SUPERMAN, CINDERELLA AND MINIONS GIVE CHILDREN COVID-19 SHOTS

A medical staff member wearing a costume looks at a child who receives a shot of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at a mass vaccination center in Prague, Czech Republic, January 8, 2022. REUTERS/David W Cerny Superman, Cinderella and Minions were among characters from films, comics and fairy tales who greeted children at a COVID-19 vaccination centre in Prague on Saturday to ease their nerves as they came to be inoculated. Despite a lull in coronavirus infections in the past month, the Czech Republic is trying to boost vaccination rates because it is bracing for the Omicron coronavirus variant. Vaccinations lag other European Union countries. With children aged 5-11 now eligible for the vaccine, staff dressed in costume at one of the biggest vaccination centres in the Czech capital helped children who came to be vaccinated. REUTERS/David W Cerny “We thought it would be better to have a day just for the kids,” said Nikola Melicharova, a vaccination centre worker dressed for the day as Snow White. “And because kids are usually a bit afraid of vaccinations, we decided for a fairy tale day so that it was a little more pleasant.” Some 62.4% of the population in the country of 10.7 million has been fully inoculated, compared to a rate of 68.6% in the whole of the EU, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. REUTERS/David W Cerny The Czech Republic started giving shots to children aged 5-11 in mid-December. Health Ministry figures show just over 27,000 shots had been administered to this age group by Friday. Some children cried, but less so while talking to their favourite characters. “I think it is right (for vaccinations). It is the only way out of the pandemic,” said Jaroslav Kottner, who brought his nine-year-old son to be vaccinated.
https://bit.ly/34zUeAd

Google launches Ripple, an open standard that could bring tiny radars to Ford cars and more

İmage Credit: Google Google has been publicly building tiny radar chips since 2015. They can tell you how well you sleep, control a smartwatch, count sheets of paper, and have you play the world's smallest violin. But the company's Soli radar hasn't necessarily seen commercial success, primarily in an ill-fated Pixel phone. Now Google has launched an open source API standard called Ripple that could theoretically bring the technology to additional devices outside of Google, possibly even a car, as Ford is one of the participants in the new standard. Technically, Ripple is under the auspices of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the same industry body that hosts the CES show in Las Vegas each January, but there's no doubt who is actually behind the project. "Ripple will unlock useful innovations for the benefit of all. General Purpose Radar is a key emerging technology for solving critical use cases while respecting privacy," read a quote from Ivan Poupyrev, The man who led the team through G oogle's ATAP skunkworks. who invented Soli in the first place. "Standard Radar Api" seems to be the original Name. Adritionally, the Github ripple project  is filled with  references to Google, including different instances of "Copyright 2021 Google LLC" and contributors must sign a Google Open Source license agreement to participate. (One commit points out that the project was updated “to include CTA.”) Ripple appears to be a rebranding of Google’s “Standard Radar API,” which it quietly proposed one year ago (PDF). None of that makes it any less exciting that Soli might find new life, though, and there may be something to the idea that radar has privacy benefits. It’s a technology that can easily detect whether someone’s present, nearby, and/or telling their device to do something without requiring a microphone or camera. Ford, for its part, tells The Verge that indoor radar might become part of its driver-assistance technologies. Right now, the automaker says it’s using “advanced exterior radars” to research those features instead (which sounds expensive to me). Here’s a statement from Ford’s Jim Buczkowski, who’s currently heading up the company’s Research and Advanced Engineering team: We are investigating how to use indoor radar as a  source of sensors to improve various customer experiences in addition to our  Ford CoPilot360 driver assistance technologies which now use advanced exterior radars. A standard API, with input from the semiconductor industry, will allow us to develop hardware-independent software purchases and give  software teams the freedom to innovate across multiple radar platforms.   Other companies are also exploring radar: Amazon is also investigating whether radar could help it track your sleep patterns; This smart dog collar uses miniature radar to monitor vital signs, even if your dog is very hairy or furry, and this  bulb does the same  for humans. But most of the participants listed in Google's initiatives so far are chip and sensor vendors, with only Ford and Blumio, which have a development kit for a radar-based blood pressure sensor, stand out.
https://bit.ly/3t7c7Aq

