Traders in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu have banned the sale of Coca-Cola and Pepsi in favour of local products.

The ban, which was proposed by the state’s top two associations of traders, came into effect on Wednesday (March 1st 2017).

It was around 2:00 AM in the morning, when I saw my editor’s message to continue with this article.

The moment I started researching for this article, it was pretty obvious that I have to take sides. That’s when I decided to have a cup of Green Tea and started thinking about my past.

Cut to 2006, I was studying 6th at that time. I came to Madurai for summer vaccation and stayed there for like 2 weeks at my aunt’s house in K.K Nagar. She used to have a shop below and I used to spend most of my time there, just because it had a computer. That’s when, I was introduced to ‘Badam Milk’, ‘RoseMilk’ and ‘Jigarthanda’. 250 ml bottles were stocked inside the fridge and people frequently used to come on a hot sunny day and get a gulp. Sales would usually go high during evenings- thanks to students, staffs and parents from a nearby school.

In 2008, I was studying at Madurai and my school took us for an industrial visit to the manufacturing plant of Badam Milk and Rose Milk. The guy, who was explaining all machinery and stuffs, was saying that there had been significant decrease in the sales.

Fast Forward to 2011.

I came back to Madurai to get my 10th std certificates. I was searching all the streets I know, just for that bottled Badam Milk. I couldn’t find any. Not even in my aunt’s shop.

2012 – I was introduced to Pepsi and Coke, thanks to McDonalds. Later, I became a frequent consumer of Mountain Dew during 2014-15, to a point that I used to drink 600ml daily along with 2 Lays packets. Since then, even though I have reduced the consumption to once in a week, every time I see those bottles lined up in the fridge at mess, I have a tendency to buy one.

Back in November 2015, I wrote an article insisting to save Thamirabarani River from Tamilnadu Government selling it to Pepsi. That seems to be one of the reasons now.

TNVSP secretary K Mohan explained the rationale behind this boycott. “The decision was taken to wean the youth away from MNC soft drinks, which are killing domestic companies. Besides this, these foreign firms are also using up scarce water resources at a time of unprecedented drought.”

Let’s clear few things up.

First, it’s not an overnight ban like Maggi but boycott. Mohan, on the other hand, calls it more like an appeal to TN youth. Second the boycott was announced by two associations of traders Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangangalin Peramaippu (TNVSP) (or Tamil Nadu Traders Associations Forum (TNTAF)) and the Federation of Tamil Nadu Traders Associations (FTNTA).

Coming back to the rationale, the very first question one might ask is ‘Wouldn’t the local companies drain up the ground water and rivers?’. May be so. But then I remembered an interim stay on the supply of water to the tune of 15 lakh litres per day to PepsiCo’s Aquafina water purification plant and 9 lakh litres per day to Coca-Cola’s bottling plant at Gangaikondan in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district issued by the Madurai bench of the Madras High court. A major development in this issue came yesterday on March 2, 2016, when Madras High Court overruled the stay and allowed the giants to take water from Thamirabarani river.

I am purposefully not going to arguments like “Why ban Pepsi and Coke alone? Ban i-phone, Samsung, Nike, etc…”. I personally feel those arguments are kiddish.

The next argument was by A.M Vikram Raja president of TNTAF. “About 70% of the traders have decided to boycott the sales of Pepsi and Coke from today onwards for their toxic nature.”

Indian Beverages Association quotes, “the products manufactured by Coca-Cola and Pepsi are of global standards and one of the safest available.” It also cites Supreme Court order of 2013, which had reportedly quoted an FSSAI panel’s submission that ingredients present in aerated beverages do not pose any health hazard.

IBA’s press release also states that, “Hindustan Coca Cola and PepsiCo India are local companies registered in the country, and comply with all applicable rules and regulations.” and also added, “Coca-Cola and PepsiCo India together provide direct employment to 2,000 families in Tamil Nadu and more than 5,000 families indirectly, through their extensive supply chain. They also play a critical role in improving the livelihood of over 2 lakh retailers, who earn more than Rs. 400 crores in income by selling products manufactured by the two companies. The companies also sustain the interests of thousands of Tamil farmers, by procuring agri-produce.”

This is exactly where I was stuck in choosing sides. I know that those drink contains ‘No fruit’ and have a high artificial sugar content. I know that there are manufacturing sites of these products in India. (Two in Tamilnadu). A short-term dip in profits would be there. And those products are not going away from Tamilnadu overnight. Infact, many traders in Chennai and other cities, especially national and international retail and food chains like Reliance Fresh and Dominos are not going to remove them. Vikram Raja assured optimistically that this will be settled soon. He said, “Their initial response is encouraging. They only want some time to work out the boycott plan.”

IBA argues that the boycott violates the consumer’s “right to choose” and also adds, “This call is against the proven fundamentals of robust economic growth, and against the clarion call of ‘Make in India’.” The companies, on the other hand, hadn’t commented on the boycott.

