TechJuice

Google Play Store adds new icons to help you track changes in app rankings

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 16:43:15 GMT

Google Play Store has introduced a neat little feature that makes it much easier for you to track the rise and fall of specific applications within various category leaderboards.

First spotted by the team at Android Police, the new chart position icons immediately represent which apps are having a great day within the Play Store leaderboards at any point in time. Before the inclusion of this feature, it was very difficult to track the changes in leaderboard rankings, especially if you hardly view the Play Store throughout the day.

When you launch the Google Play Store charts panel, you’ll see small icons under the position metric to denote any changes in said ranking. It’s not immediately clear just how far up or far down an app or game may have moved within the app store rankings, but it’s a bit clearer than it has been at any other stage.

Nothing on these chart icons indicates the time period used to track the Play Store position of an app, so while they are a nice addition, they lack some pretty important context.

This is what the feature will look like in action, courtesy of the images shared by 9to5Google:

These visual cues will not only help users track changes in application popularity, but will also enable developers and market analysts swiftly identify the latest trends and topics of interest. For instance, a cursory glance at the images shared above shows that apps like Signal and Telegram have really taken off in recent days, largely because of disgruntled users moving away from WhatsApp.

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PM Imran Khan to meet with Tesla executives to discuss launching EVs in Pakistan: Javed Afridi

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 16:07:06 GMT

The buzz began when the charismatic owner of Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Peshawar Zalmi and CEO of Haier Pakistan Javed Afridi tweeted “TESLA IN PAKISTAN!?” early this month. The masses started wondering if Tesla, the most valuable electric car company in the world, was really going to enter the Pakistani space. Now, in yet another development, Afridi has reportedly revealed that Prime Minister Imran Khan himself will be meeting with Tesla executives to discuss the launch of electric cars in the country.

According to popular TV anchor, journalist, and columnist Sabir Shakir, Javed Afridi stated that he had already held a couple of meetings with executives from Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company. He even went on to say that the executives expressed an interest in investing in the Pakistani automotive market.

However, the biggest development comes about in the form of PM Imran Khan himself all set to meet with executives from Tesla and discuss the possibility of the company launching electric cars in the country.

Pakistan’s presence in the electric vehicle space may be pretty much non-existent right now, but it has been taking great strides in the right direction. With British, Chinese, and American electric vehicle investors already having expressed an intent to enter the Pakistani space, it seems that confidence in Pakistan’s EV future is only growing.

That confidence might have emerged from the seriousness with which the government is treating electric vehicles in recent months. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has ratified the electric vehicle policy for four-wheelers in the country, and the government has even announced its plans to provide significant tax exemptions for electric vehicles in Pakistan.

As if to further underscore his ambitions, Javed Afridi tweeted the following in response to a recent news story covering his plans:

InshaAllah https://t.co/cvPYwYBAZ2
— Javed Afridi (@JAfridi10) January 18, 2021

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Samsung vice chairman sentenced to 30 months in prison in bribery case

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 15:16:23 GMT

Samsung Electronics vice chairman Jay Y. Lee is once again behind bars following a retrial of his 2017 conviction in a bribery case that helped bring down the former South Korean president Park Guen-hye.

As per the verdict of the Seoul High Court today, the vice chairman of the largest smartphone maker in the world has been sentenced to prison for 30 months.

Originally convicted of committing bribery in 2017 and slapped with a prison sentence of five years, Lee was later released in 2018 after the sentence was reduced and suspended on appeal. However, the saga was barely over, as the South Korean Supreme Court overturned the ruling of the appeals court in August 2019, terming it “too lenient” and issuing orders for the case to be retried.

Lee was poised to become the chairman of Samsung Electronics after his father Lee Kun-hee passed away in October 2020. In fact, he has essentially served as the leader of the conglomerate ever since his father suffered a stroke in 2014. Now, with Lee’s imprisonment, it is unclear who will step up to take the reins of Samsung and ensure that this massive scandal doesn’t impact the company’s growth and success.

Charges against Lee included bribing Park to gain support for deals that would have helped Lee inherit control of Samsung from his father. The illegal payments played a major role in the corruption scandal that led to Park’s impeachment, arrest and 25-year prison sentence.

This isn’t even the only scandal that has marred Lee’s career. The businessman was also found guilty of “unfair transactions” early in September 2020 and charged with committing stock manipulation, breach of trust, and other offences during the course of the merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries back in2015.

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Should a self-driving car kill a grandmother or an infant?

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 13:32:03 GMT

Ethical problems like the infamous “trolley problem” have always been a part of ethical discussions since they were first thought up but these problems have since then gained more importance as Artificial Intelligence (AI) has progressed. The advent of AI in particular raised concerns of how the machines will react to common ethical problems.

Keeping that in mind, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) created a crowdsourced campaign that aimed at receiving input from the public in different countries to see how they think that self-driven cars should prioritize the lives of different humans in experiments like the “trolley problem”.

