Category: Tech

The Current’s tech news keeps you upto date with news of new gadgets, tech updates, information about tech startups and technology reviews.

  • Google, Suzuki donate millions to flood-affectees

    Google, Suzuki donate millions to flood-affectees

    Tech giant Google has announced that it will donate $500,000 (Rs110 million) for flood relief efforts in Pakistan.

    Google Southeast Asia Vice President Stephanie Davis posted on LinkedIn that the tech giant would donate the amount to the Centre for Disaster Philanthropy through Google.org.

    In a post, she wrote: “Our hearts go out to each and everyone impacted by the ongoing floods in Pakistan. Even when faced with the fear of having their homes washed away and vital farmland destroyed, we have also witnessed Pakistanis and communities coming together to help each other. We are inspired by their bravery, and we want to help.”

    She added that the company would find more ways to help Pakistan through its tools and resources.

    Separately, Google’s Regional Head for South Asian Frontier Markets Farhan Qureshi said Google employees have contributed over Rs72 million so far in personal donations and company matches.

    Earlier this week, Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said his company would donate to relief and recovery efforts on the ground.

    “The floods in Pakistan and surrounding areas are devastating humanitarian disasters. Our thoughts are with those that have lost loved ones, the many displaced families, and all those affected,” he tweeted.

    Suzuki has also decided to offer aid to Pakistan in support of the flood victims. According to an official notification, the company will offer a relief fund of 10 million Japanese Yen (Rs15.6 million).

    Water levels continued to rise on Friday as the overall death toll from the devastating floods has crossed 1,200.

  • Pakistan’s iconic ‘wow grape’ meme to be sold as NFT

    Pakistan’s iconic ‘wow grape’ meme to be sold as NFT

    The “wow grape” meme that won the hearts of many people across the world is due to be auctioned as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) on September 30, 2022, on the digital art marketplace Foundation.

    When a YouTube channel posted a video of a celebration at a Pakistani school in Saudi Arabia, a school teacher, Sehar Kamran’s “wow grape” moment became meme material for netizens.

    Snippets from the video quickly went popular on the internet, becoming a frequent model for the creation of memes that inundated social media.

    The tagline “wow, great” was actually misunderstood as “wow grape” by internet users. Since then, the phrase “wow grape” has appeared regularly in texts, images, gifs, and videos on the internet.

    The auction will be held in partnership with the Sweden/Pakistan-based software business, Maqssoft, with Sehar Kamran’s permission.

    Reportedly, a percentage of the earnings from NFT sales will go toward the rehabilitation of flood victims in Pakistan.

  • KP govt launches ‘Flood Reporting’ app to aid flood victims

    KP govt launches ‘Flood Reporting’ app to aid flood victims

    To promptly aid those impacted by severe flooding, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government launched the “Flood Reporting” application on Monday.

    Atif Khan, the Minister of Science and Information Technology for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), gave specific directions for the introduction of the smartphone application.

    The minister stated in a message that flood victims will be able to use the Flood Reporting App to notify when they need food or medicine.

    He promised that the impacted agencies and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) would see to it that the victims of the disaster received immediate aid.

    The latest application has a thorough system for seeking assistance for victims and keeping track of feedback. The smartphone application will allow users to instantly report the type of incidents that occurred and the assistance that is needed.

    Although 1,061 deaths have been reported by authorities since the start of the seasonal rains in June, the eventual death toll may be higher since hundreds of villages in the hilly north have been shut off after roads and bridges were wiped away by floodwaters.

  • Pakistan has now 118.57 million 3G, 4G users

    Pakistan has now 118.57 million 3G, 4G users

    According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the country’s 3G and 4G user base climbed by 3.07 million from 115.75 million at the end of June 2022 to 118.57 million at the end of July 2022.

    By the end of July 2022, Pakistan had 195.26 million cellular users, up from 194.58 million at the end of June 2022.

    Cellular mobile’s teledensity increased from 88.34 per cent at the end of June to 88.61 per cent at the end of July. By the end of July 2022, the overall teledensity had increased from 89.53 per cent to 89.8 per cent, according to Brecorder.

    By the end of June 2022, the Monthly Next Generation Mobile Service (NGMS) penetration was 52.55 per cent; by July 2022, it was 53.8 per cent.

    Jazz’s overall 3G user count decreased by 0.109 million from 5.947 million at the end of June to 5.838 million at the end of July. By the end of July 2022, there will be 39.296 million Jazz 4G users, up from 38.039 million at the end of June.

    While the number of Zong 4G customers climbed from 28.906 million at the end of June to 29.695 million at the end of July, the number of 3G subscribers fell from 3.197 million at the end of June to 3.108 million.

    While the number of Telenor 4G customers climbed from 21.831 million at the end of June to 22.401 million at the end of July, the company’s 3G subscribers declined from 3.542 million at the end of June to 3.480 million at the end of July.

