Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has been in regular contact with the White House on coronavirus pandemic

During a White House briefing on Monday detailing new recommendations regarding public health from the administration’s coronavirus task force and the CDC, President Trump was asked by a member of the press corps about reports that the White House is in “daily” contact with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos regarding the COVID-19 epidemic.

Trump’s answer wasn’t exactly a clear confirmation, but did seem to indicate that the Amazon founder and chief executive has been working with the White House in some capacity as the situation develops. Upon request for clarification, an Amazon spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that “Jeff Bezos has been in contact with the White House” regarding the coronavirus epidemic.

“Well I’ve heard that’s true,” Trump said during the briefing. “I don’t know that for a fact. But I know that some of my people have, as I understand it, been dealing with them or with him. And that’s nice. We’ve had tremendous support from a lot of people that can help, and I believe he was one of them.”

Last week, Fox Business first reported that the White House would be meeting with large tech companies in an effort to help coordinate efforts to contain the virus, and that those meetings would include Facebook, Google, Amazon, Twitter, Apple and Microsoft.

It’s still not clear in what capacity Bezos is working with the White House on the coronavirus pandemic, but Amazon is clearly feeling the impact of the global visual outbreak, including a surge in demand that’s led to it seeking to hire 100,000 additional employees for warehouse and delivery in the U.S.

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Why COVID-19 is hitting us now -- and how to prepare for the next outbreak | Alanna Shaikh

Why COVID-19 is hitting us now -- and how to prepare for the next outbreak | Alanna Shaikh

Where did the new coronavirus originate, how did it spread so fast -- and what's next? Sharing insights from the outbreak, global health expert and TED Fellow Alanna Shaikh traces the spread of COVID-19, discusses why travel restrictions aren't effective and highlights the medical changes needed worldwide to prepare for the next pandemic. "We need to make sure that every country in the world has the capacity to identify new diseases and treat them," she says.

Click the above link to download the TED talk.

To make locks touchless, Proxy bluetooth ID raises $42M

We need to go hands-off in the age of coronavirus. That means touching fewer doors, elevators, and sign-in iPads. But once a building is using phone-based identity for security, there’s opportunities to speed up access to WIFI networks and printers, or personalize conference rooms and video call set-ups. Keyless office entry startup Proxy wants to deliver all of this while keeping your phone in your pocket.

“The door is just a starting point” Proxy co-founder and CEO Denis Mars tells me. “We’re . . . empowering a movement to take back control of our privacy, our sense of self, our humanity, our individuality.”

With the contagion concerns and security risks of people rubbing dirty, cloneable, stealable key cards against their office doors, investors see big potential in Proxy. Today it’s announcing here a $42 million Series B led by Scale Venture Partners with participation from former funders Kleiner Perkins and Y Combinator plus new additions Silicon Valley Bank and West Ventures.

The raise brings Proxy to $58.8 million in funding so it can staff up at offices across the world and speed up deployments of its door sensor hardware and access control software. “We’re spread thin” says Mars. “Part of this funding is to try to grow up as quickly as possible and not grow for growth sake. We’re making sure we’re secure, meeting all the privacy requirements.”

How does Proxy work? Employers get their staff to install an app that knows their identity within the company, including when and where they’re allowed entry. Buildings install Proxy’s signal readers, which can either integrate with existing access control software or the startup’s own management dashboard.

Employees can then open doors, elevators, turnstiles, and garages with a Bluetooth low-energy signal without having to even take their phone out. Bosses can also opt to require a facial scan or fingerprint or a wave of the phone near the sensor. Existing keycards and fobs still work with Proxy’s Pro readers. Proxy costs about $300 to $350 per reader, plus installation and a $30 per month per reader subscription to its management software.

Now the company is expanding access to devices once you’re already in the building thanks to its SDK and APIs. Wifi router-makers are starting to pre-provision their hardware to automatically connect the phones of employees or temporarily allow registered guests with Proxy installed — no need for passwords written on whiteboards. Its new Nano sensors can also be hooked up to printers and vending machines to verify access or charge expense accounts. And food delivery companies can add the Proxy SDK so couriers can be granted the momentary ability to open doors when they arrive with lunch.

Rather than just indiscriminately beaming your identity out into the world, Proxy uses tokenized credentials so only its sensors know who you are. Users have to approve of new networks’ ability to read their tokens, Proxy has SOC-2 security audit certification, and complies with GDPR. “We feel very strongly about where the biometrics are stored . . . they should stay on your phone” says Mars.

Yet despite integrating with the technology for two-factor entry unlocks, Mars says “We’re not big fans of facial recognition. You don’t want every random company having your face in their database. The face becomes the password you were supposed to change every 30 days.”

Keeping your data and identity safe as we see an explosion of Internet Of Things devices was actually the impetus for starting Proxy. Mars had sold his teleconferencing startup Bitplay to Jive Software where he met his eventually co-founder Simon Ratner, who’d joined after his video annotation startup  Omnisio was acquired by YouTube. Mars was frustrated about every IoT lightbulb and appliance wanting him to download an app, set up a profile, and give it his data.

The duo founded Proxy in 2013 as a universal identity signal. Today it has over 60 customers. While other apps want you to constantly open them, Proxy’s purpose is to work silently in the background and make people more productive. “We believe the most important technologies in the world don’t seek your attention. They work for you, they empower you, and they get out of the way so you can focus your attention on what matters most — living your life.”

Now Proxy could actually help save lives. “The nature of our product is contactless interactions in commercial buildings and workplaces so there’s a bit of an unintended benefit that helps prevent the spread of the virus” Mars explains. “We have seen an uptick in customers starting to set doors and other experiences in longer-range hands-free mode so that users can walk up to an automated door and not have to touch the handles or badge/reader every time.”

