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Netflix Removes a Designated Survivor Episode in Turkey
Netflix has removed an episode of Designated Survivor from its platform in Turkey, in compliance with local law. Turkey’s censor board, the Radio and Television Supreme Council, had objected to the depiction of a fictitious Turkish president.
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Oppo A92 Image Leak Shows Aurora Purple Variant, Side-Mounted Fingerprint Sensor
Oppo A92, the upcoming smartphone by Chinese manufacturer Oppo, has been in the news recently, thanks to the leaks. Now, new images of the phones have appeared giving away the phone’s look in the Aurora Purple colour. A side mounter fingerprint sensor on the right is also visible in an image.
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Coronavirus Outbreak: Governments knew a pandemic was a threat – here's why they weren't better prepared
Most people think or at least hope their government is doing a good job in the face of COVID-19, according to the polls. But there can be no doubt that governments around the world were ill-prepared for this pandemic.
Country after country has been locking their citizens in their homes to slow the spread of the virus for fear that their health systems get overwhelmed, as has happened in Italy. The lack of ventilators and protective equipment are a particular problem, despite the fact that scientists have called for years for governments to stockpile these life-saving machines and protective equipment.
How is it possible that we were not ready? Not only had Bill Gates been banging on about this for a long time, but pandemics also featured strongly on regional and national risk registers produced by governments and bureaucrats, as well as international registers from non-governmental organisations. These administrative tools, highlight the most likely and impactful events that could befall societies, from earthquakes to terrorism, and including influenza and novel pandemics.
Despite all the effort that has gone into developing these tools, governments around the world have been bad at acting on their warnings about a pandemic. We see at least six possible reasons for this.
First, some policymakers, at least in the west, did not believe the magnitude of the problem. This was because comparable events were beyond memory, like the 1918 “Spanish” flu; or were not that severe, like Sars, bird flu and swine flu. Even Ebola was contained and subdued with relative ease, other than in west Africa where it originated. There was a sense that modern medicine, at least in advanced countries, could cope with anything the microbiotic world threw at it.
Second, some sceptical politicians and the commentators they listen to thought that risk analysts and scientists cried wolf over past viral threats like swine flu and bird flu, and thought some of the risks seemed overstated or even incredible. It does not help that pandemics often appear on the same graphs as issues like space weather, which, while a real and pressing issue, is not widely understood and sounds like something out of a Star Trek episode.
Third, because electoral cycles are short, politicians tend to focus more on the short term. This is a common human trait, but the ramifications are more severe for politicians. Areas of public policy that require long-term investment, especially intangibles such as disaster planning, tend to be lower priority. Politicians either think that the public does not know about the risks or that they do not care.
Fourth, as a species, we are good at rewarding people who fix problems, but terrible at acknowledging a problem averted. For example, former US Transport Secretary Norm Mineta received much praise for insisting that cockpit doors should be bulletproof after 9/11. How much praise would he have received if he had done it before 9/11? Consequently, government interest tends to focus on events that have already occurred such as floods or earthquakes.
Fifth, risk registers are confusing. They can feature an overwhelming amount of information, including long lists of many hazards and risks, and large scatter graphs like the one below linking the likelihood of an event with its impact. The illusions of comprehensiveness, precision and control can lull readers into a false sense of security. But given that the registers are calculated using many assumptions, they can also be seen as inherently speculative, hypothetical and even discountable to politicians.
Global risks in 2020
Sixth, risk registers, if taken as providing guidance and accountability, can become politically risky if an event happens and governments have not been prepared. This is why some countries, for example, New Zealand, have not published their risk registers despite the obvious value of developing a common understanding of risks and helping various societal sectors to prepare for them. Those that don’t publish their registers come under less pressure to act on them.
What to do next time
Given all these problems, what could be done differently to make sure we are better prepared for such crises in future?
To start with, risk registers need to be produced largely outside the political process through a partnership between experts and policymakers. But they should also involve input from a diverse range of groups, for example, indigenous people or key workers, so their interests are included in both identifying risks and planning responses.
Each country needs to understand and learn from how others are analysing, planning and have dealt with similar emergencies in the past. It is worth noting that parts of the world most affected by SARS appear to have handled the current pandemic with more urgency and success.
Risk registers should also be published to build trust and consensus in government preparations. This would also allow sections of society, including local government, businesses, charities and individuals, to take their own appropriate actions.
However, registers should not be seen as an end in themselves but rather as live documents against which governments and agencies constantly test themselves to make sure that they are doing enough. Practice trials, as happen in the UK, are essential but need to be followed up with action to improve future responses. Simply acknowledging that we are not prepared for a pandemic is not enough.
Chris Tyler, Associate Professor in Science Policy and Knowledge Infrastructure, UCL and Peter Gluckman, Director of Koi Tū, the Centre for Informed Futures; former Chief Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of New Zealand
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Amazon Warns Coronavirus Expenses Could Make It Post First Quarterly Loss in Five Years
Amazon.com on Thursday said it could post its first quarterly loss in five years even as revenue surges because it is spending at least $4 billion in response to the coronavirus pandemic, including plans to test its workforce for COVID-19.
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Wonder Woman Spin-Off to Come Before Wonder Woman 3, Patty Jenkins Hints
Patty Jenkins has revealed more of her thoughts on a Wonder Woman spin-off centred on the Amazons of Themyscira — that’s the race of warrior women to whom Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) belongs — and how it fits with Wonder Woman 3.
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Apple iPhone 12 lineup pricing leaked, details about camera array also revealed
The launch of the iPhone 12 lineup could possibly be delayed due to the ongoing pandemic. It is expected that a 5.4-inch and two 6.1-inch iPhone 12 models are likely to launch in September, whereas the 6.7-inch model might be delayed and launch in October. However, this news hasn't stopped the leaks.
The latest leak claims to reveal the pricing of the upcoming iPhone series. The leaks also suggests that the 2020 iPhone lineup is likely to include four models this time.
As per a tweet by tipster Jon Prosser, the iPhone 12 model might come with a 5.4-inch OLED screen, 5G connectivity and it might be priced at $649. This model is codenamed as D52G and is likely to sport dual cameras.
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max.
Another iPhone 12 model is expected to feature a 6.1-inch screen, 5G connectivity and dual cameras. This model is codenamed as D53G and is expected to be priced at $749.
The iPhone 12 Pro model is likely to feature a 6.1-inch screen and three cameras and it might cost you $999. Lastly, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is expected to sport a 6.7-inch OLED screen and three cameras. It might also come with 5G connectivity and is likely to be priced at $1,099.
Been seeing some reports speculating on iPhone 12 prices, so I asked my sources 👇
5.4 iPhone 12 D52G
OLED / 5G
2 cam
$6496.1 iPhone 12 D53G
OLED / 5G
2 cam
$7496.1 iPhone 12 Pro D53P
OLED / 5G
3 cam + LiDAR
$9996.7 iPhone 12 Pro Max D54P
OLED / 5G
3 cam + LiDAR
$1,099— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) April 30, 2020
Another report by PhoneArena surfaced online last week that also hinted at the pricing of iPhone 12 lineup. The report suggested that the iPhone 12 (5.4-inch) model and iPhone 12 Max (6.1-inch) model might be priced between $700-$750. The other two iPhone 12 Pro (6.1-inch) model and iPhone 12 Pro Max (6.7-inch) model are likely to be priced at $999 and $1,099 respectively.
