NeevaAI Brings Innovative AI System to Convert Search Engine to Answer Engine

Synopsis

“Neeva has taken its search engine services outside the US. From February 13, 2023, Germany, France and Spain, UK and Canadian users can enjoy the AI-powered search engine.”

The long-awaited AI chatbot war has begun. In the battle of service modernization by tech companies, experts are warning about the drawbacks of rushing this ChatGPT frenzy into search.

Also Read, Google’s Bay View is the Largest Geothermal Installation in North America

Neeva AI, an ad-free search engine has come up with promises to fix AI-enabled search systems by merging the power of its authoritative and unbiased search technology with generative AI systems. This says that, unlike ChatGPT apps, Neeva will provide real-time results. Also, Neeva’s AI summaries backed up with links to sources for offering trust for information to users.

And now, Neeva has taken its search engine services outside the US. From February 13, 2023, Germany, France and Spain, UK and Canadian users can enjoy the AI-powered search engine.

Can Neeva really Resolve the Corundum of AI-powered Search?

Sridhar Ramaswamy, the CEO of NeevaAI, said “Search, which is a daily use function, has increasingly become more about serving advertisers and not about serving users. Neeva flips the entire model around, and creates an AI-powered, ad-free search that is entirely built for users,”.

NeevaAI, first launched in December 2022 in the US leaves behind techie giants like Google and Microsoft in developing its own ChatGPT-like search engine. The ChatGPT tool of Microsoft Edge, in fact, made the headlines just about a week ago to complement Bing’s AI search. The same scenario was with Bard, Google’s “experimental conversational AI service”. 

The algorithms backing generative AI software such as ChatGPT, take the help of large language models (LLMs) to create new content. Neeva merges large language models (LLMs) with the timeliness and authority of its software to “convert its search engine into an answer engine”.

OpenAI ChatGPT Plus Version will Accessible $20 Monthly

Synopsis

San Francisco based AI research and deployment company, OpenAI released ChatGPT, and  the release of chatbot instantly attracted and engaged the entire world. Now, OpenAI has made an announcement that very soon it will bring a commercial version of the chatbot, named ChatGPT Plus for a $20 monthly fee.

San Francisco based AI research and deployment company, OpenAI released ChatGPT, its experimental chatbot that could write poetry, answer questions, write coding, and interpret and translate any topic that would come its way. The release of chatbot instantly attracted and engaged the entire world. 

Also read, A group of Hackers stole police data on a billion Chinese citizens

Now, OpenAI has made an announcement that very soon it will bring a commercial version of the chatbot, named ChatGPT Plus for a $20 monthly fee.

The commercial version of the chatbot i.e. ChatGPT Plus will bring round-the-clock access to the chatbot to subscribers as well as they will be able to access features and faster responses. OpenAI will continue to provide a free version of the software, but only to a limited number of people during peak hours. The company will continue to offer a free version of the service, which is available to only a limited number of people during peak hours.

ChatGPT is a leading example of a modern-day chatbot type that has attracted the attention of both, general public as well as the business world across the globe. Meta, Google, and other startups have systems like ChatGPT, but they are just in the beginning stage on the internet.

These chatbots have come into existence after the results of more than a decade of research, and shows a massive change in the way computer software is developed and used. 

Moreover, the commercial version of ChatGPT will only be accessible to US users. The company has started a waiting list for the chatbot service and will start inviting people on the list to join in the coming weeks.

New WhatsApp beta feature tell if you ignore someone’s call on purpose

WhatsApp’s new beta version has the feature to appropriately flag calls and video calls you missed due to DND being. This feature helps you in retrieving the damage that can happen to your work due to avoiding an important call or message.

 

What do WhatsApp’s latest beta version users report?

 

According to Android Police, “WhatsApp’s latest beta, which carries version number 2.22.24.7, includes the new DND flag for missed calls, and some users have reported seeing it since this update (via WABetaInfo). If you’re one of the lucky few, whenever you miss a call due to Do Not Disturb mode being enabled, you’ll see a handy tagline right under the missed call history item indicating that the call was silenced by Do Not Disturb. You’ll also see a similar blurb when you punch up the person’s chat thread.

