THE STATIC PAGE | Siddharth Parwatay | Managing Editor
Why it just works
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done it better and made it “true” edge-to-edge (save for that little notch for sensors). AR gaming, the kind Apple showcased, was something I’d experienced first on a Wave phone running on Bada (remember those?). Then came Google’s Tango AR implementation. But as always, Apple’s ARKit seems to have taken AR capabilities up a notch. The level of graphic detail, the ability to zoom in very close to the rendered objects in 3D space, and even the audio increasing or decreasing based on the distance – all looked pretty impressive. As Digit readers, many of you may have already identified this pattern where Apple takes an existing technology and refines it to the point where it suddenly seems “workable” rather than just a proof of concept. And yet, considering the rabid fanboyism that’s commonplace these days, I’m pretty sure some regular folks still don’t know that this is a strategy that Apple seems to blatantly follow; indeed, of late, this seems to be its only strategy. Apple’s competitors (including the little guys), who rush their production cycles to come up with genuine “firsts” naturally face an uphill battle. The consumer reaction isn’t always great, because not only are the implementations half-baked, but also these companies don’t have the weight needed to drive the ecosystem towards adoption. Take the case of augmented reality – sure, Google’s got ARcore, but the Android ecosystem is so fragmented in terms of OS versions that mass adoption will take time. Simply put, a fewer proportion of Android devices run the latest version of Android as compared to iOS. So, when these AR experiences start rolling out, chances are iOS users will get a more uniform and widespread experience. Even we in the news and publishing business struggle with this - is it better to come out with something first or wait and be accurate and comprehensive? In our case, the jury is still out. But in the consumer tech world, it seems like Apple might be onto something. In being the last entrant, Apple is strategically making the most logical move. It lets others endure teething troubles, and through their pain, it gathers some much needed intel. Is it true innovation? Probably not. But what is innovation anyway? Find out on the next page.
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LIKE IN THE REST OF THE TECH WORLD, Apple was the flavour of the month at Digit too. As expected, the big event had the (predictable) effect of polarising geeks yet again. Apple fanboys saw the iPhone X as the last beacon of hope in a long-stagnating smartphone market while the Android brigade set out creating “we did it first” memes. Team Digit, sphinx-like, watched the techbacchanalia hoping there would be at least some surprises. Alas, that didn’t happen. However, the whole “we did it first” swell made me think. Not only are the claims true (for the most part), but it seems a more recurring theme than before. Sure, we rip on Apple a lot, but this is probably because there was a time when the company used to come up with some (or most) never-seen-before things in the market. Scratching your head? I wouldn’t blame you, but there indeed are a few – and most of them from quite a few years ago. Take high-resolution pixel-dense displays as an example. Such kind of screens didn’t really exist until Apple came out with its first *ugh* “Retina Display”. I kinda miss those major Apple bomb drops like 64-bit processing in a smartphone, which sent the other side scrambling to speed-up their own roadmaps. Then there are the little things such as Apple’s work-in calibration and audio-signal processing (latency reduction), which is unmatched even today. But of late, Apple seems to be the one doing the catching up. Think of most of the announcements that Apple made. Edge-to-edge displays have already been done, face ID isn’t new, and wireless charging in 2017 - really? Heck, even LTE Smartwatches had already hit the market. Sure, they were clunky and you couldn’t share the same number with your primary SIM, but they were there. And this last bit – the one in which I’m making excuses for how the existing product was flawed and how Apple made it better – is precisely where Apple is excelling these days. Let me explain... They say - “Better late than never”. But in Apple’s case, going by the the way it has been doing things lately, we probably need to modify the old adage to “Better late if you do it better”. Take the previous edge-to-edge displays for example many have done it before, but they’ve had at least one bezel. Apple on the other hand seems to have
“As Digit readers, many of you may have already identified this pattern where Apple takes an existing technology and refines it to the point where it suddenly seems “workable” rather than just a proof of concept.”
Reach me at: facebook.com/ staticsid | @staticsid | editor@digit.in
www.digit.in | October2017 | Digit | 1
THE RSS FEED | Robert Sovereign-Smith | Executive Editor
Why didn’t I think of that?
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When we build two imperfect computers who arrive at slightly different results when given the same information (like humans do)… and then let them interact with one another… that’s when we’d really get started on building true human-like AI. I digress though. The point of all that was to show that if we all thought like computers, there would never be any changes whatsoever, because no mind would arrive at a different answer given the same data. Most of science (what I like to call ‘true knowledge’) just boils down to discovery. If you wiped out all traces of civilisation, and somehow rebooted the whole of humanity to, say, 50,000 years ago, what would change? Sure, the smartest person to have ever lived might have been called Albert Tesla, or Donald Trump could be the first black president of West-India, but by and large, barring any catastrophes, we’d expect to be somewhat close to where we are now in terms of knowledge. The physical properties of the universe would still remain the same. It would still take two hydrogen atoms to bond with oxygen to form water – even if we didn’t call those elements hydrogen or oxygen… or water. Maybe someone at Microsoft would have “invented” the iPod and iPhone in a universe where Steve Jobs’ tragic cancer struck two decades earlier. Basically, I’m pretty sure we’d end up having similar technology anyway. This is because technology, or ideas, and everything else man made, is pretty much just following Darwinian evolution. Given a large enough population (and boy do we have a lot of human brains), ideas that can happen will, and the ones that arrive at the right time and place will thrive. Just something to think about when having fanboy wars, or lamenting, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Given enough time, it’s possible you would have, or at least that someone else would have. Who is to say that giving a large enough group of AI computers the thirst for knowledge, and an essentially unlimited lifespan, they wouldn’t just do all that humans have done in a fraction of the time? And if all inventions are really just inevitable in the grand scheme of things, are any of them really “innovative” at all?
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THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS INNOVATION – I decided to start this column off with what might be a very silly statement, and one with which I think most people would disagree. I hope you continue reading this piece though, after you’ve finished laughing your head off. Think of the most innovative, absolutely mind-blowing innovation around, from any time in history. It could be anything from the wheel to the iPod’s scroll wheel... whatever made you go, “Wow”! Once you’re done reminiscing about how great it felt to experience that innovation, think honestly about all of the times it was attempted before, and what inspiration or learnings it gained from previous attempts. Do a little research and you will find hundreds of ideas that preceded it, all the way from ancient history to modern science, thousands of people would have contributed something to that idea. Since I am writing this at a time when the iPhone X (Ten) is the hot topic of the month, let me use that as an example. BooMan’s column this month will point you to more than a few “inspirations” that the iPhone X seems to have had. And let’s be clear, there’s nothing wrong with copying what works – happens all through life in every aspect of it. What’s wrong is to claim innovation where there was none. Of course, I’m going one step further and claiming there’s no real innovation happening at all, by anyone! What we like to call innovation, is really just a gradual discovery of new ways of looking at things, or new ways of putting something to use. Like everything else that is animate in the world, we are the products of evolution, and everything our brain does also follows the laws of natural selection. This holds true for all the ideas we have as well. Like with genetic evolution, new ideas are really just mutations of old ones, and no new ideas come from anyone with a lack of knowledge or experience. In essence, knowledge is just passing on of a lot of the information gathered by all who went before us, which we then parse in our imperfect supercomputing brains, and arrive at (very slightly) different answers. Although I’m a coding and AI ignoramus, my own worthless two cents on the topic is that it’s the perfection of a computer’s logic that has prevented it from gaining sentience thus far.
2 | Digit | October 2017 | www.digit.in
“Think of the most innovative, absolutely mind-blowing innovation around, from any time in history. It could be anything from the wheel to the iPod’s scroll wheel...”