If you don’t know what the trolley problem is: You see a runaway trolley speeding down the tracks, about to hit and kill five people. You have access to a lever that could switch the trolley to a different track, where a different person would meet an untimely demise. Should you pull the lever and end one life to spare five?

The experiment by MIT took answers on 9 variations of the problem; should a self-driving car prioritize humans over pets, passengers over pedestrians, more lives over fewer, women over men, young over old, fit over sickly, higher social status over lower, law-abiders over law-benders? And finally, should the car swerve (take action) or stay on course (inaction)?

The researchers found that the results vary significantly based on the cultural and economical background of those in the study. People from areas like China and Japan, that give more respect to elders, are more likely to save the elders than people from other parts of the world. People from individualistic cultures like the UK and US places more importance on sparing a higher number of lives.

The study has many different implications. For example, the study suggests that the Chinese are more likely to get into a self-driven car that saves the passengers as compared to the Japanese that would prefer saving the lives of pedestrians. This can be monumental in the way that the companies aiming to launch their self-driven cars go about training their AI and how it manages such decisions.

Image Source: MIT TechReview

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Car sales increase by 15% in December 2020

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 11:42:28 GMT

According to the latest statistics issued by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA), the monthly sales of motorcars in Pakistan have increased 15 percent on a year-over-year (YoY) basis in December 2020 as compared to December 2019. Including the sales figures of KIA Lucky Motor Corporation, which is not a member of PAMA, the numbers show a 20 percent YoY.

The sales in December 2020 were 13,870 units as compared to only 12,069 units in December 2019. However, on a month-over-month (MoM) basis, motorcar sales have declined by 6 percent. 11,247 units were sold in December 2020 as compared to 11,914 units in November 2020. The MoM sales have been continuously decreasing since September 2020.

The data revealed that Indus Motor Company sold 4,001 in December 2021 which showed an increase of 72% YoY. However, the sales of the Toyota Corolla fell by 14 percent owing to the launch of the Corolla X as well as the Yaris. The sales of Honda Atlas also increased by 76% YoY with 1,764 units sold. Automobile sales surged 18% during the first half of the fiscal year 2020-21 as the economic activity resumed owing mostly to the increase in sales of Indus Motor (84%) and Honda Atlas Cars (68%) and the new entrants in the region.

Source: Tribune
Image Source: WardsAuto

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Public universities in KP fail to pay salaries amid financial crunch increased by COVID-19

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 11:12:39 GMT

Most of the public sector universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) are in a severe financial crisis that has been amplified by the ongoing pandemic. There are more faculty and staff employed in some of the universities as opposed to the attending students as some of the students facing financial pressure at home have left the universities.

The University of Peshawar (UoP) in particular is facing a deficit of more than Rs. 400 million and is unable to pay salaries and pensions on its own. The government had promised to provide the university Rs. 250 million in relief last year but only but released only Rs. 100 million then and the remaining Rs. 150 million this year. The registrar of the university, Dr. Yorid Ahsan Zia, said that the deficit will further go up because of the pandemic, online classes, and a low number of students.

The Agriculture University is also facing an Rs. 900 million deficit and it has asked the government for an Rs. 500 million grant. Islamia College University and other public sector universities are under the same financial stress.

The establishment of new universities in the province also seems to have caused more financial stress as students are taking admissions in the nearest universities and the student count in these public universities has dropped.

Source: Tribune
Image Source: Wikimedia

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KP government has planned 10 economic zones under new Industrial Policy

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 10:09:31 GMT

The Kyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Government has planned to build at least 10 economic zones in the province in the current decade according to the new Industrial Policy, 2020. The policy was approved by the cabinet of the province last month.

The 10 proposed economic zones include the Rashkai Special Economic Zone and Nowshera Economic Zone Extension as well as new economic zones that will be set up in Jalozai, Nowshera, Chitral, Mohmand, Ghazi, Darband, Swat, Buner, and Shakas. The policy also includes the establishment of two special economic zones (SEZs) in the province under a public-private partnership in the coming 5 years as well as the establishment of 19 small industrial estates across the province.

The policy also proposes the use of modern tools and technical skills like artificial intelligence in human resources that will promote the construction, automobile, pharmaceutical, electronics, apparel, transshipment, IT, and food and labor-intensive industries in the province. Furthermore, the province should promote the use of indigenous resources of the province including hydel, mines and minerals, oil and gas, food and beverage processing, and cottage industry to make the industry more competitive.

According to the policy, land in the industrial zones will be given at a 15 percent discounted rate with easy access to local markets. It also extends the exemption of KP sales tax on services in tribal districts until June 30, 2023. The policy also provides fiscal incentives to investors including exemption from provincial electricity duty for new and expansion projects, tax-free import of capital goods among others. It also provides a 25 percent concession on land lease charges till breakeven or for three years. In the case of government land, the acquisition of land will take place over five years with a 25 percent down payment instead of an upfront payment.

