Tech snippets E-magazine-June17

techsnippets | June 2017 | Pg 1
techsnippets
THE INDIAN NEWS
PUBLICATION
ISSUE 01 JUNE 2017
QUALCOMM
IS DRIVING THE
TECHNOLOGY
INVENTIONS
TO MAKE
5G A REALITY
THE WORLD OF
SELF DRIVING
CARS
TIME TO TAKE
SAFE AND
BACKUPS OF
YOUR DATA
SECURE
I n d i a ’ s e x c l u s i v e
THE PREDATOR
GUARDIAN
DRONES
How to upload photos to Instagram from your PC
T H E T E C H N O P E D I A
How your breath unlocks secrets to your stress
Neema MoravejiLET’S MAKE IT POSSIBLE WITH 7 STEPS

Technology must be
like oxygen-ubiquitous,
necessary and invisible -
Chris Lehmann
In the past few years, our attitude towards
computer and the technology has moved from
curiosity to dependency. We now live in this
cyberspace where technology is paramount. The
speed at which innovations happening in the
technology domain is much faster than we can
imagine.
In our earnest attempt to bring to you the latest
happenings around the world, TechSnippets
is started. We understand that there are many
techno magazines available in the world, but
may not be in a format that is digestible for all.
TechSnippets is meant for people who have an
appetite for technology updates and are keen to
update their technology knowledge.
Since 2016, The Indian News (TIN) has been
working to publish an exclusive e-magazine on
technology.
Though our first issue is out now, we know that
there is a long road ahead. There are many
people who helped me in this venture. The page
would not be enough if I had to thank each one
of them. I would like to thank my mentor Mr.PK
Raamachandran for suggesting the name
“TechSnippets”. I feel there could not be a better
name. What do you say?
We invite your suggestions, opinions and articles
on latest happenings in the technology space.
Feel free to send us your honest feedback.
Happy Reading!
G RAMASUBRAMANIAN
(a) SRIKANTH
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER & EDITOR
srikanthrksg1
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
F R O M T H E

At the outset, my wishes
to Srikanth and his
TechSnippets team!
It feels great to know
that you are bringing out
a monthly e-magazine TechSnippets. The first
issue looks really great and it looks to make a
bigger punch as it moves.
I am sure the best of the technology innovations
are presented in the magazine in an interesting
format. Layout is quite impressive. Editorial is of
highest standards.
I know how much effort is needed to bring out a
magazine. My hearty congratulations to Srikanth
and his team for their hard work and I am sure
they will have a very long run.
Good luck to TechSnippets team.
RAJESH RAGHUNATHAN
FORMER EDITOR - INDIAN AGE
FOUNDER - WORDPRO
raghurajesh01@gmail.com
GREETINGS
W A R M

“It has become
appallingly obvious that
our technology has
exceeded our humanity” -
Albert Einstein
It is an indubitable truth that the Modern
Technology has seen a rapid growth in the
last few decades. Somewhere between INTEL
4004 and AI, Somewhere between PONG to VR,
Technology grew. This growth facilitated the flow
of information across various platforms to be
quick and effective. The Internet has established
a medium for achieving this growth by making
communication fast and cheap. For instance,
News for India is available in US or UK as soon
as it is on media, accessible to millions at one
time. Due to this reason, Internet has become a
special place people spend a major part of their
day in and people’s interests in technology grew
along with it.
But still, Modern Technology is often misused
when fallen in bad hands, as seen in almost
every Sci-fi movie. Most recent cyberattack
caused by “WannaCry” Ransomware can be
quoted as an example.
The only way to prevent the misuse of modern
technology is by fully knowing about it and
concentrating only on the “good side” of
technology. [In the case of WannaCry, it could’ve
been one of the best form of encryption]
So this e-magazine is our sincere attempt to
present the information about the present day
technology with utmost simplicity because, as
quoted by Walt Whitman, “Simplicity is the glory
of expression”
Happy Reading :)
EV ANIRUDH ANAND
REVIEWER
anirudhanand99@gmail.com
GREETINGS
W A R M

all about
self driving cars
why latest
windows is manditory?
hi gamers
try this please...
this week
all about desktop monitors
How to upload photos to
Instagram from your PC
good
announcement google
wearables
for your daily life
what a
beautiful transformation
the next gen wireless
broadband is here
the game changing
deal by India’s PM
the game changing
deal by India’s PM
TechInnovation SystemSecurity TechReviews
What’sTrending TechLatest WeeklyTop
IndustryNews GadgetsforLife HowtoDo
TechStories TechAuto
7 15 30
19 339
11 20 34
14 26
It take immense plesure to wish all the very best for
maiden issue of TECH SNIPPETS, may it share more
technology information for many.
I feel this techsnippets magazine has complied in
information from various source, and also it has been
presented in admirable style, I wish it may release many
more issues with more valuable topics.
I would congratulate Srikanth, for his tireless efforts to make it happen.
All the best to the team!
PK RAAMACHANDRAN
MANAGER – BD MH&PP
raamachandran2001@gmail.com
THE INDIAN NEWS PUBLICATION
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/THEINDIANNEWS
thenouvellesind@gmail.com
WISHES
B E S T
inside
explore
inside
techsnippets
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER & EDITOR
RAMASUBRAMANIAN (A) SRIKANTH
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
RAJESH RAGHUNATHAN
ANIRUDH ANAND
COVER PAGE
LAYOUT
GRAPHIC DESIGN
SRIKANTHRKSG DESIGN INC
www.facebook.com/srikanthrksg1

Apple CEO Reveals Tech Giant Is
Working on AI for Self-Driving
Cars
By Kacey Deamer, Staff Writer
Apple has spent years working on
a car project that has been kept
shrouded in secrecy until now.
During an interview with
Bloomberg, Apple CEO Tim
Cook said the auto industry is
experiencing disruption from three
avenues: electric cars, ridesharing
companies and self-driving
technology. And driverless cars,
Cook revealed, is something that
Apple has been focusing on. Cook
said the artificial intelligence (AI)
behind autonomous systems is an
important “core technology” for the
company moving forward.
“We’re focusing on autonomous
systems, and clearly one purpose
of autonomous systems itself
driving cars but there are others,”
Cook told Bloomberg. “And we sort
of see it as the mother of all AI
projects - it’s probably one of the
most difficult AI projects actually to
work on.”
Though Cook did not say what will
come from the AI project in terms
of future products, he noted that
autonomy in general is “incredibly
exciting” for Apple.
Many companies in Silicon
Valley and beyond are refining
Tech Giant Is
Working on AI for
Self-Driving Cars
Apple CEO Reveals
autonomous vehicle technologies,
ranging from Tesla’s auto-pilot
mode to the robotic car challenge
put on by the U.S. military’s
Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA).
One recently announced self-
driving system comes in the form
of a portable robot chauffer.
The IVO (short for intelligent vehicle
operator) uses cameras, motion
sensors and a few mechanical
devices to depress the brakes and
turn the steering wheel.
“And we sort of see
it as the mother of
all AI projects - it’s
probably one of the
most difficult AI
projects actually to
work on.”
techInnovation

