Software

Featured Article – How Dark Mode Can Help

Posted on by Andy Miller

If you’ve heard about (or already use) ‘dark mode’ for apps and devices but don’t know much about it, here’s a look at why it has been introduced, whether it delivers real benefits, and how to turn on dark mode in different operating systems and apps.

What Is Dark Mode?

Dark mode/dark theme/night mode is a light-on-dark colour scheme for operating systems that use light-coloured text, icons, and graphical user interface elements on a dark background. Dark mode can be used on Android, iOS, PCs, Macs, and individual apps.

Good For Health and Battery Life?

The main reasons for operating systems and apps offering dark mode appear to be that:

– It could be better for health in terms of reducing the risk of eye strain where you may have been looking at the screen for a long time and/or you are working into the night.

– Dark mode consumes less energy and is less likely to drain your battery.

– It is aesthetically pleasing to use and is valued by many users and can feel like a more comfortable alternative when working in dimly lit environments.

– Dark mode is found to be helpful by gamers.

– Having light text on a dark background can make the text more legible/readable. There is some research evidence to support this – 2013 Research by psychologists Cosima Piepenbrock and Susanne May.

– It could be a way to help individuals with light sensitivity or visual impairments (According to Jonathan Chow, a senior UX designer at Reddit – see below).

Proof?

The issue of whether dark mode is better for your health (vision) is now a contentious one.  Reference can be found in many places on the Web to a 2018 article in ‘Popular Science’ (by Eleanor Cummins ) which offers insights by Jonathan Chow, a senior UX designer at Reddit, into how dark mode could help, but the article doesn’t deliver scientific proof as such.

Whether dark mode can save your battery power in your phone, for example, depends on the type of screen you have. An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen makes pixels light up or turn off individually.  This means that in dark mode, pixels that show as black are de-activated, thereby saving energy. With LED screens, even pixels that display as black are activated/lit up, therefore, meaning that there is no real energy-saving benefit.  The iPhone X, for example, was the first Apple phone with an OLED screen.

Different Times

Different tech companies and app-makers added dark modes/dark themes to their products, platforms, and systems at different times. For example, Google introduced dark mode to Android back in November 2018 (to save battery life), while Apple announced the introduction of a light-on-dark mode to all native applications in iOS 13 and iPadOS in June 2019. A timeline of when different companies introduced dark mode can be found in the ‘History’ section of this page: https://worddisk.com/wiki/Dark_mode/.

A full list of apps offering dark mode can be found here: https://darkmodelist.com/.

Facebook Introduces Re-Design With Dark Mode

Facebook has only just (May 2020) introduced its re-designed desktop site which now includes dark mode.  This can be switched on by clicking on the down arrow (end of the upper menu bar) to pull up the old Facebook’s settings menu, clicking on “Switch to new Facebook”, then clicking the same down arrow and toggling dark mode from off to on.

How To Turn On Dark Mode

Here is brief summary of how to turn on dark mode for different Operating Systems and apps:

iOS

To get dark mode in iOS, swipe from the home screen to go to the control centre and go to settings, tap ‘Display & Brightness’, tap either ‘Light’ or ‘Dark’ to choose which appearance you prefer. After turning it to automatic go to ‘Options’ to choose when dark mode comes on e.g. sunset to sunrise every day or at certain times.

Another way to achieve the same thing is to go to settings, tap ‘Display & Brightness’, tap either ‘Light’ or ‘Dark, and tap the toggle underneath to set dark mode to come on automatically.  As before, after turning it to automatic go to ‘Options’ to choose when dark mode comes on e.g. sunset to sunrise every day or at certain times.

Android

Dark mode/dark theme, which became available for Android (10) in November 2019 can be operated by going to Settings, ‘Display’, ‘Advanced’ and then using the dark theme on/off toggle. This can also be done via the quick settings in the notification bar.

