Google Names Android N as Nougat

It isn’t Nutella and certainly not Naan Khatai, but instead Google has named the next version of Android, “Nougat”.

For the very first time, Google had asked Android fan community to suggest names for the upcoming version.

Millions of people, including myself, submitted their favorite “sweet names” and many were confident that it will be called Nutella, considering Google’s partnership with KitKat in the past.

However Google decided to go with the sweet candy.

It is still unclear about the version number that Google will assign to Nougat, it could be 7.0 or just an increment to Android 6.0.

To make it official Google also unveiled the new Android Nougat statue at its headquarters in California.

Android Nougat will bring performance and security updates and is likely to be released in September this year along with a new Nexus device.

China Made the World's Fastest & Powerful Super Computer without US chips

China beats its own record with the World's fastest supercomputer.

Sunway TaihuLight, a newly built supercomputer from China, now ranks as the world's most powerful machine.

During the International Supercomputer Conference in Germany on Monday, Top500 declared China's 10.65 Million-core Sunway TaihuLight as the world's fastest supercomputer. Moreover, the supercomputer is leading by a wide margin, too.

With 93 petaflops of processing power, Sunway TaihuLight is nearly three times more powerful than the world’s previous fastest supercomputer, Tianhe-2, which had been the world's fastest computer for last 3 years with speeds of 33.9 petaflops per second.

That's 93 quadrillion floating point operations per second (FLOP), which means the supercomputer can perform around 93,000 trillion calculations per second, at its peak.

The Sunway TaihuLight supercomputer is installed at the National Supercomputing Centre in Wuxi.

"Sunway TaihuLight, with 10,649,600 computing cores comprising 40,960 nodes," is one of the world's most efficient systems, with "peak power consumption under load (running the HPL benchmark)" at a relatively modest 15.37 Megawatts of energy consumption.

What's the irony?

The microprocessors inside Sunway TaihuLight are 100 percent Chinese.

Sunway TaihuLight is powered entirely by Chinese processors (the 260-core ShenWei 26010) and runs on a custom Linux-based operating system.

Speaking of the TOP500 list, the National Supercomputing Centre's director, Professor Dr. Guangwen Yang said:

"As the first number one system of China that is completely based on homegrown processors, the Sunway TaihuLight system demonstrates the significant progress that China has made in the domain of designing and manufacturing large-scale computation system."

In the past, China relied heavily on American processors for its supercomputers, but the US thought that China was using the Tianhe-2, which was built with Intel cores, to run its nuclear simulations.

Due to this reason, the United States government banned Intel from exporting its powerful Xeon processors over a year ago to a number of Chinese supercomputer makers.

China is Leading the World in Supercomputing

The US decision did not halt the Chinese progress. Instead, it seems like the US policy has made an opposite effect.

For the first time since the Top500 list began, China has overtaken the United States in the amount of supercomputers being used. China has 167 computers in the top 500 while the US has 165.

"Considering that just 10 years ago, China claimed a mere 28 systems on the list, with none ranked in the top 30, the nation has come further and faster than any other country in the history of supercomputing," said the latest Top500 announcement.

Sunway TaihuLight will be used in scientific research and engineering work in fields including life science research, data analytics, advanced manufacturing and climate, weather and Earth systems modeling.

Google's 2-Factor Authentication, more simple and faster

When it comes to data breaches of major online services like LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter and VK.com, it's two-factor authentication that could save you from being hacked.

Two-factor authentication or 2-step verification is an effective way to secure online accounts, but many users avoid enabling the feature just to save themselves from irritation of receiving and typing a six-digit code that takes their 10 to 15 extra seconds.

Now, Google has made the 2-Step Verification (2FV) process much easier for its users, allowing you to login with just a single tap instead of typing codes.

Previously, you have had to manually enter a six-digit code received via an SMS or from an authenticator app, but now…

Google has introduced a new method called "Google Prompt" that uses a simple push notification where you just have to tap on your mobile phone to approve login requests.

In other words, while signing in to your account, just enter your password, and you will get a pop-up message on your mobile phone asking you if you want to sign in. If you want, then press "Yes" and you're in.

