theverge--2020-04-30--Twitter is growing but hints at trouble ahead

Twitter usage spiked to 166 million daily users in the first quarter of 2020 , as more people flocked to the site to keep up with news on the coronavirus pandemic .
The usage growth is the largest Twitter has ever reported year-over-year , up from 134 million during this same quarter last year ( and up from 152 million daily users at the end of 2019 ) .
But the growth wasn ’ t enough to offset the sudden advertising decline caused by the pandemic — and it could pose problems for Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey , who ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of activist investors .
Twitter ’ s ad revenue started to fall apart in March .
From March 11th on , Twitter saw a 27 percent drop in year-over-year ad revenue .
This led to Twitter missing out on $ 20 million to $ 80 million that it had initially expected to bring in by the end of the month , and the company ultimately posted its first loss since 2017 .
The quarter can be seen as “ two distinct periods , ” Twitter writes : “ January through early March , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ early March through the end of the quarter , when the pandemic became global.
” Twitter says the downturn “ was particularly pronounced in the US.
” Twitter ’ s results are similar to those we ’ ve seen from other apps and web services : usage is up significantly as a result of people being stuck at home and looking for things to do , but there are signs that advertising could fall apart next quarter , leading to a serious drop in revenue .
For Twitter , the matter is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Facebook still saw significant revenue growth , even with the slowdown .
Twitter isn ’ t offering a projection on how it ’ ll do next quarter due to “ unprecedented uncertainty and rapidly shifting market conditions.
” It could also threaten Dorsey ’ s position at the top .
In March , days before the coronavirus was declared a pandemic , Twitter struck a deal with the activist investor firm Elliott Management that involved setting aggressive user growth and revenue targets .
If Twitter fails to meet them , “ Dorsey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ push for a sale of Twitter , ” Bloomberg reported at the time .
User growth is headed in the right direction , but it seems unlikely at this point that Twitter can hit whatever advertising targets the company agreed to .
Twitter now says it ’ s accelerating its work on advertising products , including one that lets companies promote mobile app downloads directly inside the Twitter feed .

Twitter usage spiked to 166 million daily users in the first quarter of 2020, as more people flocked to the site to keep up with news on the coronavirus pandemic. The usage growth is the largest Twitter has ever reported year-over-year, up from 134 million during this same quarter last year (and up from 152 million daily users at the end of 2019).
But the growth wasn’t enough to offset the sudden advertising decline caused by the pandemic — and it could pose problems for Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who’s on shaky ground with a group of activist investors.
Advertising fell apart in March
Twitter’s ad revenue started to fall apart in March. From March 11th on, Twitter saw a 27 percent drop in year-over-year ad revenue. This led to Twitter missing out on $20 million to $80 million that it had initially expected to bring in by the end of the month, and the company ultimately posted its first loss since 2017.
The quarter can be seen as “two distinct periods,” Twitter writes: “January through early March, which largely performed as expected” and “early March through the end of the quarter, when the pandemic became global.” Twitter says the downturn “was particularly pronounced in the US.”
Twitter’s results are similar to those we’ve seen from other apps and web services: usage is up significantly as a result of people being stuck at home and looking for things to do, but there are signs that advertising could fall apart next quarter, leading to a serious drop in revenue.
For Twitter, the matter is even more serious — companies like Snap and Facebook still saw significant revenue growth, even with the slowdown. Twitter isn’t offering a projection on how it’ll do next quarter due to “unprecedented uncertainty and rapidly shifting market conditions.”
It could also threaten Dorsey’s position at the top. In March, days before the coronavirus was declared a pandemic, Twitter struck a deal with the activist investor firm Elliott Management that involved setting aggressive user growth and revenue targets. If Twitter fails to meet them, “Dorsey could still be replaced or investors could push for a sale of Twitter,” Bloomberg reported at the time.


theverge--2020-04-30--Quibi’s email verification process reportedly sent data to multiple ad firms

The process Quibi used to verify new users ’ email addresses sent them to multiple third-party advertising and analytics companies including Google , Facebook , and Twitter , a new report has claimed .
When a new user signed up to the streaming service , they received an email with a verification link .
Clicking that link appended their address to the URL and sent it in plain text to multiple other companies .
Quibi is not the only company whose practices have been called out in the report , which was put together by Zach Edwards at the digital @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wish , and the Washington Post were also found to be leaking addresses .
But Edwards says that Quibi ’ s actions are especially egregious because the service launched less than a month ago , well after strict new privacy rules like Europe ’ s GDPR or the California Consumer Privacy Act went into effect , the New York Times notes .
“ No new technology organizations should be launching that leaks all new user-confirmed emails to advertising and analytics companies ” In a statement given to Variety , Quibi said that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report raised .
“ The moment the issue on our web page was revealed to our security and engineering team , we fixed it immediately , ” the company said , adding “ Data protection is essential to Quibi and the security of user information is of the highest priority.
” However , Edwards says that it ’ s unlikely Quibi was unaware of the issue .
“ It ’ s an extremely disrespectful decision to purposefully leak all new user emails to your advertising partners , and there ’ s almost no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not only aware of this plan , but helped to architect this user data breach , ” Edwards says .
“ In 2020 , no new technology organizations should be launching that leaks all new user-confirmed emails to advertising and analytics companies.
” Edwards said he confirmed that email addresses were still being leaked as late as April 26th .
Here ’ s the full list of places Edwards says that Quibi was initially sending email addresses to in plain text : Variety notes that Quibi ’ s privacy policy discloses that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ third-parties to let them provide services like “ personalized advertising , ad measurement and verification.
” However , it does not specifically mention that email addresses can be collected and used for online tracking .
Since it ’ s launch on April 7th , Quibi says over 2.7 million people have downloaded its app .
The service is built around short-form video , or “ quick bites , ” that are designed to be watched on mobile devices .
Disclosure : Vox Media is partnered with Quibi on two shows and there are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ future .

The process Quibi used to verify new users’ email addresses sent them to multiple third-party advertising and analytics companies including Google, Facebook, and Twitter, a new report has claimed. When a new user signed up to the streaming service, they received an email with a verification link. Clicking that link appended their address to the URL and sent it in plain text to multiple other companies.
Quibi is not the only company whose practices have been called out in the report, which was put together by Zach Edwards at the digital strategy firm Victory Medium. JetBlue, Wish, and the Washington Post were also found to be leaking addresses. But Edwards says that Quibi’s actions are especially egregious because the service launched less than a month ago, well after strict new privacy rules like Europe’s GDPR or the California Consumer Privacy Act went into effect, the New York Times notes.
“No new technology organizations should be launching that leaks all new user-confirmed emails to advertising and analytics companies”
In a statement given to Variety, Quibi said that it’s fixed the issue that the report raised. “The moment the issue on our web page was revealed to our security and engineering team, we fixed it immediately,” the company said, adding “Data protection is essential to Quibi and the security of user information is of the highest priority.”
However, Edwards says that it’s unlikely Quibi was unaware of the issue. “It’s an extremely disrespectful decision to purposefully leak all new user emails to your advertising partners, and there’s almost no way that numerous people at Quibi were not only aware of this plan, but helped to architect this user data breach,” Edwards says. “In 2020, no new technology organizations should be launching that leaks all new user-confirmed emails to advertising and analytics companies.”
Edwards said he confirmed that email addresses were still being leaked as late as April 26th.
Here’s the full list of places Edwards says that Quibi was initially sending email addresses to in plain text:
1) Google’s DoubleClick.net endpoint 2) Google’s updated ads endpoint @ google.com 3) Google Tag Manager (and therefore potentially custom tags could fire for specific visitors/geos/URL params, thus leaking this to more companies) 4) Twitter ads endpoint 5) Snapchat ads endpoint & the tr.Snapchat.com subdomain 6) Google Cloud infrastructure via cloudfunctions.net 7) CivicComputing.com, which redirects to https://www.civicuk.com/ and appears to be a company based in the United Kingdom.. this raises big GDPR red flags…. 8) Facebook events / custom audiences for ads 9) Google ads conversion pixel 10) Twitter ads conversion pixel 11) Google Analytics 12) Facebook analytics, Google Analytics, Twitter analytics (they fire at the end of the page load again)
Quibi’s privacy policy says that users are asked to provide their email address when signing up to the service, and in a separate section discloses that it may share “personal information” with third-parties to let them provide services like “personalized advertising, ad measurement and verification.”
Since it’s launch on April 7th, Quibi says over 2.7 million people have downloaded its app. The service is built around short-form video, or “quick bites,” that are designed to be watched on mobile devices.
Disclosure: Vox Media is partnered with Quibi on two shows and there are discussions for a Verge show in the future.


theverge--2020-04-30--Facebook’s new tool makes it easy to transfer photos and videos to Google Photos

Facebook is rolling out a new tool today allowing users in the US and Canada to transfer their photos and videos to Google Photos .
The tool can be accessed by heading to your Facebook settings , then heading to the tab that reads “ Your Facebook Information.
” There you ’ ll find the option to transfer your photos and videos .
You ’ ll need to connect your Google account before you can transfer your files .
Facebook plans to roll the tool out to more services later this year The photo transfer tool initially launched in early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Data Transfer Project , with Facebook vowing to expand the tool to more countries in early 2020 .
As of March , the tool started becoming available around the globe , including countries in Africa , Asia Pacific , and Latin America .
Facebook said that “ in the next couple of months ” remaining countries will have access to this tool .
Once the tool rolls out globally later this year , Facebook told The Verge that “ people will also be able to transfer photos to Microsoft , Apple , Twitter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Data Transfer Program.
” The Data Transfer Project is a data-sharing initiative that launched in 2018 to help people easily move their data between various online services .
The project includes several companies collaborating to shape the “ future of portability , ” including tech giants Apple , Facebook , Google , Microsoft , and Twitter .
The initiative is still in its early stages , with most of the progress focusing on the back end , though last June , Google teased user-facing projects could roll out soon .

