Apple Inc plans to launch three new
iPhone models this year, including one with an LCD screen, to succeed its struggling XR model, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
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The iPhone maker also intends to introduce new camera features, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
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Apple was not immediately available for comment outside regular business hours.
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The Cupertino, California-based company has decided to stick with liquid-crystal display (LCD) at a time when sluggish sales of iPhone XR cut into its most recent revenue projection, the report said.
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Last week, Apple issued its first revenue warning in nearly 12 years, citing poor Chinese demand, sending its shares down 10 percent, their biggest intra-day fall in six years.
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Apple plans to continue with LCD model as the device has been in the production pipeline for months, the report said.
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However, for 2020, Apple will completely switch to the organic light-emitting diode , or OLED, display for iPhones, thereby completely dropping the LCD model, the report said.

Several Chinese electronics retailers including Alibaba-backed Suning and JD.com have slashed iPhone prices this week, after Apple recently blamed poor sales of the smartphone in the country for a rare revenue warning.
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The discounting, as steep as $118 for the recently launched 64GB iPhone XR, is the latest sign that Apple's weak holiday sales in China may have extended to the current quarter.
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The price cuts on iPhones by Chinese retailers began in the middle of this week, with at least six offering promotions this weekend, according to checks done by Reuters.
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Apple did not respond to requests for comment. Prices for iPhones sold through its Chinese website remained unchanged.
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Such widespread price cuts are not uncommon around shopping festivals like Single's Day in November, but these cuts stand out as they affect Apple's latest XS and XR models that were released only months ago, said Mo Jia, a Canalys analyst who tracks China's smartphone industry.
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Jia believes Apple itself could have lowered prices of the phones it ships to distributors, or that distributors may have slashed rates in order to move more units.
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"It's possible Apple wants to test the market's feedback if it brings down the channel prices. Or, Apple might be under pressure to clean out its stock of iPhones," he said.
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Apple has been trailing local competitors such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd that offer cheaper options in China, home to the world's biggest smartphone market in terms of shipment volume.
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Last week, Apple issued its first revenue warning in nearly 12 years, citing poor Chinese demand, sending its shares down 10 percent, their biggest intra-day fall in six years.
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STEEP DISCOUNTS
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Suning announced on Friday that it would start selling the 64GB iPhone XR for 5,699 yuan, 800 yuan ($118.46) less than the device's sticker price in China. It is also selling the 64GB version of the iPhone 8 for 3,899 yuan, a 1,200 yuan discount.
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JD.com, a major online seller of consumer electronics, is offering promotions on models going back to the 8 series. Dangdang, one of its rivals, has launched a similar campaign.
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Brick-and-mortar retailer GOME Retail Holdings has discounted a range of iPhone models, while several authorized Apple resellers on Tmall, a marketplace run by e-commerce giant Alibaba, are set to offer discounts on Sunday.
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Qian Chao, a district manager for Shanghai-based iPhone distributor DoubleRise Beijing Technology, said it was the company's decision to make the price cuts and that it had not received any official notice from Apple.
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Apple's China woes come against the backdrop of a broader slowdown in demand for gadgets across the tech sector as the country's economic growth slows, exacerbated by Beijing's festering trade war with the United States.
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According to government data, smartphone shipments dropped 15.5 percent annually in the country in 2018. Domestic Chinese brands, meanwhile, have won over local consumers with a wide range of devices at competitive price points.
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The Google Search bug was discovered by a London-based researcher

HIGHLIGHTS

• Google uses Knowledge Panel to show information about search queries
  
• Knowledge Panel is powered by Google’s Knowledge Graph
  
• Google Knowledge Graph was introduced in 2012
  

An innocuous-looking Google bug has been revealed that has the potential for spreading misinformation. The bug was documented by a London-based researcher, who discovered that Google's Knowledge Panel can be tricked to show up with unrelated queries, thus allowing a malicious actor to use them for disseminating false information or propaganda. With the world already reeling with the impact of the Russian manipulation of the US presidential election using Facebook, any potential to trick Google searches has wide-ranging implications.

According to a blog post by Wietze Beukema, who works for the Cyber Threat Detection & Response team at PwC, anyone can just add one parameter to a Google Search URL and a specific Knowledge Panel will appear next to the search results, even though it is not being intentionally shown by Google.

Google had introduced the Knowledge Graph with much fanfare in 2012 to help its users get a complete picture of what they were looking for without needing to click on the search results. The Knowledge Panel, which was powered by the Knowledge Graph, would appear on the right or top of the search results, depending on which device you were using and offer information about what you were searching for. It is limited to certain, yet expansive, set of queries.