The big challenge facing Proxy is maintaining security and dependability since it’s a mission-critical business. A bug or outage could potentially lock employees out of their workplace (when they eventually return from quarantine). It will have to keep hackers out of employee files. Proxy needs to stay ahead of access control incumbents like ADT and Honeywell as well as smaller direct competitors like $10 million-funded Nexkey and $28 million-funded Openpath.

Luckily, Proxy has found a powerful growth flywheel. First an office in a big building gets set up, then they convince the real estate manager to equip the lobby’s turnstiles and elevators with Proxy. Other tenants in the building start to use it, so they buy Proxy for their office. Then they get their offices in other cities on board…starting the flywheel again. That’s why Proxy is doubling down on sales to commercial real estate owners.

The question is when Proxy will start knocking on consumers’ doors. While leveling up into the enterprise access control software business might be tough for home smartlock companies like August, Proxy could go down market if it built more physical lock hardware. Perhaps we’ll start to get smart homes that know who’s home, and stop having to carry pointy metal sticks in our pockets.

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Kenya turns to M-Pesa mobile-money to stem the spread of COVID-19

Kenya’s largest teleco, Safaricom, will implement a fee-waiver on East Africa’s leading mobile-money product, M-Pesa, to reduce the physical exchange of currency in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The company announced that all person-to-person (P2P) transactions under 1,000 Kenyan Schillings (≈ $10) would be free starting Tuesday for the next 90 days.

The move came after Safaricom met with the country’s Central Bank and per a directive from Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta “to explore ways of deepening mobile-money usage to reduce risk of spreading the virus through physical handling of cash,” according to a release provided to TechCrunch from Safaricom.

To encourage the use of digital payments over cash, the East African telecom will also allow SMEs to increase their daily M-Pesa transaction limits from 70,000 Kenyan Schillings to 150,000 (≈ $700 to $1,500).

The measures represent the ability of the Kenyan government to use digital finance as a lever to influence social distancing and P2P transactions in an infectious health crisis.

M-Pesa has 20.5 million customers across a network of 176,000 agents and generates around one-fourth ($531 million) of Safaricom’s ≈ $2.2 billion annual revenues (2018). The company has held nearly 75% of the mobile-money market share in Kenya for nearly a decade and the country has the highest mobile-money usage rates in Africa.

In some respects, having all that output on one platform represents systemic risks to Kenya’s economy.  But in the case of a global health pandemic spread by human contact, the dominance of mobile money in the country provides a policy tool to encourage digital versus physical contact on a wide scale through financial transactions.

Kenya has only three cases of COVID-19 (aka the coronavirus), according to Worldometer, but the country is taking cautionary measures. President Uhuru cancelled two foreign meetings due to the virus, the University of Nairobi shut down classes and a number of companies in the country are encouraging workers to telecommute, according to local sources and press reporting.

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Coronavirus Research

Coronavirus Research

Grocery delivery apps see record downloads amid coronavirus outbreak

As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across the U.S., grocery delivery apps have begun seeing record numbers of daily downloads, according to new data from app store intelligence firm Apptopia. On Sunday, online grocery apps including Instacart, Walmart Grocery, and Shipt hit yet another new record for daily downloads for their respective apps, the firm says.

Comparing the average daily downloads in February to yesterday (Sunday, March 15), Instacart, Walmart Grocery, and Shipt have seen their daily downloads surge by 218%, 160%, and 124%, respectively.

Typically, these apps (except for Shipt) see tens of thousands to as many as twenty thousand-plus downloads per day. But on Sunday, Instacart saw over 38,500 downloads and Walmart Grocery saw nearly 54,000 downloads, the firm says. Shipt, though hitting record numbers, saw only 7,285 downloads on Sunday. To some extent, its lower figures could be due to Target’s move to integrate Shipt’s grocery delivery service, which it owns, into its main app.

In fact, the Target app has also broken records for daily downloads, the report found. On Sunday, Target’s app saw over 53,100 daily downloads when a month ago, it was seeing 25,000+.

Walmart very recently announced it would merge its grocery delivery service into its main app, as Target has done. But for now, consumers are still seeking out and downloading its standalone grocery app at record levels.

These grocery delivery apps are in demand more than ever during this health crisis.

With government mandates to practice “social distancing,” U.S. consumers have been stocking up for long weeks to be spent at home. Stores were cleared of key supplies, like toilet paper, and several also saw long lines and crowds as panic-buying set in. Grocery delivery and pickup, meanwhile, presents an easier option — as well as one where you could limit your exposure to other people. With grocery pickup, consumers only have to interact with a single store employee from their curbside parking space. And with grocery delivery, most orders can simply be left on the doorstep with no person-to-person contact required.

Several grocery delivery services, including Instacart and others, promoted the fact they would add a “contactless” delivery option which help contribute to the huge sales boost. On Thursday, Instacart said its sales growth rates for the week was 10 times higher than the week before, and had increased by as much as 20 times in areas like California, New York, Washington, and Oregon.

Apptopia’s report didn’t analyze the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on Amazon’s grocery delivery business, which includes Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods deliveries. This is more difficult to do because Amazon grocery orders aren’t placed inside a dedicated app, as with Instacart. However, Amazon confirmed a technical glitch on Sunday affected online orders through both its grocery delivery services, which the company attributed to the increase in online shopping.

