Saturday, March 21, 2020

TPS Consulting Daily


TECHNOLOGY AND MORE!

SoundCloud links up with Twitch so creators can earn from livestreams

60Engadget / 1h
By gaining Affiliate status, they'll be able to earn revenue from the performances they stream on Twitch.
Under this partnership, all SoundCloud Pro, SoundCloud Premier and Repost by SoundCloud creators will get their Twitch Affiliate status fast-tracked.

Free broadband calls resisted by UK internet providers

40TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 1h
The UK's leading internet service providers (ISPs) have rejected calls to provide free connections as the country deals wit the coronavirus outbreak.
Teachers have also claimed that free connections would help deal with the shutdown affecting the UK's schools and universities.

Discover your ancestral history just in time for National DNA Day

Mashable / 18min
Get ahead of the game with this deal on Living DNA's Full Ancestry Kits and see just how unique your individual history is.
Living DNA dubs itself the most detailed ancestry test in the world, with results for over 150 regions, going back 500 years.


iD Mobile has matched Smarty's spectacular flexible unlimited data SIM only deal

HMD Connect Smarty SIM20TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 17min
Just like Smarty, iD Mobile offers flexibility in the form of 1-month rolling contracts so you can leave at any time.
For anyone with a fear of committing to a long term subscription, Smarty was the obvious go-to SIM provider, blending its 1-month rolling plans with some of the best value packages around.

This AWS and Microsoft Azure online training makes for a great distraction

Mashable / 18min
Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure are currently the most popular cloud services on the market, and this Complete 2020 Cloud Certification Training Bundle can teach you how to use these platforms to increase business efficiency, growth, and income.
TL;DR: As of March 21, you can take an extra 40% off The Complete 2020 Cloud Certification Training Bundle , making it just $23.99.

Learn how to code with Python during your newfound downtime

Mashable / 18min
And getting started is as easy as signing up for this Absolute Python Programming Certification Bundle .
It starts with a three-hour course made for total coding beginners.

20 weekend deals on cleaning supplies for every inch of your home

Mashable / 18min
The POWERbot R9350 was designed to clean hard floors or carpets with its CycloneForce technology that delivers unparalleled suction power.
Equipped with a powerful 5,700 RPM motor, the Everybot RS500 can eliminate dirt and dust on your tables, windows, and floors.

10 essential comedies about families of color you can stream right now

Mashable / 18min
When black-ish debuted in 2014, not since the early days of Modern Family had there been such joy in watching a nuclear unit stumble through the ins and outs of daily life.
If you want to spend time with a truly modern and model American family, look no further than Jane the Virgin 's central trio of women and the love they spread everywhere.

The clock is ticking on this Disney+ deal

Mashable / 2h
TL;DR: A 12-month subscription to Disney+ is available to pre-order for £49.99, saving you £10 on list price. Listen, we know you have more important things to worry about, but the deadline for the Disney+ pre-order deal is fast approaching. An annual subscription of Disney+ is available to pre-order for £49.99 if you sign up before March 24. Standard pricing at launch is confirmed at £59.99, so
YESTERDAY

Stream and shop securely with a VPN

Mashable / 3h
TL;DR: A one-year subscription to Ivacy VPN is on sale for £2.97 per month, saving you 65% on list price.
We're all browsing, shopping, and streaming our way through this situation, and the need for digital security has never been greater.

AMD and Intel have a formidable new foe but you’ll never guess who it is

60TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 4h
Graviton2 was tested against two other cloud computing resources offered by Amazon Web Services: the m5a (AMD EPYC 7571) and m5n (Intel Xeon Platinum 8259CL Cascade Lake).
Amazon is Annapurna Labs' only customer, which means the processor is extremely fine-tuned for AWS workloads.

Haven't Grabbed Your Apple Store Pickup Yet? You're Screwed Until Further Notice

Apple iPhone 2020 IpadGizmodo / 4h
Though all Apple retail locations outside of China technically closed on March 14 in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic , the company provided customers with a two-day window to collect in-store pickups or any devices previously left for repairs.
Apple reached out to customers by phone and email to encourage them to grab their devices within that two-day window, a company spokesperson told Business Insider .

