Datasets:

rjac

/

all-the-news-2-1-Component-one

like 1

2020-03-20 00:00:00

2020

3.0

20

Ashley Carman

Google Maps warns people to call their doctor before visiting

People are searching for doctors on Google Maps, and the service wants to prevent them from potentially infecting offices and medical specialists with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Google Maps now displays a warning for medical facilities that users should call ahead if they suspect they are infected with the novel coronavirus. Tapping through on the warning brings up the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website and a page about what to do if someone is feeling sick. On iOS, the warning shows up on each location’s listing, but on Android devices, it appears in the search results, too. Google’s been working to ensure people see legitimate information and messaging around COVID-19. Searching Google for “coronavirus” sends people to a curated search results page with resources from the World Health Organization, safety tips, and news updates. It implemented that change in January. It’s also building a website that’ll give people information about testing and screening. The company issued a joint statement with six other tech companies, including Facebook, LinkedIn, and Microsoft, committing themselves to keeping misinformation off of their platforms. Still, it’s unclear what these companies are planning to do. Twitter told The Verge that it will start providing nongovernmental organizations advertising credits to boost public health campaigns and warned that their elevated moderation efforts could result in some enforcement “mistakes.” Part of this campaign might simply be putting legitimate information and PSAs front and center in their products, as Google is now doing with Google Maps.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/20/21188188/google-maps-psa-covid-19-warning-doctor

Google

The Verge

2020-03-20 00:00:00

2020

3.0

20

Jay Peters

Google has completely canceled Google I/O 2020

Google has completely canceled Google I/O 2020, its biggest event of the year, due to the ongoing spread of the novel coronavirus. The company announced on March 3rd that it canceled the physical I/O event, but now the whole thing is off. “Out of concern for the health and safety of our developers, employees, and local communities — and in line with recent ‘shelter in place’ orders by the local Bay Area counties — we sadly will not be holding I/O in any capacity this year,” Google said in a statement on the I/O website. “Right now, the most important thing all of us can do is focus our attention on helping people with the new challenges we all face. Please know that we remain committed to finding other ways to share platform updates with you through our developer blogs and community forums.” At I/O, which was set to take place from May 12th to 14th this year, Google typically shows off new features coming to Android and other Google services as well as announce new Google hardware. Now that the event is entirely canceled, it’s unclear if or when the company will share similar updates. Many tech conferences have been canceled, changed, or delayed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Google announced on Tuesday that it would be indefinitely delaying its enterprise-focused Cloud Next conference, which had also already been changed from a physical event into a digital one. Apple said on March 13th that its 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference, typically a week-long in-person event, would be online-only. And Facebook and Microsoft have canceled the in-person portions of their spring developer conferences.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/20/21188669/google-i-o-canceled-2020-coronavirus-pandemic

Google

The Verge

2020-03-20 00:00:00

2020

3.0

20

Adi Robertson

Oculus developer page leaks a new VR headset codenamed ‘Del Mar’

A leak on Oculus’ website suggests it’s making a new virtual reality headset codenamed “Del Mar.” Recently, some Oculus developers noticed a new infobox for “Oculus Del Mar Development.” It references a developer program called “Del Mar First Access” that may already exist or be nearing launch. And some now-removed documentation refers to a “Jedi Controller” designed for Del Mar. The information has since been removed, but we retrieved it from a Google cache of developer portal pages. Facebook declined to comment on their contents. “The information contained on this page is restricted to early Del Mar developers only. Do not share this information. Any questions should be directed to the Del Mar First Access forum or your Oculus partner,” reads the box. (The page included general documentation, so we’re not sure what information this refers to.) And as seen above, a mobile API documentation page contains a line for the “Oculus Jedi Controller for Oculus Del Mar.” UploadVR also published screenshots of the cached pages. Oculus has codenamed several headset prototypes after California beach cities, including “Crescent Bay” — later called the Oculus Rift — and “Santa Cruz,” a predecessor to the Oculus Quest. And as VRFocus notes, “Jedi” could imply some kind of Force-style hands-free controls. That might involve traditional hand tracking (something the Quest added experimentally last month) or a neural armband like the one from CTRL-Labs, which Facebook acquired last year. This doesn’t mean we’ll see a new headset soon, of course. Under normal circumstances, we might hope to see Del Mar at the fall Oculus Connect conference. But the novel coronavirus pandemic has shut down most major tech events this year, it’s hurt electronics manufacturing in general, and we don’t know when it will end. Still, it could signal a leap for the Facebook-owned company. Oculus completed its first-generation lineup with the Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift S in 2019. It’s said that a next-generation product would need to involve significant upgrades. And the Del Mar leak might indicate that Oculus has something big and new to offer.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/20/21188147/oculus-del-mar-prototype-vr-headset-codename-developer-page-leak-screenshots

Tech

The Verge

2020-03-20 00:00:00

2020

3.0

20

Chris Welch

Sonic the Hedgehog movie will be released digitally on March 31st

Following in the footsteps of other movie studios, Paramount Pictures has announced that it’s speeding up the digital release of Sonic The Hedgehog. The film will be available for purchase on March 31st after a successful theater run that established it as the highest-grossing video game film in US box office history, according to Variety. Some digital movie sellers like Apple have already changed their listings for the Sonic movie to reflect the expedited release. It’ll cost the standard $19.99. Other studios have similarly decided to bring new films to TV screens much quicker than they normally would. Movie theaters in the US and other countries are indefinitely closed in an effort to cut down on population density as nations work to slow the coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic. Universal has offered up The Invisible Man, The Hunt, Emma., and Trolls World Tour for 48-hour rentals. In that instance, early access comes at a higher-than-usual $20 rental price. Disney announced today that Onward, its latest release from Pixar, will be available for digital purchase tonight and will start streaming on Disney Plus on April 3rd. Ben Affleck’s The Way Back, from Warner Bros., has also had its digital release moved up, as have films like Bloodshot starring Vin Diesel. After a spat of backlash over a bizarre-looking Sonic caused Paramount to push back Sonic the Hedgehog’s release, the movie arrived to positive critical reception and performed strongly at the box office. But now, if you never got around to seeing it (or want to watch again), you’ll be able to do just that at the end of March.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/20/21188707/sonic-the-hedgehog-movie-digital-release-date-march-31

Gaming

The Verge

2020-03-20 00:00:00

2020

3.0

20

Jay Peters

Esports are back: how to watch the top League of Legends and CS:GO competitions

Esports leagues all over the world have been significantly affected by the ongoing spread of the novel coronavirus. Many have been briefly suspended as the organizers have shifted matches from in-person LAN events to online formats to help prevent the spread of the virus. Now, some leagues are starting to return, including the Overwatch League and the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), but in a new online format. Weekends will once again be packed with great esports leagues to watch. We’ve rounded up a few you can follow this weekend while you’re stuck inside because of social distancing. The ESL Pro League, where teams compete in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, has a match today at 9:25AM ET, and there are matches nearly every day until early April. All of the league’s regular season matches of Season 11 will be played online instead of in front of a live audience, ESL Pro League announced on March 11th. Teams have been split into four regional divisions to help the players avoid travel and to reduce latency in matches. You can see the league’s full schedule here and catch games on the league’s Twitch channel. Flashpoint, a new Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league that debuted in February, has its first match of the weekend today at 1PM ET, according to a tweet from Flashpoint. The league said that it would be moving from LAN matches in Los Angeles to an online league on March 16th. Flashpoint differs from other leagues in that it’s owned and managed by the teams that play in it — and some of those teams are big names in esports, including Cloud9, Gen.G, and Dignitas. You can watch matches on Flashpoint’s Twitch channel. The LCS is back starting Saturday, March 21st at 5PM ET. Matches will be played online for the remainder of the spring split, which ends on Sunday, March 29th, and the spring split finals, which end on Sunday, April 19th. However, there won’t be Monday Night League games through the rest of the split — but that means each day of LCS now has five games instead of the usual four. Saturday’s match is the first since a one-weekend hiatus put in place to protect players and staff from the spread of the novel coronavirus. LCS’s full schedule is here, and you can see games when they happen on the LCS’s Twitch channel. The League of Legends European Championship teams will also be playing the rest of the spring split entirely online, with matches starting today at 1PM ET. Matches will now be played every weekend until the finals, which take place on April 18th and 19th. You can see the LEC’s full schedule here and watch games on the LEC’s Twitch channel. Update March 20th, 8:10AM ET: Removed section on the Overwatch League, which has since postponed its online matches.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/20/21186124/esports-watch-live-stream-how-to-overwatch-league-of-legends-cs-go

Gaming

The Verge

2020-03-20 00:00:00

2020

3.0

20

Justine Calma

How to debunk COVID-19 conspiracy theories

In the whirlwind of news about the novel coronavirus pandemic, it can be hard to figure out what’s a scam or rumor and what’s vital information. The ways in which the COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has transformed the way we work and keep ourselves entertained already feels unreal. To understand why there’s so much misinformation out there — for example, that the virus was purposely created in a lab — The Verge spoke with John Cook, a cognitive science researcher at George Mason University and one of the authors of a new Conspiracy Theory Handbook. A big fan of acronyms, Cook came up with a handy one to recognize when you or someone you know might be headed down a conspiracy theory rabbit hole and how to “inoculate” ourselves and others against it. 1/9 How do you spot a conspiracy theory? Here are the 7 tell-tale traits of conspiratorial thinking, summarized (& more easily remembered) with the acronym CONSPIR. More details in The Conspiracy Theory Handbook https://t.co/6Soo5eVWRy pic.twitter.com/cyQnCGqHzy This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. Why are you publishing this handbook now? Why should we be thinking about conspiracy theories at a time like this? We had [the release of the handbook] planned for April, you know, and usually, I’m not that organized that I happen to have something done a month early. But once we just saw all the conspiracy theories and the misinformation flying around about the novel coronavirus, and that it was actively directly endangering the public, we thought, “We need to make this information accessible to people. There’s no point waiting a month if it’s ready to go now.” Is there one conspiracy theory you’re really concerned about? You have politicians in the US pushing the conspiracy theory that the coronavirus was bioengineered by a Chinese lab. And then you had retaliation to that. You had Chinese officials pushing the conspiracy theory that the US bioengineered the virus. We talked about this in the book, that there are tactical conspiracy theories. They’re not always just a guy with a tinfoil hat in his basement talking on his laptop. It can be actual governments intentionally constructing conspiracy theories for strategic reasons. And so when you have governments pushing out all these conspiracy theories, they’re quite distracting. It’s not what we need when we need governments all working together to address a global pandemic like this. Why are those particular conspiracy theories harmful? So when you have conspiracy theories spreading around, one of the things it does is it erodes public trust in institutions, particularly government institutions and medical institutions, who provide accurate information. One way that that can cause damage is then the public doesn’t follow the advice that comes from these institutions. So if you have the CDC advising the public to maintain social distancing, don’t gather in public events, don’t go to restaurants, don’t go to concerts or pubs. People are distrusting that advice because it comes from a mainstream institution, then the conspiracy theories are now distracting. And that has direct implications because people start behaving in ways that not only endanger themselves but endanger the public in general. Twenty-nine percent of Americans believe the virus was created in a lab, according to new data from the Pew Research Center. Why has the conspiracy theory about the virus being engineered in labs become so popular? In the handbook, we talk about different conditions that make the public more vulnerable to conspiracy theories, more likely to gravitate toward them. And I think the two that are really applicable to this situation is the feeling of powerlessness and coping with threat. When people feel vulnerable, believing in conspiracy theories gives them more of a feeling of control. It seems almost counterintuitive because why would imagining that this is secret conspirators in a lab generating a virus, why does that make people feel more in control? Because at least that’s an explanation. And if the explanation is just random things happen in nature; people don’t like randomness. We prefer to have causal explanations. We prefer to have meaning in the way that we understand what happens in the world. And so conspiracy theories offer meaning. We’re more vulnerable to them when we feel powerless, when we feel threatened and we need to get a sense of control. How do you debunk theories like this when you come across them? There’s a range of different solutions that we list in the handbook. And I think that the general principle that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” applies. It’s better to inoculate people preemptively against conspiracy theories rather than trying to go in afterward and undo the damage. It’s easier to inoculate people against getting infected by a conspiracy theory, rather than trying to convince the conspiracy theorists that the conspiracy theory is not true. But also when you do address conspiracy theories, do it in a way that doesn’t reinforce or promote them. Basically, inoculation is delivering misinformation in a weakened form by explaining how it can’t be true and explaining what the facts are instead. For example, with the conspiracy theory that the novel coronavirus was created in a lab, scientists have found that it has natural origins. If your goal is to convince conspiracy theorists, then an empathetic approach is necessary just to have a genuine dialogue.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/20/21187983/debunk-coronavirus-conspiracy-theories-how-to-covid-19-news-science

Science

The Verge

2020-03-20 00:00:00

2020

3.0

20

Dani Deahl

Bandcamp is waiving sales fees today to help artists impacted by coronavirus pandemic

Online music marketplace Bandcamp is waiving its revenue share on sales today in order to help musicians who are impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic. The platform normally takes 15 percent of each digital sale and 10 percent of each merchandise purchase. The lifted fees will be in place until 12AM PT tonight. While streaming music does eventually pay out some money to artists, it can take months and is often divvied up between a lot of parties. Buying music on Bandcamp is a way to quickly and more directly put money in a musician’s pocket, as there are often fewer middlemen and funds are deposited within 24–48 hours of a purchase. Bandcamp’s structure is also unique in that it allows for flexible payments. Artists set a minimum purchase price for music and physical goods, but people are welcome to add more on top when they buy as a tip or gift. Bandcamp is used by hundreds of thousands of artists, more than 3,000 labels, and has an inventory of over 800,000 unique physical products. The platform says that fans have paid artists $470 million through the platform since it launched in 2007, with $10.2 million paid out in the last 30 days. “For many artists, a single day of boosted sales can mean the difference between being able to pay rent or not,” says Bandcamp co-founder and CEO Ethan Diamond. “Still, we consider this just a starting point. Musicians will continue to feel the effects of lost touring income for many months to come.” The Verge noted this yesterday in speaking with musicians looking to Twitch to recoup lost tour funds. A study by the Music Industry Research Association found that the average US musician overwhelmingly relies on live shows for income, and now many are contending with unexpected hardship as many have scrapped most tours in recent weeks due to the pandemic. “The more you can prove you can sell hard tickets, the more you’re worth when you’re booked,” musician Marc Rebillet told The Verge. “I’m sort of scrambling to find a way to keep being able to live the way I want to live.” For artists, Bandcamp’s announcement also outlines other ways to make money on the platform, including releasing old demos or live recordings, setting up a subscription service, and listing things like video hangouts, lessons, and gear tutorials as merch items. Additionally, Pitchfork has also listed over two dozen labels on Bandcamp that are directing a greater percentage from sales to their artists, including Hyperdub, Captured Tracks, and Citrus City. With the announcement, Bandcamp’s website appears to be experiencing higher traffic than usual and intermittently going offline. Make sure to check back through the day if you’re met with an “we are offline briefly for maintenance” message.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/20/21188143/bandcamp-waives-sales-fees-artists-affected-coronavirus-pandemic

Entertainment

The Verge

2020-03-20 00:00:00

2020

3.0

20

Julia Alexander

Amazon and Apple are reducing streaming quality to lessen broadband strain in Europe

Following in the footsteps of Netflix and YouTube, Amazon has announced that it will also reduce streaming quality in Europe in order to lessen the strain being put on broadband networks. Apple tells The Verge it too is reducing streaming quality in Europe for its TV Plus platform. “We support the need for careful management of telecom services to ensure they can handle the increased internet demand with so many people now at home full-time due to Covid-19,” a spokesperson told The Guardian. “Prime Video is working with local authorities and internet service providers where needed to help mitigate any network congestion.” Amazon is currently reducing bitrate speeds in Europe, but is continuing to monitor the situation in the US and other countries around the world. The company is ready to take action elsewhere if broadband problems call for it, The Verge has learned. Amazon Prime has more than 150 million subscribers around the world, and Prime Video is available in more than 200 countries. Amazon’s spokesperson told The Guardian that this includes Europe, “where we’ve already begun the effort to reduce streaming bitrates whilst maintaining a quality streaming experience for our customers.” Apple’s decision to reduce streaming quality on Apple TV Plus in Europe was first spotted by 9to5Mac. On its November 3rd launch, Apple’s streaming service was commended for its high bitrates, but today, 9to5Mac observed a degradation in video quality that was “very noticeable.” Broadband strain will continue to be a concern as more people are required to stay at home to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Nielsen is estimating that people staying home “can lead to almost a 60 percent increase in the amount of content we watch in some cases and potentially more depending on the reasons.” That means streaming services like Netflix and Prime Video, other video platforms like YouTube and Twitch, and online gaming will all affect broadband speeds. That’s on top of the strain that comes from people working from home and students using video conferencing tools like Zoom to participate in online classes. Update March 20th, 8:39PM ET: Added that Apple is also reducing streaming quality for Apple TV Plus.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/20/21188072/amazon-prime-video-reduce-stream-quality-broadband-netflix-youtube-coronavirus

Tech

The Verge

2020-03-20 00:00:00

2020

3.0

20

Jon Porter

Discord says it’s banning millions of accounts to tackle spam

Discord banned 5.2 million accounts between April and December last year, the company revealed today in its second transparency report. The most common reasons for account bans were spam and exploitative content, which includes nonconsensual pornography (so-called “revenge porn”) as well as sexual content related to minors. The report reveals a stark difference in the kinds of violations that most users are likely to report, versus the actions that are most likely to get people and servers banned. The most common reports Discord receives from users relate to harassment, however only a relatively small proportion of these reports actually result in action being taken. Discord says that in many cases it will teach people how to block the offending user without taking any further action. On the other hand, exploitative content makes up just 6.7 percent of reports, but lead to the second highest amount of bans. Part of the reason for this is that Discord is much more likely to take action after receiving one of these reports, but the company says it’s also taking a much more proactive approach to removing it. Discord scans every image and video uploaded to its service and uses PhotoDNA to match it to known child sexual abuse material. In the majority of cases, this approach means that offending servers can be removed before anyone reports them, Discord says. Spam was one area where there were a consistently high number of both reports and bans. It was the third most common report type, had the highest action rate out of all reports, and resulted in the highest amount of bans. Discord says it’s much more likely to take action on spam reports because they typically affect a large amount of users, and they’re easy to verify. Although 5.2 million sounds like a lot of bans to hand out, it’s just a fraction of what Facebook revealed it removed in its last transparency report last year. The company said it removed 54 million pieces of violent or graphic content, over 10 million posts containing hate speech, 5.7 million posts that violated its bullying or harassment policies, and 18.5 million pieces of exploitative content. Then again, with over 2 billion users compared to the quarter of a billion Discord had as of May last year, the disparity isn’t a huge surprise. Discord released its first transparency report last August, which covered the first quarter of last year. Going forward, Discord says it expects to release reports on a semiannual basis, with its next report coming in August. Correction: This story originally stated that Discord had 250,000 users as of May last year. It actually had 250 million. The Verge regrets this error.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/20/21188273/discord-transparency-report-moderation-q2-q3-q4-2019-spam-exploitative-content

Web

The Verge

2020-03-21 00:00:00

2020

3.0

21

Taylor Lyles

GameStop will temporarily close all storefronts to customers

GameStop is temporarily closing all its US-based retail locations and moving to “delivery only” starting on March 22nd, the company announced today. It’s an abrupt reversal for the company, which just a few days ago was defending its decision to keep its stores open, as an “essential” business, and was instructing staff to ignore coronavirus-related lockdowns. GameStop CEO George Sherman said in a letter to customers that it will “will temporarily stop customer access to storefronts” and would be processing orders on a “digital-only” basis. Customers can use the GameStop app or QR codes at its stores, though future purchases will be given to customers via curbside pickup at its retail stores or through e-commerce deliveries. In a letter obtained by Kotaku Sherman said that GameStop will provide 80 hours of extra paid time off for eligible employees, while employees not eligible for the additional PTO will receive two extra weeks of pay. The news comes only a day after the company announced that it would close all its California retail stores following an executive order issued by Governor Gavin Newsom amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/21/21189663/gamestop-will-temporarily-close-all-storefronts-to-customers

Gaming

The Verge

2020-03-21 00:00:00

2020

3.0

21

Kim Lyons

The FAA briefly halted air traffic in NYC area after an air traffic employee tested positive for COVID-19

The Federal Aviation Administration briefly halted departures from New York and Philadelphia airports after a trainee at the New York Air Route Traffic Control Center in Long Island tested positive for COVID-19 today. The person had not been at the facility since March 17th, and the FAA is sanitizing affected areas. As of 2:45 PM ET, the agency had lifted the ground stop order, according to the Associated Press. The Long Island center, which primarily handles high-altitude, cross-country flights, remained open. But the FAA rerouted flights “as part of a longstanding contingency plan to ensure continued operations.” The FAA said in a statement that it is “working with local health officials and employee representatives to determine how many personnel might have interacted with the trainee in recent days.” CNBC reported that there have been staffing issues because of coronavirus at FAA facilities around the country; on Wednesday, flights from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas were diverted because an air traffic controller there “potentially tested positive” for COVID-19. Update March 21st 2:51PM ET: Adds that the FAA lifted the ground stop order

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/21/21189441/faa-new-york-philadelphia-coronavirus-related-staffing

Tech

The Verge

2020-03-21 00:00:00

2020

3.0

21

Kim Lyons

CDC uses Microsoft healthcare chatbot service to create coronavirus symptom checker

The CDC has used Microsoft’s Healthcare Bot service to create a COVID-19 assessment chatbot to screen Americans who may be unsure whether to seek medical care. The Coronavirus Self Checker bot asks a series of questions based on CDC guidelines about symptoms (such as shortness of breath or dizziness) and risk factors (like underlying medical conditions or exposure to someone else with the virus) and suggests next steps, including whether to self-isolate, consult with a telehealth professional, or visit an emergency room. The CDC’s chatbot provides links to more information and local health department contacts, but does not have information about coronavirus testing sites. It also does not diagnose or give treatment plans other than general advice such as “stay home and take care of yourself” or “call 911.” The bot appears to be a possible way to reassure the so-called “worried well” that their symptoms likely don’t require medical attention, which in turn can free up doctors and emergency rooms for patients who are legitimately ill with the coronavirus. The chatbot runs on Microsoft Azure, but the CDC owns and maintains the tool and does not share any personal information users enter into the bot with Microsoft, according to Nextgov. Versions of the chatbot are already online at nine health systems, with more coming online soon, the Wall Street Journal reports. Healthcare provider Providence launched a limited version of the bot on March 5th, opening it to all users March 8th, according to the WSJ, and says the bot has had more than 40,000 sessions and more than 6,000 hand-offs to video consultation so far. “It’s just something consumers need now to help with anxiety,” Maryam Gholami of Providence told the WSJ.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/21/21189227/cdc-microsoft-chatbot-coronavirus-symptom-checker

The Verge

2020-03-21 00:00:00

2020

3.0

21

Kim Lyons

Greg Grunberg says there is no J.J. Abrams director’s cut of The Rise of Skywalker

Actor Greg Grunberg, longtime friend of director J.J. Abrams, says in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter that as far as he knows, there is no alternate edit of The Rise of Skywalker despite a persistent fan rumor to the contrary. Fans who were dissatisfied with the 2019 film latched on to a theory that Abrams was pressured by Disney to make TROS more fan-friendly, and that somewhere there was a director’s cut with Abrams’ “real” version of the movie. Hence, the #ReleaseTheJJCut hashtag was born. However, Grunberg told THR he doesn’t think such a cut exists: “I’m being completely honest here, but not once did he ever tell me that there was any pressure on him to cut things out. Personally, I don’t think there’s any truth to that, and I would be surprised if there’s a ‘J.J. cut.’ Every movie goes through a series of cuts; it’s just the nature of it. I don’t buy into it at all.” Grunberg also added that contrary to another rumor, he did not think Abrams intended TROS to be a rebuttal to Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi, which was the second in the three-film Skywalker series, and the only one that Abrams didn’t direct. “I never heard one disparaging thing from J.J. about Rian,” Grunberg told THR. “J.J. loves that guy. He loves how creative and how brilliant he is.” There’s been a fair amount of careful dissection of the “JJ Cut” theory; earlier this year Aja Romano at Vox went to some lengths to explore each point, including Abrams’ widely misinterpreted statement to Vanity Fair that “The people who love it more than anything are also right.” Romano notes that the rumors of an Abrams alternate cut — along with the fervor around a supposed alternate cut of Justice League by original director Zack Snyder— suggest deep polarization among the films’ fan base: The system of belief is all structured to feed an alternate narrative of the franchise that allows fans to continue to feel invested in them rather than contend with their own disillusionment. The possibility, fed by the anonymous sources, that the alternate film cuts exist fosters that narrative. And though the “alternate cut” theory may be the biggest conspiracy going right now, it’s not the only conspiracy — and the way these conspiracies interact really starts to bend reality. Abrams and Grunberg have known each other since they were children, and he’s as good a source as any to debunk the rumors of an alternate cut of TROS. But as anyone who’s spent more than five minutes on the internet knows, fan conspiracy theories tend to keep chugging along no matter what the “facts” suggest.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/21/21189259/greg-grunberg-star-wars-skywalker-jj-abrams

TL;DR

The Verge

2020-03-21 00:00:00

2020

3.0

21

Kim Lyons

Amazon to start paying US warehouse workers double time for all overtime hours

Amazon said Saturday it will raise overtime pay for workers in its US warehouses between March 15th and May 9th, Reuters reports. Instead of the standard time-and-a-half they receive now for overtime, Amazon warehouse workers in the US will receive double their hourly rate for every overtime hour worked in a given workweek, the company said. The announcement comes a day after four US senators sent a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos asking him to respond to questions about how the company is keeping its warehouse workers safe during the coronavirus outbreak. The senators sent the letter two days after the first US-based Amazon warehouse worker tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. Amazon warehouse workers have said that the uptick in orders— as people hunker down at home to prevent the spread of coronavirus— has caused many to become concerned for their health. The Verge spoke with 24 warehouse workers and delivery drivers, who described crowded workplaces, a lack of screenings for symptoms, a shortage of cleaning supplies, and a pace that made sanitation difficult.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/21/21189333/amazon-pay-warehouse-workers-double-time-coronavirus

Tech

The Verge

2020-03-21 00:00:00

2020

3.0

21

Kim Lyons

Amazon to temporarily stop shipping non-essential products in Italy and France

Amazon says it has temporarily stopped taking orders on some non-essential products on its sites in Italy (amazon.it) and France (amazon.fr) as part of its efforts to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. “As customers use e-commerce to support their social distancing efforts, we too have implemented social distancing guidance within our fulfillment centers to keep our employees safe and healthy,” a spokesperson for Amazon in Italy said in an emailed statement to The Verge. Customers can still order many of these products from third-party sellers who are able to ship directly to customers, the spokesperson added. Essential products would include food and hygiene items, he said. The company says the measure will allow “fulfillment center associates to focus on receiving and shipping the products customers need most at this time.” A notice on Amazon.it on Saturday read: “We are prioritizing the most requested products and some items may be temporarily unavailable. We appreciate your understanding at this time when we prioritize the products that customers need most. All orders already confirmed will be delivered regularly.” At least five workers at Amazon warehouses in Europe have tested positive for coronavirus, Bloomberg reported. Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Italy went on strike March 17th to protest what they saw as inadequate action by the company to protect them from infection. Italy has been one of the areas hardest-hit by the coronavirus with more than 53,000 people infected and more than 4,800 dead, according to the New York Times. On Saturday alone, the country reported 793 new deaths, the Times reported.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/21/21189557/amazon-stop-shipping-non-essential-italy-france-coronavirus

Tech

The Verge

2020-03-21 00:00:00

2020

3.0

21

Kim Lyons

GM is partnering with Ventec Life Systems to help increase production of ventilators

General Motors is partnering with Ventec Life Systems to help increase production of ventilators that are needed in hospitals dealing with patients who have the novel coronavirus, the companies announced Friday. In the most severe cases of COVID-19 infection, patients need the assistance of ventilators to breathe, and there are widespread concerns that the US does not have enough ventilators to meet the coming demand. Seattle-based Ventec is one of a handful of ventilator manufacturers in the US, according to NBC News, and already has ramped up its production. Ventec CEO Chris Kiple says the company is aiming to produce 1,000 machines per month (up from its usual 150 per month), in the next 90 days, and eventually, to produce 2,000 ventilators per month. Ventec will rely on GM’s manufacturing, logistics, and purchasing to help build more ventilators more quickly. GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said in a statement that GM would “continue to explore ways to help in this time of crisis.” Other automakers including Ford and Volkswagen also reportedly have contacted the White House to see how they could help with ventilator production. Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla and SpaceX employees were “working on ventilators” and despite a tweet from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio that the machines were definitely needed, Musk didn’t provide further details about when or where his companies would produce the machines.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/21/21189184/gm-ventec-ventilators-tesla-musk-coronavirus

Tech

The Verge

2020-03-21 00:00:00

2020

3.0

21

Dieter Bohn

Google’s coronavirus website finally launches alongside enhanced search results

One week ago, President Donald Trump held a press conference wherein he claimed Google would be building a screening website for the coronavirus that would direct people to testing sites. As we learned in the following days, that wasn’t true. Google’s sister company Verily did launch such a site, but only for the Bay Area and reportedly it only offered tests to a very small number of people. Google, however, did say it would launch some sort of website and after a small delay, it’s here. Alongside the website and potentially more importantly, Google will start providing more enhanced information cards for people who search for terms related to the coronavirus. There will be information tabs for symptoms, prevention, global statics, and locally relevant information. It will look a bit like this: The website is at google.com/covid19. It does have useful resources, including a card that mimics what you see above. Google’s post announcing the site says that you will be able to find “state-based information, safety and prevention tips, search trends related to COVID-19, and further resources for individuals, educators and businesses.” Google emphasizes that it’s pulling information from “authoritative” sources like the WHO and the CDC. The new coronavirus is spreading through the US, and several states have made emergency declarations. The World Health Organization has declared it a pandemic. Here are the basics: It’s only available in English right now, but a Google spokesperson tells The Verge that Spanish language support is soon to follow. The site was also designed with accessibility in mind, including with the larger fonts that Google usually uses. The website has videos in ASL, a global map showing confirmed cases by country, and plenty of information about Google’s other relief efforts — plus some feel-good YouTube videos. Reading through that description, however, you’ll notice that it doesn’t include what Trump originally claimed it would. The nearest thing to finding a test is a drop-down menu that provides links to local websites — for example, choosing California provides a link to the California Department of Public Health. Right now, the CDC has a “self-checker” chatbot that Microsoft helped build, but the WSJ quoted an executive from a healthcare provider who put in a realistic context: “It’s just something consumers need now to help with anxiety.” In other words, lots of big tech companies are making efforts to provide coronavirus-related support, but none of them are able to solve some of the biggest problems in the pandemic: access to testing and the impending crisis in our healthcare infrastructure. At some point in the future, Google may actually provide a questionnaire and information about local drive-thru testing locations. But a spokesperson says that the company won’t do so until there’s authoritative and trustworthy information on those sites. That could be a long time coming, unfortunately.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/21/21189051/google-coronavirus-website-launches-covid19-trump-enhanced-search-results

Google

The Verge

2020-03-21 00:00:00

2020

3.0

21

Julia Alexander

The Lovebirds becomes first movie that’s moving to Netflix due to coronavirus

As more studios try to navigate various methods of releasing their films during the coronavirus pandemic, especially now that theaters across the country have shut down, most movies have received digital releases. Paramount’s The Lovebirds, a comedy starring Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae, marks the first time during this period that a studio movie lost its theatrical release and will head straight to a third-party streamer — Netflix. The Lovebirds was originally scheduled to hit theaters on April 3rd, but Paramount announced last night that it will instead skip over directly to Netflix. Paramount and Netflix currently have a partnership that comprises of a few titles, according to Paramount CEO Jim Gianopulos. Most notably, Paramount sold The Cloverfield Paradox to Netflix. The streamer then released it as a surprise following the Super Bowl in 2018. Gianopulos told investors and analysts in 2018 following the deal that Paramount would use the co-venture “when and where it makes sense.” This seems like one of those times. The Lovebirds isn’t Black Widow at the end of the day. It’s a midbudget movie that makes sense for a streamer like Netflix, especially considering what’s happening to the industry right now. Paramount also chose to delay its heavily anticipated sequel to A Quiet Place, A Quiet Place II, until later in the year. Take a look at the box office numbers for these types of films. The James Bond franchise was estimated to be worth around $20 billion in 2015. A Quiet Place grossed $340 million worldwide, which is an impressive feat for a horror film without preexisting IP. These are movies that studios believe they can earn a decent return on investment going through the traditional theatrical release system. Those that can’t are choosing alternative routes. Magnolia Pictures delayed the release of its documentary Slay the Dragon and changed the distribution release so that it’s available to rent from digital services. Another studio in China made its projected biggest film of the year free to all subscribers of its own streaming platform because of the novel coronavirus outbreak, as an example. Movies currently in theaters like Onward, Sonic the Hedgehog, Emma, The Hunt, and more are also receiving early VOD and digital releases as more people stay home and theaters close. It’s a trend that’s going to disrupt parts of Hollywood and the moviegoing experience. As The Verge noted previously: What we’re seeing instead is studios like Universal starting to make pipeline decisions. There are midtier films that don’t need a 90-day exclusive theatrical release. Films like Emma and The Hunt might do better via $20 VOD rentals than they would at a theater. The average ticket price is $16, according to NATO. If a family of four wants to go see The Hunt, it’s more than $50. But $20 at home where everyone can watch and eat their own snacks is a much more enticing offer. Warner Bros.’ Birds of Prey did well at the box office, grossing $84 million domestically, but now that people are at home, there’s a good chance more people will discover it through a $20 rental as they look for entertainment to fill their time. Even the director agrees. The Lovebirds isn’t on Netflix yet, but it’s likely to appear on the streamer on April 3rd.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/21/21189220/lovebirds-netflix-kumail-najiani-issa-rae-paramount-coronavirus-vod-theatrical-streaming

Entertainment

The Verge

2020-03-22 00:00:00

2020

3.0

22

Kim Lyons

Apple CEO Tim Cook says the company is donating 10 million masks to healthcare workers in the US

Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted Saturday that the company was donating “millions of masks for health professionals in the US and Europe,” to help combat the spread of the novel coronavirus. Cook’s tweet appears to confirm a statement earlier in the day by Vice President Mike Pence. “The president and I literally heard directly from Apple that they’re donating 2 million industrial masks to this effort around the country and working with our administration to distribute those,” Pence said at a White House press briefing. A later briefing from Pence on March 24th would expand that number to 9 million donated masks, which Apple CEO Tim Cook would further clarify in a tweet to “10 million masks for the US and millions more for the hardest hit regions in Europe.” Our teams at Apple have been working to help source supplies for healthcare providers fighting COVID-19. We’re donating millions of masks for health professionals in the US and Europe. To every one of the heroes on the front lines, we thank you. According to Cook’s tweet, Apple’s operations team is using its supply chain knowledge to source, procure, and donate the masks, which helps explain how Apple was able to obtain so many masks in such a short time. Globally, masks are in high demand, but supplies are running low. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a note to employees Saturday that “masks remain in short supply globally.” The company has “placed purchase orders for millions of face masks we want to give to our employees and contractors who cannot work from home, but very few of those orders have been filled,” Bezos wrote. N95 respirators are disposable, close-fitting masks that can keep virus-laden droplets away from the wearer’s mouth and nose. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that the masks’ effectiveness is “highly dependent upon proper fit and use.” Pence said Saturday that the Department of Health and Human Services “placed an order for hundreds of millions of N95 masks,” with the order coordinated through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Where the masks were ordered from and when they would be available wasn’t clear from Pence’s remarks. The shortage of personal protective equipment like face masks has become a serious problem for healthcare workers, with some resorting to using less-effective masks or even going without while treating patients, the New York Times reported. Last week, Pence called on construction companies to donate their protective masks to hospitals, and to refrain from ordering more. “Those industrial masks that they use on construction sites are perfectly acceptable for healthcare workers to be protected from a respiratory disease,” the vice president said at a briefing on Tuesday. But ProPublica reports there’s been confusion over how such donations would take place, and the White House hasn’t given clear instructions. On Saturday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, told reporters in the White House briefing room that it would be “sooner than weeks” for medical professionals to receive fresh supplies of masks. “We’re going to try to make it days to the best possible way that we can,” he said. Some companies and individuals appear to have donated directly. On Twitter, director Peyton Reed thanked Tesla CEO Elon Musk for donating supplies— “a truckload of PPEs (masks, gowns, etc.)” — to a a UCLA Health facility. We reached out to Tesla to confirm that Musk was the one who sent the donation but have not heard back. I want to publicly thank @elonmusk for sending a truckload of PPEs (masks, gowns, etc.) to UCLA Health today! They will be put to good use. My wife, her co-workers and her patients thank you profusely. pic.twitter.com/SiAdqMcPCT And Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company was donating an emergency reserve of 720,000 masks. “We’re also sourcing a lot more to donate,” he added. Health workers urgently need more protective gear. To help, Facebook donated our emergency reserve of 720,000 masks that... Update March 22nd, 2:41PM ET: Added information from Peyton Reed and Mark Zuckerberg about donated supplies. Update March 25th, 3:48PM ET: Added additional information from Tim Cook about donated supplies in Europe.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/22/21189881/apple-donating-masks-amazon-bezos-cook-coronavirus

Apple

The Verge

2020-03-22 00:00:00

2020

3.0

22

Julia Alexander

Disney Plus commits to reducing streaming quality in Europe, delays France launch

Facebook and Disney are joining Netflix, Amazon, Apple, and YouTube in reducing streaming video quality in order to lighten the load on the internet in Europe, as more people start working and learning remotely in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Disney will also delay the release of its Disney Plus streaming service in France in accordance with government requests, Reuters is reporting. Disney has committed to reducing its Disney Plus video quality in Europe, to reduce the strain it places on the continent’s internet infrastructure. On the same day as Disney’s announcement, Facebook said it too would be reducing the quality of videos on its services, including Instagram, Reuters reports. Disney Plus, which was supposed to launch on March 24th in France, will instead reportedly launch the week of April 7th, according to Disney. That’s two weeks after it was initially set, and two weeks after other European markets will get the streaming service. Disney has not said if people in other countries set to receive Disney Plus, including the UK, will face delays. New subscribers in those regions will see a reduced quality in streaming, however, when the service launches. Disney will “lower our overall bandwidth utilization by at least 25 percent in all of the markets launching Disney Plus on March 24th,” according to Kevin Mayer, head of Disney’s direct-to-consumer division. Facebook has also made similar commitments for videos on its services. “To help alleviate any potential network congestion, we will temporarily reduce bit rates for videos on Facebook and Instagram in Europe,” a Facebook spokesperson told Reuters. The measures will continue for as long as there are concerns about internet gridlock. Other streaming platforms, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV Plus, and YouTube have also committed to reducing video playback streams in order to lessen broadband strain. Available bandwidth continues to be a concern globally as more people stay indoors in an attempt to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Nielsen is estimating that people staying home “can lead to almost a 60 percent increase in the amount of content we watch in some cases and potentially more depending on the reasons.” Update March 23rd, 6:14AM ET: Updated with information about Facebook reducing video streaming quality.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/22/21189920/disney-plus-delayed-france-uk-streaming-reduce-quality-coronavirus

Entertainment

The Verge

2020-03-22 00:00:00

2020

3.0

22

Julia Alexander

AT&T CEO addresses major surge in mobile, Wi-Fi usage as people work from home

AT&T’s networks have seen a surge of usage since companies around the United States have asked employees to work from home and schools have moved online following the COVID-19 outbreak. CEO Randall Stephenson told CNN’s Brian Stelter on today’s Reliable Sources that “mobile volumes are up 40 percent,” and “Wi-Fi calling volumes are up 100 percent.” Stephenson added the network infrastructures are “performing quite well,” but noted the company is seeing some stress as more people work from home. AT&T itself currently has approximately 90,000 employees working from home, according to Stephenson. Stephenson added that considering how many people are working from home, and how this will change the future of work once the crisis is over, AT&T will “come out of this crisis [and] continue investing in 5G and new technology.” AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson on broadband and internet demand as more people work from home amid the coronavirus outbreak: "We’re seeing some signs of stress. We’re having to go out and do some of augmentation of network … but right now the network is performing quite well.” pic.twitter.com/6IDS6RAjJ7 “I think it’s going to cause every business to evaluate how we do business,” Stephenson told CNN when asked about what happens when things start to return to normal. “I think when we come out of this, this is exactly what we’re going to see.” Ensuring that everyone can remain connected at a time when people are physically isolated around the country is of the utmost importance to AT&T, Stephenson told CNN. He pointed to AT&T’s earlier decision to suspend data caps for broadband internet customers. Customers of AT&T’s home internet broadband service, which is not to be confused with customers who have an AT&T mobile data plan, pay for plans that cap the amount of monthly data they can use. This affects devices like laptops, game consoles, smart TVs, and more. A day after AT&T announced it would suspend data caps, the FCC introduced a broadband and telecom industry measure called the Keep Americans Connected Pledge to prevent telecom companies like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile among others from abusing the current work-from-home situation. The pledge asks that companies not terminate service for residential or small business customers, waive any late fees incurred due to the economic effects of the virus, and open access to public Wi-Fi hotspots. The pledge will cover the next 60 days, and asks that other companies follow in AT&T’s footsteps and suspend data caps. “We’re looking at this as a time of war,” Stephenson said. “This is like World War II. Everyone needs to step up and do their part in how we help the general population.” Update (March 22nd, 2:20pm ET): An AT&T spokesperson added that AT&T is waiving domestic wireless voice and data overage fees for customers nationwide. The spokesperson noted that these fees will be retroactively waived, dating back to March 13th.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/22/21190018/att-wifi-broadband-mobile-coronavirus-ceo-randal-stephenson-data-cap-surge

Mobile

The Verge

2020-03-22 00:00:00

2020

3.0

22

Kim Lyons

Best Buy moves to curbside pickup only as orders for home office equipment surge

Starting today, Best Buy is limiting its US stores to “contactless” curbside service, allowing only employees into its stores, according to a statement from the company. Orders placed on the Best Buy website or via its app will be delivered to customers’ cars outside its stores by employees. The curbside system includes returns and exchanges, and in an email to customers, Best Buy says “if, for any reason, you didn’t order the product in advance and the product is in stock in the store, one of our employees will be more than happy to go get it in the store and sell it to you while you remain in your car.” Best Buy has suspended its in-home installations and repair services, as well as its product trade-in and recycling services. “We are seeing a surge in demand across the country for products that people need to work or learn from home, as well as those products that allow people to refrigerate or freeze food,” Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said in a statement. “As we meet the demand for these necessities, we are adjusting how we operate in many ways to improve safety.” As of Monday, Best Buy will only deliver large items like refrigerators and TVs to customers’ doorsteps and not bring the items into houses. “We know that this change will be inconvenient, and we are truly sorry,” the email to customers states. “It was made with our employees’ and your best interests at heart.” Customers who have Best Buy orders scheduled for installation in the next 30 days will receive an email about delivery options. The company says it’s made some adjustments to compensate employees who continue to come in to work, and anyone whose hours are eliminated by the new restrictions “will be paid for two weeks at their normal wage rate based on their average hours worked over the last 10 weeks.” The email to customers says all Best Buy employees who are working right now are doing so “on a voluntary basis” and says any employee who feels sick and stays home will be paid for that time, anyone exposed to COVID-19 is being asked to stay home — with pay— and Best Buy is paying employees who may need to care for children at home (but the email does not say how much or for how long). We’ve reached out to Best Buy for more details about how it’s compensating its employees during the coronavirus outbreak and will update if we hear back from them.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/22/21189846/best-buy-curbside-pickup-home-office-coronavirus

Tech

The Verge

2020-03-22 00:00:00

2020

3.0

22

Sean O'Kane

Virtual F1 and NASCAR events are filling the gap left by canceled races

The first few of these substitute sim races, held last weekend, were successful in ways that surprised even the organizers. Now, many of the people who put them on have spent the intervening week trying to figure out how to use that momentum to fill the gap left by real world racing, as fans around the world hole up at home in a collective attempt to slow the spread of a global virus. It likely won’t be that difficult, though. The success of these first few replacement races was a testament to how far sim racing has come during the rise of esports (and the era of Twitch), but it also sheds light on a truth that a lot of motorsports fans have become familiar with: that a new age of competitive, virtual motorsports is already upon us. But within minutes of those races being canceled, people like TJ Majors started making phone calls and sending text messages. Majors is the “spotter” for the #22 NASCAR team, meaning every Sunday during the season, he’s standing on the roof of the grandstands letting the driver know (via radio) what cars are around him, when it’s safe to change lanes, things like that. It’s no surprise, then, that he helped spin up a virtual replacement for the canceled Atlanta race. After all, it’s literally his job to be looking out for other people. “When I got home Friday there was just a really weird feeling,” Majors explained in an email to The Verge. “I was hanging out with my daughters, and when we got confirmation of everything being shut down for two weeks, I started thinking of all the people in the NASCAR industry that would probably be free to do something Sunday.” As he made lunch for his daughters, Majors said he thought maybe he and some of his colleagues could join in on an already-scheduled race being put on by iRacing, a very popular sim racing game that also facilitates a panoply of online racing leagues. But before long, Majors started getting texts from his NASCAR colleagues about starting their own race instead at the in-game version of Atlanta Motor Speedway. Majors liked the idea, so he called up iRacing’s executive vice president to get the green light. He started contacting NASCAR personalities, too, like Dale Earnhardt Jr. (who retired last year after suffering multiple concussions), rising star driver William Byron, and Chad Knaus, who was the crew chief for each of Jimmie Johnson’s seven championships. Majors also called James Pike of Podium eSports, which puts on broadcast-quality productions of sim races. “I got the call from TJ on Friday afternoon, and he told us about the idea that they had put together,” Pike said in a phone call with The Verge. “He asked if we were interested in broadcasting the race, and I said, ‘are you kidding me? Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and all of those other drivers are going to be running in our race? Where do i sign?’” Faced with a sudden rush of interest, Majors said he and fellow spotter Kevin Hamlin quickly realized — like anything in NASCAR — they needed some good branding. “One of the funniest moments was [Hamlin] calling me asking for a name of the race,” Majors said. He kept thinking about the movie The Replacements, so he suggested that, with a small tweak: “The Replacements 100,” a nod to the number of laps they would run. As they started to promote The Replacements 100 on social media, Majors, Hamlin, Pike, and others fielded dozens of calls, texts, and direct messages from people all across NASCAR who wanted in. We’ve worked on this since yesterday. Short notice but should be fun! Hope you will check it out! https://t.co/ZhSALR0pw7 In an interview with Pike before the race, Hamlin guessed around 50 percent or more of people who work in and around NASCAR already use iRacing and have home setups — including a steering wheel, pedals, and often custom-built PCs — ready to go. So he and Majors tried to fill up a field that reflected this big tent, letting in fellow NASCAR crew members, as well as some public relations and social media specialists. But a couple more drivers squeaked through, including Parker Kligerman, who has run in all of NASCAR’s top three series, and now races in the official eNASCAR series put on by iRacing. “When everything went down with all the real races getting canceled, my phone immediately started blowing up with people being like, ‘let’s run a race!’ So I yeah, I wasn’t surprised to see it all come together as quickly,” Kligerman explained. “It was cool to see everyone rally behind it.” The race went off without much of a hitch. There were a few more wrecks than you’d find in the eNASCAR series. And yes, at one point (and while fighting for the lead, no less), Pike said Kligerman’s computer tried to force a Windows update, sending him straight into the wall. But the combination of iRacing’s realism and Podium eSports’ professional quality broadcast was an excellent simulacrum — a “replacement” race in nearly every sense of the world. The result was a really good crowd for a sim race, according to iRacing. The main race stream on Twitch peaked at 23,000 concurrent viewers, and brought in over 70,000 unique viewers over the two-hour broadcast. Highlights of the race were even hosted on NASCAR.com “Pretty impressive with almost no notice or advertising,” Kevin Bobbit, iRacing’s marketing director, said in an email. One reason for the popularity, Kligerman said, is the similarity of the skillsets. “It’s the only esport that connects in such a parallel with the real world,” he explained. “The reason you see so many real-world drivers doing this all the time is it’s not only fun, but it literally in many ways can feel like I’m doing something that could be helping me as a real driver.” That’s obviously not the case with other sports. “If some kid beats LeBron James on NBA 2K, that doesn’t mean that kid is going to get on a basketball court and out-shoot him,” Kligerman said. “But the funny part about this stuff is if someone gets on there and it outraces me, or outraces William Byron? If they were to get the chance to get in a real car, it might translate really well.” And a lot of that simply comes from the technology at play, Pike said. “Anybody worth their weight in salt is running with a wheel and pedals, just like you would in real life. The only thing that’s really removed are all the G-forces, but a lot of the same sorts of skills are much more directly applicable in sim racing compared to shooting a jumper on a controller versus shooting a jumper in real life,” he said. Even Majors, who watches over a driver going 200 miles an hour every weekend, agrees to an extent. “Real racing requires an enormous amount of skill and bravery,” he said. “Sim racing is still incredibly difficult.” And much like how The Replacements 100 was born, these sim races were thrown together in a flurry of calls and messages during the aftermath of the decision to cancel real world races. The first to be announced was The Race’s All-Star Esports Battle — a competition in racing sim rFactor 2 that was being promoted by a relatively new motorsports news site, The Race, and its parent company, Torque Esports. But while The Race may not be familiar to most, one of the organizers was a man who, over a decade, has built some of the cornerstones of sim racing: Darren Cox. Cox started Nissan’s “GT Academy” back in 2008, which pitted the best video game racers in the world against each other in the popular PlayStation racing sim Gran Turismo, with the ultimate winner getting the chance to become a real-world driver. While it seemed like a lark at the time, GT Academy (and a spiritual, multi-platform successor created by Cox called “World’s Fastest Gamer”) ultimately did help prove there’s a link between the skills that make a good sim racing driver and the ones required to pilot the real thing. “It was the launch pad for a lot of things that people are doing today,” Cox, who now helps manage Mercedes-Benz’s F1 esports team, said in a phone call last week. Cox says he started hearing “rumblings” that the Australian Grand Prix would be canceled about a day before F1 made the announcement, and immediately thought “You know what? We’ve got to do something for the fans. We’ve got to try and have some racing on Sunday.” He worked with The Race and Torque announce the event, and said drivers — including Verstappen, Pagenaud, Rosenqvist, and even ex-F1 and IndyCar star Juan Pablo Montoya — started reaching out to ask how to be involved. “I said, look, you know, let’s do it, I’ll fund it. We didn’t have any drivers confirmed. We didn’t know if anyone would come. And it really was that great old-fashioned line, ‘build it and they will come,’” Cox said. “And they did, you know. And I can be on the record now to say no one got paid for being at that race. No one asked for money. No one asked for any branding. No one asked for specific terms. No one asked for a favor.” Unlike The Replacements 100, Cox and The Race didn’t try to create a virtual substitute for the canceled Australian Grand Prix. Instead, they said the track and the car that everyone would compete in would be a surprise. They also filled out the field with sim racers and YouTube personalities to keep things light. The result? Hundreds of thousands of views, numbers that Cox called “insane,” though given the circumstances, he said were not totally surprising. “The fans are starved of racing. No one wants to watch the news. We all want to be distracted, and this is just a lighthearted way of getting through what is a difficult time for everyone,” Cox said. The other big sim race of the day was billed as a direct replacement to the canceled F1 Australian Grand Prix. Dubbed the “Not the AUS GP,” it was put on by Veloce Esports, a company that fields teams across a number of different esports disciplines. Jamie MacLaurin, one of Veloce’s founders, said in a phone call late last weekend that as soon as the Australian Grand Prix was canceled, “we sat down as a team and thought, ‘can we pull this off?’” “It was tricky not to get too positive about something given the current circumstances,” MacLaurin said. “But our philosophy was we wanted to give fans something they were going to miss. And esports can be done from the comfort of your own home.” MacLaurin and Veloce experienced a similar domino effect to the one that Majors and Hamlin did in organizing their race. “We’ve got a good network in the real racing world,” MacLaurin said. “Once we got a couple drivers on board, they messaged their mates. At the end, we had to start turning people away because so many people were desperate to be involved.” MacLaurin said Veloce purposely tried to put together a field that wasn’t hyper competitive, much like the organizers of The Replacements 100. “There’s a time a and a place for competitive racing, but with the nature of the coronavirus we wanted something a little more lighthearted, which is why we involved some YouTubers who... may not have been the best drivers,” MacLaurin said with a laugh. When Sunday rolled around, F1 driver Lando Norris headlined the field of sim racing drivers and YouTubers as they competed in an abbreviated virtual version of the Australian Grand Prix using the game F1 2019. The sim race generated a remarkable amount of attention, with Norris’ Twitch stream alone pulling in 70,000 concurrent viewers for much of the broadcast. MacLaurin said there was a total of around 175,000 people watching the race at one point, when combining Norris’ numbers with the main broadcast and other competitors’ streams. “We’d all hoped we’d get to this number, but to be realistic, I never thought it could happen,” MacLaurin said. One reason Veloce’s event drew so much interest is that many of the people involved have built up their own followings on Twitch and YouTube that go beyond competitive sim racing, according to Hazel Southwell, a motorsports journalist and co-founder of Inside Electric, a news site dedicated to covering electric racing series Formula E. The Veloce race “in theory had less big names attached to it if you come from the perspective of ‘real life’ motorsport than The Race’s,” Southwell said. But the race ultimately drew big numbers because drivers like Norris were running their own streams as well. “Lando’s famous to an F1 fan as an F1 driver — but to a lot of people on Twitch he’s just a funny guy who plays PUBG and has a screamy laugh and they think it’s cute enough to subscribe to.” As a result, he said, “a lot of people tuned into that race — and it just so happens that that race itself was one of the best races of all time.” With half a lap to go, NASCAR legends Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough were battling for the lead. Yarborough tried a daring pass for the win, the left side of his car chewing into the infield grass. Allison moved to block. The two cars tangled and wound up smashing into the wall. Another NASCAR legend (arguably the NASCAR legend) snuck by to win his sixth Daytona 500: Richard Petty. “That race single-handedly began the expansion of NASCAR from a predominantly Southeastern sport into a national sport,” Pike said. “And we recognized immediately coming into [last weekend] that this was sort of our ‘79 Daytona 500 moment.” Looking at the success of the three races last weekend, and what’s happened in the days since, it seems Pike might well be right. Not only did hundreds of thousands of people tune in to watch three very different last-minute sim races, but each group of organizers — and a few others — have now held or announced new races with deeper rosters of household names and a far bigger marketing push. The Replacements is now going to be an eight-race series that will run every other week on Thursday nights. The Race and Torque Esports held a second race on Saturday. Veloce is hosting a “Not the BAH GP” race in place of the canceled Bahrain F1 race on Sunday. Existing sim racing series are also seeing a bump. The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing series that Kligerman competes in drew nearly 300,000 viewers for a regularly-scheduled race on Tuesday night. The sidelined series are themselves are jumping into the mix, too. F1 announced a “virtual grand prix” series to take the place of the canceled races. IndyCar is putting on a special series of races in iRacing. And NASCAR is teaming up with Fox Sports and iRacing to host a pro invitational sim race that will be broadcast on television as well as online. For some, it’s validation that was a long time coming. “Sim racing was a bit of a weirdo outlier from other esports for a long time,” Southwell said. “Not a lot of money, not a lot of enthusiasm, but things like the official F1 games adding the capacity to set up online leagues have made it much more easily accessible as a form of competition. Like with something like Dota, you just install the game, git gud and give it a ruddy good try.” The mix of sim racing and streaming on display last week also has inherent momentum. The big name drivers draw in fans who may be new to sim racing. The YouTube personalities and Twitch streamers bring along their own in real time, and even make videos about the events before and after. And people like Norris do both. Growth is known to kill a good thing, though. And so others, like Cox, are a touch wary. “We’ve spent the last week working out how we can help each other, how to avoid clashes, which drivers are going to drive, and which championships are going to share them out,” he said. “Now’s not to the time to have rivalries. Now’s the time to work together, because that’s the way that the sim racing community was built up.” When asked if that sounded a bit noble, Cox replied: “Now’s the time to be noble. If you can’t be noble right now, we’re never going to be noble. It’s a horrible situation out there.”

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/22/21184192/sim-racing-coronavirus-f1-nascar-iracing-veloce-esports-max-verstappen-lando-norris

Gaming

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Ashley Carman

Coronavirus is forcing fashion influencers to rethink their curated aesthetics

Elizabeth Savetsky, an influencer who lives in New York, has kept her Instagram feed pristine up until now. In every past photo, she wears an enviable outfit with perfectly done hair and, occasionally, her smiling, tall plastic surgeon husband. They’re photos that make people wish they could live in her shoes. But things are changing now that she’s stuck at home because of social distancing: she can’t hire photographers, she isn’t attending events, and she’s dressing up for no one other than her family. Her posts are starting to reflect this new reality. For the first time, Savetsky recorded herself singing, surprising her followers who likely had no idea she had a good voice. Last week, she posted a selfie showing off her natural, wavy hair and minimal makeup (though she did later delete it). Her most recent posts are one of her on the couch surrounded by snacks and an old photo with her mom in which she laments the days when they could hang. I rarely sing, but when I saw Pink’s beautiful rendition of my favorite Bob Dylan song it inspired me to send a love note to you all during this trying time in the language that speaks to my soul the most deeply. I am certainly not a professional singer, but this comes straight from my heart to all of you. A post shared by Elizabeth Savetsky (@elizabethsavetsky) on Mar 17, 2020 at 10:34am PDT Fashion influencers’ accounts might never be the same after the pandemic ends, and it’s already forcing them to adjust how they make content and what they post. Sure, they’re still receiving swag in the mail to produce unboxing and try-on videos, but they’re also grappling with the pandemic themselves and figuring out how their accounts should look. Do people still want to see cute outfits during a recession? How do you take a studio-quality photo when the only photographer available to you is your husband? What happens when you feel mentally and emotionally exhausted? The curated aesthetic people have railed against — which has defined much of Instagram up until now — might slowly disappear. “It’s going to force us to be more creative,” Savetsky says. “I’ve been posting on Instagram for about seven years now, and so it’s nice to almost have this challenge that’s forcing me outside the box because we all tend to get into these habits of doing the same thing over and over again, shooting on the same street corner always, and we can’t do that anymore.” Influencers hope to keep working with clothing brands, although those brands might shift from advertising going out attire to leggings or comfortable clothes. The photos they take are also going to be more off the cuff with minimal backdrops and whatever they can work with at home. The professional photographers are going away, too, as are the studios they rent to shoot. Having a big voice comes BIG responsibility #Repost to spread the positive energy A post shared by Katie Sands (@honestlykate) on Mar 17, 2020 at 6:34pm PDT The business will go on, though. Katie Sands, another influencer who runs both an Instagram account and fashion blog, sees the pandemic as an opportunity to have more honest, personality-driven conversations. “I have had a bunch of followers reach out and say, ‘What do you think is going to happen to the blogosphere? Do you think blogging industry will go away?’ and I, personally, think it’s actually the opposite,” Sands says. “I think that it’s going to become stronger than ever. People, including myself, I’m looking to the creators I follow for different inspiration — for home recipes, for workouts, for work from home outfits, for beauty advice.” Her Stories now include videos in which she dances with her dad because she’s social distancing in her parents’ home. She also tapes her boyfriend trying on swag she’s sent. Her videos are clearly made in her house. Sands is also going live on her page every Thursday with her therapist to help other people work through the stress and anxiety of a pandemic. One of her most recent posts is a video of her dancing in a kitchen, her phone clearly propped up against something. It’s not bad-looking, but it’s different than older photos of her laughing with friends or dressed up at a party, posing for a photographer. Fashion influencers’ photos often look good because they hire professionals to help them shoot. That’s not the case while social distancing. Another influencer, Charlotte Bickley, says her mom now doubles as her photographer and will shoot her photos while they’re isolated in Florida. “Obviously in this time everyone understands that they’re not going to be the most glamorous shots,” she says. Look today :) even tho I didn’t do much, felt good to get dressed in something other than sweats A post shared by CHARLOTTE BICKLEY (@chbickley) on Mar 22, 2020 at 5:08pm PDT She also polled her followers on how they felt about her posting brand deals during this time, and the majority said they felt comfortable with it. “I do feel a little weird doing superficial things right now, just personally, I know my followers want to see it,” she says. “But I do feel a little weird to be honest.” The logistics of those brand deals also have to be renegotiated. Sands says one of her agreements specifically requires her to take street photos, which she’s unable to do because of quarantine restrictions. Her brand partners are also putting deals on pause while they figure out their own strategies, which she understands, but it also means her income is limited. “Like everyone else, my business has been hit so hard,” Sands says. “When the brands don’t want to do the partnership, when I’ve already allocated them into my monthly budget, it’s hard,”. The Verge Art Instagram Sands says most brands have been receptive to hearing alternative ideas, like posting on Stories rather than the grid or finding a way to make the messaging cater to the situation at hand. Brands that aren’t on board are told to talk to her agent, she says. Still, she’s hoping she’ll be able to go back to posting more regularly this week. (Last week, she did promote a vitamin company in both her grid and Stories, angling it around the pandemonium COVID-19 has created.) Granted, if the pandemic slows down and social distancing is lifted in only a few months, these influencers’ honest glimpses into their lives might go away, too. Followers will have gotten only a momentary peek into their favorite influencers’ actual lives. “We’re in a serious time and it’s creating serious conversation,” Savetsky says. “I see a lot of my influencer friends going deeper than they usually would and posting different kinds of content. It’s going to change the industry for the better and make it less-curated and make it more relationship-based with influencer to follower.”

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21184344/coronavirus-covid-19-fashion-influencers-street-photography-instagram

Apps

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

T.C. Sottek

Home Screen newsletter: subscribe to brighten your inbox

Hello, internet. It’s your friend TC, executive editor and blogger at The Verge. The novel coronavirus has rapidly spread across the US and darkened our daily lives, and it’s only going to get worse. While it’s important to keep up with enough information to stay informed about the pandemic, even a little bit can feel overwhelming. That’s why my colleagues at The Verge, who are all stuck at home, have held happy hours over Zoom, live-streamed cooking tutorials, and raced in remote Mario Kart tournaments. The things we love about the internet are more important than ever. Make your inbox a little brighter, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Subscribe here! Today, I’m announcing my own little love letter to the internet: a new newsletter called Home Screen, which I’ll be sending out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It’s going to be filled with fun links, happy internet happenings, and other curiosities from the World Wide Web. It’s not quite Upworthy, but I do hope it will be uplifting — something to brighten our screens while we’re stuck at home. And for those of you who aren’t stuck at home — the Amazon and Walmart employees, the UPS drivers, the grocery store workers, and all of the medical professionals on the frontlines — thank you. Home Screen

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21190743/home-screen-subscribe-the-verge-newsletter

Internet Culture

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Adi Robertson

HP is teasing a new VR headset in partnership with Valve and Microsoft

HP is teasing a followup to its Reverb virtual reality headset made in collaboration with Microsoft and Valve. The announcement coincides with Valve’s release of Half-Life: Alyx, the year’s most anticipated VR game. There’s little detail, but HP’s website calls its new headset “a more immersive, comfortable, and compatible experience” than the Reverb, and an email from the company calls it a “no-compromise VR headset.” The $599 Reverb was part of Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality lineup, known for its high-resolution screen. HP’s reference to a “new standard in VR” suggests it’s not competing with the cheapest VR devices, like the $399 Oculus Rift S. But it might not cost as much as Valve’s $999 Index, either. There’s no release date, though, so we don’t know if it will mitigate the current headset shortage — or if it might be delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has slowed production of existing Valve and Oculus products. Valve’s SteamVR platform already supports Windows Mixed Reality headsets alongside other products from Oculus and HTC. And the headset looks similar to the old Reverb, with two black spots that imply the use of Windows Mixed Reality tracking cameras, rather than SteamVR-style external tracking beacons. So we’re not sure what this specific Microsoft / Valve / HP collaboration entails. I will note, however, that Windows Mixed Reality has a convenient tracking system and mediocre controllers, while the Valve Index has an inconvenient tracking system and the best controllers in VR. Valve’s current controllers can’t work with HP’s tracking system. But their most distinctive features use internal sensors, not SteamVR beacons — and expanding those beyond the Index would be good for everyone involved.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21191386/hp-microsoft-valve-windows-mixed-reality-reverb-vr-headset-new-announce-half-life-alyx

Tech

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

A guide to working at home using Zoom, Slack, and other tools

How to work from home productively and comfortably In these days of video conferencing, texting, and file sharing, it is thankfully possible for many people to move their workdays to home. In fact, remote working has been a part of many peoples’ lives for years, so while the adjustment can feel difficult, it isn’t impossible. We’re taking the tech expertise of our staff, and the experience of many of our writers and editors, to put together tips and advice on working from home. This includes both general information on working from home, dealing with video conferencing, and finding a good standing desk, but also quick tips on how to use Zoom to hide your messy room and how playing a soothing animal video in the background can keep you centered.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21175407/remote-work-working-from-home-guide-how-to-tips-video-conference-calls-laptops-zoom-slack

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Julia Alexander

Amazon is making dozens of kids’ shows, including Arthur, completely free

As more people are asked to stay home due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Amazon is making a portion of Prime Video kids and family programming free, including popular shows like Arthur, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, and more. Starting today, 40 family and kids’ shows will be made available to stream on Prime Video for all customers, including those without Prime memberships. All people need is an Amazon account, which they can get for free by signing up on the main site. The offer includes both Amazon Original series like Just Add Magic, Pete the Cat, and If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, alongside licensed series like Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Odd Squad, and PBS’s beloved Arthur. In Europe, licensed programming also includes Peppa Pig and Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom. Amazon’s other free streaming service, IMDb TV, will also offer 80 free family movies through its ad-supported system. These movies include Scooby-Doo: The Movie, Shrek 2, and The Smurfs, among others. Amazon is the latest company to offer parts of its service for free to customers who are stuck sitting at home. Other streaming services, including horror-centric streamer Shudder and sports streaming platforms like NBA League Pass and NFL Game Pass have started offering free past games to fans looking to get their basketball or football fix at a time when live sports have hit pause. Sling TV and Hulu have started adding free live news options to subscribers looking to keep up with the latest information on the COVID-19 pandemic. Although Amazon didn’t say how long the free offering will last, it’s a good way to court new Prime Video subscribers. Streaming usage is up, as Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos told CNN on Sunday, as people stay home and look for sources of entertainment. Using the time to find new potential customers, and retaining them after life returns to some form of normalcy, is a move that many companies are going to try to do. Amazon offering free family entertainment — on a site where parents are likely ordering or thinking of ordering basic supplies, too — is one of those moves. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21190793/amazon-prime-video-free-arthur-daniel-tiger-children-family-entertainment

