Category Technology

WHAT IS MEAN BY BIG DATA?

It is exactly what it says it is-BIG. Enormous amount of information or data is constantly created by many people through various methods. For example, when you play a video game post on Instagram or Facebook, or just surf the Intemet, data is generated.

This data may come from the communication with people you know, your laptop, smartphone or any other such device. All the data adds up and keeps growing progressively bigger.

It is so voluminous that the usual data processing systems or software tools cannot handle it. It needs to be analysed properly to gain the right insights into it. It is thus broken down by three characteristics, also known as the three Vs of Big Data- -volume, which is the amount of data that gets generated, velocity, or the speed at which it is processed, and variety, the differenttypes of data that gets generated.

While Big Data offers multiple ways to analyse data and use it to our advantage, it is vital to exercise caution while doing so.

Data is information that can be processed and put to use. Now, it is Big Data that has gained importance and is dominating the way companies work world over.

Importance

Have you noticed how, sometimes, Google may suggest new things which you may be interested in or like? How does it do that? This is because, all the data about you has been collected and processed and then used by the search engine to know your likes and dislikes.

Big data enables organisations to store, manage, and manipulate vast amounts of information. It helps companies improve the way they work, offer better customer services, and provide more personal offers or campaigns, among other things. In short, it is for the company’s benefit and to earn more profit. Its importance lies in not the amount of data a company has, but how it is able to use the gathered data.

Picture Credit : Google 

WHAT IS MORAVEC’S PARADOX?

Artificial intelligence can simplify complicated tasks but it may still be unable to do what humans do instinctively.

It is a concept in computing put forward by Austrian artificial intelligence (AI) researcher Hans Moravec in the 1980s. He theorised that while it is easy to make computers do highly intelligent tasks such as calculating complicated mathematical equations, it is very difficult to make them do simple tasks such as walking. According to Moravec, humans have evolved over millions of years. to perfect simple physical tasks such as walking and running. Such tasks, which we take for granted, are a result of the process of natural selection.

Moravec’s paradox states that it is difficult to build a machine that has the skills of a one-year-old child with the instinctive ability to move around, recognise faces, and avoid danger. It takes a lot of difficult computations to instruct a computer to do what a human being can do without thinking twice. On the other hand, humans acquired sophisticated skills such as abstract reasoning and logical thinking that result in excellence in the fields of engineering, mathematics and art, about hundred thousand years ago. It is easy to devise algorithms for these skills for computers. That is why it is easy to build a computer that can defeat a professional chess player or play music.

Moravec’s paradox can be interpreted in different ways. Some scholars believe that it means that Al can render people with high-level jobs such as stock analysis or engineering unemployed, while the jobs of cooks and gardeners are safe. Others take it to mean that Al will always need human supervision.

Picture Credit : Google

AN INTERVIEW OF YOUNG ACHIEVER GOURAV KHUNGER- ANDROID APP DEVELOPER

Meet Gourav Khunger a 16-year-old Android app developer. He runs genicsblog.com an open source platform for developers to share technical knowledge. He speaks about his journey .

What fascinates you about technology?

The ability to turn my imagination into reality. Having a solid technical background helped me build software tools and apps that didn’t exist. In this modern world, having basic tech skills is a must.

Tell us about your journey of finding your passion.

Until Class VI, I had almost no involvement in extracurricular activities. One day my father showed me an advertisement for an Indian digital payment company. and pointed out the things they are doing with their app. This kindled my curiosity to learn about the interface of their app and about the tools used to build websites. This, combined with the basic web development lessons in Class VI, got me to explore different kinds of technology using the computer we had at home. I used the Internet for the first time to learn about website development. I set up my first website by leaming about coding from an educational website. This was about five years ago. But I soon realised web development wasn’t something I wanted to pursue as a career. I wanted to do programming languages such as Java, Kotlin, Ruby, etc. So in Class VIII, I got into app development, and since then I have worked using many coding languages on different levels of projects. Today I maintain 20+ open source projects, and also write technical articles to help others become better software developers.

Recently, you became one of the youngest to receive the Google Associate Android Developer certification.

It is a certification that says I have the industry-level skills required to be a professional Android developer. It is not a course certification, but an eight-hour-long programming test where one has to work on tasks on a real Android app project that Google provides. There’s a coding interview too, and that’s how one can be certified.

What projects are you currently working on?

I’m currently focussing on my developer publication genicsblog.com and my open source app JekyllEx. Genics is a public blog and open source platform where software developers can share their technical knowledge by writing on topics they are passionate about. It has about 600 monthly readers now; in January it was only 200! JekyllEx allows people to manage their Jekyll-powered blogs from their smartphone without the hassle of needing a desktop.

What’s your vision for this fast-growing world?

My vision is to build software and also create content that would help people upskill their knowledge in software development. I believe that free and open-source software is powerful. Most of what we see on the Internet today would not have existed if it weren’t for open source. So I would definitely continue to work on my open source projects.

Do you have any message for society?

