COVID-19 is creating havoc around the world. People all over the world are in a state of a frenzy. What if the corona strikes me, what should I do and what not? Moreover, with so many fake rumors floating around, it is easy to get panicked by it. However, this is exactly the sort of situation where technology comes to your rescue. Tech giants around the world are trying their level best to help in any way they can to combat coronavirus. And now you can use Apple’s Siri to check for the coronavirus symptom in you.
A recent update to Siri has added a questionnaire of sorts about the coronavirus. You can simply call the digital assistant and ask “do I have coronavirus?”. Then you’ll be asked a series of yes-no questions by Siri to help determine whether the symptoms are related to COVID-19 or not. Moreover, it also guides people to the next step in case they have contracted the virus.
Basically, Siri compares your answer to the ones stated in the guidelines by the “US Public Health Service in concert with the CDC”. Firstly, if you use this feature, you’ll be asked questions such as whether or not you are experiencing fever, dry cough and so. Answer yes for it, and the next question will be whether the symptoms are life-threatening. If yes, it’ll suggest you call 911 emergency services. However, if you’re unsure about it then still, it asks you to seek medical assistance. After all, why take risks, right?
Answering no to these questions will prompt Siri to advise you to maintain social distance. This is the best a person can do from their side to help contain the spread of the virus. Moreover, Siri also offers a list of 10 services that one can reach out to in order to take advantage of telehealth services.
As the brave medical workers throughout the world are working around the clock to help treat corona victims, one wonders what the worlds’ richest are doing to combat it. Obviously, they have got to do something right? I mean they have the resources which can greatly help everyone win this battle. Well, I don’t know about others but one company that has come out in support for this cause is the Silicon Valley giant Cisco. Yup, Cisco has planned to contribute $225 million to support this fight against COVID-19 (coronavirus).
Cisco against Coronavirus
Tech giant Cisco is well known for manufacturing telecom and hardware equipment. Recently, Chuck Robbins, the CEO of Cisco, confirmed via a blog post that the company was ready to commit the huge sum of $225 million for response against coronavirus.
Now, the sum that they have mentioned is going to include cash, in-kind and planned-givings. Basically, they have allocated $8 million in cash and $210 million in products. This move comes from them as the United States has seen a surge in the number of victims suffering from coronavirus. However, Cisco has confirmed that the funding will not be focused on the citizen of the U.S alone. Rather, the post read that part of the fund will indeed go to the United Nation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Moreover, the resources that they have allocated will focus on supporting healthcare and government response against the virus.
The fact that over 400 people have died due to corona-virus in the U.S has shaken the Silicon Valley. Now they are trying to invest their resources into the groups trying to fight the corona-virus. The U.S has over 35,000 people already infected by the virus. Thus, it was only a matter of time before the tech giants of Silicon Valley made a move.
Moreover, Chuck Robbins also hosted a call with leaders of other tech companies. Apparently, the main focus of the meeting was about how tech companies can utilize their resources in this battle against COVID-19. CEOs of Facebook, Apple, Netflix and more were said to have taken part in that meeting.
Afterward, we got to know that Facebook has pledged to provide $100 million in cash and ad credits for 30K small businesses. However, they have to be eligible. Furthermore, they are also giving out a $1000 bonus to each of their employees.
After days of teases and leaks, Poco officially unveiled the new POCO X2 in India in Feb. It, as we suspected, is just a rebranded Redmi K30, which nevertheless comes with fabulous features. However, since Poco is now an independent smartphone brand, the Poco X2 will not be launching outside India (at least for now). Anyways, let’s learn more about the specs, price, and availability date of Poco X2 in Nepal here.
POCO X2 Overview
POCO began hyping its Poco X2 smartphone as soon as it was spun off from Xiaomi as an independent brand in India. Obviously it will utilize Xiaomi’s resources and all, but it will adopt a different business model to penetrate the excruciatingly price-sensitive market of the country.
Design
If you already know about the Redmi K30, then all of the following will sound very similar to you. And maybe the price is only what you’re after. Anyways, talking about its design, it comes in a 3D curved glass body with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection on both, front and back of the phone, with aluminum frame. The phone comes in a glossy gradient finish in three color variants: Atlantis Blue, Matrix Purple, and Phoenix Red.