An earlier report suggests that the two high-end iPhones of this year's lineup are likely to have stainless steel curved edges and sharply rounded corners just like iPad Pro that was launched in 2018. The screen is likely to be flat instead of sloping edges just like the iPhone 11 lineup.
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Industry Dialogue: COVID Disruption is Proof That We Need to be Serious About 5G Networks in India
5G will help in easing out on the network congestion thereby improving user experience while streaming videos across platforms. It will also provide a smart data pipe for content; monetize broadcast spectrum and provide live streaming on-the-go sans data caps.from Top Tech News- News18.com https://ift.tt/3aUVCe0
Zoom Does Not Have More Than 300 Million Daily Active Users Just 'Participants'
Shares of the video conferencing app also fell nearly 7% to $136.86 after the reports came out.from Top Tech News- News18.com https://ift.tt/3fcgYXY
Intel 10th-Gen Desktop CPUs Are Here Headed by the Mighty 10-Core Core-9 10900K
Intel is pushing the boundaries once again with its new 10th-gen Comet Lake processor range for consumer desktops.from Top Tech News- News18.com https://ift.tt/2SpPW5l
Jio Unveils JioMeet Video Conferencing Platform to take on Zoom, Google Meet
Jio parent Reliance Industries Limited revealed its plans to launch the JioMeet platform while announcing its quarterly earnings for the fourth quarter on Thursday evening.
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Musk's SpaceX, Bezos' Blue Origin Land Contracts to Build NASA's Astronaut Moon Lander
NASA on Thursday selected space firms SpaceX, Blue Origin and Dynetics to build lunar landing systems that can carry astronauts to the moon by 2024, the White House's accelerated deadline under the space agency's moon-to-Mars campaign.
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Jio-Facebook agreement vindicates Indian way of doing business: By responding to needs of bottom of the pyramid
It has often been argued that the biggest impediment to India emerging as the favoured foreign investment destination is the unreasoned and unreasonable objections raised by naysayers who conjure conspiracy theories and invoke dire consequences like a magician pulling rabbits out of his hat.
Decades of perverse socialism, born not out of ideology but government inefficiency and inadequacy, instilled into most Indians a loathing for big industry, profit generation and wealth creation. Virtue was attached to businesses that were perpetually in the red; conversely, it was sinful for businesses to be in the black.
Attitudes, both in government and among the people, have no doubt changed and gathered pace in recent years. Young, aspirational India is comfortable with the idea of industry making profits, generating jobs and creating wealth. Government realises that the totem poles of yesterday’s Soviet-style command economy are irrelevant in the era of market-driven economics.
Young, aspirational India is comfortable with the idea of industry making profits, generating jobs and creating wealth. Government realises that the totem poles of yesterday’s Soviet-style command economy are irrelevant in the era of market-driven economics.
Yet, the conversion is incomplete: there are naysayers within and outside government who suffer from what Arun Shourie once famously described as the ‘Instant Rejection Syndrome’ – anything and everything must be rejected on the presumption that it is either bad, undoable or has ‘long-term implications’. Commonsense continues to be discounted.
So it is with the Rs 43,574 crore deal between Reliance Jio and Facebook. The naysayers are loathe to concede that at a time when the national and global economies have entered an unprecedented zone of uncertainty and turmoil on account of the massive disruption caused by COVID-19, we have just witnessed the ‘largest investment for a minority stake’ by a technology company in India. It is, therefore, important to separate substance from the noise and for that, it is important to view this investment in the right perspective.
We have just witnessed the ‘largest investment for a minority stake’ by a technology company in India. It is, therefore, important to separate substance from the noise and for that, it is important to view this investment in the right perspective.
Before we look at what Facebook’s investment in Jio is all about, it is important to understand what this investment is not about. The agreement does not represent an American business buying a majority or controlling stake in an Indian company. It is incomprehensible and absurd, for instance, to compare it with Walmart’s acquisition of Flipkart.
Second, by no stretch of the imagination is it an ‘opportunistic bid’ to extract resources from a lucrative Indian business or the burgeoning Indian digital market at a time when government’s attention is diverted by a national crisis caused by a raging pandemic. Hence, it is neither a predatory purchase nor a soft investment to place a small bet on the future.
Third, and this is important to note because we are once again beginning to hear the same old cant, there is absolutely no data arbitrage or data acquisition embedded in the transaction, hidden from the public eye, as this investment is not about either. To claim otherwise is a spurious argument — it may generate social media hashtags and mindless clamour, but beyond that it is no more than what it is: an entirely baseless assumption.
So, what then is the Jio-Facebook deal all about? Putting it simply, it is about one of the most successful Silicon Valley enterprises investing in India’s large, rapidly growing and attractive digital market. It is a decision based on the opportunity available to Facebook in what will eventually be its largest and most lucrative ecosystem. The decision also reflects Facebook’s belief, as the investor of $5.7 billion, in Reliance’s proven ability to scale and manage operations that compete globally across sectors. This explains why Facebook has chosen to be a minority partner while contributing substantially to developing a new business model.
Jio-Facebook deal is one of the most successful Silicon Valley enterprises investing in India’s large, rapidly growing and attractive digital market. It is a decision based on the opportunity available to Facebook in what will eventually be its largest and most lucrative ecosystem
Unlike investments in businesses in other parts of the world, the Jio-Facebook agreement vindicates the unique Indian way of doing business: of responding to the needs of the bottom of the pyramid. This new digital platform will not displace small and local businesses. Instead, it will collaborate with them and amplify their reach as well as their profitability. The distinctly Indian ‘Kirana’ led retail model will be infinitely strengthened both in terms of business viability and their employment generation capacity.
The agreement and the implicit trust of the investor in the Indian market validate the potential of fintech, e-commerce and a reliable data infrastructure to boost growth and development in India. This potential extends well beyond India’s urban middle classes. In fact, the primary beneficiaries of this new arrangement will also be India’s as yet untapped semi-urban and rural digital economy. It will be a big step towards giving form and shape to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Digital India’.
The bogey of data protection and privacy being threatened by Facebook's investment in Jio is easily dismissed. Mukesh Ambani has already stated that data is a national resource; that value created by data generated by Indians should and will be deployed for Indians; and, that data generated in India shall remain localised within India's geographical boundaries.
What this agreement also does is to put to rest largely imagined, headline-friendly apprehensions about the overall health of India’s digital and telecom sectors. It proves that where viable business models exist, global investments will follow. Yes, digital and telecom businesses with bad management practices and dubious investments will falter and fail. If such businesses or their apologists refuse to admit their inability to read the writing on the wall and failure to swiftly change with the times, they only have themselves to blame. Neither envy nor victimhood will lead them out of the morass in which they are stuck.
Current rules allow foreign direct investment up to 49 percent through the automatic route. The two other private sector players in the telecom sector, Vodafone-Idea and Airtel-Singtel, have foreign partners. For them to point fingers at a 9.9 percent holding by a foreign investor in a competing firm which has raced ahead of them despite having entered the market well after they were up and about, is both hypocritical and deceitful.
