Over the past month, we have been using Norton 360 antivirus on a MacBook and iPhone. Here are our experiences.
Norton 360 Antivirus Review — Protection From All Sides
Software
Amazon reports increase in smart home devices connected to Alexa
Alexa has been a part of Indian households for six years now, making daily tasks simpler and homes smarter. Devices with Alexa (ex. Echo smart speakers, or Fire TV Stick) have been purchased by customers from across 99% pin codes in India – they equally reside in metro and non-metro cities. Today millions of users across the country have welcomed Alexa in their lives. Additionally, around 80% of Alexa’s smart home users have started their journey by purchasing an Echo smart speaker bundled with a smart bulb. These efforts and heightened customer awareness have resulted in a 200% increase in smart home devices connected to Alexa in India in the last three years.
With a rise in connected devices in last three years, there is also a 100% increase in requests to Alexa for controlling compatible smart home appliances such as smart lights, plugs, fans, TVs, security cameras, ACs, water heaters, and air purifiers. This includes requests that users can conveniently ask in English, Hindi, or Hinglish, such as, “Alexa, geyser चला दो”, “Alexa, turn off AC after 15 minutes”, or “Alexa, hall की lights dim कर दो”. Asking Alexa to control the lights is one of the most common smart home requests. Indian customers are also evolving in their smart home journey – in the last year usage of Alexa to control smart fans and smart ACs increased by 37%, which is the highest amongst all smart home appliances.
“Since we launched Alexa and Echo smart speakers in India, the smart home sector has evolved significantly, and voice technology has played a massive role in this. Customers can easily set up a smart home by getting a compatible smart bulb and instantly control with Alexa, or get a smart plug to automate existing appliances. It’s clear that more people are seeing how setting up a smart home is not as complex as they had imagined,” said Parag Gupta, Director and Country Manager, Amazon Devices, India. “We’re encouraged by this growing trend and are excited to continue innovating on behalf of our customers. With the rising selection of smart home devices that work with Alexa, I am excited to see more Indians adopt the smart way of living.”
Smart home brands in India have been innovating to launch locally relevant smart devices such as tube lights, ceiling fans, IR blasters, and smart strips that cater to Indian home environments. Today, there are thousands of Alexa-compatible smart home appliances for customers to choose from. This selection has increased by 12% in the last year with new products from brands such as Xiaomi, OnePlus, Hindware, and Atomberg. Setting up a smart home powered by Alexa has now become simpler than ever.
Making smart home features more useful for customers
As customers are pairing more devices with Alexa to use at home, Amazon is continuing to introduce new ways home automation can be made simpler and efficient.
- Redesigned Alexa app: The recently refreshed Alexa app brings smart home front and centre and enables customers to access their most-used devices and features within one to two taps. We have options like ‘Favourites’, a ‘Home Shortcuts Bar’, a more streamlined ‘Activity’ section, new search controls, and filters for connected devices which make the app easier for customers to use.
- Alexa Connect Kit smart bulb: Customers can now enjoy a quick, easy and simple set up of smart bulbs in their home. Recently, Wipro launched the first RGBW light bulb in India using the Alexa Connect Kit (ACK). Wipro’s light bulb supports Amazon’s Frustration-Free Setup to simplify the device setup experience with Alexa. Frustration-Free Setup allows the devices to connect automatically when purchased through Amazon.in, linked to the customer’s Alexa account during checkout, and then powered on. Once set up, customers can control the Wipro bulb through Alexa—whether that’s through voice using an Echo smart speaker or in the Alexa app.
- Wake-up Lighting: Customers can simulate a natural sunrise using Alexa’s Wake-up lighting capability. Smart lights that support dimming and colour temperature can mimic the sunrise by gradually brightening and transitioning from warm to cool lighting to help one slowly wake up out of deep sleep. This feature can easily be enabled using the ‘Routines’ section in the Alexa app or be added to each alarm individually.
- Timed actions: Alexa customers can use their voice to turn on or turn off their smart home devices such as lights, fans, TVs, and more, at a later time or for a certain duration. With simple phrases like “Alexa, turn on the lights at 6 PM today” and “Alexa, 2 minute के लिए light ON कर दो” customers can focus on other meaningful activities while also ensuring their daily tasks get done as planned.
