Sci-tech / 20

Xbox Game Pass now has over 10m subscribers

April 30, 2020

We saw all-time record engagement this quarter with almost 90 million active users of Xbox Live led by the strength on and off consoles. Today, Microsoft's gaming lead Phil Spencer shared some additional facts and figures around Xbox Game Pass user behavior, to showcase how the service isn't just driving cash flow, but also engagement for developers involved with the service.

Zoom selects Oracle as a cloud infrastructure provider

April 30, 2020

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure will be adopted to support Zoom's rapid growth and evolving business needs as it continues to develop its services. As corporations and schools shift to remote work and billions of people subject to stay-at-home orders seek ways to remain connected, Zoom has seen daily meeting participants rocket from 10 million in December to 300 million.

Work From Home Extended Till July 31: Union IT Minister

April 30, 2020

The minister also said that a lot of relaxations were given for work from home and IT Secretary, Communication Secretary, and Postal Secretary gave presentations of their departments citing requirements and expectations by the Centre from the state departments.

Aarogya Setu ‘OK’ must for central govt staffers

April 30, 2020

India has been battling the virus on war-footing with the central and state governments, healthcare workers, medical fraternity, sanitisation staff, and police personnel taking major steps to curb the spread of the virus. India has already created a contact-tracing app for iOS and Android called "Aarogya Setu" that has scored 75m downloads. The district administration has been asking all educational institutions and departments to push downloading of the app.

UK Pursues Centralized Coronavirus Contact Tracking App, Rejects Apple-Google Solution

April 30, 2020

Apple and Google say they will be providing additional details this coming Friday about the API and its release, including sample code to show how it operates in practice. We'll have to see which approach works best when the NHS and other national health services release tracking apps in the near future. Australia recently released a COVIDSafe app that does not use Apple's APIs, and issues with Bluetooth and Low Power Mode can prevent it from working.

Samsung May Use Exynos 992 Chipset on Galaxy Note 20

April 30, 2020

Mr. Young shared the information via his Twitter handle. On the rear are three cameras and a fingerprint sensor. The leak also reveals that the smartphone might offer dual-optical image stabilisation. #Samsung is now working on it's first pop-up selfie camera phone. Which is certainly a better solution than huge bezels on the outer display, and a huge display notch on the inner display.

Facebook revenue growth slows, but ‘signs of stability’ rise

April 30, 2020

Late on Tuesday evening Musk had tweeted , "Give people their freedom back!" and "FREE AMERICA NOW". Nonetheless, Zuckerberg said the virus's effects on the company have been significant. Facebook generates revenue primarily through its online advertising business. Zuckerberg said: "Our business depends on the success of small businesses".

Redmi Note 9 to Launch Today

April 30, 2020

After appearing in regulatory database throughout the world for the past few weeks including Malaysia's own SIRIM , it looks like Xiaomi is finally ready to officially debut the Mi Note 10 Lite. The Redmi Note 9 is said to come in two RAM/storage versions: 3GB of RAM with 64GB of storage, and 4GB/128GB, respectively. As usual, it will run on the company's MIUI 11 ROM based on Android 10.

BMW 5 Series revealed early as images leaked online

April 30, 2020

Thankfully the new kidney grille is not enormous like that of the BMW 7 Series facelift . BMW has sent out some official teaser images and preliminary information on the upcoming 2021 4 Series , with confirmation of a flagship M440i xDrive variant.

MIUI 12 announced: Top features, supported Redmi and Mi phones, and more

April 30, 2020

There is also a very cool looking live wallpaper as well as Always-on Display screens which are inspired by the Earth, Moon, and Mars. Now, the MIUI 12 not only brings the 3D super wallpapers for the Android users, but it also packs some neat and brilliant stock wallpapers that are also pretty nice if you are into customization or are casually looking to upgrade the home screen of your device.

Cineworld Is Refusing To Screen Universal Films After Row Over Theatrical Releases

April 30, 2020

As we stated earlier, going forward, we expect to release future films directly to theatres, as well as on PVOD when that distribution outlet makes sense. But in a letter to Universal Studios' chair Donna Langley, Mr Aron accused the studio of trying to "have its cake and eat it too". Now, the studios is looking at day-and-date releases on big and small screens.

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare Update 1.20 Patch Notes Revealed

April 30, 2020

Blueprint Gunfight, Reinfected Ground War and 3v3 Cranked Gunfight have also been added. There is also the new Most Wanted contract , which allows a player to voluntarily put a bounty on their own head for any other squad to hunt down. The bad news was that it was a timed exclusive, and that Xbox One and PC gamers would have to wait a full month before they could relive the action-packed story for themselves.

