Internet of Things(IoT) - The Future of Technology

When I say the future is not unthinkable, I do not imply, that when you roll back, close your eyes and see driverless cars, manned-missions to Mars or any figment of your imagination, you are wrong. Yes, we are getting there steadily and it is the two interconnected realms of Cloud Computing and IoT that are going to play an integral role in the transition.

Internet of Things

IoT is an attempt to give every object an embedded system, a.k.a, a brain. In formal terms, it is a network of physical objects embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and connectivity to exchange data, process and do real-time analysis of the data, to suit our needs. It is, as if, we are trying to integrate technology at every minuscule of our lives.

IoT brings together a host of technologies like Wireless Sensor Network(WSN), control systems for device-to-device(D2D) communications. The core idea is to gather huge amounts of data on cloud, which is mobile, instantaneous, process that data and hence make everything “smart” around us. Remember, how you had to use a QR code to get access to Whatsapp Web, well IoT at work there.

IoT promises to be vast and being dependent on Cloud platform, it’s scalability is easier. From Mimo monitor that can give a real-time monitoring of your child’s breathing, temperature e.t.c to pill sensors that gets powered by your stomach fluids and relays data for your doctor to analyse. Even Google Fit on your smartphones is an example of IoT. Sensors play a key role, so does radio frequency identification(RFID) because the devices need to identify each other. Home automation technologies like smartphone-controlled thermostats, key tracker, devices like Ninja Block which can detect for pipe leaks, not only guarantee security but it also saves energy and reduces your bills.

Everything is getting integrated with Internet

Smart cities proposes to integrate a city with IoT technology controllable by applications on the smart devices used by the citizens. Smart parking, self-automated factories, optimized distribution of water, electricity and other resources. Santander in Spain is one such experimental research platform for smart city. Vehicles can be fitted with sensors measuring CO₂, CO, NO₂, thus keeping pollution levels in check. Disaster management becomes more efficient. Imagine this, a network of sensors fitted under the ocean bed sends a signal of an incoming Tsunami and automatically the “smart” infrastructure in place, calculates the areas requiring immediate evacuation, how to coordinate the relief. IoT can help in agriculural and industry, again in the same way, monitoring product quality, keeping track, analysing the soil temperature, moisture conditions and proposing a way to maximize productivity. Forests can have sensors placed to detect illegal poaching and deforestation. Shopping malls, in future, will adapt the IoT technology to study shopping patterns of customers, improving their shopping experiences for the future.

Concept of smart city in Belgrade

Santander smart city

IoT is basically collecting, processing, storing and analysing real-time data and responsively setting up an infrastructure. Besides the initial expenditure, IoT is bound to improve economy by optimizing resources, saving time, proposing a solution in real-time, disaster management. Since cloud platform plays such a huge role in it, there is a considerable space and size consideration. Let us not forget our ever increasing population. IoT is a major technology shift because making things “intelligent” opens the doors for new products and new services.

But all of this raises a fundamental question and as excited should we be for living in the century which is bound to see a meteoric rise in IoT products, ‘Are we the creators of technology, or are we the servants of it?’.

OnePlus vs Apple, Flagship Killer vs The Flagship of all Flagships

So after a lot of speculations and rumours, OnePlus finally announces the launch of it's much touted 'flagship-killer' OnePlus 2 in August, 2015.

OnePlus 2

The main USP of OnePlus's success comes from the company's ability to provide high-end specs at a reasonable price. But can it take on the literal 'holy-grail' of all flagships, the iPhone 6.

Well, let's find out.

Design and Display

The screen with a 5.5 inches display is the same as iPhone 6's but OnePlus 2 offers a better display with a 401 pixels density, along with a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels. The OnePlus 2 is made out from aluminium and magnesium, thus one can be assured that it will avoid the Bendgate shame of the iPhone which is only of aluminium make.

iPhone 6

OnePlus 2 

    
         

Performance and OS

Snapdragon 810

      

Apple A8

OnePlus 2 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset chipset along with a 1.8GHz processor while the iPhone 6 has an Apple A8 chip. OnePlus 2 runs on OxygenOS, thus diverting from it's previous CyanogenOS while the Apple iPhone runs on iOS 8 The OxygenOS is mainly stock Android 5.1, thus optimizing the battery usage to a great extent but the Snapdragon's overheating issues make iPhone 6 a better choice in this regard with it's super-fast and reliable A8 chip.