The camera arrangement on the back is quite unique as well, with the quad-cameras placed vertically, which reminded me of the “baseline test monitoring device” from Blade Runner 2049. More on the design, you’ll find the fingerprint scanner on the right side of the phone, like the one on the Huawei Nova 5T. The evanescent IR blaster is still there, which is nice. Furthermore, there’s no IP rating, but the POCO X2 does come with a P2i coating which should protect the phone from any splashes of water here and there.
Display
Coming to the front, the POCO X2 employs a dual punch-hole cutout for the front cameras on a tall 6.67-inches “RealityFlow” FHD+ IPS LCD screen with a 20:9 aspect ratio and HDR10 support. But the most exciting thing about this display is definitely its superior 120Hz refresh rate.
The trend of a smoother display panel really kicked off in 2019, and it looks like 2020 is when it really goes mainstream; why wouldn’t it? POCO X2’s “Intelligent Dynamic Refresh Rate” technology dynamically arranges the refresh rate depending upon the type of app being used, which could be crucial to saving battery in the long run.
Cameras
Now let’s talk cameras, shall we? POCO X2 comes with a quad-camera setup on the back arranged vertically inside a distinct gradient halo that complements the phone’s colors. And just below the cameras, there’s the dual-LED flash.
Here, the primary lens is the new 64MP Sony IMX686 sensor, which is set to feature in many flagship phones in 2020. Additionally, you also get an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens with 120º field-of-view (FOV), a 2MP depth sensor, and a 2MP macro lens. With such an impressive camera arrangement, POCO hopes to deliver flagship-grade photography on a budget.
Moving on, the phone can also capture uncompressed RAW images, which can be really helpful to professional photographers. In terms of video, you can shoot up to 4K @30fps, while there’s also the support for the glorious 960fps videos at HD resolution. Besides this, a dedicated “VLOG Mode” has been embedded into the camera to fuel the inner vlogger in you.
Getting to the front cameras (yes, cameras), there’s a 20MP main lens, and a 2MP depth sensor packed inside a dual punch-hole cutout on the top right corner of the display. Personally, I prefer pop-ups or even minimal centered notches to these, but to each his own I guess.
Performance & Memory
POCO X2 is powered by the Snapdragon 730G, which is based on the 8nm fabrication process. Well, I am a little disappointed on the POCO X2 for having the 730G because of the legacy the name “POCO” carries with it. The POCO X2 not having the latest Snapdragon 865 was fine by me because it looks like it will feature in some other upcoming phone from the company. But the 765G is a warranted wish, right?
Nevertheless, 730G is not unworthy either. What surprised me was how the company claimed better performance on the POCO X2 than the Realme X2 having the same processor. A consistent AnTuTu score over multiple cycles? Sounds too good to be true, but not impossible.
LiquidCool Technology
POCO also emphasized on the gaming capability of the phone, with a better thermal performance thanks to its LiquidCool technology and the second-gen Game Turbo. And once again, comparisons were made against the Realme X2 for their heating.
Getting into memory, the POCO X2 comes with either 6 or 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and from 64 to 256GB of UFS 2.1 storage. The hardware on the phone is further complemented by the software, which the company claims helps in optimizing the core-level performance for enhanced RAM management. Now that’s what I like to hear. No matter how excellent the hardware is, if a decent software to back that up is absent, the phone is no good. Here, POCO X2 runs on Android 10.0 with a modified version of MIUI 11 on top.
Battery
Talking about the battery, the phone comes with a big 4500mAh cell, which should last a day even on moderate to heavy use. Don’t quote me on that because we still haven’t tested it ourselves yet. A big battery needs a better charging mechanism too, right? Well, the POCO X2 comes with a 27W charger on the box. Nice!
Also, POCO claims that the 27W charger of the POCO X2 charges its bigger 4500mAh faster at 68 minutes compared to Realme X2’s 30W VOOC flash charger charging the phone’s smaller 4000mAh battery in 76 minutes. bruh! I can’t wait to see if it’ll really stand up to its claims in real-life tests.
POCO X2 Specifications
Body: 6.51 x 3.02 x 0.35 inches; 208 gm; P2i coating
Display: 6.67-inches “RealityFlow” IPS LCD panel with HDR10 support; 386 PPI and up to 500 nits of brightness
Resolution: FHD+ (2400 x 1800 pixels); 20:9 aspect ratio
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G; 8nm Mobile Platform
Audio: 3.5mm headphone jack, Qualcomm Hi-Fi DAC support
Connectivity: Hybrid dual-SIM (Nano), microSD card, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/AGPS/GLONASS/Beidou, USB Type-C
Battery: 4500 mAh with 27W fast charging
Colors: Atlantis Blue, Matrix Purple, Phoenix Red
POCO X2 Price in Nepal & Availability
You can buy the Poco X2 in Nepal via unauthorized sellers like hamrobazar, Facebook groups, etc. The Poco X2 Price in Nepal starts at Rs. 30,000. This price is for the base 6GB RAM and 64GB storage variant.
