Internet.org now assists 40 million people in 49 countries around the world get online. Facebook and six other companies started the initiative in 2014 to bring affordable internet access to people in less-developed countries. (Photo : Carl Court | Getty Images)

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that its Internet.org now helps millions of people around the world access the internet.

On Wednesday, Nov. 2 Facebook announced its third quarter financial results and Zuckerberg also took the opportunity to reveal the company's efforts in bringing affordable internet access to less-developed countries.

Zuckerberg also laid down the company's plans for the next decade and he confirmed that connectivity is one of main areas of focus in this period. "Through our efforts with Internet.org, we've connected 40 million people based on our best estimate," said Zuckerberg. "And we're making good progress with our Express WiFi program, which empowers entrepreneurs to build a business by providing their community with access to the internet."

Internet.org Grows 166 Percent Year-Over-Year

Internet.org is an initiative started by Facebook and six other companies in 2014. The initiative has been criticized for violating net neutrality but it has grown at a great pace since 2014. Internet.org started with 3 million users and in 2015 the number went up to 15 million. In May this year the figure reached 25 million. Reportssuggest that the program has seen a growth of 166 percent year-over-year. Free Basics, a carrier-subsidized app and part of Internet.org, is driving internet connectivity. Facebook wants its satellites and solar-powered drones to bring internet access to many remote areas. Internet.org is targeting people who are unable to afford data plans in their regions, or those who have no access to the internet.

Internet.org is currently available in 49 countries and rumors are also surfacing that Facebook may launch the service in the United States soon.

Facebook is one of the most popular social networking services available in the world. Facebook has millions of users across the globe and the company can get more users by solving connectivity issues.

Facebook's Plan For The Next 10 Years

During the Q3 2016 earnings call, Zuckerberg also revealed that Facebook's other areas of focus in the next 10 years will be on artificial intelligence, augmented reality and virtual reality. Zuckerberg revealed that about 25 percent of Facebook teams are using AI in their work. The company has made improvements to its AI, which can now efficiently filter misleading stories and News Feeds. Facebook's AI is also being used to find terrorist publicity on the social network.

Zuckerberg says that Facebook's AI is in the early stages of development and the company is continuously working to improve content quality of what people view and share on Facebook.

The Facebook founder and CEO also announced that Oculus is doing great and the company is investing another $250 million to improve VR content.

Tech

Facebook's Internet.org Now Helps 40 Million People Get Online By Sumit Passary

Unknown Friday, 4 November 2016

Google's Android is pulling away further from Apple's iOS in the global smartphone market. According to Strategy Analytics, 87.5 percent of smartphones shipped in the third quarter are powered by Android. (Photo : Android)

In the fierce battle between mobile operating systems, it seems that Google's Android is pulling away from Apple's iOS in the global market.

According to a research report from Strategy Analytics, Android dominated the third quarter as 87.5 percent of smartphones shipped in the period were powered by Google's mobile operating system, an increase compared with last year's third quarter when Android smartphones made up 84.1 percent of shipments.

Android Smartphone Shipments

The report stated that smartphone shipments reached 375.4 million units worldwide in the months of June to September, increasing 6 percent compared with 354.2 million units shipped in the corresponding quarter of last year. This represents the fastest growth rate of the industry for a year, as supported by emerging markets in Asia, the Middle East and Africa with relatively low smartphone penetration. The growth of the smartphone industry comes along with the growth of Android, which acquired market share from all other rival operating systems.

In the third quarter, there were 328.6 million Android smartphones shipped, a 10.3 percent increase compared with the 298.0 million units sold in the third quarter of 2015. In comparison, iOS devices saw shipments decrease by 5.2 percent to 45.5 million units from 48.0 million units year over year, with smartphones powered by all other operating systems declining by a massive 84.1 percent to 1.3 million units in the third quarter compared with 8.2 million units in the same quarter last year.

iOS Market Share

The market share of iOS for the third quarter is down to 12.1 percent from 13.6 percent in the third quarter last year, while the market share of all other operating systems decreased from 2.3 percent to a miniscule 0.3 percent. The adoption of iOS remains at its lowest point since the middle of 2014.

According to Strategy Analytics director Woody Oh, the leadership of Android looks to be "unassailable" now, as its user-friendly software and low-cost services have remained attractive to both smartphone manufacturers and customers worldwide.

Oh pointed out several challenges that Google will face, including the increasing number ofAndroid smartphones in the market, the low number of Android device manufacturers that are making profit and how the Google Pixel will directly compete with these companies that helped propel Android into dominance.

The Google Pixel comes with Android 7.1 Nougat, which is the latest version of the operating system. Older smartphones in the Nexus line of Google are said to be receiving the update to upgrade their operating system to Android 7.1 Nougat soon, though a specific release date has not yet been confirmed.