Let it be said and said unambiguously: Most, if not all, of those who are opposing the Reliance-Facebook agreement are betraying their partisan politics and their critique is tainted by conflict of interest. Some of them see this as an opportunity to attack political opponents; others find in it a chance to deride competitive — and successful — businesses.
These are the people who tirelessly propagate the fiction that the ‘India Story’ lacks potential and credibility. They believe that the post-COVID19 world will not only see India’s rise halted and its economy in a shambles, but also its new leadership and energy decimated. Facebook’s $5.7 billion minority stake in India’s largest technology ecosystem shows their belief to be what it is: a lurid illusion.
We began with what the Jio-Facebook agreement is not about. It would be in order to conclude with what it is essentially about. The investment tells the world that the future belongs to India and that future is digital.
This article was originally published on ORF Online
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Apple Sees iPhone Revenues Fall in Q1, as Services and Wearables Help It Grow
Apple on Thursday reported profit slipped as it boosted revenue from services and wearables in a pandemic-cobbled start to the year for the iPhone maker.
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NASA contracts private companies — SpaceX, Blue Origin, Dynetics — to develop Artemis' lunar lander
NASA is turning to private industry for the first lunar landers for astronauts in a half-century, with three competing, quite contrasting versions.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced Thursday the three companies that will develop, build and fly lunar landers, with the goal of returning astronauts to the moon in 2024 and ultimately on to Mars.
The companies are SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, led by Elon Musk; Blue Origin in Kent, Washington, founded by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos; and Dynetics, a Huntsville, Alabama, subsidiary of Leidos. Altogether, the contracts for the initial 10-month period total of $967 million.
“This is the last piece that we need in order to get to the moon” by 2024, Bridenstine said.
He noted it will be the first lunar lander since the last Apollo moon mission in 1972.
Over the next 10 months, each company will refine its concept and NASA will decide which lander to test first. Bridenstine said NASA will go with the company that has the highest probability of success by 2024.
NASA will rely on its own Orion capsules and Space Launch System mega rockets — still under development — to launch astronauts to the moon.
.@BlueOrigin is the prime contractor for the “National Team” that includes @LockheedMartin, @northropgrumman and @DraperLab. The team’s design is a three-stage lander that harnesses the proven spaceflight heritage of each team. pic.twitter.com/PU2u2LF2kN
— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) April 30, 2020
The two other companies, Boeing and Vivace, put in bids but were eliminated early on, leaving the three awarded contracts. Blue Origin got more than half the total amount— $579 million — more than four times more than SpaceX’s $135 million. Dynetics was in between, with $253 million.
SpaceX’s proposed Starship lander is so tall that astronauts will use an elevator to get to and from the lunar surface. Blue Origin’s version comes with a big ladder, according to artistic renderings. The Dynetics lander is so low to the ground that only a few steps are needed, like a front porch, a feature that NASA gave high marks for safety and efficiency.
SpaceX is using its own Starship spacecraft — still under development in Texas — and its own rockets. Blue Origin and Dynetics are partnering with numerous subcontractors, including commercial launch companies.
Going commercial, Bridenstine said, will drive down costs while increasing access. It builds off of NASA’s commercial cargo and crew programs for the International Space Station. Just last November, SpaceX and Blue Origin were among the companies that won contracts to make cargo deliveries to the moon.
NASA wants the new Artemis moon-landing program to be sustainable, unlike Apollo, with multiple missions and multiple locations on the lunar surface. While only one company will carry the first woman and next man to the lunar surface, all three will participate over the long haul, officials noted.
The @SpaceX human lander design is a single-stage solution with Starship, their fully reusable launch and landing system designed for travel to the Moon, Mars and beyond. The proposal included an in-space propellent transfer demonstration and uncrewed test landing. pic.twitter.com/dnyD4Fk0Ki
— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) April 30, 2020
By learning how to live and work on another world — the moon — NASA will be better equipped to eventually send astronauts to Mars, Bridenstine said.
In a teleconference with reporters, Musk embraced this “potential for an incredibly exciting future in space with a base on the moon and ultimately sending people and having a self-sustaining city on Mars.”
Dynetics’ vice president of space systems, Kim Doering said her team is excited not just about 2024 but the long-term lunar economy.
And Blue Origin chief executive Bob Smith was among those calling it a historic day. “Going to the moon is the reason why we got into this business,” he said.
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HTC Vive announces Vive Sync for holding VR meetings, available for free in Beta
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Apple Services Business Hits All-Time Record to Soften The COVID Impact on The iPhone Sales
Services such as Apple Music, App Store, iCloud, Apple Arcade and Apple TV+ are raking in record revenues for the company. At the same time, products such as the AirPods, HomePod and accessories for the Apple Watch and the iPad Pro, to name a few, are also doing well.from Top Tech News- News18.com https://ift.tt/3d7QKE7
This AMD Ryzen mini PC has a unique, exciting feature no other computer has
A brand we’ve never heard of before has come up with a product we’ve never seen before. Maxtang from Aliexpress sells a mini PC that runs on an embedded AMD Ryzen chip - the V1605B - with four, yes four, DisplayPort connectors. We don’t know any other PC that offers this, let alone something that doesn’t require a separate display card or as small as this box.
This Maxtang thin client costs as little as $410.92 from Aliexpress after a $3 coupon. That price is for the barebone model and note that this device ships without any operating system or Wi-Fi module. Other RAM/Storage bundles are available. Please check the website.
- Here's our list of the best thin clients on the market
- Check out our list of the best business computers of 2020
- We've built a list of the best workstations available
Exact prices after the discount in other territories will vary depending on the day’s exchange rate. Aliexpress ships to most territories worldwide via expedited shipping although you may be levied additional charges and fees by customs.
The Ryzen V1605B has four cores, eight threads, 4MB cache and a Vega 8 GPU. That makes it similar to a Ryzen 5 2500U and, according to the popular Passmark benchmark, faster than the Intel Core i5-10210U, which has a similar 15W TDP.
Other than the four display connectors (all capable of outputting to 4K), the thin client has two audio connectors, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, eight USB ports (but no Type-C) and supports two DDR4 SODIMM modules. You can add one M2 SSD and one SATA drive (SSD or HDD) as well.
It weighs a mere 1kg and measures only 18x18.2x3.7cm - that’s just over 1,200cc!
- Here's our choice of the best PCs for video editing around
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Reliance Jio reports 73% growth, reveals more details about Facebook-Jio partnership and potential benefits to SMBs
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) reports that the Jio network added 17 million subscribers in Q4 2020, bringing the total subscriber base to around 387.5 million as of March 2020.
It was also revealed that the Facebook investment of Rs 43,574 crore (a 9.99 percent equity stake) on 22 April 2020 values Jio Platforms Ltd at Rs 4,36,172 crore, making this the largest investment for a minority stake by a tech company globally.
Via a press release, it was revealed that the Facebook-Jio deal means that Jio, Reliance Retail, and WhatsApp are now in a commercial partnership for e-commerce. JioMart, a service that connects local stores and service providers to consumers, will be integrated into WhatsApp. Small and medium businesses are expected to benefit greatly from the partnership.
The Jio network also saw significant growth despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The average Jio user now consumes 11.3 GB of data per month, and makes 771 minutes of voice calls.