“As COVID-19 has spread, we’ve seen a significant increase in people shopping online for groceries,” an Amazon spokeswoman explained, in a statement shared with Bloomberg. “This resulted in a systems impact affecting our ability to deliver Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market orders [on Sunday night]. We’re contacting customers, issuing concessions, and are working around the clock to quickly to resolve the issue,” they added.

Amazon Prime is also expected to experience delays and shortages as consumers stock up on non-grocery household items, the company says.

But even as grocery delivery booms, the market for food delivery apps has not seen the same results.

Despite promises for contactless delivery from several providers, including Uber Eats, food delivery apps are not experiencing a similar surge in daily downloads. According to Apptopia, the food delivery market earlier in March was starting to cool off. It later began to pick up but then cooled off again as consumers realized the expense of ordering food compared with home cooking, and because some consumers view restaurant delivery as not being as safe as cooking at home.

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How can we control the coronavirus pandemic? | Adam Kucharski

How can we control the coronavirus pandemic? | Adam Kucharski

As the threat of COVID-19 continues, infectious disease expert Adam Kucharski answers five key questions about the novel coronavirus, providing necessary perspective on its transmission, how governments have responded and what might need to change about our social behavior to end the pandemic. (This video is excerpted from a 70-minute interview between Kucharski and head of TED Chris Anderson. Listen to the full interview at go.ted.com/adamkucharski.)

Click the above link to download the TED talk.

Verily’s coronavirus screening site is already out of testing appointments

Last night, slightly ahead of schedule, Verily launched its much-discussed coronavirus screening site. On the site, which is only available in parts of the Bay Area, users can describe their symptoms and Verily will then direct them to a testing site if necessary. After only a few hours online, though, the site has already run out of appointments.

“Appointments will continue to expand through this program as we scale capacity in the near future. Please check back later,” the site now says, but only after you’ve gone through most of the questionnaire.

It’s obviously not Verily’s fault that the state’s testing sites are at capacity and if anything, this proves the need for a service like this on a national scale.

Originally, in a press conference on Friday, President Trump said a site Google was working on was going to be the core feature of a national testing strategy. That story changed quite a bit over the weekend as Google and Verily clarified their efforts and it became clear that the White House overpromised, but Verily then launched its pilot site ahead of schedule on Sunday night.

We have asked Verily for more information and will update this post once we hear more.

Alphabet’s Verily launches its California COVID-19 test screening site in a limited pilot

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Where’s the Zoom of VR?

Remote collaboration tools like Zoom are gathering massive amounts of attention as people begin working from home en masse. But, as with most trends, virtual reality seems to be sitting out this boom.

This should be surprising to absolutely no one, but the lack of widespread adoption is not for lack of trying.

Virtual reality has already had a rough couple of years. Though a handful of startups in the space have continued to raise and find customers, most have done so by either committing to tight niches or opening up their services and minimizing their reliance on VR-only audiences. All the while, investors and founders have been left to wonder whether the “presence” offered by immersing yourself wholly in a digital environment is undone by crude avatars, clunky hardware and lackluster integrations with popular work software tools.

Enterprise VR hasn’t been completely quiet. A number of startups have raised funding in recent months on the premise that the future of work has a space carved out for virtual reality applications. In the collaboration space, VR startups argue that existing platforms are static, dated and leave employees feeling disconnected. VR’s oft-espoused mantra is that inhabiting a virtual space allows people to communicate more naturally.

I recently met with Anand Agarawala, CEO of Spatial, an AR/VR collaboration tool that locked down a $14 million round of funding earlier this year. VR startups haven’t been raising rounds this large lately, but Agarawala has ambitious plans for how his collaboration platform can outdo Zoom.

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A campaign for period positivity | Ananya Grover

A campaign for period positivity | Ananya Grover

Having your period is exhausting -- and for many people across the world, menstruation is even more challenging because of stigmas and difficulty getting basic hygiene supplies, says social activist Ananya Grover. In this uplifting, actionable talk, she shares how "Pravahkriti," her campaign to spread period positivity, creatively engages with everyone to promote menstrual health, raise awareness and break taboos around periods.

Click the above link to download the TED talk.

Alphabet’s Verily launches its California COVID-19 test screening site in a limited pilot

Alphabet-owned health technology company Verily has launched the COVID-19 screening site that was first misrepresented by President Trump as a broadly focused coronavirus web-based screening and testing utility developed by Google. After a flurry of blog posts by Google and Verily over the weekend, as well as a follow-up press conference by the White House, it became clear that the screening and testing site was a Verily project, limited in scope to California residents, with a specific focus on a couple of counties for now.

That’s what launched on Monday morning (as eventually clarified by the White House) – a site hosted at Verity’s Project Baseline, which until now has acted as a portal connecting potential participants with medical research studies. The California COVID-19 risk screening and testing site provides screening and potential free testing to those who are eligible based on its criteria, which right now includes residents of Santa Clara County and San Mateo County.

In addition to being located in these places, eligible participants must also be 18 or older; a resident of the U.S.; able to speak and read English; and willing to sign a COVID-19 Public Health authorization form, according to the website. This form provides permission to Verity to collect a person’s information to be used for the screening process. Anyone looking to make use of the site must also either create a new Google account or connect their existing account in order to register.

Despite the requirement of a Google account, Verily says on its website FAQ that it “follows federal and state regulations governing the collection and use of an individual’s data,” and stores the information securely in an encrypted format. It does note that Verily staff will have direct information to identifying information about anyone who uses the site, and that information will be shared with health care professionals, lab personnel, and health officials, and that info could potentially be shared with Verily’s data technology provider partners, including Google.

The company specifically says that it will not share any info with any insurance or medical providers without direct consent, and that any information shared through the COVID-19 screening process will not be used for advertising.

