Zuckerberg makes renewed pitch for Free Basics service..............

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg today made renewed pitch for its controversial Free Basics Internet service in yet another marketing blitz saying it protects net neutrality.

Facebook's proposed Free Basics plan allows customers to avail of services like education, healthcare and employment listings through apps specially designed for this platform on their phones without a data plan but does not allow access to many services such as YouTube, Gmail, Google or Twitter.

Zuckerberg appeared on a video to personally promote Free Basics and also wrote a personal appeal in one of the leading newspapers.

While Free Basics allows users to access a small number of Web services without charge, it has been criticised by some for alleged violation of the principle of net neutrality, a concept that all Internet traffic should be treated equally.

"We believe that connectivity is a human right and that getting connectivity for the world is one of the fundamental challenges of our generation. When people are connected, we can accomplish some pretty amazing things.

We can get closer to the people that we care about, we can get access to new jobs and opportunities and ideas. We can receive education and health care and communication and access to new services," he said in the video post.

He said connectivity can't just be a privilege for some of the rich and powerful and needs to be something that everyone shares and an opportunity for everyone. "I hope you will join us in doing this."

Keen to tap the world's largest offline population, Zuckerberg in an opinion piece in the daily compared Free Basics to a library which houses only a selection of books as well as to public healthcare and education.

"Everyone also deserves access to the tools and information that can help them to achieve all those other public services, and all their fundamental social and economic rights. That's why everyone also deserves access to free basic Internet services," he wrote.

Critics, however, said Free Basics violates the principle of net neutrality by offering some services for free, giving them an advantage over competitors. Also, Facebook acts as a gatekeeper for Free Basics, permitting some services, while rejecting others.

Telecom regulator TRAI has already asked Reliance Communications, Facebook's Free Basics partner in India, to suspend the services temporarily.

It has also sought comments by December 30 on a consultation paper on allowing service providers to charge different pricing for data usage on websites, applications and platforms.

Now, log in to your Google accounts without password!..............

Google has announced that it is testing a new way to allow the users to sign into their Google accounts without password.

According to The Next Web, the new method will allow the users to use a mobile to log in into their Google account on the desktop. Google confirmed the move saying that they have invited a small group of users to help test a new way to sign-in to their Google accounts, no password required.

The test was first reported by a Reddit user, rp1226, who tells that the users first have to authorize their phone for use as an authentication device.

After entering their email in the Google account log-in field, a pop-up message on their phone asks them to authenticate the session. When they acknowledge the pop-up, the desktop page forwards as if they have entered the correct password manually. This test is reportedly for both iOS and Android. 

All CBSE books to be available online for free: Smriti Irani.............

Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani announced that all CBSE books and learning material will be made available online for free.

Irani, who was inaugurating a new Kendriya Vidyalaya building in East Delhi, said the Centre will launch initiatives to help parents analyse performance of their child in Kendriya Vidyalayas from the next academic year.

The Minister said, NCERT books have already been made available online for free, through e-books and mobile applications a month-and-a-half ago.

Irani also asked officials in her ministry to organise Child Conventions, which would include interactions between children and professionals from various fields including defence. This will help students grow into good human beings, the minister said.

Irani reiterated that the Centre will launch 'Shaala Darpan' and 'Saransh' services in Kendriya Vidyalayas in the next academic year. The 'Shaala Darpan' service is aimed at using SMS to keep parents informed about their wards' attendance, time table and marks in exams.

While 'Saransh' will help parents compare the subject-wise learning outcomes of their children, with others at the district, state and national levels.

Facebook CEO Zuckerberg Backs Call for Universal Internet Access by 2020....................

A day before he meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a call to world leaders at the UN to ensure universal Internet access by 2020 to "give a voice to the voiceless and power to the powerless."

Zuckerberg, who will host a townhall meeting with PM Modi at his company's sprawling campus in Menlo Park in California on Sunday, participated in several engagements at the world body's headquarters on the sidelines of the ongoing UN Sustainable Development Summit.