Entertainment

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Adi Robertson

Half-Life: Alyx review: a satisfying return to City 17

That’s setting a very high bar, and, for now, I’m not sure Alyx clears it. The game is fighting VR’s inherent hardware limits, a pandemic-related headset shortage, and the difficulty of building a game for a new platform. While it’s about as long as the landmark Half-Life 2, with my game clocking in at 15 hours, it doesn’t feel as big or as narratively and mechanically fresh. It advances the series’s main plot, but it doesn’t come close to resolving it. But if you keep these admittedly big reservations in mind, Alyx is a worthy addition to the Half-Life universe. It’s not just a good VR game; it’s a good video game, period. Half-Life: Alyx is set five years before Half-Life 2, in which protagonist Gordon Freeman wakes from a mysterious 20-year stasis to find Earth colonized by an alien empire called the Combine. Alyx Vance is the daughter of Gordon’s former colleague, and she’s one of Gordon’s most capable companions. Now, in Alyx, she’s the protagonist — a member of an anti-Combine resistance that sees Gordon Freeman as nearly mythical. When her father Eli is captured, she learns about a secret Combine superweapon, which turns out to be more complicated than it seems. Alyx is set in the same urban dystopia as Half-Life 2: a washed-out and decaying Eastern European metropolis called City 17. While there’s a lot more detail, you’re facing a similar crowd of hostile alien fauna and transhuman soldiers as well as similar weapons and environments — although soldiers give those classic Half-Life barrels a wider berth. The series’s first two installments practically took place in different worlds. Alyx is more like the sequel’s add-on Episodes, extending the plot without starting a new chapter. At the same time, it feels like a very different kind of game. That’s partly because Alyx is a more human-seeming character than Gordon, and City 17 is nearly the whole setting, not the pit stop it was in Half-Life 2. Where Valve poked fun at Gordon’s stoic ‘90s-shooter hypercompetence, Alyx has more realistic — if top-notch — fighting capabilities. Levels have the same forward momentum and minimal backtracking, but Alyx moves at a slower pace through denser and more fully formed spaces. She’s got a history with the world already, having grown up under Combine occupation, so she can bring some context and familiarity to your journey — until a massive curveball near the game’s end. Alyx also dwells a little more on the weird dynamic of being a post-apocalyptic teenager (in this game, at least) who hangs out with a bunch of nostalgic old men. Her Resistance mission control is a pathologically cheerful inventor named Russel who rhapsodizes about old-world sandwiches and future business plans while advising her over an earpiece. He’s not as compelling an ally as... well, Alyx herself in Half-Life 2. But in a setting that players have seen already, their conversations help establish how the characters see that setting. Valve’s approach to VR is perfect for a character who’s very skilled but fallible. It’s tough to make PC or console shooters feel messy yet not artificially clumsy. Unsteady aiming or awkward skeuomorphic controls can be effective, but they seem like handicaps on a “normal” point-and-shoot experience. VR hand controllers, by contrast, mimic your physical motion in a fairly natural way — and players haven’t been trained to expect mathematical precision. It’s easier for games like Alyx to make your screw-ups feel like natural mistakes, instead of a designer stacking their deck against you. Actual VR headsets, unfortunately, do screw up. Valve’s Index headset is the gold standard for Alyx, but The Verge’s Index ended up in pandemic lockdown along with the rest of our office. Valve promises support for almost any PC-based VR setup. So I played Alyx with the Oculus Link system, which turns a standalone Oculus Quest into a tethered headset. The initial experience was a mess. My PC easily meets Alyx’s specs, but the headset froze or the game’s frame rate massively dropped at regular intervals. After I finished the game, Valve released updates that seemed to mostly fix the problems, but my later sessions still involved stopping for reboots or resets. That’s not unprecedented for a VR experience, and some issues might be Oculus Link bugs. It’s an experimental feature, so I expect rough spots. Compared to dedicated PC headsets, though, the Quest is a troubleshooting nightmare: a device with its own operating system connected with a detachable cable and enabled with the Oculus desktop app and SteamVR. The Quest is immensely popular by VR standards, so Alyx could be a huge stress test for Link and a potentially frustrating experience for users if anything goes wrong. I hate how badly the Quest performed because when it did work, I didn’t feel constrained using a non-Index system. The Index controllers can estimate grip strength and the precise placement of each finger on your hand. But Alyx uses broader motions like pushing, throwing, gripping, and, in one memorable section, clasping a hand over your mouth. Oculus’ controllers are more than capable, especially since their stick and button layout — used for things like locomotion — is very similar to the Index’s. When you reload a gun, you physically mimic reloading it. A simple pistol makes you reach over your shoulder for a new magazine, slot it into the gun, and then snap the slide lock shut. If you eject a half-full magazine, you’re just discarding the bullets, so you’ll have to un-learn any reflexive reloading habits. Shotguns get cracked open and loaded with individual shells. You have only a handful of weapons, so fighting is a constant game of counting shots, swapping between guns, and almost inevitably fumbling a few reloads with a zombie swiping at your face. The system sounds awkward on paper, but you can develop the muscle memory quickly, making it just a normal part of the game’s rhythm. (It also remains easier than loading a real gun.) Aiming is harder than with a mouse or stick, and you can’t knock back enemies with a crowbar or Half-Life 2’s Gravity Gun. So the small, fast-moving, but easily dispatched enemies from earlier games — like flying manhacks and headcrabs — become minor but infuriating threats. Big battles become tense shootouts as you reload and scrounge for more ammunition while crouching behind cover. And yes, I mean literally crouch unless you enable a special accessibility feature. This game will make you look ridiculous. Embrace it. Alyx isn’t aiming for gritty realism, though. You can move continuously by holding an analog stick, but the “Blink” setting — a common VR locomotion option — offers near-instant teleportation. The game feels designed for these impossibly sudden jumps into and out of danger, and even with the former option, you’ll use a blink-like system to jump across gaps. Incidentally, I got absolutely no motion sickness with the Blink option, which is (unfortunately) noteworthy for a movement-heavy VR game. Alyx also has a pair of “gravity gloves” that replace Half-Life 2’s more powerful Gravity Gun, letting you pull objects from across a room. Instead of just pointing and clicking, you extend your hand toward something until it glows slightly, then pull the trigger, flick your wrist, and grab it from midair by squeezing a grip button. It’s occasionally tough to grab the right thing, but it’s tremendously satisfying — like having telepathic powers, not just an unusual gun. And while the gloves aren’t an offensive weapon, they’re useful when you’re scrounging for ammo during a fight or lobbing an enemy’s grenade back at them. Unlike Half-Life 2’s Gravity Gun and physics, though, the features above don’t feel revolutionary. Some are well-established VR shooter conventions. Valve owes a clear debt to indie projects like Arizona Sunshine and Budget Cuts, which helped pioneer combat and exploration in the medium. But Valve has tweaked and perfected a lot of these elements, especially with its famously meticulous level design. Alyx’s spaces reward interaction. You can push doors open just a little to look for threats. Being able to hunker down and grab distant equipment is key to winning fights. And Half-Life’s common Barnacle enemies, which catch passersby with a long, sticky tongue, are actually much more interesting in VR — where they’re harder to avoid but easier to distract with gently tossed objects. The more compact levels offer fewer huge cinematic set pieces, but Valve delivers a couple of unique and incredibly clever close-quarters fights. Alyx’s worldbuilding feels like more of a missed opportunity. The Half-Life series features some of gaming’s most memorable creature designs, but Alyx’s new enemies feel a lot like some familiar survival horror monsters. The game offers a well-executed update to existing designs, and it makes clever use of VR — you have to physically pull headcrabs off of your face, for instance — I just wish it had a more distinct aesthetic of its own. It also opts for more traditional puzzles than Half-Life 2’s physics conundrums. Alyx has a multitool that lets her hack containers with spatial puzzles (which are sometimes frustrating but often optional) or closely scan an area and reroute power cables in its walls. They’re less interesting than navigating the game’s physical geography, although they do help encourage that exploration. Valve is nonetheless taking a step forward here. Alyx is a well-designed alternative to the never-completed Half-Life 2: Episode 3. And despite being a prequel, it does slightly advance the story from Episode 2 while teasing a yet-nonexistent true sequel. (Seriously, please don’t get your hopes up for Half-Life 3 again.) But even some diehard Valve fans might not want to try Half-Life: Alyx at launch, or maybe at all. And that would be a rational decision. Playing a great VR game is often like visiting a Michelin-star restaurant where the waiter continuously pokes you with a fork. Valve hasn’t fixed the bulkiness and grainy screens of current-generation headsets, the annoyance of getting a cord wrapped around your ankles, the likelihood that you’ll accidentally ram your hand into some furniture, or the frustration of setting up new and sometimes complicated hardware. The Index has a relatively good screen and comfortable fit, but it’s wired, it requires an awkward external tracking setup, and it costs nearly a thousand dollars. The $399 Oculus Quest offers a good value since you can use it as a standalone or PC-tethered headset. But even discounting the issues I experienced (which I hope were flukes), it’s front-heavy and uncomfortable. Moreover, you can’t buy the Quest or Index right now since the pandemic has thrown a wrench in hardware supply chains. Alternatives like the HTC Vive Pro and Cosmos are in stock, but if you’re more excited about a different headset, buying these to play one game at launch — no matter how good it is — is an iffy decision. I still think Alyx is genuinely worth the trouble of finding a headset, if that’s feasible, and overlooking its flaws. This isn’t Valve at its most revelatory — but after waiting more than a decade, it’s the Half-Life story I didn’t know I wanted. Half-Life: Alyx

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21188291/half-life-alyx-review-valve-index-oculus-quest-vr-shooter

Gaming

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Cameron Faulkner

Noise-canceling headphones from Microsoft, Beats and Anker are cheaper today

Only the best deals on Verge-approved gadgets get the Verge Deals stamp of approval, so if you're looking for a deal on your next gadget or gift from major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and more, this is the place to be. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy. If you’re having trouble concentrating on your work during self-quarantine, a set of quality noise-canceling headphones might be a good solution. You’ll likely get a lot of use out of them in the coming weeks (possibly months) at home. Best Buy is offering a $150 discount on Microsoft’s Surface Headphones, which are over-ear, noise-canceling wireless headphones. These usually cost $350, but now they’re $200. This model stacks up well compared to Sony’s popular WH-1000XM3, even going beyond them with their ability to simultaneously pair to two Bluetooth devices. More expensive headphones have this feature, like the $400 Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, but it’s nice to have it with this discounted set. Microsoft Surface Headphones Best Buy is also offering a nice discount on the Beats Studio 3 noise-canceling headphones, which usually cost $349. The sale price is $200, and if you’re picking between these and the Surface Headphones above, these are easier to pair with Apple products, like the Apple Watch, iPad, iPhone, and MacBook Pro, thanks to their W1 wireless chip. Beats Studio 3 headphones It’s understandable if $200 to spend on headphones isn’t in the budget right now. Anker’s Soundcore Life 2 over-ear, noise-canceling wireless headphones are just $40 at Newegg (via Skimlinks). These offer 30-hour battery life, optional wired mode with the included 3.5mm headphone cable, and they can easily fold up in their included hard case. Use the offer code ANKR25 to save. Anker Soundcore Life 2 headphones Borderlands 3 is down to just $20 for the Xbox One and PS4 at Amazon. This game regularly costs $60, and at this price, you’ll get the physical version. If you’d rather have the digital code for Xbox One, it costs $30. This game could suit you well if you want an open-world FPS that lets you team up with friends to face off against waves of enemies and collect loot. Borderlands 3 (Xbox One, PS4) If you recently got a Nintendo Switch to play Animal Crossing: New Horizons and now find yourself amassing more games than the console’s 32GB of onboard storage can handle, pick up a micro SD card. SanDisk’s 400GB model is down to $52.99, which is less than the cost of a new game. With a storage card this big, you probably won’t have to think about upgrading it ever again — at least, not for a while. This isn’t a huge deal, but it always pays to have storage when you need it. And around this time last year, these cost about $30 more. SanDisk 400GB microSD card The Kindle Paperwhite is back on sale for $95 (usually $130). Amazon had this sale just a few weeks ago, but it’s here again in case you missed out the last time. This isn’t the most affordable e-reader you can buy, but it’s one of the best, thanks to its waterproofing and great backlit display. Amazon Kindle Paperwhite T-Mobile is gifting its customers with two months of complimentary YouTube Premium service as a thanks for staying inside during the novel coronavirus pandemic. This service eliminates advertisements, enables background play, and allows you to download videos to your phone. T-Mobile customers using Android can access the offer starting tomorrow in the T-Mobile Tuesdays app, and iOS users can find it on t-mobiletuesdays.com. The fine print states that you have to redeem this offer by May 1st, and if you forget to unsubscribe, you’ll be charged once your two months of service are up.

https://www.theverge.com/good-deals/2020/3/23/21190762/microsoft-beats-anker-noise-canceling-headphones-video-games-tmobile-youtube-premium-deal-sale

Good Deals

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Sean O'Kane

Don’t bail out the cruise industry

The United States economy is grinding to a halt as the country grapples with the novel coronavirus pandemic, and one of the first major actions President Trump has floated is having the government bail out the cruise line industry, which he says is a “prime candidate.” He shouldn’t do it. It may be wishful thinking that he won’t. Trump has proven he’s willing to give preferential treatment to big corporations over almost anything else (save for himself), like when he signed a giant tax cut for corporations masked as relief for the working class. But there are myriad reasons not to bail out the cruise industry’s biggest players. Here are just a few: They’re not really US companies. Carnival Corporation is incorporated in Panama. Royal Caribbean is incorporated in Liberia. Norwegian Cruise Line is incorporated in Bermuda. These three cruise companies combine to make up around 70 percent or more of the global cruise ship market, depending on how you measure it. And while they operate offices in Miami, Florida, they are all incorporated in countries with very different labor, tax, and other laws than those of the US. Their ships fly flags of these countries, too. What’s more, a large number of cruise ship employees are from Europe, the Caribbean islands, and the Philippines. These companies are not big job creators for US citizens in the way that other bailout targets like Boeing or airlines like Delta, United, and American are. Also... They pay basically zero federal income tax. With all of that in mind, it shouldn’t surprise many people that these big cruise companies essentially pay no federal income tax in the US. True, each company is actually a conglomeration of a bunch of smaller companies, and there are some cases where their subsidiaries might be subject to federal (and state) income tax laws. But most of those entities don’t have to pay, thanks to Section 883 of the Internal Revenue Code, which exempts: Gross income derived by a corporation organized in a foreign country from the international operation of a ship or ships if such foreign country grants an equivalent exemption to corporations organized in the United States. Carnival, the biggest of the three, said in its most recent annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it is made up of “primarily foreign corporations engaged in the business of operating cruise ships in international transportation.” Its Holland America Princess Alaska Tours subsidiary is the company’s only truly domestic operation, so that is subject to federal and state income tax. But that’s about it. And that’s the point. Cruise companies could base their operations in the US and whip up complex corporate structures to evade some or all income taxes, just like many other multinational corporations do. But they don’t bother with the facade. Norwegian said flat out in its most recent annual filing that under “current Bermuda law,” where it’s incorporated, the company is “not subject to tax on income and capital gains.” In fact, it recorded a net tax benefit in 2019. Royal Caribbean explained in its filing that “most of our income (including that of our subsidiaries) is derived from or incidental to the international operation of ships,” and is therefore exempt under Section 883. These companies are so reliant on this setup that they admit in those same documents that changes to the way they are taxed would put the health of their businesses at risk. They’re bad corporate actors. These companies use the protections offered by the countries they are incorporated in as a shield. They make passengers sign over a ton of rights before they even come aboard. Many employees often face long hours and brutal working conditions. Worst of all... They pollute the air and oceans. Every fossil fuel-powered mode of transportation pollutes the air, but cruise ships are among the worst. They emit more sulfur dioxide than all of the passenger vehicles in Europe combined. Cruise ships also pollute the oceans by dumping waste. Not just illegally, for which these companies have been repeatedly fined, but also in some cases with impunity, again thanks to protections afforded by the laws of the countries where they’re incorporated. And where they’ve been caught, there have been coverups. They aren’t necessary. You can make a compelling argument that the airlines should be bailed out because they are a type of transportation we’ve become reliant on. (Whether they should be, or what strings should be attached, is a whole other argument that has already been competently made by Aaron Gordon at Vice and Tim Wu at The New York Times.) Cruise ships are not essential, though. Nobody gets on a cruise ship because they need to go to Turks and Caicos. Cruise ship companies offer a tantalizing proposition, to be sure, by selling all-inclusive, hassle-free vacations at what can feel like cut-rate prices. But they’re not something we need. The giant cruise companies incorporate overseas to dodge US taxes, flag vessels overseas to avoid US taxes and laws, and pollute without offset. Why should we bail them out?https://t.co/DazdJmdRv1 If the Trump administration is really going to bail out the cruise industry, there should be a focused attempt on making these companies change these behaviors. Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) got the ball rolling in a letter to Senate leadership last week, though it was mostly focused on the airlines. Cruise ship reform would take a much more concentrated effort. The role that cruise ships played in the spread of the novel coronavirus should also be considered in any bailout package. Top employees in charge of Carnival’s Diamond Princess ship were delayed in responding to an early confirmed case of the coronavirus. The ship ultimately became “the largest outbreak outside mainland China” in the early stages of the pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Another Carnival-owned ship, the Costa Luminosa, reportedly took a week to implement strict sanitary protocols after a passenger was evacuated when she showed symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Mangers at Norwegian Cruise Line pushed disinformation to try to keep booking people onto cruises after the virus went global. These companies do employ workers in the US, and the government should be doing what it can to help them, just like they should be doing with everyone else who makes up our now-imperiled economy. But handing these companies money with no strings attached is a bad idea. Even Carnival Corporation’s CEO told Axios that he doesn’t think a straight bailout is the best path forward. So don’t do it. Put the money to better use, like saving our country’s public transportation systems.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21187076/cruise-line-industry-bailout-trump-coronavirus-us-companies-tax

Op-Ed

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Nicole Wetsman

Newly approved novel coronavirus test gives results in 45 minutes

The Food and Drug Administration approved the first rapid test for the novel coronavirus over the weekend. The test, made by the biotechnology company Cepheid, returns results in around 45 minutes and does not need to be processed in a lab. But the test should primarily be used in emergency rooms and hospitals, not in doctors’ offices, David Persing, chief medical officer of Cepheid, told Stat News. In a hospital, it could help streamline care for sick people — knowing someone has or does not have COVID-19 quickly will let doctors decide how much protective equipment is needed to treat them, for example. “This is not a test for the worried well,” Persing said. Machines that run the new Cepheid tests are already in some health care facilities in the US. Like the tests already in use at public health labs and hospitals, this new test looks for bits of the virus in patient samples. The company says it will start shipping tests this week. After a long, costly delay, the US is finally testing tens of thousands of people a week for the novel coronavirus. Those tests, though, require that doctors swab a patient’s nose or throat and send that sample off to a lab with specialized equipment and technicians. At the fastest, turnaround time can take a few hours; in the US today, it’s taking days to receive test results. Tests that can be run outside of a lab and can give doctors answers quickly are critical in the fight against a fast-spreading pandemic virus like the novel coronavirus. Engineers have the technology for rapid testing, but it’s not as widespread or well-established as the slow methods labs are relying on to test people who suspect they have COVID-19. For example, there are only around 5,000 Cepheid systems in use in the US — the systems that run the standard, slower tests are much more ubiquitous. Testing, Testing, Testing: We must widely test our population, diagnose mild and even asymptomatic cases. Requires point of care diagnostics in doctor's office. We must advance these immediately to market. It means serology to know who was exposed and developed immunity. 9/n Testing in the US needs to expand even more than it has been, and be done more quickly, in order to bring the pandemic under control. Systems like Cepheid’s that bring tests out of the lab, even though they’re limited, are an important step toward that goal.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21191055/rapid-coronavirus-test-hospital-fda

Science

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Chaim Gartenberg

Google is launching a Stadia Makers program to attract more indie developers

It’s no secret that Google is looking to boost the number of games it has to offer on Stadia, and today, at the Google for Games Developer Summit, the company announced a new Stadia Makers program to expand self-publishing opportunities for independent developers on the game streaming platform. Google’s announcement highlights three key benefits of the program, which is being run in partnership with Unity: technical assistance from the Unity team, up to five physical development kits (depending on how big your dev team is), and a promise that Google will help provide funding to “offset” some of the costs of developing for another platform. Right now, the program is open to developers who are building games on Unity 2019.3 or later, are planning to release their game in either 2020 or 2021, and are willing to commit to offering Stadia support at launch. Google’s announcement says that the program will “start small” for now but will “expand to pave the way for development teams of all sizes to bring their titles to Stadia” over time. Interested developers can apply here.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21191361/google-stadia-makers-indie-developers-release-games-funding-dev-kits

Google

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Monica Chin

T-Mobile’s budget $15 Connect plan will launch on March 25th

T-Mobile will launch its budget Connect plan on Wednesday, March 25th. The prepaid package will deliver unlimited talk and text as well as 2GB of data for $15 per month (or 5GB for $25). The carrier is launching the deal early; it was originally intended to launch after its pending merger with Sprint finalized. As the novel coronavirus pandemic forces businesses to shutter, T-Mobile claims Connect is ideal for Americans who are struggling financially. “Right now, having a reliable, low-cost connection is absolutely crucial for Americans, and with many facing financial strain, time is of the essence,” wrote CEO John Legere in a statement. “We knew we couldn’t wait for the merger to finalize to launch T-Mobile Connect, our lowest priced smartphone plan, so we’re rolling out ahead of schedule.” $15 is certainly a low price for a phone plan, though it does come with some caveats. Video streaming on the Connect plan is limited to 480p. It’s also pretty easy to blow through 2GB of data (and you’re cut off completely when you’ve used it up), so customers who choose this option will need to be judicious with it. Metro by T-Mobile will also begin offering the same plan on Wednesday as well as a $35-per-month hotspot plan with 20GB of data, though the new prices will only apply for the next 60 days. In addition, Metro will offer a free 8-inch tablet for new or current customers with a voice line, and it will sell its hotspot devices for half off. T-Mobile first unveiled the Connect plan last November, but it claimed that it would only offer it after the merger with Sprint went through. The plan was one of several initiatives the company announced in an effort to garner goodwill for its pending deal. “The things consumers love about T-Mobile won’t change,” said T-Mobile president and COO Mike Sievert. “We’re still solving pain points and forcing change, but now we’ll be powered by a supercharged network that is only possible with a combined T-Mobile and Sprint.” Update March 23rd, 12:32PM ET: Added more information about the Connect plan. Correction March 23rd, 1:17PM ET: This story originally stated that the T-Mobile Connect plan did not include hotspot use. Connect is not eligible for T-Mobile’s 10GB hotspot features, but does allow tethering up to the volume of data on the plan.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21190796/t-mobile-connect-sprint-merger-coronavirus-prepaid-plan

Mobile

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Chaim Gartenberg

Apple is expanding the App Store to 20 new countries later this year

Apple is expanding the App Store to 20 new countries this year, the company announced on its developer portal, marking the latest expansion of Apple’s app marketplace around the globe. For now, there’s no word on when support will be available for the new regions. However, Apple has asked developers to log into their accounts on its developer website and accept the updated license agreements in order to make their apps accessible when the time comes. Apple’s announcement urges developers to update their information by April 10th, meaning that the rollout could start then. Currently, Apple offers the App Store in 155 countries or regions around the world. The list of new countries that will have access to the App Store is as follows, via 9to5Mac:

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21191471/apple-app-store-20-new-countries-2020-expansion-developers

Apple

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Taylor Lyles

Apple may include improved image stabilization on one of the next iPhones

One of the next iPhone models could introduce sensor-shift image stabilization, potentially bringing image stabilization to the ultrawide camera, according to a new research note from tech analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that was seen by MacRumors. Per Kuo’s note, the image stabilization tech could come to a new 6.7-inch iPhone. The technology moves the image sensor around inside the camera to offset hand shake. Currently, image stabilization is only available on the wide and telephoto lenses. For those cameras, Apple uses optical image stabilization, which uses lens movement (rather than sensor movement) to offset shake. It’s unclear if all three cameras will switch to sensor-shift stabilization or if some will continue to use optical image stabilization. Kuo also notes what could be in store for the next few iPhones. Sensor-shift image stabilization will come to two or three iPhone models in 2021, he says. Then in 2022, Kuo says at least one iPhone variant could include a periscope lens with 5x to 10x optical zoom, which we’ve seen in other phones such as the Huawei P30 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. The current iPhone models have a 2x max optical zoom, while the digital zoom is capped at 10x. A higher optical zoom can preserve the quality of an image when zooming in with the lens.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21190887/apple-iphone-sensor-shift-image-stabilization-camera-upgrade

Apple

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Chaim Gartenberg

Hamilton is bringing back the original digital wristwatch with an OLED twist

Hamilton is bringing back the original digital watch with the PSR, a 50th anniversary tribute to the company’s legendary Pulsar Time Computer — the first commercially sold digital watch, which was released to massive hype in 1972. (The watch was first announced in 1970, hence the anniversary release this year.) Displaying the time not through a mechanical mechanism but rather an LED display that lit up when a button on the side was pressed, the original Pulsar (and it’s space-age, stainless steel design) was once viewed as the future of the world of technology. James Bond (as played by Roger Moore) even famously wore one in Live and Let Die. As Hodinkee’s in-depth history of the rise and fall of digital LED watches explains, however, the boom for Pulsar’s watches (and the inevitable copycats) was relatively short-lived. Cheaper, less power-hungry LCD watches would soon follow, with the added advantage of being able to display the time all the time, instead of just when a button was pressed. In fact, the reason the new watch is being sold under the Hamilton brand, instead of the original Pulsar one, is that the company no longer has the rights — it sold the name off in 1977 (rival watchmaker Seiko now owns the branding). The new PSR looks to improve on the original Pulsar is a few ways. In an effort to help make the watch a little more useful, the display is now a hybrid LCD and OLED panel that shows the time constantly using the dimmer LCD portion and only lights up the brighter OLED component when the button is pushed. There’s also an antireflective-coated sapphire crystal and a 100-meter water-resistance rating that were both absent on the original model. The Hamilton PSR isn’t cheap, though, especially compared to a standard digital watch — it’ll run for $750 for a stainless steel model or $995 for limited-edition 1970 pieces in PVD gold. Comparatively, the original Pulsar was sold for $2,100 in a solid gold case, making the $750 price tag a (relative) bargain. Although, you’d have to take into account that Pulsar also sold cheaper $275 steel-case models later on that make the price here feel a little hefty. All in all, the Hamilton PSR is a neat tribute to an iconic wristwatch and a great example of how far display technology has come in such a short time. It’ll be available later in May.

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2020/3/23/21191283/hamilton-psr-pulsar-digital-watch-price-50th-anniversary-remake-oled-lcd

TL;DR

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Nick Statt

Amazon will help Seattle residents receive at-home COVID-19 testing

Amazon will assist its hometown city of Seattle with at-home COVID-19 testing, according to a report from CNBC on Monday. The test kits are provided by the Seattle Coronavirus Assessment Network (SCAN), a research effort based on the prior Seattle Flu Study initiative that is now dedicated to better understanding the spread of the novel coronavirus. It has funding from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’ private Gates Ventures investment arm and receives technical assistance from his philanthropic group, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The effort mirrors one in the San Francisco Bay Area funded by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s philanthropic and medical research groups. Both represent some of the most significant corporate investments in trying to make up for the failures of the federal government in rolling out widespread testing to the US. Amazon will carry out the test deliveries and pickup through its existing Amazon Care arm, an internal healthcare platform dedicated to Amazon employees and their families. Yet COVID-19 testing won’t be restricted to just Amazon employees. Anyone in the Seattle area will be eligible through SCAN, including children and those who aren’t displaying flu-like symptoms but may be asymptomatic. According to CNBC, “All the couriers involved have been trained in handling medical material, and they will distribute the self-swab kits to the homes of those who have requested them.” “Responding to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 crisis must be a community effort and requires support from both the private and public sectors,” Kristen Helton, the director of Amazon Care, told CNBC in a statement. “We are grateful to be surrounded by a strong community of public health, global health and academic leaders and are eager to leverage Amazon Care’s infrastructure and logistics capabilities to support this local effort.” Seattle and the surrounding area of King County have been among the hardest-hit metropolitan area in the US during the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 2,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 100 deaths.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21191735/amazon-seattle-coronavirus-covid-19-testing-kits-flu-study-bill-gates-foundation

Science

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Zoe Schiffer

I wanna dance with somebody (on Instagram)

Kristin Childers went to a dance party on Saturday in her pajamas. The clothes didn’t matter, because she never left her living room. The party took place entirely on Instagram. A few minutes before, she’d been sitting on her couch reading the news, feeling like she was about to cry. Then she got a notification on her phone: Ryan Heffington, the two-time Grammy nominated choreographer behind Sia’s “Chandelier” music video, was streaming a dance class on Instagram Live. “The numbness I was feeling just went away,” she says. “I was like, ‘I’m just gonna do it.’” As Childers danced, she saw comments and hearts pop up on the live stream. Almost 2,700 people were dancing virtually alongside her. “I was like, ‘Wow people are really connecting,’” she says. She’d had low-grade anxiety since the coronavirus pandemic started spreading across the United States. Now, moving alone in her apartment with only her phone to keep her company, she felt almost optimistic. Heffington is part of a wave of dance teachers moving their classes online as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread. In California, where a shelter order has been in place since March 19th, all non-essential businesses — including Heffington’s studio The Sweat Spot — are closed. The result is a rise in social media offerings as people look to their phones to give them a sense of community and help them stay active during the crisis. But Heffington is well suited to lead the digital dance era. He’s high energy and describes himself as spiritual. His philosophy is that anyone can dance — and anywhere, apparently. “I feel like this is my calling in life,” he says. “I’ve always wanted to make the world dance, and apparently this is the right time to make that happen.” When Heffington live steamed his first class on March 17th, 500 people showed up. The following weekend, there were close to 4,000. “People that have always been intimidated now have the privacy to dance and are loving it,” he says. “The insecurity level drops considerably because they’re in their own homes.” Heffington’s classes aren’t the only ones to go online. Dance Church, which calls itself “the dance party you wish you had last night,” is also streaming dance parties. Founded by choreographer Kate Wallich, it typically hosts weekly classes in New York, Seattle, Portland, and Los Angeles. Now it’s gone fully digital, streaming on its own platform. Over the weekend, 10,000 people logged on. Taiana Giefer, a Santa Barbara-based model and artist, is hosting dances on Zoom. She posts the link on social media, then DJs a class that anyone can tune into. She calls them social distancing dance parties. To Heffington, this is proof that the pandemic is an opportunity for people to come together. “The crisis is showing us how we should function as a society,” he says. “This is what social media was designed for. It’s separated us in some aspects, but at this point in time, it’s kind of all we have, and it’s so beautiful.” From her living room, Childers agrees. She’s figured out how to project her phone onto her TV, and pushed back her couch to have more space to dance. “Ryan’s next classes are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week, and I’m going to all of them,” she says. “Why not? I’m going to dance my way through this crisis.”

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21191546/dance-parties-instagram-live-zoom-coronavirus-pandemic

Report

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Tom Warren

Microsoft gets ready for a new era of Windows

Microsoft reorganized its Windows + Devices team last month, placing Surface chief Panos Panay in charge of both Windows and hardware. While it’s still early days for Panay, we’re starting to get an idea of how things might change with Windows. That starts with a new Windows Insider leader, Microsoft’s beta program that sees millions of people testing Windows 10. “In my first 30 days as the Windows leader, as I’ve been spending time listening, learning, and working with the team to build a vision for the next era of Windows, I’ve been in awe of the Insiders group and the level of dedication and depth of knowledge they have,” explains Panay in a new blog post today. “To keep this momentum going and continue to grow and innovate in Windows, it’s clear we need the right person to lead this powerful community into the next era, which is why I’m excited to announce Amanda Langowski as the new lead for the Windows Insider Program.” Langowski is a Microsoft and Windows veteran, having worked at the company for more than 20 years. Langowski previously worked on Windows beta programs, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, and the all-important flighting team that makes sure builds of Windows are available for engineers inside and outside of Microsoft. Langowski will now take over as the face of Windows 10 testing and lead an important feedback loop, a role that Dona Sarkar previously led for the past few years. Sarkar has taken a new role in the Microsoft Developer Relations team and remains at the company, while the previous Insider chief, Gabe Aul, left Microsoft last year for a virtual and augmented reality engineering role at Facebook. As Panay says, Microsoft is now getting ready to build a vision for where Windows goes next. The software maker has tried a variety of ways to entice creators to Windows over the past five years, but it has walked back some of those changes. The pace of Windows 10 updates has certainly slowed over the past 12 months, leaving testers and Windows fans wondering what’s coming next. Microsoft is obviously focused on Windows 10X for dual-screen devices right now, but there will be plenty of changes coming to the desktop version, too. Panay hasn’t finalized his vision for the direction of Windows, but you can expect to see a renewed focus on the OS at Microsoft. That will no doubt include some of the pumped energy Panay is famous for, but also a focus on simplifying the operating system and cleaning up some areas that haven’t been looked at for quite some time. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s bold goal was “we want to move from people needing Windows to choosing Windows, to loving Windows,” five years ago. It’s fair to say Windows 10 has certainly improved over the past five years, but a fresh vision for where it needs to go and a face for Windows is very much needed. I expect, and certainly hope, to see a bigger focus on Microsoft adapting the OS to the people who truly use it every day and rely on Windows. That’s not to say there won’t be some big new features that the company will develop, but PowerToys for Windows 10 and the Windows Terminal have been some great additions. We’re starting to see some of the simplifications for Windows show up, with new icons and even some tweaks to the Start menu. Panay celebrated a billion Windows 10 users with a teaser video last week, and it’s clear the Windows team is looking at cleaning up parts of the UI. Microsoft is ready to listen again, with new leadership involved at the top of Windows and how the company receives feedback. We’re now waiting to hear exactly what the next era of Windows will bring. Some of those answers might not be too far away.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21191087/microsoft-windows-panos-panay-amanda-langowski-windows-insider-feedback

Microsoft

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Kim Lyons

Governments are using cellphone location data to manage the coronavirus

As the novel coronavirus continues to spread around the world, more governments are relying on mobile carrier data to track everything from patients who should be isolated to how well people are following limited-movement edicts. Mobile carriers in the European Union are sharing data with health authorities in Italy, Germany, and Austria to help monitor whether people are following instructions to maintain social distances and stay close to home during the outbreak, Reuters reports. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, limits how companies can share and manage customers’ personal data. The location data currently being shared by cellphone providers is anonymous and aggregated, per the GDPR rules. In Italy’s Lombardy region, the first major swath of the country to be placed under lockdown, the mobile data is reportedly helping authorities get a clearer picture of how well people are observing the rules, according to Reuters, showing movement is down by about 60 percent in the past month. On March 16th, Israel authorized the use of cellphone location data to track the virus. The country’s internal security agency, the Shin Bet, has collected data from mobile carriers since about 2002. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized the Shin Bet to track the movements of patients who have tested positive and to determine who should be under quarantine. An Israeli security official told The New York Times that the data was going to be used in a “focused, time-limited and limited activity.” Other countries are using location data from cellphones to track the pandemic in different ways, from an app called AC 19 in Iran to China’s tracking system that sends information to law enforcement officials, to Taiwan’s “electronic fence” that alerts authorities when a quarantined person moves too far away from their home. As of Monday, Taiwan had 195 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, one of the lowest tallies of any country. Perhaps the most aggressive use of cellphone location tracking is happening in South Korea where the government has created a publicly available map from cellphone data that people can use to determine if they have come into contact with someone who has been infected with the novel coronavirus. South Korea is viewed as something of a success story in its efforts to beat back the spread of the virus; the BBC reports that the country recorded 64 new cases in the past 24 hours, down from its peak of 909 cases reported on February 29th. South Korea’s health authorities have been sending detailed text messages that range from reminders about handwashing to specific information about people who have tested positive and where they are, The Guardian reports. An example text message read “A woman in her 60s has just tested positive. Click on the link for the places she visited before she was hospitalized.” The link directs to a list of locations the person visited before she tested positive, according to The Guardian. Of course, tracking the movements of patients who have been infected with the novel coronavirus and people who haven’t has raised myriad privacy concerns, and how effective the methods are may never be totally known. If a person doesn’t want to be tracked, they can disable location settings on their device or turn their phone off altogether. Whether the US would track user data in a similar way remains unclear, but the federal government is reportedly in “active talks” with Facebook, Google, and other tech companies, according to The Washington Post.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21190700/eu-mobile-carriers-customer-data-coronavirus-south-korea-taiwan-privacy

