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Apple is reportedly aware of flaky Personal Hotspots in iOS 13

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We’ve asked Apple for comment. The document suggests that you can temporarily work around the issue by switching the Personal Hotspot off and on again, but that’s not much consolation if you know it’ll just happen again.

The language suggests that Apple is working on a fix. However, it’s not certain if iOS 13.4 and its corresponding iPadOS update will take care of the Personal Hotspot problem on March 24th. If not, you may have to sit tight until a proper solution is in place.

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Netflix’s CG ‘Ghost in the Shell’ series premieres April 23rd

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An experienced team is there, at lest. Ghost in the Shell series veteran Kenji Kamiyama is directing alongside Shinji Aramaki of Evangelion and Ultraman, while the original cast from the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is back. If you can get past the art style, it might be an entertaining diversion from the chaos of the real world.

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Huawei P40 Pro may feature 50X zoom, custom photography chip

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Obviously, that’s not as much zoom as you can get on the S20 Ultra. But considering the 100x Space Zoom feature on Samsung’s flagship doesn’t deliver great results, it’s probably not a big deal.

In the display cutout toward the top left corner of its 6.58-inch screen, the P40 Pro will include a 32-megapixel front-facing camera and depth sensor. In theory, the added depth sensor should allow the P40 Pro to render a more realistic and eye-catching depth of field effect when you use portrait mode to take a selfie.

Agarwal says the phone will also include a component called the Huawei XD Fusion Engine. While we don’t know too many details about this feature, it seems likely it will function a lot like Google’s Pixel Visual Core. That is, it will probably reduce the time it takes for the phone to compile HDR photos and enhance various other aspects of its photography capabilities.

Internally, both the P40 Pro and P40 will reportedly feature the company’s Kirin 990 processor. We detailed the 990 when Huawei announced the chip at IFA Berlin this past September. It’s interesting in that it features an integrated 5G modem that isn’t compatible with mmWave frequencies. As such, we won’t see the kind of speed tests that the S20 has been able to put up in ideal conditions.

Agarwal didn’t say how much RAM the P40 Pro will include, nor did he mention anything about potential storage configurations. So we don’t have a full picture of the phone’s performance capabilities. That said, he does note it will include a 4,200mAh battery. Both the S20+ and S20 Ultra feature larger batteries.

Where the P40 Pro may feature an edge over Samsung’s latest phones is support for 40W wireless fast charging. To be clear, Agarwal notes he’s not certain here. But if accurate, it will be interesting to see how that feature affects the long-term health of the P40 Pro’s battery.

Huawei P40

As you might expect, the P40 is a less exciting version of its more capable sibling. Agarwal claims it will feature a 6.1-inch display and a triple camera array made up of 50-megapixel, 16-megapixel and 8-megapixel sensors. Notably, the phone’s zoom feature will top out at 30x. It will also feature a smaller 3,800mAh battery and won’t have the depth sensors of its more expensive sibling. That said, it will still feature the P40 Pro’s XD Fusion Engine.

The two phones may also include a workaround for the lack of Google apps. XDA Developers recently found evidence the company is working on an app that will point people to websites where they can download APKs of apps that aren’t available on the company’s AppGallery.

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Oprah debuts free Apple TV+ series discussing COVID-19

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If you want to explore the societal impact of the coronavirus pandemic, you might just have to fire up a stream in your living room. Oprah Winfrey has launched a free Apple TV+ series, Oprah Talks COVID-19, that has her talking to “experts and everyday people” about how people can deal with the virus while maintaining their humanity. There are two episodes at present, including a chat with Idris Elba (who tested positive for COVID-19) and his wife Sabrina Dhowre as well as a spirituality-focused discussion with Pastor Wintley Phipps.

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Amazon stops taking orders for some non-essentials in France and Italy

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The move reflected a spike in demand from people staying at home, according to Amazon. It also reflected a need to respect anti-coronavirus safety precautions, the company said. The restrictions only affect sales fulfilled through Amazon. You can still buy non-essentials through Amazon in France and Italy if they’re fulfilled through third parties.

This is an escalation for Amazon, which just days earlier restricted supply deliveries to its US and European warehouses. Now, the company is outright limiting customers’ options. Not that it necessarily had much choice. Coronavirus infection rates have been disproportionately high in France and Italy, prompting effective lockdowns. If Amazon and other online retailers can’t cope with the volume of orders, daily life in affected countries could suffer.

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Best Buy, GameStop limit stores to curbside pickup

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GameStop’s move is unsurprisingly simpler given the products it sells: you’re limited to conventional curbside pickup and online deliveries.