He called for greater global Internet access during a speech at the United Nations Private Sector Forum on Saturday.

He said that when communities are connected, they can be lifted out of poverty.

"Connecting the world is one of the fundamental challenges of our generation," Zuckerberg said adding that wide Internet access "needs to be at the heart of the global development strategy" to address new challenges and needs of the new generation.

Just prior to his speech, Zuckerberg posted on Facebook that Internet access is essential for achieving humanity's Global Goals.

"By giving people access to the tools, knowledge and opportunities of the Internet, we can give a voice to the voiceless and power to the powerless.

"We also know that the Internet is a vital enabler of jobs, growth and opportunity. And research tells us that for every 10 people connected to the Internet, about 1 is lifted out of poverty," he said.

"By connecting more people in developing countries, we have an opportunity to create more than 140 million new jobs, lift 160 million people out of poverty, and give more than 600 million children access to affordable learning tools," he said.

Zuckerberg also kicked off a global campaign demand Internet access for all. Joining Zuckerberg in this global campaign is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, singer Bono, business tycoon Richard Branson and pop star Shakira.

A declaration signed by Zuckerberg, Gates and others for the global campaign states that Internet access is essential for achieving humanity's global goals.

The declaration calls on leaders and innovators from all countries, industries and communities to work together to make universal Internet access a reality by 2020, as promised in the new Global Goals adopted by world leaders, including Prime Minister Modi, last week.

Volkswagen will pick Porsche’s chief exec as its next CEO............

Volkswagen’s  VLKPY -1.08%  supervisory board will pick the head of sports-car maker Porsche as its next chief executive to succeed Martin Winterkorn who resigned on Wednesday, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Matthias Müller, the VW group’s former head product strategist, has a majority on the 20-member supervisory panel, which is due to meet on Friday, the source said.

Winterkorn resigned after almost nine years at the helm of Europe’s biggest carmaker after VW was found manipulating emission standards in the United States.

Earlier Thursday, three more senior executives left the embattled European automaker.

Wolfgang Hatz, the head of research and development at the group’s Porsche unit, and Ulrich Hackenberg, board member responsible for technical development at Audi, will both leave the company as it tries to contain the scandal engulfing it, according to a report by the mass-circulation daily Bild-Zeitung.

Separately, Der Spiegel reported that Hans-Jakcob Neusser, head of development at the VW brand since 2013, will also leave.

Texas teenager Ahmed Mohamed to shift schools after clock controversy.......

Texas Muslim teenager Ahmed Mohamed spoke to the media following the controversy over his clock, which got him handcuffed and interrogated by Texas police on Wednesday.

In a press conference, Ahmed and his mother seemed joyous that the hoax bomb charges have been dropped. 

"I'm the person who built a clock and got in a lot of trouble for it," Ahmed began.

"I brought the clock to school to impress my teacher, but she saw it as a threat to her. But now the charges have been dropped. (Right now) I am thinking of transferring schools", said Ahmed.

Ahmed and his mother refused to disclose what school they are thinking of transferring him to, or whether it would be a private school.

Ahmed expressed gratitude to those who supported him on social media. He said he wasn't bothered that the cops didn't apologise to him. Ahmed Mohamed said he would accept Barack Obama's invitation to visit the White House.

When asked what advice he would give to anyone else, he said, "Go for it. Don't let people change who you are. Even if you get consequence for it, I still suggest you show it to people, because you need to show them your talent."

During the press conference, Ahmed's mother refused to let the media question the boy about legal options available to him. However, he said, "I won't meet the Texas police chief without my lawyer", to general amusement.

Ahmed told MSNBC he was still suspended from school till Thursday, and added that he had been interrogated for an hour and 25 minutes. He said he kept repeating that it was a clock, not a bomb, but they wouldn't let him go.