OnePlus Z with flat display could be launched in July

April 30, 2020

Ahead of the OnePlus 8 series launch, it was speculated that OnePlus would feature a grayed out variant of the OnePlus 8 , dubbed OnePlus 8 Lite . OnePlus finally adds the IP68 certification to the OnePlus 8 Pro and the OnePlus 8 . But sadly, the leakster did not share any new information on the specifications of the OnePlus Z smartphone.

Apple, Google Release First Version of COVID-19 Exposure Notification API

April 30, 2020

Face ID is now available on a couple of recently launched iPhones including iPhone X , iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs, iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. The objective of releasing the beta early on is to gather feedback from developers before the release in mid-May. We don't have the official changelog for the latest developer beta builds of iOS and iPadOS yet, but we expect it to bring bug fixes and stability improvements.

Tesla cars can now recognise and respond to traffic lights, stop signs

April 30, 2020

Tesla has named the feature "Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control". In practice, this means that the vehicles will automatically slow down when approaching the road signs and drivers will be notified of such action. "There's a capability being released to the general public that's known to have significant defects". The delay for the latter would allow Tesla to adapt for the variations in traffic regulations in each country, he said.

Battlefield 6 Now DICE's Main Focus, Releasing in 2021

April 30, 2020

The final Battlefront 2 patch will bring the Battle on Scarif map, as seen in Battlefront (2015). In addition, development on content updates for DICE's Battlefield V will cease as well, due to the development team shifting focus to their upcoming unannounced new Battlefield game, set for release in 2021.

Mark Zuckerberg has bet big on India - and WhatsApp is why

April 30, 2020

Conglomerate Reliance Industries Limited (which owns Jio Platforms/Reliance Jio) confirmed the deal this morning . The bargain with assistance Mukesh Ambani-owned RIL let the Mark organization to find a foothold in what's the U.S. While several businesses have been hurt by the coronavirus pandemic , digital companies like Facebook, Amazon and Google are likely to gain as lockdowns and other restrictions on movement force organizations to speed up the digitalization of business processes.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Series to launch globally on April 30

April 30, 2020

The company has now officially confirmed that the Redmi Note 9 series will launch globally on April 30, 2020. The official teaser does not provide any details about the phone. It's expected to be called Redmi 10X in the company's home market. In addition to the purported listing on the TENAA site, the Redmi 10X was found on the China Telecom portal in three distinct colour options , namely Sky Blue, Pine Morning Green, and Ice Fog White.

Virtual NFL Draft Grows 37% To 15.6 Million Viewers 04/27/2020

April 30, 2020

The coverage peaked from 8:45-9 p.m. EDT when 19.6 million viewers tuned in, according to Nielsen. This compares with 11.4 million viewers on the first night of the 2019 NFL Draft . The NFL said more than seven million watched in excess of 26 million minutes of 'Draft-A-Thon LIVE, ' aired digitally across NFL .com and platforms that include Twitter , Facebook , YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, Reddit and Yahoo! Instead, the draft will be done remotely and National Football League commissioner ...

AT&T, other internet providers pledge not to disconnect users through June 30

April 30, 2020

Pausing Our Data Plan: With so many people working and educating from home, we want our customers to access the internet without thinking about data plans. Through July 31, U.S. Cellular customers on any plan will not be charged any overages. Other major USA internet companies are expected to announce this week they too are extending commitments through June - and past the end of the school year - as more than 50 million American children remain at home, with most attending schools ...

Microsoft revenue beats as remote work feeds cloud demand, boosts Teams

April 30, 2020

The business' gross profit margin, a key measure of cloud profitability that Microsoft has told investors it expects to improve, was 67 per cent versus 63 per cent previous year. Due to cloud growth, revenue in the company's server and cloud services product category approached $10.5 billion for the quarter, more than double the revenue from the Windows product line for the first time, according to an alternative financial presentation in Microsoft's 10Q filing with the SEC .

Google ad revenue declines dramatically due to COVID-19 economic conditions

April 30, 2020

Revenue from the company's cloud computing division helped it beat Wall Street's revenue expectations during a time when Google's advertising business experienced a slowdown as a result of the coronavirus outbreak . Google Cloud Platform and G Suite were the driving forces behind the growth, with the company's video conferencing app Google Meet the standout performer, rivalling popular services such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

Windows 10 Search now gives easy access to COVID-19 info

April 30, 2020

Now Microsoft has revealed the feature as part of their update to Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 19619. The feature would allow you to control music now streaming from your phone , whether we're talking about locally downloaded music or streaming apps like Spotify, YouTube Music, or Apple Music, without needing to take away attention from your workflow or having to pick up your phone.

Guess what Meryl Streep did for Stephen Sondheims 90th birthday!

April 29, 2020

The trio of actresses - wearing white bathrobes while cheering from their respective homes - completely stole the show with their rendition of the classic tune during " Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration ". Another simply shared a screengrab of Streep pouring her drink during the gutsy performance, along with the caption "Lockdown2020". Other A-listers included Sutton Foster , Neil Patrick Harris, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Laura Benanti, Patti LuPone , Bernadette Peters , ...

