Harnessing today’s technology to the task of fighting the coronavirus pandemic is turning out to be more complicated than it first appeared. The first US states that rolled out smartphone apps for tracing the contacts of COVID-19 patients are dealing with technical glitches and a general lack of interest by their residents. A second wave […]
The magnitude of the Covid-19 pandemic will largely depend on how quickly safe and effective vaccines and treatments can be developed and tested. Many assume a widely available vaccine is years away, if ever. Others believe that a 12- to 18-month development cycle is a given. Our best bet to reduce even that record-breaking timeline […]
This story originally appeared on Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. As the US approaches another scorching summer, the power grid will be tested once again. Energy use typically spikes during heat waves due to the massive amount of electricity required by widespread air-conditioning. This extra demand is met by so-called peaker […]
Kenya’s government imposed tight lockdowns in Nairobi and Mombasa, the country’s two largest cities and primary coronavirus hot spots, early in April. Movement in and out of the cities is restricted. Schools are closed nationwide and there is a nightly curfew. Martin Muchangi, who leads projects on hygiene and tropical diseases at nonprofit Amref Health […]
Facebook has released a survey report that highlights the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic on small and medium-sized business (SMB) across the US. According to the report, of the SMBs that have been forced to shut down due to coronavirus pandemic, more than half of owners surveyed by the company said they will not […]
OnePlus will temporarily disable a camera filter on the OnePlus 8 Pro after users discovered they could use it to see through certain plastics and clothes. Although the company has stressed that the “Photochrom†filter cannot see through thick materials, it apologized for “creating privacy concerns and causing troubles for OnePlus users and other netizens,†[…]
Uber Technologies Inc will cut about 3,000 jobs, in addition to the 3,700 it had announced earlier this month, as coronavirus-led restrictions sap demand for ride-hailing services, Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi said in an email to employees. The ride-hailing business has suffered a near-total collapse as large parts of the United States and the […]
Amazon’s French warehouses are set to reopen with about 30% of employees, three union officials said, ending a month-long dispute over whether the e-commerce giant was doing enough to protect workers from the coronavirus pandemic. The U.S. retailer’s six French warehouses have been closed since a court backed union complaints, and ordered Amazon to restrict […]
Sony Corp said it will turn its listed financial arm, Sony Financial Holdings Inc, into a wholly owned unit through a tender offer worth about 400 billion yen ($3.72 billion). The deal will allow the Japanese electronics and entertainment giant to strengthen its presence in the fintech field to compete with global tech majors such […]
Samsung has announced a new 50-megapixel camera sensor called the ISOCELL GN1. It’s Samsung’s first sensor to include both dual-pixel autofocus and Tetracell pixel-binning, which the company says should offer a combination of fast performance and good low-light image quality. The pixel size is 1.2μm, closer to what you’d find on a conventional phone camera […]