Miscellaneous Tech News
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Coronavirus: UK tech sector begs for help - but does it need it?
The UK's high-growth tech companies say they need help from the government to get through the coronavirus crisis - and at the moment they are not getting it.
That was the message of a letter to the chancellor from 12 leaders of some of the country's best-known tech businesses. They include Babylon, Citymapper, Deliveroo and Improbable.But just hours after the letter arrived at the Treasury, there is confusion about what it intends to achieve and some criticism - even from within the tech sector - of an appeal for government money from firms that may not actually need it. -
@mlnews said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
Coronavirus: UK tech sector begs for help - but does it need it?
The UK's high-growth tech companies say they need help from the government to get through the coronavirus crisis - and at the moment they are not getting it.
That was the message of a letter to the chancellor from 12 leaders of some of the country's best-known tech businesses. They include Babylon, Citymapper, Deliveroo and Improbable.But just hours after the letter arrived at the Treasury, there is confusion about what it intends to achieve and some criticism - even from within the tech sector - of an appeal for government money from firms that may not actually need it.Although that begs another question - when you are bailing out 80% of the businesses, is that really just secretly taxing the other 20%?
Should tech companies be targeted to have their taxes funneled to non-tech businesses? Once they are providing assistance, shouldn't it be universal rather than attempting to discriminate to see who is deemed worthy and who isn't?
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@scottalanmiller said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
Although that begs another question - when you are bailing out 80% of the businesses, is that really just secretly taxing the other 20%?
And the citizens.
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@Dashrender said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@scottalanmiller said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
Although that begs another question - when you are bailing out 80% of the businesses, is that really just secretly taxing the other 20%?
And the citizens.
As a proxy, yeah. And different industries have different gender and racial mixes. So picking and choosing industries is a proxy for picking and choosing racial groups, socio-political groups, genders, etc.
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@black3dynamite said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-gitlab-largest-fully-remote-company-onboards-new-employees-guide
Paywall article. Can't read it.
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@Obsolesce said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@black3dynamite said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-gitlab-largest-fully-remote-company-onboards-new-employees-guide
Paywall article. Can't read it.
Was just about to say that, I can't see it.
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@Obsolesce @scottalanmiller
My bad. My Pi-Hole Server is allowing me to see the article.Anyway, it was showcasing how GitLab is handling onboarding and remote users.
https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/
https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/general-onboarding/ -
@black3dynamite said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@Obsolesce @scottalanmiller
My bad. My Pi-Hole Server is allowing me to see the article.Anyway, it was showcasing how GitLab is handling onboarding and remote users.
https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/
https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/general-onboarding/That's weird. Mine is on but didn't help
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@scottalanmiller said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@black3dynamite said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@Obsolesce @scottalanmiller
My bad. My Pi-Hole Server is allowing me to see the article.Anyway, it was showcasing how GitLab is handling onboarding and remote users.
https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/
https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/general-onboarding/That's weird. Mine is on but didn't help
I'm using Pi-Hole 5 Beta with following list
My upstream DNS servers is Cloudflare (Malware and Adult Content)
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@black3dynamite ah, I'mstill on 4. Could not get it to update for me.
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Mine is 4 and it opened for me.
Some paywalls only hit after a few visits.
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Animal Crossing removed from sale in China amid Hong Kong protests
The Nintendo Switch's current best-selling game has been removed from Chinese online stores after activists used it to criticise the state.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons lets players customise their own island and invite others to visit. Some players in Hong Kong have used the platform to stage protests. Players in mainland China had previously been able to buy foreign editions of the title from online marketplaces. The country's censors strictly regulate video games and had yet to approve the title's formal release in the country. Now, even local sites which had advertised imported copies have removed the listings. -
Coronavirus: Apple tracks changes in travel behaviour
Apple has launched a tool that reveals changes in the travel behaviour of people who use its Maps app.
The Mobility Trends Report produces three daily percentage figures, showing how many fewer people are driving, walking and using public transport compared with on 13 January, before the coronavirus lockdowns came into effect. It covers major cities and national figures for 63 countries. Hong Kong is included but not mainland China. It follows a similar effort by Google. Google's Covid-19 Community Mobility reports are arguably more detailed - they cover 130 countries and also report on how busy different types of location are - however, the search firm has only provided such data for two dates since its launch on 3 April. -
Coronavirus: NHS contact tracing app to target 80% of smartphone users
A contact-tracing app could help stop the coronavirus pandemic, but 80% of current smartphone owners would need to use it, say experts advising the NHS.
The University of Oxford's Big Data Institute has modelled a city of one million people to simulate the software's impact. If there is lower uptake, academics say the app would still help slow the spread of Covid-19. They add that letting people self-diagnose the illness could be critical. That means users would only have to answer an on-screen questionnaire before being judged to be at significant risk of infection. They would not have to speak to a health advisor or wait for a medical test result. -
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/bluejeans-bought-by-verizon-for-less-than-800m-546826
BlueJeans bought by Verizon for less than $800m
(~$500million USD)EDIT: Also here: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/04/16/verizon_business_acquires_bluejeans/
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Family-Friendly Cloudflare DNS
Introduced about two weeks ago, Cloudflare now offers a family friendly DNS resolver.
https://developers.cloudflare.com/1.1.1.1/1.1.1.1-for-families/Basically you use it by pointing to 1.1.1.2 for protection from malware-serving websites or 1.1.1.3 for malware and adult content protection.
They're going to add some customization options as well in the coming months.
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Coronavirus: EU and Australian tracing apps 'ready in weeks'
Coronavirus contact-tracing apps will be rolled out in Europe and Australia in the next two to four weeks, officials say.
Germany's health minister Jens Spahn said his country's app would be ready to download in three to four weeks. Meanwhile, Australia and Denmark plan to push out apps within two weeks. Australian prime minister Scott Morrison said using the app would be voluntary to begin with - but he did not rule out making it compulsory. Contact-tracing apps are being developed by several countries around the world. They typically use Bluetooth or satellite location data to record who a person has been in close proximity to. That information can then be used to notify app-users if someone they have met becomes ill with Covid-19, and declares their status in the app.