Unsurprisingly, HBO Max will play nice with Apple devices

April 29, 2020

Widely popular streaming service HBO Max will be available on Apple devices when launches on May 27, the company said. A month out from the launch of HBO Max , parent company, WarnerMedia is making sure the app will be available to as many people as possible.

Apple releases budget $US399 iPhone SE

April 29, 2020

In confirmation of these intentions, the comment "If we don't buy it, the price will drop by 200 yuan" scored more than 10 thousand likes. Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing. A new iPhone is on the way, and while the insides are new, the outside is very familiar. Apple will begin selling the new model online while its stores around the world are closed, except those within its greater China sales region.

AMC says it'll no longer play Universal Studios films

April 29, 2020

Odeon Cinemas, owned by AMC , has banned all Universal films after the studio said it intends to release future movies on streaming platforms and cinema screens on the same day. With the potential profit awaiting films on VOD, that window could shrink to two months with the argument being that most films are out of theaters well before the two months time period has even lapsed.

Murray says resuming season stalled by pandemic not top priority

April 29, 2020

Andy Murray insists tennis must take it slowly as the sport's bosses consider when to return after the coronavirus . The 19-time Grand Slam victor was scheduled to take on YouTuber and gamer DjMaRiiO as part of a virtual Madrid Open charity event Monday, but tournament director Feliciano Lopez stated that a back injury during the event had forced Nadal to postpone the match.

Gov. Murphy: NJ must take these six steps before reopening

April 29, 2020

Although Murphy couldn't promise a specific date to return to " some new normalcy", he said he hoped the state can reach significant milestones in slowing the spread of the virus in the next four to six weeks before stay-at-home restrictions are lifted.

Over 1,000,000 Download ‘COVIDSafe’ App Despite Privacy Concerns

April 29, 2020

The App can be downloaded from the App stores. 'Go Pauline I am not downloading it have concerns about privacy, ' wrote one. "It is important that we get increased numbers of downloads when it comes to the COVIDSafe app ", he said. 'These provisions will be enshrined in legislation when parliament returns in May'. The Australian Council for Civil Liberties favours the app, provided police are barred from accessing the data, as the government has promised.

AMC Cinemas Will No Longer Show Universal Pictures Movies

April 29, 2020

That's a supremely dramatic movie that would result in AMC losing out on money from major upcoming tentpoles like F9 and Jurassic World: Dominion. The Wall Street Journal reports that the movie has amassed almost five million digital rentals and, as a result, it's earned more revenue than its 2016 predecessor did during its five-month run in theaters.

Apple, Google deliver test code for virus-exposure tracking

April 29, 2020

And it is not clear whether those they had had the contact with would have any choice about being tracked in a way that could end up creating a huge database of the movements of millions of people. Users let the app know when they become infected. Apple and Google's solution wants to handle the proximity processing on the device itself, resulting in a decentralised solution.

Facebook Prepares to Launch Messenger Rooms, a Rival to Zoom

April 29, 2020

What other features do you think should be added to WhatsApp? In a blog post , Facebook said that Rooms is rolling out in "some countries" this week and will expand to the rest of the world in coming weeks. You can livestream games from your phone to Facebook using the new Facebook Gaming app available on Google Play. Therefore Zoom has the unique selling point of being simpler and more flexible interface making it ideal for new users.

Michigan Congressman Justin Amash launches exploratory committee for presidential bid

April 29, 2020

President Trump on Wednesday mocked Rep. Justin Amash for exploring a Libertarian Party presidential run against him, saying he thinks the congressman would make a "wonderful" candidate as he "has no chance" of keeping his seat in the House.

UK Coronavirus Testing App Could be Rolled Out in Two-Three Weeks

April 29, 2020

While there are some advantages and disadvantages to a centralised NHS and decentralised Apple-Google model, the fact that high adoption is critical has led a slew of countries including Switzerland, Estonia, and Austria plumping for the decentralised privacy-protecting approach .

New Samsung Galaxy Buds model could launch to rival rumored AirPods 3

April 29, 2020

The new TWS earbuds come in a cool-looking egg-shaped case. The new Pixel Buds can be purchased at several United States stores, including Google Store , Best Buy , Verizon and T-Mobile. There are exciting times ahead with new Google goodies just around the corner, these being far more functional - on paper - than the previous generation.

YouTube expands fact-check feature to U.S

April 29, 2020

And in order to match a viewer's needs with the information we provide, fact checks will only show when people search for a specific claim . "(For example, a false report that COVID-19 is a bio-weapon)", YouTube wrote in a blog post . The feature will display snippets from select news publishers and organizations that follow standards from fact-checking bodies, the company said Tuesday.

