Current Affairs on Technology

The government on 30 March 2015 has announced which new Software policy thus making it mandatory that such kind software is considered along with proprietary products, as it looks to bring in transparency and lower total cost of ownership of projects.?: Open source software -(OSS)

Explanation: Under the OSS Policy, all government organizations, while implementing e-Governance applications and systems will have to include a specific requirement in Request for Proposal (RFP) for all suppliers to consider OSS along with closed source software (CSS) while responding suppliers will have to provide justification for exclusion of OSS in their response. The policy shall be applicable to Central government organizations and those State governments that choose to adopt this policy. 

Which India's leading IT services firm on 26 March 2015 launched a smartphone application in London that allows users to track, analyse and visualise Twitter conversations about the UK General Election to be held in May?: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

Explanation:  The name of the App is ElectUK and is Free to download. 'ElectUK' has been created to engage voters, their representatives and political commentators by turning their smartphone into a Big Data social media analytics tool thus give power to voters, politicians and commentators for greater insight into the online conversations shaping the election debate, in an easy-to-consume, interactive and visual way. ElectUK is the latest social analytics application from TCS, with the company having previously created similar award winning apps to analyse social data around the 2014 Indian election and the FIFA 2014 World Cup.

China`s Internet regulator on 25 March 2015 issued new guidelines prohibiting sexual and vulgar content on Which social messaging app, the latest step in the agency`s perennial campaign to clean up China`s Internet?: WeChat

Explanation: WeChat, known as Weixin in China, is by far the country`s most popular messaging app with 500 million users. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said sexually explicit pictures and text, including nude photos and erotic animation, and stories of "one-night stands, wife-swapping, sexual abuse and other harmful information" will be subject to punishment. It has also banned the Drug advertisements for illegal sexual enhancement products or sexually transmitted diseases.

Supreme Court on 24 March 2015 strike’s down the section 66A of Information Technology Act / Draconian law. What is the significance of this rule?:  After this now police will not arrest anyone for the posting any type of content on online social media thus providing/retaining the freedom of Speech

Explanation: Section 66A was inserted into the IT Act by the UPA government in 2009. After this verdict now online user are free to express their views about any service, product etc  on social media. This is much awaited verdict passed by supreme court as it comes as a relief for both social media users as well as India operations of global Internet giants like Google. The latter will no longer be required to take down content after complaints from any party. Only a government or court order can lead to content removal. Therefore, with this decision it will encourage more investment in the Internet sector in India. But the Narendra Modi government had largely defended the provision during the court hearing, while promising it won't be used to stifle political dissent. The court ruled against the section on the ground that the terms "annoying, offensive, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred or ill-will" used in the section were vague and indefinite.

Tag Heuer, French luxury group LVMH's biggest watch maker announced on 19 March 2015 that it will launch a smartwatch later this year using Google Inc's Android operating system in a venture with Which company to compete head-on with the Apple Watch?: Intel Corp

Explanation: The Apple Watch is due to go on sale on April 24 and will range in price from $350 to $17,000 for an 18-karat gold model but require Apple phone to fully functional. Hence, only Apple Phone users are the potentially buyer of this watch. Therefore, Tag Heuer's decision to partner with technology companies to deliver a smartwatch would likely be the first of many similar deals

On 18 March 2015 Microsoft announced Which new operating system will be coming "this summer" in 190 countries and 111 languages?: Windows 10 operating system

Explanation: For the first time, a new version of Windows for small footprint IoT (Internet of Things) devices will be available for free when Windows 10 launches. Thus once launched Windows 10 will offer versions of Windows for a diverse set of IoT devices, ranging from powerful devices like ATMs and ultrasound machines, to resource constrained devices like gateways. Windows 10 will allow users to sign in to a device without a password by using biometrics, including facial recognition. Microsoft had also announced partnerships with Chinese-based Tencent and Lenovo to help customers in China upgrade to Windows 10.

All new cars sold in the European Union from March 2018 will have to be equipped with which technology in the case of an accident?: eCall technology to contact emergency services

Explanation: The European Parliament`s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee voted 26-3 on 17 March 2015 in favour of draft EU rules to mandate eCall technology, which would call the EU-wide 112 emergency number automatically if a car crashed. Separate rules entered into force in June 2014, requiring EU members to ensure they have the infrastructure required to handle eCalls by October 2017.