Tech

Android Dominates Q3, Powers 88 Percent Of Smartphones Shipped In The Quarter: iOS Far Behind At 12 Percent By Aaron Mamiit

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When galaxies collide, the larger one comes out on top. In the case of one galactic encounter, the smaller galaxy's supermassive black hole survived but was left nearly naked. (Photo : Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF)

With the Very Long Baseline Array telescope, astronomers were able to spot the remnants of a cosmic encounter involving two galaxies, one larger than the other.

Based on their observations, the smaller galaxy was left with a nearly naked supermassive black hole fleeing at more than 2,000 miles per second, leaving a trail of debris behind.

James Condon and colleagues estimate the galaxies to be part of a galaxy cluster situated more than 2 billion light-years away from planet Earth. The encounter itself occurred millions of years ago and left the smaller galaxy stripped of almost all its gas and stars. After passing through the larger galaxy, the smaller of the two dwindled in size to just about 3,000 light-years across. For reference, theMilky Way is about 100,000 light-years across.

When Two Galaxies Collide

Originally, the astronomers were looking for supermassive black hole pairs orbiting each other. Specifically, they were looking forsupermassive black holes that are not galaxy centers, which is a sign of two galaxies merging. It is thought that larger galaxies attain their size by consuming their companion galaxies. When two galaxies get close enough, their black holes orbit each other before eventually merging"We've not seen anything like this before,"said Condon of fleeing black hole.

As part of their original goal, the astronomers sought to capture high-resolution images of more than 1,200 galaxies using the VLBA. These galaxies have been identified previously by sky surveys carried out with infrared as well as radio telescopes and, based on the researchers' observations, nearly all have supermassive black holes at their centers.

However, one object from a galaxy cluster called ZwCl 8193 stood out. Known as B3 1715+425, this object was a supermassive black hole enveloped by a galaxy fainter and much smaller than what the astronomers expected. Additionally, it was speeding away from a larger galaxy's core, leaving ionized gas in its wake.

From this, the researchers concluded that the object, a nearly-naked supermassive black hole, was what remained of a galaxy that passed through one much larger than it was. They also said B3 1715+425 will lose more of its mass along the way and stop making new stars. According to Condon, the speeding remnant will probably be invisible in about a billion years. Given this idea, there could be more objects left over from earlier encounters between galaxies in the universe that can no longer be detected today.

This doesn't deter Candon and his colleagues though. They said they will keep looking, taking advantage of the high-quality images they can get from the VLBA.

The VLBA Telescope

Dedicated in 1993, the VLBA is part of the Long Baseline Observatory, which is a National Science Foundation facility. It features 10 dish antennas, each 25 meters in diameter, scattered from St. Croix in the Caribbean to Hawaii. When all the 10 antennas are working together, they result in a single telescope with the highest resolution available to astronomers today.

Science

Galactic Encounter Results In 'Nearly Naked' Supermassive Black Hole By Dianne Depra

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OWC is offering a timely recourse for the lack of ports in the new MacBook Pro models Apple unveiled last week. With the Thunderbolt 3 Dock, you'll get 13 ports in one dock, including an SD card reader, a Gigabit Ethernet port and much more. (Photo : OWC Digital)

Apple's new MacBook Pro lineup features no other type of port except a headphone jack and two Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports for the base model, and four for the more expensive Touch Bar-spawning 13-inch and 15-variants.

The decision to erase traditional USB ports, an SD card slot and even the beloved MagSafe charging port has left many users scratching their heads. Apple sure has a proclivity for stripping away conventional ports, as with the absence of a headphone jack in its latest flagship, the iPhone 7.

Potential customers who plan on buying the new MacBook Pro models may not be entirely hopeless, however, that is if they're willing to shell out a few dollars to buy OWC'sThunderbolt 3 Dock, a omnibus-like dock outfitted with 13 different ports, allowing the MacBook Pro to connect with previously incompatible devices using only one dock instead of separate adapters that only have one function. The Thunderbolt 3 Dock connects to a Mac using an included 0.5 meter, or almost 20-inch Thunderbolt cable. It can support two 4K external displays, up to six USB devices, an optical line out, a FireWire device and finally, an SD card, to the uproarious glee of photographers whose primary gear largely involves SD cards for storage.

There's not much to go in terms of the dock's aesthetics. OWC seems to have prioritized function over form with the Thunderbolt 3 Dock. That's not to say the device looks awful. It's a simple rectangular bi-colour brick with a multitude of ports on its back, and an SD card reader, a headphone jack and a USB 3.1 port on its front.

(Photo : OWC Digital)

The positioning of the USB port in the front is an extremely handy way to connect a user's iPhone, because, yes, the iPhone doesn't natively connect to the new MacBook Pro. You're gonna need a separate adapter just to do that, which is very cumbersome and counterintuitive. Two Apple devices that can't readily integrate is such a blow to Apple's marketing, one that usually boasts a product that "just works."