Alleged OnePlus Z May Be In The Works; Possible Launch In July

April 29, 2020

The announcement itself, on the other hand, would represent only the second time OnePlus has planned an unveiling in July - since the company was founded in 2013, only the OnePlus 2 has followed a similar timeline. Both the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro share the same exact design aesthetic. Luckily, a new mid-ranger from OnePlus isn't too far away. Since the tweet , the internet has been speculating that the phone is expected to serve as the successor to the OnePlus X that launched back in 2015.

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is now available on Google Stadia

April 29, 2020

Fallen Order is scheduled to be available to Stadia before the end of this year , while EA Sports FIFA and Madden NFL are slated to be accessible this winter. PlayUnknown's Battleground Pioneer Edition is now available for free with a Stadia Pro subscription. You can get the base game separately for $29.99.

WhatsApp group video, voice calls now support 8 participants

April 29, 2020

WhatsApp has officially doubled the number of participants you can have on a WhatsApp video or voice call from four to eight people at a time. The latest addition to the list is the extended group video and voice call limit. It was discovered in mid-April that Facebook was looking to expand the group video calling limit in WhatsApp . Just as messages WhatsApp group calls - both video and voice - are end-too-end encrypted.

LG Velvet Full Specifications Out: Snapdragon 765G SoC, 10W Wireless Charging Confirmed

April 29, 2020

The Velvet is a very stylish phone from LG, much different to the very industrial designs of the past and is set to be announced on May 7 in South Korea. As for some additional features, the handset will be equipped with an in-display fingerprint scanner for security and have a 3.5mm headphone jack as well.

UK Health Service Rejects Apple-Google Coronavirus Contact Tracing System

April 29, 2020

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories . Apple is said to be aiming to release its contact tracking tool, now called an exposure notification , on May 1 in a software update. The NHS says this will allow it to gain more insight into the spread of coronavirus across the country. "It's probably easier to do that with a centralised system".

Mike Pence disregards Mayo Clinic face mask requirement in visit

April 29, 2020

Vice President Mike Pence violated the Mayo Clinic's policy on wearing face masks when he visited one of the clinic's facilities on Tuesday. Pence addressed the controversy and told reporters that while he agrees with the CDC guidelines about wearing masks to contain the spread of coronavirus, he and everyone around him is tested for the virus regularly.

If You Have Google's New Pixel Buds 2, You'll Want This App

April 29, 2020

These buds are sweat and water resistant (IPX4). In addition, the Pixel Buds pack four beam-forming microphones (two in each bud) to limit background noise. Just over six months later, the new Google Pixel Buds are finally available for sale. And since it's a Google product, Assistant integration is a guarantee - you can use the "Hey Google" hotword to wake the Assistant and do a bunch of things.

LG Velvet specifications confirmed ahead of next month’s launch

April 28, 2020

The LG Velvet will sport a triple camera setup with a 48MP primary shooter, an 8MP ultra-wide and a 5MP depth sensor. As we know already, the handset will come with support for 5G, thanks to the Snapdragon 765G chipset present under the hood.

WhatsApp says its new rules reduce viral forwards by 70%

April 28, 2020

We recently introduced a limit to sharing "highly forwarded messages" to just one chat. This new limit caused Vox to switch to Telegram to continue to carry out the massive forwarding of messages, where many of them are hoaxes or multimedia content devoid of context with political or ideological motivations.

Facebook Launches '50-Person Free Video Call' Feature With No Time Limit

April 28, 2020

This is in addition to added capabilities for existing video hosting features, such as allowing Facebook users able to join live broadcasts midway through. Instead, you can share an open room on your Facebook News Feed, Groups and Event, and wait for people to join. Additionally, Facebook is also rolling out new updates for its Whatsapp, Facebook , Instagram , and Portal platforms.

Where is North Korean leader Kim Jong Un?

April 28, 2020

State operated media have said that the leader is carrying out business as usual. The hermit nation is notoriously secretive, and gathering intelligence about its leaders is no easy task. At his news conference, Trump suggested Kim's condition would become public soon. What is described by Washington-based North Korea monitoring project 38 North as a special train possibly belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is seen in a satellite image with graphics taken over Wonsan, ...

It's 2020 and Samsung is working on a pop-up camera smartphone

April 28, 2020

It is weird that Samsung is still pursuing a pop-up camera smartphone in 2020 as most manufacturers especially Chinese brands are slowly switching to punch-hole cameras instead. As noted by SamMobile , this is the same source that previously revealed the phone possibly including a 120Hz display along with S Pen support. Further, the fingerprint scanner is placed on the back.

Los Angeles Lakers return money from federal COVID-19 paycheck protection program

April 28, 2020

ESPN reported, "The Lakers, one of the NBA's most profitable franchises, applied for relief through the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program , and were among the companies and nonprofits granted loans during the first round of distributions".

Information