Tech Future X

For a country that is besotted by cricket and where parents prefer to send children to academies in the hope that they at least make the grade in the IPL, gaming has still managed to hold its own, though largely on smartphones. While PC gaming is on a slow curve upwards, consoles are struggling to ignite some relevance.  India is one of the top five mobile gaming markets of the world with approximately 300 million users, thanks to the cheap internet bandwidth and cheaper phones. It is into this milieu that PC games are seeking to get a toe-hold.  Owning a PC solely focused on gaming is still a dream for many in India, the availability of affordable internet has helped in increasing awareness around online gaming. As per estimates, the gaming industry in India is likely to generate a revenue of Rs. 11,900 crores (around $1.6m/£1.2m/AU$2.2m) by 2023 and several brands have started to consider India a potential market. While India has always been a hub of talented developers, des...

coronavirus lessons learned singapore hong kong stout pkg vpx_00000112 Model coronavirus response, then cases spiked. What happened? The sun sets behind an idle pump jack near Karnes City, Texas, Wednesday, April 8, 2020. Demand for oil continues to fall due to the new coronavirus outbreak. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Global oil crisis: Bottom of the barrel is still unclear UK video pays tribute to immigrant key workers france coronavirus covid 19 pandemic macron military field hospitals bell pkg intl ldn vpx_00004319.jpg Covid-19 puts French military in 'unprecedented' peacetime role kenya africa coronavirus covid 19 pandemic unemployment sevenzo pkg intl ldn vpx_00011208.jpg 'Chaos' in Kenyan slum as Covid-19 takes toll italy extends lockdown residents restless wedeman pkg nr vpx_00000510 EU country with most Covid-19 deaths starts easing lockdown India's lockdown extended until early May denmark coronavirus covid 19 pandemic alchemist feeding homeless gargiulo pkg intl l...

Big savings ahead on Apple’s priciest computer Buy refurbished Mac Pros from Apple Apple’s 2019 Mac Pro, the world’s most expensive cheese grater — if you were going to use it for that, which you shouldn’t — is now available on Apple’s online refurb store, MacRumors reports. That means savings of around 15 percent, which is a ton when you consider the base price of a new Pro is $5,999. According to MacRumors, the cheapest available refurbished model is a base configuration ($5,999) with upgraded RAM ($300), which is available refurbished for $5,349. A deal! On the high end, you can buy $22,439 worth of computer, which is still a $4,000 savings as compared to a new model. These are great deals when you consider what goes into Apple’s refurbishment program: full functional testing, Apple part replacements, and a thorough cleaning. Also, a one-year warranty. If you’re in the market for Mac Pro, you really can’t do better than this.

Refrigerated tractor trailers serve as temporary morgues in New York City The US has become the first country in the world to record more than 2,000 coronavirus deaths in a single day. Figures from Johns Hopkins University show 2,108 people died in the past 24 hours while there are now more than half a million confirmed infections. US death toll passes 2,000 in a single day The US could soon surpass Italy as the country with the most coronavirus deaths worldwide. But experts on the White House Covid-19 task force say the outbreak is starting to level off across the US. Dr Deborah Birx said there were good signs the outbreak was stabilising, but cautioned: "As encouraging as they are, we have not reached the peak." President Donald Trump also said he expects the US to see a lower death toll than the initial predictions of 100,000 fatalities, adding: "We're seeing clear signs that our aggressive strategy is saving countless lives". In other developments: The World...

In Italy, an epicentre of the new coronavirus outbreak, the death rate at the end of March stood at a sobering 11%. Meanwhile in neighbouring Germany, the same virus led to fatality rates of just 1%. In China, it was 4%, while Israel had the lowest rate worldwide, at 0.35%. When the first Covid-19 case in Vò, Italy was confirmed, testing was rolled out to the entire village (Credit: theconversation news) At first it can seem surprising that the same virus – which doesn’t seem to have mutated significantly as it has spread – can lead to such widely differing reported mortality rates. And even within one country, the rate appears to change over time. So what’s going on? Covid-19 is markedly higher than elsewhere in the world, which is largely down to how cases are detected (Credit: Worldometer/BBC) Several main factors account for much of the difference we’re seeing – and perhaps the most important come down to simply how we’re counting, as well as testing, cases. Differing death rates F...

These days, nothing hits better than a genuine laugh. With Netflix subscribers everywhere continuing to socially distance themselves, it can feel like we're missing out on a lot. Thankfully, the streaming service has a huge archive of killer comedy to help us fill our days and nights with jokes, disasters, and mayhem. From hidden gems to legendary favorite films, here are our top 15 picks (plus, two honorable mentions) for the best comedies on Netflix streaming right now. Enjoy! 15. While We're Young Before Adam Driver starred in Marriage Story, director Noah Baumbach cast him in the hidden gem of a movie, While We're Young. Driver and Amanda Seyfried appear opposite Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts in this touching look at what it means to grow older while staying young at heart. How to watch: While We're Young is now streaming on Netflix. 14. Good Burger "Welcome to Good Burger, home of the good burger! Can I take your order?" Starring Kel Mitc...

