Ideol and Kerogen Capital to Test Waters for Offshore Wind-Powered Oil & Gas Platforms – Offshore WIND

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Ideol has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kerogen Capital to assess the benefits of using offshore wind to power oil & gas platforms.

Ideol stated that the focus of the initiative will be to combine the Damping Pool, its floating offshore wind solution, with Kerogens international offshore oil & gas expertise and network.

The collaboration aims to identify and promote differentiating value propositions when substituting hydrocarbon powered generators of oil & gas production platforms with floating wind systems to improve the operational, commercial and environmental sustainability of the offshore facilities.

In addition to decreasing the greenhouse gas emissions, powering oil and gas platforms with offshore wind could offer commercial benefits such as increasing available sales volumes and reducing fuel operating costs, said Jason Cheng, Managing Partner of Kerogen.

Teaming up with Ideol offers a combination of our respective expertise in upstream oil & gas and offshore wind to assess power to platform opportunities, starting with long-life projects in the North Sea area.

Back in 2018, the French Ideol secured EUR15 million funding from Kerogen Capital in order to accelerate the commercialization of its floating foundation solution in key geographies.

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Ideol and Kerogen Capital to Test Waters for Offshore Wind-Powered Oil & Gas Platforms - Offshore WIND

Nortrans Offshore seals new contracts for MPSV and accommodation vessel – – Splash 247

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May 14th, 2020 Grant Rowles Asia, Offshore 0 comments

Singapore-based Nortrans Offshore, led by Kjell Gauksheim, has secured new work for two vessels in its diverse fleet.

Together with its local partner, Nortrans has secured a charter of one to three months for 2017-built multipurpose supply vesselPrince Jameson I with Shell Nigeria.

Additionally, 2015-built accomodation support vessel Temis has been awarded a new contract with Noble Energy at the Alen Gas Field development, in Equatorial Guinea.

After successfully completed the Leviathan project in January 2020 with our DP3 flotel Temis, we are pleased to achieve this recognition by Noble Energy again selecting Nortrans and Temis for their next hook up and commissioning project commencing Q3 this year 2020, Gauksheim said on social media.

Grant Rowles

Grant spent nine years at Informa Group based in London, Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore. He gained strong management experience in publishing, conferences and awards schemes in the shipping and legal areas, working on a number of titles including Lloyd's List. In 2009 Grant joined Seatrade responsible for the commercial development of Seatrades Asia products. In 2012, with Sam Chambers, he co-founded Asia Shipping Media.

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Nortrans Offshore seals new contracts for MPSV and accommodation vessel - - Splash 247

Review Cryptopia: Bitcoin, Blockchains and the Future of the Internet – Cointelegraph

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Cryptopia: Bitcoin, Blockchains and the Future of the Internet is filmmaker Torsten Hoffmanns follow up to his award-winning 2015 documentary Bitcoin: The End of Money As We Know It.

His first film looked at the history (and failings) of money and the financial system, and how Bitcoin was poised to revolutionize and solve many of its problems. Now, Cryptopia brings us up to date with the current state of play in the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain.

The documentary is split into three acts.

First we get an introduction to the fundamentals of Bitcoin, recapping the problems with traditional finance from the earlier film and highlighting Bitcoins initial stated purpose as peer-to-peer digital cash.

Hoffmann talks about the benefits of Bitcoin with a veritable whos who of industry figures, from Wences Casares, to Andreas M Antonopoulos and Laura Shin. We also see how and why big banks and governments have kicked back against the top-ranked cryptocurrency.

We then move on to Bitcoins explosive growth in value since the first film, and repositioning from digital cash to digital gold.

Hoffmann revisits Roger Ver, who had previously espoused Bitcoin as a fast and cheap method of moving money around the world, to investigate the block-size debate and eventual fork of Bitcoin Cash.

He also speaks to Blockstreams Samson Mow, for his take on the split, along with Charlie Lee, founder of Litecoin.

The film then moves on to tackle the move from one blockchain to hundreds of blockchains. Hoffmann explains the concept of smart contracts and the Ethereum network, speaking to Vitalik Buterin, Vinny Lingham, and Tone Vays for their opinions, both positive and negative.

Hoffmann takes a look at the initial coin offering, or ICO, phenomenon, bringing blockchains and currencies for every conceivable purpose, along with a wave of scams and fraudsters into the space.

We see how big business and finance is co-opting blockchain technology, sometimes through the use of private centralized networks. We see the tokenization of traditional securities and totally new forms of assets.

Through looking at the examples of the development of the motor car and the early internet, Hoffmann highlights similarities with todays blockchain industry.

He notes the rise of internet censorship in certain jurisdictions, and discusses the potential of blockchain to overcome this. We also consider the hegemony of tech giants and their control of our information and identities, looking at the possibilities of decentralization to overcome this.

To round up, the film considers the possibilities of Decentralized Finance, or DeFi, although notes the controversy created following the DAO hack and subsequent rollback of the Ethereum blockchain.

Hoffmann finally talks to Craig Wright (who behaves exactly as expected), touching on the Bitcoin Cash/Bitcoin SV split, and finally coming full circle to Satoshis disappearance and how this has worked for Bitcoin.

The film has been professionally researched, shot, and put together. It assumes no prior knowledge of the subject, and follows a well structured story, making it accessible to all.

Hoffmanns style and delivery works well. He is authoritative yet friendly and open, being unafraid to challenge or poke fun at characters like Craig Wright, while always being even-handed and letting people speak.

Sure, for those who are already invested in the industry and technology, there is little new to learn here, but for the uninitiated it is an excellent primer into a world that they may have heard about, but not really understand.

For me personally, both this film and Hoffmanns previous documentary made me incredibly proud to be part of this movement that is literally changing the world.

My only criticism (and it is a minor one) is the song which plays out over the credits. Penned by Hoffmann himself and Malaysian singer, Prema Yin, it is a powerful, soulful number, rousing the spirits until you listen more closely and realise that it is about cryptocurrency.

To be fair, it is probably the least cringe-inducing cryptocurrency-related song that Ive ever happened across, with intelligent lyrics and a proper decent tune. However this is a bit like being the least cancerous case of sunburn; the end consequence still consists of a pair of bright red cheeks.

Sorry, and maybe this is just me, but the worlds of cryptocurrency and music (both of which I love individually) should never cross paths.

However, I have no hesitation in recommending this film, which is available to stream now at cryptopiafilm.com for a price of just under 9 Australian dollars ($5.88)... and you can always make a cup of tea when it gets to the credits.

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Review Cryptopia: Bitcoin, Blockchains and the Future of the Internet - Cointelegraph

Lots of Action but No Bull Rally: Heres How the Bitcoin Halving Went Down – Cointelegraph

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Bitcoins (BTC) third block halving has finally taken place. The years most talked-about crypto event happened at 3:23 p.m. EST on Monday, May 11, as block number 630,000 was successfully mined.

The Bitcoin block reward has now gone down from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC, which will likely have many repercussions on the industry. But heres how the historic event went down.

First, the definition of Bitcoin's halving states that every four years producing BTC becomes more difficult, as block rewards get cut in half by a precoded blockchain protocol. As a result, miners begin receiving 50% less BTC for verifying transactions.

This was coded in as a deflationary measure and happens because Bitcoins supply is limited: Once 21 million coins are generated, the network will stop producing more. Thus, the halving regulates the supply by delaying the moment that all 21 million coins (Bitcoins total cap) get into the market. Currently, about 18.3 million BTC has been mined, which is roughly 85% of the total cap.

F2Pool, the miner responsible for the extraction of block 629,999, printed a New York Times headline onto the blockchain just before the halving occurred. Titled NYTimes 09/Apr/2020 With $2.3T Injection, Fed's Plan Far Exceeds 2008 Rescue, the transaction referenced a New York Times article by Jeanna Smialek and Peter Eavis that compares the current financial crisis to the 2008 collapse, the time when Satoshi Nakamoto published the original Bitcoin white paper.

During times of inflation, the key to preserve wealth is to hold real assets, Kristin Boggiano, a co-founder of the Digital Asset Regulatory and Legal Alliance, told Cointelegraph. She elaborated: Bitcoin is inherently a store of value because by its design it cannot exceed 21 million, and therefore its a natural hedge to an inflationary dollar.

The halving day itself went uneventfully for Bitcoins price, which stayed around the $8,500$8,700 mark throughout Monday. That confirmed the assumption that the halving event was already priced in, which was shared by a substantial part of cryptocurrency commentators. Nonetheless, crypto Twitter celebrated the event in full force.