Source: Dawn
Image Source: DefiMedia

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#StudentsWantOlineExams – Standoff between NUML students and administration as protest goes ...

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 09:53:30 GMT

Things are getting heated as students have reached the NUML Islamabad university premises and are currently protesting outside the gates regarding the administration policy of conducting on campus exams. Students claim that the quality of education that was provided throughout the semester is not up to the mark and the administration had changed its decision 16 times regarding its policy to conduct examinations.

Apparently, the following student seems to be the head of the protesters and this was his statement to Samaa News:

#StudentsWantOlineExams
Weldon bro. pic.twitter.com/3heRVzbc6h
— Saljan Sasoli (@Saljan_Sasoli) January 18, 2021

The roads around the campus are blocked and there is a large crowd of students present on site:

Islamabad main road blocked#NUMLiansBoycott_PhysicalExams #StudentsWantOlineExams #StudentsWantOnlineExams #StudentsRejectPhysicalExams pic.twitter.com/6un3W2QAvD
— G R A A N (@damnitsgraan) January 18, 2021

NUML isn’t the only one apparently, ARID Rawalpindi is also surrounded:

Protest infront of Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi.Students are the main stake holders of education system and only they will decide how to run it.#RestoreStudentUnions #StudentsWantOlineExams pic.twitter.com/b46dXtyd7G
— Revolutionary Students Front (@FrontStudents) January 18, 2021

If you are on-site on any of these protests, share your thoughts in the comments regarding what the university administration is saying and how are the negotiations are proceeding. We will update this article with more details or post follow-up articles soon.

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Remittances to Pakistan to reach an all-time high of $28bn this year: report

Sun, 17 Jan 2021 14:52:19 GMT

This will be a massive year for remittance inflows to Pakistan. According to a recent report on the nation’s economy, Pakistan is expected to receive record remittances of up to $28 billion this year, with more than 50% of it to be contributed by overseas Pakistanis residing in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

According to details from a report by Zawya, Pakistan can expect to cross the milestone of $28 billion this year in terms of total remittance inflows to the country. This prediction has largely been motivated by governmental and central bank reforms to facilitate overseas workers, which has already started yielding positive results despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pakistan received remittances amounting to $14.203 billion during the first half of the financial year 2020-21, which when compared to last year’s growth during the same period of $11.37 billion, represents a surging growth rate of 24.9 percent. In fact, this is the highest half-yealry growth in remittances that the country has witnessed since the financial year 2006-07.

“This strong growth in workers’ remittances is attributable to the increased use of formal channels on the back of sustained efforts by the government and State Bank of Pakistan to encourage inflows through official channels,” said the central bank in a statement.

Overseas Pakistanis working and residing in Saudi Arabia and the UAE continue to be strong contributors to remittance inflows to Pakistan.

Workers residing in Dubai sent 5.6 per cent more money back home, as they remitted $2.45 billion during the first half of fiscal year 2020-21. Overseas Pakistanis in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah sent $418.4 million and $34.5 million in remittances, respectively, showing an increase of 5.6 per cent and one per cent.

Similarly, remittance inflows from Saudi Arabia also recorded a significant increase during the first half of fiscal year 2020-21. Overseas Pakistanis remitted $3.96 billion, compared to $3.17 billion in the corresponding period last year, which represents a growth rate of 24.6 percent.

Aside from the Gulf region, remittances from the United Kingdom and United States also reached new heights, with the former contributing $1.88 billion (51.7 percent growth over last year) and the latter contributing $1.2 billion (47.5 percent growth rate over the previous year).

Considering the fact that December 2020 marked the sixth month in a row that remittances flowing into the country crossed the $2 billion mark over the course of a month, the nation’s economy can be expected to return to positive growth levels this year.

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WhatsApp’s decision to delay privacy policy change is a positive step: Fawad Ch

Sat, 16 Jan 2021 15:03:44 GMT

Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has called WhatsApp’s decision to postpone the implementation of its controversial privacy policy change “a positive step”.

The minister took to Twitter to talk about the world’s most popular messaging platform’s decision to delay the changes it plans to implement in its privacy policy, which would include collecting data on its users and sharing it with third-party businesses.

“Whatsapp decision to delay the change of privacy policy is certainly a positive step,” the minister expressed.

He added that companies like Facebook have a significant effect on the lives of the masses therefore its essential that a wider section of consumers and a focus on data protection be involved in any critical decision-making process.

WhatsApp made an important announcement on its controversial privacy policy, announcing a three-month delay.

“Thank you to everyone who’s reached out. We’re still working to counter any confusion by communicating directly with WhatsApp users. No one will have their account suspended or deleted on Feb 8 and we’ll be moving back our business plans until after May,” it said.

“We will make sure users have plenty of time to review and understand the terms. Rest assured we never planned to delete any accounts based on this and will not do so in the future,” the messaging platform added.