But, the Washington Post quoted a spokesperson for the Irving Independent School District saying that, "the information that has been made public to this point has been very unbalanced." She claimed the school only wanted to ensure safety of students on campus. 

Nevertheless, Ahmed Mohamed has become an instant celebrity across the globe. Barack Obama, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and Google immediately come out in support of Muslim teen arrested for making a clock, while Twitter and Facebook were filled with condemnations for the school and police, and praise for the boy.

US finds no violations in H1-B visa case: Infosys...............

India’s second largest software services firm Infosys on Tuesday said the US government has found no visa violations after a probe that began in June this year.

“Infosys is pleased to report that the US Department of Labor (DOL) concluded its investigation with a determination of compliance regarding labour condition applications filed in the Southern California Edison project,” it said in a statement.

Infosys fully cooperated with DOL in its investigation, and over 145 files were reviewed, with no violations found, it added.

The US had initiated investigation against Infosys and its larger rival Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for possible violations of H-1B visa rules in June.

Response from TCS on the matter is awaited.

Often used by information technology (IT) firms, an H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in speciality occupations.

Indian IT firms are among the biggest recipients of H-1B visas as a significant chunk of revenues for the Indian outsourcing industry comes from the US.

“IT services companies like Infosys provide superior service, skill and scope from global centres of excellence, bringing value and technology innovations to enable American companies to be competitive and succeed,” Infosys EVP and Head of Americas Sandeep Dadlani said.

Infosys continues to actively recruit and hire talent in the US, but while there is a shortage of technology skills, Infosys is a responsible participant in the H-1B programme, he added.

“We do not practice or condone unfair or unethical H-1B visa practices. Our key priority is to operate fairly, ethically and with integrity, which is good business and what our clients expect,” Mr. Dadlani said.

Infosys shares were trading at Rs 1,065.65 a piece, marginally higher from yesterday’s close on the BSE.

NASA wants to turn human waste into food..............

NASA has awarded researchers a US $200,000 grant to figure out how to recycle human waste into synthetic food that could sustain astronauts during extended space journeys, including mission to Mars.

Mark Blenner, a professor in Clemson University's chemical and bioengineering department, is genetically engineering yeast to produce things that astronauts might need aboard a spaceship, using urine and breathed-out carbon dioxide as the building blocks to create useful onboard items.

"If you want to send people into space for a long period of time you can't go down to the Home Depot to get screws, or the market to get food; it's difficult, as space is at a premium," said Blenner. The US space agency wants to land humans on Mars by 2030, and it is investing in ideas like Blenner's to figure out ways for astronauts to be more self-sufficient on long-term space missions, and recycle as much as they possibly can.

A particular strain of yeast can be genetically manipulated to create polymers, or plastics, used for 3D printing, as well as Omega 3s, which lower heart disease risk, and protect skin and hair, Blenner said. Nitrogen is needed to grow the yeast, and it's abundant in human urine. Yeast also feeds on lipids which certain algae can create out of carbon, 'Quartz' reported.

Assuming a system can be created to turn breath (which contains carbon dioxide) into lipids using algae, Blenner's system would grow yeast that could take those lipids and nitrogen and turn them into plastics and Omega 3s. NASA awarded Blenner the grant to turn this idea into a proof of concept over the next three years. The agency is also funding research for other projects that would aid long-term space missions, including more efficient solar panels, better thermal protection for ships entering atmospheres. 

MIT creates 3DGP – a new 3D printing technology............

3D printing technology is growing with leaps and bounds, the versatility of this technology is incomparable. By using 3D printing technology we can print medicines and drugs, another identical 3D printer, a guitar, a working gun, a camera lens, hanging light and much more. Very soon, 3D printing would be the primary technology for manufacturing innovative technology in the world.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) initially found that by using plastic we can create amazing products via 3D printing, but recently MIT has found that even by using glass we can create anything with 3D printing.

This new technique is called as 3DGP, it works in a similar way as compared to the conventional plastic 3D printing, the only difference is in the material used. MIT’s Media Lab have been working in a school with the Mechanical Engineering Department, Wyss Institute and MIT’s glass lab has jointly created this new technology.