Data from The Tie, a data provider for digital assets, showed that yesterday, tweets from cryptocurrency-related accounts saw a spike in keyword mentions for the halving and Bitcoin. As the firms CEO, Joshua Frank, told Cointelegraph, conversations on Bitcoin grew by 72% compared to the 30-day moving average, while Bitcoin surpassed 50,000 daily tweets for the first time since June 2019.

Indeed, the idea that Bitcoin would become more scarce has aroused the publics interest, as Google searches for Bitcoin halving hit an all-time high earlier this month, exceeding the surge associated with the previous halving event by as much as 350%.

Crypto services are also witnessing a surge in new registrations, as recently revealed by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. According to Zhao, the level of renewed interest could be compared to the peak of the 2017 bull run.

Cointelegraph was also celebrating the momentous happening by holding a seven-hour livestream featuring prominent industry figures such as Tim Draper, Roger Ver and Meltem Demirors.

However, as the party was coming to a close, it was suddenly interrupted by YouTube. The viewing platform deemed the livestream to be harmful content for an unknown reason, once again highlighting the censorship problem that affects practically all crypto-related content on YouTube.

More than 2,000 Cointelegraph viewers were locked out of our coverage as a result, with the livestream having amassed more than 124,000 views by that time. The situation is still unclear, and more updates will follow.

So, where does Bitcoins price move from here? That is arguably the most popular halving-related question right now, and there is no straight answer to that. Still, the price of BTC has been seeing a lot of positive action lately, which has likely been influenced by the halving event at least in part.

Since bleeding by nearly 50% on the so-called Black Thursday exactly two months ago, Bitcoin has bounced back to the $8,800 mark and even briefly traded above $10,000 at the start of May. Nonetheless, once the rejection of $10,200 became apparent on Sunday, one day before the halving, Bitcoins price fell by 20%. It has stayed around the same level since, albeit a minor correction of 5%.

As for where the price is headed next, traders remain divided, as the latest analysis by Cointelegraph shows. Some experts believe that Bitcoin could soon see an upswing to the $14,000$15,000 resistance area, while others suggest that a pullback to the $6,000 region is also a likely scenario in the short term.

Another important aspect affected by the halving is Bitcoins mining hash rate, or the amount of computing power miners are using to validate the blockchain. Like Bitcoins price, the hash rate has been seeing major volatility ahead of the halving, reaching an all-time high and then swinging down. As for now, experts predict the hash rate will go down. As Marc Fresa, the founder of United States-based Asic.to a company that specializes in producing firmware for mining machines previously told Cointelegraph:

You can expect the hashrate to decrease as profitability for miners across the board are slashed. This result will cause the older generation miners to be unplugged unless they can find a new home with extremely cheap or free power.

Indeed, many unprofitable miners have already left the network due to the decreased block reward, as Alejandro De La Torre the vice president of major mining pool Poolin said in a Monday interview with Cointelegraph, predicting that up to 30% of the hash rate could be lost as a result.

However, the situation is likely to change for the better once the new generation of ASIC units is shipped out later this month, as the new machines have been designed with post-halving conditions in mind. Just give it a little bit of time and the hashrate will be at a new all-time high, Fresa told Cointelegraph.

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Lots of Action but No Bull Rally: Heres How the Bitcoin Halving Went Down - Cointelegraph

Join Cointelegraphs Bitcoin Halving Party, Less Than 3 Hours to Go – Cointelegraph

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Wherever you are in the world right now, as a Cointelegraph reader, you are almost certainly aware that Bitcoins third halving event is now less than 8 hours away.

It is also highly possible that some level of lockdown, due to the ongoing threat of the coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic, is seriously curtailing your plans to celebrate the most-anticipated crypto event of 2020.

But never fear. Cointelegraph is here to get the party started, with a lockdown-friendly livestream event on our YouTube channel, featuring the biggest names in cryptocurrency today.

The fun kicks off at 10am ET with a look at Crypto Around the World featuring input from the Managing Editors of Cointelegraphs International Editions, with Kristina Lucrezia Corner moderating the panel.

At 11am we take an in-depth look into how the halving may affect the mining industry, with representatives from Genesis Mining, OKex Pool and Binance.

12pm sees an exploration of Bitcoins fundamentals as the halving approaches, with Ballets Bobby Lee and Emin Gn Sirer of Ava Labs.

At 1.15pm venture capitalist and renowned Bitcoin bull Tim Draper joins the party, for an interview with Rachel Wolfson and an AMA session after that.

This is followed by a discussion on how the halving could impact Bitcoin dominance at 2pm. Roger Ver, author and investor, Alex Tapscot, and Fundstrats Tom Lee will join to share their views.

The conversation turns to Venture Capital in crypto at 3pm, as Bloqs Matthew Roszak and Meltem Demirors from Coinshares will respond to the question of Where is the Big Money Going?

Finally, at 4pm we talk to the crypto influencers, as a whole host of podcasters, journalists and YouTubers join us for what is sure to be a lively discussion to round things off.

Over the past 24 hours the buzz around the halving event has been building on social media.

While nobody can predict the exact time that block 630,000 will be mined, and the Bitcoin block reward will drop from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC, you can be sure that Cointelegraph will be here with commentary and reaction to guide you through.

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Join Cointelegraphs Bitcoin Halving Party, Less Than 3 Hours to Go - Cointelegraph

7 best ways to watch the Bitcoin halving 2020 live – Decrypt

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For some itll seem like watching paint dry, but today thousands of Bitcoiners will be mesmerized by their screens, watching the Bitcoin halving at 7 pm UTC (3 pm EST.) Thats when block 630,000 rolls around, the new supply of Bitcoin dramatically cuts in half, and we put those bold Bitcoin price predictions to the test.

On July 9, 2016, the date of Bitcoins last halving, there were parties around the world: in Melbourne, Montreal, NYC, London, Dublin, Paris and more. They had a blast. Heres a video from the 2016 HODL halving party in Tel Aviv (spoiler alert: lots of blocks get halved):

This year, with lockdown and social distancing, the parties will look very different, as does the context in which the Bitcoin halving celebration takes place. But interest in the halving is bigger than ever this time around. And to match, there are livestreams, parties, and, of course, swag. Here are some of the best places to watch the digital magic happen.

When: From 11:59 EST

Where: BitcoinHalving.com, and at BitcoinMagazine.com.

Bitcoin Magazine has non-stop coverage of Bitcoins third Halving with commentary, analysis, product giveaways, auctions and a live countdown.

Whos going: Mastering Bitcoin author, Andreas M. Antonopoulos; Bitcoiner & Host of UntoldStories.com Charlie Shrem; Bitmex cofounder, Arthur Hayes; Lightning Labs co-founder, Elizabeth Stark, Bitcoiner American Hodl and plenty more.

When: From 5pm UCT

Where: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTAJHcsb8zk

Former Wall Street trader and Bitcoin maximalist Tone Vays is having his own party. Two hundred plus people are already waiting on his channel with just a couple of hours to go, so it looks like it will be popular.

Whos going: Tone and his pals.

When: From 10 pm EST

Where: Sign up here, links and instructions sent by email.

Morgan Creek co-founders Jason Williams and Anthony Pompliano will be livestreaming leading up to the third Bitcoin halving. Were promised lots of pizza, probably too much beer, and a hell of a good time."

Whos going: Pomp and Williams.

When: Scheduled for whenever the halving happens (tentatively: 15-16.30 EST).

Whos going: Bison Trails cofounder Joe Lallouz, Digiconomist; Wyatt Capital CEO, Wes Fulford and independent researcher Wes Fulford.

When: From 10am EST

Where: Livestreamed on YouTube.

Cointelegraphs party promises exclusive halving coverage with some of the top minds of crypto from all corners of the globe.

Whos going: Tim Draper, Roger Ver, Meltem Demirros, Alex Tapscott and more.

When: All day

Where: Via Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ValueofBitcoin

More a conference, than a halving celebration, but there are three stages; interactive sessions, virtual networking, and a virtual exhibition.

Whos going: Blockware Solutions cofounder, Matt DSouza and Head of Business Development at Unchained Capital, Parker Lewis are on at the expected halving time.

When: From 2pm UCT until the 210,000 block is mined.

Where: Sign up here, links and instructions sent by email.

Hosted by blockchain media company, Bits And Tokens. This event promises speakers (not listed); four different Bitcoin themed destinations to visit and mingle with developers, founders, miners, traders, and gamers. Plus giveaways, including Sheildfolio Stonebooks, Ghost Pens and cold storage wallets.

Whos going: Its a surprise!

Want to have your own party? Heres adigital clock and an analogue one.

Have yourselves a happy halving. See you on the other side.

