A rise in mobile tariff might not impact you and me. I’d be more mindful of downloads and use WiFi more often. But it’s going to hit the watchman, whose shift is made tolerable with YouTube, and the rickshawallah whose long rides are made less dreary because of live cricket commentary, hard.

Many are calling Mastodon a better version of Twitter — sans the hate and trolls. Alas, reality is going to be a lot harsher. Those who think it’s going to be a panacea for “Twitter’s evils” are likely to be very disappointed.

The average smartphone user faces a deluge of notifications, imploring you to do everything from checking out an unmissable offer to ordering food so you can focus on that cricket game instead of cooking. But are they a convenience, or a curse?

With #OPPOA92020 you have the perfect camera partner in the palm of your hands “Ja Simran Jee Le Apni Zindagi”

With #OPPOA92020, bring home the complete entertainment experience “Ab Basanti bhi nachaygi”

With #OPPOA92020 you have power and performance in the palm of your hands. “Ab tumhare paas bhi 20 hour battery life hai”.

As other phone companies scramble over each other to rip off the iPhone's latest design, Apple should go a step ahead and create sustainable phones. In an age where there’s increased awareness of climate change, surely following an eco-friendly trend will become as important as adding a screen notch.

Despite some alarmist headlines, ISRO’s ambitious mission to the moon is no failure. “Only 5 per cent of the mission has been lost… the remaining 95 per cent is orbiting successfully,” an ISRO scientist said.

With OPPO Reno2, you can see more, do more and explore your creative side. Capture Once in a lifetime opportunity with its unique camera setup. Tell us which powerful camera feature is being portrayed in this humorous and artistic display of the phone’s capabilities. #OPPOReno2

With OPPO Reno2, you can see more, do more and explore your creative side. Look who we caught having chai. Tell us which powerful camera feature is being portrayed in this humorous and artistic display of the phone’s capabilities.

With OPPO Reno2, you can see more, do more and explore your creative side. Even John Cena is amazed by it. Tell us which powerful camera feature is being portrayed in this humorous and artistic display of the phone’s capabilities.

OPPO's new Reno 10x Zoom comes with 3D curved glass for a smooth touch and sleek silhouette with the camera flush to the back cover to deliver a silky grip. With aesthetics like these, is it technology or is it high art? You decide. #OPPOReno

In OPPO's new Reno series, Reno 10x Zoom, a panoramic full screen and ultra slim bezel bring you vivid colour and stunning detail. Go ahead, take a good look at the wonders the world has to offer, in stunning clarity on the newest wonder of the world, Reno 10x Zoom's AMOLED screen. #OPPOReno

In Oppo's new Reno series you can see art in their cutting edge technology but can you see technology in the art? Tell us where the phone features are hidden in this artistic impression of their logo unit. #GetReadyForReno  #OPPOReno

The case for automation at work has been made many times by very smart, scientific people. But in a world where robots run shit and humans have unlimited free time, will every day be like the weekend — a snoozefest where we do nothing at all?

In the web series A.I.SHA, the programmer Sam develops a self-learning AI for the purpose of being a virtual assistant and companion – a scenario not far from reality. Most of us spend more time interacting with electronics than with people. New-age chatbots double up as friends and therapists.

In the last two decades, our approach to technology in pop culture has swung from the unremarkable Jetsons to dystopian web series like Black Mirror or A.I.SHA. What changed? At some point, we had to deal with the very immediate prospect of robots taking our jobs, and inevitably, the world.

AI mines data from everywhere — including the casual sexist text messages we send, dissing Pakistanis on WhatsApp, and our porn searches. Self-learning robots can build on these same learned biases. And A.I.SHA, who displays the worst traits of humanity, is no different.

When the rise of the machines becomes a reality, AIs like A.I.SHA will be coming for every Sharmaji ka beta – the doctor, engineer, IT professional. And the creative, who was always told that he would never amount to anything in life, will have the last laugh.

The layoffs at Buzzfeed and HuffPost – both established leaders in digital publishing – imply that the field is not in the health most people thought it enjoyed. What options are left for news companies looking to survive? Digital journalism might have been hit hard, but it is not dead – yet.

We no longer change the topic when someone asks us for our Wi-Fi password. We are even closer to acquiring that elusive 5th G. But the truth is that behind all the rosy consumerism, there is a dark financial tale playing out with the promise of a sinister ending.

Like a high-school crush, we’ve allowed Apple to set its terms, offering us very little in the bargain. So when the company announced expected decline in sales, we rejoiced. Maybe now they can start asking questions like, “Why did we laugh at that customer when he asked for a discount?”

In the last two years, more than 30 deaths have been linked to fake WhatsApp forwards in India. After the government warned WhatsApp to "take accountability" for the unchecked spread of fake news, it set off to make amends. But are they enough?

Netflix denied reports of self-censorship, but this may be our reality sooner than we think. Just like the free press, the free internet is also under threat. And this might deprive us of access to information and entertainment that our governments don’t want us seeing.

Going offline is not an option. The work culture today demands that you are available 24X7 – over the phone, on WhatsApp, and email. And even if it’s not work, can you walk into a conversation if you have nothing to say about that viral tweet from @wokeboyhimtoo.

The Supreme Court’s Aadhaar verdict has maintained that the database’s benefits outweigh its risks. But do they? Data is the new plutonium, a simple target that unlike our land and water, stands at a crossroads of accessibility, where it is both an asset and a threat.

There is no such thing as an unbiased consumer tech review in India. Every piece of news can be traced back to a prompt from a PR agency, which explains why the focus remains on high-end tech, luring consumers to purchase products they don’t really need at prices they can’t really afford.

Twenty years ago in India, there was one box-like device with numbers on it that bonded families together like a viewing of Hum Saath Saath Hain. The landline had a wire that kept you rooted – but it could also set you free if you chose to be unavailable.