Meanwhile, I heard that most of the shops are displaying “No Pepsi, No Coke” Posters. Like the Pro – Jallikattu movement in Jan 2017, something big has started. Problem is we don’t have enough facts to support the cause and prove IBA wrong, or I might haven’t dug deeper. But things are changing. I could see many youths in their Facebook statuses pledging and vowing not to drink Pepsi and Coke. I know I can’t trust those statuses, but Jallikattu proved me wrong. Hope it proves me wrong again. Hope I could see those bottled badam milk again. And I pledge to boycott Pepsi and Coke products.

The post Banning Pepsi and Coke in Tamil Nadu – the full story appeared first on OutFocus.

A driver of a Tesla Model S was tragically killed when his car slammed into a tractor-trailer that had veered into his lane.

The Model S operated by Mr.Brown went underneath the trailer of a truck that had turned left in front of the car. The Tesla’s windshield hit the bottom of the trailer as it passed underneath, and the car kept going, leaving the road, striking a fence, crossing a field, passing through another fence and finally hitting a utility pole about 100 feet south of the road, according to the report by the Florida Highway Patrol.

Moreover, it is suspected that the driver Mr.Brown could have been distracted with the auto-pilot on. A witness says that he was watching a Harry Potter movie while the fatal accident occurred. A DVD player was found in the wreckage.

The Company blog post titled “A Tragic Loss” said that neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied. It also added that it happened under extreme circumstances.

Tesla’s autopilot software, which debuted last October, uses sensors, a camera, computing, software, and wireless technology to take over various parts of driving like lane changing and steering. It’s available on many of Tesla’s new Model S and Model X cars.

From the moment it was introduced to the public, some drivers complained about the frequent crashes of the Auto-Pilot System. While Tesla denies such claims, this fatal accident would be its first major blow to tackle. How will this affect Tesla’s brand?

Electric car maker Tesla Motors revealed that regulators are evaluating how Tesla’s autopilot software operated during that fatal crash, the first known fatality while a driver used Tesla’s autonomous driving technology.

The Company blog post said

“Following our standard practice, Tesla informed NHTSA about the incident immediately after it (accident) occurred.”

If the software is found to have problems, it could be a blow to Tesla’s brand and the company’s practice of introducing software that it can update with fixes over time. Also, this incident might cast some shadows on the technology itself and the companies like Google and Ford who are experimenting with that technology.

But Tesla had already announced during the debut of Autopilot that the autopilot feature is still in public beta phase and requires the driver’s attention. Also by default, the Auto-Pilot is off and requires an explicit acknowledgement.

The blog added that

When drivers activate Autopilot, the acknowledgment box explains, among other things, that Autopilot “is an assist feature that requires you to keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times,” and that “you need to maintain control and responsibility for your vehicle” while using it. Additionally, every time that Autopilot is engaged, the car reminds the driver to “Always keep your hands on the wheel. Be prepared to take over at any time.”

A host of subsequent videos posted by Tesla drivers on YouTube showed near-misses on the road with Autopilot, prompting Musk to say he might curb the function to minimize the possibility of people doing “crazy things.”

The police report identified Brown as being from Canton, Ohio and as the owner of Nexu Innovations in Stow, Ohio. A biography on the Nexu website describes Brown as a former Navy SEAL. Tesla’s blog post described the customer who died as a “friend to Tesla and the broader EV community, a person who spent his life focused on innovation and the promise of technology and who believed strongly in Tesla’s mission.”

A YouTube account belonging to a Joshua Brown whose personal details, including the company where he worked, match those of the accident victim, includes a video posted on April 5 titled “Autopilot Saves Model S.” In the video, a bucket truck, the type used by people working on utility poles, cuts off a Model S.

The written description of the 40-second video states: “Tesla Model S autopilot saved the car autonomously from a side collision from a boom lift truck. I was driving down the interstate and you can see the boom lift truck in question on the left side of the screen on a joining interstate road. Once the roads merged, the truck tried to get to the exit ramp on the right and never saw my Tesla. I actually wasn’t watching that direction and Tessy (the name of my car) was on duty with autopilot engaged. I became aware of the danger when Tessy alerted me with the “immediately take over” warning chime and the car swerving to the right to avoid the side collision.”

Also in the description, he thanks Tesla with a footnote

“Tessy did great. I have done a lot of testing with the sensors in the car and the software capabilities. I have always been impressed with the car, but I had not tested the car’s side collision avoidance. I am VERY impressed. Excellent job Elon! Note: I have over 39,000 miles on the car and I’ve had it since mid-July 2015. Hands down the best car I have ever owned and use it to its full extent.”

Just 11 days after the May 7 crash Tesla sold more than $2 billion of stock at a price of $215 per share.

Carol J. Loomis, a veteran financial journalist working in Fortune Magazine said that the electric car maker Tesla had not disclosed the information about the crash to its shareholders. The company had had marketed Autopilot vigorously as safe and important to its customers. Elon Musk replied that the Autopilot Death is not material to the value of Tesla.

He also pointed out the rise in Friday’s stock value of Tesla after the company made public the news of the crash through its post the night before.

