April, 2020

• 1 April

  Samsung donates its phones to quarantined coronavirus patients

  

  For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. Like many tech companies. Samsung is pitching in to fight the novel coronavirus. In addition to providing funding and medical supplies such as hygiene kits and face masks, the Korean electronics giant is also donating the hardware its …

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• 1 April

  Facebook and Instagram are back up after some users experienced issues

  

  Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp were down for some users on Wednesday. As of around 2:30 p.m. PT, outages were concentrated in regions including North and South America and Europe. By around 3 p.m. PT, a Facebook representative said the apps were back up and running. Instagram and WhatsApp are owned by Facebook.  The most reported problems on Facebook were with images, according to Downdetector. Some people were …

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• 1 April

  Fitbit Charge 4 adds GPS but doesn’t work with third

  

  The Fitbit Charge 4, an update to last year’s Charge 3, is basically the same tracker, but now with GPS. It’s odd timing for a world that’s increasingly shut down and housebound, but GPS was a feature that was missing from Fitbit’s devices for years. The Fitbit Charge 4 is the company’s first new wearable since last year’s Versa 2. See it …

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• 1 April

  Coronavirus may permanently change how we buy our food

  

  For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. Like most Americans, Steve Rainwater never used online grocery services. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit. Now his family — Rainwater, his wife and two cats — are getting food using Instacart and Whole Foods deliveries. “Provided all these services keep delivering, I’m sure …

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• 1 April

  The 5 best Wednesday deals: Roku speakers, Vudu movies, free Harry Potter and more

  

  Good day, cheeps. Hope you’re staying safe, healthy and home. Speaking of which, every deal I have for you today is designed to improve your home life: movies to watch with the family, speakers to upgrade your TV, a printer for your home office and so on. And here’s a newfound freebie to get you started: Big Fish is offering …

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• 1 April

  Budget

  

  Motorola’s new budget-friendly Moto G Stylus and Moto G Power smartphones are now available for preorder on the company’s website. Both phones will be generally available in the US starting April 16 at Best Buy, B&H Photo, Walmart, and Amazon, with subsequent availability at Verizon and other providers, Motorola confirmed to CNET.  The Moto G Power costs $250, and the …

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• 1 April

  Microsoft warns hospitals about VPN cyberattacks during coronavirus

  

  For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. Roughly four out of five Americans are on government-mandated lockdowns, forcing many of them to work from home to avoid spreading the novel coronavirus. Many of these people use technology to access their work called virtual private networks, or VPNs. And now Microsoft …

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• 1 April

  SpaceX reportedly bans use of Zoom videoconferencing app by employees

  

  SpaceX has prohibited employees from using the videoconferencing app Zoom, citing “significant privacy and security concerns,” Reuters reported Wednesday. As the novel coronavirus causing a surge in work- and learn-from-home activity, Zoom has quickly become the video meeting app of choice. An email sent to employees on Saturday said that all access to Zoom had been disabled. “We understand that many …

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• 1 April

  Ensure your privacy around smart speakers with a $39 Paranoid auto

  

  Do you trust your smart speaker? You probably have an Alexa device in the kitchen or a Google Home in the bedroom, and there’s ample evidence that your privacy has not always been a top priority. To be sure, there are ways to protect yourself, like manually setting your speaker’s microphone to mute when it’s not in use. But that’s inconvenient. …

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• 1 April

  T

  

  Two years after announcing a $26.5 billion merger with Sprint, T-Mobile is ready to get to work integrating the two companies. On Wednesday, the carrier announced that it has closed the deal, which will allow it to begin combining the third- and fourth-largest US wireless providers. Both companies claim the merger will let them better compete with industry giants Verizon …

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