Catching up.

Hello,

It has been a while since we interacted🥲. Yes, I am aware I haven't written a new issue in over two weeks. Trust me – my dad has taunted me about it enough times already, don't mention it. But I love the world of tech, and I also like writing for you in my free time. It is something that helps me as well, so I will compensate. I will be publishing the issues I have missed on my website, so make sure you keep on checking www.garamond.tech for any new updates. This issue is based on updates and news over the past two weeks.

Let's start with something basic and straightforward. Zoom just got this cool feature. It is an ever so minor addition, but it intrigues me. You now have gestures on Zoom! If you raise your hand in front of your camera, Zoom will automatically raise your hand for you. For that matter, even the thumbs up emoji will trigger itself if you enact that gesture on camera! Cool, right? This feature makes me so happy! Another feature that Zoom rolled out is enhanced whiteboards. You can now create whiteboards without having to dive into a meeting. You can also collaborate on them with other people and share them. The whole whiteboard got a facelift. It looks so much better, and it is way more accessible.

Google also made headlines in the last two weeks. Someone from Google accidentally left their unreleased watch's prototype in a restaurant. Someone is losing their job :) But another cool thing Google worked on is, banning third-party call recording applications on Android mobiles. Yes, you can no longer use shady apps from the Play Store that allow you to record conversations without consent. You can still record calls with Google Phone, which is perfect! This is because Google's dialer notifies the other person on the line that they are being recorded. So, yay, privacy! You never need to worry about being threatened for something you said on call anymore. Google will officially be removing all call recording apps by 8th May 2022.

Google, Apple, and governments have made call recordings impossible to happen between two or more people. But, if you think critically for a moment, why should businesses be able to record a conversation but I cannot? Something to ponder over, isn't it?

As I mentioned earlier, Google made headlines because someone left their watch's prototype in a restaurant. Let’s talk about that for a minute. The watch features a circular display with a familiar-looking design. The watch also has a digital crown with two side buttons and looks very similar to Samsung's Galaxy Watch 4. The watch has a premium finish on the plus side of things, making it look identical to the Apple Watch. However, the watch is exceptionally thick and has some large bezels, giving them a lower hand when competing with the Apple Watch. Even though the watch has thick bezels, it still manages to have a 1.5-inch display! However, the source who found this watch could not get the watch booted to explore the user interface.

On a slightly unrelated note, Google is working on an iPhone app that allows iOS users to transfer content from their iPhone to Pixel wirelessly. As simple as that! You no longer need those fussy cables to move your data!

Over the last two weeks, some bizarre things have happened too :) Elon Musk offered to buy Twitter for a whopping $43 billion! Insane, right? At first, Twitter showed no interest in this deal, but as of 25th April (when I am writing this article), Twitter might be looking to close this deal! This didn't happen suddenly; a couple of days before Elon proposed buying Twitter, he announced that he owned 9% of the company, which led its stock price to go through the roof. Whatever it is, I am eager to see the changes Elon might bring to the company if he owns it.

This is not the only tech-business news I have for you. For the first time in over a decade, this quarter, Netflix lost subscribers! Netflix's stock plunged this week, falling close to 45%. That’s wild! This could be for several reasons, the most obvious being more competition. PrimeVideo and Disney+ have significant market share and have increased the same over the past couple of years. An increasing number of platforms have been coming up with original shows to counter Netflix. CNN+, which launched less than two months ago, also announced that they are shutting down in under 50 days because of the immense competition in this space. Another possible reason for losing subscribers could be the constant increase in subscription prices, driving existing and potential consumers away.

Okay, enough business🥲. Before I conclude this issue, I want to highlight a couple of things. I read this article online on The Verge. It turns out that the FBI has an 83-page document exploring and decoding internet slang! Hilarious! It has over 2,800 internet slang. Go here, check it out. Another thing, in the last couple of months, Apple made headlines for rolling out a feature on iMessage. This feature prevents children from accessing nude pictures by showing a warning about the sensitive content of these images. Previously, this feature was only rolled out to users in the US. Now it is making a debut in the Netherlands, Canada, UK and Australia. So that's a cool thing :)

And that's a wrap. That is everything that happened in the tech domain in the last two weeks. I hope you found this issue intriguing. If so, please share this article with your friends and family :) Cheers, make sure to update your devices, and I will catch you next time.

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Struggling with final examinations
Tejas Tagra
6068 days old