3D Glass Printing Technology

This new technology uses a molten form of the glass material, later it layers by adjusting and changing the thickness of the print. This new 3DGP technology contains two heated chambers loaded on one another. The upper chamber is set to heat up to 1900-degree F to work as a “Kiln Cartridge” whereas the lower chamber heats and cool downs to soften the glass material.

The MIT team says that it all works together to create the “first of its kind optically transparent glass printing” that can be used in “numerous potential applications.”

Lets keep imagining about the unusual materials which can be useful for 3D printer to print some amazing products.

Facebook and Instagram remove Project Harpoon page..............

Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram have taken down the pages run by Project Harpoon.

The internet movement sees people digitally edit pictures of women to make them appear thinner.

Now if you try to look at Project Harpoon on these social media sites, you are met with an error message.

The online group started on Reddit, in a thread called Thinner Beauty which says it is not about "hate" but wants to provide people with "health goals".

The rules on Thinner Beauty include "no harassment" and "no fat hate".

Tess Holliday, a US model who also started a campaign against "impossible beauty standards", is one of the people who has had her images manipulated and shared.

"It's abominable that this [Facebook page] is using my image without permission to promote themselves," Tess previously told E! News.

"I am asking my followers to boycott this [page] and any others like it. Loving yourself is the most powerful message we all need to stand behind."

Women such as Melissa McCarty, Kelly Clarkson and Meghan Trainor have also been targeted.

A small number of famous men have also had their images altered - although at least one of these pictures, of Zack Galifianakis, was labelled as being done "just for fun".

The organisers behind Project Harpoon have since started their own website.

Celebrities who have doctored images on this site include Lena Dunham and Amy Schumer.

Google’s next is Android 6.0 Marshmallow.............

Google has released the new name for its Android 6.0 version, Marshmallow. This is the latest version of the Android operating system by Google with the previous version being Android Lollipop.

According to the Android Developers, the new version claims to have an updated permissions user interface and enhanced permissions behavior. It also has updates to the Fingerprint API - which enables better error reporting, better fingerprint enrollment experience, plus enumeration support for greater reliability.

The new Android 6.0 Marshmallow is currently not made available to the public and will be launched globally this fall. The Google Play store will also be updated.

Xiaomi Mi 4 gets another price cut in the span of three months, available for Rs 19,999.............

Mi India has today announced that the Mi 4 64GB is now available for Rs 19,999, down Rs 4,000 from the original launch price of Rs 23,999.  

Xiaomi's cutting edge flagship, the Mi 4 features a precisely engineered stainless steel frame that gives the device its signature craftsmanship. The phone packs a 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB RAM and 64GB internal memory (non expandable). It has a 5” IPS Full HD display at 441 PPI, 13MP rear camera, 8MP front camera (both with f/1.8 aperture), and is powered by a 3080 mAh battery, with quick Charge 2.0 support. 
 
For more information, you can visit http://mi.com/in/mi4. The Mi 4 64GB is available on Flipkart, starting at 12pm today for Rs 19,999.

TCS, Infosys say they are fully compliant with H1-B visa rules............

Being probed for alleged visa rule violations in the US, Indian software services giants Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys today said they are "fully compliant" with the immigration rules.

Bangalore-based IT services major Infosys said it has received "no indication of any broader investigation" on its visa practices.

"The US Department of Labor (DOL) regularly selects a percentage of visa and labour condition applications for extra scrutiny in the IT industry.

"We work closely with the DOL to assist them in this activity in the ordinary course of our business. We have received no indication of any broader investigation of Infosys visa practices," Infosys said in an emailed reply to queries sent in this regard.

Expressing similar views, the country's largest software services firm TCS said it maintains rigorous controls to ensure compliance to all regulatory requirements.

