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How the Apple-Google coronavirus contact tracing tech will protect your privacy

Posted on April 14, 2020April 14, 2020 by Authcom

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Apple and Google have devised a cross-platform application to help with coronavirus contact tracing. The app will not track users and will not share any identifying information.
The app will eventually be built into iOS and Android and will rely on Bluetooth to help users monitor their risk of having come in contact with a person that was later diagnosed with COVID-19.
President Trump said in recent remarks that the system may pose unspecified “constitutional problems.”
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Apple and Google a few days ago announced a massive partnership to set up the technology required to improve contact tracing practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. South Korea is an example where a coronavirus containment campaign focused on aggressive testing and contact tracing works. Health officials focused on testing as many people as possible to find COVID-19 patients and potential carriers. They simultaneously tried to discover all the other people they may have come in contact with. At the time of this writing, South Korea had 10,564 COVID-19 cases and just 222 deaths. Only 2,808 cases are still active. Considering how fast COVID-19 can be transmitted, performing contact tracing without any tech assistance is futile and won’t work, especially during the peak of the outbreak. But contact tracing might play a vital role soon, as social distancing restrictions are eased, and life returns to some sort of normalcy. That’s because the virus won’t disappear without a vaccine, and outbreaks could still reoccur in the future.

What Apple and Google are proposing is a system that could warn people if they get into the proximity of a person who’s been diagnosed with COVID-19. And the entire process is supposed to be anonymous. The two companies won’t collect any user data, and participation will be voluntary.

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How the Apple-Google coronavirus contact tracing tech will protect your privacy originally appeared on BGR.com on Tue, 14 Apr 2020 at 07:31:32 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Galaxy S20 trade-in deal is better than ever for older iPhone, Pixel and Galaxy phones

Posted on April 14, 2020April 14, 2020 by Authcom

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Samsung has quietly updated its Galaxy S20 trade-in deal, and it’s now offering more money for older devices.
Handsets launch last year, like the iPhone 11, Pixel 4, and Galaxy Note 10, are less valuable than before.
All older iPhone, Pixel, and Galaxy handsets that can be traded-in for a Galaxy S20 will net buyers $100 more than before.
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The worst thing about the Galaxy S20 is its sky-high price. Samsung somehow believed that 5G connectivity alone would warrant that $999 price tag, which is what you have to pay for the cheapest Galaxy S20 version before any promotions are applied. The novel coronavirus pandemic has further hurt Galaxy S20 sales, as new smartphones aren’t exactly a priority in the current health crisis. In the past few weeks, Samsung cut the Galaxy S20 price, at least on Amazon, and released a brand new promotion, a 50% price guarantee that ensures you’ll receive half of your money back if you bring back the Galaxy S20 in good working condition in the next 24 months. That’s on top of other deals and promos that are available from Samsung and its partners. And Samsung just made another move to increase Galaxy S20 sales. It’s not offering more money for your old phone than before, but less if you trade-in a newer handset.

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Galaxy S20 trade-in deal is better than ever for older iPhone, Pixel and Galaxy phones originally appeared on BGR.com on Tue, 14 Apr 2020 at 06:50:43 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASA’s new Mars rover has ridiculous vision

Posted on April 14, 2020April 14, 2020 by Authcom

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NASA’s Perseverance rover is equipped with a suite of imaging tools that will help it navigate and study the landscape of Mars.
A total of five visual instruments are installed on the rover’s head, each with a role to play.
The Mars 2020 mission is still slated to launch this summer, despite the coronavirus pandemic.
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When NASA launches the Mars Perseverance rover to the Red Planet this summer it will be the most technologically advanced piece of equipment the space agency has ever sent there. It’s an incredible machine from top to bottom, and to make sure it always knows where it’s going, it’s been equipped with a whole suite of glassy eyes.

As the mission team continues to prepare for launch day, the rover’s various systems are getting a lot of attention. Ensuring that things will work as intended when Perseverance lands on Mars means checking and then rechecking every single component. In a new blog post, NASA explains how the rover’s array of cameras just passed a very important “eye test.”

