Britain to Set 'Robust' Standards With First Regulations for Crypto Assets, Minister Says
Britain's finance ministry plans "robust" regulations for crypto assets, following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX last year, which left millions of people nursing billions of dollars in losses.
Crypto is currently unregulated globally, with firms only having to carry out checks to prevent money laundering. However, Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said that more than 80 percent of license applicants were unable to show they could do this properly as "dark money" flows through the sector.
The draft rules, to be published on Wednesday, would ensure robust, transparent, and fair standards, consistent with the approach to traditional finance, Financial Services Minister Andrew Griffith said in a statement on Tuesday.
"We remain steadfast in our commitment to grow the economy and enable technological change and innovation – and this includes cryptoasset technology," Griffith said.
The new rules come after rising interest rates led to a string of bankruptcies in the sector in 2022, wiping $1.4 trillion (roughly Rs. 11.5 crores) off the value of the crypto market. The price of Bitcoin, the most widely traded coin, plunged 60 percent.
The market rout shook confidence in cryptocurrencies, though interest in the underlying technology, most commonly known as blockchain, for other uses like payments remains.
There will be a three-month public consultation on the new plans, followed by proposals for detailed rules from the FCA.
The ministry said its approach would mitigate the most significant risks in the sector.
"These proposals will place responsibility on crypto trading venues for defining the detailed content requirements for admission and disclosure documents - ensuring crypto exchanges have fair and robust standards," the ministry said.
There will be rules for financial intermediaries, which facilitate transactions, and custodians, which store customer assets.
The failure of FTX and other exchanges triggered calls for regulation of the industry to protect investors. Regulators are focusing on prising open "crypto conglomerates" which combine activities like trading, lending and custody under one roof, but with traditional regulatory safeguards between them absent.
The European Union is already finalising its first set of crypto rules.
Firms already authorised by the FCA would be temporarily allowed to issue their own promotions, while the new regulatory regime is being introduced, the ministry said.
Union Budget 2023-24: When and Where to Watch the Live Speech by FM Nirmala Sitharaman
Union Budget 2023-24 will be presented in the Indian Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday, February 1. A day before the budget announcement, the finance minister tabled the Economic Survey 2022-23 in the Lok Sabha on January 31, giving a detailed report on the expenditures and earnings of the country in the ongoing financial year. As the Ministry of Finance gets all set to announce the Union Budget 2023-24 on Wednesday, here is all the information you need to watch the live screening.
Union Budget 2023-24: When to watch
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be presenting the Union Budget 2023-24 in the Lok Sabha on February 1. The announcements will begin at 11 am IST. The budget speech is likely to last for around two hours. The longest budget speech in India's history, which continued for 2 hours and 40 minutes, was presented by FM Sitharaman in 2020.
It is to be noted that this will be the last full budget for the Narendra Modi government before the next general elections, scheduled to be held in 2024.
Union Budget 2023-24: Where to watch live telecast
Those who want to watch the live telecast of Union Budget 2023-24 on TV can tune in to Sansad TV, Doordarshan as well as other news channels.
For those who want to read the official speech of the Finance Minister for the Union Budget 2023 can go to the Union Budget mobile application), available for download on both Android and iOS. The app will upload the complete document on February 1 after FM Sitharaman concludes her speech.
Apple Workplace Rules Violate US Labour Law, Agency Finds
Apple maintains workplace policies that unlawfully discourage employees from discussing working conditions, a US labour agency has found.
The National Labor Relations Board will issue a complaint targeting the policies and claiming Apple executives made comments that stymied worker organising unless the company settles first, an agency official said on Monday in an email reviewed by Reuters.
The official had sent the email to Ashley Gjovik, a former Apple senior engineering manager who filed complaints against the company in 2021.
The NLRB investigates charges filed by workers and unions and decides whether to issue formal complaints against companies. The agency can seek to strike down workplace policies and require employers to notify workers of legal violations.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment. The company has said it takes worker complaints seriously and thoroughly investigates them.
An NLRB spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gjovik in an email on Tuesday said she hoped the development will spur more Apple workers to speak up about working conditions and to organise.
In her complaints, Gjovik said various Apple rules, including those relating to confidentiality and surveillance policies, deter employees from discussing issues such as pay equity and sex discrimination with each other and the media.
Gjovik also cited a 2021 email from Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook that allegedly sought to stop workers from speaking to the press and said "people who leak confidential information do not belong here."
Many tech companies have strict confidentiality policies designed to protect trade secrets.
US labour law prohibits policies that could discourage workers from exercising their right to band together to improve working conditions.
Apple is facing several pending NLRB complaints, including one claiming the tech giant unlawfully required workers at an Atlanta retail store to attend anti-union meetings. Apple has denied wrongdoing.
TikTok CEO to Testify Before US Congress in March Amid Increased Scrutiny Over Security Concerns
TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew will appear before the US Energy and Commerce Committee in March, as lawmakers scrutinize the Chinese-owned video-sharing app.
Chew will testify before the committee on March 23, which will be his first appearance before a congressional committee, said Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the Republican chair of the panel, in a statement on Monday.
The news comes as the House Foreign Affairs Committee plans to hold a vote next month on a bill aimed at blocking the use of TikTok in the United States over national security concerns.
"ByteDance-owned TikTok has knowingly allowed the ability for the Chinese Communist Party to access American user data," McMorris Rodgers said, adding that Americans deserve to know how these actions impact their privacy and data security.
TikTok confirmed on Monday Chew will testify.
"We welcome the opportunity to set the record straight about TikTok, ByteDance, and the commitments we are making to address concerns about US national security before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce," a company spokesperson said, adding the company hopes "by sharing details of our comprehensive plans with the full committee, Congress can take a more deliberative approach to the issues at hand."
The company also said "there is no truth to Rep. McMorris Rodgers' claim that TikTok has made US user data available to the Chinese Communist Party. The Chinese Communist Party has neither direct nor indirect control of ByteDance or TikTok."
McMorris Rodgers and other Republican lawmakers have demanded more information from TikTok. They want to know its impact on young people amid concerns about harmful content, and they want additional details on the potential sexual exploitation of minors on the platform, the statement said.
For three years, TikTok – which has more than 100 million US users – has been seeking to assure Washington that the personal data of US citizens cannot be accessed and its content cannot be manipulated by China's Communist Party or anyone else under Beijing's influence.