Model Variant
Price in Nepal (unofficial)
POCO X2 (6/64GB)
Rs. 30,000
POCO X2 (6/128GB)
Rs. 33,000
POCO X2 (8/256GB)
Rs. 36,000
Don’t forget to watch our video review of Poco X2 here:
People are stuck in their homes because of the global pandemic, which includes me, you, and many others. Besides the uncertainty of the situation itself, there’s another not-so-alarming question is on the horizon. “How to pass time during the lockdown?” That’s not a problem for those who can work from their home. But kids, students, and other people who don’t have anything particular to do face some quite boring days ahead of them. Gaming has always been a popular indoor activity. And now, game developers and even governments are using gaming as an incentive for having people stay indoors during the coronavirus lockdown.
Gaming industry on the rise!
Who didn’t see it coming? Apart from the medical industry, e-sports is also seeing a sudden surge. Just yesterday, Steam reported a record number of concurrent users – 22 million, which is a little higher than last week’s record of 20 million. Similarly, Twitch – a popular streaming site, also saw a 10% increment in viewership. With an unparalleled increase in the number of players, many game publishers are discounting or even giving away the game for free to encourage people to stay indoors.
A nationwide Minecraft server in Poland
In a bid to have the kids stay at home during the coronavirus outbreak, the Ministry of Digital Affairs at the Polish government has created a website. It includes a Minecraft server among other web-activities. Grarantanna has been designed to encourage children of all ages to stay productive during the lockdown while engaging in fun activities like learning about Poland’s history through quizzes, puzzles, game development, etc.
As for the Minecraft server, each player (only eligible for someone aged under 20 living in Poland) will be given a 60×60 plot and other essential building materials for construction. After that, the player may construct anything of their choice. However, it must be SFW and follow other guidelines for the competition. Prizes set aside for the winners include:
Razer Kraken Essential headphone
Razer Deathadder Essential wired moist
A4Tech Bloody B3370R RGB mechanical keyboard
Double XP in World of Warcraft
Blizzard is also stepping up to encourage people to say home during the coronavirus outbreak through gaming. Up until 20th April 2020, World of Warcraft players will gain an experience buff called “Winds of Wisdom“. This will increase the total experience (XP) earned by 100%, for both – Starter Edition, and Legion players.
It’s really humbling to see how health-care workers, companies, and governments around the world are working to fight the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, I’d like to request that we, as individuals do our part by taking all the precautionary measures to help contain the pandemic as much as possible.
The world is on alert due to the spread of COVID-19 and Nepal is also trying its best to avoid it as well. Amidst the fear of the virus, many of us aren’t allowed to go out. Keeping the situation in mind, Nimbus Nepal has brought Nimbus Bazar so that you have your groceries delivered to your home through online orders.
Nimbus Bazar
Nimbus Bazar is an online grocery store that will deliver your orders to your doorstep. It deals in Byanzan products which include edible oils, flour, lentils, pickles, sanitation products, and dog foods. As of now, the site offers services only inside the Kathmandu Valley. For orders above NRs. 2000, the service won’t cost you anything otherwise you will have to pay NRs. 200 for the delivery service.
That being said, the site is still in its beta state. And many of the features don’t work the way they should. I tried to navigate through the site trying to get information about payment, shipping and return policy but each of the links kept redirecting me to the homepage. I hope Nimbus Nepal will fix these soon and I hope to see the site fully functional.
Many of us might be questioning the safety of the service as people are still moving if not you. I don’t blame you, even I have the same question. To this, the company has assured that it will be taking every measure possible to keep both its staff and customers safe. All the staffs including the ones involved in the delivery process are trained and aware of the precautions against the infection.
It may not be a fully functional start but we need to start somewhere, I guess. This initiation could help a lot of people who are afraid to go out during the outbreak.