Unfortunately, the person calling you won’t be able to tell if you had Do Not Disturb on or not, but if you want them to know you weren’t ignoring their calls on purpose, you can just share a screenshot of the indicator with them.

This feature was first surfaced with the beta for version 2.22.21.7 back in September, but it was never actually enabled.”

It is an important feature because, sometimes people have to avoid calls unless they come from family members or close friends. Sometimes people don’t receive a call even if it is justified enough to take them, people don’t take them at that time when an important meeting is going on. In those cases this feature is really a life savior. You can easily look into your phones later and see if any of the calls were important to take.

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“Hey Siri” command of Apple is about to change to “Siri” by 2024

Apple is going to change its ‘Hey Siri’ trigger command to just ‘Siri’ either the next year or in 2024. According to 9 to 5 Mac, “Apple is working on a big change to how its Siri voice assistant works. While you currently have to say “Hey Siri” to activate the assistant hands-free, that may not be the case for much longer. Bloomberg reports today that Apple engineers are working to drop the “Hey” part of the phrase, so you’d only have to say “Siri” followed by a command to activate the assistant…”

Though there’s a lot of training and behind-the-scenes work that goes into a change like this, 9 to 5 Mac’s view on this is that, “Apple’s mission to change Siri’s wake phrase from “Hey Siri” to just “Siri” shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. Doing so would match what’s offered by Amazon, where you simply have to say “Alexa” to trigger the assistant, not “Hey Alexa.” It would also give Apple a leg up on Google, where the wake phrase is “Hey Google” or “OK Google.””

This change will make Apple’s voice assistant similar to Alexa in this case. In the case of Alexa, one don’t have to sayba two word phrase but one word phase, “Alexa”. But in the case of Apple’s voice assistant Siri, the wake up call is Hey Siri for now. In future most probably in 2024 Apple’s voice assistant Siri will wake up only with one word call, “Siri”.

 

Apple’s reason for doing so

According to NDTV, “It would also put Siri ahead of Google Assistant, which requires the ‘Ok Google’ or ‘Hey Google’ phrases to activate, though users do not have to repeat the wake word when saying back-to-back requests.

Before shutting down its voice assistant last year, even Microsoft had shifted from ‘Hey Cortana’ to ‘Cortana’ on smart speakers.

 

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Upcoming Call of Duty has an annoying phone number verification requirement

Source: The Verge

 

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II will require players to register with a phone number on Battle.net to play the game, in order to make players responsible for their actions. The game is set for release later this month on October 28th.

It’s a repeat of the practice that caused issues for Overwatch 2 players last week, PCGamer reports. A Battle.net support page lists the upcoming CoD shooter as one of its three games that “require that you add a phone number to your Battle.net account” to play, alongside Overwatch 2 and 2019’s Modern Warfare.

The phone verification system, which Activision Blizzard calls SMS Protect, is meant to cut down on toxic behavior from players, preventing them from creating endless new accounts to evade bans or to cheat. “Limiting the number of free accounts that a single person can create helps keep players accountable for their actions and, in turn, reduces toxicity and cheating and ensures a positive community experience for all players,” Activision Blizzard’s support page reads.

 

Phone Verification by Call of Duty

 

The problem is that SMS Protect is designed for text-enabled mobile phones, and doesn’t treat all phone numbers equally. A separate Battle.net support page notes that “mobile phones with prepaid plans may not work with the phone notification service.” It also doesn’t work with VoIP numbers. That restricts the service to players with postpaid cellular plans, which may not be affordable or easily accessible to many players around the world.

One Modern Warfare II beta player told PCGamer last month that they were asked for a “postpaid phone number” to start the game, with Battle.net refusing to accept the number associated with their prepaid Cricket Wireless plan. “This seems very wrong to require video game players to enter into a contract with a telecom company before being allowed to play the game they paid for,” they said.

