Monday 23 October 2017

WhatsApp Group Voice, Video Calls Coming Soon, Suggests iPhone Beta Code: Report

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WhatsApp group calling is on its way, going by the code spotted in the latest beta version for the iPhone app. While group voice calling for WhatsApp is pretty much confirmed due to multiple references, there is only a single mention of group video calls for the platform. Nonetheless, it will be a worthwhile addition to the app, which has been adding loads of features this year for its more than 1 billion users. However, it is not yet clear when WhatsApp would roll the features. According to WABetaInfo, which reports on upcoming features of WhatsApp, the WhatsApp v2.17.70 beta for iPhone update has code references to group calls. "The 2.17.70 iOS update has very hidden references to group calls! Before it was an internal news, now it's all confirmed," WABetaInfo tweeted on Sunday, adding, "There are a lot of hidden references about group voice calls, but there is only one reference about group video calls. So group video calls are partially confirmed at the moment." It was earlier reported that the Facebook-owned messaging app was working on a group voice calls and could release the feature next year. Facebook already has a similar feature on Messenger. "WhatsApp 2.17.70 sends a request to the server to ask if the user you are calling is in another group call!" WaBetaInfo tweeted. "Note that these references we found are very strong (but they aren't visible for you at present) and they have allowed us to understand what WhatsApp is going to add in the application, as we did for WhatsApp for iPad," it added. The WhatsApp watcher also reported that the iPhone app will soon give group administrators more power, with the ability to remove a greater number of participants from a group at once. Separately, the WhatsApp v2.17.387 beta for Android brings new administrator features for groups, including the ability to choose whether participants can modify the subject of the group, its icon, and its description. There is also an option to prevent the group creator to be deleted from the group by other administrators. According to WABetaInfo, the messaging app is also testing the Unsend and Delete for Everyone features.

WhatsApp group calling is on its way, going by the code spotted in the latest beta version for the iPhone app. While group voice calling for WhatsApp is pretty much confirmed due to multiple references, there is only a single mention of group video calls for the platform. Nonetheless, it will be a worthwhile addition to the app, which has been adding loads of features this year for its more than 1 billion users. However, it is not yet clear when WhatsApp would roll the features.
According to WABetaInfo, which reports on upcoming features of WhatsApp, the WhatsApp v2.17.70 beta for iPhone update has code references to group calls. "The 2.17.70 iOS update has very hidden references to group calls! Before it was an internal news, now it's all confirmed," WABetaInfo tweeted on Sunday, adding, "There are a lot of hidden references about group voice calls, but there is only one reference about group video calls. So group video calls are partially confirmed at the moment."
It was earlier reported that the Facebook-owned messaging app was working on a group voice calls and could release the feature next year. Facebook already has a similar feature on Messenger.
"WhatsApp 2.17.70 sends a request to the server to ask if the user you are calling is in another group call!" WaBetaInfo tweeted.
"Note that these references we found are very strong (but they aren't visible for you at present) and they have allowed us to understand what WhatsApp is going to add in the application, as we did for WhatsApp for iPad," it added. The WhatsApp watcher also reported that the iPhone app will soon give group administrators more power, with the ability to remove a greater number of participants from a group at once.
Separately, the WhatsApp v2.17.387 beta for Android brings new administrator features for groups, including the ability to choose whether participants can modify the subject of the group, its icon, and its description. There is also an option to prevent the group creator to be deleted from the group by other administrators.
According to WABetaInfo, the messaging app is also testing the Unsend and Delete for Everyone features.

