Just as the coronavirus outbreak has boxed in society, it’s also squeezed high-flying tech companies reliant on people’s freedom to move around and get together.Since the beginning of March, for instance, Uber shares have lost a quarter of their value. Rival Lyft is down 28 percent. Over the same period, …
In the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, one sign that social distancing measures may be working is that people’s temperatures — a symptom of the virus — are dropping in some cities in the U.S., according to a smart thermometer company. The data could give health officials an early look …
Habbo Hotel, a hit online networking game more than a decade ago, is drawing back hundreds of thousand of players as locked-down millennials look to rediscover a childhood favorite, its Finnish maker said. “Our traffic has tripled over the past month. The exact user number growth figure is 213% since February …
Taiwan’s cabinet has told government agencies to stop using Zoom Video Communications Inc’s conferencing app, the latest blow to the company as it battles criticism of its booming platform over privacy and security.Zoom’s daily users ballooned to more than 200 million in March, as coronavirus-induced shutdowns forced employees to work …
Ceri Weber had just begun to defend her dissertation when the chaos began: Echoes and voices interrupted her. Someone parroted her words. Then Britney Spears music came on, and someone told Weber to shut up. Someone threatened to rape her. Hackers had targeted the meeting on the video conference platform Zoom …
As the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to overwhelm doctors and hospitals throughout the country, medical technology firms and health centers are trying to gain “situational awareness” — giving doctors what they need to know about the sick patients filling emergency rooms.For doctors and staff, “it’s really hard to know what sorts …
With social distancing now the mantra to keep the coronavirus from spreading further, more American consumers are turning to online delivery apps to get their food and household products. Yet as VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports, not everyone can avoid going to stores and if you must go, experts advise people …
Google on Thursday said it is pumping $6.5 million into fact-checkers and nonprofits as it ramps up its the battle against coronavirus misinformation. Fact-checking organizations, which often operate on relatively small budgets, are seeing a surge in demand for their work as mistaken or maliciously false information about the pandemic spreads, …
Twitter said Thursday it has removed thousands of accounts in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Honduras, Indonesia and Serbia that allegedly took direction from governments or pushed pro-government content.A network of accounts associated with Saudi Arabia and operating out of multiple countries including KSA, Egypt and UAE, were amplifying content praising Saudi …
A California hydrogen fuel cell company is now repairing and updating old ventilators, answering a challenge by the state to address a shortage of the life-saving equipment needed to help coronavirus patients breathe. Bloom Energy manufacturing director Joe Tavi told the Associated Press news agency state officials reached out to the …
Huawei’s chairman warned Tuesday that more U.S. moves to increase pressure on the Chinese tech giant might trigger retaliation by Beijing that could damage its worldwide industry. Huawei Technologies Ltd., which makes smartphones and network equipment, reported that its 2019 sales rose by double digits despite curbs imposed in May …
Spain will delay a planned auction of 5G spectrum due to the coronavirus outbreak, the government said on Monday. As part of a Europe-wide drive to speed up the roll out of fast Internet and broaden coverage, Spain had been due to free up space in the 700 MHz …
In Madrid only a few weeks ago, thousands of demonstrators took part in a women’s march, defiant or unaware of calls for social distancing to stop what then appeared to be the distant threat of coronavirus. Now, Spain is one of the biggest battlegrounds in the global war against the …
On the streets of Barcelona, a few lone shoppers and dog walkers, their faces obscured by masks, are the only signs of life in this once-vibrant city — but online it’s a different story. In Spain, as in the rest of the world, increasing numbers of people are going digital to …
Jeff Kao is a ProPublica reporter who FILE – In this Feb. 16, 2020, photo, a policeman stands guard at Tiananmen Gate following the coronavirus outbreak, in Beijing.Twitter continued, “Based on our intensive investigations, we have reliable evidence to support that this is a coordinated state-backed operation. As Twitter is …
Before the coronavirus outbreak, a Beijing technology company was already working to integrate autonomous vehicles into daily life in China. They produced pint-sized sidewalk sweepers and delivery robots, but there is now a demand to repurpose the technology to take the place of workers who are staying home in the …
The coronavirus pandemic has forced many office workers to do their jobs from home. And they are using technology like never before to stay connected to their colleagues and get their work done. But getting remote teams functioning isn’t like flipping a switch. Michelle Quinn reports. …
A Virginia man has come up with a way to help medical workers caring for people with COVID-19. Jeremy Filko is using his 3D printer to create plastic mask shields for doctors, nurses and other first responders. VOA’s Shih-Wei Chou reports. …
A U.S. cybersecurity firm said Wednesday it has detected a surge in new cyberspying by a suspected Chinese group dating back to late January, when coronavirus was starting to spread outside China. FireEye Inc. said in a report it had spotted a spike in activity from a hacking group it …
They are known as “Little White Snails,” self-driving street sweepers that for several years cleaned up parks and other public places across China. Kids liked them. Now the 4-foot-high sweepers are keeping humans safe. After the outbreak in China, over 200 Little White Snails were enlisted to fight the spread of the …
The president of the European Commission is warning EU citizens to beware of on-line scams, particularly for counterfeit medical products and medicines during the coronavirus crisis. In a video message released Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said with more people working from home and spending time online, they have become more susceptible to cyber criminals, particularly those exploiting …
Trexo Robotics is the invention of two passionate robotics engineers who decided they wanted to help those who cannot walk or otherwise move independently. Angelina Bagdasaryan has the story narrated by Anna Rice. …
A Washington-based software developer is recruiting other techies to combat the spread of the new coronavirus in his native Ethiopia, following the lead of countries such as China and South Korea with early experience in what is now a global pandemic.“We need an army of tech volunteers to help the …
No more rallies. No more door-knocking. And no more in-person fundraisers, raking in dollars from dozens of millionaires at once. The coronavirus has disrupted American life, and the 2020 presidential campaign is no exception. Amid calls for social distancing to stop the pandemic’s spread, President Donald Trump and Democrats …
Not everyone who wanted to buy the bank cards stolen from Southeast Asian owners would pay the same price: The higher the amount of money left on the card, the higher the price. That’s according to Technisanct, a cybersecurity company based in India, which said it found the data for …
A father in quarantine on a Marine base in California was able to attend his daughter’s wedding hundreds of kilometers away in Arizona. He did so through a “telepresence robot,” directing its movements, mingling with guests and watching from the sidelines as his daughter danced at the wedding party. With …