 

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Blizzard scales back Overwatch 2’s controversial phone number requirement

Source: ARS Technica

 

Blizzard has partially walked back a controversial policy that required Overwatch 2 players to confirm a valid mobile phone number to play the game. Now, players “with a connected Battle.net account”—a group Blizzard says includes “a majority of existing Overwatch players”— will be able to avoid that requirement.

Blizzard originally announced late last month that all Overwatch 2 players would be required to sign up for its “SMS Protect” service with a valid phone number. The move was sold as a way to bring “meaningful change when it comes to disruptive play” in the game.

In free-to-play games like Overwatch 2, problematic players can easily create new accounts in an attempt to evade bans. By linking all Overwatch 2 player accounts to a distinct phone number, Blizzard said it was “mak[ing] it more difficult for [disruptive players] to return to the game.”

“The key idea behind SMS Protect is to have an investment on behalf of the owner of that account and add some limitations or restrictions behind how you might have an account,” Overwatch 2 Lead Software Engineer Bill Warnecke told Forbes. “There’s no exclusions or kind of loopholes around the system.”

 

Blizzard’s Overwatch Case

 

In Blizzard’s case, the SMS Protect policy elicited immediate pushback from many players who faced a number of problems getting their phone numbers linked to their Overwatch 2 accounts. That includes players who reportedly faced issues because they use prepaid phone plans—Blizzard wrote that “certain types of numbers, including prepaid and VOIP, cannot be used for SMS Protect” (presumably in an attempt to prevent the use of “burner phone” numbers for ban evasion).

Late Wednesday evening, Blizzard issued a “Launch Status Update” intended to address some of those complaints. Now, “any Overwatch player with a connected Battle.net account… will not have to provide a phone number to play.” That includes anyone who played the original Overwatch on a PC—where a Battle.net account has always been required—and all console players who have played since June 9, 2021—when Blizzard added a linked Battle.net account requirement to help enable cross-play features between platforms. Blizzard said the new policy is expected to go into effect Friday and that it should affect “a majority of existing Overwatch players,” who will no longer need an SMS Protect phone number on their account.

 

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Google launches third-party Play Store billing pilot—but only cuts fees by 4%

Google is slowly opening up the Play Store’s billing policies. The “user choice billing” pilot program that was announced in March is now accepting sign-ups. Google describes the program in a support article, saying, “This pilot is designed to test offering an alternative billing option next to Google Play’s billing system and to help us explore offering this choice to users. We are looking to gain feedback in different countries and ensure we can maintain a positive user experience.”

 

Developers interested in billing through an alternative provider can fill out Google’s sign-up form, and it sounds like Google will manually review each application. Currently the supported regions are the European Economic Area (that’s Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden), Australia, India, Indonesia, and Japan.

 

User Choice Billing

 

With “user choice billing,” when a user hits the checkout system, a box will pop up asking if they want to use Google Play billing or some other third-party service. (This list of choices must include Google Play billing.) In the European Economic Area, however, developers already have the option not to not use Google Play billing at all, thanks to the EU’s Digital Markets Act.

 

Barring a few promotional tiers, Google and Apple both take around 30 percent not just for purchases of newly downloaded apps but also for digital purchases inside already downloaded apps. Many developers view these fees as excessive, and the push inside both ecosystems to allow third-party billing was originally pitched as a solution to high app store fees. Various regulatory bodies have forced the Google/Apple app store duopoly to open up payments, but Google and Apple have each done so without fixing the core problem of high app store fees. Apple takes a 27 percent cut of purchases processed outside the app store—basically the original 30 percent fee minus the typical 3 percent processing fee charged by credit card companies. Google is doing something similar with this new program and will only reduce its fees by 4 percent.

 

You’ll still need to pay some kind of fee to your third-party payment processor, so with only a 4 percent reduction from Google, developers won’t really save money. Sign-ups are open now though, if you’re interested!

Two nations now offer Microsoft’s Game Pass Friend & Family tier

It comes to about €4.40 per person per month.