Google Photos Not Displaying Recent Backups on the Web for Some Users

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An annoying bug is affecting some users of Google Photos, misplacing images stored in the cloud for some users. The glitch, about which Google has already been informed, interestingly affects only the Web version of the photo-storing service as Google Photos apps on Android and iOS are still showing the backups of all the photos stored. As first spotted by folks at Android Police, users have reached out the the company on Google product forums to report the issue. The first reports emerged on October 14 and has so far affected a number of Android users who regularly upload their images on Google Photos. "I have the Google Photos app on my Android phone (LG G6) that backs up the pics to Google Photos. Since October 14, it has not been showing the photos on Google Photos Web app (https://photos.google.com)," one of the users wrote in the product forums while elaborating on the issue. Google hasn't yet responded to any of the forum posts. However, some "Top Contributors" have informed the company to fix the issue. "So far, there are no known fixes, so we'll have to wait for Google to work on the issue," Paolo Amoroso, one of the "Top Contributors" on Google forums, statedin response to the issue reported recently. You can check the existence of the latest Google Photos bug by uploading an image from your mobile device. If it goes live on the Web version of Google Photos, you don't need to participate in the ongoing discussion. But if the uploaded image is not available online, you need to use a Google Photos mobile app to see it. Despite the unavailability of the backed up images on the website, the content is well present in the Google Photos app as well as in Google Drive. But, as Ryne Hager of Android Police notes, sharing the stored photos through a link has become invalid due to the bug. The issue appeared to have a widespread impact. Nevertheless, it is not affecting each and every single Google Photos user. As of May this year, Google Photos has been offering a space for photo sharing and storing to over 500 million users worldwide. The service competes against Apple's iCloud Photos, Yahoo's Flickr and Dropbox. Earlier this month, the Google Photos app for Android received an update that improved the experience with a faster sharing option for video content. The app version 3.6 uploads a low-resolution copy of the uploaded videos to speeds up the sharing process.
An annoying bug is affecting some users of Google Photos, misplacing images stored in the cloud for some users. The glitch, about which Google has already been informed, interestingly affects only the Web version of the photo-storing service as Google Photos apps on Android and iOS are still showing the backups of all the photos stored.
As first spotted by folks at Android Police, users have reached out the the company on Google product forums to report the issue. The first reports emerged on October 14 and has so far affected a number of Android users who regularly upload their images on Google Photos. "I have the Google Photos app on my Android phone (LG G6) that backs up the pics to Google Photos. Since October 14, it has not been showing the photos on Google Photos Web app (https://photos.google.com)," one of the users wrote in the product forums while elaborating on the issue.
Google hasn't yet responded to any of the forum posts. However, some "Top Contributors" have informed the company to fix the issue. "So far, there are no known fixes, so we'll have to wait for Google to work on the issue," Paolo Amoroso, one of the "Top Contributors" on Google forums, statedin response to the issue reported recently.
You can check the existence of the latest Google Photos bug by uploading an image from your mobile device. If it goes live on the Web version of Google Photos, you don't need to participate in the ongoing discussion. But if the uploaded image is not available online, you need to use a Google Photos mobile app to see it.
Despite the unavailability of the backed up images on the website, the content is well present in the Google Photos app as well as in Google Drive. But, as Ryne Hager of Android Police notes, sharing the stored photos through a link has become invalid due to the bug.
The issue appeared to have a widespread impact. Nevertheless, it is not affecting each and every single Google Photos user.
As of May this year, Google Photos has been offering a space for photo sharing and storing to over 500 million users worldwide. The service competes against Apple's iCloud Photos, Yahoo's Flickr and Dropbox. Earlier this month, the Google Photos app for Android received an update that improved the experience with a faster sharing option for video content. The app version 3.6 uploads a low-resolution copy of the uploaded videos to speeds up the sharing process.

वोडाफोन ने पेश किया ऐसा प्लान, जिसमें सबकुछ मिलेगा फ्री

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Vodafone‬, ‪Jio‬, ‪Bharti Airtel‬, ‪Reliance Communications‬, ‪Idea Cellular‬, ‪2G‬, ‪Diwali‬‬
वोडाफोन दिवाली के बाद, जियो और एयरटेल को टक्कर देने के लिये दो जबरदस्त प्लान अपने ग्राहकों के लिये लेकर आया है। वोडाफोन के ये दोनों प्लान सभी प्रीपेड ग्राहकों के लिए होगा। वोडाफोन के ये प्लान मुख्य रूप से जियो के 149 रुपये के प्लान को टक्कर देने के लिये लाया गया है।
वोडाफोन का पहला प्लान 181 रुपये वाला है, जिसमें ग्राहकों को 1 महीने तक अनलिमिटेड कॉलिंग और 2-जी डेटा मिलेगा। वोडाफोन का यह प्लान सिर्फ 2-जी यूजर्स के लिये होगा।
वोडाफोन का दूसरा प्लान 195 रुपये का है, जिसमें हर रोज 1-जीबी 4-जी डेटा मिलेगा। साथ ही इस प्लान में हर रोज 250 मिनट और सप्ताह में 1000 मिनट फ्री कॉलिंग की सुविधा मिलेगी। वोडाफोन का यह प्लान 2-जी, 3-जी और 4-जी ग्राहकों के लिये होगा।
दिवाली के बाद जियो ने अपने प्लान के दरों में 15 फीसदी की वृद्धि कर दी थी। यह संकेत मिल रहा था कि अन्य ऑपरेटर भी अपने दरों में वृद्धि कर सकते हैं, परन्तु, वोडाफोन ने अपने प्लान के दरों में वृद्धि नहीं की।

Reliance Jio Revises 4G Tariff Plans, Now Get 1GB Data for Rs 459

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Reliance Jio has revised its 4G data plans in India, which will come into effect from 19 October for its users. The telecom operator, which has recently reported impressive set of financial results, beating the industry estimates, is on the look out for making more revenue in the coming years.