5G
Anew kind of 5G wireless
network. Powered by amazing
5G technology.
Achieving the 5G vision will require
new technology innovations
that deliver unparalleled levels
of scalability, capability and
efficiency. Qualcomm inventions
have continuously been at the
forefront of wireless evolution,
pushing wireless boundaries so
you and your world stay connected.
And now, just as we did in 3G
and 4G, Qualcomm is driving the
technology inventions to make 5G
a reality.
“5G is more complex than any connectivity technology that came before it.
We have a lot of ground to cover, but we’ve done this before with 3G and 4G.
We’re already making significant progress on 5G wireless networks and are
eager to lead the world into an exciting new era of connectivity.”
- Qualcomm Technologies’ Chief Technology Officer Matt Grob
Designing 5G New Radio (NR) for
the next decade and beyond.
Work has begun on defining,
standardizing and designing the
new OFDM based 5G New Radio
(NR) as part of the global 3GPP
standard. 5G NR technology is
being designed to support a wide
variation of device-types, services
and deployments. It is also being
designed to get the most out of
every bit of spectrum across a wide
array of available spectrum bands
techInnovation
and regulatory paradigms.
OFDM based unified air interface
Optimized OFDM based waveforms
and multiple access and a flexible
framework to efficiently multiplex
5G wireless services.
Mobilizing mmWave spectrum
bands
Advanced antenna techniques to
deliver robust mobile performance
at bandwidth-rich spectrum bands
above 24 GHz.
New innovative spectrum sharing
paradigms
New 5G inventions that will
make more spectrum available,
increase utilization, and bring new
deployment opportunities.
Pioneering 5G technologies today
with LTE.
LTE Unlicensed
(LTE-U, LAA, MulteFire)
Extending the benefits of LTE to
unlicensed spectrum for new small
cell deployments—designed for fair
coexistence with Wi-Fi.
Cellular vehicle-to-everything
C-V2X gives vehicles the ability to
connect with each other, the cloud,
pedestrians, infrastructure basically
everything.
Optimizing LTE for Internet of
Things
LTE IoT extends battery life,
reduces device complexity, and
enhances coverage for low data
rate applications in the Internet of
Things.
Cellular drone communication
Cellular connectivity will be key for
coordinated operation and control
of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
enabling a growing set of use
cases.
5G: Transforming the way we
interact with our world and each
other.
Enhanced Mobile Broadband
The next era of immersive, always-
connected experiences with fiber-
like 5G speeds at significantly
lower-cost-per-bit.
Mission Critical Control
New command-and-control
services where failure is not
an option—enabled with 5G
technology for ultra-reliable, low
latency communication links.
Massive Internet of Things
Intelligently connect virtually
anything, anywhere with cost- and
power-optimized 5G technology.
Source : Qualcomm Technologies

The OnePlus 5 is now in India,
priced at Rs. 32,990
OnePlus, the Chinese smartphone
company, which has stood out of
the league to leave an impression
with some amazing value for
money smartphones is back with
it’s fourth iteration of flagship, the
OnePlus 5. The India launch was
awaited and it’s here finally.
Although we know “almost”
everything about the phone.
Like its predecessors, the OnePlus
5 carries top-of-the-range specs
across the board, and an improved
camera to make it stand against
the biggies in the market.
If you are wondering why the new
phone is called the OnePlus 5
and not OnePlus 4. It’s certainly
because the number four is
considered unlucky in China, and
OnePlus also wanted to keep
the nomenclature going with its
favorite NBA player, who wears a
number 5 jersey.
The flagship phone from Chinese
company OnePlus official
availability from June 27 in India
You’ll be glad to know the days of
the OnePlus waiting lists are long
behind us, and you’ll be able to
buy the OnePlus 5 before it arrives,
at the pop up event. The official
release date for the OnePlus 5
online is June 27, while you can buy
the phone from a variety of pop-up
shops on starting from Delhi on
June 23.
OnePlus 5 price and availability
More expensive than the OnePlus
3T Lowest price model costs Rs
32,999
High end model with 128GB
of storage costs Rs 37,999.
Exclusively available on Amazon
India website
OnePlus 5The Flagship phone from OnePlus
what’sTrending
Weight:
153g
Dimensions:
154.2 x 74.1 x 7.25mm
OS: Android
7.1.1 Nougat
Screen size:
5.5-inch
Resolution:
1920 x 1080
CPU:
Snapdragon 835
RAM:
6GB or 8GB of RAM
Storage:
64/128GB
Battery:
3,300mAh
Rear camera:
16MP + 20MP dual-lens
Front camera:
16MP
Rating:

Not a surprise but the price for
OnePlus 5 has now escalated to a
notch higher than the OnePlus 3T.
The 64GB storage and 6GB of RAM
version of the OnePlus 5 will cost
you Rs 32,999.
The slightly powerful version of the
OnePlus 5 with 128GB of storage
and 8GB of RAM and will cost
you Rs 37,999. This adds up Rs
3000 to the cost of the OnePlus
3T, which cost Rs 29,999 for the
64GB and Rs 34,999 for the 128GB
version.
Apart from the pop up sales,
the OnePlus 5 will be available
on OnePlus official website and
on Amazon India from today
onwards exclusively for Amazon
Prime members and open sale will
commence starting June 27.
OnePlus 5 design
OnePlus put in some serious
richness to the feel of the OnePlus
5 compared to what we have seen
on the previous generation phones.
It actually feels like a high-end
phone that looks good and can be
compared to the quality that Apple
or Samsung put in their phones.
It’s thinner than ever with
dimensions of 154.2 x 74.1 x
7.25mm and a weight of 153g,
making it light in the hand too.
It’s a full metal unibody design and
is made of anodized aluminum to
make it feel premium to the touch.
The volume rocker sits on the left
edge of the phone, with an alert
slider just above. That switch
will allow you to change between
Silent, Do Not Disturb and normal
notifications mode with ease.
The power button sits on the right
edge, while the bottom edge has
a speaker grille, USB-C port and
a 3.5mm headphone jack. Yes,
OnePlus hasn’t got rid of the legacy
headphone tech, so you’ll be able
to use wired headsets with this
phone.
At the bottom of the phone on the
front there’s a ceramic fingerprint
sensor, which works in 0.2 seconds
according to OnePlus.
OnePlus 5 colors
Color choices on the OnePlus 5
are more limited than most other
phone releases. If you’re after the
64GB/6GB version of the phone,
you’ll be getting it in Slate Grey.
Those who want the slightly more
expensive 128GB/8GB version
of the phone will be getting the
Midnight Black color which is in
most of the images in this article.
That’s also the phone we used in
our full review.
A OnePlus representative
confirmed to TechRadar UK the
company doesn’t plan to announce
any new colors for the OnePlus
5. That doesn’t mean plans won’t
change in the future though, so
if you liked the gold
OnePlus 3T you
may want to wait to
see if it’s released
further down the line.
OnePlus 5 screen
One area OnePlus hasn’t given
much attention to is the screen,
as just like the OnePlus 3T the
OnePlus 5 has a 5.5-inch,
1080 x 1920 AMOLED screen,
giving it a pixel density of 401
pixels per inch.
That leaves it lagging behind rivals
like the Samsung Galaxy S8, but
still in line with the iPhone 7 Plus,
and the lack of extra pixels isn’t
something you’ll probably notice
too much unless you put it side by
side with a sharper display.
OnePlus 5 camera
Here’s where OnePlus would like
its new phone to truly shine. The
OnePlus 5 features a dual-sensor
setup that combines a 16MP and
a 20MP sensor on the rear to allow
for lossless zoom and all round
better shots.
It works in a similar way to the
iPhone 7 Plus with the 20MP lens
being designed specifically so you
can shoot at longer distances.
And like the iPhone 7 Plus you
can also use the two lenses to
create a bokeh effect blurring the
background while the subject stays
in focus.
Both lenses are designed by Sony
and the main 16MP shooter has
an aperture of f/1.7. Other camera
features include a dual-LED flash,
4K video recording and slow
motion recording at 720p/120fps.
what’sTrending
“OnePlus put some
serious improvement
to the feel the richness
compared to previous
generation phones”.

