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India is cracking down on dissidence posted to WhatsApp
India's hardline stance against spreading misinformation on social media is getting real. An administrator of a WhatsApp group has been arrested following accusations that he altered a photo of prime minister Narendra Modi "to look ugly and obscene," according to regional publication News18. It follows a recent ruling passed by Indian officials that prohibits social media posts that are fake, contain rumors or that could cause "religious disharmony" -- something similar to what Malaysia has passed.
Google is putting WiFi in 400 Indian train stations
India may be rapidly building up its reputation as a tech-savvy country, but there are still hundreds of millions of people in the country who've had little to no experience with the internet. Google may have a clever solution to that problem, however. It's installing WiFi (initially for free) in 400 train stations across India, with 100 of the busiest stations due to get online by the end of 2016. The hope is that this will connect the 10 million people who pass through India's train system every day, letting them experience the web even if they'd otherwise have no access at all. And it's not basic data, either. Google is promising speeds good enough to stream HD video and otherwise outclass what many Indians are familiar with.
What you need to know about hologram people
Perhaps you watched the Billboard Music Awards and were aghast (or impressed) by Michael Jackson's performance from beyond the grave. Or maybe you were at Coachella and caught a resurrected Tupac onstage with real-life Snoop Dogg. Hell, let's say you were wooed by India's Narendra Modi in his recent holographic stump speeches. Maybe none of the above? Well, either way, here's a bit of disappointing news: None of those were true holograms, despite our dreams of a sci-fi future. The aforementioned performances are a product of a centuries-old technique called "Pepper's Ghost." You might've seen this on a pretty grand scale during a family vacation to Disneyland, too. The park's Haunted Mansion ride uses it extensively, especially during the ballroom scene where "ghosts" are dancing all over the place. The key difference between what we're seeing now and what's been used for the past few hundred years? The tech being used has gotten much more advanced.
The world's largest election is being led by a holographic politician
What do you do when you're running for prime minister of one of the most populous nations on Earth and need to reach over 800 million people? How can you possibly shake every hand and kiss every baby, occasionally appearing in several locations at once? One solution is dark magic. The (slightly) more realistic solution, recently employed by Indian candidate Narendra Modi, is to simply turn your speeches into holographic affairs. Yes, like Tupac's 2012 performance at Coachella.