Mac

Dark Mode on an Apple Mac can be turned on by going to the Apple menu (top left), choosing System Preferences, and choosing the ‘dark’ option.  Dark mode works on macOS Mojave or later for any Apple program and many third-party apps.

Windows

To enable dark mode on Windows 10, go to Settings, Personalisation, Colours and choose the default windows app mode as light or dark.

Edge also has a dark mode option.  To enable it, go to the menu (top right) and select ‘Settings’ from the dropdown list, and then choose ‘dark’ from the themes options (light or dark).

Apps

Some apps allow dark mode. For example:

WhatsApp – tap the three dots (top right corner), select Settings, and under Chats choose the dark theme as the system default.

Twitter – On mobile, tap your profile picture, go to Settings and Privacy, then Display and Sound, and switch dark mode on. On the desktop, click the three dots (left menu), select Display, and choose lights out and dim options.

Gmail – go to the three lines (top left on mobile device), scroll and tap Settings, then General Settings, and choose dark as the system default.

What About Night Mode and Blue Light?

The current thinking, which has led to manufacturers adding filters to our devices (e.g. Night Shift in the iPhone 11 and even the Windows 10 Night Mode) that show warmer colours at night is based on the idea that too much exposure to artificial blue light emitted by our devices at night is bad for us. For example, too much blue light displayed on the screen of a device has been thought to suppress the production of sleep-inducing hormone ‘melatonin’, hence the need to filter out the blue and replace it with warmer colours. Samsung also suggests that its filter could “reduce digital eye strain”.

Recent University of Manchester research, however, has shown that this popularly accepted wisdom may be wrong and that, in fact, the warmer colours of filters are more likely to suppress the production of melatonin than the blue light glow from our devices.

In Conclusion

Even though there are questions about scientific proof that claims certain health benefits, dark mode appears to be popular with customers in terms of aesthetics and reading in dimly lit environments, plus competitors have introduced it, thereby making it something that tech companies feel they have to offer anyway. For mobiles, having dark mode with an OLED screen can save battery power, so there is also some practical value for many users to enable dark mode.

Robot Dog Maintains Social Distancing

Posted on by Andy Miller

A remotely controlled robot called ‘SPOT’ that is being trialled in a Singapore park warns visitors to observe safe social distancing measures.

Sign

The 2-week trial in Singapore’s Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park is a collaboration between Singapore’s National Parks Board (NParks) and GovTech.  A sign in the park tells visitors about the presence of SPOT and how the robot will be moving autonomously through the park to help ensure safe distancing in the park and gardens.

Sensors and Cameras

SPOT, the four-legged robot made by Boston Dynamics uses sensors to prevent any collisions with objects or people, and there is a person on-hand to help if there are any unforeseen issues.

Although SPOT is fitted with cameras which can help to estimate the number of visitors to the park, it has been reported that the cameras are not being used to collect personal data or to identify individuals.

Message

As SPOT proceeds around the park, it broadcasts a pre-recorded message that reminds visitors to observe social distancing.

Singapore Laws

People in Singapore are used to complying with a wide variety of laws governing behaviour in public spaces, so it is likely that even commands delivered by a robot will be observed by most people.  For example, in Singapore, on-the-spot fines are common e.g. for littering, smoking in some public places and e-cigarettes can be confiscated, chewing gum is banned, and not flushing the (public) toilet can also result in a fine.

Used in Hospital

Robot delivery services are already a common sight in many hospitals, but the SPOT robot is also being used at Brigham And Women’s Hospital of Harvard University for remote triage of patients suspected of having COVID-19.

Drones

In other cities in other countries e.g. China, the US, Spain and Israel, drones have been used to deliver social distancing and dispersal instructions where there has been an outdoor grouping of people, and (in Jerusalem) outside apartment building windows and balconies to check whether people who have been ordered to self-isolate are doing so.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

For drone and robot companies, such as Boston Dynamics, demand has increased during the pandemic because the flexibility, manoeuvrability, and safety (from cross-contamination) provided by these devices has proven to have real value.  Robots and drones, using cameras, sensors and other tools can safely and quickly carry out a wide variety of tasks, as and when required, 24/7.  Delivery robots and commercial drones have also seen as a boost in demand at a time where human movement has been restricted but where a need for monitoring of property and premises, and delivery of food and other important items is still required.