Facebook is rolling out a new tool today allowing users in the US and Canada to transfer their photos and videos to Google Photos.
The tool can be accessed by heading to your Facebook settings, then heading to the tab that reads “Your Facebook Information.” There you’ll find the option to transfer your photos and videos. You’ll need to connect your Google account before you can transfer your files.
Facebook plans to roll the tool out to more services later this year
The photo transfer tool initially launched in early December last year as part of the Data Transfer Project, with Facebook vowing to expand the tool to more countries in early 2020. As of March, the tool started becoming available around the globe, including countries in Africa, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Facebook said that “in the next couple of months” remaining countries will have access to this tool. Once the tool rolls out globally later this year, Facebook told The Verge that “people will also be able to transfer photos to other companies that join the Data Transfer Program.”


theverge--2020-04-30--Americans are surprisingly open to letting their phones be used for coronavirus tracking

The Interface is a daily column and newsletter about the intersection of social media and democracy .
Subscribe here .
Programming note : The Interface will be off on Thursday .
Today Apple and Google released an initial version of the API that represents the first phase of their joint effort to enable public health authorities to quickly identify people who may have been exposed to new cases of COVID-19 .
By mid-May it should be available to most health agencies .
And so it ’ s time to revisit a question we first asked here three weeks ago : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That ’ s the question posed in a new survey conducted by the University of Maryland and the Washington Post .
The findings are mixed , report Craig Timberg , Drew Harwell and Alauna Safarpour : Nearly 3 in 5 Americans say they are either unable or unwilling to use the infection-alert system under development by Google and Apple , suggesting that it will be difficult to persuade enough people to use the app to make it effective against the coronavirus pandemic , a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll finds .
[ ... @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who do have smartphones , willingness to use an infection-tracing app is split evenly , with 50 percent saying they definitely or probably would use such an app and an equal percentage saying they probably or definitely would not .
Willingness runs highest among Democrats and people reporting they are worried about a COVID-19 infection making them seriously ill. Resistance is higher among Republicans and people reporting a lower level of personal worry about getting the virus .
The first thing to say about this is that it ’ s very difficult to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are asked to begin participating in Big Tech ’ s exposure notification system .
It might be true that , for the reasons of diminished trust in tech companies explored at some length in the Post , a majority of Americans will indeed opt out of using the system .
It seems to me to be just as likely that , when presented with a simple pop-up box on their phones asking if they want to participate , some healthy percentage of Americans just tap “ yes.
” ( In fact , 59 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ be comfortable ” using the app to broadcast the fact that they are positive for COVID-19 . )
The whole appeal of the Apple-Google approach is that it makes participation dead simple ; I suspect that simplicity will yield real benefits to public health authorities .
The second thing to say is that if 50 percent of Americans did participate in the Apple-Google scheme , that would be pretty huge !
Jennifer Valentino-DeVries , Natasha Singer and Aaron Krolik explain why in the New York Times : The primary challenge of getting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is to get them to download the app in the first place .
Sometime this summer , Apple and Google will essentially install the functionality on your phone for you — and , with your permission , begin using it immediately .
The Times goes on to quote an expert in disease transmission who says that the effectiveness of exposure notification scales along with usage .
So , while 20 percent adoption of an exposure notification system in your community would not be ideal , it would be much more helpful than 10 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appeared to be working — if public health agencies use it as part of a broader scheme relying on human beings to do more old-fashioned contact tracing — you can imagine big campaigns within communities to get more people to opt in .
( Or your employer forcing you to ! )
Of course , it ’ s right to worry about the privacy and public-health implications of building and relying on technologies like these .
Several governments are collecting data about their citizens ’ physical locations along with information about smartphones coming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on central servers .
A Times analysis found that , for some reason , India ’ s national exposure notification app was sending users ’ locations to YouTube ( ? )
.
And it ’ s easy to focus on the more exciting work of developing new technologies to fight the pandemic instead of on more proven methods of reducing new infections : widespread testing , isolating new cases , and using human beings to trace the contacts they had while they were infectious .
( We need a lot more , by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ point , nearly every expert I ’ ve spoken to on the subject believes that tech-based solutions can augment the work of public health departments and potentially make an important contribution to ending the pandemic .
And in such a world , it ’ s worth considering both high-profile solutions like ones being built by Apple and Google — and the alternatives being peddled in the shadows .
For example , what if your contacts were notified about your COVID-19 infection not by an anonymous message relayed by Bluetooth signals between phones , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by a spyware company whose stock in trade is breaking into criminals ’ phones ?
Joel Schectman , Christopher Bing , and Jack Stubbs raise that possibility in Reuters : Here we find a meaningful difference in the pandemic response between the Big Tech companies and the surveillance tech companies .
One is opt-in and explained in public documents ; the other is mandatory and takes place in the shadows .
At the moment we don ’ t know which approach will be more effective .
But I do know which one I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ affect public perception of the big tech platforms .
⬆ Trending up : Twitter is making available a stream of tweets related to COVID-19 to approved researchers and developers .
They ’ ll get access to tens of millions of tweets a day , making it possible for them to study the spread of the disease , misinformation , and more .
This is great .
( Sarah Perez / TechCrunch ) ⬆ Trending up : The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is giving $ 13.6 million to fund a research collaboration between UC San @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chan Zuckerberg Biohub .
The aim is to better understand the spread of COVID-19 across the San Francisco Bay Area .
⬇ Trending down : Amazon is cracking down on internal communication after a surge in worker activism .
The company told employees who manage listservs of more than 500 people that they are required to have employee moderators pre-approve posts on their mailing lists .
( Shirin Ghaffary and Jason Del Rey / Recode ) ⬇ Trending down : Amazon is buying thermal cameras to take workers ’ temperatures from a company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ States “ over allegations it helped China detain and monitor the Uighurs and other Muslim minorities.
” ( Krystal Hu and Jeffrey Dastin / Reuters ) ⭐ Why is the coronavirus so confusing ?
Ed Yong delivers another urgent , sweeping analysis at The Atlantic : Many US labs are processing coronavirus diagnostic tests far below their actual capacity .
The shortfall stems partly from guidelines that limit testing to the sickest patients and front-line workers as well as a lack of centralized system to identify and use capacity .
( Brianna Abbott @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Journal ) A promising new saliva-based test for COVID-19 has some researchers hoping that it could help solve the ongoing testing shortage .
( Apoorva Mandavilli / New York Times ) Facebook and YouTube have been split on whether to remove videos from two controversial doctors who have called for an easing of quarantine restrictions in American communities .
YouTube took them down ; Facebook has so far left them up .
Health experts have condemned their claims .
( Brandy Zadrozny / NBC News ) Elon Musk has been spreading doubt and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Now he ’ s promoting medical misinformation .
( Russell Brandom / The Verge ) Here are the plans that some tech companies have to re-open their offices and bring workers back into them .
They involve temperature checks , plexiglass partitions , and two people at a time in conference rooms .
No thank you !
( Kate Clark , Cory Weinberg and Zoë Bernard / The Information ) A team of NASA engineers developed a ventilator for COVID-19 patients in a month .
( Loren Grush / The Verge ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ increase in usage during the pandemic .
It ’ s also creeping students out .
( Monica Chin / The Verge ) Cybercrime has skyrocketed during the coronavirus pandemic .
Now , governments are turning to civilian Slack groups with cybersecurity professionals for help .
( Kevin Collier / NBC ) Total cases in the US : More than 1,037,400 Total deaths in the US : At least 60,200 Total test results ( positive and negative ) in New York : 872,481 Total test results ( positive and negative ) in New Jersey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Times .
Test data from The COVID Tracking Project .
⭐ James Barnes , the Facebook employee who helped implement Donald Trump ’ s advertising strategy during the 2016 election , is now trying to aid Democrats with the same approach .
Nick Corasaniti explains at the New York Times : Elsewhere , the person behind Trump ’ s 2016 digital strategy , Brad Parscale , gets a fresh profile in the New York Times .
The US trade representative ’ s office put Amazon ’ s web domains in Canada , France @ @ @ @ @ @ @ UK on its “ notorious markets ” list of platforms that are believed to facilitate intellectual-property violations .
The company said the hit was politically motivated .
You think ?
( William Mauldin and Alex Leary / Wall Street Journal ) Facebook poached a senior official at the watchdog organization that is preparing to regulate social media companies in the UK .
Tony Close will be the company ’ s director of content regulation .
( Matthew Moore / The Times ) Facebook ’ s antitrust fight in Washington includes a debate about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
This is a standard feature of every antitrust fight , but it ’ s funny to read about Facebook arguing that its true competition includes , uh , video games .
( Christopher Stern / The Information ) Facebook beat a request from the federal government to wiretap Messenger in 2018 .
Now the American Civil Liberties Union is seeking to unseal the ruling on why , so that other messaging apps can learn from Facebook ’ s strategy .
( Edvard Pettersson / Bloomberg ) ⭐ Facebook saw a significant surge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to its quarterly earnings report .
Its stock surged after hours on a solid performance despite the pandemic .
Also of note : non-advertising revenue is up 80 percent year over year , suggesting that people are buying Facebook and Oculus hardware in significant numbers .
( Nick Statt / The Verge ) ⭐ TikTok is thriving during the global pandemic and has been downloaded more than 2 billion times globally .
It was downloaded 315 million times this quarter alone , according to third-party data .
Here ’ s Ashley @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a chatbot called Blender as an open-source resource for AI research .
The company has been pouring money and resources into its Natural Language Processing technologies for years .
( Andrew Tarantola / Engadget ) Facebook added the ability for users to create paid livestreams .
( Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge ) Google Meet is now free for everybody !
Use it before it gets killed or changes names again .
( Dieter Bohn / The Verge ) Microsoft ’ s Slack clone , Teams , rose from 44 million daily users @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Emil Protalinksi / VentureBeat ) Video voicemail app Marco Polo rolled out a $ 10 monthly premium version , saying server costs were rapidly catching up with it amid a growth spike .
( Ashley Carman / The Verge ) Stuff to occupy you online during the quarantine .
Use your Canon camera as a fancy webcam and impress your coworkers .
Check out the latest streetwear fashions , lovingly recreated inside Animal Crossing .
Remember when people would wear things on the street ?
You know , for fashion ?
Get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re getting vastly more popular on social networks as more parents have had to educate their children at home .
Understand what Disney can and can not do to you , legally , if you tweet using the # MayThe4th hashtag next week .
( They can ’ t do anything to you , it ’ s fine . )
Finally , an element of this crisis that is truly delicious .
Chloe Taylor reports at CNBC : It ’ s times like this I really wish I could fly to Belgium @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comments , questions , and exposure notifications : casey @ theverge.com and zoe @ theverge.com .