How to Set Up Google Prompt

Here's how you can enable Google Prompt for your Google accounts:

Before enabling Google Prompt, first enable two-step verification for your Google account and you have already enabled two-step verification, you can skip this part.

• Go to myaccount.google.com and sign in to your Google account.
• Select 'Signing in to Google,' using 2-Step Verification.
• Click on 'Get started' and enter your password once again.
• Now provide your phone number you want to use for authenticating, and choose either an SMS or phone call for verification, and click on 'Try it.'
• Enter the 6-digit code from the SMS or phone call and select 'Next.'
• For setting up two-step verification, click 'Turn ON.

Now, once you have enabled two-step verification, follow these simple steps that will just take a few second. All you need is an Android or iOS device nearby.

• Under 'Set up alternative second step,' click on the Google prompt option
• Add phone and click Get started.

Then just follow the on-screen instructions and you're all set to go.

If you have an iPhone, you are required to download the Google Search app first and sign in before using Google Prompt. But, if you are an Android user, just update your Google Play Service.

Two-step verification has become so easier to use, so what are you now waiting for?

Mastercard’s New Payment System Uses a Selfie for Verification

Selfies. You may know them either as the only memorabilia your friends bring from trips abroad or as the cultural shock you never really recovered from. Either way, it is a phenomenon which is here to stay, more so after being immortalized by an unlikely savior: MasterCard.

With the security paranoia and privacy needs prevalent everywhere, the company is now using selfies as a method of verifying your identity. You heard that right. Selfies are not a nuisance anymore, they can quite literally be a life-saver.

The process requires an app for work. After entering your credit card information online, it requires you to take a quite photo from the camera on your phone, which also requires you to blink to make sure the photo isn’t from a photograph. The technology used is clever enough to know whether a video is being used as a hoax verification.

So while the TouchID in your iPhone may be enough for unlocking and other simple operations for now, it is clear that corporations are searching for techniques even more reliable than your fingerprint. With Windows Hello making its way to hundreds of millions of Windows PCs, the path for Iris and other more futuristic modes of verification could get open sooner than you think.

And selfies aren’t even the only crazy verification method. MasterCard is also reportedly trialing heart-beat verification using the unique electrocardiograms of users. The method of payment could catch on as wearables featuring these intricate sensors become more commonplace.

MasterCard isn’t the only company trying out bizarre, futuristic methods. While fingerprints are increasingly getting common now, banks like HSBC are introducing voice passwords, which are set to roll out in 2017-18. ATMs in places like Japan similarly use nerves underneath the finger to allow withdrawals of cash.

As for the selfie method, it should be making its way in the next 12 months although its availability could vary. And don’t deny, that’s the one you’re waiting for.

Whether Operation Self-portrait satiates the privacy hunger of the world remains to be seen but if ever you wanted to get an excuse to get in the craze (or double your snap volume), now is the time to get kicking. And you know who to thank

KiloCore is the World’s First 1,000 Core Processor

A team of researchers from the University of California have designed a first of its kind, 1000 core processor which they call the KiloCore.

Bevan Baas, professor of electrical and computer engineering, who led the team said,

“To the best of our knowledge, it is the world’s first 1,000-processor chip and it is the highest clock-rate processor ever designed in a university.”

There have been attempts at making processors with a lot of cores, but none of them ever went past 300 cores according to an analysis by professor Baas’ team. Majority of those were made for research purposes and very few of them ever made it into the consumer market.

Features of the KiloCore

The processing chip was fabricated by IBM using 32nm CMOS technology. The professor claims that this processor is the most energy efficient processor as well, saying that it uses just 0.7 watts of power.

The way the processor handles its tasks is also much more efficient than regular processors because it divides each application into smaller applications. Each of the smaller apps are given to a single processor to handle, in a more flexible approach. It can execute instructions about 100 times more efficiently than a regular laptop processor.

Possible Use in the Future

The KiloCore would not enter mass production any time soon as they were made using a relatively older manufacturing process of 32nm, whereas most of the processors nowadays are made using 14nm technology.

We could possibly see it make its way into the mobile devices, where several small applications are being run at the same time, and using less power is also considered a major plus point. This can lead to long-lasting mobile gadgets.