Samsung Electronics has announced the global launch of Map mode, which was first introduced at CES 2024. It is now available in all countries where SmartThings is available.
“Map simplifies home management by turning real floor plans into virtual maps in the SmartThings app. Users can view the location of devices and control lighting, temperature, improve air quality, and monitor energy consumption from anywhere, anytime.
The mode makes it easier to manage a large number of devices in your home, so you don’t have to search for each device individually to use it. “The Map displays a floor plan of your entire home and is updated in real time – every time you connect a new device.
The previous version of the Map mode was in 2D format, which only worked for homes that had a floor plan uploaded. However, the updated map takes advantage of the spatial artificial intelligence in Samsung devices, such as the Bespoke Jet Bot™ robot vacuum cleaner, which uses LiDAR1 sensors to scan the home and then turn that data into a plan. Users can now better understand their space with a 3D map.
In addition, the feature that allows users to filter devices by category has been improved to improve monitoring and management. By the end of the year, the company plans to offer more personalized and convenient smart services using AI-powered devices, which were also shown at CES 2024.
The Map mode is available in the SmartThings app on Android and iOS mobile devices2 and on TVs.
The mode was initially launched in Korea and the United States last year. But now it can be used in all countries where the SmartThings app is available.
“Samsung is constantly working to ensure that customers can control their home devices seamlessly from anywhere, anytime, and Map mode is the result of these efforts,” said Seungbeom Choi, head of the Device Platform Center at Samsung Electronics. “We will continue to introduce a variety of relevant services and features so that our customers can enjoy the optimal smart home experience and improve their lives.”
Samsung is currently working with construction companies to expand the scope of the mode to include apartments and office spaces. The company aims to help create smart environments for customers around the world by adding new functionality. These include an optimized user interface (UX) for large screens that helps administrators of B2B Signage screens, as well as a quick control feature that allows users to easily access key functions.
About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung brings cutting-edge ideas to life and introduces advanced technologies, inspiring people and shaping the future of the consumer market through smartphones, TVs, wearables, tablets, home appliances, medical devices, networking systems, memory solutions, semiconductors, foundries, and LED solutions.
Acting Ukrainian Culture and Information Policy Minister Rostyslav Karandeyev has said that the agency is preparing a communication with global computer games manufacturers regarding the presence of Ukrainian-language versions of their products on the country’s domestic market.
“We will soon come out with a global proposal to the world manufacturers of computer games regarding the presence of Ukrainian-language versions in the most popular games of the largest manufacturers, in order to ensure that it is they came to the Ukrainian market,” Karandeev said on the air of the national telethon on Friday.
At the same time, he noted that this is a rather specific market, and communication with program developers should be built not quite traditionally, in particular, through personal communications.
The list includes the largest businesses with an impeccable business reputation.
The Opendatabot Index is an analytical tool that allows to assess the real situation and geography of Ukrainian business. The Index is based on data from state registers, Opendatabot registers, financial statements of companies, information on relations with Russia, sanctions lists and other analytical tools of Opendatabot.
The Opendatabot 2024 Index takes into account both financial indicators (financial statements of companies for 2023) and business reputation of businesses. In particular, the list excludes sanctioned companies or businesses with owners from the Russian Federation. The Index also includes companies associated with public figures, MPs or politicians who are required to declare their income.
It is worth noting that this year’s list does not include municipal and state-owned enterprises.
“Built on the financial statements and revenue of companies, the Opendatabot Index gives a complete picture of what happened to Ukrainian business in 2023,” comments Oleksiy Ivankin, founder of Opendatabot.
The index reflects the view of Ukrainian companies from the perspective of current state registers, so it may differ from the view created in the public information space.
The weight and share of the industry and region are calculated based on the top companies and their turnover. This approach makes it possible to understand and assess the impact of a region on the economy of the whole country, the financial capacity of industries and the position of the largest players in each industry.
For a more detailed analysis of each specific industry, you can use the classifier of economic activities from Opendatabot.
The number of IT specialists working in Ukraine in 2023 increased by about 2.7% to 346.2 thousand people, according to the research Digital Tiger: the Power of Ukrainian IT, prepared by the IT Association.
Executive Director of IT Ukraine Association Maria Shevchuk specified that such statistical data were provided at the request of IT-Association and the Ministry of Digital Transformation by the State Statistics Service.
“At the same time, the same IT specialist can be an individual entrepreneur (FOP), a salaried employee employed in the staff of an IT company, and a specialist working under a gig contract. This duplication is not reflected in the statistics figures,” Shevchuk specified.
According to the research data, the biggest growth was observed among specialists working in IT on gig-contract. Their number in 2023 increased by 3.9 times – up to 23.2 thousand. At the same time, the number of specialists registered as entrepreneurs (FOP) decreased to 265 thousand against 272.8 thousand in 2022.
The study points out that there are no new data on the number of employees employed in the staff of IT companies for 2023, but in 2022 their number reached 58.1 thousand people.
In general, for five years from 2018 to 2023, the growth in the number of IT-specialists in Ukraine amounted to 78.4%, stated in the study Digital Tiger: the Power of Ukrainian IT.
The number of taxes paid by the IT industry in Ukraine during the full-scale invasion has decreased – according to the data given in the study as of January 1, 2022, $1.018 billion was paid, January 1, 2023 – $996.7 million, January 1, 2024 – $982.6 million.
The number of M&A deals in IT in 2022 decreased from 19 for $146 million to 11 for $161.2 million in 2023.
IT in Ukraine remains an important partner for foreign companies despite the ongoing war, said Stepan Mitish, vice president of EPAM Ukraine, at the presentation of the study.