OxygenOS

iOS 8

    

Memory and RAM

OnePlus 2 offers 16GB internal storage/ 3GB RAM or 64GB/ 4GB RAM easily beats iPhone 6's 1GB RAM but the iPhone 6 comes with an extra offer of 128GB. Both phones are equal in this regard when it comes to actual usage and the excess RAM in OnePlus 2 does not make a whole lot of difference to the devices' performance.

Battery

OnePlus 2 carries a huge 3300mAH battery that provides enough juice to the device to last quite long.

The battery power is boosted because the device is powered by Android Lollipop that manages power better that other operating systems.

The iPhone 6 plus on the contrary can provide us with a 2915 mAh battery, which if not that bad, is not of the same level as the One plus two either.

However, the battery management of the iOS 8 is a little more efficient than that of lollipop, putting both in a similar position.

OnePlus 2 battery

iPhone 6 battery

        

Camera

The iPhone 6 Plus provides optical image stabilization and 1080p video recording. It has a rear camera of 8MP and a front camera of 1.2MP.

On the other hand, the One Plus 2 comes with a 13MP rear camera and a front camera of 5MP.

The laser auto focus and dual LED are other important features that have the One Plus Two be declared better than the iPhone 6 Plus in this regards. Though, the picture quality of iPhone 6's seems better especially in dark conditions.

But overall, OnePlus 2 with a huge leap in the MP category for both front and back camera seems a winner.

Picture with OnePlus 2

Picture with iPhone 6

       

OnePlus 2 Camera

iPhone 6 Camera

     

Other Features

OnePlus 2 comes with a fingerprint scanner just as iPhone 6 comes with Touch ID. It seems iPhone 6's Touch ID is much more friendlier to use than OnePlus 2's fingerprint scanner, which is taking a bit getting used to.

Apple Touch ID

OnePlus 2 fingerprint scanner

        

OnePlus 2 is offering high-end specs at a price of $389 while iPhone 6 is priced at a whooping $800. Call connectivity for weak signal areas in both the phones is weak.

Like it's previous release OnePlus 2 can only be bought by those who reveive invites.

OnePlus 2 invite

Final Verdict

Considering it's price, OnePlus 2 is a great phone and no wonder is touted to be a 'flagship-killer', but if price isn't a factor it still doesn't pack the same punch as the iPhone 6.

A Woman's Ideal Smartphone

Who said that the smartphones have to be necessarily smart? Thay can be quite dumb. Remember those incessant attempts you made to shut some stupid "Software Update" process? Or that one time when you had managed to click the best selfie of your life and your smart phone decided to just delete it? Nothing's ever good enough for a woman is it?

I was thoroughly upset with my smartphone last night as it suddenly developed a mind of it's own and automatically wiped out my entire album. Now-a-days we rarely use cameras, and no I am not talking about the expensive for "display-pictures only" DSLRs. Pictures are like trapped memories, the only way to freeze time. This got me thinking that what is an ideal smartphone for me? I have a lot of requirements which are star marked and absolutely necessary, and I speak in behalf of the fairer sex.

• The first thing about the cellphone should be it's optimum size. Fashion accessories are trending and believe it or not, we are silently judged on them as well. So it is pretty important for us to get such smartphone which doesn't resemble a pet dog or a pen-drive. Therefore the perfect size is the one, where it effortlessly fits into our evening clutch without any hassle.

• The second one would a good front and back camera. I know for a fact that the camera quality depends on megapixels (Thank God for Wikipedia), so higher the mp better the camera. Any 21st century girl, who wants to keep up with a proper social life has to take selfies. You Tech Geeks invented the various applications, namely Instagram, Snapchat and others of the like remember? Now a good camera guarantees good pictures, and nothing makes a woman more happy than a flawless, double-chinless, perfect pout, glowing skin picture.