Celebrate Alexa’s 6th anniversary – visit www.amazon.in/alexaanniversary to grab up to 50% off on Echo smart speakers, Fire TV Stick, and Alexa smart home combos. Some of the exciting deals are: Flat 49% off on Alexa smart home combo – Echo Dot 4th Gen (with clock) + Wipro Simple Setup 9W smart bulb at ₹3,899; Flat 59% on Echo Pop Gift twin packs with Wipro Simple Setup 9W smart bulb – buy it for ₹4,898, and Flat 40% off on the best-selling Fire TV Stick – get it for ₹2,999 only.
Lexar to imaging cards at CEIF 2024
Lexar, will be showcasing its comprehensive range of high performing imaging cards with blazing speeds and massive capacities at CEIF – Consumer Electronic Imaging Fair Mumbai 2024, India’s largest Consumer Electronic & Imaging Show and exhibition. This mega event is organized by All India Photography Trade and Industry Association, and will be taking place at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai, from January 11th till 13th January, 2024 at Pavilion 1, 2 & 3. Lexar is participating at this event with World Media Corporation, an established Reseller of memory cards in Mumbai.
Lexar’s high-performance memory cards and card readers are designed for professional photographers and videographers who need to capture and store high-resolution images and 8K videos. These memory cards offer blazing fast read and write speed performance with massive storage capacities for capturing, accessing, and transferring high-definition multimedia files, including 4K and 8K videos. Lexar’s memory cards are also known for its durability, weather-sealed and shock-proof, thereby protecting your data even in harsh conditions. All Lexar products are currently available with national distributors Redington Ltd., New Color India Films and Creative NewTech Ltd. in India.
Speaking about their participation at the fair, Fissal Oubida, General Manager of Middle East, Africa, and the Indian Subcontinent, Lexar, said, “The massive proliferation of digital platforms and usage of social media channels has played a crucial role in the surge of content creation and growth of the photography and videography market in India. The tremendous growth in the content creation industry is directly proportional to the growing demand for high quality memory and storage solutions that can store, protect, and transport files at faster speed. Our robust portfolio in photography and videography, enables both the professional and the enthusiast to get their best shot and accelerate their workflows.”
At CEIF, Lexar will be showcasing its world’s fastest Professional CFexpress™ Type B Card DIAMOND series, for that powerful performance and accelerated post-production workflow which professionals demands, with a stunning speed of 1900 MB/s read and 1700 MB/s write, thereby increasing productivity and better exposure.
For Type-A users, Lexar will display its range of Professional CFexpress™ Type A Card GOLD series, to help capture the high quality data and cinematic-quality 8K videos easily. With a rated Video Performance Guarantee 400 (VPG 400), the CFexpress™ Type A card has a minimum write speed of 700 MB/s & 800MB/s and a read speed of up to 900MB/s, making it ideal for high-speed continuous shooting and stable video recording, ensuring minimum lags.
The Professional SILVER PRO SDXC™ UHS-II Card will also be displayed. This high quality memory card from Lexar, sets a new benchmark in V60 class performance with high-speeds of 280MB/s read and 160MB/s write. Additionally with capacities ranging from 64GB up to 1TB, you can find a capacity that lets you stay in the zone and keep shooting.
“As the consumer landscape continues to evolve, we remain dedicated to empowering various segments, including vlogging, professional photography, videography cinema, and OTT. Through our participation at CEIF 2024, we aim to engage directly with our customers, enabling them to experience the full potential of our products. This event is a great opportunity for Lexar to connect with our customers and exhibit our continued commitment to delivering cutting-edge imaging solutions. Our presence at this event not only allows us to reinforce our existing relationships and build new ones but also provides a platform to showcase our latest memory and storage technologies.” Oubida added.
Crossbeats Unveils Monarch Smartwatch
Crossbeats launched its latest revolution, the Monarch Smartwatch.
Priced at INR 2999, The Monarch Smartwatch sets a new standard for smartwatches, offering a remarkable blend of style, functionality, and cutting-edge technology. It is available in four different colors: Black, Gold, and Silver with Green Bezel and Silver. Its 1.43”(3.63cm) AMOLED Display, Sharp 360 x 360 Resolution with a brightness of 700 nits, provides a crystal-clear viewing experience even in direct sunlight and it’s always on display adding a splendid feature to the watch.
