Thursday, March 5, 2020

Huawei Nova 7 SE to Sport Mid-range Kirin 5G Chipset and 22.5W Fast Charging Tech


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Samsung Galaxy A41 Moniker Confirmed by Bluetooth SIG Certification, Launch Seems Imminent


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Santa Clara County Asks Apple, Google and Others to Cancel Large In-Person Meetings and Conferences

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Santa Clara County, which includes cities like Cupertino, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and San Jose, today issued new health guidelines (via The Verge) recommending that companies minimize or cancel "large in-person meetings and conferences."


The updated guidance comes as six new COVID-19 cases were found today, which means there are now at least 20 people in the county with known coronavirus infections.

Santa Clara County is hoping to reduce the spread of the virus in the Bay Area, and in addition to recommending against in-person conferences, has provided additional guidelines for employers:

  • Suspend nonessential employee travel.

  • Minimize the number of employees working within arm's length of one another, including minimizing or canceling large in-person meetings and conferences.

  • Urge employees to stay home when they are sick and maximize flexibility in sick leave benefits.

  • Not require a doctor's note for employees that are sick as healthcare offices may be very busy and unable to provide that documentation right away.

  • Consider use of telecommuting options for appropriate employees.

  • Consider staggering start and end times to reduce large numbers of people coming together at the same time.

While Santa Clara County recommends postponing or canceling mass gatherings and large community events, it says if there's no option to cancel, extra steps should be followed such as providing more physical space, encouraging sick people not to attend, frequent hand washing, and avoiding close contact with others.

Google and Facebook have already canceled annual developer events that were set to be held in Santa Clara County, with Facebook canceling F8 last week and Google canceling I/O earlier this week.

Santa Clara County has no specific dates included in its recommendations, and Apple has not yet made any announcements about WWDC, which is typically held in June at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California.

Apple may still have some time before it makes a decision about whether to cancel WWDC this year because of the coronavirus, but with the county's recommendation and the fact that Google and Facebook have both canceled events, Apple may choose not to hold WWDC.

There were also rumors suggesting Apple would hold an event in March to announce new products like a low-cost iPhone, AirTags, and updated iPad Pro models, but that seems unlikely to happen at this point. Apple could hold an online only event or simply debut new products via press release.


This article, "Santa Clara County Asks Apple, Google and Others to Cancel Large In-Person Meetings and Conferences" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Realme 6 Pro vs POCO X2 vs Samsung Galaxy M31: Price in India, Specifications, Features Comparison


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Sonos Eliminates Unpopular 'Recycle Mode' That Bricked Older Hardware

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Sonos is eliminating its controversial "Recycle Mode" that was part of the company's trade-up program that provides a discount of 30 percent on new devices, reports The Verge.


Customers who wanted to take advantage of Sonos' recycling program to get a 30 percent discount on a new speaker were required to download software that rendered existing speakers inoperable within 21 days.

Basically, after a customer initiated the trade-up program and confirmed it in the Sonos app, Sonos would provide the 30 percent discount and start a 21-day countdown timer that then caused an older device to enter Recycle Mode. Recycle Mode erased all data, permanently deactivated the speaker, and prevented reactivation.

Sonos is still offering the 30 percent discount for customers who want to upgrade to a new speaker, but is no longer requiring existing speakers to be bricked to get the deal. Customers can now choose to keep their speakers, give their speakers to someone else, recycle it at a local facility, or send it to Sonos for recycling.

According to The Verge, Sonos removed Recycle Mode from its app last week and replaced it with new language instructing customers who want a discount to call customer service. Sonos plans to update its website and app with a new system for the trade-up process within the next few weeks.

Products eligible for Sonos' trade-up include the original Sonos Play:5, Zone Players, and Connect / Connect:Amp devices manufactured between 2011 and 2015. Sonos no longer plans to update these devices with new software starting in May 2020.

Tag: Sonos

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Apple Rejecting Coronavirus Apps Not From Health or Government Organizations

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Apple is rejecting apps that are related to the COVID-19 coronavirus that aren't provided by health organizations or government institutions, according to CNBC


Four independent developers that spoke to CNBC said that their coronavirus apps, which were designed to let people see stats about which countries have confirmed cases, had been rejected.

One developer was told over the phone by an Apple employee that anything related to the coronavirus needs to be released by an official health organization or government, while another received a notice that "apps with information about current medical information need to be submitted by a recognized institution."

Apple has been evaluating and rejecting coronavirus apps to prevent the spread of misinformation, looking at where the health data is sourced from and whether developers represent organizations that users can trust to publish accurate data.

Searches for coronavirus and ‌COVID-19‌ on the App Store bring up few results, including a ‌COVID-19‌ virus tracker from Healthlynked that uses World Health Organization data, the Epoch Times, and an app from the Brazilian government.

Other tech companies have taken similar steps to prevent the spread of misinformation. Facebook and Twitter have banned misleading coronavirus-related ads, and Amazon has banned coronavirus products and sellers attempting to price gouge on items like face masks and hand sanitizer.

Google also has a policy against apps that capitalize on a natural disaster or profit from a tragic event and there are no apps related to the coronavirus available from Google Play in the United States.


This article, "Apple Rejecting Coronavirus Apps Not From Health or Government Organizations" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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