Due to the Coronavirus, creating a pandemic across the world many schools and universities have cancelled in person classes and converted to online classes for the remainder of the spring semester. Most are concerned they will not get the full learning experience and are also worried they will not be able to fully learn the material though online classes. In addition this virus is spreading rapidly and it is highly encouraged to STAY HOME and avoid going in public at all cost. It is also encouraged to social distance which is to stay a good six feet away from people. This has all caused people to have to switch and use technology more often to be able to stay in contact with people and to just stay entertained. In the article “From Netflix Party to Zoom: The internet apps getting us through quarantine” it talks about new innovations designed to help people during the pandemic. In the article Aja Romano states “Group virtual movie nights have always been a thing, but now they are vital forms of social activity. Among the wide array of apps being used to organize and assemble group movie nights, two tentpoles seem to have emerged: Discord and Netflix Party.” Netflix Party is used to be able to watch tv or movies with people but vitally and Discord is a way players can chat while playing video games. This leads us to Zoom, which is basically like a huge Group FaceTime with Teachers use now to be able to teach their class. They have the ability to still use a form of clicker questions, mute student or have them unmuted so they are still able to participate, see them through the web cam to see them engaging with the material , and many other functions. Thanks to these apps people are able to coupe a little better during this whole pandemic.

https://www.vox.com/2020/3/21/21185750/how-to-group-chat-watch-movies-games-netflix-discord-zoom-coronavirus-internet

Quarantine has limited people’s day to day amount of physical activity drastically. While many people have resorted to working out at home, for some poeple this is a hard task as either their house may not be the ideal environment to work out in or there may be a lack of space, etc. Whether the issue may be motivation or other issues, some people have begun using VR as a way to workout! VR takes away the feeling of working out since you’re essentially just playing a game, however it still requires some amount of physical activity depending on which game you choose to play.  There is a website called VR fitness insider which contains blogs on events, trending VR games, etc that will help keep you fit. Some example games would be BoxVR, Beat Saber, Knockout League, and while many of these games were not designed to be fitness games, by exaggerating movements you can get a decent workout in by just playing your favorite VR game! I feel like this is a very overlooked aspect of VR and personally I am hoping to see a rise in more fitness VR games post-quarantine because going to the gym can be such a hassle sometimes!

Sources:

www.vrfitnessinsider.com

https://www.forbes.com/sites/solrogers/2020/04/07/virtual-reality-games-to-keep-you-fit-during-covid-19-lockdown/#27129da84c16

https://www.techradar.com/news/can-you-get-fit-in-virtual-reality

We have not seen a shortage of tech giants aiding in the development of new tech towards the eradication of the COVID-19 virus.  Bloom Energy in California is a company that manufactures solid oxide fuel cells.  Bloom is now also repairing and servicing ventilators.  The vacuum manufacturer Dyson created their own ventilator design and are moving to mass produce.  Cloud service providers are helping to speed up the process to find a vaccine for the virus by providing cloud computing resources.

With all of these large companies working to help the situation, startup companies are starting to catch this pandemic technology advancement wave as well.  One Breath, a startup company in Palo Alto, started to hire more software engineers because they “will have to double or triple our software engineering head count.  And need folks that understand working with the HHS” to become a COVID-19 accelerator.   Similarly Breath Research, another startup company, stated that they were looking to hire more “electrical design engineers, someone who can get us low pricing on a Honeywall sensor, FDA compliance experts, and executive talent.”  Once startups become accelerators, they start looking for other startups to hire to upgrade their technologies to help find a cure to COVID-19.

I think it’s great that tech giants started working on the COVID-19 situation.  I think its amazing that smaller startup companies are all moving to work together and while implementing each unique strengths towards a specific project.  The cooperation of many different companies with their own methods and services towards one common goal is speeding up the process of finding a vaccine.  Because this is a global pandemic that affects the lives of everyone, companies big and small will be forced to work together.  What will happen once the pandemic ends?  How will this permanently affect companies from this point forward?

Source:

https://spectrum.ieee.org/view-from-the-valley/at-work/start-ups/startups-unveil-tech-fight-coronavirus-challenge-engineers

I came across a very fascinating article (posted below) that talks about how artificial intelligence is being used to access athletic talent and training. This article by Craig S. Smith talks about how Jeff Alger and his company, Seattle Sport Sciences, is using this machine learning to completely revolutionize coaching in all sports. Alger’s goal is to make advanced analytics available to all teams in all sports. This AI system is so advanced that according to John Milton, the architect of Seattle Sports Sciences, the system, “ISOTechne, evaluates a player’s skill and consistency and who is passing or receiving with what frequency,  as well as the structure of the team’s defense. It even tracks the axis of spin and rate of rotation of the ball.” This AI system is so powerful that it can detect whether a player is better at certain phases of the game and can use that to meet the team’s needs and demands. This is exactly what coaches try to find in players, and now an AI system can do all the work with more accuracy. Furthermore, some of the Artificial Intelligence systems can detect and predict injuries. This is great because athletes usually don’t realize they are about to get injured or are currently minorly injured right now soon to get worse. The AI system picks up risk and then produces recommendations to reduce the risk. In addition, there are many more AI systems helping out in different sports in different ways, but all of them are truly revolutionizing sports and changing it for the better. I love to see how artificial intelligence is making a great impact in so many ways in so many different phases and fields of life. This shows the future for sports and Artificial Intelligence is very bright!  