The compariosn between
Snapdragon processors. Why 625
is better than 430?
Snapdragon 625 is better
compared to the Snapdragon
430. Snapdragon 625 belongs
to the Snapdragon 600 series
which is a mid-ranged series while
Snapdragon 430 belongs to the
Snapdragon 400 series which is a
low-budget series.
Both Snapdragon 625 and 430 has
8 Cortex-A53 cores but they are
clocked at a higher frequency in
Snapdragon 625 and hence it will
result in better performance.
Coming to the Power efficiency,
Snapdragon 625 is manufactured
using the 14nm FinFET Process
which is more power efficient
compared to the 28nm process
used in Snapdragon 430. Hence,
Snapdragon 625 consumes less
power and gives longer battery life.
Also, it produces less heat.
Now talking about the GPU,
Snapdragon 625 uses Adreno 506
which is better than the Adreno 505
GPU of Snapdragon 430.
The last major difference is
the modem, X9 LTE Modem in
Snapdragon 625 gives better
speeds compared to the X6 LTE
Modem in Snapadragon 430.
Comparison
625 Vs 430
The Predator
Guardian Drones
Predator B is a Remotely Piloted
Aircraft (RPA). Powered by a
Honeywell TPE331-10 turboprop
engine, the aircraft can be used for
multiple missions and possesses
higher capabilities than its
predecessor aircraft. The engine of
the aircraft is integrated with Digital
Electronic Engine Control (DEEC). It
enhances the performance of the
engine and increases its capability
to prevent wasteful consumption of
fuel at lower altitudes.
What are the features of the craft?
The craft can be flown for over
27 hours in the air at a maximum
altitude of 50000 feet and a
maximum speed of 240 KTAS.
It has MIL-STD-1760 stores
management system and seven
external stations for carrying
payloads. The maximum payload
carrying capacity of the aircraft
is 1,746 kg. With a fault tolerant,
triple-redundant flight control
system, the drone has more than
90 per cent system operational
availability.
Prime Minister’s Narendra Modi
maiden meeting with US President
Donald Trump, United States has
reportedly cleared the sale of 22
predator Guardian drones to India.
The “game changer” deal, according
to governmental sources, is
estimated to be around $2-3 billion
and has been approved by the State
Department. According to the source,
the deal would mark a huge step for
US-India relations as it would mark
the status of “major defence partner”.
Here is everything you need to
know about predator drones:
What are predator drones?
Currently the aircraft has been
employed by Italian, French and
Spanish Air Force apart from
several US agencies including
US Air Force, US Department of
Homeland Security and NASA. UK’s
Royal Air Force, has also acquired
the drones.
“MQ-9 Reaper” by US Air Force and
Royal Air Force customers, the
industryNews

What are the uses of the drones?
According to defence contractors
General Atomics, the drones
possess the capabilities to be used
for long-endurance intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance
missions over a wide-area. Easy
configuration of the drone makes it
easier to operate the aircraft during
missions.
Which countries have used the
drones in the past?
Currently the aircraft have been
used by Italian, French and Spanish
Air Force apart from several US
agencies including US Air Force, US
Department of Homeland Security
and NASA. UK’s aerial warfare
force, Royal Air Force, has also
acquired the drones.
What are the new modifications
going on with the drones?
The Predator B, over the years,
has been modified into Predator
B ER. The new model was fitted
with retrofit-table capabilities
such as wing-borne fuel pods
and reinforced landing gear. The
new modifications increased the
endurance of the carrier from 27
hours to 34 hours. In 2016, another
modification with the aircraft’s
wingspan saw its endurance go up
to 42 hours. To achieve the result,
the length of the wingspan was
increased to 79 feet from 66 feet so
that it can hold the fuel previously
stored in the fuel pods.
WASHINGTON: The US has cleared
sale of predator Guardian drones
to India with the two countries
pledging to deepen their defence
and security cooperation.
The joint statement issued after
talks between US President
Donald Trump and Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said that the two
countries look forward to working
together on advanced defence
equipment and technology “at a
level commensurate with that of
the closest allies and partners of
the United States.”
“Reflecting the partnership, the
United States has offered for
India’s consideration the sale of
Sea Guardian Unmanned Aerial
Systems, which would enhance
India’s capabilities and promote
shared security interests,” it said.
The two countries resolved to
expand their maritime security
cooperation and announced
industryNews
Source : www.dronecenter.bard.edu

their intention to build on
the implementation of their
“White Shipping” data sharing
arrangement, which enhances
collaboration on maritime domain
awareness.
Trump welcomed Modi’s strong
support for United States to join
as an Observer in the Indian Ocean
Naval Symposium.
The two leaders noted the
importance of the upcoming
Malabar naval exercise and
expressed their determination
to expand their engagements on
shared maritime objectives and to
explore new exercises.
The US expressed strong support
for India’s early membership in
the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the
Wassenaar Arrangement, and the
Australia Group. It also reaffirmed
the support of the United States for
India’s permanent membership on
a reformed UN Security Council
Earlier, in his remarks to the media,
Modi said defence cooperation
between India and US was very
significant in the light of security
challenges. “
“Peace, prosperity and stability in
the Indo-Pacific region are the main
aims of our strategic cooperation.
The increase of possibilities in the
region and securing our strategic
interests from emerging challenges
will guide the parameters of our
cooperation. We will continue to
work with the US in this,” he said.
Trump said the security partnership
between the two countries was
incredibly important.
“Our militaries are working every
day to enhance cooperation
between our military forces. And
next month, they will join together
with the Japanese navy to take
place in the largest maritime
exercise ever conducted in the vast
Indian Ocean.”
Reports had said earlier that
the US has cleared the sale of
22 American-made Guardian
surveillance drones for India ahead
of Modi’s visit.
The deal is estimated to be worth
$2-3 billion. The drones can be
used for wide-area, long- endurance
maritime intelligence, surveillance
and reconnaissance missions.
- Source IE
MQ-9 Reaper
United States has
offered for India’s
consideration the sale of
Sea Guardian Unmanned
Aerial Systems
industryNews

Twitter
Posts can
Detect
Riots
Faster
than
Police
With people increasingly taking
to the social media, especially
Twitter, to report or update events,
observations and occurrences, new
research says the micro-blogging
site can track and detect major
disruptive events faster than the
police.
The study showed that computer
systems using a series of
machine-learning algorithms could
automatically scan through tweets
and detect serious incidents, such
as breaking into a shop or setting
cars alight, before they were
reported to the police.
The computer system could also
discern information about where
the riots were rumoured to take
place and where groups of youths
were gathering.
On average the computer systems
could pick up on the disruptive
events several minutes before
officials could. In some cases even
over an hour ahead of the security
personnel, the researchers said in
the paper published in the journal
ACM Transactions on Internet
Technology.
“We will never replace traditional
policing resource on the ground but
we have demonstrated that this
research could augment existing
intelligence gathering and draw on
new technologies to support more
established policing methods,”
said Pete Burnap from Cardiff
University.
Estimates put social media
membership at approximately 2.5
billion non-unique users, and the
data produced by these users have
been used to predict elections,
movie revenues and even the
epicentre of earthquakes.
The study could enable police
officers to better manage and
prepare for both large and small
scale disruptive events, the
researchers added.
“We have previously used machine-
learning and natural language
processing on Twitter data to
better understand online deviance,
such as the spread of antagonistic
narratives and cyber hate,” Burnap
said.
For the study, the team analysed
1.6 million tweets related to the
2011 riots in England, which
began as an isolated incident in
Tottenham on August 6 but quickly
spread across London and to other
cities in England.
The researchers used a series of
machine-learning algorithms to
analyse each of the tweets from
the dataset, taking into account a
number of key features such as the
time they were posted, the location
where they were posted and the
content of the tweet itself.
techstories
“The computer system could also
discern information about where
the riots were rumoured to take
place and where groups of youths
were gathering.”