A few days ago, WhatsApp had said that in the first week of next month, WhatsApp will share various data of its users on Facebook, which has made people hesitant since then. On the other hand, it was also facing severe criticism from the public, and people around the world were increasingly leaving WhatsApp and moving to other platforms.

Following the announcement, nearly two billion WhatsApp users around the world criticized the privacy policy, and a large number of people began slamming the policy and started considering rival platforms Signal and Telegram.

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Unity Retail – an e-commerce retail solution startup raises 6-figure USD seed investment

Sat, 16 Jan 2021 13:54:41 GMT

Unity Retail has received a 6-figure USD seed investment led by Boston Equity partners. The investment will be used for marketing and product development. Unity Retail offers an end solution for e-commerce platforms to automatically process orders eliminating the need for manual verification. It even integrates directly with couriers to make your life easier.

Arif Baigmohammed, co-founder of Boston Equity Partners, said, “Unity Retail is singularly positioned for e-commerce enablement. While the demand for the service is significant at the enterprise level, the real scale is where the platform makes it easy for SMEs and home-based entrepreneurs to leverage the e-commerce opportunity through a plug and play solution.”

Founded by Atif Sami and Shoaib Ahsan in 2017, incubated at The Nest I/O in batch 5, as a startup offering marketplace integrations such as Technifai, the founders saw an opportunity in connecting e-commerce platforms directly to courier services streamlining order processing as well as delivery and relaunched the company in 2019.

Since then the company has processed orders worth $90 million. With the pandemic providing a big boost to the e-commerce industry in Pakistan and the world, the startup is in a unique position to provide end services to e-commerce platforms allowing them to provide quality services at a lower cost. The company already has almost 200 clients benefitting from their services.

After the success in Pakistan, the startup is looking to expand further in Pakistan as well as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

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Telecom sector added Rs278bn to Pakistan’s exchequer in 2020: report

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 18:23:29 GMT

The telecom sector’s titanic status in Pakistan prevails as a recent report released by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) shows that the sector’s contribution to the national exchequer witnessed a boost of 129 percent in 2020 as compared to 2019, despite the fact that the economy was burdened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As per details from PTA’s Annual Report 2020 released today, the telecom sector proved yet again that it is one of the most valuable drivers of the national economy. Over the course of FY2020, it contributed a tremendous amount of Rs278 billion to the national exchequer, as compared to Rs121 billion back in FY2019. This represents a year-on-year growth of 129 percent.

When you think about it, the year 2020 actually held massive potential for telecom growth in general, as people all over the nation had no choice but to stay cooped up in their homes and rely on data packages and Internet services to stay connected to the world beyond.

“A surge in demand for telecom services due to lockdown resulted in significant growth not only in subscriber base but also in the usage of telecom services,” the report stated. “Today, data usage stands at 4,498 Peta Bytes (FY2020) as compared to 2,545 Peta Bytes (FY2019), showing a growth of over 77pc. This substantial growth would not have been possible if the networks were not upgraded.”

As of now, the country possesses an international bandwidth connectivity of 3.1TB and around 47,000 cell sites, out of which 90 percent are 4G-enabled.

The total revenue generated by the telecom sector in FY2020 reached Rs537 billion, with the mobile sector being largely responsible here.

Similarly, while Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) across various economic sectors dwindled in the pandemic-ravaged year of 2020, the telecom sector managed to encompass a considerable 25 percent ($623 billion) of the total FDI obtained by the country. Total investment made by the local operators grew by 14.25pc and a total of $734 million were invested locally.

The above performance metrics are a testimony to the fact that both the telecom sector and the telecom regulator (PTA) are moving in the right direction under the continuous support and guidance of the government in the form of effective policies and directions that drive the growth of digital technologies.

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Here are all the flaws of the Samsung Galaxy S21 series

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 17:54:53 GMT

Samsung announced their latest flagship devices yesterday. The Galaxy S21, the Galaxy S21+, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra were released at Samsung’s signature Galaxy Unpacked 2021 event. These are also effectively the first flagship or major devices to be released in 2021.

The phones come in distinctive colours, and with a unique extruded camera setup which is pushed all the way into the corner. The new design, to be honest, did not look appealing to me yesterday but it grows on you the more you look at it (of course, you could’ve just loved it from the start).

All three of the Galaxy S21’s have all the basic upgrades that you would expect in an incremental update. The S21 Ultra does also come with S Pen support, which means that you can buy the pen for an additional $40 and use it with the device.

Although the devices look appealing and most of their specifications are great, there are still flaws that we can nit-pick. So, before you start emptying out your bank accounts, here are five reasons why you may not want to buy the Samsung Galaxy S21, the S21+, or the S21 Ultra:

No charging brick in the box (After they mocked Apple for getting rid of it)

Now, Samsung may be able to justify this decision a lot more than Apple seeing as they lowered the price of their devices, but not having a charging brick inside the box is quite a noticeable difference.