The US government's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a powerful national security body, in 2020, ordered ByteDance to divest TikTok because of fears that US user data could be passed onto China's government.
CFIUS and TikTok have been in talks for more than two years aiming to reach a national security agreement to protect the data of US TikTok users. The White House on Friday declined to comment on whether it would support a legislative ban on TikTok or the status of the talks.
The Infinix Zero Ultra has a decent set of specifications on paper, but does the phone justify its high asking price? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Michael Jackson’s Nephew Cast as Michael Jackson in Upcoming Biopic on the Late ‘King of Pop’
The Michael Jackson biopic, originally announced in 2019 and revealed as titled ‘Michael', has finally cast a lead actor to play the late 'King of Pop'. Jaafar Jackson, the nephew of Michael Jackson, has been confirmed to be playing his uncle in the biopic, which currently does not have a release date. The film is being directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer series), and is produced by Graham King, who previously helmed Freddie Mercury's biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody.
The announcement of the lead casting was made by Lionsgate, with producer Graham King saying "I met Jaafar over two years ago and was blown away by the way he organically personifies the spirit and personality of Michael,” as per a report by SlashFilm. "I am beyond thrilled that he has come on board to portray his uncle and cannot wait for the world to see him on the big screen as Michael Jackson,” continued King, who produced 2018's critical and commercial success Bohemian Rhapsody.
I'm humbled and honored to bring my Uncle Michael's story to life. To all the fans all over the world, I'll see you soon.
The announcement was confirmed by Jaafar Jackson himself in a tweet, which also features an image of the actor in costume. Jaafar is the 26-year-old son of Jermaine Jackson, the elder brother of Michael Jackson, and his former bandmate on The Jackson 5, the singing group comprising members of the Jackson family.
The film will be directed by Antoine Fuqua, and is reportedly being made with the approval of Michael Jackson's estate. This does mean that the film will likely be able to use the late singer's original music and footage as needed, but as suggested by the Slashfilm report, this could mean that many of the controversies surrounding Jackson and his career could be washed over or underplayed. As of now, ‘Michael' does not have a confirmed release date, but is expected to start filming this year.
The Chromecast with Google TV that runs on Android TV is here. When will Google learn how to name products? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Samsung Expects Smartphone Demand to Decline YoY as Firm Reports 69 Percent Plunge in Quarterly Profit
Samsung on Tuesday reported its lowest quarterly profit since 2014 and said persistent macroeconomic uncertainty will make for a tough first half year, though demand is likely to start recovering in the second half.
Sluggish demand and inventory adjustment will continue to impact the chip business in the first quarter, Samsung said in a statement, adding it expects "smartphone demand to decline year-on-year due to the economic slowdown in major regions".
The world's biggest maker of memory chips and smartphones reported a 69 percent plunge in fourth-quarter profit, as consumer demand for electronic devices dropped while clients spent less in a weak economy, dragging down memory chip prices.
At KRW 4.3 trillion (roughly Rs. 29,000 crore), October-December operating profit was Samsung's lowest quarterly profit in eight years. Revenue fell 8 percent to KRW 70.5 trillion won (roughly Rs. 4.7 lakh crore).
With memory chip prices falling by double-digit percentages in 2022, Samsung's chip profit likewise tumbled - to about KRW 270 billion (roughly Rs. 1,800 crore) in the fourth quarter from KRW 8.83 trillion (roughly Rs. 58,600 crore) in the same period a year prior, marking the lowest since a 2011 change in accounting standards, Samsung's website showed.
Some analysts expect the chip business to book a loss in the first quarter, pulling overall profit below that of the fourth.
Last week, chipmaker Intel said it expects to lose money in the current quarter as the personal computer industry experiences a chip glut.
Memory chip rivals Micron Technology and SK Hynix had already said they would slash investment in 2023.
Investors will be watching for whether Samsung avoids mentioning a direct chip production cut - as is its usual stance - or rather gives a clear signal of production cuts given the severity of the memory chip down-cycle.
In mobile, Samsung said fourth-quarter profit fell to KRW 1.7 trillion (roughly Rs. 11,300 crore) from KRW 2.66 trillion (roughly Rs. 18,000 crore) a year earlier, as a decline in low- and mid-end smartphone sales were greater than expected due to "continued inflation and geopolitical instability."
Samsung plans to unveil its latest Galaxy S flagship smartphones later this week.
Shares in Samsung fell 2.1 percent in morning trade, versus a 0.2 percent drop in the wider market.
The Infinix Zero Ultra has a decent set of specifications on paper, but does the phone justify its high asking price? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
US Said to Stop Granting Export Licences for 4G, AI, Wi-Fi, Cloud Technology for China's Huawei: All Details
The Biden administration has stopped approving licenses for US companies to export most items to China's Huawei, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Huawei has faced US export restrictions around items for 5G and other technologies for several years, but officials in the US Department of Commerce have granted licenses for some American firms to sell certain goods and technologies to the company. Qualcomm, in 2020, received permission to sell 4G smartphone chips to Huawei.
A Commerce Department spokesperson said officials "continually assess our policies and regulations" but do not comment on talks with specific companies. Huawei and Qualcomm declined to comment. Bloomberg and the Financial Times earlier reported the move.
One person familiar with the matter said US officials are creating a new formal policy of denial for shipping items to Huawei that would include items below the 5G level, including 4G items, Wi-Fi 6 and 7, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing and cloud items.
Another person said the move was expected to reflect the Biden administration's tightening of policy on Huawei over the past year. Licenses for 4G chips that could not be used for 5G, which might have been approved earlier, were being denied, the person said. Toward the end of the Trump administration and early in the Biden administration, officials had still granted licenses for items specific to 4G applications.
American officials placed Huawei on a trade blacklist in 2019 restricting most US suppliers from shipping goods and technology to the company unless they were granted licenses. Officials continued to tighten the controls to cut off Huawei's ability to buy or design the semiconductor chips that power most of its products.
But US officials granted licenses that allowed Huawei to receive some products. For example, suppliers to Huawei got licenses worth $61 billion (roughly Rs. 5 lakh crore) to sell to the telecoms equipment giant from April through November 2021.