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7 best ways to watch the Bitcoin halving 2020 live - Decrypt

AP test-takers report problems submitting online exams, fear they’ll have to retake – NBC News

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High school students around the world began taking online Advanced Placement exams this week, but some say they've encountered problems submitting their responses and may have to retake the exams at a later date.

The AP exams measure how well a high school student comprehends college material and can help them earn college credit. They typically are taken in person.

The College Board announced earlier this year that because of the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 exams would be offered in an online, free-response format and only include topics covered by March. Students are able to take exams on any device and can either type their responses or write them by hand and upload photos.

Caleb Trunkle, a senior, in Charleston, South Carolina, had been studying all year for the AP Calculus AB exam but said trying to prepare at home without a teacher was pretty difficult.

However, Trunkle felt confident when he went to submit in his answers Tuesday afternoon. He said he followed the AP College Board requirements, and the answers seemed to go through but then was notified that his test hadnt been received.

Trunkle told NBC News that because his test didn't go through, his only option is to apply to retake the exam in June.

I was incredibly upset. Ive put so much into this course. Ive put so much into my high school career, Im trying to finish it out, this was my last week of testing. I have one more tomorrow. I did everything right, he said.

Students, parents and teachers have reported issues with exam submissions this week on social media.

Let our news meet your inbox. The news and stories that matters, delivered weekday mornings.

The College Board did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night.

But on Monday said that the vast majority of test-takers had successfully submitted their exams.

Approximately 50,000 students took today's AP Physics C: Mechanics exam. 98% submitted their responses, while approximately 2% encountered issues attempting to submit their response, the College Board wrote on Facebook Monday, the first day of testing. Given the wide variety of devices, browsers, and versions students are using, we anticipated that a small percentage of students would encounter technical difficulties, and we have a makeup window in June so students have another opportunity to test.

Cole Wagner, 17, said he was unable to submit his AP Physics Mechanics exam Monday after he tried twice to copy and paste his answers from a Google Doc to the exam. He said the responses reformatted when he pasted them into the exam, meaning they did not correspond with the questions. Hes hoping to retake the test at a later date.

On Tuesday, Wagner, who is from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, said his computer froze while he took the AP Calculus AB exam. He was unable to submit his response for the first and second questions and later logged into the exam from his phone to upload a photo of his work for both questions into the second questions submission box, he said.

"For both tests, I had two separate issues but both were equally frustrating," he told NBC News.

"I saw a side of Cole I've never seen before," his father, Bret Wagner, said. "He almost lost his mind today, and he put a ton of effort in and this meant a lot to him," he said.

Late Tuesday, the College Board acknowledged that some students had reported troubles cutting and pasting responses for exams.

"While more than 99% of students successfully submitted their AP Exam responses today, some who didn't told us they had trouble cutting and pasting their responses," the organization wrote in a tweet. "We took a closer look and found that outdated browsers were a primary cause of these challenges."

Darren Kagey, a junior at Pickerington High School North in Pickerington, Ohio, took the same AP Calculus AB exam and said he had a similar issue. He said he was informed he would have to apply for a makeup test.

After the exam, Kagey said, he went online to see if others were reporting issues and saw a tweet from the College Board informing students they had to update their camera settings in order to upload photos of their work.

But, the tweet was posted just a few hours before the exam began, Kagey said.

I just think itd be so much simpler if they allowed students that had issues to resubmit the work they completed, he said.

Students complained of issues with other tests besides the Calculus AB and Physics exams.

Freshman Aryan Jadhav in Denmark, Georgia, was ready to submit his answers for the AP Human Geography exam but says the College Board software crashed just before his time was about to expire.

He said he had about 20 seconds left to paste in an answer but after he clicked submit, he was told his answer wasnt recorded.

I feel that its unfair that I have to retake the test again that I have been studying so hard for, because of an issue on their part," he said.

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AP test-takers report problems submitting online exams, fear they'll have to retake - NBC News

Will We Ever Be Able to Upload Our Brains? – ComputerShopper.com

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The path to completely mapping every aspect of a brain is complicated. It requires incredibly precise scanning of the neurons, the cells that carry electrical impulses, as well as the synapses that link them together. The end result is a 3D rendering called a connectome, and the good news is that science has already made one.

The bad news is that it was of a Caenorhabditis elegans roundworm, which has 302 total neurons in its brain as compared to a human beings 86 million. A task with that complexity would take, as Francis Collins, head of the National Institutes of Health, told Smithsonian, a million electron microscopes running in parallel for 10 years.

Current science is split on whether technology will ever reach a level where that task is possible. That roundworm connectome, however, has already seen a digital life. In 2014, the OpenWorm project that mapped the brain decided to replicate it as software and install it in a Lego robot that was capable of the same sensory and motor actions as the biological model.

Without any additional programming, the team claims the robot worm behaved identically to a real one, recoiling from touch and moving towards food. Its not an exact analog, as the nerves in the worms body are approximated by hard-wired sensors, but it proves a point.

Already were raising some pretty intense questions hereis this Lego replica of a roundworm a sentient being? Is it distinct from the worm it was copied from? These are the kind of issues that will come to the fore as we get closer and closer to whole brain emulation.

That hasnt stopped some people from trying to sell it already. In 2018, startup Nectomeannounced that it had developed a method to preserve the human brain until the date that advanced scanning methods are practical. Only one issue: it has to be fresh. As in, you have to be alive when they do the process, which kills you.

Thats a pretty bold bet to take on the future, but Nectome CEO Robert McIntyre believes in his technology, pitching it as a way to save your precious memories rather than create a full digital simulacrum of your consciousness. Over 30 people have put down a $10,000 deposit to be on the list for preservation.

Other researchers are taking a more granular approach to digitizing the mind. Researcher Theodore Berger at the University of Southern California is developing an electronic prosthesis for the hippocampal region of the brain, generally recognized as the area that manages memory. The device monitors and encodes the sequence of neurons firing and can then replay them.

In rats, it was able to restore a memory of pulling levers in a sequence. A rat brain is significantly less complex than a humans, but the general principle is the same. Bergers team is investigating human applications to help people with brains damaged by Alzheimers and other degenerative diseases.

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Will We Ever Be Able to Upload Our Brains? - ComputerShopper.com

Instagram Officially Launches Option to Share Instagram Live Broadcasts to IGTV – Social Media Today

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Instagram has been rolling this option out over the last few weeks, but today, it's officially announced that all users can now save the video of their Instagram Live broadcast to IGTV, and keep it available for viewing for as long as they choose.

Up till now, Instagram Live broadcasts have only, technically been available to viewers during their broadcast - i.e. when the 'Live' marker appears on the users' Stories bubble. Users have additionally had the option to save the video of their Instagram Live broadcast to their camera roll, then re-upload as they see fit -but now, you'll also have the capacity to send the video direct to IGTV, which could provide some additional benefits, especially considering the gradual development of the IGTV platform.

The option could, for example, provide an easy way to build your IGTV content library, and with Instagram recently launching monetization options for the platform, that could provide another means to both tap into rising interest in IGTV (monetization will lure more high-profile creators, and subsequently, viewers), while it may also, eventually, facilitate a revenue option via your own content.

It's also another way to maximize the value of your content. If you've created more video, why not re-post it to IGTV and enable more people to see it. That is, if the broadcast went well, of course.

Though there are some limitations to be aware of in this new process.

As per Instagram:

Live video replays wont include any likes or comments from your original live video

The number of viewers for your live video will restart once you share it to IGTV

You won't be able to edit or trim your live video before sharing it to IGTV

Being unable to edit your video could be an issue, and it's worth considering what the impacts of not having the original Likes and comments might be. If you're constantly referring to the comments or viewers during the broadcast, that probably won't make sense in the replay if their names and notes are not displayed.

In that case, you may well be better off just downloading the video and editing it to ensure it suits, then re-uploading to IGTV if you see fit. But if you're looking for a quick, simple way to tap into IGTV, and maximize viewership, it's another option to keep in mind.

Instagram says that the 'Share to IGTV' option is now available to all users.

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Instagram Officially Launches Option to Share Instagram Live Broadcasts to IGTV - Social Media Today

15 TV shows and hidden gems that might be under your radar – from Netflix’s Midnight Gospel to Amazon’s Upload – Yahoo News

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Whether you're on the hunt for your next on-screen obsession, concerned about gaps in TV schedules, or you just want to use this time to try out something new, Digital Spy is here with an abundance of TV recommendations to keep you entertained.

We're constantly plugged in, and have compiled an extensive list of hidden gems that you might not have come across, or had a chance to view, just yet. Let's begin.