In terms of revenue, it is reported that quarterly operating revenue increased by 26.6 percent YoY with an EBITDA margin of 41.8 percent. Net profit went up from Rs 2,964 crore in FY19 to Rs 5.562 cr in FY20. MoneyControl reports that Jio Platforms saw 72.7 percent sequential growth.
Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.
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Phase 3 results on Gilead coronavirus drug encouraging; a look at other potential COVID-19 treatments under trial
Scientists on Wednesday announced the first effective treatment against the coronavirus — an experimental drug that can speed the recovery of COVID-19 patients — in a major medical advance that came as the pandemic continues to cause upheaval across the globe, with India reporting over 33,000 cases and worldwide toll crossing 2,28,000.
California-based biotech company Gilead Sciences and the US government reported that in a major study, remdesivir shortened the time it takes for COVID-19 patients to recover by four days on average — from 15 days to 11. Also, a trend toward fewer deaths was seen among those treated with the drug early on.
The study was run by the US National Institutes of Health and involved 1,063 hospitalised coronavirus patients around the world.
The news of this recent success took the world by a storm even though further research is ongoing. Interest in Gilead’s drug has been high as there are currently no approved treatments or preventive vaccines for COVID-19, and doctors are desperate for anything that might alter the course of the disease that attacks the lungs and can shut down other organs in extremely severe cases.
But Gilead's drug is not the only treatment under consideration. The WHO is looking at as many as four combination drugs as possible cures, while there are other independent studies to this effect.
Here's a lowdown on what's really happening on the coronavirus' treatment research.
Is remdesivir the magic cure?
No.
Even though in an exploratory analysis, patients who received remdesivir within 10 days of symptom onset had improved outcomes, the drug is not yet licensed or approved anywhere globally and has not yet been demonstrated to be safe or effective for the treatment of COVID-19. More study on this regard is still underway.
The drug is an antiviral that was trialled during the Ebola crisis, but which failed to show benefits in Africa.
According to The Guardian, the results were not so encouraging in an early trial conducted in China, before the current US study. The report dated 23 April (Gilead reported successful completion of phase 3 SIMPLE trial on 29 April) said that 158 COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms were randomly assigned to be given remdesivir, while 79 others had standard care with a placebo instead. There was no difference between the groups with respect to recovery time.
The drug also failed to lower the amount of virus in the body or the risk of death.
Furthermore, just under 14 percent of those on remdesivir died, compared with nearly 13 percent of those not taking the treatment. The report also claimed that a report on the aforementioned study was "prematurely leaked" on the WHO website, and was retracted soon after the "mistake was noticed."
Furthermore, The Associated Press, on 23 April, published a survey by Sermo, the largest global healthcare polling company and social platform for physicians. It said that 31 percent of physicians who have used remdesivir rate it as highly effective, 31 percent rate it with low effectiveness and 38 percent rate it as somewhere in the middle.
Lopinavir/Ritonavir
Lopinavir/Ritonavir is a licensed treatment for HIV. According to WHO, while there are indications from laboratory experiments that this combination may be effective against COVID-19, studies done so far in COVID-19 patients have been inconclusive.
A report published in European Pharmaceutical Review states that early the symptoms of patients treated with lopinavir-ritonavir improved faster than those given the standard of care alone. The researchers also cited acceptable safety levels throughout.
However, South African Department of Health conducted a rapid review of available published clinical evidence and found it doubtful whether the lopinavir-ritonavir combination could be a viable treatment option.
Another study published in the journal Med, also showed in a randomised, controlled study that the drug didn’t improve the outcome of mild to moderate COVID-19 patients.
"We found that neither lopinavir-ritonavir nor Arbidol could benefit clinical outcomes for patients and that they might bring some side effects," says co-senior author Linghua Li, vice-director of the Centre for Infectious Diseases of Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital in Guangzhou, China, in a news release.
Interferon beta-1a
Another drug under consideration in WHO's global Solidarity trial, Interferon beta-1a is a licensed autoimmune drug used to treat multiple sclerosis. A study published in In conclusion, NCBI found that IFNβ1 may account for a safe and easy to upscale treatment against COVID-19 in the early stages of infection. But more clinical trials were needed.
The theory behind using the drug is that interferon may be able to make the immune system stronger by turning on dormant parts and directing them toward the defense against SARS-nCoV-2's assault.
The problem is, "when interferons ramp up the immune system, COVID-19's flu-like symptoms are likely to become worse before they get better; interferon naturally occurring in the body is responsible for all flu-like symptoms to begin with, whether you have the coronavirus or a common cold," Medicinenet reported.
The journal also says that there is some hesitance in testing the drug, despite it being included in the WHO trial, because it reported severe side-effects in patients when it was originally tried for treatment of Hepatitis C.
Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine
This malaria drug has generated lot of interest in India with Ministry of Health and Family Welfare allowing caregivers of COVID-19 patients to be prescribed the drug as a preventive measure, and also to treat mild symptoms. However, worldwide, the common opinion seems to be that more evidence is needed to rely on the drug's efficacy.
But doctors worldwide say they don't have time to wait for rigorous trials to conclude and are increasingly relying on the drug already in used for other maladies.
In a survey of 5,000 physicians in 30 countries conducted by health care data company Sermo, 44 percent physicians reported they prescribed hydroxychloroquine for their COVID-19 patients, and 38 percent believed it was helping.
However, some concerns are being raised about the possible side effects of the drug.
When used for short periods, hydroxychloroquine is generally well-tolerated, with the most common side effects including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. However, it can also cause more serious side effects including seizures and a heart conditions (cardiac arrhythmia), which can cause sudden death. It is unknown whether patients acutely ill with COVID-19 are more susceptible to these serious side effects.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), which is leading a trial on the drug's safe usage, said "When used for short periods, hydroxychloroquine is generally well-tolerated, with the most common side effects including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. However, it can also cause more serious side effects including seizures and a heart conditions (cardiac arrhythmia), which can cause sudden death. It is unknown whether patients acutely ill with COVID-19 are more susceptible to these serious side effects.
EIDD-1931
EIDD is a potential new antiviral drug being developed to possibly help treat COVID-19. A study published in Science Translational Medicine journal found that EIDD-2801, a form of EIDD-1931 that can be taken orally, prevented severe lung injury in infected mice. When given 12 or 24 hours after infection had begun, the drug reduced the degree of lung damage and weight loss in mice.
Researchers say if clinical studies in humans, expected to begin soon, are successful, EIDD-2801 could not only help stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2, but it also could control future outbreaks of other emerging coronaviruses.
Plasma therapy
Amid the chaos of an epidemic, those who survive a disease like COVID-19 carry within their bodies the secrets of an effective immune response, writes Ann Sheehey a virologist, in The Conversation, and reproduced in The Associated Press.
Researchers are launching trials now that involve the transfusion of blood components from people who have recovered from COVID-19 to those who are sick or at high risk. Called “convalescent-plasma therapy,” this technique can work even without doctors knowing exactly what component of the blood may be beneficial.
Plasma therapy has been used earlier with some success in other infections like in two previous corona viral epidemics SARS-CoV1 and MERS, and also in H1N1 of 2009-10 and Ebola epidemic. Likewise, the animal serum is widely used in the treatment of diseases like tetanus, diphtheria, gas gangrene, botulism, snake and spider bite.
