Kathmandu: Video conferencing service Zoom is rapidly gaining commercial success during the Corona virus epidemic. The company is now more valuable than Exxon Mobil, one of the world's largest oil and gas producers. 



According to Forbes, the market value of Zoom is 139 billion US dollars while the market value of Exxon is 138.9 US dollars as of Friday. Zoom launched a market cap with $ 19 billion this year. Meanwhile, Eric Yuan, the founder of Zoom, has almost doubled his earning in the last three months.



His earning has almost doubled since July 2020, when he appeared on the Forbes 400 list of the richest people in the United States. His earning has risen from $ 11 billion to $21.3 billion. The fortunes of Yuan and Zum began to shine as soon as Kavid started. Zoom's business has grown rapidly during this period. 



When people are confined to their homes, they rely on video conferencing. According to Forbes, Zoom has managed to earn 600 percent more revenue than the same period last year.

Zoom's revenue increased by 600 percent

(BBC): Samsung Electronics has reported record revenues of $59 billion in its third quarter. The strong revenues were fuelled by a 50 percent jump in smart phone sales, while profits from microchips rocketed 82 percent. The Korean tech giant posted a third quarter net profit of $8.3 billion, a 49 percent increase over the same period last year. As reported by BBC world Samsung's mobile and chip businesses were likely boosted by US sanctions against its Chinese rival Huawei. The increase in sales likely reflects Samsung eating into Huawei's market share as US restrictions hit the Chinese telecommunications giant. Huawei has been stockpiling chips ahead of possible US sanctions. In August, the US department of commerce said it would impose sanctions on any foreign company that sold chips to Huawei without first obtaining a license. The Trump administration has targeted a number of Chinese technology firms over national security concerns, including Huawei, TikTok and WeChat. Samsung also witnessed strong growth in sales of its premium TVs and appliances during July to September.



Booming chips Samsung's strong results come amid a consolidation in the microchip industry in the US. Microchips have a huge range of applications, and are found in retail products like smart phones and consumer electronics as well as in commercial infrastructure such as data centres. This week chipmaking giant AMD announced it will buy Xilinx for $35billion, paying a premium for its rival in a near-record deal. Last month, graphics chipmaker Nvidia agreed to buy British mobile chipmaker Arm from Softbank for $40billion. The consolidation has been fuelled by Nvidia and AMD's surging share prices, which has left them with cash to invest. Some analysts think a resurgent and consolidating US industry could push the Chinese government to invest more in microchip technology. "That could lead to an acceleration in research and development. That's certainly something that we've seen happening," said Natasha Kassam, a Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute.



Covid-19 boom More broadly, chipmakers have done well throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, as the push to work from home has fuelled demand for certain chips. In addition to Samsung, Korea's SK Hynix also reported robust profits in the second quarter as much of the world was subject to Covid-19 restrictions. US-based Micron Technology also beat its quarterly expectations after predicting a strong bump from the push to work at home in June. However, Samsung has predicted tougher times ahead, with declining profits in the fourth quarter. It expects weaker chip demand from server customers and greater competition in mobile phones and consumer electronics.



Succession speculation The third quarter figures come out a day after the burial of chairman Lee Kun-hee, who helped turn Samsung into a global powerhouse. His death could force a shake-up as his heirs might be forced into asset sales or dividend payments in order to pay a massive inheritance tax bill. There are also lingering questions over his successor, Lee Jae-yong, who has managed the sprawling South Korean technology group since 2014. Lee Jae-yong has twice been accused of fraud over his role in a 2015 merger deal at the tech giant and is currently awaiting trial.

Samsung sees sales surge

WASHINGTON (Reuters): The chief executives of three large tech companies will defend a law protecting internet companies before a Senate panel on Wednesday - a topic that has split U.S. lawmakers on ways to hold Big Tech accountable for how they moderate content on their platforms. Facebook Inc's FB.O Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter Inc's TWTR.N Jack Dorsey and Google's GOOGL.O Sundar Pichai will tell the committee chaired by Republican Senator Roger Wicker that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act - which protects companies from liability over content posted by users - is crucial to free expression on the internet. Twitter’s Dorsey will warn the committee that eroding the foundation of Section 230 could significantly hurt how people communicate online. Zuckerberg will say tech platforms are likely to censor more to avoid legal risks if Section 230 is repealed. The hearing comes after Republican President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for tech companies to be held accountable for allegedly stifling conservative voices. As a result, calls for reforming Section 230 intensified from Republican lawmakers ahead of the Nov. 3 elections, even when there is little chance of approval by Congress this year. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has also expressed support for revoking the law. Maria Cantwell, top Democrat on the Senate commerce panel, initially rejected a request by Republicans to subpoena the three CEOs to appear at the hearing, but later changed her mind and said she welcomed a “debate about 230.” There are also several pieces of bipartisan legislation that have been introduced on the issue. “A hearing less than a week before an election is not going to be a good venue for an in-depth exploration of a very complicated issue, so I hope it ends up being substantive,” said Matthew Perault, director of the Center on Science and Technology Policy at Duke University. On Monday, Perault issued a paper that laid out an agenda for reforming the law under the next administration.

