Science and technology

Punjab government has decided to shift all 43 prisons across the province to solar energy, ARY News reported on Friday. As per details, the home department has finalized the plan and submitted it for approval to Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz after initial survey of all the jails with the assistance of the National Radio and Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC). According to NRTC, the total cost of the project stands at approximately Rs4.35 billion, which is less than the current annual electricity and gas expenses of these jails. Currently, the annual electricity and gas bill for Punjab’s prisons has reached Rs4.5 billion. By implementing the solar energy plan in phases, the province is expected to reduce electricity costs by up to 60 per cent. The shift to green energy is projected to recover the investment within three years while providing long-term financial relief. Read more: Punjab CM Maryam launches “Agriculture Tubewell Solarization” project On February 1, Punjab Chief Minister...

Xiaomi 15 Ultra was launched today by Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, building upon the strengths of its predecessor with significant upgrades. The new flagship boasts a cutting-edge Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage, promising a 45% performance boost and a 52% reduction in power consumption. Powering the device is a larger 6,000mAh battery (5,410mAh for global models), featuring an industry-leading 10% silicon carbide content, while retaining 90W wired and 80W wireless charging. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra sports a 6.73-inch 3200x1440px AMOLED display with a 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate and a peak brightness of 3,200 nits. Design-wise, it comes in Black with a textured back, White with an etched surface, and a special Silver Chrome Edition, constructed from aerospace-grade glass fiber and PU leather. The frame is CNC-crafted aluminum, and the display is protected by Xiaomi’s Shield Glass 2.0, which boasts 16 times improved drop res...

WhatsApp, the Meta-owned messaging platform boasting over 3 billion users, has begun the global rollout of its highly anticipated new feature in the latest WhatsApp update. This WhatsApp update allows users to convert voice messages into written text, addressing situations where listening to audio is inconvenient or impossible. The new feature in the WhatsApp update, initially announced in November of the previous year, utilizes on-device processing to ensure user privacy while transcribing voice messages. This feature is being progressively introduced and will be completely accessible in the coming weeks, making it simpler to follow chats without having to hear the messages. In South Asia and various other regions, languages are not officially recognized as supported for transcripts. However, WhatsApp is capable of transcribing voice notes recorded in multiple languages. Additionally, it provides support for languages such as English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian in this ne...

Superhero fans, get ready to step into the action! Invincible , the widely loved comic series and hit animated show on Amazon Prime, is being adapted into a roleplaying (RPG) game. Developed by Free League Publishing and Skybound Entertainment, the Invincible – Superhero Roleplaying game will let players join the world of Mark Grayson, Atom Eve, The Immortal, and more of the iconic characters from the series. Written by Robert Kirkman and illustrated by Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley, Invincible originally ran for 144 issues under Image Comics. The series follows Mark Grayson, a teenager who inherits his father’s superpowers, embarking on a journey filled with danger, growth, and heart-pounding superhero battles. The comic was later adapted into a highly successful animated series on Amazon Prime. The game is being designed by a top-tier team, including Adam Bradford, founder of D&D Beyond, and Tomas Härenstam, co-founder of Free League. Read More: Assassin’s Creed Shadows l...

Cryptocurrencies bitcoin and ether dropped to multi-month lows on Tuesday, caught up in a general cross-market sell-off, and as traders continued to process last week’s hack of $1.5 billion worth of ether from cryptoexchange Bybit. Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value, dropped as much as 6% to $88,245, its lowest since November, and the first time it has fallen below $90,000 since the middle of January. No 2. cryptocurrency ether shed as much as 11% at one point to $2,333, its lowest since October. Bitcoin (BTC) is the first and most widely recognized cryptocurrency, created in 2009 by an anonymous individual or group using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. It is a decentralized digital currency that allows for peer-to-peer transactions without the need for intermediaries like banks. Bitcoin is based on a decentralized technology called blockchain, which records all transactions made with the currency. With a market capitalization of over $1 trillion, Bitcoin i...

Ubisoft’s hotly-anticipated game Assassin’s Creed Shadows was leaked a month before its official release. Several physical and digital copies of the action-adventure-turned-action-RPG were released ahead of the game’s official release on March 20. Fans of Assassin’s Creed Shadows took to social media to share evidence to back up the claims that the game was playable for those who bought the copies. While it remains unclear whether the game was leaked through PlayStation Network errors or by an individual, the game seems to be functional as several players reportedly shared gameplay videos including Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ stealth-based protagonist Naoe fighting a group of armed men. Others posted the game’s opening loading animations and menu screen to social media. Read more: Assassin’s Creed Shadows prequel announced Ubisoft also confirmed that Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been leaked ahead of its release date, as the publisher urged the fans to not spoil the game for others...

