Category: Tech

Categories
News Tech

Android Q Would Make It Easier For Carriers To Lock Smartphones

While Android Pie is still rolling out on some devices, many rumors and leaks regarding Android Q, the next Google’s OS for mobiles, have already emerged on the Internet. In one of the most recent leaks, the folks from XDA-Developers revealed that Android Q would boast dark mode, new accessibility options, more Developer Options features, and more.

Now, new code on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) Gerrit revealed that Android Q would make it easier for carriers to lock smartphones. The so-called Android Open Source Project (AOSP) Gerrit is an online tool for developers, which from now and then boasts some code changes that devs can access.

The most recent changes come with the title of “Carrier restriction enhancements for Android Q,” and they refer to new possibilities for GSM carriers to lock smartphones.

Android Q Would Make It Easier For Carriers To Lock Smartphones

“More specifically, it will be possible to designate a list of ‘allowed’and ‘excluded’ carriers, essentially a whitelist and a blacklist of what will and won’t work on a particular phone. This can be done with a fine-grained detail even to allow blocking virtual carrier networks that run on the same towers as your main carrier,” explains Kyle Bradshaw from 9to5Mac.

Besides, Android Q would reportedly have restrictions for dual-SIM devices. Accordingly, carriers can now lock the second SIM slot if there is no accepted SIM card installed in the first slot. The limits would persist even after restarting the smartphone or bringing it back to the factory settings.

Nonetheless, the new Android Q features that offer carriers additional solutions to lock smartphones is worrying some of the Android users. Luckily, across Canada, sellers can’t sell locked smartphones thanks to the revised Wireless Code in 2017. Some carriers still lock their phones in Canada, but they quickly remove the restriction once someone buys the device.

Categories
News Tech

WhatsApp Update To Limit Message Forwarding to Reduce Misinformation

With an update, WhatsApp will limit message forwarding to five, in its efforts to reduce misinformation and fake news, as reported the executives of the most popular instant messaging application. Until now, users could resend a message to up to 20 contacts. Now, however, in a measure that continues the one taken in July across India, Whats app limited message forwarding to five.

“We’re imposing a limit of five messages all over the world as of today,” explained Victoria Grand, vice-president for policy and communications at WhatsApp.

WhatsApp is the most popular instant messaging app on Android and iOS, totaling more than 1.5 billion users. Its popularity, however, also attracted some people to promote fake news and misinformation. WhatsApp acknowledged that and took some measures to tackle this trend. With an update, WhatsApp plans to limit message forwarding to five, trying to deal with misinformation and false rumors.

WhatsApp Update To Limit Message Forwarding to Reduce Misinformation

WhatsApp allows users to text their contacts, initiate voice calls and video calls, and share files such as images, videos, and documents, among others. It became popular in the last years, mainly thanks to the many improvements Facebook has implemented to the app since Zuckerberg’s company bought WhatsApp in 2014.

However, recently many scandals surrounded WhatsApp. In October 2018, during Brazil’s presidential election, Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right candidate, reportedly used WhatsApp to spread fake news regarding its direct opponent. Also, in early 2018, Indians used WhatsApp to share misinformation.

Due to the before-mentioned cases and other similar ones worldwide, WhatsApp executives decided to take stricter measures against WhatsApp use for spreading fake news and rumors. Accordingly, via a WhatsApp update, which started to roll out yesterday, the devs will limit message forwarding to only five in order to reduce misinformation and tackle fake news propaganda.

Categories
News Tech

Top 3 SEO Trends in 2019

As Google, which is the most popular search engine on the planet, is struggling to become better than ever and is continuously changing its “robots,” SEO experts have to adapt and come up with new approaches. These represent SEO trends, and here are the top 3 SEO trends in 2019, so far.

In 2018, Google surprised everyone with its new focus on mobile- and speed-friendly features of the websites and the same trends are characterizing the beginning of the new year. Accordingly, SEO campaign must adapt to the novelties. Also, many non-Google trendsetters are influencing this industry, so we must take those into account, too.

