April, 2020

• 22 April

  Magic Leap announces layoffs due to COVID

  

  A future world of augmented reality might still be on the horizon, but companies exploring its possibilities have been hit with some challenges in the meantime. Magic Leap, a company that had big consumer aspirations and pivoted to a more business-focused approach last year, has announced a number of layoffs today due to financial strains …

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• 22 April

  Facebook, Instagram add location info to high

  

  This story is part of Elections 2020, CNET’s coverage of the voting in November and its aftermath. Facebook has begun adding location information to posts by high-reach Facebook pages and Instagram accounts on all their posts. It’s part of a greater effort to ensure people know who is behind the posts, accounts and pages on its social media platforms, especially …

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• 22 April

  Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey chats with Desus & Mero: 3 takeaways from the interview

  

  Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey video chatted with comedians and TV hosts Desus Nice and The Kid Mero on Wednesday, weighing in on various topics from how his company approaches coronavirus misinformation to whether users will ever get a feature to edit their tweets. (Disclosure: Desus & Mero airs on Showtime. Both Showtime and CNET are owned by ViacomCBS.) The hour-long …

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• 22 April

  Google video chat now supports 16

  

  Google’s video chat app now supports a grid view of up to 16 people, the company announced Wednesday. The update comes while many are working from home or taking part in remote education due to COVID-19 quarantines and lockdowns. Google Meet will now adjust the grid view to show active speakers. “Seeing more people at the same time can help …

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• 22 April

  YouTube launches free new original shows during COVID

  

  YouTube on Wednesday said it’s launching 11 free new original shows as people spend more time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. They include a dance special called Move With Me featuring dancer and producer Matt Steffanina, and a show about people being creative together during the pandemic called Create Together With Me, hosted by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  “Some shows will …

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• 22 April

  MasterClass deal: Buy one annual membership, get one free (Update: Expired)

  

  Ever wished you could learn cooking from Gordon Ramsay? Or acting from Natalie Portman? How about magic from Penn & Teller or basketball from Steph Curry? That’s the idea behind MasterClass, a streaming service offering instruction from world-renowned experts in their fields. It’s not cheap, but right now there’s a pretty great deal: Buy one MasterClass annual pass for $180, …

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• 22 April

  AT&T suffers financial hit due to coronavirus expenses

  

  For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. AT&T’s booming wireless business wasn’t enough to shield the telecom giant turned media conglomerate from bad news in the first quarter due to the coronavirus. The company said the impact of the pandemic added costs and caused advertising revenue for its media business …

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• 22 April

  Vivaldi 3.0 becomes the newest web browser to block ads and trackers

  

  Vivaldi now has built-in options for blocking online trackers and ads, a change of heart for a web browser-maker whose founder had hoped regulators would step in to protect privacy. The new features, designed to improve performance, too, are set to arrive Wednesday with the release of Vivaldi 3.0. The development of a version of Vivaldi for Android phones, the …

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• 22 April

  Motorola announces $1,000 Edge Plus to compete against Galaxy S20

  

  Motorola announced its latest flagship phone, the Edge Plus during an online event Wednesday. Though the company is known for its popular budget line of G-series phones (for instance, it just announced the Moto G Stylus and Moto G Power earlier), Motorola packed high-end specs to its Edge Plus, poising it to compete with Samsung’s Galaxy S20. This includes a 108-megapixel camera, 5G and …

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• 22 April

  On Earth Day, Google reaches for 24/7 carbon neutrality

  

  Google is working to achieve 24/7 carbon-free energy at all of its data centers in a continued effort to address climate change concerns. Its new carbon-intelligent computing platform will help Google match up its compute-load with energy sources like wind and solar power, the tech giant said Wednesday. To do this, it’s moved the timing of nonurgent tasks like YouTube …

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