The JBL CSUM10 is an affordable dual-capsule condenser type USB microphone. Priced at Rs 5,799, this plug-and-play microphone seems to be a good fit for budding content creators to record professional quality audio without actually paying much for it. Starting with the design, the JBL CSUM10 looks visually appealing with its minimal all-metal body. It is not often that we get a solid microphone stand in the entry-level segment but the JBL CSUM10 comes with a sturdy metal desktop stand for stable and balanced fit. Additionally, it can be mounted on the boom stand (sold separately).

As for the controls, there are two knobs on the front — one for volume control and the other one to adjust the voice. Below the knobs, there is a mute button to quickly cut the microphone input. This comes handy if you are using the mic for virtual conference, streaming, etc. There are two ports on the bottom side — a USB-C port to connect it with the laptop and a 3.5mm jack to connect earphones. Being a plug-and-play device, the JBL CSUM 10 is easy to set-up and use — there is no hassle of installing drivers.

Coming on to the microphone performance, the JBL CSUM10 has two modes — omnidirectional (captures sound equally from all directions), and cardioid for a 180-degree recording field. The multi-recording microphone modes are hard to find in budget microphones, and these put the JBL CSUM10 a few notches above the others – at least on paper. In real life, the microphone is effective in recording voice when set to omni mode but struggles in cardioid mode. Moreover, the microphone is sensitive and it picks even the background noise irrespective of the recording mode you use in.

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Sony is one brand that understands the audiophiles’ nerve and it shows in its products, including the tiny portable wireless speakers. The Japanese technology company recently expanded its audio range in India with the launch of the Sony SRS-XB13 portable wireless speaker. Successor to the Sony SRS-XB12, the Sony SRS-XB13 brings minor but relevant upgrades over the predecessor. But how does it fare in terms of price-performance ratio? Let’s find out:

Design

If you liked the Sony SRS-XB12, there is no reason to not like the Sony SRS-XB13 design. The speaker boasts a cylindrical body with curved grille covering the speaker on the top side for wider audio spread. It has a flat base with cutout areas right above on the lower circumference side that work as passive radiators to enhance low-end frequencies.

Speaking of the circumference (sides), the front half is clean, Sony logo visible on the left side, buttons on the right side (extending towards the back), and strap hook on the back side. There are a total of five buttons – power, Bluetooth, play/pause, volume down, volume up. As a part of its upgrade, the Sony SRS-XB13 gets a USB-C port instead of microUSB in the predecessor. Though a minor upgrade, the switch to USB-C is a relevant one that is likely to help users with smartphones and other accessories with USB-C port to cut down on wires clutter. Speaking of wires, the Sony SRS-XB13 lacks the 3.5mm audio-in port and Bluetooth is all it relies on for connectivity.

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Nothing is set to launch its first product, the ear (1), on July 27, 2021. The true wireless earbuds were earlier set to launch in June. The London-based technology startup’s founder Carl Pei recently announced on Twitter about the delay owing to some final touches before the product rollout. Nevertheless, the Nothing ear (1) finally has a launch date and it is not too far from now.

Nothing said, the ear (1) are the beginning of a long and exciting journey that will eventually expand in other product categories, including smart electronics that are expected to arrive later this year. Pei, in the blog explained the reason for choosing earbuds as the first product in Nothing’s portfolio. “…we believe the earphones market was begging for differentiation, space where we can elevate design and deliver value from day one. Additionally, as an area of hyper-growth, the earphones market will provide a fertile backdrop as we strengthen our capabilities and prepare to enter new product categories.”

ALSO READ: Carl Pei’s Nothing partners with Flipkart for Ear 1’s launch in India

In India, Nothing has partnered with home-grown e-commerce marketplace Flipkart for the ear (1) launch. This means, the Nothing’s debut ear (1) true wireless earbuds will be available exclusively on Flipkart.

For India operations, Nothing recently appointed former Samsung executive Manu Sharma, as Vice President and General Manager of Nothing India. Pei said, He (Manu) will drive the growth, business development and operations for Nothing in the country.

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To introduce an exciting range of grooming and personal care products, lifestyle consumer tech brand boAt on Monday announced its entry into the personal grooming category with MISFIT.

The company unveiled MISFIT T50, a trimmer, that is available at an introductory price of Rs 899 on the Flipkart and boAt website.

“After having established our leadership in earwear and wearable category, we are all set to strengthen our lifestyle portfolio under the aMISFIT’ brand,” Aman Gupta, Co-Founder boAt, said in a statement.

