United News of Bangladesh

Global smartphone makers Xiaomi Sunday said it recently started manufacturing printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) locally in Bangladesh. PCBA is one of the major parts of electrical, electronics and technology products. It connects various chips and electrical circuits to enable the overall functionality of a smartphone. Xiaomi already established a surface mount technology (SMT) plant in its Gazipur factory. This initiative is financed through 100 percent foreign direct investment. The company has collaborated with DBG Technology BD to manufacture its smartphones and PCBAs in Bangladesh.DBG, a global EMS company, has been operating in the manufacturing business around the world for several renowned brands of consumer electronics. Ziauddin Chowdhury, Xiaomi country manager, said: "Redmi 10C is the first product of Xiaomi that is available in the market with PCBAs manufactured in Bangladesh. Within a short time, all the locally produced Xiaomi smartphones will be using locally manufactured PCBAs." In the local plant, the SMT machines will mount around 2,500 surface mount device (SMD) components on the blank printed circuit board (PCB) to convert it into a completely functional smartphone motherboard/ PCBA and sub-PCBA."The SMT plant can produce 6,000 PCBAs daily. PCBA production will increase local value addition by around 10 percent," Xiaomi said. In October 2021, Xiaomi set up a factory in Bangladesh to produce smartphones locally. About 95 percent of the demand for Xiaomi smartphones in the country is met by the local factory. All entry-level and mid-range phones like Redmi 10A, Redmi 10C, and Redmi Note 11 are being made in Bangladesh.

Walton is showcasing eco-friendly, advanced and sustainable internet of things (IoT) smart products, including smart refrigerators, air conditioners, televisions, home and kitchen appliances, silent and durable robust compressors; laptops and mobile phones with the latest features, e-bikes, elevators and other artificial intelligence (AI)-based household products. Walton's 'Inverna (Extreme Saver)' series AC, which received a 5.5-star energy rating from Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution, is on display at the fair, the company said. This AC has frost clean, air plasma, three-in-one converter technology, smart control and various advanced technologies. At Walton Pavilion, visitors can see the electricity consumption of Walton Inverna ACs. Walton AC Research and Innovation Department head Ariful Islam said: "The input power of the Inverna (Extreme Saver) series 1 ton AC is 690 watts. That means a maximum of 690 watts of electricity will be required to run this AC." "If the user runs this AC in Eco mode for eight hours every day, it will consume only 106.8 units of electricity per month. According to the residential electricity rate, the bill will be Tk526 for the whole month and Tk2.19 per hour." Read more: CES 2023: Driverless cars, smart homes, metaverse dominate the tech show  

Fiber@Home, a nationwide transmission service provider in Bangladesh, has partnered with Cisco to accelerate the conversion of its network to 400G. The partnership will help the service provider seamlessly deploy an automated transport 5G-ready network across Bangladesh and support increased bandwidth demand from businesses of all sizes. Fiber@Home is using Cisco platforms for this expansion to enhance and optimise the overall customer experience, becoming the first customer in the country to adopt Cisco's Routed Optical Networking technology, said a media statement Thursday. "This new 400G wavelength network will offer a fourfold increase in maximum data transfer speed compared to 100G, enabling us to provide stable critical connectivity to our customers," Moynul Haque Siddiqui, chairman of Fiber@Home, said. Read more: '5G can change the face of industry in Bangladesh' "The Cisco Routed Optical Networking solution streamlines and strengthens our network capacity, providing a superior customer experience while also optimising our capex and opex utilisation." "Service providers like Fibre@Home recognise the value of a network that can be scaled in response to the dynamic needs of consumers and businesses. By converging their IP and optical networks, in addition to greater wavelength utilisation, Fiber@Home will be able to optimise their power consumption, resulting in a much lower carbon impact and streamlining of their hardware as well as leading to a reduction of 50 percent in operational costs," Anand Bhaskar, managing director (service provider business) Cisco India and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, said. "This partnership is a step towards bringing fast, reliable and sustainable internet services to the people of Bangladesh."

