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Microsoft has announced that the latest version of Skype for desktops and laptops now offers the option of blurring the background during video calls. This feature works to distinguish and isolate the subject from the surrounding background, and places the focus on the person as the most important component of the scene. This will provide a distraction-free space, and help eliminate any embarrassing moments during video conferencing. This option was first introduced in another Microsoft messaging application, Teams. Last September the company announced their support for the background blur in this collaboration app, introducing new features for the workplace chat platform and Office 365. The blur feature has put Artificial Intelligence (AI) to use, as this advanced technology has been trained to recognize the human form. It is not just the speaker’s face that is in focus, but also their hair, hands and arms, thus creating a smooth…

Viber has launched the latest revision of its mobile messaging application on iOS and Android – version 10, featuring an updated User Interface (UI) together with several other improvements. This is the first major update to the app in four years. The company stated that Viber Messenger 10 comes with a new look, has enhanced connectivity options, and includes additional privacy measures. Viber services have been improved with the ability to send messages twice as fast as before, and voice and video calls have been given “a quality boost to become crystal clear”. There is a new, bright header across the app, and the main chat list is displayed with convenient access to all private and group chats, communities and favourite public content. The update includes a new “Calls” screen containing recent calls and phone contacts, with the Viber Out balance and subscriptions shown at the top of…

The technical support team plays a critical role in a VoIP business, being the initial reference and contact point for customers experiencing technology-related issues. In addition, these important employees are responsible for analysing and resolving system failures and outages, product installation errors, user enquiries and any other technical problems that prevent customers from using an application or service. There is a wide and diverse range of possible technical issues that can occur, depending on the type of telecommunication services provided. Nevertheless, some of the most common VoIP connectivity concerns are audio quality, caller-ID problems, the dropping of calls, and post dialling delay (PDD). Studies reveal that passing on valuable technical advice or providing substantial assistance to customers is the number one method for telecom companies to improve the user experience for their products and services. At voip.review, we have summarised some relevant ideas for VoIP providers to…

The National Data Protection Commission (CNIL), France’s data protection office, has imposed a fine of €50 million against Google LLC for breaching the European Union online data privacy rules. This is the first major case where a fine is being imposed under the EU’s stringent General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that came into force last year. The French watchdog found the US search engine giant guilty of “lack of transparency, inadequate information, and lack of valid consent regarding ad personalisation.” This case stems from concerns that were raised over Google’s applied methods of collecting data, and the lack of clear options provided for the users to consent to personalised ads. “The general structure of the information chosen by the company does not enable [it] to comply with the Regulation,” read a CNIL statement. “Essential information, such as the data processing purposes, the data storage periods or the categories…

China Mobile, one of the largest state-owned telecommunications companies in that country, has designed a water purifying device powered by blockchain, thus making an explicit statement that blockchain technology is not something extraneous and out of this world, but is a beneficial high-tech solution that may be advantageously applied to ordinary household appliances. The Product Market Director at China Mobile IoT, Xiao Yi, stated: “Our goal is to also attract those who are not in the cryptocurrency or blockchain community, who may have heard of this technology but not necessarily understand it. To embrace a more mainstream adoption, we need to turn something that appears professional into something that’s very ordinary.” The Internet of Things (IoT) division within the company has developed a product with a built-in computing chip and an IoT module.  This innovative gadget collects applicable user data related to consumer behaviour habits and shares it…

Huawei will put a new smartphone on display in the UK this week, the Huawei P Smart 2019. China’s leading smartphone manufacturer is starting the year with this budget-friendly handset, comprising cutting-edge features, combined with a premium look and feel. The company says that the P Smart is “a mid-market device targeting young consumers who are looking for an affordable, high quality user experience.” Justin Costello, Huawei’s Director of Marketing, UK and Ireland, said, “Huawei’s devices truly disrupted the smartphone arena in 2018, making us the fastest growing smartphone brand in the UK and the second biggest globally. With its outstanding AI, photography and performance capabilities, the Huawei P Smart 2019 delivers a superior smartphone experience at an accessible price point.” As the successor to the P Smart model launched a year ago, the Huawei P Smart 2019 has been improved with a larger screen, a front AI…

The problems for the social networking giant Facebook continue to mount as yet another data-sharing scandal has exploded. The New York Times (NYT) has published a thorough investigation detailing Facebook’s data sharing practices, and reported that the social network provided some well-known tech companies with access to hundreds of millions of users’ data without their consent. Interviews with former Facebook employees and its corporate partners, as well as hundreds of pages of documents obtained by the NYT, confirmed that Facebook made the questionable arrangements with partners such as Amazon, Spotify, Netflix and Microsoft. These alliances enabled the companies to “read, write and delete users’ private messages, and to see all participants on a thread”. The records revealed, that “Facebook allowed Microsoft’s Bing search engine to see the names of virtually all Facebook users’ friends without consent. The social network permitted Amazon to obtain users’ names and contact information…

The abbreviation API stands for Application Programming Interface, a phrase which is not particularly self-explanatory to those who have not yet had the chance to delve into the world of APIs. voip.review will provide a concise and easy to understand explanation of APIs for you. Basically, an API is a software-to-software interface that allows different computer systems and applications to communicate and share information, according to a set of rules embedded in the API. To put it another way, the API is a Programming Interface for developing Applications. The provider of the API publishes a set of rules defining how third party software programs should interact with their piece of software, listing a bunch of operations that developers can use, along with a description of what each operation will achieve. APIs deliver tremendous advantages to the technology industry, mainly because they allow for the rapid development of software products using…

In compliance with Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which came into force earlier this year, Google is updating its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. The company has started to notify European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss users about the changes coming into effect on January 22, 2019. Google Ireland Limited, based in Dublin, will become the center responsible for consumer services, such as Search, Gmail, and Maps. The alterations to Google’s general Terms of Service are due to the replacement of the current service provider, Google LLC, based in the US. Similar changes are also being made in separate terms for Drive, Play, YouTube, and YouTube Paid Service. Furthermore, the Irish subsidiary will take over the responsibility for data control, and assume the legal liability for the information of EEA and Swiss users. “Google Ireland Limited becomes responsible for responding to requests for its user data, including from EU law…

Oculeus, an innovative telecommunications software provider from Germany, has announced the launch of a cloud-based fraud protection service. The new solution, branded with the name Oculeus-Protect, is designed to meet the growing needs for security in the enterprise telecoms industry. The new fraud protection service is supported by the company’s regional cloud environment, and is currently available throughout Europe, and North and South America. The software provider defines the new service as “a real-time telecoms fraud protection service that provides enterprises an intelligent and automated framework to efficiently prevent false charges resulting from unauthorized usage of enterprise telecommunication channels by cybercriminals and other perpetrators of telecom fraud”. They claim that the software is able of block fraudulent telecommunications traffic within milliseconds, and have positioned the service to be totally independent of user’s telecommunications service provider. “There is a clear and definite need for our new telecoms fraud protection service,”…