If you’re upgrading from an S20, then your old brick will work just fine but if not, you might need to buy a new one to make full use of the fast-charging capabilities your device comes with.

For many looking to upgrade to a wireless charger anyway, this exclusion could also be a good thing; they can purchase the device at a lower price. There’s also store credit of various amounts that Samsung is throwing in with every pre-order you place so you might be able to purchase a traditional or wireless charger at no additional cost.

No QHD+ display (on the S21 and S21+)

The display on the S21 and the S21+ are Dynamic AMOLED FHD+ panels at 1080p resolution. The Galaxy S20 Series featured Quad HD+, 1440p displays when you lowered the refresh rate down from 120 Hz.

For some, this might not be a problem because the S20 line also required the phone to be in FHD+ mode when the refresh rate was at 120 Hz but having the option of Quad HD+ was always a bonus.

Samsung has also flattened the curved edges on their phones completely. The once popular, and possibly preferred feature has now completely disappeared and the S21s have fully flat displays. The curved edges were also one of the ways Samsung phones had such high screen-to-body ratios.

No Glass back (on the S21)

The lower starting price on the smallest of the three phones has apparently come at a price of its own. The Galaxy S21 has a poly-carbonate (plastic) back; the S21+ still has a glass back.

Many say it looks and feels a little more like an upgrade to Samsung’s S20 FE rather than the actual flagship S20.

The phone does, however, come with wireless charging as well as reverse wireless charging, so the plastic hasn’t stopped the phone from performing the same. The only difference is that it feels more like a regular Samsung and not a standard flagship device.

You could just buy the S21+ instead of the S21 and get that glass back panel but that also comes with a $200 price increase.

No RAM Upgrade

The Galaxy S20 Ultra last year featured a 12 GB RAM, the S20 and the S20+ both featured 8 GB RAMs. This year, unlike most other years, Samsung has not gone with an upgrade to their Internal memory storage capacity which means that the S21 Ultra comes with 12 GBs, and the S21 and S21+ come with 8 GBs of internal memory.

Now, this might not be a huge disappointment to most people, but some were expecting the significantly low background app switching times of the S20 Ultra to be brought to all the phones in this year’s line-up.

No Expandable storage (if you still own memory cards)

One of the main advantages that Samsung flagships have had over the iPhones was that they always had expandable storage. Whatever storage you bought the phone with, you could always purchase a relatively inexpensive SD card and expand it, if need be. That luxury, I’m afraid, stops with the S21’s.

S21 series phones do not come with memory card slots. All you get is the 128 or 256 GB’s that you pay for (A 512 GB option is available for the S21 Ultra).

Now, 256 gigabytes might sound like a lot on a regular phone, but these phones are equipped with cameras that can shoot in 8K, and once 8K videos start filling up your camera roll, your storage could run out pretty quickly.

You can use Google Photos and similar apps to store your photos and videos, but offline sharing and viewing becomes all the more difficult when you start using cloud services.

So, there you have it! The three phones that Samsung released yesterday are, in no way, bad devices. The No Expandable Storage might be one of the biggest blows to the S-lineup but once you look past that, most of the other flaws do not seem that big. All in all, beautifully designed devices with respectable specs and some pretty significant upgrades.

Check out the full specifications here.

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NUML and ARID students protest government decision to reopen institutions due to physical exams

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 17:18:48 GMT

The government today announced the schedule of reopening of institutions starting with Grade 9 to 12th classes which will commence from 18th January whereas the remaining will commence from 1st February. As per the trends on Twitter, students might be okay with the reopening of institutions but they certainly are not okay with the physical exams after spending their semesters almost entirely online.

Twitter nowadays has become a powerful force for everyone where you can freely protest and create movements. And ever since COVID started, students have been using Twitter more and more to voice their concerns to the government and other officials. At times these movements have been effective, such as when the O-Levels grades issue was raised and at another when we highlighted that FAST and IBA Sukkur were taking on campus exams. Later on, the exams were rescheduled when we further highlighted the issue.

This was the announcement made today:

After a detailed analysis of the situation by health and education ministers we have decided to start classes for 9,10,11,12 as per announced schedule of Jan 18. Priority is being given to them because of board exams that have been postponed to May, June 1/2
— Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) January 15, 2021

Continued:

2/2 All other educational institutions, that is class 1 to 8 and universities will reopen on Feb 1. In the meantime we will review the situation city wise next week.
— Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) January 15, 2021

Now we come to this particular case where students are outright rejecting physical exams. Is it right or wrong? We will leave that to readers but in the meantime, do read what the students have to say at least:

If we are been delivered the lectures online then we will also give exams online not on campus.#NumliansReject_OnCampusExams pic.twitter.com/u1q8hYuUPd
— Ehtisham Siddique (@iMShami_) January 15, 2021

A professor at the NUML university also responded:

