AI Coding Projects

AI Coding Projects — independent reviews, comparisons, pricing and step-by-step guides on Aizhi.

  • MY F.C.

    MY F.C.

    MY F.C. is a freemium app designed to organise and administer football teams. It is developed by MY F.C. Limited, a private company headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand. The app allows users to build a team by adding players and from there they can create trainings and matches, keep up with relevant news in the curated newsfeed, record statistics both individually and team based, follow the games live in the match-centre. The app also features integrated lineup builder with custom team kits. == History == Founders Sam Jenkins, Mike Simpson and Sam Jasper started MY F.C. in 2015 to help them "run their football lives". The app was launched on Android and iOS on 14 February 2017. == Accolades == MY F.C. won the first place prize at Bank of New Zealand Start-up Alley 2017 competition that aims to discover New Zealand start-ups who are doing innovative work and ready to establish themselves as long-term, sustainable businesses. The prize package included $15,000 and a trip to San Francisco.

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  • Joox

    Joox

    Joox (stylised in all caps) is a music streaming service owned by Tencent, launched in January 2015. Joox is the biggest music streaming app in Asian markets such as Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and also in South Africa before it was shut down in early 2022. Joox is a freemium service, providing most of its songs free, while some songs are only available for premium users, offered via paid subscriptions or by doing different tasks offered. In 2017, Joox launched their service in their first non-Asian market, South Africa, which for an unknown reason shut down five years later. The service now accounts for more than 50% of all music streaming app downloads in their Asian markets. The number of music-streaming users in Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and Indonesia was expected to reach 87 million by 2020. == Background == Before the emergence of Joox, Tencent owned QQ Music, one of the largest music streaming and download service in China. In 2015, they introduced Joox as their expansion of music services to overseas market instead of mainland China, starting first in Hong Kong. Instead of providing free services by playing audio ads to users like Spotify, another major music service, Joox focused on banner ads, splash ads and other advertising methods such as category playlists and in-app skins. They claimed it as a success. Joox offered their premium VIP access to DStv subscribers free of charge. DStv is the sister company to Tencent and is the primary pay-TV provider in South Africa. In November 2021, it was announced that Joox will stop streaming in South Africa in March 2022.

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  • Vanish (computer science)

    Vanish (computer science)

    Vanish was a project to "give users control over the lifetime of personal data stored on the web." It was led by Roxana Geambasu at the University of Washington. The project proposed to allow a user to enter information to send across the internet, thereby relinquishing control of it. However, the user can include an "expiration date," after which the information is no longer usable by anyone who may have a copy of it, even the creator. The Vanish approach was found to be vulnerable to a Sybil attack and thus insecure by a team called Unvanish from the University of Texas, University of Michigan, and Princeton. == Theory == Vanish acts by automating the encryption of information entered by the user with an encryption key that is unknown to the user. Along with the information the user enters, the user also enters metadata concerning how long the information should remain available. The system then encrypts the information but does not store either the encryption key or the original information. Instead, it breaks up the decryption key into smaller components that are disseminated across distributed hash tables, or DHTs, via the Internet. The DHTs refresh information within their nodes on a set schedule unless configured to make the information persistent. The time delay entered by the user in the metadata controls how long the DHTs should allow the information to persist, but once that time period is over, the DHTs will reuse those nodes, making the information about the decryption stored irretrievable. As long as the decryption key may be reassembled from the DHTs, the information is retrievable. However, once the period entered by the user has lapsed, the information is no longer recoverable, as the user never possessed the decryption key. == Implementation == Vanish currently exists as a Firefox plug-in which allows a user to enter text into either a standard Gmail email or Facebook message and choose to send the message via Vanish. The message is then encrypted and sent via the normal networking pathways through the cloud to the recipient. The recipient must have the same Firefox plug-in to decrypt the message. The plugin accesses BitTorrent DHTs, which have 8-hour lifespans. This means the user may select an expiration date for the message in increments of 8 hours. After the expiration of the user-defined time span, the information in the DHT is overwritten, thereby eliminating the key. While both the user and recipient may have copies of the original encrypted message, the key used to turn it back into plain text is now gone. Although this particular instance of the data has become inaccessible, it's important to note that the information can always be saved by other means before expiration (copied or even via screen shots) and published again.