What the website actually provides participants is a multi-question survey that determines initial eligibility, followed by a more in-depth questionnaire intended to asses a person’s risk relative to actually having contracted coronavirus, which is then used to determine whether to direct them to a mobile testing site where they’ll receive a nasal swab and, after “a few days” according to Verily, their test results.

Verily said in a blog post over the weekend that it is working with California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office on expanding availability of the tool to additional parts of the Bay Area and the state. The company hasn’t so far mentioned explicitly any plans to expand to other states, and when I posed the question via email I received an auto-response directing me to their blog post citing a high volume of inbound requests.

Trump says Google CEO Sundar Pichai called to apologize

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Workers at America’s largest companies are not covered under coronavirus aid package

Workers at America’s largest companies are not covered under a bill passed by the House of Representatives on Friday that is supposed to support American workers impacted by the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The bill still has to be voted on by the Senate and approved before it can be signed into law, but its structure leaves a gaping hole in the prevention strategy the government has said is necessary to reduce the COVID-19 outbreak in the US.

“No American worker should worry about missing a paycheck if they’re feeling ill,” said Vice President Mike Pence at the Sunday press briefing from the Coronavirus Task Force. “If you’re sick with a respiratory illness stay home.”

However, millions of Americans potentially don’t have the ability to make that choice under the congressional aid package touted by both Democrats and Republicans. By excluding companies with more than 500 employees from the Congressional aid, the health and welfare of millions of Americans in industries providing goods, manufacturing, and vital services to most of the country is being left up to the discretion of their employers.

Details of the legislative compromise were first reported by The New York Times yesterday. And chart published by The New York Times illustrated just how many companies didn’t have paid sick leave policies in place as the coronavirus began to spread in the US (companies have changed policies to respond to the coronavirus).

Image courtesy of The New York Times

As part of a brokered agreement between House Democrats and the White House, a bid to include guaranteed paid time off or sick leave for every U.S. worker affected by the coronavirus outbreak was rejected. Instead, these protections were replaced with tax breaks, which would be distributed to most small and medium-sized businesses to cover the costs of paying employees during business shutdowns or health care emergencies brought on by the novel coronavirus.

Big technology companies took the lead early this month in changing policies for their workers and by the end of last week many of the country’s largest employers had followed suit. But it looks like their work won’t be covered under the government’s current plan — and that any measures to extend sick leave and paid time off will be limited to a response to the current outbreak.

Big tech commits to paying wages for hourly employees affected by coronavirus plans

These large employers have already responded by closing stores or reducing hours in areas where most cases of the novel coronavirus have been diagnosed — and companies operating in most of those states are required by law to offer paid leave to their hourly employees and contractors.

Companies who have responded to the outbreak by changing their time-off and sick leave policies include Walmart, Target, Darden Restaurants (the owner of the Olive Garden restaurant chain), Starbucks, Lowes, and KFC, have joined tech companies and gig economy businesses like Alphabet (the parent company of Google), Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Instacart, Microsoft, Postmates, Salesforce, and Uber in offering extended leave benefits to employees affected by the coronavirus.

These kinds of guarantees can go a long way to ensuring that hourly workers in the country don’t have to choose between their health and their employment. The inability to pass a law that would cover all workers puts everyone at risk.

Without government stepping in, industries are crafting their own responses. Late Sunday, automakers including GM, Ford, and FiatChrysler joined the United Auto Workers union in announcing the creation of a coronavirus task force to coordinate an industrywide response for the automotive sector.

GM, Ford, Fiat Chrysler join UAW to form coronavirus task force

As the Pew Research Center noted last week, the bill proposed by House Democrats had initially proposed temporary federal sick leave covering workers with COVID-19 or caring for family members with two-thirds of their wages for up to three months; expiring in January 2021. The measure would have also guaranteed private employers give workers seven days of paid sick leave with another 14 days available immediately in the event of future public health emergencies.

Most workers have less than nine days of sick leave covered under current state legislation. There is no national mandate for paid sick leave. After one year on the job, 22 percent of workers have access to less than five days, while another 46 percent of employees can get five-to-nine days of paid sick leave. Only 38 percent of workers have between ten and fourteen days of leave.

The Pew Research Center also reported that the lack of access to paid sick leave increases as wages decline. Over 90 percent of workers receiving hourly rages over $32.21 have some form of paid sick leave. Only about 50 percent of workers who make $13.80 or less have access to some form of paid sick leave. For Americans who make under $10.80 an hour, only about 30 percent receive any sick leave.

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Trump says Google CEO Sundar Pichai called to apologize

At what is now a daily coronavirus press briefing at the White House, President Trump today said that Google CEO Sundar Pichai called him to apologize. What Pichai apologized for wasn’t immediately clear, but Trump then went on to praise Google’s communications team for supposedly substantiating Trump’s comments about Google’s coronavirus screening site.

“I want to thank the people at Google and Google Communications because as you know, they substantiated what I said on Friday,” said Trump. “The head of Google, who is a great gentleman — said — called us — and apologized. I don’t know where the press got their fake news, but they got it someplace. As you know, this is from Google [holds up printout of Google Communication’s statement on Twitter]. They put out a release [drops the paper on the ground] and you guys can figure it out yourselves and how that got out and I’m sure you’ll apologize. But it would be great if we could really give the news correctly. It would be so, so wonderful.”

We reached out to both Google and the White House for further clarification about this call.