    By the end of July, there were 3.468 million Ufone 3G users, down from 3.509 million at the end of June. Ufone’s 4G user base climbed by 0.49 million over the reviewed period, from 9.419 million at the end of June to 9.909 million at the end of July.

    As of July 2022, the PTA had received 14030 complaints from customers of various telecom providers, including cellular operators, PTCL, LDIs, WLL operators, and ISPs. According to the PTA, 13709 complaints, or 97 per cent of them, were successfully resolved.

    A sizable portion of the total telecom subscriber base is made up of cellular mobile subscribers.

    The most complaints are therefore related to this group. By July, there had been 13,342 complaints made against CMOs, of which 13,174 (98 per cent) had been resolved.

    Data from the PTA shows that Jazz received 5,752 complaints, Telenor received 2450, Zong received 3827, and Ufone received 1,287.

    Additionally, the PTA received 140 complaints about basic telephone, of which 86 were resolved in July 2022. In addition, 438 of the 533 complaints made against ISPs were resolved.

  • iPhone 13 buyers will now pay Rs132,000 for PTA approval

    iPhone 13 buyers will now pay Rs132,000 for PTA approval

    The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has made it nearly impossible for Apple fans to get iPhones in the country by significantly raising the tax on the overall iPhone 13 series.

    It is worth noting that the PTA approval costs for the iPhone 13 have been raised at a time when the iPhone 14 is likely to be released at the beginning of next month. However, it is unclear what prices the PTA will set for the approval of newer iPhones.

    The following are the latest PTA approval rates for the iPhone 13 lineup:

    Apple iPhone 13 Mini

    Tax Payable:

    Rs108,000 for passport holders

    Rs132,000 for CNIC holders

    Apple iPhone 13

    Tax Payable: 

    Rs108,000 for passport holders

    Rs132,000 for CNIC holders

    Apple iPhone 13 Pro

    Tax Payable: 

    Rs108,000 for passport holders

    Rs132,000 for CNIC holders.

    Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

    Tax Payable: 

    Rs108,000 for passport holders

    Rs132,000 for CNIC holders

    Read more: 12 important things you need to know before buying a used iPhone

    These taxes must be paid within 30 days after importation if the phone is registered on a passport, and within 60 days if it is registered on the national identity card.

  • US firm to buy Pakistan’s Cloudways for $350 million

    US firm to buy Pakistan’s Cloudways for $350 million

    Cloudways, a Pakistani company that offers small and medium-sized businesses cloud hosting and software as a service (SaaS) capabilities, will be acquired by New York Stock Exchange-listed company DigitalOcean Holdings for $350 million.

    A large amount of the consideration, according to a business statement posted on Wednesday, would be paid over a 30-month period after the transaction closes in September.

    According to DAWN, this will be one of the largest acquisitions in Pakistan’s history due to the hefty amount of the transaction. According to the company, this deal will make workflows simpler for small and medium-sized companies that are seeking less complicated ways to develop and grow their digital operations.

    The projected revenue for Cloudways in fiscal 2022 is more than $52 million, which would indicate a three-year compound annual growth rate of more than 50 per cent.

    Since 2014, DigitalOcean and Cloudways have been strong collaborators. About 50 per cent of Cloudways’ clients are currently powered by DigitalOcean infrastructure.

    Serving a clientele that is both global and expanding, both companies will service more than 124,000 clients who make monthly payments of over $50, or around 84 per cent of the pro forma company’s total revenue.

    For specific small and medium-sized enterprises wishing to outsource their on-ramp to the internet, Cloudways offers straightforward on-boarding and day-to-day management.

    The company assists such organisations in offloading the challenges of cloud infrastructure so they may focus more on managing and growing their operations.

  • Pakistani internet users may face more disruption

    Pakistani internet users may face more disruption

    Internet users in Pakistan are expected to face internet disruption in the coming days, reports Kalbe Ali for Dawn. The internet services in the country were disrupted due to flood relief work in Sindh.

    Minister of Information and Telecommunications Syed Aminul Haque said that initial reports of previous internet outages that happened this month indicated that the situation was severe and that more such incidents could be expected in the near future.

    “Due to extensive flooding, most of the pathways of underground cables have been submerged, as relief workers or locals were trying to divert flood water by digging trenches on roads and footpaths.”

    “The ministry has directed PTCL to declare an emergency so that repair work could be initiated when any such incident is reported in the system, while the PTA is constantly monitoring the quality of service,” the minister added.

    According to a technical report submitted on Wednesday by Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) to the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom, the repeated internet outages were caused primarily by flood relief efforts in the Sukkur division, where fibre-optic cables were damaged by the use of heavy machinery used to drain out flood water in Sindh.