Automation is becoming an important cost and time saving and an added-value element of many businesses and organisations and the success of robots and drones and the highlighting during the pandemic of the benefits they offer can only to boost the market further and make many businesses, organisations and sectors see new opportunities for robots and drones.

More Warnings Over Scams Aimed at Zoom, Teams and Meet Users

Posted on by Andy Miller

Reports indicate that hackers are still using domains related to popular remote, collaborative working platforms to target users working from home with phishing scams during the lockdown.

Domains

Almost as soon as the lockdown started, there were reports at the beginning of April by Cybersecurity company ‘Check Point’  that there had been a major increase in new domains registered that included the word ‘Zoom’ and other suspicious characteristics. It was also reported at the time that the official classroom.google.com website had been impersonated by googloclassroom.com and googieclassroom.com.

Zoom, Teams, and Meet

The most recent Check Point Research shows that scammers have widened their attack strategy by registered domains not just to pose as Zoom, but also as Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet-related URLs.

Check Point Research reports that, in just the last 3 weeks, 2,449 Zoom-related domains have been registered, 32 of which are malicious and 320 categorised as “suspicious”

WHO Impersonated

Check Point Research also shows that scammers have been sending phishing emails posing as the World Health Organisation with malware attachments and asking for donations to the WHO where any payments made go into known, compromised bitcoin wallets.

The WHO now has a page warning about the risk of being targeted with fraudulent email and WhatsApp messages by scammers taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic and claiming to be from the WHO. The page gives advice about how to verify authenticity before responding and how to spot and prevent phishing.  See https://www.who.int/about/communications/cyber-security

Nation-State Cyber Espionage To Steal COVID-19 Research

In a more sinister turn, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has reported that UK universities and scientific institutes involved in COVID-19 research are being targeted with cyber espionage by nation state-sponsored actors e.g. Russia, Iran, and China, allegedly looking for information about studies conducted by UK organisations related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Protection

Ways that users can protect their computers/devices, networks and businesses from these types of threats, as suggested by Check Point, include being extra cautious with emails and files from unfamiliar senders, not opening attachments or clicking on links in emails (phishing scams), and by paying close attention to the spelling of domains, email addresses and spelling errors in emails/on websites.  Check Point also suggests Googling the company you are looking for to find their official website rather than just clicking on a link in an email, which could redirect to a fake (phishing) site.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Cybercriminals are quick to capitalise on situations where people have been adversely affected by unusual events and where they know people are in unfamiliar territory.  At the moment, people are also divided geographically and are trying to cope with many situations at the same time, may be a little distracted, and may be less vigilant than normal.  As long as the pandemic continues, these types of scams also look set to continue and evolve.  It is also shocking (but perhaps not surprising) to see how nation states appear to be sponsoring attacks on each other’s research institutions to get an advantage in defeating COVID-19.

The message to businesses, however, is that extra vigilance is still needed and that all employees need to be very careful, particularly in how they deal with emails from unknown sources, or from apparently known sources offering convincing reasons and incentives to click on links or download files.

Tech Tip – Tech Tip – On-Demand OneDrive

Posted on by Andy Miller

If you use OneDrive and you’d like to access all your files without having to download them and use storage space on your Windows device, and you’d like certain files and folders to be always available locally on your device, you can set OneDrive files to ‘On-Demand’. Here’s how:

– Sign in to OneDrive on your device.

– Select the white or blue OneDrive cloud icon in the Windows taskbar notification area.

– Select More > Settings.

– Select the ‘Save space and download files as you use them’ box. Files On-Demand settings are unique to each device, so make sure they’re turned on for each device where you want to use.

To mark a file or folder for offline use or as online-only:

– Right-click a file or folder.