Policy

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Andrew J. Hawkins

There’s no better time for cities to take space away from cars

The coronavirus pandemic presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for cities to remake their streets by taking space away from cars and giving it to pedestrians and bicyclists — permanently. With public transportation ridership cratering, demand for Uber and other ride-hailing services fizzling, and people everywhere looking to get the hell off their couches and feel a little bit of breeze on their skin, the time for cities to take a bold stand against cars and parking is undeniably now. Rapidly building out a network of protected bike lanes would let residents — especially those under “shelter in place” rules — use their bikes for necessary trips to the drugstore or supermarket, while also avoiding public transportation. Closing certain streets to car traffic can also help promote social distancing, since it’s undeniably easier to maintain six feet of recommended distance from someone else when you’re not confined to a narrow sidewalk. People are pouring into parks to get exercise and get some fresh air, making it more difficult for cities to control large gatherings and adhere to social distancing. Why not let them walk in the street? In the midst of a pandemic, the need to fight inactivity is greater than ever. Last week, a group of nearly 50 academics and experts on public health and transport wrote an open letter to the UK government urging elected officials to encourage walking and biking amid the crisis. And you can’t do that without taking space away from cars. That’s not the only benefit to us right now. By making cities less car-friendly, we could potentially cut the number of people who have to go to the ER when the health care system is overwhelmed: it’s harder to get into a life-threatening car crash if there are restrictions on driving. Some cities have already started making these changes. The Colombian capital, Bogota, is adding 47 miles of bike lanes to reduce crowding on public transport and help prevent the spread of COVID-19 — as well as to improve air quality. New York City, which has witnessed a surge in cycling as people avoid public transportation, has said it would install bike lanes on 2nd Avenue between 34th and 42nd streets in Manhattan and Smith Street in Brooklyn. Mexico City is considering a fourfold increase to its cycling network. We’re already seeing some early evidence of what happens when cities don’t do enough to promote these healthier, low-carbon forms of transportation during the pandemic. Cyclist injuries in New York City were up 43 percent between March 9th and March 15th, according to NYPD statistics obtained by Streetsblog. This came after NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio urged people to bike to work but did not build any new protected infrastructure to handle the surge of riders. On Sunday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gave the city 24 hours to come up with a plan to deal with overcrowding in parks that he said should include closing some streets to car traffic. Many of these measures are temporary, meaning they can easily be removed as soon as the pandemic subsides. This would be a mistake. The coronavirus pandemic has already changed many of our personal habits related to work and social interaction. It’s an opportunity for a different way of thinking about urban design and planning as well. Air quality is another argument against giving space back to cars as soon as the pandemic subsides. Satellite imagery that detects carbon emissions due to car and truck traffic has shown huge declines over major cities like New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, and Atlanta. Cities can help slow the inevitable increase in carbon emissions by permanently restricting private cars from certain streets. Car-free streets were on their way to becoming somewhat of trend before the coronavirus emerged to disrupt, well, everything. The rapid increase in cycling and scootering in the US, spurred in some part by the emergence of shared mobility startups, has forced some cities to build protected bike lanes in order to curb a rise in injuries. Likewise, the spike in traffic congestion as a result of ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft has resulted in laws limiting the amount of time drivers cruise for passengers. Both of these phenomena have also helped build support for closing streets to car traffic in order to ensure buses can maintain normal service. The two most prominent examples in the US have been the 14th Street busway in Manhattan and Market Street in San Francisco. Both have proven to be extremely popular right out of the gate. Taking space away from cars — whether it’s by closing streets to traffic or removing on-street parking to build protected bike lanes — is almost always a controversial decision. Elected officials typically turn a blind eye, fearful of being yelled at by car owners, protested, or even sued. They are wary of making such radical decisions, thinking it will cost them political support. But those officials are ignoring the grim realities that exist in the US today. In 2018, vehicle drivers killed the most number of pedestrians — 6,283 — in 30 years. Cyclists are also being run over and killed at an alarming rate: 857 were killed in 2018, an increase over the previous year of 6.3 percent. While people stay home during the coronavirus pandemic, there have been a lot fewer traffic jams. But just because there are fewer drivers on the road doesn’t make things inherently safer when the people who are still driving are doing it without caution. There’s already been some anecdotal evidence that some drivers see these clearer lanes of traffic as an excuse to speed or drive recklessly. We can’t sit back and let our cities become set pieces for Fast & Furious-style hijinks. Every car crash that results in an injured driver or pedestrian will mean shifting precious hospital resources away from caring for those with COVID-19. Cities that take that space away from cars and refuse to give it back can ensure fewer injuries, better air quality, and a more vibrant way of life for everyone.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21191325/cities-car-free-coronavirus-protected-bike-lanes-air-quality-social-distancing

Science

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Jay Peters

New study aims to use health data from a smart ring to identify coronavirus symptoms

A new study will evaluate a smart ring that takes people’s temperatures in an attempt to identify people who have the new coronavirus early, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. More than 2,000 emergency medical workers at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center and the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital will wear Oura Rings for the study. The rings will be given to emergency medical workers who come into contact with patients who may have COVID-19. Workers who qualify for the study will be asked to wear an Oura Ring for three months, complete daily surveys to report if they are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, and share health data collected by the Oura Ring app with Oura, according to UCSF. Oura Rings, which are marketed as sleep trackers, monitor a wearer’s heart rate, respiratory rate, and changes in body temperature. The devices haven’t been proven to detect COVID-19, but the data they collect might eventually be used to help predict the illness. The researchers hope to develop an algorithm based on the Oura Ring data that could detect COVID-19 early, says UCSF. It’s not the only device that could help: health company Kinsa uses data from its smart thermometers to track the spread of the flu across the US, and there are signs that its thermometers may be able to pick up on areas where there are outbreaks of COVID-19 before confirmed cases are reported. build an algorithm to help UCSF identify patterns of onset, progression, and recovery, for COVID-19. This study is open to all Oura ring users and is opt-in only. You can join the UCSF TemPredict study through the invite available in your Oura app or using the link below. (2/3) Anyone who owns an Oura Ring can opt in to participate in the study. Those who qualify will be asked to take daily symptom surveys and share their health data collected by the Oura Ring app, according to an Oura blog post. There are more than 150,000 Oura Ring users worldwide, Oura tells The Verge, so this could significantly increase the amount of data available to researchers. If you want to participate, you can apply here.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21191225/coronavirus-smart-ring-oura-ucsf-san-francisco-general-hospital-tempredict

Science

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Jay Peters

Microsoft discloses new Windows vulnerability that’s being actively exploited

Microsoft disclosed a new remote code execution vulnerability today that can be found in all supported versions of Windows and is currently being exploited in “limited targeted attacks” (via TechCrunch). If a hacker successfully pulled off an attack, they could theoretically remotely run code or malware on the victim’s device. The flaw involves the Adobe Type Manager Library, which helps Windows render fonts. “There are multiple ways an attacker could exploit the vulnerability, such as convincing a user to open a specially crafted document or viewing it in the Windows Preview pane,” according to Microsoft. The vulnerability has a severity level of “critical,” which is the company’s highest rating. There isn’t currently a patch available to fix the flaw, though Microsoft’s advisory notes that updates to address security vulnerabilities are usually released as part of Update Tuesday, typically scheduled for the second Tuesday of every month. That means, in theory, the next Update Tuesday is scheduled for April 14th. In a statement to The Verge, Microsoft reiterated its standard Update Tuesday policy, but the company did not give a specific date for when a patch might be issued. Microsoft offers instructions for a few temporary workarounds in its advisory, such as disabling the Preview Pane and Details Pane in Windows Explorer.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21191611/microsoft-zero-day-windows-exploit-remote-code-execution

Microsoft

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Jon Porter

Apple’s Siri voice assistant now provides coronavirus advice

Apple has updated Siri to provide information to people who are concerned they have COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, CNBC reports. Users can ask the voice assistant questions like “How do I know if I have coronavirus” or “Do I have coronavirus?” and it will offer advice based on their symptoms. Users started noticing the new functionality on Saturday. When you first ask Siri about the virus, the voice assistant will ask whether you are experiencing related symptoms, which include a fever, dry cough, or shortness of breath. People with extreme or life-threatening illnesses are advised to call 911, while anyone who’s not sure is informed of the diseases symptoms and told to self-isolate if they appear. Links to telehealth apps on the App Store are provided for anyone who can’t currently reach a healthcare provider. Siri’s answers are being provided from the US’s Public Health Service, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), CNBC notes. At the moment, the answers appear to be focussed on users in the US. We tried asking Siri for advice in the UK, and the voice assistant simply provided us with a link to an information page on a UK government website. There was no questionnaire about symptoms or links to the App Store. Siri’s new functionality mirrors similar efforts from other tech companies like Facebook, Google, and Microsoft who have launched information resources about the virus. Facebook has added a coronavirus information center to the top of its News Feed in the United States which passes on information from the World Health Organization and CDC, while Google has also launched an informational site. Microsoft, meanwhile, has launched an interactive map, and also worked with the CDC to produce a “self-checker” chatbot.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21190600/apple-siri-coronavirus-covid-19-symptoms-healthcare-advice-information

Apple

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Andrew J. Hawkins

Uber wants Congress to include protections for drivers in coronavirus stimulus package

Uber is urging the White House and congressional leaders to include financial assistance for drivers and delivery workers in the economic stimulus package that is currently under debate. The company is also advocating for legislation that would require it to provide drivers with certain financial benefits while still classifying them as independent contractors. The appeal comes as Uber has seen a precipitous drop in ridership as a result of the pandemic. The company’s gross bookings in Seattle, a city hit hard by the novel coronavirus, is down by 60 to 70 percent, and Uber is assuming similar declines in other big cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City. The company suspended its carpooling service, UberPool, in most major markets and is providing financial assistance for drivers who have contracted COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, or who have had their accounts suspended or been told to quarantine by public health officials. In a letter to President Donald Trump and congressional leaders on March 23rd, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said any economic stimulus should include “protections and benefits for independent workers, not just employees.” But Khosrowshahi insisted that he wasn’t seeking a handout for his company. 1/2 My request of America’s leaders: make sure @Uber drivers & delivery people, along with all independent workers in the gig economy and beyond, get immediate protection and support in COVID-19 stimulus packages https://t.co/SKBlOubxyY pic.twitter.com/U2xHPxQmyh “My goal in writing to you is not to ask for a bailout for Uber, but rather for support for the independent workers on our platform and, once we move past the immediate crisis, the opportunity to legally provide them with a real safety net going forward,” Khosrowshahi writes. Khosrowshahi avoided prescribing a specific amount of money for gig workers, but he is broadly advocating that independent contractors should be included in any bailout measures for full-time employees. Some of these measures are already under debate. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), with whom Khosrowshahi spoke over the weekend, is pushing for language that would expand and increase unemployment insurance for freelancers, in addition to other protections. Sensing that the novel coronavirus could present a unique opportunity to address one of Uber’s long-standing quandaries, Khosrowshahi is also calling for legislation that would amend existing labor laws to better suit its approach to worker classification. The company is under pressure in states like California, where a recent law is making it more difficult for gig economy companies to classify workers as freelancers, to completely change its approach to employment. The company, which has hemorrhaged money since its disastrous IPO last year, is dead set against classifying drivers as employees. “The economic challenges ahead of us mean America’s workers will need more opportunities to earn additional income, not fewer,” Khosrowshahi writes. “I am eager for us to work together to establish a new standard for flexible work, so that it benefits all who choose it and continues to be readily available to as many people as possible when they and our country need it most.” He adds, “Put simply, our laws should protect all workers, not just one type of work.” Khosrowshahi says Uber is “already working with lawmakers and Governors in various jurisdictions across the U.S. on similar legislation that would require companies like ours to provide protections and benefits to our independent contractors.” Uber’s state-by-state lobbying effort is mostly to avoid a repeat of what happened in California. In the run-up to the passage of AB5 in California, the company proposed paying drivers $21 an hour (but only while on a trip), providing them with sick leave and empowering them to “have a collective voice” — a nod toward drivers forming a union. But the proposal was disregarded; on September 18th, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB5 into law. After the law was passed, Uber introduced some dramatic changes to its app in an effort to be in compliance. Now, Uber’s app displays prices differently, allows users to select preferred drivers, and discontinues some benefits associated with its driver rewards program. The company is betting that by giving drivers more control over their rides and making fares more transparent, they can avoid some of the repercussions of the law, which enshrines the so-called “ABC test” for determining whether someone is a contractor or employee. Khosrowshahi’s appeal to the Trump administration for legal support isn’t surprising given the federal government’s endorsement of Uber’s worker classification. Last year, the US Department of Labor issued an opinion stating that gig workers like Uber drivers are contractors ineligible for minimum wages and overtime pay. A federal judge ruled basically the same way in 2018 in what is said to be the first classification of Uber drivers under federal law. And more recently, the federal labor board’s general counsel said that Uber drivers are independent contractors, not employees of the ride-hailing company.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21190806/uber-coronavirus-driver-protections-economic-stimulus

Tech

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Ashley Carman

This year’s VidCon is canceled

VidCon, an annual gathering of social media influencers and content creators, is canceled this year in the US. The show was scheduled for June 17th through the 20th in Anaheim, California. The company made the announcement on Monday and said it’s looking to make the conference happen sometime in the fall, although organizers are still working on a plan. For now, tickets will be refunded. The team is also exploring virtual formats and seeking speakers who might be willing to participate. Creators like Coyote Peterson, Adam Waheed, and James Charles were all scheduled to attend this year’s show. Of course, VidCon is only one of the countless events worldwide that have been canceled, postponed, or moved online in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Apple’s WWDC is going virtual, and Google’s I/O developer conference was fully canceled, among hundreds of other similar industry events. Disney closed Disneyland in Anaheim, too. Many conferences are finding workarounds or at least postponing until the fall when the worst of the virus’s spread might have passed.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21191134/video-2020-canceled-youtube-influencers-coronavirus-covid-19

Tech

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Sam Byford

The PC Engine Mini is an awesome retro console, if you can get one

Konami had planned to release its mini TurboGrafx-16, PC Engine, and CoreGrafx consoles last week, but the production schedule has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic around the world. I managed to get my hands on a PC Engine Mini here in Japan, though, so here’s a quick look at it ahead of the TurboGrafx-16 launch in the US — which, hopefully, shouldn’t be too far off. The TurboGrafx-16 was released in 1989 as the US version of the PC Engine, which came out in Japan two years prior. Another revision called the CoreGrafx came later, but all versions shared the same internal hardware. The consoles were manufactured by NEC and designed by Hudson Soft, creators of series like Bomberman and Adventure Island. Konami was one of its strongest third-party supporters and later acquired Hudson, which is why it’s handling the release of the mini versions. Despite the name, the TurboGrafx-16 actually had an 8-bit CPU, though it did use 16-bit video hardware. It was more of a competitor to the NES than the SNES; indeed, its delayed launch in the US meant it compared unfavorably to Sega’s 16-bit Genesis, which came out the same month. Still, the PC Engine hardware could produce far better arcade-style visuals than the NES, giving its games a distinct look and ensuring that the console stands out as a notable point in the evolution of video game technology. The thing about the PC Engine Mini is that the original PC Engine was already pretty mini. Konami really hasn’t reduced the size all that much, but it’s still super cute and comes in smaller than the Mega Drive Mini or SNES Classic Edition. The TurboGrafx-16, however, was designed to be far larger in an attempt to appeal to the US market, and it looks like that’ll still be the case with its “mini” edition. Honestly, I kind of like the idea of a comically huge mini console, but we’ll have to see how that model works out in practice. Like almost every other mini console, the PC Engine Mini uses a Micro USB port for power and HDMI for video output; in this case, it’s hidden behind a removable orange “Ext Bus” flap, which is a nice touch. The controller is full-sized and feels great, with chunky concave buttons and a comfortable D-pad. The cable is regular USB-A, and it’s thankfully much longer than other mini consoles at 3 meters in length. It’s the only wired retro controller I’ve been able to use sat on my couch with the console in the TV stand. I appreciate the nostalgia of sitting on the floor close to the screen, don’t get me wrong, but this is a lot more practical for actually playing the games. And there are a lot of games. The official total is 57, though there are some extras and Easter eggs hidden away by M2, the studio responsible for the emulation. If you press the Select button while booting certain games like Gradius and Soldier Blade, for example, you can play rare or modified versions of the ROM. There’s even a display mode that lets you play the games as if you were using the low-res portable PC Engine GT/TurboExpress, which is not something I would necessarily recommend you do at length, but it makes for a fun inclusion. We’ll dive further into the software library when we’ve had more time with the TurboGrafx-16 Mini, but my first impressions are that M2 has done a typically great job with emulation, and the system software is very good. You can have up to four save states for each game, the video output is of high quality with all of the options you’d want, and unlike Nintendo’s mini consoles, you’re able to access the menus without having to get up to press a physical button on the system itself — just press Run and Select together on the controller. While the lineup of games is excellent, there is a catch: the games are divided into TurboGrafx-16 titles in English and PC Engine releases in Japanese no matter which version of the system you own, with very few regional differences. On one hand, this is a good thing — unlike, say, the Super Famicom Classic Edition, there’s little need to import if you want to play the Japanese games. The original PC Engine version of Hideo Kojima’s text-heavy classic Snatcher was only ever released in Japan, for example, so it’s nice to see it included, even if few people outside the country will be able to play in practice. On the other, it’s a little strange that almost everyone will end up with a bunch of games in their non-native language even when more appropriate versions did exist. Overall, though, the PC Engine Mini has a lot to offer, whichever language you speak. It’s a neatly designed product that avoids some of the drawbacks found in similar retro consoles, and it’s a great way to get yourself acquainted with one of the more underappreciated systems from the 8-bit era — or 16-bit, if you insist.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21190608/pc-engine-mini-hands-on-turbografx-16-japan-gaming-console

Gaming

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Dani Deahl

Verizon gives all mobile customers 15GB of extra data during coronavirus pandemic

Verizon has announced that it is automatically adding 15GB of high-speed data to wireless plans in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, the company announced it will waive overage charges and late fees for those affected by the crisis, waive internet and voice service for those on its discount Lifeline plan, and reiterated its previous pledge of free international calling for consumer wireless and home voice customers to CDC level 3 countries, among other efforts. “We understand the hardships that many of our customers are facing, and we’re doing our part to ensure they have broadband internet connectivity during this unprecedented time,” said Verizon Consumer Group CEO Ronan Dunne. “With so many Americans working and learning remotely from home, having access to reliable and affordable internet is more important than ever before.” The changes are in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s 60-day Keep Americans Connected Pledge. The pledge asks US internet service providers to not terminate service for residential and small business customers, waive late fees incurred as a result of the pandemic, and provide open access public Wi-Fi hotspots to “any American who needs them.” It also urges companies to suspend data caps and fees for long distance calls. From March 25th through April 30th, Verizon consumer and small business customers with metered data plans will get 15GB added, which can be used for hotspot, smartphone, or another device. Meanwhile, Verizon unlimited customers will get 15GB of 4G LTE hotspot data added to their plan. It’s worth noting that Verizon is waiving overage charges, but isn’t removing data caps for mobile customers. In a separate post, the company notes that “most of the company’s wireless customers are on unlimited wireless plans,” and says that customers who aren’t are “encouraged to connect to Wi-Fi hotspots whenever available” as Wi-Fi connections don’t count against data usage. So, that means if you have a plan with a data cap, you may still need to call up Verizon after the fact to get them to remove incurred overage fees. Several companies have also laid out how they plan to comply with the pledge. Comcast announced it will suspend its internet data cap policy for 60 days and waive overage fees for home internet customers, among other initiatives. T-Mobile removed mobile data caps and gave customers 20GB of additional hotspot / tethering data. AT&T, like Verizon, isn’t outright removing caps, instead saying it will “waive domestic wireless plan overage charges for data.” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai says that virtually every major US broadband and telecom business has committed to the pledge, including Charter, Sprint, and others.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21191573/verizon-coronavirus-covid-19-unlimited-data-giveaway-overage-fees-waived

Mobile

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Nick Statt

The Kranio X is a Bluetooth speaker in the shape of a cybernetic lynx skull

File this one under “Kickstarter products we can’t easily explain”: a fabricated cybernetic lynx skull that doubles as a Bluetooth speaker. The Kranio X, as it’s called, is currently raising money on the crowdfunding platform for what seems like a very limited run of the product — just $1,288 was the funding goal, and it’s already surpassed that with just 19 backers. So what, exactly, is going on here? Well, according to Hong Kong-based industrial designer Alan Wong, he created “the speaker casing in the shape of a lynx skull because he wanted to contrast a feral, organic feature with the cold, synthetic mechanical parts.” It is not a real animal skull, of course; it’s 3D modeled out of various components and then hand-painted. A note on crowdfunding: Crowdfunding is a chaotic field by nature: companies looking for funding tend to make big promises. According to a study run by Kickstarter in 2015, roughly 1 in 10 “successful” products that reach their funding goals fail to actually deliver rewards. Of the ones that do deliver, delays, missed deadlines, or overpromised ideas mean that there’s often disappointment in store for those products that do get done. The best defense is to use your best judgment. Ask yourself: does the product look legitimate? Is the company making outlandish claims? Is there a working prototype? Does the company mention existing plans to manufacture and ship finished products? Has it completed a Kickstarter before? And remember: you’re not necessarily buying a product when you back it on a crowdfunding site. But it’s meant to evoke cyberpunk themes like the blurring lines between man and machine — or, in this case, animal and machine. Technically speaking, the device is supposed to be a lynx with cybernetic implants (under the assumption that is a thing that will exist in the future) that has had its skull repurposed as an electronic device (in this case, a speaker). I could reasonably imagine something edgy and bizarre like that showing up in, say, Borderlands or perhaps Cyberpunk 2077, and that appears to be what Wong is going for. For what it’s worth, the Kranio X is intended to be a hi-fi plug-in speaker, costing $269 under the first of two pledge tiers, with the other costing $359 alongside a poster, an engraving, and a copy of the stereolithography file the device will be manufactured from. It comes with a 4-inch, 10-watt inside, weighs just over 4.4 pounds, and has dimensions of 240 x 160 x 153 cm. It has Bluetooth 5.0, and Wong also lists the signal, sensitivity, and distortion metrics for those interested in a more detailed breakdown on the campaign page. The campaign is live until April 16th, 2020.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21190963/kranio-x-bluetooth-speaker-kickstarter-cybernetic-lynx-skull

Tech

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Nicole Wetsman

Scientists are racing to find the best drugs to treat COVID-19

Three months into the novel coronavirus pandemic, it’s still unclear which drugs could combat the viral disease and which won’t — despite public figures like President Donald Trump extolling the unproven promise of some medications. With public health on the line, the scientific community is searching for answers faster than ever. When the novel coronavirus tore through China in January and February, researchers and doctors quickly launched dozens of clinical trials to test existing medications against COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. But the research done so far in China hasn’t generated enough data for conclusive answers. “We commend the researchers around the world who have come together to systemically evaluate experimental therapeutics,” said Tedros Adhanom, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), in a press briefing. “Multiple small trials with different methodologies may not give us the clear, strong evidence we need about which treatments help to save lives.” In their fight for “clear, strong evidence,” the WHO is launching a multicountry clinical trial to test four drug regimens as COIVD-19 therapies: an experimental antiviral drug called remdesivir, the antimalarial drug chloroquine (or the related hydroxychloroquine), a combination of two HIV drugs, and those same two HIV drugs along with the anti-inflammatory interferon beta. The trial will be flexible and could add or drop additional treatment approaches or locations over time. In that way, it appears to be similar to the adaptive trial that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases started in the US in February, which initially set out to test remdesivir but could expand to other drugs. The US is not currently involved in the WHO trial. Hundreds of other clinical trials are underway, and other groups also continue to test the medications that the WHO selected — here’s a breakdown of some of the drugs that researchers are zeroing in on. Studies found that hydroxychloroquine and the related chloroquine can stop the novel coronavirus from infecting in cells in the lab, and anecdotal evidence suggests that it may help patients with COVID-19. Because the drug has been around for decades as an antimalarial treatment, scientists have experience with it. “It’s a known medicine,” says Caleb Skipper, an infectious disease postdoctoral fellow at the University of Minnesota who’s working on a smaller trial of the drug. “Little blips of lab data over the last several years show this drug has activity against viruses.” Skipper’s trial is looking to see if hydroxychloroquine can prevent people who are exposed to the virus from developing severe disease. They’re hoping to recruit health care workers, who are at a high risk of exposure to the virus, to participate in the trial. #COVID19 Post-exposure prophylaxis trial with hydroxychloroquine has enrolled 45 subjects from 19 states. If you know of a healthcare worker or household contact exposed in the past <=3 days, have them email [email protected] for instructions. The goal, Skipper says, is to get the drug in people’s systems early. “Particularly with viruses, the earlier you inhibit their ability to replicate the better off you’re going to be. If a drug is going to work, it is more likely to work early on in disease,” he says. “If you catch someone really early and provide treatment early virus will have replicated a lot less.” The existing evidence on hydroxychloroquine points in the right direction, Skipper says, but all of the research on the drug is still in very early stages. “It’s a long ways from being proven effective,” he says. Despite the limited evidence available, public figures, including Elon Musk and Trump, are pushing the message that hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are the solutions to the outbreaks. “I feel good about it. That’s all it is, just a feeling, you know, smart guy. I feel good about it,” Trump said in a press conference on Friday. As a result of the hype, demand for the drug has spiked, and manufacturers are increasing production. In Nigeria, two people overdosed on the medication after Trump said it could cure COVID-19. People who take it for other conditions, like lupus, are struggling to access their usual supply. To be very clear, there is still no conclusive evidence that chloroquine will treat COVID-19. And treatments that appear promising based on anecdotal reports or “feelings” often don’t end up working, which scientists know well: the majority of clinical trials fail, and they’re seeing that reinforced in coronavirus treatment efforts. In February, doctors in Thailand said they saw their COVID-19 patients improve on the combination of two HIV drugs, lopinavir–ritonavir. The WHO is testing the drug combination in their trial, along with anti-inflammatory interferon beta, which the body produces naturally to ward off viruses. The drug combination was used in patients during the SARS and MERS outbreaks, and it appeared to help. But a clinical trial of those two drugs in China just found that patients with COVID-19 who were given the drugs did not improve more quickly than patients who didn’t receive it. Disappointing news. A drug trial to look at the effectiveness of lopinavir-ritonavir for #SARSCoV2 #HCoV19 #COVID19 #coronavirus has failed.https://t.co/ZSLw2HhwCh The study, which was published this week, focused on a group of 199 severely ill patients, which may be why the drug wasn’t effective — the patients were already too sick. But Timothy Sheahan, a coronavirus expert and assistant professor at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, says he wasn’t surprised the drug didn’t work. “We’ve done work on that particular drug cocktail,” he says. “The fact it failed is totally in step with everything we’ve done in the past.” The antiviral drug remdesivir was first developed to treat Ebola, but research later showed that it could also block MERS and SARS in cells. Lab tests have shown that it can inhibit the novel coronavirus in cells as well. There’s also anecdotal evidence that remdesivir helps treat COVID-19 patients, but that’s also no guarantee that a clinical trial will show that it works better than a placebo. That’s why the data collected on the drug through the WHO trial, the US adaptive trial, and the other studies is so important: before giving it to sick people en mass, doctors have to be sure that it actually works. Though not a part of the WHO trial, Chinese officials also reported that the Japanese anti-flu drug favipiravir, which it tested in clinical trials, was effective in treating COVID-19 patients. Japan is studying the drug more closely, though data from those trials on the drug has not yet been published. Based on the drug’s antiviral activity in cells, Sheahan says he’d be surprised if this drug ultimately ended up being effective. It doesn’t work against MERS in cells, he says, and MERS is similar to the novel coronavirus. In addition, some pharmaceutical companies are looking to repurpose anti-inflammatory drugs to try to calm lung inflammation in people with severe cases of COIVD-19; others are identifying the protective antibodies that people develop after they’re infected with the virus in an effort to manufacture a treatment. Clinical trials take time to collect data properly, so there likely won’t be concrete evidence until next month or later. Patients are already receiving these drugs through compassionate use programs, which allows doctors to order experimental medications in certain cases, and under off-label use, where doctors prescribe drugs outside of what they’re approved for. But ensuring the clinical trial process takes place alongside that, before jumping to conclusions about the best course of action, ensures patients can be treated based on evidence. The sheer number of trials going on around the world for each particular treatment approach will give researchers more data to work with and data from different groups of people. “The more populations you can show a particular intervention works or does not work for, the more valuable that is,” Skipper says. “The bigger amount of data available, the better.”

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21188167/coronavirus-treatment-clinical-trials-drugs-remdesivir-chloroquine-covid

Science

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Cameron Faulkner

Samsung’s Galaxy S20 and S20 Plus are $200 off at Amazon and Best Buy

Only the best deals on Verge-approved gadgets get the Verge Deals stamp of approval, so if you're looking for a deal on your next gadget or gift from major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and more, this is the place to be. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy. It’s a rule that phones eventually become cheaper after they release, but few drop in price as quickly as Samsung phones. Samsung’s Galaxy S20 and S20 Plus launched in early March and are already $200 off at Amazon and Best Buy. This brings the price down to $800 for the S20 and $1,000 for the S20 Plus. These prices are for the unlocked versions, which you can use with any US carrier. If you’re buying through Best Buy, you should order online instead of leaving the house. But should you go to one of its stores for an order pickup, it offers curbside pickup. It’s worth noting that if you’re a Verizon customer hoping to use 5G on the S20, this version won’t work. Verizon and Samsung are planning to release a version of the phone that will work on its mmWave spectrum 5G network. Another note: the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is excluded from this deal and still costs $1,350. If you’re looking for more info on either phone, The Verge’s Dieter Bohn goes in depth on both phones in his review. There, you’ll find plenty of camera samples, design impressions, and more. We also have the review up on YouTube above, if you’d rather watch. Samsung Galaxy S20 Samsung Galaxy S20 Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus Samsung Galaxy S20

https://www.theverge.com/good-deals/2020/3/23/21191274/samsung-galaxy-s20-plus-deal-amazon-best-buy-discount-android-unlocked

Good Deals

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Dani Deahl

SoundCloud and Twitch just made it easier for musicians to monetize live streams

SoundCloud has teamed up with Twitch to help indie musicians who are feeling a financial strain due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. With gigs and tours canceled, lots of homebound musicians have recently started live-streaming to try to make ends meet. The partnership lets SoundCloud artists fast-track new Twitch accounts to Affiliate status, which unlocks Twitch’s monetization tools. This way, artists feeling the pinch can bypass Twitch’s usual Affiliate criteria and start making money on the platform within days. The opportunity is available to all SoundCloud Pro, SoundCloud Premier, and Repost by SoundCloud artists. You’ll need to create a Twitch account and then fill out a form. (It’s linked in SoundCloud’s post.) The post promises that Twitch will then email an invitation to its affiliate program “within a matter of days.” The announcement doesn’t mention how long the fast-tracking will last. However, there’s a caveat at the bottom stating that “access is not guaranteed” and to make sure your Twitch profile follows best practices before you submit. Affiliate status on Twitch unlocks monetization tools, like ads and subscriptions, so getting approved quickly is a big deal for many musicians who are currently unable to tour and perform. Normally, in order to qualify for Affiliate status, a Twitch user must have at least 50 followers along with at least 500 total broadcast minutes in the last 30 days, seven unique broadcast days in the last 30 days, and an average of three concurrent viewers or more in the last 30 days. This new deal lets SoundCloud artists sidestep those requirements so they can monetize on Twitch within days. SoundCloud’s post also gives some tips for new Twitch users, like the hardware and software needed, suggestions for how to interact with fans, and extra ways to monetize not just on Twitch but on SoundCloud as well. It’s a smart and fitting move. A lot of musicians can’t afford to wait to hit Twitch’s Affiliate metrics and need money in their pockets now. Separately, SoundCloud CEO Kerry Trainor also announced other deals and initiatives for users during the pandemic. SoundCloud Pro Unlimited subscriptions are 50 percent off until Monday, March 30th; SoundCloud staff will begin hosting online AMAs and workshops beginning next week; and the platform has started a resource guide for career tips called Keep the Music Going.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21191116/soundcloud-twitch-partnership-affiliate-status-musicians-monetize-live-streams

Entertainment

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Tom Warren

Microsoft to prioritize cloud access for first responders and emergency services

Microsoft is planning to prioritize access to its cloud-based Azure services to first responders, emergency services, and critical infrastructure if there are capacity constraints. The software giant experienced some Microsoft Teams issues last week after a surge of nearly 40 percent occurred as businesses turned to remote working during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Microsoft is now trying to avoid impacting existing customers while managing new demand. Microsoft is “actively monitoring performance and usage trends 24/7” to ensure services are optimized and working as expected. If that’s not the case, Microsoft has priority plans. “As demand continues to grow, if we are faced with any capacity constraints in any region during this time, we have established clear criteria for the priority of new cloud capacity,” explains a Microsoft Azure blog post. “Top priority will be going to first responders, health and emergency management services, critical government infrastructure organizational use, and ensuring remote workers stay up and running with the core functionality of Teams.” Microsoft says it’s also partnering with governments worldwide to ensure local data centers are staffed and able to provide cloud services. The software maker is also prepared to adjust free offers for cloud services “to ensure support of existing customers.” Microsoft’s cloud commitments come just as CEO Satya Nadella sent an internal memo to all employees over the weekend, detailing the company’s coronavirus response plans. In it, Nadella acknowledges that “we are in uncharted territory” and that the ongoing pandemic is unsettling and uncertain. “One truth that brings me comfort is just as this virus has no borders, its cure will have no borders,” says Nadella. “We are all in this together as a global community. For me, the best way I’ve found to get past this anxiety is to focus on what I can do each day to make a small difference.”

