Kathmandu: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the country has already moved ahead towards digital Nepal, e-governance and paperless technology. Inaugurating the High Definition (HD) version of four channels of the Nepal television on the occasion of 34th anniversary of the Nepal television here today, Prime Minister said that agriculture, industry, tourism, infrastructure development, energy, education and health sectors of Nepal would be modernized.
He further said that super computer has already been made jointly by scientists of Nepal and Switzerland. The Prime Minister said, “Nepal has been moving one-step ahead with modernization every day in every sector. We have been moving forward with the national goal—economic prosperity, good governance and prosperous Nepal on the basis of gained achievements. We all can move ahead in the race of modern Nepal.”
Recalling that he was in Pokhara jail in course of the anti-Panchayat movement at a time when Nepal Television was established, Prime Minister Oli said that an era of change and awareness has begun in Nepal. Similarly, Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Gokul Prasad Banskota, said that Nepal television has different responsibility as compared to other television channels. He said the Nepal television is not a government organisation, it’s the television of the people.
The Communications Minister said, “There is no any government interference on Nepal Television”, adding that the government has always been providing support to the Nepal television. The Communication and Information Technology Minister stressed the need of providing resources to the NTV and making it well-equipped to enhance its competitiveness with other television channels, calling on the NTV staffers to be more professional and hone their expertise, rather than looking up to this or that party or the government minister.
He also suggested that the NTV should go for the public service broadcasting (PSB) model in the six months from now. Legal framework for combining the NTV and Radio Nepal into PSB is still awaited. Chairman of NTV Dr Mahendra Bista said guidelines have been issued for making the television newsroom independent and professional as well as for addressing the national aspirations by being people-centric.
He added that although the media should be critical, there is no longer any need now for it to be more pessimistic.
NTV General Manager Govinda Rokka said a year of transformation has commenced for NTV in its content and presentation along with the new technology.
All four channel in HD from today 
All the four channels run by NTV – Nepal Television, NTV Plus, NTV News and NTV Kohalpur- have been simultaneously converted to the HD mode from today. Nepal Television with its signature theme, ‘Communications for Development’, is the first television channel in the television history of Nepal. It was instituted in 2041 BS. Its reach covers 52 per cent of the territory and 72 per cent of the population at present through geo-terrestrial medium.
Advertisers honoured 
On the occasion, Minister Baskota presented letter of honour to the representatives of the Media Hub Pvt Ltd, Key Advertising Service Pvt Ltd and Expo Media Pvt Ltd, the advertising agencies making the highest transactions.
Similarly, comedy artists Marich Man Shrestha, Raju Poudel, Daman Rupakheti, among others were also honoured.
Also honoured on the occasion were Deepak Kumar Joshi who designed the Nepal Television’s logo and Gopal Thapa, the host of the Bimba Pratibimba programme- the longest running programme on NTV. Likewise, prizes were awarded to nine local reporters and 28 staffers completing 28 years of service.

Gmail is getting new features. Starting with G suite Gmail users, Google will be adding the long-awaited undo and redo buttons within the compose window. You will also be able to download messages. These new features will be available to all G suite users in couple of days.

Undo/Red buttons

As the name suggests, users can use the undo button to move to previous step, similar to MS Word’s undo buttons. These buttons will be in addition to the already existing Ctrl+z for undo and Ctrl+Y redo shortcuts.

Strikethrough

The strikethrough button allows you to point out a change in the communication. The feature is exactly same as the ones on WhatsApp, Google Docs or MS Word.  “We’ve heard from you that this functionality is critical to quickly and efficiently write emails, especially when you want to visually indicate a change in language,” said Google in a blog post.

Download emails

Going forward, Gmail users can download email contents including the attachments. These downloaded messages can also be included as future attachments in the emails. All of these new features will be auto enabled. While undo/redo and strikethrough buttons will be visible within the compose window, the download option will appear under the three dot menu.

(Agencies)

Apple has announced that Microsoft Office 365 is now available on Mac App Store where Apple users can download directly the signature apps such as Word, PowerPoint and Excel that are popular in Microsoft Windows system.

The debut of the Microsoft Office in Apple Store came a little bit later than what Apple first announced at its Worldwide Developers Conference last year, when the Cupertino, California-based tech firm promised the Microsoft Office package is  available now.  Apple said users can purchase subscription for Office 365 from within the apps.

