Formula 1 Virtual Grand Prix Series to replace F1 races postponed by the COVID-19 Coronavirus

The ongoing COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic has pretty much cancelled all events in order to curb the spread of the virus. From product launches to sporting events, every thing’s seems to be stuck in limbo. The Formula 1 race series is no different, with most of the season openers cancelled or delayed. However, the guys behind the sport have found a novel way to ensure that the show goes on. They have announced a new F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix series that will see a bunch of the current drivers race in-game via the F1 2019 PC video game. 

The first race in the series will be held on March 22, at 8:00 pm GMT (March 23, 1:30 am IST) and will take place on a virtual track set in Bahrain and will be 28 laps long. There will also be a qualifying period that will determine each drivers grid position based on their fastest lap time.   Each driver will join the race remotely and the race will be broadcast on Formula 1’s official YouTube, Twitch and Facebook channels as well as F1.com.  

Since this is gaming and not actual racing, the level of skill between the drivers will vary. In order to ensure a level playing field, the game settings will be configured to each driver. This will also include running cars with equal performance with fixed setups, reduced vehicle damage, and optional anti-lock brakes and traction control turned on for those less familiar with the game. It should be noted that this Virtual Racing series is strictly for entertainment and there will be no World Championship points up for grabs. 

Formula 1 isn’t the only sport that is turning towards video games in the face of event postponement and cancellation. NBA basketball team, Phoenix Suns announced that they will be playing their remaining games in NBA 2K20 and all of the matches will be streamed on Twitch. Hopefully, other sports teams will get the hint and just start playing matches on games. That should give some entertainment to all sports fans stuck in quarantine or isolating themselves.

https://ift.tt/3ab5dOr

New Apple MacBook Air; Dangerous Coronavirus app; Intel chip that can smell & more top tech news

https://ift.tt/3benrP9

Satya Nadella, whose 23-year-old son is a legally blind quadriplegic with cerebral palsy weakening his immune system, on Microsoft's role in slowing COVID-19 (Geoff Baker/The Seattle Times)

Geoff Baker / The Seattle Times:
Satya Nadella, whose 23-year-old son is a legally blind quadriplegic with cerebral palsy weakening his immune system, on Microsoft's role in slowing COVID-19  —  Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella admits to feeling the personal anxieties many of his employees have shared about the coronavirus pandemic.

Facebook's efforts to help governments, emergency response orgs, SMBs, its employees, and users during the pandemic could help improve its tarnished reputation (Salvador Rodriguez/CNBC)

Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Facebook's efforts to help governments, emergency response orgs, SMBs, its employees, and users during the pandemic could help improve its tarnished reputation  —  - Over the past few weeks, Facebook has been quick to launch a number of efforts to help combat the spread of the coronavirus …

The Tezos Foundation says it has agreed to settle for $25M a class action suit that alleged it ran an unregistered securities sale through its $232M ICO (Liam Frost/Decrypt)

Liam Frost / Decrypt:
The Tezos Foundation says it has agreed to settle for $25M a class action suit that alleged it ran an unregistered securities sale through its $232M ICO  —  The project behind a $232 million initial coin offering has decided the lawsuit is too “expensive and time-consuming.”  —  Tezos  —  In brief

Disney says it will reduce bandwidth use by at least 25% in EU markets where it is launching Disney+ on Mar. 24 and will delay its French launch until Apr. 7 (Bruce Haring/Deadline)

Bruce Haring / Deadline:
Disney says it will reduce bandwidth use by at least 25% in EU markets where it is launching Disney+ on Mar. 24 and will delay its French launch until Apr. 7  —  Disney+ is cutting back on its bandwidth utilization by 25 percent in the markets where its debuting on March 24.

Disney says it has paused the rollout of Disney+ in India, which was set to launch March 29 alongside the now-delayed Indian Premier League cricket season (Manish Singh/TechCrunch)

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Disney says it has paused the rollout of Disney+ in India, which was set to launch March 29 alongside the now-delayed Indian Premier League cricket season  —  Disney said on Friday that it is postponing the launch of its eponymous streaming service in India, one of the largest entertainment markets …

Apple has updated Siri to help US users asking if they have COVID-19, with answers coming from the US Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC (CNBC)

CNBC:
Apple has updated Siri to help US users asking if they have COVID-19, with answers coming from the US Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC  —  - iPhone users who are wondering whether they have COVID-19 can now turn to Siri.  — Apple has updated its voice assistant …

Redmi K30 Pro Launching on March 24: Everything We Know So Far

Redmi K30 Pro launch is taking place on March 24. But before the official debut, you can read everything we seem to know about Redmi K30 Pro price and specifications. https://ift.tt/2QvROsv

Working from home: 9 tips to boost your home Wi-Fi speed

https://ift.tt/2WA6ESs

In memo to employees, Bezos says face mask orders for workers are unfilled due to short global supply, and that his time is now "wholly focused" on COVID-19 (GeekWire)

GeekWire:
In memo to employees, Bezos says face mask orders for workers are unfilled due to short global supply, and that his time is now “wholly focused” on COVID-19  —  See all special coverage.  —  Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos says he has turned all of his attention to the impact of COVID-19 …

The mass move towards remote work could put corporate data at risk, as hackers move to take advantage of weaker home security systems and relaxed restrictions (Reuters)

Reuters:
The mass move towards remote work could put corporate data at risk, as hackers move to take advantage of weaker home security systems and relaxed restrictions  —  TEL AVIV/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As people disperse to their homes to work and study because of the coronavirus pandemic …

Realme Narzo 10, Narzo 10A Launch: Here's Everything We Think We Know So Far

Realme has been constantly launching new smartphones every few weeks and it is now getting ready to introduce the Narzo series next week. Here's all we think we know about Realme Narzo 10 and Realme... https://ift.tt/2WAWn8v

Home Internet Suddenly Slow? Try These Steps Before Upgrading

With so much of the US and global workforce - and their families - now cooped up at home to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, it's not a huge surprise that home Internet is showing the... https://ift.tt/2QEfhYC

A behind-the-scenes account on the creation of Petro, Venezuela's oil-backed cryptocurrency, whose author fled the country after becoming subject to persecution (New York Times)

New York Times:
A behind-the-scenes account on the creation of Petro, Venezuela's oil-backed cryptocurrency, whose author fled the country after becoming subject to persecution  —  Gabriel Jiménez hated the Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.  But he loved cryptocurrency.