The Government of India is already granting approval for use of the therapy on a trial basis for severely ill patients.
India has not framed any guideline for mass use of plasma therapy in COVID-19 patients as of now, as the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the apex medical body in India, is still conducting a trial on the effectiveness of the therapy. A few centres in India have used it but the number of patients treated is few when all other treatment options were exhausted.
However, a possible restriction in the use of this method is that convalescent plasma, which is isolated from recently recovered survivors, is in too short of a supply to be broadly useful.
Furthermore, plasma transfusion is not without its own risk. As this Firstpost article reports, risks include transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) which can cause breathing difficulty/respiratory failure, transfusion-associated circulatory overload (TACO) which can cause heart failure symptoms, allergic reactions or life-threatening anaphylactic shock, risk of infection from other pathogens in the donor's plasma or acquired during processing, fever, graft vs host disease, hemolysis or breakdown of red blood cells in the recipient etc.
Also, we still don’t know exactly at what stage of the illness the patient should be treated, what should exclude a patient from getting this treatment, how much antibody should be present in the plasma to provide the benefit of treatment.
Incidence of severe adverse effects has been quite low. This evidence forms the basis of trying plasma therapy in the current pandemic. However, the pool of evidence on the use of plasma on the COVID-19 is quite small, given the time frame of the disease. We will still need to wait for results from trials to know the effectiveness of this therapy.
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Tesla Shows Surprise Profit as Musk Urges End to Virus Lock-Down
Tesla reported a surprise first quarter profit Wednesday on higher car production and deliveries as its chief called for an end to "fascist" coronavirus restrictions on people's movements due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Twitter Opens Up Data of COVID-19 Tweets for Researchers to Study
Twitter will grant researchers and software developers access to a real-time data stream of tens of millions of daily public tweets about COVID-19, which they can use to study the spread of the disease or track misinformation, the company said in a blog post on Wednesday.
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Laptops on a Budget For the Work From Home Warriors: These Are The Top Picks Under Rs 40,000
Here are some of the best budget laptops, some running Windows 10 and some Google Chromebook options, which you must add to your arsenal of work from home tools.from Top Tech News- News18.com https://ift.tt/3fapabd
Microsoft Reports Boost in Teams, Xbox Usage in Q1 Thanks Remote Work and Lockdowns
Microsoft on Wednesday beat Wall Street sales and profit expectations, powered by sharp demand for its Teams chat and online meeting app and Xbox gaming services as the world shifted to working and playing from home because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
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Apple releases iOS 13.5 beta with support for face mask bypass, exposure notification API and more
Apple has released its new beta of iOS 13.5 today and the highlight of this version is the introduction of "exposure notification API".
Now before we go into the details of what exactly is exposure settings API, you should know that Google and Apple have recently teamed up to develop a digital contract tracing tool. This tool is named as exposure notification. It aims to control the spread of Coronavirus.
The new iOS 13.5 is now available to developers and public health authorities so that it can collect feedback and make changes accordingly.
To bring you up to speed, with this tool, all the Android phones, and iPhone users will be notified if they have come in contact with a Coronavirus patient. The system will make use of Bluetooth on users' devices, that will exchange and record an anonymous identity of all the users that come into close contact, so that if they are tested positive for Coronavirus, everyone who came on their contact will be notified.
The companies plan to embed this tool into the respective operative systems so that the users do not have to manually download their app.
As per a report by MacWorld, due to face masks, iPhone users are facing problems in using FaceIDs. To enter the passcode, first, you have to use FaceID, if it fails then it will give you an option of entering the code. The report reveals that this update has fixed that and now you can enter the passcode without trying the FaceID first.
When you make group FaceTime call, iOS zooms in on the person who is speaking. This works when three or four people are on call but when there are more than that, it becomes very confusing at times. The report reveals that the new update has introduced a new toggle that lets you turn off this feature.
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Facebook Reports 'Signs of Stability' in Ad Spending After Coronavirus Drop
Facebook beat analysts' estimates for quarterly revenue on Wednesday and said it has seen "signs of stability" for sales in April after a plunge in March, in yet another signal that tech giants may weather the coronavirus-induced economic collapse better than other sectors.
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Microsoft Teams Has 75 Million Active Users Daily, While Zoom Continues to Confuse Numbers
Zoom had earlier claimed that they had surpassed 300 million daily users globally. Now, they simply say “300 million daily Zoom meeting participants”. That is just not the same thing.from Top Tech News- News18.com https://ift.tt/2Sn6ScN
Apple & Google Are Testing COVID Exposure Notification API: This is How Contact Tracing Will Work
The proposed solution will work in two stages. The first are the APIs that are now available on iOS for iPhones and Android OS for Android phones. The second will be an integration of contact tracing tech within Android and iOS.from Top Tech News- News18.com https://ift.tt/3aOlRmC
Apple and Google Have Started Testing their COVID-19 Exposure Notification API
The companies say the first seeds of the exposure notification Application Programming Interface (API) to select developers associated with public health authorities (PHAs) around the world.from Top Tech News- News18.com https://ift.tt/2yTv0wL
Google’s video conferencing platform Meet will now be free for anyone with an email ID
Google Meet, a video conferencing platform, will be available for free starting early May. Anyone with an email ID can sign up for Meet and enjoy its services.
Google Meet offers features such as simple scheduling and screen sharing, real-time captions and layouts that adapt to users’ preferences.
Those who want to use the video conferencing platform straightaway from next week might not be able to create meetings, as the company will be “gradually expanding its availability to more and more people over the following weeks.”
(Also read: Facebook Messenger Rooms: What is it, how does it work and should you use it? All your questions answered)
Users can sign up on Meet to be notified when it is available to them.
Meet claims to keep data safe and secure. The platform lets a user admit or deny entry to a meeting, and mute or remove participants, if required.
Anonymous users are not allowed to join meetings created by individual accounts. Meet does not require plugins to use it on the web. It can be accessed on Chrome and other modern browsers. Meeting codes on the app are complex, making them resilient to brute-force guessing.
For groups and teams, Google is offering G Suite Essentials. It offers advanced features such as dial-in phone numbers, larger meetings and meeting recording.
G Suite Essentials allows users “easy and secure access” to all of a team’s content, and docs, sheets and slides. “Through 30 September, we’re providing G Suite Essentials and all of these advanced features free of charge,” Google said in a blog post.
Recently, Google introduced new features to Google Duo. The company will introduce a new video codec and is working to ensure that video calls on Duo are clear and uninterrupted.
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India to be self-reliant in production of RT-PCR, antibody test kits by May: Dr Harsh Vardhan
Union Minister of Science & Technology, Health & Family Welfare and Earth Sciences, Dr Harsh Vardhan, here today reviewed, through video-conferencing, the various initiatives undertaken by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and its Autonomous Institutes and its Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) – BIRAC and BIBCOL, to tackle the current COVID-19 crisis especially with respect to the progress made in indigenous development of a vaccine, Rapid Test and RT-PCR Diagnostic Kits.