“When our clients need to do something impossible, they go to Ukraine, against all odds. With all due respect to other countries and nationalities, but Ukrainians are about creativity, about knowledge and technology, result-oriented, indestructible and productive, which the last two years have proven,” Mitish said.
As an example, he cited US-based MedTech, which specializes in healthcare products. According to him, the company, realizing “the uniqueness of Ukrainian talents,” increased the size of its team from 25 to 200 people during the two years of full-scale invasion. Mitish did not specify the name of the company.
Polling stations in India, the world’s largest democracy, will open on April 19, CNN reported Saturday, citing the election commissioner.
An estimated 960 million people in the country of 1.4 billion are eligible to vote in the widely expected election, which will take a month to complete. Voting will take place in seven phases across the country and will conclude on June 1. Indians will vote for 543 seats in the 545-seat lower house of parliament, called the Lok Sabha, with the other two seats in the chamber appointed by the president.
All votes – from the country’s 28 states and eight union territories – will be counted on June 4, the commission said at a news conference in New Delhi. According to the Election Commission, 968.8 million people have registered to vote in the 2024 elections, up 6 percent from 2019.
Current Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (People’s Party of India, BJP) party is expected to gain another five years in power, governing an India that has become increasingly polarized along religious lines.
Under Modi’s leadership, India is poised to become a 21st-century power as its economy grows rapidly. But the populist leader, analysts say, has tightened his grip on the country’s democratic institutions, something not seen since the 1970s under Indira Gandhi’s iron-fisted rule. Minorities feel persecuted by the BJP’s Hindu-nationalist policies, and dissent is suppressed.
Modi is opposed by the main opposition Indian National Congress, which has ruled the country for 77 years since independence and last year formed an alliance with other parties. The Indian National Inclusive Development Alliance, or INDIA, was an important step for the opposition as it tries to regain national prominence. But cracks have already appeared in the alliance and it has yet to nominate a candidate for prime minister, lacking anyone with the stardom and appeal of Modi.
The prime minister’s calendar last year included diplomatic trips to Australia and the United States, where he appeared as a statesman cementing the country as a modern world power.
In August, India made history by soft landing a rover on the moon, becoming the fourth country to do so. A few weeks later, it launched its first spacecraft designed to study the Sun.
In September, India hosted the Group of 20 (G20), giving New Delhi an opportunity to extend its leadership beyond the country’s borders at a time of growing political instability.
In January this year, Modi gave an unofficial kick-start to his election campaign by inaugurating the controversial Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir, a Hindu temple in the holy city of Ayodhya that was built on the site of the demolished Babri mosque.
Modi’s BJP won 303 seats in Parliament in 2019, crossing the 272-seat threshold required for an absolute majority and dealing a humiliating blow to the Congress party. Earlier, think tank Experts Club presented an analysis on the most important elections in countries around the world in 2024, more video analysis is available here -.
In his analytical video published on the Experts Club YouTube channel, Maxim Urakin, founder of the project and PhD in Economics, focuses on the key indicator of global macroeconomics – gross domestic product (GDP), which plays a central role in analyzing the economic well-being of countries. GDP is the total value of all goods and services produced in a country over a certain period of time. This indicator helps to assess how productive a country’s economy is and is an important indicator of its overall economic well-being.
Analyzing GDP dynamics on a global scale
According to Urakin, analyzing the last decades shows significant changes in the global economy.
“In the 1990s to 2000s, first of all, there was significant economic growth in countries such as the US and China, as well as in developing countries such as India. It was a time of economic prosperity for developed countries and a period of rapid growth for some emerging markets,” explained the founder of Experts Club.
But then the world economy was rocked by crises, including the global financial crisis of 2008 and the subsequent European debt crisis. These events, according to Expert Club, slowed global GDP growth and exposed the vulnerability of many economies previously considered promising.
“In recent years, we have faced new challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a significant downturn in the global economy, and geopolitical tensions, including the war in Ukraine. These events have re-emphasized the interconnectedness and interdependence in the global economy,” said Urakin.
GDP and geopolitical changes
Urakin notes that in the context of geopolitics, GDP serves not only as a measure of economic development but also as an indicator of international influence.
“India, surpassing the UK, has become the fifth largest economy in the world, which emphasizes the shift of global economic forces to the Asian region. This is also confirmed by the fact that China, having overtaken the US in terms of purchasing power, has confirmed its status as a global economic power,” the economist emphasized.
Future trends
Analysis of global GDP dynamics shows that the global economy continues to recover from the pandemic, but geopolitical instability has a restraining effect on this growth. According to Maxim Urakin, it is important to monitor developments and adapt to changing conditions to ensure sustainable economic growth in the future. Ukraine, in this context, needs to focus on strengthening domestic political stability, restoring economic potential and continuing reforms to improve its post-war prospects and strengthen its position on the global stage.
To learn more about global GDP, check out the video on the Experts Club channel at the link:
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https://www.youtube.com/@ExpertsClub
GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is the total market value of all final goods and services produced in a country over a given period of time (usually a year). It measures a country’s total output and economic activity, being one of the key indicators of its economic health.
Nominal GDP is an estimate of gross domestic product expressed in current market prices, not adjusted for inflation or deflation. This means that when measuring nominal GDP, current prices of goods and services are taken into account, which can lead to higher GDP when prices rise (inflation), even if actual output has not increased.
PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) GDP is a method of estimating GDP that takes into account differences in the cost of living and price level between countries. The PPP GDP calculation uses prices adjusted to reflect real purchasing power in different countries. This allows for a more accurate comparison of living standards and economic activity between countries because it takes into account differences in the cost of goods and services in different places.