Because government of Pakistan has announced to open education institutions so now universities don't need to take online exams and can avoid internet and system related problem.
— Dr. Nosharwan Arbab (王虎） (@DrNosharwan) January 15, 2021

And apparently here is a video of a professor snoring in class:

Numl has taken online classes, unmonitored where teachers were shoring in class. Now, they're expecting us to give online exams. Unfair strategy. Here's professor from English department snoring in class. #NumliansReject_OnCampusExams pic.twitter.com/u25gF039XD
— (@harrycurliee) January 15, 2021

ARIDIANs have also designed posters for their own campaign:

Take your decision back Arid Management and stop physical exams as no student is ready for it. #AridiansReject_PhysicalExams pic.twitter.com/aUsgAz8eQJ
— Mr SaaD (@MrSaaD71748887) January 15, 2021

Meanwhile this guy pointed that the education ministers attended through video link while we are being called on campus:

Khud online meetings or hamary physical exam.. Not at all @ZakaWaqar #waqarzaka #online_exams_only #AridiansReject_PhysicalExams pic.twitter.com/ZkKnHfCCfg
— Sohaib khan (@sohaibkhan900) January 15, 2021

What are your thoughts regarding these campaigns? Do you support this sentiment? How can we improve the quality of education in Pakistan? Let us know in the comments.

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Microsoft debuts the much-awaited Windows 10X

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 15:51:55 GMT

What started as a project for dual-screen devices, changed to a stripped-down OS for single-screen devices, the Windows 10X has finally come out in an almost shipment ready form. This is the first time that a video of the Windows 10X has surfaced showing exactly what it looks like and what it’s capable of.

The Windows 10X is meant to compete with Chrome OS as a user-friendly OS that can be used as easily on a tablet as it can on a standard laptop. Meant for people using a Chromebook or a tablet as their go-to PC, the Windows 10X has a very simple design that makes it look much more appealing than the current version.

The Windows 10X has a revamped interface – the taskbar icons are now centered, it has a new start menu, a completely new action center that looks more suitable for a tablet, and a very simplified file explorer as well. The Windows 10X has been completely built from the ground up on the “Windows Core OS” to give a better user experience and enhanced security. This does, however, mean that it does not support Win32 applications yet. Although we might see them in the future.

While the settings menu may look almost the same, Windows Update has been redesigned for the platform. It allows the platform to automatically download and install updates in the background so you don’t have to waste 10-15 minutes on startup after an update. It will reportedly take less than 90 seconds to start after an update. So what do you think of Windows 10X?

Image Source: WC

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Japan to take stern action against the illegal trade of imported cars in Pakistan

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 15:28:59 GMT

Japan has had it with the illegal trade of its cars in Pakistan. According to an official statement released by the Pakistani Embassy in Tokyo, the Japanese government is going to take strict measures to put an end to the clearance of imported cars based on fake or forged documents in Pakistan.

Pakistan Customs in Karachi has reportedly discovered numerous cases of fraud regarding the clearance of imported used vehicles based on fake/forged documents. The action has been taken following concern and agitation on the part of the Japan-based Pakistani business community.

The Pakistani Embassy in Japan has taken notice of the illegitimate act of using forged signatures and fake embassy seals to clear vehicles in Pakistan.

“On December 24, 2020, Trade and Investment Counsellor (TIC) reported to the relevant authorities in Pakistan – Chief Collector Customs (Appraisement) Karachi, Federal Board of Revenue and Ministry of Commerce, submission of fake/forged documents for clearance of a vehicle in Karachi bearing fake seals/stamps of the embassy and forged signatures of TIC,” the embassy said in its official statement.

It added that additional cases of fraud have been revealed ever since FBR and Customs initiated an inquiry into the matter, and that legal action has also been initiated against the culprits.

“As a result of an inquiry initiated by FBR/Customs on this incident report, additional cases of fraud have also been unearthed by the authorities for which legal action has already been initiated by Pakistan Customs in Karachi in the form of FIRs against customs clearing agents involved,” the embassy further stated.

As per the current import policy, the cars can only be imported in Pakistan as a part of personal baggage or as a gift to a resident Pakistani. However, the authorities had reportedly failed to enforce the policy properly, resulting in the illegal trade of cars using forged documents.

The customs officials in Karachi have assured the embassy that there would be a more strict and detailed check to make sure no imported vehicle with bogus documents makes it past the customs department.

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Galaxy S21 vs iPhone 12 – Which one is the king of Flagships?

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 15:04:22 GMT

As you probably know by now, Samsung launched its latest flagship phone, the Galaxy S21, in a virtual event earlier today. The launch is one of the most awaited tech events of the year and serves to showcase another year’s worth of innovation and engineering at the Korean tech giant. Naturally, the first thought that springs to everyone’s minds is how will Samsung’s latest flagship offering stack up against the iPhone 12. While both phones are quite impressive on their own, we will be pitching both devices against each other based on several key factors, including the hardware specs, display, design, and software to figure out which one is king of the flagships.

