Today, Facebook launched a new “Messenger Coronavirus Community Hub,” which so far basically just explains how people, communities and businesses can use Messenger to stay connected during the coronavirus pandemic. If you already use Messenger, this isn’t going to introduce any groundbreaking ideas or features. Instead, the hub will provide tips like how parents and educators, for example, can host virtual playdates or use voice and video calls to check in on students and colleagues.

Most countries in Europe have introduced confinement measures to slow the spread of COVID-19. That means folks working at home or kids taking classes via teleconferencing will be using bandwidth-hungry services like Skype or Zoom. As such, EU industry czar Thierry Breton has asked streaming platforms to reduce video quality in order to keep the internet running smoothly. Breton personally spoke to both Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, according to Reuters.

Yesterday, Netflix became the first major streaming platform to reduce video stream bitrates. Over the next 30 days, it has promised to reduce its footprint by around 25 percent by “reducing bit rates across all our streams in Europe,” the company told Engadget.

Meanwhile, France has asked Disney to delay the launch of Disney+ to ease infrastructure loads, possibly because kids stuck at home might binge on that content. In the UK, operator BT noted that many more folks are working from home due to the pandemic, so daytime traffic has increased up to 60 percent. However, it’s still “only around half the average evening peak, and nowhere near the 17.5 Tb/s we have proved the network can handle,” the company wrote.

YouTube has also launched a dedicated hub on its home page to promote “authoritative content” to users. ” We want everyone to have access to authoritative content during this trying time,” it tweeted.

The technology industry is working closely together in coordination with government healthcare agencies around the world on COVID-19 response efforts. Read our full statement. pic.twitter.com/Xn0fhyJLXm

— Google Public Policy (@googlepubpolicy) March 17, 2020

Conspiracy theories and fearmongering are dangerous at any time, but during a pandemic, they can be fatal. Multiple coronavirus hoax videos have already gone viral, including one calling the virus a Chinese bioweapon and another stating that 5G radiation somehow caused the pandemic. YouTube’s effort is part of a promise made by multiple tech giants, including Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter, to quash misinformation and promote credible content during the pandemic.

So far in France, I’ve yet to see the reduced video speeds or the hub, but I expect they should come along soon. You should be able to see the dedicated hub in the US by now, though.

Thanks to an automatic software update rolling out this week, the Lenovo Smart Clock will allow natural conversations with Google Assistant. If you opt into this setting, you’ll be able to have continued conversations without having to say “Hey Google” before every question. Lenovo previously worked with Nest cameras, but now it works with most other Assistant-compatible cameras as well. And the dual-purpose screen will display your Google Photos.

The changes make the Lenovo Smart Clock a more capable smart home hub, but they don’t impact the price. It’s now available for $59.99 in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Australia and Japan. That’s significantly less than other hubs, like the Echo Spot and Nest Hub, which sell for $130.

The hub supports 100W power delivery to handle monitors and other particularly demanding peripherals. You’ll also have USB-C and USB-A connectors to connect devices new and old, not to mention HDMI output for video up to 4K at 30 frames per second. Even the case is resilient, with IP68 dust and water resistance as well as an aluminum “wave” design that improves grip and reduces scratches.

Sony will sell the MRW-S3 sometime in the fall alongside new SF-M Tough SD cards (in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB capacities) that can take advantage of the hub’s speeds. The tech giant hasn’t provided a price, but that might not be an obstacle. If you own a high-end mirrorless or DSLR camera that can seriously tax the fastest card readers, the price of the USB hub will seem trivial by comparison.