In December, Huawei said its overall revenue was about $91.53 billion (roughly Rs. 7.5 lakh crore), down only slightly from 2021 when US sanctions caused its sales to fall by nearly a third.
The Infinix Zero Ultra has a decent set of specifications on paper, but does the phone justify its high asking price? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Shehzada, Babylon, and More: February Movie Guide to Cinemas and OTT
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is poised to kickstart Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in style, transporting us to the populated, urban megacity of Quantum Realm. In what feels like a redemption arc for the often ridiculed and not-so-popular Avenger that is Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), the film sets the first faceoff for the perils to come in the form of the hostile Kang the Conquerer (Jonathan Majors) — in the larger Multiverse Saga. Marking the longest runtime in the shapeshifter trilogy, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania releases February 17 in theatres worldwide. While you wait for that superhero affair, why not treat yourself to a taste of Old Hollywood with Damien Chazelle's latest epic Babylon? It's a wild ride, tracking the outsized ambition of eccentric characters, as they bask in the fame before eventually falling off. The film waltzes into cinemas on February 3.
Coming to local fare, we've got two Hindi-language remakes of South Indian movies. First up, Kartik Aaryan kicks things off with Shehzada, an action-drama that explores a young man's struggle under his scornful father's eyes, as he discovers that his real parents are millionaires. Drawing plot beats from the Allu Arjun-led Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, the movie releases February 10 in theatres nationwide. Towards the end of the month, we've got the Selfiee, in which a superfan and a star collide in a feud, stemming from a misunderstanding with regard to obtaining a driver's license (sounds like an everyday argument at any Indian government office — if I'm being honest). A remake of the Malayalam film Driving Licence, the film stars Akshay Kumar and Emraan Hashmi as leads, and is slated to release February 24 in theatres.
The month of February is a little dry on the OTT front, with theatrical releases coming back to form after a long time. That said, you can still check out our Entertainment hub to keep track of new releases that might be suited to your taste. On the streaming side, Apple TV+ leads the pack with Sharper, A24's latest, in which a small, wealthy family gets torn apart by secrets and lies. Also, let's not forget that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrives on Disney+ Hotstar on February 1 — 82 days after its theatrical release in November.
For your convenience, we have curated the biggest February 2023 releases coming to theatres and Apple TV+, which you can check out below:
Babylon
When: February 3
Where: Cinemas
Writer-director Damien Chazelle doubles down on his love for jazz music in this loud and boisterous take on golden-age Hollywood. Boasting a heavy runtime of 3 hours and 9 minutes, this Oscar nominee plays like a montage, charting the lives of several offbeat characters in Tinseltown as they make it in the film business, struggling to keep up with changing times, and ultimately succumb to the depravity that comes with overindulgence of fame. Babylon plays host to a drug addict played by Margot Robbie and a pompous silent-film star played by Brad Pitt, who reunite since 2019's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Driving the story forward is Diego Calva's Manuel Torres — the one who manages to smoothly adapt and transition into the soundtrack-loaded talkies era, growing from a meagre film assistant taking cocaine breaks with love interest Nellie (Robbie), to attaining directorial jobs. It shines a light on the fetid exploitative aspect of the industry, whilst being a chaos-fuelled love letter to the art, adorned with dramatic dance set pieces with luxurious amber lighting.
Babylon's ensemble lineup also stars Tobey Maguire as mob boss James McKay, aimed at making Nellie's life hell, although she brings it upon herself with reckless gambling habits. Jean Smart plays sensational journalist Elinor St. John, Jovan Adepo as jazz trumpeter Sidney Palmer, Olivia Wilde as Jack Conrad's ex-wife Ina, and Li Jun Li as cabaret singer Lady Fay Zhu.
Brad Pitt and Diego Calva in a still from Babylon Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures
The Fabelmans
When: February 10
Where: Cinemas
Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans is another Oscar contender heading to Indian theatres in February. In what's billed as a semi-autobiographical film, loosely drawn from the celebrated director's childhood, exploring the coming-of-age tale of a young Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle) growing up in a post-war Arizona and aspiring to become a filmmaker. However, when a family-shattering secret about infidelity alters plans, he is forced to consider his love for the craft and how the power of movies can help him see the truth.
The Fabelmans sees Spielberg reuniting with scribe Tony Kushner, after collaborating in critical darlings such as the musical West Side Story and the biopic Lincoln. While initially nervous about spewing personal details in a film of his, the director confessed last year that his parents had actually been 'nagging' him to reinterpret that story before their deaths. Paul Dano (The Batman) as Burt Fabelman signifies the on-screen representation of the father, while Michelle Williams (Synecdoche, New York) plays the mother Mitzi Schildkraut-Fabelman.
Seth Rogen is also enlisted in the lineup as Bennie Lowey, a co-worker of Burt's, who later becomes a surrogate uncle to Sammy. Meanwhile, Julia Butters (The Gray Man) plays Sammy's bitter sister Regina Fabelman, whereas Chloe East (The Wolf of Snow Hollow) plays his love interest. Surrealistic filmmaker David Lynch also stars as the famous filmmaker John Ford, whose work heavily influences Sammy's.
Kartik Aaryan steps into the shoes of Allu Arjun in this Hindi-language rendition of the Tamil film Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo. In it, he plays Bantu Jindal, a young man constantly criticised by his father since childhood, whose life takes an unexpected turn upon discovering that he is, in fact, the rightful heir to a millionaire's empire. Going back in time to the emergency room where he was born, his foster father Valmiki Upadhyay (Paresh Rawal) swapped his actual son with rich colleague Randeep Jindal's (Ronit Roy) baby, so the former could live a lavish life. This explains his contempt and disgust for Bantu, who isn't his actual child.
Bantu then sets out on a mission to reunite with his real parents, explaining his situation to the well-spoken Raj (Ankur Rathee), who was in the dark about the incident as well. Adding some excitement to Shehzada are the action sequences, which see Bantu vowing to protect his true family from the external threats they face — all the while hoping to carve a place for himself.
Kriti Sanon and Aaryan's on-screen chemistry is rekindled with them playing lovers yet again, following 2019's Luka Chuppi. Manisha Koirala plays Bantu's biological mother, while comedic legend Rajpal Yadav portrays Inspector Satish Yadav, who gets tangled in the familial affair.
