Minggu, 15 Maret 2020

After Math: How COVID-19 is already clobbering 2020 - Engadget

Welp, we had a good run, America. While every other developed nation on the planet scrambles to defend itself against the deadly spread of COVID-19, the US had to be dragged into fielding a response. This year everything is cancelled. Schools have been shuttered, universities have migrated to online classes, and group gatherings larger than a couple hundred people are being postponed. Major league sports might be back sometime next year, workers are being asked to work from home and engage in social distancing to help slow the coronavirus' spread. Oh, you think it's a hoax? Then how do you explain all of this week's headlines about the coronavirus?

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US wireless carriers pledge to suspend cancellations amid outbreak

In a stunning display of just how easily their most draconian business practices can be done away with on a whim, the nation's major telecom carriers (including the Big Four) announced last week that for the next 60 days, would not cancel service or enforce late fees for customers who cannot pay their bills due to the outbreak. It's going to be pandemonium when they try to reinforce these rules.

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Google is building a website to coordinate coronavirus testing in the US

If you happened to watch the president's second swing at addressing the coronavirus outbreak on Friday afternoon, I'm sorry but that's time you simply won't ever get back. But on the plus side, we did get a glimpse of the Google-built testing site locator that some 1700 engineers are reportedly working on. There is however, no timetable as to when the site will be fully operational, which seems like the more important detail.

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Grab an Xbox One X bundle for $250 at B&H

Yes, granted, the XBox One X will soon be obsolete but for roughly a third the cost of an upcoming PS5 you can land a current gen system and enough games to get you through the next few weeks of quarantine.

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Grubhub waives fees for independent restaurants impacted by COVID-19

Even as people shut themselves away from the world, they've still gotta eat. And with cities like NYC forcibly reducing dine-in service by up to 50 percent, much of that demand will be handled by take-out and delivery services. GrubHub normally takes up to 30 percent of an order's total from the restaurant as a commission. However the company announced last week that it is temporarily suspending those charges until we get a handle on this outbreak.

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'The Oprah Show' was secretly a great podcast all along

Look, there's a very good chance you, and most other Americans are about to be stuck in our collective apartments for the next 2 to 6 weeks. Don't let the cabin fever get to you. Instead, tune in to this growing archive of Oprah's favorite episodes from her long-running, award-winning daytime talk show.

In this article: After Math, Aftermath, Apple itunes, column, covid-19, delivery, Google, grubhub, medicine, Oprah, podcasts, tomorrow, Xbox One X

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2020-03-15 15:36:26Z
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These stores are closing or changing hours due to coronavirus - SF Gate

Members of staff stand outside of the Apple Store informing people of their closure, on Regent Street, London, Saturday, March 14, 2020. Tech giant Apple is closing its stores outside of China for two weeks and will only sell online as part of efforts to fight the global viral pandemic. “In our workplaces and communities, we must do all we can to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” CEO Tim Cook tweeted Saturday. “Apple will be temporarily closing all stores outside of Greater China until March 27 and committing $15M to help with worldwide recovery." For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some, it can cause more severe illness, especially in older adults and people with existing health problems. (Rick Findler/PA via AP) less

Members of staff stand outside of the Apple Store informing people of their closure, on Regent Street, London, Saturday, March 14, 2020. Tech giant Apple is closing its stores outside of China for two weeks and ... more
Photo: Rick Findler, AP

Photo: Rick Findler, AP

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Members of staff stand outside of the Apple Store informing people of their closure, on Regent Street, London, Saturday, March 14, 2020. Tech giant Apple is closing its stores outside of China for two weeks and will only sell online as part of efforts to fight the global viral pandemic. “In our workplaces and communities, we must do all we can to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” CEO Tim Cook tweeted Saturday. “Apple will be temporarily closing all stores outside of Greater China until March 27 and committing $15M to help with worldwide recovery." For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some, it can cause more severe illness, especially in older adults and people with existing health problems. (Rick Findler/PA via AP) less

Photo: Rick Findler, AP

As quarantine orders and bans on large gatherings descend on communities across the globe, some retailers are curtailing hours or closing altogether during the coronavirus pandemic.

Due to fears of spreading COVID-19, all of Apple's retail locations outside of Greater China are closed until March 27. Apple has over 500 stores around the world; dozens of stores in China have already reopened as the virus begins to subside there.

"In our workplaces and communities, we must do all we can to prevent the spread of COVID-19," CEO Tim Cook tweeted Saturday. "Apple will be temporarily closing all stores outside of Greater China until March 27 and committing $15M to help with worldwide recovery."

Here are how other retailers are responding to coronavirus concerns:

— Walmart stores and Neighborhood Markets are indefinitely changing hours to 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. "This will help ensure associates are able to stock the products our customers are looking for and to perform cleaning and sanitizing," said a statement from the company. Stores that already have hours that fall within 6-to-11 will not alter hours.

— T-Mobile's indoor mall locations are closed starting Monday.

— Patagonia has already closed all stores and is currently no longer accepting online orders either.

— Urban Outfitters is closing all stores globally until March 28. Anthropologie, owned by Urban Outfitters, is also closed.

— Lululemon is canceling yoga classes. Stores will reduce hours to noon to 6 p.m. in North America starting Monday.

— Starting March 16, Nike is closing all stores in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. They will remain closed until March 27.

— A number of regional grocery store chains that usually have late-night or 24-hour availability are closing earlier to give employees more time to restock. To see those modified hours, check out the USA Today story here.

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:

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2020-03-15 15:29:47Z
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These carry-on bags (almost) turned my twins’ airplane seats into beds - The Verge

My husband and I have flown with our twin sons since they were infants. I’ve breastfed them next to a couple of middle-aged men who were on their way to a golf vacation. They’ve slept cradled in our arms, across our laps, and against our chests, La-Z-Boy style, as we’ve crisscrossed the country. Whatever the position, I’m not sure any of us were ever really comfortable — especially those two golfers.