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21190659/microsoft-azure-cloud-coronavirus-responders-emergency-services

Microsoft

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Jon Porter

Amazon Prime Video is adding support for up to six profiles on the same account

Amazon is rolling out user profiles for Prime Video, allowing as many as six different people to track their viewing progress, manage watch lists, and get personalized recommendations. Kid profiles can also be added and limited to content that’s safe for children under 12 to watch. The feature, which was spotted by NDTV and XDA-Developers, is rolling out in phases and is currently available in “selected countries” in Asia and Africa, including India. Profiles are currently supported across a range of devices, including mobiles, tablets (including Fire devices), web browsers, and living room devices like the Apple TV, Chromecast, and the Fire TV in India. Adding profiles varies by device. For iOS and Android apps, you select the “My Stuff” tab at the bottom of the screen, and then hit the “+” icon to create a new profile. Amazon is a little late to the game in introducing this feature, which has been available on competing services like Netflix for years. However, its six profile limit is one higher than Netflix, which only supports five separate accounts. It’s a welcome feature at a time when plenty of people are cooped up at home and using streaming services to pass the time. Update March 23rd, 12:05PM ET: Added more information about regional availability. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21190640/amazon-prime-video-profiles-recommendations-progress-ios-android-apple-tv-fire-devices

Entertainment

The Verge

2020-03-23 00:00:00

2020

3.0

23

Bijan Stephen

Coronavirus is changing my relationship with the internet, and I bet it’s changing yours, too

It’s the second week of our collective, voluntary quarantine and everything is online now. The spread of coronavirus has upended the rest of society in drastic ways: many high school and college classes are entirely virtual, for example. Prisoners across the country are being released early, and in New York, where I live, mortgage payments are being paused (though there’s not yet widespread rent relief) and evictions have been suspended. On a personal level, I’ve found the changes to my own life to be no less dramatic — I don’t leave the house anymore, not really, and because of that I spend a lot more time online. Most every other white collar worker I know is in the middle of their own internet realignment; their jobs, which previously weren’t remote, have now moved to a semi-permanent work-from-home state. I’m spending more time online because that’s how I socialize now. That’s where my friends are. My social life hasn’t dwindled so much as it’s just changed. Hangs at bars are now Zoom-hosted happy hours; podcast recording sessions are now Discord calls; going over to a friend’s house is now joining a Playstation party; any IRL party I’d host is now my daily Twitch stream. Life looks a lot different now than it did two weeks ago. (And obviously it’s for the best. Gotta flatten that curve.) Now that my screentime is up 1,000 percent, I’m starting to see more of my friends do things online that they otherwise wouldn’t: they’re streaming activities on Twitch and going live on Instagram at rates that, prior to this pandemic, I would have found a bit concerning. People are beginning to use internet platforms in exactly the manner they were designed to be used, and those platforms are taking up more space in everyone’s media diets. What remains to be seen is whether this change in people’s internet consumption habits becomes the new normal. Because, really, what all this feels like to me is a glimpse of the old future that was imagined for the internet — the promise of frictionless, instant connection across all borders. I guess, all things considered, it’s not that weird that it took a global quarantine to make that happen. It’s hard to make the case for exclusively virtual socialization if there’s the option to meet in person. But there is a heft to online relationships: they can carry just as much feeling as IRL ones. I mean, how many people have gotten in touch with you lately just to check in? And how many people have you reached out to who you might otherwise have left a double-tapped heart? I’m weirdly grateful that so many social platforms exist; I’m doing more reaching out myself. While we’re required to be alone, we can still be together. I guess that was always the promise of the internet.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/23/21190974/coronavirus-social-media-toxicity-twitch-youtube-internet

Tech

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Jay Peters

iOS and iPadOS 13.4 are out now with mouse and keyboard support for iPads

Apple has released iOS 13.4 and iPadOS 13.4, which add full mouse and trackpad support to iPads, iCloud Drive folder sharing, new nine new Memoji stickers, and more. Arguably the biggest feature in today’s releases is the mouse and keyboard support for iPads, which Apple revealed last week when announcing its 2020 iPad Pros and the new Magic Keyboard accessory. iPadOS 13.0 introduced mouse support, but it’s significantly changed in iPadOS 13.4, and you can get an idea of all of the changes in this post from my colleague Dieter Bohn. Any iPad running iPadOS 13.4 will support the feature, and it will work with Apple’s Magic Mouse 2 and Magic Trackpad 2 as well as third-party mice or trackpads. Another welcome feature is the introduction of iCloud Drive folder sharing, which lets you share folders to others with a link, kind of like Box or Dropbox so that others can access what’s in that folder and see changes in real time. The feature was supposed to arrive with iOS 13, but it was delayed to last fall and then delayed again to sometime this spring. The update also includes nine new Memoji stickers, an updated toolbar in the Mail app when you’re viewing an email, and other features and bug fixes.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21182552/ios-ipados-13-4-released-keyboard-mouse-support-icloud-drive-folder-sharing

Apple

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Megan Farokhmanesh

Stuck in Animal Crossing: New Horizons? Ask a friend for help

It’s impossible to play Animal Crossing: New Horizons wrong, but occasionally, you can miss crucial steps that will open up your island’s capabilities. If you’re finding yourself stuck — whether it’s a missing recipe or a location you can’t seem to reach — there’s an easier solution than tearing through your new home: invite some pals over or take a trip to one of their islands. Like past games, New Horizons encourages players to spend some time with friends. It’s an easy way to hang with friends you can’t see in person right now and snag some new fruits, clothes, and other items for your island. People you spend time with online can also gift you items or make you tools, a handy trick that can help you speed past the game’s natural gates to get what you want or where you want to be sooner. A pole vault, for example, will allow you to get across rivers and into new territories, while a ladder will let you scale cliffs. Craftable items from friends can help you complete island projects or spruce up your home. Friends with excess resources can also save you the wait of a full day or the trip to a random island via precious Nook Miles. The good news is that even if you find yourself at an impasse, the answer will likely be found by chatting up your residents or members of the Nook family. Early on, I struggled to find the recipe for materials to build a bridge. Days after I’d gotten a friend to craft log stakes for me, I realized I’d skipped an important ask from Tom Nook: bringing him different island creatures. Not only did this get me my missing recipe, but it also unlocked Blathers, the punny owl who runs the island’s museum. New Horizons has a lot to offer, and discovering new characters, events, or fun items takes patience. Friends can ease those woes a little — as long as everyone is polite on the trip.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192280/animal-crossing-new-horizons-friend-help-nintendo-switch

Gaming

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Aliya Chaudhry

How to use Netflix Party to stream movies with your friends

It isn’t enough to have great new devices, apps, and games — you also have to know how to use them. Here at The Verge, we offer step-by-step how-tos for experienced and new users who are working with online, macOS, Windows, Chrome OS, iOS, and Android apps, services, phones, laptops, and other tools. From simple instructions on how to install and use new devices, to little-known strategies on how to take advantage of hidden features and the best methods for adding power or storage, we’ve got your technological back. Social distancing has made many people miss all of the group activities we’re used to, like watching movies with friends, but there is a way to do it online. Netflix Party, a Chrome extension, lets you watch videos with your friends and chat together at the same time. Here’s how it works: you and your friends log in to your separate Netflix accounts. Pick a movie or show to watch, and Netflix Party will sync the playback across your accounts, so you’re all watching the same thing at the same time from your individual accounts. Netflix Party includes a text chat function on the side of the screen (much like YouTube does during a live stream), so you and your friends can react and chat in real time. To host a Netflix Party: To join an existing Netflix Party: Netflix Party isn’t the only way to host a virtual watch party. If you want to see and hear your friends via your webcams while watching Netflix, you can install Scener. If you’d rather watch a video on YouTube or Hulu, you can use Metastream, which has a text chat feature like Netflix Party, or you can try TwoSeven, which allows you to watch YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, or HBO Now while video chatting with your friends. We’ll walk you through all of the options in an upcoming article. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21191503/netflix-party-stream-movies-tv-chat-watch-friends-social-distance

How-to

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Andrew Marino

Impossible CEO says it can make a meat ‘unlike anything that you’ve had before’

Plant-based meat products are bigger than ever, with the fast-food industry, grocery stores, and upscale restaurants coming on board. A recent Nielsen report found that plant-based meat alternative purchases went up 279.8 percent last week after Americans were instructed to stay home during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Impossible Foods, a company that develops plant-based meat products, says its mission is to someday replace the incumbent meat industry entirely, stating that, from a mission standpoint, a sale only has value if it comes at the expense of the sale of an animal-derived product. But what if plant-based meat wasn’t just a substitute for an already-existing marketplace, and instead, it started to make meat that has never existed? On this week’s Vergecast podcast, Impossible Foods CEO Patrick Brown talks to Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel about how this impossible meat could be a possibility in the future, even if it doesn’t make sense for the company right now. Below is a lightly edited excerpt of the conversation. Right now, you’re in the business of substitutes, right? Substituting for ground beef, you’re a better product. You think it’s better for the environment. You think it tastes just as good. You’re doing it with pork. You could make a novel meat, right? Is that something you’ve thought about? Making something completely different than any other meat that’s currently on the market? Of course. Is that something right now that you just want to take over substitutes and then make something new? It’s something that’s been on our mind. And obviously, in the course of learning about the flavor chemistry and textures and meat and so forth, we know quite a lot about the difference between pork and beef and other meats from animals — so to speak, where you set the knobs with respect to the flavor chemistry and we can navigate that whole space. We can create things that would be unmistakably meat, flavor and texture, but unlike anything that you’ve had before in that category. Because after all, the choices of meat that are available in the world today are basically a historical artifact of the species that people were able to domesticate 10,000 years ago. And they weren’t chosen because they were the most delicious animals on earth. They were chosen because they were capable of being domesticated. And that’s what you get. So, yes, there is a lot of possibility for creating, let’s say, flavors that would deliver as meat but are unlike anything on the market. Why haven’t we done that? Because it gets back to our mission. A sale to us has value from a mission standpoint, only if it comes at the expense of the sale of an animal-derived product. And the best way for us with our current state — a lot of people don’t know about us barely learning about us — the simplest thing to do to maximize the chance that our sale costs a sale to the animal drive meat industry is to very deliberately occupy the same niche. We send a very clear signal that if you’re thinking about buying ground beef, you can buy this and get the same experience and so forth. If you’re thinking about buying a Whopper, and that’s what you have a craving for, you can buy an Impossible Whopper, and you’ll get that experience you want. So in order to maximize in that part of our mission — which is that our sales come at the expense of the incumbent industry — right now, it makes sense for us to make products that are easily recognizable as one-for-one replacements for an animal-derived product. But in the future, I think there is a lot of ways in which I think we can have a lot more fun and create a diversity of flavors and textures and so forth. But we don’t want our sales to be supplementary to existing meat sales. We want them to be at the expense of existing meat sales. So that’s the core idea. How close are you to making a ribeye steak, to making a short rib? Things like that, which are traditionally harder for the plant-based vendors to make? Well, I would say no one has done it, so traditionally harder is probably an understatement. But yeah, it’s definitely something we’re working on. I would say, in general, when you talk about how close are you? You don’t know how close you are until you get there. And then you can say how close you were. But you know, it’s a work in progress. There is still a lot of development underway. And there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s coming. But we’re not ready to put a date on the calendar. The Vergecast

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192336/impossible-foods-ceo-interview-vergecast-podcast-plant-based-meat

Podcasts

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Sean O'Kane

Ford joins Tesla and GM in helping with ventilator and mask supply

Ford has announced it’s working with 3M and General Electric to make the kinds of ventilators and masks that are currently in short supply as the world battles the novel coronavirus pandemic. The company joins other carmakers like Tesla and General Motors in helping out the medical community, after idling their automotive plants due to the effects the pandemic is having on both consumer demand and the global supply chain. It all comes at a crucial time. As more people become infected with the novel coronavirus, there’s an increased need for protective equipment like masks to keep health care workers safe and ventilators to treat people with the worst symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Many places are still in short supply of both. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday that help from the private sector won’t be enough, as he asked the federal government once again to intervene. Ford says it’s helping to increase 3M’s total output of “powered air-purifying respirator” (PAPR) masks, and the two companies are also coming up with a new design based on off-the-shelf parts “to go as fast as possible.” Ford says the new design could leverage fans from its F-150 truck’s cooled seats as well as HEPA air filters and portable battery packs for power tools that are already made by 3M. The automaker says it’s still trying to figure out how and where to build these “new-generation PAPRs.” But Ford believes it could potentially help 3M boost production of the masks “tenfold.” In addition to that, Ford is working with GE’s health care division to figure out how to help the company make a “simplified version” of its ventilators. Ford says these ventilators “could be produced at a Ford manufacturing site in addition to a GE location,” but it did not go into any further detail. Ventilators are already in short supply and will continue to be as the virus spreads and more people develop acute respiratory symptoms of COVID-19. Another look at a go-fast hood prototype for the PAPR (papper) that Ford is working on with 3M to help protect medical workers by filtering the air they breathe. Clockspeed is in days and hours! #BuiltFordProud pic.twitter.com/cS1dc6Oagc Ford is also making and testing new face shields to help medical professionals mitigate the risk of becoming infected with the novel coronavirus, which can be spread by tiny droplets in a person’s cough or sneeze. Many of the United States’ most recognizable companies have joined the effort to help reinforce the country’s increasingly stressed medical care system. Automakers are leading the charge in some ways by getting involved in sourcing supplies and evaluating ways to speed up the production of the most desperately needed equipment, like masks and ventilators. But spinning up medical equipment manufacturing operations is likely to take a lot longer than people like President Trump have made it seem, regardless of whether he invokes the Defense Production Act. General Motors announced on Friday that it was partnering with ventilator manufacturer Ventec Life Systems and offering the company help with manufacturing, logistics, and purchasing issues to increase its output. Tesla was able to buy what CEO Elon Musk said were surplus ventilators from China. The company handed more than 1,000 of them over to the state of California on Monday. Musk and Tesla also sent some 50,000 3M-made N95 surgical masks to the University of Washington’s Medical Center. Other companies like Apple and Facebook are also donating hundreds of thousands of masks to health care workers across the country.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192282/ford-tesla-gm-elon-musk-coronavirus-masks-ventilators-pandemic

Tech

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Jon Porter

Snopes to scale back fact-checking due to overwhelming COVID-19 misinformation

Fact-checking organization Snopes has been forced to scale back its routine content production and special projects, as the amount of misinformation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed its fact-checkers. In a blog post that was later published as a series of tweets, the organization said the pandemic is “overwhelming” its small team and that it can’t ask them to ramp up productivity at a time when everyone’s personal lives are being placed under such strain. “Yes, publishing less may seem counterintuitive,” the organization wrote, “but exhausting our staff in this crisis is not the cure for what is ailing our industry.” Going forward, it said it intends to focus its efforts “only where we think we can have a significant impact.” Snopes isn’t the only organization struggling to handle the amount of misinformation that’s being spread about the novel coronavirus pandemic. Facebook, which until last year had partnered with Snopes to combat misinformation, pledged to remove coronavirus misinformation, only for a software bug to start marking legitimate news articles as spam. Twitter, meanwhile, has been inconsistent in its approach. It removed misinformation posted by several high-profile accounts but later refused to remove a misleading tweet from Tesla CEO Elon Musk. In its announcement, Snopes offered some advice on how people could help to combat the spread of misinformation. It directed people toward official information sources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) and asked people to support local news publications and businesses. It also called for people to support Snopes directly with donations and to lobby big tech platforms to do more to combat misinformation themselves. As well as scaling back production on its regular content, Snopes says that it’s offering all of its employees a $750 cash bonus to help with any costs they may be facing, and it has said it will offer paid time off for people as they look after themselves and their families. In the meantime, if you’d like to check out the COVID-19 fact-checking Snopes has already done, you can do so here.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192206/snopes-coronavirus-covid-19-misinformation-fact-checking-staff

Web

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Monica Chin

Personal voice assistants struggle with black voices, new study shows

Speech recognition systems have more trouble understanding black users’ voices than those of white users, according to a new Stanford study. The researchers used voice recognition tools from Apple, Amazon, Google, IBM, and Microsoft to transcribe interviews with 42 white people and 73 black people, all of which took place in the US. The tools misidentified words about 19 percent of the time during the interviews with white people and 35 percent of the time during the interviews with black people. The system found 2 percent of audio snippets from white people to be unreadable, compared to 20 percent of those from black people. The errors were particularly large for black men, with an error rate of 41 percent compared to 30 percent for black women. Previous research has shown that facial recognition technology shows similar bias. An MIT study found that an Amazon facial recognition service made no mistakes when identifying the gender of men with light skin, but performed worse when identifying an individual’s gender if they were female or had darker skin. Another paper identified similar racial and gender biases in facial recognition software from Microsoft, IBM, and Chinese firm Megvii. In the Stanford study, Microsoft’s system achieved the best result, while Apple’s performed the worst. It’s important to note that these aren’t necessarily the tools used to build Cortana and Siri, though they may be governed by similar company practices and philosophies. “Fairness is one of our core AI principles, and we’re committed to making progress in this area,” said a Google spokesperson in a statement to The Verge. “We’ve been working on the challenge of accurately recognizing variations of speech for several years, and will continue to do so.” “IBM continues to develop, improve, and advance our natural language and speech processing capabilities to bring increasing levels of functionality to business users via IBM Watson,” said an IBM spokesperson. The other companies mentioned in the paper did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Stanford paper posits that the racial gap is likely the product of bias in the datasets that train the system. Recognition algorithms learn by analyzing large amounts of data; a bot trained mostly with audio clips from white people may have difficulty transcribing a more diverse set of user voices. The researchers urge makers of speech recognition systems to collect better data on African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and other varieties of English, including regional accents. They suggest these errors will make it harder for black Americans to benefit from voice assistants like Siri and Alexa. The disparity could also harm these groups when speech recognition is used in professional settings, such as job interviews and courtroom transcriptions. Update March 24th, 2:33PM ET: This post has been updated with statements from Google and IBM.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192333/speech-recognition-amazon-microsoft-google-ibm-apple-siri-alexa-cortana-voice-assistant

Apple

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Ashley Carman

Anchor just made it easier to start a podcast while we’re all social distancing

Anchor, the podcast-making app now owned by Spotify, is launching a feature today that’ll make it easier for friends to record shows together from afar. The feature, called Record With Friends 2.0, allows people to record a podcast from their browser, even if they don’t have an account with Anchor. Up to five people can record at once, although the host still has to use the Anchor app. To start recording, the host has to send an invite link to their friends. The guests then have to click that link and type in their name. It’ll open in their preferred browser on desktop or mobile, although Anchor says Google Chrome mobile support isn’t live yet; it’s “coming soon.” Given that most of the world is social distancing or being told to stay at home in order to limit the spread of COVID-19, people are looking for ways to connect to friends. Spotify’s constantly said it wants to build tools to give people the ability to create more audio content, both with Anchor and its other program SoundTrap. The pandemic might give the world an extra push to start making podcast content. Correction 3/24, 1:07 PM ET: Updated to clarify that Google Chrome support only isn’t available on mobile. It’s available on desktop.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192322/anchor-podcast-record-with-friends

Podcasts

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Cameron Faulkner

Wyze’s new Band wearable and smart scale are available today

Wyze announced that both its Wyze Band fitness tracker featuring Alexa functionality and its Wyze Scale, its new connected weight scale, are available starting today. These fitness-focused devices are a departure for the company, which has focused on smart home tech like cameras, locks, and security sensors. Though, as you might have hoped, they both stick to Wyze’s tack for making tech that doesn’t cost much. The Wyze Band wearable pictured above costs $25 plus shipping directly from Wyze (it’s launching on Amazon in April). The Band lets you control the Wyze devices you might already own instead of doing so by opening the app on your phone. It also has Alexa voice integration built in, so you can issue commands and queries or use it to control your smart home with your voice. And with it being a wearable and all, it can handle tracking some fitness-related metrics — including step, sleep, and heart-rate tracking. Some other notable specs with the Wyze Band include its advertised 10-day battery life (it uses a proprietary USB charger), a sharp-looking OLED screen, and waterproofing up to 50 meters of depth. The Wyze Scale costs just $20 plus shipping, which is far less than most smart scales. This model can store weigh-in results locally, and when you have the Wyze app open on your phone, it will offload them to the app via Bluetooth. The Wyze Scale is powered by four AAA batteries, and Wyze claims that it can track heart rate and analyze your weight and body fat pattern. Up to eight people can use it, and the scale can automatically recognize who’s using it based on the metrics collected. Perhaps the most appealing feature of the scale is that it supports integration with Apple Health and Google Fit on launch day. Wyze says that it’s working to bring Fitbit and Samsung Health compatibility to the scale soon. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21190980/wyze-band-wearable-fitness-tracker-alexa-scale-connected-price

Smart Home

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Nick Statt

Apple updates Safari’s anti-tracking tech with full third-party cookie blocking

Apple on Tuesday released a major update to its Safari Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP), the privacy feature that allows the company’s web browser to block cookies and prevent advertisers from snooping on your web habits. According to Apple’s John Wilander, the WebKit engineer behind the feature, Safari now blocks all third-party cookies. That means that, by default, no advertiser or website is able to follow you around the internet using the commonplace tracking technology. It’s a significant milestone for web privacy, and it puts Apple’s browser officially two whole years ahead of Chrome, after Google said in January that it would start phasing out third-party cookies but not fully until some time in 2022. This update takes several important steps to fight cross-site tracking and make it more safe to browse the web. First of all, it paves the way. We will report on our experiences of full third-party cookie blocking to the privacy groups in W3C to help other browsers take the leap. “Cookies for cross-site resources are now blocked by default across the board. This is a significant improvement for privacy since it removes any sense of exceptions or ‘a little bit of cross-site tracking is allowed,’” Wilander notes in the announcement post on the blog for WebKit, which is Apple’s in-house browser engine that powers many of its features under the hood. Wilander notes that users might not notice a big change because ITP has been doing this more or less already. “It might seem like a bigger change than it is. But we’ve added so many restrictions to ITP since its initial release in 2017 that we are now at a place where most third-party cookies are already blocked in Safari.” Apple first launched ITP within Safari nearly three years ago, where it immediately set a new bar for web privacy standards on both desktop and mobile by blocking some, but not all, cookies by default. Alongside the substantial privacy work of Mozilla’s Firefox, which also blocks third-party cookies by default as of last summer, Apple has been pioneering a machine learning approach to web tracking prevention that has made Safari one of the most widely used and secure web tools available. In addition to blocking third-party cookies across the board and by default, Wilander says ITP now has safeguards against trackers using the very nature of tracking prevention as a way to keep tabs on users. He adds that the new feature set also ensures that websites and trackers can’t use login IDs to digitally fingerprint users who might otherwise be using tracking prevention or other privacy tools. “Full third-party cookie blocking makes sure there’s no ITP state that can be detected through cookie blocking behavior. We’d like to again thank Google for initiating this analysis through their report,” he writes, referencing Google’s research published earlier this year on ITP that revealed the possibility of using some elements of it as a fingerprint. (Apple had to disable the Do Not Track feature in Safari in 2019 for similar reasons.) Wilander goes on to detail some other, more technical elements of the ITP update. But in general, he says Safari is again setting a new bar for web privacy that he and Apple hope other companies will follow. “Safari continues to pave the way for privacy on the web, this time as the first mainstream browser to fully block third-party cookies by default. As far as we know, only the Tor Browser has featured full third-party cookie blocking by default before Safari, but Brave just has a few exceptions left in its blocking so in practice they are in the same good place. We know Chrome wants this behavior too and they announced that they’ll be shipping it by 2022,” he writes. “We will report on our experiences of full third-party cookie blocking to the privacy groups in W3C to help other browsers take the leap.”

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192830/apple-safari-intelligent-tracking-privacy-full-third-party-cookie-blocking

Apple

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Nick Statt

Facebook says coronavirus is sending usage through the roof

Facebook is seeing an extreme spike in usage across the globe due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the company outlined in a blog post on Tuesday. But most usage is concentrated among private messaging and video calling, products the company does not monetize. As a result, the social media giant says it’s business is suffering while it struggles to keep its communication tools online and stable. The blog post, penned by analytics chief Alex Schultz and engineering chief Jay Parikh, says total messaging across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp in harder hit areas of the globe, like Italy, has increased by more than 50 percent. Video calling on Messenger and WhatsApp in those same areas has more than doubled, the post says. “The usage growth from COVID-19 is unprecedented across the industry, and we are experiencing new records in usage almost every day,” the duo writes. “Maintaining stability throughout these spikes in usage is more challenging than usual now that most of our employees are working from home.” Schultz and Parikh note that the spike in usage is not translating to a boon to its bottom line. Messaging services are not monetized like the Facebook News Feed or the standard Instagram feed, at the same time that digital ad spending is decreasing across the board in countries currently in lockdown to stem the spread of COVID-19. So Facebook is being “adversely affected” like many other businesses. “Much of the increased traffic is happening on our messaging services, but we’ve also seen more people using our feed and stories products to get updates from their family and friends,” the post explains. “At the same time, our business is being adversely affected like so many others around the world. We don’t monetize many of the services where we’re seeing increased engagement, and we’ve seen a weakening in our ads business in countries taking aggressive actions to reduce the spread of COVID-19.” “We’re just trying to keep the lights on over here,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told The New York Times in an interview published today, noting that part of the company’s struggles right now are because it’s keeping a vast majority of its 45,000-person workforce at home. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21193094/facebook-coronavirus-covid-19-messaging-service-reliable-strain-outages

Apps

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Jon Porter

Yelp is adding donate buttons for local businesses, promises to match first $1M

You’ll soon be able to donate to local businesses struggling with coronavirus-related closures via their Yelp pages, the company announced today. As well as asking the public for donations, Yelp and GoFundMe are promising to match up to $1 million placed in donations through the service, and they’re working with other companies to contribute to the matching fund over time. “COVID-19 has made it tough for local businesses and their employees. Share your support in these difficult times by donating,” the message placed on business pages will read, before assuring users that “All proceeds go directly to the business.” The donation buttons will automatically be added to Yelp pages for a variety of businesses including restaurants, nightlife spots, beauty parlors, and fitness centers. Tapping the donate button will redirect users to the location’s GoFundMe page. However, Yelp is keen to emphasize that the fund is meant for local businesses, which will need to have fewer than five locations to be eligible. GoFundMe campaigns have become an increasingly common occurrence as local businesses are forced to close as a result of the global pandemic. Our friends over at Eater have compiled lists of campaigns, which include GoFundMe fundraisers, across Chicago, Austin, and Philadelphia. The advantage of Yelp’s initiative is that it’s placing the donation links in a location where customers are likely to see it. Eligible businesses will be automatically opted into having a GoFundMe fundraiser, a Yelp spokesperson confirmed. If a business wants to opt-out, Yelp says they’ll need to claim their fundraiser page before they can delete it. The donation button will then disappear from their Yelp listing, and any donations will be returned to their original donors. The $1 million fund will be distributed in grants of $500 for businesses that raise at least $500 through the platform, Yelp says. This is just the latest new feature that Yelp has promised for businesses hit by the pandemic. Last week it announced a range of new features to help businesses adapt, such as enabling “contact-free” delivery or helping businesses like tax offices or yoga studios make the switch to new online services. It also launched a $25 million relief fund for businesses in the form of waived advertising fees and free Yelp products and services. The new donation buttons are rolling out across the US over the next two days, starting with the hardest hit areas today. Update March 24th, 8:15AM ET: Updated with additional details from Yelp.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192127/yelp-donation-buttonn-gofundme-local-businesses-coronavirus-covid-19

Web

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Cameron Faulkner

Eero’s mesh Wi-Fi systems are more affordable than usual

Only the best deals on Verge-approved gadgets get the Verge Deals stamp of approval, so if you're looking for a deal on your next gadget or gift from major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and more, this is the place to be. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy. If you’re working from home during the novel coronavirus pandemic, getting a mesh Wi-Fi system might help make the best of your home internet situation. Because you can place them around your home, they eliminate signal drop-outs as well as the need to stay close to your Wi-Fi router. Thus, you can get work done anywhere you see fit within your home. Several of Eero’s mesh Wi-Fi products are discounted at Amazon and Best Buy right now. These have a slower throughput than Eero’s Pro lineup of mesh Wi-Fi gadgets, but according to our review by Dan Seifert, they’re simple to set up and manage. And importantly, they provide good wireless coverage. You can either buy a single mesh Wi-Fi router or a pack of three. And good news: if you only need one now, you can easily add more routers to your mesh network later on. Eero mesh Wi-Fi router (single) Eero mesh Wi-Fi router (single) Eero mesh Wi-Fi routers (three-pack) Eero mesh Wi-Fi routers (three-pack) Arlo’s Pro 3 lineup of home security cameras, its latest product that released in September 2019, is significantly discounted at Woot for a limited time. The kit that includes the SmartHub and two wire-free cameras usually costs $550, but you can snag it today for $330. This camera shoots in 2K HDR resolution and has a colorized night vision mode. Recently, Arlo added HomeKit support in addition to Alexa and Google Assistant. Arlo Pro 3 (base station, two cameras) One of yesterday’s best deals on the Samsung Galaxy S20 and S20 Plus is still happening. Both phones released earlier this month, and you can already save $200 on the original price. This brings the S20 down to $800 and the S20 Plus to $1,000. If you were considering buying the Galaxy S10 because of the S20’s high original asking price, this might make you rethink your decision. Not only is the price good, but the S20 provides a leap in photography capabilities over the S10, and it has a high refresh rate display, so your content looks fluid as it animates. Samsung Galaxy S20 Samsung Galaxy S20 Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus Samsung Galaxy S20 Verge Deals on Twitter

https://www.theverge.com/good-deals/2020/3/24/21192287/eero-mesh-wi-fi-arlo-pro-3-home-security-samsung-galaxy-s20-deal-sale-discount

Good Deals

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Natt Garun

Peloton pushes on with live classes despite New York City coronavirus shutdown

As gyms across the United States close due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, streaming fitness companies like Tonal, FightCamp, and Mirror have temporarily halted filming new content due to executive orders by California and New York to shut down nonessential businesses. Peloton, however, is continuing to push on with production, hosting up to four live sessions daily filmed in an empty studio. The decision has caused a divide between Peloton users. While some are thankful to be able to cycle with their favorite instructors and other peers who are also stuck at home, other members are urging the company to stop filming to prioritize the health of the Peloton production crew. “I love the rides, but cannot fathom how they consider spin classes to be ‘essential’ especially with the vast on demand library we all have access to,” Robyn O. commented on Peloton’s official Facebook group. “They should be at home too. Safety first,” another user added, with many more hoping Peloton can figure out a way for instructors to host classes from home. Though Peloton offers thousands of on-demand videos in its library, many users prefer live classes as they feel their workouts are more effective when they can race against other riders on a live leaderboard. In recent weeks, the live classes have also become riders’ daily reprieve from the stresses of the current news cycle. Last week, more than 12,000 people streamed into Peloton VP of fitness programming Robin Arzon’s class, which was held without the usual live audience. The instructor shouted out words of encouragement while refraining from directly referencing the coronavirus, played music with family-friendly lyrics, and nodded to frontline workers like nurses and doctors. “Robin, we all needed you today and you showed up. I smiled a lot, but got my good cry during Rise Up,” Stephanie K. shared in Peloton’s official Facebook group. “I felt the togetherness of the Peloton community this morning, so thank you.” Before the coronavirus shutdown, Peloton’s in-studio classes were in high demand, with most classes fully booked and some sold out weeks in advance. Live riders are now hoping Peloton can continue to safely offer the classes to support their mental and physical health during the pandemic. “Public transportation is running ... This is one instructor in a room with a skeleton crew. There’s a balance between being cautious and unnecessary panic,” Jennifer M. said. “Many people look forward to their live rides. Emotional health is also important.” Peloton may not be able to continue for long, though. Peloton films most of its classes in New York, which has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the US, with more than half of the cases concentrated in the densely populated New York City area. Last Friday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered all nonessential workers to stay home, but Peloton has continued to operate with a minimal set. The state defines “news media” as an essential business, and it’s not clear that the exemption applies to entertainment content like Peloton’s. “While we continue to teach a reduced number of live classes from Peloton Studios New York for the time being, like other media companies who are still on air, we are working with a limited team of only essential employees and are operating as a ‘closed set,’” a Peloton spokesperson told The Verge last week after the order was announced. It also broadcasts classes from its London studio, and all locations are limited to a maximum of two instructors on set per day. The company did note that its policies are being evaluated constantly as the situation evolves. Elsewhere, connected fitness companies like San Francisco-based Tonal and New York-based SoulCycle, which recently released an at-home bike, say that although they’ve stopped filming, they still have new, prerecorded content to release to users over the coming months. “We do have a number of programs that were previously taped and are in post-production,” a Tonal representative tells The Verge. Tonal, which makes a connected weight training machine, typically adds four to six new pieces of content every month, some of which are month-long programs that consist of multiple classes. The company anticipates that its current roster of classes should provide several months’ worth of new content if the shutdown continues. In the meantime, it has made its yoga workout videos available on YouTube to widen access. Similarly, FightCamp, which makes a connected punching bag for at-home boxing classes, says it has “a large queue of workouts” still to come. New York-based Mirror did not specify how much content it has in its backlog, but it has temporarily suspended one-on-one personal training and live classes. Connected fitness companies charge anywhere from $39 to $49 a month for access to their content library on top of the equipment hardware. None of the companies have mentioned plans for a prorate given the reduced capacity to film new content. For now, it seems that most users are just happy to have something to work out to as they adjust to settling at home for the duration of the quarantine period.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21188479/peloton-connected-fitness-live-classes-production-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic

Apps

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Jay Peters

A Snapchat-owned location app just added a leaderboard comparing who stays home the most

A Snapchat-owned location-sharing app has created a way to gamify social distancing with a leaderboard comparing who among you and your friends spends the most time at home (via TechCrunch). The app, Zenly, typically encourages sharing your location for things like meeting up with friends, but going outside to hang out with people might go against restrictions in place that encourage social distancing and help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. So, in a twist, Zenly can now show how much you and your your friends aren’t going outside with its new stay-at-home leaderboard. The leaderboard ranks the five of your friends that are staying home the most — and if you’re staying home as much or more than they are, you’ll be part of that top five. To have a leaderboard show up, you’ll need to add at least friend that has a “home” on Zenly, the company told The Verge after the original publication of this article. Having a “home” in the app may take a few days after you join and give access to your location so the app can figure out your day-to-day patterns and where your home might be. I wasn’t able to make a leaderboard because I just joined the app today. But here are some screenshots from Zenly of the leaderboard and two other cards that Zenly generates: one showing how much of the day you’ve spent at home and another showing a streak of how long you’ve stayed home: Zenly co-founder and CEO Antoine Martin also shared a screenshot of a leaderboard in this tweet: @thek3vinkim @TurnerNovak @GillesPoupardin @LucasLambertini @nicolasfallourd for staying home! And thanks @JoshConstine for the idea leading to this feature! pic.twitter.com/CEwrJiCFHd Zenly also offers a handy map overlay that can show the number of coronavirus cases in a state or country. When you tap on one of the emoji, it will show the number of confirmed cases and recoveries (though the five or so emoji I clicked on all showed info that was last updated yesterday). Update March 24th, 3:57PM ET: Added context and screenshots from Zenly.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192741/snapchat-zenly-app-stay-at-home-leaderboard-coronavirus-social-distancing