– Select Always keep on this device or Free up space

Featured Article – How Tech is Helping Reduce Lockdown Stress and Mental Health Problems

Posted on by Andy Miller

A state of lockdown has increased our reliance on technology as a way to help us meet our needs, and here are some of the many ways that technology can help us to actually reduce stress and help us look after our mental health in these challenging times.

Apps

There’s a wide variety of apps that can help occupy the mind, relieve stress and anxiety, and help in the fight against common mental health complaints such as depression.  The types of apps that could help include:

– Meditation apps.  A break in routine, being able to go out less (thereby getting less access to daylight), perhaps drinking more alcohol and general worry has meant increased stress, higher anxiety levels and worse sleep for many people during the lockdown. Apps that offer guided meditation instructions can help breathing and help improve the ability to relax and to sleep properly.

– Chat apps and digital socialising apps can help re-enforce feelings of safety and normality, as well as provide the kinds of interaction that is missing due to social distancing and lockdown.

– Hobby apps and the Facebook hobby tracking app. These apps can tap into our creativity, keep us in touch with what we enjoy and with what provides known positive reinforcement and rewards.

– Fitness and weight loss apps.  Not having the freedom or circumstances to allow normal daily exercise has seen many people turn to fitness and weight loss apps which, if followed can help to reduce stress and maintain good feelings about ‘self-image’.

– Mental health apps.  For those who already have mental health challenges or for those who are finding the lockdown and its effects challenging to their emotional and mental wellbeing, the NHS provides several mental health apps.  See https://www.nhs.uk/apps-library/category/mental-health/

Physical Exercise and Fitness Tech

Outdoor tech such as fitness monitoring bracelets/watches have become more valuable as the range of sports that people can take part in outdoors has been dramatically reduced, and simple walking, running and cycling have become more popular than ever.

Of course, one of the best ways to tackle lockdown stress, for those who are able is physical exercise such as walking, running, cycling, dancing, and Yoga.

Real-world ways to help with relaxation and reducing stress include gardening (if you are lucky enough to have some garden space), art and crafts, playing music and chatting with friends, and although our technology can’t provide all aspects of these, it can provide elements of these experiences.

Online Platforms

Those who are able to work from home using remote, collaborative working and video conference platforms e.g. Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Skype, Facebook Messenger and Slack can have many different needs met such as interaction, the safety, security and distraction provided by still working without the stress of worrying constantly about contamination, thanks to being able to work at home in a safe, controlled environment.

Other online platforms that have provided a release from stress, positive social proof and humour, information and sessions relating to hobbies and interests plus appealing to the human bias for intermittent and novel rewards include Google’s YouTube, Facebook, and other social media channels.

Computer Games

A 2015 study (Amanda Roy, Christopher J Ferguson) found that computer games/video games that encourage competitive and cooperative gameplay reduce stress.

Also, in February, ‘Psychology Today’ highlighted 5 ways in which video games can help with stress and mindfulness.  These include being able to put the brain on autopilot and thereby deliver a kind of meditation, providing a break from the challenges of real life, enabling an expression of freedom and creativity, prompting the release of dopamine (the so-called ‘happy chemical’), and providing a social environment where connections can be made and social interaction can be experienced between a group of ‘like-minded’ people.

Selective and Moderate Use

Some argue for less technology. Selective and moderate use of technology during the lockdown period could be most beneficial for mental and emotional well-being.  Continually visiting social media and watching news bulletins that repeat negative and frightening news stories (virus death counts) can increase stress, anxiety, and negative feelings.  This can also lead to ‘catastrophising’.  It is also advisable to seek news from more objective and reliable sources in order to maintain context and proportion.

Looking Forward

Our phones continue to be an important tool for managing our lives in the modern world, and the kinds of apps and platforms that we can access via many different devices have proved to be important in suggesting and providing ways that can help us retain a healthy and mental and emotional state.