Top 3 SEO Trends in 2019

Mobile-First Indexing

Google is making efforts to use the mobile version of sites for indexing and ranking purposes. That has started in March 2018, and the giant Internet company still uses it in 2019. That, however, doesn’t mean that the standard variants of the sites are excluded. Google, therefore, wants to force webmasters to focus on mobiles as smartphones and tablets are becoming the most used systems. Accordingly, you should not ditch working on the mobile version of your site.

Center on branding to give Google a ranking signal

The Google Webmaster Trends Analyst Gary Illyes said that Google focused its searching algorithm on online brand mentions, as reported by Search Engine Land. Every other website that mentions your brand (site’s name) helps Google see your page as an entity. By “seeing” all the websites that suggest your brand, Google decides whether your web page is an authority in a specific field or not. Besides, backlinks are still a strong ranking signal, and they would remain among the top SEO trends in 2019.

Page speed is crucial

Nowadays, on the brink of 5G network launch and with lightning-fast Internet connections, page speed is essential. Google has acknowledged that for some time now, and it focuses on that feature of the websites. That’s why website speed test should be one of the main features you need to consider while choosing web hosting provider. What is more, in July 2018, Google took that to the next level since it has taken mobile page speed’s into account for ranking ever since.

Categories
News Tech

Surface Book 3 Comes with High-power NVIDIA Graphic Cards and New Improvements

The Surface 2 was quickly overshadowed by other Surface devices in mere months after the official release. While the device was good, it didn’t offer any revolutionary features that could have set it apart from the competition. Many Surface Book users remained unimpressed by the update, leading to a poor impact.

The device is already outdated and some sources claim that the Redmond company is working on a new version of the 2-in-1 device. Read below to learn more about the rumored features and a possible release date.

A faster brain

The Whiskey Lake generation has become available for Windows laptops. The improved 14-nanometer chips promise a reasonable power boost but Microsoft could decide to use the advanced Ice Lake chips that should be released before 2019 ends.

High-power NVIDIA Graphic cards

The i7 version of the Surface Book 2 offered a beefy NVIDIA GTX 1050 dedicated graphic could.  The revolutionary Turing architecture promises improved performance and higher fidelity while also reducing the energy required in order fueling the graphic card. An RTX 2080 is clearly out of the question since we want a slim device but maybe there is enough space for in order to squeeze a more modest version inside the Surface Book 3.

Lightning speed

The Surface Pro 3 features USB-C ports but even this standard is a bit slow in comparison to the blazing speed that can be achieved by Thunderbolt 3. The ability to choose a model that features a Thunderbolt 3 port would certainly attract some users that have to transfer high amounts of data between the Surface Book 3 and other devices.

Improved screen

A 4K panel would certainly please the eyes but a significant price bump would be included. Microsoft could also trim the bezels a little in order to maximize the dimensions of the screen.

Release date

The device could be announced in the fall of 2019 but an early release is also possible.

Categories
News Tech

Keywords Can Dramatically Improve your SEO Impact in 2019

It is already known that keywords can influence the search performance for a website. Most people think of them as popular tags that facilitate the search progress but they have more influence than you may think.

Link authority can have a huge impact on the ranking of a website. In plain terms it can be explained as the sum of links that are shared on different platforms but lead to the same website. When a third-party will share your link its users will know that it is a relevant source for a particular topic and it is reliable.

Keyword data

Keyword data will allow you to learn what is important for your customers. The information can be used in order to optimize your overall strategy and offer useful content.

Content strategy

A proper content strategy is essential in order to push the right content to the right visitors. As the numbers of people have the same query grows your content will become more important in the long run.

Example:

You want to sell handcrafted candles. A coherent content strategy will allow you to see which types of candles are in high demand. This will lead to a better knowledge of the market, allowing you to boost the SEO impact and the overall potential of the business by fabricating items that will be sold in a reasonable amount of time.

Find reliable partners

Sometimes all you need is a little bit of inspiration from a friendly partner. A small collaboration could be very useful for everyone since it offers mutual benefits.

Here are some a few tips that can make a big difference:

  • Always include textual content. This will allow search engines to index your content faster and maximize the potential reach.
  • Keep it simple.  If your websites offers tutorial series it is advised to make a separate page for each individual video.
  • Leave your print. Unique content is always better that rehashing what is already known.
Exit mobile version