Family life is complicated and messy, even at the best of times. While you might be used to sickeningly sweet sitcoms that are chock full of sentiment, Breeders is here to bring a big dollop of reality to proceedings - with hilarious results.

Paul (Martin Freeman) and Ally (Daisy Haggard) are trying to navigate parenthood as best they can. There's no handbook and kids can be, well, annoying - no matter how much you love them. The whole series is endearing and relatable, and there are some genuine fall-off -your-sofa shocks along the way too.

Wrongly dismissed by some as nothing more than a rip-off of the much-loved series The Good Place, Upload has a heartfelt charm that is all its own.

The comedy series is from the mind of Greg Daniels - the creator of cult favourite The Office US and Netflix's hotly anticipated Space Force - so it's not all that surprising that we'd be clambering to give it our seal of approval. All that remains now is the wait for season two.

We've been championing this show ever since it debuted its first season, and not just because it's fronted by Line of Duty's Adrian Dunbar.

The twisty-turny thriller, which airs on Channel 5, recently returned for its second season with a gripping cliffhanger - don't worry, no spoilers here, just go ahead and enjoy the ride.

WATCH BLOOD ON MY 5

The philosophical sci-fi series, from writer-director Alex Garland, asks all manner of daunting questions. Starring Parks and Recreation's Nick Offerman as the messiah/false prophet of the story, the show is available to stream on BBC iPlayer now. And when you've finished having your mind scrambled, you can check out our Devs ending explained.

WATCH DEVS ON BBC iPLAYER

The US crime drama stars How I Met Your Mother's Cobie Smulders as private investigator Dex Parois. A bit of a rule breaker and with some debts weighing her down, Dex ends up teaming up with her friend - and felon - Grey (Jake Johnson) to tackle some unsolved cases.

Stumptown is currently airing every Tuesday at 9pm on Alibi (available on Sky and Virgin).

Photo credit: Netflix

Dubbed (by us) as South Korea's answer to Marvel's Daredevil, Rugal is based on a popular webcomic of the same name.

It follows a police officer called Kang Ki Beom (Choi Jin-hyuk) who fights to bring down a criminal organisation known as Argos (no not that Argos, the catalogue company haven't gone rogue) but the group retaliate by blinding Kang and killing his wife.

WATCH RUGAL ON NETFLIX

Unbelievable's Merritt Wever? Check. The return of Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge? Check. You shouldn't need much more convincing, but it was also written and produced by Killing Eve's Vicky Jones...

The dark comedy first premiered in the US back in April, and it's currently airing on Sky Comedy and NOW TV.

Photo credit: Oxygen - NBC Universal

A major departure from the reality star's Keeping Up with the Kardashians appearances, Kim Kardashian has a brand new true-crime documentary under her (waist trainer) belt.

The show basically acts like a beginners guide to the American justice system, highlighting a series of issues that Kim and a number of organisations are working hard to reform while also bringing some heartbreaking cases to the forefront.

It first aired on Oxygen in the US, and is now available on Sky Crime.

WATCH THE JUSTICE PROJECT ON NOW TV

This is the latest star-studded show to come from Apple TV+, and it firmly places Chris Evans (and that fan-favourite beard) centre stage as both lead actor and executive producer.

Defending Jacob - reportedly a ratings-booster for the streaming platform - is based on William Landay's best-selling novel of the same name. The crime drama follows Andy Barber, a district attorney, whose sense of justice is shattered when his son is accused of murder.

WATCH DEFENDING JACOB ON APPLE TV+

Photo credit: Netflix

Thought animation wasn't for you? Think again.

The Midnight Gospel is like nothing else we've seen before. A feast for the eyes and ears, the show pairs fascinating and downright thought-provoking dialogue (that will leave you questioning everything) with bright and chaotic imagery. Oh, and be sure to listen out for all those guest cameos.

WATCH THE MIDNIGHT GOSPEL ON NETFLIX

Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne) is the son of an infamous serial killer known as "The Surgeon", and has concerns that he might become a sociopath himself. In a bid to move on, he became a criminal profiler who, after being fired by the FBI, worked with the New York Police Department.

Oh, and Michael Sheen is in it. Always a win.

The American crime drama airs on Fox and is available to stream online in the US. No word yet on a UK air date.

Comics Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle play versions of themselves as teenage outcasts in the year 2000 - yep, got to love that nostalgia.

It's being described as a "cringe comedy", and PEN15 first entered the world on Hulu in February 2019, but - hoorah! - it's now also in the UK thanks to Sky Comedy.

Photo credit: Hulu / Amazon Prime Video

Based on the bestselling novel by Celeste Ng, the story follows a rich suburban mother and wife (played by Big Little Lies' Reese Witherspoon), who invites town newcomer Mia (Scandal star Kerry Washington) to be her maid, after noticing she's living in her car with her daughter.

Both actors executive produced on the project, and it first debuted on Hulu. It's been announced that Little Fires Everywhere will come to the UK on Amazon Prime Video from May 22.

WATCH AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

Photo credit: Amazon Prime

In contrast to Stranger Things' '80s action stylings, Tales from the Loop is a calm and quiet anthology series. Despite, on the face of it, seemingly sharing some similarities to the Netflix smash hit, Tales from the Loop is in a league of its own.

Based on Simon Stlenhag's art book and tabletop role-playing game of the same name, season one is available on Amazon Prime Video.

WATCH TALES FROM THE LOOP ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

Photo credit: W Channel

The trashy (nothing wrong with a good bit of trash) and fun UKTV Original follows PR guru Robyn (played by X-Men's Anna Paquin) as she clears up the messes left behind by her clients, while also trying to keep on top of her social life.

Currently getting its second outing, Flack is airing on W and available to watch on Sky and

Virgin.

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Looking for more TV recommendations and discussion? Head over to our Facebook Group to see new picks every day, and chat with other readers about what they're watching right now.

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15 TV shows and hidden gems that might be under your radar - from Netflix's Midnight Gospel to Amazon's Upload - Yahoo News

Broadband jargon buster – learn the internet lingo before you buy – TechRadar

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Was your connection speed even to get to this page annoyingly slow? Is the irony of taking ages to get to read articles about the best broadband deals becoming painfully obvious? The last thing you'll want then is more obstacles in the form of broadband jargon.

There's plenty of barely decipherable lingo and jargon on the internet, blurted out by technically minded sorts hurriedly trying to churn out information without thinking about who's reading. We've not all got years of experience talking in code about frankly complex tech that some regulars might find the norm.

You might know your fibre from your router, without getting breakfast cereals and power tools mixed up, but there's plenty of other jargon that needs clarifying.

Here's what you need to know, so you can be savvy enough to get the best broadband for you.

If you've ever taken our broadband speed test then you'll have seen some chat about your download and upload speeds. As you may already know, the download speed is that coming to you and the upload speed is that going away. But why do you need to know about and consider both?

Many people just look at download speeds and consider that alone. That's fine for streaming a film or downloading a large file. But for things like video streaming or gaming, you need upload bandwidth too. This means a two-way interaction can happen with minimal lag and maximum clarity. So keep that in mind when hunting for your next broadband upgrade.

You may have heard of a fibre broadband connection as that's now the most popular thanks to its speed and availability. This is the same as cable, essentially. The cable is the way you're getting the wiring and within that cable is the fibre optical line itself.

Fibre optics use light to send signals, rather than electricity along a metal cable. As such there isn't the issue of resistance and you get lightspeed fast data delivery. This is largely future-proof with theoretically no limit to speeds. As the devices at either end of the cables improve so can speeds.

ADSL, or asymmetric digital subscriber line, is an older form that uses those copper lines we mentioned above. These are limited to about 10Mb, which is workable if that's all you have in your area but nothing compared to fibre that's currently offering average speeds of 362Mb from Virgin Media broadband and 300Mb from BT Broadband.

Anywhere you see the word limit it's worth paying attention and that's especially true when it comes to getting the best broadband deals. A download limit, as you might imagine, is a cap on the amount of data you can access over a period of time.

Typically this is a limit on data downloaded month to month. While these can save you money on your broadband subscription, they're not ideal if you do lots of online gaming or stream a lot of 4K and HDR Netflix, for example.

These little gems of FTTC, FTTP and FTTH are different ways fibre is transmitted. The first part is Fibre To The... with the last letter being the point at which fibre ends and another connection carries the last of the signal to you. This point is usually where speed bottlenecks so it's worth keeping in mind.

FTTC is to cabinet which means it'll run over fibre to your local street cabinet (those green boxes you often see high-vis coated fellows working on). It then runs to you via cabling, slowing it. This is the most common form of home broadband.