Musk also responded to Fortune editor Alan Murray on Twitter:

@alansmurray Yes, it was material to you — BS article increased your advertising revenue. Just wasn’t material to TSLA, as shown by market.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 5, 2016

The Company post also added

“This is the first known fatality in just over 130 million miles where Autopilot was activated. Among all vehicles in the US, there is a fatality every 94 million miles. Worldwide, there is a fatality approximately every 60 million miles. It is important to emphasize that the NHTSA action is simply a preliminary evaluation to determine whether the system worked according to expectations.”

Many automakers including Elon Musk contend that the regulations and laws for self-driving cars will move more slowly than the technology.

The post Evaluating the Tesla Model S Crash appeared first on OutFocus.

Da Vinci’s Demons

This has got to be one of the most underrated historical fiction shows ever made. The sheer genius of this show comes from the mind of David S Goyer, co-author of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. The show explores a young polymath Leonardo da Vinci’s life in the republic of Florence as he tries to fight his inner demons and nightmarish memories. Despite being the greatest genius in Italy, Leonardo struggles to make sense of his life thrown apart by conflicts between a secret religion called the Sons of Mithras and their nemesis, the Labyrinth.

Da Vinci’s Demons shows a Leonardo who has a part of James Bond and Sherlock Holmes in him. Although the show has taken liberties in historical accuracy, many references to history and to Leonardo’s work have worked their way into the show, making it all the more enthralling. With three seasons, the show was cancelled with an epic finale; but Goyer wishes to bring it back after a few years, with a jump in the timeline.

Available at: https://www.starz.com/series/davincisdemons/episodes

Ratings : 8.1 on IMDb; 81% on Rotten Tomatoes

Watch Trailer:

The Tudors

The Tudors is an American-British-Irish-Canadian historical fiction television series set primarily in sixteenth-century England, created by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime.

The series, although named after the Tudor dynasty as a whole, is based specifically upon the reign of King Henry VIII of England. Plus, it has Jonathan Rhys Meyers in riding pants.

Just like Game of Thrones, The Tudors is all about political power. The show has a huge ensemble cast with faces you’re sure to recognize. Henry Cavill, who plays Henry VIII’s bestie, and you’ll also recognize Natalie Dormer (YES, Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones), who plays the infamous Anne Boleyn. The series looks at Henry’s famous female companions like Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn and delves into his relationships with important figures like Sir Thomas More, Cardinal Wolsey and Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, who was Henry’s best friend and unofficial adviser. The Tudors might not be historically accurate, but it still is a lot of fun to watch all the 4 seasons. You’re here for some serious, grim action, and The Tudors has plenty of that in its store. Also, did I mention Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and his techniques of seduction? Swoon.

Available at: All four seasons of the The Tudors are available to stream on Netflix and Amazon on Demand.

Ratings : 71% on Rotten Tomatoes; 8.1 on IMDb

Watch Trailer:

The Borgias

The Borgias is basically The Tudors, but set in Italy instead of England. The Borgias is based on the real life Borgias family, who are brought to power after the death of Pope Innocent VIII. The series is all about corruption, power, and family.

If you think the Lannisters from Game of Thrones are bad, you haven’t met The Borgias. Seriously, there’s even an incestuous storyline. The series is full of bribery, extortion, and torture. This is the family that inspired Mario Puzo to write The Godfather. Despite a few hiccups, “The Borgias” is otherwise a pretty fascinating piece of TV entertainment. One word to sum it up – Beautiful. Everything from costumes, houses to hair styles is perfect in line with the time. Nothing is out of place. Plotline and pacing, on the other hand, is impeccable. I’d say it’s more similar to shows like “Vikings” and “Rome”. Everything is perfectly executed. You have to experience the exquisite craft first hand.

Available at: All three seasons are available to stream on Netflix.

Ratings: 7.9 on IMDb ; 71% on Rotten Tomatoes

Watch Trailer:

Vikings

Vikings follows the story of Ragnar Lothbrok, a farmer who ultimately becomes the king of Denmark, terrorizing France and England with his relentless raids. His troubled brother Rollo, his first wife Lagertha, and the ship builder Floki join him in his quest. The series is a pretty kick ass depiction of medieval Scandinavia.

If you love Game of Thrones, but the violence and sex is just too much for you, then you’ll love Vikings. Although it’s a lot tamer than Game of Thrones, one would still love the tight storyline that manages to stay captivating for the better part of its 3 seasons. Over the course of 3 seasons, you’d find yourself pulling for guys you loathed in the first season and vice versa. Overall, the plot and character development is pretty smooth.

Available at: Available to stream on Amazon on Demand.

Ratings: 8.6 on IMDb; 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Watch Trailer:

Black Sails

Starz’s prequel to Treasure Island is about the pirating adventures of Captain Flint, the most notorious pirate of the Golden Age. The plot follows the adventure of one of the most feared and infamous pirates of golden age – Captain Flint. In the series, Flint is fighting to maintain control of his island, which is overrun with pirates, thieves, and prostitutes.