Liked or hated this column? Let me know at: robert@digit.in | facebook.com/raaabo | @raaabo
PARANOID ANDROID | Mithun Mohandas | Asst. Technical Editor
The flagship curse
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that, I had conditions. Stock UI was preferred, hardware buttons were a necessity, an audio jack was mandatory, and the SoC couldn’t be a far cry from the SnapDragon 801 that I was used to. The choices are absolutely disappointing, and not one of them turned out to be in the `13-18K price bracket. That is, until the Xiaomi Mi A1 turned up. Stock Android? Check. Hardware buttons? Check. Audio jack? Check. SoC? SD625, not bad. The sales came around and I got my new phone, a supposed upgrade. Or so I thought. Even in comparison to a three-year old flagship, the Mi A1 still feels unresponsive. I thought of this over and over again as I held the two phones side by side while replicating the same actions over and over again. Perhaps, it was a bias brought out by my understanding of CPUs or perhaps I was developing buyer’s remorse or perhaps I was just not ready to let go of my Moto X 2014. With the Moto X 2014, normal and voluminous actions like moving around the UI, browsing, manipulating text and images between apps, etc. was quick and snappy. It was just the mind-numbingly unoptimised apps such as Facebook and Uber, to name a few, that felt jarring. So most of my time on the Moto X felt just fine except for a few moments in the day. On the other hand, the Mi A1 does the opposite. Its single threaded performance is lower than the SD801 which makes the daily mundane tasks feel slightly sluggish but the high resource demanding apps run really great. (Note: High resource demand = poorly coded) The teensy doubt in my mind over the Mi A1 has now turned into a full-blown case of buyer’s remorse. The phone as a whole might be a great machine for anyone who hasn’t used a phone with a better SoC but for folks such as yours truly, who spend hours pouring over benchmark results and trying to spot glitches in the UI, these minor things just vividly stand out. So I’m at that juncture where I have to decide, if I should sell off my new purchase and move back to the Moto X till I find an affordable SD835 device or if I should forcefully condition myself to live with these little irritations till I start subconsciously ignoring them. What would you do if you were in my shoes?
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ONE OF THE PRIVILEGES of working at Digit is that you get to play with the best that technology can offer. We get it all, from the latest graphics cards and processors to near enterprise grade wireless routers that make you want to buy a rocket launcher for the sole purpose of blowing your existing router to smithereens. It’s this very privilege that gives us a better perspective into technological aspects in comparison with someone who only gets to read about them. We read, we play, we test, we dissect and sometimes, we even break gadgets in our quest to satiate our curiosity. However, there is a downside to being in this wonderland that most of us slowly realise as time passes. Stepping down to the mid-range or entrylevel product range is a crushing feeling. Not to mention, the desire to match our work rigs often takes a toll on our pockets. For example, my work rig is an Intel Core i7-4790K coupled with an NVIDIA GTX 980 Ti. Our test rigs have the best Intel and AMD processors with more cores than needed. The SSDs that we run our benchmarks are the fastest consumer grade (or nearly enterprise grade) that money can buy. Now, if we are to move away from PCs, then we get to ride in some of the most luxurious vehicles built by man all the while listening to music on ridiculously expensive, and equally impressive, audio gear. Tearing ourselves away from all of that every day as we head back home is a feat that’s nearly worthy of the Zero1 Awards. Since most of us don’t have deep pockets or weren’t born with a silver spoon, replicating the same hardware experience at home isn’t possible. In my case, I’m running a Core i7-3770K with a GTX 970. In the world of incremental updates that we live in, this is pretty damn close to my primary work rig. If I were to use the main Digit Test Rig more often, I’d simply want to stay away from my home PC. And that goes for any hardware I own. Despite knowing all the pitfalls of switching from enthusiast grade to mid-range hardware, I decided it was high time for me to chuck my old Moto X 2014. It’s a 3-year old flagship that has served me quite well and for a change (and to not cause my wallet to cower in fear) I decided to go in for a mid-range phone. Even with
4 | Digit | October 2017 | www.digit.in
“It’s this very privilege that gives us a better perspective into technological aspects in comparison with someone who only gets to read about them.”
Let me know your thoughts on this column at: @mithun_mohandas | mithun@digit.in
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contents OCTOBER 2017
Fun with Tech
From hosting the best parties, to playing pranks, to even finding interesting ways of doing boring chores – technology can help you have fun doing anything!
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VOLUME 17 ISSUE 10
COVER STORY PAGE 58-71
TECH - PAGE 16-57
SCIENCE - PAGE 72-79
26 | All Charged Up
73 | Self-Diagnosis 2.0
We trace back to the roots of the humble battery and make some very interesting discoveries along the way!
Can tech help you get a few answers while you wait to see a doc?
AND MORE
AND MORE
6 | Digit | October 2017 | www.digit.in
SKOAR! - PAGE 97-111
ON THE DVD Scientific Software
Android Studio
From astronomy
Google AdWords
to mathematics,
Editor
molecular
Google Back up
modelling to circuit
and Sync
simulation, find
Google Earth Pro
several software
Google Web
and tools to push
Designer
the scientist in you
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Google Starter Pack
102 | Gaming Sidekicks
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Why should the protagonists get all the love? Let’s give our sidekicks some much deserved love too!
99 | Hidden tricks used by game devs
Avogadro
Chromium OS is
Celestia
an open-source
Elmer
Everything you thought you knew about games is a lie! We’re kidding, but there’s more to it than meets the eye
project that
GROMACS
aims to build an
MathMod
operating system
Octave
that provides a fast,
PSPP
simple, and more
QGIS
secure
QtiPlot
computing
Qucs
experience for
SkyChart
people who spend
Stellarium
most of their time
TeXmacs
AND MORE
ALT - PAGE 80-89
CULTURE - PAGE 90-96
SA 82 | What is the cause for all the Microsoft hate?
Ever wondered why some geeky old-timers seem to harbour a deep resentment for Microsoft?
84 | DGT Our selection of some of the best tech, gadgets, and geek entertainment from around the world!
AND MORE
to get started early.
Chromium OS
91 | The perils of rushed game production We rant about how rushed game production spells doom for the gaming industry.
94 | Boo-Man on the iPhone X While the world raves about the iPhone X, Boo-Man is not too impressed.
AND MORE
on the web. ArnoldTheBat
Introduction to
Win32 Disk
game theory
VirtualBox
Definition of game theory
Indie games Devil Engine Handgun Hoedown Kill the Superweapon (Demo)
Prisoner’s dilemma and the Nash Equilibrium Why parties in a cartel will cheat Game theory of cheating firms
Klepto Noboru Pioneers Room 42 Short Trip www.digit.in | October2017 | Digit | 7
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EMAIL: sales@digit.in
OCTOBER 2017 • VOLUME 17 • ISSUE 10
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WEST: Suvarna Shringarpure Mobile: +91-93249 28247
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NORTH: Mayank Sharma Mobile: +91-8800661912
BAZAAR Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Nokia 6 ASUS Zenfone Zoom S Linksys EA7500 Lenovo Legion Y720 ASUS GX501 Intel Core i7-7740X ASUS Cerberus V2 Kingston A400 Micromax Canvas Infinity SoundBot SB565 1MORE Piston Fit
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TEST CENTRE Asst. Technical Editor Mithun Mohandas Reviewers Hardik Singh, Shrey Pacheco, Souvik Das
ADVERTISING INDEX
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Toshiba....................................Inside front cover
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8 | Digit | October 2017 | www.digit.in
MOBILE MONTHLY Dungeon Inc. | Cavefall | Turretz PixWing | Nine Worlds Adventure | Mayajaal | Road Warriors
Published and printed by Kanak Ghosh for and on behalf of the owners, M/s Nine Dot Nine Mediaworx Pvt Ltd. Published at A-262, 2nd Floor, Defence colony, New Delhi110024 and printed at International PrintO-Pac Limited, C/4-11, Hosiery Complex, Phase II Extension, Noida-201306 (U..P.) INDIA. Editor: Kanak Ghosh. “We do not endorse or recommend any product or service advertised in the magazine. The advertisement’s in this magazine are for information purposes only. We do not, expressly or impliedly, warrant or assume any liability or responsibility for the quality, accuracy, completeness, legality, reliability, usefulness or claims of any product or service advertised in the magazine. Our readers are strongly advised to carry out their own independent assessment of the product or services advertised in the magazine.”