Color Space is a VR coloring book to help you relax

91Engadget / 5h
Let's face it: with the COVID-19 pandemic creating chaos, you're probably looking for something, anything to shut out the outside world and help you relax. Thankfully, you might have an option if you happen to have an Oculus VR headset. Lighthaus has released a Color Space coloring book app for the Quest and Rift that has you bringing a dull gray scene to life while you're inside. The more you co

Twitter will verify more health experts to fight coronavirus misinformation

83Engadget / 6h
In a series of tweets, the company said it's verified "hundreds" of accounts, and explained steps academics and others who work for public health organizations or academic institutions can take in order to ensure their accounts can be verified.
"We are working with global public health authorities to identify experts and have already Verified hundreds of accounts," the company tweeted.

Native Instruments' $50 retro synth plug-in is currently free

100+Engadget / 7h
Software companies often try to digitally recreate those synths as affordable plug-ins, though, and to keep musicians busy while they're locked inside, Native Instruments has made its Analog Dreams software -- which usually costs $50 -- free to download.
First, they need to download and install the company's Native Access management tool, followed by its free Kontakt Player plug-in.

Coronavirus: The school of Mum and Dad

400+BBC News - Technology / 8h
If your school already puts work online, using Google Classroom or similar software, it is likely that this will continue.
Mr Smith, a maths teacher for 34 years, has some simple advice for parents who may not have access to online resources or even laptops or tables.

GM and Ventec Life Systems partner to ramp up production of ventilators

200+TechCrunch / 8h
GM said Friday that it is working with Ventec Life Systems to help increase production of respiratory care products such as ventilators that are needed by a growing number of hospitals as the COVID-19 pandemics spreads throughout the U.S.
GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said in a statement that GM is working closely with Ventec to rapidly scale up production.

Google Assistant Now Sings You Through the Proper Way to Wash Your Hands

200+Gizmodo / 8h
Saying “Hey Google, help me wash my hands” now triggers Google Assistant to play an instructional song to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” for 40 seconds, which is the minimum duration recommended by WHO to truly get all that microscopic crud off your hands.
As part of a collab with the World Health Organization, Google announced a new Assistant command Friday to walk (or, rather, sing) users through one of the most basic yet crucial defenses against spreading potentially fatal contagions: washing your hands.

Jalopnik Chrysler Built Hemi Engines With A Major Engineering Defect And I May Try To Profit From It | Jezebel The Week...

40Lifehacker / 8h
Jalopnik Chrysler Built Hemi Engines With A Major Engineering Defect And I May Try To Profit From It | Jezebel The Week the Dream Sank | The Root We're Just Not Built for This (and It's Fine to Admit That) | The A.V. Club Watch a short documentary about the time Johnny Carson caused a toilet paper shortage | Read more...

'Sonic the Hedgehog' movie gets an early digital release on March 31st

500+Engadget / 8h
You'll be able to watch Sonic the Hedgehog at home a lot earlier than you'd expect. The video game movie is getting a digital release on March 31st, just a bit over a month after it hit theaters and a month-and-a-half before it's available in physical format. Paramount didn't explain the reason behind its early release, but movie studios have been making their films available earlier than usual i
Also in
The Unofficial Apple...
Download Squad +1 sources

Apple TV+ joins Netflix in reducing European streaming quality

Apple Europe Netflix93Mashable / 8h
9to5Mac reported that European customers are seeing resolutions "as low as 670 pixels tall" — a far cry from the service's oft-touted 4K .
"I'm Italian and I was watching 'Truth' on the Apple TV 4K and it seemed to me in SD but I didn't want to believe it," reads one such tweet .

WHO taps WhatsApp to share accurate COVID-19 info via new chatbot

WHO WhatsApp CovidSlashGear / 8h
To receive updates on #COVID19 from WHO add this number— +41 79 893 18 92 to your contacts and send a @WhatsApp message.
The World Health Organization is combating this fake news by launching its own chatbot called WHO Health Alert to spread accurate, timely information.