If you are looking for some good action TV shows like Game of Thrones, Black Sails might just be what you’re looking for. The Michael Bay-produced Black Sails is one new offering, ready to suck you into its dangerous and beautiful world.

There are a ton of crazy storylines, and, of course, it wouldn’t be a show about pirates without a ton of gore and sex. Vikings and Black Sails have a lot in common. They both involve relentless marauders, who come out of nowhere, rob and murder people, and disappear quickly.

Throughout the first 2 seasons, the show has stayed remarkably well online, never derailing from an overarching storyline. As far as looks go, Black Sails is as gorgeous as they come.

Available at: Black Sails is available to watch on Amazon Instant Video.

Ratings: 8.2 on IMDb; 82% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Watch Trailer :

Penny Dreadful

What it is about ?

Victorian London – a place where demonic creatures roam around the streets in disguise. A place where you need people like Ethan Chandler, Sir Malcolm Murray and Vanessa to keep supernatural threats at bay.

The series draws upon many public domain characters from 19th-century British and Irish fiction, including Dorian Gray from Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Mina Harker, Abraham Van Helsing, Dr. Seward, Renfield and Count Dracula from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Victor Frankenstein and his monster from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Dr. Henry Jekyll from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

It looks gorgeous all the way through. We have had other shows and movies set in Victorian era, but nothing comes close to the beauty “Penny Dreadful” displays on screen.

I’m afraid that blood-soaked action sequences are going to put some of people off. If you can stomach some ultra-gore, go for this show.

Available on : http://www.sho.com/penny-dreadful

Ratings: 8.3 on IMDb and 93% on Rotten Tomatoes

Watch Trailer :

The Last Kingdom

The Last Kingdom is based upon a series of novels called ‘The Saxon Stories’. Set during 10th century AD in the England – at the time when Viking invasions were at its peak, The Last Kingdom is a story about Uhtred, an orphan protagonist born in Northumbria, who must choose between the people who raised him or his native country.

Eye-gouging, beheading, stabbing, crucifixion amongst other things – everything is there for your pleasure. As with Game of Thrones, there are a lot of bone-crunching battles with ever so satisfying clings of swords. The only thing lacking is explicit nude scenes, something we’ve grown accustomed to in TV shows like Game of Thrones. The Last Kingdom is one of the few historical shows that actually get most of the fact correct. It’s on BBC after all – a network that’s usually quite picky about being accurate. There is a lot of drama and action here. It just started airing, so you have only a few episodes to catch up to.

Available on: BBC

Ratings: 8.3 on IMDb; 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Watch Trailer:

So there’s more to life (and TV) than Game of Thrones after all! Give your comments and let us know if you love any of these other shows!

– by Muthu Kumar and Sga Thomas.

The post 7 shows to watch until Game of Thrones Season 7 appeared first on OutFocus.

Freedom 251 is priced at INR 251 (Around 4$ as per current exchange rates) and was launched by a little known Noida based company, Ringing Bells. It was officially unveiled in New Delhi on Feb 17 evening at an event presided by Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, MP, with the Union Defence Minister Sri Manohar Parrikar as the Chief Guest.

The company said on its website that

the launch is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for “empowering India to the last person, transforming India’s growth story”.

Ringing Bells says the Freedom 251 smartphone has been developed ‘with immense support’ from the government and is touting it as a success story of PM Modi’s flagship ‘Make in India’ scheme.

Freedom 251 : Specifications

The website also lists important specifications of the Freedom 251: 4-inch display, 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage (expandable up to 32GB), 3.2-megapixel back camera, 0.3-megapixel front camera, and a 1450mAh battery. Along with this comes few preinstalled applications Women Safety, Swachh Bharat, Fisherman, Farmer, Medical, Google Play, Whatsapp, Facebook, Youtube and few others. The phone will come with a standard warranty of 1 year. According to the company’s website, “This warranty of the product extends for a period of 12 months for the host unit, 6 months for battery and charger, and 3 months for earphone commencing from the date of purchase.”

At present, smartphones available in the market are priced around Rs 1,500. Last year, DataWind had announced that it is teaming up with Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Communications (RCOM) to launch the world’s most affordable smartphone, priced at Rs 999. The phone is yet to hit the market.

Despite being a new entrant in the Indian mobile phone market, Ringing Bells (established last year) had launched one of India’s cheapest 4G smartphone at Rs 2,999, recently. It has also launched two other feature phones in the market.

The booking started today via its official website and most people are irritated by continuous crashes. While the booking ends on 21^st Feb 2016, the products are expected to be delivered 4 months after the booking ends.

Freedom 251 : Issues

Given its Ultra-low price tag, it is assumed that this would disrupt the smartphone market in India, but the satisfiability of the promises is yet to be seen. But there are issues to be addressed by the company.

