Your Tech Story

Covid-19

e-learning

COVID-19 Helps Raise Income of Online Tutors Around the World

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By

The COVID-19 is grabbing headlines all over the world for its rampant spread across Europe and North America. With the number of affected and dead keep rising every day, the world will have to wait out this pandemic. Recently, India has gone in for a 21-day complete lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus throughout the country. Around the world as well, most states have opted to implement travel bans, shut offices, and schools and also shut down public transport. The shutting down of schools and colleges has led to millions of students being left without a class. While these times are tough and trying, it has led to a surge in the online learning industry. With almost every student having to rely on online learning technologies to get their education, online tutors are making more money than ever before. Here’s a look at how the COVID-19 has led to a massive rise in income for online tutors.

Online Tutors Getting Rich

Raven Kate De Leon is a Filipino teacher, who is now working harder than ever before due to the COVID-19. She is working more than 10 hours a day from her home, in front of her home computer. Her desk is scattered with stuffed toys, cars and dolls, all of which she uses while teaching English to students from around the world. These toys help her lighten the mood and infuse some energy into her classes. With China having shut down, many students are now relying on teachers like Leon to get their education. Just like her, thousands of Filipino teachers are now cashing in on the disease by working overtime as grade school teachers. Instead of being frustrated due to the lockdown, these online tutors are turning this pandemic into golden opportunities.

The Philippines to the Rescue

Very few Asian countries have what the Philippines have. The country has both the technical capabilities and an ample supply of teaching professionals who speak flawless English. Both these combined help make this country into an online-learning powerhouse, helping out students all over the world. Platforms that mete out virtual learning, such as China’s 51Talk and the Filipino RareJob has grown tremendously in the last few months.

Ever since the COVID-19 hit Chinese shores, these platforms have developed as they serve as one of the few ways to teach students. Teachers who used to take eight classes daily, now take 20 to keep up with the more significant surge in demand. With the children being stressed out themselves, not being able to understand what’s happening around them, these classes also serve as a means to calm them down. Leon usually works from 8 in the morning to 11 at night, and never even takes a day off! A 25-minute session costs the student around $6.36, and most teachers earn $2.53 per hour.

Traditional Education Shuts Down

China shut all its schools and colleges in February in a bid to contain and prevent the further spread of the infection. Once the virus spread to other areas and countries, most of them had to follow suit and put the same measures in place. This led to the complete breakdown of traditional forms of education, with UNESCO calling this a modern-day educational crisis. The organization has stated that the pandemic has left over 290 million children without a school or college to attend. In such trying times, the safest option that people have to get their children educated is online learning.

With the virus being extremely viral and infectious, social distance has become the norm of the day. In such an environment of COVID-19, virtual classrooms and online learning initiatives might be the only option available to students who want to learn. Companies such as 51 Talk is making full use of this migration towards online learning, and the company employs over 20,000 teachers in the Philippines.

As these teachers work from home the entire time, they have also been able to stay clear of the viral infection. The Philippines is battling the disease, with over 400 positive cases. The market share value of the company China Online Education, which is valued at $419-million rose 154% while the NYSE index fell by 34% in the same period. Other platforms such as TAL Education Group, New Oriental Education and GSX Techedu Inc have also witnessed an enormous rise in share values, by 24%, 17%, and 112%, respectively.

RareJob employs over 6,000 Filipino tutors and works mainly in the Japanese market. They have seen a doubling of their customer base, with over 800,000 customers signing up since February. The company charges $60 for Japanese and $100 for English classes, and this is 40 times cheaper than the online learning classes based in Japan. Several companies are unable to keep up with the massive surge in demand. Regardless of whether the schools and colleges will open soon, it is clear to see that online learning institutions have made a long-lasting impact on the world’s education sector.

covid-19

World Comes Together to Find a Cure for the COVID-19

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By

It has now been three months since the novel coronavirus went ballistic, spreading across the world and claiming lives. Since the spike in cases started, medical professionals from around the globe have been doubtful when it comes to how to treat the pandemic. Most of them are unclear regarding which drug will prove to be most effective against this viral disease. However, the silver lining here is that this confusion has brought together the entire medical community especially WHO, as they try to find answers. Here’s a quick look at how the world has come together to find a cure for the COVID-19.