Design and Construction

The Galaxy S21 is a huge step away from the Galaxy S20 in terms of design, featuring a much bigger camera module at the back of the device and introduces new colors and textures to the Galaxy S line. It more or less follows the Samsung design language but is much more pronounced than its predecessor. The iPhone 12, on the other hand, is more of an evolution of the iPhone 11 and carries over a lot of design cues from the older phone.

The iPhone uses premium materials in its construction and features an aluminum frame with glass front and back. Both front and back glass panels on the iPhone are Gorilla Glass to provide extra strength and scratch protection and the phone has an IP86 dust and water resistance rating. The Galaxy S21 also features and aluminum frame, but its back panel is made from polycarbonate plastic, taking away some of the premium feel. The front panel is a Gorilla Glass Victus piece and the S21 also carries an IP68 certification.

While design is a subjective matter, the iPhone takes the edge in this category by offering more premium materials.

Winner: iPhone 12

Display

The iPhone 12 and Galaxy S21 both feature class leading, super sharp displays. The Galaxy S21 comes with a 6.2-inch AMOLED panel with a resolution of 2400×1080 and a 120 Hz refresh rate. The iPhone 12, meanwhile, has a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with a 2532×1170 resolution and 60Hz refresh rate. Both displays use Organic LED technology, making any comparison based on picture quality between the two extremely difficult. The Galaxy S21 wins out on size and refresh rate, but the iPhone 12 display is brighter and has a higher resolution.

Both displays are very close in terms of performance, but the Galaxy S21’s refresh rate gives it an slight edge.

Winner: Galaxy S21

Hardware Performance

One of the most important aspects consumers consider when buying a new phone is the processing power and amount of RAM on offer. In recent years, Apple has produced some of the most powerful and energy efficient chipsets, and this trend continues with the A14 Bionic. Samsung, meanwhile, has chosen the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 octa-core chipset to power its Galaxy S21. Both processors are incredibly powerful and offer more performance than most users can possibly need from a mobile phone. While the Snapdragon 888 boasts a higher number of cores and supports a higher memory bandwidth than the A14 Bionic, Apple’s chipset blows the competition out of the water with 42% better single core and 4% better multicore performance figures in benchmarks.

Moreover, the iPhone 12 comes equipped with 6GB of RAM, while the Galaxy S21 has 8GB. Again, the iPhone uses its memory more efficiently due to it being sottered directly on the A14 Bionic chipset itself, increasing data read/write speeds. The battery on the Galaxy S21 is a sizeable 4,000 mAh unit, compared to the iPhone’s smaller 2815mAh, but the iPhone manages to have comparable battery times.

Therefore, the A14 Bionic is the clear winner. Apple’s hardware-software integration and the incredible engineering behind Apple’s in-house chipsets make it simply unmatchable in terms of performance.

Winner: iPhone 12

Software

One of the iPhone 12’s biggest selling points is iOS 14, and the user experience it offers to customers. Apple has worked very hard on developing a cohesive ecosystem for all of its devices, making them compatible with another. It is said that once someone experiences using an iPhone, they don’t want to switch back to Android, and this is largely due to Apple’s user-friendly software. Furthermore, Apple develops its own hardware and software in house, so it can achieve a level of integration and synergy that’s almost impossible for other manufacturers to attain. That being said, Apple often lags behind with introducing new software features to the iPhone, and iOS doesn’t offer the same level of personalization and adjustability as Android.

The Galaxy S21 runs Samsung’s own One UI 3.1 based on Android 11. Samsung has also tried to bring more cohesion to its extensive line of smartphones by using the One UI interface. However, it’s nowhere near as good as iOS 14 in that respect. Instead, One UI offers a high level of personalization. Being an Android, the Galaxy S21 has access to way more apps then the iPhone 12, and more of those apps are free. Android also generally gives better battery life than iOS. With Google apps such as Google Photos, Docs, OneDrive etc coming standard on Android, and the addition of Samsung’s own similar apps, Android has more functionality out of the box, not to mention added benefits of free cloud storage.

Choosing which one you like comes down to personal preference and is more of a subjective choice than one based on facts. Therefore, this category is a tie, with neither phone having a significant advantage over the other.

Winner: Tie

Camera

Camera quality is another big factor when choosing a new phone. Mobile phone cameras have become super capable with multiple lenses and advanced AI being used to produce the best picture quality possible. The new Galaxy S21 features a triple camera setup, with a 12 MP wide angle lens, a 12 MP ultra-wide lens and a 64 MP telephoto lens. The setup is an evolution of the S20’s camera setup with the same hardware components and some improvements to the software to take advantage of the more powerful AI processor. The iPhone 12 features a simpler two camera setup, a 12MP wide-angle, and a 12MP ultrawide. Like Samsung, Apple has chosen to focus on camera software, with the iPhone 12 using its neural image to extract the most out of the camera hardware. Images produced using the device offer amazing colors and details, especially in low light settings.

