As the demand for deploying and managing machine learning models in production environments grows, MLOps (Machine Learning Operations) has now emerged as a crucial discipline in 2024. MLOps tools facilitate collaboration between data scientists and IT operations, streamlining the process of building, deploying, and monitoring machine learning models. These tools ensure scalability, reliability, and efficiency, allowing organizations to derive actionable insights from their data.

With advancements in technology, a variety of powerful MLOps tools are now available, each offering unique features to enhance the end-to-end machine learning lifecycle. This blog explores the best MLOps tools to know in 2024, highlighting their capabilities and benefits for modern enterprises.

MLOps is rapidly growing as organizations increasingly rely on machine learning models for decision-making and innovation. This expanding landscape requires skilled professionals who can efficiently deploy, monitor, and manage these models in production.

Pursuing an MLOps course equips individuals with essential skills in model lifecycle management, automation, and collaboration between data science and IT operations. This knowledge is crucial for building a career in the dynamic tech industry, enabling professionals to contribute to effective AI integration and innovation within organizations.

What is MLOps?

Machine Learning Operations, or MLOps for short, refers to the procedures and equipment created to automate and simplify the deployment, oversight, and administration of machine learning models in real-world settings. It ensures that machine learning models are reliable, scalable, and maintainable by bridging the gap between data science and IT operations. The whole machine learning lifecycle—from model creation and testing to deployment and continuous monitoring—is covered by MLOps.

By facilitating collaboration between data scientists, developers, and IT teams, MLOps helps organizations efficiently manage their machine learning workflows, enabling faster deployment of models, reduced operational risks, and improved model performance and reliability.

Top MLOps tools

Qdrant

Qdrant is an open-source vector similarity search engine optimized for the real-time processing of unstructured data, such as images and text. It excels at performing efficient similarity and nearest neighbour searches, making it ideal for applications like recommendation systems and semantic search. Qdrant supports seamless integration with machine learning frameworks, enabling developers to build advanced AI applications that leverage its fast search capabilities, even with large-scale datasets.

LangChain

LangChain is a framework designed to facilitate the development of applications using large language models (LLMs). It provides tools to integrate LLMs with external data sources and APIs, allowing developers to build complex applications for tasks such as text generation and data enrichment. LangChain supports chaining multiple functions together, enabling sophisticated data processing pipelines and empowering developers to create versatile, AI-driven applications.

MLflow

MLflow is an open-source platform that manages the end-to-end machine learning lifecycle, from experimentation to deployment. It provides tools for tracking experiments, packaging code into reproducible runs, and managing model versions in a centralized registry. MLflow’s interoperability with various machine learning libraries and frameworks makes it a popular choice for teams looking to standardize their workflows and enhance collaboration across different platforms.

Comet ML

Comet ML is a machine learning experiment management platform that helps data scientists track, compare, and optimize experiments. It logs metrics, hyperparameters, and outputs in real time, providing insights into model performance. Comet ML’s visualization tools enable users to analyze experiment results, while its collaboration features allow teams to share findings in shared workspaces. Its integration with popular ML frameworks makes it a versatile tool for managing experiments and improving productivity.

Weights & Biases (W&B)

Weights & Biases (W&B) is a comprehensive MLOps platform for experiment tracking, model management, and collaboration. It provides real-time tracking of model metrics and hyperparameters, allowing users to optimize experiments effectively. W&B’s customizable dashboards offer powerful visualization tools, facilitating data-driven decision-making. With robust collaboration features and integration with various ML frameworks, W&B is widely used for managing machine learning projects and enhancing team productivity.

Prefect

Prefect is an open-source workflow management system designed to automate the orchestration of data workflows and tasks. It provides tools for scheduling, monitoring, and managing complex data pipelines, supporting dynamic workflows and task dependencies. Prefect’s robust error handling ensures reliability, even in the face of failures. Its integration with various data sources and processing tools makes it an efficient choice for automating data workflows in diverse environments.

Metaflow

Metaflow is a human-centric framework developed by Netflix for building and managing real-life data science projects. It simplifies scaling data workflows by providing an intuitive interface for managing complex pipelines. Metaflow supports data, code, and model versioning, ensuring reproducibility and transparency. Its integration with AWS enables cloud-based operations, making it a popular choice for data scientists seeking to streamline workflows and enhance collaboration.

Kedro

Kedro is an open-source Python framework that enforces software engineering best practices in data science projects. It provides tools for creating reproducible, maintainable, and modular data pipelines, encouraging a structured approach to code organization. Kedro’s focus on reproducibility ensures that data workflows are consistent across environments. It integrates with popular ML and data processing libraries, making it a versatile tool for managing data science projects from experimentation to production.