The flag and seal at White House Press briefing, Washington DC, USA During today’s White House coronavirus task force press conference, President Trump announced the launch of a new public/private consortium to “unleash the power of American supercomputing resources.” The members of this consortium are the White House, the Department of Energy and IBM . Other companies, including Google, Amazon and Microsoft, as well as a number of academic institutions, are also “contributing lots of different things,” the president said. While Trump’s comments were characteristically unclear, IBM provided more details, noting that it is working with a number of national labs and other institutions to offer a total of 330 petaflops of compute to various projects in epidemiology, bioinformatics and molecular modeling. Amazon, Google and Microsoft are also part of the consortium, which is being led by IBM, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Department of Energy. I...

iPhone continues its processing speed lead The iPhone 12 will continue to widen the gap between Apple and all other Android phone makers, according to newly leaked benchmarks. It's not too big of a surprise, as the trio of iPhone 11 phones continue to best even the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. This iPhone 12 news is derived from a surprise benchmark entry for the 'A14 Bionic', which is the chipset we'd expect the iPhone 12 to use (the iPhone 11 used A13 Bionic, the iPhone XS A12 Bionic and so on). GizChina caught the Geekbench listing first. In the test, the A14 Bionic returned a single-core score of 1,658, and multi-core of 4,612. Single-core is useful for simple tasks like scrolling the web and using social media, while multi-core tasks include intense gaming and photo and video editing. The multi-core score is the highest we've seen on a smartphone, and that makes sense because Apple's phones typically has the highest speeds we seen on phones. For co...

An iPhone 9 Plus (or iPhone SE 2 Plus?) might be on the way, for those of you with bigger hands.An iPhone 9 Plus (or iPhone SE 2 Plus?) might be on the way, for those of you with bigger hands. It looks like Apple might not only release an iPhone 9 (or iPhone SE 2), but an iPhone 9 Plus as well. According to 9to5Mac, the iOS 14 code contains hints of a larger version of the phone. The iPhone 9 has been rumored for a while now, with recent reports suggesting it would launch in March of this year. But a "plus" size version of the phone hasn't been mentioned until now. Considering the iPhone 9 might replace the iPhone 8, it makes sense there would also be a new version of the iPhone 8 Plus. With a rumored starting price of $399, both phones are supposed to be budget-friendly alternatives to the iPhone 11 (which starts at $699) and the iPhone 11 Pro (which starts at $999). But as with any entry-level model, that also means its features are slightly more dated. ...

There is a reason why humans are susceptible during disease outbreaks like that of Covid-19 – we keep touching our faces. Why, and what can we do about it? Humans have a rather unusual habit we don’t share with many other animals, and, unfortunately, it makes us particularly susceptible during certain disease outbreaks – we keep touching our faces. Our species is one of the few in the animal kingdom known to touch their faces regularly, and we often do it without even noticing. Studies have shown that we are particularly prone to touching our chins and the areas around the mouth, nose and eyes. When it comes to a disease like the new coronavirus, Covid-19, that is a recipe for fast transmission. (Read more about how Covid-19 can be transmitted by surfaces.) One 2015 observational study analysed the behaviour of medical students in Australia. Mary-Louse McLaws, an infection control expert at the University of North South Wales, Sydney, and her colleagues found that the studen...

Europol, along with the Spanish and the Romanian national police, has arrested 26 individuals in connection with the theft of over €3.5 million ($3.9 million) by hijacking people's phone numbers via SIM swapping attacks. The law enforcement agencies arrested 12 and 14 people in Spain and Romania, respectively, as part of a joint operation against two different groups of SIM swappers, Europol said. The development comes as SIM swapping attacks are emerging as one of the biggest threats to telecom operators and mobile users alike. The increasingly popular and damaging hack is a clever social engineering trick used by cybercriminals to persuade phone carriers into transferring their victims' cell services to a SIM card under their control.  The SIM swap then grants attackers access to incoming phone calls, text messages, and one-time verification codes (or one-time passwords) that various websites send via SMS messages as part of the two-factor authentication (2FA) process...

You don't have to have symptoms to do some serious spreading.You don't have to have symptoms to do some serious spreading. First, the obligatory caveat: There's still so much we don't know about the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, the disease that results from the virus. New genetic developments are coming everyday — so fast that even the CDC can't keep up. During the latest coronavirus press conference Saturday, Dr. Deborah Birx shared new findings about the virus that may contradict what the CDC currently says about transmission. Birx, the highly experienced coronavirus response coordinator at the White House, said that there may be a group of people who are asymptomatic yet spreading the virus. Birx's task force of experts does not believe that people under 20 are immune from coronavirus, so they may have it and not show symptoms. "Are they a group that are potentially asymptomatic and spreading the virus?" Birx asked. "Because of tha...