Since the S21 carries the same tried and tested camera setup from the S20, and featuring an extra 12MP telephoto lens, it seems it might just have the edge over the iPhone in this category.

Winner: Galaxy S21

Based on the above categories, it seems that the Apple iPhone 12 and Samsung Galaxy S21 are tied with each other with two wins each. The iPhone wins out on design and hardware specs, whereas the Galaxy S21 has the better display and camera setup. This goes to show just how evenly matched the two phones are and picking either of the two would be a great decision. Moreover, they have the same starting price at $799, so the choosing between the two really comes down to which features you value the most.

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NIC is hosting a Virtual Open House for startups looking for mentorship

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 15:02:35 GMT

The National Incubation Center (NIC) is holding a Virtual Open House – an information-sharing session meant for startups that are looking for the right set of connections and growth that will lead them to success. NIC will tell you everything you need to know about incubation and why NIC might be the right step for your startup.

The session will be held on Monday, 18 January 2021 at 4:00 PM. People from existing startups, NIC mentors, and NIC partners from Jazz and Ignite will grace the event with their presence. The session will be held on Zoom and everyone is welcome to join so they can know exactly what awaits in a fast-track incubation programme. You can head over here if you want to register for the session.

If you’re looking for incubation, NIC offers access to the resources that you need to make your startup successful. They will accelerate your startup with access to mentorship, industry linkages, custom taught curriculum, investment opportunities, a startup community, media coverage, and more. The applications for incubation are also open if you think you have a startup that deserves to be in NIC.

NIC has already incubated more than 200 startups in 9 cohorts since its launch. The applications for the latest cohort – Cohort 10 are open till January 31, 2021.

Image Source: NIC

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Pakistan ranks 2nd in South Asia in terms of ease of starting a business: World Bank

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 14:58:28 GMT

Pakistan has improved its position in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index for the second year in a row.

According to the latest rankings released by the global organization, Pakistan has improved its position by an impressive total of 28 points, surging from 136^th place to 108^th on the rankings. The World Bank report calls this an “unprecedented improvement”, and it is highly indicative of the country managing to exceed even its own expectations yet again.

Out of the six reform areas highlighted in the 2020 edition of the report, Pakistan made the highest improvement in the “Starting a Business” indicator, which is an area largely being revolutionized by the Securities and Exchange Commission Pakistan (SECP).

Pakistan’s ranking in this indicator has improved from 130 to 72 and is placed at second position in South Asian countries in terms of ease of starting a business.

The improvement, according to the SECP, is primarily due to the integration of e-services with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Employees Old Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) at the federal level and with business registration portals of Punjab and Sindh at the provincial level.

After this integration, SECP’s e-services offer a one-window facility for company registration with FBR, EOBI, provincial employees social security institutions, the labour department and excise and taxation departments of Punjab and Sindh.

As a result of this reform, the number of procedures to start a business, as recorded in the Doing Business Report 2020, have been reduced from ten to five and Pakistan has managed to rank “among the top ten reformers globally”.

Pakistan emerging as an increasingly business-friendly nation is massively good news for the local hustle culture and the entrepreneurship environment that has rapidly been garnering interest over the past few years.

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HIMS system closed down in different districts "due to negligence and incompetence”

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 14:24:02 GMT

After almost two years since it was first announced by the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), the revolutionary Hospital Information Management System (HIMS) has been shut down in several districts of the province as a result of poor management and incompetence.

According to a Twitter thread shared by former PITB chairman Dr. Umar Saif, HIMS has been shut down in different districts across Punjab. Apparently, the reason behind its termination is non-payment of the company, which points to gross negligence and incompetence committed by the responsible authorities.

HIMS was launched by PITB back in April 2019 to provide state-of-the-art medical facilities to one million Punjab Employees Social Security Institute (PESSI) workers and their family members. Implemented in 17 government hospitals across the province, HIMS was used to digitalize the health system of Punjab, including patients’ registration, prescriptions, reports, and more.

Prescription Management, Medicine Inventory Management and Blood Bank are some of the major features of this management system. Other key features of this information system include Patient Assessment, Queue Management, Outpatient Inpatient, Lab and Pharmacy, Medicine Inventory Management, Fixed Assets, HR Management System, Finance & Accounts, and Reporting Engine.

The first hospital to get this information management system was Rahmatul Lil Alameen Institute of Cardiology Social Security Hospital in Lahore.

In the districts in which HIMS has been shut down, paper records and stacked registers are going to be the norm again, which will naturally result in a drop in effectiveness and productivity.

“This is very sad to read. It took a gigantic amount of effort to revamp Punjab’s small hospitals and automate them using this hospital MIS. Hope they fix it soon,” said Dr. Saif in his post.

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