The company also included a share button in the Knowledge Panel to make it easier for the people to share them with others. Now, this sharing functionality has come back to haunt the company.

Essentially, when you click on the share button in the Knowledge Panel, Google generates a URL, which includes the necessary parameters – kgmid and kponly - to make sure the panel will be displayed when anyone click on the URL. Now, if you pick one of these parameters from an existing Knowledge Panel sharing link and paste them in another query's search URL, you will get the Knowledge Panel from the previous query in the new search results, even though both have no relation. The kgmid parameter can adds a Knowledge Panel to right or top of the search results, whereas the kponly parameter completely removes the search results from the first page and just displays the Knowledge Panel.

The existence of this bug effectively allows anyone with a Knowledge Panel ID to spoof the search results and share them on the social media or other platforms to spread misinformation. Here is an example of what can be achieved with the bug – Who is responsible for 9/11 .

A Google spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company was working on a fix. At the time of publication, it seems Google has removed the share button from Knowledge Panels, but if you have the necessary ID, you can still spoof the search results. It is unclear how Google plans to completely fix the issue.

WhatsApp is reportedly set to receive fingerprint authentication on Android and iOS

HIGHLIGHTS

• Fingerprint authentication will be required for users to open WhatsApp
  
• The new WhatsApp feature is current under development
  
• It will protect the entire WhatsApp app and not specific conversations
  

WhatsApp is reportedly working on a fingerprint authentication feature to protect its users' chats from being seen by others. The authentication, once enabled, will be required for users to open the app. The Facebook-owned instant messaging service was recently reported to bring a similar feature to iPhone as well, supporting two biometric authentication methods - both Face ID and Touch ID. It appears this won't be limited to iPhone, and users on Android will get fingerprint authentication, but no facial recognition based authentication, thanks to the lack of a widely used standard on the platform.

According to WABetaInfo, a fan site that tests new WhatsApp features early, the feature is current under development, and disabled by default in the Android 2.19.3 beta version.

"After working to implement Face ID and Touch ID features on iOS (that aren't available yet for development reasons), WhatsApp has finally started to work on the Authentication feature on Android, using your Fingerprint!" said the

report on Tuesday.

How to enable fingerprint authentication on WhatsApp

The fingerprint authentication feature will be available within the app under Settings > Account > Privacy.

Once you enable the fingerprint feature, WhatsApp will be completely protected from others to be seen. Of course, if your phone is already protected by an authentication method, it's a little redundant.

"The user will need to authenticate his identity in order to open WhatsApp (from the app icon, from the notification or from external pickers). It will protect the entire app, so it's not used to lock specific conversations," the report added.

This feature would be available in future for any Android user (and later for iOS users too) having Android Marshmallow and newer operating systems and a fingerprint sensor, the report adds.

It is similar to that of other languages. The ifstatement contains a logical expression using which data is compared and a decision is made based on the result of the comparison.

Syntax

if expression: statement(s) 

If the boolean expression evaluates to TRUE, then the block of statement(s) inside the if statement is executed. If boolean expression evaluates to FALSE, then the first set of code after the end of the if statement(s) is executed.

Example

#!/usr/bin/python  var1 = 100 if var1: print "1 - Got a true expression value" print var1  var2 = 0 if var2: print "2 - Got a true expression value" print var2 print "Good bye!" 

When the above code is executed, it produces the following result −

1 - Got a true expression value 100 Good bye!

Samsung is expected to announce its first 5G and foldable phones at an event on February 20

Samsung announced it will hold an event on February 20, where it's expected to unveil its next flagship phone, the Galaxy S10.

The phone is expected to include 5G capability. Another version of the phone is said to have a foldable screen.

Samsung reportedly moved up its launch date to preempt Huawei's launch of foldable devices.