Secretary, DBT, Dr Renu Swarup informed that DBT has evolved a multi-pronged research strategy and action plan for an immediate response as well as for long-term preparedness to tackle COVID-19. These multifaceted efforts include research towards the development of candidate vaccines, therapeutics, and suitable animal models for COVID-19 as well as the development of indigenous diagnostics and genomic studies on the host and pathogen. The DBT and its PSU, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) has announced a COVID-19 Research Consortium Call to support Diagnostics, Vaccines, Novel Therapeutics, Repurposing of Drugs or any other intervention for control of COVID-19.
During interaction with DBT scientists, Union Minister was informed about various computational methods being developed by DBT labs/Autonomous Institutes to predict potential antiviral drug molecules. In another strategy, surrogates of the virus are being developed representing one or more critical steps in virus lifecycle and inhibitors are being tested. Work is in progress to isolate neutralizing antibodies either from the patients recovered from COVID-19 or from human antibody libraries. Also, various Autonomous Institutes of DBT are working on the development of candidate vaccines which are at various stages of pre-clinical studies with an overall aim to demonstrate the proof of concept and immunogenicity and safety evaluation prior to clinical testing. At the moment, at least 9 of these studies are in early stages and one delivery and adjuvant system for improving the immunogenicity of candidate vaccine is at the advanced stage of development.
“The sincere efforts of DBT scientists will enable the country to be self-reliant in the production of RT-PCR and Antibody test kits by the end of next month. This will make it possible to meet the target of conducting one lakh tests per day by the end of next month”
While discussing genetic sequencing, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, “These genetic sequencing efforts remind me of Polio eradication movement 26 years back. Towards the fag end of the Polio movement, active surveillance of the country was done to find out the cases of acute flaccid paralysis. That time also, genetic sequencing was used to establish the travel history of poliovirus which eventually helped in the eradication of polio.”
Interacting with autonomous Institutes of @DBTIndia thro Video Conf, I highlighted that in the last 14 days doubling rate of confirmed cases has been 8.7 & for last 7 days it has been 10.2 days. Last 3 days, doubling rate is approx 10.9 days, which is good news! @CovidIndiaSeva pic.twitter.com/Y4UlBDglsQ
— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) April 28, 2020
After the presentation, Dr Harsh Vardhan appreciated the work being done by scientists and their innovative ways of finding solutions to mitigate COVID-19. “The sincere efforts of DBT scientists will enable the country to be self-reliant in the production of RT-PCR and Antibody test kits by the end of next month. This will make it possible to meet the target of conducting one lakh tests per day by the end of next month”, he said. He also exhorted scientists working on developing new vaccines, new drugs and medical equipment, to speed up their work. “Out of at least half a dozen candidates supported for vaccines, four are in an advanced stage and regulatory platform at one place has been constituted for speedy clearances”, he said.
Dr Harsh Vardhan also appreciated the BIRAC efforts in supporting over 150 startup solutions of which over 20 are ready for deployment. He also released a Hand-Sanitizer developed by another PSU of DBT, Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals Corporation Ltd. (BIBCOL) which is engaged in manufacturing of various biological, pharmaceutical and food products. It currently is manufacturing formulations of Vitamin C and Zinc tablets to contribute towards the solutions for COVID-19. “A contribution of Rupee One towards the commercial sale of each single bottle of this Sanitizer will go to PM Cares Fund”, Dr Harsh Vardhan said.
Dr Renu Swarup, Secretary, DBT, senior officials, Directors of DBT- Autonomous Institutes, Senior Scientists and senior officials from BIRAC and BIBCOL participated in the meeting.
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This tiny touchscreen Windows laptop is surprisingly cheap
Convertible laptops tend to carry a significant premium over their traditional siblings. A new laptop however bucks that trend; the Nanote will only be sold in Japan for 19,800 yen (that’s about US$185, £149 or AU$285).
Its unique selling point is its unbelievably tiny price tag that’s matched by an equally small screen - a 7-inch touchscreen display - and its 360-degree hinge. The Nanote resembles the Chuwi Minibook we reviewed last year but is even smaller (181 x 114 x 19.6mm and a weight of 520g) and has the same physical constraints.
- Here's our list of the best business laptops of 2020
- Check out our list of the best business tablets available
- We've put together a list of the best rugged tablets on the market
There’s no trackpad - only an optical touch sensor - and the keyboard is cramped. The rest of the specification makes it painfully obvious that corners had to be cut to keep the price down; there’s a 5-year old Intel Atom x5-Z8350 paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB eMMC storage.
The rest of the specs isn’t too shabby: the screen has a 1920 x 1200pixel resolution, there’s a microHDMI port, 3.5mm audio jack, a microSD card reader, a USB 3.0 port, a USB Type-C port, a 5,000 mAh battery, a VGA webcam, 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0.
It is manufactured by a Japanese company and it is very unlikely that it will be available outside of that country for now.
- Here's our list of the best rugged laptops around
Via Liliputing
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India will soon be self-reliant in production of RT-PCR, antibody test kits by end of May: Dr Harsh Vardhan
Union Minister of Science & Technology, Health & Family Welfare and Earth Sciences, Dr Harsh Vardhan, here today reviewed, through video-conferencing, the various initiatives undertaken by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and its Autonomous Institutes and its Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) – BIRAC and BIBCOL, to tackle the current COVID-19 crisis especially with respect to the progress made in indigenous development of a vaccine, Rapid Test and RT-PCR Diagnostic Kits.
Secretary, DBT, Dr Renu Swarup informed that DBT has evolved a multi-pronged research strategy and action plan for an immediate response as well as for long-term preparedness to tackle COVID-19. These multifaceted efforts include research towards the development of candidate vaccines, therapeutics, and suitable animal models for COVID-19 as well as the development of indigenous diagnostics and genomic studies on the host and pathogen. The DBT and its PSU, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) has announced a COVID-19 Research Consortium Call to support Diagnostics, Vaccines, Novel Therapeutics, Repurposing of Drugs or any other intervention for control of COVID-19.
During interaction with DBT scientists, Union Minister was informed about various computational methods being developed by DBT labs/Autonomous Institutes to predict potential antiviral drug molecules. In another strategy, surrogates of the virus are being developed representing one or more critical steps in virus lifecycle and inhibitors are being tested. Work is in progress to isolate neutralizing antibodies either from the patients recovered from COVID-19 or from human antibody libraries. Also, various Autonomous Institutes of DBT are working on the development of candidate vaccines which are at various stages of pre-clinical studies with an overall aim to demonstrate the proof of concept and immunogenicity and safety evaluation prior to clinical testing. At the moment, at least 9 of these studies are in early stages and one delivery and adjuvant system for improving the immunogenicity of candidate vaccine is at the advanced stage of development.
“The sincere efforts of DBT scientists will enable the country to be self-reliant in the production of RT-PCR and Antibody test kits by the end of next month. This will make it possible to meet the target of conducting one lakh tests per day by the end of next month”
While discussing genetic sequencing, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, “These genetic sequencing efforts remind me of Polio eradication movement 26 years back. Towards the fag end of the Polio movement, active surveillance of the country was done to find out the cases of acute flaccid paralysis. That time also, genetic sequencing was used to establish the travel history of poliovirus which eventually helped in the eradication of polio.”