Testing Progressing

The virus broke into China early December and then tore the country apart by February. Researchers and doctors then set up multiple testing centers and drug trial centers to test the efficiency of existing medicines. However, data from China has not been successful in pinpointing any particular drug as the final solution. This prompted the Director-General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom to ask top medical professionals from around the world to work together to find a cure. He recently applauded the global effort by stating that such an extensive program against the viral disease would lead to faster results. The WHO, has, therefore, launched a global clinical trial to test four drugs that they feel have the best response against the COIVD-19. These include the experimental Remdesivir, the anti-malarial chloroquine, and hydroxychloroquine, two HIV drugs from a combination pair, and the same two combined with an anti-inflammatory beta drug.

Global Effort

These trials will happen all over the world and will be extremely flexible. As time passes, the centers will add and remove additional treatments and therapies as per their findings. In many ways, this process will resemble the one adopted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. This facility, which took shape in the US, sometime in February has been testing Remdesivir. However, as of now, the US is not included in this global testing scheme launched by WHO. Nevertheless, hundreds of such trials are now in motion. Here’s a look at the main drugs they are focusing on, as of now.

Anti-Malarial Drugs

Studies have found that both hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine can help in stopping the coronavirus’s spread. Meanwhile, anecdotal evidence suggests that this combination can help patients infected by the COVID-19. An advantage concerning this drug is that since it has been used for years as an anti-malarial drug, scientists and researchers have a lot of experience when it comes to using it. After having used it for years, most scientists have found that the drug affects viruses. The trials are trying to establish whether hydroxychloroquine can help with stopping the virus from developing into more severe conditions within patients. To test this, researchers need to administer the drug to people who are at high-risk locations. By getting the drug into people early on, the team will be able to track how the drug responds to the virus and whether it proves to be effective. Since viruses work incredibly fast, if a drug has a chance of working, that chance is amplified if it reaches the infection early on. While the research is still in its early stages, experts believe that hydroxychloroquine will prove to be an essential drug in the fight against the viral epidemic. However, such news has led to a rise in demand for the drug, inspiring manufacturers to increase production. This rise in demand has led to a shortage of people who use the drug to fight lupus.

HIV Drug Trials

Two Thai doctors in February claimed that a combination of lopinavir and ritonavir, two drugs used for the treatment of HIV helps COVID-19 patients. This has led to the WHO issuing testing centers to run clinical trials on the effectiveness of this combination. A separate test is running to test the effect of the blend with an anti-inflammatory interferon-beta. The most promising news here is that this combination proved successful in the fight against the SARS and MERS pandemics. However, some bad news has come out from China, wherein trials revealed that the combination did not prove successful. But, the test occurred in people who were in the later stages of the disease, meaning that this might be why the combination proved to be ineffective.

Antiviral Remedies

The drug remdesivir first gained attention as a useful tool against Ebola. Later on, research showed that the drug also works against MERS and SARS. Now, recent lab tests have shown that the drug can also help in curbing the novel coronavirus. While anecdotal evidence backs the remdesivir drug, clinical trials will aid in substantiating this evidence. Further trials are testing various other drugs; some backed by WHO, some without, in a way to quickly fight the virus. Japan is testing an anti-flu drug called favipiravir, which they say is effective in treating the COVID-19. While clinical trials take time to collect data, this global effort will help in building concrete evidence faster than ever before. As the world comes together to fight this pandemic, let us all hope that a cure is found soon.

digital robots

Diligent Robotics to Help Hospitals by Providing Assistant Robots

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By

Studies show that almost 28% of a professional nurse’s working time goes into tasks that require low-skill and less technical knowledge. These tasks include taking medical tools from places and handing them over to the doctor-in-charge. Being a nurse is an essential job that requires a lot of other complex operations, which require care and compassion. When they are put under stress working on low-skill tasks, this affects the overall productivity and efficiency. The present COVID-19 attack has seriously put the medical profession under severe pressure. With doctors and nurses having to work around the clock to save lives, the least we can do is use science to make their lives easier. In this article, we will be taking a look at what the start-up Diligent Robotics is doing to help these nurses out.