There very first thing is the price. Even with the cheapest hardware, a smartphone would cost around 1500 INR. Given that there is no government involvement of subsidizing the product, such an endeavour is not possible.
Also there seems to be few flaws with company’s marketing. The product’s website featured a photo of a phone similar to it’s previous smartphone (SMART 101) while the print ad seems to feature another. What’s interesting is that the company’s website didn’t list the product. Also the website dedicated for the Freedom 251 updates uses a photo of SMART 101. (http://freedom251india.com/why-we-should-buy-freedom-251-smartphone/)

Hindustan Times published a review which indicated that the device is a jumbled mishmash of other existing phones. The screenshots of the Freedom 251’s UI clearly show ripoffs of icons from iOS. Apple’s Photos, Safari, and Email icons are sitting pretty beside standard Android Lollipop fare. That’s a copyright infringement lawsuit in the making. In addition, HT claims the trial device they were sent by the company actually featured branding of an entirely different company, Adcom. The brand name was whitened out adding another ominous bell. When googled, Adcom is an IT product importer from Delhi, and Adcom said that they have nothing to do with Ringing Bells.

To add flames to the fuel comes BIS. All phones sold in India must be certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Getting this certification done is both time consuming and expensive. However, it appears that the BIS registration of the Ringing Bells Freedom 251 has not been done. It is not listed in the list of manufacturers registered by BIS. This means that if the phone is a new device made by Ringing Bells, then it has not been certified as safe for use in India.

For list of Manufacturers registered by BIS : http://164.100.105.199:8071/cmd3/index.php?search=&submit=Search!

The post Freedom 251 booking: A Scam ? appeared first on OutFocus.

“Since the launch of Google Photos, we’ve had a lot of questions around what this means for the future of Picasa. After much thought and consideration, we’ve decided to retire Picasa over the coming months in order to focus entirely on a single photo service in Google Photos.”

Anil Sabharwal, Head of Google Photos.

Perhaps Google was waiting to see if its Photos caught on. It has. Google said the service crossed 100 million monthly users in October. Its main distinction from Picasa is the advanced machine learning feature that can automatically tag and organize images, something Google likes to talk about incessantly. Photos will now pick up Picasa’s users.

Google notes that the easiest way to access, modify and share the content from a Picasa Web Album is to log into Google Photos, as photos and videos will already be there for you, automatically.

Google shuts down Picasa:

But if you aren’t ready to say goodbye to yesterday, Picasa isn’t disappearing immediately. Google will phase out the desktop app and Web Albums feature in the coming months. Google will retire the Picasa desktop app on March 15th; you’ll be able to download it until then and the app will continue to work, but come March 15th, Google will no longer support the app. Web Albums will stick around a little longer—until May 1st.

“As of March 15, 2016, we will no longer be supporting the Picasa desktop application. For those who have already downloaded this—or choose to do so before this date—it will continue to work as it does today, but we will not be developing it further, and there will be no future updates.”

Until then, you’ll be able to access your Web Albums as you can now, and after that point, the company will provide “a new place for you to access your Picasa Web Albums data,” according to the blog post, just in case you don’t want to make the move to Google Photos but still want to access and save your Picasa data.

“One thing to make clear is that none of this is happening today—if you have a Picasa Web Album you can keep using it as normal. We’ll start rolling out these changes on May 1, 2016.”

Of course, Picasa is not the only ‘Google’ product to meet its death in recent times. We’ve seen products like Buzz, Orkut, get shut down lately.

For Google Photos: https://photos.google.com/

For more details about shutting down of Picasa:

http://googlephotos.blogspot.in/2016/02/moving-on-from-picasa.html

The post Google shuts down Picasa to focus on Google Photos appeared first on OutFocus.

The debate on network neutrality in India gathered public attention after Airtel, a mobile telephone service provider in India, announced in December 2014 additional charges for making voice calls over the Internet Protocol (VoIP) from its network using apps like WhatsApp, Skype, etc.

What is net neutrality?

While there are several definitions of Net Neutrality around the world, in general, net neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers and governments should treat all data on the Internet the same, not discriminating or charging differentially by user, content, site, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or mode of communication. That means companies like Airtel should not block or slow down access to any website or content on the Web to benefit their own services over those of competitors.

How can ISPs harm net neutrality?

Have you ever wondered why your downloads are always so slow even if you have already subscribed to the fastest internet service available in your area? In order for ISP to keep their bandwidth cost and load down, they would have to throttle the speed of certain services. To do that, ISP will have to implement the Quality of Service (QoS) to ensure that important packets are marked as priority and leave their routers first. To differentiate the different kinds of packets, ISPs have to analyse the packets to determine the importance of the packet. ISPs have also previously talked about charging extra for services like Skype that compete with its voice business. This means Airtel could additionally charge (apart from the normal internet bills) its customers for using Skype and might make its customers stop using Skype completely.

What is Free Basics?

