Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Govt makes Aarogya Setu app a must for its employees

Officials to attend office only when their app shows ‘safe’ or ‘low-risk’ status https://ift.tt/2ybS1Lq https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Restaurateurs eye revamp as lockdown shutters eateries

40% restaurants face a permanent lockout; some entrepreneurs tweaking business models, selling DIY meal kits, attempting delivery https://ift.tt/3aR3qxk https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Redmi Note 9, Mi Note 10 Lite Expected to Launch Today: Watch Live Stream

Xiaomi is all set to host its global launch event today, wherein it is expected to unveil the Redmi Note 9 and the Mi Note 10 Lite phones. The two phones have leaked on multiple occasions in the past,... https://ift.tt/3d4vPl1

Booking Holdings' Priceline, OpenTable, and Kayak, along with Blix and others, form the lobbying group App Coalition, touting independence from Apple and Google (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg:
Booking Holdings' Priceline, OpenTable, and Kayak, along with Blix and others, form the lobbying group App Coalition, touting independence from Apple and Google  —  - OpenTable, Priceline create new mobile application trade group  — Mobile apps have sparred with Google and Apple over policies



Reddit launches Start Chatting, a new tool that lets users start a chat room with up to seven randomly selected users within a subreddit (Karissa Bell/Engadget)

Karissa Bell / Engadget:
Reddit launches Start Chatting, a new tool that lets users start a chat room with up to seven randomly selected users within a subreddit  —  The “front page of the internet” is bringing back one of the web's oldest features: chat rooms.  Reddit company is introducing a new chat tool …



Mission accomplished: Saving private labels in Covid season

Industry executives and analysts told ET that private brands in categories such as pulses, detergents and personal care have received a boost over the past five weeks https://ift.tt/2KHFsKB https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Zuckerberg: 3B+ MAUs across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, with FB and IG Live video views up 2x and group video call time up 10x in recent weeks (Lucas Matney/TechCrunch)

Lucas Matney / TechCrunch:
Zuckerberg: 3B+ MAUs across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, with FB and IG Live video views up 2x and group video call time up 10x in recent weeks  —  The quarantine lockdown is driving a record number of users to Facebook's products.  On a conference call …



Tesla to reduce price of standard range Model 3 in China

Tesla said it will reduce the price of its standard range Model 3 vehicle in China to meet the government’s new eligibility requirements for subsidies.

This marks the second time this year that the automaker has reduced the price. Several months ago, the base version of China-made Model 3 was lowered by 9%.

Tesla has to cut the price of the vehicle to continue to qualify for government rebates on electric vehicles. The Chinese government instituted new regulations that require prices below 300,000 yuan for electric vehicles to qualify for subsidies.

The base price of the standard range Model 3 made in China is 323,800 yuan, or $45,754 before subsidies.

The price reduction will go into effect tomorrow in China, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a earnings call Wednesday. Musk, who didn’t provide a specific figure, said he is confident the vehicle will deliver a gross margin despite the reduction in price.

Tesla chief financial officer Zachary Kirkhorn added that the cost of vehicles produced at its Shanghai factory in the first quarter is already lower than the cost to produce the Model 3 in the United States. That margin should improve as the company improves its local supply chain in China. Tesla still ships some parts from the U.S. to build cars at its Shanghai factory.

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Oscars Allows Streaming Movies to Qualify Due to Coronavirus Disruptions

Movies that skip the big screen will be allowed to contend for Oscars this year, the Academy said Tuesday in a significant rule change forced by the coronavirus pandemic. https://ift.tt/3bOUZ71

Samsung Sees Coronavirus Hit Smartphone, TV Sales, Forecasts Q2 Decline

Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday it expected profit to decline in the current quarter due to a coronavirus-related slump in sales of smartphones and TVs, although the chip business would remain... https://ift.tt/2We95bQ

OnePlus 8 Pro, OnePlus 8 Are Now Listed for Pre-Bookings in India

OnePlus 8 Pro and OnePlus 8 pre-bookings have been kicked off in India. The pre-bookings are live through Amazon, with the sale date for both OnePlus 8 phones scheduled for May 11. https://ift.tt/2VKgy32

Google Ad Sales Steady After Coronavirus Drop, Warns of Difficult Q2

A drop in Google ad sales steadied in April and some consumers returned to using the search engine for shopping in addition to finding novel coronavirus information, parent Alphabet said on Tuesday. https://ift.tt/3cZXOlQ

Roc Nation files copyright claim over deepfake YouTube videos which use AI to impersonate Jay-Z's voice, raising new copyright and fair use questions (Andy Baio/Waxy.org)

Andy Baio / Waxy.org:
Roc Nation files copyright claim over deepfake YouTube videos which use AI to impersonate Jay-Z's voice, raising new copyright and fair use questions  —  On Friday, I linked to several videos by Vocal Synthesis, a new YouTube channel dedicated to audio deepfakes — AI-generated speech …



Coronavirus: Apps, courses and more that Google, Apple, TCS and other technology companies are offering free

https://ift.tt/2WczPZY

WFH: Google has 5 video-calling tips for you

https://ift.tt/2YeJ1Qn

Over 40K Audible books are marked as having been made with an AI "virtual voice", saving authors hundreds or thousands of dollars per title on narration costs (Ashley Carman/Bloomberg)

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg : Over 40K Audible books are marked as having been made with an AI “virtual voice”, saving authors hundreds or ...