The low-end version of the battle royale game PUBG called Lite is officially closing down on April 29.

PUBG Lite was introduced in 2019 for entry-level mobile devices. The Indian government banned both PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite on September 2 last year.

The news of PUBG Lite’s shut down was confirmed by the developers Krafton via a message on its official website.

“We are deeply grateful for the passion and support from the astounding number of PUBG Lite fans that have been with us. During the strenuous times of the Covid-19 pandemic, we hope that PUBG Lite was able to provide our fans a fun way to stay safe,” the developer said.

“Unfortunately, we have made the difficult decision to close service after much deliberation and the time has come for our journey to end. We regretfully inform you that service of PUBG Lite is scheduled to end on April 29th, 2021 (UTC),” the company added.

PUBG Lite Facebook will be open even after the game service termination until further notice.

“We would like to convey our sincerest apology as well as our deepest appreciation to everyone. We truly hope you have enjoyed your time with us and please look forward to our future endeavours,” the developers said.

PUBG Lite was among one of the most popular games of the early pandemic months.

The game was banned under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act in India. PUBG Corporation later announced that they were withdrawing their partnership with Tencent, and will work with the Indian government to look for a quick resolution.

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Inspired by the soaring success of invite-only audio chat app Clubhouse, Microsoft-owned LinkedIn is now working on a similar app for over 740 million members in more than 200 countries.

The leading professional networking platform confirmed the move to TechCrunch, saying that it is working on an audio networking feature.

“We’re doing some early tests to create a unique audio experience connected to your professional identity,” LinkedIn said in a statement.

“We’re looking at how we can bring audio to other parts of LinkedIn such as events and groups, to give our members even more ways to connect to their community,” the company said on Tuesday.

According to LinkedIn, it will start beta testing of the new audio chat feature soon.

Alarmed at the growing popularity of Clubhouse, several tech giants have begun to a rival app and Twitter has finally started testing ‘Spaces’ on Android.

The Twitter Spaces tool is currently available on iOS Beta with a host of iOS-exclusive features such as voice tweets, which is yet to arrive on Android devices.

In the feature, users can create a ‘Space’ that their followers can join to participate in a conversation. Anyone on Twitter can listen in on the conversation, though only the host can control who gets to speak.

Clubhouse is currently available on Apple App Store and has been downloaded more than 8 million times. The company is working on an Android version.

Facebook is also working on to build its own social audio app like Clubhouse.

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Samsung on Wednesday launched in India the 5G variant of its Galaxy S20 FE (Fan Edition) smartphone, powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 system-on-chip. Priced at Rs 55,999, the smartphone is available at an introductory price of Rs 47,999 on Samsung online store, Amazon India, Samsung exclusive stores and select retail outlets.

“At Samsung, consumers are at the heart of everything we do. Our consumers gave us an outstanding response for Galaxy S20FE LTE version launched in Q4’20. Building on its success, we bring to Galaxy fans, Galaxy S20 FE 5G with the power of Snapdragon Processor and 5G. In addition to superlative performance, Galaxy S20 FE 5G brings all flagship innovations at an accessible price point. The launch is a testimony of our consistent efforts to deliver the best to our millennial consumers enabling them to do what they love,” said Aditya Babbar, Senior Director and Head, Mobile Marketing, Samsung India.

The Galaxy S20 FE was launched in five colours — cloud red, cloud lavender, cloud mint, cloud navy and cloud white. The 5G Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 variant, however, comes in cloud lavender, cloud mint and cloud navy colours. Made of plastic, the phone features textured haze finish on the back cover to protect it from fingerprints and smudges. The phone features a 6.5-inch fullHD+ Infinity-O display of 120Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch response rate.

ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy S20 FE: A worthy premium smartphone despite some compromises

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An electric sports car that has an 800-km range, comes with a gaming cockpit where the steering wheel looks like a gaming console, and has a 5G connection. Morris Garages (MG) Motor’s new car has these features and more.

MG Cyberster, a two-door electric sports car globally, is scheduled to be released on Wednesday today. MG has said it is the first supercar to be equipped with a gaming cockpit and it is the fastest accelerating electric one.