Facebook, Twitter, Google CEOs will defend law protecting tech platforms before U.S. Senate panel

Kathmandu: Telephone and internet facilities have not yet reached the centers of 40 villages across the country. According to the National Federation of Village Municipalities, 40 out of 460 village municipalities across the country do not have telephone and internet facilities in their centers. According to the federation, telephone service and internet service has not reached the upper Sankhuwasabha of State-1, Sunkoshi area of ​​Udaipur and Khotang, southern Lalitpur of Bagmati State and Dandapari area of ​​Kavre, West Baglung of Gandaki and North Gorkha among other municipalities. Similarly, Rukum and Rolpa in Lumbini province, Jajarkot and Dolpa in Karnali province, Bajhang, Darchula and Bajura in the far west have 40 villages without telephone and internet access. The federation has said that the federation has repeatedly asked the federal government to set up Nepal Telecom towers to provide services to the village centers and the surrounding settlements. The ministry has formatted various things from the budget to be posted online, but it cannot be done without internet. As per the federation Wi-Fi has been pulled from a distance, it only runs sometimes due to which most of the works are not being done.

Local government without communication

SAN FRANCISCO: Advanced Micro Devices agreed to pay $35 billion in stock for Xilinx, a deal aimed at reshaping one of the computer chip industry’s pioneers. AMD, known mainly as Intel’s longtime rival in microprocessors that power most computers, plans to use the acquisition to broaden its business into chips for markets like 5G wireless communications and automotive electronics. The transaction could also help AMD grab a bigger share of component sales for data centers and counter a prominent rival, Nvidia, which is also bulking up. As reported on The New York Times, all-stock deal, announced on Tuesday along with AMD’s third-quarter financial results, would be close to the most valuable acquisition in the chip industry’s history. Those bragging rights are currently held by Nvidia for its proposed $40 billion deal for the British chip designer Arm, which was announced last month. Chip makers have experienced several consolidation waves, driven by factors such as duplicate product lines and cost-cutting strategies. But AMD, which is enjoying some of the most robust sales in its 51-year history, expects Xilinx to expand its business while increasing profits. Lisa Su, AMD’s chief executive, said in prepared remarks that Xilinx would help establish her company as “the industry’s high-performance computing leader and partner of choice for the largest and most important technology companies in the world.” That sort of reputation has long eluded AMD, which for decades was seen as an Intel follower that mainly won sales with lower prices. But the company has lately grabbed a lead over Intel in some key measures of computing performance, while its larger rival has suffered technological and financial stumbles, The New York Times reported On Thursday, Intel reported a 29 percent decline in quarterly profits, which caused its stock to fall more than 10 percent. AMD, by contrast, reported on Tuesday that its quarterly profit had risen 148 percent. AMD’s stock, which was trading five years ago at about $2 a share, has risen nearly 80 percent this year and closed Tuesday at $78.88, down 4 percent on the day. AMD’s market value stands now at nearly $100 billion. Xilinx, founded in 1984, is the biggest maker of a class of chips that can be reconfigured for a variety of specialized tasks after they leave the factory. Such field programmable gate arrays, as they are called, have long been particularly popular in telecommunications applications, such as cellular base stations now being upgraded for the latest 5G technology.

AMD Agrees to Buy Xilinx for $35 Billion in Stock

Kathmandu: Interbrand, a US marketing consultancy on brand and branding management, has released a new list of the world's most valuable brands. Technology brands dominate the list of Interbrand's Best Global Brands Report 2020. According to the report, the brand value of the 100 most valuable brands in the world has increased by 9 percent in the last one year and exceeded 2 trillion. E-commerce company Amazon's brand value has risen at the highest rate during this period. According to the report, due to the corona virus epidemic, the value of the world's most valuable brands has increased while technology brands have become more powerful.



