Microsoft joins Google to create new generation Progressive Web Apps

Microsoft and Google have joined hands to help web developers get their Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) into the Play Store

Microsoft and Google have joined hands to help web developers get their Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) into the Play Store.

Progressive web apps use emerging web browser APIs and features, along with traditional progressive enhancement strategy, to bring a native app-like user experience to cross-platform web applications.

Microsoft's PWABuilder and Google's Bubblewrap are now working together to help web developers.

PWABuilder.com is Microsoft's open source developer tool that helps build high-quality PWAs and publish them in app stores.

Bubblewrap is Google's command line utility and library to generate and sign Google Play Store packages from Progressive Web Apps.

PWABuilder is now using Bubblerwrap under the hood, Microsoft says, and is giving back some integration features to PWAs on Android.

After months of collaboration, the two tech giants have announced two great new features for PWA developers: Web shortcuts support and advanced Android features and customization.

From PWABuilder, developers can customize the appearance of the Android status bar and navigation bar, customise Android splash screen, change launcher name, use an existing signing key and more.

"We are working together to make the web a more capable app platform. In addition to the above, we're also collaborating with Google on Project Fugu to incubate new web platform features," said Microsoft's Judah Gabriel Himango.

Facebook's Zuckerberg drops annual challenges to focus on longer-term goals

The move would see him focus more on his role as CEO and the problems that have afflicted Facebook.

Company News : Facebook Inc Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said on Thursday he was dropping his annual challenges this year to take a longer-term focus on the decade ahead.

Zuckerberg said he plans to work on a new private social platform, decentralised technology, generational issues and new forms of digital governance among others.

The move would see him focus more on his role as CEO and the problems that have afflicted Facebook instead of personal goals such as learning Mandarin and reading two books a month.

"Rather than having year-to-year challenges, I've tried to think about what I hope the world and my life will look in 2030 so I can make sure I'm focusing on those things," he said.

Zuckerberg, whose company is under pressure for failing to adequately police content and protect user privacy on its platform, said he expects governments to come up with clearer rules for the internet over the next decade.

"Platforms like Facebook have to make tradeoffs on social values we all hold dear - like between free expression and safety, or between privacy and law enforcement, or between creating open systems and locking down data and access," he said.

"I don't think private companies should be making so many important decisions that touch on fundamental democratic values."

Over the next decade, Zuckerberg plans to fund and give a platform to younger entrepreneurs and scientists to cure, prevent and manage diseases.

He pointed out that while the internet helped people to connect with each other across the world, it also made people crave for intimacy.

"For the next decade, some of the most important social infrastructure will help us reconstruct all kinds of smaller communities to give us that sense of intimacy again," he said.

49 mn Instagram users had their data leaked by Mumbai-based agency, Chtrbox

The company termed the reports of private data being leaked as 'inaccurate' and acknowledged that 'a particular database for limited influencers was inadvertently exposed for approximately 72 hours'.

Mumbai-based Chtrbox, which was allegedly responsible for leaking data of millions of Instagram users, has said database for a limited number of influencers was inadvertently exposed but that did not include any sensitive personal data.

The company termed the reports of private data being leaked as "inaccurate" and acknowledged that "a particular database for limited influencers was inadvertently exposed for approximately 72 hours".

"This database did not include any sensitive personal data and only contained information available from the public domain, or self reported by influencers," it said in a statement late Tuesday night.

On Tuesday, Facebook-owned Instagram said it is investigating whether a third-party - Chtrbox - improperly stored its user data in violation of its policies after reports that information of millions of users being available online allegedly in an unsecured database emerged.

These reports said the database found online - with over 49 million records - contained information of millions of Instagram influencers, celebrities and brand accounts. The database was allegedly traced back to Chtrbox.

The reports had said apart from public data (like bio, profile picture and number of followers), the database also allegedly contained users' private contact information such as email address and phone number.

An Instagram spokesperson had said the company is "investigating whether a third party improperly stored Instagram data, in violation of our policies. It's also not clear whether the phone numbers and e-mails in Chtrbox's database came from Instagram".