What is clear, though, is that Google and Alphabet CEO Pichai today posted an update to Google’s blog that outlines Google’s efforts. In it, Pichai clears up some of the confusion and describes the work the company is doing to get more information about the virus and COVID-19 to its users, as well as the work Alphabet’s Verily life sciences unit is doing to build a screening site for the Bay Area (and potentially for a nationwide rollout).

On Friday, Trump said 1,700 Google engineers were working on this screening site — though it is a Verily project that, as best we can tell, was never meant for a consumer rollout. Google never clarified how many people were working on its efforts, but it doesn’t take 1,700 engineers to build the site Trump described.

Here is what Trump said on Friday:

“I want to thank Google. Google is helping to develop a website. It’s gonna be very quickly done — unlike websites of the past — to determine whether a test is warranted and to facilitate testing at a nearby convenient location. We have many, many locations behind us, by the way. We cover this country and large parts of the world, by the way. We’re not gonna be talking about the world right now, but we cover very, very strongly our country. Stores in virtually every location. Google has 1,700 engineers working on this right now. They have made tremendous progress.”

The Fake and Corrupt News never called Google. They said this was not true. Even in times such as these, they are not truthful. Watch for their apology, it won’t happen. More importantly, thank you to Google! https://t.co/AuvpbXNouW

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 15, 2020

Google was clearly not ready for this public statement at the time. On Friday, we contacted them a few minutes after Trump made these comments. (Trump today said the media never called Google, which was flat-out wrong). It took Google’s Verily unit almost two hours to respond and note that Verily was working on a far more limited project than the one Trump described.

Despite Trump’s claims, Google isn’t building the coronavirus screening site — and it’s not ready

On Saturday, VP Pence clarified the situation a bit by saying that Google (or Verily – because who knows at this point) would have a pilot version of the screening site ready for a test in the Bay Area by tomorrow, Monday the 16th.

“I know Google issued a statement that they are planning to launch a website,” Pence said. “I think they gave a date of Monday, March 16th and we’re working literally around the clock and I know that our whole team is working on the public and private partnership. Couldn’t be more grateful to all at the hard-working people at Google who are helping to put this website together.”

But what Google later clarified is that there are at least two different efforts here. Google’s work around bringing more information about COVID-19 to its users across its various services — and Verily’s efforts to launch a pilot website “that will enable individuals to do a risk assessment and be scheduled for testing at sites in the Bay Area.”

White House now says pilot of coronavirus screening site will roll out Monday for Bay Area

Today, to add a bit more confusion to this story, VP Pence said the government is working with “Google and many other tech companies,” including Google, Facebook and Amazon. At some point early in the week, there will be a website that will go up where people can fill out a questionnaire to see if they need a test. That is very much the site Trump described on Friday, but Pence didn’t clarify how much of a role Google is playing in this.

On Friday, Trump promised a nationwide website, developed by Google, that would be at the core of the government’s screening process. Google wasn’t ready for that announcement. The site didn’t exist yet. Even the limited version of that site, which wasn’t developed by Google, was ready and for the most part, a lot of us in the media probably now regret ever taking the president at his word. As of now, this is one of the most bizarre Google stories I’ve covered in recent years.

Now, it’d be great to hear more about what Pichai apologized for.

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100+ Effective Tips for Saving Money

Want to build an emergency fund or save enough money to fulfil a long-standing dream? Maybe you just want to stop living paycheck to paycheck. Whatever your money goals happen to be, you can inch closer to them with a few changes to your lifestyle and habits. Our cheat sheet below can help you with that.

The cheat sheet covers more than a hundred ideas to help you save money. Pick your favorites and start applying them to your life.

Don’t dismiss any of the ideas as too simple, trivial, or insufficient to make a significant difference to your finances. Remember, it’s okay to start small and build better money-saving habits over time. And the cumulative impact of baby steps needs to be seen to be believed!

FREE DOWNLOAD: This cheat sheet is available as a downloadable PDF from our distribution partner, TradePub. You will have to complete a short form to access it for the first time only. Download 100+ Effective Tips for Saving Money.