On Thursday, 10th Jan Samsung said it will hold an event on Feb. 20 in San Francisco where it's expected to unveil its next flagship phone, the Galaxy S10.
The phone is expected to be the first major smartphone that supports 5G wireless networks, the faster wireless standard that carriers are deploying this year. Another version of the phone is said to have a foldable screen.
Samsung announced in July it had developed foldable screen technology, but since then, the company has been beat to the punch in launching the technology in a product. Startup Royale launched its FlexiPai mobile phone at a conference in Beijing in November. Samsung lowered its Q4 guidance earlier this week, citing competition in the smartphone market as a reason for missing expectations.
For its tenth anniversary phones, Samsung plans to roll out three versions of the Galaxy S10 with different display sizes starting in March, then roll out a fourth later in the spring that would include 5G network capability, the Wall Street Journal reported . Samsung has reportedly told partners the foldable screen phone may be released as early as April, though a date and name have yet to be set. The company is considering names including "Fold," "Galaxy Fold" and "Galaxy F," the WSJ reported.
The foldable phone has already been delayed, after Samsung initially said customers should expect a launch in 2018. Samsung showed a prototype of the foldable phone in November. The phone folds open to act more like a tablet.
Samsung moved up its launch date for its S10 series in order to preempt Huawei's expected unveiling of a foldable-screen competitor at a Barcelona trade show in late February, the WSJ reported.

This firm launched world's first 1TB SD card at CES 2019, beats SanDisk in its own game

Lexar is a brand that many of us might not have heard about. The market is dominated by the likes of SanDisk, Kingston, Western Digital and others. However, at the ongoing CES 2019 Lexar seems to have beaten its more popular rivals in their own game by launching the world’s first SD card with 1TB storage.

Among other brands, the biggest blow should come to SanDisk with the launch because the firm last year showed the first ever 1TB flash drive and this year unveiled the world’s first 4TB flash drive, but neither did the firm failed to squeeze the 1TB storage capacity in to a SD card but also was not able to make the two thumb drives available in the market.

The Lexar’s Professional 633X SDHC and SDXC UHS-I cards are also listed in 16GB, 32GB,64GB, 128GB, 256GB and 512GB storage capacities. All of them are designed for mid-range DSLR, HD camcorder, or 3D cameras and support 1080p full-HD, 3D, and 4K video content. They also have speeds of up to 95MB/s (read). The line-up has cards that have Class 10 high-speed performance.

Lexar is pricing the 1TB card at MSRP $499.99. The card is already available in the US.

“Almost fifteen years ago, Lexar announced a 1GB SD™ card. Today, we are excited to announce 1TB of storage capacity in the same convenient form factor. As consumers continue to demand greater storage for their cameras, the combination of high-speed performance with a 1TB option now offers a solution for content creators who shoot large volumes of high-resolution images and 4K video,” said Joey Lopez, Senior Marketing Manager.

As for the competitor, SanDisk too has showcased the first ever 4TB flash drive prototype at CES 2019. The device however, doesn’t have a name or a price but it might be well over $1000.

The idea of sending power wirelessly over a distance dates back to Nikola Tesla, who proved the concept more than a century ago, but it has been slow to develop. That could be about to change thanks to recent developments from Ossia.
At CES 2019 the company announced a partnership with case manufacturer Spigen to bring the technology to your phone case.
Ossia has found a way to shrink down the transmitter and deliver more power, think of it like a Wi-Fi router, but for power. Spigen CEO Daeyoung Kim told Digital Trends that the company plans to design a new case range, initially for iPhones, but other models will follow and they will also design and sell a power transmitter with Ossia’s tech inside.
Since battery life continues to be the headline bugbear for smartphone owners, this could prove to be an important development. Ossia’s tech delivers a decent amount of power at close range and a trickle charge when you get further away. The receiver sends out a signal so the transmitter knows what path to send power on, which means it never gets fired at you. Ossia is working its way through Federal Communications Commission certification, but Ossia CEO Mario Obeidat told said that the process is progressing and they’re confident about securing approval in the near future.
Ossia has been forming partnerships with various companies, including Motherson which is looking to bring wireless charging to vehicles, but signing up with Spigen signals its intent to target smartphones.
We’re used to Qi wireless chargers and they’re great, but your phone has to be in contact with them. The idea of a power transmitter that can charge up your phone while it is on a table, or even while it’s in your pocket, is very exciting. On the downside, Ossia’s tech won’t deliver the kind of fast charging that you get from a regular plug-in charger or even a wireless charging pad, but it will be capable of topping up your phone and anything that helps the battery last a bit longer is potentially useful.
Kim, expects the design process and testing to take a while, so the target for a consumer product that you can actually buy is 2020. It’s too early for pricing, but Kim told said that they intend to make it affordable to reach as wide an audience as possible.

C++ is a statically typed, compiled, general-purpose, case-sensitive, free-form programming language that supports procedural, object-oriented, and generic programming.

C++ is regarded as a middle-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features.