Ransomware : Global Cyberattack
What is ransomware?
The danger from a global
cyberattack that spread to
some 150 nations continues to
fade, and that’s only some of the
good news.
After two security researchers
greatly slowed down that attack,
which effectively held people’s
documents, photos and other
digital files hostage, hard-hit
organizations such as the UK’s
National Health Service seem to
be bouncing back. While it’s a
crude measure of the impact, it
also appears that relatively few
of those affected were desperate
enough to actually pay the ransom
demanded by the attackers.
On the other hand, the attack has
served as a live demonstration
of a new type of global threat,
one that could encourage future
hackers.
Here’s what we currently know
about the ransomware known as
WannaCry, which locked up digital
photos, documents and other files
to hold them for ransom.
Where it came from?
Researchers are still puzzling
out how WannaCry got started.
Figuring that out could yield
important clues to the identity of
its authors.
The malware spread rapidly inside
computer networks by taking
advantage of vulnerabilities in
mostly older versions of Microsoft
Windows. That weakness was
purportedly identified and
stockpiled for use by the US
National Security Agency; it was
subsequently stolen and published
on the internet.
But it remains unclear how
WannaCry got onto computers in
the first place. Experts said its
rapid global spread suggests it did
not rely on phishing, in which fake
emails tempt the unwary to click
on infected documents or links.
Analysts at the European Union
cybersecurity agency said the
hackers likely scanned the internet
for systems that were vulnerable
to infection and exploited those
computers remotely.
systemSecurity

Once established, WannaCry
encrypted computer files and
displayed a message demanding
$300 to $600 worth of the digital
currency bitcoin to release them.
Failure to pay would leave the
data scrambled and likely beyond
repair unless users had unaffected
backup copies.
Ransom payments
Investigators are closely watching
three bitcoin accounts associated
with WannaCry, where its victims
were directed to send ransom
payments. The digital currency is
anonymized, but it’s possible to
track funds as they move from
place to place until they end up
with an identifiable person.
So far, there have been no
withdrawals from those accounts.
‘India third-worst hit nation by
ransomware Wannacry’ India
was the third worst hit nation
by ransomware WannaCry as
more than 40,000 computers
were affected even though no
major corporate or bank reported
disruption to their activities raising
doubts whether these entities are
disclosing attack at all.
Corporate world was back on its
feet across the globe after more
than 2 lakh computers were
affected by the virus and the follow-
up attack did not materialise as
feared, said cybersecurity experts.
“There is a lack of transparency
in India, inspite of a mandatory
requirement for banks and listed
companies to disclose cyberattack,
however, very few banks and
companies do that,” said Tushar
Ajinkya, Partner, DSK Legal. “We
have seen earlier that black hats
would mainly attack and deface
Indian websites but now the
objective is mainly money.”
WannaCry ransomware which
affected operations at the US
Health Care System and French car
maker Renault, appears to have had
less impact on corporate India’s
operations.
Although there were fears that
India’s antiquated systems may
be vulnerable, the damage so
far appears to be negligible. But
absence of major hit does not
mean that all the systems are safe
from future attacks.
“In our research we found that a
large percentage of attacks globally
by WannaCry happened in India and
the country was third on the total
number of attacks,” said Altaf Halde,
managing director, Kaspersky Lab,
South Asia.
“Most of the Indian organisations
are still vulnerable to the attacks
since the sophistication of these
cyber threats is going up and many
of Indian organisations including
private and public sector still use
outdated operating systems which
make it easy for the cyber attackers
to compromise the systems.”
ET had on Tuesday reported that
many Indian companies after being
attacked by WannaCry, had even
paid the hackers.
An independent research by Quick
Heal Technologies, a cybersecurity
firm, shows that about 48,000
computers were attacked by the
ransomware WannaCry, with most
incidents in West Bengal.
In last year India has seen at least
three sophisticated ransomware
attacks on Indian companies
and banks. The first one Lucifer
happened last year which
locked computers of banks and
pharmaceutical companies. At
least three companies and banks
had paid up money in Bitcoins to
unlock their systems, said people
familiar with the event.
This year in January another
ransomware by the name of
Lazarus had attacked Indian
companies. Even the central bank
systemSecurity

has lamented about the poor
reporting of cyber attacks.
5 tips to protect yourself from
becoming a ransomware victim
This weekend’s global online
extortion attack reinforces the
need for businesses and other
large organizations to update their
computer operating systems and
security software, cybersecurity
experts said. The attack largely
infected networks that used
out-of-date software, such as
Windows XP, which Microsoft no
longer offers technical support
for. “There’s some truth to the idea
that people are always going to
hack themselves,” said Dan Wire,
a spokesman for security firm
FireEye. “You’ve got to keep your
systems updated.” The attack
that authorities say swept 150
countries this weekend is part of a
growing problem of “ransomware”
scams, in which people find
themselves locked out of their files
and presented with a demand to
pay hackers to restore their access.
Hackers bait users to click on
infected email links, open infected
attachments or take advantage
of outdated and vulnerable
systems. This weekend’s virus was
particularly virulent, because it
could spread to all other computers
on a network even if just one user
clicked a bad link or attachment.
Lawrence Abrams, a New
York-based blogger who runs
BleepingComputer.com, says many
organizations don’t install security
upgrades because they’re worried
about triggering bugs, or they can’t
afford the downtime. Here are five
tips to make yourself a less-likely
victim.
Take safe and secure backups
Once your files are encrypted,
your options are limited. Recovery
from backups is one of them.
“Unfortunately, most people don’t
have them,” Abrams says. Backups
often are also out of date and
missing critical information. With
this attack, Abrams recommends
trying to recover the “shadow
volume” copies some versions of
Windows have. Some ransomware
does also sometimes targets
backup files, though. You should
make multiple backups — to cloud
services and using physical disk
drives, at regular and frequent
intervals. It’s a good idea to back up
files to a drive that remains entirely
disconnected from your network.
Regularly update and patch your
systems
The latest ransomware was
successful because of a confluence
of factors. Those include a known
and highly dangerous security
hole in Microsoft Windows, tardy
users who didn’t apply Microsoft’s
March software fix, and malware
designed to spread quickly once
inside university, business and
government networks. Updating
software will take care of some
vulnerability. “Hopefully people
are learning how important it is to
apply these patches,” said Darien
Huss, a senior security research
engineer for cybersecurity firm
Proofpoint, who helped stem the
reach of the weekend attack. “I
hope that if another attack occurs,
the damage will be a lot less.” The
virus targeted computers using
Windows XP, as well as Windows
7 and 8, all of which Microsoft
stopped servicing years ago. Yet
in an unusual step, they released
a patch for those older systems
because of the magnitude of the
outbreak. “There’s a lot of older
Windows products out there
that are ‘end of life’ and nobody’s
bothered to take them out of
service,” said Cynthia Larose, a
cybersecurity expert at the law firm
of Mintz Levin.
Hackers targeted
computers using
Windows XP, 7 and 8,
all of which Microsoft
stopped servicing
years ago
systemSecurity