Programming note: The Interface will be off on Thursday.
Today Apple and Google released an initial version of the API that represents the first phase of their joint effort to enable public health authorities to quickly identify people who may have been exposed to new cases of COVID-19. By mid-May it should be available to most health agencies. And so it’s time to revisit a question we first asked here three weeks ago: will Americans actually use these apps?
That’s the question posed in a new survey conducted by the University of Maryland and the Washington Post. The findings are mixed, report Craig Timberg, Drew Harwell and Alauna Safarpour:
Nearly 3 in 5 Americans say they are either unable or unwilling to use the infection-alert system under development by Google and Apple, suggesting that it will be difficult to persuade enough people to use the app to make it effective against the coronavirus pandemic, a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll finds. [...] Among the 82 percent of Americans who do have smartphones, willingness to use an infection-tracing app is split evenly, with 50 percent saying they definitely or probably would use such an app and an equal percentage saying they probably or definitely would not. Willingness runs highest among Democrats and people reporting they are worried about a COVID-19 infection making them seriously ill. Resistance is higher among Republicans and people reporting a lower level of personal worry about getting the virus.
The first thing to say about this is that it’s very difficult to predict what people will do when they are asked to begin participating in Big Tech’s exposure notification system. It might be true that, for the reasons of diminished trust in tech companies explored at some length in the Post, a majority of Americans will indeed opt out of using the system. It seems to me to be just as likely that, when presented with a simple pop-up box on their phones asking if they want to participate, some healthy percentage of Americans just tap “yes.” (In fact, 59 percent of survey respondents said they would “be comfortable” using the app to broadcast the fact that they are positive for COVID-19.) The whole appeal of the Apple-Google approach is that it makes participation dead simple; I suspect that simplicity will yield real benefits to public health authorities.
The second thing to say is that if 50 percent of Americans did participate in the Apple-Google scheme, that would be pretty huge! Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, Natasha Singer and Aaron Krolik explain why in the New York Times:
Only 25,000 people in North Dakota, about 3 percent of the population, have downloaded the state’s app, which before last week was available only for iPhones. Last month, Singapore introduced a voluntary contact-tracing app, but only about 1.1 million people — 20 percent of the population — have downloaded it. Norway’s app has caught on more quickly, with nearly 30 percent of residents signing up for it since it was released about a week and a half ago. Still, a recent study by epidemiologists at Oxford University estimated that 60 percent of the population in a given area would need to use an automated app that traces contacts and notifies users of exposure, combined with other tactics such as broader testing and the quarantining of the most vulnerable people, for the app to contain the virus.
The primary challenge of getting people to use these exposure notification systems is to get them to download the app in the first place. Sometime this summer, Apple and Google will essentially install the functionality on your phone for you — and, with your permission, begin using it immediately.
The Times goes on to quote an expert in disease transmission who says that the effectiveness of exposure notification scales along with usage. So, while 20 percent adoption of an exposure notification system in your community would not be ideal, it would be much more helpful than 10 percent adoption. And if exposure notification appeared to be working — if public health agencies use it as part of a broader scheme relying on human beings to do more old-fashioned contact tracing — you can imagine big campaigns within communities to get more people to opt in. (Or your employer forcing you to!)
Of course, it’s right to worry about the privacy and public-health implications of building and relying on technologies like these. Several governments are collecting data about their citizens’ physical locations along with information about smartphones coming into proximity, and processing that data on central servers. A Times analysis found that, for some reason, India’s national exposure notification app was sending users’ locations to YouTube (?).
And it’s easy to focus on the more exciting work of developing new technologies to fight the pandemic instead of on more proven methods of reducing new infections: widespread testing, isolating new cases, and using human beings to trace the contacts they had while they were infectious. (We need a lot more, by the way.)
But at this point, nearly every expert I’ve spoken to on the subject believes that tech-based solutions can augment the work of public health departments and potentially make an important contribution to ending the pandemic. And in such a world, it’s worth considering both high-profile solutions like ones being built by Apple and Google — and the alternatives being peddled in the shadows.
For example, what if your contacts were notified about your COVID-19 infection not by an anonymous message relayed by Bluetooth signals between phones, as with Apple and Google, but by a spyware company whose stock in trade is breaking into criminals’ phones? Joel Schectman, Christopher Bing, and Jack Stubbs raise that possibility in Reuters:
Cellebrite’s marketing overtures are part of a wave of efforts by at least eight surveillance and cyber-intelligence companies attempting to sell repurposed spy and law enforcement tools to track the virus and enforce quarantines, according to interviews with executives and non-public company promotional materials reviewed by Reuters. The executives declined to specify which countries have purchased their surveillance products, citing confidentiality agreements with governments. But executives at four of the companies said they are piloting or in the process of installing products to counter coronavirus in more than a dozen countries in Latin America, Europe and Asia. A Delhi police spokesman said the force wasn’t using Cellebrite for coronavirus containment. Reuters is not aware of any purchases by the U.S. government.
(We’ve seen similar efforts from software built originally to track the movements of refugees.)
Here we find a meaningful difference in the pandemic response between the Big Tech companies and the surveillance tech companies. One is opt-in and explained in public documents; the other is mandatory and takes place in the shadows. At the moment we don’t know which approach will be more effective. But I do know which one I prefer.
The Ratio
Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms.
⬆ Trending up: Twitter is making available a stream of tweets related to COVID-19 to approved researchers and developers. They’ll get access to tens of millions of tweets a day, making it possible for them to study the spread of the disease, misinformation, and more. This is great. (Sarah Perez / TechCrunch)
⬆ Trending up: The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is giving $13.6 million to fund a research collaboration between UC San Francisco, Stanford University, and the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. The aim is to better understand the spread of COVID-19 across the San Francisco Bay Area.
⬇ Trending down: Amazon is cracking down on internal communication after a surge in worker activism. The company told employees who manage listservs of more than 500 people that they are required to have employee moderators pre-approve posts on their mailing lists. (Shirin Ghaffary and Jason Del Rey / Recode)
⬇ Trending down: Amazon is buying thermal cameras to take workers’ temperatures from a company that has been blacklisted by the United States “over allegations it helped China detain and monitor the Uighurs and other Muslim minorities.” (Krystal Hu and Jeffrey Dastin / Reuters)
Pandemic
⭐ Why is the coronavirus so confusing? Ed Yong delivers another urgent, sweeping analysis at The Atlantic:
The variability of COVID-19 is also perplexing doctors. The disease seems to wreak havoc not only on lungs and airways, but also on hearts, blood vessels, kidneys, guts, and nervous systems. It’s not clear if the virus is directly attacking these organs, if the damage stems from a bodywide overreaction of the immune system, if other organs are suffering from the side effects of treatments, or if they are failing due to prolonged stays on ventilators.
Many US labs are processing coronavirus diagnostic tests far below their actual capacity. The shortfall stems partly from guidelines that limit testing to the sickest patients and front-line workers as well as a lack of centralized system to identify and use capacity. (Brianna Abbott and Sarah Krouse / The Wall Street Journal)
A promising new saliva-based test for COVID-19 has some researchers hoping that it could help solve the ongoing testing shortage. (Apoorva Mandavilli / New York Times)
Elon Musk has been spreading doubt and confusion about the novel coronavirus for months. Now he’s promoting medical misinformation. (Russell Brandom / The Verge)
Here are the plans that some tech companies have to re-open their offices and bring workers back into them. They involve temperature checks, plexiglass partitions, and two people at a time in conference rooms. No thank you! (Kate Clark, Cory Weinberg and Zoë Bernard / The Information)
A team of NASA engineers developed a ventilator for COVID-19 patients in a month. (Loren Grush / The Verge)
Cybercrime has skyrocketed during the coronavirus pandemic. Now, governments are turning to civilian Slack groups with cybersecurity professionals for help. (Kevin Collier / NBC)
Virus tracker
Total cases in the US: More than 1,037,400
Total deaths in the US: At least 60,200
Reported cases in California: 47,087
Total test results (positive and negative) in California: 603,139
Reported cases in New York: 305,024
Total test results (positive and negative) in New York: 872,481
Reported cases in New Jersey: 116,264
Total test results (positive and negative) in New Jersey: 241,318
Reported cases in Massachusetts: 58,302
Total test results (positive and negative) in Massachusetts: 265,618
Governing
⭐ James Barnes, the Facebook employee who helped implement Donald Trump’s advertising strategy during the 2016 election, is now trying to aid Democrats with the same approach. Nick Corasaniti explains at the New York Times:
The coronavirus outbreak has also forced 2020 campaigns to rely on a nearly entirely digital infrastructure, from fund-raising to organizing to persuasion. Having fresh data to inform campaign arguments online is essential. This real-time testing project aims to help fill that gap. Called “Barometer,” the project has been the obsession of James Barnes, the former Facebook employee who was heralded as an “M.V.P.” of the 2016 Trump campaign and has since dedicated his professional life to undoing the results of the last presidential election. He found a home for the project at Acronym, which also houses Pacronym.
Facebook poached a senior official at the watchdog organization that is preparing to regulate social media companies in the UK. Tony Close will be the company’s director of content regulation. (Matthew Moore / The Times)
Facebook’s antitrust fight in Washington includes a debate about what constitutes the company’s market. This is a standard feature of every antitrust fight, but it’s funny to read about Facebook arguing that its true competition includes, uh, video games. (Christopher Stern / The Information)
Facebook beat a request from the federal government to wiretap Messenger in 2018. Now the American Civil Liberties Union is seeking to unseal the ruling on why, so that other messaging apps can learn from Facebook’s strategy. (Edvard Pettersson / Bloomberg)
Industry
⭐ Facebook saw a significant surge in usage over the past three months, according to its quarterly earnings report. Its stock surged after hours on a solid performance despite the pandemic. Also of note: non-advertising revenue is up 80 percent year over year, suggesting that people are buying Facebook and Oculus hardware in significant numbers. (Nick Statt / The Verge)
⭐ TikTok is thriving during the global pandemic and has been downloaded more than 2 billion times globally. It was downloaded 315 million times this quarter alone, according to third-party data. Here’s Ashley Carman at The Verge:
We’ve reached out to TikTok to confirm or comment on Sensor Tower’s data and will update if we hear back. Still, it wouldn’t be surprising if TikTok experienced its biggest growth quarter this year. It’s even a joke on TikTok that millennials are finally all joining the platform because of the pandemic and social distancing. As people have more time on their hands and are bored at home, social networks are experiencing growth, despite advertisers tightening their budgets. Snapchat grew its daily user base by 11 million people this quarter, according to its earnings call, and its competitor Marco Polo also experienced massive growth, with a 745 percent increase in signups during just the week of March 30th. Only TikTok knows its own download and usage numbers, but we expect them all to be up.
Facebook released a chatbot called Blender as an open-source resource for AI research. The company has been pouring money and resources into its Natural Language Processing technologies for years. (Andrew Tarantola / Engadget)
Facebook added the ability for users to create paid livestreams. (Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge)
Google Meet is now free for everybody! Use it before it gets killed or changes names again. (Dieter Bohn / The Verge)
Speaking of Google killing things, RIP Shoelace. (Ryan Kovatch / 9to5Google)
Things to do
Stuff to occupy you online during the quarantine.
Check out the latest streetwear fashions, lovingly recreated inside Animal Crossing. Remember when people would wear things on the street? You know, for fashion?
Get to know a homeschooling influencer. They’re getting vastly more popular on social networks as more parents have had to educate their children at home.
And finally...
Finally, an element of this crisis that is truly delicious. Chloe Taylor reports at CNBC:
Belgians are being called upon to eat fries at least twice a week as more than 750,000 tons of potatoes are at risk of being thrown away. The coronavirus crisis has led to a surplus of potatoes in the small European country, as demand for frites — a national dish of twice-fried potatoes often eaten in bars and restaurants — has slumped amid Belgium’s government-enforced lockdown.
It’s times like this I really wish I could fly to Belgium and help.
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theverge--2020-04-30--Raspberry Pi announces $50 12-megapixel camera with interchangeable lenses