• The third requirement would be it's internal memory. Even though we have Security Digital Cards to our rescue, a good brain with a lot of space always has its own benefits.

• The fourth one would be good speakers. As Friedrich Nietzsche said, "Without music, life would be a big mistake", listening to good music has so many perks. It lightens your mood, cheers you up instantaneously and factually, it occupies a higher section of your brain than language does. Could you imagine your plight if your smart phone speakers are not upto the mark and everytime you need to plug the earphones in? Not a very "smart" idea is it? 

With that I conclude my stipulations and I believe the list was not too tedious. Smartphones have become this integral part of our life, something without which we cannot function. Without the cellphone in our hand we feel like we're losing our identity. Our generation is so dependant on technology. From the time the sun distributes it's generous rays till the time the moon takes a dip, we need the cellphone. Someone has so rightly pointed out that, we are such an era where the cellphone's are smart and people are dumb. Smartphones, which started out as an auxiliary source has now become an essential commodity. 

Xiaomi launches Redmi 2 Prime - It's first 'Made In India' smartphone

The Chinese company Xiaomi launches it's first 'Made In India' smartphone with Redmi 2 Prime priced Rs. 6999, manufactured by the Foxconn facility at Sri City in Andhra Pradesh.

Xiaomi

Foxconn

Xiaomi's tie up with the Taiwan company Foxconn to make smartphones in the country, can be a great boost for the Government, which has been so vocal about local manufacturing from the start.

"When we started out in July last year, we wanted to become part of the fabric of India", said Hugo Barra, Vice President of Xiaomi Global. "Over time, all of our phones that we sell in India will be made in India." He didn't give a timeline.  

Xiaomi, the seventh largest smartphone seller globally, could see that making in India would 

• lower operational costs 
• increase efficiency

hence, resulting in low-priced smartphones in this competitive and ever-growing market.

The launch of Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime took place in Vishakhapatnam.

CM Nara Chandrababu Naidu was present at the launch

Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime notable specifications:

• 2GB RAM
• 16GB inbuilt storage
• Android 4.4
• 4.70 inch screen
• 720x1280 pixels resolution
• 8MP back camera
• 2MP front camera
• Removable Battery

Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime has doubled the RAM and inbuilt storage, a clear improvement from the Redmi 2 which has 1GB RAM and 8GB inbuilt storage, in terms of performance.

Xiaomi Redmi 2

A few pictures of the Redmi 2 Prime

4.70 inch display

Pretty Slim

Proximity Sensor

8MP back camera

Removable Battery

Icon

Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime vs Moto E 2nd Gen

Device	Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime	Moto E (2015) with LTE
Display	4.7-inch HD (1280x720)	4.5-inch qHD (960x540)
Thickness	9mm	12.3mm
Weight	133 grams	145 grams
Camera	8MP rear, 2MP front	5MP rear, VGA front camera
RAM	2GB	1GB
Storage	16GB (expandable)	8GB (expandable)
Processor	1.2 GHz quad core Snapdragon 410	1.2 GHz quad core Snapdragon 410
OS	Android 4.4 KitKat	Android 5.0 Lollipop
Battery	2,200 mAh	2,390 mAh
Connectivity	Dual SIM with LTE	Single SIM with LTE
Price	Rs 6,999	Rs 6,999

From the above table it is pretty clear that Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime emerges as a clear winner apart from the OS.

Moto E 2nd Gen

Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime comes with a great battery which can last upto 14 hours of talktime.

The tie-up between Xiaomi and Foxconn to make smartphones in India presents a great challenge to global leaders like Apple and Samsung. A person familiar with Foxconn's plans said that the company is  expanding its Sri City facility by 250,000 sq. feet and 20 assembly lines by December. Currently the plant occupies 60,000 sq. feet and has 4 assembly lines.

The two companies at Vishakhapatnam

    
Xiaomi's plans can be a stepping stone for the Indian economy to become self-sufficient, atleast, in the smartphone department and maybe, at last, we can see some India-made tech gadget dominate it's market than some Amerian giant's. It is high time we invest our money in country made goods if we are to improve the economy.