Use anti-virus software
Using antivirus software will at
least protect you from the most
basic, well-known viruses by
scanning your system against
the known fingerprints of these
pests. Low-end criminals take
advantage of less-savvy users with
such known viruses, even though
malware is constantly changing
and antivirus is frequently days
behind detecting it.
Educate your employees
Basic protocol such as stressing
that workers shouldn’t click
on questionable links or open
suspicious attachments can save
headaches. System administrators
should ensure that employees don’t
have unnecessary access to parts
of the network that aren’t critical
to their work. This helps limit the
spread of ransomware if hackers
do get into your system.
If hit by ransomware attack,
shutdown network immediately
Some organizations disconnect
computers as a precautionary
measure. Shutting down a
network can prevent the continued
encryption and possible loss of
more files. Hackers will sometimes
encourage you to keep your
computer on and linked to the
network, but don’t be fooled. If
you’re facing a ransom demand
and locked out of your files, law
enforcement and cybersecurity
experts discourage paying
ransoms because it gives
incentives to hackers and pays for
their future attacks. There’s also no
guarantee all files will be restored.
Many organizations without
updated backups may decide
that regaining access to critical
files, such as customer data, and
avoiding public embarrassment is
worth the cost. Ryan O’Leary, vice
president of WhiteHat Security’s
threat research center, points out
that this weekend’s hackers weren’t
asking for much, usually about
$300. “If there is a silver lining to
it, you’re not out a million dollars,”
he said. Still, “My answer is, never
pay the ransom,” Abrams said.
“But at the same time, I also know
that if you’re someone who’s been
affected and you’ve lost all your
children’s photographs or you’ve
lost all your data or you lost your
thesis, sometimes $300 is worth it,
you know?”
In 1956, 5 megabytes (5MB)
of data weighed A TON
It was 1956 when IBM launched
RAMAC, the first computer with
something like a hard drive that we
use today.
By hard drive, we mean something
that used magnetic disks - a
moving head was used to access
and write that data. At the time,
it was considered a massive
leap in mass storage technology
because it signified a shift: from
punch cards and magnetic tape
(which stored data sequentially) to
randomly accessible hard drives.
RAMAC itself stood for Random
Access Method of Accounting &
Control. The whole cabinet weighed
over 1000kg and the 5MP data was
spread over 50 huge aluminium
disks, coated with magnetic iron
oxide. The disks rotated at a speed
of 1200rpm and the machines
were leased
for $3,200 per
month back in
the day.
By
TechSnippets
systemSecurity

Google has announced that it
will stop scanning the inboxes
of Gmails free users for ad
personalization at some point later
this year.
Diane Greene, Google’s Senior Vice
President for Google Cloud, said
the company made this decision
because it “brings Gmail ads in
line with how we personalize ads
for other Google products”, Tech
Crunch reported on Friday.
Google already doesn’t do this for
business users who subscribe to
its G Suite services, but until now,
it routinely scanned the inboxes of
its free users to better target ads
for them. It then combined that
information with everything else it
knows about its users to build its
advertising profiles for them.
“Consumer Gmail content will not
be used or scanned for any ads
personalization” later this year, the
technology company based in
Menlo Park, Northern California,
said in a posting on its website,
Google stops
scanning your inbox
techLatest
Xinhua news agency reported.
“Ads shown are based on users’
settings. Users can change those
settings at any time, including
disabling ads personalization.
G Suite will continue to be ad free,”
the company said.
Available in 72 languages, Gmail
was launched in 2004 as free,
advertising-supported email service
with over 1 billion users worldwide.
Google would not stop showing
ads in Gmail, though, and it’s worth
noting that given how much the
company already knows about
all of its users, it just might not
need these additional signals from
Gmail, Tech Crunch reported.
Gmail was
launched in
2004 as free,
advertising-
supported
email service
with over 1
billion users
worldwide.

wearable
tech
Is stress
tracking
the future
of
well-being
tech?
gadgetsforLife

olding our breath for a more
serene life
Wearable tech has come
a long way from souped-up
pedometers that congratulate you
on reaching your 10,000 step goal
each day and little else.
Now wearables are well on
their way to collecting more
sophisticated data than we could
have imagined a mere two years
ago, like reading our glucose levels,
keeping an eye on pollution in
the air and measuring our body
composition, just to name a few.
One trend that’s birthed a number
of innovative startups, as well as
making big tech brands sit up and
take notice, is using wearables to
gauge our mental state, whether
that’s our level of focus, whether
we’re feeling stressed or even our
moods.
Taking well-being into our own
hands
Medical professionals have long
pointed to the direct correlation
between the long term impact
stress and anxiety has on our
general health. So it’s no surprise
that tech companies claiming
to paint an overall picture of our
health are starting to use biometric
feedback to improve our emotional
wellbeing and stress just as much
as our physical health and fitness.
As well as that, there’s a general
move towards people becoming
more interested in their own well-
being than ever before, as well as
feeling empowered to take steps
to change their lifestyles and
make improvements themselves
- whether that’s joining a gym or
trying mindfulness meditation with
the help of an app.
Finally, tech that allows us to
find out more about what’s going
on in our minds has improved.
Wearables aren’t just fitted with
accelerometers to count steps, but
there are all kinds of sensors that
can be put to good use in order
to track, quantify and feedback
information about our mental
wellbeing - whether that’s through
tracking your breath or reading EEG
neuro feedback from your brain.
The latest wearable from Garmin
uses Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
readings for all-day stress tracking.
So what does the future hold? Will
a Fitbit for our mind be popular?
What can we do with the data?
And will everyone appreciate being
told they’re stressed when they’re
feeling stressed?
To answer some of our burning
questions about using tech to track
our minds, Neema Moraveji, the
director of Stanford University’s
Calming Technology Lab and the
co-founder of Spire, one of the first
wearables built to track wellbeing.
How your breath unlocks secrets
to your stresses
There are a number of devices on
the market that have been created
for wellbeing tracking. From
breathing tracking with Prana, to
gadgetsforLife
H

