UIDAI Announces Virtual ID & Limited KYC

The UIDAI has today announced that it will be introducing a way to generate Virtual IDs from their website.

The Virtual ID, which would be a random 16-digit number, together with biometrics of the user would give any authorised agency like a mobile company, limited details like name, address, and photograph, which are enough for any verification.

Officials said a user can generate as many Virtual IDs as he or she wants. The older ID gets automatically canceled once a fresh one is generated. UIDAI will start accepting these IDs from March 1, 2018.

In theory, this would work like Virtual Credit Card numbers do — use and throw. But practically, I think it’s still going to be a mess.

January 10, 2018 ✚ Permalink

Indian Government Approves 100% Foreign Direct Investment for Single-Brand Retail; Signaling a Major Win for Apple

The Union Cabinet today approved changes to the FDI norms for India. The government has eased norms across various key sectors at a meeting led by the PM Narendra Modi, such as construction, aviation, etc. However, the most notable and relevant change comes in the single-brand retail sector. The Indian Government has now approved 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for single-brand retail in India via the Automatic Route. Previously, it was possible to invest up to 49 percent via the automatic route — anything higher than 49 percent required a government approval.

The amendments announced today are “intended to liberalize and simplify the FDI policy so as to provide ease of doing business in the country”, said a release by the Press Information Bureau.

This change is a major win for Apple, who has been trying to setup their own stores in India for a while now. The company did get a step closer in their attempts in April of 2016, but the Indian government wasn’t ready to relax the local sourcing norms for Apple. However, in June that year, the government announced some radical changes to the FDI policy that raised our hopes yet again. Today’s announcements have hopefully brought Apple India a little closer to their goal.

The government has also decided to permit entities to “set off” the 30% local sourcing norms for the first five years, beginning 1st April of the year of opening the first store.

I have been waiting for a really long time to see company-run Apple Stores in India, not for the sales experience, but rather to experience Apple’s incredible support first-hand. It sure seems that the dream is closer to being a reality now.

January 10, 2018 ✚ Permalink

Apple’s Privacy Feature in Safari Costs Ad Companies Millions

Alex Hern, writing for The Guardian,

Internet advertising firms are losing hundreds of millions of dollars following the introduction of a new privacy feature from Apple that prevents users from being tracked around the web.

The feature in question is Safari’s ability to prevent cross-site tracking.

Advertising technology firm Criteo, one of the largest in the industry, says that the Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) feature for Safari, which holds 15% of the global browser market, is likely to cut its 2018 revenue by more than a fifth compared to projections made before ITP was announced.

LOL!

January 10, 2018 ✚ Permalink

Apple Being Probed Over iPhone Planned Obsolescence in France

Natasha Lomas, writing for TechCrunch:

Programmed obsolescence is illegal in France under a 2015 law which prohibits “the use of techniques by which the person responsible for the marketing of a product aims to deliberately reduce the duration to increase the replacement rate “.

The law carries a penalty of a maximum sentence of two years in prison and up to 5 per cent of a company’s annual turnover.

AFP cites a judicial source stating that the Paris prosecutor’s office of the Directorate General of Competition, Consumption and Repression of Frauds opened a preliminary investigation against Apple on January 5, for “programmed obsolescence” and “deception”.

This whole thing is getting pretty nasty for Apple now.

January 9, 2018 ✚ Permalink

GoPro is Looking to Put Itself Up for Sale

Alex Sherman, reporting for CNBC, writes:

GoPro has hired J.P. Morgan Chase to help it seek a potential sale, according to people familiar with the matter.

J.P. Morgan helped underwrite GoPro’s initial public offering in 2014. No sale is assured, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. It’s unclear if there is an interested buyer for the company.

This scoop comes right on the heels of its decision to quit the drone business and to lower the price of its Hero6 Action Camera by $100, in an effort to turn profitable.

January 9, 2018 ✚ Permalink

Airtel Removes 1,000 Retailers from Network for Flouting Norms

People familiar with the matter said the company levied a penalty of around 50 times the commission paid on several retailers who violated the guidelines for the first time, and removed repeat offenders from the network besides imposing a fine on them.

This is in response to the massive Aadhaar-related fraud that came to light a few weeks ago.

[…] UIDAI imposed a fine of Rs 2.5 crore on Airtel for allegedly opening payment bank accounts for its mobile subscribers without consent. The report also notes that Airtel routed the LPG subsidies of 31 lakh users (payments worth Rs 190 crore) to their Airtel payment bank accounts instead of the beneficiaries’ original bank accounts.

It still boggles my mind all the crazy shit that Aadhaar has enabled to happen, so easily.

January 8, 2018 ✚ Permalink

ISRO set to launch 31 Satellites on January 12

This first mission of 2018 will be launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh and the payaload includes a Cartosat-2 Series satellite, one micro and one nano satellite each from India, along with 28 foreign satellites from the US and other countries.

January 8, 2018 ✚ Permalink

My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman

Oh. My. God!

Netflix and David Letterman are teaming up for a new show titled My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman

TV legend David Letterman teams up with fascinating global figures for in-depth interviews and curiosity-fueled excursions in this monthly talk show.

This isn’t a super-early reveal either — the first episode is right around the corner, available online on January 12th.

January 6, 2018 ✚ Permalink