‘Zoombombing’: When Video Conferences Go Wrong

Zoom One Skype Video300+NYT > Technology / 9h
They are jumping into public Zoom calls and using the platform’s screen-sharing feature to project graphic content to unwitting conference participants, forcing hosts to shut down their events.
On Zoom, there is a default setting that allows any meeting participant to share their screen without permission from an event’s host.

The Week the Dream Sank

300+Lifehacker / 9h
Like my husband, service workers across the Bay Area are experiencing mass layoffs, as restaurants frequented by affluent tech workers shutter their doors per county-wide lockdown edicts.
Many of his friends who work around San Francisco as chefs have been told by management that the layoffs are “indefinite.”

Six Ways to Organize Your At-Home Work Space

20Gizmodo / 9h
Ok look, if you’re used to working from home, you probably have a desk or a designated space to get shit done.
With everything going on right now, it’s hard to achieve a semi-sense of normalcy, especially if you’re used to working in an office.

Tesla partner Panasonic is shutting down its operations at Nevada gigafactory

Tesla Musk Fremont200+TechCrunch / 9h
The Panasonic factory in Sparks, Nevada will begin ramping down operations early next week and will then close for 14 days.
Panasonic is pulling its 3,500 employees from the massive Nevada factory it operates with partner Tesla over concerns about the spread of COVID-19.

Netflix $100m relief fund will help cast and crew hit by coronavirus

Netflix $100M ReliefSlashGear / 9h
Netflix has announced a new $100 million relief fund that is intended to help the cast and crew of movie and TV show productions that have been grounded as a result of the coronavirus outbreaks. According to Netflix, most of the funds will go toward those who were working on its own originals, particularly the workers who have been most severely impacted by the loss of work. Nearly every movie an

The Game Developers Conference Is Now Scheduled for Summer

100+Wired / 9h
GameStop, the country's most prominent videogame retailer, is working hard to remain open during Covid-19, apparently regardless of the toll that could have on their employees or overall public health.
As reported by Polygon , Informa PLC, the company behind the conference, just announced GDC Summer, running August 4 to 6 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Bandsintown will help artists promote livestreams

200+Engadget / 9h
Today, the concert-discovery app Bandsintown announced a new Watch Live feature that will let artists send push notifications when they livestream shows.
The new Bandsintown Live Twitch channel will raise money for the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund , which will provide financial relief to artists and music industry professionals impacted by the pandemic.

Californians can now order alcoholic beverages to go

200+TechCrunch / 10h
While the notice temporarily lifted a ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages, it did not impact the open-carry laws imposed by the state.
In a memo yesterday detailing relief efforts for small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has temporarily allowed retailers to sell alcoholic beverages for takeout.

Up Your Netflix Game With These Tools and Chrome Extensions

64Gizmodo / 10h
Once you get results, you can filter them even further by sorting them by release year, rating, title, or when they were added to Netflix (useful if you’re looking for something “new” to you on the platform.
The site allows you to search through movies and TV shows on the streaming service by genre, IMDB rating, and release year.

Healthcare startups Nurx and Carbon Health ship at-home COVID-19 test sample kits

FDA Two America Scanwell300+TechCrunch / 10h
At-home use is relatively new to market, and could introduce some potential for error in the collection part of the process, but both Carbon Health and Nurx are offering consultation with medical professionals to help ensure that samples are collected properly, and that results, when available, are correctly interpreted and provided with guidance on next steps for those taking the tests.
Both of these new offerings are the same in terms of approach to testing: They deliver swab-based sample collection hardware that people can use at home to collect a mucus sample, which they then ship back using included, safety approved, projective packaging to be tested by one of the existing FDA-approved commercial labs across the country.

Doom Eternal PC performance: 4K60 with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super

Nvidia AMD Ultimate100+TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 10h
And, if you want to go up to 4K, you'll be happy to know that many graphics cards are also capable of this, with everything above and including an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super or an AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT able to stay above 60 fps at 4K High settings.
The game is so choppy on the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT and the Nvidia GeForce 1060 that we simply cannot recommend that you play in 4K with any of these cards - or anything with a lower spec.