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  • Retained mode

    Retained mode

    Retained mode in computer graphics is a major pattern of API design in graphics libraries, in which the graphics library, instead of the client, retains the scene (complete object model of the rendering primitives) to be rendered and the client calls into the graphics library do not directly cause actual rendering, but make use of extensive indirection to resources, managed – thus retained – by the graphics library. It does not preclude the use of double-buffering. Immediate mode is an alternative approach. Historically, retained mode has been the dominant style in GUI libraries; however, both can coexist in the same library and are not necessarily exclusionary in practice. == Overview == In retained mode the client calls do not directly cause actual rendering, but instead update an abstract internal model (typically a list of objects) which is maintained within the library's data space. This allows the library to optimize when actual rendering takes place along with the processing of related objects. Some techniques to optimize rendering include: managing double buffering treatment of hidden surfaces by backface culling/occlusion culling (Z-buffering) only transferring data that has changed from one frame to the next from the application to the library Example of coexistence with immediate mode in the same library is OpenGL. OpenGL has immediate mode functions that can use previously defined server side objects (textures, vertex buffers and index buffers, shaders, etc.) without resending unchanged data. Examples of retained mode rendering systems include Windows Presentation Foundation, SceneKit on macOS, and PHIGS.

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  • Fred (chatbot)

    Fred (chatbot)

    Fred, or FRED, was an early chatbot written by Robby Garner. == History == The name Fred was initially suggested by Karen Lindsey, and then Robby jokingly came up with an acronym, "Functional Response Emulation Device." Fred has also been implemented as a Java application by Paco Nathan called JFRED Archived 2008-08-24 at the Wayback Machine. Fred Chatterbot is designed to explore Natural Language communications between people and computer programs. In particular, this is a study of conversation between people and ways that a computer program can learn from other people's conversations to make its own conversations. Fred used a minimalistic "stimulus-response" approach. It worked by storing a database of statements and their responses, and made its own reply by looking up the input statements made by a user and then rendering the corresponding response from the database. This approach simplified the complexity of the rule base, but required expert coding and editing for modifications. Fred was a predecessor to Albert One, which Garner used in 1998 and 1999 to win the Loebner Prize.

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  • National Parking Platform

    National Parking Platform

    The National Parking Platform is a digital platform in the United Kingdom providing interoperability between car park operators, parking apps, and other service providers. It enables all parking apps that support the system: RingGo, JustPark, PayByPhone, Apcoa Connect, AppyParking, and Caura to work at all participating car parks. It has been rolled out in 13 local authorities so far. It was first developed by the Department for Transport starting in 2019, and since May 2025 is controlled by the British Parking Association on a not-for-profit basis. == Participating local authorities == Buckinghamshire Cheshire West and Chester Coventry City East Hertfordshire East Suffolk Liverpool City Manchester City Oxfordshire County Peterborough City Stevenage Sutton Walsall Welwyn Hatfield

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  • Magiran

    Magiran

    Magiran (Persian: مگیران)—Iran's publications database—is a digital library that was founded in 2000 and includes digitized versions of scientific journals, which currently provides the possibility of searching among the full text of 1,500 journals. Registration is required for full access to the database, but access to some items such as newspapers is also possible without registration. A list of Iranian researchers is also maintained there.