On 10 February 2015, Facebook launched Internet.org in India with Reliance Communications. It aims to provide free access to 38 websites through an app. Only Bing was made available as the search engine. In May 2015, the Internet.org Platform, open to participation by any developers meeting specified guidelines, was announced. In September, the app delivering these services were renamed Free Basics. The problem here is the Facebook’s role as gatekeeper in determining what websites were on that list. The scheme was criticized for violating net neutrality. Though Mark Zuckerberg replied in an article for Hindustan Times stating that Internet.org will never differentiate between services, the scheme is still considered as a violator of Net Neutrality.

In the last few months, Facebook had entered into a tussle with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India over Free Basics and has been trying to garner support for the platform through advertising campaigns and a poll on its platform asking users to save Free Basics.

What is Airtel Zero?

On 6th April 2015, Airtel announced the “Airtel Zero” scheme. Under the scheme, app firms sign a contract and Airtel provides the apps for free to its customers. The cost of this data traffic will be borne by the partner. For example, if Flipkart signs up as an Airtel Zero partner, you will not be charged for data you use while accessing Flipkart, and Airtel will bill Flipkart for that session.

While that may sound great on paper, experts say that in the long term it’s against consumer interests, because consumers are more likely to use free services. They say smaller companies, who cannot afford to subsidize consumer access to their websites and services, are likely to lose out, stifling innovation in the country, which means fewer options for consumers in the long run.

Who regulates this?
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), regulates all Internet access in India and is currently in the process of forming the guidelines for all OTT players. In March 2015, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released a formal consultation paper on Regulatory Framework for Over-the-top (OTT) services, seeking comments from the public. The consultation paper was criticized for being one-sided and having confusing statements. It received condemnation from various politicians and Indian Internet users. Crusaders for Net Neutrality set up savetheinternet.in and netneutrality.in to spread awareness among public. The last date for submission of comments was 24 April 2015 and TRAI received over a million emails.

Takeaways in the Current Order:

TRAI said that no service provider shall enter into any arrangement, agreement or contract, which has an effect of discriminatory tariffs for data services being offered on a basis of content.

This in effect disallows subsidized data packages that offer access to only select services, such as Whatsapp or Twitter, pack packages which are currently offered by various telcos to attract subscribers.  Free Basics and other similar services are banned.

The telecom regulator has also ruled that if a service provider is found violating the regulation, there will be a penalty of Rs 50,000 for each day of the contravention, subject to a maximum of Rs 50 Lakhs. The Service Provider will be given a chance to explain the violations, upon which the final penalties would be decided (from 50k to 50 lakhs).

TRAI is exercising its powers under the section 36 of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act 1997 (24 of 1997) to impose this order.

However, the aggrieved parties can go to a High Court under Section 227 of the Constitution and seek a quashing of the order.

TRAI has clearly backed Net Neutrality by referring to ISP License agreement which reads,

“The subscriber shall have unrestricted access to all the content available on Internet except for such content which is restricted by the Licensor/designated authority under Law.”

TRAI has also provided few solutions for Telcos. It has exempted intranets or closed communication networks from this regulation but has added a caveat saying if a closed network is used for the purpose of evading these regulations then the prohibition will definitely apply.

TRAI will review these orders two years after the expiry of the data of order; this means that in February 2018, the issue will be re-examined.

While Facebook says the current order is a disappointment, the telecoms are expected to stand against the order, meaning that they might fight asking to reduce the base price of the Spectrum Auction and might also ask for complete detailed Net Neutrality rules.

By far, this is the strongest endorsement of Net Neutrality that TRAI has given. But, on a whole, this is just a smaller aspect of the entire Net Neutrality debate. However, the issue of VoIP apps like WhatsApp or Skype and whether they could come under a licensing regime as telecoms have been demanding remains unresolved. Technically, India still does not have a law that endorses Net Neutrality as a whole. Until the Parliament passes one, the latest order is the closest India has to a pro-Neutrality stand.

Given that there’s no law on the subject, the debate is unlikely to end in 2016. As more and more Internet users come online in India, especially via mobile, the fight for their screen space, between telecoms, content providers will continue. The lack of a law means that telecoms might still go to court against the order.

The post TRAI’s Order – A small drop in the ocean of Net Neutrality appeared first on OutFocus.

Bollywood Actress Deepika recently flew down to Toronto to begin the shoot for her first Hollywood film XXX The Return of Xander Cage.

The original xXx starred Diesel as Xander Cage, an extreme sports athlete who gets enlisted by the government to work as a spy. Due to other projects, Diesel did not star in the 2005 sequel xXx: State of the Union. The sequel failed to shine at the box-office and the third film was put on hold. Nearly after a decade, Vin Diesel announced the third film and said that the film will follow Xander as he returns to the National Security Agency after an eight-year absence and undertakes another mission

Here is the first look of Deepika Padukone in xXx : The Return of Xander Cage

Pics from : https://www.instagram.com/p/BBYbSmLGPuy/

Director DJ Caruso also shared a picture on Twitter and  wrote, “#academyaward winner #Russellcarpenter sets his 1st shot with @deepikapadukone. #xandercagereturns #xxx3  stunning.”

