Saturday, April 04, 2020

TPS Consulting Daily


TECHNOLOGY AND MORE!




'Artemis Fowl' will debut on Disney+

Artemis Fowl Disney100+Engadget / 2h
Disney has adjusted the theatrical release dates for its biggest upcoming movies this year due to the coronavirus outbreak, except for Artemis Fowl . Instead of pushing back its opening date from May 29th to a later one, the entertainment giant won't be showing it in theaters altogether: The young adult fantasy film about a 12-year-old criminal mastermind will be heading straight to Disney+ . Art

Skype introduces video meetings with no sign-up needed for those wanting a Zoom alternative

Skype Zoom Microsoft57TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 2h
Skype has brought in a new type of video call whereby no one has to sign up for an account to join the chat, in a similar convenient vein to Zoom – except in the case of Skype, not even the host needs to sign up for the service, or install anything. Skype describes the new Meet Now feature as a “hassle-free way to connect” with other folks that doesn’t require signing up to any account, or downlo

Major disruption: How Covid-19 is affecting supply chains worldwide

22SlashGear / 1h
With entire countries coming to a standstill to curb the rapid spread of the coronavirus, it will soon take its toll on supply chains around the world. The disrupted network of companies, factories and manufacturers could greatly affect the products we take for granted. Tech products, equipment, fashion, cars and other products are likely to have a stunted year ahead. … Continue reading


Turn Off Your Screen Time Notifications

Wired / 4min
It's just one more thing to feel bad about at a time when nothing feels particularly good.

The 16 Best Weekend Deals: Sonos Speakers, Nest Wifi, and More

Wired / 4min
Everyone's sheltering in place—might as well enjoy your social isolation with better sound and classic videogames.

How to Write an Apple II BASIC Program in Your Web Browser

How-To Geek / 22min
Have you ever wanted to program a vintage computer? If you use the BASIC programming language and run a simulation of the legendary Apple II in your browser, it’s easy! You’ll get an excellent idea what programming was like in the late 1970s and early ’80s. Read This Article on How-To Geek ›

Best Lego sets 2020: the finest new builds, from Stranger Things to Batmobiles

40TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 1h
Quarantine life is hard: you need a new project, but one that feels fun, achievable and satisfyingly nerdy. Enter the best Lego sets, which we've handily collected in one brick-tastic place. What's great about the best new Lego sets is the sheer variety on offer, for all ages and ability levels. From pop culture tie-ins like The Upside Down from Strange Things to a new version of the Internationa

Virgin's cheapest broadband and TV deal just got even cheaper after a big price cut

44TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 1h
While Virgin has both some of the fastest broadband deals and most detailed TV packages out there, it is rarely the cheapest option, usually rivalling both BT and Sky for price. However right now its cheapest plan is looking like a very strong option. That's because Virgin's Bigger Bundle has recently taken a drop in price, making Virigin's cheapest broadband and TV deal even cheaper. Virgin clai

17 deals for your at-home coffee routine since you're a barista now

24Mashable / 1h
Unfortunately, cafés are considered a non-essential business in many states across the country. This means that your go-to coffee shop has likely been ordered to close up shop temporarily, effectively social distancing you from your favorite cup. It sucks, we know. But we also know that you can become your own barista — all you need is the right coffee maker. To help you turn your kitchen into yo

The best memory foam mattresses for every kind of sleep position

Mashable / 2h
Memory foam mattresses are where it's at now. Metal springs all throughout your bed? No thanks. Hard pass. If you're currently looking into buying a new mattress, it helps to narrow it down to what kind of mattress you want. Memory foam is a great place to start, but as we said, it's a popular material right now — aka everyone is using it. Thus, finding your dream mattress may not be as breezy as

Now's your chance to learn Photoshop and Lightroom for cheap

Mashable / 2h
TL;DR: Become a pro at editing photos with the Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop for Beginner-Designers Bundle for just $39.99, a 97% savings. Since you probably have some extra time on your hands (unless you're out there being an essential worker, and we thank you), now is the perfect time to finally learn the magic that is Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop . When it comes to editing photos, creating ca

Track your at-home workouts with this $25 fitness watch

20Mashable / 2h
TL;DR : Keep track of your heart rate, steps, and more with the Striiv Fusion Bio2 fitness watch for just $24.99, a 68% savings. Things are really hard right now. But despite the doom and gloom of the pandemic, there is a slight silver lining: while social distancing, we can dedicate more time to our health and well-being. In most states, the stay-at-home order still allows you to get outside and

Need to keep your face covered? These reusable cloth masks are on sale.