I would like to change society’s mindset that kids can’t do anything without formal education. During the recent lockdowns, we saw a lot of people with mind-blowing ideas that have the potential to change the world. I believe that people should have an open mind and trust their kids by letting them pursue careers in any field they find interesting. Teaching kids to be passionate about what they want to do is a lot better than forcing them to change to something they might regret later. As for the kids, my message is believe in yourselves because you can do anything you want. When you know that you have the potential, go for it and earn your place in this world!

Picture Credit : Google 

WHY IS INTERNET EXPLORER RETIRING?

Once a dominate platform, support for the 27-year-old browser was officially ended just a fortnight ago by its company Microsoft.

The end of Internet Explorer (IE) will come as no real surprise to most PC users, given that it has been superseded by a newer Microsoft browser called Edge, launched in 2015.

IE was once the most dominant browsing platform, with an estimated peak market share in the early 2000s of over 90%-thanks to being contentiously bundled in with the Windows PC operating system.

However, today’s market is very much different to that found when IE launched in 1995. Then Netscape Navigator ruled the browsing world until IE dethroned it. Now Google’s Chrome is the most successful browsing tool, with a 64.95% market share, followed by Apple’s Safari on 19.01%.

The future of Mozilla’s once popular Firefox looks questionable as it flounders with a dwindling share of just 3.26%.

Picture Credit : Google 

WHAT IS PRIVATE WEB BROWSING?

What happened when you browse the Net in incognito mode? Does it ensure anonymity?

You may have noticed a tab in Google Chrome and other browsers called private/incognito. Browsers usually store the web addresses or URLS of the sites you visit. That makes it easier for you to find them again later. In private (incognito) mode, your search history won’t be stored on the device you are using.

Your browser also stores cookies. These small data files can not only automatically enter passwords, so you don’t have to type them each time, they can also provide tracking information to advertising companies that want to figure out your browsing habits. If you have looked for the best sunglasses available in the market, for example, ads for sunglasses keep popping up on whatever website you are visiting! This is how the internet advertising industry creates detailed profiles of people’s online activities over time.

Private or incognito browsing helps here, since it can temporarily disconnect someone’s browsing from the technical means used to build up and maintain most of those profiles. Cookies won’t provide advertisers with the detailed information they’d otherwise mine. Sometimes private browsing enables you to get around paywalls that block you from reading content on subscriber-only sites. However, going incognito won’t make you anonymous or invisible online! Your internet service provider can track your web activities. The sites you visit will also know your location. And if you are logged in to your Google account when browsing, Google sees your search patterns, even in incognito mode.

Picture Credit : Google 

IS TIKTOK THE MOST POPULAR APP 2022?

TikTok took the top spot for most downloaded app in the first three months of 2022, beating Instagram and Facebook. The short-form video sharing app TikTok was the most downloaded app worldwide in first three months of 2022, according to a report from Sensor Tower.

TikTok is one of the world’s fastest-growing social media platforms. Sensor Tower recently released its “Q1 2022: Store Intelligence Data Digest” report in which TikTok was the top app by worldwide downloads in Q1 2022. The app previously had surpassed 3.5 billion all-time downloads in the first quarter of 2021, becoming just the fifth app (and the only one not owned by Meta) to achieve this milestone.

Since the start of 2022, TikTok has been downloaded more than 175 million times. TikTok has surpassed 10 million downloads for the past nine quarters now, while YouTube has surpassed the same threshold for eight consecutive quarters. No app has had more downloads than TikTok since the beginning of 2018 when WhatsApp had 250 million worldwide downloads, per the report.

There’s a lot to be said about the success of TikTok and where it’s going. The social media app is mainly dominant for its relevant trends, unique algorithm and a diverse set of communities for every niche subject matter. Just recently, its updates include interactive add-ons for in-feed ads as well as a test on a private dislike button for comments. It also recently launched its own AR development platform, Effect House.

When examining the global downloads on iPhones and iPads, the order of the top five apps has remained unchanged over the past three quarters. TikTok exceeded 70 million App Store downloads for only the third time in Q1 2022, driven by 11% quarter-over-quarter growth in Asia. Despite being banned in India, which has one of the largest markets for app installs in the world, the app was ranked third place overall in Asia. It was No. 1 in the App Store, yet in seventh place for Google Play in Asia.

Looking at U.S. overall downloads, TikTok has been the top app each quarter since Q1 2021. The last app to beat TikTok was Zoom in Q4 2020. Also, since Q1 2021, TikTok and YouTube have been the top two apps on the U.S. App Store each quarter. TikTok was also the number one app on Google Play for the third quarter in a row, with installs up 19% year-over-year.

The same five apps have taken the top spots in Europe for each of the past four quarters. TikTok and WhatsApp were in the top two positions, while Instagram went down a ranking from last quarter to the number four spot. Even though WhatsApp has been the top App Store app in Europe for each of the past seven quarters, TikTok has also held on to the top spot on Google Play over the same period.

These estimates made by Sensor Tower include worldwide downloads for iPhone, iPad and Google Play for January 1 through March 31, 2022. This excludes preinstalled apps. The company only reports unique installs and Android estimates do not include third-party stores. The figures represent aggregate installs of all app versions.

Credit : Tech crunch \

Picture Credit : Google