Pachyderm

Pachyderm is an open-source data versioning and pipeline system built on Kubernetes. It offers version control and provenance tracking for data, ensuring reproducibility and transparency. Pachyderm automates the execution of data pipelines with support for parallel processing. Its integration with Kubernetes enables scalable data operations, making it suitable for large-scale projects. Pachyderm’s ability to track data changes over time ensures reliability and compliance in data science workflows.

LakeFS

LakeFS is an open-source data version control system that provides Git-like capabilities for data lakes. It allows teams to manage and version large datasets, supporting branching and merging of data for collaboration. LakeFS ensures reproducibility in data analysis and machine learning experiments by offering comprehensive versioning for datasets. Its integration with existing data lake storage systems makes it a valuable tool for managing large-scale data operations efficiently.

Feast

Feast (Feature Store) is an open-source feature store for machine learning that manages and serves features for training and online prediction. It centralizes feature storage and retrieval, providing low-latency access for real-time predictions. Feast integrates with data warehouses, lakes, and ML frameworks, supporting large-scale feature management. By enabling consistent feature availability across environments, Feast facilitates efficient model training and deployment.

Featureform

Featureform is a platform designed to simplify feature engineering and management for machine learning. It provides tools for creating, managing, and deploying machine learning features, centralizing the storage and reuse of features. Featureform’s integration with various data sources and ML frameworks facilitates seamless workflows, while its collaboration features enable teams to work together on feature development, enhancing productivity and consistency in model building.

Deepchecks ML Models Testing

Deepchecks is a tool focused on testing and validating machine learning models, ensuring performance and reliability. It provides automated checks and validations, identifying potential issues and biases in model predictions. Deepchecks integrates with popular ML frameworks, enhancing model testing processes and offering insights into model assumptions and performance. By ensuring robust model validation, Deepchecks helps teams deploy reliable AI systems and maintain model quality over time.

Conclusion

The landscape of MLOps tools is rapidly evolving, with innovative solutions like Qdrant, LangChain, and MLflow leading the way in 2024. These tools enhance the efficiency and scalability of machine learning operations, making them essential for organizations looking to optimize their AI workflows.

Undergoing MLOps training provides individuals with hands-on experience and in-depth knowledge of these tools, equipping them with the skills necessary to manage complex ML projects. This course typically opens doors to numerous career opportunities in the tech industry, as demand for skilled MLOps professionals continues to grow in the AI-driven world.

This post first appeared on The Kashmir Pulse

The continuous twist in the living standards to go digital has urged the need for a consistent power supply. To ensure this, an inverter battery plays a crucial role during power outages. It ensures continuity in your connected and energy-dependent lifestyles.

The durability, reliability, and performance directly impact the lithium inverter battery prices. If you want to plan your energy budget, we will help you take a closer look at the crucial factors to choose the right battery and power your home efficiently.

Lithium Inverter Batteries: Fueling your energy independence

Lithium inverter batteries are compact powerhouses. They are reliable and reflect high-performance energy storage solutions in your home. With modern power technology, these batteries have exceptional energy density, added lifespan, and quick charging capabilities. These power backup solutions cater to varying needs during emergency power outages and support renewable energy sources.

How do the lithium inverter battery price dynamics vary?

There are multiple factors that influences the lithium inverter battery price, including the following:

1. Cost of raw material

In the lithium inverter battery price, the primarily used raw materials - lithium, cobalt, and nickel have significant influence. If there are fluctuations in the demand and supply of these materials, it can affect the battery price as well.

2. Technological alterations

Innovative strides in battery technology drive both improvements and fluctuations in battery prices and performance. These advancements improve the efficiency and capabilities of batteries but also influence their market costs and overall accessibility.

3. Scaling economy

When there is a high demand for lithium-ion batteries, well-established processes often mitigate the cost of producing them. Resultantly, this impacts the cost of the batteries launched in the market.

4. Brand and quality

Reputable brands may have significant differences in their lithium inverter battery prices for offering superior build quality, reliability, and comprehensive warranty. You can invest in a battery from trusted brands that ensure durability and long-term performance.

5. Capacity and features

The battery's capacity and additional features significantly influence pricing. Higher capacity batteries and those equipped with advanced functionalities like smart connectivity or enhanced safety mechanisms may come at a higher cost.

6. Integration and compatibility

Consideration of integration ease within your existing setup and compatibility with your inverter system is vital. Batteries designed for seamless integration may have a different pricing than the regular ones.

Making informed choices for your energy budget

To ensure that you bring home the right battery with an effective lithium inverter battery price, you can consider the below-listed factors:

1. Calculate your power needs

Understand your energy requirements - how much backup power do you need during outages or to supplement your renewable energy system? This evaluation aids in choosing the right capacity without overstretching your budget.