There is also a S/PDIF port on the back for lossless digital audio signal transfers, a Gigabit Ethernet port, a mini DisplayPort and two Thunderbolt 3 ports.

The dock supports video pass-through up to 4K at 60 Hz thanks to the Intel DSL6540 Thunderbolt 3 controller inside the dock. Multiple lighting devices can also be daisy-chained together. The Thunderbolt 3 Dock will require a power supply in order to fully operate. OWC are currently taking preorders for the device, which starts at $279, $20 less than its retail price. The device is expected to ship February next year. You can go to OWC's website and choose from three different preorder locations in the United States.

Apple has recently been the target of criticism following its decision to do away with ports in its new products, a trend that seems staunchly unwelcome by pundits and consumers alike because of the problems they create instead of solve.

"We know we made good decisions about what to build into the new MacBook Pro and that the result is the best notebook ever made, but it might not be right for everyone on day one,"said Phil Schiller, Apple's senior VP for Worldwide Marketing, in response to the criticism.

New MacBook Pro 2016 Doesn't Have Enough Ports? OWC's Thunderbolt 3 Dock Has Got You Covered By Carl Velasco

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Samsung Gear S3 Preorder Begins Nov. 6, Release Date On Nov. 18 In The US: Prices Start At $350

By Vincent Lanaria. The Samsung Gear S3 is about to roll out this November, with preorders kicking off in the same month. Here's what you need to know before then, from the price to the Frontier and Classic variants. (Photo : Samsung)

Unveiled at IFA 2016, the Samsung Gear S3 is finally going up for preorder and shipping out to the public.

As it turns out, reports about the wearable launching in the United States mid-November were true.

Gear S3 Preorder Details, Release Date And Price

Right off the bat, preorders for the Gear S3 start on Nov. 6, but AT&T is getting ahead of the competition by accepting preorders earlier than the rest on Nov. 4. As for the release date, it's set to start shipping out on Nov. 18, and just to be clear on that, it's also expected to hit the shelves on that day.

The starting price of both the Classic and Frontier is $349.99, but that shouldn't come as much of a surprise to some, as Best Buy did jump the gun when it posted listings of the two before the official details made rounds online. However, pricing hasn't been exactly cleared up just yet, as it will most likely depend on the carrier.

That said, AT&T offers it for $49.99 with a two-year contract when it's bought with a Galaxy smartphone on AT&T Next or AT&T Next Every Year. The carrier is also putting it up for grabs for $17.50 a month for 20 months.

Gear S3 Classic vs. Frontier: What's The Difference?

With the Gear S3 nearing launch, the burning question is probably about the difference between the Classic and Frontier.

Long story short, the Frontier is the rugged version, while the Classic could be called elegant. That's the obvious distinction between them, but the former has an advantage of sorts: it has an option that comes with LTE support, which could come in handy in emergencies. It should be mentioned that the LTE option was somewhat expected on the Frontier, as it does seem geared toward those who spend a lot of time outdoors.

Other than those factors, the two are more or less the same. Running on Tizen-based wearable OS, they both have GPS function, 1.3-inch displays that are topped off with a Gorilla Glass SR+ to prevent scratches, stainless steel bodies with an IP68 certification for dust and water resistance and the same Exynos processors under the hood.

What's more, they both house 4 GB of storage, 786 MB of RAM and 380 mAh batteries that are touted to last up to three days.

As a first for smartwatches, they also bring MST technology to the table, and that means they'll have built-in Samsung Pay support.

Wrapping Up The Samsung Wearable

The Gear S3 Frontier and Classic are designed to cater to every customer's needs — in a wearable, at least — and they are pretty big improvements from the Gear S2 lineup.

"Consumers are increasingly recognizing the benefits of a smartwatch that operates even without their phone. With the LTE capability of Gear S3 it is easy to make or receive phone calls and read or reply to texts and notifications, so they can stay connected while leaving their phone behind," Gary Riding, Samsung America's senior vice president of product marketing, says.

Will you be nabbing the Gear S3 Classic or the Frontier? Feel free to drop by our comments section below and let us know.

Samsung new smart watch

Unknown Thursday, 3 November 2016

Apple AirPods Release Date: Wireless Earbuds On Track To Ship Before End Of 2016

By Anu Passary. The release of the wireless earbuds from Apple, the AirPods, may have been delayed beyond its initial late October

deadline. But the accessory is on track to ship before the year's end. (Photo : Stephen Lam | Getty Images)

Apple AirPods Release Date: Wireless Earbuds On Track To

Ship Before End Of 2016

By Anu Passary | Nov 03, 2016 07:38 PM EDT

The svelte-looking AirPods, unveiled at the Apple keynote in September, got most people

talking for all sorts of reasons. Now, these overly hyped earbuds have been delayed, although

they will ship within this year.

