Analytics firm Tableau has partnered with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Ministry of Education, Government of India to equip students and educators from AICTE’s over 10,500 higher learning institutes with modern data analytics skills.

Through the partnership, AICTE plans to train 500,000 students and faculty over the next two years, said Buddha Chandrashekhar, Chief Coordinating Officer, AICTE.

“That’s a great goal, that’s the target we picked up for the next two years. We need to go step by step. We will…by the end of two years, train more than 5 lakh students to get empowered by using Tableau,” he added.

Through this partnership, Tableau will provide AICTE with Tableau Desktop and Tableau Prep licenses, access to eLearning, and sample curriculum material co-created with University professors for educators to get started teaching analytics in classrooms.

AICTE has selected over 200 educators as Tableau Champions to teach 1-2 other educators from each higher learning institute through a series of workshops and e-learning curriculum.

The idea, from an education point of view, is to make students industry-ready by providing them with analytics know-how, said Chandrashekhar.

“And after the introduction of 5G, there are several reports which talk about the increase in the employability options in the data and data analytics field. We want to empower our students and faculty in a way that they will get better opportunities in the future. That’s where we see the opportunity to work with Tableau, which has a parent company like Salesforce and has an amazing brand across the globe,” he added.

Tableau was acquired by Salesforce in 2019.

The educators trained by Tableau will create courses for students to learn data skills with Tableau.

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Electric vehicle maker Tesla has started to hire roboticists to build its recently announced Tesla Bot, a humanoid robot to become a new vehicle for its AI technology.

The automaker started listing some roboticist job postings related to Tesla Bot — Mechanical Engineer-Actuator Integration (Humanoid Robot), Mechanical Engineer-Actuator Gear Design (Humanoid Robot), etc, reports Electrek.

“The Tesla humanoid robotics modelling team is looking for a highly skilled and motivated colleague that would like to help building the next generation biped robot. You will be working closely with a multi-disciplinary team with the goal to build a humanoid robot that can support manufacturing operators in tedious and exhaustive tasks,” Tesla wrote in one of the job descriptions.

Recently, Musk announced that his company is working on a humanoid robot and the prototype will arrive sometime next year.

The 5.8-inch bot would be used to handle automated machines at Tesla factories, as well as some of the hardware and software that powers the Autopilot driver assistance software, Musk announced during the ‘AI Day’ event.

“Basically, if you think about what we’re doing right now with cars, Tesla is arguably the world’s biggest robotics company because our cars are like semi-sentient robots on wheels,” Musk said recently.

The bot is “intended to be friendly and navigate through a world built for humans,” he added.

The Tesla robot will weigh 125 pounds and have a walking gait of 5 miles per hour. The face will house a screen to display important information.

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Foraying into the wireless charger segment, American storage device maker Western Digital on Wednesday announced the SanDisk Ixpand Wireless Charger portfolio. The new line-up of wireless chargers includes the SanDisk Ixpand Wireless Charger Sync and SanDisk Ixpand Wireless Charger 15W with adapter. The SanDisk Ixpand Wireless Charger Sync is a one-of-its kind device with functionality of wireless charging and data storage integrated in one device.

With storage capacity of up to 256GB, the SanDisk Ixpand Wireless Charger Sync allows automatically back up of photos, videos, and contacts while the phone is charging on the wireless charger. Compatible with Qi charging protocol, this charger wirelessly charges the supported smartphone at a peak power of 10W. The SanDisk Ixpand Wireless Charger Sync comes with adaptor and 6-foot (1.8m) cable. It supports multiple backup profiles.

For the backup, the charger requires wireless connection, and supports devices based on iOS 11 or above or Android 5.0 or above required. Ixpand Wireless Charger app is available for download from the App Store or Google Play.

The SanDisk Ixpand Wireless Charger 15W with adapter comes with charging adaptor and USB-C cable. As the name suggests, it charges the supported devices at a peak power of 15W. The new SanDisk Ixpand wireless chargers are backed by a two-year limited warranty.

The Ixpand Wireless Charger Sync is available now in 256GB capacity at Rs 9,999. The Ixpand Wireless 15W Fast Charger with QC 3.0 Adapter is priced at Rs 2999. Western Digital is also offering the Ixpand Wireless 15W Fast Charger sans the charging adapter for Rs 1,999. All the products are available on online on Amazon India, and offline at Croma, Poorvika and select retail stores.