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has announced a new camera board that should dramatically improve the photographic capabilities available to the popular DIY computer ’ s enthusiasts and hobbyists .
It ’ s called the High Quality Camera , and it ’ s built around a 12.3-megapixel backside-illuminated Sony IMX477 sensor with 1.55-micron pixels .
There have been official Raspberry Pi camera boards before , but they used much smaller , lower resolution sensors and relied on fixed-focus lenses .
The High Quality Camera , however , supports interchangeable C- and CS-mount lenses and offers adjustable back focus .
The first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ include a $ 25 6mm CS-mount lens and a $ 50 16mm C-mount lens .
The board has a CS mount but comes with a C-mount adapter .
This means that it ’ ll be easy to attach a wide variety of lenses through third-party products .
Here , for example , is what the board looks like with a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 , which is probably not a good idea but awesome anyway : Raspberry Pi owners have been using camera modules for projects ranging from home security systems to DIY drone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a new guide to using cameras with the Pi , available today for £10 ( $ 12.50 ) in print or free as a PDF .
The High Quality Camera is compatible with all Raspberry Pi computers from the 1 Model B onward , and the previous 8-megapixel camera module will continue to be available as a cheaper , smaller option .
The new camera will go on sale today for $ 50 .

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has announced a new camera board that should dramatically improve the photographic capabilities available to the popular DIY computer’s enthusiasts and hobbyists. It’s called the High Quality Camera, and it’s built around a 12.3-megapixel backside-illuminated Sony IMX477 sensor with 1.55-micron pixels.
There have been official Raspberry Pi camera boards before, but they used much smaller, lower resolution sensors and relied on fixed-focus lenses. The High Quality Camera, however, supports interchangeable C- and CS-mount lenses and offers adjustable back focus. The first options to be available through approved resellers include a $25 6mm CS-mount lens and a $50 16mm C-mount lens.
The board has a CS mount but comes with a C-mount adapter. This means that it’ll be easy to attach a wide variety of lenses through third-party products. Here, for example, is what the board looks like with a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8, which is probably not a good idea but awesome anyway:
Raspberry Pi owners have been using camera modules for projects ranging from home security systems to DIY drone setups. Raspberry Pi Press is publishing a new guide to using cameras with the Pi, available today for £10 ($12.50) in print or free as a PDF.


theverge--2020-04-30--New DisplayPort spec enables 16K video over USB-C

DisplayPort Alt Mode 2.0 is a new standard from the Video Electronics Standards Association that allows USB 4 to offer all the bells and whistles of the DisplayPort 2.0 standard as well as transmitting USB data .
That means support for 8K displays at 60Hz with HDR , 4K displays at 144Hz with HDR , or even 16K ( 15360x8460 ) displays at 60Hz with compression .
It ’ s a big step towards USB Type-C becoming a true jack-of-all trades connector .
The USB 4 spec can already transmit DisplayPort data , but AnandTech reports that the new standard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pins to unlock more bandwidth for video .
USB 4 is bidirectional , meaning it can carry up to 40Gbps of data in either direction .
However , video doesn ’ t need to go both ways — you only really need data to pass from your laptop to your monitor ( for example ) .
This alt mode means that all that bandwidth can be used to just send video one way , meaning you get a maximum raw bandwidth of up to 80Gbps .
Up to 80Gbps of video bandwidth over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advantages .
For example , it means that you don ’ t need to have a USB 4 controller at either end of the cable , you can get away with just DisplayPort hardware at the display end .
This should mean displays can afford to be slightly simpler , according to AnandTech .
This is a very simplified account of VESA ’ s Alt Mode 2.0 announcement , and we ’ d thoroughly recommend heading over to AnandTech if you ’ re after a deeper dive into the details of the spec @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first DisplayPort Alt Mode 2.0 devices to start releasing next year .
As is always the case with USB , however , you ’ ll have to pay close attention to certifications and the small print of your devices and cables to make sure they support all the new features .

