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Every year on June 30 the world celebrates Social Media Day to recognise its impact on global communication and unification.

One of the most important sources of communication in this technologically advanced era is social media. Social media is a worldwide network that serves as a medium to connect and communicate at not only national but global level too. Different types of social media websites are available to connect globally.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-social-media-day-2021-395015/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Social media has allowed for mass cultural exchange and intercultural communication. It has given&nbsp;a&nbsp;platform to people for exchange their thoughts, ideas, concepts, views, information and culture.

Through social media people from different countries and from different regions can discuss current issues. As different cultures have different value systems, cultural themes, grammar, and worldviews, so they also communicate differently.

Social media has combined different cultures and&nbsp;their communication methods together, so different religions communicate with ease with other cultures. It&nbsp;has offered a new platform for peer pressure with both positive and negative communication. From Facebook comments to likes on Instagram, how the youth communicate and what is socially acceptable is now heavily based on social media

On World Social Media Day, here is a list&nbsp;of apps that you should explore:&nbsp;Periscope, Signal, Valence, Elpha, Yubo, 23snaps, and ReverbNation.

From the United Nations to the European Union, numerous global organisations have posted the day on their respective Twitter handles:

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Misinformation is costing lives and prolonging the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID19</a> pandemic. 
 
On Wednesday's <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SocialMediaDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SocialMediaDay</a> we encourage you to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PledgeToPause?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PledgeToPause</a> to verify information before you share it online. <a href="https://t.co/uxo77Pss1s">https://t.co/uxo77Pss1s</a> <a href="https://t.co/FghOPsx23q">pic.twitter.com/FghOPsx23q</a>
— United Nations (@UN) <a href="https://twitter.com/UN/status/1410162944743071745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Today is <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SocialMediaDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SocialMediaDay</a>. 
 
We want to empower everyone to help combat false information. 
 
Take a look at our handy toolkit on how to spot and fight disinformation: <a href="https://t.co/29eMq1RxId">https://t.co/29eMq1RxId</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThinkBeforeSharing?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ThinkBeforeSharing</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SMDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SMDay</a> <a href="https://t.co/Z24JOi1vW6">pic.twitter.com/Z24JOi1vW6</a>
— European Commission 🇪🇺 (@EU_Commission) <a href="https://twitter.com/EU_Commission/status/1410115885227032578?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The first modern social media platform was Friendster in 2002. The website allowed people to safely make new friends and has over a hundred million users, most of whom are in Asia. LinkedIn, the first business-focused social media platform was launched in 2003. MySpace launched in 2004, the same year as Facebook, but initially, it saw much greater success than Mark Zuckerberg’s creation. By 2006 MySpace was the largest social media platform in the world, with users loving the customized profiles that also enabled them to post their music.

YouTube launched its website dedicated to video in 2005 and Twitter followed with its limited characters platform in 2006. As both grew in popularity, so did Facebook, and the most popular social media platforms for the next five years were being established.

Instagram launched in 2010 and saw rapid growth, gaining over a million users within the first couple of months. With Instagram challenging their dominance, Facebook purchased the platform for $1 billion in 2012. Facebook also purchased the encrypted messaging platform WhatsApp for $16 billion in 2014. One platform that Facebook failed to buy was Snapchat. Snapchat, which became popular due to its disappearing stories feature, was launched in 2011 and reportedly turned down a $3 billion offer from Facebook in 2013.&nbsp;The most recent addition to the list of social media heavyweights is TikTok. The app was launched in 2016 and has become incredibly popular due to its extensive music and video editing features.

As social media has evolved and grown in popularity, so has the scrutiny that the platforms come under. With controversies surrounding their use of data, hate speech, impact on mental health, election results, and fake news, the platforms are under more pressure than ever to be transparent with what goes on behind the scenes.

Lawmakers in several countries are moving forward with sweeping antitrust legislation aimed at restraining the power of&nbsp;Big&nbsp;Tech&nbsp;companies such as Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc's Google, Amazon.com Inc, and Apple Inc and staving off corporate consolidation.

Every year on June 30 the world celebrates Social Media Day to recognise its impact on global communication and unification. One of the most important sources of communication in this technologically advanced era is social media.

Every year on June 30 the world celebrates Social Media Day to recognise its impact on global communication and unification. One of the most important sources of communication in this technologically advanced era is social media. Social media is a worldwide network that serves as a medium to connect and communicate at not only national but global level too. Different types of social media websites are available to connect globally. Social media has allowed for mass cultural exchange and intercultural communication. It has given a platform to people for exchange their thoughts, ideas, concepts, views, information and culture. Through social media people from different countries and from different regions can discuss current issues. As different cultures have different value systems, cultural themes, grammar, and worldviews, so they also communicate differently. Social media has combined different cultures and their communication methods together, so different religions communicate with ease with other cultures. It has offered a new platform for peer pressure with both positive and negative communication. From Facebook comments to likes on Instagram, how the youth communicate and what is socially acceptable is now heavily based on social media On World Social Media Day, here is a list of apps that you should explore: Periscope, Signal, Valence, Elpha, Yubo, 23snaps, and ReverbNation. From the United Nations to the European Union, numerous global organisations have posted the day on their respective Twitter handles: Misinformation is costing lives and prolonging the #COVID19 pandemic. On Wednesday's #SocialMediaDay we encourage you to #PledgeToPause to verify information before you share it online. https://t.co/uxo77Pss1s pic.twitter.com/FghOPsx23q — United Nations (@UN) June 30, 2021 × Today is #SocialMediaDay. We want to empower everyone to help combat false information. Take a look at our handy toolkit on how to spot and fight disinformation: https://t.co/29eMq1RxId#ThinkBeforeSharing #SMDay pic.twitter.com/Z24JOi1vW6 — European Commission 🇪🇺 (@EU_Commission) June 30, 2021 × The first modern social media platform was Friendster in 2002. The website allowed people to safely make new friends and has over a hundred million users, most of whom are in Asia. LinkedIn, the first business-focused social media platform was launched in 2003. MySpace launched in 2004, the same year as Facebook, but initially, it saw much greater success than Mark Zuckerberg’s creation. By 2006 MySpace was the largest social media platform in the world, with users loving the customized profiles that also enabled them to post their music. YouTube launched its website dedicated to video in 2005 and Twitter followed with its limited characters platform in 2006. As both grew in popularity, so did Facebook, and the most popular social media platforms for the next five years were being established. Instagram launched in 2010 and saw rapid growth, gaining over a million users within the first couple of months. With Instagram challenging their dominance, Facebook purchased the platform for $1 billion in 2012. Facebook also purchased the encrypted messaging platform WhatsApp for $16 billion in 2014. One platform that Facebook failed to buy was Snapchat. Snapchat, which became popular due to its disappearing stories feature, was launched in 2011 and reportedly turned down a $3 billion offer from Facebook in 2013. The most recent addition to the list of social media heavyweights is TikTok. The app was launched in 2016 and has become incredibly popular due to its extensive music and video editing features. As social media has evolved and grown in popularity, so has the scrutiny that the platforms come under. With controversies surrounding their use of data, hate speech, impact on mental health, election results, and fake news, the platforms are under more pressure than ever to be transparent with what goes on behind the scenes. Lawmakers in several countries are moving forward with sweeping antitrust legislation aimed at restraining the power of Big Tech companies such as Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc's Google, Amazon.com Inc, and Apple Inc and staving off corporate consolidation.

Social Media Day: History, significance and all you need to know

Alphabet Inc's Google on Wednesday announced measures to clamp down on financial fraud on its platform in Britain, saying it will require all financial services to be verified by the regulator before they are allowed to advertise. 
 
Google said in a blog post, it will begin enforcing the new policy, which follows calls from the Financial Conduct Authority for the US&nbsp;tech giant to vet paid promotions, from September&nbsp;6. 
 
The FCA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 
 
The watchdog issued 1,200 consumer warnings last year about scams advertised via social media platforms by fake companies, double the amount in 2019. 
 
FCA Chief Executive Nikhil Rathi said last year, Google should make checks with regulators to see whether potential advertisers had already been shut down in some other guise, before promotions are posted online. 
 
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has also been lobbying the government to introduce a legal requirement for internet giants to take down financial fraud websites, according to a March report in the Sunday Times. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

Alphabet Inc's Google on Wednesday announced measures to clamp down on financial fraud on its platform in Britain, saying it will require all financial services to be verified by the regulator before they are allowed to advertise.

Alphabet Inc's Google on Wednesday announced measures to clamp down on financial fraud on its platform in Britain, saying it will require all financial services to be verified by the regulator before they are allowed to advertise. Google said in a blog post, it will begin enforcing the new policy, which follows calls from the Financial Conduct Authority for the US tech giant to vet paid promotions, from September 6. The FCA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The watchdog issued 1,200 consumer warnings last year about scams advertised via social media platforms by fake companies, double the amount in 2019. FCA Chief Executive Nikhil Rathi said last year, Google should make checks with regulators to see whether potential advertisers had already been shut down in some other guise, before promotions are posted online. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has also been lobbying the government to introduce a legal requirement for internet giants to take down financial fraud websites, according to a March report in the Sunday Times. (With inputs from agencies)

Google to introduce measures to curb online financial scams in UK

Researchers from the Seoul Institute of Technology&nbsp;are using artificial intelligence to detect and prevent suicide attempts.

To do so,&nbsp;the AI system they are developing has been learning patterns of behaviour by analysing data from cameras, sensors, and the dispatch records of rescue services since April 2020.

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Based on information from hours of CCTV footage and assessing details such as the hesitation of the person, the AI can then forecast a hazardous situation and immediately alert rescue teams, principal researcher Kim Jun-chul said.

“We believe the new CCTV will enable our crews to detect the cases a bit faster and help us head to a call more promptly,” Kim Hyeong-gil, who is in charge of the Yeouido Water Rescue Brigade, told Reuters as he monitored real-time footage from bridges on Seoul's Han River.

Kim's team have been working with the researchers to come up with the technology that his crew and the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters will be piloting from October. Their work cannot come quickly enough.

South Korea, with a population of 52 million people in 2019, had the highest suicide rate in the OECD. More than 13,700 people took their own lives the same year, government data showed.

Nearly 500 suicide attempts are reported on 27 bridges over the nearly 500 km (300 miles) long Han River every year, the city said.

The number of rescue dispatches surged about 30 per cent&nbsp;in 2020 compared to the year before and many of the attempts were made by the people in their 20s and 30s as the coronavirus pandemic brought greater economic hardship and increased the battle for jobs, the rescue brigade's Kim said.

"The system learns the footage itself, which can bring about improved results by greatly reducing false alarms," the principal researcher said.

(With inputs from agencies)

Researchers from the Seoul Institute of Technology are using artificial intelligence to detect and prevent suicide attempts. To do so, the AI system they are developing has been learning patterns of behaviour by analysing data from cameras, sensors, and the dispatch records of rescue services since April 2020.

Researchers from the Seoul Institute of Technology are using artificial intelligence to detect and prevent suicide attempts. To do so, the AI system they are developing has been learning patterns of behaviour by analysing data from cameras, sensors, and the dispatch records of rescue services since April 2020. Based on information from hours of CCTV footage and assessing details such as the hesitation of the person, the AI can then forecast a hazardous situation and immediately alert rescue teams, principal researcher Kim Jun-chul said. “We believe the new CCTV will enable our crews to detect the cases a bit faster and help us head to a call more promptly,” Kim Hyeong-gil, who is in charge of the Yeouido Water Rescue Brigade, told Reuters as he monitored real-time footage from bridges on Seoul's Han River. Kim's team have been working with the researchers to come up with the technology that his crew and the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters will be piloting from October. Their work cannot come quickly enough. South Korea, with a population of 52 million people in 2019, had the highest suicide rate in the OECD. More than 13,700 people took their own lives the same year, government data showed. Nearly 500 suicide attempts are reported on 27 bridges over the nearly 500 km (300 miles) long Han River every year, the city said. The number of rescue dispatches surged about 30 per cent in 2020 compared to the year before and many of the attempts were made by the people in their 20s and 30s as the coronavirus pandemic brought greater economic hardship and increased the battle for jobs, the rescue brigade's Kim said. "The system learns the footage itself, which can bring about improved results by greatly reducing false alarms," the principal researcher said. (With inputs from agencies)

AI to detect and prevent suicide attempts? Researchers make unique innovation

Instagram is set to extend its hotly sought-after feature to attach links in its Stories&nbsp;to everyone in the near future. As part of Instagram’s plans to expand the full-functionality to all users, the feature to add a URL in one’s Stories will be rolled out soon.

For now, only users with follower count of 10,000 and above or those who are verified can add links to their Stories. Now, the company is testing the feature for all users, The Verge first reported.

How will the new Instagram URL-linking feature work?

As opposed to the “swipe up” mechanism which is in place right now, the upcoming feature&nbsp;will allow URL attachment through a “sharing sticker”.&nbsp; Even though the sticker will offer similar functionality to swiping up, the link will be accessible only through tapping the sticker as opposed to swiping up.&nbsp;

In conversation with The Verge, Instagram’s head of product Vishal Shah claimed that the testing is designed to understand how people will make use of the feature. He added that the company intends to observe link sharing to avoid dissemination of spam and misinformation, one of the key conversations surrounding social media in the post-pandemic era.

Essentially, the link would be attached to the sticker, which would lead users to desired content.

Shah also claimed that the company has no plans to offer URL linking for its main feed, something the users have been demanding feverishly.&nbsp;

As opposed to the current swipe-up call-to-action method, users will be able to respond to Stories that attach links, kicking off a new way of browsing on the once exclusively image-sharing portal that&nbsp;has ventured into short-form video-based content akin to TikTok.

If you’ve ever wanted to share links from your website, blog, or even YouTube, worry not - the feature is expected to be rolled out soon, though there’s still no concrete date set for the rollout.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/technology/optional-feature-to-hide-likes-on-instagram-facebook-is-coming-sooner-than-you-think-387563" hreflang="en">Optional feature to hide likes on Instagram, Facebook is coming sooner than you think</a>

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/technology/instagram-to-let-users-add-pronouns-in-profiles-in-nod-to-alternate-gender-identities-384754" hreflang="en">Instagram to let users add pronouns in profiles, in nod to alternate gender identities</a>

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/technology/instagram-rolls-out-feature-to-tackle-hate-speech-abuse-378965" hreflang="en">Instagram rolls out feature to tackle hate speech, abuse</a>

Instagram is set to extend its hotly sought-after feature to attach links in its Stories to everyone in the near future. As part of Instagram’s plans to expand the full-functionality to all users, the feature to add a URL in one’s Stories will be rolled out soon.

Instagram is set to extend its hotly sought-after feature to attach links in its Stories to everyone in the near future. As part of Instagram’s plans to expand the full-functionality to all users, the feature to add a URL in one’s Stories will be rolled out soon. For now, only users with follower count of 10,000 and above or those who are verified can add links to their Stories. Now, the company is testing the feature for all users, The Verge first reported. How will the new Instagram URL-linking feature work? As opposed to the “swipe up” mechanism which is in place right now, the upcoming feature will allow URL attachment through a “sharing sticker”. Even though the sticker will offer similar functionality to swiping up, the link will be accessible only through tapping the sticker as opposed to swiping up. In conversation with The Verge, Instagram’s head of product Vishal Shah claimed that the testing is designed to understand how people will make use of the feature. He added that the company intends to observe link sharing to avoid dissemination of spam and misinformation, one of the key conversations surrounding social media in the post-pandemic era. Essentially, the link would be attached to the sticker, which would lead users to desired content. Shah also claimed that the company has no plans to offer URL linking for its main feed, something the users have been demanding feverishly. As opposed to the current swipe-up call-to-action method, users will be able to respond to Stories that attach links, kicking off a new way of browsing on the once exclusively image-sharing portal that has ventured into short-form video-based content akin to TikTok. If you’ve ever wanted to share links from your website, blog, or even YouTube, worry not - the feature is expected to be rolled out soon, though there’s still no concrete date set for the rollout. Also read: Optional feature to hide likes on Instagram, Facebook is coming sooner than you think Also read: Instagram to let users add pronouns in profiles, in nod to alternate gender identities Also read: Instagram rolls out feature to tackle hate speech, abuse

Instagram may let everyone attach links in their Stories very soon

Lawyers fighting the extradition of Huawei's chief financial officer to the United States on Tuesday presented internal emails from British bank HSBC that they said disproved US&nbsp;claims that Huawei misled the bank. 
 