2. Comparative analysis

Explore various brands, models, and their features for accurate lithium inverter battery prices. Compare prices against specifications, considering factors like energy density, cycle life, and warranty to find the best value proposition.

3. Research and reviews

Go through the reviews and understand the brand’s reputation for product quality and customer service. This helps you get real-life experiences with a battery's performance, reliability, and customer service to make an informed decision.

Powering your future efficiently with lithium inverter battery

Understanding the lithium inverter battery prices requires a blend of meticulous assessment and informed decision-making. While price plays a crucial role, it's essential to perceive it as an investment in your energy future - a cornerstone of uninterrupted, sustainable power.

The factors influencing prices, conducting thorough research, and aligning your needs with the battery's specifications empower you to make a choice to find reliable and eco-friendly power solutions.

To ensure you find an efficient power solution at an effective lithium inverter battery price, you can consider a renowned brand like Luminous. They offer robust power solutions for a smooth power supply throughout. To know more, you can visit their website!

This post first appeared on The Kashmir Pulse

Flagship phones, also known as premium devices, stand out in the competitive smartphone market due to their cutting-edge technology, advanced features, superior performance, and high-quality design. These top-tier devices set the standard for innovation, functionality, and user experience, catering to discerning consumers who prioritize excellence, luxury, and the latest technology in their mobile devices.

Understanding the key factors that distinguish flagship phones can provide insights into why they are considered premium offerings in the smartphone industry. Here are the characteristics that make flagship phones stand out in the premium phone market:

Understanding the premium phone market

1. State-of-the-art technology

Cutting-edge Features: Flagship phones like the Honor 200 deals incorporate the latest technological advancements, innovative features, and state-of-the-art components that set them apart from mid-range or budget devices. From advanced processors to high-resolution displays and top-of-the-line cameras, flagship phones showcase cutting-edge technology.

2. Superior performance

High-speed Processing: Flagship phones are equipped with powerful processors, ample RAM, and optimized software that deliver exceptional performance, fast multitasking, and seamless operation. The superior performance of flagship devices ensures smooth navigation, quick app loading, and responsive user experience.

3. Premium design and build quality

Luxurious Materials: Flagship phones are crafted from premium materials such as glass, metal, or ceramic, showcasing elegant design, durability, and a premium feel. The meticulous attention to detail, sleek aesthetics, and high-quality construction distinguish flagship devices in terms of design and build quality.

4. Exceptional display quality

Vibrant Visuals: Flagship phones feature high-resolution displays with vibrant colors, sharp contrast, and excellent brightness levels that provide an immersive viewing experience for multimedia content, gaming, and productivity tasks. The exceptional display quality enhances the visual appeal and usability of flagship devices.

5. Advanced camera capabilities

Professional Imaging: Flagship phones boast advanced camera systems with multiple lenses, high megapixel counts, optical image stabilization, and cutting-edge photography features that deliver stunning photos and videos. The exceptional camera capabilities of flagship devices cater to photography enthusiasts and content creators.

6. Long battery life and fast charging

Extended Endurance: Flagship phones come with larger battery capacities, efficient power management systems, and fast charging technologies that ensure long-lasting battery life and quick recharging. The combination of long battery life and fast charging enhances user convenience and productivity.

7. Enhanced security features

Secure Authentication: Flagship smartphones offer advanced security features such as fingerprint sensors, facial recognition technology, secure enclaves, and encryption methods that protect user data, ensure privacy, and provide secure access to the device.

8. Software updates and support

Timely Upgrades: Flagship phones receive regular software updates, security patches, and new features from manufacturers to improve performance, address vulnerabilities, and enhance user experience. The commitment to software support ensures that flagship devices remain up to date and relevant.

9. Exclusive software features

Customization Options: Flagship phones come with exclusive software features, customization options, and pre-installed apps that provide additional functionality, personalization, and user experience enhancements. These exclusive software offerings differentiate flagship devices and add value for users.

10. Optimized user experience

Intuitive Interface: Flagship phones deliver a seamless and intuitive user experience with optimized user interfaces, fluid animations, responsive touchscreens, and intuitive navigation that make interacting with the device effortless and enjoyable.

11. High-quality audio and sound

Immersive Sound: Flagship phones feature high-quality audio components, advanced sound technologies, and stereo speakers that deliver immersive audio experiences for music, videos, gaming, and multimedia content. The superior audio quality enhances the entertainment value of flagship devices.

12. Enhanced connectivity options

Fast Networking: Flagship phones offer advanced connectivity options such as 5G support, Wi-Fi 6 compatibility, Bluetooth enhancements, and NFC capabilities for seamless communication, fast data transfer, and efficient connectivity with other devices and networks.