The car’s design is inspired from the iconic MGB Roadster sports car. The car has been created by the MG global design team and is aimed at Gen Z. The front of the car comes with the classic round headlights and slim grille design. It will also have the “magic eye” interactive headlights. The sharp lines across its body panels boost the style quotient of the car while the fast flattened tail improves the aerodynamic performance. The wheels come with rotating spokes aligned with a central locking system, which is common in very high-performance models. The rear of the car uses ‘Kammback’ styling and comes with LED taillights. The car also comes with the SAIC design branding.

The interior of the car has a ‘digital fibre’ theme. The interior is fitted with zero-gravity seats, gaming console-like steering wheel, and LED touchscreen. The zero-gravity seats comes with a multi-surface splicing design which, the company claims, provides good back support to the driver. The cabin has a gaming theme and the steering wheel has black and white contrast texture. The steering wheel also comes with a 4-dimensional button on the thumb and a button on top of the steering wheel, according to reports. The car also has connected car technology and 5G connectivity.

On the speed and performance front, the claimed range of the car is 800 km. The company has said that the Cyberster can accelerate from 0-100 kmph in just three seconds. Other details such as battery capacity, electric motor, power output, and charging capacity are not known yet. It is likely to be revealed during the global launch. For the price too, we will have to wait for the global launch.

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Sony has announced to shut down its PlayStation Store for the PS3 on July 2 and for hand-held video game console Vita on August 27.

It means that the users will not be able to buy digital copies of games for the PS3 and Vita.

“We are closing PlayStation Store on PlayStation3 consoles on 2nd July 2021 and on PlayStation Vita devices on 27th August 2021. Additionally, the remaining purchase functionality for PSP (PlayStation®Portable) will also retire on 2nd July 2021,” the company said in an update.

Sony launched PS3 in November 2006, and more than 80 million units of the console have ben sold to date. Vita has sold over 10 million units.

The company said that the users will still be able to re-download and play previously purchased game titles.

“You will still be able to access previously purchased video/media content. You will still be able to redeem game and PlayStation Plus vouchers. You will still be able to re-download and play claimed game titles through PlayStation Plus as long as you remain a member of the service,” the company informed.

However, the users will no longer be able to make in-game purchases through games on PS3, PS Vita and PSP.

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India’s local language microblogging platform Koo has stronger networks compared to Twitter, a new study has found. Currently available in seven languages, Koo hit headlines last month when ministers and political leaders said they were going to move to the country’s homegrown microblogging platform.

“The Koo network has a noticeably high local clustering coefficient of 0.561, that represents how well connected the neighbourhood of a vertex is. This indicates a strong modular structure in the network, presumably due to Koo only catering to audiences from a single country. In contrast, Twitter, which caters to worldwide audiences, only had an average local clustering coefficient of 0.072 during its early years in 2009, indicating much weaker communities,” said the study, titled “Koo: The new king? Characterising India’s emerging social network”.

According to network scientist Jérôme Kunegis, clustering is an important property of social networks, as people tend to have friends who are also friends with each other, resulting in sets of people among which many common people existHe further explains that the clustering coefficient is a real number between zero and one that is zero when there is no clustering, and one for maximum clustering.

The current study was undertaken by students Asmit Kumar Singh, Chirag Jain, Rishi Raj Jain, and professor Ponnurangam Kumaraguru from Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi and Jivitesh Jain and Shradha Sehgal from the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, examined 4 million users on Koo.

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Many internet companies posted record performance during the pandemic as consumers turned to apps and other cloud software to work, study, socialize and shop from home. But as vaccines roll out and restrictions relax, some of this unprecedented digital demand is fading.

Data from research firm Apptopia reveal how the superstar apps of the Covid-19 era are faring now in the U.S. Plus, stats from New Zealand, a country that reopened earlier, show what the future might hold for these services.

Here’s the main takeaway: Many well-known apps are losing ground, or usage has stabilized. Some behaviors are sticking, though, suggesting the pandemic will provide a more-permanent boost for a few internet companies.

Zoom Video Communications Inc.’s app has been so ubiquitous during the pandemic that it’s now a verb. Lately, though, workers complain of “Zoom fatigue,” and data from New Zealand are ominous. Usage has dropped in that country as employees and students return to offices and schools. Even in the US, where most offices remain virtual, Zoom use peaked in September. The company said recently it’s well positioned for strong growth.