FDA Coronavirus Covid-19Mashable / 2h
TL;DR: Reusable cloth face masks are on sale at Tippit — save 20% with code SPRING20 . At the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, we were told that only medical professionals need to wear masks, but now that might be changing. The White House is expected to recommend the general population wear non-medical masks and face coverings when leaving the house. Medical masks are still meant to be reserved f

14 deals on weighted blankets (and more) to soothe our communal angst

Mashable / 2h
These are weird times. And though we're all living apart, the truth is that we're all in this together. One thing we could all use in a time like this is a warm, cozy blanket to soothe our anxieties and get us through the night. SEE ALSO: Yes, you really do need a weighted blanket — and these ones are the best From weighted blankets to gigantic temperature-regulating covers, here are 14 cozy opti

Learn to play piano from a safe social distance with this cheap online class

Mashable / 2h
TL;DR: As of April 4, you can grab this online class on piano and music composition for just $34.95, a 95% savings. With the unexpected downtime that comes with self-isolation, each of us has been given a rare opportunity to learn a new skill or take up a new hobby. You could choose to learn TikTok dances , or you could finally use your time wisely and take on something you've always wanted to tr

Which food delivery services have slots available this weekend?

40TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 3h
The number of available food delivery slots in the UK has increased in the last week. On Wednesday, Tesco announced it had made an extra 120,000 food delivery and click-and-collect slots available, taking its total food delivery capacity to around 780,000 - and the supermarket has promised it will add another 100,000 in the coming weeks. Yesterday, too, Sainsbury 's released a statement announcin
YESTERDAY

Is there any link between 5G and outbreak of coronavirus?

100+TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 4h
We have been hearing about conspiracy theories that the outbreak of Coronavirus (Covid-19) is linked to the roll-out of 5G networks. Even celebrities such as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent Amanda Holden, singer Anne Marie and American actor and playwright Woody Harrelson had warned public about the dangers of the broadband networks on social media while Facebook has removed an anti-5G group in w

5 of the best VPNs for streaming in the UK

52Mashable / 5h
Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, are valuable tools for improving your online security. They help you to stay safe and anonymous online by shielding your personal data from the prying eyes of authorities and hackers. These clever services work by hiding your IP address and rerouting your internet traffic through an encrypted VPN tunnel. This secures your bank transactions, protects your digital

Remote working could put an end to the office as we know it

100+TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 6h
The ongoing pandemic has brought about the world’s largest remote working experiment, with tens of millions forced to participate worldwide – and its outcome will likely have repercussions that will reverberate long after the last quarantine restrictions are lifted. Companies of all sizes – and with varying degrees of preparedness – have ordered employees to work from home in a bid to delay the s

Skype rolls out 'Meet Now' calls that don't need a a sign-up or installation

Skype Link Calls Sign500+Engadget / 7h
With people forced out of their offices and schools to avoid spreading coronavirus, there are more video calls going on than ever. However, a significant chunk of the action has gone to Zoom, and not Skype, Microsoft's product that has been at the center of online voice and video chats since well before smartphones were commonplace. That's mostly because Zoom has made sharing meetings and the nec

This is the cheapest Core i7 PC but it comes with one big compromise

48TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 8h
This is not your average computer; Partaker’s fanless mini PC is far smaller than most rivals on the market with a volume of just 1.5L. It's on sale for $413.99 at Gearbest with this exclusive coupon code: F472573500A27001. Depending on exchange rates, you should pay around £339 or AU$689. A quick check with Dell shows its cheapest Core i7 device cost almost twice as much, albeit with a slightly

Shocking unemployment graph and GameCube's intro music fit together perfectly

100+Mashable / 10h
A graph tracking unemployment in the United States somehow works with the iconic GameCube intro music. And seems to highlight our current state of dread with a surreal flair. Last week, 6.6 million Americans, a 3000 percent increase, filed for unemployment as the coronavirus pandemic continued to devastate the economy. On Thursday, evolutionary anthropologist Dorsa Amir tweeted an animated graph

Hurricane Season on Top of a Pandemic Will Be a Nightmare

1KGizmodo / 10h
Trying to evacuate your home before a hurricane hits is hard enough. Now imagine doing it against the backdrop of the ongoing covid-19 pandemic . Read more...

