Technology

The spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has prompted local governments around the U.S. to institute shelter-in-place orders and business closures. As millions suddenly find themselves confined to their homes, the shift has strained not only internet service providers, streaming platforms, and online retailers, but the utilities supplying …

Last week, our team took the temperature of the VC ecosystem by surveying 33 early-stage VC funds in and around NYC. The survey looked at everything from investment activity in the near term to the importance of face-to-face meetings to what percent of a venture firm’s portfolio companies were at …

If you’ve ever dreamed of attending a prestigious film festival, now’s your chance. In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the VR portion of the annual Tribeca Film Festival is moving online this weekend. If you have an Oculus Quest or Oculus Go (sorry, Rift owners), you can watch this …

Since Facebook’s announcement of its proposed Libra project last summer, monetary authorities worldwide have redoubled their efforts to develop central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). These efforts were underway even before Libra, for very good reasons — Facebook’s announcement simply sped up developments that were inevitable. The sudden slowdown in productive activity worldwide brought on by the …

(Reuters) — Amazon.com has started to use thermal cameras at its warehouses to speed up screening for feverish workers who could be infected with the coronavirus, employees told Reuters. The cameras in effect measure how much heat people emit relative to their surroundings. They require less time and contact than …

A video teaser popped up for a VR game on Oculus Quest that uses controller-free hand-tracking for a familiar musical experience similar to Rock Band and Guitar Hero. And it already carries the perfect name — Unplugged: Air Guitar. The game is a side project by Ricardo Acosta that he’s been …

Apple and Google’s common coronavirus contact tracing solution for smartphones continued to attract a lot of attention and debate over the course of the past week, and understandably so. It’s an unprecedented partnership between the world’s dominant smartphone operating system makers, but people are worried about privacy, and the notion …

A lot of Star Wars fans are excited to see that Episode I: Racer is coming to Switch and PC on May 12. And, sure, I am too! But I can’t help but feel a bit bad for another game based on The Phantom Menace. In fact, I am talking …

Players are spending more time in games, and it turns out PC shooters have become more popular during the pandemic. But total esports revenue for 2020 will likely be lower than previously forecast, according to a couple of reports by market researcher Newzoo. Shooters see a big boost Above: Shooters …