The fact that our technology (e.g. collaborative working platforms) has allowed around 40% of people to work and interact with colleagues while being able to keep safe at home has been one important way that technology has helped, and will continue to help decrease stress and provide some hope in dark times.  There are very few effective substitutes for feelings of safety, freedom and being able to take real physical exercise in the real world, although many people have turned to increased amounts of digital entertainment, taking good breaks and keeping screen-time down is a healthy practice anyway, but now more so than ever.

Looking forward, technology in the form of a contact tracing app in the UK could provide feelings of re-assurance (if it proves popular) as we all face more uncertainty when lockdown restrictions are eased and we have to move forward safely in a still delicate, pre-vaccine environment.

Apple and Google To Ban Location Tracking In Contact Tracing App

Posted on by Andy Miller

Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc (Google) have both announced that they will not use GPS location tracking as part of the COVID-19 contact tracing app that they both jointly developing.

Apps

With contact-tracing and testing believed to be vital components in an effective strategy for stopping the spread of the highly infectious COVID-19 virus, both Apple and Google have said they would work together to make a COVID-19 contact tracing app for public health authorities to use that can notify people who have been near others who have tested positive for the virus.

No To GPS Data

Whilst the preferred, official (government) method for the operation of other such apps is to use both the Bluetooth signals from phones to detect encounters coupled with GPS location data, both Apple and Google have opted not to use GPS data in order to prevent governments from using such a system to compile data on citizens.

Workarounds

The decision by Apple and Google will mean that contact tracing systems will require public health authorities that want to access GPS location to find less stable and potentially battery-draining, Bluetooth-sensor workarounds.

The UK App

The new contact tracing app for the UK, which looks likely to be launched in the next couple of weeks will use Bluetooth but won’t, for the time being, use GPS signals, although it is thought that a system of monitoring location data may be used later as a voluntary opt-in.

Mobility Data

Even though GPS data will not be used in the Google/Apple app, Apple has announced that it is releasing a mobility data trends tool that may provide insights to local governments and health authorities by showing the change in volume of people driving, walking or taking public transit in their communities. Maps does not associate mobility data with a user’s Apple ID, and Apple says that it does not keep a history of where a user has been.

Versions This Week

It is thought that early versions of the Apple/Google collaboration contact tracing app will be released this week and in the coming months, both Google and Apple will make a broader Bluetooth-based contact tracing platform.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

News of how well testing and contact tracing have worked in places like South Korea (with the use of an app) and in Vietnam (with local contact tracing staff – who have effectively shut down the virus), have reinforced the decisions by European governments to use contact-tracing apps. There have been objections to a centralised approach in France, and concerns generally in different countries that these apps, especially with location data, could infringe upon civil liberties and privacy. It is, of course, good to see that Google and Apple (as you would expect) want to (and want to be seen to) protect privacy, and that they are prepared to collaborate and pool resources for the common good.  The success of contact tracing apps does, however, depend upon levels of testing in the population, to which the UK has come late to the game, and on the number of people who download and use the app.  In other countries, for example, app user numbers have been lower than expected.

In the UK, the Isle of Wight is currently the testing ground for the new contact-tracing app.  In reality, an app is likely to be an optional one of many tools that could be used to reduce any further spread of the current strain of the virus and in doing so, allow people to get back to work, thereby improving the situation for UK businesses.

A Glimpse of Work After Lockdown From New Government Guidelines

Posted on by Andy Miller

New government guidelines from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), after its consultations with bosses, unions and trade bodies have given a glimpse of early forms of post-lockdown working practices.

Draft Plans

The latest seven draft plans from the government, widely reported in the UK media this week, are thought to be the basis of announcements to be made by the Prime Minister on Thursday.  The guidelines are the bare bones of the expected way forward in ‘easing’ the lockdown.

Keep Working From Home

One of the key suggestions in the draft plans that could help protect public health at a vital time, and stop transport systems from becoming immediately overwhelmed is for workers (who can) to continue working from home for the time being.

