Covid 19

The automated contact-tracing system deployed by Google and Apple that was aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 has been, in no uncertain terms, a complete failure. The basic system’s effectiveness has been called into question continuously. The apps built on the system have been, frankly, useless — that is, in regions where apps were built at all. And now 10 months after the announcement that was supposed to be pivotal in our fight to stop the spread, we have exactly zero evidence that shows it was helpful in the slightest. Trending in Mobile: What is 5G? 5G Network Coverage Map A flawed system The system itself, on a technical level, is the root of the problem. In an effort to provide something that could be used universally, while also protecting users’ privacy, Google and Apple came up with a system that was doomed to be useless. It didn’t use GPS or cell tower triangulation, which I appreciate from a privacy standpoint, but that means it relied on Bluetooth … [Read more...] about Contact-tracing apps were the biggest tech failure of the COVID-19 pandemic

Gigabyte recently told its partners that California’s struggle to respond to the COVID-19 crisis has caused shipment delays, CRN reported Thursday, because there simply aren’t enough workers in key ports to unload its products from shipping containers. CRN said the disclosure arrived via a presentation called “2021 Q1 Supply Chain Review” that “bears the Aorus name.” Gigabyte uses that branding for a variety of components, peripherals, and pre-built systems made specifically for PC gaming. The presentation reportedly claimed products from 15 containers that arrived in the Los Angeles port in early December still hadn‘t been moved along the supply chain. Similar issues were said to have affected shipping containers sent to Long Beach. CRN said that Gigabyte cited a Los Angeles Times report from January which claimed that “nearly 700 dockworkers at the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have contracted COVID-19” and that “hundreds more are taking virus-related … [Read more...] about Gigabyte Reportedly Blames Delayed Shipments on COVID-19 Spikes in CA

Fry’s Electronics today announced that after nearly 36 years it’s going out of business “as a result of changes in the retail industry and the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.” The company has already closed its 31 brick-and-mortar stores and replaced its online store with a letter to customers explaining how it plans to move forward. The letter said Fry’s was implementing “an orderly wind down process” in an effort to “reduce costs, avoid additional liabilities, minimize the impact on our customers, vendors, landlords and associates, and maximize the value of the Company’s assets for its creditors and other stakeholders.” That process officially started today. Fry’s also said it’s “in the process of reaching out to its customers with repairs and consignment vendors to help them understand what this will mean for them and the proposed next steps.” Customers and consignment vendors were given two email addresses and a phone number to use if they need to contact Fry’s … [Read more...] about Fry’s Electronics Closes Its Doors After COVID-19 Changes the Retail Business

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a real — and justified — concern that there weren’t enough face masks in circulation. Companies quickly sprang into action, manufacturing millions of these now instantly recognizable bits of protective gear. Jump forward to the first months of 2021, however, and people now have another concern: That we might have too many face masks, and that this could pose a potential environmental problem. “The current COVID-19 pandemic is responsible for creating too much rubbish,” Jie Li , a professor in the school of engineering at Australia’s RMIT University, told Digital Trends. “The single-use disposable face masks can be seen in parks, streets, beaches, and almost everywhere. Since the masks are mainly made of nonbiodegradable plastics, these single-use masks will take as long as 450 years to break down in the environment. Urgent action is needed to address the emerging issues related to face mask generation.” But RMIT University … [Read more...] about The best way to dispose of used face masks? Turn them into roads

Ford says it will delay the launch of its autonomous-vehicle services because of disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. It means the company’s self-driving taxi and delivery services, using technology from partner Argo A.I., will not arrive until 2022, a year later than originally planned. The auto giant announced the decision during a call discussing its quarterly earnings on Tuesday, April 28. Ford elaborated on its decision in a message to TechCrunch following the call, saying that in light of the challenges presented by the pandemic, it needs to “evaluate the long-term impact of COVID-19 on customer behaviors.” It added: “Understanding customer behavior is a critically important part of building a new mobility service built around trust and making people’s lives easier.” In other words, Ford now wants more time to research if and how the pandemic changes the way people interact with autonomous vehicles. It could be, for example, that there’s an uptick in demand … [Read more...] about Ford delays the launch of its robocar services by a year