Fans of Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 6 began speculating about the release date of the second trailer following the announcement of an update on Borderlands 4. Earlier this month, Take-Two Interactive subsidiary 2K announced that Borderlands 4 will be released on September 23. While the 2K title got its second trailer recently, GTA 6 fans are awaiting the release of its next trailer since December 2023 when Rockstar Games revealed the first trailer for its game. The first and only showed that the sixth title in the Grand Theft Auto series will be set in a fictional Vice City, reminiscent of Miami, and will feature the first playable female character in the franchise. Now, a GTA 6 and Rockstar Games social media account has pointed out that Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games, may have hinted at the release date for the second trailer of the hotly-anticipated game. Read more: GTA 6 fans left concerned following Borderlands 4 announcement “Borderlands 4 recently g...

Apple is making a massive investment in the United States, pledging $500 billion over the next four years. This move is expected to create 20,000 new jobs, primarily in research and development, and marks the company’s largest domestic investment to date. The announcement comes on the heels of a meeting between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Donald Trump, who has been pushing American companies to bring their production back home. Trump threatened to impose a 10% tax on Chinese imports, which would significantly impact Apple’s products assembled in China. As part of its plan, Apple will help launch a quarter-million-square-foot factory in Texas by 2026, focused on building artificial intelligence servers. The company will also develop a new server manufacturing facility in Houston, a supplier academy in Michigan, and increase spending with existing US suppliers. This strategic investment aims to maintain Apple’s profit margins and avoid price increases for consumers. The company has histor...

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has initiated the issuance of licences for Virtual Private Network (VPN) service providers to help businesses. A Virtual Private Network, or VPN, is a technology that creates a secure, encrypted connection between your device and a remote server. Imagine it as a private tunnel through the bustling public internet. The tunnel shields your online activities from prying eyes, ensuring your privacy and security. According to PTA, two companies have already been granted licences upon submission of applications. The move aims to facilitate businesses in legally using VPN services while ensuring compliance with regulations. PTA stated that the initiative will enhance data security, privacy, and regulatory enforcement. The authority reaffirmed its commitment to supporting organizations with secure and responsible connectivity. Read more: PTA blames excessive VPN usage for internet slowdown The use of VPNs is on the rise in Pakistan follow...

Space is about to get more crowded for Elon Musk. The billionaire’s Starlink communications network is facing increasingly stiff challenges to its dominance of high-speed satellite internet, including from a Chinese state-backed rival and another service financed by Amazon.com (AMZN.O), opens new tab founder Jeff Bezos. Shanghai-based SpaceSail in November signed an agreement to enter Brazil and announced it was in talks with over 30 countries. Two months later, it began work in Kazakhstan, according to the Kazakh embassy in Beijing. Separately, Brasília is in talks with Bezos’s Project Kuiper internet service and Canada’s Telesat (TSAT.TO), opens new tab, according to a Brazilian official involved in the negotiations, who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss ongoing talks. News of those discussions is being reported for the first time. Starlink has since 2020 launched more satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO) – an altitude of less than 2,000 km, opens new tab – tha...

The meta owned messaging platform WhatsApp is developing a new feature that will give users more control over voice message transcriptions. According to WABetaInfo, this feature will allow users to decide how they receive voice message transcriptions, with three options available ¹. Users will be able to choose from the following options: Automatic Transcription: Transcripts will be generated automatically for every voice message. Manual Transcription: Users can manually transcribe only selected messages. Disable Transcriptions: Users can disable transcriptions entirely. This new feature will provide users with more flexibility and control over their voice message transcriptions. Currently, WhatsApp users have to manually start the transcription process each time they want a transcript, but this new feature will allow users to adjust their transcription settings anytime to suit their preferences. Earlier, WhatsApp launched an exciting update that allows Android and iOS us...

The  human body  was not built for  spaceflight , with its microgravity conditions, exposure to high-energy radiation and other issues. As a result, trekking beyond the Earth’s confines causes many physiological changes that affect an astronaut’s health. Here is an explanation of some of the effects on  human health  caused by space travel. WHY IS SPACE TRAVEL TOUGH ON THE HUMAN BODY? The human body  evolved over millions of years to function optimally in Earth’s environment, which includes its gravity, atmospheric composition and relatively low levels of radiation. Space travel exposes people to quite a different environment, posing a range of physiological and psychological challenges, especially with prolonged exposure, according to Afshin Beheshti, director of the Center for Space Biomedicine at the University of Pittsburgh. As researchers seek new countermeasures to protect space travelers, more data is needed on astronauts with varying health b...