heart rate tracking through to ‘brain
sensing’ wearables, like Muse, and
Feel, which combines all kinds of
data to read your mood.
Spire uses a number of sensors
and algorithms to identify
how you’re breathing, whether
characterised by parasympathetic
activation, which is more calm,
or sympathetic, which is more
stressed.
Big tech brands are using this kind
of tech and building it into multi-
purpose wearables, like the Apple
Watch’s Breathe app and the stress
tracking smarts in Garmin’s latest
wearable, the Vivosmart 3.
But as one of the first devices in
the wellbeing tech space, we were
keen to find out more about Spire
and how it works.
“Spire comes out of research we
conducted specifically on using
respiratory monitoring paired with
digital devices to understand and
manage stress,” Neema Moraveji
told us.
He continued: “It leverages
decades of research from labs
around the world on understanding
what respiratory patterns reveal
about cognitive/emotional state
(e.g., respiration patterns can
differentiate stress from focus) and
how to use respiration for self-
regulation (e.g., using respiration
to reduce feeling pain in burn
patients).”
Essentially, Spire uses a number of
sensors and algorithms to identify
how you’re breathing. From there, it
identifies whether your breathing is
characterised by parasympathetic
activation, which is more calm,
or sympathetic, which is more
stressed.
But not all stress is created equal
In our eyes, the biggest hurdle to
overcome when it comes to stress
tracking is subjectivity. We were
keen to find out how Spire and
other wearables in the space are
being tested in a range of settings -
with a range of different people.
“We’re collaborating and supporting
research being conducted by
different organisations using
Spire,” Moraveji explains. “There’s
academic labs using Spire to
support stress management in
organisations; health organisations
using Spire to collect data on how
the breathing of COPD patients
changes during treatment; non-
profit organisations using Spire
to reduce stress of high school
students as they prepare for
college entrance examinations and
applications; health practitioners
deploying Spire to divorced parents
to reduce the emotional impact of
divorce on children.”
Digging deeper into the idea of
subjective experiences of stress,
we wanted to understand whether
stress tracking is broadly effective,
or whether it can bring about
great results for some and further
exasperation for others.
This is certainly the case with more
fitness-focused wearables, so we
imagine it’ll be even more apparent
when it comes to the mind. Being
told you didn’t hit your steps goal
can be disappointing. Being told
you spent the day stressed might
leave you feeling even worse than
you did before.
“Research on feedback has largely
surrounded classroom learning,”
Moraveji explains. “In that context,
feedback can be frustrating when
it’s about one’s identity (e.g., ‘you
are stressed out’) or the suggestion
is vague (e.g.,’Try to take it easier
and lower your stress’).”
Creating better, personalised
experiences
So what’s the answer? Moraveji
thinks it’s less about people and
more about tech.
“The fact that people respond
to stress feedback differently is
less about individual differences
and more about the immaturity
of this industry in how it delivers
feedback,” he told us. “One answer
is providing actionable feedback
and ensuring users see it as a
facilitator, not driver, of their own
behavioural change.”
Of course, this kind of tech really
is still in its infancy, but we asked
Moraveji what he thought the
future would - and should - hold for
stress tracking.
Moraveji said: “Research has been
done on sensing symptoms of
stress including neurophysiological
indicators such as respiration and
heart rate variability, contextual
cues like the way one is typing on
a keyboard, the kinds of words one
uses in email, and even the quality
of one’s voice.
“However, very few of these
have made it into widespread
commercial deployment. Part of
the reason for this is that simply
telling somebody that they might
be experiencing atypical stress
is insufficient and can even be
frustrating if a compensatory
action is not delivered alongside it.”
It’s interesting that his vision of
the future is more of a joined-up
approach. Imagine being able to
tell you’re feeling stressed from
the language you use in an email
combined with breath data and
being served up recommendations
gadgetsforLife

about what to do?
If you’re prone to stress and
anxiety, you need to be given steps
and advice, or you’re not likely to
make much progress.
“Most research on actually
addressing stress has been in the
context of clinical practice, usually
offline, and not using technology,”
Moraveji told us.
“Now, technologists are putting
these proven interventions online
for increased accessibility but this
mapping from offline to online
is not always straightforward or
effective.”
And the answer is, again,
personalisation: “Based on
research, user feedback, and user
interviews, we believe a promising
future for stress tracking includes
passive, comprehensive tracking
to provide concrete insights that
motivate action in the context of
user-personalised goals.”
The problems with defining stress
and calm
A huge part of the ambiguity here
is likely that a lot of the words and
descriptions of emotional states
have no clear definition.
Moraveji agreed: “There is no
universal known definition of ‘calm’;
rather, an indication when the
user is veering from their personal
baseline. The moment you begin
using Spire, it updates its baseline
data about you and continues to do
so as you use it.”
The latest Apple Watch has an app
called Breathe, which prompts you
every few hours to lean back and
take a few breaths.
And when it comes to differences,
let’s not look beyond the more
simple things that set us apart;
for example BMI, general body
composition and different styles
of breathing. Moraveji says the
development of Spire is constantly
informed by these subtle
differences and earlier in the year
the algorithm was changed to
improve sensitivity for more tense
breathing in certain individuals.
Working with mental health and
medical experts lthough wellbeing
tracking for the masses could be
hugely beneficial in helping us all to
better understand stress and our
triggers, it could also have
the biggest benefits
for those with more
serious conditions, like
severe anxiety and even
PTSD.
“We’ve created
a clinical
protocol that
practitioners
can use to
help
Research has been done on
sensing symptoms of stress
[...] like the way one is typing on
a keyboard, the kinds of words
one uses in email, and even the
quality of one’s voice.
Neema Moraveji, Spire co-founder
their patients manage symptoms
of anxiety and stress using Spire,”
Moraveji explains.
“The protocol is complemented
by a portal and Client Dashboard
(currently in Beta testing) that
allows practitioners to monitor
client progress using Spire state-
of-mind data (tense, calm, focused
breathing), behavioural data (did
they do today’s guided practice?),
physical activity, as well as
underlying respiratory data.”
Although wellbeing tech is still
in its infancy, there’s a lot of
potential for niche startups like
Spire and bigger tech brands like
Apple and Garmin to help people
better measure stress levels and
understand their mental state more
than ever before.
But, like with a lot of tech
focused on our bodies and
biometric feedback, the answer
is personalisation. What might
work for one person might not
work for the next and a mixture of
super sensitive algorithms, more
advanced tech and feedback that
proves useful, rather than more
stressful, is needed for it to make a
real, lasting difference.
gadgetsforLife

techsnippets
THE INDIAN NEWS
PUBLICATION
T H E T E C H N O P E D I A

monthly
e-magazinetechsnippets | June 2017 | Pg 25

Audi R8 V10 Spyder
A supercar with ultimate techology
Audi is a car brand that’s seen
quite a transformation over the last
decade or so, shedding its slightly
stuffy image of a car maker that
builds solid saloons and estates
in favor of a more desirable one
thanks to a raft of new model lines.
The original TT played a big part in
this, while the likes of the first RS6
estates, with their dirty great V8s
shoehorned under the bonnet, were
pretty much the quickest way to
transport a family of four and their
dog over long distances.
Then there’s Audi’s success at
Le Mans, winning five times with
the LMP R8 before ripping up the
rule book and entering the diesel-
powered R10 TDi, which won the
endurance event in its first year in
2006.
That same year Audi took the
wraps off its most ambitious road
car yet, borrowing the name from
its race-winning cousin to boot: the
R8 supercar.
Cementing Audi’s status as
a premium car brand, the R8
represented the pinnacle of the
company’s engineering prowess,
and now, 10 years on we have the
second-generation model - it’ll be
coming to the US in Spring 2017.
But with the supercar landscape
changing dramatically as hybrid
technology is embraced, is there
still a place for the likes of the
£129,990 R8 V10 Spyder?
Highlights
The star of the Spyder show is
its hand-built, naturally aspirated
533bhp 5.2-litre V10 engine. This
stunning piece of engineering
shuns turbos and hybrid
technology to propel you from a
standing start to 62mph in 3.6
secs, and will push onwards to a
top speed of 198mph.
Audi has employed the classic
supercar trick of positioning the
engine in the middle; as a result
weight distribution has a slight bias
towards the rear axle, which when
coupled up with the R8’s Quattro
all-wheel drive technology, should
produce stunning traction and grip.
While those investing in a V10
supercar might not have fuel
economy at the forefront of their
minds, the engine features Audi’s
advanced Cylinder-on-demand
technology. This sees the engine
management system shut down
five of the 10 cylinders when
you’re trundling along in traffic
(or posing along the streets of
Knightsbridge or Monaco) to
improve fuel consumption, but
within milliseconds of you hitting
the throttle, all 10 cylinders will
burst into life to give you the full
force of that glorious engine.
the hi-tech
techAuto