The optimal way to remotely watch Netflix with friends

200+Mashable / 10h
In lieu of the ability to spend time together physically, people are finding creative ways to watch shows and movies with their friends by streaming the same thing at the same time and chatting about it through text or video chats.
The extension enables everyone in a group to watch a show or movie on Netflix in sync.

Epic is finally dealing with some major Fortnite Team Rumble bugs

SlashGear / 10h
Team Rumble, the team deathmatch mode in Fortnite that includes respawning, has been plagued by some pretty major bugs lately, including missing teammate arrows, failure to load into the Battle Bus, and dropping into the middle of a nearly-over match.
That problem has since been fixed, but a few others have remained, including issues with loading into a match when it is nearly complete, as well as the Battle Bus randomly abandoning some players on spawn island.

How Marriott plans to manage a 45% drop in hotel occupancy rates

24The Points Guy / 10h
From its latest update, it seems the world’s largest hotel chain is using learnings it has acquired from past economic downturns and hopes to emerge from this current crisis stronger than before, but it will not be easy.
Predictably, as a result of the collapse in travel worldwide, hotels are seeing dramatic decreases in occupancy rates, average daily rates and revenue per available room (RevPAR) .

Microsoft Teams passes new milestone, unveils raft of new features

52TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 10h
The new features recently announced by Microsoft will make it easier for organizations to conduct remote meetings and in a blog post , corporate vice president of Microsoft 365, Jared Spataro explained that the company is committed to facilitating remote work, saying:
To help users avoid distractions during meetings, Microsoft is planning to introduce a new real-time noise suppression feature to Teams later this year.

What's a ‘Shelter in Place’ Order, and Who’s Affected?

New York Cuomo Coronavirus500+Wired / 10h
Healthy people under 70 should only leave their homes to get groceries and medicine, but are permitted to exercise and walk outside so long as they remain 6 or more feet away from others at all times.
On March 20, Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a shelter in place order, though he said at a press conference he would prefer not to call it that.

NASA confirms Commercial Crew still a priority, but James Webb Telescope testing and other activities paused

NASA Mars Moon Coronavirus100+TechCrunch / 10h
For the purpose of keeping ISS crew “fully supplied and safe,” NASA says that it will continue to operate its commercial resupply missions, too, which ferry experiments, food, water and more to the space station using vehicles including SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule.
Boeing and SpaceX are NASA’s partners for this program, and NASA says that this is going ahead despite the requirement of in-person operations because it represents “a critical element to maintaining safe operations on the International Space Station and a sustained U.S. presence on the orbiting laboratory.”

iPad price cut: deals on the latest model Apple iPad at Amazon

36TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 10h
If you're searching for at-home entertainment, a tablet can be a fantastic option, and luckily for you, Amazon has slashed the price on Apple's latest iPads.
The 2019 iPad includes Apple's powerful A10 Fusion chip and is available in a 32GB or 128GB storage option.

Here’s how to help restaurants while socially distancing yourself

100+TechCrunch / 10h
Boston-based unicorn Toast created Rally for Restaurants to help people buy gift cards for businesses and challenge their friends to do the same.
Started by Kaitlyn Krieger and her husband, Mike Krieger, the co-founder of Instagram, SaveOurFaves wants to help Bay Area residents buy gift cards for nearby restaurants.

Educators can temporarily give Creative Cloud access to distance learners

100+Engadget / 10h
To help educators and learners during school closures, Adobe is allowing IT admins to grant temporary at-home access to its suite of Creative Cloud apps, from now until May 31st.
For example, schools that teach graphics and video skills often have educational licenses for Adobe's Creative Cloud , which are assigned to individual computers, rather than students.

A 25 Year-Old Spring Breaker Caught Coronavirus and We’ve Got Feelings

500+Futurism / 10h
At the end of the CBC filing, he sends the Canadian national broadcaster’s readers and viewers a final message:
Schadenfreude, anger, and a sense of karmic justice might feel good in the heat of the moment, but that’s the thing: this moment?