With the iOS 18.2 update for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 series, Apple is expected to roll out iOS 18.4 with intelligence capabilities. iOS 18.4 will add additional languages to the features, although iOS 18.3 was a more limited upgrade.  With on-screen context knowledge, Siri may get a significant makeover.  Reports suggest that the functionality might not be available until the following significant upgrade, though. Here are all the details available regarding the release date, AI capabilities, increased language support, and other aspects of iOS 18.4. Timeline for iOS 18.4 release, increased language support A MacRumors story suggests that iOS 18.4 will be launched shortly as Apple may release more AI capabilities and language support in early April.  The precise features that will be added with the next version remain unknown as of this writing, though. Read More: iOS vs Android: The Never-Ending Debate – Which Smartphone Platform Rules Supreme? Additional...

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows has landed in another trouble as officials of Japan’s Itate Hyozu Shrine announced plans to take action against the game. Controversy erupted when a video showed Yasuke, a playable character in the Ubisoft title, breaking into the shrine and demolishing the altar and other items in the space, as per a gaming website. The viral video of the character destroying the shrine had left several fuming over what they believed was a disrespect to the shrine and its followers. Officials of Itate Hyozu Shrine in Japan have announced plans to take action against Assassin’s Creed Shadows over the viral video from the game. According to officials of the Japanese shrine, they were not consulted about its inclusion in the game. “If they had contacted us, we would have refused,” local media outlets quoted an official as saying. A similar controversy erupted last year when several demanded the game to be cancelled due to the lack of historical accuracy. The plo...

Rockstar Games has dropped a major update for Grand Theft Auto 5 as fans await development on the highly-anticipated GTA 6. The developer has announced allowing players of GTA 5 on PC to upgrade to an enhanced version of the game for free. Set to launch on March 4, the major upgrade will bring GTA 5 up to parity with the PS5 and Xbox Series X and S versions of the game. While the GTA 5 upgrade will be free, gamers will have to upgrade their PCs to 16GB of RAM, with an Nvidia RTX 3060 and an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU. Rockstar Games will introduce additional content in GTA Online, technical improvements, and greater support for higher resolutions and frame rates. The developer will also upgrade GTA Online with newly added access to the GTA+ subscription programme, new vehicles, new modes and a landing page that will let players jump into activities faster. Read more: Rockstar in talks with metaverse creators for user-generated content in GTA 6 Additionally, Rockstar Games is also set...

A team of postgraduate students from NED University has introduced a driverless electric vehicle, a major innovation in Pakistan’s automotive sector.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by ARY News (@arynewstv) According to details, engineering students at NED University have successfully developed a driverless car, which they believe will attract considerable attention in Pakistan. The vehicle is capable of reaching any assigned location independently, a technology already introduced internationally. The students highlighted the challenges of Pakistan’s road conditions, emphasizing that their vehicle is designed to detect and appropriately respond to potholes and uneven surfaces. Their faculty supervisor stated that this technology has vast potential beyond local transport, extending to intercity travel. Read more: Students of NED University develop Pakistan’s second Formula Electric Sports car He further noted that t...

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution is no longer a distant sci-fi fantasy; it is a present-day reality reshaping the fabric of society. From healthcare and education to transportation and entertainment, AI is permeating every aspect of human life. As we stand on the brink of what many call the “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” the transformative potential of AI is both exhilarating and daunting. This article explores the profound implications of the AI revolution, examining how it could redefine our future, the opportunities it presents, and the challenges it poses. The Evolution of AI: From Concept to Reality AI, broadly defined as the simulation of human intelligence by machines, has evolved significantly since its inception in the mid-20th century. Early AI systems were rule-based and limited in scope, but advancements in machine learning, neural networks, and computational power have propelled AI into a new era. Today, AI systems can perform complex tasks such as natural l...

Dixon Technologies India, which assembles Google’s Pixel smartphones, is set to more than double its revenue this fiscal year, driven by rapid growth in local electronics manufacturing, a top executive told Reuters. Electronics manufacturing has gained momentum in India as global giants, including Alphabet’s Google and Apple, expand their supply chain away from China. “(For) the sector and Dixon, the growth path is going to be extremely aggressive in the coming future,” Managing Director Atul Lall said on Wednesday. The contract manufacturer reported a revenue of 177.13 billion rupees ($2.04 billion) for the 2024 financial year that ended in March, up 45% from a year earlier. Its revenue stood at 285.77 billion rupees for the nine months ended December 31. Noida-based Dixon, which also assembles smartphones for firms such as China’s Xiaomi and Oppo, has branched out into component manufacturing as India plans to offer billions of dollars in incentives to make parts for mobiles and...

Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab launched on Wednesday a budget-minded phone with artificial intelligence, the iPhone 16e, designed to win back mid-market customers at home and in crucial growth markets China and India. The new phone, which drops the SE naming convention for Apple’s budget series, will take on popular Android smartphones at a time when rivals Samsung (005930.KS), opens new tab and China’s Huawei are adding AI tools to their devices. Sales of Apple phones dropped last quarter, and sales of its budget line of phones have plummeted as a proportion of iPhone revenue over the last decade. The 16e will cost $599, a $170 boost from the previous entry level phone, the SE, although its features are closer to Apple’s flagships and include a powerful chip to run Apple Intelligence, a set of features with access to ChatGPT. Aside from having no wide-angle camera lens, one missing button and a slightly different display, the 16e looks much like its pricier siblings. Apple stock w...

Meta has announced an important Facebook update. Starting February 19th, all Facebook Live videos will only be available for 30 days. After that, they will be automatically deleted. This change is part of Meta’s efforts to save on storage costs and manage video data more effectively. Meta explained the reason for this Facebook update: “Most people watch Facebook Live videos in the first few weeks, so we are updating how long these videos are stored.” Previously, Facebook Live videos were kept indefinitely, but Meta found that very few users watch older livestreams. As part of this change, Meta will remove all Facebook Live videos older than 30 days in stages over the next few months. Read More: Meta to offer ad-free subscription for Facebook, Instagram If you have older live streams, you will get notifications, and you will have 90 days to download or save them. Meta is also giving users the option to delay the deletion for an extra six months if needed. The social media giant...

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI has introduced Grok-3, the latest iteration of its chatbot, as it looks to compete with Chinese AI firm DeepSeek, Microsoft-backed OpenAI, and Alphabet’s Google. Grok-3 debut comes at a critical moment in the AI arms race, just days after DeepSeek unveiled its powerful open-source model and as Musk moves aggressively to expand xAI’s influence. The chatbot is being rolled out immediately to Premium+ subscribers on X, the social media platform owned by Musk. xAI is also launching a new subscription tier, SuperGrok, for users accessing the chatbot via its mobile app and Grok.com website. “Grok-3 across the board is in a league of its own,” Musk said during a livestream alongside three xAI engineers late on Monday, adding that the model significantly outperforms its predecessor, Grok-2. Last week, a consortium of investors led by Musk offered$97.4 billion to acquire OpenAI’s nonprofit assets, an offer the ChatGPT-maker rejected. Musk on...

Pakistan’s first moon rover mission is set to launch in 2028, announced Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) on Tuesday. The development follows after Pakistan and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) allowing Pakistan’s first lunar rover to be part of China’s Chang’E 8 mission. The Chang’E 8 mission, scheduled for launch in 2028, will focus on robotic exploration of the lunar south pole. To engage the public in this historic venture, SUPARCO has opened a nationwide competition to name the Pakistan moon rover. The winner will receive a reward of Rs100,000. The rover, developed by SUPARCO, will be deployed at the lunar south pole. It will carry advanced scientific payloads designed by Pakistani scientists, along with a collaborative scientific payload developed by Chinese and European researchers. Read more: SUPARCO set to launch indigenous electro-optical satellite In May 2022, Pakistan launched its first lunar satellite aboard China’s Chang’e-6 p...

Rockstar Games is reportedly in talks with the creators of Fortnite and Roblox to introduce user-generated content in Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 6. The publisher has dedicated servers in GTA 5 Online for role-play experiences and features extensive user mods. Now, a latest report has claimed that Rockstar Games was discussing custom and modifiable game environments, cosmetic items and assets with Fortnite and Roblox creators for GTA 6. According to a report by Digiday , the developer aims to make the upcoming title the ‘next big metaverse platform’ by allowing Fortnite and Roblox creators to add custom items, assets and experiences to GTA 6. Rockstar Games has also held discussions with a few dedicated GTA content creators to create custom experiences in GTA 6, the publication quoted sources as saying. If the talks materialise, the Fortnite and Roblox creators could bring their in-game assets and environments, including brand sponsorships to the title. Read more: GTA 6 rival game Mi...