Changes In Workplace Routines

Suggested changes in workplace routines, and ways in which safety could be improved also include:

– Improved hygiene where correct social distancing is not possible e.g. using physical screens and other protective equipment.

– Businesses with more than five employees conducting risk assessments before staff return to work and explaining how working conditions will be made safer in the light of these.

– Shielding those people considered to be the most vulnerable by banning them from work that cannot be carried out from home.

– Staggering arrival and departure times/staggering on-premises hours, and staggering break periods.

– Reconfiguring seating and tables to keep employees at a safe distance from each other and to reduce any face-to-face interactions.

– Stopping the ‘hot desking’ practice so that employees are more in control of the hygiene of their workspace and are not unnecessarily exposed to more risk.

Buzzfeed, which claims to have seen all seven of the new guidance documents gives more details on its website here: https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexwickham/governments-draft-plan-to-ease-lockdown-workpace-in-full

Phase 2

Phase 2 of the government’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, which refers to the easing of lockdown conditions can, however, only take place when the so-called 5 Tests have been met.  These are making sure the NHS can cope, having a ‘sustained and consistent’ fall in the daily death rate, the rate of infection decreasing to ‘manageable levels’, ensuring the supply of tests and PPE can meet future demand and being confident any adjustments would not risk a ‘second peak’

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

With many businesses now fighting for survival and people being in lockdown since the end of March, there is an appetite for work, trade and the economy to be jump-started again, but people are painfully aware of the risk of that triggering a really devasting second peak.  Right now, with no vaccine yet plus limited treatment options for the highly contagious virus, and with schools still closed, although the guidelines are a welcome starting point to help many businesses to prepare for some kind of return, Scotland looks likely to continue lockdown measures beyond a scheduled review this Thursday, and this could also be the case elsewhere in the UK.

The guidelines do highlight, however, how remote working is likely to continue as a safe a practical option for many but that big changes will need to be made to processes and layouts in businesses across the UK, and that some types of businesses e.g. restaurants, cafes and pubs, will find this really challenging.

Featured Article – Facial Recognition and Super Computers Help in COVID-19 Fight

Posted on by Andy Miller

Technology is playing an important role in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic with adapted facial recognition cameras and super-computers now joining the battle to help beat the virus.

Adapted Facial Recognition

Facial recognition camera systems have been trialled and deployed in many different locations in the UK which famously include the 2016 and 2017 Notting Hill Carnivals, the Champions League final day June 2017 in Cardiff,  the Kings Cross Estate in 2019 and in a deliberately “overt” trial of live facial recognition technology by the Metropolitan Police in the centre of Romford, London, in January 2019.  Although it would be hard to deny that facial recognition technology (FRT) could prove to be a very valuable tool in the fight against crime, issues around its accuracy, bias and privacy have led to criticism in the UK from the Information Commissioner about some of the ways it has been used, while (in January) the European Commission was considering a ban on the use of facial recognition in public spaces for up to five years while new regulations for its use were put in place.

However, one way that some facial recognition systems have been adapted to help in the fight against COVID-19 include the incorporation of temperature screening.

Thermographic Temperature-Screening

In the early news reports of the initial spread of COVID-19 in China, news reports focused on how thermographic, temperature-screening cameras backed up by AI could be used to pick out people from crowds who displayed a key symptom, notably a raised temperature.

These systems are also likely to play a role in our post-lockdown, pre-vaccine world as one of many tools, systems, and procedures to improve safety as countries try to re-start their economies on the long road back.

In the UK – Facial Recognition Combined With ‘Fever Detection System’

In the UK, an AI-powered facial recognition system at Bristol Airport is reported to have been adapted to incorporate a ‘fever detection system’, developed by British technology company SCC. This means that the existing FRT system has been augmented with thermographic cameras that can quickly spot people, even in large moving groups (as would normally happen in airports) who have the kind of raised temperatures associated with COVID-19.