Conclusion

Owning a flagship phone is often associated with prestige, luxury, and status symbol due to their superior design, advanced technology, and exclusive features. Flagship devices are a reflection of style, sophistication, and discerning taste in mobile technology.

This post first appeared on The Kashmir Pulse

Reliance Jio
New Delhi: Indian carrier Reliance Jio has announced that it will be extending its free 4G data and Jio services offer till March 2017. Reliance is calling this the Jio Happy New Year Offer, under which all existing as well as new customers will be eligible for free data until this period.
The important thing to note here is that while until now the free data limit per day was 4GB, it will be reduced to 1GB under the new offer. Post 1GB, the download speed will be capped to 128kbps. Reliance claims that 80% of its customers use less than 1GB per day and by reducing the limit all users get fair share of network capacity.
Reliance announced the free data and Jio services offer for customers back in September, where the offer was valid until December 31, after which the tariff plans would come into effect but the Jio Happy New Year Offer, which comes into effect on December 4, will extend the free data offer by another three months. Voice calls, as before, will always be free.
Reliance Jio currently has over 52 million users, with 50 million being added in 83 days. Reliance also plans on deploying JioMoney Merchant Solutions in the coming months to increase adoption of cashless payment system among customers and merchants.

Reliance Jio
New Delhi: Several Lyf-branded smartphones have received official price drops. The company communicated to its dealers that the new prices are effective from Tuesday.
The Lyf smartphones that have received price drops are Lyf Water 2 which will now retail at Rs. 9,499 (a Rs. 4,000 drop from the earlier price of Rs. 13,499); Lyf Wind 6, which will be available at Rs. 5,999 (a Rs. 500 price drop from the earlier price of Rs. 6,499); and Lyf Flame 2 will be available at Rs. 3,499 (receives a Rs. 1,300 price drop from earlier price of Rs. 4,799).
Some of the other handsets that have received a flat Rs. 1,000 price drop are the Lyf Flame 4, Flame 5, and Flame 6. All three will now be available at Rs. 2,999.
With all Lyf-branded smartphones available right now with free unlimited data and voice-calling offers for three months on the Reliance Jio network, interested consumers can now effectively get a new 4G phone and unlimited 4G data and voice-calling for 3 months at Rs. 2,999.
Reliance Jio's 4G services haven't been officially launched yet but the company has been offering its services to consumers under an employee referral program. Reliance CDMA customers are also being offered chance to upgrade to a Reliance Jio SIM, and Jio SIMs have also been on offer to anyone who buys Lyf smartphones.
All Lyf branded handsets come with support for 4G and VoLTE (voice over LTE), which provides better call quality.

Will a legal notice protect my privacy on Facebook?
Will posting a legal notice on my Facebook wall protect my copyright and privacy rights when it comes to my pictures and personal information?
It sounds like you’re referring to a reposting of a hoax warning that started circulating years ago as some form of copyright declaration as Facebook was going public.
There are many variations of this misinformation that tend to have a couple of statements in common:
“Pursuant to articles L.111, 112 and 113 of the code of intellectual property, I declare that my rights are attached to all my personal data drawings, paintings, photos, video, texts etc. published on my profile and my page” and “Those who read this text can do a copy/paste on their Facebook wall. This will allow them to place themselves under the protection of copyright”.
Red flags
The first red flag to any Facebook posting these days is when they encourage you to copy/paste the information to your own wall (it’s like the early days of email — send this to everyone you know!).
Although the wording may appear to be some form of a legitimate legal declaration, it’s absolutely useless and unnecessary based on what every user of Facebook agreed to when they joined the network.
If you review the terms of your use of Facebook, under the “Sharing Your Content and Information” section is this:
“You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and you can control how it is shared through your privacy and application settings.
In addition: For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.”
Facebook doesn't own your content
Anyone who claims you need to post a declaration to keep Facebook from using your pictures and information is sadly misinformed.
They don’t own your content, but you gave them pretty liberal use of it when you agreed to their terms and conditions.
If you’re not comfortable with this arrangement, you can delete your account, but when you do, if any of your friends at any point in time shared your content, it’s still completely usable by Facebook until your friends delete it as well.
Facebook’s whole raison d'etre is to share our content, information, Likes and behaviors with advertisers; us users aren’t the customers, we’re the product.
Some control
You can certainly control how they use your content to a certain degree through the privacy and sharing settings in your profile, but in reality once you post anything on a social network or on the Internet at large, you should essentially assume you’re giving up control over what happens to it.
If you haven’t spent much time reviewing the numerous options you have for managing your profile, a fairly comprehensive guide is posted at security blogger Graham Cluley’s website.
(The post first appeared on azcentral.com)

Ken Colburn

Ken Colburn is the founder and CEO of Data Doctors Computer Services, datadoctors.com. Ask any tech question at https://facebook.com/DataDoctors or on Twitter @TheDataDoc