While supercars of old had heavy
manual gearboxes with just as
heavy clutch pedals, not so the
Spyder. With its seven-speed dual-
clutch S tronic gearbox it’s simply
a case of pressing the throttle
pedal and the gearbox will do the
rest, while for those times when
you want to move things along a
bit faster you can pull up the right
paddle behind the steering wheel to
shift up through the gears.
Styling
Compared to the original R8
Spyder, the design has been
sharpened up quite a bit, and it’s
all the better for it. While it may
not have quite the same in-your-
face styling as some of its rivals,
the Spyder’s understated and
purposeful looks – enhanced
by the addition of distinctive
sideblades, which shove air into the
engine, and make the car’s midriff
a little wider – give it a certain
presence and drama, whether it’s
parked up or going full pelt.
Going topless
For purists, a cabriolet is always
going to be seen as a compromise
over a coupe equivalent – rigidity
and stiffness are compromised by
lopping the roof off, while the roof
mechanism and extra engineering
required to add the torsional
strength lost by the roof all adds
weight. But that’s to ignore the
sheer thrill of having the roof down,
and the howl of the V10 ricocheting
off the surrounding buildings and
straight back into the cockpit.
Audi’s done a stunning job here.
The mix of carbon and aluminium
makes the Spyder some 55%
more rigid than the previous
model, as well as being some
25kg lighter. Compared to its
hardtop counterpart it’s only 125kg
heavier, which may seem a lot, but
it’s impressive given the level of
engineering required.
The folding roof mechanism is a
masterwork of mechanical dance,
taking just 20 seconds from a
single press of a button to reveal
the sky, while if the urge to drop the
roof is so great that you don’t want
to stop (or, less thrilling, if it starts
to rain), this can be done on the
move at speeds of up to 31mph.
Cockpit
While it might not offer quite the
same sense of occasion as slipping
behind the wheel of a Lamborghini
or Ferrari, the R8 Spyder’s cockpit
techAuto

is still a very nice place to be, with
lots of leather and carbon to deliver
a very premium, high-end feel.
The R8 Spyder uses what’s been
termed Audi Virtual Cockpit,
shunning traditional dials for a
customisable digital display. Rather
than having a multimedia interface
(MMI) in the central console and
the instrument panel up front, the
two are combined into one high-
resolution display, with the choice
of three views: classic, infotainment
and sport.
Google Maps is built in for
navigation, while it’s easy to
partner your smartphone with the
Spyder – provided you tick the Audi
Smartphone Interface optional
extra that is. This enables you to
share mobile phone content via
USB and display it on the MMI,
either via Android Auto or Apple
CarPlay. Another optional extra
is the Audi Phone Box, which
allows wireless charging simply by
placing your phone on the storage
compartment, as well as creating
a wireless connection via the car’s
aerial.
The Sound system
If you ever tire of the stunning
soundtrack of the R8’s V10 engine,
then you’re in for a treat with the
Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound
System. It’s an optional extra that
will set you back another £1,750,
but you get yourself a 16-channel
amplifier with 13 speakers dotted
round the cockpit (including
two in each seat headrest and
a subwoofer in the passenger
footwell) that will kick out 550
watts.
The sound quality is stunning –
whether you’ve got the roof up or
down, the clarity and depth are
mightily impressive.
How it drives?
You’d think a £130,000+ V10
supercar would be intimidating to
drive, but that’s not the case at all.
With the roof up, the gearbox set to
full auto and the Drive mode dialled
into Normal or Comfort, you’ve
got an incredibly comfortable
and cocooned cruiser that will
happily demolish those motorway
miles, or be quite at home just
pootling around town. Find a twisty
A-road, drop the roof and change
the engine mode to Individual
or Dynamic, and the Spyder’s Le
techAuto

Mans-winning DNA shines through.
Put your foot down and the Spyder
surges forward, with the engine
note changing from a deep rumble
to a loud howl as it nears its redline.
Flick the right paddle behind the
steering wheel and the change
is seamless, while the snarling
crackle that greets this change of
gear is incredibly addictive.
This level of performance should be
terrifying, but the grip is staggering
– the all-wheel Quattro technology
that saw Audi dominate the World
Rally Championships in the 1980s
inspires so much confidence as
you travel through a bend that
you’d have to do something pretty
dramatic to unsettle it.
With all this power you’d naturally
want to be able to stop pretty
sharpish, and the optional-extra
ceramic brakes that our car had
deliver incredible stopping power.
They can be a bit snappy to start
with, but once you’ve generated
a decent amount of heat their
stopping power is immense.
“Asking someone else to drive your sports car is
like asking someone else to kiss your girl friend.”
― Amit Kalantri,
Wealth of Words
techAuto

TECHREVIEW
techReviews

LAYSTATION VR IS THE
PROMISED LAND FOR
VIRTUAL REALITY ON
CONSOLES
PlayStation VR is an affordable
introduction to quality VR. Many of
the experiences aren’t as crisp or
as immersive as the ones found on
the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive but, for
a system that uses a PS4 instead
of an expensive PC gaming rig,
we’re not complaining.
Update: PlayStation VR is going
to get a swath of new games in
2017, including The Elder Scrolls V:
Skyrim. Several new virtual reality
games debuted at Sony’s E3 2017
keynote, although almost none of
them were given a release date.
The good news is that plenty of
fun titles are on their way. The
bad news is that we don’t have a
definitive release date for any of
them.
With the PlayStation VR, the world
of virtual reality has made its way
to consoles in a big way.
Previous headsets have not only
been expensive themselves, but
have also required expensive
gaming PCs to have enough power
to run them.
The PlayStation VR is different.
Not only is the headset itself much
cheaper than its competitors, but
it also only requires a PS4 console
to run.
Frankly, it’s remarkable that such
an affordable solution is as capable
as it is.
It has its problems – the most
notable of which is the fact that
you’ll need to buy a PlayStation
Camera if you don’t already
own one, and then shell out for
PlayStation Move Controllers on
top of that to get the full experience
but by and large PlayStation VR
proves that not only is console VR
viable, but it’s actually enjoyable,
too.
We’ve now tried dozens of games
on the console, from Rocksteady’s
impressive (but short) Batman:
Arkham VR to the laugh-out-loud
funny Job Simulator to the tear-
jerking Wayward Sky and even a
horror game – Until Dawn: Rush of
Blood.
Some of these titles were more
fun than others, obviously, but all
of them made the same point:
PlayStation VR doesn’t suck.
Before we go on talking about
PlayStation VR’s finer points (and
foibles), let’s get the basics out of
the way.
How does PlayStation VR work?
Like other virtual reality headsets
on the market, PlayStation VR has
the arduous task of completely
immersing you in a video game
by producing two images
simultaneously and then sending
them to a headset a few feet away.
But unlike the competition who
require expensive graphics cards
to get the job done, PS VR can do it
using only the PlayStation 4’s built-
in GPU.
It achieves this by using the
PlayStation Camera to track nine
different points of light on the
headset and the lights on either
the Move controllers or on the
DualShock 4, depending on which
game you’re playing.
It’s surprisingly accurate given
the fact that it’s only using a
single camera to track what’s
happening ... but it’s not foolproof
by any stretch of the imagination.
We’ll cover performance in detail
in a minute, but be prepared for
the camera to lose track of the
controllers. A lot.
But the real bummer here is that
because Sony only uses one
camera instead of two, it’s harder
for PlayStation VR to track you if
you get up and walk around than
it is for a system like the HTC Vive
which can offer true room-scale
VR. That said, it still can support
you if you decide to get up and
wander around, but don’t expect to
take more than a few steps in any
direction without a warning from
the system that you’re straying too
far away.
To that end, most PlayStation VR
games can recommend that you
stay in one of two positions, either
sitting down or standing up and
stationary. If you’re prone to motion
sickness, sitting down might be
a bit more comfortable, however,
certain games are definitely better
played on your feet.
Depending on where and how
you angle your camera, switching
techReviews
P

