Higher ratings are the ‘lifeblood’ of the smartphone app world but what if they are inflated? From a report: Rating an iPhone app takes just a second, maybe two. “Enjoying Skype?” a prompt will ask, and you click on a 1-5 star rating. Millions of people respond to these requests, giving little thought to their fleeting whim. Behind the scenes, though,…
Tag: smartphone app
Amazon In Advanced Talks To Buy Self-Driving-Car Tech Company Zoox
Amazon is in advanced talks to buy Zoox in a move that would expand the e-commerce giant’s reach in autonomous-vehicle technology. The Wall Street Journal reports: The companies are discussing a deal that would value Zoox at less than the $3.2 billion it achieved in a funding round in 2018, according to people familiar with the matter. An agreement may be…
Italy Working On Coronavirus Tracing App To Help Lockdown Exit
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Italian authorities are working on introducing a smartphone app that would help health services trace the contacts of people who test positive for the coronavirus as the government looks at ways of gradually lifting a lockdown imposed a month ago. Innovation minister Paola Pisano acknowledged that launching the app would raise major issues…
Coronavirus Cases Have Dropped Sharply In South Korea. What’s Its Secret?
South Korea “has emerged as a sign of hope and a model to emulate,” reported Nature earlier on Tuesday. “The country of 50 million appears to have greatly slowed its epidemic; it reported only 74 new cases today, down from 909 at its peak on 29 February.”
And it has done so without locking down entire cities or taking some of the…
To Slow Coronavirus Spread, Singapore Creates a Contact-Tracing App
ZDNet reports that Singapore is fighting the coronavirus with a new smartphone app named “TraceTogether”.
The app is able to estimate the distance between TraceTogether smartphones as well as the duration of such interactions. The data then is captured, encrypted, and stored locally on the user’s phone for 21 days, which spans the incubation period of the virus. When needed in contact…
A Slashdotter’s Take On a Way To Use Smartphones To Defeat the Coronavirus Pandemic
Longtime Slashdot reader dbart writes: With the near ubiquitous use of smartphones in America, it’s sensible to seize upon this resource to help with the coronavirus pandemic. Here’s my take on a way to use smartphones to deal with the pandemic: America does not currently have a good coronavirus test — but they are in development. Once a test is available…