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Short-form video app TikTok has launched a new creative toolset called TikTok Effect Studio — currently in private beta testing — that will allow its own developer community to build augmented reality (AR) effects for the platform.

On a new website titled “Effect House,” TikTok is asking interested developers to sign up for early access to Effect Studio.

On the form provided, developers fill out their name, email, TikTok account info, company and level of experience with building for AR, as well as examples of their work, reports Engadget.

The website also asked if they are using a Mac or PC (presumably to gauge which desktop platform to prioritise), and whether they would test Effect House for work or for personal use.

The project was first spotted by social media consultant Matt Navarra, via a tip from Sam Schmir.

TikTok confirmed the tech website was launched earlier in August, but the project itself is still in the early stages of testing in only a few select markets, one of which is the US.

According to the report, the company could not offer a time frame as to when these tools would become more broadly available. Instead, TikTok characterized Effect Studio as an early “experiment,” adding that some of its experiments do not always make it to launch.

Plus, other experiments may undergo significant changes between their early beta phases and what later becomes a public product, the report said.

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The capacity of data centre industry is expected to double by 2023 to over 1,000 MW to meet the rising demand amid sharp growth in digitalisation, according to property consultant JLL.

The industry’s capacity is expected to double from 499 MW in January-June 2021 to 1,008 MW by 2023, it added. MW indicates IT design power load.

The capacity expansion is “driven by strong digitalisation, rising cloud adoption and ambitious growth plans of data centre operators”, JLL India said in a statement.

JLL released its ‘H1 2021 India Data Centre Market Update’ on Tuesday.

Stating that acceleration of digitalisation has forced enterprises to scale up their IT infrastructure, the consultant said a strong demand for co-location/cloud facilities, which offer scalability, security, and connectivity at lower costs, has been witnessed across India.

Investors and global data centre players have increased their commitment during the last six months in the India market by announcing joint ventures to meet expected demand, it added.

“The demand momentum which picked up pace in 2020, continues to grow unabated. The Indian data centre industry witnessed 46.4 MW absorption during H1 2021 – equivalent to 90 per cent of supply addition during the period (H1 2021), indicating robust absorption growth,” said Rachit Mohan, Head, Data Centre Advisory-India; Co-Head, Office Leasing Advisory, Mumbai, JLL.

He said the demand has been growing rapidly on increased digital usage emerging from distributed workforce, growing data security concerns and business disruptions.

“Banking and financial services are adopting hybrid options to meet digital growth. Home-grown video and gaming platforms in midst of robust user growth are also fuelling the data centre industry demand. Furthermore, telecom players are formulating the rollout of 5G which is expected to drive exponential growth in data consumption, Mohan said.

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Leading Wi-Fi solutions provider Netgear on Tuesday launched a new gaming router ‘Nighthawk XR1000 Pro Gaming Wi-Fi 6′ in the Indian market at a price point of Rs 31,999.

The XR1000 router operates with a Wi-Fi 6 speed of up to 5.4 Gbps and aims to enable a number of users to connect more devices simultaneously, without impacting speed or reliability, by efficiently packing and scheduling data.

Wi-Fi 6 operates with 4x increased capacity, which is faster than Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) system. One can also manage the XR1000 from their phone using the NETGEAR Nighthawk Mobile App for Android and iOS devices.

“Running on DumaOS 3.0, an operating system designed for gamers and streamers of all skill levels, the OS enables the router to stabilize ping, reducing lag spikes, and keeps the player in the game with reliable wired and wireless connectivity for fast-paced gaming and solid uploads for content creation,” the company said in a statement.

The router is powered by Triple Core 1.5Ghz Processor, the router can handle VR gaming, 4K streaming, and more.

It also comes loaded with Geo-Filter settings that help in selecting the best online connection for the games by filtering high-ping game servers. The router supports Four Wired Ethernet Ports which help you connect with PC, gaming consoles, and other devices at up to 1 Gbps wired speeds.

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Apple on Wednesday announced that the American technology giant has integrated India’s Gaana and JioSaavn music streaming services to its HomePod mini smart speaker. Powered by Siri, the HomePod mini can now take voice command to stream content from these music services, besides Apple Music. However, the newly integrated music services need to be added to the HomePod mini. Here is how to do it:How to set-up Gaana and JioSaavn on the HomePod

Step 1: On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, open the app for your streaming service and go to the app settings. A subscription might be required for some streaming services.