Deepika has been working out really hard for the film. She trained under celebrity trainer Yasmi Karachiwala. From a lot of weight training to a heavy protein diet, she is all set to pull off all stunt sequences in the action flick. In an earlier interview, Deepika had said, “I just happened to have four interactions with Vin Diesel. He is a warm person and very generous like the other co-stars I have worked with. I am hoping that it will be a fun experience. It’s important to enjoy the experience and everything else will follow”.

Her “Bajirao Mastani” co-star Ranveer Singh and Irrfan Khan, who worked with Deepika in “Piku”, wished the actress luck for her Hollywood film. “We are really proud of you. Since you are leaving tonight to shoot your big Hollywood blockbuster, we wish you all the best. May you conquer the new venture and make us proud like the way you always have,” Ranveer said.

The upcoming action flick has an star cast of Samuel L. Jackson, The Vampire Diaries’ Nina Dobrev, Orange is the New Black’s Ruby Rose, Tony Jaa and Jet Li. It is expected to be released in 2017.

The post Deepika Padukone in xXx | First look appeared first on OutFocus.

What will the iPhone 7 be?

We haven’t seen any photos yet, but the design is expected to change. It will likely be thinner and lighter, and that unsightly camera bulge on the back might be removed. The screen is unlikely to change its size or resolution for the 7 or 7 Plus.

Extreme thinness and wireless connectivity are likely to be key features of the iPhone 7. It has been widely speculated and leaked by multiple insider sources  that the iPhone 7 will not have a headphone jack. Instead, users will be asked to use the Lightning port or a pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones.

Wireless Charging :

Though not the first to introduce Wireless Charging, Apple has planned to increase the efficiency of the wireless charging. Apple is now working with partners in Asia and the US to tackle the issue that  its competitors like Samsung and Sony are facing. The new technology is expected to allow the devices to charge faster and further away from the power source. Reports suggest that the inductive charging technology of Apple Watch could be replicated and adjusted to the new iPhone in order to make the wireless charging feature work.

 Removing the Home button :

Rumours claim the iPhone 7 will integrate a Touch ID fingerprint reader into the display, meaning you can unlock the phone by pressing anywhere. This would combine neatly with 3D Touch; a soft tap of the screen would work normally, whereas a firm press, would be like pressing the home button.

Thinner and lighter design :

According to reports,.you should expect the iPhone 7 to be the thinnest and lightest yet, measuring less than 6.9mm thick and weighing under 129g. But on the flip side, the battery life might get reduced. Apple also filed a patent on 7 January which hints at the possibility of the iPhone 7 supporting a twin camera system.

Waterproofing :

Although Apple has never listed it as a feature, the iPhone 6s has proved to be remarkably water-resistant than it’s predecessors. It is expected that this trend would continue. It is also expected that Apple would get rid of it’s 16 GB model and move with 32 GB or more!

Wireless Headphones :

Apple is reported to be working on replacing the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack with wireless headphones, making the phone slimmer than its predecessors. There are two scenarios to this case. Firstly, those who use wireless Bluetooth headphones will not mourn this loss, because they will carry on listening to music as before.

Next, for those who use wired headphones, it is likely Apple will send audio out through the Lightning port and sell an adapter to plug your regular headphones into it. It will also mean headphones can be plugged into the Lightning port while the handset is charged. It is also speculated that the wireless ear-pods in the iPhone 7, would come with noise cancelling capabilities.

But a petition has been gaining momentum, ever since the Speculations of ditching of 3.5mm jacket floated across the internet. The petition has strongly criticised Apple’s move stating that “it will single handedly create mountains of electronic waste — that likely won’t get recycled” as prospective iPhone 7 users will be forced to ditch their existing headphones completely.

The catch here is that the 3.5mm headphone jack is still being widely used by millions of iPhone users. Besides, the advent of proposed wireless earphones with every iPhone 7 will negate the need to buy or use existing 3.5mm headphones.

Despite the petition gaining momentum, it is very unlikely to impact the outcome of a proposed iPhone 7 launch without the 3.5mm jack.

But there arises a question. If the 3.5 mm jack and the charging port is removed for the shake of thinner design and bringing innovation, then it could very well ditch the lightning port as well and could work on more ways to bring an effective innovative futuristic iPhone!

Source

The iPhone 7 is likely to be announced this September, but we expect to see iOS 10 at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June, where we might see some clues of what the new phone will be like.

Before that, it is rumoured that Apple will be holding a media event in March where it will update the ipad Air and also reveal a new, smaller and cheaper iPhone, currently known as the iPhone 5SE.

Read More : How Apple is digging its own grave by ditching the 3.5 mm audio jack

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Written by  S G A Thomas.

The post iPhone 7 Rumors: What to expect ? appeared first on OutFocus.

While the World was sleeping on the night of 14th August 1947, India was burning its midnight oil. Nearly 100 years of struggle and thousands of martyrs later, came the freedom. Freedom from the British Raj. Or Atleast that’s what we thought. While it’s true that India has its freedom, it shared a common allegiance to the Crown. The Indian Independence Act of 1947 mentions India and Pakistan as two independent Dominions. India obtained its independence on 15 August 1947 as a constitutional monarchy – George VI was head of state and the Earl, Lord Mountbatten, was governor-general.