CFO Meng Wanzhou's legal team said the emails and documents submitted to a Canadian court showed at least two senior HSBC leaders were aware of connections between Huawei and its Iranian subsidiary, Skycom. HSBC declined to comment. 
 
Meng's lawyers are trying to add the documents to evidence. They are meant to counter US&nbsp;charges that only junior employees of the British bank knew about the true nature of relationship between Huawei and Skycom. 
 
US&nbsp;prosecutors have alleged that Meng misled HSBC about Huawei's business dealings in Iran and may have caused the bank to break US&nbsp;sanctions. 
 
Meng, 49, was arrested in December 2018 at Vancouver International Airport on charges of bank fraud in the United States. She has been held on house arrest for more than two years while her case moves through the Canadian legal system. 
 
Her legal team has extracted internal documents from HSBC through a court in Hong Kong, and they hope to refer to them in the case's final hearings scheduled for August. 
 
In particular, the defence alleges that two HSBC managing directors viewed Meng's presentation to HSBC about Huawei's business in Iran. They said it made clear Skycom's ownership structure. 
 
Meng and her legal team appeared in the British Columbia Supreme Court on Tuesday on the first day of a two-day hearing where they will argue to add more evidence to support her case. 
 
The evidence shows the US&nbsp;argument is "so defective as to compel the courts to place no reliance on them," Mark Sandler, defence lawyer for Meng, told the court. 
 
Prosecutors representing the Canadian government argued that the evidence and arguments were beyond the scope of an extradition hearing.

Lawyers fighting the extradition of Huawei's chief financial officer to the United States on Tuesday presented internal emails from British bank HSBC that they said disproved US claims that Huawei misled the bank.

Lawyers fighting the extradition of Huawei's chief financial officer to the United States on Tuesday presented internal emails from British bank HSBC that they said disproved US claims that Huawei misled the bank. CFO Meng Wanzhou's legal team said the emails and documents submitted to a Canadian court showed at least two senior HSBC leaders were aware of connections between Huawei and its Iranian subsidiary, Skycom. HSBC declined to comment. Meng's lawyers are trying to add the documents to evidence. They are meant to counter US charges that only junior employees of the British bank knew about the true nature of relationship between Huawei and Skycom. US prosecutors have alleged that Meng misled HSBC about Huawei's business dealings in Iran and may have caused the bank to break US sanctions. Meng, 49, was arrested in December 2018 at Vancouver International Airport on charges of bank fraud in the United States. She has been held on house arrest for more than two years while her case moves through the Canadian legal system. Her legal team has extracted internal documents from HSBC through a court in Hong Kong, and they hope to refer to them in the case's final hearings scheduled for August. In particular, the defence alleges that two HSBC managing directors viewed Meng's presentation to HSBC about Huawei's business in Iran. They said it made clear Skycom's ownership structure. Meng and her legal team appeared in the British Columbia Supreme Court on Tuesday on the first day of a two-day hearing where they will argue to add more evidence to support her case. The evidence shows the US argument is "so defective as to compel the courts to place no reliance on them," Mark Sandler, defence lawyer for Meng, told the court. Prosecutors representing the Canadian government argued that the evidence and arguments were beyond the scope of an extradition hearing.

Huawei CFO says HSBC emails disprove basis for US extradition claim

Australia said it has teamed up with the United States and Canada to launch an interactive map of deposits of rare earths and other critical minerals that are expected to be in hot demand as the world moves to cleaner forms of energy. 
 
The map contains the world’s largest dataset of minerals, such cobalt, lithium and rare earth elements and has more than 7,000 mineral samples from over 60 countries, which could help identify new areas of critical minerals. 
 
The data can be used by governments to identify options to diversify their critical minerals sources and by companies to better target their exploration strategies, Keith Pitt, the minister for resources, water and northern Australia, said in a statement. 
 
"While Australia is known across the world for its rich gold and iron ore deposits, our country also has an abundance of critical minerals, which are key to everything from iPhones to fighter jets," he added. 
 
China is the dominant supplier of rare earths, which are used in electric vehicle batteries, a wide range of consumer products as well as satellites and lasers. Western governments have been keen to diversify procurement amid trade and political tensions with Beijing. 
 
The United States said this month, it would work with allies to secure the minerals needed for electric vehicle batteries and process them domestically. 
 
The dataset was compiled by Geoscience Australia, the Geological Survey of Canada and the United States Geological Survey. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

Australia said it has teamed up with the United States and Canada to launch an interactive map of deposits of rare earths and other critical minerals that are expected to be in hot demand as the world moves to cleaner forms of energy.

Australia said it has teamed up with the United States and Canada to launch an interactive map of deposits of rare earths and other critical minerals that are expected to be in hot demand as the world moves to cleaner forms of energy. The map contains the world’s largest dataset of minerals, such cobalt, lithium and rare earth elements and has more than 7,000 mineral samples from over 60 countries, which could help identify new areas of critical minerals. The data can be used by governments to identify options to diversify their critical minerals sources and by companies to better target their exploration strategies, Keith Pitt, the minister for resources, water and northern Australia, said in a statement. "While Australia is known across the world for its rich gold and iron ore deposits, our country also has an abundance of critical minerals, which are key to everything from iPhones to fighter jets," he added. China is the dominant supplier of rare earths, which are used in electric vehicle batteries, a wide range of consumer products as well as satellites and lasers. Western governments have been keen to diversify procurement amid trade and political tensions with Beijing. The United States said this month, it would work with allies to secure the minerals needed for electric vehicle batteries and process them domestically. The dataset was compiled by Geoscience Australia, the Geological Survey of Canada and the United States Geological Survey. (With inputs from agencies)

Australia, US and Canada launch interactive map for critical minerals

Application revenue earned from mobile phone users around the world jumped to record amount in the first half of 2021, market tracker Sensor Tower said on Monday.

Touching nearly $65 billion, the revenue drove Apple and Google app platforms (App Store and Google Play Store) to thrive even as the companies come under the radar of authorities for antitrust practices.

Initial figures from Sensor Tower suggest that $64.9 billion was spent on App Store and Google Play Store in the period between January-June of this year, inducting a 25 per cent jump from the same period in 2020.

According to the company, $41.5 billion was spent on Apple’s App Store in the first half of this year on subscriptions and other apps, including purchases within the applications. By the end of June, Google Play Store is expected to generate a revenue of $23.4 billion.

Which apps topped the list?

TikTok was the top grossing non-game mobile application. Users spent roughly $920 million on the app this year, denoting a 74 per cent jump from the first six months of last year, as revealed by Sensor Tower.

YouTube, which is owned by Google, followed TikTok and is the second biggest non-game generator of revenue, with users spending $565 million on the platform.

Spending on mobile games increased by 18 per cent this year, touching $44.7 billion. China’s internet firm Tencent had the top most grossing mobile game - Honor of Kings, which generated over $1.5 billion in the first half of 2021.

"While consumer spending in mobile games is growing at a slower clip than last year, this doesn’t indicate a downturn for the industry but rather a normalization after the surge in interest during the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic," AFP cited Sensor Tower as saying in a post.

The survey sheds light on the growing importance of the “app economy”.

Currently, Epic Games is trying to break Apple’s tight grip on the App Store, hoping to force Apple to open the store to third parties and to limit Apple’s earnings from apps.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/facebook-hits-1-trillion-value-after-judge-rejects-antitrust-complaints-394581" hreflang="en">Facebook hits $1 trillion value after judge rejects antitrust complaints</a>

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/twitters-interim-grievance-officer-for-india-quits-days-after-appointment-394478" hreflang="en">Twitter's interim grievance officer for India quits days after appointment</a>

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/wild-child-of-silicon-valley-the-rise-and-fall-of-john-mcafee-394249" hreflang="en">Wild child of Silicon Valley: The rise and fall of John McAfee</a>

Application revenue earned from mobile phone users around the world jumped to record amount in the first half of 2021, market tracker Sensor Tower said on Monday.

Application revenue earned from mobile phone users around the world jumped to record amount in the first half of 2021, market tracker Sensor Tower said on Monday. Touching nearly $65 billion, the revenue drove Apple and Google app platforms (App Store and Google Play Store) to thrive even as the companies come under the radar of authorities for antitrust practices. Initial figures from Sensor Tower suggest that $64.9 billion was spent on App Store and Google Play Store in the period between January-June of this year, inducting a 25 per cent jump from the same period in 2020. According to the company, $41.5 billion was spent on Apple’s App Store in the first half of this year on subscriptions and other apps, including purchases within the applications. By the end of June, Google Play Store is expected to generate a revenue of $23.4 billion. Which apps topped the list? TikTok was the top grossing non-game mobile application. Users spent roughly $920 million on the app this year, denoting a 74 per cent jump from the first six months of last year, as revealed by Sensor Tower. YouTube, which is owned by Google, followed TikTok and is the second biggest non-game generator of revenue, with users spending $565 million on the platform. Spending on mobile games increased by 18 per cent this year, touching $44.7 billion. China’s internet firm Tencent had the top most grossing mobile game - Honor of Kings, which generated over $1.5 billion in the first half of 2021. "While consumer spending in mobile games is growing at a slower clip than last year, this doesn’t indicate a downturn for the industry but rather a normalization after the surge in interest during the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic," AFP cited Sensor Tower as saying in a post. The survey sheds light on the growing importance of the “app economy”. Currently, Epic Games is trying to break Apple’s tight grip on the App Store, hoping to force Apple to open the store to third parties and to limit Apple’s earnings from apps. Also read: Facebook hits $1 trillion value after judge rejects antitrust complaints Also read: Twitter's interim grievance officer for India quits days after appointment Also read: Wild child of Silicon Valley: The rise and fall of John McAfee

People spent nearly $65 billion on mobile apps this year. Which ones topped the list?

Multiple users complained about an outage affecting Alphabet Inc's search engine Google as well as its streaming and email services, according to outage monitoring website Downdetector. 
 
Platforms including Google, YouTube and Gmail were down on Monday evening, with users complaining of difficulty in logging in and accessing the website in parts of North America, according to Downdetector. 
 
More than a thousand users were having difficulties with the search engine at one point, the outage monitoring website showed, and users were also facing issues with YouTube TV and Google Drive. 
 
The issue affecting the platforms was not immediately clear. 
 
Google did not immediately respond to a Reuters; request for comment after business hours. 
 
Downdetector tracks outages by collating status reports from a series of sources, including user-submitted errors on its platform.

Multiple users complained about an outage affecting Alphabet Inc's search engine Google as well as its streaming and email services, according to outage monitoring website Downdetector.

Multiple users complained about an outage affecting Alphabet Inc's search engine Google as well as its streaming and email services, according to outage monitoring website Downdetector. Platforms including Google, YouTube and Gmail were down on Monday evening, with users complaining of difficulty in logging in and accessing the website in parts of North America, according to Downdetector. More than a thousand users were having difficulties with the search engine at one point, the outage monitoring website showed, and users were also facing issues with YouTube TV and Google Drive. The issue affecting the platforms was not immediately clear. Google did not immediately respond to a Reuters; request for comment after business hours. Downdetector tracks outages by collating status reports from a series of sources, including user-submitted errors on its platform.

Google services down for some users: Web tracker

When I received the Lenovo Smart Clock "Essential", I wondered, who uses a clock, smart or simple, anymore?&nbsp;

You see, when you're in the business of reviewing tech, you often get jaded and take otherwise useful features for granted. Small and compact, so? A smart speaker, too, you say, well ok. Needs power at all times? Oh well, if only it was wireless.

But the marvellous thing about technology is that it changes so quickly, often so quietly, that you don't even feel the difference till it becomes a part of your everyday life. Electronics are often flooded in the market to create demand. Take the case of a smartwatch or a fitness tracker, a good speaker or even a tablet. It's only when you use it daily, that you'll find yourself scrambling for it when it goes missing.

This is why I have cast aside the title of a tech expert or guide and passed on the same to my three-year-old son. Children in lockdown run to gadgets now like they used to run to the swings in parks in the days before the pandemic. They find creative uses for technology that we jaded adults just can't fathom.

My son taught me that the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential proves to be quite the useful bedside smart speaker by simply using it for 5 straight days.

WHAT IS IT?

<img alt="Lenovo smart clock" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="ae99b34d-294a-4ac8-9bf8-9053ad875562" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/smart.JPG" />

It is a simple yet very smart alarm clock. For beginners, make sure you download the Google Home app to set up the Smart Clock Essential.

WHAT DOES IT DO?

<img alt="Lenovo smart clock" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c66712a9-6eb6-4f18-a6aa-abd98388b43a" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/smart%20clock.JPG" />

When I say smart, I mean that it uses the Google assistant's prowess to answer all your queries. So put it on your bedside table or nightstand while you put your phone on charge in some other corner and avoid all that unnecessary screen time. There is a simple, fuss-free 4-inch LED display for you to glance at the time and weather and that is it!

No browsing, no scrolling, no online shopping. You can set an alarm to wake you up and adjust volume controls and that's about it. But there is a crucial functionality here. Google Assistant will be your best friend even when packed in this tiny gadget.

A nifty trick my son picked up -- "Google sing a song!" And Google belted out an appropriate jingle about wearing a mask outdoors. Google's powerhouse search engine will have all the answers to a child's many questions in lockdown, giving parents a moment to catch a breath.

And you can also connect the Smart Clock Essential to other Google smart speakers or control your smart home if you have other such gadgets.

And if you want some nice music, the 3-watt speaker offers decent sound to fill up a small room.

The microphone responds well and for such a compact speaker, the sound quality is surprisingly good. One gripe though, in the age of customisation, there is not much you can do with the physical controls here. You will have to connect the gadget to your phone or tablet using the Google Home App but even then, there is very little you can do.

IS THIS GADGET FOR YOU?

<img alt="Lenovo" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="7311b5e9-da40-407a-80bb-4a5f72a577fd" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Lenovo.JPG" />

It's for anyone and everyone working from home right now. All those who are spending hours scrolling on their phones at bedtime because one doesn't need to rush out the door in the morning. Put your phone down, set an alarm, and set up a routine. This is a product that is targetting a niche audience, one that lives on routine.

By bringing the Google Assistant to your nightstand, the Smart Clock Essential gives you the option of staying connected and on track -- without craning your neck. And what makes it more appealing is that it is priced at Rs 4,499 which is a steal when it comes to smart home products.

I woke up daily to the sound of Katy Perry'S Roar to get in the mood for my son's online classes -- trust me, you need that wake-up call!

HOW DOES IT LOOK?

What I personally loved was how light and portable this was. Don't get me wrong, you do need to connect it to a power source at all times. But at only 240 grams, you can park it anywhere, put it in your travel kit in or even change positions around the room. The design is simple and will go with your interiors.&nbsp;

ARE THE ALARMS JARRING?