Robots to the Rescue

Diligent Robotics is trying to give back to the medical community by providing them with a helper robot to carry out low-task jobs. This robot will function as a sort of assistant to these nurses, helping them with errands around the clock. The company’s helper bot, called Moxi has a flexible gripper-equipped arm, which allows it to pick and drop things. This incredibly mobile robot can navigate its way through a hallway, clinical room or ward and assist nurses diligently. It can be put to use to transport resources from one department to the other, and hand over necessary documents to doctors. Since the world is facing a massive shortage of human resources with regards to the healthcare industry, this robot will help save lives. Using this robot will lead to medical professionals having more time to tend to the sick, instead of engaging in low-intensity tasks. This will help raise the overall efficiency and productivity of the hospital and its staff. Furthermore, since robots cannot get themselves infected with COVID-19, they cannot be carriers, making the entire process a lot safer.

Funding on Board

The company Diligent Robotics announced its plan to scale operations and deliver more robots to hospitals, thanks partly to a $10 million received via Series A funding. Diligent Robotics CEO Andrea Thomaz has said that the robot Moxi was designed by taking input from hospital customers and users so that it can provide more solutions than just material management. The company plans on making the robot a frontline staff in this fight against the disease. This round of funding led by DNX Ventures ensured that the company gained $15.75 million in total funding. This has pushed development works into fifth gear as far as Moxi is concerned. Two such robots are working in Dallas, within two top hospital networks inside the United States.

Road to the Formation of the Rescue Team

The new cash which has come in from companies and investors such as DNX, Ubiquity Ventures, Grit Ventures, and E14 Fund has helped in expanding Moxi’s capabilities. Andrea Thomaz came up with this idea when she was working on her Ph.D. from MIT Lab in the field of social robotics. Co-founder and the company’s CTO, Vivian Chu has a Master’s from UPenn. She then joined forces with Thomaz at Georgia Tech and realized just how much time nurses waste on menial tasks. This study led them to win a National Science Foundation grant amounting to $750,000. This money proved that stepping stone that led to the prototype of Moxi being built. Since then, the company has grown from strength to strength, expanding into an 18-member team. They worked with over a hundred nurses from all over the US, to study their needs and requirements. Thomaz believes that such movements will help in the integration of robots into everyday lives like never before. Hence, such service robots will benefit the entire field move from shop floors and industries to our homes and essential services. Rather than trying to replace humans, the company is trying to focus on building robots with unique human elements in them.

Moxi the Bot

Moxi is almost as big as a human but looks more like an 80’s inspired movie robot so that it does not make people feel weird. It has a pair of eyes that move as per signal transmission, with a command system that responds to voice commands from nurses. It has a control system inside it, which allows it to adjust its height, while its robotic arms will enable it to pick up and place items whenever necessary. Hospitals buy Moxi by paying a standard fee and then continue to pay a small monthly fee for the services it provides. While hospitals find it difficult to adjust to new technologies, the start-up believes that tough times will inspire more companies and hospitals to adopt new technologies to fight the pandemic.

Youtube Helping prevent from Coronavirus

YouTube Doing All It Can to Promote Good Content in the Times of COVID-19

Leave a Comment / Social media, Tech News / By

As the COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc around the world, all spheres of our life are reeling in the aftermath. Around the world, cases seem to be on the increase and most governments are putting curfews in place to prevent the further spread of the virus. During this time of need, several people have been accused of spreading false information regarding the disease. When everything is digital, it becomes effortless to popularize and legitimize fake news. Since doing so can have serious repercussions, officials are asking people to be careful regarding what they share with family and friends. Therefore, having a legitimate source for news and updates regarding the COVID-19 has become integral, and Google seems to be stepping up to the occasion. Here’s a look at how YouTube and Google are handling the situation.

Saving Grace from Google

Google recently released specifications regarding how they are helping users fight the COVID-19. They have set up an education website that will help users gain insight into how the virus works and how we can protect ourselves against it. This website is working in tandem with the Trump administration to help curb the spread of the virus. This partnership with the government will help users gain information regarding how the virus spreads, WHO guidelines and even CDC control measures. The initial version of the website was to become active on the 16th of March.

Furthermore, reports state that Verily, which is owned by Google’s parent, Alphabet, is working on setting up COVID-19 testing centers. These will launch in the San Francisco Bay Area and will help speed up the testing process, limiting its spread. The company is also said to be developing an online tool to help patients self-quarantine themselves if they show symptoms. However, both these tools are only in their testing phase and may require a lot more time to become operational. Furthermore, the tech giant will also dispense vital information using Search, Maps, and YouTube. Let us take a look at what YouTube plans to do.