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  • JustWatch

    JustWatch

    JustWatch is a website that provides information on the availability of films and TV shows on various streaming platforms such as Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Hulu, Peacock, Fandango at Home, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime Video, among others. It is also available as a mobile application and smart TV application. JustWatch provides a search engine that allows users to discover which digital platforms host a particular movie or TV series. As of November 2023, JustWatch is available to users in 139 countries. == Features == JustWatch functions as a search engine by aggregating information about the online availability of films and TV series from video-on-demand streaming services. It aggregates information from more than 100 video content libraries, as well providing information about video resolution quality, pricing, and purchase or rental options. The website includes various filters for searching, including genre, price, release date, rating, and popularity. Users are also able to create lists of shows and movies and to share these lists with other users. == History == JustWatch GmbH is an international database company that is privately held and headquartered in Berlin, Germany. The company specializes in the online availability of movies and TV series. In addition to its user-facing website, the company also has an advertising-focused arm, JustWatch Media, that works with corporate clients, using data about what people watch that it gleans from user behavior to help entertainment companies tailor their marketing strategies. Its clients include Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and Sony Pictures, among others. Development of the website began in 2014, and it was launched in the U.S. and Germany in February 2015. In 2018, the company received funding to improve databases within the European Union. In December 2019, the company acquired a rival streaming aggregation service, GoWatchIt, from Plexus Entertainment. JustWatch also used the acquisition to open its first New York office. In 2019, JustWatch had over 30 million users across 38 countries. By 2020, the company's streaming aggregation service was available in over 45 countries. By November 2023, it was available in 139 countries, and had over 40 million monthly users. === Founding === JustWatch was co-founded in 2013 by David Croyé, Cristoph Hoyer, Kevin Hiller, Dominik Raute, Ingke Weimert, and Michael Wilken. In a company blog post from February 2017, Croyé described the group of co-founders as all having previously "worked in leading roles at successful international tech-startups in Berlin." Croyé, who currently holds the title of CEO at JustWatch GmbH, had previously worked as the chief marketing officer at kaufDA, a European location-based mobile coupon and promotion service, and the background of other co-founders included time at the adtech company Trademob and the streaming site MyVideo. Startup capital for the website initially came from the founders themselves. Croyé in particular was able to reinvest funds he had obtained from the sale of kaufDA to Axel Springer, a European media company, in March 2011. Since 2015, the company has had at least one additional round of seed funding, with investors including venture capital groups CG Partners and STS Ventures.

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  • Software durability

    Software durability

    In software engineering, software durability means the solution ability of serviceability of software and to meet user's needs for a relatively long time. Software durability is important for user's satisfaction. For a software security to be durable, it must allow an organization to adjust the software to business needs that are constantly evolving, often in impulsive ways. Durability of software depends on four characteristics mainly; i.e. software trustworthiness, Human Trust for Serviceability, software dependability and software usability.