 

Family & Friend Tier Game Pass Features

 

Following a leak last week, Microsoft has officially launched Game Pass Friends & Family in Ireland, providing you and four additional people with the same advantages as Game Pass Ultimate for €22 ($22) per month. That works out to just €4.40 ($4.40) a month for each person, which is less than double the Game Pass Ultimate price for one person (€13). Even better, there are no family restrictions; the only prerequisite is that all four participants must reside in the same nation.

 

It has only so far reached two nations, but that may soon change. “This strategy is currently being tested in Colombia and the Republic of Ireland. There may be additional nations or regions added in the upcoming months, “A FAQ was written by Microsoft.

 

Prorata validity for existing customers

 

Existing Game Pass Ultimate subscribers in those nations will have their remaining days prorated, essentially in accordance with the price difference. Accordingly, you receive 18 days of Game Pass Friends & Family for 30 days of Game Pass Ultimate, compared to 12 days for 30 days of Xbox Game Pass or Live Gold. 6 days of Game Pass Friends & Family are included with 30 days of EA Play.

 

Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass are both $10 per month in the US, while Game Pass Ultimate, which includes multiplayer, is $15. According to The Verge, the price of The Game Pass Friends & Family in the United States will probably be around $25, or $5 per person per month. Users of Ultimate can access Xbox Cloud Gaming, Xbox Live, and more in addition to multiplayer.

WhatsApp’s new Windows version works standalone

WhatsApp has launched a new version of the messaging app for Windows that will no longer need the users to link their phones to send, receive, and sync messages.

 

The new Update

 

About the new updated version of the app the company said, “The new WhatsApp desktop app for Windows users is now live and available here.

 

What’s changing?

WhatsApp Desktop users have been using our web-based desktop app (WhatsApp Desktop) or our browser-based app (WhatsApp Web). As we’re always trying to improve the WhatsApp experience for our users, we’re developing apps native to Windows and Mac operating systems.

 

Advantages of native apps:

 

Increased reliability and speed

Designed and optimized for your desktop operating system

Continue to receive notifications and messages even when your phone is offline

Windows users

Download the new WhatsApp Desktop App for Windows.

 

Once downloaded and installed, to log in:

 

Open WhatsApp on your phone.

Tap More options on Android or Settings on iPhone.

Tap Linked Devices.

Point your phone camera to the QR code that appears on your WhatsApp Desktop App.

Mac users

WhatsApp desktop app native to Mac operating systems is currently in development.

 

For early access and to help us with testing, you can download our beta program here.

As a Mac user, you can use WhatsApp Web in your browser or download our web-based WhatsApp Desktop app.”

 

Description by Windows

 

About the new version of the app Windows said, “WhatsApp from Meta is a 100% free messaging app. It’s used by over 2B people in more than 180 countries. It’s simple, reliable, and private, so you can easily keep in touch with your friends and family. WhatsApp works across mobile and desktop even on slow connections, with no subscription fees*.

 

Private messaging across the world

 

Your personal messages and calls to friends and family are end-to-end encrypted. No one outside of your chats, not even WhatsApp, can read or listen to them.”

New feature by Google

It has been seen that Google appears to be rolling out a feature that could reduce that friction: if you simply search for the name of a game in Google search, you might be presented with a “Play” button that can instantly launch the title. When it comes to cloud gaming, friction is the mind-killer. You can’t just click a game trailer to instantly be playing a game quite yet.

 

“The Nerf Report’s Bryant Chappel appears to be the one who noticed the change, and he quickly discovered it’s not limited to Google’s own Stadia cloud gaming service, either. He says it works with Amazon Luna, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and Nvidia’s GeForce Now, too.” Verge reported.

 

There is still friction

 

However, there’s still friction — you need to be logged into an account which is associated with these cloud gaming services or else you’ll just get a signup page, and there may still be intermediate prompts. Also, it doesn’t appear to work with all games.

 

But with Stadia and Xbox Cloud Gaming, at least, a single click from a Google search result will take you just as far as you get by navigating to the website of your favorite cloud gaming service, picking your title, and pressing the play button you’d find there, The Verge reported.