In Russia – Facial Recognition Combined With Digital Passes on Phones

It has also been reported that, as far back as March, officials in Moscow have been using the city’s network of tens of thousands of security cameras, which can offer instant, real-time facial recognition of citizens in combination with digital passes on mobile phones. It has been reported that the sheer number of cameras in Moscow, which can also be used to measure social distancing and detect crowds, coupled with the sophisticated FRT at the back-end is enough to ensure that those who are supposed to be in isolation can be detected even if they come outside their front door for a few seconds.  Moscow’s facial recognition system is also reported to be able to identify a person correctly, even if they are wearing a face mask.

Supercomputers

One of the great advantages of supercomputers is that they can carry out staggering numbers of calculations per second, thereby being able to solve complicated problems in a mere fraction of the time that it would take other computers to do the same thing.  Supercomputers are, therefore, now being used in the fight against coronavirus. For example:

– Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin’s Texas Advanced Computing Centre (TACC) in the U.S. are using a Frontera supercomputer and a huge computer model of the coronavirus to help researchers design new drugs and vaccines.

– University College London (UCL) researchers, as part of a consortium of over a hundred researchers from across the US and Europe, are using some of the world’s most powerful supercomputers (including the biggest one in Europe and the most powerful one in the world) to study the COVID-19 virus and thereby help develop effective treatments and, hopefully, a vaccine.  The researchers have been using the Summit at Oak Ridge National Lab, USA (1st) and SuperMUC-NG at GCS@LRZ, Germany (9th)  supercomputers to quickly search through existing libraries of compounds that could be used to attach themselves to the surface of the novel coronavirus.

– In the U.S. the COVID-19 High-Performance Computing (HPC) Consortium, a combined effort by private-public organisations, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, U.S. government departments and IBM are bringing together federal government, industry, and academics who are offering free computing time and resources on their supercomputers to help to understand and beat the coronavirus.

Looking Ahead

Facial recognition cameras used by police and government agencies have been the focus of some bad press and questions over a variety of issues, but the arrival of the pandemic has turned many things on their heads. The fact is that there are existing facial recognition camera systems which, when combined with other technologies, could help to stop the spread of a potentially deadly disease.

With vaccines normally taking years to develop, and with the pandemic being a serious, shared global threat, it makes sense that the world’s most powerful computing resources should be (and are being) deployed to speed up the process of understanding the virus and of quickly sorting through existing data and knowledge that could help.

Google Meet ‘Free For Everyone’

Posted on by Andy Miller

Google has entered the video conferencing market fight with the likes of Zoom and Facebook Messenger as it announces that its ‘Google Meet’ premium video conferencing service will soon be free for everyone.

Google Meet

Google Meet is a video conferencing service that, until now, has only been paid for as part of G Suite, Google’s collaboration and productivity solution for businesses, organisations, and schools.

Google says that Meet will be now available free to anyone on the web at meet.google.com and via mobile apps for iOS or Android (Meet apps can be found in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store). It is also possible to join Meet for free via Google Calendar.

100 Million+ Daily Meeting Participants

Google reports that, since January, Meet’s peak daily usage has grown by 30x and, as of April, Meet has been hosting 3 billion minutes of video meetings and adding approximately 3 million new users every day. Google also says that, as of last week, Meet’s daily meeting participants surpassed 100 million. A reported 6 million companies and organisations now use G Suite.

Limit

Even though Google will soon be offering Meet for free, meetings will be limited to 60 minutes for the free product after 30 September.

What’s Free

The services that businesses and organisations can expect to get for free with Meet include free access to Meet’s advanced features (for G Suite customers) including the ability to live stream for up to 100,000 viewers within a domain, free additional Meet licenses for existing G Suite customers and free G Suite Essentials for enterprise customers.

Not Immediately

Businesses and organisations may have to wait a week or two to get free access to Meet as it will be rolled out gradually from next week.