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Matterfall StarCraft Remastered
ASUS......................................................... 13,61
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DESIGN Sr. Art Director Anil VK Art Director Shokeen Saifi Visualiser Baiju NV Lead UI/UX Designer Shri Hari Tiwari Sr. Designer Peterson PJ
GAMES REVIEWED THIS MONTH
DESIGN Peterson PJ
DISCLAIMER For every Digit contest, there will be only one winner, unless specified otherwise. In the event of a dispute, the Editor’s decision shall be final.
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http://www.facebook.com/skoar What is life without gaming? Catch up on all the latest in gaming news, reviews and shenanigans from our test labs
WHAT’S NEW
Apple’s September event 2017
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DOES THIS SECTION EVEN NEED AN INTRODUCTION? FROM COMPUTERS TO MOBILES, AND HEADPHONES TO GPUS, IT’S ALL HERE...
• iOS 11 and watchOS 4: First announced at WWDC 2017, iOS 11 brings in new features like the Files app, drag-and-drop, updated Control Center and more. While the new watchOS 4 brings in improvements in the activity tracking and heart monitoring software, features an updated Workout app and also includes a new Siri watch face. • New campus first look: The event also gave viewers a first look inside Apple’s new multi-billion dollar futuristic headquarters. The entire campus is 100 per cent powered by renewable energy and Apple also emphasises on how the structural design is one with nature. • One more thing…: Commemorating the company’s 10th anniversary and the showstopper of the evening was however the launch of Apple’s brand new iPhone X (pronounced iPhone Ten). Featuring an edge-to-edge OLED display (which Apple calls Super Retina) and a new kind of facial recognition technology enclosed in a brand new hardware design.
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pple held its annual iPhonecentric event on 12th September 2017, and here’s everything the company announced during the two-hour event: • iPhone 8 & 8 Plus: The two iphones are powered by the Apple’s new A11 Bionic processors and sports a rear glass panel that enables Qi wireless charging. The phones will be available in the usual black, silver, space gray and gold colors and launch in two - 64GB and 256Gb variants. • Apple Watch Series 3: The new thirdgeneration Apple watch finally brings LTE connectivity to wearables and also features a barometer altimeter for stair-counting. • Apple TV 4K: Powered by the A10X Fusion Chip, the new Apple TV 4K brings a huge upgrade in the product line with 4K and HDR compatibility and also support for Metal 2 API.
TECH-FUN
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THIS MONTH IN TECH: RGB madness, the origins of the humble battery, Edutech startups, Levelling-up with social media graphics + twitter enhancements, video editing on your smartphone, and much, much more...
AI incorporated steering wheel As self-driving cars seemingly draw nearer, Jaguar Land Rover’s new concept steering wheel Sayer, incorporating AI and voice control, could be just what a driverless future needs. Learn more about the technology here: http://dgit.in/AIsteering
WhatsApp is killing SMS
WhatsApp is planning to release a new WhatsApp for Businesses that will allow multiple executives of companies to use the same account for communicating information like OTPs, Promos, booking confirmations, etc, with their customers. http://dgit.in/WhatsAppSMS
16 | Digit | October 2017 | www.digit.in
Andhra Pradesh to get first Hyperloop Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) signs an agreement with AP govt to install the first Hyperloop system in the country. The 29 km rail will connect Amaravati (not to be confused with Amravati in Maharashtra) and Vijayawada. http://dgit.in/IndiaLoop
NR specifications for 5G trials
Intel has been running trials around their 5G solutions and with the announcements, the company plans to incorporate 3GPP’s NR specifications into their 3rd Generation 5G Mobile Trial Platform. http://dgit.in/3GPP5Gtrials
tech
TECH WATCH
MOBILE WATCH
iPhone 8 & 8 Plus
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CPU and an Apple built GPU specifically meant for Metal 2 goodness. The new A11 CPU is between 20% and 25% faster than the A10, and is actually faster in some benchmarks than Macbook CPUs! They’re also over twice as fast in Geekbench 4’s single core performance test than the Samsung Galaxy S8 series. Of course Synthetic benchmarks aren’t everything, but anyone who has owned a brand new iPhone will tell you that they’re snappy little things. Overall, though, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are still too similar to the iPhone 7 series to warrant an upgrade. In fact, many feel these phones should have been called the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus.
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he September 12 Apple Special Event was really no secret. It was held at the all-new Steve Jobs Theatre, and started off with a touching tribute to Jobs. It was the only bit that hadn’t leaked before the event already. Still, it was the most significant launch of the whole month, and thus we’re dedicating our mobile watch segment totally to Apple – for a change. Both the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus will come in three colours (Gold, Silver and Space Grey), and both will have 64 and 256 GB options (as opposed to 32 and 128 GB options with the 7 and 7 Plus). There really isn’t too much difference between the existing iPhone 7 and 7 Plus models in terms of dimensions and size, etc. There really isn’t too much different in terms of specs either, so we’ll focus only on the differences. For starters, the biggest change is the wireless charging addon, which honestly should have come years ago. In terms of CPUs, the 8 series will feature what Apple calls the new A11 Bionic
iPhone X
ONE MORE THING... This is what everyone was waiting for, and whether you like Apple or not, it’s perhaps the most significant phone launch of the year – and it hasn’t even launched yet, it’s only been announced! The iPhone X is a very Samsung S8 Plus looking device – in the sense of it being bezel-less and having curved glass edges. It’s definitely a unique looking
18 | Digit | October 2017 | www.digit.in
phone because of the notch in the display on the top, for better or worse. It does away with TouchID and introduces FaceID – something we’re still buying into, to be honest. Along with wireless charging, the iPhone X does away with the home button (at last!), and features swipe controls for multi-tasking. It’s a big move away from all that’s been considered iPhone so far, and in our opinion is better, but it remains to be seen how the masses react to it. We’ll reserve judgement for the review when it’s released. Just remember that the “X” is pronounced as “Ten”, or people will jump to correct you.