Check out our review long-term review of Realme X2
Someone has aptly said, “This is the age of misinformation”. And never has been a quote more relatable. Yes, ever since the COVID-19 pandemic took over the world, there have been countless numbers of fake news being circulated worldwide. Such news is articulated and shared in such a way that even the brightest of us are fooled by it. Also, shame on those who instigate such false rumors. However, there are people out there, who are working tirelessly, to provide you accurate information in these desperate times. Among them is Fusemachines. Yes, the team at Fusemachines is resolute on developing a platform to disseminate accurate information about COVID-19 in Nepal.
The rumor about the spraying of medicine via helicopter was circulated on various social media platforms yesterday. Fake news, obviously. However, the number of people who believed it was surprising. Moreover, there were lots of other baseless rumors about the number of affected people and those dead because of it.
So, what is the solution to it, where do we go seeking factually accurate information? Well, that’s exactly the question that Fusemachines is trying to solve through its COVID-19 information platform.
Basically, a team at Fusemachines has been working tirelessly for the last 90+ hours to build an open-source platform. The website’s prime objective is to bring together accurate information about COVID-19 in Nepal. In this website, they have tried to collect reliable data from multiple trusted sources such as WHO and so on.
The idea behind this website is to share only the factual data and nothing else. Moreover, during this lock-down, everyone needs to stay updated about the on-going situation around them.
So people, please don’t fall into the trap of fake news and rumors and seek information only from trusted websites. Furthermore, if you want to help Fusemachines on this cause, you can sign up at “[email protected]”.
The whole world is now at a risk due to the coronavirus outbreak. And we all need to act together to battle the virus. At a time such as today’s, we need the world-leading brands to lead this battle. Acknowledging a request from a follower, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and Space X, has agreed to help with the supplies of ventilators to avoid shortage during the coronavirus outbreak.
When one of his twitter followers requested Elon Musk to repurpose his factories for producing ventilators, Elon Musk agreed to do so in case of shortage.
The Way Forward
Producing ventilators aren’t that difficult of a task for Musk as both of his companies have to deal with similar kind of technologies. Tesla’s cars come integrated with a sophisticated HVAC system (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning systems). Space X has been making spacecraft with a life support system. However, it will take time for both of the companies to start producing any ventilators. Until then, Elon Musk is identifying the hospitals and cities that are in need of ventilators.
The first batch of the ventilators produced is likely to be supplied to hospitals in New York. The mayor of New York, Bill de Bosio, has already been in talks with Musk for the purchase of the ventilators. According to him, the whole country is facing a shortage of ventilators and Elon’s initiation could help ease the situation.
It looks like Tesla will be working together with Medtronic for the production of ventilators to see to the demand created by the coronavirus outbreak. Medtronic has already announced to double its manufacturing rate in response to the current needs. And now, the two companies are working on new state-of-the-art ventilators. However, Musk still believes that his productions will not be needed. He fears the allocation of medical supplies, solely for coronavirus will impact the quality of treatments that the other medical conditions will get.
The COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc worldwide and it’s high time that we start acting responsibly to fight it. The pandemic has not only taken lives but also the jobs of many people. With cities locked down and public places forced to shut down, people are missing out on their livelihood. In such a circumstance, Amazon has announced 100,000 new job vacancies for those who have lost their job to the pandemic.
Amazon New Job Vacancies
With the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, Amazon has seen increased traffic to its site. Since people can’t go out, they have now been exclusively relying on the online shopping site to have their products delivered to home. According to Amazon, demands for household and medical supplies are in increase and they have prioritized them over other supplies.
The increase in demand has resulted in a shortage of manpower in the company. So to overcome the labor shortage, Amazon has announced 100,000 new job openings in the US. People have options to work both part-time and full-time. It is a perfect opportunity for those who have recently lost their jobs due to coronavirus as they can work until their former employer welcomes them back.
Not only that, but Amazon has also announced to increase the pay salary of those working on an hourly basis. The company will invest over $35 million to compensate hourly workers in the US, Europe, and Canada. The company has also promised to prioritize the health of their workers and partners. Amazon workers can get up to 2 weeks of their pay in case they have to be isolated or quarantined.
Amazon is actively helping the communities in their fight against the pandemic. It recently donated $1 million to a COVID-19 response fund in Washington D.C and is working together with five food services in the region to help the community. Additionally, the company has created a $5 million Neighborhood Small Business Relief Fund and has contributed $1 million for communities affected by the outbreak. The company has also launched the AWS Diagnostic Initiative for speed up diagnostic research, innovation, on a topic related to COVID-19. It has allocated an initial investment of $20 million for the same.