New Delhi: Yesterday, Samsung announced the launch of its latest J series smartphones, J5 (2016) and J7 (2016), in India. Both the smartphones are now available on Flipkart for purchase. Both the phones are sleek and come with durable metal frame with diamond cut finish. The back panel with its brushed metal finish completes the premium look of these phones. The Samsung J5 (2016) and J7 (2016) are priced at Rs 13,990 and Rs 15,990 respectively.
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) has a 5.2-inch Super AMOLED HD (1280 x 720 pixels) display. It is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core 64 bit processor and 2 GB RAM. The J5 (2016) offers 16 GB of internal storage and 64 GB expandable memory. The phone runs on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop operating system and is backed by a 3100 mAh battery.
The Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) has a 13-megapixel autofocus camera and an LED flash in its rear panel while a 5-megapixel camera is in its front. Besides this, the smartphone offers 4G, Bluetooth, GPS, WiFi, NFC and a Micro USB port. The phone measures 145.8 x 72.3 x 8.1 mm and weighs 159 grams. It comes in White, Gold and Pink Gold colours.
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
On the other hand, The Galaxy J7 (2016) comes with a 5.5-inch full-HD (1080×1920 pixels) AMOLED display. It is powered by 1.6 GHz octa-core processor with 3 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage which can be further expanded to 128 GB via a micro SD card. The device runs on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop operating system and packs in a 3,300 mAh battery.
Like Galaxy J5 (2016) , Galaxy J7 (2016) also has a 13 megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5 megapixel front camera. This dual SIM smartphone also offers 4G-LTE, GPS/A-GPS, WiFi, NFC Bluetooth 4.0 and a micro USB 2.0 port. The J7 measures 151.7 × 75.9 × 7.8 mm and weights 170 grams. The Galaxy J7 (2016) also comes in white, gold and pink gold colours.
Recently, India made Samsung Galaxy J3 with S Bike mode was launched at Rs 8,990. The Samsung Galaxy J3 has a 5 inch HD display with Super AMOLED technology which claims to offer 100 percent more contrast and 40 percent more colour than the TFT display. It has a 1.5 GHz quad core processor and 1.5 GB RAM. It comes with ultra data saving mode as well.
The Galaxy J3 has an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 5 meagpixel front camera - both come with f2.2 aperture. This smartphone is just 7.9 mm thin. Besides, the Android 5.1 Lollipop based Galaxy J3 has 8 GB internal storage, 128 GB micro SD card slot, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, Micro-USB port and a 2600 mAh battery.

Google bans Blogger blogs serving Bidvertiser & RevenueHits Ads
Pulwama: Google has quietly updated the Security Policies governing the search visibility of websites. With this latest update, websites serving advertisements from Bidvertiser, RevenueHits and other similar ad networks have been banned from Google Search results.
The other types of ads that Google cited earlier in February are the fake software update ads that don’t actually lead to the true site, but scare people into thinking they are required to download updates, which actually intalls malware.
Google has taken them on in their next phase of Safe Browsing.
Consistent with the social engineering policy we announced in November, embedded content (like ads) on a web page will be considered social engineering when they either:
  • Pretend to act, or look and feel, like a trusted entity — like your own device or browser, or the website itself.
  • Try to trick you into doing something you’d only do for a trusted entity — like sharing a password or calling tech support.
Deceptive site ahead - Google Chrome Warning
We were shocked to see "Deceptive site ahead" and "Reported Web Forgery!" warnings while accessing our website through Google Chrome browser and Mozilla Firefox browser respectively. Typing our domain (www.kashmirpulse.com) in Google Search also proved the fact that our website has been excluded from search results as we couldn't see it anywhere even after typing multiple keywords that made our website appear on the first page of the search.
Reported Web Forgery - Mozilla Firefox Warning
After facing the problem, we headed straight to Google Search Console and saw a Malware Warning in the Dashboard.
At that moment, we doubted that the problem may have been caused by Revenue Hits' ad scripts / codes. So, we removed the scripts and applied for a Malware Review in Google Search Console.
Waiting for about eight hours, we received an email from Google Search Console team stating that the review has failed. It was disturbing!
At that time, we kept our trust on Infolinks and removed Bidvertiser ad scripts only. Yet again, we applied for a review. Hurrah! Our website passed the review. However, we lost our payments that were on hold with the two ad networks.
Review successful for www.kashmirpulse.com
Our website started to appear in search results again after an hour or so from the time we received the email from Google Search Console team.
Many of the less reputable ad networks use deceptive ads because they have a high accidental clickthrough and because nearly all of them download malware or adware onto the end user’s computer. So if you are running any ads like this, you need to be aware that your site may now be flagged with the red interstitial, warning searchers from clicking through to your site.
Now, we are testing different ad networks in order to test their compliance with the Google's updated policies. At the moment, Infolinks, BuySellAds and of course Google Adsense seems to pass the test. Media.net and Chitika are most likely to receive a thumbs up too.