For our most recent trip, however — a flight from our home in Denver to DC for my cousin’s wedding — we tested the JetKids by Stokke’s BedBox, a kid-sized rideable carry-on that converts an economy-class seat into a makeshift bed. Even though my boys — now three and a half — were too long to lay down comfortably to sleep in their extended seat, when one felt sleepy, the extension gave him extra room for his legs while he laid his head in my lap. There was an unexpected bonus, too: with their “beds,” our kids were less likely to lose their toys in the black abyss of the airplane carpet and, more importantly, less likely to play on that same germy ground. On our return flight, I couldn’t set the beds up fast enough for the boys after we took off. I also realized that, had we splurged for economy plus, the increased pitch would have given the boys the little extra room they’d need to curl up on their own. Even though they sat up most of the way home, they didn’t want me to put the BedBox away. They were too happy for the extra play space.

Jetkids by Stokke BedBox

I just wish we would have had these when the boys were younger because I imagine any kid under two would fall asleep immediately on one. Online reviews have said as much, and the Stokke website has collected plenty of real-world pictures of cute kids, big and small, either stretched out or curled up, asleep or comfortably relaxing in their own personal lounge chair. But what most people seem to love about the BedBox, is how much fun their kids have riding it.

That was definitely the case for our twins. They tend to whine when we walk anywhere that doesn’t lead to a playground, but after straddling their bags in the parking lot at the airport, the only sounds they made were cries of delight as my husband and I each grabbed a pull strap and led them on what turned out to be a half-mile walk to our terminal. We got endless smiles from strangers and brand-name requests from parents and flight attendants. And we got contented silence from the boys, even as we stood to check-in, in bagel lines, or along moving sidewalks. The wheels are fast and smooth (and have their own suspension!), which made pulling easy. The only real issue is the lack of brakes. The BedBoxes tend to speed down ramps at a pace the boys loved a lot more than their parents did.

My only complaint is durability. To turn the suitcase into a bed, you remove the top, flip it, and put it back on the suitcase with the open end up. It looks like a cute little bulldozer with its scooped blade held high. The top has two sliding plastic panels — one to extend the seat and hold the mattress, the other to cover a small storage area for toys and snacks. But the first time I tried to set them up — trial runs at our home before heading to the airport — whenever I would flip over the top, one of the plastic panels clattered to the floor. When I tried to replace it, I broke the ends of the tiny, flimsy rails meant to keep them in place. The bed still worked, but picking up those panels was an extra step I would have been happy to avoid.

Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy.

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2020-03-15 13:18:42Z
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'Dreams' creators can apply to sell their work beyond the PS4 - Engadget

The PS4 title Dreams is a surprisingly powerful creative tool for both hobbyist game creators and artists, and Media Molecule wants to ensure at least some of those people are rewarded for their talent. The studio has launched a beta evaluation program that will let creators sell their work "off PlayStation" -- say, to produce a music video or poster. You own the rights to your original creations in Dreams, Media Molecule said, and the company wants to "make it easier" for you to profit from that work.

You aren't guaranteed to get in. The beta is only open to Early Access members "in good standing" with a body of work, and Media Molecule will want to know what you're planning, when you hope to finish it and whether or not you're willing to provide feedback.

This could still be a big deal even under those current limitations. If it leads to a widely available program, you may have an incentive to use Dreams even if gaming is the last thing on your mind. While you probably won't base a whole business around console software like this, it could provide a new avenue for art that was previously too difficult (or just time-consuming) to make from scratch.

Via: Eurogamer

Source: Dreams

Coverage: Abbie Heppe (Twitter)

In this article: art, av, business, dreams, games, gaming, licensing, media molecule, ps4, video games

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2020-03-15 08:19:52Z
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'Dreams' creators can apply to sell their work beyond the PS4 - Engadget

Via: Eurogamer

Source: Dreams

Coverage: Abbie Heppe (Twitter)

In this article: art, av, business, dreams, games, gaming, licensing, media molecule, ps4, video games

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Sabtu, 14 Maret 2020

Windows 10's built-in Linux kernel will be available to everyone soon - Engadget

You won't have to be a tester to try Windows 10's new, built-in Linux kernel in the near future. Microsoft has confirmed that Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 will be widely available when Windows 10 version 2004 arrives. You'll have to install it manually for a "few months" until an update adds automatic installs and updates, but that's a small price to pay if you want Linux and Windows to coexist in peace and harmony. It'll be easier to set up, at least -- the kernel will now be delivered through Windows Update instead of forcing you to install an entire Windows image.

WSL2's focus isn't so much on basic functionality (there's been an emulator for a while) as it is performance. It should load and run faster, with reduced memory consumption to free up your RAM for other tasks. This prioritization isn't completely surprising. Now that Microsoft is less dependent on Windows sales and more on services like Azure, it benefits when it treats Linux like a first-class citizen. Still, it's clear Microsoft has come a long, long way from the days when it was waging war on Linux and otherwise trying to hold on to its monopoly in computing.

Via: Craig Loewen (Twitter)

Source: Windows Command Line

In this article: gear, kernel, linux, microsoft, open source, operating system, personal computing, personalcomputing, software, windows, windows 10, Windows Subsystem for Linux, wsl2

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2020-03-14 19:07:53Z
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Windows 10's built-in Linux kernel will be available to everyone soon - Engadget

Via: Craig Loewen (Twitter)

Source: Windows Command Line

In this article: gear, kernel, linux, microsoft, open source, operating system, personal computing, personalcomputing, software, windows, windows 10, Windows Subsystem for Linux, wsl2

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