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  • Hexagonal sampling

    Hexagonal sampling

    A multidimensional signal is a function of M independent variables where M ≥ 2 {\displaystyle M\geq 2} . Real world signals, which are generally continuous time signals, have to be discretized (sampled) in order to ensure that digital systems can be used to process the signals. It is during this process of discretization where sampling comes into picture. Although there are many ways of obtaining a discrete representation of a continuous time signal, periodic sampling is by far the simplest scheme. Theoretically, sampling can be performed with respect to any set of points. But practically, sampling is carried out with respect to a set of points that have a certain algebraic structure. Such structures are called lattices. Mathematically, the process of sampling an N {\displaystyle N} -dimensional signal can be written as: w ( t ^ ) = w ( V . n ^ ) {\displaystyle w({\hat {t}})=w(V.{\hat {n}})} where t ^ {\displaystyle {\hat {t}}} is continuous domain M-dimensional vector (M-D) that is being sampled, n ^ {\displaystyle {\hat {n}}} is an M-dimensional integer vector corresponding to indices of a sample, and V is an N × N {\displaystyle N\times N} sampling matrix. == Motivation == Multidimensional sampling provides the opportunity to look at digital methods to process signals. Some of the advantages of processing signals in the digital domain include flexibility via programmable DSP operations, signal storage without the loss of fidelity, opportunity for encryption in communication, lower sensitivity to hardware tolerances. Thus, digital methods are simultaneously both powerful and flexible. In many applications, they act as less expensive alternatives to their analog counterparts. Sometimes, the algorithms implemented using digital hardware are so complex that they have no analog counterparts. Multidimensional digital signal processing deals with processing signals represented as multidimensional arrays such as 2-D sequences or sampled images.[1] Processing these signals in the digital domain permits the use of digital hardware where in signal processing operations are specified by algorithms. As real world signals are continuous time signals, multidimensional sampling plays a crucial role in discretizing the real world signals. The discrete time signals are in turn processed using digital hardware to extract information from the signal. == Preliminaries == === Region of Support === The region outside of which the samples of the signal take zero values is known as the Region of support (ROS). From the definition, it is clear that the region of support of a signal is not unique. === Fourier transform === The Fourier transform is a tool that allows us to simplify mathematical operations performed on the signal. The transform basically represents any signal as a weighted combination of sinusoids. The Fourier and the inverse Fourier transform of an M-dimensional signal can be defined as follows: X a ( Ω ^ ) = ∫ − ∞ + ∞ x a ( t ^ ) e − j Ω ^ T t ^ d t ^ {\displaystyle X_{a}({\hat {\Omega }})=\int _{-\infty }^{+\infty }\!x_{a}({\hat {t}})e^{-j{\hat {\Omega }}^{T}{\hat {t}}}d{\hat {t}}} x a ( t ^ ) = 1 2 π M ∫ − ∞ + ∞ X ( Ω ^ ) e ( j Ω ^ T t ^ ) d Ω ^ {\displaystyle x_{a}({\hat {t}})={\frac {1}{2\pi ^{M}}}\int _{-\infty }^{+\infty }\!X({\hat {\Omega }})e^{(j{\hat {\Omega }}^{T}{\hat {t}})}\,\mathrm {d} {\hat {\Omega }}} The cap symbol ^ indicates that the operation is performed on vectors. The Fourier transform of the sampled signal is observed to be a periodic extension of the continuous time Fourier transform of the signal. This is mathematically represented as: X ( ω ) = 1 | d e t ( V ) | ∑ k X a ( Ω ^ − U k ) {\displaystyle X(\omega )={\frac {1}{|det(V)|}}\sum _{k}\!X_{a}({\hat {\Omega }}-Uk)} where ω = V ~ Ω {\displaystyle \omega ={\tilde {V}}\Omega } and U = 2 π V ~ {\displaystyle U=2\pi {\tilde {V}}} is the periodicity matrix where ~ denotes matrix transposition. Thus sampling in the spatial domain results in periodicity in the Fourier domain. === Aliasing === A band limited signal may be periodically replicated in many ways. If the replication results in an overlap between replicated regions, the signal suffers from aliasing. Under such conditions, a continuous time signal cannot be perfectly recovered from its samples. Thus in order to ensure perfect recovery of the continuous signal, there must be zero overlap multidimensional sampling of the replicated regions in the transformed domain. As in the case of 1-dimensional signals, aliasing can be prevented if the continuous time signal is sampled at an adequate sufficiently high rate. === Sampling density === It is a measure of the number of samples per unit area. It is defined as: S . D = 1 | d e t ( V ) | = | d e t ( U ) | 4 π 2 {\displaystyle S.D={\frac {1}{|det(V)|}}={\frac {|det(U)|}{4\pi ^{2}}}} . The minimum number of samples per unit area required to completely recover the continuous time signal is termed as optimal sampling density. In applications where memory or processing time are limited, emphasis must be given to minimizing the number of samples required to represent the signal completely. == Existing approaches == For a bandlimited waveform, there are infinitely many ways the signal can be sampled without producing aliases in the Fourier domain. But only two strategies are commonly used: rectangular sampling and hexagonal sampling. === Rectangular and Hexagonal sampling === In rectangular sampling, a 2-dimensional signal, for example, is sampled according to the following V matrix: V r e c t = [ T 1 0 0 T 2 ] {\displaystyle V_{rect}={\begin{bmatrix}T1&0\\0&T2\end{bmatrix}}} where T1 and T2 are the sampling periods along the horizontal and vertical direction respectively. In hexagonal sampling, the V matrix assumes the following general form: V h e x = [ T 1 T 1 − T 2 T 2 ] {\displaystyle V_{hex}={\begin{bmatrix}T1&T1\\-T2&T2\end{bmatrix}}} The difference in the efficiency of the two schemes is highlighted using a bandlimited signal with a circular region of support of radius R. The circle can be inscribed in a square of length 2R or a regular hexagon of length 2 R 3 {\displaystyle {\frac {2R}{\sqrt {3}}}} . Consequently, the region of support is now transformed into a square and a hexagon respectively. If these regions are periodically replicated in the frequency domain such that there is zero overlap between any two regions, then by periodically replicating the square region of support, we effectively sample the continuous signal on a rectangular lattice. Similarly periodic replication of the hexagonal region of support maps to sampling the continuous signal on a hexagonal lattice. From U, the periodicity matrix, we can calculate the optimal sampling density for both the rectangular and hexagonal schemes. It is found that in order to completely recover the circularly band-limited signal, the hexagonal sampling scheme requires 13.4% fewer samples than the rectangular sampling scheme. The reduction may appear to be of little significance for a 2-dimensional signal. But as the dimensionality of the signal increases, the efficiency of the hexagonal sampling scheme will become far more evident. For instance, the reduction achieved for an 8-dimensional signal is 93.8%. To highlight the importance of the obtained result [2], try and visualize an image as a collection of infinite number of samples. The primary entity responsible for vision, i.e. the photoreceptors (rods and cones) are present on the retina of all mammals. These cells are not arranged in rows and columns. By adapting a hexagonal sampling scheme, our eyes are able to process images much more efficiently. The importance of hexagonal sampling lies in the fact that the photoreceptors of the human vision system lie on a hexagonal sampling lattice and, thus, perform hexagonal sampling.[3] In fact, it can be shown that the hexagonal sampling scheme is the optimal sampling scheme for a circularly band-limited signal. == Applications == === Aliasing effects minimized by the use of optimal sampling grids === Recent advances in the CCD technology has made hexagonal sampling feasible for real life applications. Historically, because of technology constraints, detector arrays were implemented only on 2-dimensional rectangular sampling lattices with rectangular shape detectors. But the super [CCD] detector introduced by Fuji has an octagonal shaped pixel in a hexagonal grid. Theoretically, the performance of the detector was greatly increased by introducing an octagonal pixel. The number of pixels required to represent the sample was reduced and there was significant improvement in the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) when compared with that of a rectangular pixel. But the drawback of using hexagonal pixels is that the associated fill factor will be less than 82%. An alternative method would be to interpolate hexagonal pixels in such a manner that we ultimately end up with a rectangular grid. The Spot 5 satellite incorporates a