“With MISFIT, we want to bring in a fresh approach to the personal care category by designing products specifically for the Millennials,” Gupta added.

T50 comes with skin-friendly titanium-coated blades, which are corrosion-resistant and offer a smooth and safe trimming experience devoid of any roughness, scratching or irritation on the skin.

These blades are easily detachable and can either be washed or just cleaned with a brush in a jiffy. A long-lasting 160-minute lithium battery ensures that your battery woes do not come in the way of you looking your best.

The MISFIT T50 has 40 length settings with 0.5 mm precision, which will always give you an even and defined trim for any look that suits your mood.

Your desired beard style, from a stubble to a consistent beard is only trim away with the multiple length setting comb function of the T50, the company said.

The company said it will also launch a range of women’s personal care products in the Indian market soon.

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Social media giant Facebook on Tuesday said it will publish an interim report on July 2 as mandated by the IT rules, and provide information on the number of content it removed proactively between May 15-June 15.

The final report will be published on July 15, containing details of user complaints received and action taken.

The new IT rules – which came into force from May 26 – mandate large social media companies to publish periodic compliance reports every month, mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken thereon.

The report is to also include the number of specific communication links or parts of information that the intermediary has removed or disabled access to in pursuance of any proactive monitoring conducted by using automated tools.

In accordance with the IT Rules, we’ll publish an interim report for the period May 15-June 15 on July 2. This report will contain details of the content that we have removed proactively using our automated tools, a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement.

The spokesperson added that the final report will be published on July 15, containing details of user complaints received and action taken.

The report on July 15 will also contain data related to WhatsApp, which is currently being validated, the spokesperson further stated.

The report on July 2 will be an interim report and will not include the details of complaints received and action taken thereon as we are in the process of validating this data and that that data will be provided in the July 15 report, as per information available on Facebook’s Transparency Centre webpage.

The new IT rules are designed to prevent abuse and misuse of digital platforms, and offer users a robust forum for grievance redressal. Under these rules, social media companies will have to take down flagged content within 36 hours, and remove within 24 hours content that is flagged for nudity and pornography.

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Tech giant Microsoft has now confirmed signing a malicious driver being distributed within gaming environments.

According to Bleeping Computers, this driver, called “Netfilter,” is a rootkit that was observed communicating with Chinese command-and-control (C2) IPs.

G Data malware analyst Karsten Hahn first took notice of this event last week and was joined by the wider infosec community in tracing and analysing the malicious drivers bearing the seal of Microsoft.

This incident has once again exposed threats to software supply-chain security, except this time it stemmed from a weakness in Microsoft’s code-signing process.

Microsoft said it is actively investigating this incident, although thus far, there is no evidence that stolen code-signing certificates were used.

The mishap seems to have resulted from the threat actor following Microsoft’s process to submit the malicious Netfilter drivers and managing to acquire the Microsoft-signed binary in a legitimate manner.

“Microsoft is investigating a malicious actor distributing malicious drivers within gaming environments,” the company was quoted as saying by the website.

“We have suspended the account and reviewed their submissions for additional signs of malware,” said Microsoft yesterday.

According to Microsoft, the threat actor has mainly targeted the gaming sector specifically in China with these malicious drivers and there is no indication of enterprise environments having been affected so far.

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By Clara-Laeila Laudette and Supantha Mukherjee

BARCELONA (Reuters) – IBM will offer telecom operators Verizon and Telefonica new services ranging from running 5G over a cloud platform to using artificial intelligence, the U.S. technology company said on Monday.

Big technology players such as Microsoft and Amazon are vying for a share of 5G revenue by offering telecom operators next-generation software tools.

IBM, using technology it obtained from buying software firm Red Hat, will offer the telecom operators cloud services to run their networks and assist them in selling products tailored to customers. No financial terms were disclosed about the tie-ups, which broadened IBM’s existing partnerships with the two firms.

A cloud platform uses software instead of physical equipment to perform network functions, helping telecom operators build 5G networks faster, reduce costs and sell customised services.

“It’s a disruptive time in this particular market segment, telcos are trying to position themselves as the destination for services like augmented reality, machine learning and AI,” Darell Jordan-Smith, vice president of Redhat, told Reuters.

On the AI front, IBM and Spain’s Telefonica have created a virtual assistant that they say will remove friction points, such as long wait times, by automating the handling of frequently asked questions and tasks like billing.

“We see this as an existential moment for telco operators with 5G: architecturally, they’re looking to gain more control on their platforms and rethink their network as a digital world rather than a structured physical model,” said Steve Canepa, IBM’s general manager for communications business.