The updated Rs 399 plan still offers 1GB data per day, but the validity has come down to 70 days.

The new set of plans are available on Jio’s website Jio.com,which as you can see below, highlight the changes made by the Reliance-owned telecom operator.
This was one of the reasons why Jio ran a limited period offer for its users to recharge for Rs 399 in advance, that gives them a validity of 84 days, with 1GB per day data usage intact.

In addition to the change in validity for the Rs 399 data plan, users will have to contend with a daily limit of 150MB for those who go for the Rs 149 plan.
What works in Jio’s favour is that you still get access to higher amount of data, without splurging big, especially when compared to the incumbents.
Jio recently said it has over 130 million users on its network, and with an average revenue per user (ARPU) marked at an industry leading Rs 154 right now, the company is well on its way to adding more users to its base, with the roll out of the affordable 4G VoLTE feature phone called JioPhone.

13.8 lakh bio-metric devices used for Aadhaar authentication made compliant with UIDAIs new encryption norms

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Nearly 13.8 lakh biometric devices in use by the telecom sector for Aadhaar authentication have been made compliant with UIDAIs new encryption norms, according to CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey.
Nearly 13.8 lakh biometric devices in use by the telecom sector for Aadhaar authentication have been made compliant with UIDAIs new encryption norms, according to CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey. All new biometric devices, as it is, have the latest encryption norms in place, Pandey added.Overall, about 15 lakh devices have been "upgraded", meaning that these devices, that were being used in the field for biometric authentication, have now been secured with a new layer of encryption. "In all, about 15 lakh devices have been upgraded out of 20 lakh such units in circulation in various sectors...many banks are also in the process of upgrading their biometric units," he added. Lauding telecom companies for completing the "massive" task of rolling out the new security feature in existing fingerprint devices, Pandey said encryption key will ensure that biometrics captured cannot be misused. "This is like a third lock. One lock is in form of encryption at the time of biometric capture, then it gets further encrypted at level of the telecom operator, and then we have our own encryption," he said. Aadhaar-based e-KYC is essential for subscribers going for new SIMs. Further, in early 2017, the government asked mobile operators to reverify all the existing prepaid and postpaid customers, with the help of the 12-digit unique identity number and biometric details. The re-verification exercise is scheduled to be completed by early 2018. UIDAIs next priority would be to ensure compliance of new encryption norms in other user agencies like banks and various government offices, he added. "We will soon take stock of those who have not complied and ask them to explain why it has not been done yet", he said. UIDAI is the nodal body responsible for rolling out Aadhaar, the 12-digit unique identification number that identifies residents based on their biometrics. While more than 118 crore Aadhaar cards have been generated in the country, 4 to 5 crore Aadhaar authentications are taking place everyday. All new biometric devices, as it is, have the latest encryption norms in place, Pandey added.Overall, about 15 lakh devices have been "upgraded", meaning that these devices, that were being used in the field for biometric authentication, have now been secured with a new layer of encryption.
"In all, about 15 lakh devices have been upgraded out of 20 lakh such units in circulation in various sectors...many banks are also in the process of upgrading their biometric units," he added.
Lauding telecom companies for completing the "massive" task of rolling out the new security feature in existing fingerprint devices, Pandey said encryption key will ensure that biometrics captured cannot be misused.
"This is like a third lock. One lock is in form of encryption at the time of biometric capture, then it gets further encrypted at level of the telecom operator, and then we have our own encryption," he said.
Aadhaar-based e-KYC is essential for subscribers going for new SIMs.
Further, in early 2017, the government asked mobile operators to reverify all the existing prepaid and postpaid customers, with the help of the 12-digit unique identity number and biometric details.
The re-verification exercise is scheduled to be completed by early 2018.
UIDAIs next priority would be to ensure compliance of new encryption norms in other user agencies like banks and various government offices, he added.
"We will soon take stock of those who have not complied and ask them to explain why it has not been done yet", he said.
UIDAI is the nodal body responsible for rolling out Aadhaar, the 12-digit unique identification number that identifies residents based on their biometrics.
While more than 118 crore Aadhaar cards have been generated in the country, 4 to 5 crore Aadhaar authentications are taking place everyday.