Raise your hands if you've been woken up by the brutal and blaring sounds of your smartphones. With this clock, you can wake up to your favourite playlist, or set up routines. To set up an alarm, yell out at the Smart Clock Essential to set an alarm and an indicator will show up on the display. My favourite part? Instead of hitting snooze, I loved smacking the top to turn the alarm off every morning, reminding me of an era gone by. Nice touch, Lenovo. 
For those who love waking up to an alarm, you can also tell Google to shut it off and simply rise and shine!

SHOULD YOU BUY IT?

<img alt="Lenovo" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0fbaed20-094e-41c2-ae58-5beef84a7b14" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/clock.JPG" />

Lenovo smart clock essential (Rs 4,499)

As my son says, "Google, sing a song!". So I too can sing a pretty song about the pros and cons of a gadget. But like all tech, this one too will slide into your lives and become a habit if you invest in it. And for all those who are creatures of habit, an alarm that doesn't sound like fingernails on a board, could become the new habit you need to live in the new normal.

When I received the Lenovo Smart Clock "Essential", I wondered, who uses a clock, smart or simple, anymore? You see, when you're in the business of reviewing tech, you often get jaded and take otherwise useful features for granted.

When I received the Lenovo Smart Clock "Essential", I wondered, who uses a clock, smart or simple, anymore? You see, when you're in the business of reviewing tech, you often get jaded and take otherwise useful features for granted. Small and compact, so? A smart speaker, too, you say, well ok. Needs power at all times? Oh well, if only it was wireless. But the marvellous thing about technology is that it changes so quickly, often so quietly, that you don't even feel the difference till it becomes a part of your everyday life. Electronics are often flooded in the market to create demand. Take the case of a smartwatch or a fitness tracker, a good speaker or even a tablet. It's only when you use it daily, that you'll find yourself scrambling for it when it goes missing. This is why I have cast aside the title of a tech expert or guide and passed on the same to my three-year-old son. Children in lockdown run to gadgets now like they used to run to the swings in parks in the days before the pandemic. They find creative uses for technology that we jaded adults just can't fathom. My son taught me that the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential proves to be quite the useful bedside smart speaker by simply using it for 5 straight days. WHAT IS IT? It is a simple yet very smart alarm clock. For beginners, make sure you download the Google Home app to set up the Smart Clock Essential. WHAT DOES IT DO? When I say smart, I mean that it uses the Google assistant's prowess to answer all your queries. So put it on your bedside table or nightstand while you put your phone on charge in some other corner and avoid all that unnecessary screen time. There is a simple, fuss-free 4-inch LED display for you to glance at the time and weather and that is it! No browsing, no scrolling, no online shopping. You can set an alarm to wake you up and adjust volume controls and that's about it. But there is a crucial functionality here. Google Assistant will be your best friend even when packed in this tiny gadget. A nifty trick my son picked up -- "Google sing a song!" And Google belted out an appropriate jingle about wearing a mask outdoors. Google's powerhouse search engine will have all the answers to a child's many questions in lockdown, giving parents a moment to catch a breath. And you can also connect the Smart Clock Essential to other Google smart speakers or control your smart home if you have other such gadgets. And if you want some nice music, the 3-watt speaker offers decent sound to fill up a small room. The microphone responds well and for such a compact speaker, the sound quality is surprisingly good. One gripe though, in the age of customisation, there is not much you can do with the physical controls here. You will have to connect the gadget to your phone or tablet using the Google Home App but even then, there is very little you can do. IS THIS GADGET FOR YOU? It's for anyone and everyone working from home right now. All those who are spending hours scrolling on their phones at bedtime because one doesn't need to rush out the door in the morning. Put your phone down, set an alarm, and set up a routine. This is a product that is targetting a niche audience, one that lives on routine. By bringing the Google Assistant to your nightstand, the Smart Clock Essential gives you the option of staying connected and on track -- without craning your neck. And what makes it more appealing is that it is priced at Rs 4,499 which is a steal when it comes to smart home products. I woke up daily to the sound of Katy Perry'S Roar to get in the mood for my son's online classes -- trust me, you need that wake-up call! HOW DOES IT LOOK? What I personally loved was how light and portable this was. Don't get me wrong, you do need to connect it to a power source at all times. But at only 240 grams, you can park it anywhere, put it in your travel kit in or even change positions around the room. The design is simple and will go with your interiors. ARE THE ALARMS JARRING? Raise your hands if you've been woken up by the brutal and blaring sounds of your smartphones. With this clock, you can wake up to your favourite playlist, or set up routines. To set up an alarm, yell out at the Smart Clock Essential to set an alarm and an indicator will show up on the display. My favourite part? Instead of hitting snooze, I loved smacking the top to turn the alarm off every morning, reminding me of an era gone by. Nice touch, Lenovo. For those who love waking up to an alarm, you can also tell Google to shut it off and simply rise and shine! SHOULD YOU BUY IT? Lenovo smart clock essential (Rs 4,499) As my son says, "Google, sing a song!". So I too can sing a pretty song about the pros and cons of a gadget. But like all tech, this one too will slide into your lives and become a habit if you invest in it. And for all those who are creatures of habit, an alarm that doesn't sound like fingernails on a board, could become the new habit you need to live in the new normal.

Lenovo Smart Clock Essential: A smart clock that won't alarm you

A US&nbsp;judge on Monday dismissed federal and state antitrust complaints against Facebook Inc that sought to force the social media company to sell Instagram and WhatsApp, saying the federal complaint was "legally insufficient." 
 
Facebook shares rose more than 4% after the ruling. The share price rise put Facebook`s market capitalisation over $1 trillion for the first time. 
 
The dismissal was the first big blow to state and federal lawsuits against Big Tech firms last year seeking to rein in alleged abuses of their massive market power. 
 
Judge James Boasberg of the US&nbsp;District Court for the District of Columbia said the FTC failed to show that Facebook had monopoly power in the social-networking market but said the FTC could file a new complaint by July 29. 
 
He also dismissed a lawsuit by multiple US&nbsp;states, saying they waited too long to challenge the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp in 2012 and 2014 respectively. The judge did not invite the states to refile their complaint. 
 
A spokesperson for the New York Attorney General’s office said it was "considering our legal options." 
 
Facebook had asked for the lawsuits to be dismissed. 
 
Regarding the FTC lawsuit, the judge wrote: "Although the court does not agree with all of Facebook`s contentions here, it ultimately concurs that the agency`s complaint is legally insufficient and must therefore be dismissed." 
 
A Facebook spokesperson said: "We are pleased that today’s decisions recognise the defects in the government complaints filed against Facebook." An FTC spokesperson said the agency was "closely reviewing the opinion and assessing the best option forward." 
 
A bright spot for the FTC in the opinion was the judge`s saying that the agency was "on firmer ground in scrutinising the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, as the court rejects Facebook`s argument that the FTC lacks authority to seek injunctive relief against those purchases." 
 
The FTC and a big group of states filed separate lawsuits last year that accused Facebook of breaking antitrust law to keep smaller competitors at bay by snapping up rivals, such as Instagram for $1 billion and WhatsApp for $19 billion. 
 
JUDGE FINDS FLAWS IN MARKET SHARE CLAIM 
 
The federal government and states filed a total of five lawsuits against Facebook and Alphabet Inc`s Google last year following bipartisan outrage over their social media clout in the economy and the political sphere. 
 
The judge said that the FTC did not adequately support its assertion that Facebook has more than 60% of the market. But Boasberg said the agency could potentially fix the issue in a refiling. 
 
The judge also criticised portions of the FTC`s case regarding its refusal to allow interoperability permissions with competing apps. 
 
Republican Senator Josh Hawley criticised the court`s decision on the FTC lawsuit as "deeply disappointing."

A US judge on Monday dismissed federal and state antitrust complaints against Facebook Inc that sought to force the social media company to sell Instagram and WhatsApp, saying the federal complaint was "legally insufficient.

A US judge on Monday dismissed federal and state antitrust complaints against Facebook Inc that sought to force the social media company to sell Instagram and WhatsApp, saying the federal complaint was "legally insufficient." Facebook shares rose more than 4% after the ruling. The share price rise put Facebook`s market capitalisation over $1 trillion for the first time. The dismissal was the first big blow to state and federal lawsuits against Big Tech firms last year seeking to rein in alleged abuses of their massive market power. Judge James Boasberg of the US District Court for the District of Columbia said the FTC failed to show that Facebook had monopoly power in the social-networking market but said the FTC could file a new complaint by July 29. He also dismissed a lawsuit by multiple US states, saying they waited too long to challenge the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp in 2012 and 2014 respectively. The judge did not invite the states to refile their complaint. A spokesperson for the New York Attorney General’s office said it was "considering our legal options." Facebook had asked for the lawsuits to be dismissed. Regarding the FTC lawsuit, the judge wrote: "Although the court does not agree with all of Facebook`s contentions here, it ultimately concurs that the agency`s complaint is legally insufficient and must therefore be dismissed." A Facebook spokesperson said: "We are pleased that today’s decisions recognise the defects in the government complaints filed against Facebook." An FTC spokesperson said the agency was "closely reviewing the opinion and assessing the best option forward." A bright spot for the FTC in the opinion was the judge`s saying that the agency was "on firmer ground in scrutinising the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, as the court rejects Facebook`s argument that the FTC lacks authority to seek injunctive relief against those purchases." The FTC and a big group of states filed separate lawsuits last year that accused Facebook of breaking antitrust law to keep smaller competitors at bay by snapping up rivals, such as Instagram for $1 billion and WhatsApp for $19 billion. JUDGE FINDS FLAWS IN MARKET SHARE CLAIM The federal government and states filed a total of five lawsuits against Facebook and Alphabet Inc`s Google last year following bipartisan outrage over their social media clout in the economy and the political sphere. The judge said that the FTC did not adequately support its assertion that Facebook has more than 60% of the market. But Boasberg said the agency could potentially fix the issue in a refiling. The judge also criticised portions of the FTC`s case regarding its refusal to allow interoperability permissions with competing apps. Republican Senator Josh Hawley criticised the court`s decision on the FTC lawsuit as "deeply disappointing."

Facebook hits $1 trillion value after judge rejects antitrust complaints

On June 29, 2007 Apple Inc&nbsp;commanded the world’s attention with the release of the first-ever iPhone.&nbsp;

With a modest storage capacity of 4-8 GB, the phone wouldn’t stand a chance against advanced successors from the ongoing generation of iPhones. Even then, the release date of the first iPhone marks a historic moment in the smartphone industry which propelled the development of applications, the process of smartening phones, and to improve computer-like processing on small devices.

Here’s a look at how iPhones have evolved since 2007

<img alt="iPhone 1" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="9499c3a5-3666-4112-a31b-fb6547e4254a" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/1_68.jpg" />

The iPhone 1, simply known as iPhone was announced in January 9, 2007 but was released on June 29, 2007, by the trailblazing CEO Steve Jobs. With a 3.5 inch screen and a 2-megapixel camera, the phone solidified the potential of pocket-size computers.&nbsp;

On July 11, 2008, Apple released the iPhone 3G, which built on the first-generation device. It offered more storage extending upto 16 GB and faster speeds with 3G connectivity. Location services were introduced in this model, which Jobs had once claimed were going to be&nbsp;the basis of what iPhones intended to achieve in the tech world.

<img alt="iPhone 3GS" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="11dfba95-4ccf-46f4-b991-4668263ac6a0" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/2_54.jpg" />

A smaller update showed up a year later with iPhone 3GS, which offered storage upto 32 GB. It&nbsp;may seem like an insult to current device capabilities but signified a big step for miniature technology back in the day.

<img alt="iPhone 4" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="edcfc26f-a80f-4dbb-9ddc-c224540f4d5d" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/3_43.jpg" />

In 2010, Apple was looking for ways to refine the iPhone experience and released the iPhone 4&nbsp;on June 24. The famous feature called FaceTime, which has come to define Apple devices was first offered on this iteration of the device. Apple’s Retina Display also made its debut on iPhone 4. A year later, iPhone 4S&nbsp;showed up, extending storage upto 64 GB.&nbsp;

<img alt="iPhone 5" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="7df830d3-115e-4d7f-92ba-041ba155a596" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/4_14.jpg" />

But the company stepped up its game by releasing iPhone 5 on September 15, 2012. Slimmer, faster, and better looking, Steve Jobs called it the best thing to happen to iPhone since the original iPhone. A year later, smaller updates manifested in the iPhone 5S, which introduced us to fingerprint security and the modestly priced iPhone 5C.

<img alt="iPHone 6" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="96e8891e-2faa-4e7a-a0f7-824302d2dbed" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/5_8.jpg" />

With big screens dominating the market and Android phones boasting similar and sometimes better features on richer screens in 2014, Apple announced the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The latter was the company’s first large-screen phone with pure Apple joy spread across 5.5 inches.&nbsp;

Then appeared iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus in 2015 with a groundbreaking touch technology called 3D Touch&nbsp;which earned praise from users but was discontinued eventually.&nbsp;

<img alt="iPhone 7" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="788a33ad-e2c8-4a57-9ace-db03b6340ca2" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/6_1.jpg" />

In 2016, Apple pushed the boundaries again when it announced the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus series, which eliminated the audio jack, removed the home button,&nbsp;and introduced a dual camera.

Building on the risk-laden success of iPhone 7 series, Apple introduced the iPhone 8 series on September 12, 2017 which brought wireless charging to the smartphone line. In addition, the series also came with glass front and backs, similar to the design of iPhone 4 and 4S.&nbsp;

<img alt="iPhone X" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="fda77db6-d41e-4790-af2b-5cec151f35cc" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/7_0.jpg" />

But all that wasn’t enough. On the same day, the company announced iPhone X, an homage to&nbsp;company’s 10-year-long&nbsp;in the smartphone industry. With storage running upto 256 GB and an edge-to-edge display, the iPhone X gifted users with a richer experience courtesy of Super Retina Display. With it came a plethora of new features like Face ID, which replaced the Touch ID and used biometric facial data to unlock phones.

In between 2017-2021, Apple has released iPhone XR, iPhone XS/iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max which is largely built on the design and radical capabilities of the iPhone X.

<img alt="iPHone" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="e4638c72-af8b-435f-9a17-b48f2572803f" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/8.jpg" />

The latest generation Apple smartphone is called iPhone 12, which also comes with a mini iteration called iPhone 12 Mini. The flagship packs Super Retina XDR display and introduced 5G connectivity to iPhones. Complementing these devices were iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, which come with a&nbsp;super size screen measuring 6.7 inches.

The company has made great strides in packing life-size features in pocket-size devices that has in turn driven development of technology thought unimaginable less than a decade back.

Do you think Apple will keep the momentum going with its next generation of iPhones?

(Images 1-7:&nbsp;Wikimedia Commons, Image 8: AFP)

On June 29, 2007 Apple Inc commanded the world’s attention with the release of the first-ever iPhone. With a modest storage capacity of 4-8 GB, the phone wouldn’t stand a chance against advanced successors from the ongoing generation of iPhones.

