Ratan Tata wanted to sell TCS to IBM: Cyrus Mistry

Tata Sons' ousted Chairman Cyrus Mistry claimed in a letter on Tuesday that Ratan Tata wanted to sell the company’s “crown jewel” Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to IBM. Ratan Tata had even approached JRD Tata but he refused to discuss the deal. "It was also a near death experience for TCS at the hands of Ratan Tata," the letter said.

Fake Google redirecting users to a spam website

A Google imposter is redirecting the users to a spam website which may potentially harm a user's computer and says 'Trump, you did it!'. The domain name for fake Google contains the Latin letter for capital 'G' instead of the English letter 'G' used in genuine Google web address. Google has published a fix to eliminate the spam.

Apple to stop making wireless routers: Report

After a recent announcement to exit the external computer monitor business, Apple is said to stop making wireless routers. The company began shutting down the wireless router team over the past year and shifted its engineers to other product development groups. Notably, Apple has not pushed any update for its wireless routers since 2013.

20-yr-old's software gives tour of five star hotel suites

A 20-year-old student, Rachana Bagde has created a software called 'G for Gestures', which uses hand gestures to give a tour of five-star hotel suites in virtual reality. The software along with a body sensor are equipped with a system, allowing guests to explore the interior and outside view of different suites. The starting price of the software is ₹60,000.

Mark Zuckerberg sells $95 mn Facebook shares for charity

To fund his family's philanthropic initiative, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg last week sold his company shares worth $95 million for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan in December 2015 pledged to donate 99% of their Facebook shares to the initiative, which funds companies working in the health, science and education space.

Facebook testing new feature to find nearby Wi-Fi

Facebook is currently testing a new feature with select users on its app that helps them to find Wi-Fi hotspots near their location. The option is available under the hamburger menu, which includes Pages, Nearby Friends, Nearby Places and other options. Previously, Facebook had asked business Pages to list Wi-Fi locations at their physical addresses.

Time has come to ramp up offline sales: Xiaomi India head

Electronics major Xiaomi India's director Manu Jain said that with nearly 90% of its sales in India from online marketplaces, time has come to "ramp up offline sales." In this regard, Xiaomi has introduced a new model of distribution called direct-to-retailer, which eliminates intermediaries, Jain added. Notably, Xiaomi reached 20 lakh units' sales in September quarter for the first time.

Apple to replace iPhone 6s battery for free to fix shutdown

Apple has acknowledged some iPhone 6s handsets are shutting down unexpectedly and said the batteries of the affected devices will be replaced for free. Apple believes that only some devices manufactured between September and October 2015, have been affected. Notably, some iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are facing 'touch disease' that causes a flickering grey bar and reduces touchscreen responsiveness.

Edge browser safer than Google Chrome, Firefox: Microsoft

Microsoft has introduced a new set of Windows Tips that inform Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox users on Windows 10 that the company's own Edge is a “safer” web browser. The new Windows Tips for Windows 10 users began in early November. In July, Microsoft prompted its users that Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox drains their laptop’s battery.

Amazon adds X-ray feature to iOS app to 'see' inside boxes

Amazon has added a 'Package X-ray' feature to its iPhone app to let users 'see' what's inside their packages without opening them. Users can only scan the barcode on the packages which have been ordered using their Amazon account to view a list of all its contents. Amazon claims this will help users keep track of packaged Christmas presents.

Company loses ₹70L after eagles destroy its drones mid-air

An Australian mine surveying company has lost around ₹70 lakh after eagles knocked down nine of its drones used for the aerial survey of mines. The company painted the drones to look like baby eagles and carried out nearly 50 successful drone flights. However, the eagles soon figured out the truth and started attacking the drones again.

Facebook announces its first stock buyback for $6 billion

Facebook on Friday announced that it will buy back $6 billion (over ₹40,000 crore) in shares in its first-ever stock repurchase. The social media giant's shares rose 1% in after-hours trading following the news. Among the top 10 US technology companies, ranked by cash and marketable securities, Facebook is reportedly the only one that has not bought back stock yet.

Zuckerberg details plan to tackle fake news in Facebook post

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg published a post explaining what the social media company is doing to tackle the issue of fake news on its platform on Saturday."Historically, we have relied on our community to help us understand what is fake and what is not," he wrote. Zuckerberg also listed active projects like "third party verification" and removing "financially motivated spam".

Apple limiting download speeds of some iPhone 7s: Report

A Bloomberg report claims that Apple is purposely limiting the performance of iPhone 7 devices, resulting in loss of download speed. The iPhone 7 versions with a Qualcomm modem chip can download data at 600 mbps, while those with an Intel modem have a speed of 450 mbps. The move will reportedly ensure a uniform iPhone experience across all devices.

Infosys invests ₹14.5 crore in Danish AI start-up

Infosys has invested ₹14.5 crore from its “innovation fund” in UNSILO, a Danish artificial intelligence start-up on advanced text analysis. This is Infosys’ 11th investment in a start-up from its $500 million innovation fund and fourth in 2016. "We will partner with UNSILO to bring their artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to our... clients, " an Infosys official said.

Company creates system to help pilot's brain control a plane

USA's Honeywell Aerospace has modified a plane which enables it to be operated with a neuro-transmitting elastic cap, worn over the head by the pilot. The pilot wears the cap, which houses 32 electrodes, and manoeuvres the plane by focusing on the direction symbols on a screen. The brain's electrical activity is transmitted to the plane's control system.

Man makes touchscreen mirror that texts, play movies

Designer Rafael Dymek has made a smart fully touchscreen mirror based on iOS 10, that is able to text, play songs, movies, browse the internet and even order an Uber ride. Called the 'Apple Mirror', the mirror shuts itself off after 45 seconds of inactivity and shows reflections like a regular mirror.

Pixel's ₹3,400 case shows live images from Google Earth

Google has launched a ₹3,400 ($50) phone case for its Pixel handset, which shows live images from Google Earth on the handset. From the ice formations of Antarctica to the beaches of the South Pacific, the case sets select images as wallpapers. A button on the wallpaper lets users explore the location in more detail on the Google Maps app.

Basket made to charge phones and keep bread warm

American baked goods brand Sister Schubert's has created an electronic bread basket to keep its contents warm and simultaneously charge phones. The basket can be used to charge up to five devices at a time using USB ports. While pricing for the basket has not been revealed, it will be part of the company's 'Make All Dinners Warm' campaign.

Huawei announces new tablets with 3 year old software

Chinese electronics company Huawei on Thursday announced two new tablets that will ship with Android's three year old KitKat software. The 7-inch and 9.6-inch 'MediaPad T1' tablets will cost $99 (₹6,750) and $159 (₹10,800) respectively. The devices have only 1 GB of RAM and an expandable storage of up to 32 GB.