Aasif Ganaie

Aasif is the editor at The Kashmir Pulse. He has done Masters in Economics from University of Kashmir. He blogs at Aasif Writes

London: If you believe in that stunning picture of your friend on Facebook showing an amazing scenery or attending a luxurious party, take another look. Chances are that he or she may just be trying to make you jealous of their “good life”.
According to a new British survey done by smartphone maker HTC, almost everybody lies on their Facebook and Instagram profiles to look good.
“Over two thirds of us post images to our profiles to make it look like we're more adventurous than we are,” the findings revealed.
Nearly 75 percents of people admitted that they judge their friends based on what they see on Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat, Mirror.co.uk reported.
The survey asked questions to 4,004 people between ages 16 and 54 across Britain, Spain, France and Italy.
Of 1,000 Britons who were surveyed, 52 percent said they posted pictures “purely to make their friends and families jealous”.
“From snaps of people’s homes to perfectly laid out outfit shots, every images counts and smartphone photography has never been more important,” Peter Frolund, HTC general manager (UK & Ireland), was quoted as saying.
“When it comes to why we feel a desire to share our public displays of possessions, it’s all about impression management," behavioural psychology Jo Hemmings was quoted as saying in the report.
A recent study involving 400 men and women published in the journal Social Networking found that the more people changed their profile picture, the more likely they were to report narcissistic traits.
The study also looked at the time they spent on Facebook and the words they used to rate their profile pictures.
(IANS)

Washington: Astronomers with the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) have discovered eight new planets within the so-called Goldilocks — or habitable — zone of their stars.
To be considered habitable, exoplanets must orbit within a distance of their stars in which liquid water can exist on the planet’s surface, receiving about as much sunlight as Earth.
“Most of these planets have a good chance of being rocky, like Earth,” lead author Guillermo Torres of the CfA said in a release.
The discoveries of Kepler-438b and Kepler-442b are the latest in several advancements scientists have made to find signs of possible life in the universe.
At a panel held last summer at NASA headquarters in Washington, astronomers said they were “very close in terms of technology and science to actually finding the other Earth.”
That’s due in part to the Kepler Space Telescope. The planet-hunting Kepler probe, launched in 2009, finds planets by looking for dips in the brightness of a star as a planet transits, or crosses, in front of that star.
Christine Pulliam of CfA said the team of scientists monitored data from more than 160,000 stars, which led them to the eight new planets.
The couple most like Earth, Kepler-438b and Kepler-442b, both orbit red dwarf stars, which are cooler and smaller than the Earth’s sun. Kepler—438b’s diameter is 12 per cent bigger than Earth and has a 70 per cent chance of being rocky, which means the surface of the planet appears to be like Earth’s.
Kepler—442b is about one-third larger than Earth with a 60 per cent chance of being rocky. Scientists give it a 97 per cent chance of being in the habitable zone, but caution that the estimations aren’t certain.
“We don’t know for sure whether any of the planets in our sample are truly habitable,” second author David Kipping of the CfA said in a release.
“All we can say is that they’re promising candidates.”
(IANS)

New Delhi: Millennium, which announced its entry to tablet market last month, has formally made available its first tablet in the market from today. Its Millennium MT701, which comes with huge 2 GB RAM but has no voice calling, is available for just Rs 5,999. While its sibling, Millennium M7, has 1 GB RAM and voice calling and is available for Rs 6,999. The tablets were announced on November 26 but are now available online.
The Millennium MT701 offers 1.2 Ghz Intel dual core processor and huge 2 GB RAM and the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system. It has appreciable 8 GB of internal storage and a micro SD card slot that can handle up to a 32 GB card. Its 7 inch screen also has 1024x600 pixels resolution. Furthermore, the tablet has a 2 megapixel rear camera and a 0.3 megapixel front camera.
Though the Millennium MT701 has no voice calling, the tablet comes with WiFi, Bluetooth, micro USB port, and allows connecting to 3G networks via dongles. It has OTG functionality too, so you can connect it with external storage devices directly using the supplied OTG cable. There is a 3000 mAh Li-Po battery in the tablet which seems a bit smaller for a 7 inch tablet.
The only advantage of M7 over MT701 is that it comes with voice calling facility. However, the M7 has 1 GB RAM and the older Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system. It shares all other features with the MT701.
Note that the Millennium MT701 is available only via Homeshop18 and comes in black colour only. The M7 can be purchased from several retailer's websites.
Anil Satapathy Anil Satapathy
Anil Satapathy is a Delhi-based journalist with a particular interest in gadgets