Elon Musk was depicted Wednesday as either a liar who callously jeopardized the savings of “regular people" or a well-intentioned visionary as attorneys delivered opening statements at a trial focused on a Tesla buyout that never happened.   Lawyers on opposing sides drew the starkly different portraits of Musk for a nine-person jury that will hear the three-week trial. The case is focused on two August 2018 tweets that the billionaire posted on Twitter, which he now owns.   The tweets indicated that Musk had lined up the financing to take Tesla private at a time when the automaker's stock was slumping amid production problems.   The prospect of a $72 billion buyout fueled a rally in the company’s stock price that abruptly ended a week later after it became apparent that he did not have the funding to pull off the deal after all. Tesla shareholders then sued him, saying that Tesla shares would not have swung so widely in value if he had not dangled the idea of buying the company for $420 per share.   Nicholas Porritt, a lawyer representing Glen Littleton and other Tesla shareholders in the class-action case, promptly vilified Musk as he addressed jurors.   “Why are we here?” Porritt asked. “We are here because Elon Musk, chairman and chief executive of Tesla, lied. His lies caused regular people like Glen Littleton to lose millions and millions of dollars." He also asserted that Musk's tweet also hurt pension funds and other organizations that owned Tesla stock at the time.   Musk's lawyer, Alex Spiro, countered that the run-up in Tesla's stock after the tweet mostly reflected investors' belief in Musk's ability to pull off stunning feats, including building the world's largest electric automaker while also running SpaceX, a maker of rocket ships.   “Mr. Musk tries to do things that have never been done before. Everyone knows that," Spiro told the jury.   Spiro added that Musk had been in advanced talks with representatives from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to take Tesla private.   “He didn't plan to tweet this," Spiro said of Musk's Aug. 7, 2018, statement at the heart of the trial. “It was a split-second decision" aimed at being as transparent as possible about the discussions with the Saudi fund about a potential deal.   After saying “funding secured" for the buyout, Musk followed up with another tweet that suggested a deal was imminent.   Littleton, a 71-year-old investor from Kansas City, Missouri, was the first witness called to the stand. He said Musk's claim about the financing alarmed him because he had purchased Tesla investments designed to reward him for his belief that the automaker's stock would eventually be worth far more than the $420.   He said he sold most of his holdings to cut his losses but still saw the value of his Tesla portfolio plunge by 75%.   “The damage was done," Littleton lamented. “I was in a state of shock.”   Littleton's frustration escalated in October 2018, when he lashed out at Tesla for late deliveries on vehicles for some of his nieces and nephews. That led him to become a lead investor in the lawsuit.   “I still believe in Tesla to this day. I do,” Littleton said.   During cross-examination, a lawyer for Tesla's board of directors repeatedly questioned whether Littleton had legitimate reason to believe a buyout was inevitable, but the investor remained steadfast even while seeming confused at times.   “'Funding secured' was the only thing that mattered to me,” Littleton testified. “That was such a defining statement."   Musk's 2018 tweets attracted the attention of securities regulators, who concluded that they were improper and that he was lying. In a settlement, they forced him to pay $40 million and required him to step down as Tesla chairman.   U.S. District Judge Edward Chen, who is presiding over the trial, ruled that the shareholders' lawyers can't mention that settlement in the case.   But Chen has already ruled that Musk's tweet was false, a finding that can be alluded to during the trial without specifically mentioning the determination made by the judge. Pollitt seized on that opportunity during his opening statement, informing jurors that they are to assume Musk's tweet was false, as the judge allowed. Spiro shook his head as he listened.   The trial’s outcome may turn on the jury’s interpretation of Musk’s motive for the tweets. And Musk will have his chance to make his case to the jury.   After the trial adjourned Wednesday, Porritt told The Associated Press he hopes to call Musk to the stand when the proceedings resume Friday after two other witnesses testify. If the allotted time runs out Friday, Musk will likely testify Monday, Porritt said.   Musk’s leadership of Twitter — where he has gutted the staff and alienated users and advertisers — has proven unpopular among Tesla’s current stockholders, who are worried that he has been devoting less time to automaker at a time of intensifying competition.   Those concerns contributed to a 65% percent decline in Tesla’s stock last year that wiped out more than $700 billion in shareholder wealth — far more than the $14 billion swing that occurred between the company’s high and low stock prices from Aug. 7 to Aug. 17, 2018, the period covered in the lawsuit.   Tesla's stock has split twice since then, making the $420 price cited in his 2018 tweet worth $28 on adjusted basis now. The shares closed Wednesday at $128.78, down from the company's November 2021 split-adjusted peak of $414.50.   After Musk dropped the idea of a Tesla buyout, the company overcame a production problem, resulting in a rapid upturn in car sales that caused its stock to soar and made Musk the world’s richest person until he bought Twitter. Musk dropped from the top spot on the wealth list after a stock market backlash to his handling of Twitter.