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  • Computer Graphics International

    Computer Graphics International

    Computer Graphics International (CGI) is one of the oldest annual international conferences on computer graphics. It is organized by the Computer Graphics Society (CGS). Researchers across the whole world are invited to share their experiences and novel achievements in various fields - like computer graphics and human-computer interaction. Former conferences have been held recently in Hong Kong (China), Geneva (Switzerland), Shanghai (China), Geneva (virtually), Calgary (Canada), Bintan (Indonesia) and Yokohama (Japan). == Awards == Starting in the year of 2013, CGI has given yearly a Best Paper Award and a Career Achievement Award. == Venues ==

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  • MetaMask

    MetaMask

    MetaMask is a software cryptocurrency wallet developed by ConsenSys for interacting with the Ethereum blockchain and other EVM-compatible networks. It enables users to manage Ethereum accounts and connect to decentralized applications (dApps) via a browser extension or mobile app. As of early 2026, MetaMask reports over 100 million users worldwide. == Overview == MetaMask allows users to store and manage private keys, send and receive Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies and tokens (including ERC-20 and ERC-721 standards), broadcast transactions, and interact with dApps. dApps connect to the wallet via JavaScript interfaces, prompting users to approve signatures or transactions. The wallet features MetaMask Swaps, an in-app token swap aggregator sourcing liquidity from multiple decentralized exchanges (DEXs), with a service fee of 0.875%. In 2025, MetaMask introduced the MetaMask Rewards program (initially mobile-only), where users earn points for activities such as swaps, bridging, and referrals. Season 1 (October 2025 – January 2026) distributed over $30 million in Linea tokens and other perks to participants. == History == MetaMask launched in 2016 as open-source software under the MIT license. It initially supported browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox. Mobile versions were in closed beta from 2019 and publicly released for iOS and Android in September 2020. In August 2020, the license changed to a custom proprietary one. MetaMask Swaps launched on desktop in October 2020 and on mobile in March 2021. The Rewards program launched in late 2025 with Linea integration. == Criticism == MetaMask has faced criticism over privacy, including default analytics settings that share some user data (which can be disabled). Its reliance on Infura (acquired by ConsenSys in 2019) has raised concerns about centralization in Ethereum infrastructure. The wallet regularly issues warnings about phishing scams and fake airdrops impersonating MetaMask.