Interacting with autonomous Institutes of @DBTIndia thro Video Conf, I highlighted that in the last 14 days doubling rate of confirmed cases has been 8.7 & for last 7 days it has been 10.2 days. Last 3 days, doubling rate is approx 10.9 days, which is good news! @CovidIndiaSeva pic.twitter.com/Y4UlBDglsQ
— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) April 28, 2020
After the presentation, Dr Harsh Vardhan appreciated the work being done by scientists and their innovative ways of finding solutions to mitigate COVID-19. “The sincere efforts of DBT scientists will enable the country to be self-reliant in the production of RT-PCR and Antibody test kits by the end of next month. This will make it possible to meet the target of conducting one lakh tests per day by the end of next month”, he said. He also exhorted scientists working on developing new vaccines, new drugs and medical equipment, to speed up their work. “Out of at least half a dozen candidates supported for vaccines, four are in an advanced stage and regulatory platform at one place has been constituted for speedy clearances”, he said.
Dr Harsh Vardhan also appreciated the BIRAC efforts in supporting over 150 startup solutions of which over 20 are ready for deployment. He also released a Hand-Sanitizer developed by another PSU of DBT, Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals Corporation Ltd. (BIBCOL) which is engaged in manufacturing of various biological, pharmaceutical and food products. It currently is manufacturing formulations of Vitamin C and Zinc tablets to contribute towards the solutions for COVID-19. “A contribution of Rupee One towards the commercial sale of each single bottle of this Sanitizer will go to PM Cares Fund”, Dr Harsh Vardhan said.
Dr Renu Swarup, Secretary, DBT, senior officials, Directors of DBT- Autonomous Institutes, Senior Scientists and senior officials from BIRAC and BIBCOL participated in the meeting.
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Hubble Space Telescope captures sharpest images of the disintegration of the comet Atlas
The Hubble space telescope stood witness to the comet Atlas shattering into pieces on its journey towards the Sun. NASA subsequently published a detailed note on the breaking up of the comet.
The comet was discovered on 29 December last year by the ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) robotic astronomical survey system.
NASA says the telescope spotted about 30 fragments on 20 April and 25 pieces on 23 April.
"Their appearance changes substantially between the two days, so much so that it's quite difficult to connect the dots," said David Jewitt, professor of planetary science and astronomy at UCLA, Los Angeles. He led one of two teams that took pictures of the comet with the telescope.
Jewitt added that he is not sure if the appearance changes “because the individual pieces are flashing on and off as they reflect sunlight or different fragments appear on different days.”
Quanzhi Ye, the leader of a second Hubble observation team, said it is an interesting event as they happen rarely (once or twice in a decade) and mostly comets that break up are too dim to see.
Astronomers believe that the crisp images provided by Hubble may yield new clues to the breakup.
“The disintegrating comet was approximately 146 million kilometres from Earth when the latest Hubble observations were taken,” says NASA.
The Hubble Space Telescope was launched on 24 April 1990, thirty years ago. Over the years, it has become one of the space agency’s longest-living observatories.
The first major optical telescope to be placed in space, Hubble played a key role in the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the accelerating expansion of the cosmos.
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Imint and Motorola collaborate on video stabilization solutions for Moto Edge+
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Redmi Note 9, Mi Note 10 Lite Expected to Launch Today: How to Watch Live Stream, Specifications, More
Xiaomi is all set to host its global launch event today, wherein it is expected to unveil the Redmi Note 9 and the Mi Note 10 Lite phones. The two phones have leaked on multiple occasions in the past, and the Mi Note 10 Lite was recently spotted on US FCC as well.
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Facebook Messenger Rooms: What is it, how does it work, and should you use it? All your questions, answered!
Last week, Facebook announced a new video calling tool called Messenger Rooms. The tool is built on Facebooks's Messenger platform and is currently accessible via the Facebook and Messenger apps.
As of now, Facebook is still testing the feature, so only a select number of users are able to access it. When rolled out, the tool will be available on both iOS and Android, and will be accessible via both mobile and desktop apps and browsers.
But why Messenger Rooms when WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger already offer video calling?
Unlike WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, which have a smaller limit to how many people can join a video call simultaneously, Messenger Rooms allows up to 50 people to participate in a call at one time. Also, to use Messenger Rooms, only the creator of the room requires a Facebook account, others can join the video call using a shared link even if they don't have an account on Facebook.
Additionally, unlike video calls on Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, group video calls placed via Messenger Rooms offer a lot of control to the creator of the room, like choosing who all can join the call, removing someone from the call or locking the room so no one else can join it.
Messenger Rooms can be joined via a shareable link or the invite for it can also be posted on Facebook's News Feed so anyone on your list can drop by and say hey. This may sound like a good idea right now because you are locked in and bored, but this can be a privacy nightmare, especially for younger users of the platform.
Is Messenger Rooms end-to-end encrypted?
As it is based on Messenger, which, unlike WhatsApp, isn't end-to-end encrypted by default, by extension that also makes Messenger Rooms not fully encrypted.
However, Facebook did promise, at the time of the announcement, that it will not listen in on video calls and that these calls will be completely private. Given Facebook's loose definition of privacy, it's up to you whether you want to trust the platform. Additionally, Facebook also said "audio and video from Rooms won’t be used to inform ads. And, we don’t show ads in Rooms."
Some of Messenger Rooms' Zoom and Houseparty-like features
Facebook’s no stranger to copying popular features and trends from rivals, and Messenger Rooms' timing of launch and features are proof of that. While Zoom still allows for the highest number of simultaneous participants – which is 100 – Facebook is a distant second with support for up to 50 people per room. However, Zoom put a limit of 40 minutes on these conference video calls, whereas, Messenger Rooms has no such limit.
Besides that, people who join video calls via Messenger will also be able to use AR filters, change backgrounds and play games – some of these features are also offered by Zoom and Houseparty.
How to use Messenger Rooms
If you have the Messenger app or if you are using Facebook via the browser, on either mobile or desktop, under the 'People tab', you will now see a new 'Create Room' option on the top left. Clicking on this, you will be asked if you want to continue with your profile name – you can change it if you like. Upon finishing that, a link will be generated, which you can share with whoever you want to add to the Room. At the time of creating the room, you will also have the option to manually pick contacts from your list of friends on Facebook and/or Messenger who can join call on that room.
Is Messenger Rooms a gateway for Zuckerberg's dream cross-platform integration?
Last year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to integrate WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger into one, cohesive platform, and Messenger Rooms may just be the first hint the company has dropped about that plan. To remind you, later last year, Zuckerberg had also said that this integration will take place sometime in 2020.
As of now, you can only use Messenger Rooms via the Messenger and Facebook apps, however, during the launch of the tool, Facebook said that it was working on soon adding the ability to create rooms on Instagram and WhatsApp as well.
Coincidentally, or not, hours later, WhatsApp beta tester WABetaInfo found that in the latest Android beta version of the platform, the company is testing adding a shortcut to Messenger Rooms, available in the chat or group share sheet that will allow users to create links to a room. The option to create a Messenger Rooms will apparently also be available in the calls tab and when you’re trying to call someone. You will be directed to Messenger to create it.
With this beta, we can already see Facebook bringing Messenger and WhatsApp users in one place, and the same is expected to be done for Instagram users via Direct.