Google’s homepage now promotes the Do the Five campaign, which aims to raise awareness regarding measures people should take to limit the spread of the disease. These guidelines, which have been devised by the WHO, has been popularized by Google. Within just 24 hours from release, these guidelines have been viewed by millions in the US alone. Google’s My Business will also allow businesses to mark themselves as Temporarily Shut due to the COVID-19.

From Google to YouTube

YouTube has been spread misinformation in the past, and Google aims to stop that from happening this time. Therefore, Google has taken down thousands of videos that promote misleading and factually incorrect news regarding the COVID-19. Several of these videos claimed to have treatments and prevention methods against the coronavirus but had no medical proof to back up their claims. Similarly, Google Maps has also taken down malicious content and reviews regarding healthcare locations.

Furthermore, the tech giant has warned content creators against posting false information. Also, they have told creators that due to staffing changes owing to the COVID-19 outbreak, more and more reviews will rely on automated systems. Therefore, most of the removals and revisions will be done by automated algorithms and not through human intervention.

This may lead to an increase in video removals, with even some video which does not violate policies being taken down. In such cases, creators can appeal against the taking down of their video, and the teams associated with QC&QA will review the decision. However, YouTube has also made it clear that such reviews will take longer than usual due to a workforce shortage. Furthermore, the company will be more careful about what content goes up in order to prevent the spread of false information. Everything, including live streams, will be carefully analyzed with content awaiting review not being available via search or in recommendations.

YouTube will also come out with a new row of verified content on its homepage to help people looking for updates on the viral outbreak. These videos will feature news from authoritative outlets and health providers, rather than random users. This COVID-19 shelf will be available in 16 countries initially, and this includes the US, UK, India, Germany, Italy, and Brazil from this week onwards. In due time, it will be made available to more countries. Google has also pulled paid ads that try to capitalize on the virus from YouTube, giving more space to NGOs and government authorities.

Nintendo

Nintendo Faces a Worldwide Shutdown in Services

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By

Fans were left surprised and saddened by the fact that the Nintendo Switch’s online services are temporarily down. It seems that both the multiplayer services, as well as the Nintendo eShop facilities are not working for the time being. Here’s a look at why this has happened and what Nintendo plans to do regarding the same. multiplayer services are not working.

Officially Down

The company’s official Twitter account, which is in Japanese, has confirmed the news, by tweeting that the incident is true. The Twitter account also confirms that they have taken all the necessary steps to make sure that the site will be up in no time. The company has confirmed that repair work is underway regarding the website and portal. Furthermore, the company’s updated status confirms they are not able to connect to their services over their network. The message also urges users to try again later. The news also shows that the outage is worldwide and not specific to a certain area or nation. Also, the outage has affected various Nintendo services such as the Switch, 3DS, and Wii U. However, certain users have confirmed that while they are unable to access the eShop, many are being able to play the Rocket League online without any issues.

Aftereffects of COVID-19

Some experts believe that the Xbox Live and PlayStation services have suffered as a result of an increase in user base. The hard-hitting effects of the COVID-19 have left many people without work or school, meaning more people than ever before are turning towards entertainment facilities to stay occupied. This has put undue network strain on such services, leading to discrepancies and inefficiencies within the system. For instance, the gaming platform Steam, recorded a new all-time record for the number of users with 20 million people signing in last weekend. It is unfortunate that such an outage has occurred now when it is most needed with most people staying indoors to prevent the spread of the virus.

As more and more people choose to stay at home and avoid social gatherings, they are turning to online streaming services and video games to fill their time. However, it has not been confirmed whether or not this is the reason for the break-in service by Nintendo. But, most online multiplayer service portals are facing a severe network strain due to the excessive number of users. Both IGN and Downdetector have both stated that both the Switch Online and eShop are inaccessible to them. March 15 had also witnessed Microsoft’s Xbox Live network going down. However, this news comes at a bad time for Nintendo, who is coming out with their new release, Animal Crossing: New Horizons very soon. Fans are eagerly awaiting the services to start normal operation, and are hoping this does not delay the release of the new game. The outage seems to have occurred somewhere between 4:56 AM and 1:45 PM ET. The outage was experienced both in the UK, Japan, and the US, with Nintendo Mario Kart’s online facility being affected severely.