DisplayPort Alt Mode 2.0 is a new standard from the Video Electronics Standards Association that allows USB 4 to offer all the bells and whistles of the DisplayPort 2.0 standard as well as transmitting USB data. That means support for 8K displays at 60Hz with HDR, 4K displays at 144Hz with HDR, or even 16K (15360x8460) displays at 60Hz with compression. It’s a big step towards USB Type-C becoming a true jack-of-all trades connector.
The USB 4 spec can already transmit DisplayPort data, but AnandTech reports that the new standard remaps USB-C’s high speed data pins to unlock more bandwidth for video. USB 4 is bidirectional, meaning it can carry up to 40Gbps of data in either direction. However, video doesn’t need to go both ways — you only really need data to pass from your laptop to your monitor (for example). This alt mode means that all that bandwidth can be used to just send video one way, meaning you get a maximum raw bandwidth of up to 80Gbps.
Up to 80Gbps of video bandwidth over USB-C
The alt mode also has other advantages. For example, it means that you don’t need to have a USB 4 controller at either end of the cable, you can get away with just DisplayPort hardware at the display end. This should mean displays can afford to be slightly simpler, according to AnandTech.


theverge--2020-04-30--Zoom admits it doesn’t have 300 million users, corrects misleading claims

Zoom has admitted it doesn ’ t have 300 million daily active users .
The admission came after The Verge noticed the company had quietly edited a blog post making the claim earlier this month .
Zoom originally stated it had “ more than 300 million daily users ” and that “ more than 300 million people around the world are using Zoom during this challenging time.
” Zoom later deleted these references from the original blog post , and now claims “ 300 million daily Zoom meeting participants.
” The difference between a daily active user ( DAU ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Daily meeting participants can be counted multiple times : if you have five Zoom meetings in a day then you ’ re counted five times .
A DAU is counted once per day , and is commonly used by companies to measure service usage .
Only counting meeting participants is an easy , somewhat misleading , way to make your platform usage seem larger than it is .
The misleading blog was edited on April 24th , a day after the numbers made headlines worldwide .
After The Verge reached out for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a note to the blog post admitting the error yesterday , and provided the following statement : “ We are humbled and proud to help over 300 million daily meeting participants stay connected during this pandemic .
In a blog post on April 22 , we unintentionally referred to these participants as “ users ” and “ people.
” When we realized this error , we adjusted the wording to “ participants.
” This was a genuine oversight on our part.
” Zoom ’ s growth has been impressive , but the company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ user count .
Zoom usage has soared from 10 million daily meeting participants back in December to 300 million this month .
Rivals like Microsoft Teams and Google Meet appear to be closing the gap , though .
Microsoft said yesterday it now has 75 million daily active users of Teams , a jump from 70 percent in a month .
Microsoft also recorded 200 million meeting participants in a single day this month .
Google Meet is adding roughly 3 million new users each day , and hit over 100 million daily @ @ @ @ @ @ @ revealed earlier this month that it has a total of 300 million Webex users , and saw sign-ups close to 240,000 in a 24-hour period .
Cisco has not yet provided daily meeting participant numbers , or daily active user counts .
Google , Microsoft , Facebook , and others are still chasing Zoom with new features and free services .
Google made its Meet service free this week , and both Microsoft and Google have increased how many people you can see simultaneously in response to Zoom ’ s popular gallery view @

Zoom has admitted it doesn’t have 300 million daily active users. The admission came after The Verge noticed the company had quietly edited a blog post making the claim earlier this month. Zoom originally stated it had “more than 300 million daily users” and that “more than 300 million people around the world are using Zoom during this challenging time.” Zoom later deleted these references from the original blog post, and now claims “300 million daily Zoom meeting participants.”
The difference between a daily active user (DAU) and “meeting participant” is significant. Daily meeting participants can be counted multiple times: if you have five Zoom meetings in a day then you’re counted five times. A DAU is counted once per day, and is commonly used by companies to measure service usage. Only counting meeting participants is an easy, somewhat misleading, way to make your platform usage seem larger than it is.
The misleading blog was edited on April 24th, a day after the numbers made headlines worldwide. After The Verge reached out for comment from Zoom, the company added a note to the blog post admitting the error yesterday, and provided the following statement:
“We are humbled and proud to help over 300 million daily meeting participants stay connected during this pandemic. In a blog post on April 22, we unintentionally referred to these participants as “users” and “people.” When we realized this error, we adjusted the wording to “participants.” This was a genuine oversight on our part.”
Zoom’s growth has been impressive, but the company has not actually provided a daily active user count. Zoom usage has soared from 10 million daily meeting participants back in December to 300 million this month. Rivals like Microsoft Teams and Google Meet appear to be closing the gap, though. Microsoft said yesterday it now has 75 million daily active users of Teams, a jump from 70 percent in a month. Microsoft also recorded 200 million meeting participants in a single day this month.
Google Meet is adding roughly 3 million new users each day, and hit over 100 million daily Meet meeting participants recently. Cisco also revealed earlier this month that it has a total of 300 million Webex users, and saw sign-ups close to 240,000 in a 24-hour period. Cisco has not yet provided daily meeting participant numbers, or daily active user counts.


theverge--2020-04-30--Turn your Switch into a Neo Geo Pocket Color with SNK Gals’ Fighters

The Nintendo Switch may not have a proper Virtual Console , but it ’ s still a great system for classic games , and today sees one of its most unusual retro releases in a while .
To celebrate the Neo Geo ’ s 30th anniversary this week , SNK is re-releasing Neo Geo Pocket Color title SNK Gals ’ Fighters for the first time since it came out in 2000 .
That ’ s sort of an odd way to pay homage to the Neo Geo arcade system , if you ask me , but the results are certainly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ screen shows a scaled Neo Geo Pocket Color console running the game — you can even play it by pressing the console ’ s buttons on the touchscreen , though I wouldn ’ t recommend it .
The clicky joystick is not quite going to be the same .
The Neo Geo Pocket Color was an awesome little portable system with a lot of style , and this SNK Gals ’ Fighters re-release embraces that .
You can play it with a filter that recreates the screen ’ s distinctive dot-matrix effect , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ console , including the classic blue camo version .
If you ’ d rather have a bigger screen , you can zoom in and remove the console border .
In a particularly nice touch , the game supports two-player matches on the same system in tabletop mode .
SNK Gals ’ Fighters is also just a great game .
It ’ s a fighting game featuring several female characters from SNK series like Samurai Shodown and The King of Fighters , and like SNK ’ s other Neo Geo Pocket fighters , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ depth and personality through chunky sprites , catchy music , and a two-button control scheme .
I hope this is the first of many Neo Geo Pocket Color releases for the Switch — it ’ s an underappreciated system that could use a reappraisal .
SNK Gals ’ Fighters is out now on the eShop for $ 7.99 .

The Nintendo Switch may not have a proper Virtual Console, but it’s still a great system for classic games, and today sees one of its most unusual retro releases in a while. To celebrate the Neo Geo’s 30th anniversary this week, SNK is re-releasing Neo Geo Pocket Color title SNK Gals’ Fighters for the first time since it came out in 2000.
That’s sort of an odd way to pay homage to the Neo Geo arcade system, if you ask me, but the results are certainly cool. By default, the Switch screen shows a scaled Neo Geo Pocket Color console running the game — you can even play it by pressing the console’s buttons on the touchscreen, though I wouldn’t recommend it. The clicky joystick is not quite going to be the same.
The Neo Geo Pocket Color was an awesome little portable system with a lot of style, and this SNK Gals’ Fighters re-release embraces that. You can play it with a filter that recreates the screen’s distinctive dot-matrix effect, and there are several skins for the console, including the classic blue camo version. If you’d rather have a bigger screen, you can zoom in and remove the console border. In a particularly nice touch, the game supports two-player matches on the same system in tabletop mode.
SNK Gals’ Fighters is also just a great game. It’s a fighting game featuring several female characters from SNK series like Samurai Shodown and The King of Fighters, and like SNK’s other Neo Geo Pocket fighters, it manages to show off a ton of depth and personality through chunky sprites, catchy music, and a two-button control scheme. I hope this is the first of many Neo Geo Pocket Color releases for the Switch — it’s an underappreciated system that could use a reappraisal.
SNK Gals’ Fighters is out now on the eShop for $7.99.


theverge--2020-04-30--Walmart launches two-hour delivery service for groceries, electronics, and more

Walmart is launching a new delivery service , called Express Delivery , that will get purchased items to a customers ’ home in less than two hours , the company announced on Thursday .
The new service could be helpful if you need to get items in a hurry while respecting shelter-in-place orders during the COVID-19 pandemic .
You ’ ll be able to use Express Delivery for more 160,000 items , including “ groceries , everyday essentials , toys and electronics , ” Walmart says .
Express Delivery will cost $ 10 in addition to the regular charge for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the company ’ s Delivery Unlimited subscription service , in which case you ’ ll just pay $ 10 for Express Delivery .
( Similar to Amazon Prime , Delivery Unlimited costs $ 98 annually or $ 12.95 per month . )
Walmart says it has been piloting Express Delivery in 100 stores since mid-April Walmart says it has been piloting Express Delivery in 100 stores since mid-April .
The company plans to expand it to nearly 1,000 stores in early May and make it available to nearly 2,000 total stores “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Delivery is available in your area , you ’ ll be able to select the option when you check out online , though you ’ ll need to have at least $ 30 worth of items in your shopping cart to be able to select any kind of delivery .
“ We know our customers ’ lives have changed during this pandemic , and so has the way they shop , ” Janey Whiteside , Walmart ’ s chief customer officer , said in a statement .
“ We also know when we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be busier than ever , and sometimes that will call for needing supplies in a hurry .
COVID-19 has prompted us to launch Express Delivery even faster so that we ’ re here for our customers today and in the future.
” Walmart ’ s Express Delivery option could help the retailer compete with rival Amazon , which has offered two-hour delivery for Amazon Prime members for years through its Amazon Prime Now service .
Prime Now launched in 2014 and is available in select markets in the US .