A Man Called Otto
When: February 10
Where: Cinemas
Stop me if you've heard this one before: a grumpy old man forms an unlikely friendship with a lively new neighbour, resulting in tumultuous, positive changes to his outlook and a new lease on life itself. That's because this plot device has been used numerous times, albeit with varying results. Having given up on his life after his wife's death, a suicidal, cantankerous, and elderly Otto Anderson (Tom Hanks) runs into a very pregnant Marisol's (Mariana Treviño) family. With not much 'fun' stuff happening in his day-to-day affair, he is roped in to form new alliances with her nitwit husband, give her driving lessons, and babysit her jovial kids, acting as a grandparent of sorts.
A Man Called Otto frequently goes into flashback territory, examining his relationship with his deceased wife Sonya (Rachel Keller), and giving some insight into his own heart condition, which he internally grapples with. In what feels like a heartwarming course of events, Otto is seen transforming from a male Karen of sorts, to becoming a healthy, inclusive member of the community — going from a gruff voice tone to a softspoken one. In time, he even lets a stray cat in, though he's unsure of letting the feline take up bed space.
The cast also includes Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer) and Mindhunter breakout star Cameron Britton in supporting roles. Marc Forster, best known for the chaotic zombie thriller World War Z, directs from a script penned by David Magee (Finding Neverland).
Inadvertently warped into the Quantum Realm, due to an oversight by Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), our Ant-Family now finds themselves surrounded by exotic wildlife and a hugely populated megacity, ruled by the multiversal overlord Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors). Scott Lang/ Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), who was always treated as a side character of the Avengers' group, receives a warm welcome from the ruler, in addition to the promise of lost time — the five years lost during the infamous Blip event.
Coaxed by the idea of a second chance at connecting with his estranged daughter, our shapeshifting hero agrees to help him accomplish an undisclosed, sinister task. Somewhere along the line, the deal falls through, putting him at odds with Kang, who serves as a formidable opponent. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania also has the added responsibility of introducing the mechanical guns-wielding MODOK, who is canonically known for undergoing mutagenic medical experimentation, causing him to develop a freakishly large head.
Corey Stoll, who previously appeared as Darren Cross/ Yellowjacket in the first Ant-Man film returns to voice MODOK. Michelle Pfeiffer reprises her role as matriarch Janet Van Dyne, who is suspicious of Kang's larger goals, whereas Evangeline Lilly returns as daughter Hope/ Wasp. As per a Fandango listing, Ant-Man 3 clocks in at 2 hours and 5 minutes.
Kathryn Newton and Paul Rudd in a still from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Photo Credit: Marvel Studios
Sharper
When: February 17
Where: Apple TV+
In Shaper, Julianne Moore (Magnolia) and Sebastian Stan (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) play an estranged mother and son, who target a wealthy family for A24's latest. The former has managed to seduce and enter into a relationship with billionaire Richard Hobbes (John Lithgow), while the con-man son Max uses skills of deception to seek out massive pay. Like most stories that deal with rich peoples' problems — by way of HBO's Succession — Sharper adds a young heir into the mix. Justice Smith (Pokémon: Detective Pikachu) plays Tom, the biological successor to Hobbes' fortune, who is described as 'weak' by his father.
Taking note of this, Max teams up with Sandra (Brianna Middleton), in a master plan to pull Tom into a romantic trap and pretend to be in love with him — presumably to extract money. What follows next is a web of secrets and lies, where characters start competing for riches and power, promising to keep audiences guessing till the end.
Selfiee
When: February 24
Where: Cinemas
RTO Inspector Om Prakash Aggarwal (Emraan Hashmi) is a diehard fan of Bollywood superstar Vijay Kumar (Akshay Kumar), with the ultimate dream of getting a selfie with his idol. Opportunity comes knocking at his door when the actor needs to obtain a new driver's license, with the officer promising to go to the utmost lengths to get the task done in time. However, a misunderstanding stemming from external forces at play causes Kumar to believe that the cop has been taking unfair advantage of him, resulting in a feud that immediately gets media coverage.
It's a battle of egos essentially, serving as a fun-filled experiment of what could happen when the biggest fan becomes the biggest hurdle in an actor's life. Selfiee also stars Nushrratt Bharuccha (Ram Setu) as Om's wife Minty Aggarwal and Diana Penty as Kumar's girlfriend in supporting roles. Raj Mehta, best known for 2019's Good Newwz directs the film.
The Chromecast with Google TV that runs on Android TV is here. When will Google learn how to name products? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
The Last of Us Episode 4 Trailer: A Road Trip Poses Big Trouble for Joel and Ellie
The Last of Us episode 4 trailer is out. HBO has dropped a preview for next week's episode of the post-apocalyptic drama based on the eponymous PlayStation video game, teasing a new character in the form of Kathleen, a ruthless leader of a revolutionary movement in Kansas City. Melanie Lynskey, best known for her run on Yellowjackets, will portray the role — signifying big trouble for our survivor duo Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey). Titled 'Please Hold My Hand', the episode will be directed by Jeremy Webb (The Umbrella Academy) and will reportedly be only 50 minutes long — significantly shorter than the 75-minute runtime of episode 3. The Last of Us episode 4 premieres February 6 at 8:30am IST/ February 5 at 9pm ET on Disney+ Hotstar and HBO Max, respectively.
The trailer for The Last of Us episode 4 kicks off by introducing Ellie's (Ramsey) new pet peeve - a disgust for the smell of coffee, as the pair take a break, out in the woods. “It smells like burnt sh-t,” she tells Joel (Pascal), who unbothered by her comments, instantly takes a loud slurp from the flask. While not explicitly mentioned, to Ellie's credit, the coffee must have been strained using some smelly rag or his sock — seeing as they've been travelling for a while. Episode 3 introduced our unlikely greasy-haired ally Bill (Nick Offerman), who was given a surprising love story spin with his partner Frank (Murray Bartlett) in the TV series.
The Last of Us episode 4 trailer puts Joel and Ellie on the road, as they continue their journey to Wyoming. Ellie, who isn't familiar with being in a car, struggles to help with map navigation, causing the duo to halt at a hostile territory. “This is my second day in a f--king car, man. Stop,” she says, upon noticing an injured survivor begging them for help. Believing that he's probably bitten and infected, Joel resumes driving the car, crashing into some debris. “This has gone too far. It has to stop,” an unseen hostage tells the new character Kathleen (Lynskey), who is seen holding a gun to his head. “Where is he?”, she asks with tears in her eyes, presumably referring to Joel. The Last of Us episode 4 trailer then cuts to display some action sequences of our duo stealthily navigating their way across the dilapidated town, and engaging in combat with the last surviving citizens.