EXPECTED SPECIFICATIONS
143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7 mm | 174 g | 5.8-inch Super AMOLED display | 1125 x 2436 pixels (458 ppi) | A11 Bionic Hexacore CPU | 3 GB RAM (expected) | 64/256 GB storage | IP67 weatherproofing | Dual 12 MP rear cameras | 7MP front camera | Fast Charging | QI wireless charging | FaceID | both GSM and CDMA models | Bluetooth 5, NFC, 802.11ac Wi-Fi | iOS 11 | Includes EarPods with Lightning Connector
tech Good guy internet
Fridge food delivery
Sometimes the internet is good - just like it was to this 8 year old with a love for bugs. http://dgit.in/8buglover
AGENT001
Walmart is testing a delivery service that puts food directly in your fridge. http://dgit.in/WalmartFTF
The Resurgence of Android One
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agent001 | agent001@digit.in
oogle’s Android One programme started out with the intention of giving customers in the developing markets a plain vanilla experience with guaranteed updates straight from Google for years to come. The Android One programme had three phones when it launched – the Micromax Canvas A1, Karbonn Sparkle V and Spice Mi-498. Roughly three years have passed since then and we hardly get to hear about these phones, let alone the brands themselves. The three models were priced at `4,999 with the Sparkle being the lone exception. It had a higher price tag. And at the time of its launch, majority of smartphone sales (70-80%) were in this particular price bracket. Yet the Android One programme wasn’t a suc-
Spice Mi-498 turned out be just three more budget smartphones which were destined to have a very short shelf life and product recall, just like every other Android smartphone out there. The average consumer didn’t know that with regular updates straight from Google, they’d be experiencing the newest set of features for the upcoming two years. Because even if the companies themselves might have stopped promoting Android One devices, Google sure didn’t stop pushing updates. And now, with the second wave of Android One devices, Google seems to be walking down the same path. So what should Google be doing this time around? Well, let’s begin by looking at the market leaders right now. It’s Samsung at the top like always, then there’s Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo and Lenovo. And now for the devices, the first Android One device in the second wave comes from Xiaomi as the Mi A1, another one is rumoured to be a Moto X4 variant. And last we heard, even HTC is entering the game with the HTC U11 Life. There is hope for Android One this time around because instead of just one entity i.e. Google, all the participating companies have deep enough pockets to run their own marketing campaigns for long periods. This way, Google and its partners should be able
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Android One is making a huge comeback this year and Agent001 has a few wise words to help Google get things rolling for good.
cess, monthly shipments dwindled to less than 5% in under six months of their initial launch figures. So what went wrong? I’d say the primarily issue was that Google was unable to convey the benefits of a stock Android experience to the end user. The Micromax Canvas A1, Karbonn Sparkle V and
24 | Digit | October 2017 | www.digit.in
to convey the benefits of a stock experience along with guaranteed updates to the end-user. What users need to know is that opting for an Android One phone is very much similar to getting the hottest thing at any particular time since the UI is a lot cleaner and snappier and with guaranteed updates, you are better off than going with any other custom UI smartphone. With the current generation of Android One devices, Google is not only trying to extol the benefits of stock Android to the masses but it’s also targeting the hottest devices on the market. Xiaomi’s Mi A1 generated more hype than any smartphone being launched in that time frame, and Motorola’s Moto X4 is synonymous with the word premium. So in no way will anyone opting for these devices have the stigma of the “cheap” smartphone.
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A COLLECTION OF PRO TIPS FOR EVERYTHING. Without being limited to a particular topic, these tips are from popular software, to coding, to browsers, search, storage rules, password rules, mobile device hacks, bios cracking, tweaks explained and everything tech under the sun.
Creating social media graphics has never been this easy. useful web-based tools for social media graphics, the best thing about Canva is how much you can do on it for free. From preconfigured templates for all social media needs to an almost inexhaustible stock of elements ranging from illustrations to icons - if you’re a social media executive of any level the usefulness of Canva is not lost on anyone. But even within this uber-useful platform, there are few tricks you can use to get the most out of it.
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SOCIAL MEDIA IS A BIG DEAL, PERIOD. Almost every business worth its dime needs to have a social media presence today. Don’t believe us? Check out OUTRAGEOUS or UNEXPECTED’s social media page. And apart from the engagement, as in the actual socialising, a big component of that presence is the content you put out on social media - images, videos and more. There are quite a few handy tools for your computer and your phone that can help you master that. Here are a some of those tools and how you can use them like a pro!
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The art of mastering social media graphics
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MOVE ELEMENTS BY INCREMENTAL AMOUNTS
USE CANVA
One of the most
Like most image based editing tools today, Canva provides the ability to move elements around on your
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The alignment grids help you get the perfect arrangement
canvas using keyboard arrow keys, once they are selected. But that is by a measly 1px at a time and that can be frustrating, even if you’re going for an exact alignment. Without losing the convenience of using the keyboard, you can use the shift+arrow keys to move objects around by 10px at a time.
GROUP ELEMENTS WITHOUT CREATING A SELECTION BOX
In a design, you might
have the need to maintain the alignment of certain elements with respect to each other, yet move them around on the canvas. One way to do that is to use the mouse cursor to create a selection box around objects but that can be inconvenient if the objects are far apart and there are other elements in between that you do not want to include. Use shift+click to group objects together and move them. This works the same way as you’d find in professional editing tools.
Everything except the ice-cream has been selected in this instance
reviews
For better understanding of our ratings, hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a quick guide to our overall score to
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Extremely poor product. Keep away!
Strictly OK.
Not recommended
Decent product.
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Very good product. Highly recommended.
Ground-breaking product.
Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never seen anything like it before. A definite must buy!
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The Digit Test Centre receives hundreds of products every month. Each of these products is put through a series of tests and is finally given a score. The final score is arrived at after considering a number of factors and evaluating them in terms of features, performance, value for money, build quality, and, in the case of software, even ease of use.
THE LATEST PRODUCTS REVIEWED FOR YOU
INSIDE
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ASUS GX501 Zephyrus
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
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Lenovo Legion Y720
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43
1MORE Piston Fit PLUS
45 Linksys EA7500
40 SoundBot SB565 42 Nokia 6 42 ASUS Cerberus V2 44 Intel Core i7-7740X 44 Micromax Canvas Infinity 46 Kingston A400 SSD 46 ASUS Zenfone Zoom S & MORE...
tech Super malaria
Mexico damage map
A newly-mutated strain of drug-resistant malaria has spread into Vietnam http://dgit.in/SupaMalaria
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra Bezel-less but needs work
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SoundBot SB565
Just your average bluetooth in-ears
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he SoundBot SB565 is a brand new entrant into the sub-2k sports oriented bluetooth in-ear space. It’s a pretty standard bluetooth in-ear without any noticeable bells and Price whistles. The design of the SoundBot 1990 SB565 is interesting – almost minimalist. You have two large driver housings connected via an appropriately long flat cable which is tangle free. One of the redeeming features of the SoundBot SB565 is the fact that BUILD............................60 despite the housings being FEATURES.....................58 bulky – and carrying the PERFORMANCE...........55 battery – they manage to VALUE............................65 remain light. For drawing performance comparisons and having a scale of reference we kept two wireless in-ears handy – one was the SoundMagic E10BT while the other was the Degauss Labs Vice. The E10BT is in the vicinity of the SoundBot SB565, at least in terms of price. The Vice was used for the sake of having a much higher end reference since no direct comparisons can be made with it. The SoundBot SB565 is quite muted in its tonal representation. It does okay when dealing with EDM type tracks such as Stereo Love, but not much else. Metal tracks were subpar – there was discernable distortion in the bass notes and large sections of the spectrum were under-emphasised. Similarly, while playing Ancestral - Steven Wilson, details like high cymbals etc were lacking. If you have to purchase them at MRP (`1990) you’d be much better off with something like a SoundMagic E10BT by upping your budget slightly. But if you get them for a discounted price, like the `1,569 price point they are currently selling for, you might just want to consider giving them a shot if you are feeling particularly generous. ––Siddharth Parwatay
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ony’s Xperia XA branded smartphones have followed bezel-less form factors for a while, and this, the Xperia XA1 Ultra is the “biggest” of the lot. But then it also has some glaring flaws. Notice that Price 0 31,99 there’s no fingerprint sensor on this `30,000 phone. Also, the bezel-less design is somewhat wasted because of the two large glossy strips of plastic above and below the screen. Sony’s display isn’t the most colourful and it doesn’t have AMOLED level contrast, but it brings a pleasant mix of everything. From a performance point of view, the Xperia XA1 Ultra FEATURE.......................73 doesn’t qualify as fluid or PERFORMANCE...........61 smooth. We’ve seen more fluid VALUE............................65 performance even on cheaper DESIGN..........................82 phones running the Snapdragon 625. If we were to choose between the two cameras, Sony has done a better job with the front shooter here. It keeps photos natural, rather than excessive post-processing. What we can’t ignore though is the 2700 mAh battery on such a large form factor. The Xperia XA1 Ultra lasted just over 8 hours on the PC Mark Work 2.0 battery test. The Xperia XA1 Ultra is a dependable smartphone, but at these price points it’s difficult to justify that. The Xperia XA1 Ultra loses out to Samsung’s phones in terms of display quality, performance and battery, while its camera prowess is decent at best. The Honor 8 Pro and slightly more expensive OnePlus 5 are far better smartphones (in all respects) than the Xperia XA1 Ultra. –Prasid Banerjee
NASA has released a damage map of the crazy Raboso earthquake that killed hundreds of people. http://dgit.in/MexicoDmg
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REVIEWS
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SPECIFICATIONS
SOC: Mediatek MT6757 Helio P20 | GPU: Mali-T880MP2 | OS: Android 7.0 | CARD SLOT: microSD, up to 256 GB | DISPLAY TYPE: IPS Panel | SIZE: 6.0 inches | RESOLUTION: 1080 x 1920 pixels | CAMERA PRIMARY: 23 MP, f/2.0 PDAF | CAMERA SECONDARY: 16 MP, f/2.0, OIS.