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Samsung Galaxy M32 goes on sale for the first time in India on June 28 at e-commerce platform Amazon, Samsung online store and select retail stores. The budget smartphone boasts super AMOLED fullHD screen of 90Hz refresh rate. The Galaxy M32 comes in 4GB+64GB and 6GB+128GB configurations priced at Rs 14,999 and Rs 16,999, respectively. As an introductory offer, consumers can avail an instant cashback of up to Rs 1,250 while paying with ICICI cards. The cashback offer brings the effective ownership price of the 4GB+64GB variant to Rs 13,749 and 6GB+128GB variant to Rs 15,749.

As for the specifications, the Galaxy M32 sports a 6.4-inch fullHD+ super AMOLED screen of 90Hz refresh rate. The screen is touted to push the peak brightness in High Brightness Mode (HBM) to about 800 nits for good sunlight legibility.

The display is covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for protection against scratches.

The Galaxy is powered by a 6,000 mAh battery. The phone supports 25W fast charging but comes with 15W charger in-box. Powering the smartphone is MediaTek Helio G80 system-on-chip, paired with up to 6GB RAM and 128GB on-board storage.

Imaging is covered by a quad-camera array on the back, featuring a 64-megapixel primary sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle sensor of 123-degree field of view, a 2MP macro lens for close-up shots, and a 2MP depth sensor for portrait shots with live focus. On the front, the phone sports a 20MP camera sensor for selfies and videos. The Galaxy M32 comes with several camera modes, including Hyperlapse, Slow motion, Food Mode, Pro mode and AR zone.

The Galaxy M32 ships with the Samsung Knox 3.7 security platform. It boots Android 11-based One UI 3.1 user interface.

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Expanding its range of vacuum cleaners in India, British technology company Dyson on Monday launched the Omni-glide cordless vacuum cleaner priced at Rs 34,900. Like the company’s flagship V11 Absolute Pro vacuum cleaner, the Dyson Omni-glide has an in-line design, with the separation system, the motor, filter and handle all aligned. However, the Omni-glide is the first Dyson vacuum cleaner to feature an omni-directional cleaner head that glides in all directions – forwards, backwards, and sideways.

“We are pioneers in the vacuum cleaner industry – we created our cyclone technology, removed the bag, and cut the cord with the introduction of our powerful cordfree machines. Today, we’re introducing a brand new way to clean hard floors with the Dyson Omni-glide vacuum,” James Dyson, Founder and Chief Engineer, Dyson said in a statement. He added, “Dyson’s new omnidirectional Fluffy cleaner head is a true testament to our engineering capabilities, and is powered by a Dyson Hyperdymium motor, and features two counter-rotating brush bars that spin at the same speed for pick up in both directions.”

The Dyson Omni-glide has an omnidirectional cleaner head, which floats on four 360-degree stabilising castors that allow it to move in all directions and into tight spaces. According to Dyson, the castors height and placement were engineered to ensure minimal resistance – whether rolling forwards, backwards or sideways. The Dyson Omni-glide has sealed ball bearings for a smooth change of direction and minimise build-up of dirt.

The Dyson Omni-glide vacuum cleaner comes with three tools – mini motorised tool to tackle hair and ground-in dirt, a worktop tool and a combination tool.

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Six bills taking aim at the Big Tech market power are hurtling forward in the US Congress with bipartisan support even as a House panel has pushed forward an ambitious legislative package that seeks to rein in Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple by targeting their ownership of mighty online platforms in combination with other lines of business that kill competition.

The bills moved forward after a 12-hour all nighter debate, especially over features which would require online platforms to allow users to communicate across competitor services.

Lawmakers closed shop at 5 a.m. on Thursday on the East Coast.

Supporters of the bills argue that the proposed changes will hand consumers power over how their personal data is extracted and juiced by businesses which rely on these data to drive their predictive models and profits.

“With this package of historic legislation, we have the opportunity to take control of our own destiny to be a global leader in developing rules of the road for the digital economy,” Judiciary Committee chair Jerry Nadler said.

“We cannot be complacent and we cannot delay.”

These developments come barely a week after President Joe Biden appointed strident Big Tech critic Lina Khan to head the Federal Trade Commission in a sign of a tougher stance against technology companies which have seeped into society in remarkable ways.

Khan played a crucial role in the sweeping, 15-month long investigation of the tech giants’ market power.

Listed below are the six bills that now enter what is likely to be a long slog through Congress

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