"TCS maintains rigorous internal controls to ensure we are fully compliant with all regulatory requirements related to the US immigration laws including those related to H-1B visas," a TCS spokesperson said.

Often used by the IT firms, H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa, which allows US employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in speciality occupations.

According to the US media reports, the Labour Department has opened an investigation against Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys for "possible violations of rules for visas for foreign technology workers under contracts they held with an electric utility Southern California Edison".

Infosys, in the past, has faced visa-related issues when one of its former employees, Jack Palmer filed a whistle- blower lawsuit, saying he had been punished and sidelined by company executives after he reported witnessing widespread visa fraud.

Industry body Nasscom said attempts were being made to portray the Indian IT sector negatively without paying attention to "facts and logic".

Nasscom President R Chandrashekhar said its members continue to cooperate with the US authorities in respect of any requests for information.

The US is the largest market for the over $140 billion Indian IT services industry. Exports account for over $98 billion.

Asked whether he feels the issue could be a political rhetoric ahead of the Presidential elections in the US next year, Chandrashekhar said it is "unfortunate" that attempts are being made in some quarters to portray the contribution of Indian IT companies in a negative light and "to create negative sentiments about them by appeal to emotion rather than to facts and logic".

Such efforts would have "serious detrimental impact" on the strategic and mutually beneficial economic and trade relationship that the two countries are striving to nurture, Chandrashekhar said. 

Twitter now lets you share blocked user lists...........

While Twitter is the go-to social network for millions who bank on it for their daily dose of news and updates, the proliferation of trolls--and the more nasty varieties--can often be a bane to users. Until now, people have had to contend with blocking these unsavoury elements one-by-one, a process that is often arduous especially in the case of high-visibility public figures, activists and women who often become targets of hateful and threatening tirages.

Twitter has now made it easier to proliferate the IDs of such seamy users among your friends and contacts: you can simply export your list of blocked users to a CSV file, which you can send to other people who can import this list to their own accounts, immediately adding to their own block list.

Log into your Twitter account on a desktop and simply go to the ‘Blocked accounts’ section of your account, then click the ‘Advanced options’ drop down and select ‘Export your list’. Next, confirm the accounts you want to export and hit the blue button.

You can share this downloaded file with your friends and associates, which they can in turn import into their own Twitter profiles, automatically adding these users to their own blocked account page.

This new feature should simplify the process of proliferating entire lists of blocked users especially among users and users groups that are likely to be targeted by similar Twitter users. Being able to share lists of blocked users adds a community-driven angle, which should make it that much simpler to reduce instances of these unwanted users on the network.

Apple WWDC 2015: iOS 9, OS X, and the all-new Apple Music cap off a fairly uneventful conference............

Apple hosted the inaugural function for it’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference today, in San Francisco, and we were live blogging as the updates were flying in. Updates from iOS 9, OS X, and the all new Apple Music. Get all the updates below, newest at the top.

0:53 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

Oh no. It's a performance by "The Weekend". Never heard of him, but I'm not exactly the most up to date on the music scene. Unfortunately, that means the end of the Apple WWDC with absolutely no mention of Apple TV. I guess the rumours were right on that front. In fact, nothing really innovating going on here except for a few things with Apple Music. Thanks for joining us, and be sure to catch our roundup of the conference on Tuesday morning.

0:52 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

And one last ting......is it going to be a giveaway? Another release? U2 catapulting another album onto people 's iPhones?

0:50 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

For US $14.99 can have up to 6 family members on an account. Everyone gets own account, own library, own recommendations.

0:47 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

Apple Music will be coming to 100 countries June 30 with iOS 8.4, and will be US $9.99 a month, with the first three months free as a trial offer. And Apple Music will also come to Android later this year.

0:44 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

Apple Music's player seems to respond to Siri-like contextual queries. "Play top 10 rock songs." "Play songs from 1990." They all work.

0:32 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

24/7 radio, radio jockeys, three stations......Beats One? Are we just talking about plain old radio? Say what?