According to the Best Global Brands Report, the list of the most valuable brands in the world is as follows:



<ol><li>Apple: Apple ranks first as the most valuable brand in the world. Apple's brand value is Rs. 322.99 billion.</li><li>Amazon: Amazon's brand value of Rs 266 million, which is the second most valuable brand in the world.</li><li>Microsoft: According to the report, with a brand value of Rs 166 billion, Microsoft is the third most valuable brand in the world.</li><li>Google: Internet giant Google, ranked fourth, has a brand value of Rs 165.44 billion.</li><li>Samsung: South Korean company Samsung has managed to remain as the top five most valuable brands in the world. Its brand value is Rs 62.28 billion.</li><li>Intel: Intel, the sixth most valuable brand, is valued at Rs 36.97 billion.</li><li>Facebook: Social media company Facebook has emerged as the seventh most valuable brand in the world. Its brand value is Rs 35.18 billion.</li><li>IBM: IBM ranks eighth with a brand value of Rs 34.88 billion.</li><li>Cisco: US multinational technology company Cisco has become the ninth most valuable brand in the world. Its brand value is Rs 34.11 billion.</li><li>SAP: German multinational software company SAP has a brand value of Rs 28.1 billion. Instagram, the social media platform under Facebook, is ranked 11th with a brand value of Rs 26 billion, while YouTube is ranked 13th with a value of Rs 17.32 billion. Tesla is ranked 14th, followed by eBay at 16th, Philips at 17th, PayPal at 20th, HP at 22nd and Canon at 23rd. Chinese company Huawei is the 26th most valuable brand in the world. Its brand value is Rs 6.3 billion. Similarly, Panasonic is at 27th position while video conferencing platform Zoom is at 30th position.</li></ol>

World's best brands

Kathmandu: Indian company Reliance Jio is also competing in the expansion of the next generation 5G network. Indian company, including billionaire businessman Mukesh Ambani's company, has tested 5G in the United States. According to the report, Reliance Jio's fifth generation technology 5G has been successfully tested in the US. According to Indian media, 5G will be tested in India soon. But so far no spectrum has been made available for testing of 5G in India. According to the information, Reliance Jio in collaboration with the American technology company Qualcomm has successfully tested the 5G in the United States. This has been informed in the program conducted through virtual medium. Matthew Oman, head of Reliance Jio, said at the Quancom event that he was working with Qualcomm and Reliance's subsidiary company Radices on 5G technology. He said that the technology will be introduced in India soon and the internet will be available at the speed of 1 Gbps. Jio and Qualcomm will work together on Reliance Jio 5G NR Solutions and Qualcomm 5G RAN platforms with speeds of more than 1 Gbps. At present, 1 GBS speed internet is being made available to 5G customers in countries like USA, South Korea, Australia, Switzerland and Germany all over the world. Qualcomm has invested Rs 7.30 billion in Jeo. This facility will soon be available in India as well. Qualcomm has invested Rs 7.30 billion for a 0.15 percent stake in the Jio platform. About three months ago, at the general assembly of Reliance Industries on July 15, Reliance Jio chief Mukesh Ambani announced that 5G services would soon be available to Indian consumers. He said that with the development of technology for home use and availability of spectrum, Reliance Jio is ready to test 5G technology. Testing of 5G technology in the United States has paved the way for the expansion of the technology abroad. Despite successful testing in the United States, the technology and other facilities required for 5G have not been made available in India. All the parameters of the technology have been successful. Durga Malladi, Vice President, Qualcomm, expressed the belief that a high quality technology has been developed in collaboration with Jio and will work effectively. Reliance Jio is expected to make its presence felt in China, where it has imposed sanctions on Chinese company Huawei. But it is not easy for Reliance, which has just discovered technology in front of Huawei, to run together.

Reliance Jio successfully tests 5G in US, preparing to bring in India

(Cybernews): One third of Britons feel vulnerable online, according to YouGov polling.Thanks to the deleterious effects of the coronavirus pandemic, more and more of us are transacting important parts of our lives online. We spent hours in endless Zoom meetings, order groceries through websites, rather than fresh from store shelves, and head to the sofa for a night in with Netflix rather than out to the local cinema.



