Facebook scraps developer conference on coronavirus fears

Facebook canceled its annual F8 Developer Conference over concerns about Covid-19, commonly referred to as the coronavirus, according to a blog post.

The conference, scheduled for May in San Jose, California, has become a flagship event in the technology community in recent years, and Facebook uses F8 to provide updates on the company’s product lines.

In the past, the social network has announced new products at F8, like its dating service in 2018, and even teased far-reaching projects, like a brain-to-computer interface or augmented-reality glasses.

Facebook says it’s considering other ways to give developers and investors information, possibly through “locally hosted events, videos, and live-streamed content”, the company wrote in the blog post on Thursday.

F8 is the latest major tech event to be scrapped amid concerns about the spread of the deadly respiratory virus, which has killed more than 2 800 people and infected more than 82 400 worldwide. Mobile World Congress, a global technology conference in Spain scheduled to kick off this week, was also canceled.(Vanguard)

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Netflix introduces ‘low data’ AV1 video codec for Android platform

Netflix is rolling out support for the new AV1 video codec in its Android app, which the company claims compresses video 20 percent more efficiently than the VP9 codec it currently uses.

The company says the codec can be enabled now for “selected titles” by enabling the “Save Data” option, although it doesn’t detail exactly which titles are supported.

Eventually, Netflix says it plans to roll out AV1 on all its platforms and is working with device and chipset manufacturers to broaden compatibility.

coronavirus worsens AV1 is important not just because it consumes less mobile data, but because the royalty-free video coding format has the support of the major tech players.

The group behind the standard, the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia), was founded in 2015 by a group of companies including Amazon, Google, Intel, Microsoft, and Netflix, and in 2018 Apple joined their efforts.

Apple is a particularly significant addition since its devices don’t currently support the predominant VP9 standard, which is why you can’t watch YouTube in 4K on devices like the Apple TV or iPad Pro.

Although Netflix notes that the plan is to eventually use AV1 across all platforms, it sounds like the codec is still in its early stages.

Restricting its use to the “Save Data” option, for example, suggests that it’s not the best choice for picture quality.

And, as Engadget notes, enabling the codec for YouTube playback generates a warning that “Streaming AV1 in HD requires a powerful computer.”

That makes us wonder how AV1-encoded Netflix videos will impact the battery life of our smartphones.

There’s also the question of how many Android devices support the codec, which Netflix’s announcement doesn’t address.

We have contacted Netflix to ask for additional detail and will update this article when we hear back. (Vanguard)

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Henderson hails Firmino: ‘The stuff he does is madness

Jordan Henderson has hailed the “outstanding” Roberto Firmino after Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday at Anfield.

“Some of the stuff he does is madness really!” Henderson told Liverpool’s official website. “But he’s another outstanding player for us and it was another big performance from him.

“Especially in the second half, every one put in a really good performance. We’re just really delighted to get the three points, especially going into the break now.”

It was yet another top-quality display from Firmino, who provided a hat-trick of assists against the Saints, and he showcased why he is highly-regarded by his fans and his teammates.

Firmino joined Liverpool for just £29 million in 2015 , and has played a huge part in Liverpool’s recent success.

The Reds are now 22 points clear at the top of the Premier League table, and they are edging closer to Arsenal’s 49 games unbeaten run. (Vanguard)

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Rema is alive, hale and healthy

Rema is hale and healthy!” Those were the words of the manager of Mavin records musician, Rema. The manager whose name is Sean, was responding to questions via WhatsApp chat with this reporter.

“Death is not something one can hide! Some hackers got access to his official account and spread the rumour. He is hale and healthy, he is fine. We don’t want to blow this out of proportion” he said.

Around midday on Saturday, the Internet became agog with news that Rema was dead. However, some hours later, stories started making rounds that Rema had resurrected from the dead; adding another twist to the story. (Vanguard)

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Coronavirus forcing tech companies to take preventive steps

Silicon Valley is bracing for the coronavirus outbreak to impact its bottom line as Google closed its offices in China and Apple said its production will be affected.

Google, which has 10 offices spread between mainland China and Taiwan, confirmed on Wednesday to Fox Business that the offices which had been closed for the Lunar New Year — will now be closed for the foreseeable future.

The Mountain View, Calif., company also reportedly said its charitable arm provided a $250,000 grant to the Chinese Red Cross to help with relief efforts and the company’s internal campaign for assistance has raised $500,000.

On Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a call with investors that the company had limited employee travel to China to “business-critical” matters and that the firm is donating to groups trying to contain the outbreak.

“The situation is emerging and we’re still gathering lots of data points and monitoring it really closely,” Cook said.

“We have a wider than usual revenue range for the second quarter due to the greater uncertainty.”

The Apple chief executive also confirmed that many of its retail locations in China have scaled back their hours and are also undergoing frequent “deep cleaning.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Microsoft told Forbes that the company has “advised employees in China to work from home and cancel all non-essential business travel.”

As of Wednesday, there were 132 deaths from the outbreak and thousands of confirmed cases, according to Chinese officials and the World Health Organization. (Vanguard)

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