The Monarch Prides itself on seamless connectivity with Advanced Bluetooth Calling, powered by ClearComm technology. It features an eccentric voice assistant, enabling users to multitask effortlessly. With a battery playtime of up to 10 days and 20 days on standby, powered by a 240 mAh battery, the newly launched Monarch Smartwatch keeps you miles away from recharging trouble. Its aerospace metal case and the water resistance feature watch guarantee durability. Powered by AI health tracking and 125 sports modes, it keeps you fit and tracks real time progress. Plus, the device has a voice assistant authorized with Siri and OK google integration. Fitness enthusiasts will be pleased with the AI data tracking, which provides real-time workout metrics for over 123+ activities.
Monarch also houses over 150+ fashionable watch faces to match your mood and vogue. Adding to more on this premium smartwatch, Monarch boasts the 4th gen biosensor chip capturing accurate data of heart rate, blood pressure, SpO2, and sleep patterns.
Mr. Abhinav Agarwal, Co-founder of Crossbeats, expressed his enthusiasm, saying, “We are excited to introduce the Monarch smartwatch, which offers a unique combination of style and functionality to the working professionals. Our team has put immense effort into designing a product that not only looks premium but also delivers top-notch performance, making it the ultimate smartwatch experience for our customers.”
AMD Radeon Launches RX 7800 XT and RX 7700 XT Graphics Cards
AMD unveiled the AMD Radeon™ RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT. AMD also announced availability of AMD FidelityFX™ Super Resolution 3, the next generation of the popular upscaling technology that is designed to offer massive performance boosts in supported games.
The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT graphics cards also offer 16GB and 12GB of high-speed GDDR6 VRAM, respectively, and up to 50% higher memory bandwidth than the competition for high-resolution gaming. They also support advanced features that take performance and visual fidelity to the next level, including the all-new AMD HYPR-RX technology.
“Gamers today are choosing 1440p displays more than any other display resolution,” said Scott Herkelman, senior vice president and general manager, Graphics Business Unit at AMD. “Today’s high-refresh 1440p displays deliver the incredibly vibrant visuals and smooth, fluid gameplay gamers expect. We’re excited to offer a new class of graphics cards delivering the performance and visual fidelity that allows gamers to elevate their gameplay and truly enjoy today’s and tomorrow’s games the way they were designed to be experienced.”
Boosting Framerates and Visual Fidelity
AMD also announced availability of the next-generation AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) temporal upscaling technology, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 3. AMD FSR 3 features frame generation leveraging AMD Fluid Motion Frames technology and game motion vector data to dramatically improve FPS. AMD FSR 3 is expected to come to Forspoken by Square Enix and Immortals of Aveum by Ascendant Studios and Electronic Arts Inc. in early fall with an additional 10 games expected to add support in the coming months.
“We’re thrilled for Immortals of Aveum to be one of the first games to feature AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 3 and its Fluid Motion Frames technology,” said Mark Maratea, CTO at Ascendant Studios. “FSR has been an integral part of Immortals at launch, allowing more players to enjoy our fast-paced magic shooter experience across a broader range of hardware configurations. AMD FSR 3 with frame generation boosts our game’s performance that much more, while still maintaining its beautiful visuals.”
New Software Features
AMD announced the latest release of the AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition™ application, bringing new performance and feature enhancements to enable next-level gaming experiences. Expected to be available September 6, 2023, this new release features AMD HYPR-RX technology, which simplifies and manages simultaneous interoperation of AMD Radeon Super Resolution (RSR), AMD Radeon Anti-Lag and AMD Radeon Boost technologies to achieve a performance-stacking effect. AMD HYPR-RX includes the new AMD Radeon Anti-Lag+ technology, which takes responsive gaming to the next level by introducing Anti-Lag on a per-game profile basis, allowing users to minimize input lag.
AMD HYPR-RX and AMD Radeon Anti-Lag+ support AMD Radeon RX 7000 Series graphics.
Availability
AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT graphics cards will be available from leading board partners including ASRock, ASUS, Biostar, Gigabyte, PowerColor, Sapphire, Vastarmor, XFX and Yeston beginning September 6, 2023. AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT graphics cards will also be available from AMD.com beginning September 6, 2023.