IntellectBeat

Fingerprint sensors are now becoming a standard in smartphones but LG wants to push ahead the innovation by doing away with the need for a dedicated button or place to put it on a device. The South Korean company's affiliate has developed a new type of fingerprint sensor that need not be placed beneath the home button or at the phone's rear because it sits under the phone's screen. The company affiliate LG Innotek announced the technology that includes a minute 0.01-inch space cut into the underside of the smartphone cover glass, allowing manufacturers to insert fingerprint readers without compromising on the design of the device. LG explains that with this module, the sensor is not exposed on the outside of the device, and users could simply place a finger on the cover glass of the phone and it identifies the fingerprint. It is not only fast but also more accurate as compared to traditional button type readers. Such a module also allows manufacturers the freedom to in...

Almost a week before the launch of the Mi Max and MIUI 8, Xiaomi has introduced its first smartwatch. Named Mi Bunny, the smartwatch is targeted at kids and carries a price tag of 299 Yuan (roughly translates to Rs 3,000). The watch is available to buy on Mi.com. This watch doesn't pretend to be anything revolutionary and comes with features that you would find in other kid-friendly smartwatches. The Mi Bunny, which comes with an embedded SIM card, includes the ability to make and receive calls with just one click. It can also be used to track users' whereabouts. The Mi Bunny also comes with an SOS button which kids can use in case of emergencies. Once pressed, the watch sends out details including the kid's location and 7 seconds of recording environment to parents. Also the watch lets parents define safe zones for kids. And when the kid goes outside the defined range, a message will immediately notify the parents. It is available in two colours - blue and pink. Th...

Micro-blogging website Twitter has retired " Magic Recs " -- an effective bot account that used to send users direct messages (DM) recommending viral accounts or Tweets to follow. The bot used to run an algorithm to measure how many others a user knows that were following an account or Tweet in quick succession and used to send instant, personalised recommendations for users and content, a report on TechCrunch.com said. However, Twitter said "Magic Recs" would send recommendations through push notifications. " @MagicRecs is no longer regularly sending recommendations through Direct Message. Recommendations that were previously shared via Direct Message are now delivered via push notification," a Twitter spokesperson was quoted as saying. "Magic Recs" was launched in 2013 and the push notifications -- alerts that are not tweets but appear in the notifications tab on mobile -- were first activated some months later. This could be another blo...

The US space agency has kept a five millennium catalogue of all the eclipses (both solar and lunar) that have occurred or will occur from 1999 BC to the year AD 3000. "NASA knows that on January 27, in the year 2837, a total solar eclipse will pass over southern Mexico. If the onlookers are lucky and it is a clear day, they will see a show that has captivated people on this planet for as long as we have been on Earth," a report on Vox.com website said. The space agency even knows the exact time, down to the fraction of a second, that the eclipses will occur. NASA is able to make eclipse predictions because it has all of the variables: the orbit of the Earth around the sun, the orbit of the moon around the Earth and the daily rotation of the Earth, the report said. NASA said that any given eclipse will repeat on an "eight years, 11 days, eight hours" cycle -- commonly known as the Saros cycle. Although, the eclipses repeat, they do not repeat in the exact same lo...

Commemorating what would have renowned cartoonist Mario de Miranda's 90th birthday, Google has posted an illustrative doodle on its homepage today. Miranda had not formally studied Art and started his career as a cartoonist for The Times of India and The Illustrated Weekly of India in 1953 and also illustrated numerous books including Inside Goa, A family in Goa, and The Open Eyes. His works were inspired by the bustling city of Mumbai and often featured complex, multi-layered scenes with each character maintaining its individuality. The beloved illustrator had also been invited to sketch and exhibit in many countries including the US, Japan, Germany, Spain, and France. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1988, the Padma Bhushan in 2002 and All India Cartoonists's Association, Bangalore, honoured him with a lifetime achievement award. He was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan on 4 April 2012. Guest doodler Aaron Renier, who is also a comic artist, has created today'...