(Agencies)

A lot of us listen to music on YouTube.  YouTube offers a wider catalogue of music videos including official and crowd-sourced ones. Also, it’s part of Google ecosystem which further makes it easier to keep tab on recent searches and history.  If you love listening to music on YouTube, here’s a simple trick to play a track on loop.

On Desktop

Search for the track you want to play on your browser. Once it starts playing, right click on the video. Click on the fourth option “Loop.” And you’re done. The video will play on your browser on loop.

On Mobile

The official YouTube apps on Android and iOS don’t support the loop feature yet. But there’s a workaround. On the mobile app, add the video to a new playlist. To create a new playlist, tap on the “save” icon on the right below the video. Long press on the “save” icon will allow you to save the video to a “new playlist.” If this workaround doesn’t work for you, simply open YouTube.com on your mobile browser. Tap on the three icons on the top right, request for desktop site.

Once the desktop version of YouTube opens on your browser, tap on the YouTube video – select loop. You can also exit the video by tapping on the home button on your phone. This will allow you to play the video in the background.

(Agencies)

Thirty-five years ago, on January 24, 1984, at the Flint Center on De Anza College’s campus in Cupertino, California, Steve Jobs unveiled the first Macintosh. The Mac was unlike anything before it. It was the first computing machine with a graphical user interface and a mouse.

Since then the Mac has been at the center of a personal computer revolution that has changed the way how we work and create content. With the Mac turning 35, we take a look back at some of the best Macs that changed personal computing forever.

The original Macintosh: 1984
On January 24, 1984, Steve Jobs unveiled the Macintosh which turned the whole computing industry upside down. This was the first computer that took advantage of GUI (Graphical User Interface). The machine was priced at $2495 when it was introduced in 1984.

The computer featured an 8Mhz Motorola MC68000 CPU and a 128Kb of RAM. The original Macintosh was the first personal computer to come with a floppy disk drive, keyboard, and mouse. It’s also being credited to be the first computer that could be set-up without any technical know how.

Apple heavily advertised the Macintosh and even created a TVC which was directed by Ridley Scott. It continues to be the most impactful commercials ever created.

Macintosh SE: 1987
Back in 1987, Apple created the most efficient black-and-white Mac. It was fast, really fast. The Macintosh SE shipped with a 16-MHz 68030 processor, either 40MB or 80MB hard drive, and either 1MB or 4MB of RAM. The $3700 Macintosh SE had a connector for a mouse and keyboard. And yes, it was the first Mac to feature a cooling fan.

Macintosh Portable: 1989
It wasn’t a great product, but it kick-started Apple’s foray into portable computer space. Even though it had impressive specifications (a 16 Mhz processor, an active matrix screen, and a trackball), the machine was not portable enough. It measured 4 inches thick and weighed 15.8 pounds. Even the price of the Macintosh portable was steep at $6500. All those reasons worked against the Macintosh Portable.

20th anniversary Macintosh: 1997
On March 20, 1997, Apple introduced the 20th Anniversary Macintosh, a special edition of Mac meant to consume multimedia content. The machine was the first flat screen Mac, and came with leather palm rests, a TV tuner card, S-video input, and a custom sound designed by Bose.

BiMac G3: 1998
On May 6, 1998, Steve Jobs took the stage and announced the iMac G3, a computer that saved Apple from bankruptcy. It was the first computer after Jobs’ return to Apple and established Jony Ive as the master designer.

The iMac G3 remains one of the best-designed Macs ever. In true sense, it changed the way how we look at the computers. When the computers at that time were boring and largely unimpressive in looks – the iMac G3 had a translucent back that allows users to see the inner workings of the computer and came in “Bondi blue”.

But it wasn’t just pretty. The iMac G3 introduced a number of new features including a built-in telephone modem, a hidden cable management compartment, and the use of USB ports instead of Apple’s older proprietary connections.

Later, in 1999, Apple had upgraded the iMac G3 with a faster 266MHz G3 chip, the price was slashed by $100 and the machine was made available in a dash of colour options. The iMac G3 is counted among Jony Ive’s one of his best design creations.

iBook: 1999
Launched in 1999, Apple iBook made portable computers cool and fashionable. College students loved the iBook for a reason: the design. It mimics the design of the iMac G3 and came in the translucent plastic housing. It was a well-design product and had reasonable specifications.