Step 2: Tap the option to Connect with HomePod. 

Step 3: Follow the onscreen instructions to set-up music streaming services on the HomePod. How to choose a default music streaming service on the HomePod

Step 1: Open the Home app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. 

Step 2: Tap Home , go to Home Settings and choose the home that you want to edit.

Step 3: Tap your name under People.

Step 4: Tap Default Service under Media. Select the streaming service that you want to set as default. 

Step 5: To stream audio from other supported streaming services, just name the service when you ask Siri. 

Note: If Siri does not play your default streaming service after set-up, you might need to sign in as the Primary User. Open the Home app and press and hold the HomePod tile. Then scroll down, tap Primary User, and sign in with your Apple ID.

The Apple HomePod mini is available on Apple Store online and Apple authorised resellers in white and space grey colours for Rs 9,990.

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OneWeb, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications company backed by Bharti, on Monday announced the launch of 34 satellites by Arianespace from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in southern Kazakhstan.

The latest launch brings the company’s total in-orbit constellation to 288 satellites. OneWeb said it is on track to commence service this year and deliver global service in 2022.

The move highlights the business momentum as the company prepares to introduce commercial service and focus on scaling to global service.

“Bharti-backed OneWeb, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications company, today confirmed the next successful launch of 34 satellites by Arianespace from the Baikonur Cosmodrome,” the statement said.

The satellites would form part of OneWeb’s 648 LEO satellite fleet that aim to deliver high-speed, low-latency global connectivity.

“OneWeb remains on track to deliver global service in 2022 and is seeing growing demand from telecommunications providers, ISPs, and governments worldwide to offer its low-latency, high-speed connectivity services to the hardest to reach places,” it said.

Since early 2021, OneWeb has announced distribution partnerships across various industries and businesses, most recently with Northwestel in Canada and BT in the UK.

OneWeb is fully-funded to deliver its constellation and take its satellites into commercial service, the statement informed.

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American tech-giant Google is working on a new Android 12 accessibility feature to let users control their phone using facial expressions.

Mashable India quoted a report by XDADevelopers that says the ‘Camera Switches feature’, which is one of the accessibility services in the Android Accessibility Suite app, will support setting gestures to specific controls.

Smiling, opening the mouth, and looking out right, left, or down are reportedly the possible gestures, the app will include.

The corresponding camera actions include getting to the homepage, scrolling backward and forward, and selecting. The app will also allow the users to adjust the gesture size and duration.

As per The Verge, the new feature would require the device’s camera to be switched on, and Android 12-enabled devices will show a standing bar indicating the camera is getting used.

The feature will reportedly use an additional battery. It is currently in beta mode and is claimed to be convenient for users with disabilities.

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Lenovo on Monday launched an upgraded IdeaPad Gaming 3i laptop, powered by Intel 11th Gen Core processors and the latest NVIDIA RTX 3050 GPU, at a starting price of Rs 89,990.

This entry-level and affordable gaming laptop is built for overall performance, and aptly fits the needs of young adults and students.

Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i goes on sale on August 24 on Amazon.in and Lenovo.com. It will soon be available on Flipkart.com and other offline channels.

“Boasting of an upgraded keyboard and thermal design, it is a reliable machine for daily tasks, essential gaming needs, and all round performance,” Dinesh Nair, Head of Consumer Business, Lenovo India said in a statement.

Lenovo said it will offer one-year of warranty, one-year of premium care support, and one-year of accidental damage protection services, bundled with this device.

In terms of specifications, the device offers up to Intel 11th Gen Core i7, and the latest NVIDIA RTX 3050 GPU with maximum TGP of 90W.

The device features a 15.6-inch FHD IPS display with three sided narrow bezel and a screen refresh rate of up to 120Hz.

It is equipped with the super tactile Lenovo TrueStrike Keyboard, featuring 1.5 mm key travel with backlighting, large arrow keys, a full size number pad and 22 per cent larger touchpad that gets the work done easily.

The IdeaPad Gaming 3i also features a 720P webcam with Trueblock Privacy Shutter for additional security, and a Military Grade certified chassis, which makes it an extremely tough and reliable device.

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