In both cases, the stores are taking better care of employes. Staff won’t have to work if they aren’t “comfortable” with coming in, and those who’ve lost their working hours will receive two weeks’ pay based on a 10-week average. GameStop is also reimbursing benefit-eligible staff with a month of the employee portion of their benefit expenses.

The retail chains don’t have much choice. Even in states that don’t have shelter-in-place orders, officials are urging the public to stay at home as much as possible and reduce the spread of the coronavirus. That’s having a chilling effect on sales in general, let alone on retail. There’s also a question of public perception. GameStop in particular has been accused of knowingly putting employees’ lives at risk by remaining open, to the point where it was prepared to defy law enforcement. If they didn’t close their stores to walk-ins, they risked alienating many of their would-be customers.

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Facebook and Instagram lower video quality in Europe

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The decision isn’t surprising. While video-first services like Netflix, Prime Video and YouTube are clearly major contributors to data traffic congestion, the sheer audience sizes of Facebook and Instagram (Facebook had 288 million daily users in Europe as of summer 2019) could cause additional strain if those users are more active than usual. Many users are turning to video chat to keep in touch with people they’d otherwise meet in person, for instance. While this is unpleasant news if you’re a social media fan, it might help people work from home and otherwise get the internet services they expect.

“To help alleviate any potential network congestion, we will temporarily reduce bit rates for videos on Facebook and Instagram in Europe. We are committed to working with our partners to manage any bandwidth constraints during this period of heavy demand, while also ensuring people are able to remain connected using Facebook apps and services during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

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Apple’s Siri helps Americans wondering if they have COVID-19

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The company didn’t elaborate on the questionnaire when asked by CNBC. In other countries, you’ll typically be directed toward national health resources instead.

Apple has launched multiple efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, including over $15 million in donations and contributing face masks. This, however, may be the most conspicuous — anyone with an Apple device can quickly determine if they should be concerned or just have an ordinary illness.



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After Math: We’re not ready for the new normal

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Not even NASCAR is taking chances with the health of its athletes and fans. The racing league announced last week that it will replace its marathon-length live events with 90-minute competitions with its marquee racers competing in “simulation-style” esports contests. This is the Rugby 7s of motorsports and we’re here for it.

The FIFA 2020 season, like the rest of sports, has been canceled. But that hasn’t stopped football fans from watching their heroes compete on a virtual pitch. More than 60,000 people tuned in to switch last week to watch Borja Iglesias for Real Betis and Sergio Reguilon for Sevilla compete head to head in lieu of their canceled derby.

Only one of America’s top five late-night talk show hosts has the courage, conviction, and wherewithal to keep filming their series in the plague era. And that host is Conan O’Brien who will be coming to America’s living rooms via his living room (and a Skype connection) in the coming weeks.

Given our newfound reliance on take-out and delivery orders, it would have been easy for DoorDash to continue enforcing its predatory 30 percent per order commissions. But the situation is so dire these days that the company has announced that it will forego up to $100 million in revenue over the next 30 days in order to give local restaurants a financial break. Such largesse.

I can’t think of a more clear-cut sign as to the seriousness of the coronavius outbreak than the fact that Apple unveiled its brand new $1000 MacBook Air model boasting a 12-hour battery life and i3 (upgradeable to i7) Intel chipsets last week and barely anybody even noticed.

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Lyft will deliver food and medical supplies during the coronavirus crisis

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At the moment, the initiative includes three parts. To start, the company’s drivers will deliver medical supplies and test kits to the elderly, people with chronic diseases and other vulnerable individuals. They will also transport food to seniors, as well as students who depend on their school for lunch. Lyft says it plans to pilot the food project first in the San Francisco Bay Area, before making it available throughout California and the rest of the country. In both instances, the company’s drivers will deliver items without coming into contact with the people who they’re delivering supplies to.

Lastly, the company has partnered with eight Medicaid agencies to provide non-emergency transportation to people who need help getting to their medical appointments. It says it’s working with states across the country to expand access.

In addition to the above efforts, Reuters reports co-founders John Zimmer and Logan Green will through to the end of June donate their salaries to help the company’s drivers. They say they will also find them other temporary work opportunities.

At the start of the month, both Uber and Lyft said they would provide employees with 14 days of paid sick leave to drivers who were either infected by the coronavirus or quarantined by a public health agency. According to a tracker from The New York Times, COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, has killed 266 people in the US. There are currently more than 21,000 confirmed cases across the country.

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