    Read more- Here’s why the internet was down in Pakistan last night

    The internet services in Pakistan suffered two major disruptions this month on August 19 and August 22.

  • India forced Twitter to hire agent, reveals former security chief

    India forced Twitter to hire agent, reveals former security chief

    According to a whistleblower statement to US authorities, a former Twitter security head said that the Indian government pressured the social media company to hire a government agent.

    Along with other security breach allegations at Twitter, Peiter “Mudge” Zatko brought up the matter with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

    According to a redacted version of the lawsuit posted by the Washington Post and confirmed by Zatko’s attorney at Whistleblower Aid, he claimed that Twitter’s lax security measures would have allowed the government agent access to sensitive user data.

    Without going into further detail, a corporate source told Reuters that the claims against the Indian government have already appeared on Twitter.

    Requests for comment from the Indian IT ministry’s representatives were not immediately responded.

    “What we’ve seen so far is a false narrative about Twitter and our privacy and data security practices that are riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies and lack important context,” a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement.

    India is engaging in unlawful activities and content on Twitter, according to the company’s management.

    After asking a local court to reverse several government orders to remove content from the social media site and alleging official abuse of authority, Twitter filed a lawsuit against the Indian government in July.

    The case’s next hearing will take place on August 25.

    “The company did not in fact disclose to users that it was believed by the executive team that the Indian government had succeeded in placing agents on the company payroll,” Zatko’s complaint noted.

    According to Washington Post, the National Security Division of the US Justice Department and the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence have received documentation corroborating Zatko’s assertions.

    CNN claims that these revelations of Twitter’s carelessness represent a serious threat to democracy and national security.

  • Here’s why the internet was down in Pakistan last night

    Here’s why the internet was down in Pakistan last night

    The internet services in Pakistan suffered another disruption on Monday night. Services of almost all of the major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) were disrupted. Services were suspended in Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Lahore around 11:10pm and remained suspended until 1:20am.

    “A nation-scale internet disruption has been registered in Pakistan; the incident affects multiple providers including PTCL, Nayatel and StormFiber with real-time network data showing connectivity at 38% of an ordinary level,” NetBlocks said in a tweet.

    Why was the internet down?

    Sources in PTCL said the internet fibre cables suffered damage due to heavy rains in Sukkur areas. “They said rainwater had entered the PTCL exchange causing electricity to short-circuit. The company expects the repair work to be completed by Tuesday morning,” reports Dawn.

    This was the second major disruption of internet services in less than a week. Last week, internet services were affected on Friday (August 19).

  • Apple wraps up iOS 16 development ahead of iPhone 14 event next month

    Apple wraps up iOS 16 development ahead of iPhone 14 event next month

    Apple engineers finished creating the first iteration of iOS 16 last week. This indicates that Apple will concentrate on fixing bugs in the last few weeks rather than adding any significant new features or modifications to the operating system.

    Mark Gurman of Bloomberg reaffirmed in the most recent issue of his “Power On” newsletter that the release of iOS 16 and watchOS 9 together with the new iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Series 8 models is scheduled for September, while he anticipates the release of iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura for October.

    Apple engineers completed work on the iOS 16.0 update this past week, and it will be released in September along with watchOS 9. The new hardware will be compatible with such updates. However, due to Stage Manager-related delays to the iPad software, the updates to macOS Ventura and iPadOS are now planned for October to coincide with the new hardware lineup, said Gurman.

    A configurable Lock Screen with widgets, the option to temporarily modify or unsend an iMessage, iCloud Shared Photo Library for sharing photos with family and friends, a redesigned Home app, and other features are among the major new features in iOS 16. On the majority of iPhones with a notch, Apple also reintroduced a battery % indication in the status bar.

    The most recent public beta of iOS 16 from Apple has a new icon for the battery percentage. This makes determining the remaining battery life on an iPhone with Face ID easier: On the upper right of the display, inside the battery symbol, is the remaining percentage. Up until now, Face ID iPhones lacked a battery indicator, so you had to visit Control Center to see how much power was left in your device.

    Especially if you have an iPhone with Face ID, one of the things you look at the most on your iPhone is the lock screen. The lock screen on the iPhone has undergone the biggest overhaul to date with iOS 16. Hold down the button to change your lock screen.

    To test out numerous different looks, swipe. Each design modifies the typography and colour filter for the lock screen backdrop photo in order to make everything blend together. Similar to Google’s Material You, which debuted with Android 12, this has an Apple vibe to it.

    Visual Look Up in iOS 15 can analyse your photographs and recognise objects like plants and animals. In contrast, iOS 16 enhances this feature. You can remove a photo’s subject from the background and add it to applications like Messages by touching it.

    In essence, it’s a tap-and-hold tool that gets rid of the background of a picture. Although Apple occasionally overuses the word “magic” for this feature.