Other Failings

However, Nintendo isn’t the only tech company having problems keeping their services online. Last week, Microsoft was in the same position when the Xbox Live went down for almost 2 hours. Similarly, the gaming chat application Discord has been facing difficulties in recent times as well. This definitely comes as bad news for all the people who are self-quarantining themselves in the wake of the COVID-19. While nothing has been officially stated, certain players tweeted today morning that they were able to open the eShop. This suggests that at least some of the services were back on track, much to the delight of fans from all over the world. However, if you are still unable to access the eShop or any other online facility, do not worry, because Nintendo is doing all it can to fix the issue.

Microsoft

Microsoft’s Biggest Event Goes Virtual as Conferences Become Coronavirus Newest Hits

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By

The World Health Organization recently declared the Coronavirus, called COVID-19 as a global pandemic, due to its extremely aggressive transmission rate. The world is still reeling from the effects of this novel virus on public health, tourism and transportation, and the world economy. By now, the virus has found a place for itself in over 120 countries, with John Hopkins’ data showing that there are over 127,000 confirmed cases around the world, which has resulted in more than 4,700 deaths. In the US alone, there have been 32 deaths so far, with over 1000 reported cases. This has led to 15 states in the US declaring an emergency, including heavyweights such as New York, Washington, California, and Florida. However, the newest casualty of the Coronavirus has been conferences, as most major companies have decided to cancel their conferences in the wake of this crisis. Here’s a look at everything you need to know about Microsoft’s events and how this will impact the tech world.

Impact on Industry Events

Travel bans, laws against gatherings and overtly cautious people have resulted in some of the biggest tech conferences of the year being cancelled due to the COVID-19. Some of these conferences have gotten downright cancelled, whereas others have been indefinitely postponed. Moreover, some of the companies have turned their physical conferences virtual, with both attendees and organizers confident that the conference will have the same impact on a digital platform. For instance, both Google and Facebook have cancelled their developer events, whereas Microsoft announced that the Build conference would switch to a virtual platform. Earlier this week, it was announced that one of the biggest gaming events of the year, Electronic Entertainment Expo would not happen this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Microsoft Build

The annual event that introduces new developers, tools, gives updates regarding development on projects and defines future objectives is one of the largest events hosted by Microsoft. Recent Build conferences have shifted focus from the Windows OS to newer technologies such as IoT, Azure, cloud computing and holographic development. The 2020 Build conference was citied to center around dual-screen app development, the new Windows 10X-powered Surface Neo PC and recently updated SDKs and emulators.

The Microsoft Build conference was to take place between May 19 and 21 in Seattle, but the tech-giant decided against having the event after listening to government recommendations. Microsoft released a statement saying that their top priority remains the safety of their community, and that they expect the digital event to bring together as many people as their in-person event normally does. Furthermore, the company has also instructed its workers in Seattle and California to work from home up until March 25 as a precautionary measure.

Silent May

While the month of May traditionally boasts several large developer conferences, including the likes of Microsoft Build, Facebook F8 and Google I/O, all of which take place around the same two-week period, this year will be different. F8 and I/O had already switched to online events, and it seems like Microsoft is following suit, too, amid the coronavirus outbreak. This comes as no surprise as Washington counties recently banned the organizing of events comprising of over 250 people. However, though the ban would have expired before the Build conference was set to take place, Microsoft has opted to go for a safer alternative. But, Microsoft has not updated their official website regarding the same, and tickets for Build can still be bought online. However, it would be best to not do so, as the update should come up officially within a day or two since their spokesperson has already made an official statement.

Digital is the New Way Forward

Rather than relying on in-person events, major tech companies all around the world are looking forward to hosting digital events in the wake of the Coronavirus scare. Both Microsoft MVP and E3 will take place digitally in June, right after the Build conference. Also, the COVID-19 has affected the performance of the company, as most employees have been working from home for the past week, and will continue to do so till the end of March. Therefore, the release date for the Windows 10 OS update, has been pushed back by several weeks.

With a major portion of the American population restricted to their homes, going digital sure looks like the best way to handle large events right now. While the lack of engagement and one-to-one interaction may hamper the success of such events, the safety it provides is what the time calls for right now. Though Microsoft and other large tech companies may have to struggle with their new releases now, such steps will go a long way in ensuring that the Coronavirus does not spread any further.