0:31 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

Beats One will broadcast from Los Angeles, New York City and London.

0:29 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

Zane Low hired for Beats One. He's on video now. "I'm a music fan. I play records. What I love is watching a group of people react to a record at the same time. We have real music fans running this palce. We have great music DJs and incredible artists who are in the studio right now building real radio shows that are going to blow your mind"

0:28 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

"New is where you discover new albums every week. All of our playlists. Human curated. Available by genre or activity."

0:28 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

"Can search music library but also search millions of songs on iTunes."

0:27 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

Another feature "Connect" on Apple Music, lets artists connect with their fans. So more social mdedia?

0:27 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

"Apple Music. It's a revolutionary music service and it starts with My Music. Recently added albums and songs right across the top. All music purchased and playlists you've created are right here."

0:25 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

Eddy Cue, head of iTunes, on stage now.

0:24 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

In addition, they're talking about setting up a worldwide radio station. 24/7 radio called "Beats One."

0:21 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

A single app on your iPhone.

0:20 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

Apple Music, the streaming service. "It will change the way you experience music forever," says Cook.

0:19 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

And with Apple, there is always... One more thing...

0:18 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

Watch OS 2 for the Apple Watch is available to developers today. Available at large by Fall.

0:17 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

Also, you can play music from your Apple Watch now. I'm pretty sure there'll be people who think it's cool to play crappy dance music from their watch in public.....for everyyone around.....to "enjoy".

0:12 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

Walk away from your phone and you r watch will be able to connect to known WiFi networks.

0:11 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

HomeKit is now available on the Apple Watch--control home automation via your wrist.
 

0:10 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

Also, current watch apps are extensions of the phone app. Now, native Apple Watch apps are possible.

0:09 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

Fitness apps tie into Apple's own app and Siri. Just raise the watch, say "go for  X calorie/distance run" and you're good to go. Also, achievement badges when you complete a goal. Oooohhhh shiny!

0:08 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

Reply to emails and use Facetime audio directly from the Apple Watch in Watch OS 2.

0:06 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

There's also a "Night Stand" mode, when your Apple Watch is charging in the dock. Shows time, keeps an alarm to wake you, and buttons operate as snooze and alarm off. So....what the Moto 360 does.....

0:05 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

Rotating the crown of the Apple Watch will let you 'time travel', pulling up past and upcoming info.

0:03 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

You can now customise your watch face with something called "Complications". These are bits of info you can have displayed in addition, like the date, flight info, tweets, sports scores. Probably not the wisest name for the feature though, makes it sound cluttered. 

0:01 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

New watch faces added, with a custoisable Photos face. It shuffles your photos like a screensaver. 

0:00 ISTTuesday, 9 June 2015

Applw Watch's Kevin Lynch on stage now, talking about the new capabilities. 

23:58 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

"We want to talk about now the next opportunity to change the world. And that's the opportunity to bring native apps to the watch with the new version of Watch OS"

23:57 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

And we have Cook back on stage for the Apple Watch announcements. 

23:55 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

Apple's App store has crossed 100 billion downloads. Apple has paid out $30 billion to devs to date, they say.

23:55 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

iOS 9 will support all the devices that run iOS 8. That means iPhone 4S, iPad 2 are still okay.

23:53 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

On to Swift now, Apple's custom designed programming language for iOS and OS X. To much developer applause, Swift has been made Open Source.

23:50 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

Over to Homekit now; has sensors for window shades, security, motion and carbon monoxide detection. Access your HomeKits from anywhere via the iCloud. 

23:44 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

A new low power mode in iOS 9 will supposedly stretch battery life by 3 hours.

23:43 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

Downer alert: Split view in iOS is only available on the iPad Air 2. Reason: it requires more power.

23:41 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

Running videos in the iPad now run Picture-in-Picture over other apps for true multitasking.

23:40 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

Now in iOS for the iPad, run two apps side-by-side with both supporting multi-touch simultaneously.

