Non-essential e-commerce in the red even in Green & Orange zones

Apparel sales worst hit as ecommerce firms recover only one-fifth of pre-Covid-19 demand after opening sales of non-essentials in smaller towns and cities https://ift.tt/2Wa2WOZ https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Offline-only dating apps see surge in users, offer virtual activities amid the lockdown

Startups like Floh, SirfCoffee, Aisle, MyScoot and FilterOff are offering virtual poetry and cookery sessions and speed dates online among others https://ift.tt/2L4MWqX https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

NYC Department of Education reverses its ban on Zoom for online learning after Zoom agreed to create customized platform for the city to address security issues (Chalkbeat New York)

Chalkbeat New York:
NYC Department of Education reverses its ban on Zoom for online learning after Zoom agreed to create customized platform for the city to address security issues  —  After forbidding schools from using the teleconferencing platform Zoom for remote instruction, New York City is reversing course, officials said Wednesday.

Facebook says it dismantles disinformation network tied to Iran's state media

Iran's state broadcaster has used hundreds of fake social media accounts to covertly spread pro-Iranian messaging online since at least 2011, targeting voters in countries including Britain and the United States, Facebook said. https://ift.tt/3b9REhY

EA sees full-year revenue above estimates as home-sheltering boosts gaming

Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc forecast full-year adjusted revenue above Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, riding on the broader surge in videogame sales as people shelter at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. https://ift.tt/2Wxq0G9

Pinterest flags slowing ad spend as quarterly loss widens, shares fall

Pinterest said advertisers were slowing spending on the image sharing company due to the COVID-19 pandemic and reported a bigger-than-expected first-quarter loss as costs surged from new user additions, sending its shares down 18% in extended trade. https://ift.tt/3b8SStV

Activision raises 2020 forecast as 'Call of Duty' gets lockdown boost

Millions of people stuck indoors turned to video games such as Activision Blizzard Inc's "Call of Duty" to shake off lockdown boredom in the past two months, encouraging the company to raise its revenue forecast for the year. https://ift.tt/2SHFWEN

TCS launches AI-powered solution to detect wafer anomaly in semiconductor manufacturing

The solution harnesses the company's contextual knowledge of the semiconductor industry and the power of deep learning tech, to help chip makers digitally re-imagine their product quality assurance process. Sophisticated quality inspection of wafers during the semiconductor manufacturing process is essential to detect and classify defects early and accurately, TCS said. https://ift.tt/2zaL65k

How to lock Google Drive using the Privacy Screen feature on iPhone and iPad

Apple has added the Privacy Screen feature to the Google Drive app for both iOS and iPadOS, which means users will now have to scan their face or finger or use the passcode to access the Google Drive app on iPhone and iPad. https://ift.tt/2L0HJRf

Internet banking frauds: 10 things not to do on WhatsApp

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Maruti, Hero unveil apps in sync with Aarogya Setu to monitor staff health

At Maruti Suzuki, more than 34,000 employees have started using the Wellness Mitra App, which helps maintain the health log sheet of personnel across all company locations in India. https://ift.tt/2WwVgoP https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

SpaceX has fired Starship’s Raptor engine and the vehicle still stands

Enlarge / A view into the maw of SN4, showing a single Raptor engine mounted inside. (credit: SpaceX)

For the first-time, a full-scale prototype of SpaceX's Starship vehicle lit its engine on Tuesday evening. After ignition, it appeared that the Raptor rocket engine burned for about 4 seconds. At the end of this test at the South Texas Launch Site, the vehicle still stood. About 90 minutes after the test, SpaceX founder and chief engineer Elon Musk confirmed the test firing was good, saying, "Starship SN4 passed static fire."

Tuesday night's test, which took place at 8:57pm CT local time in Texas (01:57 UTC Wednesday), occurred eight days after a successful pressurization test of this Starship prototype, known as SN4. Engineers will now review the data before possibly performing another static fire test, or a small hop. Ultimately, if this vehicle survives additional testing, it may make a 150-meter hop above the scrubby Texas lowlands.

This test also took place less than a week after NASA awarded SpaceX a $135 million contract to develop Starship as a Lunar Lander—a vehicle for carrying cargo and crew from lunar orbit down to the surface, and back. Although Starship is the most ambitious of three landers NASA is considering as part of its Artemis Program, it is also the only one actively testing full-scale prototypes.

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https://arstechnica.com

Activision Blizzard CEO says people may turn to free mobile games during the pandemic, after the company beat Q1 expectations with sales of $1.52B, up 21% YoY (Shannon Liao/CNN)

Shannon Liao / CNN:
Activision Blizzard CEO says people may turn to free mobile games during the pandemic, after the company beat Q1 expectations with sales of $1.52B, up 21% YoY  —  New York (CNN Business)While much of the economy is hurting during the pandemic, video games are thriving.

Spotify CEO expects Apple to "open up" its platform more to 3rd-party apps, after Spotify's antitrust complaint with the EU, but sees it as a long-term process (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg:
Spotify CEO expects Apple to “open up” its platform more to 3rd-party apps, after Spotify's antitrust complaint with the EU, but sees it as a long-term process  —  - Apple plans to let other music services integrate with HomePod  — Ek says ‘steps to go before’ Apple is open and fair platform

Airbnb cuts 1,900 jobs as Covid-19 hits home rentals

The laid off employees in the United States will get 14 weeks of base pay plus one additional week for every year at Airbnb https://ift.tt/2ywo8FN https://ift.tt/eA8V8J