[ad_1] According to Comcast, hundreds of thousands of non-Xfinity customers have taken advantage of the free hotspots. Last month, Senators Cory Booker, Kamala Harris and Ron Wyden urged Comcast to make all of its WiFi hotspots (including Xfinity customers’ routers) open to students who don’t have internet access at home. In response to Engadget’s inquiry […]
Category: covid-19
Microsoft built Japan’s contact-tracing app using Apple and Google tech
[ad_1] The app — known in Japan as COCOA (COVID-19 Contact-Confirming Application) — uses Bluetooth to collect data when it comes into one-meter contact of another device for more than 15 minutes. If a person subsequently tells the app they have tested positive for COVID-19, it will scan two weeks’ worth of contact data and […]
Walmart tests a cashierless store to prevent coronavirus spread
[ad_1] Walmart — which is America’s biggest source of employment — is cutting cashiers from one of its stores. The company’s Fayetteville, Arkansas location is removing not just its clerks, but also its checkout line conveyor belts, according to a local Fox affiliate. Walmart says that this is a strategy to limit human interaction, but […]
NBA restart plan includes using Oura rings to catch COVID-19 symptoms
[ad_1] While the NBA continues to move toward restarting its season with players and other personnel isolated at Walt Disney World in Orlando, details of how it hopes to manage the people on site are leaking out. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the specifics were laid out in an informational memo dubbed “Life […]
Amazon hopes AI will help enforce social distancing at its warehouses
[ad_1] The company says it has deployed the technology in a handful of its facilities, with plans to roll out “hundreds” of more units “over the next few weeks.” It says employees like “getting immediate visual feedback,” but didn’t provide data that shows how effective the measure is at preventing the spread of the coronavirus. […]
EU sets framework for contact tracing apps that work across borders
[ad_1] “As we approach the travel season, it is important to ensure that Europeans can use the app from their own country wherever they are travelling in the EU,” Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton said in a press release. According to the EU Commission, the information will be shared in a way that prevents […]
Germany’s voluntary contract tracing app is available to download
[ad_1] According to the Associated Press, the government spent €20 million (approximately $22.5 million) funding the development of the app. Moving forward, it expects to spend another €2.5 million to €3.5 million per month operating the software. As in other countries, the app is meant to complement conventional contract tracing efforts wherein medical professionals reach out […]
New York AG asks Google and Apple to vet third-party COVID-19 contact tracing apps
[ad_1] “As businesses open back up and Americans venture outdoors, technology can be an invaluable tool in helping us battle the coronavirus… But some companies may seek to take advantage of consumers and use personal information to advertise, mine data, and unethically profit off this pandemic. Both Apple and Google can be invaluable partners in […]
Germany’s COVID-19 contact tracing app arrives this week
[ad_1] The country faces similar challenges, too. Contact tracing apps generally require large-scale adoption to be truly effective, and that doesn’t always happen — Singapore is considering tracing devices for every resident after relatively low uptake of its app. And while Germany’s system makes data theft and abuse more difficult, there are lingering concerns about […]
Microsoft restores custom Xbox gamerpic uploads after three months
[ad_1] The strain on gaming services might be easing now that pandemic lockdowns are easing in some parts of the world. Windows Central notes that Microsoft has restored custom Xbox Live gamerpic uploads nearly three months after disabling the feature to reduce the workload for moderators. We’ve asked Microsoft for comment, but it’s safe to […]