23:39 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

New in the keyboard app for the iPad--easier text selection with the keyboard mimicking a touchpad.

 

23:37 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

Federighi back on stage to assure everyone the News app personalisation is private, no data is collected, and it's not linked to other Apple services. In light of that last server hack with nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence (and a bunch of other less famous people) it seems Apple isn't taking any more chances. Not that that's a bad thing.

23:35 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

I have to say again, even the updates for the "personalised news app".....all of this has been done before. It seems like Apple execs have been asked to pretend it's 2012. All these very much standard  features from the Android platform aer being touted as cutting edge releases for Apple. I'm baffled.

23:29 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

A new news reader app in iOS called... News. Far enough. Designed, personalized stories chosen by interest. Apple's Susan Prescott is on stage for this.

23:28 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

Now, public transit routes added to the new Apple Maps mode called 'Transit'. Just not for India......again......whoop dee doo.

23:26 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

Federighi back on stage, talking about more additions to iOS 9. The iOS Notes app now has text formatting, now with checklists, pictures, links and sketches. Wait, iOS hasn't had simple checklists until now?

23:26 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

"Decided it's time to rename Passbook to Wallet." It stores your credit and debit cards, store loyalty cards and more. Well.......then why wasn't it called Wallet in the first place? That's what a wallet does....

23:23 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

The UK gets Apple Pay love--it's coming there next month, including for London's public transport.
 

23:23 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

Some more stores adding Apple Pay support: Baskin Robbins, Dunkin Donuts, Forever 21, Best Buy. 

23:21 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

" Last year we started with debit and credit cards. Over 2500 banks supporting it. This fall Discover will bring Apple Pay to its cardmembers."

23:19 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

And we have Apple Pay up next, with the project's VP Jennifer Bailey on stage.

23:16 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

Intelligence in iOS 9 is done on device, under user control. "It is not shared with third parties." It's not linked to your AppleID and not linked to other Apple devices

23:16 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

A deeply-linked search now ferrets out info from within installed apps in iOS 9.

23:14 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

You can ask Siri to remind you about a message later.  Seems Google did all of this a while ago. Why is this exciting again?

23:12 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

You can play online or iTunes videos directly from your Search. 
 

23:09 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

Siri is going to get smartere, respond more proactively. It responds to user habits. Search shows "Siri suggestions" that show you people you need to call for a meeting, apps you might want to download, apps you might want to use right now, all with clickable shortcuts.

23:05 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

iOS 9 is up next. "First and foremost we wenat to elevate the foundations. improving battery life, enhacing security."

23:02 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

According to the slide, Unity, Blizzard, Feral, Unreal Engine, the Foundry using Metal.

23:02 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

"El Capitan is available to developers today." The public beta follows in July.

23:01 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

Metal was a game development platform Apple announced at their devcon last year at its developer conference last year, designd to capitalize on the available GPUs in Apple's then latest processors. That Metal is now coming to Mac, and with a 50% improvement in rendering and a 70% reduction in CPU usage copared to OpenGL.

23:00 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

"1.4X acceleration in app launching, 2X improvement in snappiness of switching apps, twice as fast to get new mail messages, 4X as fast to get into preview."

22:56 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

Faster and simpler Mission Control from OS X, and an all new way to arrange windows. You can work two windows side by side, drag and drop a photo from an email to your messages. Perfect for smaller laptops.

22:51 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

Sites I like to keep around because I look at them on and off during the day. Now I can pin them." Federighi talking about Safari.

22:49 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

Shake the mouse and the cursor enlarges and pops out at you. Handy....I guess?

22:47 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

OS X El Capitan is the new Mac OS.

22:44 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

So we're starting with OS X. " I'm going to dispense with my normal updates other than to tell you everything's going great. I'd like to bring out my friend and colleague, Craig Federighi."

22:41 ISTMonday, 8 June 2015

Tim Cook strides onto the stage. Here we go.....