Global smartphone manufacturer Vivo has introduced an auto eye protection display in Vivo Y16 that modulates the balance of blue light . Vivo Y16 makes the users free from eye-protection mode activations, blue-ray filter downloads and all eye protective wears, said a press release. Followed by a bustling five-day pre-booking period, the first sale of this stylish smartphone officially started from Monday and will continue till January 22. The price of vivo Y16 has been set at Tk 15,999. Customers can avail this tempting first-sell bounties from any authorised vivo stores or e-stores. Read more: Vivo Y16 Review: Redefining The Essentials with a New Design Authorised vivo stores are now running a lucky draw promotion. Amidst all the attractive gifts, there is a lucrative ‘customer’s wish’ offer where they can fulfill any wish within Tk50000 and also can get Tk3000 cashback. Besides, everyone can grab a cool mug as a gift. The Y16 smartphone is capable of providing long term usability with one-time charging by dint of its powerful 5000mAh battery supply. The 6.51-inch HD plus LCD halo full view display enables the user's eyes shield from harmful blue light. FunTouch OS12 and Helio p35 chips are well-configured in this device as the operating system and core processor. This multi-touch capacitive touchscreen phone also ensures side mounted fingerprint technology on the power button. Read more: Vivo Y16 to be available from Monday An AI based 13 and 2 megapixel dual rear camera setup, associated by a 5 megapixel front-facing camera has been equipped to the device to capture all your eventful moments. This smartphone allows 4GB extended RAM facilities on top of its default 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. So you can download all your go-to apps without hassle. Its 2.5D curved flat frame will make you enjoy a trendy, smooth and classy outlook experience.

While still grappling with the fallout from a company he did take private, beleaguered billionaire Elon Musk is now facing a trial over a company he didn’t. Long before Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion in October, he had set his sights on Tesla, the electric automaker where he continues to serve as CEO and from which he derives most of his wealth and fame. Musk claimed in a August 7, 2018 tweet that he had lined up the financing to pay for a $72 billion buyout of Tesla, which he then amplified with a follow-up statement that made a deal seem imminent. Read more: Elon Musk rebuffed in bid to move Tesla tweet trial to Texas But the buyout never materialized and now Musk will have to explain his actions under oath in a federal court in San Francisco. The trial, which begins on Tuesday with jury selection, was triggered by a class-action lawsuit on behalf of investors who owned Tesla stock for a 10-day period in August 2018. Musk’s tweets back then fueled a rally in Tesla’s stock price that abruptly ended a week later, after it became apparent that he didn’t have the funding for a buyout after all. That resulted in him scrapping his plan to take the automaker private, culminating in a $40 million settlement with U.S. securities regulators that also required him to step down as the company’s chairman.