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NASA’s new Mars rover has ridiculous vision originally appeared on BGR.com on Mon, 13 Apr 2020 at 23:18:36 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How the next Apple Watch might help save coronavirus patients

Posted on April 13, 2020April 13, 2020 by Authcom

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Novel coronavirus complications include severe shortness of breath that might have to be treated with oxygen therapy and a ventilator.
Patients who experience mild symptoms will be instructed to stay at home until their condition worsens, but they would require pulse oximeters to measure the blood-oxygen saturation.
The Apple Watch Series 6 is rumored to feature a blood-oxygen sensor, which could help save the lives of COVID-19 patients, as well as those with other life-threatening medical conditions.
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The novel coronavirus disease is seemingly at or near its peak in many countries. After that, life will return to some degree of normalcy, although we’ll have to keep our defenses up at least until a vaccine is widely available. Social distancing measures might ease, but we’ll still have to keep washing our hands often, wearing masks, and avoiding crowds. The coronavirus can’t be eradicated just yet, and outbreaks are still possible.

Some expect a second big coronavirus wave in the fall, but the next time around, authorities won’t be caught by surprise. And by the time the next major COVID-19 epidemic happens or any new illness caused by cousins of these coronaviruses arises, we may have a new weapon at our disposal: The Apple Watch Series 6.

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How the next Apple Watch might help save coronavirus patients originally appeared on BGR.com on Mon, 13 Apr 2020 at 22:15:42 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hubble spies distant galaxy bursting with baby stars

Posted on April 13, 2020April 13, 2020 by Authcom

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Hubble snapped a gorgeous image of a distant galaxy called NGC 2906.
NGC 2906 has an abundance of massive young stars that shine brightly as they burn through their fuel.
The galaxy is a whopping 145 million light-years from Earth.
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NASA and the ESA’s Hubble Space Telescope is one of the most trusty tools in astronomy. It’s been surveying the skies for nearly three decades now, beaming back some truly glorious images of the cosmos. One of its latest targets is a large spiral galaxy known as NGC 2906 which sits roughly 145 million light-years from Earth, but even at that incredible distance, Hubble can see some of the galaxy’s glorious details.

In the photo above we are treated to a variety of colors, from the orange central region and bold white core to the brilliant blue dots and smears surrounding the outer edges. Each of these colors represents something, and astronomers can get a good idea of what a galaxy is made of simply by seeing the colors it is displaying from afar.

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Hubble spies distant galaxy bursting with baby stars originally appeared on BGR.com on Mon, 13 Apr 2020 at 21:12:01 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The wild reason why coronavirus stimulus money is being delayed

Posted on April 13, 2020April 13, 2020 by Authcom

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Increased unemployment assistance as part of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, the coronavirus-related stimulus package, that Congress passed last month is being held up from distribution in some states around the country.
Aging computer infrastructure built around COBOL, a 60-year-old programming language that few programmers today still know how to work with, is responsible for the delay.
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Here’s the latest in what’s become a long string of examples of how the response to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak has been a patchwork of efforts between federal, state, and local agencies that sometimes overlap, are sometimes redundant, and other times reveal stunning ineffectiveness.

Regarding the latter, there’s a wild reason why some recipients of unemployment checks — who stand to receive more money from than usual, thanks to the $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package Congress passed in late March — have yet to receive their payments. And it has to do with the fact that the computer systems supporting some state unemployment programs run on COBOL, a computer programming language that’s 60 years old.