 

What reports say

 

According to 9 to 5 Google, “For years now, Google Search has acted as an aggregator of the world’s streaming services. If you want to watch a particular show, you can use Google Search or Google TV to get accurate info about what services it’s on. For example, searching for The Simpsons reveals that the show can be streamed from a variety of apps, including Disney+ and Hulu, or purchased from multiple stores.

 

In the last few days, Google Search has expanded this capability to include support for video games. However, rather than including links to various consoles’ storefronts or to the many PC gaming retailers, Google is strictly focusing on cloud gaming.

 

This makes perfect sense, given Google has skin in the game thanks to Stadia and Google Cloud’s Immersive Stream. Of course, as you’d hope, Google Search isn’t only surfacing results from Stadia, with confirmed support for Amazon Luna, Nvidia GeForce Now, and Xbox Cloud Gaming.”

 

iOS 16 brings battery percentage icon and other new features

The new iOS 16 has been released and it has brought some noticeable changes.

New changes

 

According to MacRumors, “The battery icon in the status bar now displays the exact battery percent, a feature that can be toggled on in the Battery section of the Settings app.

Battery level is available on the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models, with the exception of the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini and ‌iPhone 13‌ mini. It is also available on the iPhone X and XS, but not the iPhone 11 or the ‌iPhone‌ XR.

Battery percent has not been available on iPhones that have a notch for years now because of space constraints, so this is a welcome change for many ‌iPhone‌ users. Prior to now, checking for exact battery percentage had to be done by swiping into Control Center or using the battery widget.”

 

Other new features according to them are,

 

“New Find My Sound

When you use the “Play Sound” option in the Find My app for one of your devices, ‌iPhone‌ models have a new sound that plays. It’s a bit louder and it is distinct from the sound available with prior versions of ‌iOS 16‌.

New Sound When Pinging iPhone from Apple Watch

When you swipe up on the Apple Watch to get to the Control Center, if you tap on the ‌iPhone‌ icon to ping your ‌iPhone‌ to locate it, you’ll hear a new sound. It is the same sound as the new ‌Find My‌ sound.

Lock Screen Now Playing Visualizer

The third beta of ‌iOS 16‌ added a full-screen music player, and the fifth beta introduces a live mini visualizer.”

 

Some more new features are, Perspective Zoom, Music App, Screenshots and Emergency Call.

According to Engadget, “If you’re enrolled in the developer beta, you can add the indicator to your status bar by opening the Settings menu and navigating to the Battery section. Once there, you’ll see a new toggle labeled “Battery Percentage.” The resulting icon is slightly larger than the one you’re probably used to seeing. Additionally, if you plug your iPhone into a charger, the icon will turn green and display a lightning symbol next to the battery percentage. Conversely, it’s yellow when your iPhone is in low power mode.”

The Best iOS 15 Features You Must Activate In Your Phone

 

If you are an iPhone user, you must be aware of the new iOS version released by Apple recently. The iOS 15 comes with a lot of new features, which makes it stand out from other previous versions. The brand new operating system comes with tons of exciting features which can make your iPhone experience even better than before. If you have not updated your phone to the latest OS yet, fear not! We will help you get started with all the new features in your phone and make the most out of them. Here we bring to you some of the best tricks and tips that come as part of the iOS 15 update. Let’s dive in…

 

Split Screen

The iOS 15 update has brought in a very exciting feature to iPhones. The new Split Screen feature allows you to work on two apps simultaneously on the same screen. This means that you can watch a movie while typing a document or while replying to your emails without ever having to switch between the two. The feature works especially well with the ‘Full-screen Zoom’ feature turned off. You can turn it on by going to Settings > Display & Brightness > Full-Screen Zoom. This feature makes your screen zoomed out so that you can fit both the apps on the screen at the same time. To activate the split screen feature, you can simultaneously press the ‘Home’ and ‘Split Screen’ buttons. Split screen is a very handy feature and can be used to increase your productivity. You can also drag and drop content from one app to another. For example, if you are watching a video on YouTube and you want to type a document, you can drag and drop the video into Word and start typing there. You can also drag and drop content from one app to another. For example, if you are reading an article on Safari and you want to watch a video, you can drag and drop the article into YouTube and start watching the video there.