Walmart is launching a new delivery service, called Express Delivery, that will get purchased items to a customers’ home in less than two hours, the company announced on Thursday. The new service could be helpful if you need to get items in a hurry while respecting shelter-in-place orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
You’ll be able to use Express Delivery for more 160,000 items, including “groceries, everyday essentials, toys and electronics,” Walmart says. Express Delivery will cost $10 in addition to the regular charge for delivery unless you’re a member of the company’s Delivery Unlimited subscription service, in which case you’ll just pay $10 for Express Delivery. (Similar to Amazon Prime, Delivery Unlimited costs $98 annually or $12.95 per month.)
Walmart says it has been piloting Express Delivery in 100 stores since mid-April
Walmart says it has been piloting Express Delivery in 100 stores since mid-April. The company plans to expand it to nearly 1,000 stores in early May and make it available to nearly 2,000 total stores “in the following weeks.” If Express Delivery is available in your area, you’ll be able to select the option when you check out online, though you’ll need to have at least $30 worth of items in your shopping cart to be able to select any kind of delivery.
“We know our customers’ lives have changed during this pandemic, and so has the way they shop,” Janey Whiteside, Walmart’s chief customer officer, said in a statement. “We also know when we come out of this, customers will be busier than ever, and sometimes that will call for needing supplies in a hurry. COVID-19 has prompted us to launch Express Delivery even faster so that we’re here for our customers today and in the future.”


theverge--2020-04-30--Valve indefinitely delays Dota 2’s The International 2020

One of the biggest esports events in the world has been indefinitely delayed amidst the coronavirus pandemic .
Developer Valve announced on Thursday that the 2020 edition of the Dota 2 tournament , known as The International , that was set to take place at the Ericsson Globe arena in Stockholm this August will no longer happen this summer and may be pushed back until 2021 .
In fact , Valve says it simply doesn ’ t know when it can announce concrete dates going forward .
“ We have been exploring various date possibilities , but it is likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2021 .
Given the highly volatile landscape for local gathering restrictions , virus trajectory , and global travel policies , we don ’ t expect to have enough confidence to communicate firm dates in the near future , ” reads the company ’ s announcement posted to the Dota 2 blog .
“ In the meantime , we are working on restructuring the DPC season for the fall , and will be providing more information as soon as we have it.
” “ We don ’ t expect to have enough confidence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ future.
” The International , which has run annually since 2011 , is not only one of the most popular competitive gaming events globally , but also the most lucrative .
Last year ’ s edition , which took place in Shanghai , boasted a prize pool of more than $ 30 million , topping the record-breaking pool from the first annual Fortnite World Cup .
Valve says it still intends to draw its prize pool from sales of its Dota 2 seasonal battle pass , but that it will be releasing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closer to the event itself , given the circumstances .
“ However , with our team working from home and things taking longer to complete , the release date of the Battle Pass will be at least a couple of weeks later than usual , ” the company says .
Valve ’ s tournament is just the latest in a long line of esports events forced to shift operations .
The Overwatch League , with kicked off earlier this year with big ambitions to host home and away games all over the globe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Call of Duty League , while a major League of Legends league shifted games to an online format , too .
Everyone from broadcasters to fans have been impacted in some way .
Earlier today , Epic Games announced that it would no longer host a 2020 Fortnite World Cup as it shifts all of its competitive circuit for the battle royale shooter to an online-only structure .
After extensive consideration of the global health emergency stemming from COVID-19 , we have made the difficult choice to delay The International .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but it is likely that the event will need to happen in 2021 .
Given the highly volatile landscape for local gathering restrictions , virus trajectory , and global travel policies , we don ’ t expect to have enough confidence to communicate firm dates in the near future .
In the meantime , we are working on restructuring the DPC season for the fall , and will be providing more information as soon as we have it .
The 10th International prize pool will be funded by 25 % of sales of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are planning to release soon instead of closer to the event itself .
However , with our team working from home and things taking longer to complete , the release date of the Battle Pass will be at least a couple of weeks later than usual .
We hope everyone in the Dota community is staying as safe as possible , and look forward to a time when we can once again welcome everyone to enjoy the spectacle of The International .

After extensive consideration of the global health emergency stemming from COVID-19, we have made the difficult choice to delay The International. We have been exploring various date possibilities, but it is likely that the event will need to happen in 2021. Given the highly volatile landscape for local gathering restrictions, virus trajectory, and global travel policies, we don’t expect to have enough confidence to communicate firm dates in the near future. In the meantime, we are working on restructuring the DPC season for the fall, and will be providing more information as soon as we have it.
The 10th International prize pool will be funded by 25% of sales of the next Battle Pass, which we are planning to release soon instead of closer to the event itself. However, with our team working from home and things taking longer to complete, the release date of the Battle Pass will be at least a couple of weeks later than usual.
We hope everyone in the Dota community is staying as safe as possible, and look forward to a time when we can once again welcome everyone to enjoy the spectacle of The International.


theverge--2020-04-30--How a team of NASA engineers developed a ventilator for COVID-19 patients in just a month

Working as an engineer at NASA ’ s Jet Propulsion Laboratory , David Van Buren usually spends his time designing and building instruments for space telescopes or robots that will explore other worlds in our Solar System .
But for the last month , Van Buren and a group of his colleagues at JPL have been working on a project that is truly unexplored terrain for them : making a ventilator to help patients sick with COVID-19 .
While Van Buren had some previous experience in medical engineering , he ’ d never designed a ventilator before .
But he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to making things they don ’ t have any experience making .
In fact , they ’ re used to making things that no one has experience making .
“ We ’ re used to looking at new problems ... and figuring out how to do them.
” “ When a scientist comes to us and says they want to go to a moon of Jupiter and drill into the ice and see what ’ s underneath , that ’ s something that ’ s never been done before , ” Van Buren @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re used to looking at new problems — things people haven ’ t done before or at least that we haven ’ t done before — and figuring out how to do them.
” After a whirlwind 37 days of research , planning , and tinkering , a subset of engineers at JPL have created a prototype they ’ re calling the VITAL ventilator .
A white digital box with a breathing tube attached , the ventilator is somewhere between the sophisticated high-end ventilators that the sickest patients need and a simple ambulatory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ temporary measure to quickly squeeze air into the lungs .
The team didn ’ t want to interfere with the production of the more critical ventilators , so the VITAL ventilator is meant for the patients who still need breathing support but are not in the most dire conditions .
It ’ s a temporary tool designed to last just three to four months in a hospital .
VITAL is tailored specifically for people with COVID-19 , which helped to guide its design .
“ It ’ s pared down in all the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just retain those functions needed for COVID-19 patients , ” says Van Buren .
Throughout January and February , Van Buren had been following the news about the spread of COVID-19 in China with growing concern .
Pandemics have been on his mind ever since the outbreak of H1N1 in 2009 when his daughter had to be hospitalized because of the new flu strain .
When it became clear in early March that there was community spread of COVID-19 in Washington and California , Van Buren really started focusing on what he could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that hospitals would not have enough capacity or equipment to handle the influx of COVID-19 patients .
Van Buren figured JPL could be an asset in the fight .
One day , he bumped into Rob Manning , JPL ’ s chief engineer , in the center ’ s cafeteria , and they started talking about what they could do .
“ We both had been thinking , given the circumstances , maybe the projects that we were spending our time on might not be the most important things we could be doing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about to happen , ” Van Buren says .
“ We more or less applied the pattern we apply when we build an instrument to land on Mars.
” Manning found money to form a small team , and the project kicked off on March 16th .
The group contacted a pulmonologist named Michael Gurevitch who ’ s been working on ventilators for decades .
He came in and told the team the exact requirements that were needed for ventilators , while a JPL employee took detailed notes on a giant whiteboard .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ pattern we apply when we build an instrument to land on Mars and , say , drill through the surface and take measurements of what ’ s down below , ” says Van Buren .
“ We engage with scientists .
In this case , we engaged with the clinicians as to what exactly is needed , so that we can then engineer an instrument — or in this case , a ventilator.
” Eventually , other people at JPL joined the project , including Michelle Easter .
Normally , she works on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are used to deploy or rotate instruments like solar panels during a mission .
“ Actuators are often a combination of mechanisms and electronics , ” Easter tells The Verge .
“ And that ’ s exactly what the VITAL device is ; it ’ s a mechanism that ’ s controlled by embedded electronics , and that type of design is something super comfortable for me.
” To make VITAL , the team tried to use as many common , off-the-shelf parts as possible , such as tubing , motors , valves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , anyone manufacturing the device in the future wouldn ’ t need to special order anything needed for a more sophisticated ventilator .
The team found that companies and vendors were eager to help provide supplies that could be scalable .
And when they didn ’ t have what JPL needed , they gave them references .
“ Companies were just opening up their Rolodexes and giving us the names of their competitors.
” “ Companies were just opening up their Rolodexes and giving us the names of their competitors , ” says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you think for a business mindset .
But people threw all of the traditional competition out the window.
” Eventually , the team settled on the final VITAL design .
Because the machine is tailored for COVID-19 patients , it ’ s focused on providing air delicately to stiff lungs — a hallmark symptom of the virus .
Stiff lungs have a harder time expanding , so patients struggle to get enough air to breathe .
VITAL is meant to provide enough air pressure to patients to inflate their lungs but not so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The machine also works to ensure the lungs don ’ t completely deflate , either .
COVID-19 patients have lung damage that makes the sides of their lungs inflamed and sticky .
If all the air goes out of their lungs and the sides touch each other , they might stick together and make it even harder to open back up again .
So VITAL tries to keep the lungs slightly inflated whenever patients exhale .
Now that the team has a working prototype , they ’ ve moved on to environmental testing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a spacecraft to another world , each vehicle must be subjected to extreme conditions — such as wide-ranging temperatures , intense vibrations , loud sounds , and more — to see if it can withstand the harsh environment of space .
Many of those same tests are needed to qualify medical equipment , too , and JPL has the facilities to run them , including a giant vacuum chamber and setups to shake hardware rigorously .
“ We build spacecraft not medical devices , but there are so many similar elements , because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reliability systems — for different reasons , ” says Easter .
“ For spacecraft , once you put it up in space , you will never be able to go and fix it .
So we have to verify that it ’ s absolutely perfect and works exactly as we expect in all conditions .
Then , of course , for the medical devices , we ’ re connecting this to a human ; we have to verify that we ’ re not going to hurt a person .
They ’ re both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Food and Drug Administration is encouraging organizations to create new devices quickly to combat COVID-19 , many of the tests usually required to certify equipment are no longer needed .
But JPL still has to do elevation testing with VITAL to see if the machine will work in places like Denver , for instance .
They also need to do electromagnetic interference testing , which will determine if VITAL can operate normally if someone is , say , talking on a cellphone nearby .
“ We build spacecraft not medical devices , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ On April 30th , JPL received word from the FDA that VITAL will receive an emergency use authorization .
Now that they have approval , the team will send the design off to companies that can produce VITAL en masse and deliver the ventilators to hospitals in need .
“ We don ’ t do production , ” says Van Buren .
“ We do make one or two of a kind , and we send them off to Mars or Saturn or somewhere .
And so we have engaged a couple of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ production aspects.
” It ’ s unclear how the team will proceed when the VITAL ventilator is shipped out into the world .
Many of the people on the team put their normal projects on pause to get this ventilator ready as soon as possible .
They ’ ll likely go back to designing interplanetary space probes very soon , but they ’ ve been buoyed by their brief stint in the medical world .
“ I think everybody on the team is just so grateful that we have something positive to contribute @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” says Easter .
“ It definitely helps us to feel empowered in an otherwise powerless kind of situation.
” Update April 30th , 6:30PM ET : This article was updated to indicate that the VITAL ventilator had received emergency use authorization from the FDA .