CONTACT
SONY MOBILE INDIA | PHONE: 1800-103-7799 | EMAIL: Web form | WEBSITE: sonymobile. com/in/
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SPECIFICATIONS
STANDBY TIME: Up to 6.6 days | RATED BATTERY LIFE: 6.5 Hrs call, 4.5 hrs music | SUPPORTS: HSP, HFP, A2DP, AVRCP | WIRELESS RANGE: 33 feet or 10 meter | BLUETOOTH VERSION: 4.0
CONTACT
EMAIL: support@volcus.com | WEBSITE: www.soundbot.com
tech Asteroid mining
Coolest concept cars
HEAD-ON
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vs
Check out the coolest electric car concepts from the International Motor Show at Frankfurt. From Mercedes, Audi, Mini and more. http://dgit.in/conceptE
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Researchers think we should start mining asteroids and that could help us in becoming truly multi-planetary species. http://dgit.in/AsteroidM
Xiaomi Mi A1 vs Moto G5S Plus
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The Xiaomi Mi A1 and Moto G5S Plus are two phones that sport stock Android and dual-cameras as their unique selling points. Prasid Banerjee | prasid@digit.in
INTRODUCTION
Is your phone “pure, secure and always up to date”? That’s actually Nokia’s promise, but also what every stock Android-based smartphone boasts. After spending years trying to promote custom interfaces, companies are finally realising that a big subset of the market actually makes buying decisions based on stock Android software. The most recent to
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realise this, of course, is Xiaomi. And when you do make a stock Android phone, you become direct competitors with Motorola. The Xiaomi Mi A1 (review) and Moto G5S Plus (review) are identical devices, as far as specifications are concerned. They run stock Android software, sport the same chipset, have similar sized batteries and displays with the same resolution. Barring the
Mi and Moto logos, there’s precious little to choose from. The two phones even cost the same. How do you decide which phone to buy, then? Read this comparison, of course!
BUILD AND DESIGN If you compare dimensions, there’s little separating these two devices. The phones are equally tall, wide
tech
> code / creativity / community >
FOR THOSE GEEKS WHO LIKE TO GET THEIR HANDS DIRTY IN CODE
DEVWORX
Kotlin – One for all N
package src import java.util.* Note: A number of packages are imported itself by Kotlin. Those are • kotlin.* • kotlin.annotation.* • kotlin.collections.* • kotlin.comparisons.* (since 1.1) • kotlin.io.* • kotlin.ranges.* • kotlin.sequences.* • kotlin.text.* Also, other JVM and JS Packages are imported. Import statements are also Similar to Java or in the new ES6 declaration. You may also import packages by using the following code: import foo.* Or import foo.Bar import bar.Bar as bBar
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Agnibha Bose | feedback@digit.in
activity or html tag builders within the language. Now in this article we're going to use IntelliJ as the IDE because it is by far the most supported one. Starting with a Kotlin Project is very easy in IntelliJ. You’ll be asked to select a coding way using Kotlin. We will start of with Kotlin + JVM. Now we start of with the coding part. Code execution starts from the main function similar to that of Java.
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Let's get you started with Kotlin, Android's latest pick.
owadays a lot of programming languages have surfaced and it's natural for you find it difficult to develop in just a single language. For folks like us who struggle with multiple programming languages for different scenarios, Kotlin can be a saviour.
SO WHAT IS KOTLIN?
First Create a file named helloworld.kt, we will then create a basic hello world function. Some thing which goes like this: fun main(args: Array<String>){ println("Hello Everyone!!!") } Now running a Kotlin File is very easy and can be done in IntelliJ quite easily. Just Right-Click on the file and click on Run. After the compilation is done, the kotlin compiler creates an out folder and a .class file for the JVM to run. After successful execution of the code the output should look like this.
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Kotlin is a strongly typed programming language, that runs on JVM but can also be compiled by any compatible JS Compiler or LLVM(Low Level Virtual Machine) Compiler. So ideally you can write once and typically run anywhere where these three kinds of compilers are available. Kotlin has been developed by the JetBrains team, the same team that has created a plethora of IDEs like IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm etc. Kotlin is also the third language which is fully supported on android after Java and C++.
WHY DO I NEED TO USE KOTLIN? I DON’T WANT TO LEARN ANOTHER NEW SET OF SYNTAX....
To start of with Kotlin is lot like Java, in essence the way Kotlin is written. Kotlin is very concise and very simple to read. If you are starting fresh then this is ideal because you only need to learn one language instead of three. Kotlin also provides some nifty features to include android
54 | Digit | October 2017 | www.digit.in
Now coming to some basic syntax of the code.
1. DEFINING PACKAGES Packages are defined similar to java . Which means, we'll be defining them at the top of the program.
2. DEFINING FUNCTIONS
Functions can be defined in many ways in the Kotlin syntax. Example Function of two variables with a return type: fun sum(a: Int, b: Int): Int{ return a + b } Here, fun is the keyword to define a function. 'a' and 'b' are defined as two arguments of the function and a : followed by a dataType is defining the type of the arguments. Here, the last ': Int' is used to define the return type of the function. The same function can be defined in this way: fun sum(a: Int, b: Int) = a + b This is similar to something that we are used to with ES6 where the return type is inferred. Similar to ES6, we can also define default arguments: fun sum(a: Int, b: Int = -1) = a + b
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cover story
Stop what you’re doing! It’s
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time to stop being so serious. Way too
much time and effort is spent on these pages of ours trying to get you to be serious about tech, to be passionate, to care about it. No more. We’re just going to take this
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month and show you how to have fun with tech, and how technology can be used to bring laughter to the people around you. This Diwali holidays, put down that stupid phone, or tablet, and meet
some of your friends in person. Even if it’s just to play the pranks on them that we’re showcasing in this cover story. Still reading this? Wow, persistent. You’re really determined to have fun, aren’t you?
