Tag: pandemic

Amazon Alexa App for Xbox Appears on Microsoft Store, Will Let Users Launch Games With Voice Command

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The Amazon Alexa app for Xbox consoles has surfaced on Microsoft Store. As per the official listing, the app will enable users to launch a game, control music, or even switch on/off the console. The application, however, is not yet available to download, and the listing says “coming soon.” To control the Xbox console via commands, users would require an additional Alexa-enabled device or an Amazon Echo speaker. Notably, Microsoft’s Xbox One and Xbox Series X and Series S consoles already feature the built-in Alexa virtual assistant that supports basic voice commands. The new app essentially brings the complete Alexa experience to Xbox users.

As per images available on the Microsoft Store, the app will further allow Xbox users to view Smart Camera footage on the screen, in addition to managing a variety of Alexa tasks such as editing shopping lists and more. To launch a game, users can use the command “Alexa, launch [Game Name].” Other commands such as, “Alexa, turn on [Xbox Name],” or “Alexa, play a song by [artist name] on [Xbox Name]” can be used as well. To view security cam footage, simply say “Alexa, show me the front door camera on [Xbox Name].”

ALSO READ: Xbox Series S Console Sold Out on Flipkart But You Can Still Try Your Luck on Amazon India

Meanwhile, the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles that were launched last year remain unavailable across many parts of the world due to a shortage in supply of parts owning to the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2021, Microsoft had said that its flagship Xbox Series X console’s supply would continue to remain short until June 2021, months after warning about its short supply until April. Notably, the toned-down Series S console appears to be available on Amazon India, and its shipment will start from March 10. To recall, there is no disk drive on the Xbox Series S so the games will have to be downloaded via the Microsoft Xbox Store. The console runs on a custom 8-core AMD Zen 2 CPU and custom AMD RDNA 2 GPU. It can play games at 1440p resolution at 60fps.



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Twitter Tackles Covid-19 Vaccine Misinformation With Labels, Strike Policy

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LONDON: Twitter said it would apply warnings to tweets that contain misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines and implement a strike system of enforcement that could see users permanently banned for repeat violations.

The social media network started promoting public health information before COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic. It also aimed to remove demonstrably false or misleading content about the virus that had the highest risk of causing harm.

Since introducing its COVID-19 guidance, it said it had removed more than 8,400 tweets and challenged 11.5 million accounts.

With more and more people now looking for authoritative public health information about vaccines as programs were rolled out across the world, it said it would expand the guidance.

Katy Minshall, Twitter’s head of UK public policy, said the company recognised the role it played in giving people credible public health information.

“We continue to work with health authorities around the world – including (Britain’s health service) the NHS  – to ensure high visibility access to trusted and accurate public health information on our service, including about COVID-19 vaccines,” she told Reuters.

“Today we will begin applying labels to tweets that may contain misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines, in addition to our continued efforts to remove the most harmful COVID-19 misleading information from the service.”

She said the approach built on existing work to guard against false claims about the safety and effectiveness of inoculation.

Vaccines are at the centre of government plans to fight the pandemic that has caused more than 2.6 million deaths to date.

There have been concerns, however, that public distrust of the shots could jeopardize the success of vaccination programs.

Surveys and data show varying levels of willingness to receive a shot according to country and demographic group.

In Britain, where more than a third of adults have received at least one vaccine shot, authorities are working to overcome hesitancy among some ethnic groups.



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Covid-19 Vaccine Supplies from India Have Reached at Least Six African Nations: Official

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COVID vaccine supplies from India have landed in at least six African nations and millions of doses are committed for UN health workers and peacekeepers on a grant basis, a top official said on Monday. Addressing the ‘Namaskar Africa’ virtual event hosted by industry body Ficci, Rahul Chhabra — Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs — also urged Indian firms to leverage the advantages presented by the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) that came into effect from January 1 this year.

He said the agreement provides various opportunities to Indian companies. “I hope Ficci members are able to grab the enormity of the change that has come about in Africa and make the mostof it, be the first movers and take advantage of this Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement,” he said.

AfCFTA aims at establishing a free trade regime across the continent. Chhabra also said that vaccine supplies have already gone out and at least six African countries have received them, including Seychelles, Mauritius, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt and South Africa.

According to him, India is working with its partner nations and the vaccine supplies are beginning to roll out, adding that streamlining of processes and waiting for approvals from the partner countries led to hold up of a few days. “We were just streamlining the processes and waiting for approvals from our partner countries,” he said, adding that the government did not want a situation where after the vaccines land, countries do not have storage facilities, there is a lack of approvals and have not got their vaccination centres up and operational.



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CBSE Practical Exams for Class 10 and 12 Commence from Monday, Here are Guidelines to be Followed

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The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) commenced with its Board Practical Exams 2021 for classes 10 and 12 students on Monday, March 1. However, with the coronavirus pandemic, new guidelines will be followed during the CBSE Class 10, 12 Board Practical examinations 2021. Schools affiliated to CBSE have been instructed by the board to complete the Board Practical exams 2021 for the respective subjects by June 11. It also happens to be the last date of exam for CBSE Class10, 12 Board theory papers 2021, which will be starting from May this year. The CBSE 10 and 12 board practical exams will be conducted by the schools while adhering to all necessary guidelines to maintain hygiene and curb the further spread of coronavirus, by the local government.