100+ Effective Tips for Saving Money

Tips
Banking, Bills, and Payments
■ Set up automatic transfer of money from every paycheck to a savings account.
■ Avoid ATM withdrawals that will cost you fees.
■ Pay your bills on time to avoid late fees.
■ Stash away money from windfalls and refunds instead of spending it.
■ Declutter subscriptions and memberships often.
■ Cancel automatic subscriptions and memberships.
■ Round up purchases to the nearest dollar and add the difference to your savings.
■ Shop around for better deals on broadband, credit cards, insurance, phone plans, and streaming subscriptions.
■ Refinance your mortgage and auto loan.
■ Switch to a high-yield savings account.
■ Pay your credit card dues in full every month to avoid paying interest.
■ Switch from monthly to half-yearly or yearly insurance payments to avoid unncessary fees.
■ Look for hidden fees on every purchase.
■ Pay attention to incorrect charges on bills so you can dispute said bills.
■ Get multiple quotes for services to get cheaper deals.
■ Find ways to save tax on your earnings.
■ Sign up for customer rewards programs.
■ Get overdraft fees waived if possible.
■ Opt out of overdraft protection (and keep a close eye on your account balance.)
Home
■ Get an energy audit of your home.
■ Switch to energy-efficient lighting and appliances.
■ Develop energy-efficient habits, such as switching off the lights while leaving a room.
■ Unplug inactive appliances or plug them into a power strip so you can turn everything on and off with the press of a button.
■ Switch to solar-powered gadgets where feasible.
■ Keep your automobiles and electronics in top shape.
■ Avoid electronic and automobile upgrades for novelty value.
■ While buying a phone, buy a model or two older than the latest one.
■ Ditch your landline.
■ Lower the temperature on your thermostat.
■ Switch to a programmable thermostat.
■ Don’t heat unused rooms.
■ Insulate your home well.
■ Use fans instead of air conditioning.
■ Install faucet aerators to reduce water costs.
■ Fix leaky faucets and other broken items around the house.
■ Pick up housewares from yard sales.
■ Move furniture around to give your home a simple makeover.
■ Cook meals at home. (But skip recipes that require buying ingredients you probably won’t use again.)
■ Carry water and coffee from home.
■ Eat seasonal foods.
■ Eat local foods.
■ Buy staples in bulk and during sales.
■ Cut down on one supermarket trip every month and shop from your pantry instead.
■ Don’t shop when you’re hungry.
■ Get creative with leftovers.
■ When possible, choose potluck meals over catered ones for events.
■ Make meal-planning a habit to avoid ordering takeout.
■ Buy a crockpot for filling yet inexpensive meals.
■ Make your own cleaning supplies.
■ Declutter your stuff and stop paying for a storage unit.
■ Switch to cold water for doing laundry.
■ Switch from a dryer to a clothesline for drying clothes.
■ Adopt a pet instead of shopping for one.
■ Groom your pet yourself.
■ Buy locally made pet food.
■ Swap pet-watching duties with another pet owner.
Entertainment and Lifestyle
■ Cancel costly packages and add-ons from your cable TV subscription. OR Switch from cable TV to streaming services.
■ Lower your cell phone bill by getting rid of extras.
■ Borrow books and DVDs from public libraries.
■ Play board games instead of going to the mall.
■ Swap clothes, books, games, music, sports equipment, and other supplies with friends and family.
■ Make your next holiday a staycation.
■ Choose AirBnbs over hotels when you travel.
■ House swap with friends and family for a vacation.
■ Time a vacation to coincide with the end of a work trip and in the same location.
■ Travel hack.
■ Build a minimalist wardrobe.
■ Avoid buying clothes that need to be dry cleaned.
■ Cut your own hair.
■ Volunteer as a model at a beauty school for free/discounted haircuts and other beauty treatments.
■ Use up toiletries and cosmetics before buying new products.
■ Switch to inexpensive/drugstore brands for toiletries and cosmetics.
■ Make your own shampoo.
■ Shop from duty-free stores when you travel internationally.
■ Pay in cash whenever possible.
■ Pick free online tutorials over paid classes when you can.
■ Find free/inexpensive hobbies and activities for yourself and for your kids.
■ Keep an eye out for free local events, classes, and workshops.
■ Create a shopping list and stick to it.
■ Buy with reward points.
■ Run the household on one person’s paycheck and save the rest.
■ Walk where you can. It gives you a free workout and saves on transportation costs.
■ Reduce the number of cars you own.
■ Wash your car yourself.
■ Stick to the speed limit to avoid fines as well as inefficient gas usage.
■ Ride a bike instead of driving a car.
■ Take public transport more often.
■ Carpool more often.
■ Work from home more often.
■ Move closer to work.
■ Move to a cheaper neighborhood.
■ Move to a smaller home.
■ Cut down on smoking and alcohol.
■ Reduce meat consumption.
■ Split restaurant meals.
■ Ask for a doggy bag to take leftovers home.
■ Empty coins into a piggy bank.
■ Buy used, refurbished, or open-box electronics.
■ Use free and open-source software.
■ Watch free movies online instead of going to the theater.
■ Buy thoughtful, yet inexpensive gifts.
General
■ Replace disposables with reusables.
■ Sell items you don’t use.
■ Rent instead of buying, when possible.
■ Buy multipurpose items.
■ To save money in the long run, don’t skimp on quality.
■ Buy used items when you can.
■ Choose generic brands over name brands.
■ Shop around for deals, discounts, and coupons.
■ Use cashback cards, apps, and sites.
■ Clip coupons.
■ Avoid impulse buys.
■ Downgrade your subscriptions.
■ Downsize your orders.
■ Consider going without.
■ Learn DIY skills using free online resources.
■ Trade goods and services with friends and family.
■ Join local freecycling groups to donate/request useful items.
■ Look for free solutions (if feasible) to replace items and services you’re paying for.

You’re Richer Than You Think!

Track where your money goes. Pay yourself first. Make it automatic. With this simple three-step plan and the ideas mentioned in the cheat sheet above, you can turn your financial life around. If you need some tech-based help along the way, use these free sites and apps to reduce spending and save money.

Read the full article: 100+ Effective Tips for Saving Money

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Discover New Videos With YouTube’s Explore Tab

YouTube has added a new Explore tab to its mobile app for Android and iOS. The Explore tab replaces the old Trending tab, and is designed to help you discover new videos to watch on YouTube. Trending lives on, but only as part of Explore.

YouTube Helps You Discover New Videos

YouTube now boasts billions of videos. Some of brilliant, some are terrible, and most are somewhere in between. The problem has always been sorting the wheat from the chaff. And as the number of videos grow, so that problem grows with it.

The company’s latest attempt to help you discover new videos worth watching is its new Explore tab. This replaces the Trending tab in the mobile app, and features multiple destination pages such as Music and Gaming, as well as other trending videos.

How to Use YouTube’s New Explore Tab

You’ll find the new Explore tab second from the left across the bottom of the mobile app. Clicking it will reveal the aforementioned destination pages such as News, Movies and Shows, and Fashion and Beauty. With YouTube planning to add more over time.

The Trending tab in the YouTube app is becoming the Explore tab.