Chtrbox, in its statement, asserted that no personal data has been sourced through unethical means by the company.

"Our database is for internal research use only, we have never sold individual data or our database, and we have never purchased hacked-data resulting from social media platform breaches. Our use of our database is limited to help our team connect with the right influencers to support influencers to monetize their online presence, and help brands create great content," it added.

Business Standard

Why Facebook's effort to fight hate speech with external experts won't work

Facebook has long faced criticism for doing too little to block hate speech, incitements to violence, bullying and other types of content that violate its 'community standards'.

Facebook's new effort to bring outside experts into its content review process promises to be complicated and possibly contentious, if discussions this week at a meeting in Singapore are any indication.

Over the course of two days, 38 academics, non-profit officials and others from 15 Asian countries who were invited to a Facebook workshop wrestled with how a proposed "external oversight board" for content decisions might function.

The gathering, the first of a half-dozen planned for cities around the world, produced one clear recommendation: the new board must be empowered to weigh in not only on specific cases, but on the policies and processes behind them.

(Business Standard)

Facebook has long faced criticism for doing too little to block hate speech, incitements to violence, bullying and other types of content that violate its "community standards."

In Myanmar, for example, Facebook for years took little action while the platform was used to encourage violence against the Rohingya minority.

But the company also draws fire for not doing enough to defend free speech. Activists accuse the company of taking down posts and blocking accounts for political or business reasons, an allegation it denies.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the idea of an independent oversight board last November and a draft charter was released in January.

"We want to find a way to strengthen due process and procedural fairness," Brent Harris, director of global affairs and governance at Facebook, said at the opening of the Singapore meeting. A Reuters reporter was invited to observe the proceedings on the condition that the names of participants and some details of the discussions not be disclosed.

Facebook's initial plan calls for a 40-person board that would function as a court of appeal on content decisions, with the power to issue binding rulings on specific cases.

But as attendees peppered Facebook officials with questions and worked through issues such as how the board would be chosen and how it would select cases, they repeatedly came back to questions of policy. Rulings on individual postings would mean little if they were not linked to the underlying content review procedures, many attendees said.

Hate speech policies were a big focus of discussion. Many attendees said they felt Facebook was often too lax and blind to local circumstances, but the company has held firm to the concept of a single set of global standards and a deliberate bias towards leaving content on the site.

From foldable devices to smarter assistants, technology to expect in 2019

In new year 2019, gadgets are expected to get a major transformation, setting the stage for devices that would change the way we interact with technology.

From the news of when to expect a first 5G smartphone to a glimpse of a foldable screen device, the year 2018 set in motion a lot of things that would materialise in the new year 2019. The technology and gadget space is expected to get a major transformation, setting the stage for devices that would change the way we interact with technology. Business Standard lists some of the upcoming devices and technologies:

FOLDABLE DEVICES WITH BENDABLE SCREENS

Since its inception, mobile phones have been bearing a bar shaped form factor that cannot be bent, twisted or folded. However, things are about to change and soon there would be devices with bendable screens, making the concept of foldable devices a reality. Last year, South Korean electronics giant Samsung unveiled a working prototype of its first foldable device at its developers’ conference. Called the Galaxy X, the device boasts an inward bendable screen and a secondary screen on the outside. The convertible device (tablet-cum-smartphone) is expected to be unveiled this year.

Not just Samsung, other smartphone makers like LG Electronics, Lenovo, Motorola and Huawei are also known to be working on their own foldable devices, which are expected to be unveiled sometime this year.

ROLLABLE TELEVISIONS

The rollable OLED screen technology has been around for some time. However, it has not yet found its way into consumer-ready products like smartphones or televisions. Last year, LG showcased its 65-inch rollable OLED TV at the Consumer Electronic Show. This year, Samsung and Sony are expected to unveil televisions with rollable screens. While the utility of such televisions is still unknown, it is safe to assume that these upcoming televisions would at least address the space and portability issue that the current generation televisions face.