We’re spending more time and effort on digital platforms, and cybercriminals have taken notice. There has been a repeated, regular uptick in attacks, and as a result wariness of working and living online has reached new highs.According to a new survey of more than 2,000 British adults, almost one third feel more vulnerable online to fraudsters after the COVID-19 pandemic has driven digital uptake and seen millions of people turn from regular to internet shopping, banking and video calling.



Fearful of online transactionsThe reasoning behind the fear is obvious; as well as asking people how worried they were about falling foul of fraud while on the internet, YouGov also asked them how long they spent online now, compared to before the coronavirus shut down large parts of the global economy. Around 22% of the population spend eight hours or more online every day now, compared to just 15% before the UK’s initial lockdown came into force.



The more time we spend online, browsing the internet and accessing our key services through digital means, the more likely we are to fall victim.“The global pandemic has been massively exploited by cybercriminals as more and more people use the internet and mobile and home devices to do work, relax, learn and connect with friends, family and loved ones,” says Tony Neate, CEO of Get Safe Online.Digital dependency makes us vulnerable“Our dependency on digital has meant many of us are now much more vulnerable,” he adds.



“Our defences are down, distracted by the demands of dealing with COVID-19. “It’s therefore vitally important that we all know simple measures to stay safe online. Our new code of advice will hopefully raise awareness and instil best practice.”Though the survey only covered the UK, it is emblematic of a wider, worldwide change in attitudes and behaviours.“This is far from being just a UK problem,” says Neate. Online crime has no borders – criminals can be located anywhere in the world and equally, don’t care who or where you are.



 They just want your money and it’s particularly prevalent in English-speaking countries.”Tackling the problem at the sourceThe issue isn’t just one of people attacking individuals. Cybercriminals have long existed and always will. But it’s vital that we improve our digital literacy in order to tackle the risk head on and overcome it. A staggering 62% of UK voters want more to be done about boosting digital literacy. That’s because the people who are becoming victims are more likely to be newcomers to the digital economy and the online world.



According to YouGov’s survey, 44% of respondents admitted to using video conferencing for the first time after the UK’s lockdown in March 2020. A further 18% of people said they were new to online shopping.It’s because of all this that it’s important to set simple ground rules to follow, and to browse the internet and use various digital platforms conscientiously, acknowledging that there are risks associated with behaviour online and that there are bad actors out there looking to take advantage. It’s only by informing ourselves of the issues and potential pitfalls that we can avoid them as we begin to settle into the new world of online-majority transactions.

Coronavirus is raising people’s fears of the digital world

Kathmandu: Clean Feed has been implemented in foreign television channels broadcasting in Nepal from Friday mid-night. The Clean Feed has been implemented from the date fixed by the Act after the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology took a stand not to extend the deadline. Despite the requests from the private sectors the ministry had implemented clean feed without extending the deadline. Now foreign channels have become clean feeds. There is a provision in the Act 2019 made to regulate advertisements that foreign television channels should have a clean feed by October 24. The government had refused to extend the deadline for broadcasting clean feed from organizations like Indian Broadcasters Forum, Discovery Networks, BBC News and Nepal Cable Television Federation. The ministry has said that if the channel including Cleanfeed is not broadcast, it will be in accordance with the law. Now there is a legal provision to close foreign channels if advertisements are displayed. The act published in the Gazette on October 24, 2019 had given one year time to the service providers to go for clean feed. According to the Nepal Cable Television Federation, only 32 foreign channels are currently broadcasting. More than 180 channels, which can be purchased in packages and played for free, have been shut down for the time being. Of the 92 channels bought by the television broadcaster in the package, only 60 channels have now given clean feed channels. Some channels have not been able to complete the preparations. 12 channels of Zee network and eight channels of Sony are broadcasting with clean feed. However, cartoon channels, BBC, Al Jazeera, Stars and Colors package channels will not be broadcasted in Nepal immediately. Now the channels of sports including football and cricket are also not being broadcasted. Apart from paid packages, 120 channels available for free on 'Free to Air' have also been shut down. Of the Indian news channels, only 'Zee News' is broadcasting now. Other news channels do not want to broadcast in Nepal with Clean Feed. It is inconvenient to place a clean feed in a news channel as the advertisements are placed on different parts of the screen of the news channel and the timing of the advertisement is also uncertain. As the timing of the advertisement during the live broadcast is not certain, it is seen that Clean Feed may have problems in the live broadcast of the sports channels. However, Indian broadcasters have promised to manage the sports channel.

