Monday, March 9, 2020
Poco X2 Set to Go On Sale Today at 12 Noon via Flipkart
Microsoft details techniques of ransomware including REvil, Samas, Doppelpaymer, Bitpaymer, and Ryuk, which are manually controlled by humans, not automated (Liam Tung/ZDNet)
Microsoft details techniques of ransomware including REvil, Samas, Doppelpaymer, Bitpaymer, and Ryuk, which are manually controlled by humans, not automated — Ransomware attackers are using common tools to take down big enterprise with ‘human-operated’ attacks.
PayPal CTO says in for the long haul in India, to back UPI soon
BMW axes plans to bring electric iX3 SUV to US
BMW will not bring the iX3, the automaker’s first electric crossover, to the U.S., the latest automaker to shift its EV strategy to Europe and China.
BMW told Automotive News, the first media outlet to report the change, that at this time, it doesn’t have plans to bring iX3 to the U.S. market. The change is notable because the iX3 is based off of the X3, the most popular BMW model in the U.S.
The BMW iX3, which will be manufactured in China, is scheduled to come to market in the first half of 2021.
BMW unveiled the iX3 concept at the Auto China 2018 show in Beijing. The automaker is targeting the U.S., Europe and China for its broader EV strategy. However, the realities of the U.S. market, where automakers with the exception of Tesla have faced a tepid response to EVs, mixed with stricter emissions regulations in Europe, are now hitting home for BMW.
BMW isn’t the only automaker to pull back plans to bring upcoming electric vehicles to the U.S. Mercedes-Benz has delayed the U.S. launch of the electric EQC SUV by a year. The EQC is now scheduled to come to the U.S. in 2021.
Volkswagen has also tweaked its sales strategy for its upcoming ID electric lineup. The company will keep its compact hatchback, the ID.3, out of the U.S. Instead, VW plans to bring the ID.4, (otherwise known as the ID. Crozz) to the U.S., although even this vehicle will first launch in Europe.
Edtech startups prepare to become ‘not just a teaching tool but a necessity’
As Stanford, Princeton, Columbia and others shutter classrooms to limit the coronavirus outbreak, college educators around the country are clambering to move their classes online.
At the same time, tech companies that enable remote learning are finding a surge in usage and signups. Zoom Video Communications, a videoconferencing company, has been crushing it in the stock market, and Duolingo, a language teaching app, has had 100% user growth in the past month in China, citing school closures as one factor.
But Kristin Lynn Sainani, an associate professor of epidemiology and population health at Stanford, has a fair warning to those making the shift: scrappiness has its setbacks.
“[The transition to online] is not going to be well planned when you’re doing it to get your class done tomorrow,” said Sainani, who has been teaching online classes since 2013. “At this point, professors are going to scramble to do the best they can.”
As the outbreak spreads and universities respond, can edtech startups help legacy institutions rapidly adopt online teaching services? And perhaps more tellingly, can they do so in a seamless way?
President teases stimulus package to boost a US economy hit by COVID-19 fears
Just a few hours after the markets closed the books on one of its worst trading days since the dawn of the financial crisis, President Donald Trump and members of the coronavirus task force took to the podium in the White House press briefing room to tease an economic stimulus package in an effort to stabilize shaky markets.
In a brief statement before the press corps, the president hinted at a possible payroll tax cut and emergency support for businesses looking to guarantee that hourly workers are protected from job loss and lost wages as social distancing becomes recommended practice in response to the spread of COVID-19.
“We’re going to be talking about hourly wage earners getting help so that they can be in a position where they’re not going to miss a paycheck,” the president said. “So that they don’t get penalized for something that’s not their fault.”
Trump intends to speak with representatives of the Small Business Administration to create potential loans for small businesses affected by response efforts from federal, state and local governments.
“This is about providing proper tools and liquidity to get through the next few months,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, at the briefing.
The president left the podium without responding to reporters’ questions about whether he had been tested for COVID-19, after reports surfaced earlier today that several members of Congress who had met with the president had been exposed to the disease last week at a gathering of national conservative leadership.
Vice President Mike Pence then outlined the latest steps from the U.S. government to respond to the spread of the disease while emphasizing most Americans’ risk of contracting the disease remained low.
“The risk of contracting the coronavirus to the American public remains low and the risk of serious disease also remains low,” the vice president said yet again.
Meanwhile, the American private health industry is working overtime to develop vaccines, treatments and diagnostic testing tools to buttress the work being done in national laboratories.
As more private tools come to market, the question will be who will ultimately foot the bill for treatment of the disease as it spreads.
Some epidemiologists contend that the U.S. remains unprepared for the severity of the disease’s spread, and that even a good scenario means that millions of Americans will be sickened and need some sort of consultation or care.
IANAE (I am not an epidemiologist) but I did just interview the co-author of a report for the Center for Health Security on the impact of Coronavirus, he believes the ultimate number of infected / hospitalized in U.S. will be somewhere between the two estimates on this table 1/ pic.twitter.com/gIHrRhROww
— Christopher Mims
(@mims) March 9, 2020
The government’s response to stabilize markets follows the advice laid out in a series of policy suggestions from the International Monetary Fund and advocated by Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former head of the Food and Drug Administration, who has returned to the private sector as a managing director of the venture capital firm NEA.
Natasha Romanoff faces off against Taskmaster in final Black Widow trailer
Marvel’s Black Widow final trailer.
Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) goes back to her roots to take down a ruthless mercenary recruiting other young women to be combat operatives in the final trailer for Black Widow, Marvel's long-overdue standalone feature film delving into the mysterious past of the late titular Avenger.
(Some spoilers for Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Endgame below.)
As we wrote last December, we know that the Russian-born Natasha/Black Widow was trained as a spy/assassin in a secretive academy known as the Red Room, which disguised itself as a ballet school. All the "Black Widows" were sterilized, so Natasha is unable to bear children. Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), aka Hawkeye, is sent to take her out but recruits her to S.H.I.E.L.D. instead. The two become fast friends, and both wind up joining the Avengers, giving Natasha a family of sorts. When the group splits in Captain America: Civil War, Natasha initially sides with Tony Stark/Iron Man, even though that pits her against Barton and Steve Rogers. But her loyalties remain divided, and in the battle at Leipzig Airport, she lets Rogers and Bucky Barnes escape.
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ET GBS: Wattpad sees a winning story in local content, partnerships
Sunday, March 8, 2020
Cooperative Service Commission WB Recruitment 2020 – Apply Online for 56 Banking Asst, Clerk & Other Posts
TANGEDCO Assessor Recruitment 2020 – Apply Online for 1300 Posts
Mi 10 Pro, Mi 10 Global Launch Set for March 27
Onward Rocks to $68 Million Box Office Opening Amid Coronavirus Concerns
Top Tesla Investor Says Tesla 'Better Run' After Leadership Shuffle: Report
PE firm Everstone combines India's Wingify, which helps A/B test sites, and France's AB Tasty, which improves e-commerce UX; Everstone bought Wingify for $200M (Jagmeet Singh/TechCrunch)
Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch : PE firm Everstone combines India's Wingify, which helps A/B test sites, and France's AB Tasty, which...
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http://bit.ly/2XqNIDz
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Amrith Ramkumar / Wall Street Journal : An interview with White House OSTP Director Michael Kratsios, a Peter Thiel protégé confirmed by ...
