Neowin News Feed for: Coronavirus

Amazon decides to put employees' health on the line so it can return to business as usual

Paul Hill — Sun, 01 May 2022 02:56:01 +0000

Amazon will stop paid sick leave for employees who test positive for COVID-19 meaning they'll have to come to work and spread the disease or lose money. The new regime begins on Monday. Read more...

GIF creator, Stephen Wilhite, dies at 74 after contracting COVID-19

Paul Hill — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 02:04:01 +0000

Stephen Wilhite, the creator of the GIF image format, died last week at the age of 74. He passed away after contracting COVID-19 and his funeral was subsequently held on Tuesday this week. Read more...

Online food ordering firm, Deliveroo, had a strong Q4'21

Paul Hill — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 08:36:01 +0000

Deliveroo saw strong growth in the fourth quarter as customers continued ordering food online rather than risk catching the coronavirus by going out to a restaurant to grab something to eat. Read more...

Twitter permanently suspends U.S. congresswoman's account for coronavirus misinformation

Usama Jawad — Mon, 03 Jan 2022 06:30:02 +0000

Twitter has permanently suspended U.S. congresswoman's Marjorie Taylor Greene's account for repeatedly posting fake news related to COVID-19 and vaccines. Her government account remains live. Read more...

Apple does away with ‘return to office' deadline indefinitely, mask mandates to continue

Alap Naik Desai — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 22:00:01 +0000

Apple CEO Tim Cook has sent out an internal memo informing employees that the company has postponed its 'return to office' deadline. It has followed Microsoft and Amazon as COVID-19 surges. Read more...

COVID-19 causes further delay for Googlers' return to work

Paul Hill — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 04:08:02 +0000

Google has said it will delay the return to work for employees in the United States following the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. It has originally wanted employees back on January 10. Read more...

Google's voluntary 'return-to-office' policy extended through January 10 next year

Jay Bonggolto — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 07:46:01 +0000

Google's Sundar Pichai has announced that it has extended its hybrid work setup for employees until January 10, 2022 to give them "flexibility and choice" before they're expected back in the office. Read more...

YouTube has removed one million videos containing coronavirus misinformation

Usman Khan Lodhi — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 23:10:01 +0000

Statistics regarding YouTube's handling of misinformation were shared today. They revealed that YouTube had removed over one million videos containing COVID-19 misinformation since February 2020. Read more...

Twitter is now allowing users to report elections and COVID-19 misinformation

Usama Jawad — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 05:54:02 +0000

Twitter is experimenting with allowing some users to report tweets containing misleading information, with a special focus on misinformation related to COVID-19, vaccines, and elections. Read more...

Facebook employees in the U.S. won't need to return to office until January 2022

Jay Bonggolto — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 02:04:02 +0000

Facebook has cancelled its plans to resume full office operations by October and, instead, won't require employees in the U.S. to return to the office until January 2022 due to rising Delta cases. Read more...

Yelp will tell you businesses' COVID-19 vaccination requirements

Paul Hill — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 19:30:01 +0000

Yelp has introduced new 'Proof of vaccination required' and 'All staff fully vaccinated' attributes for business profiles to help consumers pick out the safest firms to do business with. Read more...

Apple is reportedly asking for vaccination status of employees in some locations

Jay Bonggolto — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 08:26:01 +0000

Apple is said to be enforcing "additional health and safety protocols" for on-site employees who don't have full vaccination yet as it reportedly conducts inquiries into their vaccination status. Read more...

Google delays its plans to re-open offices, will require employees to get vaccinated

Mehrotra A — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 19:08:02 +0000

Google's Sundar Pichai confirmed that the company will delay the return to office to October. He further iterated the importance of vaccination and noted that employees will need to get vaccinated. Read more...

Microsoft is handing out a $1,500 "pandemic bonus" to almost all employees

Usama Jawad — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 18:02:01 +0000

Citing internal emails, a new report claims that Microsoft is offering a $1,500 "pandemic bonus" to almost all of its employees. GitHub, LinkedIn, and ZeniMax staff are apparently not eligible. Read more...

Amazon Returnship program opens in U.S. to help COVID-19 recovery

Paul Hill — Thu, 03 Jun 2021 16:28:01 +0000

Amazon has launched its Returnship program in the United States to help people get back into work following the coronavirus pandemic which saw people lose their jobs due to the lack of trade. Read more...

Microsoft delivers oxygen, ventilators, and more to support India's COVID-19 response

Mehrotra A — Wed, 05 May 2021 19:00:01 +0000

Microsoft has announced initiatives that will assist India as it struggles with daily record numbers of new COVID-19 patients. These include oxygen, ventilators, financial and technological support. Read more...

Facebook gives $5 million to fund COVID-19 vaccines

Paul Hill — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 15:06:01 +0000

Facebook has announced that it will donate $5 million towards global COVID-19 vaccine equity and it'll work with partners to fight vaccine disinformation that disproportionately hurts minorities. Read more...

Google to give financial support to India amid COVID-19 crisis

Paul Hill — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 23:12:01 +0000

Google has announced several financial initiatives that will assist India as it struggles with daily record numbers of new COVID-19 patients. The funding could help India obtain more oxygen cylinders. Read more...

Facebook will use its HQ as a vaccination centre, says Sandberg

Paul Hill — Fri, 09 Apr 2021 18:34:01 +0000

Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg has announced that the firm will turn part of its Menlo Park HQ into a COVID-19 vaccination centre. The firm will also support mobile clinics to serve poorer areas. Read more...