 

Change The Size Of Your Typing Key

If you are a touch-typist, you might be finding it difficult to accommodate to the larger typing key. But don’t worry. With the iOS 15 update, you can change the typing key to a smaller size. To do this, go to ‘Settings’ and select ‘Keyboard’. From the ‘Keyboard’ menu, scroll down and select ‘Text Correction’. This will take you to a new screen. Here, select ‘Autocorrect’ and ‘Edit’. Now, you will see ‘Typing Feedback’. You can change the typing key from ‘Full Screen’ to ‘Thumb’ or ‘Standard’. This will make typing easier for touch-typists.

 

Mark Topics And Words You Want To Learn

With the iOS 15 update, you can now mark topics and words in your phone that you want to learn. You can mark whatever you want to learn and whenever you feel like, open those marked topics and start learning. To mark a word or a topic, open ‘Notes’ and tap on the ‘edit’ button in the top right corner of your screen. Select the ‘Mark’ option and choose the topic or word you would like to mark. You can also add a ‘Tag’ to the topic or word. To learn more about the ‘Mark’ feature and to know all the things you can do with it, read this article.

 

Virtual Game Controller For Games

If you love playing games on your phone and want to experience a console-like gaming experience, then the iOS 15 update is here to help you. With the new ‘Swift Playgrounds’, you can now play games on your phone and use a virtual game controller. This feature only works for games that support ‘MFi Controllers’. So, make sure to check if your favorite game supports it. For playing games with an ‘MFi Controller’, you need to have an iPhone 6 or later running iOS 9.0 or later.

 

Shake To Turn On Flashlight Or Turn Off Alerts

A very handy feature introduced in the iOS 15 update is the Shake to turn on flashlight or turn off alerts. You can turn off your alert for a few seconds by shaking your phone twice. And you can turn on the flashlight by shaking your phone twice as well. To enable this feature, go to ‘Settings’ and select ‘Accessibility’. Scroll down and select ‘Shake to toggle flashlight’. You will also see ‘Shake to toggle silent mode’.

 

Siri Language Learning And Food Activity

If you are a student, you can now teach your phone new words and phrases in a different language. This feature will help you if you are a student learning a different language. To enable this feature, go to ‘Settings’ and select ‘Siri’. Here, select the ‘Learn New Words’ option and enable Siri language learning. You can also use this feature to learn more about different foods. To know more about food activity, go to the ‘Siri’ menu and select ‘Food’.

 

Lock Screen Continuity With Mac OS X

With the iOS 15 update, you can now use the lock screen continuity feature with Mac OS X. This means that you can use your phone as a secondary screen with your Mac computer. To enable this feature, go to ‘Settings’ and select ‘Lock Screen’. From here, select ‘Secondary Screen’. You will see a new option saying ‘Second Screen’. Select it and enable the continuity feature. Now, whenever you are working on your computer, you can see the notifications, your current battery life and a few other things on your phone.

 

Photo Album Organizer From Google Photos

With the iOS 15 update, you can now transfer all your photos from your phone to Google Photos and organize them from there. You can also use Google Photos to edit your photos and then add them back to your phone. To transfer your photos to Google Photos, open your phone’s Photos app and select the ‘Menu’ icon at the top left corner of your screen. Here, select ‘Upload’ followed by ‘Upload All’. This will transfer all your photos to Google Photos. To organize your photos from Google Photos, open the app and select ‘Menu’. Here, select ‘Auto-Organize’. This feature will organize your photos based on the date and place they were taken.

 

Conclusion

The iOS 15 update brings a lot of exciting features to iPhones. If you are an iPhone user, you must be aware of the new OS released by Apple recently. The iOS 15 comes with a lot of new features, which makes it stand out from other previous versions. The brand new operating system comes with tons of exciting features which can make your iPhone experience even better than before. If you have not updated your phone to the latest OS yet, fear not! We will help you get started with all the new features in your phone and make the most out of them. Here we bring to you some of the best tricks and tips that come as part of the iOS 15 update.