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  • Geofence warrant

    Geofence warrant

    A geofence warrant or a reverse location warrant is a search warrant issued by a court to allow law enforcement to search a database to find all active mobile devices within a particular geo-fence area. Courts have granted law enforcement geo-fence warrants to obtain information from databases such as Google's Sensorvault, which collects users' historical geolocation data. Geo-fence warrants are a part of a category of warrants known as reverse search warrants. == History == Geofence warrants were first used in 2016. Google reported that it had received 982 such warrants in 2018, 8,396 in 2019, and 11,554 in 2020. A 2021 transparency report showed that 25% of data requests from law enforcement to Google were geo-fence data requests. Google is the most common recipient of geo-fence warrants and the main provider of such data, although companies including Apple, Snapchat, Lyft, and Uber have also received such warrants. == Legality == === United States === Some lawyers and privacy experts believe reverse search warrants are unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures, and requires any search warrants be specific to what and to whom they apply. The Fourth Amendment specifies that warrants may only be issued "upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." Some lawyers, legal scholars, and privacy experts have likened reverse search warrants to general warrants, which were made illegal by the Fourth Amendment. Groups including the Electronic Frontier Foundation have opposed geo-fence warrants in amicus briefs filed in motions to quash such orders to disclose geo-fence data. In 2024, a panel of the United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals considered data acquired from Google’s Sensorvault not to be a search, but non-private business records when users opt-in to Google’s location history. However, upon a rehearing en banc, the Court vacated that decision. In April 2025, the full Court affirmed the judgment solely on the 'good faith' exception, leaving the underlying constitutional question of whether geofence warrants constitute a search unsettled in the Circuit. However, the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found that geofence warrants are "categorically prohibited by the Fourth Amendment." The split in Circuits prompted the United States Supreme Court to agree to hear Chatrie v. United States in January 2026.