Working as an engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, David Van Buren usually spends his time designing and building instruments for space telescopes or robots that will explore other worlds in our Solar System. But for the last month, Van Buren and a group of his colleagues at JPL have been working on a project that is truly unexplored terrain for them: making a ventilator to help patients sick with COVID-19.
While Van Buren had some previous experience in medical engineering, he’d never designed a ventilator before. But he and his co-workers at JPL are used to making things they don’t have any experience making. In fact, they’re used to making things that no one has experience making.
“We’re used to looking at new problems ... and figuring out how to do them.”
“When a scientist comes to us and says they want to go to a moon of Jupiter and drill into the ice and see what’s underneath, that’s something that’s never been done before,” Van Buren tells The Verge. “We’re used to looking at new problems — things people haven’t done before or at least that we haven’t done before — and figuring out how to do them.”
After a whirlwind 37 days of research, planning, and tinkering, a subset of engineers at JPL have created a prototype they’re calling the VITAL ventilator. A white digital box with a breathing tube attached, the ventilator is somewhere between the sophisticated high-end ventilators that the sickest patients need and a simple ambulatory bag that can be used as a temporary measure to quickly squeeze air into the lungs. The team didn’t want to interfere with the production of the more critical ventilators, so the VITAL ventilator is meant for the patients who still need breathing support but are not in the most dire conditions. It’s a temporary tool designed to last just three to four months in a hospital.
VITAL is tailored specifically for people with COVID-19, which helped to guide its design. “It’s pared down in all the things that it can do, to just retain those functions needed for COVID-19 patients,” says Van Buren.
The VITAL ventilator. Image: NASA
Throughout January and February, Van Buren had been following the news about the spread of COVID-19 in China with growing concern. Pandemics have been on his mind ever since the outbreak of H1N1 in 2009 when his daughter had to be hospitalized because of the new flu strain.
When it became clear in early March that there was community spread of COVID-19 in Washington and California, Van Buren really started focusing on what he could do to help. Early models suggested that hospitals would not have enough capacity or equipment to handle the influx of COVID-19 patients. Van Buren figured JPL could be an asset in the fight. One day, he bumped into Rob Manning, JPL’s chief engineer, in the center’s cafeteria, and they started talking about what they could do. “We both had been thinking, given the circumstances, maybe the projects that we were spending our time on might not be the most important things we could be doing, given what we both recognized was about to happen,” Van Buren says.
“We more or less applied the pattern we apply when we build an instrument to land on Mars.”
Manning found money to form a small team, and the project kicked off on March 16th. The group contacted a pulmonologist named Michael Gurevitch who’s been working on ventilators for decades. He came in and told the team the exact requirements that were needed for ventilators, while a JPL employee took detailed notes on a giant whiteboard.
“We more or less applied the pattern we apply when we build an instrument to land on Mars and, say, drill through the surface and take measurements of what’s down below,” says Van Buren. “We engage with scientists. In this case, we engaged with the clinicians as to what exactly is needed, so that we can then engineer an instrument — or in this case, a ventilator.”
Eventually, other people at JPL joined the project, including Michelle Easter. Normally, she works on mechanisms known as actuators. These motors are used to deploy or rotate instruments like solar panels during a mission.
“Actuators are often a combination of mechanisms and electronics,” Easter tells The Verge. “And that’s exactly what the VITAL device is; it’s a mechanism that’s controlled by embedded electronics, and that type of design is something super comfortable for me.”
To make VITAL, the team tried to use as many common, off-the-shelf parts as possible, such as tubing, motors, valves, and electronics displays. That way, anyone manufacturing the device in the future wouldn’t need to special order anything needed for a more sophisticated ventilator. The team found that companies and vendors were eager to help provide supplies that could be scalable. And when they didn’t have what JPL needed, they gave them references.
“Companies were just opening up their Rolodexes and giving us the names of their competitors.”
“Companies were just opening up their Rolodexes and giving us the names of their competitors,” says Easter, “which is not what you think for a business mindset. But people threw all of the traditional competition out the window.”
Eventually, the team settled on the final VITAL design. Because the machine is tailored for COVID-19 patients, it’s focused on providing air delicately to stiff lungs — a hallmark symptom of the virus. Stiff lungs have a harder time expanding, so patients struggle to get enough air to breathe. VITAL is meant to provide enough air pressure to patients to inflate their lungs but not so much so that the lungs over-expand. The machine also works to ensure the lungs don’t completely deflate, either. COVID-19 patients have lung damage that makes the sides of their lungs inflamed and sticky. If all the air goes out of their lungs and the sides touch each other, they might stick together and make it even harder to open back up again. So VITAL tries to keep the lungs slightly inflated whenever patients exhale.
JPL is equipped with various test facilities, such as a giant vacuum chamber used to subject spacecraft to extreme environments. Image: NASA
Now that the team has a working prototype, they’ve moved on to environmental testing with the device. Whenever NASA sends a spacecraft to another world, each vehicle must be subjected to extreme conditions — such as wide-ranging temperatures, intense vibrations, loud sounds, and more — to see if it can withstand the harsh environment of space. Many of those same tests are needed to qualify medical equipment, too, and JPL has the facilities to run them, including a giant vacuum chamber and setups to shake hardware rigorously.
“We build spacecraft not medical devices, but there are so many similar elements, because they both have to be extremely high reliability systems — for different reasons,” says Easter. “For spacecraft, once you put it up in space, you will never be able to go and fix it. So we have to verify that it’s absolutely perfect and works exactly as we expect in all conditions. Then, of course, for the medical devices, we’re connecting this to a human; we have to verify that we’re not going to hurt a person. They’re both very, very important.”
Since the Food and Drug Administration is encouraging organizations to create new devices quickly to combat COVID-19, many of the tests usually required to certify equipment are no longer needed. But JPL still has to do elevation testing with VITAL to see if the machine will work in places like Denver, for instance. They also need to do electromagnetic interference testing, which will determine if VITAL can operate normally if someone is, say, talking on a cellphone nearby.
“We build spacecraft not medical devices, but there are so many similar elements.”
On April 30th, JPL received word from the FDA that VITAL will receive an emergency use authorization. Now that they have approval, the team will send the design off to companies that can produce VITAL en masse and deliver the ventilators to hospitals in need. “We don’t do production,” says Van Buren. “We do make one or two of a kind, and we send them off to Mars or Saturn or somewhere. And so we have engaged a couple of companies to help us understand the mass production aspects.”
It’s unclear how the team will proceed when the VITAL ventilator is shipped out into the world. Many of the people on the team put their normal projects on pause to get this ventilator ready as soon as possible. They’ll likely go back to designing interplanetary space probes very soon, but they’ve been buoyed by their brief stint in the medical world.
“I think everybody on the team is just so grateful that we have something positive to contribute in our brainpower and our teamwork,” says Easter. “It definitely helps us to feel empowered in an otherwise powerless kind of situation.”


theverge--2020-04-30--Apple says ‘a few’ US retail stores could reopen in May

Apple expects to start reopening more of its stores in May , after shutting down locations outside of China due to the coronavirus pandemic .
Stores in Australia and Austria could reopen in the next two weeks , Apple CEO Tim Cook told Bloomberg .
“ A few ” stores could reopen in the US in the first half of May as well , Cook added , but “ not a large number.
” The decisions will be made location by location , “ depending on the circumstances in that particular place , ” Cook said .
Apple has 458 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bloomberg .
“ I think people like to be out and about , they just know that now is not the time to do that.
” Apple closed all stores outside of Greater China in March and has since said stores will stay closed “ until further notice ” .
Apple reopened a single store in South Korea in mid-April , but it hadn ’ t previously announced specific reopening plans beyond that .
Earlier this week , Apple ’ s retail chief Deirdre O ’ Brien said she expected to reopen “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to Bloomberg .
Apple initially closed all retail stores in China , where the pandemic hit earlier , in February , but it was able to reopen those locations in the middle of March .
The store closures have presented obvious problems for Apple and its customers .
Beyond the lack of sales , it ’ s also disrupted one of Apple ’ s key customer service offerings : a place where customers can get repairs or devices set up , usually fairly quickly .
For the time being , some customers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that they ’ re unable to retrieve due to the closures .
Store closures have meant a hit to Apple ’ s Apple Care business , too , and Cook said more customers have started shopping online .
He ’ s not sure that shift to online shopping will last , though .
“ Whether that ’ s a permanent shift , I would hesitate to go that far , ” Cook said on an earnings call this afternoon .
“ I think people like to be out and about , they just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do that.
” Apple also expects to keep its Cupertino headquarters closed until at least early June , Cook told Bloomberg .
When it reopens , the company plans to have temperature checks , social distancing and mask requirements , and potentially testing for employees .