Youth-centric brand realme Monday launched its "Service Day" at all of its authorised centres across the country. The campaign will continue till January 18. "On the occasion of Service Day, customers can enjoy discounts of up to 40 percent on the mainboard and motherboard repair of older models," said a media statement. "Also, users can also enjoy discounts of up to 10 percent on accessories and safeguard services, while out-of-warranty repairing charges have been made free." Customers can also avail of phone cleaning and maintenance services free of cost. They will also get free software upgrade services. Read more: New Year celebrations: Realme comes up with discount offers on Daraz

For the first time in Bangladesh, a mini-comic book created with artificial intelligence (AI) was published on Sunday (January 15, 2023) night. Science Bee, one of the largest science-based education platforms for youths across the country, published the AI-generated mini-comic titled ‘Manobjatir Grohon’ on its official Facebook page at 8 pm. Regarding the publication, Science Bee said in its post: "Imagine this, an artificial intelligence program is writing stories for you, and another artificial intelligence program is illustrating the stories. Could we have imagined this a few years ago? Read More: ChatGPT by Open AI: All you need to know The script, title, character development, and illustration were all handled entirely by artificial intelligence in this science fiction comic book, produced for the first time in Bangladesh and perhaps in the Bengali language as well.” The 17-page mini-comic book narrates the journey of humankind, envisioning the end of the human race in the world and the aftermath.  “By using ChatGpt and Midjourney Ai, we created the comics. Artificial intelligence was used to produce the storyline, characters, narration, and each page image in the comic. As per our human contribution, we worked together on the translation and a little bit of Photoshop,” according to Science Bee. Read: Universal to open theme park in Texas for young kids Co-created with human assistance by Annoy Debnath, the free mini-comic book has already created a buzz on Facebook and is receiving positive feedback from its readers. Founded by Mobin Sikder, a student of Chemistry at Jahangirnagar University, Science Bee was founded in 2018. The purpose of this platform is to transform diversity and inclusivity of science and technology, to reach the under-served community, and to increase the number of those actively engaged and involved in science and technology. The mini-comic is available at https://www.sciencebee.com.bd/ebook-3/. Read More: 7 Top AI Writing Tools, Software to Generate Human-Like Text

 A federal judge on Friday rejected Tesla CEO Elon Musk's bid to move or delay a trial over a misleading tweet about a potential buyout of the electric automaker, setting the stage for the mercurial billionaire to be thrust into a legal drama amid the turmoil of his Twitter takeover. The decision by U.S. District Judge Edward Chen came during a hearing held in San Francisco federal court to go over the final details of a trial scheduled to begin Tuesday with jury selection. Musk's attorneys last week asked Chen to transfer the trial to a federal court in Texas, where Tesla moves its headquarters in 2021, arguing that negative coverage of Musk since his $44 billion purchase of Twitter in October had poisoned the jury pool in the San Francisco Bay Area. But Chen brushed aside those concerns Friday, and expressed confidence that a panel of impartial jurors could be drawn from a region populated by millions of people. He also noted that a jury was pulled together for trial in the highly publicized criminal trial of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, whose transformation from a Silicon Valley star to accused swindler was the subject of an HBO documentary and book before those proceedings began in nearby San Jose, California. Holmes, 38, is now facing more than 11 years in federal prison of being convicted of investor fraud and conspiracy. Musk's upcoming trial revolves around a civil lawsuit brought on behalf of Tesla shareholders who allege they were duped by a n Aug. 7, 2018 tweet in which he indicated he had lined up financing for a Tesla buyout — a deal that never materialized and resulted in a $ 40 million settlement with U.S. securities regulators. Chen already has determined that Musk’s buyout tweet was false, leaving it to a jury to decide whether he acted recklessly by posting it and whether it caused financial harm to Tesla shareholders. After adjusting for two stock splits made since 2018, Tesla’s shares are now worth nearly six times more than at the time of Musk’s tweets about the bogus buyout. Tesla's stock was even worth even more before Musk decided to buy Twitter for a price that even he conceded was far more than the company was worth. Tesla's shares, currently hovering around $120, have lost nearly half their value since Musk took control of Twitter, partially affecting investor concerns that he is spending too much time running privately held Twitter instead of focusing at the automaker responsible for most of his fame and wealth at a time it's facing tougher competition. Musk, 51, has said he will step down as Twitter's CEO as soon as he can find a replacement, but has not set a timetable for handing off the reins. To help reduce Twitter's losses and reduce the massive debt stemming from the purchase, Musk has laid off about half of that company's staff and is facing allegations of refusing to pay the rent at some offices. Read more: Twitter suspends journalists who wrote about owner Elon Musk Media coverage of mass layoffs and other cutbacks at Twitter were one of the main reasons that Musk's lawyer, Alex Spiro, argued for the trial to be moved or at least delayed until the backlash to the harsh measures died down. But the lawyers representing Tesla shareholders in the case argued Musk only has himself to blame for any negative perceptions, largely because of his frequent activity on Twitter, the social media platform that he now owns and runs. “For better or worse, Musk is a celebrity who garners attention from the media around the globe,” the shareholders’ attorneys wrote in their 19-page opposition to the transfer request. “His footprint on Twitter alone is partially to blame for that. If ‘negative’ attention was all that was required to disqualify a jury pool, Musk would effectively be untriable before a jury given his knack for attracting ’negative” coverage.” After sifting through about 200 juror questionnaires submitted earlier this week, Spiro argued many of them were peppered with derogatory remarks about Musk that underscored how difficult it will be for him to get a fair trial. Read more: Elon Musk takes over Twitter: what to expect? Some of those unflattering remarks surfaced during Friday's hearing as Chen pored through the questionnaires in preparation for Tuesday's jury selection. The judge disqualified jurors who he said had variously described Musk as an “idiot" and a “buffoon."