New Delhi: Intex Technologies has launched Aqua Extreme for Rs 11,490. It has 6.99 mm thickness and runs on an octa core processor.
The new Intex Aqua Extreme has 5 inch HD IPS, scratch free dragontrail Glass, display and runs on 1.7 true octa-core processor from Mediatek. It has 2GB ROM and 32 GB internal memory that can be expanded to 32 GB using Micro SD card.
Aqua Extreme run on Android 4.4.2 operating system and has a 13 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front camera.
Sanjay Kumar Kalirona, mobile business head, Intex Technologies, said in a statement, "With the launch of Xtreme, we intend to provide high-end features to users at a remarkable price to mass market. Xtreme is a combination of supreme configuration device which users willingly to pay.”
Intex Aqua Extreme is a dual-sim smartphone that supports 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0. It is going to be available in three colours - Red, Black and Grey.

New Delhi: Truecaller, phone directory app, has added a couple of new features to its app to make phonebook more intelligent and useful.
The new updates in Truecaller app focuses on predictive style features, which suggests whom to send message or call based on call history, time of day, and place without leaving the app.
To add the new features Truecaller app has been completely redesigned. In the new design Truecaller predict who you may want to reach and make relevant suggestions based on call history, time, or location.
Truecaller claims that the more you use the app, the smarter it gets, and the app will eventually be able to help do the work of knowing who to call so that one doesn't have to scroll through unnecessary tabs.
Additionally, Truecaller app will keep your phonebook up to date with relevant information by adding social media profiles and photos so you have all the contact information you need in one central place. Users can choose how they are being displayed in their friend's Truecaller phonebook by updating their profiles.
Alan Mamedi, Co-Founder and CEO of Truecaller said in a statement, "This is the first step we are taking to make Truecaller more intelligent and personal. We've made this advancement to save time for our users and make their lives less complicated when they want to get in touch with someone."
Truecaller 5.0 is available for Android only at the moment and is free to download from Google Play. The Truecaller app is also available on iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Nokia feature phones. Additionally, the free Truedialer app is available on Android and Windows Phone.
Author Author
Sandeep Budki

New Delhi: To spice up this festive season, Lenovo today launched the Lenovo RocStar - a music centric smartphone. The Lenovo RocStar comes with Dolby Digital Plus to ensure crystal clear audio and an uncompromised music listening experience. Further, Lenovo claimed that it comes with superior quality earphones "that offers better quality sound than standard in-box earphones".
The Lenovo RocStar has a 4 inch display with FWVGA (800x480 pixels) resolution. This Android Kitkat based smartphone has two SIM slots and is powered by a 1500 mAh battery that claims to offer 10 hours of music playback. It has a 1.3 GHz Dual Core processor, 4 GB built in storage, 32 GB micro SD card slot, a 5 megapixel fixed focus rear camera, and a 2 megapixel fixed focus front camera.
It comes installed with Guvera Music App that offers access to over 10 million songs. Priced at Rs 6,499, the Lenovo RocStar will be available in black, white and red colour variants.
Author Author
Anil Satapathy

New Delhi: Intex has launched its second octa core CPU based smartphone. The handset, named as Intex Aqua Amaze, is listed on the company's website for Rs 10,690. This is Intex's second octa core CPU based phone after the Intex Aqua Octa which is now selling for around Rs 15,000.
Intex Aqua Amaze comes with Android 4.4.2 operating system which runs on 1.4 GHz octa core processor (Mediatek's MT6592M) and 1 GB RAM. The handset has a 5 inch HD IPS display and is 7.6 mm thick. The Amaze has 13 megapixel rear auto focus camera and a 5 megapixel front camera. There is an LED flash in the back panel too.
This dual SIM handset has 3G connectivity and offers a 2000 mAh battery that claims to offer 7-8 hours of talktime.
It comes with 8 GB internal storage of which 5.02 GB is available for users. There is a 32 GB micro SD card slot in the phone too. Besides, the Intex Aqua Amaze has WiFi, Bluetooth, micro USB port, and GPS.
The Intex Aqua Amaze is available in light blue and black colours.
Author Author
Anil Satapathy