Yet, we celebrated. Jawaharlal Nehru, who had become the first Prime Minister of India, raised the Indian national flag above the Lahori Gate of the Red Fort in Delhi. While in many places sweets were distributed, there were severe violent riots in other places. Nearly 15 million people displaced due to sectarian violence. Some wished Pakistan to be separate and others to be one among us!

We did not yet have a permanent constitution; instead, our laws were based on the modified colonial Government of India Act 1935 which was proposed by the British. A draft constitution was prepared by the committee and submitted to the Assembly on 4 November 1947. The Assembly met, in sessions open to the public, for 166 days, spread over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 18 days before adopting the Constitution.

After many deliberations and some modifications, the 308 members of the Assembly signed two hand-written copies of the document (one each in Hindi and English) on 24 January 1950. And on this day, it come into effect throughout the nation. 26 January was selected because it was when the Indian National Congress proclaimed Purna Swaraj (Complete Independence) on 1930. Today is India’s first republic day.

This day is more important than 15th August 1947. Today, we honor the Constitution of India coming into force replacing the Government of India Act as the governing document of India. We have our own laws. We are now sovereign; free from all the nations and are truly independent. If our nation had its birth on August 1947, it now could speak on its own. It has its own voice. Not only must its voice be heard across the nations but also within its own territories.

India is a huge nation. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, several diverse cultures exist. The voice should reflect this diversity. There is huge famine in many places. People are dying. Planning is urgency here. Many children are dying of unknown fever. Sanity is an issue here. Domestic violence is still growing. Women Empowerment is a right that needs to be addressed. Caste based Discrimination is still unchecked. Education is a necessary here. And there are many more! It is now time we build this nation for a transforming future. Let us all abide by the voice of nation!

Army vehicles and battle tanks, part of the India’s First Republic Day Parade, pass through Chandni Chowk in the Walled city (India’s First Republic Day Celebrations, Jan 26, 1950 Rare Photos)

Photos courtesy of Merepix.

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Written by S G A Thomas

The post Republic Day – 26th January 1950 appeared first on OutFocus.

Vaguely there exist three main theories. Two commissions of inquiry had concluded that Netaji had died in a plane crash in Taipei on August 18, 1945. But the third probe panel, headed by Justice MK Mukherjee, had contested it and suggested that Bose was alive after that.

One of the remaining two theories state that he was held as prisoner of War by USSR. The other says he came back to India and led his life in disguise.

Declassification of 100 Netaji Files:

In October 2015, the prime minister had met the family members of Netaji and announced that the government would declassify the files relating to Netaji. The first lot of 33 files were declassified by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and handed over to the NAI (National Archives of India) on December 4, 2015.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 23rd made public digital copies of 100 secret files relating to Subhas Chandra Bose on his 119th birth anniversary, which could throw some light on the controversy over his death.

The files were declassified and put on digital display at the National Archives of India in New Delhi by the prime minister, who pressed a button in the presence of Bose family members and Union ministers Mahesh Sharma and Babul Supriyo.

Later, Modi and his ministerial colleagues went around glancing at the declassified files. They spent over half an hour at the National Archives. PM also spoke to the members of the Bose family.

Later in the day, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee demanded that Netaji be given the title of “leader of the nation”, just as Gandhiji was honoured with the title of “father of the nation”.

Political Significance:

The timing of the release assumes political significance as West Bengal goes to polls later this year. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had already released 64 files last year. She will seek to cash in on the fact that she was the first to declassify the Netaji files.

These 64 documents, running into more than 12,000 pages, had stunning revelations. It mentioned that Subhash Chandra Bose’s family was snooped for nearly a decade by the Nehru government after his disappearance. The documents also show that the British suspected Bose was still alive after his plane crashed in Taipei. But, the letter, purportedly written by Nehru to Clement Atlee, that mentions Netaji as a ‘war criminal’ is likely to spice up politics in the run-up to West Bengal elections.

Despite all the noise and fury the BJP is still not a major player in the state. It would still go to town claiming it did what the Left and the Congress couldn’t in all these years. But it might have less momentum as it had lost its declassification card to Mamta.

The Left Front has been demanding of the center that these be declassified. But it never took the initiative to make public the state documents concerning Netaji during its 34 long years in power.  Congress was beginning to look confident again after random electoral victories across the country. Yet here, the clear loser seems to be Congress.

Several conspiracy theories, tell-tale ‘revelations’ and three inquiry commissions later we stand exactly where we were decades ago on the Netaji disappearance mystery.

The NAI had planned to release digital copies of 25 declassified Netaji files on Bose in the public domain every month. It would take time for scholars and researchers to analyze on the declassified files. So let us rest assured that the noise over the Netaji mystery will die anytime soon.

Written by S G A Thomas.

Inputs from:

www.aninews.in

www.ptinews.com

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