Apple expects to start reopening more of its stores in May, after shutting down locations outside of China due to the coronavirus pandemic. Stores in Australia and Austria could reopen in the next two weeks, Apple CEO Tim Cook told Bloomberg. “A few” stores could reopen in the US in the first half of May as well, Cook added, but “not a large number.”
The decisions will be made location by location, “depending on the circumstances in that particular place,” Cook said. Apple has 458 stores outside of China, according to Bloomberg.
“I think people like to be out and about, they just know that now is not the time to do that.”
Apple closed all stores outside of Greater China in March and has since said stores will stay closed “until further notice”. Apple reopened a single store in South Korea in mid-April, but it hadn’t previously announced specific reopening plans beyond that.
Earlier this week, Apple’s retail chief Deirdre O’Brien said she expected to reopen “many more” stores in May, according to Bloomberg. Apple initially closed all retail stores in China, where the pandemic hit earlier, in February, but it was able to reopen those locations in the middle of March.
The store closures have presented obvious problems for Apple and its customers. Beyond the lack of sales, it’s also disrupted one of Apple’s key customer service offerings: a place where customers can get repairs or devices set up, usually fairly quickly. For the time being, some customers have repaired devices stuck inside the stores that they’re unable to retrieve due to the closures.
Store closures have meant a hit to Apple’s Apple Care business, too, and Cook said more customers have started shopping online. He’s not sure that shift to online shopping will last, though. “Whether that’s a permanent shift, I would hesitate to go that far,” Cook said on an earnings call this afternoon. “I think people like to be out and about, they just know that now is not the time to do that.”


theverge--2020-04-30--Disney’s animated Hercules is getting a live-action reboot produced by the Russo brothers

Disney ’ s live-action remakes are on a roll , and news of yet another project broke today : a version of the 1997 Hercules movie , produced ( but not directed ) by Joe and Anthony Russo of Marvel ’ s Avengers fame , via The Hollywood Reporter .
Also attached to the project is Dave Callaham , who worked on The Expendables films , wrote the screenplay for the upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings , and worked as a co-writer on Wonder Woman 1984 .
The original 1997 movie is extremely loosely based on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sees the young Hercules — the son of Zeus — exiled from Mount Olympus due to the nefarious machinations of the god of the underworld , Hades .
While stuck on Earth as a mortal , the demigod Hercules still retains his superhuman strength and , with the help of a Danny Devito-voiced satyr , must learn what really makes a hero .
Also , there ’ s a bunch of really good Alan Menken songs .
The project is in the early stages at this point , according to The Hollywood Reporter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a director , or even whether the remake will be a musical like the animated original have yet to be decided .
It ’ s also not clear whether Disney plans to release Hercules theatrically or if it ’ ll be a Disney Plus film — rumors from Disney blog TheDisInsider , which originally reported the news of the live-action remake , claim it ’ ll be bound for theaters .
The project is in the early stages at this point , with no cast announcements yet Disney has seen considerable commercial success @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remakes over the past several years .
Films like Maleficent , Cinderella , and The Jungle Book brought in hundreds of millions of dollars , while Alice in Wonderland , Beauty and the Beast , Aladdin , and The Lion King have all cracked the $ 1 billion mark worldwide .
The company has also started releasing some of its live-action projects on Disney Plus , like The Lady and the Tramp remake , which was a major launch title for the service .
The upcoming Robin Hood remake , Lilo & Stitch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ based on the live-action Beauty and the Beast film , and a spinoff of the live-action Aladdin are reportedly planned for the streaming service , too .
Hercules is just one of a seemingly endless list of live-action remakes that the studio has in production , joining a list that includes the delayed Mulan , a 101 Dalmatians prequel called Cruella , Peter Pan & Wendy , The Little Mermaid , and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs .
Other projects , like Pinocchio , The Hunchback of Notre Dame , and Bambi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too .

Disney’s live-action remakes are on a roll, and news of yet another project broke today: a version of the 1997 Hercules movie, produced (but not directed) by Joe and Anthony Russo of Marvel’s Avengers fame, via The Hollywood Reporter.
Also attached to the project is Dave Callaham, who worked on The Expendables films, wrote the screenplay for the upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and worked as a co-writer on Wonder Woman 1984.
The original 1997 movie is extremely loosely based on the Greek myth of Heracles, and sees the young Hercules — the son of Zeus — exiled from Mount Olympus due to the nefarious machinations of the god of the underworld, Hades. While stuck on Earth as a mortal, the demigod Hercules still retains his superhuman strength and, with the help of a Danny Devito-voiced satyr, must learn what really makes a hero. Also, there’s a bunch of really good Alan Menken songs.
The project is in the early stages at this point, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and things like a cast, a director, or even whether the remake will be a musical like the animated original have yet to be decided. It’s also not clear whether Disney plans to release Hercules theatrically or if it’ll be a Disney Plus film — rumors from Disney blog TheDisInsider, which originally reported the news of the live-action remake, claim it’ll be bound for theaters.
The project is in the early stages at this point, with no cast announcements yet
Disney has seen considerable commercial success at the box office with its live-action remakes over the past several years. Films like Maleficent, Cinderella, and The Jungle Book brought in hundreds of millions of dollars, while Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King have all cracked the $1 billion mark worldwide.


theverge--2020-04-30--Microsoft Build goes free, virtual, and more developer-focused for 2020

Microsoft is opening up free registrations for its Build 2020 developer event .
It ’ s typically one of Microsoft ’ s biggest events of the year , but the software maker is doing things differently this time around .
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has forced Microsoft to entirely rethink the event , but instead of canceling , it ’ s bringing it online free for anyone to register .
That means developers will no longer have to pay the $ 2,395 entry fee that ’ s typically associated with Build , and there will still be lots of content @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is keeping some of its traditional keynote-style openings , with opening remarks from CEO Satya Nadella .
48-hour workshops will even be held on Twitch this year .
While Build typically delivers a range of Microsoft news , the company has scaled back its plans this time around .
Opening remarks will be far shorter , and Microsoft principal program manager Scott Hanselman will kick off the first session focused on developers .
Expect to also see appearances from Julia White , Scott Guthrie , Panos Panay , Kevin Scott , Rajesh Jha @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Build will cater to all time zones “ It ’ s not the Build we thought it would be , but it ’ s gon na be special , ” says Hanselman .
“ We can ’ t wait to bring together our community of developers to learn , connect and code together.
” Build 2020 will now be a 48-hour virtual event that begins on May 19th at 8AM PT / 11AM ET .
Sessions , talks , and demos will all be held across multiple time zones , and there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and interactive parts of the broadcasts .
“ We ’ re committed to support developers with cost-effective , efficient innovations that make people ’ s lives easier and better , especially in uncertain times , ” explains Hanselman .
As Microsoft has refocused Build solely on developers , expect to hear announcements that are mainly developer-focused .
We ’ re not expecting to hear a lot about Windows 10X , as Microsoft has shifted priorities amid the pandemic .
Microsoft may even send Build attendees a package in the post .
During the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to “ please provide the shipping information of where you will be accepting deliveries in May.
” Build will now take place between May 19th and 21st , and you can register for the event free of charge here .

Microsoft is opening up free registrations for its Build 2020 developer event. It’s typically one of Microsoft’s biggest events of the year, but the software maker is doing things differently this time around. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has forced Microsoft to entirely rethink the event, but instead of canceling, it’s bringing it online free for anyone to register.
That means developers will no longer have to pay the $2,395 entry fee that’s typically associated with Build, and there will still be lots of content available streamed free of charge. Microsoft is keeping some of its traditional keynote-style openings, with opening remarks from CEO Satya Nadella. 48-hour workshops will even be held on Twitch this year.
While Build typically delivers a range of Microsoft news, the company has scaled back its plans this time around. Opening remarks will be far shorter, and Microsoft principal program manager Scott Hanselman will kick off the first session focused on developers. Expect to also see appearances from Julia White, Scott Guthrie, Panos Panay, Kevin Scott, Rajesh Jha, Mark Russinovich, and many more.
Build will cater to all time zones
“It’s not the Build we thought it would be, but it’s gonna be special,” says Hanselman. “We can’t wait to bring together our community of developers to learn, connect and code together.” Build 2020 will now be a 48-hour virtual event that begins on May 19th at 8AM PT / 11AM ET. Sessions, talks, and demos will all be held across multiple time zones, and there will still be Q&A sessions and interactive parts of the broadcasts.
“We’re committed to support developers with cost-effective, efficient innovations that make people’s lives easier and better, especially in uncertain times,” explains Hanselman. As Microsoft has refocused Build solely on developers, expect to hear announcements that are mainly developer-focused. We’re not expecting to hear a lot about Windows 10X, as Microsoft has shifted priorities amid the pandemic.
Microsoft may even send Build attendees a package in the post. During the Build registration, the company asks participants to “please provide the shipping information of where you will be accepting deliveries in May.”