EE switches on 5G in coastal areas ready for summer

Paul Hill — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 14:56:01 +0000

EE has announced the expansion of its 5G network to seaside and football locations. It comes as the UK begins to loosen lockdown restrictions which have been in place since the start of the year. Read more...

EE stores to remain open longer after lockdown

Paul Hill — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 00:58:01 +0000

EE has announced it will be opening high street stores in some areas for longer when the coronavirus lockdown is partially lifted on Monday. Customers can also book appointments online. Read more...

Facebook encourages users to get vaccinated with profile picture frames

Namerah Saud Fatmi — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 15:10:02 +0000

Facebook is continuing its push to encourage people to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Today, the social media platform launched profile picture frames in an effort to spread the word even further. Read more...

Cybersecurity: Canalys warns of “mass extinction” of businesses

Paul Hill — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 14:02:01 +0000

The analyst firm Canalys has warned that firms are not spending enough money on cybersecurity. It highlighted that security breaches were higher than even last year so firms need to be prepared. Read more...

Vodafone: Lockdown led to 40% jump in network usage

Paul Hill — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 12:54:01 +0000

Vodafone has revealed that streaming and other network usage jumped by 40% over the last year due to the pandemic forcing people to learn and work from home. It also said more people stream earlier. Read more...

Ola in vaccination push for employees and their dependents

Paul Hill — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 16:16:01 +0000

Ola has said it's launching a vaccine push in the geographies it operates in to help its employees and their dependents get vaccinated against the coronavirus which has shut the world down. Read more...

Vodafone scheme helps organisations support vulnerable customers

Paul Hill — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 13:16:01 +0000

Vodafone has launched a new scheme called communities.connected. It aims to let organisations offer their vulnerable customers lower cost internet access, dongle devices, and MiFi devices. Read more...

Ericsson using AI to help hospital manage COVID-19 patients

Paul Hill — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 15:26:01 +0000

Ericsson is working with Telia and Sahlgrenska University Hospital to build AI models that allow the hospital to receive COVID-19 patients in a more prepared manner, ensuring enough supplies. Read more...

Virgin Media says Call of Duty update caused busiest day on record

Paul Hill — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 19:18:01 +0000

Virgin Media has shared data about its customers' online usage during the third lockdown. It said that upload traffic was busiest in the afternoon generated by video calls and file uploads. Read more...

Sky Mobile reveals how much data was saved due to lockdown

Paul Hill — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 20:54:01 +0000

Sky Mobile has revealed that its customers have each saved up 43 GBs of data on average due to them staying at home over the past year and opting to get online with their broadband connection instead. Read more...

Instagram adds Live Rooms allowing broadcasts with three guests

Paul Hill — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 17:30:01 +0000

A new Instagram feature called Live Rooms is rolling out globally and allows live sessions to include three guests. The firm hopes to help content creators and make people more connected. Read more...

Gartner: Governments globally set to increase IT spending in 2021

Paul Hill — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 13:10:01 +0000

The analyst firm Gartner has said that it expects IT spending by governments to increase by 5.1% this year as they invest more in devices and telecoms to let employees get work done from home. Read more...

2021 will see 6.2% growth in IT spending says Gartner

Paul Hill — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 17:14:01 +0000

Gartner has released its latest predictions surrounding IT spending in 2021 and 2022. Last year saw negative growth in IT spend due to businesses cutting back but growth looks strong this year. Read more...

Google announces initiatives for making COVID-19 vaccines more accessible

Ather Fawaz — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 10:52:01 +0000

As part of a $150 million investment, Google will launch two features geared towards vaccine education. The firm will also be using its buildings and parking lots as vaccination sites. Read more...

Netflix membership passed 200 million in 2020

Paul Hill — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 23:24:01 +0000

Netflix has revealed that it gained 8.5 million new subscribers in 4Q20 and a record 37 million new users over the whole year. It also expects six million new sign-up in the first quarter of 2021. Read more...

UK's NHS using blockchain tech to store COVID-19 vaccines

Paul Hill — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 12:38:01 +0000

Two firms have announced that they're working with the NHS to help it monitor cold storage units holding the COVID-19 vaccine. They are also leveraging blockchain technology to keep trusted logs. Read more...

Uber will give Brits a free trip to vaccination centres

Paul Hill — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 16:30:01 +0000

Uber has announced that it's running a promotion where people can get free rides to vaccination centres between now and February 28. Each code does have a 4,000 limit so be sure to use it quickly. Read more...

EE announces free data extension for NHS workers

Paul Hill — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 18:04:01 +0000

EE has said that it's extending its unlimited data offer for NHS workers. The mobile carrier was going to end the offer on January 31 after an extension in October but will keep it going until June. Read more...

Super Nintendo World grand opening faces delays due to local state of emergency

Boyd Chan — Thu, 14 Jan 2021 06:58:01 +0000

While Super Nintendo World was lined up for its grand opening early next month, those plans have been placed on hold after a state of emergency was declared in Osaka prefecture to counter COVID-19. Read more...

Dropbox to cut its global workforce by 11% for “healthy” future

Paul Hill — Thu, 14 Jan 2021 00:40:01 +0000

The cloud storage company, Dropbox, is going to lay-off 315 of its employees and it looks to grow over the coming years. The CEO said that redundancies are not a reflection on the workers. Read more...

Google investigating issues with COVID-19 tracking apps that use Exposure Notifications API [Update]

Abhay V — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 15:08:01 +0000

COVID-19 exposure tracking apps like the one for NHS are currently facing issues that cause constant "loading" notifications and slowdowns. Google has acknowledged the problem and is looking into it. Read more...