between the two might not be so
easy, so it’s best to find an angle
that covers the majority of the
room in case you want to switch
from one to the other without
having to get up, move the camera
and recalibrate.
But let’s back up. Up until now, I’ve
thrown the words “VR” and “virtual
reality” around a lot and haven’t
provided much explanation for
them.
VR has existed in one form or
another for decades, but the
modern version of the technology
is more immersive and less
nausea-inducing than it’s ever been.
In more or less words, virtual reality
is just that – a virtual world that
gives you the experience of being
somewhere else in a different time,
at a different place, sometimes as
far as an alien world, all without
ever leaving your home.
And yes, it’s just as cool as it
sounds.
PlayStation VR can handle 1080p
games on its 920 x RGB x 1080
OLED display at either 90Hz
(meaning that the image refreshes
itself 90 times per second) or at
120Hz depending on the VR game
or application.
And for those concerned about
latency, Sony says that PlayStation
VR’s response rate is locked in at
around 18ms – which is about
0.002 seconds faster than the
highest acceptable latency before
you would notice the lag in VR.
Those numbers are great, but
they’re matched by both the HTC
Vive and Oculus Rift. The one
advantage Sony has that neither
Oculus nor HTC can claim is that
it’s actually a world-class game
publisher. While the other two have
been trying to create connections
with developers over the past few
years, Sony already has them.
To that end, Sony is promising 50
new titles on the platform before
the end of the year, some of which
will be made by Sony’s extremely
competent first-party studios.
(The first of them, PlayStation VR
Worlds, is absolutely incredible –
you’ll go from being put in a shark
cage to holding up a bank and end
by careening downhill on your back,
dodging cars while going faster than
the bobsled team in Cool Runnings.)
FOR
• Affordable
• Near PC-quality performance
• Good selection of games
AGAINST
• Doesn’t come with required
accessories
• Poor job sealing out light
• Spotty motion controller
tracking
PlayStation VR’s response rate
is locked in at around [...] the
highest acceptable latency
before you would notice the lag
in VR.
TechSnippets VR Playstation Review
Rating:
techReviews

techsnippets
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this space
for more
updates
T O P F I V E M O N I T O R S
Response Viewing Contrast Colour
time angle ratio support Weight
Ultrawide without the ultra-price of admission
PHILIPS BRILLIANCE BDM3490UC
34-inch 21:9 3440 x 1440 340 cd/m2
14ms 172/178 1000:1 SRGB 100% 7.9kg
Screen size Aspect ratio Resolution Brightness
A reasonable price for 144Hz and Adaptive
Sync
A bezel-less beauty
ASUS MG248Q ACER S277HK
23.6-inch 16:9 1920 x 1080 350 cd/m2 27-inch 16:9 3840 x 2160 300 cd/m2
1ms 170/160 10000 SRGB 100%, 16.98
0000:1 Adobe RBG 72%
4ms 178/178 100,000 SRGB 100% 11.9 pounds
,000:1
Screen size Aspect ratio Resolution Brightness Screen size Aspect ratio Resolution Brightness
A curvy ultrawide that even has G-Sync Get ready for ultra high-def on your desktop
AOC AGON AG352UCG SAMSUNG UD970
35-inch 21:9 3440 x 1440 300 cd/m2 31.5-inch 16:9 3840 x 2160 280 cd/m2
4ms 172/178 2,000:1 sRGB 100% 26 pounds 8ms 178/178 1000:1 SRGB 100% 30.14 pounds
Screen size Aspect ratio Resolution Brightness Screen size Aspect ratio Resolution Brightness
weeklyTop

How to do?How to upload photos to Instagram from your PC
Lets make it possible..
Instagram launched an official
app for Windows 10 last year,
but it’s missing one key function:
there’s no way to upload photos to
Instagram from your PC. There’s
no way to upload photos from
the website either, and there’s no
dedicated app for Mac OS X.
This is a pain – particularly if you
want to share pictures you’ve taken
with a digital camera rather than a
smartphone, or you want to make
a few sneaky edits using a photo
editor first.
This might change in the future,
but in the meantime there are two
handy ways to get around it and
upload photos to Instagram from
your PC.
The BlueStacks
method
The Instagram
app for Android is
superb, and you can
run it on your desktop using free
Android emulator BlueStacks App
Player, enabling you to upload
photos to Instagram from your PC
or Mac.
Download and install BlueStacks,
then open it and select the right
language. You don’t need to worry
about location accuracy since
you’re not out and about, so feel
free to dismiss this option when it
appears.
Log in and set up BlueStacks
Click ‘Continue’ at the bottom left, then log in using your
Google account. Review the terms of service and, if you
agree, click ‘OK’.
The next checkboxes are completely optional; if you’re only using
BlueStacks to upload to Instagram, feel free to uncheck them all. Click the
‘Next’ arrow, then enter your name.
1
2
howtoDo

HOW
TO
DO?
Upload a photo
Select the folder icon
from the menu on
the left (Copy files
from Windows) and
select the photo from
your PC.
Under ‘Complete action using’,
select Instagram and log in using
your usual details. The Instagram
mobile app will load on your
desktop just like it would on a
phone.
Filter and share
You can now crop
your photo to a
square and apply
a filter. Once you’re
done, click ‘Next’, enter
a caption and choose where to
share your photo to.
Click ‘Share’ and it will be added to
your photostream for the world to
see. BlueStacks can sometimes
be a little slow, so be patient if it
seems to have frozen.
3
4
The Dropbox method
Another way
to circumvent
Instagram’s
desktop-blocking
and upload photos from
your PC or Mac is to use cloud
storage service Dropbox.
First, create a Dropbox account,
then download and install the
DropBox client software for
Windows or macOS. Install the
Dropbox app for Android or iOS on
your phone and log in.
Upload and sync
photos
Drag a photo from
your PC or Mac into
your new Dropbox
folder and it will be synced with
the mobile app automatically.
Grab your phone, open the Dropbox
app and tap your photo to select it.
Tap the downward-pointing arrow
in the top right. Select ‘Export’, then
choose the Instagram app.
Add to your feed
The Instagram app
will open as normal
on your phone, and
you can apply filters
and share your picture as usual.
To make sure your pictures look
great before sharing them on
Instagram from your PC, check out
our roundup of the best free photo
editors.
Wow that’s easy...
5 7
6
Wait for
next
magazine...
howtoDo

Tech snippets E-magazine-June17

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