FTTP is to premises which is where the fibre runs right to your home for maximum speeds. FTTH is to home, which is the same thing with another acronym to make it even more complicated, of course.

Megabit (Mb) and Gigabit (Gb) are data amounts often seen when talking about broadband as Mbps and Gbps with those last two letters for per second. This deontes how fast you can access the data.

In real world terms, Netflix says you need a 25Mb line in order to steam 4K and HDR content clearly. The fastest fibre lines in limited availability are now 1Gb, so more than enough for most even in the longer term. The fastest more common fibre, at around 300Mb, is also plenty for most homes.

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Broadband jargon buster - learn the internet lingo before you buy - TechRadar

You will be seeing a lot of Qualcomm SD768G 5G phones soon – GadgetGuy

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Whether we need it or want it, 5G is being forced upon us. 5G is part of the next round of mid-range smartphones ($799-999). And the Qualcomm SD768G 5G mobile platform is the safest bet to power them.

When I say safest the Qualcomm SD768G 5G mobile platform (an update from the SD765G 5G) has been tested and proven. So far its the only one that has BOTH NR sub-6GHz (Australia) and mmWave for the most comprehensive 5G coverage where, when or if ever you can get it.

That is not to disparage other makers 5G chipsets from MediaTek or Huawei, but those focus on mmWave in China or the US and leave technologically challenged Australia off the roadmap.

Australia has crippled NSA sub-6Ghz 5G, and it looks that way for some time to come. We may see some mmWave for commercial use, but poor Joe and Jane Average will have to put up with 4G on steroids Tel$tras patchy and pathetic excuse for 5G.

The SD768 uses the Qualcomm X52 Modem and its RF antenna system (as does the SD765). This a large step down from the flagship X55 modem in the SD865. Both are Gen 2 there is a long way to go to reach 5G nirvana.

The X52 has a maximum rated 5G download/upload speed of 3.7/1.6Gbps, and the X55 is 7/3Gbps. Ditto for 4G (which it will run on most of the time). It is 1.2Gbps/201Mbps versus 2.5Gbps/316Mbps.

These are a lot of issues with even quoting these figures (Tel$tra initially claimed 20Gbps!). Our experience is (when we can find a mythical 5G tower) that speeds are not much better than Telstra 4GX somewhere around 200-400Mbps DL and 50Mbps UL. Again, we have had faster 4GX speeds during those very same tests.

Transaction Network Services states that you should expect 5G global roaming to be a five-to-10 year rollout.

Why so long you might ask? Standalone (SA) 5G roaming will not happen in the near term due to complexity of network slicing, massive capital investment involved, business models and ill-defined charging principles. Simply put the incentive to replace global 3G/4G technology is too small when it will co-exist with 5G for some time.

So, if you have a 5G use case, can get reception, and want a knobbed X52 5G modem that will mostly run 4G then you will need SD768G.

No, it is not the powerhouse 8XX series. It is the equivalent of the Toyota Camry 4-cylinder gets you from A-B, but you dont want to tow a boat or caravan.

Again, Qualcomms marketing prowess comes to the fore. It uses cites Next-level performance (why would you release something slower than its predecessor?), Captivating graphics (15% performance increase over the SD765), Immersive gaming (Adreno 620 GPU is OK), dazzling entertainment (HDR is a feature of most SoCs)

To the contrary, I would prefer a Qualcomm SD under the bonnet more than any other chip (except for the Samsung Exynos that is an SD in all but name).

For starters, Qualcomm SoCs works with all my diagnostic software. MediaTek and Kirin do not! And Qualcomm returns accurate speed tests. Other brands do not (smells like the VW fiasco all over again).

Qualcomm SoCs seldom throttle to the extent that the others do. Mind you MediaTek is getting better as it moves to thinner SoC, but it has been found guilty of optimising results for test software.

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You will be seeing a lot of Qualcomm SD768G 5G phones soon - GadgetGuy

Four things that may delay PF advance – Livemint

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In March-end, the government came to the rescue of people facing a cash crunch due to the covid-19 lockdown, by allowing them to take non-refundable advance from Employees Provident Fund (EPF). As per the data released by EPF Organisation on 28 April, 740,000 such claims have been settled. However, it seems, many more who made a similar application are still waiting to get their money. Many subscribers took to social media to complain about delays in receiving the money or rejection of claims.

Employees are allowed to withdraw up to 75% of the outstanding balance in their PF accounts or three months basic plus dearness allowance, whichever is lower. For example, if you have a balance of 1 lakh in your PF account and your basic wage plus dearness allowance is equal to 20,000 per month, you will be eligible to withdraw only 60,000.

EPFO has clarified that even those employees who have left the job can avail the advance. Employees can apply for the advance under such claims online. However, it is generally advised not to withdraw from PF savings, as it will deplete your retirement savings by a large chunk. But dipping into PF savings may be better than taking a personal loan on which the interest rates can be in the range of 9-24%.

The claims applied under covid-19 are being settled on fast track and within three working days," said EPFO, in a statement along with FAQs (frequently asked questions) released on 26 April.

So what explains the delay and rejections? All the claims applied online go to the National Data Center of EPFO and are getting processed from there. However, in case of any discrepancy, the claims are sent to the regional offices for clearing," said one of the EPFO field officers from the Gurugram office, on the condition of anonymity, as filed officers are not autorized to speak to the media.

Here are some of the reasons leading to delay or claim rejection.

Unclear scan of documents

While filing a claim online, an employee has to upload a scanned copy of the cheque book, the first page of the passbook or the bank account statement, which should have the name of the applicant, bank account number and the IFSC code. This is done to ensure that the bank account details uploaded in the KYC (know your customer) or linked to the universal account number (UAN) of the employee is correct and no erroneous transfer of money happens.

If the documents scan is not clear, it is difficult to match the details with what is provided against the employees UAN. This can result in delay as EPFO will ask you to upload the scanned copy again. Most of the delays or rejections are due to improper documents uploaded by the employees," said the field officer.

So, upload a clear scan of the document showing the bank account details.

Wrong details

At times, details such as IFSC code of the bank or the account mentioned during the claim doesnt match with what is seeded with the UAN. This could be because wrong details may have been entered when seeding account details with the UAN or because the subscriber wants the amount credited in another account, which is not linked with the UAN.

There is also a possibility that the bank account linked with the UAN might have become dormant. Therefore, the person will have to get the bank details updated. The updation of bank account details can be done online," said Saraswathi Kasturirangan, partner, Deloitte India.

However, any changes made to the KYC details have to be approved by the employer. Employers can approve the changes online using their digital signature, but at times the employers are not able to access their system due to the ongoing lockdown, which may result in a delay," said the EPFOfield officer quoted earlier.

Not fulfilling the criteria

To be able to take the non-refundable advance, employees should have made a contribution for at least three months. If you dont fulfil this basic criteria and still make a claim, it might be rejected.

Time taken by banks

EPFO processes claims and issues the cheques to the bank within three days of applying the claim. Banks, typically, take another one to three days to credit the money to the employees account. So check if the delay is at the banks end.

Keep in mind that its important that your paperwork is in order and your records match with whats seeded with your UAN for problem-free withdrawal.

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Four things that may delay PF advance - Livemint

Covidsafe app: how Australias coronavirus contact tracing app works, what it does, downloads and problems – The Guardian

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The Australian government has launched Covidsafe, an app that traces every person running the app who has been in contact with someone else using the app in the previous three weeks, in a bid to automate coronavirus contact tracing and allow the easing of restrictions.

Heres what we know about the app so far.

After you download and install the app from the Australian Apple App store or Google Play store which you can also access from the governments Covidsafe app page covidsafe.gov.au or aus.gov.au/app youll be asked to register your name (or pseudonym), age range, postcode and phone number.

That registration information is stored encrypted on a government server, and then passed on to state and territory health authorities in the event that someone youve been in contact with has tested positive.

Using Bluetooth, the app records anyone you get close to who also has the app. The two apps exchange anonymised IDs, which cycle every two hours and are stored encrypted on phones and deleted after 21 days.

If someone is infected with coronavirus, they then get a unique code from a health official via SMS to use in the app to consent to upload the list of anonymised IDs for the past 21 days of contact for contact tracing. It uses signal strength and other data then to work out who needs to be contacted.

The name you choose to provide, your age range, your phone number, and your postcode, information about your encrypted user ID, information about testing positive for coronavirus, and then the contact IDs should you consent to that being uploaded.

Bluetooth data is also uploaded to the server upon testing positive in order for the government to figure out, using signal strength, which contacts need to be notified.