“We'll get through this,” Joel assures Ellie at the end of the Last of Us episode 4 trailer, before heading out onto the streets. Circling back to the new character Kathleen, over on Twitter, writer Neil Druckmann commended her performance in the series. “OMG! You crushed your episodes! Can't wait for people to see your character!”, he said, confirming that Lynskey will appear in multiple episodes.
Last week, HBO renewed The Last of Us series for a second season, with Druckmann adding that it will explore the events of the award-winning video game sequel, The Last of Us Part II. Craig Mazin, showrunner and director on episode 1 of the Last of Us also suggested that the continuation might end up being a two-parter, claiming that the story is 'more than a season's worth of television'.
New episodes of The Last of Us stream every Monday on Disney+ Hotstar, at 8:30am IST in India, and Sunday at 9pm ET on HBO Max wherever available. Season 1 comprises of nine episodes.
The Chromecast with Google TV that runs on Android TV is here. When will Google learn how to name products? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
OnePlus 11R Design Leaked Ahead of February 7 India Launch: Report
OnePlus has announced that it will launch the OnePlus 11R smartphone in India on February 7. At the Cloud 11 launch event, the OnePlus 11 5G and OnePlus Buds Pro 2 TWS earphones will also be unveiled. There have been several reports and leaks surrounding the OnePlus 11R and its release over the past few months. Some reports suggest that OnePlus 11R is the same model that is likely to launch in China as the OnePlus Ace 2. A recent leak shows a design render of the model ahead of its launch.
According to a tweet by tipster Ice universe (@UniverseIce), the design for the OnePlus Ace 2 has been leaked and it is quite similar to the OnePlus 11 that was launched in China earlier this month. The phone is expected to be the successor of the OnePlus 10R 5G in India.
The design reveals that the OnePlus 11R will feature a circular camera module with a part of it extending to the side panel. The handset lacks the Hasselblad branding that is unique to the OnePlus 11 5G. The phone also seems to have no telephoto camera sensor. However, the phone is seen having the alert slider.
According to previous reports, the OnePlus 11R is expected to get an 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant and a 16GB RAM + 512GB storage option. The price for the former is expected to be around Rs. 35,000 to Rs. 40,000, while the latter could be priced at around Rs. 45,000 in India.
The OnePlus 11R 5G is expected to have a 6.7-inch full-HD+ (1,080 x 2,412 pixel) AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 120Hz. It is said to be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage.
OnePlus's upcoming smartphone could feature a triple rear camera setup with a 50-megapixel main sensor. An 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle lens and a 2-megapixel macro lens are also expected. It could also have a 16-megapixel selfie camera. The OnePlus 11R 5G is said to have a 5,000mAh battery with 100W SuperVOOC fast charging support.
The Infinix Zero Ultra has a decent set of specifications on paper, but does the phone justify its high asking price? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
China's Smartphone Sales Plunged to Lowest in a Decade in 2022, Vivo Top-Selling Brand: Report
China's smartphone sales endured a record fall in 2022, tumbling 13 percent to their lowest level in a decade as COVID controls and a slowing economy sapped consumer appetite, data from third-party research firms showed.
The total number of devices shipped was 286 million, down from 329 million in 2021. It was the lowest sales volume since 2013 and the first time since then that annual sales have dropped below 300 million, IDC said in a report.
Strict COVID-19 controls weighed heavily on the Chinese economy last year but Beijing started dismantling the restrictions in December, boosting consumption.
"The strict pandemic control policy has resulted in historically high household savings as consumer spending became conservative," said Lucas Zhong, who tracks China's smartphone sector for research firm Canalys.
Android handset maker Vivo was the top-selling brand in 2022, with a market share of 18.6 percent, according to IDC. Its total shipments fell 25.1 percent year-on-year.
Huawei Technologies spin-off Honor ranked as the second best-selling brand, with shipments growing more than 34 percent, albeit from a low base.
Apple was the third best-selling phone brand in 2022, tied with Oppo, moving up from fourth place in the previous year.
Apple's overall sales fell 4.4 percent year-on-year, according to IDC, while all other rivals excluding Honor saw sales fall in the double digits.
Overall, the plunge in smartphone sales in China reflected the sector's performance globally. In 2022, global smartphone shipments hit 1.2 billion, the lowest since 2013 and a year-on-year fall of more than 11 percent, according to IDC.
A separate report from Canalys published on Monday said that in the fourth quarter of 2022, Apple sold 16.4 million devices, down 24 percent year-on-year. This compared to a 37.3 percent shipments slump from Xiaomi and Honor's 14.1 percent fall during the same quarter.
That marks the first time Apple shipments dropped year-on-year in China since early 2020, when the first wave of COVID-19 swept the country. The fall was caused by an earlier release of the latest iPhone series as well as by worker unrest at its major manufacturer Foxconn's plant in the city of Zhengzhou that impacted its supply chain, Canalys said.
Still, Apple remained the top-selling phone maker in China in the quarter, hitting record-high market share, Canalys added.
Oppo Reno 8T 5G India Launch Date Set for February 3, Design Teased
Oppo Reno 8T 5G is all set to hit the Indian market on February 3, the China-based company confirmed on Sunday. The new handset will be unveiled as the third model in the Oppo Reno 8 series, which currently includes the vanilla Oppo Reno 8 and Oppo Reno 8 Pro. The Oppo Reno 8T 5G is expected to be powered by a Snapdragon 695 SoC. It could pack a dual rear camera unit headlined by a 108-megapixel main sensor. It might also pack a 4,800mAh battery with support for 67W fast charging.
The new Oppo Reno 8T 5G will be launched in India on February 3, the company announced through its Twitter account. It is also confirmed to go official in the Philippines on February 8. However, the price details of the upcoming device in the country are not known at this moment.
Just in case you've missed it, #RanbirKapoor hands a fan an upgrade of a lifetime with the new #OPPOReno8T ??
