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Google’s Coronavirus Website Is Nothing Like Trump Described – Gizmodo

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President Donald Trump holds up a printout of tweets from Google. The tweets say that Google is working with the U.S. to develop a national website that includes information about covid-19 symptoms, risk and testing information.
Photo: Jim Watson (AFP via Getty Images)

Google finally unveiled its coronavirus website today. Yes, that website, the one that President Donald Trump said Google was building that the company had no idea it was building. The website, while a good resource to obtain information on covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, is nothing like what Trump described.

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To recap, last week Trump and his team announced that Google was developing a nationwide coronavirus screening website. The president claimed that 1,700 Google engineers were working on the project and that they had “made tremendous progress.” Confusion ensued afterward, with Google hurriedly announcing that it was working on something vaguely similar to what Trump had described.

“We’re partnering with the U.S. government in developing a website dedicated to COVID-19 education, prevention, and local resources nationwide,” Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in a blog post after Trump’s surprise announcement. “This includes best practices on prevention, links to authoritative information from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and helpful tips and tools from Google for individuals, teachers and businesses.”

In the end, Google delivered a website that does what it said it would do, which just happens not to be what Trump or his team said it would do. In other words, it is not a covid-19 screening website that provides users with a questionnaire about their symptoms and directs them to the nearest drive-through testing facility.

(Google’s sister company, Verily, did launch a site closer to what Trump described, but on a much smaller scale in the Bay Area).

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Nonetheless, drive-through testing is not even available nationwide yet, although some sites have been popping up this week. According to USA Today, government officials stated that 47 drive-through testing sites will be set up in approximately 12 states over the next few days.

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Instead, the Google covid-19 website provides information about the disease, safety and prevention tips (including its Do The Five campaign), links to information about covid-19 from the CDC and the WHO, a map of cases worldwide, YouTube videos on subjects such as cooking and exercising and a way to contribute to global relief efforts, among other resources.

As noted by the Verge, the only thing that could help people find a testing location is a drop-down menu near the top of the site that links to state health websites.

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Google stated that it was launching the website in the U.S. Saturday and planned to launch it in more countries and in more languages over the coming days. The company will also update its website as more resources become available.

In addition, Google has also revamped its covid-19 search experience. Per its blog announcing the website and other initiatives, it said that when people search for information related to covid-19, they’ll now see links for resources from local and national health authorities as well as Twitter accounts from similarly reliable sources to help connect users with the latest local information, among others.

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In the future, the Verge reports that Google may in fact provide a questionnaire and information about local drive-through testing locations, as Trump and team described. But a Google spokesperson told the Verge that the company won’t do that until there’s authoritative and trustworthy information on those sites.

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Meta Expands VR Operating System to Third-Party Hardware Makers – MacRumors

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Facebook parent company Meta today announced the upcoming expansion of Meta Horizon OS, a virtual and augmented reality operating system that will be available to third-party hardware manufacturers that want to design their own headsets.


Right now, Meta sells the Quest line of headsets, but the company wants to provide the software for third-party VR and AR products in the future, much like Microsoft offers Windows for all manner of third-party PCs.

Meta Horizon OS is the mixed reality operating system that Meta created for its own Quest headsets, and it has support for eye, face, hand, and body tracking along with passthrough, spatial anchors, scene understanding, and other features. There is a “social layer” that will allow the identities, avatars, and friends of users to move between virtual spaces on different devices.

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According to Meta, multiple companies are working on devices that will use Meta Horizon OS. ASUS ROG is developing a performance gaming headset and Lenovo is working on mixed reality devices for productivity, learning, and entertainment. Meta says that it is also creating a limited edition version of Meta Quest in partnership with Xbox.

With the expansion of Meta Horizon OS to third-party hardware manufacturers, Meta is making it easier for any developer to ship VR software on the platform by removing barriers between the Horizon Store and App Lab.

By creating an operating system that can be used by other hardware manufacturers, Meta is inserting itself into the growing AR/VR ecosystem and creating opportunities for it to outpace Apple in mixed reality development. Apple launched the Vision Pro headset earlier this year, but software is lacking given the high price and limited distribution of the device.

According to a report from earlier today, interest in the Vision Pro is already waning at Apple’s retail locations with fewer people requesting demos.

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Brian's Randoms from Sea Otter 2024 – Pinkbike.com

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There have been more launches in the past two weeks than any other two-week period I can remember since I started sweeping floors at Freedom Bike Shop back in 2001. Yes, that means I’m very old. It also means that after several years of delayed product releases, some brands have finally cleared out enough inventory to share what they’ve been working on.

The Pinkbike team came down to Sea Otter this year with mixed expectations, and there were definitely some weird vibes. Everyone is concerned for the remaining Kona employees, and more than one brand expressed that their plan is to #surviveto2025. But overall we loved catching up with everyone, the weather was great, and somehow there was even more gear to cover. The industry might be going through a tough time, but ultimately riding bikes is still ridiculously fun and bike tech is as interesting as ever.

And on that note, here are a few of the random things that caught my eye during the show.

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OutsideBrendan works smarter not harder, and dog Bubbie(?) is awesome.



I mistakenly thought it was a garage project kind of thing, but it’s a real brand with a promo video and everything.





And with that, it’s time to face my expense report. Until next year, Sea Otter!

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We tried these three beauty products this week. Here are our thoughts – Vancouver Sun

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Article content

Skin Caviar Eye Lift Serum

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They say: A luxury serum that firms, smooths and lifts the eye area. The dual-chamber product features the Swiss skin-care brand’s Cellular Complex to ‘restore youthfulness to the eye contour,’ along with a blend of caviar components.

We say: Our tester applied one pump of this serum to the eye area daily. Gently dabbed onto skin, the serum gave an instant boost of hydration. The liquid-serum formula was lightweight and non-sticky, providing an easy base for any additional skin-care or makeup products. With use, our tester reported fine lines and firmness were noticeably improved.

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$760 | Holt Renfrew, holtrenfrew.com

Marc Anthony

Strictly Curls Curl Envy Leave-In Conditioner

They say: A leave-in hair conditioner formulated for curly hair. Boasting strand-smoothing ingredients such as avocado oil, Vitamin E and shea butter, the spray can be used on course, fine, thick or thin curls to promote softness, fight frizz and lock in hydration.

We say: Our tester spritzed this conditioner on her ultra-curly, frizz prone coif. The spray format makes application easy and mess-free. Used both as a de-tangler on freshly washed hair and as a curl pick-me-up in between washes, she found it left curls looking formed, smooth and not stiff.

$12.97 | Mass retailers, walmart.ca

Three buzzed-about beauty products we tried this week.

Ghlee

Lip Balm 

They say: A nourishing lip balm that features antioxidant-rich ghee, along with mango seed butter and Vitamin E to hydrate lips. Available in Original, Rose, Chai, Mango-Papaya and Mint.

We say: This lip balm gives a dose of smoothing hydration with one swipe. Our tester loved the rose iteration, which boasted the scent of a fresh bloom. It’s the kind of balm you keep reaching for in your bag, she reports.

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