Apps

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Dieter Bohn

Apple iPad Pro review 2020: trackpad, LIDAR, wide-angle camera

The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $799 and the 12.9-inch model starts at $999, but in both cases, a more realistic cost is at least a couple hundred dollars more: you should factor in the price of a storage bump over the anemic 128GB of base storage and the price of a keyboard case. iPad Pro buyers will quickly spend as much or more than the cost of a good MacBook Air or even a MacBook Pro — hence the tension. Unfortunately, you can’t spend the extra $299 or $349 for the new Magic Keyboard case that Apple announced alongside these new iPads — they won’t arrive until May. Brydge is selling a more traditional clamshell attachment for $199 or $229, but it’s not shipping until next week. The internet has been arguing whether the iPad can replace your laptop for years now. And over those years, Apple has slowly filled in the software gaps, but not all of them. I’ll just lay my cards out and say that, yes, the iPad Pro is a computer. It’s just one that works differently than you’re used to and sometimes stymies your efforts to achieve certain tasks. If you were hoping these new iPads would resolve that tension, they do not. I think a more interesting question is what “pro” means in the iPad context. The real tension isn’t between the iPad Pro and the MacBook Air, but between the iPad Pro and other iPads. Oh, there’s also the trackpad support you’ve heard so much about, but that’s going to be available to any iPad that supports the latest version of iPadOS. Apple’s Magic Keyboard accessory also isn’t available to test yet, either. That’s one reason I think the real tension is with other iPads. Trackpad support might be the most important feature to come to the iPad this year — I say that not even knowing what Apple has planned at its digital-only Worldwide Developers Conference. But since it’s coming to all iPads, it’s hardly a differentiator for this iPad Pro. Maybe the Magic Keyboard will change that calculus, but there will likely be plenty of trackpad options for less expensive iPads. Apple has already partnered with Logitech on a trackpad case for the various 10.5-inch iPad models out there, for example. Anyway, the bright side of the iPad Pro changing so little from the previous generation is that there is a lot of stuff you don’t have to worry about. The screen is still beautiful, tack-sharp, and color accurate. The hardware quality is still top-notch, but outside of a case I still feel that there’s something a little antiseptic about it. Battery life is all-day for me — though now that I’m using it full time for work, the eight to ten hours I can pull out of a charge really only does manage a single day for me instead of not worrying about it for several. There’s still just the one USB-C port awkwardly placed on the side, but its functionality is less locked down than it was before iPadOS. And I’m still going to point out the lack of a headphone jack because it is more of a pain here than on phones. I use regular headphones on my laptop all the time because of their reliability: no lag, no awkwardly messing with Bluetooth settings at the start of a Zoom call while your colleagues patiently wait. The “Z” doesn’t stand for anything (Apple says it’s just “more than X,”) but what it means is that the GPU has been beefed up this year to 8 cores. Apple says that should help with games that run at 120Hz, 4K rendering in video editing apps, and improved AR performance. I am sure that’s all true, but I’m not so sure the majority of iPad Pro owners will ever notice a speed difference. This iPad feels very, very fast but so does my 2018 iPad Pro. There’s potentially an argument to be made about processor headroom and future-proofing here, but not an especially strong one. For the sake of completeness, I’ll note that on a Geekbench 5 Pro GPU compute test, the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro scored a 9981 while my 2018 11-inch scored a 9138 (the CPU tests were about the same). What does that difference of 800 mean to you? Probably nothing. To me, the key thing is that unless you know exactly what pain point this processor is addressing for you, you shouldn’t upgrade just for it. It’s very fast. Don’t sweat the details. Apple has put in a 12-megapixel main wide sensor with an f/1.8 aperture, which takes good photos but isn’t able to match the low-light performance of the iPhone 11 Pro. New this year is a 10-megapixel ultrawide sensor at f/2.4 with a 125-degree field of view. As with all ultrawide sensors, the point is more the fun it provides than the extra crispy image quality. I am on team “it’s okay to take photos and video with your iPad,” but context matters. I think that it makes more sense as something you might use in a studio for specific uses rather than out in the field (or, and I can’t emphasize strongly enough that you should never do this, at a concert). The “studio” context also applies to the microphones, which Apple also dubs “studio” quality. They’re quite good, but maybe not quite good enough to use for a professional podcast. The iPad Pro can shoot 4K video at 24, 30, or 60fps and combined with those microphones I think the intention is to give filmmakers an interesting set of options for all-in-one shooting and editing. I say I think because while I’m all for taking photos with a tablet in the right situations, for myself I would rather use a phone. If Apple sold a version of this iPad Pro with a mediocre camera on the back and no camera bump, I’d buy that version in a heartbeat — especially if it cost a little less. The more important camera to me is the selfie camera because I use the iPad Pro as a work computer and it’s the camera pointing at my face for video calls. It can take 7-megapixel photos and shoot 1080p video. It’s miles better than the camera on any MacBook in terms of quality and miles worse than any MacBook in terms of placement. I don’t know why Apple maintains the weird legacy of putting the FaceID sensors and selfie camera on the “top” of the iPad Pro when it’s held in portrait. Maybe it’s the last vestige of Apple’s desire to keep the iPad Pro a “tablet-first” experience, but I and everybody I know primarily uses the iPad in landscape mode in a keyboard case. That means the camera is off to the side so your eyes are always looking away from it. Apple added some augmented reality effects to fix your gaze in FaceTime, but that doesn’t help with work conference calls. As long as I’m on the rant, the other problem with using the iPad Pro for conference calls is that in iPadOS, Apple doesn’t allow apps to use the camera unless they’re active in the foreground. That’s nice from a peace-of-mind perspective but absolutely terrible for video conferencing. The truth is that people need to open other apps when they’re on a call, and merely pulling out a Slide Over window to check a message is enough to turn the iPad’s camera off during a Zoom call. The net result is your camera is constantly toggling off and on again. The iPad Pro is the perfect machine for making your coworkers think you’re ignoring them. Yes, that is how light works. Anyway, the reason for including LIDAR is for radically faster and more accurate augmented reality. And it really works — but it’s only the foundation for great AR experiences, not a guarantee they’ll come. It improves some current apps for free, but there aren’t any third-party apps that take full advantage of it yet. (Here’s where I need to disclose that my wife works for Oculus, which makes virtual reality products.) The main benefit AR apps will get right away is that LIDAR is able to nearly instantaneously map the surfaces in a room. Instead of having to wave your iPad around until the cameras can recognize objects, the LIDAR just measures them directly. That spatial map is also more accurate — so the Measure app, for example, can show a ruler when you get in close to a line you’ve measured. The other immediate benefit you get is with something called “occlusion.” That’s when something gets in between your iPad and the virtual object you’ve set on the floor or table or whatever. If somebody walks in between you and the virtual chair and the chair doesn’t get partially hidden, it breaks the illusion. Older iPads and iPhones can pull off occlusion with people, but they can’t do it with arbitrary objects. LIDAR means this iPad Pro can — though it’s not quite able to draw a perfectly sharp line. Still, as you can see in the images above, it’s able to tell when something’s in front of the virtual object. Developers should get those benefits for “free,” but doing anything more advanced will require specific coding. Apple is releasing those APIs to developers today, but it will take some time before apps take advantage of them. If and when they do, they’ll be able to use a more advanced spatial map to put their virtual roller coasters or coffee table coasters on. Apple’s new APIs also are supposed to be able to more accurately identify objects like chairs, windows, tables, and so on. They’ll also allow virtual objects to be placed anywhere on the map instead of only on flat surfaces. In short, the LIDAR on the iPad Pro seems quite advanced but built for a software future that hasn’t arrived yet. Beyond home decoration, some shopping, and some games, it’s also unclear whether there’s a real demand for all this technology yet. The most widespread use of AR right now is face filters, and LIDAR doesn’t do much for that yet. It is easier than nearly any other computer in history to start using. But when you start trying to get the same sorts of capabilities out of the iPad that you’d expect from a high-end laptop, that curve hockeysticks. The addition of trackpad support doesn’t really change that dynamic much, though it does make it much easier to work with text. It’s clear to me now why Apple changed the way the cursor and text selection works in iPadOS: it was designed with a mouse or trackpad in mind. I have a lot more to say about trackpad support on the iPad, but here’s the short version: I think Apple came as close to nailing it as possible. Scrolling feels natural and the way the mouse cursor changes shape to match buttons is weird at first but I think I like it. There is some intuitive strangeness in pushing the cursor up against the edge of the screen to bring up the dock, notification center, and Slide Over apps, though. I’ll have more to say about the trackpad in a later article. For the purposes of this review (and absent the forthcoming Magic Keyboard), the thing to know is that every iPad that can be updated to the latest version of iPadOS is getting this feature, so it’s not really a differentiator for the iPad Pro. iPadOS is also slightly less buggy now than it was at launch — but there are still maddening issues from time to time. This week it’s been text-focus with the Smart Keyboard. Sometimes I have to fully force quit the app and restart it in order to type into it. And that’s the story of the iPad Pro in a nutshell, isn’t it? The iPad Pro line has always featured incredibly powerful and beautiful hardware alongside software that has struggled to take advantage of it. The Verge on YouTube Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it — contracts that no one actually reads. It’s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. But we’re going to start counting exactly how many times you have to hit “agree” to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people don’t read and definitely can’t negotiate. Much like the iPhone, to use an iPad Pro, you have to agree to: These agreements are not negotiable, and you cannot use the phone at all if you don’t agree to them. The iPad Pro also prompts you to set up Apple Cash and Apple Pay at setup, which further means you have to agree to: If you add a credit card to Apple Pay, you have to agree to: Final tally: two mandatory agreements, six optional agreements for Apple Cash, one optional agreement for Apple Pay Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy. The Verge on YouTube

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192146/apple-ipad-pro-review-2020-lidar-a12z-processor-speed-camera-trackpad-keyboard

Apple

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Adi Robertson

How Half-Life: Alyx’s designers built an escapist dystopia with a spot of hope

I’m writing this story under self-quarantine for novel coronavirus exposure. I’ve been sequestered for over a week while the city outside my apartment has become America’s COVID-19 epicenter: 13,000 known cases and 125 deaths so far. The governor has ordered six feet of space between all residents in public, and my days are punctuated with the screams of ambulance sirens; at a hospital nearby, doctors have resorted to cleaning used face masks with hand sanitizer. I feel fine, but many New Yorkers are dealing with lost jobs, suddenly shuttered schools, or with the disease itself — deadlier and more contagious than the flu, with no vaccine or cure. It’s a strange week to be writing about a video game, especially one that sounds fairly grim on paper. The newly released Half-Life: Alyx is set in a post-apocalyptic city run by mysterious entities who are surgically mutilating and slowly exterminating humanity. At least one reviewer couldn’t enjoy Alyx during the pandemic. Paradoxically, though, I’ve found playing the game almost soothing. It’s a demanding virtual reality shooter where I’m playing somebody a lot more level-headed and competent than myself. With a headset on, I can’t check my phone for coronavirus updates. And apparently, making the game was a form of escapism for its creators, too. Valve Software released its last Half-Life game in 2007. So Alyx was built by a combination of veteran developers and newcomers, including Firewatch co-director Sean Vanaman. Vanaman became one of the primary writers in early 2019 — a time obviously free of the novel coronavirus, but full of anxiety over climate disasters, xenophobia, and other dystopian fears. And the game’s world felt like a refuge. “I actually found it to be an escape,” said Vanaman in a video interview before Alyx’s launch. (Valve originally invited reporters to its offices around Seattle, but it canceled after a novel coronavirus outbreak in the city.) “We never considered explicitly trying to modernize the themes of the game for what we are going through now. There’s no way this stuff doesn’t inform the way you think about stories and characters, and everything is a byproduct of its cultural moment. But I found it to actually be kind of what I needed in the year 2019.” Some game studios are worried about controversy and deny even the most blatant political references. Dystopias are like horoscopes: easy to scour for messages about our lives. But Vanaman’s description of Alyx feels right. Protagonist Alyx Vance’s world is ruled by an alien empire called the Combine, and she’s looking for a superweapon that could help defeat them. In her world, the Combine’s takeover required competence, advanced technology, and a master plan — not just inaction and myopia and petty malice, which have all wreaked havoc in ours. You see a lot of corpses and kill a lot of monsters in Half-Life, but there’s a dignity in fighting powerful aliens. Nobody dies because of a gradually dismantled social safety net, because a world leader fed them lies about a pandemic treatment, or because you didn’t wash your hands. In Alyx, the Combine feel particularly omnipotent and unknowable. Half-Life 2 featured a smarmy human collaborator named Wallace Breen. Breen’s voice actor Robert Culp died in 2010, though, and original series writer Marc Laidlaw left a lot of the Combine’s goals and abilities ambiguous. “You can’t even write a word before you know where all the chess pieces are on the board, so we would sit in the room and be like... what do the Combine want?” said Vanaman. (He wouldn’t reveal the answer.) “Not having Breen was a real loss — it was kind of just the job. But it was an interesting job to be able to do.” A post-apocalyptic world could still feel “unfortunately too real,” acknowledged Valve level designer Corey Peters. Among other things, the Combine wreak havoc on Earth’s ecosystem, siphoning its oceans and killing its animals. “But at least with Half-Life, we can still escape a little bit because we’ve got the whole sci-fi element to layer on top of that.” Ironically, dystopian sci-fi is sometimes criticized as a narrative cop-out. Annihilation and Borne author Jeff VanderMeer has dismissed stories that coat real disasters in a safe glaze of science fiction. Kim Stanley Robinson described the genre as “fashionable, perhaps lazy, maybe even complacent,” indulging audiences with the feeling that “however bad our present moment is, it’s nowhere near as bad as the ones these poor characters are suffering through.” That fairly describes my experience of Half-Life: Alyx, but it feels different from playing an exaggerated caricature of reality. Alyx is a cathartic collection of terrible but currently unrelatable problems, like having your father kidnapped by psychic worms. It doesn’t make the real problems of the past few years seem less urgent, nor the system that exacerbated the recent pandemic’s spread less broken. The sirens are still blaring outside my window. And Alyx is optimistic about humanity, starting with its protagonist who’s matter-of-factly trying to save her nightmare world. As Vanaman put it, “We would write dialogue where she’s like, serious voice: ‘The apocalypse is all that I’ve ever known.’ But you don’t feel that way if it’s all you’ve ever known! If it’s all you’ve ever known, you’re like... this is what it is! This is just my life!” When her ally Russel explains the concept of a BLT sandwich, made impossible by the extinction of the pig, he’s nostalgic, and she’s bemused. It’s not a spoiler that Alyx doesn’t defeat the Combine; after all, they’re the antagonists of Half-Life 2. But the game ends with a meaningful event that feels like a bizarre but hard-won victory for Alyx and her father Eli. “There’s something really hopeful about the Vances,” says Vanaman. “Sometimes it’s nice to be like: these characters like each other and are overcoming odds to succeed in the end. This feels good. People are good. Smart people coming together to solve impossible problems is still something we should be thinking about.”

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192359/valve-half-life-alyx-interview-sean-vanaman-corey-peters-dystopia-vr-hope

Gaming

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Cameron Faulkner

The new MacBook Air and iPad Pro are already discounted on Amazon

Only the best deals on Verge-approved gadgets get the Verge Deals stamp of approval, so if you're looking for a deal on your next gadget or gift from major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and more, this is the place to be. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy. The 2020 versions of the MacBook Air and the iPad Pro don’t release until tomorrow, March 25th, but you save $50 on either device right now at Amazon (via 9to5Toys). It’s not common to get a deal on unreleased tech, especially Apple products, so it’s possible that this discount will get yanked once they launch tomorrow. The new MacBook Air makes the jump to a 10th Gen Intel Core i3 processor with Iris Plus graphics, and importantly, it has the improved keyboard that Apple brought to the 16-inch MacBook Pro a few months ago. The base model of the latest iteration has 256GB of onboard storage instead of 128GB, and it costs $950 right now. This deal seems to exclude the gold version, but the silver and space gray versions of the laptop are each $50 off. Apple MacBook Air (2020) The new 11-inch iPad Pro with 128GB of storage starts at $750 with this discount. (Currently, only the silver model is cheaper.) The 256GB version of the iPad Pro is $50 off, too, with its price set at $100 more than the base model. The Verge’s Dieter Bohn just published his review of the new iPad Pro. Do its improved cameras, slightly faster processor, and a LIDAR sensor for augmented reality justify the price? Check out the video above to see how he feels about this year’s pro-level tablet. Apple iPad Pro (11 inches, 128GB) Apple iPad Pro (11 inches, 256GB) Verge Deals on Twitter

https://www.theverge.com/good-deals/2020/3/24/21192353/macbook-air-ipad-pro-new-2020-discount-deal-sale-amazon

Good Deals

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Dani Deahl

Spotify is revoking support for all third-party DJ apps

Spotify will no longer work with third-party DJ apps starting on July 1st, 2020. The news was posted by Algoriddim, the developer behind a popular DJ software for iOS called Djay. A Spotify representative confirmed the news to The Verge. “As of July 1, 2020 Spotify will no longer be playable through 3rd party DJ apps,” reads Algoriddim’s announcement. “You’ll still be able to use Spotify in Djay until the end of June 2020. In the meantime, we’ve introduced new streaming services that will enable you to continue mixing all of the great music you love, plus give you extended access to new content and features.” This is a big loss for Djay, which was the most robust DJ app on the market to have Spotify streaming integration. You can still use the app to DJ with Tidal and SoundCloud, and the post provides tools for people to transfer their Spotify playlists and tracks over to these other services. Algoriddim integrated streaming with its DJ app long before many other companies. Now, the trend has been on the rise with other DJ software and even hardware in recent years. SoundCloud integrated with Serato DJ back in 2018, Pioneer DJ released a beginner controller last year for streaming music and smartphone DJing, and Denon’s Prime 4 standalone player and its SC5000 and SC5000M media players have Wi-Fi and Tidal integration. The two streaming services that appear to be the most amenable to these kinds of partnerships are Tidal and SoundCloud. Spotify isn’t currently integrated with much DJ software or hardware beyond Djay, which worked out its official partnership with the platform back in 2014. Pacemaker for iOS uses Spotify integration, and Virtual DJ used to have Spotify integration, but that was revoked in 2017. At the time, Virtual DJ told DJ TechTools that “Spotify is currently no longer available in VDJ 8 as they have recently changed their terms in regards to using Spotify inside Professional DJ applications.” DJ TechTools noted that there was an existing limitation in Spotify’s licensing that prevented “the streaming or caching of 2 tracks simultaneously.” There’s still language in Spotify’s developer Terms of Service around this specific topic. “You may not, and you may not permit any device or system used in connection with the Spotify Service to, segue, mix, re-mix, or overlap any Spotify Content with any other audio content (including other Spotify Content),” the agreement reads. It’s unclear if Spotify intends to change the language in its developer ToS again come July 1st, or if it’s simply enforcing language that it already had in place. Regardless, it looks like the company is placing efforts elsewhere (or perhaps inward?), while Tidal and SoundCloud plow forward in forging partnerships within the DJ community.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192473/spotify-revoking-support-developer-api-third-party-dj-apps-algoriddim-djay

Apps

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Julia Alexander

Wonder Woman 1984 delayed by Warner Bros.

Wonder Woman 1984 is the latest film to be delayed as movie theaters across the country shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. The film, which was supposed to open on June 5th, will now open on August 14th. Warner Bros. has also delayed In the Heights, a movie based on Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical, indefinitely. Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated film, Tenet, is still on schedule for July 17th at this time. “When we greenlit Wonder Woman 1984, it was with every intention to be viewed on the big screen and are excited to announce that Warner Bros. Pictures will be bringing the film to theatres on Aug. 14,” Toby Emmerich, Warner Bros. Pictures chairman, said in a statement to Variety. “We hope the world will be in a safer and healthier place by then.” Wonder Woman 1984 follows Disney’s Mulan, Marvel Studios’ Black Widow, and Universal’s F9 in being delayed instead of receiving a digital-first release. DreamWorks’ Trolls World Tour will forgo a theatrical release completely and go straight to digital retailers like Amazon and iTunes. More studios are looking at digital-first or early digital releases as theaters remain unsure of when they’ll be able to open their doors again amid the coronavirus pandemic. Even then, once those doors open, it might take some time before swaths of people venture out to watch movies. “We hope and believe that people will still go to the movies in theaters where available, but we understand that for people in different areas of the world that is increasingly becoming less possible,” Jeff Shell, CEO of NBCUniversal, said in a statement. We made Wonder Woman 1984 for the big screen and I believe in the power of cinema. In these terrible times, when theater owners are struggling as so many are, we are excited to re-date our film to August 14th 2020 in a theater near you, and pray for better times for all by then pic.twitter.com/85ykQ8x6NE Wonder Woman was the third highest-grossing film of 2017, and its sequel could come close to hitting $1 billion at the box office if not more. Although The Wrap reported that Warner Bros. executives talked about bringing it directly to HBO Max, WarnerMedia’s new streaming platform, it would be a major write-down on the film. Warner Bros. also maintains a positive relationship with theaters; Joker earned more than $1 billion worldwide, and many of its DC movies gross more than $600 million at the box office. “To avoid catastrophic losses to the studios, these titles must have the fullest possible theatrical release around the world,” a statement from the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO) reads. “While one or two releases may forgo theatrical release, it is our understanding from discussions with distributors that the vast majority of deferred releases will be rescheduled for theatrical release as life returns to normal.”

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21188505/wonder-woman-1984-delayed-warner-bros-coronavirus-disney-marvel-universal

Entertainment

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Jon Porter

Reddit’s new polls will let you vote on basically anything

Reddit has rolled out a new post type, polls, which lets you ask questions and vote on pretty much anything. Polls can offer up to six answers, be kept open for up to a week, and subreddit moderators can turn them off if desired. You create them like you would any other post type. Reddit says it was motivated to create the feature because people have been making polls on the service for years using third-party services. In an average month, it says that 15,000 polls are created across the entire site. Now, the process will hopefully be a lot easier since these can be made natively on Reddit. For an idea of what the new post type looks like, check out this post in the NFL subreddit from earlier this year in which users were asked which team they expected to win the Super Bowl. Over 9,000 users voted, incorrectly predicting a victory for the 49ers. The new feature is on by default starting today and is supported in all subreddits aside from text-only communities like r/AskReddit.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21191119/reddit-poll-post-type-nfl-super-bowl-survey

Web

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Dieter Bohn

Firefox is launching a new test pilot with Scroll to pay web publishers

Mozilla and Scroll have made an earlier-announced partnership slightly more official today with the wider release of a browser extension called “Firefox Better Web.” It’s part of Firefox’s ongoing effort to combat tracking on the web, but with the small twist that it includes the option to sign up for Scroll. Scroll, if you don’t recall, is the $5-a-month service that stops ads from loading on certain websites. It’s not technically an ad blocker, but rather lets publishers know they shouldn’t serve them in the first place when you visit. For a limited time, the subscription will cost $2.50 per month for the first six months. The Mozilla partnership essentially builds Scroll into a package of tools that Mozilla offers as a test pilot. The idea is to see how far Firefox can go blocking trackers and other malfeasance (short of full ad blocking) without fully breaking the web or de-funding publishers. The extension includes Scroll and also a “customized Enhanced Tracking Protection setting that will block third-party trackers, fingerprinters, and cryptominers,” according to Mozilla. It will work across different desktop browsers, but of course it is designed primarily to be used with Firefox. The deal with Mozilla should get Scroll a much larger userbase, but neither company would disclose any financial terms. Scroll takes a 30 percent cut of your subscription fee and pays the rest out to its partner publishers based on your web browsing habits. It tracks those habits automatically, and the company tells me that it will soon offer users tools to delete their data — on top of a pledge to never sell that data. Scroll also pledges to make it easier for small publishers to sign up through an automated system soon. Vox Media and The Verge are Scroll partners, but most websites aren’t. Now that Mozilla is giving the service some small seal of approval, perhaps that might change. If it doesn’t, it would be a little odd for Firefox to so prominently feature this single startup’s publisher payment system. Both Mozilla and Scroll say they’d welcome more competition and a larger ecosystem of companies trying to figure out ways to pay publishers directly. But outside of systems like Brave Rewards, there just don’t seem to be that many out there that are viable. Scroll is just the latest in a long line of attempts to get users to directly pay for visiting websites without asking them to sign up for a million different subscriptions or worry about convoluted micropayment systems. It does seem to have more momentum than earlier efforts. Mozilla, for its part, is characterizing the partnership as a “test pilot,” and as such it will only be available in the US for the time being.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192048/firefox-better-web-scroll-subscription-ad-tracker-blocker-publisher-payment

Web

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Thomas Ricker

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been postponed

The 2020 Summer Olympic Games, scheduled to open in Tokyo on July 24th, have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The games will be rescheduled to 2021, according to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. It’s the first time in their 124-year modern history that the Olympics have been moved or delayed during peacetime. “We have agreed that the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will be held by the summer of 2021 at the latest,” Abe said, according to The Wall Street Journal. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Tokyo Games organizers were under mounting pressure to postpone the games this year, but the IOC and organizers had long insisted that the games would go ahead as planned. Canada and Australia said they would not attend the Tokyo Games if they went ahead as scheduled this year, while the UK and US have signaled a desire for a delay. On Tuesday, March 24th, Abe spoke with IOC president Thomas Bach and other officials, who decided the games would not take place in 2020, according to a joint statement issued by the IOC and Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee. “The leaders agreed that the Olympic Games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present,” the statement says. “Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan.” The Summer Olympics have been canceled three times before — in 1916, 1940, and 1944 — and the Winter Games have been canceled twice, in 1940 and 1944, during the world wars. The 1920 Summer Olympics were held in Antwerp, Belgium, from April to September at the tail end of the 1918 influenza pandemic. The 2016 Summer Olympics were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, despite the outbreak of the mosquito-borne Zika virus. Unlike the Zika virus, however, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 can be easily transmitted between humans. The financial impact of today’s decision is unknown. By some estimates, Japan had invested between $32 billion and $41 billion to build competition venues and expanded hotel capacity. The Tokyo Games were expected to attract around 10,000 athletes and 500,000 international visitors. Local businesses, both big and small, were expecting record profits this year. Now, they face the prospect of financial ruin after long suffering under a pandemic that has kept foreign tourists and locals at home. Prior to the Olympics, concern over the spread of the novel coronavirus caused the cancellation or postponement of the NBA, NHL, English Premier League, and the Euro 2020 tournament, in addition to events like Coachella, SXSW, Mobile World Congress, and the Geneva Auto Show. Update March 24th, 10:35AM ET: This post has been updated with more details from the IOC.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21174606/summer-olympics-2020-postponed-coronavirus-delay-date

Science

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Nicole Wetsman

Quarantine is emotionally challenging, but there are ways officials can make it easier

When China placed a series of cities under lockdown in January to blunt the spread of COVID-19, experts warned that other countries may not be able to implement the same policies. But over the past few weeks, cities, states, and countries around the world have similarly restricted people’s movement in order to stop the virus’s spread. The new coronavirus is spreading through the US, and several states have made emergency declarations. The World Health Organization has declared it a pandemic. Here are the basics: Some people, who’ve been exposed to the virus, have to stay away from others for two weeks in a formal quarantine. Other communities are full of people who don’t have documented exposure to the virus, but have still been told to stay at home to help slow the pandemic. Previous research shows that those decrees, whether at an individual or community level, can take an emotional toll. None of that research, which focused on the psychological impact of quarantine during outbreaks of diseases like SARS and Ebola, quite matches the current global situation, says Neil Greenberg, professor at King’s College London and president of the United Kingdom Psychological Trauma Society. But it offers good guidance for what experts expect to see during this pandemic. Greenberg reviewed the existing evidence in a paper published in The Lancet. “The key message that came through was that if you do quarantine or extended isolation badly, that rather than just being distressing, it can have some long-lasting psychological impacts,” he says. “There’s evidence of depression and some symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder.” During a pandemic like this one, quarantining some people and asking the rest to stay at home is necessary for public health. But officials can structure isolation in ways that minimize the psychological impact of those policies — for example, by not promising that a quarantine period will be for one length of time and then extend it for longer. The Verge spoke to Greenberg about the best way to manage a shut down. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity. What does a badly done quarantine look like? A bad quarantine means people don’t get good information about what they’re doing and don’t have a good rationale for why it’s needed. They don’t have access to basic supplies or health care and don’t have good communication. If people suffer financial losses and feel like they can’t afford to carry on with their lives, that can have a bad impact. And if at the last minute, someone alters the length of time you’re quarantined and says it has to be longer. That’s a recipe not just for ineffective isolation, but for poor mental health. How well are officials and governments doing to make sure these quarantines aren’t done badly? It varies quite a lot. Some countries have draconian policies in place, and some are lax. The key thing about isolation around the world is that people want to see a good rationale for why it’s being done. In Italy, with the death rates what they are, there is a good rationale for why the government needs to impose a restrictive regime. That helps. In a situation where we’re very worried about lots of deaths, but the number of deaths is currently low, people might begin to question the rationale. At that point, there’s concern that people aren’t isolating who should be. There’s confusion: why is this happening, why aren’t people sticking to it? But public health experts say that restrictive measures work best if they go into place before there are lots of deaths — how do we get people to see that as enough rationale? Like we do in all aspects of life. We try and draw on previous experience of when that’s been important. Certainly among the scientific community, there’s been discussion of the Spanish flu of 1918. The danger, then, is people say that we didn’t have the health care that we have now. The stronger the similarities are, the better. One assumes that when this crisis is over, the next time, people will be far more understanding than they have been previously. It’s difficult enough for governments to get their own heads around what needs to happen now. In this case, even clear science stories and information are hard for people to understand. Is there a difference, psychologically, between being quarantined as an individual versus being quarantined — or told to shelter in place — as a city or state? When you look at war or terrorism, which impact whole cities, we see that if we’re in it together, it makes things easier. Generally, at-risk people or people who have been quarantined can be stigmatized. They’re seen as dirty or infected. If everyone has been in it together, you don’t see that. People are less likely to be singled out as different or strange — which, if it happened, could cause mental health problems. If you asked people in Europe in 1938 how they would cope with being bombed for years, everyone would say it’s impossible. But once you get into a new sense of what is normal as a community, people adapt and cope. After this is over, what should governments and individuals do to help people recover from the emotional challenges of sheltering in place? It absolutely should be part of the recovery process. But it’s not inevitable people will have long-term psychological difficulties. Some people will thrive: in a bizarre way, especially health care workers, who are facing extraordinary challenges. They may rise to the occasion and have what we call post traumatic growth. I’m not trying to be too positive, but it’s not all doom and gloom. The challenge is how do you get a population, a family, a team to carry on while also detecting the small percentage of people who will suffer mental health problems? How do we get them help accessing care? Accessing care can be hard at the best of times, and there’s no reason to think it will be any easier. We need to think in our recovery plan about how to identify and help those people. If we’re trying to look for the benefits, it might be that we are learning how to better communicate with our loved ones when we’re locked down. We might end up, when we get back to normal socialization, in a community with a better capacity for links than before.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192259/quarantine-psychology-mental-health-coronavirus-harm-health-care

Science

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Tom Warren

UK asks carriers to send coronavirus alert as emergency system was never finished

The UK government has turned to mobile carriers like EE, o2, Vodafone, and Three to send an emergency coronavirus alert today. It’s the first time all UK carriers have been instructed to send a message to customers on behalf of the government, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. UK citizens are being asked to stay at home and only go outside for food, health reasons, or essential work. The alert asks people to stay at home, and links to the official UK government coronavirus response website. It comes just hours after UK Prime Minster Boris Johnson introduced drastic measures to ban gatherings of three or more people. So, the government texted me... pic.twitter.com/O14gpRkUUa The UK government has been forced to work with UK carriers to distribute the message as an emergency alert system, trialed nearly seven years ago, was never finished and put into place. Lord Toby Harris, former chair of the National Trading Standards Board, has accused the UK government of bickering about which department should be in charge of the alert system. “It’s fallen between government departments as to who is going to pick up the bill, who’s going to lead on it, and all sorts of issues,” says Harris in a statement to The Guardian. The UK government is also in talks with mobile operator EE to use phone location and usage data to monitor whether people are actually staying at home or not. That raises a number of privacy concerns that will need to be addressed before data is used to combat the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192131/uk-goverment-coronavirus-alert-sms-message-emergency-system-mobile-carriers

Tech

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Jay Peters

Popular European banking app Revolut is launching in the US today

Mobile banking app Revolut, which has more than 10 million customers in Europe, is launching today in the US, the company announced. Like Monzo, a UK-based banking app that made the jump to the US last June, Revolut is entirely app-based and doesn’t operate any brick-and-mortar locations. That means you can sign up for an account and a debit card (which will be a Mastercard for US users) in just a few minutes right from within the app. That account is insured for up to $250,000 by the FDIC. Mobile-only banks like Monzo and Starling have been hugely successful in the UK, as has Revolut across Europe. Monzo has taken a slow approach to its US launch, rolling out gradually across the US, but Revolut is available for everyone in the US starting today. Revolut itself is not a bank in the US, though — like Monzo, Revolut offers technology that interfaces with another bank’s services. Revolut’s partner is New York-based Metropolitan Commercial Bank (MCB). The Revolut app is well-designed, with separate tabs that track your accounts, spending, payments, and cards. The app has some neat features, like the ability to send and request money from your friends right through the app, similar to PayPal-owned Venmo, and it sends you notifications whenever you make a purchase. You can also exchange foreign currency right in the app, and Revolut won’t take any extra fees when you do so. If you need to withdraw money from your Revolut account, you can pull it from one of the from more than 55,000 ATMs in the Allpoint ATM network. However, you can only withdraw a maximum of $300 per month at a time without incurring a 2 percent fee — though you can withdraw more if you sign up for one of Revolut’s premium subscriptions. The $9.99 per month premium subscription gives you the ability to withdraw up to $600 per month from an ATM without fees, as well as a disposable virtual card, global travel insurance, access to airport lounges via a LoungeKey Pass, among other benefits. And a $14.99 per month “Metal” subscription that’s “coming soon” will let you withdraw up to $900 per month without fees and gives you 1 percent cashback on all purchases made on your Revolut card. (You’ll also get a debit card that’s actually made of metal.) Revolut’s app has been in beta in the US since June 2019, and Revolut tells The Verge it had 60,000 beta testers. Update, March 24th, 11:56AM ET: Added that Revolut debit cards issued in the US will be Mastercards.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21188412/banking-app-revolut-us-launch-mobile-bank