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/technology/ai-sports-athletes-machine-learning.html?auth=login-google

The tech companies Apple and Google are teaming up to create and to implement a feature in iOS and Android devices to allow users to track infected people who they have recently come in contact with.  This feature, known as “contact tracing” will be ready for release within several months.  For the feature to work, people must choose to voluntarily notify the public in the event they become infected.  Their cell phone data is then sent to servers that hold all the data from other people who opted to use this feature who are infected.

With this goal in mind, the two tech companies are starting to raise questions concerning privacy and the extent of the data that these companies have access to in regards to our personal lives.  Once people opt to use this new feature, a phone will log any nearby devices through Bluetooth to determine whether the user has been in contact with an infected patient or not.  If a phone’s address is recognized to be in the servers and marked as infected, other phones picking up the Bluetooth signal from the infected individual’s phone will notify the users that they have been close to an infected individual.

Apple and Google states that this process is reliable.  Many eyes are watching the two companies while they work to make sure privacy is continued to be achieved, and the two companies are continuously working to determine how much information would be considered to be the perfect balance between being helpful to the stop of COVID-19 and protecting privacy.  If our phone are continuously giving out locational data, is this a possible feat while protecting our privacy?

Source:

The College Board says yes, but universities and critiques disagree. Obviously, many problems arise with any online exam, cheating being the biggest. There were many concerns, such as how would they proctor the technology the student is using or make sure parents are not helping their child take the test, without invading the privacy of people’s homes. Proctoring software has been looked at as an invasion of privacy by the nonprofit organization FairTest.

Another issue is the technology barrier. Some students only have access to a smartphone. The question arose, “is it fair to compare a score from a test taken on a phone… to a test taken on a laptop?” Internet service is also a problem, with some families none or very spotty service. The main dilemma is making sure there is educational equality for all students taking the exam, which is very difficult, almost impossible, to do. Many people critiqued College Board insisting on testing because of the 1 billion dollars they bring in from the SAT each year, although they are “nonprofit.” Many colleges have said that applicants will not need to submit SAT or ACT scores for the 2021 school year and maybe through the future as well. What are your thoughts on continuing standardized tests?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/04/16/college-board-says-it-can-give-valid-secure-online-sat-home-critics-some-colleges-disagree/

During the pandemic, it can be very easy for people to get off their workout program and lay around all day. Personally, I can attest to this as I have been working out a lot less since the coronavirus outbreak. However, I was curious how people around the world were keeping up with their workout program and progress and came across this interesting article (posted below) by Jeremy Ervin that talks about how social media is the force that is connecting people with fitness. This shows how appreciated we all should be that we are fortunate enough to have social media during this outbreak. I hear all these people complaining about how they are sitting around all day and that we might have online classes again next semester, but in reality things could be much worse. Furthermore, the article talks about how now staying in the habit of exercising is just as important as before. Everyone is going to have to adapt to a new workout routine because they can longer go to gyms or attend one on one sessions. Also, people are going to be more resistant to working out during the pandemic because they do not want to look ahead to start a new workout routine. This will cause people to stop working out which will lead to them losing most of their progress. Personally, this is very true as myself and my friends have been working out less. It’s weird though how I have been working out less, but I have so much more time in my hands. Jeremy Ervin urged in the article that his advice is, “to just move, it gets really easy to sit still the longer that you sit still.” Fitness instructors are now posting their workouts on their social media pages, encouraging their followers to try them out. If people don’t have weights at their house, they can use household items like water buckets or soup cans or they can just do body weight exercises. The key is for people to do just any sort of exercise, because some are always better than none. In addition, the article encourages you to keep yourself and workout buddies accountable. People are organizing their workouts with their partners on skype or just text them a message reminding them to workout. In addition, some trainers are now setting up a subscription service where they can post videos and then check up on clients (skype, facetime, zoom, etc). I think it is great how these trainers and workout professionals are using social media to connect to their followers which enables them to stay in shape and healthy during this pandemic. 

https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/2020/04/02/coronavirus-staying-shape-during-social-isolation/2925329001/