It featured a 300Mhz PowerPC 750 chipset and either 32Mb or 64Mb of RAM (depending on the model). The iBook was the first-ever Mac to be released with AGP-based graphics and UMA (Unified Motherboard Architecture). And that was not all. It was also the first Mac to be sold with integrated wireless internet. The iBook was sold for $1599.

PowerMac G4 Cube: 2000
The PowerMac G4 Cube continues to fascinate designers, fans, and collectors. It wasn’t successful from a commercial point of view, but it will always be remembered for its thought-provoking design. Launched at the July 2000 Macworld Expo in New York, the G4 Cube was more of an attempt to show Apple’s design prowess than the product’s internals.

The future-looking machine was essentially the G4 computer packed into an 8-inch cube, that was then suspended in a crystal-clear case. Perhaps the highlight of the G4 Cube’s was the ability to access its internals easily through the bottom of the machine. Other features included an air convection cooling system and a touch-sensitive power button.

The G4 Cube, however, came at a high cost. It was launched at a price of $1799, something not many people found it logical to pay for an underpowered machine. However, the biggest reasons why the Power Mac G4 Cube failed largely because the machine reportedly faced several technical issues such as overheating and cracks in the polycarbonate shell. As a result, Apple had to discontinue the G4 Cube in July 2001.

iMac G4: 2002
Released in 2002, Apple iMac G4’s design was indeed ahead of its time. Even today, the iMac G4 looks amazing. It’s design was unlike any other computer available at that time.

The iMac G4 came with a 15-inch LCD screen mounted on an adjustable metal arm above its half-dome base, where all the internals, ports, and connectivity options were meticulously housed. Given that the metal arms swivel and move much like a sunflower, it allowed the user to the adjust the height of the display either up or down and swiveled to the side.

The all-in-one iMac G4 tells a lot about Jony Ive and Steve Jobs comradery and their common vision to create beautiful yet functional products. Even now, the iMac G4 sits on many desks, including mine, and in perfect condition.

Mac Mini: 2005
Released in 2005, the Mac Mini was Apple’s attempt to enter the low-end of the PC market. To keep the price down, Apple shipped the Mac Mini without a monitor, keyboard or any additional peripherals. The idea was that users could buy a Mac Mini for as low as $500.

And Apple delivered on its promise. The machine featured a PowerPC G4 processor and up to 1GB of onboard RAM. It also came with either a 40GB or 80Gb hard drive; decent for regular users. Subsequent iterations came with an Intel processor and good hardware specifications.

Apple still sells a Mac Mini, though the company no more sells the product at $499. Instead, the new model starts at $799, $300 more than the starting model for the previous-generation Mac Mini. The rationale behind the price rise is due to improved internals which is top-of-the-line and most importantly, the new Mac Mini is now geared towards pro-users and creative professionals.

With the 15-inch MacBook Pro, Apple looked at a top-tier computing experience with the $1999 notebook. Launched in 2006, it was the first portable Mac to come with an Intel-powered processor.

The MacBook Pro offered an entirely new design language; the notebook was sturdy and slim yet very powerful. The base model shipped with a dual-core processor and an 80GB of hard drive. In 2006, Apple released a 17-inch MacBook Pro.

Apple MacBook Pro was the company’s most powerful portable Macintosh of its time. To some extent, it changed the way the people see a high-end notebook. Unlike the company’s previous generation notebooks, the new MacBook Pro was aimed at pro-users and creative professionals.

Twelve years later, the core philosophy behind the MacBook Pro hasn’t changed. The MacBook Pro continues to market around multitaskers and creative professionals.

MacBook Air: 2008
The crowd cheered when Steve Jobs grabbed a manilla envelope, and pulled out the MacBook Air during the 2008 Macworld. It was not an ordinary laptop; the MacBook Air was the world’s thinnest notebook at the time. However, the thin notebook came at a high cost and naturally Apple was targeted for that. At that time, some called it an overpriced piece of tech; others called it the future of computing.

It wasn’t a perfect notebook, though. The Air was the company’s first notebook without a CD/DVD drive, no upgradable RAM, a single USB port, and no removable battery. Sure, there were a lot of sacrifices made to make the notebook thin and light. But the fact remains that Apple took a chance to create a notebook that belongs to the future.