Andrew Garfield says Tom Holland was 'jealous' of his Spider-Man suit because Holland 'had to use his nose' to work his phone

On the left: Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man. On the right: Tom Holland as Spider-Man in "Spider-Man: No Way Home." Columbia Pictures/Sony; Matt Kennedy/Sony/Marvel Studios When multiple generations of Spider-Man come together as they did in the recent Spider-Man: No Way Home, it's only natural for the actors behind the mask to compare their different Spidey costumes, with Amazing SpiderMan actor Andrew Garfield recalling the 'one of his companions. SpiderMen is jealous of a particularly useful item included in his costume. Remembering the first time they were all in their respective costumes, Garfield discussed what it was like on the set of No Way Home with three live SpiderMens. “[Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire and I] talked about what worked for each of us,” Garfield said in an interview with Variety. “[Holland] was jealous because I have little zippers in it. my dress that I can take off my hands  very easily. ”In fact, Garfield recalled how Holland was forced to resort to a workaround  to use the phone while he was dressed, saying,“ So that the phone works, he had to use his nose because he couldn't access his hands. Garfield brought back other memories during his time with Holland and Maguire while working at No Way Home, as Garfield discussed what he was  not just as as a SpiderMan fan himself, but as one of the many. Actors who played the character on the big screen. “I think the first time we  all put the costume together,”  Garfield said, “it was hilarious because it's just three normal guys who were just actors who had just come outside. But then  you too become a fan and say, "Oh my God, we are all dressed together  and  doing as it says!"We would also have deeper conversations and talk about our experiences with the character. Garfield recalled other memories during his time with Holland and Maguire while working on No Way Home, as Garfield discussed what it was like not only as a fan of Spider-Man himself but as one of several actors who have portrayed the character on the big screen.  "I think the first time we were all in the suit together," Garfield said, "it was hilarious because it’s like just three ordinary dudes who were just actors just hanging out. But then also, you just become a fan and say, 'Oh my god we’re all together in the suits and we’re doing the pointing thing!'...  We would have deeper conversations, too, and talk about our experiences with the character." Garfield summed up his experience with his fellow Spider-Men, as the actor went on the reveal the origins behind one of his improvised lines in No Way Home. "There's a line I improvised in the movie, looking at [Maguire and Holland] and I tell them I love them," Garfield said. "That was just me loving them." Although it's been almost a decade since Garfield last donned the Spidey suit in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the actor  recently spoke about returning to the role on a possible future project. Garfield also spoke about what got him aboard the multiversal cast of No Way Home, including how one scene in particular convinced him to dress up as a WebSlinger again. Garfield has elaborated further on the initial pitch for the film when he was approached by Sony and Marvel, detailing the concept that would allow him to explore an old character in a new way.
https://bit.ly/3F90ADh

SpaceX’s Starlink internet service has more than 145,000 users so far

A Starlink user terminal, also known as an antenna or satellite dish, on the roof of a building.(Photo:-SpaceX) Elon Musk's SpaceX provided an update on its Starlink internet service on Thursday, as the company launched more satellites into orbit.  SpaceX engineer Jessie Anderson said during a webcast of the company's first launch of the year that Starlink now has more than 145,000 users in 25 countries around the world. It fell from 140,000 users in early November, but represents a slowdown in user growth.  On Thursday, the company launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida, carrying 49 Starlink satellites into orbit.  Starlink is the company's plan to build an interconnected Internet network with thousands of satellites - known in the space industry as a constellation.  It is designed to provide high speed Internet access to consumers all over the planet. SpaceX has approximately 1,800 Starlink satellites in orbit. The increase of 5,000 users in two months represents slower growth. As of November, SpaceX had added about 11,000 users per month since the service began in October 2020.  Late last year, SpaceX noted on its website that the "silicon shortage has delayed production" of Starlink user terminals, “which  impacted our ability to fulfill orders.  SpaceX's valuation has reached over $100 billion, which industry analysts attribute largely to the market potential of its Starlink service.
https://bit.ly/34jjEll