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  • Touch 'n Go eWallet

    Touch 'n Go eWallet

    Touch 'n Go eWallet is a Malaysian digital wallet and online payment platform, established in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in July 2017 as a joint venture between Touch 'n Go and Ant Financial. It allows users to make payments at over 280,000 merchant touch points via QR code, as well as perform peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfers. Since then, the e-wallet further diversified for users to pay for tolls via RFID or PayDirect, street parking and various online payment spanning e-hailing, car-sharing apps or taxis, various overhead bills; top-up for mobile prepaid or in-game currencies; purchases on e-commerce websites; food delivery; renewing motor insurance and other insurance/takaful plans; and even movie, bus, trains or airline tickets. == Background == Prior to the launch of the e-wallet service, Touch 'n Go provided stored-value physical all-in-one contactless card (namely Touch 'n Go cards or "TnG cards") that users can use to pay for toll fares, public transportation and parking lots as well as purchases in some retail stores. In 1999, Touch 'n Go also markets SmartTag devices that allow road users to pass through certain toll booths without the need to unwind the car window. The high entry cost of the device (around RM 100 each) also meant that only few can enjoy the seamless experience. In 2009, Touch 'n Go partnered with Maxis to launch FastTap, a new mobile payment service that utilised Near-Field Communication (NFC). Maxis customers can make payments by placing the phone near the card readers (that also supports physical bank cards and Touch ’N Go cards). However, the venture featured only one phone model, Nokia 6212, which greatly limited the public reach. In July 2012, Touch 'n Go announced another collaboration with CIMB and Maxis to create similar NFC-based online transaction service that runs on compatible smartphones. Touch 'n Go Wallet was launched in February 2017 as an QR code-based e-wallet application, to compete with Samsung Pay that utilizes NFC modules. In the controlled pilot test in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, the correspondents can experience basic functionalities (prepaid mobile service reload, bills payment, movie tickets and flight tickets purchase, transfer of money with another user, and payments at participating stores and restaurants). While the deployed version of the app was generally well-received, the existing process to transfer the balance to the physical TnG card stored value from the app garnered unanimous backlash. Test groups felt that the need to head to a self-service terminal named "Pick Up Device" in person within 24 hours for completion, along with the failure to do so (the balance would be credited back to the wallet after 24 hours), was not divulged clearly and also defeated the purpose of convenience, not to mention there were only 2 such terminals. The feature was eventually suspended. On 15 November 2017, Touch 'n Go was granted permission by the Central Bank of Malaysia to form a joint venture with Ant Financial, a Chinese-based financial company that operates Alipay. The partnership allowed the local e-wallet to learn from and build upon the operational model pioneered by Alipay. In June 2018, it was reported that Touch 'n Go was pilot testing the uses of the Touch 'n Go eWallet in Rapid Transit, as the ticketing system was enabled on the Kelana Jaya line in the Klang Valley. Pilot testing only applied to stations in Kelana Jaya, KL Gateway–Universiti, Kerinchi, KL Sentral, Dang Wangi, KLCC, and Ampang Park. The test was reported to be successful in February 2020 and was planned to be fully deployed on the LRT and MRT. Due to unforeseen circumstances, this feature did not come into fruition, the app merely adds in-app purchase of monthly concession cards called "My50". In August 2018, Touch 'n Go announced that selected drivers may experience first-hand a new RFID-based payment (later rebranded as "myRFID") that serves to replace SmartTag devices on closed toll roads with during pilot testing phase commencing on 3 September 2018. On 2 November 2018, participation in the ongoing pilot programme was expanded, allowing more drivers to sign up ahead of the public rollout of the RFID system. During the same period, Touch 'n Go has discontinued the sales of SmartTAG devices in favor of the RFID-based payment system. Initially, the installation of the RFID chip onto the car could only be done by Touch 'n Go staff at the RFID fitment centers, at no cost. As the pilot testing concluded on 15 February 2020, a self-installation kit are being offered to the public on Lazada and Shopee. Support for taxi-hailing mobile apps was added in November 2018 when Touch 'n Go partnered with EzCab and Public Cab, allowing users to make payments via QR code. This was later expanded to support MULA on 7 January 2020, and later MyCar on 4 April 2020. Touch 'n Go eWallet was also the first eWallet to convert Kuala Lumpur's most famous Ramadan bazaar in Kampong Bahru into "Kampong Kashless", a venue that can accept cashless QR payments. It welcomed more than 250,000 Malaysians including local celebrities and government officials. On 1 October 2019, some e-commerce websites owned by the Alibaba Group (TMall and Taobao) began to support Touch 'n Go eWallet payments, Lazada joined the list on 29 October 2019. Touch 'n Go eWallet was one of the three e-wallet services in Malaysia (the other being Boost and GrabPay) that was eligible for its users to receive an RM 30 credit in conjunction of E-Tunai Rakyat program under the Budget 2020 plan, that further normalizes adoption of cashless and mobile payment among Malaysians. Unlike Boost and GrabPay, whose P2P transfers were completely disabled until users have exhausted the RM 30 first, Touch 'n Go eWallet did not impose such measures. in 2020, Touch 'n Go eWallet joined DuitNow, an electronic transaction ecosystem in Malaysia which allows the funds from Touch 'n Go eWallet to be transferred to other competing services and vice versa, by implementing a standard DuitNow QR code deisgn. Japan become the first country outside Malaysia to support Touch 'n Go eWallet payment via Alipay Connect. During the COVID-19 pandemic and the enforcement of the movement control order, use of eWallets (including Touch 'n Go eWallet) increased tremendously among citizens due to its contactless nature of the payment and increased take-out orders at home; which in turn helped small and medium-sized enterprises to thrive. Touch 'n Go eWallet launched its loyalty programme – The Goal Hunter – in October 2020 where on monthly basis, users collect stamps by paying with the app in exchange for rewards that include lucky draws and other vouchers. == Services == Touch 'n Go eWallet app is available for download on both Google Play and Apple Appstore. It utilizes QR code technology for local in-store payments. The Touch 'n Go eWallet app also diversifies payment types, including but not limited to Utility bills Purchase of motor insurance policy Pay Later facility Prepaid reload and Postpaid payment to telecommunications companies loan repayments for courts, MBSJ payments, zakat and PTPTN payment for car parking P2P transfer airline ticket bookings; movie tickets from TGV Cinemas RFID refuelling at Shell stations (defunct after Shell launched its own payment app in 2024) User can reload the eWallet credit by setting up auto-reload, purchasing reload pins from convenience stores (such as 7-Eleven, KK Super Mart, MyNews, Family Mart etc.), reloading by FPX and credit/debit card. The PayDirect feature allows users to link their physical Touch 'n Go cards into the eWallet, where the toll fare can be debited from the eWallet balance when flashing the card near the sensor. In the circumstance of insufficient balance in the app, the toll fare will be deducted from the physical card's balance instead. This also conveniently allows users to view the card's remaining balance. Touch 'n Go eWallet is the first and only eWallet to offer a money-back guarantee when an unauthorised transaction is made on the user’s eWallet account, subject to Terms & Conditions. Payment via QR code scanning, including Touch 'n Go eWallet, becomes a norm in most of the shops/restaurants across Malaysia, including roadside hawkers/stall owners and automatic vending machines. The merchants usually display their owner's individual QR or Business account that they can apply for in-app. The popularity attributes to the low merchant onboarding cost (Unlike NFC payment and debit/credit card that requires purchase or rental of a payment terminal device at a yearly fee.) The app is also one of the few ewallet that supports bidirectional liquidity (alongside MAE developed by Maybank), where funds can be transferred two-way with bank accounts. This is not possible with the other major ewallets (GrabPay, Boost, ShopeePay etc.) where the money that is reloaded to the wallet cannot be transferred to another bank account, unless through manual req