Cleanfeed implemented from today

Kathmandu: The issue of implementing Clean Feed on foreign television channels that have been broadcasting in Nepal for a long time is finally being implemented from this Saturday. As per the provisions of the Advertising Act-2019, it has been decided that the clean feed policy will be implemented in Nepal.This means, after the implementation of clean feed advertisements will not be aired on foreign television channels broadcasting in Nepal. Article 6 of the Advertising Regulation Act, which was passed by the Parliament in November last year and published in the Gazette, provided for the implementation of Clean Feed within a year.Minister for Communications and Information Technology Parbat Gurung has clarified that Cleanfeed will be implemented from Saturday on the basis of the same provision. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Minister Gurung said that the ministry has also formed an advertisement board to implement the provision that foreign channels should broadcast without advertisements.The board formed under the coordination of Joint Secretary of the Ministry Dilaraj Sharma will monitor the implementation of Clean Feed or not. 



If the advertisement is aired on foreign channels after October 26, the service providers will be brought under the scope of action.As this is an important step for Nepal and Nepal's advertising market, it is only natural that it should be implemented. However, stakeholders say that 90 percent of the channels currently broadcasting will be shut down when Clean Feed is implemented.According to the channel operators, channels including Star Channel, Colors, BBC and CNN will not be broadcast. In the case of Sony, discussions are underway for a clean feed.

90 pc of channels to shut down after implementation of clean feed

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (New York Times) — Just 10 days after introducing a ban on TikTok, the Pakistani authorities said on Monday that they were reversing the decision after receiving assurance from the Chinese-owned social media platform that it would moderate content according to local laws. “TikTok is being unlocked after assurance from management that they will block all accounts repeatedly involved in spreading obscenity and immorality,” the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, the national regulator, said in a statement. Pakistan banned the app on Oct. 9 after officials said they had received a slew of complaints about indecent content. The app was functioning again on Monday. TikTok, with its lip-syncing teenagers and meme-heavy videos, has faced problems in several countries for varying reasons. The Trump administration has attempted to block the app over privacy fears, India has prohibited the service as part of rising tensions between New Delhi and Beijing, and public decency concerns have led to occasional bans in places like Bangladesh and Indonesia. As reported on New York Times, TikTok has 20 million users in Pakistan, but conservatives in the country say that the app has been overtaken by vulgar song-and-dance numbers and memes. Officials said that a big reason behind the ban was the sexualization of underage girls and that TikTok was given several warnings to regulate its content before the ban was imposed. But others said the Pakistani authorities’ move to lock the app was also intended to limit criticism of the government, which is struggling with a sagging economy and facing growing opposition. In recent months, the app has had a substantial increase in content that caricatured or mocked the policies of the governing party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Officials have denied any political undertones to the ban. ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, said in a statement on Monday that it welcomed the decision: “At TikTok, we’re committed to enforcing our community guidelines and complying with local laws in all markets in which we operate, as these are pillars of our work to promote a safe and positive community online.” The decision to allow TikTok to resume operations in Pakistan was widely welcomed by the app’s users, too, and finance analysts said it would increase investor confidence. “The expedited reversal of the ban also goes to show that ByteDance is very much invested in the Pakistan market,” said Saif Ali, a marketing executive.

Pakistan lifts TikTok ban

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia has been selected by NASA to build the first cellular network on the moon, the Finnish company stated on Monday, as the U.S. space agency plans for a future where humans return there and establish lunar settlements.



NASA aims to return humans to the moon by 2024 and dig in for a long-term presence there under its Artemis programme.



Nokia has said the first wireless broadband communications system in space would be built on the lunar surface in late 2022, before humans make it back there.



It will partner with a Texas-based private space craft design company, Intuitive Machines, to deliver the equipment to the moon on their lunar lander. The network will configure itself and establish a 4G/LTE communications system on the moon, Nokia said, though the aim would be to eventually switch to 5G



The network will give astronauts voice and video communications capabilities, and allow telemetry and biometric data exchange, as well as the deployment and remote control of lunar rovers and other robotic devices, according to the company.



The network will be designed to withstand the extreme conditions of the launch and lunar landing, and to operate in space. It will have to be sent to the moon in an extremely compact form to meet the stringent size, weight and power constraints of space payloads.



Nokia said the network would be using 4G/LTE, in use worldwide for the last decade, instead of the latest 5G technology, because the former was a more known quantity with proven reliability. The company would also “pursue space applications of LTE’s successor technology, 5G”.

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