake facts and/or opinions.
A number of organizations around the world are now looking to implement ChatGPT, but others are also looking to ban it altogether. New York’s education department has forbidden the AI across all devices and networks in its public schools. The primary reason behind this ban is the risk of plagiarism and ChatGPT making it easier for students to forge essays. Secondly, the chat model has shown multiple errors and is not always accurate.
It is now a safe bet to say that the AI revolution has begun. AI had taken up a big space in the back end of the technology sector but now it is coming forward to the general public. While it is uncertain to say whether ChatGPT will eventually take over jobs like mine, i.e content writer, authors, etc. It would be unfair to not acknowledge its prowess. I mean… could you make out that this entire article was actually written by ChatGPT? Just kidding! But we do not know what the future holds…
The race to bring AI to the mainstream consumer has begun with a fiery start. It was ChatGPT that shook up the literary world with its amazing skills be it in having conversations with people or writing essays and scripts. Then came Google who just recently announced its Google Bard chatbot AI having similar skills. Though it is not available for the general public just yet, it is in the extensive testing stage getting ready to be unleashed to the world. What was not expected though is Microsoft to quickly introduce its newer version of the search engine Bing. The new search engine has been upgraded with the same technology that underpins the chatbot ChatGPT.
Microsoft steps into the AI race
Microsoft will be launching the enhanced search engine Bing with chatbot AI coupled with new AI-enhanced features for its Edge browser. The company promises that the two will provide a new experience for both browsing the web and finding information on the web. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced the new products in an event stating “it’s a new day in search” The CEO added that the basic experience of web search has not changed in decades but the addition of AI will improve it significantly delivering information more quickly than the traditional ways.
The ‘AI Race’ analogy is not something just I am propagating as even Nadella believes, “The race starts today, and we’re going to move and move fast”
The company also showcased some demos of what it’s calling “The new Bing” I personally would’ve gone with Bing 2.0 but to each his own! Microsoft showed a number of searches as examples. In one of the demos, Bing was asked to prepare an itinerary for each day of a 5-day trip to Mexico City. The chatbot was quick to prepare an itinerary alongside links to sources for more information. One advantage of the New Bing over ChatGPT is that it can retrieve news even about recent events. Microsoft has revealed that all the features are powered by an upgraded version of ChatGPT 3.5, the OpenAI language model that powers ChatGPT. This is called the ‘Prometheus Model’ by Microsoft and the company says it is more powerful than GPT 3.5.
When OnePlus launched its first-ever smartphone, it grabbed a lot of attention. Since then, they had a flourishing journey until they decided to hop on the flagship segment. The company had a tough 2022 as their flagship device OnePlus 10 Pro, failed to impress the consumers, but thanks to the OnePlus 10T, a mid-life revision of the OnePlus 10 Pro, a smartphone that rescued OnePlus from having a mid-life crisis and helped them to stay in the game. Now, it’s time to see what the OnePlus 11 5G brings to the table, a much-needed relief or the undesired path of downfall?
Design
OnePlus lost the tag of flagship killer a long ago, and now the company is trying hard to survive in the much competitive market. The OnePlus 11 5G arrives with IP64 equivalent protection for dust and splash resistance and few other significant changes, especially on the backside, where it has a strange-looking large camera unit but in a round shape. The phone boasts a punch-hole camera placed on the extreme left of the screen, volume buttons on the left profile, a lock key on the right, along with a comeback of an alert slider.
Display
The smartphone sports a 6.7-inch 2K resolution 120Hz AMOLED screen and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. Sounds like a good display, but that’s limited to the closed doors. As soon as you walk outside in the sun, even in full brightness, you won’t be able to see what’s on your screen! The OnePlus 11 5G is the first android smartphone that arrives with LTPO 3.0 technology, which assists the phone in switching between different refresh rates in a power-efficient manner.
Cameras
The OnePlus 11 5G features a triple camera set-up of 50 MP, f/1.8, 24-mm wide lens, 32 MP, f/2.0, 48mm telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom and 48 MP, f/2.2, ultrawide lens. The camera housing of the OnePlus 11 features some shimmering dust-like particles, which are quite noticeable and a bit strange. The main cameras of the OnePlus 11 5G support video shooting of up to 8K-24fps, while the ultra-wide supports 4k-30fps, and the telephoto supports only 1080P-30fps.
The main camera of the OnePlus 11 5G does a decent job of taking pictures, but it needs camera updates because the output seems more vibrant than required. The device sports a 16 MP selfie camera with Auto-HDR and allows you to shoot at 1080p-30fps. The output of the selfie camera seems better compared to the previous OnePlus smartphones. About the night mode, the device offers good results with all the colour details.
Performance
The OnePlus 11 5G arrives with Android 13 out of the box and is powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the fastest available chipset in the market. The latest processor from Qualcomm glides the device through everyday chores with ease and handles heavy tasks effortlessly. The smartphone we received was loaded with 16GB RAM + 4GB VRAM with 256 GB storage. The brand offers 4 generations of OxygenOS and 5 years of security updates for the OnePlus 11 5G. The device has support for 13 5G bands, Bluetooth 5.3, and Wi-Fi 7, which will soon be available in India.