Apps

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Dani Deahl

Bandsintown will help musicians get faster access to Twitch monetization

Concert notification service Bandsintown has partnered with Twitch to help out artists who are unable to tour because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The partnership lets qualified Bandsintown artists bypass the normal qualifications needed to become a Twitch Affiliate and get fast access to the live streaming platform’s monetization tools. Canceled events are a blow to musicians who depend on income from live shows, and many have turned to “quaranstreams” to try and alleviate the financial damage. SoundCloud recently announced a similar initiative with Twitch. Bandsintown artists with 2,000 trackers or more are eligible to apply. You’ll then have to create a Twitch channel, link it on your artist profile on the platform, and fill out a short form. (It’s linked in Bandsintown’s post.) Once submitted, the company says Twitch’s Affiliation program will contact you by email within two to five business days to get any other details needed to upgrade your account. Affiliate status on Twitch unlocks monetization tools, like subscriptions and the ability to receive tips. Getting fast Affiliate approval can help out artists who need to create additional income now, with swaths of the entertainment industry ground to a halt as a result of the pandemic. Normally, in order to qualify for Affiliate status, a Twitch user must have at least 50 followers along with at least 500 total broadcast minutes in the last 30 days, seven unique broadcast days in the last 30 days, and an average of three concurrent viewers or more in the last 30 days. This program, like the one between Twitch and SoundCloud, lets artists bypass these hurdles so they can monetize on Twitch within days. ”Twitch continues to be a great place for artists to perform and connect with their fans live,” said Mike Olson, Twitch’s head of music, said in a statement. “We’re excited to partner with Bandsintown to provide artists not only the best live streaming experience, but an opportunity for our community to support them with monetization tools that aren’t offered elsewhere.” Bandsintown also recently launched its own Twitch channel and added the ability to push out a “watch live” notification when musicians are live-streaming shows. These notifications will show up on Bandsintown, as well as Facebook pages and anywhere else Bandsintown listings appear.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21193190/twitch-bandsintown-artists-affiliate-program-coronavirus-pandemic

Web

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Bijan Stephen

The creators of Plague Inc. are adding a new game mode that lets you stop an outbreak

The video game Plague Inc. allows you to play as a disease, with the goal being to wipe out humanity. Ndemic Creations, the game’s makers, however, are very pro-human: they’ve just donated $250,000 to help fund COVID-19 relief and are now adding a mode to Plague Inc. that lets players stop an outbreak. “Eight years ago, I never imagined the real world would come to resemble a game of Plague Inc. or that so many players would be using Plague Inc. to help them get through an actual pandemic,” said James Vaughan, Plague Inc.’s creator and Ndemic Creations’ founder, according to the website. That is hilarious! I didn’t have “pandemic” on my 2020 bingo card either. The new mode came out of donation discussions between Ndemic Creations, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). In it, players will balance disease progression, health care systems, and the public’s response — which is to say: yes, you’ll be able to make your citizens practice social distancing. The update will be free for all players for the duration of the pandemic when it launches, though there’s no word yet on when that may be. The creators are working from home, after all.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192420/plague-inc-who-donation-coronavirus

Gaming

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Casey Newton

It’s time for a regular Amazon daily coronavirus briefing

The Interface is a daily column and newsletter about the intersection of social media and democracy. Subscribe here. No one has it easy during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Amazon has it particularly hard. Google, Facebook, and Netflix all deliver their services over the internet, and a healthy amount of that work can be done from home. Amazon, by contrast, has taken on the job of delivering physical goods to our homes. At a time when tens of millions of Americans are isolated in their homes, Amazon has become a critical lifeline delivering food and supplies. But over the past several days, Amazon has begun to struggle under the weight. The most significant news so far came Sunday night, when Jason Del Rey broke the news that Amazon’s famous two-day shipping for Prime members would now be delayed up to a month for “non-essential” items. Del Rey writes: An Amazon spokesperson confirmed to Recode on Sunday evening that the new April 21 delivery dates are not the result of a technical bug or error; they accurately reflect Amazon’s current reality. “To serve our customers in need while also helping to ensure the safety of our associates, we’ve changed our logistics, transportation, supply chain, purchasing, and third-party seller processes to prioritize stocking and delivering items that are a higher priority for our customers,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “This has resulted in some of our delivery promises being longer than usual.” At least Americans can still get non-essential items. (Which is to say, items outside the following departments: baby products; health and household items; beauty and personal care; groceries; and industrial, scientific, and pet supplies.) That’s not true in France or Italy any more, Krystal Hu reported at Reuters. The company has temporarily stopped taking orders for non-essential items that are shipped through its fulfillment service while it focuses on getting more important items to customers. The company also suspended Prime Pantry, a service for getting rapid delivery of discounted grocery and household items, amid a surge in demand. And — at the request of local governments — it downgraded the quality of streaming on Prime Video in Europe in an effort to reduce the strain on the internet. To be clear, Amazon has nothing to be ashamed of here. The company is navigating an extremely difficult period fraught with unpleasant trade-offs, and for the most part its supply chain has held up. The crisis has also spurred the company to (finally) recognize the everyday heroism of the workers in its distribution and delivery networks, who continue to put themselves at risk to keep America stocked up with necessities. As of Saturday, the company increased wages by $2 an hour — and is offering double pay to workers who spend more than 40 hours on the job each week. And on Monday, the company finally agreed to provide paid time off for tens of thousands of warehouse employees. Amazon has also said it will hire 100,000 new workers to help with increased demand amid the crisis, offering an equally important lifeline to a nation staring down the barrel of double-digit unemployment for the first time in recent memory. In a memo to employees made public on Saturday, CEO Jeff Bezos said he is fully committed to addressing the COVID-19 challenge: My own time and thinking is now wholly focused on COVID-19 and on how Amazon can best play its role. I want you to know Amazon will continue to do its part, and we won’t stop looking for new opportunities to help. One thing that could be helpful in this time is for Amazon to regularly brief the public on the health of its distribution networks and its expectations for any service interruptions in the immediate future. The company has historically worked to keep the media at greater than arm’s length, communicating primarily by press release. But the current crisis is changing the company’s service so frequently, and with such high stakes, that a different approach is needed. One model Amazon might consider is that of Facebook, which over the past couple years began hosting regular briefings on subjects in the news. (There have been a lot about Russia, misinformation, and election security, for example.) Last week, the company held a briefing on its coronavirus response, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg took questions from the press. If it undertook similar measures, Amazon could build confidence in its services. The alternative — a torturous drip of news about service disruptions, delivered at odds hours across various news outlets who manage to get a response back from the company’s public relations team — has made for a grim status quo. It is not an approach that bears the hallmarks of customer obsession. If you pay for Amazon Web Services, the company sells you guaranteed uptime — if the service fails more than 0.01 percent of the time, you get a discount on future service. Already, some are speculating that Amazon will offer similar discounts to those affected by the understandable disruptions caused by COVID-19. But there’s something else the company could do, and it has the virtue of being basically free. It could regularly tell all its customers what’s happening today, and what to expect tomorrow. If Bezos is right that “things are going to get worse before they get better,” as he told his employees, then his customers could use as much time as possible to begin contemplating their alternatives. Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms. ⬆️Trending up: Apple is donating millions of masks to health care organizations. The move comes amid a critical shortage of supplies needed to respond to the global coronavirus pandemic. ⬆️Trending up: Facebook is donating 720,000 medical masks and 1.5 million gloves to Bay Area medical workers battling the coronavirus pandemic. ⬆️Trending up: Yelp is committing $25 million to local restaurants due to the novel coronavirus. The money will take the form of free advertising. (Anthony Ha / TechCrunch) ⬇️ Trending down: Google is still showing ads for masks next to coronavirus stories after promising to take them down. In a letter to the FTC, lawmakers complained that the company is contributing to the medical mask shortage. Big Tech could emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever. While the industry faced a growing backlash prior to the coronavirus outbreak, people are now more dependent on the big tech platforms. (Daisuke Wakabayashi, Jack Nicas, Steve Lohr and Mike Isaac / The New York Times) Related: Over the past few weeks, Facebook has launched a series of initiatives to help governments, emergency response organizations, small businesses, and its own employees and users with the coronavirus pandemic. The company’s quick response could go a long way in restoring its reputation. (Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC) Facebook plans to downgrade video streaming quality on its platform and on Instagram in Europe. It’s the latest US tech giant to do so after EU industry chief Thierry Breton urged streaming platforms to free up bandwidth for healthcare workers and remote learners. (Foo Yun Chee / Reuters) It took a global pandemic to make us forget about our privacy concerns and start using Facebook with abandon again, this piece notes. (Joanna Stern / The Wall Street Journal) In the United Kingdom, roughly 300 coronavirus support groups have popped on Facebook up to help people cope with the crisis. (John Harris / The Guardian) Facebook Messenger partnered with developers to provide free services to government health organizations and UN health agencies. The goal is to help them use the messaging platform to scale their response to the COVID-19 crisis. (Messenger) The World Health Organization is partnering with WhatsApp to give people trustworthy information about the coronavirus pandemic. When you text “hi” to +41 79 893 1892 over WhatsApp, you’ll receive back a text from the WHO that includes a variety of menu items for the latest information, like novel coronavirus infection rates around the world, travel advisories, and misinformation that should be debunked. (Lily Hay Newman / Wired) People are organizing coronavirus aid on Google docs and through Facebook groups. So many groups have popped up in the past five days that there are now master spreadsheets circulating on Twitter, Nextdoor and Facebook to try and track them. (April Glaser / NBC) Google’s coronavirus website launched. The company also rolled out enhanced search results for people who look for terms related to the coronavirus. These include information tabs for symptoms, prevention, global statics, and locally relevant information. (Dieter Bohn / The Verge) Google Maps now displays a warning for people searching for doctors, telling them to call ahead if they think they are infected with the novel coronavirus. Tapping through on the warning brings up the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. (Ashley Carman / The Verge) Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sent an email to employees, calling the coronavirus pandemic “uncharted territory.” He said he shares their personal anxieties about the virus. (Geoff Baker / The Seattle Times) Apple pulled an app that allowed Chinese users to bypass censorship of coronavirus information from the Chinese version of its App Store. “Boom the Encryption Keyboard” is an app that encrypts text into emojis that can only be decoded by the receiver’s device. (Adam Smith / PCMag) On Twitter, a @coronavirus account has existed since 2009. It’s only tweeted four times — always about computer operating systems. But as the COVID-19 pandemic grew this week, people began finding it and fighting with it. (Scott Lucas / BuzzFeed) IBM launched a consortium with the White House and the Department of Energy, among others, to give coronavirus researchers access to supercomputers. (Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat) Telegram has become a refuge for WeChat users during the coronavirus outbreak. The app has features like channel broadcasts and optional chat encryption that have helped people stay up to date amid heavy censorship on WeChat. (Xinmei Shen / Abacus) As regular people struggle to get tested for COVID-19, the rich and powerful are jumping to the front of the line. This is a very old story playing out in a new way. (Max Abelson, Scott Soshnick, and Emma Court / Bloomberg) Dating under social distancing is complicated. But staying indoors is making many people crave partnership, and dating apps are responding by adding new video chatting features. (Georgia Wells / The Wall Street Journal) Fashion influencers are rethinking their curated aesthetics because they can’t leave their houses. Their accounts might never be the same after the pandemic ends. (Ashley Carman / The Verge) As people are stuck indoors, a wave of dance parties hosted on Instagram and Zoom staves off coronavirus anxiety. (Zoe Schiffer / The Verge) Derrick Jones, a.k.a. DJ D-Nice is hosting Club Quarantine, a virtual dance party for thousands of people stuck at home. Mark Zuckerberg stopped by a recent set. (Jelani Cobb / The New Yorker) Internet service providers are scrambling to add more capacity as they cope with unprecedented usage amid the coronavirus outbreak. (Nick Bastone / The Information) Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty house is shutting down temporarily due to the coronavirus pandemic. Five TikTok stars were staying there and making videos. (Amanda Perelli / Business Insider) As coronavirus surges across the US, people are using Nextdoor to offer help and provide services no longer available through businesses. It’s turning the network into a decent place to be. (Alex Kantrowitz / BuzzFeed) People in Wuhan and Italy have been making TikToks of life in isolation, and are showing the rest of the world what’s to come. (Rebecca Jennings / Vox) Total cases in the United States: 33,404 Total deaths in the United States: 400 Cases reported in California: 1,709 Cases reported in Washington: 1,996 Cases reported in New York: 15,168 *Information from the CDC. ⭐Despite a series of decisive victories in Florida, Illinois, and Arizona, Joe Biden’s presidential campaign is struggling to move forward. Campaigning online and staying relevant during the coronavirus pandemic are two major hurdles. Here’s Marc Caputo at Politico: Stuck at home because of coronavirus precautions, Biden also can’t meet with donors at fundraisers — which, in turn, may become less lucrative with an economy that’s sinking into recession or perhaps worse. “It’s a tough position,” said Matt Littman, who’s hosting a virtual fundraiser for Biden next month that the candidate and donors will attend through tele-conferencing software. “It’s harder to raise money when there’s no face-to-face meeting and personal contact,” Littman said. “And some of the normal people I have to raise money from I can’t count on. They have their own concerns. They have to keep their houses. The universe of people who will donate money will be smaller.” Facebook is close to reaching a settlement with a group of content moderators who developed post-traumatic stress disorder while working to remove disturbing content from the social network. In a court filing this week, lawyers for the plaintiffs said the parties had reached a tentative agreement with Facebook on February 7th. (Casey Newton / The Verge) ⭐Instagram has prototyped an unreleased ephemeral messaging feature that clears the chat thread whenever you leave it. It looks a lot like Snapchat’s most popular feature. Josh Constine at TechCrunch has the scoop: Instagram Stories caused Snapchat to start shrinking at one point, but now it’s growing healthily again. That may signaled that Instagram still had more work to do to steal Snap’s thunder. But Instagram’s existing version of ephemeral messaging that is clunkier, Facebook scrapped a trial of a similar feature, and WhatsApp’s take that started testing in October hasn’t rolled out yet. That’s left teens to stick with Snapchat for fast-paced communication they don’t have to worry about coming back to haunt them. If Instagram successfully copies this feature too, it could reduce the need for people to stay on Snapchat while making Instagram Direct more appealing to a critical audience. Every reply and subsequent alert draws users deeper into Facebook’s web. Instagram is facing a wave of hackers breaking into accounts to then extort their owners. Some victims are turning to white hat hackers to help. (Joseph Cox / Vice) Snap has seen a 10-fold surge in downloads for its tool that allows people to use augmented-reality filters on Zoom calls and Google Hangouts, since the beginning of the month. (Sarah Frier / Bloomberg) Twitch has become an increasingly valuable way for electronic musicians to connect with their fans. It’s yet another sign that the streaming platform has moved well beyond gaming. (Cherie Hu / DJ Mag) Discord banned 5.2 million accounts between April and December last year, according to the company’s second transparency report. The most common reasons for account bans were spam and exploitative content. (Jon Porter / The Verge) Stuff to occupy you online during the quarantine. TikTok has a full slate of evening programming coming up this week featuring some of its biggest homegrown stars. Instagram also has a full slate of programming this week, and posted a story promising free upcoming live shows from the Bon Apetit crew, Miley Cyrus, and Diplo, among others. Coronavirus can cause a hacking cough. As a software engineer, I know a thing or two about hacking. In this Medium post I will be Send us tips, comments, questions, and the Amazon metrics you’re most interested in: [email protected] and [email protected].

https://www.theverge.com/interface/2020/3/24/21191036/amazon-prime-service-disruptions-coronavirus-covid-19

The Interface

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Julia Alexander

YouTube is reducing its default video quality to standard definition for the next month

YouTube has announced that it will reduce streaming quality for users around the world, according to Bloomberg. The decision comes just one week after YouTube announced it was reducing streaming quality for users in Europe to help lessen broadband strain as more people stay home to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. By default, videos will start playing in standard definition (480p) quality, according to Bloomberg. People who want to watch videos in high definition can still do so, but they must manually select that option. “We continue to work closely with governments and network operators around the globe to do our part to minimize stress on the system during this unprecedented situation,” the company said in a statement to Bloomberg. YouTube is far from the only company reducing streaming quality to try to lessen broadband strain. Netflix has reduced its bitrates in Europe to ease up its streaming platform’s burden on broadband by 25 percent. Apple has taken similar steps, and Amazon is also dropping its average bitrates in Europe but is continuing to monitor the situation in the US and other countries around the world. The company is ready to take action elsewhere if broadband problems call for it, The Verge learned. Netflix’s chief content officer, Ted Sarandos, hinted that Netflix could do the same thing around the world depending on local authority requests. As more people work and learn from home, concerns about stress being placed on broadband networks continue to grow. And it’s not only impacting video streaming platforms: today, Sony announced that it will slow down PlayStation downloads in Europe in an effort to “preserve internet access for the entire community.” More companies are likely to take similar actions around the world the longer people remain self-quarantined at home.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192384/youtube-video-quality-reduced-hd-broadband-europe-streaming

Tech

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Sam Byford

The Redmi K30 Pro is Xiaomi’s new price-performance champion

Xiaomi has announced the Redmi K30 Pro, its latest high-spec-low-price contender. It’s the sequel to the K20 Pro (in Asia) / Mi 9T Pro (in Europe), one of last year’s most buzzed-about phones — at least in the regions where Xiaomi actually sells phones. Unlike the K20 Pro, the K30 Pro is visually quite a bit different from its non-Pro predecessor, which was launched in China in December. There’s a circular camera module with four lenses arranged in a square, and Xiaomi is also bringing back the pop-up selfie camera as opposed to the regular K30’s hole-punch cutout. The K30 Pro has a Snapdragon 865 processor, which means it also offers 5G support. The 6.67 inch screen is a 1080p AMOLED panel with HDR10+, although it looks like the refresh rate is a standard 60Hz, which puts it out of step with most 2020 flagship phones. The camera system has a 64-megapixel primary sensor, a 13-megapixel ultrawide, a 2-megapixel macro camera, and a 5-megapixel telephoto that also has macro capabilities. Xiaomi is particularly talking up the magnification ability of that last camera, though a higher end “zoom edition” of the phone swaps it out for a telephoto that can shoot up to 30x hybrid zoom. Other specs include 8K video recording, a headphone jack, IP53 water resistance, NFC, Wi-Fi 6, a 4,700mAh battery, and 33W fast charging over USB-C. Xiaomi also claims the K30 Pro has a much better haptic feedback system powered by a linear motor, which should help fix one of the drawbacks of the K20 Pro. The K30 Pro will launch in China first and should come to India later. It may well see an eventual release in Europe, too, but if the K20 Pro is any indication it could be rebranded as the Mi 10T. In China, the range starts at 2,999 yuan ($425) for a K30 Pro with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, with multiple configurations priced between that and the 3,999-yuan ($565) 8GB/256GB K30 Pro Zoom. That should set it up as a capable competitor to Realme’s similarly equipped X50 Pro, unless the lack of a high refresh rate is a dealbreaker.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192116/redmi-k30-pro-announced-specs-price-china-india-xiaomi

Google

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Jacob Kastrenakes

Sony will slow down PlayStation downloads in Europe, but says multiplayer will remain ‘robust’

Sony will slow down PlayStation game downloads in Europe to help preserve overall internet speeds. The change won’t materially affect multiplayer, according to a blog post, with the company saying that gamers “will still enjoy robust gameplay.” Downloads of games may be “somewhat slower or delayed” during this period. While Sony is the first to announce limits to game console bandwidth during the novel coronavirus pandemic, a number of streaming services began similar practices last week. Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, Apple, Disney, and more have all begun or committed to limiting video quality in Europe to reduce strain on broadband networks. The measures are meant to help maintain strong internet speeds for everyone while the pandemic leads to a sharp uptick in people working at home. Sony says it’s been working with European internet service providers “to manage download traffic” and “do our part to address internet stability concerns.” Sony doesn’t go into specifics on to what extent it’ll be reducing download speeds or when users might find downloads delayed.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192370/playstation-coronavirus-download-speeds-slowed-europe-multiplayer

Gaming

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Nick Statt

Instagram will let you browse posts with friends over video chat to promote social distancing

Instagram is ramping up its efforts to combat coronavirus-related misinformation on its platform while also giving people tools to promote healthy behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. These new measures are in addition to the company’s existing misinformation policy, which Instagram has been actively enforcing alongside parent company Facebook over the course of the virus’s worldwide spread over the last two months. Part of this new effort includes a new feature Instagram is calling Co-Watching, which will let you browse posts with your friends over in-app video chat. The feature can be accessed by starting a video chat through the Instagram Direct messaging tab and tapping the photo icon in the bottom left of the video chat screen. It lets you look at saved, liked, and recommended posts together as a group. The new misinformation measures include a new educational alert at the top of search results for connecting users with World Health Organization (WHO) resources; stickers promoting accurate and verifiable information from health authorities (like a “Stay Home” sticker to promote social distancing); more aggressive removal and moderation of coronavirus-related content from the Explore tab; and downranking of content in both the Instagram feed and in Stories that doesn’t meet the bar of third-party fact-checkers. “If posts are rated false by third-party-fact checkers, we remove them from Explore and hashtag pages,” an Instagram spokesperson said in a statement to The Verge. “We also remove false claims or conspiracy theories that have been flagged by leading global health organizations and local health authorities as having the potential to cause harm to people who believe them.” Prior to this new set of policies, Instagram has already begun taking action against coronavirus-related misinformation in the form of banning misleading ads for products claiming to offer cures or prevent people from contracting COVID-19 as well as temporary bans on ads and branded content promoting medical supplies like face masks and hand sanitizer. Earlier this month, Instagram removed the ability the search for COVID-19-themed augmented reality effects unless they were created in partnership with a “recognized health organization,” such as the WHO.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192026/instagram-coronavirus-covid-19-misinformation-co-watching-feature

Apps

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Andrew J. Hawkins

NYC is offering to hire out-of-work Uber and Lyft drivers

New York City is offering to hire out-of-work Uber and Lyft drivers, and it’s even promising to reimburse them for their driving expenses. The appeal comes at a time when many drivers are seeing their earnings dry up amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. In an email, the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission said it is seeking drivers “to help the City of New York with important work related to COVID-19,” the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The work would include delivering food to homebound senior citizens. The TLC warns that, initially, the need for drivers will be small, but it could increase as more residents request meal delivery services. The agency is offering a $15-an-hour wage, plus reimbursements for gas mileage and tolls. Drivers will be selected on a first-come, first-serve basis. “The World is changing around us and many of you are without work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the TLC says. “You are a top priority for the TLC and we recognize that you are among the hardest hit by this public health crisis.” Like most shared transportation services, Uber has seen a precipitous drop in ridership as a result of the pandemic. The company’s gross bookings in Seattle, a city hit hard by the novel coronavirus, is down by 60 to 70 percent, and Uber is assuming similar declines in other big cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City. The company suspended its carpooling service, UberPool, in most major markets and is providing financial assistance for drivers who have contracted COVID-19 or who have had their accounts suspended or been told to quarantine by public health officials. Yesterday, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi sent a direct appeal to the White House for the inclusion of gig workers and ride-hail drivers in any economic stimulus package to come out of Congress. New York City-based driver groups praised the TLC for its offer, noting that the city’s for-hire vehicle drivers have seen their earnings plummet amid the pandemic. “Drivers are ready to step up to help the city in this time of great need,” Brendan Sexton, executive director of the Independent Drivers Guild, said in a statement. “We are thankful that the city sees the value in this workforce and appreciate the Commissioner’s hard work to make DeliveryTLC a reality.”

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192258/nyc-tlc-uber-lyft-drivers-hire-work-delivery-pay

Tech

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Dieter Bohn

The right shape for big-screened, portable computers

Last week, Tom Warren argued that Apple finally admits Microsoft was right about tablets by adding trackpad support to the iPad. I knew he was working on this piece when I wrote last Thursday’s newsletter, so I didn’t want to step on his spot, but now that it’s out it has me thinking about the right shape for portable, big-screened computers. I largely agree with Tom’s points, but want to put special emphasis on where he ends: “Now that Apple and Microsoft are aligned on what a tablet can offer in terms of hardware, the battle between PC and iPad will shift toward what both do in software.” Pointing out that the iPad is about to work a lot more like a Surface isn’t about Nelson Ha Ha-ing Apple’s change. That’s fun for a day or two — but Tom knows, I know, and you know that the differences between the two are still quite real. The iPad is still working to emerge from its iPhone stage while the Surface is still working to leave its desktop legacy behind. You’re reading Processor, a newsletter about computers by Dieter Bohn. Dieter writes about consumer tech, software, and the most important news of the day from The Verge. This newsletter delivers “mostly daily,” which nets out three to four times a week, some of which include longer columns. You can subscribe to Processor and learn more about it here. Processor is also a YouTube series with the same goal: providing smart and surprising analysis with a bit of humor. Subscribe to all of The Verge’s great videos here! What I have been thinking about now that I’m working from home all the time (besides the obvious things like checking in with people I care about and seeing what I might do to help those who can’t work from home) is that there’s a fundamental rightness to the tablet plus keyboard deck with trackpad idea. And I’ll throw Chrome OS in that mix as well — many Chromebooks also have convertible form factors, though few have detachable keyboards. I don’t have a home office, so instead I’m picking different places in my apartment to work — and having a device that can conform to the space I’m in is a boon. Sometimes it’s at the kitchen table, sometimes a chair, the floor, the couch, the bed. It’s helpful for me to switch it up a bit, and computers that let me bounce between touching the screen or using a trackpad just feel like they fit better. In short, being able to remove, stow, or at least hide away the keyboard so you can just interact directly with the screen increasingly feels like an essential feature to me. As does having a trackpad for moving a cursor around the screen when you want to be in a more productive mode. It could be a detachable like the iPad and Surface, or a convertible like many Windows or Chrome OS laptops. This is no great revelation, but I’m just appreciating it more these days. And although my MacBook is the computer I’m still the most productive on, it’s the one that feels most out-of-step with the times. I don’t want to rehash the arguments about how touch doesn’t belong on the Mac, but I do think if you step back a bit you can see how they’re starting to feel like rationalizations for a shortcoming, not justifications for a choice. If you’re hoping to get a deal on new releases like Doom: Eternal for PS4 or Xbox One, your best bet right now is to take advantage of Target’s buy two, get one free promotion. Several games are included in the sale, like Control, Borderlands 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and more. As is usually the case with these promos, you’ll get the game of lesser value for free. Or, if you buy two games for $60 each, you can get a third fully-priced game for free. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy. Prices displayed are based on the MSRP at time of posting. ┏ The Verge Guide to Working at Home. ┏ Half-Life: Alyx is a satisfying return to City 17. Excellent review from Adi Robertson, which includes this incredible line: “Playing a great VR game is often like visiting a Michelin-star restaurant where the waiter continuously pokes you with a fork.” ┏ Subscribe to Home Screen: a newsletter to brighten your inbox. My friend TC Sottek is launching a newsletter: Today, I’m announcing my own little love letter to the internet: a new newsletter called Home Screen, which I’ll be sending out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It’s going to be filled with fun links, happy internet happenings, and other curiosities from the World Wide Web. It’s not quite Upworthy, but I do hope it will be uplifting — something to brighten our screens while we’re stuck at home. ┏ Disney is releasing Onward on digital platforms today, Disney Plus on April 3rd. ┏ Amazon is making dozens of kids’ shows, including Arthur, completely free. ┏ Google and YouTube launch new resources to help teachers and families educate students at home. ┏ Virtual F1 and NASCAR events are filling the gap left by canceled races. I love it so much when you see a story and are like “huh I wonder if that’s a thing” and it turns out to be a huge, deep, fascinating thing with lots of great stories to tell inside it. Sean O’Kane has some of them here: The race went off without much of a hitch. There were a few more wrecks than you’d find in the eNASCAR series. And yes, at one point (and while fighting for the lead, no less), Pike said Kligerman’s computer tried to force a Windows update, sending him straight into the wall. ┏ Fashion influencers are rethinking their curated aesthetics because they can’t leave their houses. Fascinating story from Ashley Carman. Do people still want to see cute outfits during a recession? How do you take a studio-quality photo when the only photographer available to you is your husband? What happens when you feel mentally and emotionally exhausted? The curated aesthetic people have railed against — which has defined much of Instagram up until now — might slowly disappear. ┏ Netflix will reduce its European network traffic by 25 percent to manage surge. ┏ YouTube joins Netflix in reducing video quality in Europe. ┏ Disney Plus and Facebook are also reducing streaming quality in Europe. ┏ Amazon and Apple are reducing streaming quality to lessen broadband strain in Europe. ┏ Apple CEO Tim Cook says the company is donating “millions” of masks to healthcare workers. ┏ Mark Zuckerberg’s philanthropy groups work to bring at least 1,000 coronavirus tests per day to Bay Area. ┏ Microsoft to prioritize cloud access for first responders and emergency services. ┏ Verizon gives all mobile customers 15GB of extra data during coronavirus pandemic. ┏ Amazon will help Seattle residents receive at-home COVID-19 testing. ┏ Snap rolling out ‘Here For You’ mental health tool early with focus on coronavirus. ┏ Dish is letting the major US carriers borrow spectrum during quarantine data crunch. ┏ New study aims to use health data from a smart ring to identify coronavirus symptoms. ┏ Amazon will help Seattle residents receive at-home COVID-19 testing.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192072/ipad-surface-macbook-touchscreen-processor

Apple

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Makena Kelly

How to put eyebrows on your villager in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the customization options appear endless. You can make your tools pink, change your bedsheets, and remix your villager’s style with fresh haircuts and clothes. But while dozens of animal villagers have rocked sets of eyebrows for years, the series’s developers have yet to include them as a default customization option for your own character. In the latest installment, the new face painting feature is filling that void. In order to create your own eyebrow pattern, you’ll need to open up the Custom Designs app on your NookPhone. Don’t worry if you’re not that far into the game; you won’t need to purchase the Design Pro upgrade for this. Once you’ve selected a space to save your pattern, use the paint bucket tool to make sure the background is transparent. That way, the only image that appears on your villager’s face will be the brows, not brows inside big, white rectangles. Then, you can dive right into designing them! I’ve included a simple arched brow design above as an example, but you can create just about any style in any color so long as you make sure your brow image is one or two pixels above the X-axis. Otherwise, it won’t sit properly on your villager’s face. The brow pattern can also double as an additional blush or freckle pattern by painting those images, as desired, a few pixels below the X-axis.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192441/animal-crossing-new-horizons-eyebrows-brows-freckles-blush-design-tool

Gaming

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Jay Peters

YouTube Music can now show lyrics on its iOS and Android apps

YouTube Music users can now read lyrics while listening to a song on the service’s iOS and Android apps, the company announced today. To see lyrics, when you’ve got a song open in the app, just tap the “i” button on the left side of the screen. The lyrics will then show up under the tracking bar for the song. Here’s what the lyrics screen looks like for me for Tame Impala’s “One More Year” on the YouTube Music iOS app: Apple Music and Spotify can also show lyrics while you’re playing a song, and on some songs, those services can advance lyrics forward in real time as the song is playing. Right now, all of YouTube Music’s lyrics are static, so you have to scroll down manually if you want to follow along with the track. It appears that not every song has lyrics. I looked for them on songs on two recently-released albums — Childish Gambino’s 3.15.20 and Jay Electronica’s A Written Testimony —and they weren’t there. YouTube tells The Verge that it gets updated lyrics from LyricFind on a daily basis, but it didn’t share a timeline for how long it might take to source lyrics for specific songs. Lyrics aren’t supported in YouTube Music’s web player right now, but YouTube says the feature is actively being worked on.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21193255/youtube-music-lyrics-ios-android-app

Entertainment

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Loren Grush

Europe turns off instruments on some deep-space probes during coronavirus pandemic

The European Space Agency is putting four of its space missions into “safe configurations” amid the novel coronavirus pandemic as the agency plans to reduce the number of people who can come into ESA’s primary mission control center in Germany. The instruments on these spacecraft will be turned off, and the vehicles will go “largely unattended” as they travel throughout the Solar System, according to ESA. “Our priority is the health of our workforce, and we will therefore reduce activity on some of our scientific missions, especially on interplanetary spacecraft, which currently require the highest number of personnel on site,” Rolf Densing, ESA’s director of operations, said in a statement. Of the missions going dark, two include vehicles orbiting Mars — the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and Mars Express — which both take measurements of the Red Planet’s atmosphere. A mission called Cluster is also going quiet, which includes four spacecraft currently in orbit around Earth that study how particles coming from the Sun interact with our planet’s magnetic field. ESA’s Solar Orbiter mission, which just launched in February to study the Sun’s poles, is also powering down its instruments. Most ESA employees have been working from home for the last two weeks, but the agency decided to heighten restrictions at its European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt, Germany, after an employee working there tested positive for COVID-19. Local, state, and national governments in Europe have also implemented tighter restrictions across the continent, which factored into ESA’s decision. The agency maintains that these spacecraft are all in stable orbits and will be safe while in these new configurations. “These probes are designed to safely sustain long periods with limited or no interaction with ground, required for instance for the periods they spend behind the Sun as seen from Earth, when no radio contact is possible for weeks,” Densing adds. “We are confident that with very limited and infrequent interactions with ground control the missions can safely remain in that operation mode for months, should the duration of the coronavirus mitigation measures require it.” In the meantime, the personnel who are still allowed at mission control will focus on maintaining ESA’s other spacecraft throughout the Solar System, including the BepiColombo vehicle on its way to Mercury. That spacecraft is scheduled to do a flyby of Earth in April, and ESA says only a “very small number of engineers” will be on hand to perform the maneuver. They’ll also be sure to maintain proper social distancing while in mission control. These aren’t the first European space missions to experience delays and setbacks because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The launch of ESA’s Rosalind Franklin Mars rover was delayed to 2022, in part because of travel restrictions that are being imposed throughout Europe. And launches out of Europe’s primary spaceport in French Guiana have been suspended indefinitely until the pandemic subsides.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21192288/european-space-agency-solar-orbiter-spacecraft-missions-instruments-safe-mode-coronavirus

Science

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Nick Statt

Telecoms are sneaking ‘stay home’ messages onto customers’ smartphones

Some mobile phone operators, including Vodafone and Orange S.A., have started inserting coronavirus-related public health suggestions to stay indoors onto customers’ smartphones in recent days, using the small snippet of text that typically accompanies the connection signal symbols in the top left of a phone screen. According to social media consultant Matt Navarra, who began posting and retweeting examples to his Twitter account on Tuesday afternoon, messages are appearing on the phones of customers in Germany, courtesy of UK-based telecom Vodafone. Mobile phone operators in Germany show a #stayhome message when users switch off WiFi #coronavirus ht Jannis Korner pic.twitter.com/IR197yCmvw According to a wave of replies to Navarra’s initial tweet, similar messages are showing up all over the world, too. Users have replied with screenshots of their own showing various versions of “stay home” in a number of different languages. That includes Romania (“Stamacasa”); Peru (“YoMeQuedoEnCasa”), Turkey (“EvdeKal”), and Indonesia (“DiRumahAja”). And people in Belgium, France, India, and Nigeria are reportedly seeing either English versions of the phrase or versions in a native language, depending on the telecom. The messages appear to show up in some markets only when you switch off Wi-Fi, as Nevarra said was the case in Germany. But that is not always a requirement to see the message, as you can see from the Peru example below: Peru also pic.twitter.com/FcfbwWk8QE Turkey Translation: There is a life at home pic.twitter.com/WfoT0i3QLY Indonesia too~Provider by Telkomsel.It means Just Stay at Home https://t.co/Cy88p8AZow pic.twitter.com/m5iA8EYvQE It’s not clear whether this is a concerted effort from multiple telecoms, or rather one company decided to take the lead and others have followed. But it’s an unprecedented use of the small but vital screen space telecoms do have control over to actual promote the a public health benefit that could save lives in the weeks and months to come.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21193308/telecoms-coronavirus-stay-home-message-sneaking-smartphones