On June 29, 2007 Apple Inc commanded the world’s attention with the release of the first-ever iPhone. With a modest storage capacity of 4-8 GB, the phone wouldn’t stand a chance against advanced successors from the ongoing generation of iPhones. Even then, the release date of the first iPhone marks a historic moment in the smartphone industry which propelled the development of applications, the process of smartening phones, and to improve computer-like processing on small devices. Here’s a look at how iPhones have evolved since 2007 The iPhone 1, simply known as iPhone was announced in January 9, 2007 but was released on June 29, 2007, by the trailblazing CEO Steve Jobs. With a 3.5 inch screen and a 2-megapixel camera, the phone solidified the potential of pocket-size computers. On July 11, 2008, Apple released the iPhone 3G, which built on the first-generation device. It offered more storage extending upto 16 GB and faster speeds with 3G connectivity. Location services were introduced in this model, which Jobs had once claimed were going to be the basis of what iPhones intended to achieve in the tech world. A smaller update showed up a year later with iPhone 3GS, which offered storage upto 32 GB. It may seem like an insult to current device capabilities but signified a big step for miniature technology back in the day. In 2010, Apple was looking for ways to refine the iPhone experience and released the iPhone 4 on June 24. The famous feature called FaceTime, which has come to define Apple devices was first offered on this iteration of the device. Apple’s Retina Display also made its debut on iPhone 4. A year later, iPhone 4S showed up, extending storage upto 64 GB. But the company stepped up its game by releasing iPhone 5 on September 15, 2012. Slimmer, faster, and better looking, Steve Jobs called it the best thing to happen to iPhone since the original iPhone. A year later, smaller updates manifested in the iPhone 5S, which introduced us to fingerprint security and the modestly priced iPhone 5C. With big screens dominating the market and Android phones boasting similar and sometimes better features on richer screens in 2014, Apple announced the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The latter was the company’s first large-screen phone with pure Apple joy spread across 5.5 inches. Then appeared iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus in 2015 with a groundbreaking touch technology called 3D Touch which earned praise from users but was discontinued eventually. In 2016, Apple pushed the boundaries again when it announced the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus series, which eliminated the audio jack, removed the home button, and introduced a dual camera. Building on the risk-laden success of iPhone 7 series, Apple introduced the iPhone 8 series on September 12, 2017 which brought wireless charging to the smartphone line. In addition, the series also came with glass front and backs, similar to the design of iPhone 4 and 4S. But all that wasn’t enough. On the same day, the company announced iPhone X, an homage to company’s 10-year-long in the smartphone industry. With storage running upto 256 GB and an edge-to-edge display, the iPhone X gifted users with a richer experience courtesy of Super Retina Display. With it came a plethora of new features like Face ID, which replaced the Touch ID and used biometric facial data to unlock phones. In between 2017-2021, Apple has released iPhone XR, iPhone XS/iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max which is largely built on the design and radical capabilities of the iPhone X. The latest generation Apple smartphone is called iPhone 12, which also comes with a mini iteration called iPhone 12 Mini. The flagship packs Super Retina XDR display and introduced 5G connectivity to iPhones. Complementing these devices were iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, which come with a super size screen measuring 6.7 inches. The company has made great strides in packing life-size features in pocket-size devices that has in turn driven development of technology thought unimaginable less than a decade back. Do you think Apple will keep the momentum going with its next generation of iPhones? (Images 1-7: Wikimedia Commons, Image 8: AFP)

iPhone celebrates 14 years: Take a look at the journey of Apple's smartphone devices

Don Joyce, a Nokia director working from home at a remote lake cottage in Canada, recently abandoned his painfully slow phone-line internet in favour of satellite broadband service Starlink, offered by Elon Musk's SpaceX. 
 
Starlink, which cost him C$600 dollars (US$486) for hardware and a lofty C$150 monthly subscription, provides 'blindingly fast' speeds when uploading videos or streaming movies, he said. 
 
But the beta test customer said he experiences dropouts during calls on Microsoft Teams and Zoom.

"If you're in the city and you have alternatives, I wouldn't recommend it. But if you're in the country, like in the middle of nowhere and you're getting pathetic internet service, then it's definitely a competitor." 
 
For billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, founder of electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Inc, the success of one of his biggest bets may come down to just how many people like Joyce are out there. 
 
Musk on Tuesday is expected to discuss Starlink's progress in a speech at the Mobile World Congress telecommunications event, an audience with a lot at stake in the fate of Starlink. If the service is successful, it could vastly expand the reach of broadband internet around the world, connect Tesla vehicles, and even provide a new platform for traders and others with exotic internet needs, people familiar with the Starlink plan said. 
 
But to do that, it must avoid the fate of similar satellite ventures that have preceded it. 
 
"Not bankrupt, that would be a big step," Musk said last year. "That's our goal." 
 
SpaceX's Starlink division launched its 'Better Than Nothing Beta program' in the United States last October, with data speeds up to a competitive 150 megabits per second. Early reviews are mixed, with some users complaining of the problems that have always plagued satellite internet: sensitivity to weather. 
 
Recent heat waves have caused new problems. 
 
"I'm gonna have to spray it with a garden hose to reboot my internet... That just feels so wrong," a Reddit user who said he lives in Arizona posted earlier this month, along with an error message saying "Offline: Thermal shutdown" and "Starlink will reconnect after cooling down". 
 
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell in April said the firm has 'a lot of work to do to make the network reliable'. The company on Tuesday did not have an immediate comment. 
 
Service should improve with more satellites and other improvements: Starlink has launched over 1,700 of its 260 kilogram satellites so far, and envisions more than 40,000. 
 
The economics are daunting nonetheless. Musk has said Starlink could serve less than 5% of internet users and still generate $30 billion a year in revenue. Critics called that wishful thinking. 
 
"Is the demand there for tens of millions of subscribers at that price point?" asked analyst Tim Farrar, president at TMF Associates. "In most parts of the world, if you said to someone, your broadband service will cost you 100 US&nbsp;dollars a month, they'd be like, incredulous." 
 
He said there might be wealthy people in isolated areas, "but there's just not very many of those people". 
 
He said Starlink would also struggle for enough capacity to support that level of demand, especially as people are consuming more data for video streaming. That would mean "significant additional expenditure on upgrading the satellites and adding more satellites."

Don Joyce, a Nokia director working from home at a remote lake cottage in Canada, recently abandoned his painfully slow phone-line internet in favour of satellite broadband service Starlink, offered by Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Don Joyce, a Nokia director working from home at a remote lake cottage in Canada, recently abandoned his painfully slow phone-line internet in favour of satellite broadband service Starlink, offered by Elon Musk's SpaceX. Starlink, which cost him C$600 dollars (US$486) for hardware and a lofty C$150 monthly subscription, provides 'blindingly fast' speeds when uploading videos or streaming movies, he said. But the beta test customer said he experiences dropouts during calls on Microsoft Teams and Zoom. "If you're in the city and you have alternatives, I wouldn't recommend it. But if you're in the country, like in the middle of nowhere and you're getting pathetic internet service, then it's definitely a competitor." For billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, founder of electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Inc, the success of one of his biggest bets may come down to just how many people like Joyce are out there. Musk on Tuesday is expected to discuss Starlink's progress in a speech at the Mobile World Congress telecommunications event, an audience with a lot at stake in the fate of Starlink. If the service is successful, it could vastly expand the reach of broadband internet around the world, connect Tesla vehicles, and even provide a new platform for traders and others with exotic internet needs, people familiar with the Starlink plan said. But to do that, it must avoid the fate of similar satellite ventures that have preceded it. "Not bankrupt, that would be a big step," Musk said last year. "That's our goal." SpaceX's Starlink division launched its 'Better Than Nothing Beta program' in the United States last October, with data speeds up to a competitive 150 megabits per second. Early reviews are mixed, with some users complaining of the problems that have always plagued satellite internet: sensitivity to weather. Recent heat waves have caused new problems. "I'm gonna have to spray it with a garden hose to reboot my internet... That just feels so wrong," a Reddit user who said he lives in Arizona posted earlier this month, along with an error message saying "Offline: Thermal shutdown" and "Starlink will reconnect after cooling down". SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell in April said the firm has 'a lot of work to do to make the network reliable'. The company on Tuesday did not have an immediate comment. Service should improve with more satellites and other improvements: Starlink has launched over 1,700 of its 260 kilogram satellites so far, and envisions more than 40,000. The economics are daunting nonetheless. Musk has said Starlink could serve less than 5% of internet users and still generate $30 billion a year in revenue. Critics called that wishful thinking. "Is the demand there for tens of millions of subscribers at that price point?" asked analyst Tim Farrar, president at TMF Associates. "In most parts of the world, if you said to someone, your broadband service will cost you 100 US dollars a month, they'd be like, incredulous." He said there might be wealthy people in isolated areas, "but there's just not very many of those people". He said Starlink would also struggle for enough capacity to support that level of demand, especially as people are consuming more data for video streaming. That would mean "significant additional expenditure on upgrading the satellites and adding more satellites."

Musk set to tout Starlink progress as cost, demand hurdles linger

French carmaker Renault said on Monday, it had sealed partnerships with China's Envision AESC and France's Verkor to produce electric car batteries in northern France. 
 
Carmakers globally are racing to keep ahead of rivals in producing cleaner vehicles, a technology shift that is already prompting Germany's Volkswagen to build six battery cell plants of its own in Europe. 
 
Renault made the announcement, which confirmed earlier media reports, before a visit of President Emanuel Macron to the Douai site in northern France where Envision is investing up to 2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) close to 'Renault ElectriCity' electric car hub to create 2,500 new jobs by 2030. 
 
Renault also said it signed a memorandum of understanding with the French start-up Verkor to co-develop and then manufacture high-performance batteries, with a view to owning a more than 20% stake in Verkor. 
 
"The combination of these two partnerships with Renault ElectriCity will create nearly 4,500 direct jobs in France by 2030, while developing a robust battery manufacturing ecosystem in the heart of Europe," the statement said. 
 
Envision AESC's gigafactory in Douai will have a capacity of 9 gigawatt hours (GWh) in 2024 and with aim of reaching 24 GWh by 2030. 
 
The proximity of the Envision AESC’s gigafactory to Renault ElectriCity production sites at Douai, Maubeuge and Ruitz, will create 700 additional jobs in the Hauts-de-France region. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

French carmaker Renault said on Monday, it had sealed partnerships with China's Envision AESC and France's Verkor to produce electric car batteries in northern France.

French carmaker Renault said on Monday, it had sealed partnerships with China's Envision AESC and France's Verkor to produce electric car batteries in northern France. Carmakers globally are racing to keep ahead of rivals in producing cleaner vehicles, a technology shift that is already prompting Germany's Volkswagen to build six battery cell plants of its own in Europe. Renault made the announcement, which confirmed earlier media reports, before a visit of President Emanuel Macron to the Douai site in northern France where Envision is investing up to 2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) close to 'Renault ElectriCity' electric car hub to create 2,500 new jobs by 2030. Renault also said it signed a memorandum of understanding with the French start-up Verkor to co-develop and then manufacture high-performance batteries, with a view to owning a more than 20% stake in Verkor. "The combination of these two partnerships with Renault ElectriCity will create nearly 4,500 direct jobs in France by 2030, while developing a robust battery manufacturing ecosystem in the heart of Europe," the statement said. Envision AESC's gigafactory in Douai will have a capacity of 9 gigawatt hours (GWh) in 2024 and with aim of reaching 24 GWh by 2030. The proximity of the Envision AESC’s gigafactory to Renault ElectriCity production sites at Douai, Maubeuge and Ruitz, will create 700 additional jobs in the Hauts-de-France region. (With inputs from agencies)

Renault seals electric car battery deals with Envision, Verkor

Microsoft said on Friday an attacker had won access to one of its customer-service agents and then used information from that to launch hacking attempts against customers. 
 
The company said it had found the compromise during its response to hacks by a team it identifies as responsible for earlier major breaches at SolarWinds and Microsoft. 
 
Microsoft said it had warned the affected customers. A copy of one warning seen by Reuters said the attacker belonged to the group Microsoft calls Nobelium and that it had access during the second half of May. 
 
"A sophisticated Nation-State associated actor that Microsoft identifies as NOBELLIUM accessed Microsoft customer support tools to review information regarding your Microsoft Services subscriptions," the warning reads in part. The US&nbsp;government has publicly attributed the earlier attacks to the Russian government, which denies involvement. 
 
When Reuters asked about that warning, Microsoft announced the breach publicly. 
 
After commenting on a broader phishing campaign it said had compromised a small number of entities, Microsoft said it had also found the breach of its own agent, who it said had limited powers. 
 
The agent could see billing contact information and what services the customers pay for, among other things. 
 
"The actor used this information in some cases to launch highly-targeted attacks as part of their broader campaign," Microsoft said. 
 
Microsoft warned affected customers to be careful about communications to their billing contacts and consider changing those usernames and email addresses, as well as barring old usernames from logging in. 
 
Microsoft said it was aware of three entities that had been compromised in the phishing campaign. 
 
It did not immediately clarify whether any had been among those whose data was viewed through the support agent, or if the agent had been tricked by the broader campaign. 
 
Microsoft did not say whether the agent was at a contractor or a direct employee. 
 
A spokesman said the latest breach by the threat actor was not part of Nobelium`s previous successful attack on Microsoft, in which it obtained some source code. 
 
In the SolarWinds attack, the group altered code at that company to access SolarWinds customers, including nine U.S. federal agencies. 
 
At the SolarWinds customers and others, the attackers also took advantage of weaknesses in the way Microsoft programs were configured, according to the Department of Homeland Security. 
 
Microsoft later said the group had compromised its own employee accounts and taken software instructions governing how Microsoft verifies user identities. 
 
A White House official said the latest intrusion and phishing campaign was far less serious than the SolarWinds fiasco. 
 
"This appears to be largely unsuccessful, run-of-the-mill espionage," the official said. 
 
Scott McConnell, a spokesman for Homeland Security`s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said the defensive group “is working with Microsoft and our interagency partners to evaluate the impact. We stand ready to assist any affected entities.” 
 
A SolarWinds spokesperson said, "The latest cyberattack reported by Microsoft does not involve our company or our customers in any way."

Microsoft said on Friday an attacker had won access to one of its customer-service agents and then used information from that to launch hacking attempts against customers.

Microsoft said on Friday an attacker had won access to one of its customer-service agents and then used information from that to launch hacking attempts against customers. The company said it had found the compromise during its response to hacks by a team it identifies as responsible for earlier major breaches at SolarWinds and Microsoft. Microsoft said it had warned the affected customers. A copy of one warning seen by Reuters said the attacker belonged to the group Microsoft calls Nobelium and that it had access during the second half of May. "A sophisticated Nation-State associated actor that Microsoft identifies as NOBELLIUM accessed Microsoft customer support tools to review information regarding your Microsoft Services subscriptions," the warning reads in part. The US government has publicly attributed the earlier attacks to the Russian government, which denies involvement. When Reuters asked about that warning, Microsoft announced the breach publicly. After commenting on a broader phishing campaign it said had compromised a small number of entities, Microsoft said it had also found the breach of its own agent, who it said had limited powers. The agent could see billing contact information and what services the customers pay for, among other things. "The actor used this information in some cases to launch highly-targeted attacks as part of their broader campaign," Microsoft said. Microsoft warned affected customers to be careful about communications to their billing contacts and consider changing those usernames and email addresses, as well as barring old usernames from logging in. Microsoft said it was aware of three entities that had been compromised in the phishing campaign. It did not immediately clarify whether any had been among those whose data was viewed through the support agent, or if the agent had been tricked by the broader campaign. Microsoft did not say whether the agent was at a contractor or a direct employee. A spokesman said the latest breach by the threat actor was not part of Nobelium`s previous successful attack on Microsoft, in which it obtained some source code. In the SolarWinds attack, the group altered code at that company to access SolarWinds customers, including nine U.S. federal agencies. At the SolarWinds customers and others, the attackers also took advantage of weaknesses in the way Microsoft programs were configured, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Microsoft later said the group had compromised its own employee accounts and taken software instructions governing how Microsoft verifies user identities. A White House official said the latest intrusion and phishing campaign was far less serious than the SolarWinds fiasco. "This appears to be largely unsuccessful, run-of-the-mill espionage," the official said. Scott McConnell, a spokesman for Homeland Security`s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said the defensive group “is working with Microsoft and our interagency partners to evaluate the impact. We stand ready to assist any affected entities.” A SolarWinds spokesperson said, "The latest cyberattack reported by Microsoft does not involve our company or our customers in any way."