Until the Coronavirus pandemic started most people didn’t give a second thought to using things like a door handle or signing at the end of paying with their debit or credit card. However, since the Coronavirus Pandemic has started companies that produce hands free technology have experience an increase in interest for their products. Kohler a manufacturer of bathroom and kitchen fixtures has report that they have had increase in touchless faucets for residential homes. The United States is behind other countries in that many other cities in countries have adopted touchless technology. In Asia Specially, after SARS in 2003 come a wave of acceptance for touchless appliances. Not even in touchless appliances, the US also lags behind in touchless payment methods . Touchless payment methods like apple pay are accepted in 70 percent of businesses, where as in countries like Australia or the UK where it’s at 95-99 percent acceptance. However there are things in the US that hold back progress of things like touchless payments, like restaurants being reluctant to get rid of paper receipts because that is where people are used to adding a tip, which is where most servers get a majority of their income. So what are the potential impacts of the US turning to touchless technology.

https://www.theinformation.com/articles/coronavirus-spurs-demand-for-touchless-technology

As the Coronavirus ravages through states nationwide. Some states in particular have been hit hard in terms of tech related jobs. In fact the proportion of  tech jobs has declined almost 46% in just the days ranging from March 9 to April 18. A recent Brooking’s Institute Analysis studied which states within the US were hit the hardest and by how much the tech related job market has decreased in recent weeks.

6 (tie). Charlotte, North Carolina: The change in the percent share of the nation’s digital service jobs from 2010-2018 is 0.2%.

6 (tie). Phoenix, Arizona: The change in the share of the nation’s digital service jobs from 2010-2018 is 0.2%.

4 (tie). Denver, Colorado: The change in the share of the nation’s digital service jobs from 2010-2018 is 0.3%.

4 (tie). Seattle, Washington: The change in the percent share of the nation’s digital service jobs from 2010-2018 is 0.3%.

3. Austin, Texas: The change in the percent share of the nation’s digital service jobs from 2010-2018 is 0.7%.

2. San Jose, California: The change in the percent share of the nation’s digital service jobs from 2010-2018 is 1.3%.

1. San Francisco, California: The change in the percent share of the nation’s digital service jobs from 2010-2018 is 2.2%.

Not a surprise, San Francisco, the industry leading tech city in the US was hit the hardest as a result of this virus and we can only infer when such percentages will rise again.

https://www.businessinsider.com/cities-who-have-a-large-share-of-jobs-tech-industry-2020-4#1-san-francisco-california-the-change-in-the-percent-share-of-the-nations-digital-service-jobs-from-2010-2018-is-22-7

As we know, beccause of the coronavirus, lots of countries shut down includes lot of cities. Last few weeks, there were parades in some states. People just want to free them and make the life regular. And from a lot of countries in the world, their econmoy has effected by the covid-19. Some stores shuted down, because they cannot live without consumers visiting, such as resturants, small markets, and  so on. Why I say small markets here, because like the Walmart, Wegamens, and Costco could delivery their goods. Then the small markets which cannot offer this serve will go into liquidation. In the most parts, covid-19 has big bad effects on the global economics, but also there are some business becoming more popular and making profits. The online meeting tools and applications become more and more important in this situation. Students need take classes, the big films still work. But the policy makes people study and work at home, so lots of companies start build their own platform. Secondly, the expressage is also important now. People now just can buy the goods online. A good delivery service can attract people to buy things here. So more and more delivery companies start co-work with the local governments. They want to get the advantage on this part.

There is a reaserch:

The coronavirus increases sales for health products

Online sales have increased 52% compared with the same time frame a year ago, and the number of online shoppers has increased 8.8% since the coronavirus began, according to SaaS platform provider Quantum Metric. The firm analyzed 5.5 billion anonymous and aggregated online and mobile visits to retailer websites from U.S. consumers. Jan. 1 and Feb. 29.

Site search provider Bloomreach found similar increases for its 250-plus retailer clients, such as grocery chain Albertsons Cos. Online sales increased the week of Feb. 22-29 compared with the prior week for health related items. The coronavirus has increased sales for the following:

• Masks sales increased 590% from the week prior
• Hand sanitizer sales increased 420% from the week prior
• Clorox/Lysol wipes sales increased 184% from the week prior
• Disinfectants sales increased 178% from the week prior
• Gloves sales increased 151% from the week prior
• Bottled/packaged water sales increased 78% from the week prior
• Vitamins sales increased 78% from the week prior
• Tissues sales increased 43% from the week prior
• Hand soap sales increased 33% from the week prior
• Toilet paper and paper towels sales increased 26% from the week prior

Mask retailer Debrief Me can testify to the influx in sales since the coronavirus news spread. The retailer sells masks in different colors and styles that consumers wear for anti-pollution measures and to prevent the spread of viruses and germs. The retailer says its masks are engineered to block 99% of all contaminants found in the air.

How the coronavirus is affecting online retailers

From the news, we can see a new profitable chain just take shape. So What do you think about the Covid-19 effects on the economics in each country?