C++ was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey, as an enhancement to the C language and originally named C with Classes but later it was renamed C++ in 1983.

C++ is a superset of C, and that virtually any legal C program is a legal C++ program.

Note − A programming language is said to use static typing when type checking is performed during compile-time as opposed to run-time.

Object-Oriented Programming

C++ fully supports object-oriented programming, including the four pillars of object-oriented development −

• Encapsulation
• Data hiding
• Inheritance
• Polymorphism

Standard Libraries

Standard C++ consists of three important parts −

• The core language giving all the building blocks including variables, data types and literals, etc.

• The C++ Standard Library giving a rich set of functions manipulating files, strings, etc.

• The Standard Template Library (STL) giving a rich set of methods manipulating data structures, etc.

The ANSI Standard

The ANSI standard is an attempt to ensure that C++ is portable; that code you write for Microsoft's compiler will compile without errors, using a compiler on a Mac, UNIX, a Windows box, or an Alpha.

The ANSI standard has been stable for a while, and all the major C++ compiler manufacturers support the ANSI standard.

Learning C++

The most important thing while learning C++ is to focus on concepts.

The purpose of learning a programming language is to become a better programmer; that is, to become more effective at designing and implementing new systems and at maintaining old ones.

C++ supports a variety of programming styles. You can write in the style of Fortran, C, Smalltalk, etc., in any language. Each style can achieve its aims effectively while maintaining runtime and space efficiency.

Use of C++

C++ is used by hundreds of thousands of programmers in essentially every application domain.

C++ is being highly used to write device drivers and other software that rely on direct manipulation of hardware under realtime constraints.

C++ is widely used for teaching and research because it is clean enough for successful teaching of basic concepts.

Anyone who has used either an Apple Macintosh or a PC running Windows has indirectly used C++ because the primary user interfaces of these systems are written in C++.

C is a general-purpose, high-level language that was originally developed by Dennis M. Ritchie to develop the UNIX operating system at Bell Labs. C was originally first implemented on the DEC PDP-11 computer in 1972.

In 1978, Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie produced the first publicly available description of C, now known as the K&R standard.

The UNIX operating system, the C compiler, and essentially all UNIX application programs have been written in C. C has now become a widely used professional language for various reasons −

• Easy to learn
• Structured language
• It produces efficient programs
• It can handle low-level activities
• It can be compiled on a variety of computer platforms

Facts about C

• C was invented to write an operating system called UNIX.
• C is a successor of B language which was introduced around the early 1970s.
• The language was formalized in 1988 by the American National Standard Institute (ANSI).
• The UNIX OS was totally written in C.
• Today C is the most widely used and popular System Programming Language.
• Most of the state-of-the-art software have been implemented using C.
• Today's most popular Linux OS and RDBMS MySQL have been written in C.

Why use C?

C was initially used for system development work, particularly the programs that make-up the operating system. C was adopted as a system development language because it produces code that runs nearly as fast as the code written in assembly language. Some examples of the use of C might be −

• Operating Systems
• Language Compilers
• Assemblers
• Text Editors
• Print Spoolers
• Network Drivers
• Modern Programs
• Databases
• Language Interpreters
• Utilities

C Programs

A C program can vary from 3 lines to millions of lines and it should be written into one or more text files with extension ".c"; for example,hello.c. You can use "vi", "vim" or any other text editor to write your C program into a file.

This tutorial assumes that you know how to edit a text file and how to write source code inside a program file.

C++ is a middle-level programming language developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell Labs. C++ runs on a variety of platforms, such as Windows, Mac OS, and the various versions of UNIX. This tutorial adopts a simple and practical approach to describe the concepts of C++.

Audience

This tutorial has been prepared for the beginners to help them understand the basic to advanced concepts related to C++.

Prerequisites

Before you start practicing with various types of examples given in this tutorial,we are making an assumption that you are already aware of the basics of computer program and computer programming language.

C is a general-purpose, procedural, imperative computer programming language developed in 1972 by Dennis M. Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories to develop the UNIX operating system. C is the most widely used computer language. It keeps fluctuating at number one scale of popularity along with Java programming language, which is also equally popular and most widely used among modern software programmers.

Audience

This tutorial is designed for software programmers with a need to understand the C programming language starting from scratch. This tutorial will give you enough understanding on C programming language from where you can take yourself to higher level of expertise.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding with this tutorial, you should have a basic understanding of Computer Programming terminologies. A basic understanding of any of the programming languages will help you in understanding the C programming concepts and move fast on the learning track.