Microsoft says new breach discovered in probe of suspected SolarWinds hackers

Britain and Singapore will on Monday start negotiations on a new digital trade agreement that could remove barriers, part of London's push to become what it calls a 'global tech powerhouse' post-Brexit. 
 
Since completing its exit from the European Union at the end of last year, Britain has been pressing ahead with new trade deals especially with countries in the Indo-Pacific region, with the most recent agreement signed with Australia. 
 
Digital trade is seen as key by the government to support British tech companies in capitalising on investment opportunities abroad to try to help a post-COVID recovery. 
 
The government said any agreement with Singapore could remove barriers to digital trade and enable British exporters to expand into high-tech markets. The talks will be kicked off in a video call. 
 
"A cutting-edge deal with Singapore will keep us at the forefront of the technological revolution, ensuring we lead the way in digitally delivered trade and industries like fintech and cybersecurity," British trade minister Liz Truss said. 
 
"The UK will be the first European country to ever negotiate a Digital Economy Agreement, which shows what we can do as a sovereign trading nation," she said in a statement. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

Britain and Singapore will on Monday start negotiations on a new digital trade agreement that could remove barriers, part of London's push to become what it calls a 'global tech powerhouse' post-Brexit.

Britain and Singapore will on Monday start negotiations on a new digital trade agreement that could remove barriers, part of London's push to become what it calls a 'global tech powerhouse' post-Brexit. Since completing its exit from the European Union at the end of last year, Britain has been pressing ahead with new trade deals especially with countries in the Indo-Pacific region, with the most recent agreement signed with Australia. Digital trade is seen as key by the government to support British tech companies in capitalising on investment opportunities abroad to try to help a post-COVID recovery. The government said any agreement with Singapore could remove barriers to digital trade and enable British exporters to expand into high-tech markets. The talks will be kicked off in a video call. "A cutting-edge deal with Singapore will keep us at the forefront of the technological revolution, ensuring we lead the way in digitally delivered trade and industries like fintech and cybersecurity," British trade minister Liz Truss said. "The UK will be the first European country to ever negotiate a Digital Economy Agreement, which shows what we can do as a sovereign trading nation," she said in a statement. (With inputs from agencies)

UK, Singapore launch talks on digital trade agreement

Former US&nbsp;President Donald Trump joined video platform Rumble on Saturday, the same day he will take the stage at a campaign-style rally in Ohio, his first such event since the January&nbsp;6 attack on the US&nbsp;Capitol. 
 
Trump lost his social media megaphone earlier this year when he was blocked by a slew of platforms after his supporters stormed the Capitol. He was permanently banned from Twitter and remains suspended by Facebook until at least 2023 and by Alphabet's YouTube until the company determines the risk of violence has decreased. 
 
Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington said that joining Rumble was in addition to the former president's plan to start his own platform, rather than a replacement for this plan. Trump, who earlier this month shut down his recently-launched blog, has not given details on the proposed platform. 
 
"It is a great way to reach the American people in a time of unprecedented assault on free speech in our country by Big Tech tyrants," Harrington said in an email to Reuters. 
 
Rumble Chief Executive Officer Chris Pavlovski confirmed Trump's verified account had been set up on the site but declined to comment further. Trump advisor Dan Scavino tweeted that Trump's Ohio rally would be live-streamed on the platform. 
 
Rumble, which was launched in 2013 by Canadian tech entrepreneur Pavlovski as an alternative YouTube-style site, has become popular with US&nbsp;conservatives. 
 
Billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel and JD&nbsp;Vance, the author of 'Hillbilly Elegy', are investors in the platform. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

Former US President Donald Trump joined video platform Rumble on Saturday, the same day he will take the stage at a campaign-style rally in Ohio, his first such event since the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

Former US President Donald Trump joined video platform Rumble on Saturday, the same day he will take the stage at a campaign-style rally in Ohio, his first such event since the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. Trump lost his social media megaphone earlier this year when he was blocked by a slew of platforms after his supporters stormed the Capitol. He was permanently banned from Twitter and remains suspended by Facebook until at least 2023 and by Alphabet's YouTube until the company determines the risk of violence has decreased. Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington said that joining Rumble was in addition to the former president's plan to start his own platform, rather than a replacement for this plan. Trump, who earlier this month shut down his recently-launched blog, has not given details on the proposed platform. "It is a great way to reach the American people in a time of unprecedented assault on free speech in our country by Big Tech tyrants," Harrington said in an email to Reuters. Rumble Chief Executive Officer Chris Pavlovski confirmed Trump's verified account had been set up on the site but declined to comment further. Trump advisor Dan Scavino tweeted that Trump's Ohio rally would be live-streamed on the platform. Rumble, which was launched in 2013 by Canadian tech entrepreneur Pavlovski as an alternative YouTube-style site, has become popular with US conservatives. Billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel and JD Vance, the author of 'Hillbilly Elegy', are investors in the platform. (With inputs from agencies)

Donald Trump joins video platform Rumble ahead of Ohio rally

An abusive childhood, father's suicide, addiction to alcohol and drugs, allegations of relationships with underage girls, a multibillion-dollar anti-virus software, a runaway from justice, a twisted tech-hero who ended up dead in a jail — John McAfee’s life is the story of a mighty fall rivalling Hollywood movies.

Creator of the famous McAfee antivirus software, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/antivirus-founder-john-mcafee-found-dead-in-spanish-prison-393577">75-year-old McAfee</a>&nbsp;allegedly killed himself in his Spanish prison cell on June 23.

Here is a look at his dramatic life.

Born in Cinderford, UK, John was a British-American computer programmer, a businessman and a two-time presidential candidate in the US. While people were trying to protect themselves from the ‘evils of the world’, McAfee came up with a brilliant idea of making an anti-virus software.
<img alt="McAfee software" data-align="center" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2f2f34fd-38e6-48dd-92ce-8b9e62b1ae9a" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/McAfee.jpg" />
After working for some big companies such as NASA, General Electric, Siemens, Univac and Xerox, McAfee landed a job with one of the biggest US defence contractors, Lockheed Martin.

There, while working on a classified voice-recognition programme, he came across the idea of a virus and was stunned and fascinated by this new thing. McAfee built a software to disinfect computers and made an empire around the idea which gave him wealth and stability. The tech legend, however, wanted more.

A man known for his impulsive nature, McAfee quit the company in 1994, a little after taking it public, and decided to follow his other passions,&nbsp;which led him to a road filled with controversies.

Reportedly, McAfee suffered a huge loss of wealth in 2007 and that led to him dabbling in several other areas such as herbal antibiotics, instant messaging platforms, secure network devices, politics and bitcoin.

However, the tech giant who is lauded as a ‘guru’ in the industry soon became a runaway.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Why power corrupts. <a href="https://t.co/cwbKHcaQsd">pic.twitter.com/cwbKHcaQsd</a>
— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) <a href="https://twitter.com/officialmcafee/status/1273301164419952640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
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In 2008, McAfee left his billionaire life and moved to Belize in Central America, where he decided to cure some other infection.

"I came across a concept called quorum sensing, which is the technique that bacteria use to communicate with each other," he once said. "Up until about 10 years ago, we didn't even know that bacteria did communicate, but we find out they have a very sophisticated communication system. I wanted to explore and investigate that to see if we could come up with new antibiotics."

However, his venture did not work well as he had regular problems with his lead microbiologist and the local authorities, which also led to several raids and he started making the headlines for a 'barbaric assault', but what stood out at that moment was his affair with a 16-year-old ex-prostitute.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Love has no object. It is a state of being.
— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) <a href="https://twitter.com/officialmcafee/status/1397981987927957507?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
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The media started focusing on his twisted love relationship with the girl who once put a knife to his throat to scare him and once tried to kill him by putting a bullet in his head, but missed. McAfee, already known for his past encounters with drugs and alcohol, now became infamous for having various affairs.

A little later, Gregory Faull, a sports bar owner shifted next to McAfee and detested the tech giant’s lifestyle. The two were a textbook case of neighbours not getting along, and soon Faull was found dead in his house pool and McAfee decided to flee rather than co-operate in the police investigation.
<img alt="Gregory Faul" data-align="center" data-caption="Gregory Faull" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="9d72e5de-032d-499f-bb5e-df7831e60aed" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Gregory%20Faul.jpg" />
Fearing he would be "silenced", McAfee became a runaway but continued regularly appearing on the internet in the form of social media posts and blogs, to make sure the ‘corrupt’ authorities couldn’t make him disappear if he got caught. The man, known to protect computers, disguised himself for years to protect himself from getting caught and was soon classified as a "person of interest" in Belize in the case of Faull's death.

The only constant in his life, at this point, was his twisted love relationships with minors. However, that changed too. John met Janice Dyson in 2012&nbsp;when she was reportedly hired as a prostitute by the tech giant and got married in 2013. Dyson, however, in an interview, claimed she was hired&nbsp;to pass on information about McAfee to a 'criminal underlord' during the first few years of their marriage.

After a brief arrest, he quickly went low-key, obsessed with cryptocurrency and that led him to several controversies and trouble with the government.

This also birthed an interest in politics in him, and he sought the Libertarian Party nomination for the President of the US twice, in 2016 and 2020, but failed at that too.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
There is much sorrow in prison, disguised as hostility. 
 
The sorrow is plainly visible even in the most angry faces. 
 
I'm old and content with food and a bed but for the young prison is a horror - a reflection of the minds of those who conceived them.
— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) <a href="https://twitter.com/officialmcafee/status/1403019184074788875?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

By now, McAfee’s name became synonymous with trouble and he became a target for the US authorities for tax evasion in 2019.

After running away from the authorities for a bit, he was eventually caught in Spain in 2020. After spending the majority of the coronavirus lockdown year in Spain's Centre Penitenciari Brians 2, the court ordered his extradition to the US.

<img src="http://13.235.153.162/sites/default/files/styles/story_page/public/2021/06/25/199838-untitled-design-4.jpg" />

However, he could not travel to the US. After ending a call with his wife with the words, 'I love you and I will call you in the evening', McAfee, reportedly, took his own life in the prison cell.

His wife, Janice McAfee, blames "the US authorities for this tragedy. Because of these politically motivated charges against him, my husband is now dead."

McAfee is dead but his story is far from over. He had once said that if he dies in prison like the disgraced American financier&nbsp;Jeffrey Epstein, 'I didn't do it'. His widow has claimed that McAfee is not a suicidal person, and that US authorities wanted him 'dead in prison to make an example out of him.'

Only time will tell what really happened in that prison.

An abusive childhood, father's suicide, addiction to alcohol and drugs, allegations of relationships with underage girls, a multibillion-dollar anti-virus software, a runaway from justice, a twisted tech-hero who ended up dead in a jail — John McAfee’s life is the story of a mighty fall rivalling Hollywood movies.

An abusive childhood, father's suicide, addiction to alcohol and drugs, allegations of relationships with underage girls, a multibillion-dollar anti-virus software, a runaway from justice, a twisted tech-hero who ended up dead in a jail — John McAfee’s life is the story of a mighty fall rivalling Hollywood movies. Creator of the famous McAfee antivirus software, 75-year-old McAfee allegedly killed himself in his Spanish prison cell on June 23. Here is a look at his dramatic life. Born in Cinderford, UK, John was a British-American computer programmer, a businessman and a two-time presidential candidate in the US. While people were trying to protect themselves from the ‘evils of the world’, McAfee came up with a brilliant idea of making an anti-virus software. After working for some big companies such as NASA, General Electric, Siemens, Univac and Xerox, McAfee landed a job with one of the biggest US defence contractors, Lockheed Martin. There, while working on a classified voice-recognition programme, he came across the idea of a virus and was stunned and fascinated by this new thing. McAfee built a software to disinfect computers and made an empire around the idea which gave him wealth and stability. The tech legend, however, wanted more. A man known for his impulsive nature, McAfee quit the company in 1994, a little after taking it public, and decided to follow his other passions, which led him to a road filled with controversies. Reportedly, McAfee suffered a huge loss of wealth in 2007 and that led to him dabbling in several other areas such as herbal antibiotics, instant messaging platforms, secure network devices, politics and bitcoin. However, the tech giant who is lauded as a ‘guru’ in the industry soon became a runaway. Why power corrupts. pic.twitter.com/cwbKHcaQsd — John McAfee (@officialmcafee) June 17, 2020 × In 2008, McAfee left his billionaire life and moved to Belize in Central America, where he decided to cure some other infection. "I came across a concept called quorum sensing, which is the technique that bacteria use to communicate with each other," he once said. "Up until about 10 years ago, we didn't even know that bacteria did communicate, but we find out they have a very sophisticated communication system. I wanted to explore and investigate that to see if we could come up with new antibiotics." However, his venture did not work well as he had regular problems with his lead microbiologist and the local authorities, which also led to several raids and he started making the headlines for a 'barbaric assault', but what stood out at that moment was his affair with a 16-year-old ex-prostitute. Love has no object. It is a state of being. — John McAfee (@officialmcafee) May 27, 2021 × The media started focusing on his twisted love relationship with the girl who once put a knife to his throat to scare him and once tried to kill him by putting a bullet in his head, but missed. McAfee, already known for his past encounters with drugs and alcohol, now became infamous for having various affairs. A little later, Gregory Faull, a sports bar owner shifted next to McAfee and detested the tech giant’s lifestyle. The two were a textbook case of neighbours not getting along, and soon Faull was found dead in his house pool and McAfee decided to flee rather than co-operate in the police investigation. Fearing he would be "silenced", McAfee became a runaway but continued regularly appearing on the internet in the form of social media posts and blogs, to make sure the ‘corrupt’ authorities couldn’t make him disappear if he got caught. The man, known to protect computers, disguised himself for years to protect himself from getting caught and was soon classified as a "person of interest" in Belize in the case of Faull's death. The only constant in his life, at this point, was his twisted love relationships with minors. However, that changed too. John met Janice Dyson in 2012 when she was reportedly hired as a prostitute by the tech giant and got married in 2013. Dyson, however, in an interview, claimed she was hired to pass on information about McAfee to a 'criminal underlord' during the first few years of their marriage. After a brief arrest, he quickly went low-key, obsessed with cryptocurrency and that led him to several controversies and trouble with the government. This also birthed an interest in politics in him, and he sought the Libertarian Party nomination for the President of the US twice, in 2016 and 2020, but failed at that too. There is much sorrow in prison, disguised as hostility. The sorrow is plainly visible even in the most angry faces. I'm old and content with food and a bed but for the young prison is a horror - a reflection of the minds of those who conceived them. — John McAfee (@officialmcafee) June 10, 2021 × By now, McAfee’s name became synonymous with trouble and he became a target for the US authorities for tax evasion in 2019. After running away from the authorities for a bit, he was eventually caught in Spain in 2020. After spending the majority of the coronavirus lockdown year in Spain's Centre Penitenciari Brians 2, the court ordered his extradition to the US. However, he could not travel to the US. After ending a call with his wife with the words, 'I love you and I will call you in the evening', McAfee, reportedly, took his own life in the prison cell. His wife, Janice McAfee, blames "the US authorities for this tragedy. Because of these politically motivated charges against him, my husband is now dead." McAfee is dead but his story is far from over. He had once said that if he dies in prison like the disgraced American financier Jeffrey Epstein, 'I didn't do it'. His widow has claimed that McAfee is not a suicidal person, and that US authorities wanted him 'dead in prison to make an example out of him.' Only time will tell what really happened in that prison.

Wild child of Silicon Valley: The rise and fall of John McAfee

German carmaker Volkswagen will stop selling combustion engines cars in Europe by 2035 as it shifts to electric vehicles, but later in the United States and China, a board member was quoted as saying on Saturday. 
 