AirPods, the wireless earphones from Apple, quickly made it to the wishlist of iDevice lovers,especially those who were looking to buy the iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus. However, the

accessory is yet to make its way to consumers.

Despite the hiccups, whatever they might be, Apple fans will be pleased to learn that the

AirPods — which Tim Cook claims do not fall off even when dancing — will reach device owners

this year and not by January 2017.

At the time of launch, Apple did not give an exact date when the AirPods would be made

available, merely stating that the accessory would hit the shelves sometime in late October.

However, the product release was delayed as confirmed by the company: "we don't believe in

shipping a product before it's ready, and we need a little more time before AirPods are ready for

our customers."A rumor courtesy of supply chain sources in China purports that the AirPods would not make its

way to retail shelves before January 2017, which hinted at Apple encountering problems with

the peripherals.

But the latest tip off from industry insiders would be welcomed by consumers as they might

soon be able to lay their hands on the $159 AirPods, which can reportedly last 5 hours on a

single chargeThe fact that retail sources have affirmed that they have a few demo pairs for customers and are

"ready to go any time," simply awaiting the green light from Apple, is a positive sign. This

suggests that the launch of the AirPods might be sooner than we estimate.

An educated guess is that Apple might launch the wireless AirPods ahead of the holiday

shopping season for people looking to buy the earbuds as a gift. However, we need to wait and

watch when the AirPods, featuring the W1 chip, will finally be made available.

Tech

Apple

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Google Fires Back At EU In Antitrust Case: Improving Quality Is Not Anti-Competitive, On The Contrary

By Alexandra Burlacu

The EU has been going after Google over antitrust matters for a while now, and the company keeps fighting back. In its latest response, Google again argues that its services are improving quality, not being anti-competitive. (Photo : Chris Jackson | Getty Images)

The European Union (EU) keeps going after Google over antitrust issues, but Google won't stand for it. The company just fired back, defending its practices.

Back in July, the EU fired its third round of antitrust charges at Google, claiming that the company was abusing its dominant position to stifle growth and innovation for its competitors. According to the EU, other companies don't get a fair chance to compete and innovate.

EU antitrust regulators further threatened Google in early October, warning the company that if it doesn't change its practices, it will face a hefty fine for violating antitrust regulations.

Google fired back at the EU on Thursday, Nov. 3, refuting allegations that it's abusing its dominant position with its advertising and internet shopping services, shutting out rivals in the process.

The company explains that when people search for something on Google, it aims to deliver the best-quality information possible. Google engineers are always striving to find new and improved ways of connecting users with useful and relevant information and meet their questions with direct answers.

The same strategy applies to online shopping searches, Google explains. For instance, if a user conducts a search for a coffee machine, Google wants to directly connect the user with merchants that sell the product in question. It may achieve this through organic links or advertisements, but the goal is the same.

Google further highlights that it has gradually improved its ad format to offer more detailed displays with prices, images and links where users can buy the products they're looking for. Serving more useful and relevant ads, in turn, benefits not only Google, but also its advertisers and its users.

"That's why we disagree with the European Commission's argument that our improved Google Shopping results are harming competition," Google explains. "We believe these claims are wrong as a matter of fact, law, and economics," adds the company, echoing its earlier response from last year combatting the European Commission's original Statement of Objections (SO).

The company goes on to say the Commission's original SO defined online shopping services so poorly that it even excluded huge services such as Amazon. Moreover, the EC went as far as to claim that when Google users and advertisers got improved shopping ads, Google was in fact "favoring" its own services, which allegedly had a negative impact on some price comparison aggregators.

What the Commission failed to take into account, however, was the major competitive significance of heavyweight companies such as Amazon and the greater dynamics of online shopping, Google further argues.

According to the company, online shopping is highly competitive and there's plenty of evidence to prove that Google and others are actually trying to compete against Amazon, "by far the largest player on the field."

(Photo : Google) Google shopping infographic in response to EU antitrust claims

At the same time, Google points out that it proved its ads were helpful not only to merchants, but also to users.

"We never compromised the quality or relevance of the information we displayed. On the contrary, we improved it. That isn't 'favouring' — that's listening to our customers," adds the company.

In its revised and supplemented SO sent this summer, the Commission further said that since sites such as Amazon occasionally pay comparison aggregator sites for referred traffic, they're not considered rivals. Google refutes the validity of this point, arguing that many companies are collaborating and competing at the same time and Amazon actually gets just a small fraction of its traffic from those aggregators. That's hardly enough to entertain the theory that there's no competition between them.

To sum things up, Google says the EU's antitrust claims don't have enough evidence to support its case and would hinder Google's ability to serve its users "just to satisfy the interests of a small number of websites."

Nevertheless, the company pledges to keep working with the Commission to resolve the issues. the

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