ESPN plans esports marathon: Rocket League, Madden NFL, Apex Legends

20SlashGear / 10h
In an announcement today, ESPN revealed that its ESPN2 network will host a 12-hour esports marathon on Sunday, April 5, with multiple popular games in the lineup. The company is calling this ‘ESPN Esports Day,’ explaining that it will broadcast competitive gameplay, game recaps, live (virtual) sports, and more. This will be the first time Rocket League will appear on … Continue reading

Google rolls back Chrome feature that blocks cross-site tracking

200+Engadget / 10h
Google is temporarily rolling back a feature it launched with Chrome 80 to make sure it doesn't break websites in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Back in February, the tech giant started enforcing a new cookie classification system that was designed to block cross-site tracking on Chrome in an effort to prevent bad actors from exploiting cookie vulnerabilities. The feature requires develop

Zoom admits some calls were routed through China by mistake

2KTechCrunch / 10h
Hours after security researchers at Citizen Lab reported that some Zoom calls were routed through China, the video conferencing platform has offered an apology and a partial explanation. To recap, Zoom has faced a barrage of headlines this week over its security policies and privacy practices, as hundreds of millions forced to work from home during the coronavirus pandemic still need to communica

Before suing NSO Group, Facebook allegedly sought their software to better spy on users

Facebook NSO Pegasus200+TechCrunch / 10h
Facebook’s WhatsApp is in the midst of a lawsuit against Israeli mobile surveillance outfit NSO Group. But before complaining about the company’s methods, Facebook seems to have wanted to use them for its own purposes, according to testimony from NSO founder Shalev Hulio. Last year brought news of an exploit that could be used to install one of NSO’s spyware packages, Pegasus, on devices using Wh

A Hacker Found a Way to Take Over Any Apple Webcam

Pickren Apple Safari400+Wired / 10h
The Safari vulnerabilities have been patched, but they would have given an alarming amount of access.

Zoom is buckling under the strain of remote working and distance learning

56TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 10h
Zoom Video Communications recently experienced an outage as more people are now using the video conferencing service to work from home or for distance learning. Zoom users on the East Coast of the US and in parts of Europe reported seeing error messages while attempting to log in to the company's web client on Friday morning. The outage also affected parts of California, Florida and the Midwest a

Buy Committee: Should I Buy Hori's Split Pad Pro Controller While It's on Sale?

Nintendo Switch ACGizmodo / 11h
Buy Committee, our own Quentyn needs your help deciding on whether to plunk down and buy Hori’s Split Pad Pro (Daemon X Machina Edition) for the Nintendo Switch. Read more...

Siri Might Be Getting a Huge Improvement

Apple Startup Voysis Siri58Gizmodo / 11h
Apple regularly acquires artificial intelligence startups to build up Siri’s capabilities, but its latest purchase might make Siri more conversational. According to Bloomberg , Apple just bought Voysis, an AI startup that makes it easier to use a voice assistant to buy stuff in shopping apps. Read more...

What Is Happening To The Airline Industry?

View from the Wing / 11h
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips. Continue reading ...

Discovery of Living Microbes Deep Beneath the Seafloor Offers Hope for Life on Mars

NASA Mars Moon Artemis57Gizmodo / 11h
Surprising quantities of bacteria have been found living in clay-rich rocks under the Pacific seafloor. The discovery raises the possibility of equally resilient microbes living deep beneath the surface of Mars. Read more...

As tech layoffs surge, some support emerges for those without a job

100+TechCrunch / 11h
The massive surge of COVID-19-related layoffs has put tech in a unique position. While the startup world is facing layoffs itself, it is also trying to help get people back to work. Back at the end of 2019, the SoftBank-backed belt-tightening period led to a flurry of crowdsourced spreadsheets with employee names from companies like Oyo, WeWork, Zume and more. The spreadsheets popped up as a bet

Apple's latest acquisition could help Siri understand what you're saying

Apple Startup Voysis Siri200+Engadget / 11h
The battle between AI voice assistants continues to rage on, and now Apple has acquired a tech firm, Voysis, that is all about helping computers understand natural language. As reported by Bloomberg , the firm's now-deleted website said it could produce search results from phrases like "I need a new LED TV, my budget is $1,000." In 2017 TechCrunch interviewed CEO Peter Cahill, who pitched his com

Bot traffic fueling rise of fake news and cybercrime

Russia US Warfare 248TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 11h
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted daily life around the world and the WHO recently warned that an overabundance of information about the virus makes it difficult for people to differentiate between legitimate news and misleading information. At the same time, EU security services have warned that Russia is aggressively exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to push disinformation and weaken Wes

Wisconsin Governor Finally Admits Coronavirus Pandemic Should Delay Election

94Gizmodo / 11h
Democratic Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has called at the absolute last minute for legislators to delay the state’s upcoming election and switch to vote by mail in order to prevent people from heading to the polls during the coronavirus pandemic . But it appears to be too late. Read more...