Ok you can stop now, or else you’ll go blind!
Bet that’s not the first time you’ve heard that phrase, eh?
Team Digit | feedback@digit.in
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Geeky cooking
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Design: Peterson PJ
So what should you start off with? Fancy some milk of the poppy? Or maybe some Romulan Ale? Head over to www.geekychef.com for some of the most popular recipes from pop-culture and some more over at http://dgit.in/ NerdyRecipes. And if baking’s your thing, don’t forget to checkout http://dgit.in/ BMisNrdy for some cool ideas. But if you want to turn up the geek in your kitchen, check out J.Kenzi Lopez-alt’s book, The Food Lab – Better Home Cooking Through Science (http:// dgit.in/TFoodLabAmzn). Eight pages on
Make PCB Trinkets
Geek or not, every one of us has old, non-functional electronics lying around the house. And what do most electronics have in common? Printed Circuit Boards, or PCBs. While the ones in your old DVD player or that dead hard drive might be fried or useless, they still might have some vallue if you make geeky accessories out of them. For instance, check out a cool project on making circuit board earrings
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Cooking, by itself, is a lot of fun for a lot of us. And if you add a spoonful (pun intended) of geekiness to that, what you get is an awesome pastime that ends up with... even more food!
onions and four on mashing your burger patty before cooking it - they’re not messing around! And if money is not a problem, modernistcuisine.com is the ultimate scientific encyclopaedia to cooking!
here: http://dgit.in/PCBEarrings. But if jewellery is not your thing, there are tons more ways to DIY the heck out of PCBs, like a DIY smartphone stand (http://dgit.in/PCBPhnStnd) or a PCB Desk Clock (http://dgit.in/PCBClock). If you’re planning to upgrade your system soon, this could be a nice way to remember your good ol’ components once they are defunct. Or better yet, bring that PCB back to your build with a circuit board mousepad. A paper cutter, some sandpaper and you don’t even need a how-to for this one!
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Build your own Bat-signal
Pretty much everyone knows how cool it is to be Batman – especially Batman. All you need to do for that is go through years of training, build a massive business empire, and yeah, get a bat-signal. While we can’t help you immediately with the first two, the last one is absolutely doable. Basically, you’ll need a high power light (and there are some pretty powerful ones out there: http://dgit.in/ FnxRC40) and some decent skills with cardboard/wood, depending on your material of choice. Next, choose the intensity of light depending on your www.digit.in | October2017 | Digit | 59
WHAT’S NEW
Zika virus can possibly fight brain cancer
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SCIENCE RULES!
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Zika treatment with chemotherapy gave even better results. As of now, it is too early to decide if this is a definitive outcome that is going to lead to successful human trials as well. On the other hand, this is just the first step and the researchers have indicated a desire to develop a safe strain of the Zika virus to go ahead with human trial sometime next year. http://dgit.in/ZikaCancer
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SCIENCE IS THE PATH TO KNOWLEDGE, AND FINDING OUT ABOUT HOW OUR UNIVERSE WORKS. YOU CAN’T BE A GEEK AND NOT KNOW YOUR SCIENCE!
f anything qualifies as the worst health story of 2016, it would be the Zika virus. With its devastating effect on infants and the emergency declared by WHO, no one needs to be told how badly the virus affected the world. But as new research indicates, the virus could be a key in fighting brain cancer in adult humans. Researchers from UC San Diego and Washington University in St. Louis injected the cancer cells in brains of mice with the virus and observed a significantly slower tumor growth as well as extended lifespans. On top of that, combining the
Exploring space with AI
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pace-time distortions – sounds like something right out of science-fiction doesn’t it? But gravitational waves (i.e ripples in the curvature of spacetime that propagate as waves at the speed of light) are very much real. Once proper analysis on gravitational waves is done, it allows us to see much further into the universe than we’ve ever seen before. And now, AI will help us speed this analysis up like never before.
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THIS MONTH IN THE SCIENCE SECTION: The biggest holes in the world, Diagnose health problems on your phone, The scary phenomenon of musical hallucinations and innovation awards for students in India.
The science of pain
A new working hypothesis explains how pain in our body does not always result with tissue damage, but instead is generated by the Central Nervous System (CNS) and lives within the brain. http://dgit.in/brainPain
Discussion on climate change
Researchers claim that scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal. However, is this current trend of global warming actually the result of human activities? Our climate has changed throughout history... http://dgit.in/NewClimate
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A neural network developed by researchers at the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, a joint institute of Stanford Uni-
China banning all fossil fuel vehicles After European countries such as the UK and France have led the way, China, the world’s largest automobile market, has announced plans to ditch fossil fuels entirely, and is working on a timetable for the same right now. http://dgit.in/ChinaFossil
versity and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, can identify and analyse images of ‘gravitational lensing’. According to this phenomenon, initially suggested by Albert Einstein, giant masses, like stars, curve light around themselves, allowing us to look beyond what would have been normally visible with a conventional telescope mechanism. Continue reading: http://dgit.in/AI4space
Simulated moon base expedition
The Lunar Expedition 1 mission that lasted for two weeks, experimenting with the changes of the crew’s biological clocks, at the Habitat Lunares base in Poland is complete. You can learn more about the findings here: http://dgit.in/MoonBase1
sci Grain silo = Art Museum
Expensive GPUs
NVIDIA GPU prices set to keep rising, thanks to DRAM shortage and cryptocurrency mining. http://dgit.in/LessGPU4U
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IGNORANCE
Architect Mat Cash transformed a facility meant to store 30,000 tons of produce into a celebration of art. http://dgit.in/Grainart
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You’re hearing things...
A rare occurrence, musical hallucinations can make you believe that someone’s playing a piano in the next room when you live alone. Here’s how it happens.
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magine this scenario: you’ve had a tired day but you’ve made it through and are about to go to sleep. Your eyes are closed, sleep is gradually seeping in when out of nowhere, someone in the next room starts playing the Imperial March on the piano. Problem is, you live alone! Gathering up your courage, you grab whatever you can for self-defence and slowly tip-toe around the house, looking for a phantom pianist. There’s nobody to be found anywhere. You’re convinced that you’re being haunted. Heck, you don’t even have a piano! It’s very unlikely that this would happen to you, but this does happen to someone suffering from hearing loss who experiences a musical hallucination for the first time. Even if it’s not the full-fledged Imperial March, in some cases it’s just a few repeating tones, or a melody of some sorts. Either way, imagine the terror of actually living through that!
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Arnab Mukherjee | arnab@digit.in
WHAT IS IT?
A musical hallucination, as the name suggests, is hearing music when none is being played within hearing range. A simple hearing disorder is not that
For first timers, the experience can be really scary
uncommon. Say, if you’re the clubbing and concert-ing kind, you might have already experienced a slight (or heavy) buzzing tone after you’ve left the venue. A persistent version of this disorder is more commonly known as tinnitus. Though musical hallucinations (MH) are very different from tinnitus – they’re more complex, rarer, and as a result, we know much less about them than we should.
WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE? The big difference between tinnitus and musical hallucinations, though, is how real they can seem – especially the first few times it happens. It doesn’t sound like a pop song playing on your headphones with a full array of instruments. MH occurrences are a
WHAT’S NEW
A chess puzzle worth million dollars
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estimate that this particular problem could take thousands of years to solve! The problem is really just a scaled up version of the Queens Puzzle. http://dgit.in/MillionChess
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What the Fudge?