"In Europe, we will exit the business with internal combustion vehicles between 2033 and 2035, in the United States and China somewhat later," Klaus Zellmer, Volkswagen board member for sales, told the Muenchner Merkur newspaper. 
 
"In South America and Africa, it will take a good deal longer due to the fact that the political and infrastructure framework conditions are still missing." 
 
By 2050 at the latest, the entire Volkswagen fleet should be CO2-neutral, Zellmer told the newspaper. 
 
In Europe, he is aiming for electric cars to account for 70% of total sales by 2030. This would prepare the company for a possible tightening of the European Union's climate targets and even go beyond them. 
 
EU policymakers have clamped down on exhaust emissions, forcing carmakers to spur development of low-emission technology or face penalties if they exceed limits on CO2 emissions.

German carmaker Volkswagen will stop selling combustion engines cars in Europe by 2035 as it shifts to electric vehicles, but later in the United States and China, a board member was quoted as saying on Saturday.

German carmaker Volkswagen will stop selling combustion engines cars in Europe by 2035 as it shifts to electric vehicles, but later in the United States and China, a board member was quoted as saying on Saturday. "In Europe, we will exit the business with internal combustion vehicles between 2033 and 2035, in the United States and China somewhat later," Klaus Zellmer, Volkswagen board member for sales, told the Muenchner Merkur newspaper. "In South America and Africa, it will take a good deal longer due to the fact that the political and infrastructure framework conditions are still missing." By 2050 at the latest, the entire Volkswagen fleet should be CO2-neutral, Zellmer told the newspaper. In Europe, he is aiming for electric cars to account for 70% of total sales by 2030. This would prepare the company for a possible tightening of the European Union's climate targets and even go beyond them. EU policymakers have clamped down on exhaust emissions, forcing carmakers to spur development of low-emission technology or face penalties if they exceed limits on CO2 emissions.

Volkswagen to end sales of combustion engines in Europe by 2035

Chinese regulators said on Saturday Tesla Inc would 'recall' nearly 300,000 China-made and imported Model 3 and Model Y cars for an online software update related to assisted driving, with owners not required to return their vehicles. 
 
The State Administration for Market Regulation said on its website that the move is linked to an assisted driving function in the electric cars, which can currently be activated by drivers accidentally, causing sudden acceleration. 
 
The remote online software 'recall', a first for Tesla cars built in China, covers 249,855 China-made Model 3 and Model Y cars, and 35,665 imported Model 3 sedans. 
 
Tesla, now making Model 3 sedans and Model Y sport-utility vehicles in Shanghai, sold 33,463 China-made electric cars in May, according to industry data.

Chinese regulators said on Saturday Tesla Inc would 'recall' nearly 300,000 China-made and imported Model 3 and Model Y cars for an online software update related to assisted driving, with owners not required to return their vehicles.

Chinese regulators said on Saturday Tesla Inc would 'recall' nearly 300,000 China-made and imported Model 3 and Model Y cars for an online software update related to assisted driving, with owners not required to return their vehicles. The State Administration for Market Regulation said on its website that the move is linked to an assisted driving function in the electric cars, which can currently be activated by drivers accidentally, causing sudden acceleration. The remote online software 'recall', a first for Tesla cars built in China, covers 249,855 China-made Model 3 and Model Y cars, and 35,665 imported Model 3 sedans. Tesla, now making Model 3 sedans and Model Y sport-utility vehicles in Shanghai, sold 33,463 China-made electric cars in May, according to industry data.

Tesla 'recalls' vehicles in China for online software update

Microsoft&nbsp;said on Friday an attacker had won access to one of its customer-service agents and then used information from that to launch hacking attempts against customers.

The company said it had found the compromise during its response to hacks by a team it identifies as responsible for earlier major&nbsp;breaches at&nbsp;SolarWinds&nbsp;and&nbsp;Microsoft.

Microsoft&nbsp;said it had warned the affected customers. A copy of one warning seen by Reuters said that the attacker belonged to the group&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;calls Nobelium and that it had access during the second half of May.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/chauvin-gets-22-12-years-in-prison-for-george-floyds-death-394037">Also Read |&nbsp;Chauvin gets 22 1/2 years in prison for George Floyd's death</a>

"A sophisticated Nation-State associated actor that&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;identifies as NOBELLIUM accessed&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;customer support tools to review information regarding your&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;Services subscriptions," the warning reads in part.

After Reuters asked about that warning,&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;announced the&nbsp;breach&nbsp;publicly.

After commenting on a broader phishing campaign that it said had compromised a small number of entities,&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;said it had also found the&nbsp;breach&nbsp;of its own agent, who it said had limited powers.

The agent could see billing contact information and what services the customers pay for, among other things.

"The actor used this information in some cases to launch highly-targeted attacks as part of their broader campaign,"&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;said.

Microsoft said on Friday an attacker had won access to one of its customer-service agents and then used information from that to launch hacking attempts against customers. The company said it had found the compromise during its response to hacks by a team it identifies as responsible for earlier major breaches at SolarWinds and Microsoft. Microsoft said it had warned the affected customers. A copy of one warning seen by Reuters said that the attacker belonged to the group Microsoft calls Nobelium and that it had access during the second half of May. Also Read | Chauvin gets 22 1/2 years in prison for George Floyd's death "A sophisticated Nation-State associated actor that Microsoft identifies as NOBELLIUM accessed Microsoft customer support tools to review information regarding your Microsoft Services subscriptions," the warning reads in part. After Reuters asked about that warning, Microsoft announced the breach publicly. After commenting on a broader phishing campaign that it said had compromised a small number of entities, Microsoft said it had also found the breach of its own agent, who it said had limited powers. The agent could see billing contact information and what services the customers pay for, among other things. "The actor used this information in some cases to launch highly-targeted attacks as part of their broader campaign," Microsoft said.

A human rights group that attracted millions of views on YouTube to testimonies from people who say their families have disappeared in China's Xinjiang region is moving its videos to little-known service Odysee after some were taken down by the Google-owned streaming giant, two sources told Reuters.

The group, credited by international organizations like Human Rights Watch for drawing attention to human rights violations in Xinjiang, has come under fire from Kazakh authorities since its founding in 2017.

Serikzhan Bilash, a Xinjiang-born Kazakh activist who co-founded the channel and has been arrested multiple times for his activism, said government advisors told him five years ago to stop using the word "genocide" to describe the situation in Xinjiang - an order he assumed came from pressure from China's government on Kazakhstan.

"They're just facts," Bilash said to Reuters in a phone interview, referring to the content of Atajurt's videos. "The people giving the testimonies are talking about their loved ones."

Atajurt Kazakh Human Rights' channel has published nearly 11,000 videos on YouTube totaling over 120 million views since 2017, thousands of which feature people speaking to camera about relatives they say have disappeared without a trace in China's Xinjiang region, where UN experts and rights groups estimate over a million people have been detained in recent years.

On June 15, the channel was blocked for violating YouTube's guidelines, according to a screenshot seen by Reuters, after twelve of its videos had been reported for breaching its 'cyberbullying and harassment' policy.

The channel's administrators had appealed the blocking of all twelve videos between April and June, with some reinstated - but YouTube did not provide an explanation as to why others were kept out of public view, the administrators told Reuters.

Following inquiries from Reuters as to why the channel was removed, YouTube restored it on June 18, explaining that it had received multiple so-called 'strikes' for videos which contained people holding up ID cards to prove they were related to the missing, violating a YouTube policy which prohibits personally identifiable information from appearing in its content.

Human Rights Watch also had alerted YouTube about Atajurt being blocked, MIT Technology Review reported on Thursday.

YouTube asked Atajurt to blur the IDs. But Atajurt is hesitant to comply, the channel's administrator said, concerned that doing so would jeopardize the trustworthiness of the videos. Fearing further blocking by YouTube, they decided to back up content to Odysee, a website built on a blockchain protocol called LBRY, designed to give creators more control. About 975 videos https://odysee.com/@ATAJURT:8 have been moved so far.

Even as administrators were moving content, they received another series of automated messages from YouTube stating that the videos in question had been removed from public view, this time because of concerns that they may promote violent criminal organizations.

"There is another excuse every day. I never trusted YouTube," Serikzhan Bilash, one of Atajurt's founders, told Reuters in a phone interview. "But we’re not afraid anymore, because we are backing ourselves up with LBRY. The most important thing is our material’s safety."

Bilash, who fled to Istanbul last year after suffering repeated threats and intimidation from Kazakh authorities when he refused to stop working with Atajurt, said his equipment including hard disks and mobile phones had been confiscated multiple times in Kazakhstan - making YouTube the only place where their entire video collection was stored.

YouTube said the messages relating to promoting violent criminal organisations were automated and not related to the creator's content, but the videos were being kept private to allow administrators to make edits.

'I FELT I'D LOST EVERYTHING'

UN&nbsp;experts and rights groups estimate over a million people, mainly Uighurs and other Muslim minorities, have been detained in a vast system of camps in Xinjiang. Many former inmates have said they were subject to ideological training and abuse in the camps. China denies all accusations of abuse.

YouTube in recent years has restricted more content amid increasing scrutiny on online cyberbullying, misinformation and hate speech. The policies have ensnared many channels, including those of far-right commentators, forcing them to seek haven on social media services such as Parler that tout more openness.

But Atajurt representatives fear pro-China groups who deny that human rights abuses exist in Xinjiang are using YouTube’s reporting features to remove their content by reporting it en masse, triggering an automatic block. Representatives shared videos on WhatsApp and Telegram with Reuters which they said described how to report Atajurt’s YouTube videos.

They also pointed to multiple YouTube channels containing videos of Serikzhan Bilash’s face superimposed onto animals like monkeys and pigs which they said were denigrating Bilash’s character and work.

YouTube said channels are always welcome to move to alternatives. Its policies bar directing abusive attention by posting non-public personal information, such as names and addresses.

The service makes exceptions to some rules for videos that are educational, documentary or scientific - but Atajurt's videos did not meet these requirements to a sufficient level, according to YouTube.

“We welcome responsible efforts to document important human rights cases around the world,” the company said. "We recognize that the intention of these videos was not to maliciously reveal PII ... and are working with Atajurt Kazakh to explain our policies."

Odysee told Reuters that it welcomes and supports Atajurt.

Atajurt plans to keep uploading to YouTube as long as it can.

“We will never delete it,” Bilash said, citing the importance of the service's big audience.

“The day YouTube deactivated our channel, I felt I’d lost everything in the world… the new channel does not have so many subscribers,” he said, “but it is safe.”

A human rights group that attracted millions of views on YouTube to testimonies from people who say their families have disappeared in China's Xinjiang region is moving its videos to little-known service Odysee after some were taken down by the Google-owned streaming giant, two sources told Reuters.

A human rights group that attracted millions of views on YouTube to testimonies from people who say their families have disappeared in China's Xinjiang region is moving its videos to little-known service Odysee after some were taken down by the Google-owned streaming giant, two sources told Reuters. The group, credited by international organizations like Human Rights Watch for drawing attention to human rights violations in Xinjiang, has come under fire from Kazakh authorities since its founding in 2017. Serikzhan Bilash, a Xinjiang-born Kazakh activist who co-founded the channel and has been arrested multiple times for his activism, said government advisors told him five years ago to stop using the word "genocide" to describe the situation in Xinjiang - an order he assumed came from pressure from China's government on Kazakhstan. "They're just facts," Bilash said to Reuters in a phone interview, referring to the content of Atajurt's videos. "The people giving the testimonies are talking about their loved ones." Atajurt Kazakh Human Rights' channel has published nearly 11,000 videos on YouTube totaling over 120 million views since 2017, thousands of which feature people speaking to camera about relatives they say have disappeared without a trace in China's Xinjiang region, where UN experts and rights groups estimate over a million people have been detained in recent years. On June 15, the channel was blocked for violating YouTube's guidelines, according to a screenshot seen by Reuters, after twelve of its videos had been reported for breaching its 'cyberbullying and harassment' policy. The channel's administrators had appealed the blocking of all twelve videos between April and June, with some reinstated - but YouTube did not provide an explanation as to why others were kept out of public view, the administrators told Reuters. Following inquiries from Reuters as to why the channel was removed, YouTube restored it on June 18, explaining that it had received multiple so-called 'strikes' for videos which contained people holding up ID cards to prove they were related to the missing, violating a YouTube policy which prohibits personally identifiable information from appearing in its content. Human Rights Watch also had alerted YouTube about Atajurt being blocked, MIT Technology Review reported on Thursday. YouTube asked Atajurt to blur the IDs. But Atajurt is hesitant to comply, the channel's administrator said, concerned that doing so would jeopardize the trustworthiness of the videos. Fearing further blocking by YouTube, they decided to back up content to Odysee, a website built on a blockchain protocol called LBRY, designed to give creators more control. About 975 videos https://odysee.com/@ATAJURT:8 have been moved so far. Even as administrators were moving content, they received another series of automated messages from YouTube stating that the videos in question had been removed from public view, this time because of concerns that they may promote violent criminal organizations. "There is another excuse every day. I never trusted YouTube," Serikzhan Bilash, one of Atajurt's founders, told Reuters in a phone interview. "But we’re not afraid anymore, because we are backing ourselves up with LBRY. The most important thing is our material’s safety." Bilash, who fled to Istanbul last year after suffering repeated threats and intimidation from Kazakh authorities when he refused to stop working with Atajurt, said his equipment including hard disks and mobile phones had been confiscated multiple times in Kazakhstan - making YouTube the only place where their entire video collection was stored. YouTube said the messages relating to promoting violent criminal organisations were automated and not related to the creator's content, but the videos were being kept private to allow administrators to make edits. 'I FELT I'D LOST EVERYTHING' UN experts and rights groups estimate over a million people, mainly Uighurs and other Muslim minorities, have been detained in a vast system of camps in Xinjiang. Many former inmates have said they were subject to ideological training and abuse in the camps. China denies all accusations of abuse. YouTube in recent years has restricted more content amid increasing scrutiny on online cyberbullying, misinformation and hate speech. The policies have ensnared many channels, including those of far-right commentators, forcing them to seek haven on social media services such as Parler that tout more openness. But Atajurt representatives fear pro-China groups who deny that human rights abuses exist in Xinjiang are using YouTube’s reporting features to remove their content by reporting it en masse, triggering an automatic block. Representatives shared videos on WhatsApp and Telegram with Reuters which they said described how to report Atajurt’s YouTube videos. They also pointed to multiple YouTube channels containing videos of Serikzhan Bilash’s face superimposed onto animals like monkeys and pigs which they said were denigrating Bilash’s character and work. YouTube said channels are always welcome to move to alternatives. Its policies bar directing abusive attention by posting non-public personal information, such as names and addresses. The service makes exceptions to some rules for videos that are educational, documentary or scientific - but Atajurt's videos did not meet these requirements to a sufficient level, according to YouTube. “We welcome responsible efforts to document important human rights cases around the world,” the company said. "We recognize that the intention of these videos was not to maliciously reveal PII ... and are working with Atajurt Kazakh to explain our policies." Odysee told Reuters that it welcomes and supports Atajurt. Atajurt plans to keep uploading to YouTube as long as it can. “We will never delete it,” Bilash said, citing the importance of the service's big audience. “The day YouTube deactivated our channel, I felt I’d lost everything in the world… the new channel does not have so many subscribers,” he said, “but it is safe.”

YouTube takes down Xinjiang videos, forcing rights group to seek alternative

Australia's competition watchdog is looking into a claim that Facebook Inc refused a publisher's request to negotiate a licensing deal, the regulator told Reuters, setting the stage for the first test of the world's toughest online content law.

The Conversation, which publishes current affairs commentary by academics, said it asked Facebook to begin talks as required under new&nbsp;Australian legislation that requires the social media firm and Alphabet Inc's Google to negotiate content-supply deals with media outlets.