Grab Norton AntiVirus or 360 for up to 60% off in ANZ Easter sale

40TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 12h
With the world practically in lockdown, many of us have found ourselves working and learning from home on possibly unsecure networks. Cybercriminals and scammers are taking advantage of this situation and targeting devices left vulnerable to cyber attacks. The easiest way to protect yourself online while at home would be to download a strong antivirus solution, like Norton’s AntiVirus Plus or the

Big Tech drastically reverses course on coronavirus ad policies

97Mashable / 12h
When tech companies roll out new policies, it’s usually after long periods of meticulous internal discussion and review. Big reversals aren't the norm. Then Covid-19 hit. As the looming threat of the coronavirus began hitting the U.S. in February, many tech companies started to roll out new ad policies. Google banned most nongovernmental Covid-19 advertising in early February. YouTube followed su

Sling TV deal: last chance to get free cable TV for the next two weeks

92TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 12h
Social distancing at home just got a whole lot easier thanks to Sling TV. The TV streaming service is currently offering 14 days FREE of its Sling TV Blue plan - but this fantastic freebie ends on Sunday, April 5 . This isn't a free trial and there's no commitment, contracts or payment details required - you can simply get 14 days free access to its Sling TV Blue service without paying a penny. -

'The Last of Us Part II' Is Being Delayed Indefinitely

400+Wired / 12h
The game's release is being postponed due to logistical concerns caused by the spread of the coronavirus.

The CDC Now Recommends Americans Wear Face Masks

20KWired / 12h
Staying home is still the best way to protect yourself from the coronavirus. But the CDC now says that masks are effective as an additional measure.

FEMA Contractor Tracing Coronavirus Deaths Uses Web Scraping, Social Media Monitoring

94Gizmodo / 12h
On December 31, few Americans had ever heard the word “coronavirus.” It was unfathomable that in cities like Pittsburgh, the National Guard would soon be deployed to work food lines stretching as far as the eye can see. Few had ever experienced the emotional strain of having to physically separate themselves from a… Read more...

Zelos is like a cross-game battle pass, rewarding you for completing challenges in games you already play

52TechCrunch / 12h
People seem to love the concept of the battle pass. Largely popularized by Fortnite, battle passes reward players for playing well, and playing often. The better you do, the more XP you earn; the more XP you earn, the more stuff (new looks for your character, or victory dances to fire off at the end of a gunfight) you unlock. Willing to cough up a few bucks for an optional “premium” battle pass?

Deadspin These Guys Were Great, They Just Never Got Enough Credit: The 10 Most Underrated NBA Players Since 1990 | The ...

Gizmodo / 12h
Deadspin These Guys Were Great, They Just Never Got Enough Credit: The 10 Most Underrated NBA Players Since 1990 | The A.V. Club Wigging out: 17 times horrible hairpieces ruined TV shows and movies | Kotaku Let’s Rank The Civilization Games, Worst To Best | The Takeout 8 foods that we, non–Instant Pot obsessives, cook in our Instant Pots regularly [Updated] | The Root Jared Kushner Is a Goddamn I

ZmURL customizes Zoom link previews with images & event sites

Zoom One Two FBI Weeks400+TechCrunch / 12h
Sick of sharing those generic Zoom video call invites that all look the same? Wish your Zoom link preview’s headline and image actually described your meeting? Want to protect your Zoom calls from trolls by making attendees RSVP to get your link? ZmURL.com has you covered. Launching today, ZmURL is a free tool that lets you customize your Zoom video call invite URL with a title, explanation and i

Google research makes for an effortless robotic dog trot

200+TechCrunch / 12h
As capable as robots are, the original animals after which they tend to be designed are always much, much better. That’s partly because it’s difficult to learn how to walk like a dog directly from a dog — but this research from Google’s AI labs make it considerably easier. The goal of this research, a collaboration with UC Berkeley, was to find a way to efficiently and automatically transfer “agi

Trials of Plasma From Recovered Covid-19 Patients Have Begun

6KWired / 12h
US Food and Drug Administration officials approved nationwide tests of two treatments, both derived from the blood of people who have survived the disease.

Instacart shoppers will soon receive health kits with face masks

CDC Masks20SlashGear / 12h
In an announcement this week, Instacart said that it will start providing its full-service shoppers with health and safety kits from third-party manufacturers. These new items are intended to help protect shoppers from contracting the novel coronavirus and developing COVID-19. The company repeatedly stresses that it has been following CDC guidelines, but says now that it is taking ‘proactive step

The Five Best Seat Cushions (and One Chair) for Home Offices, According to Our Readers

28Lifehacker / 12h
Not to dismiss the very real struggles happening around the world right now, I must say, my butt hurts. In fact, this is the second time I’ve stressed this fact just this week. I’m sitting at home, working A LOT, and as a result, my butt hurts. So, of course, after turning to our readers for your recommendations of… Read more...

Bugs that let sites hijack Mac and iPhone cameras fetch $75k bounty

CVSS 8.8100+Ars Technica / 12h
Enlarge (credit: Ryan Pickren) A security bug that gave malicious hackers the ability to access the cameras of Macs, iPhones, and iPads has fetched a $75,000 bounty to the researcher who discovered it. In posts published here


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