The new OPPO RENO 8T strikes the perfect balance between immersive visuals & a relaxed grip for an all-round premium experience ⚡️
A recent leak suggested that Oppo Reno 8T 5G could be priced between Rs. 30,000 and Rs. 32,000 for the 8GB RAM + 256GB storage variant. It could be priced at PHP 18,999 (roughly Rs. 28,500) in the Philippines market.
Its price is also expected to be similar to that of the Oppo Reno 8 and Oppo Reno 8 Pro. The price of the Pro model starts at Rs. 45,999 for the 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variant, while the Oppo Reno 8 price in India starts at Rs. 29,999 for the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant.
Oppo Reno 8T 5G specifications (expected)
The Oppo Reno 8T 5G is expected to run on Android 13-based ColorOS 13 and feature a 6.7-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. It could be powered by a Snapdragon 695 SoC, coupled with 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage. Oppo is expected to pack a dual rear camera setup on the upcoming device, led by a 108-megapixel main camera. Past leaks have suggested a 16-megapixel selfie sensor as well. It could be backed by a 4,800mAh battery with support for 67W fast charging.
The Last of Us TV Series Renewed for Second Season at HBO
The Last of Us TV series has been renewed for a second season. In a tweet, HBO confirmed the next chapter in its live-action adaptation of the renowned PlayStation video game, merely two episodes into season 1. The original game writer and now co-President of Naughty Dog responded to the tweet, claiming that the new season will chart the events from the polarising gory sequel, The Last of Us Part II. Craig Mazin — co-writer on the show — previously hinted that an adaptation of the sequel was likely if enough people watched it, convincing the studio to lock in a new season.
While Disney+ Hotstar — India's destination to watch The Last of Us series — hasn't provided details on the viewership count, HBO has been doing it on an episode-by-episode basis. The second episode, adored by fans and critics alike, reached 5.7 million viewers across HBO and HBO Max in the US, representing a 22 percent jump over the 4.7 million viewers it gained for the pilot. As per HBO, the numbers mark 'the largest week two audience growth for an HBO Original drama series in the history of the network'. Clearly, the studio loves the attention, and has now greenlit a second season to continue Joel and Ellie's arc. While there are no cast details yet, it is likely that the current leading actors will reprise their roles in season 2.
“I'm so grateful to Neil Druckmann and HBO for our partnership, and I'm even more grateful to the millions of people who have joined us on this journey,” Mazin, executive producer and showrunner, The Last of Us, said in a prepared statement. “The audience has given us the chance to continue, and as a fan of the characters and world Neil and Naughty Dog created, I couldn't be more ready to dive back in.” The Last of Us, much like the original 2013 video game, tracks the emotional journey of a hardened survivor and smuggler Joel (Pedro Pascal), as he escorts a teenage girl Ellie (Bella Ramsey) through the post-apocalyptic US, swarming with infected mutants, desperate survivors, and some insolent jerks. The series also stars Nick Offerman as the greasy-haired ally Bill and Merle Dandridge as Marlene, the leader of the rebel group Fireflies. The latter also voiced the same character in the original game.
The Last of Us season 2 will likely follow the story of The Last of Part II in a similar effect. Set five years after the events of part one, the PS4 game followed two playable characters in a similar post-apocalyptic setting, whose lives intertwine to create some of the best revenge stories ever told in a video game. Despite getting review-bombed on several sites due to some narrative choices — avoiding specifics for spoilers — it went on to become the fastest-selling PS4 exclusive, with over four million copies sold in its release weekend. The title was also hugely honoured at The Game Awards 2020, including the prestigious Game of the Year trophy.
There's also a possibility that season two might end up being a two-parter. Speaking to IGN last week, Mazin explained that the story in The Last of Us Part 2 is “more than a season's worth of television.” “It's a big animal to take apart, you know?”, he said. “Because it's a much bigger story, and it's a more complicated story, I think it's a beautiful story.”
New episodes of The Last of Us stream every Monday on Disney+ Hotstar, at 8:30am in India.
The Chromecast with Google TV that runs on Android TV is here. When will Google learn how to name products? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
‘Michael Jordan of Fundraising’: Elon Musk Emerges a Money Maverick in Tesla Tweet Trial
Elon Musk's enigmatic personality and unconventional tactics are emerging as key exhibits in a trial revolving around one of his most polarizing pursuits — tweeting.
The trial, centred on a pair of tweets announcing Musk had obtained the money to take Tesla private in 2018, reeled the 51-year-old billionaire into a federal courtroom in San Francisco for three days of testimony that opened a peephole into his often inscrutable mind.
Musk, who now owns the Twitter service that he deploys as his megaphone, was often a study in contrasts during his roughly eight hours on the stand. The CEO of the electric carmaker is facing a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of Tesla shareholders after Musk tweeted about a company buyout that didn't happen.
Through both his testimony and the evidence submitted around it, Musk came across as impetuous, brash, combative and contemptuous of anyone who questioned his motives as a game-changing entrepreneur who has inspired comparisons to Apple's late co-founder, Steve Jobs.
At other times, Musk sounded like the savvy visionary that his supporters hail him to be — an intrepid rebel who by his own estimates has raised more than $100 billion from investors. They have been richly rewarded from his leadership of pioneering companies that include PayPal in digital payments, Tesla in electric vehicles and SpaceX in rocket ships.
“It is relatively easy for me to get investment support because my track record is extremely good,” Musk wryly observed.
But his confidence in his ability to get the money he wants to pursue his plans is one reason he found himself in court. The three-week trial is set to resume Tuesday and head for jury deliberations by Friday.
Here's what to know so far:
Planting the seeds
Evidence and testimony have shown Musk had started to mull taking Tesla private in 2017 so he wouldn't have to hassle with the headaches and distractions that accompany running a publicly traded company.
After a July 31, 2018, meeting with a top representative from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, Musk sent a letter to Tesla's board outlining why he wanted to take the automaker private at a price of $420 per share — about 20 percent above its stock price at the time.
Musk was serious enough that he had already discussed the pros and cons with Michael Dell, who had gone through the public-to-private transition in 2013 when he led a $25 billion buyout of the personal computer company bearing his name, according to trial evidence.
The troublesome tweets
The crux of the case hinges on an August 7, 2018, tweet in which Musk declared “funding secured" to take Tesla private. Musk abruptly posted the tweet minutes before boarding his private jet after being alerted that the Financial Times was about to publish a story that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund had spent about $2 billion buying a 5 percent stake in Tesla to diversify its interests beyond oil, according to his testimony.