Compared To Zoom

Although using Meet may be a little more demanding than simply clicking on a link (as with Zoom), Google is keen to point out that Meet users have the benefits of advanced security.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

The current global need for people to work remotely and yet collaborate effectively has led to fierce competition among tech companies looking to gain large numbers of new users e.g. Zoom, Facebook Messenger (now offering a desktop app), and Microsoft wanting to release a consumer edition of Teams.  Google is the next to throw its hat into the ring and is in a good position to do so with a free version of an already popular premium service. Tech companies realise that if they can lead the remote, collaborative working race now they can gain large numbers of new users, many of whom may become loyal and committed to their platforms and could be monetised later. For businesses and other users, there is now a great deal of choice between the options available for free remote and collaborative working platforms and services, and those which are easiest, add the most value, are most effective and secure and are most compatible with existing resources and practices are likely to be favoured going forward.

UK Contact Tracing App In A Couple Of Weeks

Posted on by Andy Miller

Matthew Gould, chief executive of the National Health Service’s technology group NHSX has announced that a COVID-19 contact-tracing app for the UK could be ready “in the next couple of weeks”.

Bluetooth, Short-Range

Most countries in Europe that have chosen to use contact-tracing apps at some point have opted for a short-range Bluetooth “handshake” between mobile device options in order to identify a potential contact, although this method does not provide location data.

The new UK contact-tracing app will let people know if they have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. The app will use the same short-range, Bluetooth method as other similar apps and is currently reported to be the subject of a rapid testing programme. How the new app performs in the tests will determine how it is deployed, but it looks likely that the app will become an important tool as the UK starts to come out of lockdown.

Criticism

The announcement of UK’s app has already drawn criticism from some tech commentators who have expressed concerns that the app’s reliance on Bluetooth could negatively affect its accuracy, performance, and security.

Contact-Tracing and Self Quarantine Apps Being Used Elsewhere

Contact-tracing and self-quarantine apps are already being used in other countries. These include:

– Singapore’s ‘TraceTogether’ app. This app uses location data and Bluetooth and once on a user’s phone, the app records when that user goes near another person who has the TraceTogether app. This proximity data is stored on the user’s phone and can be requested for analysis with the user’s permission. The TraceTogether app is also used by the Singapore government to send out updates to citizens via WhatsApp twice a day containing information such as the number of cases, suspected locations of outbreaks, and advice for avoiding infection.

– South Korea’s “self-quarantine safety protection” app and “Corona 100m app”. The “self-quarantine safety protection” app from the country’s ‘Ministry of the Interior and Safety’ is used by central and local governments to send out real-time alerts via text message and the “Corona 100m app” which has been downloaded more than 1 million times and alerts users if they breach a 100-metre (328 ft) radius of the latest tracked whereabouts of a coronavirus patient.

France and Germany

France is opting for a centralised approach for its “StopCovid” app project i.e. storing the personal data of volunteers’ Bluetooth logs on a central server and not on individual devices. However, the app is currently the subject of arguments over civil liberties and privacy.

Germany has decided to use an app with a decentralised, Apple-Google-style approach i.e. logging contacts on individual devices rather than a central server. It is believed that this will make it easier for health authorities to contact users and give advice on the best course of action to them if they are found to be at risk.

Testing

Knowing whether someone has had COVID-19 can only really be established with testing. Tests in the UK, however, are only really getting underway now and this means that the app is only likely to be of real use further down the line when more people have been tested.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Businesses will now be thinking about the many ways that they can resume work safely as lockdown rules are relaxed, and many different tools and options may currently be under consideration e.g. changed work layouts and practices to accommodate social distancing, the possible use of thermographic cameras (temperature detection) and other tools such as apps. Just as technology has helped to enable remote, collaborative working, tech tools such as contact-tracing apps are, therefore, likely to be one of many things that can contribute to the country and businesses moving forward prior to the introduction of any effective vaccination programmes or treatments that can seriously limit the most severe symptoms of the COVID-19 virus. For the time being, social distancing is still the central focus of the strategy for all to keep as safe as possible.