New Delhi: In a bid to attract low cost smartphone buyers, LG has launched a smartphone for just Rs 6,500. The handset, named as LG L45, offers a 3.5 inch screen and the latest Android KitKat operating system. With this new handset, LG must be hoping to attract the buyers of low cost smartphones.
The low cost segment has seen a lot of activity in recent times with the launch of devices like Motorola Moto E, Redmi 1S, and Android One devices of Karbonn, Micromax, and Spice. The LG L45 is not attractive as the Redmi 1S but it offers decent features and would appeal to brand conscious buyers.
To start with, LG L45 comes with a 3.5 inch display which has HVGA (480x320 pixels) resolution - much lower than High Definition resolution offered by Redmi 1S. The L45 is 109.0 mm tall, 59.9 mm wide and 12.0 mm thick.
Thankfully, the L45 has Android KitKat operating system but with its 1 GHz dual core processor and 512 MB RAM, the phone may not be able to operate high end games. There is a 5 megapixel rear camera in the handset but with fixed focus while for selfies and video calls, LG has fitted a VGA camera in its front.
The LG L45 has dual SIM offering 3G connectivity. Besides, it has Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi, A-GPS, and a micro USB port. The handset has 4 GB of internal storage and a 32 GB micro SD card slot. The best aspect of LG L45 seems to be its battery life; it has a 1540 mAh battery which seems pretty good for a handset with a 3.5 inch display.
Author Author
Anil Satapathy

New Delhi: Mitashi has announced a smartphone for senior citizens, which is named as Mitashi PLAY Senior Friend. It is priced at Rs 4,999.
The Mitashi PLAY Senior Friend is has a 4 inch IPS touchscreen and comes with large font dialer, large font for storing contacts and reading messages, FM radio, SOS button for emergencies, color coded icons for seniors who can't read or write, dual sim and dual camera. The smartphone is based on the latest Android Kitkat version, and offers 1.2 GHz Dual Core processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of in-build memory.
Mitashi has packaged this smartphone in a first-of-its-kind see-through box that allows you to inspect the aesthetics of the phone before you purchase it.
Till date many device makers like iBall, Philips etch have launched handsets for elders but most of them are feature phones and offer basic features. The Mitashi PLAY Senior Friend on the other hand is an Android smartphone and it offers decent features for the price. Also note that few high end phones of Samsung (Easy Home) and Huawei (Simple Home) have a option in their interface which allows to create large fonts suitable for elders.
Author Author
Anil Satapathy

New Delhi: Intex has come out with another low cost smartphone. The handset, named as Aqua Style X, is available from eBay for Rs 4,890.
As per the listing, the Intex Aqua Style X offers a 4.5 inch IPS display with decent qHD resolution. It has 512 MB RAM, 4 GB ROM and a 32 GB micro SD card slot. The phone has a 1.3 GHz quad core processor that should easily run the Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system easily.
The 8.9 mm thick Intex Aqua Style X offers an 8 megapixel rear auto focus camera and a 2 megapixel front camera. It has a 1500 mAh battery that claims to offer 5-6 hours of talktime. This dual SIM smartphone offers 3G connectivity, and has WiFi, Bluetooth, micro USB port, 3.5 mm jack, and GPS.
Author Author
Anil Satapathy

New Delhi: Apple has launched the iPad Air 2 and it will go on sale in 29 countries in next two weeks. There is no clarity on when will it make it to the Indian stores.
Apple iPad Air 2, which runs on iOS8, will be available in six versions. The iPad Air 2 WiFi-only versions will be priced at Rs 35,900 for 16 GB, Rs 42,900 for 64 GB and Rs 49,900 for 128 GB. On the other hand the iPad Air 2 WiFi plus cellular versions will be priced at Rs 45,900 for 16 GB, Rs 52,900 for 64 GB and Rs 59,900 for 128 GB. All the above mentioned prices don't include VAT.
Apple iPad Air 2 has a 9.7-inches display screen with 2048×1536 resolution at 264 pixels per inch. It is 6.1 mm thick and weighs 437 grams. The iPad Air 2 comes with the A8 64-bit architecture processor along with the M8 motion co-processor and 2 GB RAM. It is armed with an 8 megapixel rear camera and 1.2 megapixel front camera.
It also comes with a Touch ID fingerprint scanner which allows its users to store fingerprints that can be used to make transactions on the Apple App Store. This feature is also available on the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
Author Author
Sandeep Budki

New Delhi: Yota Phone which comes with dual displays - one in front and one in back, has been launched in India. The smartphone is available via Flipkart for Rs 23,499.
The Yota Phone comes with two 4.3 inch displays. One of the display remains turned on always, even if the phone is drained out of power which has been made possible with electronic paper technology. This screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass and has 640x300 pixels resolution and to control it there is a touch zone under the display.
The main screen, which too is of 4.3 inch size, comes with high definition resolution and capacitive touch input.
Besides, the YotaPhone has 1.7 GHz Snapdragon 400 dual core processor, 2 GB RAM, 32 GB internal storage, Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system, 1800 mAh battery, 13 megapixel rear auto focus camera which is assisted by an LED flash, and a 1 megapixel front camera. The smartphone has A-GPS with GLONASS for navigation. It has a micro SIM card slot, 3.5 mm connector, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, and WiFi (a/b/g/n).
Author Author
Anil Satapathy
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