Amid widespread confusion about whether Musk's Twitter account had been hacked or he was joking, Musk followed up a few hours later with another tweet suggesting a deal was imminent.
Musk defended the initial tweet as a well-intentioned move to ensure all Tesla investors knew the automaker might be on its way to ending its then-eight-year run as a publicly held company.
“I had no ill motive,” Musk testified. “My intent was to do the right thing for all shareholders.”
Guhan Subramanian, a Harvard University business and law professor hired as an expert for shareholder lawyers, derided Musk's method for announcing a potential buyout as an “extreme outlier" fraught with potential conflicts.
“The risk is that Mr. Musk timed his announcement of his (management buyout) proposal to serve his own interests rather then the interests of the company," Subramanian testified.
Where's the money?
There's another issue threatening to undermine Musk's defense. He hadn't locked up the financing for his proposed deal or even pinned down down how much would be needed to pull it off, based on testimony from Musk, other witnesses and other evidence.
That is one reason U.S. District Judge Edward Chen had decided last year that Musk's 2018 tweets were false and has instructed the jury to view them that way.
It also prompted regulators to allege Musk misled investors with the tweets, resulting in a $40 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that also required Musk to step down as Tesla's chairman.
Chen ruled that the 2018 settlement, in which Musk didn't acknowledge wrongdoing and has since lamented making, can't be mentioned to the jury.
Musk testified that he believed he had secured an oral commitment to provide wherever money was needed for a Tesla buyout during a July 31, 2018, face-to-face meeting with Yasir al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia's wealth fund.
That was reinforced in testimony from Tesla's former chief financial officer, Deepak Ahuja, who was at the discussions and took al-Rumayyan on a half-hour tour of a Tesla factory.
But a text message al-Rumayyan sent to Musk after the “funding secured" tweets made it appear that the discussions about the Saudi fund financing a private buyout were preliminary.
“I would like to listen to your plan Elon and what are the financial calculations to take it," al-Rumayyan wrote to Musk, according to a copy submitted as evidence in the trial.
Musk framed al-Rumayyan's text as an attempt to backpedal from his previous commitment. He also insisted the Saudi fund had given an “unequivocal commitment" to financing the buyout.
Money manoeuvring
After his 2018 tweets, Musk tried to get the money needed for the Tesla buyout with the help of Egon Durban, co-CEO of the private equity firm Silver Lake, which helped finance the Dell buyout in 2013. Musk also enlisted Dan Dees, a top executive with Goldman Sachs, an investment banking firm that had worked closely with Tesla.
In testimony, both Durban and Dees discussed efforts to raise money for a Tesla buyout for a wide range of potential investors that included two Chinese companies, Alibaba and Tencent, as well as Google in documents initially code-named “Project Turbo," then “Project Titanium."
The buyout would have required anywhere from $20 billion to $70 billion, according to the documents — funding that never came close to getting raised, Durban and Dees both testified, largely because Musk scrapped the proposal to take Tesla private on Aug. 24, 2018, after consulting with shareholders.
Tesla's shares are now worth eight times what they were then, after adjusting for two stock splits.
Musk still contends he could have gotten the money had he wanted and, even if there was a shortfall, he could have covered any gap by selling some of his stock in privately held SpaceX. That is a strategy Musk used in his $44 billion purchase of Twitter, except he sold about $23 billion of his stock in Tesla.
Durban and Dees both testified that they had no doubt the money for a buyout could have been raised — echoed by former Tesla director Antonio Gracias.
“He is the Michael Jordan of fundraising," Gracias testified.
Chinese Internet Giant Baidu Planning to Launch AI Chatbot Similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT in March
Chinese Internet giant Baidu is planning to launch an artificial intelligence chatbot tool similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT in March, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Baidu plans to debut the application by initially embedding it into its main search services, Bloomberg News reported earlier.
ChatGPT's tech works by learning from vast amounts of data how to answer any prompt by a user in a human-like way, offering the information like a search engine would or prose like an aspiring novelist.
Microsoft has a $1 billion investment in San Francisco-based OpenAI that it has looked at increasing, Reuters has reported. The company has also worked to add OpenAI's image-generation software to its Bing search engine in a new challenge to Alphabet Inc's Google.
Last week, the company announced a further multibillion dollar investment in OpenAI, deepening ties with the startup behind the chatbot sensation ChatGPT and setting the stage for more competition with rival Alphabet Inc's Google.
Microsoft in a blog post announced "the third phase" of its partnership "through a multiyear, multibillion dollar investment" including additional supercomputer development and cloud-computing support for OpenAI.
Both companies will be able to commercialize the AI tech that results, the blog post said.
A Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment on the terms of the latest investment, which some media outlets earlier reported would be $10 billion (roughly Rs. 82,000 crore).
The widely anticipated investment shows how Microsoft is locked in competition with Google, the inventor of key AI research that is planning its own unveil for this spring, a person familiar with the matter previously told Reuters.
Microsoft's bet came days after it and Alphabet each announced layoffs of 10,000 or more workers. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft warned of a recession and growing scrutiny of digital spend by customers in its layoff announcement.
The Infinix Zero Ultra has a decent set of specifications on paper, but does the phone justify its high asking price? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Series Design Renders, Key Specifications Surface Ahead of Launch: Report
Samsung Galaxy Book 3 series of flagship laptops are slated to launch at the Galaxy Unpacked 2023 event, which will take place on February 1. The South Korean tech giant has opened the pre-booking for these laptops, despite not revealing any details about them. Now, a new report has surfaced that includes supposed design renders of the Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360, Galaxy Book 3 Pro, and Galaxy Book 3 360. The report has also shed some light on some of the key specifications of these upcoming laptops.
According to a MySmartPrice report, Samsung will launch five Galaxy Book 3 series laptops at Galaxy Unpacked 2023 on February 1. The publication, in collaboration with tipster Ishan Agarwal, has shared the design renders of the Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360, Galaxy Book 3 Pro, and Galaxy Book 3 360.
Starting with the Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360, the laptop will come with a stylus. As the name suggests, this upcoming convertible laptop is said to feature a 360-degree hinge. It is expected to run on Windows 11 and could be powered by a 13th Gen Intel Evo i7 processor. There could be a 14-inch display along with a microSD card slot, headphone jack and a USB port. The speakers are said to be on the bottom side of the laptop.