A decade on, most notebooks look ridiculously thin and slim like the MacBook Air. Had Apple sensed the future in 2008? Absolutely. There is no notebook popular than Apple MacBook Air even till this day, and it is a fact.

Mac Pro: 2013
“Can’t innovate anymore, my ass.” Those were Phil Schiller’s comments when he announced the new Mac Pro during the annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in 2013. The new Mac Pro marked a redesign for the company’s desktop-class computer.

Aimed at pro-users and creative professionals, Mac’s cylinder-like shape reminded of something out of a sci-fi movie. Apple’s cylindrical computer hogged limelight also because everything was crammed into a tiny chassis, which only Apple could have pulled off. The desktop computer had an Intel Xenon processor, a pair of two AMD FirePro GPUs, up to 64GB of DDR3 ECC memory and up to 6GB RAM of GDDR5 video memory.

Now that Apple is expected to launch the all-new Mac Pro this year, the second-generation Mac Pro will always be remembered for its unconventional design.

PowerMac G5: 2005
Back in October 2005, Apple launched the PowerMac G5. It was a computer designed to keep pro-users happy, thanks to its dual-core PowerPC G5 processor. It was the last Mac to use PowerPC processors as Apple later switched to Intel core processors. The PowerMac G5 was also pitched as the world’s first PC featuring 64-bit architecture. It was the fastest personal computer Apple had ever shipped during the time.

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The MacBook had everything an average consumer was looking in the notebook.
Macbook: 2006
Introduced in May 2006, the $1099 MacBook quickly became popular among students, thanks to its affordable price. The MacBook had everything an average consumer was looking in the notebook. It was stylish, although wrapped in white plastic; and was made available in either black or white. The base model included a dual-core Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a MagSafe power adapter and Apple’s front-facing iSight camera.

Chinese scientists cloned five monkeys from a gene-edited macaque with circadian-related disorders, another first for the country in the controversial field.

The cloned monkeys were born in Shanghai at the Institute of Neuroscience of Chinese Academy of Sciences, according to two articles published in National Science Review on Thursday. Researchers knocked out BMAL1 — a critical transcription factor for activating circadian rhythms — through gene editing at the embryo stage, then cloned a monkey with the mutation.

This was the first time multiple monkeys have been cloned from a gene-edited adult male, Xinhua News Agency reported, employing the same method used to create the first cloned monkeys born in China in 2017. The result proves batch cloning of gene-edited male monkeys with diseases is feasible, one of the scientists told Xinhua.

Circadian disturbance is related to many human diseases including sleep disorder, depression and Alzheimer’s disease.

The creation of monkeys with a uniform genetic background is useful for developing models of human diseases, which can be used to study therapeutic treatments, the researchers said.

The new studies come after Chinese scientist He Jiankui was fired by his university for altering the genes of twin baby girls as embryos. He triggered an international backlash when he shocked the world with his claims of genetically-altering human embryos that resulted in births.

(Agencies)

NEW DELHI- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch Thursday night two satellites Kalamsat and Microsat-R, officials said. The satellites would be launched through Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in its 46th flight from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, off the Bay of Bengal coast located in southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
“Countdown for the launch of PSLVC44 started yesterday at 7:37 p.m. local time at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The launch is scheduled today at 11:37 p.m. local time,” a statement issued by ISRO said.
Kalamsat is a payload developed by students from Space Kidz India, while as Microsat-R is an imaging satellite meant for the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) purposes. Reports said the Kalamsat is a 10 cm cube nano satellite weighing about 1.2 kg and has a life span of about two months, however, Microsat-R is a 740-kg military imaging satellite.