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The wild reason why coronavirus stimulus money is being delayed originally appeared on BGR.com on Mon, 13 Apr 2020 at 20:09:49 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASA’s asteroid probe is rehearsing for its most dangerous move yet

Posted on April 13, 2020April 13, 2020 by Authcom

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NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid probe is about to perform its most daring maneuver yet.
In a rehearsal for the sample-gathering act planned for later this year, the spacecraft will carry out an exercise that will bring it closer to the asteroid Bennu than ever before.
If all goes well, NASA is planning on snatching a sample of Bennu’s material in August.
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NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid probe has been hanging out around the massive space rock known as Bennu since late 2018. Since it arrived, it’s spent a lot of time examining the asteroid and sending back gorgeous images of its surface. Its observations of the asteroid have helped NASA plan for what will ultimately be the most important objective of the entire mission: Obtaining a sample of asteroid material and then returning it to Earth.

Now, with the planned date of its first-ever sample-gathering attempt fast approaching, the OSIRIS-REx team is preparing to send the probe on a dry run. It’s a rehearsal of sorts to ensure that the probe follows all the commands and does so safely. It’s also one of the most dangerous things the spacecraft will have done since arriving at Bennu.

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Here’s why Google’s Pixel 4a will be dead on arrival

Posted on April 13, 2020April 13, 2020 by Authcom

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Google is expected to launch a budget Pixel 4a in the coming weeks, a phone that will feature mid-range specs and will cost $399.
Apple’s upcoming iPhone SE is also rumored to retail for $399, but the new iPhone will pack iPhone 11 specs inside the body of an iPhone 8.
Apple’s new handset will offer much better performance and build quality than Google’s budget phone, making the choice between them a no-brainer.
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Google will soon launch a new Pixel phone with a much better design and price tag than the Pixel 4. But no matter how great the Pixel 4a looks compared to the pricier Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL, the $399 phone will make a few huge compromises, just like its predecessor. Plus, this time around, Google has an iPhone to compete with.

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AMC Theaters will likely file for bankruptcy due to the coronavirus

Posted on April 13, 2020April 13, 2020 by Authcom

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AMC Theaters may file for bankruptcy on account of the coronavirus.
AMC Theaters have been closed since mid-March and may remain closed well into June.
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The impact of the coronavirus on the U.S. economy has been nothing short of disastrous. Most businesses have been forced to close up shop and millions of people across the country have been left unable to earn a paycheck. In turn, it’s not surprising that unemployment figures in the U.S. have reached levels we’ve never seen before. Consider this: over the course of three weeks — from late March through early April — an estimated 17 million Americans filed for unemployment. To put that figure into context, that represents 10% of the U.S. workforce.

While some businesses — like restaurants, for instance — have been able to remain open and generate cash via takeout and delivery orders, others have been permanently closed for weeks. Movie theater chains in particular have been hit extremely hard by the coronavirus. With that said, it’s perhaps no surprise that AMC Entertainment — which is the largest movie chain in the country — is actively exploring filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

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AMC Theaters will likely file for bankruptcy due to the coronavirus originally appeared on BGR.com on Mon, 13 Apr 2020 at 17:34:09 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Poll: Roughly 1 in 3 Americans think the coronavirus was made in a lab

Posted on April 13, 2020April 13, 2020 by Authcom

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Where did the coronavirus come from? A new Pew poll finds that roughly 1 in 3 Americans think it doesn’t have a natural origin — that, in fact, it was created in a lab.
Infectious disease experts, however, say the most likely origin is that the virus is naturally occurring and made the species jump itself from animals to humans.
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As the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak has spread, so, too, has misinformation about the deadly virus thrived online — partly as a function of the knowledge gap, since so little about the virus was known at the outset.

This is the reason, for example, for a spate of attacks on 5G infrastructure in places like the UK, where a conspiracy theory that 5G is somehow linked to the virus has thrived. And in spite of explanations from infectious disease experts that point to a natural origin, almost 30% of Americans who responded to a new Pew poll said they think the virus was manmade and originated in a lab. Breaking that number down even more, almost a fourth of respondents to this Pew Research Center survey conducted from March 10 to 16 said they think the virus was developed intentionally in a lab, while 6% think it was accidentally created in a lab.

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Poll: Roughly 1 in 3 Americans think the coronavirus was made in a lab originally appeared on BGR.com on Mon, 13 Apr 2020 at 17:03:27 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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