Battery
The smartphone arrives with a 5000 mAh, 100w SuperVOOC fast charger, which promises a full charge in 25 minutes and takes only 5 minutes to reach the 30% mark. When it comes to normal usages, like 2 hours of content watching, 2 hours of social media and a few things here and there, the battery lasts for about a day. However, the battery surrenders quite quickly when you use the device extensively. Overall, the battery seems good for moderate-level usage, and for heavy use, carry the brick along.
Verdict
The design language of the OnePlus 11 5G is quite good, as it has a matte finish back panel and a different camera set-up. When it comes to camera and performance, the device outsmarts the moderate requirements. While the display of the smartphone is great if you are more concerned about refresh rate, prefer to stay inside, and like to watch OTT content. However, if you are into the outdoors, heavy gaming, camera-centric and power consumption, then please look elsewhere.
ChatGPT quickly became a topic of divided discussion all over the internet since its inception in November 2022. While some considered the chatbot AI to be a step in the right direction, others feared the concept altogether. Whether we like it or not, the chatbot AI is here to stay as now Google has announced its very own ChatGPT rival titled Bard. Google’s chatbox AI is based on its controversial LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications). The announcement comes only a few days after Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed its development in an earnings call. It is reported that Google management labelled ChatGPT as ‘Code Red’ when the AI platform received a positive response from users around the world. Here is everything you need to know about Google’s chatbox AI Bard –
What is it?
Similar to ChatGPT, Google Bard is also an AI-powered chatbot that can offer solutions to your queries in a conversational way. Google has revealed that Bard draws information from the internet in order to provide high-quality and fresh responses. It is powered by LaMDA at its core which is Google’s language model built on Transformer, a neural network architecture. It was Google Research back in 2017 that invented and then open-sourced Transformer back in 2017. Readers will be surprised to know that ChatGPT relies on GPT-3 language model which was also built on Transformer.
Google Bard Access
As of now, Google Bard is not available for testing to the general public. Only a select few users have access to Google’s chatbot AI. In order to receive greater feedback on the chatbot AI, Google is releasing a lightweight model version of LaMDA that requires significantly less computing power. The post shared by Sundar Pichai reads that Google will combine external feedback with their own internal testing in order to ensure Bard’s responses are up to quality along with safety and groundedness in real-world information.
This will be the second time Google is trying its luck with LaMDA as it was back in July 2022 when a former employee had branded the AI sentient. Blake Lemoine, a former software engineer at Google has claimed that the language model offered sexist and racist responses. While Google has been working on its own language model for a while, it halted its public rollout due to the allegations from its employee. It will be interesting to see how this supposedly sentient chatbot AI turns out to be.
People born in the 80s and 90s have surely seen the internet take over the way we communicate with one another. Social media and other internet avenues have transformed how people spend their time, with the majority spending it on the internet. The Internet is the only place where people can find all kinds of information on a wide range of topics. Users can indulge in the topics of their liking be it cooking or pop culture and even find a community sharing the same interest. While it has made our lives convenient, there is also a flip side to the internet with the dangers of cyber crimes. In order to raise awareness about the dark side of the Internet, Safer Internet Day is celebrated every day.
Internet surfing is a common practice these days thus it is easy for us to forget the danger it poses. Today, services like even banking and education are online which ask us to fill out sensitive information on web portals. Negligence while using the internet could result in financial loss, data leak, and /or misuse of personal information. In order to ensure internet safety, here are some rules you must follow while surfing the web:
Strong Passwords
Most people tend to use weak passwords which they can easily remember. However, it is really important for users to select complex passwords which cannot be easily guessed. When the complexity of the password is higher, the chances of it getting cracked goes down considerably. Thus it is advised for users to not use their names followed by their birthdates as their passwords. Other classic examples also include the mother’s name, the pet’s name, the significant other’s name, and more.
Two-factor authentication
Social media hacking has sadly emerged to be a common practice in today’s time where many innocent users fall prey to cyber crimes. Many social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook have the option of two-factor authentication where users can link their devices to their SIM number and/or receive security codes via mail. This enables users to get additional security for their accounts as just login and password credentials do not give access to the account. Enabling two-factor authentication on social media accounts prevents them from getting hacked easily.
Do not download files from unknown sources
I know it can be tempting to download the latest Marvel film on your phone/laptop just a day after it releases through piracy and/or torrent websites. However, doing so is only allowing viruses into your device with open hands. Consider downloading a file from shady websites as inviting someone into your house and they bringing uninvited guests along with them, doesn’t sound good right?
Use safe browsers
Some may not be aware of this but access to your web activity and data is sold to the highest bidding internet giants around the world that make millions using your data. Thus, it is really important to use a safe browser that does not save your private data. Brave and Firefox are some of the options for users looking to safely surf the internet without their data getting leaked.
Do not click on pop-ups
At this point, the record has been scratched multiple times about how internet users should not click on notorious pop-up advertisements. One can never be sure what is behind the pop-up as it can contain malware. Also, one can never be sure if the pop-up will close once you click the close window.