Microsoft’s Teams communication software was another work-from-home hit last year. That service has seen mobile app usage decline, too, especially in New Zealand.

Other staples of the virtual workplace are here to stay, according to Apptopia data. DocuSign’s app, which lets you sign contracts and other documents digitally, has seen consistently high usage lately. The app has become a popular way to close real-estate transactions, so it is likely getting an extra boost from the housing boom.

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The PlayStation 5 isn’t simply the latest iteration of Japanese company Sony’s highly successful series of gaming consoles, but a genuine leap in terms of possibilities in gaming. There are several changes, inside and out, that set up PS5 for a markedly different gaming experience from its predecessors. Let’s dive into the details.

The PlayStation 5 comes in two variants: with Ultra-HD Blu-Ray Disc, and the Digital Edition — which is also Rs 10,000 cheaper. Our review unit came with the disc drive.DualSense Wireless Controller

PS5 Controller

The most highlighted (and rightly so!) aspect of the PS5 is the DualSense Wireless Controller. With its haptic feedback and trigger resistance, DualSense is more than just an accessory to the PS5, and in fact becomes an integral part of the immersive and realistic gaming experience that lets you ‘feel’ the game.

The haptic feedback’s effects are most palpable in Astro’s Playroom, in which you can feel everything from the gliding sensation while skating on ice to the overpowering gush of wind, and the trigger resistance that comes with it. The game even manages to make use of the DualSense’s touchpad and motion controls for certain activities. On the other hand, the trigger resistance made sure that I tired my hands out rather quickly due to overexertion and while that does add to the realism, it may not be suited for marathon gamers.

Even in terms of design, there are a few changes in DualSense. While the basic layout remains the same as the DualShock 4, DualSense is bulkier and more ergonomically designed. Besides, the space between the R1 and R2 buttons is done away with. In other significant changes, the controller now comes with a built-in microphone and charges via USB-C. In terms of compatibility, the DualShock 4 does work on the PS5, but only with PS4 games.

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A back-of-the-envelope calculation shows there’s about $9.6 billion worth of daily marine traffic halted by the massive container vessel that lodged in the Suez Canal earlier this week, blocking transit in both directions.

The figure is based off an assessment by Lloyd’s List that suggests westbound traffic is worth around $5.1 billion a day and eastbound traffic approximately $4.5 billion. The venerable journal concedes that these are “rough calculations,” however. There are about 185 vessels waiting to transit the waterway, data compiled by Bloomberg show, while Lloyd’s estimated 165.

So far efforts by tugs and diggers to dislodge the Ever Given — the 400-meter long vessel that became wedged in the canal on Tuesday — have failed and work to re-float the ship has been suspended until Thursday morning in Egypt, shipping agent Inchcape said, citing the Suez Canal Authority.

The queue on Wednesday included 40 bulk carriers hauling commodities ranging from crops to dry goods like cement as well as vessels carrying oil, fuel and chemicals, Bloomberg data show. There were also eight ships carrying livestock, more than 30 general cargo vessels and a water tanker.

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Indian cricket team would look to an unassailable lead in the three-match One Day International (ODI) series, when the Virat Kohli-led side locks horns with England in the 2nd ODI at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune on March 26. India won the first ODI by 66 runs and took 1-0 lead in 3-match series. Both the sides have to make some forced changes in their playing 11s for second ODI as some key players got injured during the series opener.

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India vs England playing 11 prediction

Indian batsman Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the remaining two ODIs after dislocating his left shoulder while fielding in the first match. Surayakumar Yadav is likely to replace Iyer in the Indian playing 11.

India tentative playing 11 for 2nd ODI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav/Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna.

England’s tour of India 2021

Meanwhile, England might have to make two changes in its playing 11 as captain Eoin Morgan and Sam Billings got injured during fielding. However, both came out to bat while chasing 318-run target in first ODI. There is no update on their injuries as of now.

If Morgan fails to get fit ahead of second ODI, then Jos Buttler would lead the English side, and Liam Livingstone may be drafted into the playing 11.

England tentative playing for 2nd ODI: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone/Eoin Morgan, Sam Billings/Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Moeen Ali, Tom Curran, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.

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