You’ll now find all of this? in 1? place:

?Destination pages for Gaming, Learning & more
?A more prominent spot for Creators & Artists on the Rise
?What’s trending on YouTube right nowhttps://t.co/uqzubaVwAx pic.twitter.com/Rv496UOOtz

— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) March 12, 2020

Under that will be a feed of videos YouTube recommends. This will include trending videos as well as “Creator on the Rise” and “Artist on the Rise” recommendations. Those last two being emerging content creators and emerging music artists, respectively.

Trending hasn’t disappeared altogether, it has just been moved inside Explore. Clicking Trending will still deliver a mix of videos showing what’s happening on YouTube and in the world as a whole. And the same videos are delivered to all users.

Download: YouTube on Android | iOS

Other Ways to Discover New YouTube Channels

As with everything YouTube does, the Explore tab is designed to keep you watching videos. And, to YouTube’s credit, it’s a useful addition to the app. And if the new Explore tab still leaves you wanting, here are some other ways to discover new YouTube channels.

Read the full article: Discover New Videos With YouTube’s Explore Tab

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White House now says pilot of coronavirus screening site will roll out Monday for Bay Area

After President Trump announced that the government was working with Google to build a coronavirus screening site that was at the core of the administration testing process, Google quickly corrected this and said that it was actually Verily, Alphabet’s health division, that was working on this and that the site wasn’t ready for a nationwide rollout yet.

Today, Vice President Pence provided a bit more detail, tough he didn’t removes all of the confusion around this. A pilot of this screening site will launch for the Bay Area on Monday, March 16, he said, and direct people to local drive-through testing sites if necessary.

He reiterated that the government is working with Google on this (though my guess is that the VP, just like most people, isn’t all that clear on the complicated company structure that is Alphabet).

“I know Google issued a statement that they are planning to launch a website,” Pence said. “I think they gave a date of Monday, March 16th and we’re working literally around the clock and I know that our whole team is working on the public and private partnership. Couldn’t be more grateful to all at the hard-working people at Google who are helping to put this website together.” He added that the White House will have more to share about this tomorrow, Sunday, at 5pm ET.

Debbie Birx, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, noted that this is not just a simple “checkbox website” but that it actually goes through “critical symptoms and that’s why we’re giving ourselves the weekend to get it put up.”

Separately, the White House also told us that the administration is indeed working with Google to develop this site and most of this lines up with the statement we received from Verily yesterday. Hopefully, we’ll know more details after tomorrow’s briefing.

Our earlier coverage:

Despite Trump’s claims, Google isn’t building the coronavirus screening site — and it’s not ready

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This Week in Apps: WWDC goes online, coronavirus leads to more cancellations, sneaky spy apps exposed

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the Extra Crunch series that recaps the latest OS news, the applications they support and the money that flows through it all.

The app industry is as hot as ever, with a record 204 billion downloads in 2019 and $120 billion in consumer spending in 2019, according to App Annie’s recently released “State of Mobile” annual report. People are now spending 3 hours and 40 minutes per day using apps, rivaling TV. Apps aren’t just a way to pass idle hours — they’re a big business. In 2019, mobile-first companies had a combined $544 billion valuation, 6.5x higher than those without a mobile focus.

In this Extra Crunch series, we help you keep up with the latest news from the world of apps, delivered on a weekly basis.

This week we’re taking a look at several stories related to the coronavirus outbreak, including the cancellation of WWDC in San Jose, as well as other app industry events that are going online. We’re also discussing the iOS 14 leak, the exposure of Sensor Tower’s app network, a potential ban on TikTok for government workers and more.

Coronavirus Special Coverage

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are continuing to play out on app stores and across the industry. This week, we’re leading with these stories followed by the other — and yes, still important — news.

Apple finally cancels its WWDC event in San Jose

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This Week in Apps: WWDC goes online, coronavirus leads to more cancellations, sneaky spy apps exposed

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the Extra Crunch series that recaps the latest OS news, the applications they support and the money that flows through it all.

The app industry is as hot as ever, with a record 204 billion downloads in 2019 and $120 billion in consumer spending in 2019, according to App Annie’s recently released “State of Mobile” annual report. People are now spending 3 hours and 40 minutes per day using apps, rivaling TV. Apps aren’t just a way to pass idle hours — they’re a big business. In 2019, mobile-first companies had a combined $544 billion valuation, 6.5x higher than those without a mobile focus.

In this Extra Crunch series, we help you keep up with the latest news from the world of apps, delivered on a weekly basis.

This week we’re taking a look at several stories related to the coronavirus outbreak, including the cancellation of WWDC in San Jose, as well as other app industry events that are going online. We’re also discussing the iOS 14 leak, the exposure of Sensor Tower’s app network, a potential ban on TikTok for government workers and more.

Coronavirus Special Coverage

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are continuing to play out on app stores and across the industry. This week, we’re leading with these stories followed by the other — and yes, still important — news.

Apple finally cancels its WWDC event in San Jose

Read Full Article

Future-Proof Your Career With This FREE Ebook (Worth $16)

A lifelong career doesn’t exist anymore. In fact, “People entering the workforce today will have an estimated 17 employers and five careers in their lifetimes—and already many existing roles are being automated away, with many more to follow”.

These trends mean that more and more people will enter the freelancing world or the gig-work economy. This comes with certain freedoms. But it also brings its own challenges.

Given that no profession or industry is immune to these trends, how can you future-proof your own career?

In this free copy of Career Leap, worth $16, Michelle Gibbings answers these questions, showing you “what you need to know, how you need to change and how you can prepare for the inevitable tides of change.”