The guidelines provided by CBSE mention necessary working principles for holding practical exams, including projects and internal assessment. In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CBSE Board Practical exams 2021 will be held in students’ respective schools and authorities will have to upload the marks immediately after the assessment. In a letter to the principals and heads of schools, CBSE said that both external and internal examiners would be present when the schools conduct class 10and class 12 practical exams 2021. An observer appointed by the CBSE will also be supervising the practical exams.

The board has also advised schools to divide students of Class 10 and 12, appearing for the practical exam, into sub-groups of 25 students each. The students and the teachers will be required to follow social distancing and wear face masks during the exams. Examination centres are also required to sanitise the labs before the examination and make sure that there are different entry and exit ways.

Schools have been asked to ensure smooth and safe conduct of exams and follow the sanitization protocols and social distancing guidelines. In case practical exams are cancelled due to any reason, students will be assessed depending on their scores in the theory paper of the same subject.

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US Children Could Receive Vaccine By Year-end, Says Fauci

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The United States could start vaccinating older children against Covid-19 by the fall and younger ones by year-end or early 2022, the White House’s top pandemic advisor Anthony Fauci said Sunday.

The mass vaccination of school-age children will allow millions of children to return sooner to in-person learning and ease the burden on millions of parents now caring for their offspring at home.

School reopenings, an intensely debated matter, have varied sharply across the country, with some private and religious schools opening before public schools and teachers in some areas protesting any early return.

But the decision Saturday by the US Food and Drug Administration to grant emergency use authorization to a new single-dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson has boosted the prospects for earlier reopenings.

“We now have three really efficacious vaccines,” Fauci said on ABC’s “This Week.”

For now, none of the three authorized vaccines in the US (also including Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna) has been cleared for children under 16, but trials on children are under way.

Children in high school — roughly ages 14-18 in the United States — should be able to get the vaccine “sometime this fall,” Fauci told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“I’m not sure it’ll exactly be on the first day that school opens, but pretty close to that,” he added.

Data are still being compiled on the vaccines’ safety and efficacy for children in elementary or middle school — usually aged between five and 13 years old in the United States — so “realistically” they may not be able to receive the vaccine until late 2021 or early 2022, Fauci said.

Speaking Sunday evening at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, former president Donald Trump urged the new administration to reopen schools.

“On behalf of the moms, dads and children of America, I call on Joe Biden to get the schools open and get them open now,” said Trump.

Although the federal government issues guidelines on public health, it largely up to locally elected school boards when to reopen classrooms, not the president.

Children and adolescents are less commonly infected with the virus than adults, and in-person learning in schools has not been associated with substantial community transmission.

With Covid-19 still ravaging the US, the worst-hit country in the world, roughly half of students are currently attending school in person, the New York Times reported recently.

Earlier this month the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new guidelines urging schools to reopen safely and as soon as possible.

The strategy emphasizes universal masking, hand-washing and disinfection, as well as contact tracing.

he CDC recommends vaccination for teachers and staff as soon as supply is available, and calls for different approaches depending on the level of community transmission in a given area.



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Xbox Series S Console Sold Out on Flipkart But You Can Still Try Your Luck on Amazon India

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The latest Xbox Series X and Series S consoles were launched in India last year, but many fans are disappointed with their short supplies for months. While the availability details about the premium Xbox Series X remain unknown, the Xbox Series S has been briefly available on Flipkart and Amazon. However, it now appears that the stock on Flipkart is now over, and in contrast, Amazon will replenish its stock on March 9 – though customers can book their device from now. Both devices that debuted in India on November 10 compete against Sony’s latest PlayStation 5 console that too is witnessing a shortage in supply owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Customers can purchase the Xbox Series S console at Rs 34,990 for the single white colour option. You can also get the console with a single unit of the Xbox Wireless Controller for Rs 5,390, which brings the total amount to Rs 40,380. Additionally, Amazon is offering deals such as no-cost EMI payment mode and 5 percent cashback with HSBC Cashback card. Customers purchasing the console via Amazon Pay Later will Rs 100. On the other hand, Flipkart states that the Xbox Series S console will be available in India starting March 11, though it does not have the pre-book option that was available last week and also appears to be ‘Sold Out.’ Customers can select the ‘notify me’ option to get the latest updates from the Walmart-backed e-commerce platform.

To recall, there is no disk drive on the Xbox Series S so the games will have to be downloaded to its 512GB PCie Gen 4 NVME SSD. The console runs on a custom 8-core AMD Zen 2 CPU and custom AMD RDNA 2 GPU. It can play games at 1440p resolution at 60fps.

ALSO READ: Microsoft Admits Xbox Series X Supply Shortages Will Continue Till At Least June 2021

Earlier this month, Microsoft said that its flagship Xbox Series X console’s supply would continue to remain short until June 2021, months after warning about its short supply until April. The announcement had come from Microsoft’s head of investor relations, Mike Spencer in an interview with The New York Times. The Xbox’ supply chain is hindered by several factors including a shortage in supply of AMD chips – the Zen 2-based CPU and RDNA 2-based GPU – that feature on the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles.



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