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  • Sketchpad

    Sketchpad

    Sketchpad (a.k.a. Robot Draftsman) is a computer program written by Ivan Sutherland in 1963 in the course of his PhD thesis, for which he received the Turing Award in 1988, and the Kyoto Prize in 2012. It pioneered human–computer interaction (HCI), and is considered the ancestor of modern computer-aided design (CAD) programs and as a major breakthrough in the development of computer graphics in general. For example, Sketchpad inspired the graphical user interface (GUI) and object-oriented programming. Using the program, Sutherland showed that computer graphics could be used for both artistic and technical purposes and for demonstrating a novel method of human–computer interaction. == History == See History of the graphical user interface for a more detailed discussion of GUI development. == Software == Sketchpad was the earliest program ever to use a complete graphical user interface. The clever way the program organizes its geometric data pioneered the use of master (objects) and occurrences (instances) in computing and pointed forward to object-oriented programming. The main idea was to have master drawings which can be instantiated into many duplicates. When a master drawing is changed, then all instances change also. This was the first known form of an entity component system: for example instead of encapsulating points inside of a line object, the points are stored in a ring buffer as described in pages 48 to 52 of the paper, and the line only points to them. This allowed moving one point to alter all the shapes that use it in a single operation. The structures in Sketchpad were also able to store pointers to functions, to achieve a different behavior depending on the kind of object. In figure 3.8 of the paper, the "instances generic block" stores several "subroutine entries" which are pointers to functions: "display", "howbig" etc. This was an early form of virtual functions. Geometric constraints was another major invention in Sketchpad, letting a user easily constrain geometric properties in the drawing: for instance, the length of a line or the angle between two lines could be fixed. As a trade magazine said, clearly Sutherland "broke new ground in 3D computer modeling and visual simulation, the basis for computer graphics and CAD/CAM". Very few programs can be called precedents for his achievements. Patrick J. Hanratty is sometimes called the "father of CAD/CAM" and wrote PRONTO, a numerical control language at General Electric in 1957, and wrote CAD software while working for General Motors beginning in 1961. Sutherland wrote in his thesis that Bolt, Beranek and Newman had a "similar program" and T-Square was developed by Peter Samson and one or more fellow MIT students in 1962, both for the PDP-1. The Computer History Museum holds program listings for Sketchpad. == Hardware == Sketchpad ran on the MIT Lincoln Laboratory TX-2 (1958) computer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which had 64k of 36-bit words. The user drew on the computer monitor screen with the recently invented light pen, which relayed information on its position by computing at what time the light from the scanning cathode-ray tube screen is detected. To configure the initial position of the light pen, the word INK was displayed on the screen, which, upon tapping, initialised the program with a white cross to continue keeping track of the pen's movement relative to its prior position. Of the 36 bits available to store each display spot in the display file, 20 gave the coordinates of that spot for the display system and the remaining 16 gave the address of the n-component element responsible for adding that spot to display. The TX-2 was an experimental machine and the hardware changed often (on Wednesdays, according to Sutherland). By 1975, the light pen and the cathode-ray tube with which it had been used had been removed. == Publications == The Sketchpad program was part and parcel of Sutherland's Ph.D. thesis at MIT and peripherally related to the Computer-Aided Design project at that time. Sketchpad: A Man-Machine Graphical Communication System.

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