Let's promote #MakeInIndia

        

Google announces Sundar Pichai as the next CEO

Pichai Sundararajan, better known as Sundar Pichai, has just been announced as the next CEO of Google which is now a subsidiary of Alphabet, a conglomerate of companies founded by the same duo of Larry Page and Sergey Brin, companies such as Calico and Life Sciences.

Sundar Pichai's promotion to Google's top job continues the trend of global technology giants' bosses being Indian immigrants, a trend which was started with Satya Nadella becoming the CEO of Microsoft.

Sundar Pichai

An extremely brilliant IIT Kharagpur Metallurgy Engineering passout, who moved to the US and attained a degree of Master of Science from Stanford University as well as a business degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Sundar Pichai formerly worked as an engineer at Applied Materials and later moved to management consulting at McKinsey & Company, before joining Google.

He led the team which created the Google Chrome browser, the most used search engine. In 2013, Larry Page handed over the responsibilities of Android to him. He is a visionary and has great relationships with people, something which Larry Page could see. Pichai also oversaw the development of Google apps like Gmail, Calendar.

Sundar Pichai inherits the top job at a time when Google is facing great competition from Facebook and Amazon. Inspite of Google's varying range of products, it's main source of income comes from advertising, but there are growing concerns over the fact that people are switching from desktop screens to mobiles more, as a result of which the industry has seen a decline in 'costs per click'.

People like Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella proves that meritocracy is still valued in this world where India, inspite of producing tech talents in thousands are not being able to keep them in the country because of internal politics and a clear discrimination. It is high time a sense of mentorship is introduced in the tech companies in the country, just like Larry Page has been mentoring Pichai for so long before making the call.  









   

A day spent with Windows 10

The moment I reserved my free copy of Windows 10 till the moment I got to install it, I have always been in two minds.

On the one hand reverting to Windows 10 would mean a virtual enslavement to Windows and all it's updates from hereon for the next 10 years. Yes !! 10 years. So whether it's a buggy update, you have got to say yes to it. While on the other hand, not reverting to it, would mean the world going forward and me remaining stagnant.

Well, Windows 10 installation was a hassle-free issue. It takes around 10-45 minutes depending on your device configuration. The striking feature I noticed at first is the improved brightness. And then there was this

Laptop Screen

Icons modified, along with a sharper look, the first look can get you drooling and certainly asking for more, and that's when the magic happens once you click on the Windows icon

Start button is back

Woohoo!! Start button is back.

Once you start exploring, it starts getting clear how much Windows 10 has come from it's previous versions. The Notifications Tab, Settings all modified, cumulating in a much sexier look and feel.

Notifications Bar

Settings

Edge

Windows 10 launches a new browser Microsoft Edge which is a huge upgrade over the much-maligned Internet Explorer. It also comes with Cortana but the letdown is the fact it's available only for specific countries and India does not feature in that list. Microsoft brings back Solitaire with Windows 10. 

There is a Task Viewer allowing you to view all the windows currently open and there is a Tablet mode, thus enriching the user experience. 

                          

Task Viewer

 Supposedly, there is a video capture tool(which I am still to find), which can be a great help to gamers who want to share in-game snippets and with Windows 10, you can install Xbox games.

A lot of in-built apps have undergone upgradation and there is something called the 3-D Builder which basically lets you create three-dimensional images and can be great tool for architects, product designers.  

3-D Builder

Performance wise, though it is sleek and pretty sound, it did crash a couple of times which is understandable because Microsoft already announced Windows 10 will have 7 versions, so we can expect it to get better. 

Developers can develop Universal apps which will be compatible on mobiles and Xbox use. Microsoft has made it easy for developers to turn android or iOS apps into a windows apps. It took King two weeks to turn Candy Crush Saga into a Windows game using iOS code.  

Universal Apps

Windows 10 is by far the best version ever launched, Windows 7 users may argue with that but one has to accept Microsoft has taken a huge leap on the right direction with Windows 10. In fact, Windows 10 seems to run faster than OS X on MacBook with 60 FPS as average speed. Animations seems to be smoother with Windows 10 than with OS X on MacBook. Time Apple pulled up their socks.

In conclusion, I would just like to say that with Windows 10, it's worth taking the leap.