In response to COVID-19, Hulu adds a free live news stream to its on-demand app

Hulu Netflix HBO Amazon100+TechCrunch / 11h
In response to the COVID-10 outbreak, Hulu is adding a free, live news stream to its app for customers who only subscribe to its on-demand service, not its live TV add-on.
Hulu isn’t the first streaming provider to add free live news to its service as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The top 10 best pandemic movies you can stream right now

77TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 11h
So, whether stuck indoors or just trying to find some relevant escapism, we’ve compiled a list of the best films about pandemics available to stream right now.
Available to stream in the US: Amazon Prime Video and Hoopla

Jalopnik Chrysler Built Hemi Engines With A Major Engineering Defect And I May Try To Profit From It | Jezebel The Week...

40Gizmodo / 11h
Jalopnik Chrysler Built Hemi Engines With A Major Engineering Defect And I May Try To Profit From It | Jezebel The Week the Dream Sank | The Root We're Just Not Built for This (and It's Fine to Admit That) | The A.V. Club Watch a short documentary about the time Johnny Carson caused a toilet paper shortage | Read more...

PS5 will eventually play ‘majority of the 4,000-plus PS4 titles’

Sony PS5 PlayStation 532TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 11h
What we do know is those backward compatible titles will get touched up on the new console, running at a boosted frequency on the PS5 to “benefit from higher and more stable frame rates and potentially higher resolutions,” per the blog post, echoing what Cerny said during the presentation.
In a blog post update , Sony asserted that most of the older system’s games would be coming to the new machine, though they didn’t reveal any details on how long it would take for that catalogue to fill out - only noting that more info would be shared in the coming months.

Stuart Russell on how to make AI ‘human-compatible’

72TechCrunch / 11h
In a career spanning several decades, artificial intelligence researcher and professor Stuart Russell has contributed extensive knowledge on the subject, including foundational textbooks.
Russell’s thesis, which he develops in “ Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control,” is that the field of AI has been developed on the false premise that we can successfully define the goals toward which these systems work, and the result is that the more powerful they are, the worse they are capable of.

Netflix Pledges $100 Million to Help Entertainment Workers Impacted by the Covid-19 Pandemic

Netflix $100M Relief43Gizmodo / 11h
Netflix announced Friday that $15 million of the fund will go to organizations providing help to cast and crew who are no longer working as a result of the covid-19 outbreak, noting that this money would specifically be allocated to countries where it maintains a large production presence.
As social distance and shelter-at-home orders continue to force the entertainment industry to suspend production and cancel or shift scheduled premieres , workers from all corners of the film and television worlds are being impacted as their work grinds to a halt.

'World of Warcraft' keeps players indoors with a 100 percent XP bonus

3KEngadget / 11h
If the world of Azeroth has been the place you've turned to find some time away from all the news about the coronavirus pandemic, Blizzard has something that should make your stay more productive. From now until April 20th , your World of Warcraft character will receive a bonus called " Winds of Wisdom ," which will increase the amount of experience they gain by 100 percent. The buff is available

Two Products to Help You Pound One out Like a Champ While You're Stuck Working From Home

46Lifehacker / 11h
It’s hard to describe how big a difference these little eggs make without being called into HR.
I imagine it’s like the difference between a hot dog on a piece of stale white bread and a dog served with a fresh pretzel bun.

Curiosity rover’s incredible March selfie marks new record trip on Mars

NASA Mars Moon CoronavirusSlashGear / 11h
According to the space agency, Curiosity recently — and quite successfully — trekked up an incredibly steep part of the Martian landscape called the Greenheugh Pediment.
NASA has shared an incredible new Curiosity rover selfie that marks its latest record-breaking activity on Mars.

Reddit’s Imaginary Maps Show Us It Could Always Be Worse

100+Gizmodo / 11h
My personal favorites are the alternate history timelines whose lore, detailed at length in the comments, dream up vivid personas for historical rulers, like a stack of cartoony character cards in a fabulist strategy game.
xpNc: It’s kind of a cliché, but it was definitely alternate World War II scenarios.

Be on guard for coronavirus robocalls, warns FCC

98TechCrunch / 11h
While previous robocall scams threatened IRS penalties or promised free vacations, the new ones are using both pandemic-related and personal information to make what could for some be a pretty convincing pitch.
Asking for information to confirm a check from the government — the process for this if it happens will not be a random text message



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