Download Career Leap for Free

The 10-step framework set out in this book will help you reinvent your career for the 21st Century. Inside, you will learn how to:

• Future-proof your career with the new laws for success.
• Undertake a health check of your career and make deliberate career choices.
• Design, build, and execute your influence and career strategy.
• Be equipped to take control and leap ahead with your career.

Want to download your free copy? Simply click here to download Career Leap from TradePub. You will have to complete a short form to access the ebook, but it’s well worth it!

Note: This free offer expires 24 March 2020. 

Read the full article: Future-Proof Your Career With This FREE Ebook (Worth $16)

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5 Free and Modern Online Image Editors to Replace Clunky Programs & Apps

You don’t need to download software like Photoshop for basic photo editing. Everything you need can be found in your browser with these five free online image editors.

There are a few cool one-click photo enhancement websites, but sometimes, you need to do more. Whether you need to edit images in large batches, remove backgrounds from GIFs, or just add filters and stickers, there’s a simple and excellent online image editor for that.

Oh, and let’s also revisit a new version of one of the most popular photo editors ever.

1. Photostack (Web, Android): Batch Resize Images, Add Watermarks

Photostack would be a truly useful tool for bloggers, influencers, social media marketers, and anyone else who works with many images online regularly. This app does a few things and does it perfectly.

You can upload images through your hard drive, through Dropbox, or add links. Once the image batch is set, there are three things the app lets you do:

1. Resize by width: You don’t need to worry about the height of the image. Simply put the width you want it to be, and Photostack will resize and scale.
2. Add a watermark: You’ll need to upload the watermark to Photostack, where you can choose the position as well as set the size and opacity.
3. File format and name: You can export all these images in JPEG, PNG, or WebP. You can also set a file name, and Photostack will add numbers with space in between the name and number.

You can download the images in a zip file or as separate files. Photostack also lets you remove EXIF data in the editing process. The app also works offline once you’ve opened it, and has a mobile version too.

Download: Photostack for Android (Free)

2. Doka Photo (Web): Easy, Free, Fast Image Editor with Filters and Markup

There are a lot of free online photo editors to make an image look exactly like you want it to. I find myself going back to Doka photo editor often because it’s free, easy, and fast while offering most of the features I need.

It feels like a lot of the tools you are accustomed to using with apps like Instagram. Once you upload an image to Doka, you can crop, rotate, flip, and resize it. You can alter its colors (brightness, contrast, exposure, and saturation). You can add different filters. And you can markup the image with arrows, text, squares, circles, or by drawing on it.

The controls are easy, as is customization for each element. For example, if you draw an arrow, you can change it to double-headed, change its thickness, and so on. Doka doesn’t do anything fancy, but it does the basics really well.

3. Unscreen (Web): Remove Backgrounds from GIFs and Videos

It’s shocking what artificial intelligence can do these days. A short while ago, removing backgrounds from a simple photo required a good designer. Now Unscreen uses AI to remove backgrounds from GIFs and videos with astonishing ease.

You can upload a video or a GIF, or copy-paste links directly. Unscreen even has an easy option to search Giphy for the right GIF. Once you select or upload what you want, the AI goes to work. It’ll identify one foreground element and remove all background elements. You can’t choose what it sees as foreground and background though.

After removing the background, you’re ready to alter the GIF or video. You can keep the background transparent, add a solid color, or add a different image or moving video from the gallery. You can’t upload a custom background yet.

Unscreen works only on animated images and videos, so you can’t work with photos on it. But you don’t need Photoshop for that, there are several other easy ways to remove backgrounds from images.

4. Pixi Worker (Web): Easily Add Text, Stickers, Shapes to Photos

If you want to make alterations to images like adding stickers, speech bubbles, and so on, Pixi Worker is an excellent online photo editor. It is much easier to operate than others and has more customization too.

Apart from drawing on the image, you can add text, shapes, stickers, and frames. The number of options in each is remarkable. For example, you can choose from a large collection of fonts that you won’t find in other apps. When you’re adding stickers, you can choose between emoticons, speech bubbles, doodles, landmarks, and other elements.

With such a large variety, you can get more creative with how you markup images. Along with that, Pixi Worker has all the usual image editing tools you would expect. You can crop images, resize them, change colors, and so on. The only markup tool Pixi Worker misses is watermarking.

5. Pixlr X and Pixlr E (Web): All-New Versions of Popular Image Editor

For the longest time, Pixlr was the gold standard of online image editors. But then it was bought by Autodesk and the web dumped Adobe Flash, making it obsolete. Well, now the original developer is back in charge and has rewritten the photo editor in Canvas/WebGL to make it leaner, faster, and better than ever before.

It now comes in two avatars: Pixlr X and Pixlr E. Both versions work in any modern browser and have many of the same tools. They look modern and have all the features that any image editor should have. In both versions, you can search Unsplash for stock images or upload your own pictures from the hard drive or a URL.

Pixlr X is better suited for regular users who want basic tools and a lot of help, like a handy “auto-fix” button for optimal lighting of the photo. It has a sparse toolbar too. Pixlr E adds a few more tools, like layers, lasso and brush tool, a history pane, cloning, and so on. Try both the tools and see which one you like more, they’re free anyway.

Also, both Pixlr X and Pixlr E work perfectly in mobile browsers, in case you need a robust image editing app on your smartphone.

Replace Photoshop With Web Apps

These aren’t the only image editing web apps, and in fact, there are several we have covered already. Pixlr E comes close as a great alternative for Adobe Photoshop, but there are perhaps even better tools for it.

So, go ahead and try these free online replacements for Photoshop, especially Photopea.

Read the full article: 5 Free and Modern Online Image Editors to Replace Clunky Programs & Apps

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