Moving ahead, the Galaxy Book 3 Pro appears to have thinner bezels on the sides in comparison to its chin. This laptop is expected to come in two screen sizes — 14-inch and 16-inch 3K AMOLED displays. It is also expected to boot Windows 11 out of the box. However, the Galaxy Book 3 Pro could be offered with two processor options — 13th Gen Intel Core i5 and Intel Core i7. There could also be 16GB of DDR5 RAM and up to 1TB of NVMe PCIe Gen4 SSD storage. This laptop is expected to feature Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics.
The Galaxy Book 3 Pro seemingly gets a large trackpad and a membrane keyboard. The 14-inch variant is expected to have an 11mm thickness, weigh about 1.2kg, and carry a 63Wh battery. On the other hand, the 16-inch model is said to get a 76Wh battery, and have a thickness of 13mm while weighing about 1.6kh. Both size variants are believed to come with a 65W power adapter.
The Infinix Zero Ultra has a decent set of specifications on paper, but does the phone justify its high asking price? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Asteroid 2023 BU Just Passed a Few Thousand Kilometres From Earth. Here's Why That's Exciting
There are hundreds of millions of asteroids in our solar system, which means new asteroids are discovered quite frequently. It also means close encounters between asteroids and Earth are fairly common. Some of these close encounters end up with the asteroid impacting Earth, occasionally with severe consequences.
A recently discovered asteroid, named 2023 BU, has made the news because today it passed very close to Earth.
Discovered on January 21 by amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov in Crimea, 2023 BU passed only about 3,600 km from the surface of Earth (near the southern tip of South America) six days later on January 27.
That distance is just slightly farther than the distance between Perth and Sydney and is only about 1 percent of the distance between Earth and our Moon.
The asteroid also passed through the region of space that contains a significant proportion of the human-made satellites orbiting Earth.
All this makes 2023 BU the fourth-closest known asteroid encounter with Earth, ignoring those that have impacted the planet or our atmosphere.
How does 2023 BU rate as an asteroid and a threat? 2023 BU is unremarkable, other than that it passed so close to Earth. The diameter of the asteroid is estimated to be just 4–8m, which is on the small end of the range of asteroid sizes.
There are likely hundreds of millions of such objects in our solar system, and it is possible 2023 BU has come close to Earth many times before over the millennia. Until now, we have been oblivious to the fact.
In context, on average a 4-metre-diameter asteroid will impact Earth every year and an 8-metre-diameter asteroid every five years or so Asteroids of this size pose little risk to life on Earth when they hit because they largely break up in the atmosphere. They produce spectacular fireballs, and some of the asteroids may make it to the ground as meteorites.
Now that 2023 BU has been discovered, its orbit around the Sun can be estimated and future visits to Earth predicted. It is estimated there is a 1 in 10,000 chance 2023 BU will impact Earth sometime between 2077 and 2123.
So, we have little to fear from 2023 BU or any of the many millions of similar objects in the Solar System.
Asteroids need to be greater than 25m in diameter to pose any significant risk to life in a collision with Earth; to challenge the existence of civilisation, they'd need to be at least a kilometre in diameter.
It is estimated there are fewer than 1,000 such asteroids in the Solar System and could impact Earth every 5,00,000 years. We know about more than 95 per cent of these objects.
Will there be more close asteroid passes? 2023 BU was the fourth closest pass by an asteroid ever recorded. The three closer passes were by very small asteroids discovered in 2020 and 2021 (2021 UA, 2020 QG and 2020 VT).
Asteroid 2023 BU and countless other asteroids have passed very close to Earth during the nearly five billion years of the Solar System's existence, and this situation will continue into the future.
What has changed in recent years is our ability to detect asteroids of this size, such that any threats can be characterised. That an object roughly 5m in size can be detected many thousands of kilometres away by a very dedicated amateur astronomer shows that the technology for making significant astronomical discoveries is within reach of the general public. This is very exciting.
Amateurs and professionals can together continue to discover and categorise objects, so threat analyses can be done. Another very exciting recent development came last year, by the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which successfully collided a spacecraft into an asteroid and changed its direction.
DART makes plausible the concept of redirecting an asteroid away from a collision course with Earth if a threat analysis identifies a serious risk with enough warning.
The Infinix Zero Ultra has a decent set of specifications on paper, but does the phone justify its high asking price? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Oppo Reno 8T Price, Specifications Leaked via Retail Listing Ahead of February 8 Launch
Oppo Reno 8T has been a part of the rumour mill for quite a while now. The company has confirmed that this handset will launch in the Philippines on February 8. However, the remaining details are yet to be officially revealed. However, it appears that a retailer has revealed the pricing of the Oppo Reno 8T. An alleged listing for this upcoming smartphone has surfaced on Facebook that also mentions some of the key specifications of the Oppo Reno 8T. It also includes supposed live images of the handset and its box packaging.
Oppo Reno 8T price (expected)
According to a report by Revü, the Oppo Reno 8T might be priced at PHP 18,999 (roughly Rs. 28,500) for the 8GB RAM + 256GB storage variant. The lack of 5G branding on the leaked retail box image could mean that this is the 4G variant. Oppo is believed to be also working on the Oppo Reno 8T 5G.
Oppo recently posted a teaser video on Facebook confirming the launch of the Oppo Reno 8T in the Philippines. This upcoming smartphone is set to launch on February 8.
Oppo Reno 8T specifications (rumoured)
The leaked Oppo Reno 8T listing suggests that this smartphone might feature a 6.43-inch AMOLED display. Moreover, recent reports have hinted that the Oppo Reno 8T could be powered by a MediaTek Helio G99 SoC. It could pack 8GB of physical RAM with the option of extending it with up to 8GB of virtual memory. This smartphone is expected to run on Android 13-based ColorOS 13.
For optics, this Oppo smartphone may get a triple rear camera setup headlined by a 100-megapixel main camera. There could also be a 40x zoom 'Microlens' camera on the back as well. The alleged listing mentions that the Oppo Reno 8T might pack a 5,000mAh battery with support for 33W SuperVOOC fast charging.
The Infinix Zero Ultra has a decent set of specifications on paper, but does the phone justify its high asking price? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