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THIS IS TECHNOLOGY, CULTURE AND SCIENCE WITH A DIFFERENCE, AND THAT DIFFERENCE IS USUALLY ENOUGH TO MAKE MOST NORMAL PEOPLE GO “WTF?”
f you have a penchant for problemsolving and love to play chess, then you simply can’t pass up an offer to net $1 Million for doing just that, can you? Folks from the University of St. Andrews and the Clay Mathematics Institute recently came up with a unique chess puzzle that is available for anyone to solve. And if you do manage to do so, then the Clay Mathematics Institute will be more than happy to hand over a million dollars to the first person to successfully solve it. The puzzle holds the key to unlock many other impossible problems which include breaking complex cryptography ciphers. It’s not the easiest million dollars to get though, because researchers
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irfare forecasting app Hopper’s new ‘Flex Watch’ feature makes it easier than ever to find the cheapest flight deals. ‘Flex Watch’ is an in-app feature that helps travellers find travel plans at the best price deals without worrying about the actual destination. Yes, you read that right, plan a vacation without even knowing where you’re going! The app (Hopper) starts by asking you when and for
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PREPARE TO SCRATCH THAT HEAD OF YOURS: This month we try and figure out where all this Microsoft bashing came from, and how it all got started. Then there’s your favourite DGT section filled to the brim with wacky and sexy gadgets...
New tool for spontaneous travellers
Anatomy of daydreaming
Researchers find that an average person’s mind wanders most frequently (about 65% of the time) during personal grooming activities, and least often (about 10%) while having intercourse. One of the main causes of accidents in our daily lives is the result of daydreaming. http://dgit.in/daydreamN
A pillow that always stays cold
There is a new smart pillow pad that can not only monitor your sleeping patterns but also adjust the pillow’s temperature throughout the night. Founded by a smartup named Moona, you can back this project on Kickstarter right now for $249. http://dgit.in/ColdPillow
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how long you plan to travel. You can specify your dates or even keep things totally openended by saying ‘anytime’.
Build toilets; get electricity
In UP, the government has reportedly been threatening to cut off power in villages without toilets, where people are still pooping in the open. The government also threatens to withdraw ration cards and pension payments for the same reason. http://dgit.in/poopLight
You can then select the results board to ‘anywhere’ or specify continents/regions and the app will spontaneously compare the cheapest flight options and trip plans for you. You can also add multiple destinations at once and the app will automatically give you selections of different cities sorted by price. You have to check it out if you’re planning a vacation: http://dgit.in/FlexWatch
Copyrighted tattoos
Many tattoo artists often copyright their tattoos. However, did you know that one implication of such a copyright could prevent you from removing the tattoo from your own body? Laws can be pretty weird sometimes, and really get under your skin! http://dgit.in/tattooLaw
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EXAMINED
TOR 302 T-Buzzer
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he Toreto TOR 302 T-Buzzer is both a Bluetooth speaker and a karaoke mic. It comes with single-touch pairing and should be able to pair with any Bluetooth enabled device quite easily. We had no trouble pairing it with our phones. The TOR 302’s appeal lies in the fact that you can use it both as a mic and a speaker at the same time, which enhances the overall karaoke experience. You could play an instrumental version of a song you’re planning to sing for example. It pairs up very well with most popular karaoke apps out there. Like Smule’s Sing! Karaoke for example. The TOR 302 comes with a TF slot, a USB slot and a 5V charging slot at the bottom. You can record stuff and store/save it using the TOR 302 itself via microSD cards or a USB device, and replay the recordings through the device’s own speakers. The control buttons for the TOR 302 are all present on a panel on the mic’s handle. The buttons present include the on/off switch, echo control, volume control (the echo and volume control only come into play when using the device’s mic functions). Then you have your standard speaker buttons, play/pause (receive calls) and previ-
ous/next. Lastly, you have the ‘M’ button for pairing and switching the modes. When not in use specifically for karaoke, it functions like any bluetooth speaker with a mic, so you can use it to make and receive calls, listen to music, or just mess around with a portable mic. In the looks department, Toreto has gone retro with the TOR 302. It’s got a golden/bronze textured finish as well which further amplifies its retro appeal. The device sports a metal body, so there’s some weight to it. The device offers around 6-8 hours of battery life, which is longer than any karaoke party should last. Price: `2,499
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WD My Passport Wireless Pro T
he WD My Passport Wireless Pro is directed at photographers and videographers who want easy access to portable and wireless storage. The device is easy to pair with any mobile device as long as it supports Wi-Fi. It becomes easy to offload, edit and stream photos or videos while on the go. The Wireless Pro is built with 802.11ac, an SD 3.0 card reader, and USB 3.0. Attaching an external storage to the Wireless Pro via USB also further expands its wireless storage capabilities/capacity. You can also use the device to create a wireless hotspot to connect multiple devices to it. WD claims you can stream up to eight HD videos on eight different devices simultaneously.
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Its battery can last for up to 10 hours on a full charge, so you should be able to keep it running for the entirety of your outing sessions. The WD Wireless Pro doubles as a 6,400 mAh power bank; you can use it to charge your smartphones, DSLRs, or any other USB devices.
You can also use the Wireless Pro as a media server through which you can wirelessly stream your media. However, it uses a service called Plex to do so, which has caused some complications for some. Price: $199.99 (`12,800 approx)
SPECIFICATIONS Compatible with Windows 7 and above, Mac OS X Mountain Lion and above. Requires DLNA/UPnP or Plex-enabled devices for streaming | Wi-Fi | SD card slot | USB 3.0 | USB 2.0 (host) | CAPACITY OPTIONS: 4TB | 3TB | 2TB | 1TB | DIMENSIONS (2TB AND 3TB): LENGTH: 5 inches | WIDTH: 5 inches | HEIGHT: 0.94 inches | WEIGHT: 0.45kg
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BMW 740Li
The peak of BMW’s luxury offerings Touch and iDrive inputs
The mids sound flat, and although highs are smooth and prominent, the bass lacks depth in comparison to the other audio setups found in luxury cars. Overall soundstaging, meanwhile, is quite decent, and it fares quite well in directional audio distribution.
You get a 10-way iDrive controller with a handwriting recognition pad at the
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Souvik Das | souvik@digit.in
front of the central column to turn up (or down) the volume, point two fingers at it to switch to the next track.
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Despite the shortcomings, the BMW 7 Series never fails to put a smile on your face.
THE TECHNOLOGY INSIDE Customisability and fragrances
The BMW 740Li is furnished with carefully picked veneer and plush leather. You get to even choose the thread on the smooth leather stitching. You also get a fragrance dispenser stowed inside the dash, and BMW gives you the option to select two distinct fragrances as per your wish from their bespoke collection. You can even control the intensity of the perfume in three different stages.
The infotainment system
centre, seven physical keys to select options in the infotainment software, and the seamless ease of usage is as good as always. The buttons and the selector are girded by metal. The touch performance of the BMW 7’s infotainment display is quite decent, although you will mostly be operating it via the iDrive controller. The biggest reason for this is the way it is placed – high on the dash, and away from the driver’s instinctive reach.
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The 9.2-inch infotainment display is powered by the familiar BMW ConnectedDrive infotainment firmware. The display is touch-enabled, but still retains the wonderful iDrive controller. The options here remain similar to what you’d find it in the likes of the BMW 5 series – a 3D satellite-linked navigation unit with live traffic data, point-of-interest, landmarks and multiple map views. Other options include driving dynamics, standard phone settings, application setup on the ConnectedDrive display, and input interfaces include Bluetooth, USB, a CD/DVD drive, SD card and aux-in.