Another recent change that points towards this being the beginning of a possible integration is WhatsApp's doubled limit for group video calls – from four, it now allows eight people to join a group call simultaneously. We're not sure why WhatsApp doesn't support 50-people video calling already.
The idea behind this isn't perfect right now, neither is our understanding of it. But this seems like a small step towards something potentially big.
The only thing we wait to see now is what shape this will take and how Facebook will convince us to use it.
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Netflix, T-Series in ‘Final’ Talks to Bring Multiple Movies Directly to Streaming: Report
Netflix is reportedly in final talks with T-Series over a multi-film deal that would bring the latter’s upcoming movies — stuck in limbo with theatres shut due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic — directly to streaming. Amitabh Bachchan’s Jhund, Kiara Advani’s Indoo Ki Jawani, and Anurag Basu’s Ludo are in discussion.
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Zoom: US Authorities Reportedly Warn Zoom May be Vulnerable to Foreign Surveillance
Zoom has grown exponentially over the past few months and this has raised concerns regarding user privacy and security, along with foreign surveillance.
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Samsung Galaxy A20 Starts Receiving Android 10 Update With One UI 2.0: Report
Samsung Galaxy A20 is said to have started receiving the Android 10 update with One UI 2.0 on top. The smartphone was launched in March last year as Samsung’s budget offering.
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Zomato Makes 'Contactless Dining' Feature Free For Restaurants For Next Six Months
Zomato last week announced a "contactless dining" feature to help restaurants increase trust and confidence of customers during coronavirus pandemic.from Top Tech News- News18.com https://ift.tt/3d3BxE5
Pixel Buds 2 Finally Go On Sale, But Will They Come to India?
Google's true wireless earbuds are finally out adding to the numerous options out there, but these just might be the best ones for an Android user.from Top Tech News- News18.com https://ift.tt/2Sy1Avl
Exclusive | The Overpriced N95 Masks That You Are Buying on Shopping Websites Could Be Fake
The investigation brings to light the issue of unverified sellers cashing in on keywords and marketing products against the policies of e-commerce sites.from Top Tech News- News18.com https://ift.tt/2YhjPZE
YouTube Expands Fact-Check Features to US Video Searches During COVID-19 Pandemic
YouTube, the video service of Alphabet's Google, said on Tuesday it would start showing text and links from third-party fact-checkers to US viewers, part of efforts to curb misinformation on the site during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Mi Note 10 Lite Launching on April 30, Xiaomi Announces
Mi Note 10 Lite will be launched as a part of the Redmi Note 9 series launch event on April 30, Xiaomi has revealed. The company is hosting a global launch event wherein it is expected to introduce multiple phones for the international markets.
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OnePlus Z Tipped to Launch in July, Will Likely Be a Mid-Range Smartphone
OnePlus Z smartphone has been in the news for some time. It is hinted that OnePlus Z is essentially the rumoured OnePlus 8 Lite that was tipped to be a part of the OnePlus 8 series.
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Oscars Allows Streaming Movies to Qualify Due to Coronavirus Disruptions to Movie Theatres
Movies that skip the big screen will be allowed to contend for Oscars this year, the Academy said Tuesday in a significant rule change forced by the coronavirus pandemic.
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Apple Music is now available on Samsung Smart TVs in over 100 countries
Samsung has integrated Apple Music on its Smart TV platform. The new addition allows consumers in over 100 countries to enjoy over 60 million songs ad-free, watch top music videos and explore thousands of playlists curated by world-class music experts.
The company has made Apple Music available on models from 2018 through 2020. “Apple Music subscribers can also get customised daily recommendations and tune in to the innovative Beats 1 radio station, a global live stream with exclusive shows by artists like Frank Ocean, Nicki Minaj, The Weeknd, DJ Khaled, and Elton John,” said Samsung in a press release.
Samsung QLED TV series.
He added that as people are spending more time at home, they are more committed to providing the best entertainment experience more than ever. “Last year, we were the first TV manufacturer to offer the Apple TV app, and today, we are the first to offer Apple Music,” Brodsky said.
Samsung Smart TV owners can download Apple Music from the Samsung Smart TV App Store. Those who have Apple ID can sign in to an existing account. Those who do not have it can start the subscription process from their TV.
Apple Music is available for free to Samsung Smart TV owners with an individual, family or student subscription for three months.
Like most major companies across the world, Samsung is also contributing in the fight against the coronavirus. The South Korean tech giant and Google have decided to offer free phone repairs to health care workers and first responders.
Samsung and Google have joined hands with phone repair company uBreakiFix to offer the services. Those eligible for the offer will be required to visit an uBreakiFix location or mail in their Galaxy phone to avail the facility.
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Microsoft updates COVID-19 tracker to add Apollo Healthcare bot for self-assessment, online telemedicine support, more
To help Indians stay up to date with the latest information on the coronavirus, Microsoft has introduced new features to the Bing COVID-19 Tracker.
The new additions include the integration of the Apollo Hospitals bot for self-assessment and a hub for telemedicine support from reputed healthcare organizations.
Now, the content on the tracker will be available in nine Indian languages: Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi, Malayalam, and Kannada.
Microsoft's Bing COVID-19 tracker.
The AI-powered Apollo Hospitals bot has been developed on the basis of guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It offers information in four Indian languages.
For the telemedicine support hub, credible service providers can join it by applying online and undergoing an assessment process. Currently, healthcare service providers like Apollo Hospitals, Practo, 1mg, and Mfine are offering advice.
These features can also be availed on Bing.com.
New features added to the Bing COVID-1 tracker. Image: Microsoft
Microsoft launched its COVID-19 tracker last month to help people track the number people infected by the disease, globally. It offers information about the number of total confirmed cases, active cases, recovered cases and fatal cases, among others.
Microsoft is not the only company that is providing coronavirus information. Apple and Google have also been working on a contract-tracing tool to help contain the spread of COVID-19.
Apple and Google had recently announced that they would launch a developers’ version of the tracking tool this week.
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YouTube expands fact-check feature to US video searches during COVID-19 pandemic
YouTube, the video service of Alphabet Inc's Google, said on Tuesday it would start showing text and links from third-party fact-checkers to US viewers. This is part of it efforts to curb misinformation on the site during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The information panels, launched in Brazil and India last year, will highlight third-party, fact-checked articles above search results for specific topics such as "covid and ibuprofen."
Youtube Fact check feature
Social media sites including Facebook and are under pressure to combat misinformation relating to the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus, from false cures to conspiracy theories.
YouTube said in a blog post that more than a dozen US publishers are participating in its fact-checking network, including The Dispatch, FactCheck.org, PolitiFact and The Washington Post Fact Checker.
In 2018, YouTube introduced information panels that helped surface contextual information, from links to sources like Encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia for topics prone to longstanding misinformation. Now, YouTube shows links to the WHO, CDC or local health authorities for videos and searches related to COVID-19.
"Our fact check information panels provide fresh context in these situations by highlighting relevant, third-party fact-checked articles above search results for relevant queries, so that our viewers can make their own informed decision about claims made in the news," YouTube said in the blog.
Additionally, YouTube said it will provide $1 million through the Google News Initiative to the IFCN to bolster fact-checking and verification efforts across the world.
With inputs from Reuters
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