Facebook declined without giving a reason, The Conversation said, even though the publisher was among the first in&nbsp;Australia&nbsp;to secure a similar deal with Google in the lead-up to the law in 2020.

The knockback could present the first test of a controversial mechanism unique to&nbsp;Australia's effort to claw back advertising dollars from Google and Facebook: if they refuse to negotiate licence fees with publishers, a government-appointed arbitrator may step in.

In a statement responding to Reuters questions, Facebook's head of news partnerships for&nbsp;Australia, Andrew Hunter, said the company was "focused on concluding commercial deals with a range of&nbsp;Australian publishers".

Hunter did not answer specific questions concerning The Conversation, but said Facebook was planning a separate initiative "to support regional, rural and digital&nbsp;Australian newsrooms and public-interest journalism in the coming months", without giving details.

"If Google's done a deal with them, I can't see how Facebook should argue that they shouldn't," Rod Sims, the chair of the&nbsp;Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), said in an interview.

"The question of designation might need to come into play," he noted, using the term for assigning an arbitrator.

Under the law, the decision to designate a Big Tech firm for intervention was made by the treasurer, which is advised by the ACCC, noted Sims, but "an absolute 'no' for an organisation that should be getting a deal is something we'll look into."

The Conversation was "exactly what we had in mind with the Code", he said, although the situation had some way to play out before any further action would be taken.

Governments around the world are introducing laws to make the tech giants compensate media companies for the links that drive readers - and advertising revenue - to their platforms. But&nbsp;Australia&nbsp;is the only country where the government may set the fees if negotiations fail, a factor that drove Facebook to block newsfeeds in the country just before it was passed.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who earlier this year negotiated with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg over the laws, was not immediately available for comment.

"SCRATCHING OUR HEADS"

Since the law took effect, a handful of the country's biggest media players, from News Corp to the&nbsp;Australian Broadcasting Corp, have struck deals with the tech giants.

But some small and independent publishers whose content helps draw four-fifths of&nbsp;Australia's 25 million population to the Facebook site said the law had created a two-tier industry where rival titles that were owned by large parent companies secured deals while others missed out.

Nelson Yap, publisher of&nbsp;Australian Property Journal, which is on a government register of media businesses covered by the law, said he was in early discussions with Google but had emailed Facebook twice with no response.

He said he read Facebook's public statements about talking to publishers and "I'm sitting here going, with whom? Not with us. Despite reaching out, we haven't heard anything. We're all scratching our heads, trying to work out what to do next."

A Facebook spokesperson did not answer a question about any contacts with the Property Journal. Country Press&nbsp;Australia, a regional newspaper industry group, said it was holding constructive talks with Facebook on behalf about 140 publishers.

The Conversation editor Misha Ketchell said that "obviously we are disappointed that we haven't been able to engage in negotiations with Facebook so far, but we remain optimistic that we will be able to reach an agreement".

The ACCC's Sims said the deal pipeline had "gone quieter than I would have envisaged" but urged smaller publishers to be patient.

"On the one hand I'm concerned that people aren't getting a response to the emails, on the other hand I have seen it before and then things change and deals get done," he said.

Australia's competition watchdog is looking into a claim that Facebook Inc refused a publisher's request to negotiate a licensing deal, the regulator told Reuters, setting the stage for the first test of the world's toughest online content law.

Australia's competition watchdog is looking into a claim that Facebook Inc refused a publisher's request to negotiate a licensing deal, the regulator told Reuters, setting the stage for the first test of the world's toughest online content law. The Conversation, which publishes current affairs commentary by academics, said it asked Facebook to begin talks as required under new Australian legislation that requires the social media firm and Alphabet Inc's Google to negotiate content-supply deals with media outlets. Facebook declined without giving a reason, The Conversation said, even though the publisher was among the first in Australia to secure a similar deal with Google in the lead-up to the law in 2020. The knockback could present the first test of a controversial mechanism unique to Australia's effort to claw back advertising dollars from Google and Facebook: if they refuse to negotiate licence fees with publishers, a government-appointed arbitrator may step in. In a statement responding to Reuters questions, Facebook's head of news partnerships for Australia, Andrew Hunter, said the company was "focused on concluding commercial deals with a range of Australian publishers". Hunter did not answer specific questions concerning The Conversation, but said Facebook was planning a separate initiative "to support regional, rural and digital Australian newsrooms and public-interest journalism in the coming months", without giving details. "If Google's done a deal with them, I can't see how Facebook should argue that they shouldn't," Rod Sims, the chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), said in an interview. "The question of designation might need to come into play," he noted, using the term for assigning an arbitrator. Under the law, the decision to designate a Big Tech firm for intervention was made by the treasurer, which is advised by the ACCC, noted Sims, but "an absolute 'no' for an organisation that should be getting a deal is something we'll look into." The Conversation was "exactly what we had in mind with the Code", he said, although the situation had some way to play out before any further action would be taken. Governments around the world are introducing laws to make the tech giants compensate media companies for the links that drive readers - and advertising revenue - to their platforms. But Australia is the only country where the government may set the fees if negotiations fail, a factor that drove Facebook to block newsfeeds in the country just before it was passed. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who earlier this year negotiated with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg over the laws, was not immediately available for comment. "SCRATCHING OUR HEADS" Since the law took effect, a handful of the country's biggest media players, from News Corp to the Australian Broadcasting Corp, have struck deals with the tech giants. But some small and independent publishers whose content helps draw four-fifths of Australia's 25 million population to the Facebook site said the law had created a two-tier industry where rival titles that were owned by large parent companies secured deals while others missed out. Nelson Yap, publisher of Australian Property Journal, which is on a government register of media businesses covered by the law, said he was in early discussions with Google but had emailed Facebook twice with no response. He said he read Facebook's public statements about talking to publishers and "I'm sitting here going, with whom? Not with us. Despite reaching out, we haven't heard anything. We're all scratching our heads, trying to work out what to do next." A Facebook spokesperson did not answer a question about any contacts with the Property Journal. Country Press Australia, a regional newspaper industry group, said it was holding constructive talks with Facebook on behalf about 140 publishers. The Conversation editor Misha Ketchell said that "obviously we are disappointed that we haven't been able to engage in negotiations with Facebook so far, but we remain optimistic that we will be able to reach an agreement". The ACCC's Sims said the deal pipeline had "gone quieter than I would have envisaged" but urged smaller publishers to be patient. "On the one hand I'm concerned that people aren't getting a response to the emails, on the other hand I have seen it before and then things change and deals get done," he said.

Facebook rejects talks with Australia publisher in test for online law

Microsoft on Thursday unveiled the next generation of Windows operating system, Windows 11. With this change, Windows aims at giving its user a 'fresh perspective'.

Microsoft on Thursday unveiled the next generation of Windows operating system, Windows 11. With this change, Windows aims at giving its user a 'fresh perspective'. As per the official website, the new Windows provide a 'calm and creative' space where one can pursue passions through a fresh experience. "From a rejuvenated Start menu to new ways to connect to your favourite people, news, games, and content—Windows 11 is the place to think, express, and create in a natural way," stated the website. Maximising productivity The new version helps in being productive as the user can access all the apps and multitask with ease using tools like Snap layouts, Desktops, and a new, more intuitive redocking experience. New ways to connect There are also various new ways to socialise and connect using Microsoft teams. "Call or chat for free—no matter what device they’re on," read the website. Enhanced gaming Windows 11 gives a new gaming experience with graphic capabilities that rival reality. One can discover the next favourite game with Xbox Game Pass, which basically gives you access to over 100 high-quality games. The membership for the same is sold separately. The design is very much similar to macOS, but that is where the similarities end. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that Windows 11 is an 'open platform' where everybody is allowed to do whatever they want with their apps. He is referring to third-party payments solutions that will bolster developer’s businesses on Windows 11. When will it be available? Windows 11 will be available to download during the holiday season this year, which is somewhere around November. The rollout will move further into 2022. This way, there is going to be enough time for people to upgrade the platform. How to upgrade? The user needs to go to Settings on their PC or laptop that runs Windows 10. Navigate to Update and Security, and then click on Windows Update. Check for Updates by clicking on this button. If available, the user will see the update that says Feature update to Windows 11. Click Download and install. What will be the price? Windows 11 will be available as a 'free upgrade' to Windows 10 users. This means that the Windows 10 users will gain access to Windows 11 without having to pay anything extra. However, for fresh installations, Windows 11 may cost you.

Windows 11 is now official. Here is all you need to know

The&nbsp;House of Representatives Judiciary Committee approved five antitrust bills, three of them aimed at Big Tech, and will take up the last and most aggressive proposed legislation on Thursday, a bill that could require platforms to sell off lines of business.

In a marathon session that adjourned in the early morning hours, House Judiciary Committee members approved five of six bills that take aim at the business practices of Google, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook.

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One of the measures would ban online platforms from favoring their own products and services -- responding to complaints that dominant tech firms discriminate against, and crush rivals.

In a session marked by numerous attempts to amend or water down the legislation, the committee also approved an "interoperability" requirement for platforms that would make it easier for users to switch services while keeping their data, and a separate bill banning takeovers of rivals by large tech firms.

When the committee resumes work, it will take up what some call the "break 'em up" bill. This would require a platform, again like Amazon, to sell any business that competes with other businesses using its platform.

There has been vociferous opposition to that bill and others, including from the US&nbsp;Chamber of Commerce, Amazon, Apple Inc, Facebook Inc, and Alphabet Inc's Google.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/in-focus-big-tech-firms-facing-antitrust-investigations-across-world-393413" hreflang="en">In focus: Big Tech firms facing antitrust investigations across world</a>

Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler said the package of bills is aimed at "a small set of online platforms (which) have become gatekeepers for much of the digital marketplace" and argued that "in many cases, businesses and consumers no longer have meaningful alternatives online."

The bills head to the full House of Representatives where a contentious debate is expected, amid fierce opposition from the tech sector and allies. Any bills would need passage of both the House and Senate and the president's signature.

The legislation would restrict how online platforms operate, and potentially set the stage for a breakup by limiting their ability to offer services on the marketplaces they run.

Republican Representative Darrell Issa noted that the committee was considering "radical" reforms worthy of weeks of hearings rather than one marathon session.

"I believe many of these bills are going to die in the Senate if they ever get out of the House," Issa said.

Clash points included whether it is right to target laws at four big tech companies and whether government agencies will hobble them instead of letting them adapt to the competition.

Republican Representative Ken Buck, a supporter of the overhaul, said the legislation "represents a scalpel, not a chainsaw, to deal with the most important aspects of antitrust reform," in dealing with "these monopolists (who) routinely use their gatekeeper power to crush competitors, harm innovation and destroy the free market."

But Republican Jim Jordan criticized the effort, renewing his argument that Big Tech firms suppress conservative voices.

"These bills don't fix that problem -- &nbsp;they make it worse," Jordan said. "They don't break up Big Tech. They don't stop censorship."

Steve Chabot, another Republican, called the initiative "an effort for big government to take over Big Tech."

Tech firms and others warned of negative consequences for popular services people rely on, potentially forcing Apple to remove its messaging apps from the iPhone or Google to stop displaying results from YouTube or Maps.

Apple released a report arguing that one likely impact -- opening up the iPhone to apps from outside platforms -- could create security and privacy risks for users.

Forcing Apple to allow "sideloading" of apps would mean "malicious actors would take advantage of the opportunity by devoting more resources to develop sophisticated attacks targeting iOS users," the report said.

Amazon vice president Brian Huseman likewise warned of "significant negative effects," both for sellers and consumers using the e-commerce platform, and reduced-price competition.

"It will be much harder for these third-party sellers to create awareness for their business," Huseman said.&nbsp;

"Removing the selection of these sellers from Amazon's store would also create less price competition for products, and likely end up increasing prices for consumers. The committee is moving unnecessarily fast in pushing these bills forward."

(With inputs from agencies)

The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee approved five antitrust bills, three of them aimed at Big Tech, and will take up the last and most aggressive proposed legislation on Thursday, a bill that could require platforms to sell off lines of business.

The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee approved five antitrust bills, three of them aimed at Big Tech, and will take up the last and most aggressive proposed legislation on Thursday, a bill that could require platforms to sell off lines of business. In a marathon session that adjourned in the early morning hours, House Judiciary Committee members approved five of six bills that take aim at the business practices of Google, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook. One of the measures would ban online platforms from favoring their own products and services -- responding to complaints that dominant tech firms discriminate against, and crush rivals. In a session marked by numerous attempts to amend or water down the legislation, the committee also approved an "interoperability" requirement for platforms that would make it easier for users to switch services while keeping their data, and a separate bill banning takeovers of rivals by large tech firms. When the committee resumes work, it will take up what some call the "break 'em up" bill. This would require a platform, again like Amazon, to sell any business that competes with other businesses using its platform. There has been vociferous opposition to that bill and others, including from the US Chamber of Commerce, Amazon, Apple Inc, Facebook Inc, and Alphabet Inc's Google. Also read| In focus: Big Tech firms facing antitrust investigations across world Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler said the package of bills is aimed at "a small set of online platforms (which) have become gatekeepers for much of the digital marketplace" and argued that "in many cases, businesses and consumers no longer have meaningful alternatives online." The bills head to the full House of Representatives where a contentious debate is expected, amid fierce opposition from the tech sector and allies. Any bills would need passage of both the House and Senate and the president's signature. The legislation would restrict how online platforms operate, and potentially set the stage for a breakup by limiting their ability to offer services on the marketplaces they run. Republican Representative Darrell Issa noted that the committee was considering "radical" reforms worthy of weeks of hearings rather than one marathon session. "I believe many of these bills are going to die in the Senate if they ever get out of the House," Issa said. Clash points included whether it is right to target laws at four big tech companies and whether government agencies will hobble them instead of letting them adapt to the competition. Republican Representative Ken Buck, a supporter of the overhaul, said the legislation "represents a scalpel, not a chainsaw, to deal with the most important aspects of antitrust reform," in dealing with "these monopolists (who) routinely use their gatekeeper power to crush competitors, harm innovation and destroy the free market." But Republican Jim Jordan criticized the effort, renewing his argument that Big Tech firms suppress conservative voices. "These bills don't fix that problem -- they make it worse," Jordan said. "They don't break up Big Tech. They don't stop censorship." Steve Chabot, another Republican, called the initiative "an effort for big government to take over Big Tech." Tech firms and others warned of negative consequences for popular services people rely on, potentially forcing Apple to remove its messaging apps from the iPhone or Google to stop displaying results from YouTube or Maps. Apple released a report arguing that one likely impact -- opening up the iPhone to apps from outside platforms -- could create security and privacy risks for users. Forcing Apple to allow "sideloading" of apps would mean "malicious actors would take advantage of the opportunity by devoting more resources to develop sophisticated attacks targeting iOS users," the report said. Amazon vice president Brian Huseman likewise warned of "significant negative effects," both for sellers and consumers using the e-commerce platform, and reduced-price competition. "It will be much harder for these third-party sellers to create awareness for their business," Huseman said. "Removing the selection of these sellers from Amazon's store would also create less price competition for products, and likely end up increasing prices for consumers. The committee is moving unnecessarily fast in pushing these bills forward." (With inputs from agencies)

'Break them up': US House panel approves five antitrust bills aimed at Big Tech

Windows operating system&nbsp;turned&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;into a household name and helped the company&nbsp;dominate&nbsp;personal computers for years,&nbsp;which market trackers say powers nearly three-quarters of the world's desktop computers.

Now, Windows is getting a revamp, likely to be named Windows 11.

It comes after the company&nbsp;named Chief Executive Satya Nadella as chair of its board, strengthening his grip on a pioneering US technology company he rejuvenated for a new age.