Apple loses lead Apple Silicon designer Jeff Wilcox to Intel

The Apple Park campus stands in this aerial photograph taken above Cupertino in October 2019.Sam Hall/Bloomberg via Getty Images Jeff Wilcox, Apple Silicon Leader and T2 security processor developer, left Apple to join Intel and oversee the architecture of all Intel System-ona-Chip (SoC) designs. As Apple heads to the end of its self-imposed two-year transition from Intel to its own Apple Silicon, the company  lost the head of his M1 development team.  Jeff Wilcox originally joined Apple from Intel in 2013 and is now returning to the company while working on  new processors. "After eight great years, I  decided to leave Apple and look for another opportunity," wrote Wilcox on his LinkedIn page. "It's been an incredible journey and I couldn't be more proud of all that we did during my time that culminates in the move from Apple Silicon to the M1, M1 Pro and M1 Max systems and SOCs.  I will  miss all  my  colleagues and friends at Apple very much. "I am pleased to announce that I have  a "Engineering Group CTO, Client SoC Architecture at Intel Corporation," he said. Big things are still to come! Wilcox returned to Intel in early January 2022.It's not yet known who Apple intends to replace him with as Director, Mac System Architecture. Nor is it known whether Apple tried to keep Wilcox. Separately, Apple has recently been offering $180,000 bonuses to engineers to prevent them leaving.
https://bit.ly/3qZgydU

$315M Powerball winning ticket sold at a Sacramento 7-Eleven

Image Credit: (Renee Schiavone/Patch) The winning ticket for the last Powerball was sold at a  convenience store in Sacramento. According to the lottery site, the ticket was sold at 7 Eleven on Wyndham Drive.  The ticket price is $315 million.  The other  winning ticket, which hit five out of five numbers, was sold to a Chevron in South Pasadena. This person made about $1.3 million. Powerball's last big  winning ticket was sold at an Albertsons in Morro Bay in October, for a price of $685 million.  This winner was able to choose between the 29-year paid annuity option  or the $ 496 million cash option. Both reward options are subject to tax.
https://bit.ly/3n0RMJn

HBO Max shows growth despite industry slowdown

The logo for HBO is pictured during the HBO presentation at the Cable portion of the Television Critics Association Summer press tour in Beverly Hills, California August 1, 2012. REUTERS/Fred Prouser WarnerMedia's HBO Max streaming service gained subscribers over the holidays, defying the slowing pace of growth of some competing services, with lineup that included the rebirth of its popular "Sex and the City" series and new films such as "The Matrix"Resurrections. HBO ended the year with 73.8 million subscribers to its streaming service and its eponymous cable network, up from 69.4 million in September.  Those gains, coupled with the addition of nearly 900,0000 monthly paid phone subscribers, pushed the stock up 3% to $ 26.46. in the midday exchanges.  “I think the  streaming service's cap is much higher than what we've seen to date,”  WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said in an interview.  “This will quickly become a three-way race for storytelling companies. HBO Max still has a long way to go to capture market leader Netflix Inc, with  214 million subscribers, and Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) Disney +, with 118 million. Disney's growth slowed  in the company's fiscal fourth quarter, prompting a banker to downgrade the stock. Disney + added just 2.1 million in the October quarter. Netflix, which slowed sharply in the first half of 2021, saw its subscriptions increase in October, adding 4.4 million during the quarter, driven by the global sensation “Squid Game".  WarnerMedia's HBO Max logged gains as it expanded the server reach from a single market, the United States, to 46 countries. Kilar said global expansion will continue this year,  eventually targeting 190 countries.  AT&T (T.N) announced last May that it would split its WarnerMedia unit and merge it with Discovery (DISCA.O). The deal is expected to be finalized in the middle of this year.
https://bit.ly/31uytAF