Control and adjust lights anywhere with a smart switch from TP-Link.Control and adjust lights anywhere with a smart switch from TP-Link. IMAGE: TP-LINK With more people set to work from home, there are plenty of useful products to help you work efficiently and stay in the right mindset. One thing to consider is whether you have the right amount of light to stay focused, and a set of smart light bulbs can really help you out there. But if you want to control your lights through a simple schedule and app, a TP-Link Kasa smart switch will make things much more convenient. Upgrade with a TP-Link (HS220) Kasa smart dimmer WiFi light switch for $24.99 at Amazon. To get the extra $5 discount, make sure you apply the coupon before you add it to your cart. That knocks it down to the best price we've seen ever on this model. And if you have a larger home, you can get a TP-Link (HS200PF) Kasa smart switch 3-pack for just $54.97 when you clip a bonus $15 coupon. When you buy the ...

In a press conference at the White House, President Trump today announced that 1,700 Google engineers were working on a coronavirus screening site. That site was supposedly the first step in a new screening process that would lead people from figuring out if their symptoms warranted more testing to the location of new “drive through” testing stations. But Trump was wrong. This screening site isn’t being developed by Google . Instead, it’s being built by Verily, Alphabet’s life science division — and it’s not ready to launch yet either. While both share the same parent company in Alphabet,  these are two very different companies. In addition, as Verily  noted in a statement it provided almost three hours after Trump made the announcement, this site isn’t quite ready yet. “Verily is developing a tool to help triage individuals for COVID-19 testing. We are in the early stages of development, and planning to roll testing out in the Bay Area, with the hope of expanding more...

Bill Gates  has stepped down from the board of Microsoft to spend more time on his philanthropic endeavors, the company announced Friday afternoon. Though he will remain technology advisor to CEO Satya Nadella, this move reduces his involvement with the company to the lowest level it has ever been. Gates led Microsoft  from the ’80s all the way through 2008, when he left to dedicate himself more fully to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, through which he has channeled a great deal of his immense wealth toward global health concerns. He remained on the board, however, and in fact chaired it until 2014. But starting today he will only be there as, presumably, something like a lucky charm and occasional auxiliary brain to Nadella and his crew. “It’s been a tremendous honor and privilege to have worked with and learned from Bill over the years,” said Nadella in a Microsoft press release. “I am grateful for Bill’s friendship and look forward to continuing to work a...

The man who draws in his sleep Why science says you need a nap If you have sleep apnoea, chances are you don’t realise it. But it’s linked to diabetes, heart disease and other conditions, and it can put your life at risk I thought I was dying. During the day, I was so tired my knees would buckle. Driving the car, my head would dip and then I would catch myself. My face was lined with exhaustion. At night, I would sleep fitfully, legs churning, then snap awake with a start, gasping for breath, heart racing. My doctor was puzzled. He ordered blood tests, urine tests, an electrocardiogram – maybe, he thought, the trouble was heart disease – those night-time palpitations… No, my heart was fine. My blood was fine. He ordered a colonoscopy. It was late 2008 and I was 47 years old – almost time to be having one anyway. So I forced down the four litres (seven pints) of Nulytely to wash out my intestines so a gastroenterologist could take a good look inside. My colon was clea...

Some of the world’s top experts tracking the spread of the coronavirus predict that in a matter of weeks, much of Europe could be facing a similar surge in cases that has locked down Italy, overwhelmed its hospitals in the north and brought the country of 60 million to a standstill. Mathematical models developed by epidemiologists to track the virus show a sharp trajectory of infections in Germany, France and Britain. Spain showed particularly concerning exponential growth, some experts said. The modelers in Europe say a similar arc is likely in the United States, but anticipating the spread is made more difficult by the lack of widespread testing of suspected cases there. “Italy is about two weeks ahead of Britain and the rest of Europe,” said Francois Balloux, director of the Genetics Institute at University College London. Observations by epidemiologists show that if unchecked, the number of infections double approximately roughly every five days, with infected individuals, ...

Google  said on Thursday that an employee at its office in Bangalore, India has tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus and the firm has asked all the other employees in that office to work from home on Friday out of abundance of caution. “We can confirm that an employee from our Bangalore office has been diagnosed with COVID-19. They were in one of our Bangalore offices for a few hours before developing any symptoms,” a company spokesperson said in a statement, adding that those who were in close contact with the employee have been asked to quarantine themselves. In an internal email, accessed by TechCrunch, Anand Rangarajan, director of engineering at Google, said the infected “Googler contracted the virus after traveling overseas.” In recent days, Google has moved to ask all its employees in North America, Europe, and several other regions to work from home. But the company has yet to extend such measure to its employees and contractor workers in Asian markets. ...

Google's U.S. workers have been told to stay home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.Google's U.S. workers have been told to stay home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. As concern about the coronavirus continues to build, many workplaces are encouraging people to work remotely to prevent it from spreading further. Now, in one of the biggest such moves yet, Google has asked all its employees in the U.S. and Canada to work from home for at least a month. The new policy was announced in a memo to workers on Tuesday, and confirmed by a Google spokesperson to Business Insider. Those who are able to work remotely have been told to do so for an entire month, staying away from Google's offices until at least April 10. Google has also recommended that employees in Europe work from home, and issued advice to its international offices depending upon the local situation. Google has numerous offices around the globe, however, some 100,000 of its workers are based...