Mobile

The Verge

2020-03-24 00:00:00

2020

3.0

24

Loren Grush

The true impact of SpaceX’s Starlink constellation on astronomy is coming into focus

Ever since SpaceX launched its first batch of internet-beaming satellites last year, astronomers have watched with dread as the company continued to blast more spacecraft into orbit. Could this ballooning constellation of bright satellites fill the night sky with artificial light and muck up observations of the Universe for years to come? Now, new data is partially validating what many astronomers have feared since that first launch. Up until now, people have been somewhat in the dark about the true impact of SpaceX’s internet-from-space project called Starlink, which envisions nearly 12,000 of these satellites orbiting Earth. SpaceX’s satellites are super bright compared to others, and astronomers have been worried that with so many luminous satellites in the sky, the odds of one passing in front of a telescope and obscuring an image will increase. It turns out, some astronomers have reason to be concerned. Certain types of astronomy may be more negatively affected than others, one peer-reviewed study shows, particularly those kinds that scour large swaths of the sky over long periods of time looking for faint, faraway objects. That means scientists looking for distant objects beyond Neptune — including the hunt for the mysterious Planet Nine — might have trouble when Starlink is complete. Additionally, Starlink may be much more visible during twilight hours, or the first few hours of the night, which could be a major problem in the hunt for massive asteroids headed toward Earth. “It depends on what science you’re doing, and that’s really what it comes down to,” Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at Harvard and spaceflight expert who wrote the study accepted by Astrophysical Journal Letters, tells The Verge. Meanwhile, scientists are also learning if SpaceX’s effort to mitigate the brightness of its satellites is actually going to work. The company coated one of its satellites in an attempt to make it appear less visible in the sky. Now, the first observations of that satellite are being published, and the coating is working — but it might not be enough to make everyone happy. “It doesn’t solve the issue,” Jeremy Tregloan-Reed, a researcher at the University of Antofagasta and lead author on the study, which is undergoing peer review at Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters, tells The Verge. “But it shows that SpaceX has taken on board astronomers’ concerns, and it does appear to be trying to solve the situation.” For astronomers, light is everything. Observing celestial objects in different wavelengths of light is the best method we have for exploring the Universe. That’s why adding artificial light to the sky freaks out so many scientists. Some astronomers take long-exposure images of the sky, gathering as much light as possible from distant objects — and when a bright satellite reflecting light from the Sun passes overhead, it can leave a long white streak that ruins the picture. Of course, the sky is a big canvas, and one tiny satellite isn’t going to be a major headache. A host of factors dictate exactly how and when satellites will be a problem. A satellite’s size, shape, height, and path around Earth all affect exactly how much light it reflects from the Sun and where people will see it the most. Meanwhile, the time of year and the time of night determine how much sunlight is shining on a satellite at any given moment. To figure out Starlink’s exact impression on the night, McDowell made a comprehensive simulation based on what we know about where all of the Starlink satellites are going. Ahead of launching its constellation, SpaceX had to file multiple requests with the Federal Communications Commission, detailing where the company planned to send all of its spacecraft. Using that information, McDowell came up with a snapshot of which areas will see the most satellites overhead and what times of night will be the worst for observations. In the more northern and southern latitudes, Starlink satellites will dominate the horizon during the first and last few hours of the night. In the summertime, it’ll be much worse, with hundreds of satellites visible for those in rural areas away from city light pollution. “Where I live in [Boston], I can see the planes hovering over Logan [Airport] on the horizon,” says McDowell. “That’s what it will look like, but it’ll be satellites and it’ll be a lot of them.” SpaceX declined to comment for this story. While people living in cities and towns won’t really notice, this spells bad news for those hunting really distant faint objects using long exposures. “The longer that you have the shutter open for, the more that you’re likely to have an observation impeded by one of these streaks that are quite bright,” Michele Bannister, a planetary astronomer at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand who helped McDowell with his research, tells The Verge. That means those hunting Planet Nine and objects at the edge of the Solar System have some cause for alarm. Additionally, asteroid hunters are going to be extra affected by this constellation, says McDowell. “They’re really hosed, because they need to look at twilight,” he says. Scientists looking for asteroids orbiting near Earth often look for these objects near the Sun; they observe just after sunset when they can see the part of the sky near the Sun that’s too bright to see during the day. “That’s where the problem with illuminated Starlink satellites is the worst,” he says. “Even from regular 30-degree latitude observatories, they’re going to have serious problems.” As for what that means for these astronomy fields, one obvious concern is that a potentially hazardous asteroid could go unnoticed until it’s too late to act appropriately. It’s also possible observers will have to take expensive countermeasures to get the kinds of images they want. “It may mean you have to observe twice as long, if you have to throw away half your data,” says McDowell. “So that’s expensive. Or you may need to make changes to your telescope design, to stop reflections from a satellite.” The silver lining here, at least, is that McDowell’s study found that Starlink may not really have a big effect on a lot of other astronomers’ work, especially those who only look at small slices of the night sky for certain periods of time. But his work does fly in the face of what SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said about Starlink and its astronomy repercussions. “I am confident that we will not cause any impact whatsoever in astronomical discoveries. Zero,” Musk said during a space conference at the beginning of March. “That’s my prediction. And we’ll take corrective action if it’s above zero.” Despite Musk’s brazen proclamation, the truth is SpaceX has already taken some corrective action, but new research shows it may not be enough to silence all of the company’s critics. On its third Starlink launch in January, SpaceX included a satellite that had been painted with an experimental coating, meant to darken the spacecraft’s reflectivity. Nicknamed DarkSat, the spacecraft has been of particular interest to amateur satellite trackers. Various observatories have taken images of DarkSat as it’s passed overhead to gauge just how much fainter it appears compared to its cohort. The answer, it seems, is that DarkSat is indeed darker but only slightly. Once it reached its final orbit, the satellite appeared 55 percent fainter compared to another bright Starlink satellite, according to Tregloan-Reed’s study. That’s based on the initial observations he made using a telescope at the Ckoirama Observatory in Chile. “The DarkSat coating does push the satellite beyond being able to be seen with the naked eye,” says Tregloan-Reed. These images which I shot yesterday evening, show 3 @SpaceX #starlink satellites, including STARLINK-1130 "DARKSAT", passing the same part of the sky in 10 min time.As can be seen, Starlink-1130 is clearly fainter due to its reflectance-reducing coating.@planet4589 @TSKelso pic.twitter.com/5lnBJJIo1S That’s a big reduction, but 55 percent may not be enough for some observatories. The Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile is still under construction, but it has the massive task of surveying the entire night sky. “It’s going to be able to give us the history of the Solar system in absolutely intricate and amazing detail,” says Bannister of the survey. “And I think that’s definitely something that is under threat.” People at the observatory have estimated that the Starlink satellites would need to be even fainter than DarkSat in order to truly stay out of the way and not saturate the images gathered. The good news is that SpaceX has hinted that more extreme countermeasures may be on their way. During its latest launch, a SpaceX employee noted that while the coated satellite showed “a notable reduction” in brightness, a future Starlink satellite may be equipped with a sunshade to further reduce reflectivity. “We have a couple other ideas that we think could reduce the reflectivity even further, the most promising being a sunshade that would operate in the same way as a patio umbrella, or a sun visor — but for the satellite,” Jessica Anderson, a lead manufacturing engineer at SpaceX, said during the live stream. Tregloan-Reed says he’s hopeful about some kind of shade. “If that was to work then in theory it would block out the sunlight completely,” he says. Still, that doesn’t solve every single astronomy problem because even a darkened satellite can still be a nuisance. Astronomers searching for planets beyond our Solar System, for instance, often take very sensitive measurements of distant stars, looking for dips in their brightness that might indicate a foreign planet passing by. If a satellite, even a dark one, were to pass in front of a star someone was observing, it could throw off the search for these alien worlds. No matter what, it seems that a giant constellation is going to have some kind of negative impact on someone — it can’t be helped. And looking at the big picture, SpaceX isn’t alone in its attempt to create a mega-constellation of satellites. The company just gets the most attention because it’s proposing the largest number of spacecraft, and its vehicles are big, bright, and lower in the sky compared to other proposed constellations. Others like OneWeb and Amazon want to also fill the sky with internet-beaming vehicles. Such a large influx of artificial bright spots is really the heart of the issue. “I understand the importance of Starlink; I can see the benefits of worldwide internet,” says Tregloan-Reed. “It’s just the sheer numbers that are worrying me.”

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/24/21190273/spacex-starlink-satellite-internet-constellation-astronomy-coating

Science

The Verge

2020-03-25 00:00:00

2020

3.0

25

Casey Newton

How location data could play a role in managing the coronavirus crisis

The Interface is a daily column and newsletter about the intersection of social media and democracy. Subscribe here. Last week, as coronavirus marched around the world, a growing number of governments began to explore the use of our cellphone data to monitor the outbreak. Using location data, Israel sent alerts to citizens believed to have been exposed to the virus ordering them to self-quarantine. In England, authorities analyzed anonymized data from telecom provider O2 to determine the extent to which the populace had implemented social distancing. And in the United States, Google discussed sharing location data with health authorities for similar purposes. In the days since, we’ve learned more about how location data has been deployed in the fight against COVID-19. Perhaps the most dramatic example to date is in Taiwan, where authorities have deployed an “electronic fence” around quarantined households — alerting police if citizens under quarantine leave the home or even turn off their phones. Here’s Yimou Lee in Reuters: Jyan said authorities will contact or visit those who trigger an alert within 15 minutes. Officials also call twice a day to ensure people don’t avoid tracking by leaving their phones at home. Privacy concerns have limited the use of location data for anti-coronavirus efforts in countries such as the United States. But the system has drawn few complaints in Taiwan, which has reported only reported 108 cases of the virus, compared with more than 80,900 in neighboring China. Among the system’s fans is Stratechery’s Ben Thompson, who notes that by implementing what Americans might typically think of as dystopian surveillance measures, Taiwanese citizens currently enjoy more freedoms than many Americans: Life here is normal. Kids are in school, restaurants are open, the grocery stores are well-stocked. I would be lying if I didn’t admit that the rather shocking assertions of government authority and surveillance that make this possible, all of which I would have decried a few months ago, feels pretty liberating even as it is troubling. We need to talk about this! Of course, the fear is that by enabling such surveillance during a crisis, you will forever ratchet down the amount of liberty Americans enjoy during normal times. Natasha Singer and Choe Sang-Hun explored this possibility in the New York Times in a piece on how different countries are using location data: “We could so easily end up in a situation where we empower local, state or federal government to take measures in response to this pandemic that fundamentally change the scope of American civil rights,” said Albert Fox Cahn, the executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, a nonprofit organization in Manhattan. As an example, he pointed to a law enacted by New York State this month that gives Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo unlimited authority to rule by executive order during state crises like pandemics and hurricanes. The law allows him to issue emergency response directives that could overrule any local regulations. And yet in the moment, I suspect many Americans would take emergency responsive directives from Cuomo over those from the president, who has (astonishingly) called for isolated Americans to return to work by Easter and continued today to make misleading comparisons between COVID-19 and the much less dangerous seasonal flu. Increasingly, calls for diminished civil liberties to confront the crisis are coming from unexpected places. Maciej Cegłowski, the developer behind bookmarking site Pinboard and, in his own words, “a privacy activist who has been riding a variety of high horses about the dangers of permanent, ubiquitous data collection since 2012,” is one that caught my attention. Ceglowski is a mordantly funny writer and a pointed critic of Big Tech data collection. (In one of my favorite of his pieces, he compares the long-term storage of user data favored by technology companies to toxic waste.) In a new piece on Monday, he argued for an Israeli-style alert system that uses mobile location data to enable contact tracing and order those likely exposed to COVID-19 to self-quarantine. Ceglowski writes: Of course, all of this would come at an enormous cost to our privacy. This is usually the point in an essay where I’d break out the old Ben Franklin quote: “those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither.” But this proposal doesn’t require us to give up any liberty that we didn’t already sacrifice long ago, on the altar of convenience. The terrifying surveillance infrastructure this project requires exists and is maintained in good working order in the hands of private industry, where it is entirely unregulated and is currently being used to try to sell people skin cream. Why not use it to save lives? He adds that this system might be better conceived as a public-private partnership, and argues that any such use of our data be limited to the current emergency. “I continue to believe that living in a surveillance society is incompatible in the long term with liberty,” Ceglowski writes. “But a prerequisite of liberty is physical safety. If temporarily conscripting surveillance capitalism as a public health measure offers us a way out of this crisis, then we should take it, and make full use of it.” In the meantime, surveillance capitalism continues to do its thing. In the Washington Post, Geoffrey Fowler rounds up a variety of existing corporate efforts to quantify our social distancing routines. Something called Unacast, for example, has posted a “social distancing scoreboard” that awards states and counties letter grades based on the amount by which citizens have decreased their travel compared to normal levels. This is not, strictly speaking, what social distancing means — you don’t have to travel far to get within 6 feet of someone and infect them — but it’s ... something. Anyway, how did they get this data? Fowler writes: Efforts to track public health during the coronavirus pandemic are a reminder of the many ways phones reveal our personal lives, both as individuals and in the aggregate. Unacast’s location data comes from games, shopping and utility apps that tens of millions of Americans have installed on their phones — information the company normally analyzes for retailers, real estate firms and marketers. It’s part of a shadowy world of location tracking that consumers often have little idea is going on. Honestly, most of these corporate efforts have a grasping-at-straws feel to them. The real technology we need to solve the crisis is the kind you find in scaled-up testing, personal protective equipment, and ventilators. And any technology solutions have to be accompanied by strong leadership from the federal government — the kind that has been in terrifyingly short supply lately. Still, I’m increasingly persuaded that location data could be part of a solution to emerge from the pandemic. I will be interested to see whether, in the weeks to follow, the tech giants come to agree. Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms. ⬆️Trending up: Twitter is donating $1 million to journalism nonprofits to support newsrooms covering the novel coronavirus. This is great to see. ⬇️ Trending down: Senior Chinese government officials are spreading disinformation about the origins of the novel coronavirus on Twitter. The company said the comments don’t violate its terms of service, which gives wide latitude to statements from government officials. India’s government has ordered its more than 1.3 billion citizens to remain on lockdown for three weeks in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus. No one will be allowed to leave their homes to socialize or work, except those doing essential services. (Pranav Dixit and Nishita Jha / BuzzFeed) India launched a WhatsApp chatbot to help spread awareness about the novel coronavirus. Now, Indian citizens can text a bot — called MyGov Corona Helpdesk — to get instant answers to their coronavirus questions. (Manish Singh / TechCrunch) More people are using Facebook products to connect with loved ones during the coronavirus pandemic. But the crisis is diminishing the company’s core revenue driver: advertising. (Issie Lapowsky / Protocol) It’s time to finally buy a Facebook Portal, argues the most vocal fan of the Facebook Portal. The gadget — which has sparked understandable privacy concerns — can make a lot of sense during a quarantine. (Katie Notopoulos / BuzzFeed) Coronavirus has revived Facebook as a news powerhouse. More than half of all news consumption on Facebook in the United States is about the novel coronavirus, and traffic from Facebook to other websites also increased by more than 50 percent last week from the week before. (At Nieman Lab, Joshua Benton argues that Facebook is just riding the same surge of coronavirus interest that every other media company is.) (Kevin Roose and Gabriel J.X. Dance / The New York Times) Instagram launched a new feature called Co-Watching to let you browse posts with your friends over in-app video chat. The feature is meant to help promote social distancing. (Nick Statt / The Verge) Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood performed in a Facebook Live concert Monday night that drew so many fans it crashed the site multiple times. The country couple drew 3.4 million viewers. (Marianne Garvey / CNN) Apple is expecting to start re-opening its retail stores in the first half of April. This might be too optimistic? Elsewhere, the company has extended remote work abilities for many employees through at least April 5th. (Mark Gurman / Bloomberg) Amazon is prioritizing Prime members as it struggles to meet customer demand. Non-Prime members trying to get nonessential items could see longer delays. Seems like the sort of thing Amazon ought to address in a regular briefing about its service, no? (Jay Greene / The Washington Post) Instacart is looking to hire 300,000 more workers to meet rising demand for grocery deliveries as millions of people are urged to stay home to limit the spread of coronavirus (Sara Ashley O’Brien / CNN) Twitter is withdrawing its revenue and operating income guidance for the first quarter of 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19. The company expects Q1 revenue to be down slightly on a year-over-year basis. I expect we’ll see a lot more of these advisories in the coming weeks. Hackers have taken over a wave of Twitter accounts to aggressively advertise a website that claims to be selling face masks and toilet paper during the coronavirus pandemic. (Joseph Cox / Vice) On behalf of researchers at Carnegie Mellon, Google started surveying people about whether or not they have flu-like symptoms. Researchers are using the information to help forecast the spread of coronavirus infections. (Paresh Dave / Reuters) Google struck a deal with Kenya to use its Loon balloons to broadcast high-speed internet to the country from the sky. (Bloomberg Law) YouTube announced it will reduce streaming quality for users around the world. The decision comes just one week after the company announced it was reducing streaming quality for users in Europe to help lessen broadband strain as more people stay home to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. (Julia Alexander / The Verge) Sony will slow down PlayStation game downloads in Europe to help preserve overall internet speeds. The change won’t materially affect multiplayer games, Sony said. (Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge) Snapchat’s location-sharing app, Zenly, is turning shelter-in-place mandates during the COVID-19 outbreak into a game. The app launched a Stay At Home challenge that shows a leaderboard of which friends have spent the most time in their homes over the last three days. Love it. (Josh Constine / TechCrunch) Hundreds of e-commerce sites are popping up to sell virus-fighting products. Over the past two months, Shopify has registered nearly 500 sites with names including “corona” or “covid.” Many are being shut down for making exaggerated claims. (Michael H. Keller and Taylor Lorenz / The New York Times) Medium — an open blogging platform — is rolling out new content guidelines to cope with COVID-19. These include giving the company license to take down posts which could potentially put readers’ health at risk. Good! (Medium) VidCon, an annual gathering of social media influencers and content creators, has been canceled this year in the US due to the ongoing spread of the coronavirus. The show was scheduled for June 17th through the 20th in Anaheim, California. (Ashley Carman / The Verge) Total cases in the United States: 44,183 Total deaths in the United States: 544 Cases reported in California: 2,494* Cases reported in Washington: 2,221 Cases reported in New York: 21,689 Information from the CDC. California data from the Los Angeles Times. ⭐Advocacy groups are calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to subsidize data plans for customers of Lifeline, a federal phone and internet service for low-income Americans. They’re arguing that limited connectivity now poses a health risk. Here are Issie Lapowsky and Andrea Peterson from Protocol: “If you didn’t have internet, would you really stay in your house?” said Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. “I think most people, if they’re being honest, would not.” The FCC already took some action related to the Lifeline program last week, when it waived recertification requirements for people already enrolled in the program for 60 days. A long list of providers have, meanwhile, pledged that for a 60-day period, they will waive late fees and won’t terminate service to people and businesses that can’t pay their bills because of coronavirus-related disruptions. FCC chairman Ajit Pai recently told Protocol that more changes could be on the horizon and that he is already pushing the private sector to extend their low-income offerings. ⭐Executives at large US corporations sold a total of roughly $9.2 billion in shares of their own companies between the start of February and the end of last week. The move allowed them to avoid potential losses due to the coronavirus pandemic. Here’s Susan Pulliam, Coulter Jones and Andrea Fuller at The Wall Street Journal: By far the largest executive seller was Amazon Chief Executive Jeffrey Bezos, who sold a total of $3.4 billion in Amazon shares in the first week of February, shortly before the stock market peaked, allowing him to avoid paper losses of roughly $317 million if he had held the stock through March 20, according to the Journal analysis. The sales represented roughly 3% of Mr. Bezos’s Amazon holdings, according to the most recently available regulatory filings. He sold almost as much stock during the first week in February as he sold during the previous 12 months. Facebook is looking to buy a multibillion-dollar stake in Reliance Jio, whose cut-price mobile internet service has attracted 370 million Indians in just three years. If it moves forward, the deal would give Facebook a key foothold in the Indian market. (Anjli Raval, Tim Bradshaw and Benjamin Parkin / Financial Times) Reddit rolled out a new post type called polls, which lets you ask questions and vote on pretty much anything. Polls can offer up to six answers, be kept open for up to a week, and subreddit moderators can turn them off if desired. (Jon Porter / The Verge) Stuff to occupy you online during the quarantine. Amazon is making dozens of kids’ shows on Prime completely free, including Arthur and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. Browse this satirical list of Slack channels for quarantined families. Look at all these famous places that don’t have any people in them right now. Watch all episodes of Star Trek: Picard, which have been made free to everyone. Watch every previous Wrestlemania for free on the WWE Network. (My personal choice, even though I am a paid subscriber.) Explore these free lesson plans for your kids in Minecraft. “Visit the International Space Station, tour landmarks in the Nation’s Capital, learn to code with a robot, explore marine biology and explore 3-D fractals,” writes Mike Snider in USA Today. Start a podcast with up to four other people using new features in Spotify’s Anchor app. I now understand why dogs get so excited when you say “do you want to go outside?” my professor told us we can’t eat while on zoom... how tf you gone tell me what i CAN’T do in my house You know what will revive the economy? Suppressing and containing the virus. That’s it. Send us tips, comments, questions, and your location data: [email protected] and [email protected].

https://www.theverge.com/interface/2020/3/25/21192629/coronavirus-surveillance-location-data-taiwan-israel-us-google

The Interface

The Verge

2020-03-25 00:00:00

2020

3.0

25

Chaim Gartenberg

Google Podcasts rolls out new design, launches on iOS

Google is starting to take its Podcasts app a bit more seriously today: the company is reportedly rolling out a more advanced design to Android users and launching the app on iOS for the first time (also featuring the new design), via Engadget. It’s a move that sets Google Podcasts up to better compete with more established podcast providers like Apple, Overcast, or Spotify. The new design, which 9to5Google spotted rolling out early over the weekend, adds numerous features to Google Podcasts, centered on the new three-tab interface. The main Home screen is now focused on shows you already subscribe to, offering a scrollable feed of new episodes with quick links to download, play, or queue up directly from the homepage. Discovery and recommendation features have been broken out into a new tab called “Explore,” while a third “Activity” feed lets you view and manage your current playback queue, listening history, downloads, and subscriptions. There’s also a feature that will automatically download new episodes of shows when they’re released, and support for notifications for new episode availability — critical features that other apps have offered for years. The new focus on algorithmic recommendation is a particularly big move for Google, given that it’s been one of Spotify’s biggest advantages (through its Your Daily Podcast playlist, which aims to replicate the success of the company’s popular Discovery Weekly recommendation playlist with podcasts as well as other algorithm-curated recommendations). That said, if there’s one thing Google is good at, it’s compiling a huge amount of data on its users to recommend them new things. It’s not just Android and iOS that are benefiting from the update; Google is also revamping Google Podcasts for Web with support for subscriptions, allowing users to sync listening progress across devices. It also gives Google a viable desktop platform to compete with companies like Apple and Spotify, which offer similar syncing features within their own native apps. The new Google Podcasts is available now on iOS and the web, with the Android update set to roll out this week. Correction: Google Podcasts is available now on iOS and the web, not tomorrow as this article originally stated.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/25/21192325/google-podcasts-update-design-android-ios-recommendations

Google

The Verge

2020-03-25 00:00:00

2020

3.0

25

Sam Byford

Living a Google-free life with a Huawei phone

Whether you believe that Huawei is a threat to national security in the West or not, the knock-on effects to its phone business are real. Google is barred from doing business with Huawei, meaning the Chinese giant is unable to obtain an Android license. And that means that until further notice, any new Huawei phone has to ship without Google apps and services. You don’t have to be the most hardcore Google fan in the world to see how this is likely a dealbreaker for most people. Heck, you don’t even have to be an Android user. Google’s services are so widespread and pervasive that if you really don’t use any of them on a regular basis, it’s probably because you’re actively avoiding them. And Huawei is charging very high prices for high-end smartphones that, at least officially, cannot run them at all. Partly out of personal curiosity and partly to put the P40 launch into better context, I decided to pick up Huawei’s most recent flagship phone, the Mate 30 Pro, and see if I could live with it for a while. (Huawei declined to provide a review unit upon its release.) The Mate 30 Pro is the company’s highest-end phone right now, running the same in-house Kirin 990 processor that will undoubtedly be in the P40. What’s it like inside Huawei’s walls today? The aggressively curved “waterfall” display is as striking as it was on the Vivo Nex 3, and I haven’t had any problem with accidental touch input. The back panel of the phone is gorgeous, transitioning from a rough matte finish at the bottom to a glossier feel at the top, with an even shinier ring circling the camera modules. And that camera setup is as good as any you’ll find in a phone, with excellent low-light capabilities, a 3x telephoto, and a unique 40-megapixel ultrawide. Huawei’s integration of hardware and software is on another level to most other Android phone makers. Other than Google, very few are offering a comparable 3D face-unlock system, and Huawei is doing it with a smaller notch than the iPhone — let alone the Pixel 4’s giant forehead. The Mate 30 Pro also has a neat solution to the lack of space for volume buttons afforded by the waterfall display: you just double-tap the edge of the phone and a slider pops up along the side. I think I prefer Vivo’s capacitive virtual rocker, since it’s easier to use without looking at the screen, but Huawei’s approach works well enough too. Overall, I would say that if hypothetically there were ever an incredible piece of smartphone hardware that you might be willing to deal with a little software inconvenience for, the Huawei Mate 30 Pro would have as good a case as anything else on the planet. But let’s just say you’d really, really, have to want it. A smartphone UI isn’t much use without apps, of course, and here is where Huawei hits its first hurdle. Huawei has its own store called AppGallery, which it claims is the third largest in the world based on its more than 400 million monthly active users. The vast majority of those users will be in China, of course, where the Google Play Store has never been included alongside AppGallery. If you buy a Mate 30 Pro now anywhere in the world, though, AppGallery is what you get out of the box. To be blunt, it is not great. I wouldn’t call it barren — there is support from major US companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Snap. You can’t get Chrome, of course, but Opera is there if you want something with desktop sync. But a huge amount of its content is aimed at China, with other big Western names like Facebook, Slack, Netflix, and Twitter missing, which puts the Mate 30 Pro in a more precarious app situation than even the diciest days of Windows Phone. Huawei has announced a $1 billion plan to help stock AppGallery’s shelves, but it has its work cut out. That said, AppGallery isn’t the only native way to get apps. Huawei offers a tool called Phone Clone as part of the Mate 30 Pro’s setup process, and it’s kind of neat. You’ll need to download Phone Clone from the Play Store on another Android phone with the apps you want to send over; then, the two phones pair and establish a fast local Wi-Fi connection. You can’t transfer core Google apps this way, but most other third-party software should work fine. In a matter of minutes, I had almost everything I was missing from AppGallery. My Japanese dictionary, NBA League Pass, Twitter, Pokémon Go, Instagram, Apple Music, The Athletic, Slack… all things that I use on my phone basically every day, and all things that I’d need to have access to on any phone I’d ever seriously consider buying. It even sent over a few random Google apps like YouTube Music and Lens. Phone Clone is the difference between the Mate 30 Pro being completely unusable and a somewhat viable option. But it’s not a panacea. For one thing, it’s obviously impractical to expect most people to keep around another phone to download Play Store apps and then transfer them whenever they need something new. You won’t get regular updates this way, either. Phone Clone also doesn’t solve the lack of Google services. You can bookmark Google search in a browser, of course, and Huawei’s built-in email app works with Gmail accounts, but good luck working in Docs or doing anything across the ecosystem. In my personal situation, I wouldn’t be able to use this as a day-to-day work phone because our company operates on G Suite. The ubiquity of GMS is a big reason why alternative app stores have trouble taking off on Android phones, at least outside China. Since Android phone manufacturers have little choice but to license Google services because of the popularity of Google apps, third-party developers can use Google’s extensive tools to build their software safe in the knowledge it’ll be supported by virtually every Android phone. Take Amazon’s Appstore for Android, for example. Despite Amazon’s giant stature and the popularity of its Kindle tablets — the Fire phone, not so much — many developers have held off from adding their apps to the store. Even though Amazon hardware runs a forked version of Android that should theoretically run almost any Play Store app natively, anyone who built their app with GMS would have to find or develop alternative back-end services to get it to run on a device without Google licensing. (Incidentally, the Amazon Appstore is worth installing on the Mate 30 Pro. It isn’t as well-stocked as the Play Store, but it’s still a better option than AppGallery for Western audiences — you can at least get things like Facebook and Twitter without resorting to Phone Clone, and the apps will receive updates.) Perhaps the starkest indicator of the problems facing Huawei in this regard is mapping. The Mate 30 Pro straight-up does not ship with a maps app that anyone outside China would be able to use. The best options in AppGallery, as far as I can tell, are both Russian-developed: there’s Yandex Maps, which conveniently seems to stop its coverage right at the boundary of my neighborhood, and the functional but pretty limited Maps.me, which is based on OpenStreetMap. I tried to use Yahoo Japan’s excellent Japanese map app through Phone Clone, but its reliance on GMS makes it completely unusable. It’s not impossible for advanced users to sideload GMS onto the Mate 30 Pro and install the Play Store. That is something that Huawei actually pointed to itself when the phone first shipped, though any mention of the option has since been removed from the company’s website and Google itself has taken steps to stop the practice. It wouldn’t be something I could recommend anyone attempt as a serious option, in any case, since there are security risks involved and you can’t rely on updates. The lack of the Play Store on the Mate 30 Pro isn’t necessarily as bad as it sounds, but it should suffice to say that until the situation changes, you really shouldn’t buy a Huawei phone if you need Google services. Huawei is working on plugging the GMS gap. The company is building out its own software platform and tools for developers, collectively called Huawei Mobile Services, and it’s announced a partnership with TomTom to produce its own mapping app, which can’t come soon enough. The question, as with every platform that has attempted to take on Google in the past decade-plus, is whether developers will consider it worth their time to adapt their work for the new store. And if nobody is buying Huawei phones, the answer will probably be no.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/25/21193639/huawei-mate-30-google-apps-services-appgallery-p40-preview

Google

The Verge

2020-03-25 00:00:00

2020

3.0

25

Russell Brandom

Relaxing isolation rules won’t help the economy, say economists

As the COVID-19 pandemic stretches into its second month and shows no signs of slowing, President Donald Trump has pushed to relax the restrictions on travel and movement that are, right now, the best hope for controlling the disease. “We have to get our country back to work,” Trump said in a town hall at noon on Tuesday. “This cure is worse than the problem. Many people — in my opinion, more people — are going to die if we allow this to continue. Our people have to go back to work.” He named Easter Sunday, April 12th, as a potential end date for the restrictions since “you’ll have packed churches all over our country.” But there’s a problem with trying to restart the economy by relaxing containment restrictions: economists say it won’t work. The new coronavirus is spreading through the US, and several states have made emergency declarations. The World Health Organization has declared it a pandemic. Here are the basics: The economy can’t recover until the pandemic is under control, says Maurice Obstfeld, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund. “Before we restart economic activity, we have to stabilize the level of infections,” Obstfeld tells The Verge. If we move too soon, he worries we would see a new surge in infections, “causing even more damage to the economy than if we confronted the health crisis decisively now.” In recent days, conservative media has increasingly promoted the idea that the containment restrictions are doing more harm than good. In a Fox News interview on Monday, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick seemed to call for a broad repeal of restrictions, regardless of the human cost. “My message is, let’s get back to work,” Patrick told Tucker Carlson. “Let’s get back to living. Let’s be smart about it. And those of us who are 70-plus [years old], we’ll take care of ourselves. But don’t sacrifice the country.” Former Fox host Glenn Beck put it in even starker terms. “I would rather have my children stay home and all of us who are over 50 go in,” Beck told his audience on Tuesday night. “Even if we all get sick, I would rather die than kill the country.” As those pundits frame it, the recent economic collapse is caused by public health restrictions rather than the coronavirus itself, and loosening those restrictions could potentially lessen the damage. But the economists studying the recession see a return to normal activity as likely to cause yet more economic damage. Given the exponential growth of the disease, University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers says it is cheaper to stop the spread today than it will be tomorrow. “The relevant choice is whether to take dramatic actions today when the number of cases is measured in the tens of thousands,” he says, “or whether to take even more dramatic actions in the future when the number of cases is measured in the hundreds of thousands, or in the millions.” The number of confirmed US cases is rising by roughly 38 percent each day, on pace to reach into the hundreds of thousands by the end of the week, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. Deaths have been rising at a slower rate, around 23 percent per day, suggesting some of the rise in case count may be the result of accelerated testing. Still, any relaxation of social distancing would likely cause those numbers to spike, with devastating consequences for both public health and economic activity. As a result, even skeptical economists are recommending a measured response rather than a return to the status quo. Harvard economist James Stock, who is a member of the National Bureau of Economic Research, said he believed that the public health response had underplayed the ongoing economic crisis. “I think the right framing is, how can we most efficiently reduce the spread of the virus while allowing some economic activity,” Stock told The Verge. Still, more testing is required before meaningful recovery measures could be put in place. “Random testing of the population is badly needed to understand prevalence and the asymptomatic rate.” Countries like South Korea have been able to get the outbreak under control by testing the population broadly — whether or not people had symptoms — and then isolating those who tested positive. But the US still faces a massive shortage of test kits, which means that doctors can’t even test every patient with symptoms. Without more tests, it will be hard to get a handle on who is at risk of transmitting the disease — and hard to relax restrictions without driving up infections. It’s unclear how the White House plans to proceed. In a press conference on Tuesday at 5:30PM ET, the president continued to reference the Easter goal but seemed to lower expectations for an end to social distancing. “I’m hopeful to have Americans working again by that beautiful Easter day,” Trump said, “but rest assured that every decision we make will be grounded in the health, safety, and well-being of Americans.” In the meantime, experts say the economic crisis will be hard to separate from the public health problem. “My worry is that right now, we have the worst of both worlds: a stalled economy and an ineffective public health response to the pandemic,” Obstfeld says. “The answer is not simply to pretend we can go back to business as usual.”

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/25/21193670/trump-easter-coronavirus-isolation-relax-rules-economy-social-distancing

Policy

The Verge