5G IN SMARTPHONES

With all the optimism around the 5G network, it is safe to assume that the next generation of mobile connectivity would start to roll out by the end of 2020. However, to ensure that consumers have compatible devices when the technology rolls out, smartphone makers are working over time on devices with 5G network support. These are expected to be launched sometime this year. Chinese smartphone maker Oppo has already showcased a 5G-ready prototype based on its Find X smartphone. OnePlus, another Chinese company, also revealed its plan to launch a 5G smartphone this year. Likewise, Samsung, Huawei, Honor and other smartphone manufacturers are also said to be working on their own smartphones with 5G network support.

Business Standard

Facebook accounts shut for meddling in US polls may be linked to Russia

On Tuesday, the numbers of accounts removed for "coordinated inauthentic behavior" was raised to 36 at Facebook and 99 at the social network's Instagram service.

Facebook on Tuesday said it shut down more accounts aimed at influencing the US midterm election and that it is exploring a possible link to Russia."As we've continued to investigate, we detected and removed some additional Facebook and Instagram accounts," head of cybersecurity policy Nathaniel Gleicher said in an update posted at the social network.While stressing the challenge of identifying the culprits, he noted that a website claiming to be associated with the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a Russia-based troll farm, published a list of Instagram accounts they said that they had created.

Facebook had already shut down most of those accounts, and blocked the rest after an internal investigation, according to Gleicher. (Business Standard )

"Ultimately, this effort may have been connected to the IRA, but we aren't best placed to say definitively whether that is the case," Gleicher said.

"Trolls have an incentive to claim that their activities are more widespread and influential than may be the case." On the eve of the midterm election, Facebook announced it blocked some 30 accounts on its platform and 85 more on Instagram after police warned they may be linked to "foreign entities" trying to interfere.

On Tuesday, the numbers of accounts removed for "coordinated inauthentic behavior" was raised to 36 at Facebook and 99 at the social network's Instagram service.

Most of the accounts were created after the middle of last year. Overall, the Instagram accounts had amassed about 1.25 million followers, with 600,000 of those people located in the United States, according to Facebook.

Meanwhile, the Facebook pages had attracted a total of approximately 65,000 followers in total, with posts mainly in French.

Most of the Instagram accounts were said to be in English.

Facebook shared examples of content being shared, saying there were many posts about celebrities as well as social issues such as women's rights and gay pride.

Facebook blocked the initial accounts a day after being contact by US law enforcement officials about online activity they believe may be linked to foreign entities.

A study published in late October found that misinformation on social media was spreading at a greater rate than during the run-up to the 2016 presidential vote, which Russia is accused of manipulating through a vast propaganda campaign in favor of Donald Trump, the eventual winner.

Major online social platforms have been under intense pressure to avoid being used by "bad actors" out to sway outcomes by publishing misinformation and enraging voters.

Facebook weeks ago opened a "war room" at its Menlo Park headquarters in California to be a nerve center for the fight against misinformation and manipulation of the largest social network by foreign actors trying to influence elections in the United States and elsewhere.

The war room is part of stepped up security announced by Facebook, which will be adding some 20,000 employees.

Microsoft rolls out end-to-end encryption option for Skype: Report

The new encryption feature could be activated from a "New Private Conversation" option that is now part of the "Compose" menu or from the recipient's profile.

Microsoft has reportedly rolled out end-to-end encryption for private conversations on Skype that would ensure that the chat content between two people is hidden in both, the chat list and the notifications.

This feature comes after months of testing and is now available for all users on Skype iOS, Android, Linux, Mac and Windows, tech website MSPoweruser.com reported late on Monday.

Microsoft is yet to confirm the development.

The new encryption feature could be activated from a "New Private Conversation" option that is now part of the "Compose" menu or from the recipient's profile.

Users could participate in only one private conversation from a single device at a time and on switching the conversation to other devices, the messages they send and receive would be tied to the device they would be using at the time, the report added.

In January, Microsoft said they would offer the encryption feature for audio calls, text messaging and image, audio and video file transmissions.

Except for making the communication channel secure, end-to-end encryption also ensures that messages stored on servers could only be read by those involved in the communications.

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