The data, once you consent to it being uploaded from your app at the time you test positive, will be held by the federal government on an Amazon Web Services server in Australia.

Morrison said that while the data will be held by the federal government, only state health authorities charged with contact tracing will be able to access it. He says federal agencies including Centrelink, Home Affairs and others will not be able to access the data.

Health minister Greg Hunt has written a direction that sets out only health authorities or those maintaining the app can get access to the information. This will be backed up by legislation to be introduced into parliament in May.

The government has said police will not be able to get the data, even with a warrant, and court orders will not be able to force the government to hand over the data but this is not explicitly outlined in the draft legislation.

The registration data will remain on the government server until the end of the pandemic, which will be declared over by the health minister, or until you request it to be deleted.

Amazon Web Services, which is hosting the data in Australia, is one of the biggest cloud companies in the world. Given the millions of people expected to use the app and outages will make the app less effective, as well as the governments history with using AWS, it isnt surprising Amazon was chosen for the contract.

The company has the highest data security certification for its Sydney data centre.

The 2017 postal survey was supported by AWS, and the 2021 Census will be hosted by AWS.

Chances are, some of your data be it through your bank, your airline, through Netflix or any number of services is already hosted by Amazon.

The government will legislate to prevent data from the app being moved offshore, including for requests for data by the US government under laws such as the Patriot Act.

The draft legislation makes it a crime to store the data outside Australia, or communicate the data to someone outside Australia.

The app does not track location. The Google version of the app does seek permission for location information but that is due to permissions needed for bluetooth.

Not significantly, however the Apple version of the app will need to be open in order for the bluetooth functionality to work.

That will drain the battery more, however, the government made a change to the Apple version of the app and you can now lock your phone screen as long as the app is open when you lock it.

It is understood that the federal government will implement the functionality developed by Apple and Google in a few weeks that will eliminate this issue and allow iPhone users to have the app running in the background.

No. The prime minister has said consent would be key to the app, indicating it would not be mandatory, and people would share information through the app only if they consented to it.

The draft legislation to support the app specifically makes it a crime punishable by five years in jail to force someone to download the app, and upload data from the app against their consent. It also makes it a crime to refuse service or entry or employment to people if theyre not using the app.

But Morrison muddied the waters somewhat when he would not entirely rule out making it mandatory.

My preference is not to do that, my preference is to give Australians the go of getting it right ... I dont want to be drawn on that [making it mandatory], I want to give Australians the opportunity to get it right, he told Triple M. That is my objective, that is my Plan A and I really want Plan A to work.

He later tweeted that the app would not be mandatory.

The national cabinet said that the app could be a valuable tool if the numbers increase and the application is widely taken up.

Health minister Greg Hunt said the governments target for uptake of the app is 40% of the population.

Morrison said automatic contact tracing would be a key component in states and territories easing some restrictions on high-value, low-risk economic activities after the next four weeks.

He compared using the app to buying bonds during the war.

In the war, people bought war bonds to get in behind the national effort. What were doing in fighting this fight is well be asking people to download an app which helps us trace the virus quickly and the more people who do that, the more we can get back to a more liveable set of arrangements.

The state governments in NSW and Victoria have both indicated they will not make use of the app a condition for easing restrictions, and will not require a certain percentage of the population to be using the app before restrictions will be eased.

However, since the release of the app, the federal government has urged Australians to download the app, tying download numbers of the app to the national cabinet discussion about the easing of restrictions.

Always. The government has stressed it has designed the app with privacy in mind, however.

In terms of privacy, no other person can access what is on your phone, Hunt said.

The health minister added it will be against the law to use the data for a purpose other than contact tracing, and the data will be kept in Australia.

It cannot leave the country. It cannot be accessed by anybody other than a state public health official. It cannot be used for any purpose other than the provision of the data for the purposes of finding people with whom you have been in close contact with and it is punishable by jail if there is a breach of that.

There is no geolocation. There is no Commonwealth access and it is stored in Australia and importantly it is deleted from your phone after 21 days.

The government will have a repository of the names, phone numbers and postcodes of everyone who had downloaded the app, which could be a potential honeypot, but the key data of who youve been in contact with stays on your phone and is frequently deleted.

The government has published a privacy impact assessment on potential concerns with the app.

The source code for the app has been released by the government, which can show how the app works in practice, but there are calls for the server source code (which will show what the government does with the data) to be released.

You can delete the app from your phone at any time, and the government has said all the information held will be deleted from its servers at the end of the pandemic. This sunset clause is built into the legislation being introduced into parliament.

The draft legislation sets out that the data will be deleted once Greg Hunt declares, via an instrument, that the pandemic is over.

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Attorney general Christian Porter told Guardian Australia regulations would be developed to ensure that police and other government agencies would not be able to access the data.

Law enforcement agencies will not be provided access to information collected via the app, he said.

Specific regulatory action will be taken to prevent such access for law enforcement agencies at both the Commonwealth and state/territory level.

The government has already made the decision not to make any information collected by the app available for other purposes, including law enforcement investigations.

The draft legislation does not explicitly rule out access via warrant or court order, however access for purposes outside of contact tracing has been made a crime.

If you have the app running on your phone as per the guidelines, it is collecting the contact data and storing it on your phone. Health officials have yet to access the data because the federal government needs to get the states and territories to sign a memorandum of understanding to ensure they abide by the privacy rules around the use of the data for contact tracing.

The training for use of the app started on 11 May, and health officials are expected to be able to access data from the app a few days after, in the event someone with the app tests positive and agrees to upload the data.

At this stage it seems the app is only available in Australian app stores, but the health department indicated it was looking at making the app available in other stores.

There are no plans to make it work on phones operating older software than iOS 10 and Android 6.0.

The total cost of the app for the government is $1.5m, including over $700,000 for Amazon to host the data.

Due to the unprecedented and ongoing nature of the coronavirus outbreak, this article is being regularly updated to ensure that it reflects the current situation at the date of publication. Any significant corrections made to this or previous versions of the article will continue to be footnoted in line with Guardian editorial policy.

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Covidsafe app: how Australias coronavirus contact tracing app works, what it does, downloads and problems - The Guardian

Our forthcoming shows will be dedicated to the memory of those who have lost their lives Aysha Rau, The Little Theatre, Chennai – Indulgexpress

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The Little Theatre, one of the oldest theatre groups in the country, had no choice but to suspend their popular Little Festival festival due to the coronavirus pandemic.

That said, its founder Aysha Rau has assured us that their Christmas Pantomime is on track and rehearsals for the same will begin soon after things get back on track. The group has also launched their YouTube channel, with the help of its artistic director, KK, and his team.

We find out from Aysha more about how The Little Theatre plans to adapt to these trying times while listening to heartwaring stories from her home during lockdown days. Excerpts:

Theatre organisations around the world are releasing their content online and making them availableto the public. From your point of view, how much digital access does Chennai's audience have to your content, and what more can be done from yourside to broaden the scope, with regards to both quantity of your body of work online and its reach among the masses?

Our Artistic Director Krishnakumar Balasubramanian aka KK and his team are in the process of setting up aYouTube channel. Over the last few productions, we have been shooting with multi-camera setups to edit and upload our shows. Now with the lockdown in place, I guess KK and his team must be having more time to work on this! In time we should have our shows uploaded. We do have a tremendous body of original work, so Iguess it will be good to have it available online!

In what ways and how much can this pandemic and the lockdown affect the theatre industry?

The pandemic has definitely hit the theatre industry very badly.Everything has come to a grinding halt. Not just here in Chennai but across the world, like in Broadway,NY, and the West End, London.

As for The Little Theatre, we havecancelled the 11thedition of The Little Festival, as the visiting productions would have a hard time getting here. Further, I am not certain whether the Museum Theatre will be open and whether schools will be willing to allow their children to congregate in an air-conditioned hall.

Other festivals, which I was invited to attend, conduct workshops and give talks at, have been postponed to 2021. Shows and training programmes that we were supposed to do in April and May have been suspended; we obviously have to reschedule them. Also, a festival that we are supposed to participate in August is still not confirmed.

What are the major changes that you are anticipating in Chennai's theatre scene,once things get better? Will there be a change in approach towards the medium of showcasing your work? Can we expect to see more innovative ways in which you can reach your audience (virtual and augmented reality for example)?

The Little Theatre isworking on getting small professional shows to schools during the festival slot so that schools do not miss out on The Little Festival. Im in touch with a number of schools and I have received quite a few positive responses.Otherwise, we are working towards our annual Christmas Pantomime in December and also Peter Pan. And the shows will be dedicated to the memory of everybodywho have lost their lives to the virus this year. It is a global tragedy. But we need to move on. We all come into this world with an expiry date. However, while we are still alive we must all remember to live. As they say in theatre, the show must go on!