Microsoft&nbsp;built its empire on software such as Windows and Office,&nbsp;licensed to computer makers or sold in packages for installation on machines in homes or workplaces.

Under Nadella,&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;has put more focus on renting software and services hosted at data centres in the computing cloud, bulking up its Azure platform.

The era of the personal computer was rocked by the rise of smartphones and tablets but saw a revival of sorts during the pandemic as people geared up homes for remote work, school, and play.

Upgrading to a new Windows OS is always filled with questions, like which version of Windows is for me? How much does it cost? Should I even bother upgrading at all?

Here is a brief summary of the various versions of Windows:

Windows 10 S&nbsp;

Windows 10 S&nbsp;is a streamlined version of Microsoft&nbsp;Corp's popular operating system, geared toward low-cost laptops for students&nbsp;as it tried&nbsp;to take share from Google’s Chrome OS-run computers.&nbsp;The company said the Surface laptop integrated with Windows 10 S is priced from $999&nbsp;

It is compatible on mobiles and desktops, has a simple login app that allows schools to create logs on any devices in a few moments.

Windows 10

Windows 10 fixed&nbsp;most of the issues with Windows 8 and improves on Windows 7, Microsoft’s most popular OS in recent years.

It was equipped with 'Cortana', a digital assistant similar to Apple Inc's Siri and Google Inc's Now.

The launch was seen as critical for the company, particularly after the poor response to Windows 8, an ambitious redesign that confused many users by ditching the start button menu and introducing a new layout.

Windows 8

Windows 8 was designed as a flexible new system that would work equally well on desktops PCs and touchscreen tablets, but it ended up alienating many traditional users, while the company’s Surface tablet has not won over many Apple Inc iPad users.

More worryingly for Microsoft, the number of people actually using Windows 8 is persistently low. While many businesses technically have purchased Windows 8 licenses, few have installed the system on office machines.

Windows 7

It had user-friendly features, such as a new taskbar that previews all the open windows from a single application by hovering over the program’s icon.

Another new feature, called “Jump Lists,” provided&nbsp;updated lists of recently worked-on documents or often visited Web sites without first having to open Microsoft Word or an Internet browser.

The company also adopted a ‘simple is better’ philosophy, looking to remove complexity from an operating system that incorporated 50 million lines of programming code in Vista.

Vista

When Vista was released, it was clear that most users were going to need a new system to handle the OS.&nbsp;

Any Windows user knows you have to watch out for viruses, spyware, and worms, but Vista’s security features were widely panned for being annoying.&nbsp;

Windows Vista was so heavily criticized due to poor compatibility with devices and slow start speeds that it became the target of an effective marketing campaign by rival Apple Inc.

Windows XP

Microsoft Windows XP was introduced in 2001,&nbsp;addressed many issues of its predecessor, and added a number of other improvements as well.&nbsp;The name "XP" is short for "eXPerience", highlighting the enhanced user experience.

Windows XP was the first Windows NT kernel-based OS designed for both the business and general consumer markets, and are much more stable than the Windows 9x line of OS'&nbsp;due to the improved codebase (heavily based on Windows 2000). It was also the first version of Windows to implement product activation to prevent piracy.

Windows 2000

Also known as&nbsp;Windows 2k,&nbsp;Windows 2000&nbsp;is an operating system first released by&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;in February&nbsp;2000.

Code-named&nbsp;Janus&nbsp;during development, Windows 2000 is based on the&nbsp;Windows NT&nbsp;kernel and is sometimes referred to as Windows NT 5.0. Windows 2000 contains over 29 million lines of code, mainly written in C++ with over 8 million of those lines written for drivers. Windows 2000 is by far one of the largest commercial projects ever built.

Windows 98

It&nbsp;the second major release in the&nbsp;Windows 9x&nbsp;line of operating systems. It heavily relied&nbsp;on the HTML language.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Most of the improvements are cosmetic or designed to improve the user experience, but there are a handful of features that enhance system functionality and capabilities. These include improved&nbsp;USB&nbsp;support and accessibility, as well as support for hardware advancements such as DVD players. It was the first Windows operating system to adopt the&nbsp;Windows Driver Model.&nbsp;

Windows 95

Windows 95 integrated Microsoft's formerly separate&nbsp;MS-DOS&nbsp;and&nbsp;Windows&nbsp;products. It featured significant improvements over its predecessor,&nbsp;Windows 3.1, most notably in the graphical user interface (GUI) and in its relatively simplified "plug-n-play" features. There were also major changes made at lower levels of the operating system, such as moving from a mainly 16-bit architecture to a pre-emptively multitasked 32-bit architecture.

Windows 1.0 (1985)

Upon its debut, this operating system aimed at the general public had a new graphic interface that was relatively easy to use. It was the first foundation stone in the immense Windows edifice to come.

Although it was complicated to use because it operated via command lines, MS-DOS (short for Microsoft Disk Operating System) revolutionized computing as it was integrated into the first personal computers on the market manufactured by IBM. The system just needed to be made more accessible. And that's how Windows was born.

Initially known as Interface Manager, this new operating system was in the end called Windows, a name which describes the computing boxes which are fundamental to it. The project was announced in 1983, but it was two years before it became a reality.

Windows operating system turned Microsoft into a household name and helped the company dominate personal computers for years, which market trackers say powers nearly three-quarters of the world's desktop computers.

Windows operating system turned Microsoft into a household name and helped the company dominate personal computers for years, which market trackers say powers nearly three-quarters of the world's desktop computers. Now, Windows is getting a revamp, likely to be named Windows 11. It comes after the company named Chief Executive Satya Nadella as chair of its board, strengthening his grip on a pioneering US technology company he rejuvenated for a new age. Microsoft built its empire on software such as Windows and Office, licensed to computer makers or sold in packages for installation on machines in homes or workplaces. Under Nadella, Microsoft has put more focus on renting software and services hosted at data centres in the computing cloud, bulking up its Azure platform. The era of the personal computer was rocked by the rise of smartphones and tablets but saw a revival of sorts during the pandemic as people geared up homes for remote work, school, and play. Upgrading to a new Windows OS is always filled with questions, like which version of Windows is for me? How much does it cost? Should I even bother upgrading at all? Here is a brief summary of the various versions of Windows: Windows 10 S Windows 10 S is a streamlined version of Microsoft Corp's popular operating system, geared toward low-cost laptops for students as it tried to take share from Google’s Chrome OS-run computers. The company said the Surface laptop integrated with Windows 10 S is priced from $999 It is compatible on mobiles and desktops, has a simple login app that allows schools to create logs on any devices in a few moments. Windows 10 Windows 10 fixed most of the issues with Windows 8 and improves on Windows 7, Microsoft’s most popular OS in recent years. It was equipped with 'Cortana', a digital assistant similar to Apple Inc's Siri and Google Inc's Now. The launch was seen as critical for the company, particularly after the poor response to Windows 8, an ambitious redesign that confused many users by ditching the start button menu and introducing a new layout. Windows 8 Windows 8 was designed as a flexible new system that would work equally well on desktops PCs and touchscreen tablets, but it ended up alienating many traditional users, while the company’s Surface tablet has not won over many Apple Inc iPad users. More worryingly for Microsoft, the number of people actually using Windows 8 is persistently low. While many businesses technically have purchased Windows 8 licenses, few have installed the system on office machines. Windows 7 It had user-friendly features, such as a new taskbar that previews all the open windows from a single application by hovering over the program’s icon. Another new feature, called “Jump Lists,” provided updated lists of recently worked-on documents or often visited Web sites without first having to open Microsoft Word or an Internet browser. The company also adopted a ‘simple is better’ philosophy, looking to remove complexity from an operating system that incorporated 50 million lines of programming code in Vista. Vista When Vista was released, it was clear that most users were going to need a new system to handle the OS. Any Windows user knows you have to watch out for viruses, spyware, and worms, but Vista’s security features were widely panned for being annoying. Windows Vista was so heavily criticized due to poor compatibility with devices and slow start speeds that it became the target of an effective marketing campaign by rival Apple Inc. Windows XP Microsoft Windows XP was introduced in 2001, addressed many issues of its predecessor, and added a number of other improvements as well. The name "XP" is short for "eXPerience", highlighting the enhanced user experience. Windows XP was the first Windows NT kernel-based OS designed for both the business and general consumer markets, and are much more stable than the Windows 9x line of OS' due to the improved codebase (heavily based on Windows 2000). It was also the first version of Windows to implement product activation to prevent piracy. Windows 2000 Also known as Windows 2k, Windows 2000 is an operating system first released by Microsoft in February 2000. Code-named Janus during development, Windows 2000 is based on the Windows NT kernel and is sometimes referred to as Windows NT 5.0. Windows 2000 contains over 29 million lines of code, mainly written in C++ with over 8 million of those lines written for drivers. Windows 2000 is by far one of the largest commercial projects ever built. Windows 98 It the second major release in the Windows 9x line of operating systems. It heavily relied on the HTML language. Most of the improvements are cosmetic or designed to improve the user experience, but there are a handful of features that enhance system functionality and capabilities. These include improved USB support and accessibility, as well as support for hardware advancements such as DVD players. It was the first Windows operating system to adopt the Windows Driver Model. Windows 95 Windows 95 integrated Microsoft's formerly separate MS-DOS and Windows products. It featured significant improvements over its predecessor, Windows 3.1, most notably in the graphical user interface (GUI) and in its relatively simplified "plug-n-play" features. There were also major changes made at lower levels of the operating system, such as moving from a mainly 16-bit architecture to a pre-emptively multitasked 32-bit architecture. Windows 1.0 (1985) Upon its debut, this operating system aimed at the general public had a new graphic interface that was relatively easy to use. It was the first foundation stone in the immense Windows edifice to come. Although it was complicated to use because it operated via command lines, MS-DOS (short for Microsoft Disk Operating System) revolutionized computing as it was integrated into the first personal computers on the market manufactured by IBM. The system just needed to be made more accessible. And that's how Windows was born. Initially known as Interface Manager, this new operating system was in the end called Windows, a name which describes the computing boxes which are fundamental to it. The project was announced in 1983, but it was two years before it became a reality.

As Microsoft announces new Windows OS, let us take a look at previous versions of Windows

In&nbsp;the first major revamp since 2015,&nbsp;Microsoft Corp has announced that it is all set to unveil the ''next-generation operating system'' in a virtual event on Thursday.

The National Security Agency had&nbsp;discovered a major security flaw in Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system that could let hackers intercept seemingly secure communications.&nbsp;But rather than exploit the flaw for its own intelligence needs, the NSA tipped off Microsoft so that it can fix the system for everyone.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-google-is-facing-anti-trust-lawsuits-globally-393509/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The software that turned Microsoft into a household name and dominated personal computers for years has been overtaken in popularity by devices using Apple and Google software, but it is still core to Microsoft's strength in the corporate market.

And the upgraded operating system may also appeal to individuals, who have helped drive sales of PCs sharply higher over the past year due to work-from-home practices adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Analysts expect the successor to Windows 10 to be called Windows 11 and to contain updates for business users that could make it easier to use with dual-monitor setups. It may also hold updates for PC gamers, another important customer base for Microsoft, including an Xbox app.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/in-focus-big-tech-firms-facing-antitrust-investigations-across-world-393413" hreflang="en">In focus: Big Tech firms facing antitrust investigations across world</a>

Microsoft may also give more details at Thursday's online launch event on its plans for a revamped Windows Store.

In 2015,&nbsp;a developer evangelist speaking at a technical session during a company event dropped an eyebrow-raising statement. “Windows 10 is the last version of Windows,” he said.

However, it appears the company changed its mind after enduring huge losses due to the coronavirus pandemic which adversely affected Microsoft's&nbsp;revenue from Windows licenses and its Surface devices.

About a third of Microsoft’s revenue comes from its&nbsp;personal computing division, which houses the company’s Windows operating system, its line of Surface laptops and tablets, its Xbox gaming hardware and software and its Bing search service.

The company recently cut commissions on games sold through the store to 12 per cent, lower than the 15 per cent&nbsp;it takes on regular apps, and has been a vocal critic of Apple Inc's App Store, which charges 30 per cent&nbsp;commissions and requires developers to use Apple's in-app payments systems.

Windows-powered Microsoft's rise in the 1990s as PCs became a fixture among businesses and consumers. But the operating system took a back seat to Apple's iOS and Alphabet Inc's Google as mobile phones displaced PCs as the primary computing device for billions of users.

Windows remains one of the biggest platforms in the technology world, with Microsoft's personal computing segment, which includes Windows revenue from businesses and consumers, accounting for $48.2 billion of its $143 billion in revenue in its most recent fiscal year.

Windows 10, the most recent version, has 1.3 billion users, nearly as many as Apple's total installed device base of 1.65 billion users but less than half of Alphabet's 3 billion Android users.

Among PCs and laptops, Windows lost some market share in 2020 to Google's Chromebooks as schools opted for cheaper devices for online learning but still retained greater than 80 per cent&nbsp;market share, according to data firm IDC.

(With inputs from agencies)

In the first major revamp since 2015, Microsoft Corp has announced that it is all set to unveil the ''next-generation operating system'' in a virtual event on Thursday.

In the first major revamp since 2015, Microsoft Corp has announced that it is all set to unveil the ''next-generation operating system'' in a virtual event on Thursday. The National Security Agency had discovered a major security flaw in Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system that could let hackers intercept seemingly secure communications. But rather than exploit the flaw for its own intelligence needs, the NSA tipped off Microsoft so that it can fix the system for everyone. The software that turned Microsoft into a household name and dominated personal computers for years has been overtaken in popularity by devices using Apple and Google software, but it is still core to Microsoft's strength in the corporate market. And the upgraded operating system may also appeal to individuals, who have helped drive sales of PCs sharply higher over the past year due to work-from-home practices adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysts expect the successor to Windows 10 to be called Windows 11 and to contain updates for business users that could make it easier to use with dual-monitor setups. It may also hold updates for PC gamers, another important customer base for Microsoft, including an Xbox app. Also read| In focus: Big Tech firms facing antitrust investigations across world Microsoft may also give more details at Thursday's online launch event on its plans for a revamped Windows Store. In 2015, a developer evangelist speaking at a technical session during a company event dropped an eyebrow-raising statement. “Windows 10 is the last version of Windows,” he said. However, it appears the company changed its mind after enduring huge losses due to the coronavirus pandemic which adversely affected Microsoft's revenue from Windows licenses and its Surface devices. About a third of Microsoft’s revenue comes from its personal computing division, which houses the company’s Windows operating system, its line of Surface laptops and tablets, its Xbox gaming hardware and software and its Bing search service. The company recently cut commissions on games sold through the store to 12 per cent, lower than the 15 per cent it takes on regular apps, and has been a vocal critic of Apple Inc's App Store, which charges 30 per cent commissions and requires developers to use Apple's in-app payments systems. Windows-powered Microsoft's rise in the 1990s as PCs became a fixture among businesses and consumers. But the operating system took a back seat to Apple's iOS and Alphabet Inc's Google as mobile phones displaced PCs as the primary computing device for billions of users. Windows remains one of the biggest platforms in the technology world, with Microsoft's personal computing segment, which includes Windows revenue from businesses and consumers, accounting for $48.2 billion of its $143 billion in revenue in its most recent fiscal year. Windows 10, the most recent version, has 1.3 billion users, nearly as many as Apple's total installed device base of 1.65 billion users but less than half of Alphabet's 3 billion Android users. Among PCs and laptops, Windows lost some market share in 2020 to Google's Chromebooks as schools opted for cheaper devices for online learning but still retained greater than 80 per cent market share, according to data firm IDC. (With inputs from agencies)

Windows 11: Microsoft's first 'next generation' operating system in six years

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