This is the best that BMW has on offer
Gesture control The BMW 740Li recognises a range of gestures. For instance, you twirl your finger clockwise (or anticlockwise) in
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Audio setup While the international trim comes with Bowers & Wilkins speakers, the India-spec variant comes with a Harman/Kardon audio system. You get decent customisability, with an equaliser, standard balance/fader, and two modes that allow you to pinpoint the sound across the entire car cabin or to the driver. The sound itself is somewhat underwhelming, that you would expect from an upmarket in-car audio setup.
The iDrive controller remains among the best input systems in the market
Automatic parking
The automatic parking interface is a little difficult to fathom, since even detection of the parking space is done automatically. All that you can do is put the gear in reverse, and wait for the car to detect if enough parking space is available for it. The highly automated interface will see very few people actually using the system too often, but the entire process is well guided with screen prompts that make you only take control of the gear shifts. A simpler interface here would have helped the autonomous operations.
Smart key The smart key hosts a small, multicolour resistive touchscreen interface, and the options presented through it include central locking for doors and windows, remote switching of lights, a mileage indicator that shows the car’s fuel range till empty, a pre-timer for the
WHAT’S NEW
John Cena could be Shazam!
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YOU CAN’T SEE ME
is apparently a frontrunner for the role, along with Joshua Sasse, British actor of Galavant fame. The movie is set to start filming February 2018 and we should have much more details as the date draws nearer. http://dgit.in/JCezam
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GEEK CULTURE IS OUR WAY OF LIFE, AND ENCOMPASSES MOVIES, GAMES, COMICS, AND TRENDS FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE
ill you be able to see him if he is cast as the DC superhero? Jokes apart, we expect some high octane wrestling action with Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam! DC Comics has been trying hard to get a strong hold on to the superhero movie market and with the runaway success that Wonder Woman was, we could be looking at that becoming a successful attempt. Another movie that could be really crucial for that is the upcoming Shazam!, with director David F. Sandberg recently announcing that pre-production was underway of the DC Comics adaptation. And with that announcement, we are already getting reports of rumoured casting confirmations – WWE Wrestler John Cena
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isney’s streaming service is slowly nearing reality and it already looks to be tough competition for the likes of Netflix, even before it has an official name. As per Disney CEO Bob Iger, Marvel and Star Wars films and TV franchises will change homes and move out of Netflix for good, starting 2019. The new streaming service is set to launch in 2019 and will offer original Disney movie productions, Marvel movies, Star
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John Cena might be casted as Shazam and we are stoked about it. This month, one of us goes on to rant how rushed game development is bad, Booman losing it on the iPhone X, and few interesting discussions from our forums. Also, don’t miss what went on in the labs while writing this magazine.
More competition for Netflix
What’s with these all-white paintings?
If you’ve ever been to an art museum, you might have seen an all-white painting like this. What you might not have known is that this one in particular, is the “Bridge” by Robert Ryman (1980) which was sold for a whooping $20.6 million. http://dgit.in/20Mwhite
A present-day Game of Thrones
A Lannister Prime Minister has to give a speech to his citizens to calm them down about fears of things coming over the wall. A direwolf steps out of a limousine. Protesters wave the Stark sigil against smoke bombs. This new fanmade trailer takes Game of Thrones to the future. http://dgit.in/FutureGOT
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Wars franchise, and Pixar films. Disney will stream Marvel and Star Wars content exclusively and no other service will house the same. All the original Marvel TV shows on Netflix, including
Filming of Episode IX has ended
Star Wars: Episode IX is nearing its December release and it has finally finished filming. There’s a lot of anticipation behind the movie after the trailer was revealed, on the fate of the Rey and Luke. Expecting the second trailer to come out any time now. http://dgit.in/SWIXEnd
Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Luke Cage, etc will remain on the platform. However, reports suggest that as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Defenders might move to Disney. Looks like Netflix has one more year to work with the sequel to The Defenders, but we don’t know how this latest development will affect the continuation of the superhero series on the platform. http://dgit.in/DisneyFlix
Star-studded anime?
Netflix’s upcoming anime Neo Yokio is a satirical/ parody take on the Shonen genre. The main protagonist is voiced by Jaden Smith and his butler by Jude Law. Rest of the cast includes Susan Sarandon, Tavi Gevinson, Jason Schwartzman, the Kid Mero, Desus Nice, Willow Smith, etc. http://dgit.in/NeoYokio
culture No new Palpatine
More rumours about Gambit
Star Wars actor Ian McDiarmid who played Emperor Palpatine, doesn’t want anyone else to play the character. http://dgit.in/EmprrPlptn
COMMUNITY
Stuck in development for a really long time, new rumours and plot details are making their way. http://dgit.in/GambitMv
THE DIGIT COMMUNITY IS FILLED WITH BRIGHT IDEAS and we find the best among the best every month to bring them to you in this section.
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g standing n lo a g in e B sion is joke, cold fu sly. We u io r e s n e k g ta finally bein y. explore wh .in
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member in the list of alternative energy source since the 90’s, cold fusion promises to be a clean, cheap and possibly limitless source of energy. Once considered to be a hoax (pathological science), it has gained a lot of traction in recent years with even commercial products surfacing.
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Cold Fusion: could it be the answer to our energy woes?
WHAT IS COLD FUSION?
room temperature. The setup for these reactions are also far more simpler than the complex tokamaks required to run traditional fusion reactions. A simplified cold fusion setup can be abstracted to dipping two electrodes into a solution of heavy water and Palladium, similar to an electrolysis setup. Researchers claim to have observed hydrogen fusing at room temperature and releasing heat that cannot be explained by the current level of electrochemistry. If these claims prove true, unlimited energy may not be restricted only to the realm of science fiction.
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A nuclear reaction is any reaction happening at the atomic level. There are two types of nuclear reactions, fission and fusion. Fission is where a heavier atom splits into lighter atoms, releasing energy. For example, in nuclear power plants, Uranium is used as fuel which splits into Barium and Krypton. On the other hand, fusion is where two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom with extra mass becoming energy. Our sun is powered by fusion reaction where two or more Hydrogen atoms combine to form Helium. Fusion is better than fission for a number of reasons. The major one is the waste products released. In a fission reaction, the waste products are highly radioactive and difficult to dispose off safely, whereas in fusion, the waste product is just plain old helium. With all of these benefits going for fusion, why hasn’t it become mainstream? A lot of energy is required to fuse atoms. Uranium is naturally unstable and is begging to be split. Hydrogen on the other hand, is very stable and needs some coaxing to fuse. Enter cold fusion, a hypothetical nuclear fusion reaction that occurs at
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a Haran Rajkum
Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons with their electrolysis tube.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF COLD FUSION
The story of cold fusion begins in 1989, when two scientists from Utah, Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons claimed to have achieved nuclear fusion in an electrolysis experiment. The published results caused an uproar at that time. Over the next few weeks, countless researchers tried to replicate the results, but to no avail. The inability to replicate, led to the mainstream scientific community to dismiss the experiment as a hoax and brand cold fusion research as junk. Scientists who pursued cold fusion research were ridiculed, mainly by the remainder of the community. As a result, cold fusion died a cold death. However, despite the mainstream view, a small percentage of determined researchers continued to experiment on cold fusion.
THE WORLD FINALLY WARMS UP TO COLD FUSION It’s called LENR (Low-energy nuclear reaction) now to remove the toxicity attached to the former name. The name change also suggests the broader possibility that what’s happening under the hood is not fusion but some other unidentified nuclear reaction. The modern world’s shift in perception towards LENR can be marked by the interest
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