Do you have any new productions in the pipeline? And, what will be the first play from your stable once the ball gets rolling again?

Our Artistic Director Krishnakumar Balasubramanian aka KK is working on a couple of small productions that can be mounted easily in different school auditoriums. We are looking at a show to cater to the primary section and one for the middle and senior school children. These still work in progress and we havent yet given them a name.

Our shows Garage Gang and 5loose Boots are ready to travel as soon as we reschedule. Otherwise, its our Christmas Pantomime in December.

Lastly, how have you been spending your lockdown time at home? Could you share some interesting anecdotes?

We had given our maid paid leave before the curfew on the first Sunday. I told her I value her life and so to remain indoors with her family, and yes we will pay her salary as I want her to return after all this is over!

We have two 90-year-olds living with us. My mom whos young at 95 and my father-in-law who is 90 are in lockdown with us. Ive always cooked every meal in our home and so that hasnt changed! Except for the absence of my sou chef!

We had just finished renovations and painting our home the night before that first curfew. So, we have had all this time to sort out, thoroughly clean and put things away! This has kept us very busy. Ive been reading a lot but not writing much. However, I intend to work on my manuscripts! Ive also been watching various productions beamed across the internet. Theatre even on a phone is so entertaining, even if one cant go out to see the real shows!

Its quite interesting to have two 90-year-olds living with us. It leads to much humour. The other day at lunch-time my mom who had woken up from a short nap asked if it was morning and time for breakfast! And I had made pancakes with jam and honey that morning for breakfast!And from the other room, there was this call, Jayraj! Jayraj! Bread. B-R-E-A-D! Jayraj went in to ask. Appa! Why do you want bread? Appa promptly replies, You forgot to give me lunch. Im feeling hungry! Jayraj and I burst out laughing. Heres one of them thinking it was morning and the other one thinking it was night, when in fact it was lunchtime! It must be confusing because we are at home all the time!

Ive been keeping myself amused making videos of all my quick recipes and sharing my menus and recipes with everyone. This way I really dont mind producing meal after meal and getting creative with whatever ingredients I can find in my kitchen.

Also, there is this kite who comes every day and sits outside my bedroom window. It gives a distinctive cry when it reaches its perch. Its a game between us. As soon as I hear it, I try to take a picture. Its very amusing. I gingerly lift the curtain. Once it looked at me straight with its startled big gooey eyes; even I got a shock and couldnt stop laughing. Another time it had its wings stretched out with its head resting on its right shoulder while sunning itself facing our window. As soon as I lifted the curtain, oh so gently, it opened its eyes wide and flew away in a matter of seconds! Again I was in splits of laughter. Couldn't capture that frame, but that funny startled look is engraved in my mind forever. It was hilarious! I will persist on getting a shot of this amusing quick-as-lightning kite!

I havent gone past my front door in one month. It is going to feel very strange when I eventually do step out. I guess everyone will feel socially awkward after this period of social distancing!

You can contact the writer atkaran.pillai@newindianexpress.com or follow him on Twitter@karan_pillai

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Our forthcoming shows will be dedicated to the memory of those who have lost their lives Aysha Rau, The Little Theatre, Chennai - Indulgexpress

Add Game Of Thrones & Westworld To Your Zoom Calls With HBO Backgrounds – Screen Rant

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Sit on the Iron Throne, John Oliver's chair, or drop by the Westworld park during your next Zoom call with these official HBO backgrounds

Game of Thrones and Westworld backgrounds are available to download online for use during your next Zoom call. These official HBO backgrounds are only some of the many that have been released in recent weeks to help fans of popular movies and shows customize their video chats and meetings.

It is not only Zoom thats proven insanely popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also Zoom backgrounds. With the service offering a wide level of support for custom and third-party backdrops, users have the option to add almost any image they want to their Zoom chats. While some images naturally work better than others, many companies and brands have been releasing official images for the general public to use for free.

Related: Best Movies On HBO Right Now

One of the brands that has recently made images available as virtual backgrounds is HBO. In fact, the popular network's website has an entire page dedicated to backgrounds, offering a variety of images and from some its most popular shows. For example, you could download and use an Iron Throne background from Game of Thrones, pick from a couple of Westworld scenes, or even position yourself in the chair from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. These images are all free to download and are specifically designed for use with virtual conference calls.

Regardless of which image you want to use, the process of actually adding it as a virtual background is surprising easily. However, it does differ slightly depending on the device used. For example, those accessing Zoom through the smartphone app will first need to be taking part in a video call before they can access the background option in settings. In this sense, the easier way to add a Game of Thrones or Westworld background is through the desktop version of Zoom.

Opting for the desktop route requires the Zoom user to be logged into their account. Following which, the Virtual Background option can be found by clicking on the profile icon in the top-right corner, followed by Settings. This will take the user to the main Zoom background page interface where they can either use the + icon to upload their own image or choose from the limited selection of default backgrounds provided by Zoom. Once an image has been either uploaded or chosen, it is then just a matter of hitting save for the changes to take effect.

It is worth keeping in mind that once a background is added and used, it technically becomes the default backdrop going forward. Although, removing or replacing the Game of Thrones or Westworld background can be done at any time by repeating the same Zoom background instructions once again.

More: Doctor Who Zoom Backgrounds: Make Your Next Call From The TARDIS

Source: HBO

Houseparty: When Katy Perry & All Artists Are Performing This Weekend For In The House

John has been writing for the internet since 2014 with a focus on the line where technology meets the movie and TV industry. You may have read some of his previous work under the pen name John Anon. John is a Psychology graduate from England who now lives in the U.S. Prior to the move to writing online, John worked in the airline industry as an airline reviewer. After moving to the U.S., Johns reviews shifted from airlines to smartphones, streaming devices and TV-related services.John now enjoys the fact that he gets to combine two of his favorite hobbies - technology and movies. Johns favorite movie genres largely boil down to horror, Sci-Fi, thriller and just about any movie with an ensemble cast. For some reason, especially those set on a plane, train, boat or any other isolated location that also happens to be moving. The best place to follow John is on Twitter.

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Add Game Of Thrones & Westworld To Your Zoom Calls With HBO Backgrounds - Screen Rant

How to tell how fast your internet speed is using a free and accurate speed test – Business Insider – Business Insider

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If you're looking to change your internet provider, or are considering increasing your internet speed, it's always a good idea to know where you currently stand. That way, you'll be able to better understand what you want and need from a new internet plan.

Google offers a simple and fast tool for doing this, and all you have to do is complete a simple Google search to start.

The test measures your speed by measuring the amount of data that can move through your internet connection. It takes about 30 seconds to complete, and your results are given in terms of megabits per second, or Mbps. The higher your Mbps count, the better.

For reference, the FCC's standard for a fast internet connection is at least 25 Mbps for downloads, and 3 Mbps for uploads. This test can measure connections of up to 700 Mbps.

You may also see a "Latency" reading. This is a measure of how quickly you get a response from your server, and is given in milliseconds, or ms. Here, the lower your number, the better.

Here's how to test how fast your internet speed is.

Before you run the test, you should know that doing so requires sharing your IP address with M-Lab, which Google has partnered with to produce the test.

1. Go to Google and search for "internet speed test."

2. At the top of the search results will be a box labeled "Internet speed test." Click the blue "Run Speed Test" button at the bottom of this box.

This test will be the first result. Devon Delfino/Business Insider

3. A new pop-up will appear with a speedometer, like the type you'd see in a car. The test will begin measuring your download speed, followed by your upload speed. You don't have to do anything.

Your internet speed will be analyzed. Devon Delfino/Business Insider

4. Once the test is finished, your results will be displayed.

Note that when you take this test, your IP address will be shared with Google and M-Lab, the company that runs this test. There's no real security threat here both companies keep their data incredibly secure, and even if someone were to find your IP address, there's nearly no chance that they could use it in a malicious way.

Also keep in mind that your internet speed is constantly changing, depending on how close you are to your router, how many devices are on the network, and how much data you're currently using.

Taking the test while you're alone in your house will give you higher results than taking the test while five people stream Netflix, for example.

For information on what sort of internet speeds you need, check out our article, "'What is a good internet speed?': The internet speeds you should aim for, based on how you use the internet."

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How to tell how fast your internet speed is using a free and accurate speed test - Business Insider - Business Insider

Aarogya Setu data only shared with government officials directly involved in COVID-19 interventions – Times Now

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Aarogya Setu data only shared with government officials 

The Central government's Aarogya Setu mobile application is based on "privacy-first by design" principle keeping in mind the safety and privacy of users' data, said Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Aayog. He added that the user data from the app would only be provided to those government officials who were directly in charge of containing the spread of the Coronavirus in India.

