š” There's no way around š¦ in the news
Welcome to another Pulse!
Hope youāre all well ā seriously, healthy and happy, ācause you knowā¦ nothing else mattersā¦
Coronavirus has become an unavoidable issue, and itās present in pretty much all the newsā¦ Hopefully, itāll pass soonā¦
Now, letās get to the newsā¦ but donāt stop thereā¦
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š NEWS
Bill Gates has stepped down from the Microsoftās Board of Directors, but he will continue to serve as a Technology Advisor to the CEO, Satya Nadella [Microsoft] ā āto dedicate more time to philanthropic prioritiesā¦ā
Apple announces it will hold WWDC in June in āan entirely new online formatā [Apple] ā and will pay $1M to local San Jose organisations to offset revenue loss from going online, which is net positive from a dev/techie perspective. WWDC had become unaffordableā¦
Google confirms Verily is building a tool to expedite COVID-19 testing in the Bay Area initially [Vox/Recode] ā Trump says Google has 1,700 engineers working on the project, Sundar Pichai sent a memo - yesterday - asking for volunteers and 1,700 people raised their hand. But they arenāt all involved [InaFried].
Twitter is making it mandatory for all employees around the world to work from home in response to the COVID-19 pandemic [TechCrunch] ā good move.
Apple plans to release new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models with scissor keyboards in the second quarter of 2020 [MacRumors] ā A keyboard that works? Gotta love the innovation. (Backspace, backspace, insert missing letter) [JudyBurton]
CNN investigation finds troll farms in Ghana and Nigeria exploited US racial tensions and have ties to Russiaās IRA; Facebook and Twitter have removed accounts [CNN] ā US election year vs COVID19 yearā¦
Leaked code from Apple hints at new fitness [MacRumors] and augmented reality features [9to5Mac] on iOS 14 ā exciting? or just āmeh?!ā
Zoom CEO Eric Yuan is giving K-12 schools his videoconferencing tools for free [Forbes] ā nice gesture.
Because of coronavirus, PokĆ©mon Go just got easier to play inside [Verge] ā well-played, Niantic Labs!
š googol gifts for you.
š§ INSIGHTS
Is Coronavirus a preview of the future? - Credit: Christin Hume on Unsplash
Coronavirus Is a Preview of Our Self-Isolating Future
āIt feels, in some ways, like a dress rehearsal for a future that was already on its way ā one in which more and more of us self-isolate voluntarily, interacting with the outside world only from behind screens.
Dreary as that might sound, the advantages would be enormous.ā
Interesting piece by Will Oremus on OneZero. Definitely worth reading.
š STATISTICS
Swiss export of cheaper electronic watches - Credit: VogueBusiness
Smart Devices Are Eating the Accessible Watches Market
A drop in demand for cheaper watches is causing trouble for Switzerlandās manufacturing base and Swiss watch companies specialising in watches under Ā£500. Since 2015, the number of Swiss watches being exported has declined by a third, per the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, and most of that shrinkage has been in watches that cost under 200 CHF (Ā£164). Exports are approaching the lows seen in the mid-1980s when Japanese quartz technology brought a raft of cheaper competitors for established brands.
While luxuryās moat remains, watchmakers have struggled to build hype for accessibly priced timepieces as consumers increasingly abandon them for smart devices.
Popular upstart brands like Mvmt and Daniel Wellington signal that success in this price category is possible with the right marketing.
Brands need to focus on their history and heritage: reissues of iconic watches like the original G-Shock have performed well with consumers.
Read more on VogueBusiness.
š± TOOLS & APPS
not a new app, but iāve recently discovered itā¦ seems pretty interestingā¦
ProtonMail: Secure Email Based in Switzerland [iOS | Android | Web]
not a new service, but definitely worth a mention
š SPOTTED
Facebook is working on cross-posting Stories to Instagram https://t.co/uH2w3VVnSe
š§ AUDIO STIMULATION
Learning to Live With the Coronavirus - The Daily
Now that the coronavirus is a pandemic, with both infections and deaths surging in many places across the world, the Daily brings back Donald G. McNeil Jr. who has covered the story from the start and ask him how best to navigate this new reality.
Itās very informative and useful. Definitely recommended.
Stripe: Patrick and John Collison (2018) - How I Built This with Guy Raz
Brothers Patrick and John Collison founded and sold their first company before they turned 20. They created software to help eBay users manage inventory online, which set them on a path to help make e-commerce frictionless. Today, John and Patrick are the founders of Stripe, a software company that used just a few lines of code to power the payment system of companies like Lyft, Warby Parker, and Target.
Iāve listened to this episode of HIBT more than onceā¦
š” [ pulse ] ā a playlist on Spotify
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š¦ TWEETS of the WEEK
Washing your hands is one of the most important things you can do to protect yourself and others from illness. Hereās the technique experts say is best. https://t.co/jrtllJWkjo https://t.co/fwppWT6JHe
Is anyone else eating 3 days worth of food in 1 day during the quarantine?
If not, me neither.
An older woman in front of me demanded her drink get remade because her barista was Asian.
When I tried to inform her how irrational that request was, she turned and sneered, āare YOU Chinese?ā
I replied, āno, but your ugly-ass knockoff purse is.ā
Shut your racist asses up.
with all this extra hand washing, finding a dry spot on the towel has become a new challenge.
š FUN STUFF
Couple decide to recreate their canceled cruise #coronavirus https://t.co/kRBjabMXHX
How's that gonna save you? - via: Reddit/u/Senile_Sapien
That's all for this week...
Stay safe ā and teach a friend how to subscribe to Pulse! Theyāll thank you later; I thank you right now!
Ciao!
š A gearbox with 100 1:10 wheels. Turning the final wheel once would require the first wheel to turn googol times.