Wisconsin and North Carolina have joined at least 22 other states in banning the popular social media app TikTok on state-owned devices, including Mississippi, Indiana, Louisiana and South Dakota. Congress also recently banned TikTok from most U.S. government-issued devices over bipartisan concerns about security. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020. It has been targeted by critics who say the Chinese government could access user data, such as browsing history and location. U.S. armed forces also have prohibited the app on military devices. TikTok is consumed by two-thirds of American teens and has become the second-most popular domain in the world. But there’s long been bipartisan concern in Washington that Beijing would use legal and regulatory power to seize American user data or try to push pro-China narratives or misinformation. Here’s a look at the action in Wisconsin and North Carolina and the broader debate over TikTok: Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers cited concerns about privacy, safety and security, after consulting with the FBI and emergency management officials about the app. Evers’ order applies to most state agencies, with some exceptions like criminal investigators who may be using the app to track certain people. Read more: TikTok launches dual camera feature TikTok Now The University of Wisconsin System, which employs 40,000 faculty and staff, is also exempt. But a UW System spokesperson said despite the exemption, the university was conducting a review and moving toward placing restrictions on the app being used on devices in order to protect against serious cybersecurity risks. Both Evers and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper also prohibited the use of WeChat, a Chinese instant messaging app, on state devices. “It’s important for us to protect state information technology from foreign countries that have actively participated in cyberattacks against the United States,” Cooper said. “Protecting North Carolina from cyber threats is vital to ensuring the safety, security, privacy, and success of our state and its people.” Both the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission have warned that TikTok user data could be shared by owner ByteDance Ltd. with China’s authoritarian government. U.S. officials also worry that the Chinese government might use TikTok to push pro-China narratives or misinformation. Fears were stoked by news reports last year that a China-based team improperly accessed data of U.S. TikTok users, including two journalists, as part of a covert surveillance program to ferret out the source of leaks to the press. Read more: Congress moves to ban TikTok from US government devices There are also concerns that the company is sending masses of user data to China, in breach of stringent European privacy rules. Additionally, there's been concern about TikTok’s content and whether it harms teenagers’ mental health. In 2020, then-President Donald Trump and his administration sought to ban dealings with TikTok’s owner, force it to sell off its U.S. assets and remove it from app stores. Courts blocked Trump’s efforts to ban TikTok, and President Joe Biden rescinded Trump’s orders after taking office but ordered an in-depth study of the issue. A planned sale of TikTok’s U.S. assets was shelved. In Congress, concern about the app has been bipartisan. Congress last month banned TikTok from most U.S. government-issued devices over bipartisan concerns about security. The Senate in December approved a version of the TikTok ban authored by conservative Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, a vocal critic of big tech companies. But Democratic U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, of Illinois has co-sponsored legislation to prohibit TikTok from operating in the U.S. altogether, and the measure approved by Congress in December had the support of Democratic U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.