In an exclusive interaction with ANI, Kant informed that Aarogya Setu mobile application has been built to ensure privacy and security of personal information that was collected from people. It is based on "privacy-first by design" principle.

"Aarogya Setu has a clearly defined protocol for access to data. National Informatics Centre (NIC) is the fiduciary of the data, and data is only shared with government officials directly involved in COVID-19 related medical and administrative interventions on a strictly need-to-know basis and limited in scope only to their direct work," said Kant.

Concerns over the Aarogya Setu App were raised when a French 'ethical hacker' claimed to have access of the users' data and had highlighted security bugs within the app which could privacy ramifications.

Clarifying apprehensions that some users may have related to data security, Kant said: "When an individual provides his/her mobile number for registration, the Aarogya Setu server assigns an anonymous, randomized unique device identity number (DiD) and associates it with their mobile device. This pair - the mobile number, DiD and other personal information is securely stored in a highly encrypted server."

After registration, the app asks for your name and mobile number (any name that you want to be called by, not your legal name). In addition, it asks for your age and gender (both have a direct co-relation to COVID-19 impact), profession (to ensure people who are in essential services are proactively assisted), countries visited in last 30 days and willingness to volunteer in times of need.

"All contact tracing and location information that might have been uploaded to the Aarogya Setu server is permanently deleted 45 days from the date of upload if you have not tested positive for COVID-19 within that period of time. If you are infected, all contact tracing and location information pertaining to you are permanently deleted from the server 60 days after you are declared cured of COVID-19," added Kant.

While the app requests users to share location, the app does not use location data for contact tracing. "The app has clearly defined and delimited how location information is used - only on an anonymous or aggregate basis and for the specific purpose of identifying hotspots so that proactive increased testing and sanitization of these locations can be done," he said, adding that the app does not continuously monitor any user's location.

According to Government data till date, Aarogya Setu app has registered about 96 million users since its launch on 2 April. However, contact tracing data has been fetched of only 12,000 users who had tested positive for COVID-19 constituting less than 0.1% of all users. "Unless a person turn COVID-19 positive, this information is never accessed or pushed to the server and is permanently deleted from the phone 30 days after it is collected," he said.

"The central feature of the app is location history and bluetooth-based contact tracing in the fight against the virus. The Bluetooth interaction between two phones on which the app is installed is performed anonymously, using a randomized and secure Device Identification Number (DID) that has been assigned to the devices at the time of registration," added Kant.

Along with the user's location history which is sampled sparingly (once every 30 minutes), this information is securely encrypted using the native key chain of the phone's operating system and is stored on the phone itself.

"The Aarogya Setu engine is designed to respect the privacy of COVID-19 positive patients. The backend of the App is integrated with ICMR database through an API, and information about patients who have tested COVID-19 positive is received in real-time. It is this ICMR database which is the source from which the App receives information about all COVID-19 positive cases," added Kant.

"It is only in the event there is a requirement for individual medical intervention that the anonymized personal information is re-identified. The team is exploring moving from a one-time DID to dynamically generated DIDs for every user, to further enhance privacy," added Kant in an interview to ANI.

Explaining significant predications made by the Aarogya Setu, Kant said, "In the last 6 weeks, Aarogya Setu App has emerged as a key technology solution aimed in combating COVID-19. Through this app, several potential emerging and hidden hotspots were identified. The engine predicted 130 hotspots across India at the sub-post office-level between April 13th to April 20th. Every forecasted hotspot has since been declared a real hotspot and acted upon by the health ministry."

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Aarogya Setu data only shared with government officials directly involved in COVID-19 interventions - Times Now

Beat Ways To Learn PLC Programming With The Help Of PLC Training – NewsPatrolling

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PLC programming is becoming an increasing number of wanted inside the enterprise international specifically in terms of controlling machinery. PLC stands for Programmable Logic Controller and is in essence a tiny computer with its own working system. This operating machine is what controls an awful lot of what the equipment that runs industrial automation courseis capable of doing.

Because the arena of business machinery is constantly being upgraded and evolved theres a actual want for people that recognise how PLC programming works. If youre in a function to gain from PLC you will be asking yourself where you could move so that you can study PLC programming traing in coimbatore.

Thanks to the high tech environment you currently discover your self in there are a number of possibilities so that you can research PLC programming. Depending on the way you favor to research you can pick anybody of the subsequent alternatives:

No rely the way you favor to analyze there is a method to be able to study PLC on the way to be powerful. If you work in an environment that has a need for individuals who are professional in PLC programming then taking benefit of one of the many methods to research PLC as it could be the catalyst that enables you get to the following stage for your career.

The Three letters that have more weight are PLC and have to be in length it is small, but in career aspect, it seems to be extra weight and useful. What are the students now looking forward to when they finished their diploma? A Secured activity with desirable revenue and financial benefits is what they anticipating. Yes, it is a real truth, process protection is essential and employment that doesnt satisfy this issue would not appears to be a sincere one.

These are the 2 classes and employment that satisfies the two classes of scholars Is said to be a nice one. Consequently the automation enterprise is that the satisfactory one if you want for the work that I stated above.

So to enter into such industry, you would like to gain knowledge of properly with software programs and applications that affect the automation enterprise.

PLC training is important in case you prefer to enter into the industrial automation course. PLC is extremely famous in Coimbatore and masses of students call it as PLC training in Coimbatore way to numerous % schooling facilities available here. It is a real and positive incontrovertible fact that it is hard to enter into any field unless youre well able to do it. So do now not be form of a dumb goat inside the crowd and check out to discover many new matters and hold your thoughts always updated.

Mind is like an evergreen tree and as how a tree appears usually inexperienced once you pour water continuously in addition pour the expertise on your mind at some point in a continuous manner and take a look at out to be evergreen usually. PLC schooling allows you to urge updated frequently and when you learned, you may have a hobby for the duration of this field and this interest permits to enhance to your self.

You learn many common sense things and additionally the humans can analyze programming standards that give you a hobby to discover and mechanically youll put in force many new matters for your subject.

So try and learn PLC automation training and it benefits you altogether factors. Try and analyze PLC training in Coimbatore due to the fact in Coimbatore there are many PLC automation schooling facilities that teach and recruit you in top industries with respectable income and job protection.

They upload fees in your lifestyles through their international elegance carrier and through their standards. The PLC schooling centers in Coimbatore have to have experience within the respective fields and will offer quicker providers with extra reliability and that they should make your dream to go back genuine.

Most of the applicants opt for PLC training in Coimbatorebecause the PLC schooling facilities in Coimbatore offer obligatory placement which too in exact industries. The 2nd cause is that they train and educate well all through this subject with suitable lab centers and train completely inside the commercial automation the use of PLC, SCADA, relays, and lead them to completely in shape for the automation industries.

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Beat Ways To Learn PLC Programming With The Help Of PLC Training - NewsPatrolling

Free games: Ashes of the Singularity puts you in command of swarms of laser deathbots – PCGamesN

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What would happen if human beings could individually control thousands of lethal drones with the power of their minds alone? Ashes of the Singularity, thats what its an RTS based on huge swarms of laser-armed robotic fighters, battling it out across distant planets, and its free right now at the Humble Store. But youll want to hurry to pick up your copy.

The Humble freebie is available for the next 24 hours or so, and supplies are limited. But if you head to the store now, youll get a 100% discount on a Steam code for Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation. If you already own the game, its DLC packs are discounted too, with markdowns ranging from 10% to 55%.

Ashes of the Singularity is an RTS thats all about managing the flow of an economy, reminiscent of the Supreme Commander series. Youll set up resource extractors that determine your income, and then set production queues for your factories to start pumping out robots. These youll send to your front lines to apply lasers directly to the face of anyone standing in your way.

Ashes of the Singularity has always been a pretty game, and since Escalations 2.4 patch, its supported the Vulkan graphics rendering API. Its a great RTS for showing off a beefy graphics card, since you can get huge crowds of buzzing units on screen all at once, each firing lasers or artillery rounds at its own target.

Again, youll have to hurry to pick this up: the offer is only good until 13:00 EST / 18:00 BST tomorrow, May 10, and if Humble runs out of keys before then, well, youre out of luck. So if you have any interest at all in unending drone wars, grab your copy now. All you have to do is subscribe to Humbles email newsletter.

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Free games: Ashes of the Singularity puts you in command of swarms of laser deathbots - PCGamesN