(Agencies)

LALITPUR: As Nepal gears up to launch its first nano-satellite-Nepali Sat-1 under project Birds-3 by coming mid-May, we introduce you to two Nepali men who are working hard at day and toiling harder at night in Japan for this project to come to fruition.
Aawash Maskey and Hareram Shrestha, the former originally from Morang district and the latter from Gorkha, are currently keeping busy with the Birds-3 at Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech) University in Japan with the sole purpose to help Nepal put its own satellites in orbit.
Nepal is set to put its own nanosatellite in orbit with the help of these two Nepalis, one completing Master’s Degree in Engineering from Japan and the other pursuing post-doctorate degree there. Maskey, a Ph D candidate in space engineering, is leading the Birds-3 project while Shrestha, a graduate from the Pulchowk Engineering College and currently a student of space engineering, is involved in Birds-4. The Nepali nanosatellite, Sri Lanka’s ‘Ravan-1’ and Japan’s Ubishu combined together measure 1,000 cubic centrimetres in volume and 4.5 kilogrammes in weight.
Nanosatellite is an artificial satellite with a weight mass between 1 and 10 kilogrammes.
The first-ever Nepal made nanosatellite is scheduled to launch from the USA, said Chief of the technical department of Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), Rabindra Prasad Dhakal. The three countries simultaneously assembled the satellites and will launch them simultaneously from the USA, according to Dhakal.
The Kyutech University has supported in construction of Nepal’s nanosatellite at subsidized value, informed Dhakal.
Shrestha obtained scholarship for his Master degree in Japan and has been working on Birds-4 while Maskey had left for South Korea to study space science after completing his higher level education in Nepal.
27-year-old Maskey was inquisitive from his early age, according to his mother Sarita Maskey, an architect at the Ministry of Urban Development. She further explained, “Aawash used to imitate his father’s work while he accompanied his father in traditional watermill while generating energy. He is very stubborn and does not give up and give in easily.”
After completing 4-years of Bachelors in Space Engineering at Seoul University, Maskey got to participate in a workshop of space engineering. As he came to Nepal a year and half ago after completing his graduation, he got another opportunity to pursue further studies and work at Kyutech University simultaneously. The Kyutech University had already constructed Birds-1 and Birds-2. After getting through interview at the Kyutech, he met with Prof Maeda which laid groundwork for the construction of Birds-3.
Prof Maeda had suggested Maskey to secure some fund prior to springing into action for Birds-3. Both the professor and research fellow arrived Nepal to conduct space engineering workshop. After a rigorous process of floating the matter on space engineering project to the concerned authorities in Nepal and after convincing them, the government finally agreed to fund the Project at the cost of around Rs 20 million which they received in two installments, Maskey’s mother shared.
“Aawash wants to come to Nepal to teach other space engineering enthusiasts upon completion of his studies and work in Japan,” informed the proud mother. 32-year-old Shrestha had worked in NAST as a chief technical first class non-gazette officer for 8 years before pursuing his dream with Birds-3 in Japan.
After Kyutech University launched Birds-3 project in Nepal, Shrestha got an opportunity to be a part of it. He is currently pursuing his Masters degree in space engineering in full support of the United Nations. Both the Nepali prodigious students are committed to return to their country to impart the knowledge on space engineering as well as the efforts being made for Nepali Sat-1 to those willing to learn, grow and contribute to space engineering back home.

Kathmandu: LG will unveil its first 5G smartphone at this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) on February 24 in Barcelona, Spain. The smartphone, which the company did not name yet, will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 processor. The chipset will be 45 per cent faster than the previous generation processor, the company said.

In the press release, LG said that its 5G-ready smartphone will come with something called ‘Vapor Chamber’ that will help it protect from excessive heat. According to LG, this technique ensures more heat-proof performance than existing heat pipes. The phone will be backed by a 4,000mAh battery.

North America, South Korea, and Europe will likely be one of the first few markets where LG will bring its 5G smartphone. In August, LG said it plans to launch a 5G smartphone US network operator Sprint in the first half of 2019. In Europe, LG said it has collaborated with several operators for the launch of its 5G smartphone.

LG is also rumoured to show off its G8 flagship smartphone at the same event on February 24. The high-end smartphone is expected to come with a secondary display that you can attach and detach, as per your convenience. It’s also being said that the G8 will have some sort of touchless gestures, though we are not aware of how they actually work. Previously there were rumours that the G8 ThinQ could feature a 3D camera and a sound on display technology.

LG Electronics sees 80 pct drop in Q4 profit

South Korea’s LG Electronics said on Tuesday its fourth-quarter operating profit likely plummeted 80 percent from the same period a year earlier, falling well below analyst expectations.

LG plans to announce several new smartphones on February 24. MWC 2019 kicks off on February 25 and will continue till February 28. Major companies including Sony, HMD Global (Nokia) and Oppo have plans to introduce new flagships during the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) tech trade show.