So, the world is in a state of a lock-down. With the uncertainty of how things are going to play out, one important question remains – will the COVID-19 continue to grow exponentially throughout the world, or will mankind tackle this issue as it has been throughout history? It really is a time of turmoil that has instilled a great fear among us. However, if there is one thing that each and every individual can do right now in the battle against coronavirus is to stay at our homes and maintain social distance. And that is basically what people are doing right now. They stay at home and use the internet all day long. But what if there is an issue with the internet itself during this pandemic?
Apologies, allow me to correct myself. It is not a question of what if, rather, there’s already a problem with the internet right now. With so many of us maintaining social distance, what else can we do right? Using the internet is great to pass-time. Choose a video on YouTube and get sucked into its loop of infinitely similar videos. Or, you can binge-watch your favorite show that you had been putting off until now due to your busy schedule. But wait, are you facing the problem of slow internet? Well, you’re not alone. And one does not need to be a rocket scientist to know why this is happening.
A sudden surge in traffic
With so many of us sitting at home using the internet all day, it is obvious that its speed decreases. In fact, as per ISPAN (Internet Service Provider Association of Nepal), internet usage has increased by 30% in Nepal right now, since people are stuck at their home due to the coronavirus outbreak. Not only that, but even the voice and data usage has also increased. And it is not just Nepal where the usage has surged dramatically. This past week, popular streaming services like Netflix and Amazon had decided to limit their streaming quality to SD (480p) for at least 30 days in Europe.
This lock-down has hugely affected our lives. Schools and offices have shut-down and employees are being instructed to work from their home. Moreover, the internet is the major source of our information (and misinformation!) right now, so don’t you think that one has to act responsibly right now. I mean our ISPs are not equipped to face this sort of internet usage prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Obviously, with the right equipment, they can improve their service, but it will take time.
In the meantime though, I request you to act and use the internet responsibly. There are people out there who are actually doing researches and more to fight the pandemic and their work requires the use of the internet. Now, I am no position to tell you to stop using the internet altogether. After all, you have paid for the service. However, there are certain things that we can do to help service providers maintain traffic.
ISPAN’s guidelines on using the internet amid the Coronavirus outbreak
These are some basic requests that ISPAN has made public through their press release and few tips from our side too that might be helpful:
Do not stream videos at the highest available quality during peak internet usage hours.
Do not change the internet settings right now, as ISPs may not be able to send their support staff for help.
No torrenting and try to possibly limit the live streams.
Please do not download huge files until absolutely necessary.
And be wary of fake rumors and news that’s floating around the internet. Wait for an official notice or news before forwarding anything to your WhatsApp, Messenger, Viber or other social platforms.
Try to limit your internet usage during peak hours (read books or watch TV maybe)
We don’t know how long this lock-down is going to last. And it is up to us to act as responsible citizens of the country and the world. Stay safe people!
During these troubled times, I’m sure most of us are just lying on the bed surfing the net. It might be great unless you have a shitty internet connection. A bad internet connection is simply frustrating. I mean one has to wait for a good three to four minutes just for a meme to load. And the solution that service providers give, ‘please try restarting the router’. The funny part is, I actually go and restart my router hoping it will magically make my internet connection fast. Fortunately, Worldlink has brought in a solution for it because starting from today they have launched the Worldlink 5G offer.
What is 5G Wi-Fi?
Let me clear out at the beginning itself, this 5G offer from Worldlink has nothing to do with the 5G cellular standard. Apart from the fact that both of them are used for wireless connectivity, they have nothing else in common. When people talk about 5G in terms of Wi-Fi, they are actually referring to the 5 GHz Wi-Fi.
Basically, there are two Wi-Fi frequency bands – 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. 2.4 is the one that’s abundantly used in most places and 5 GHz is the newer of the two. It is better than 2.4 GHz because it has more non-overlapping channels. As a result, it is less congested. So, using a 5 GHz internet would be highly beneficial in places where there are a lot of Wi-Fi congestions. And it is faster than 2.4 GHz too.
However, it does have its own drawbacks too. For a starter, it cannot cover a large area. Thus, to enjoy the benefits of 5 GHz Wi-Fi, one has to be nearby the router. If you’re looking to place your router on the ground floor, and plan to use Wi-Fi all the way up on the third floor, then you’ll probably have to opt for 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi.
Now the question remains, what exactly does this 5G offer from Worldlink mean? Well, the gist of the thing out here is that, one of the most popular ISPs in Nepal, is providing dual-band routers as a part of this offer. However, it is only limited to those with gold plans.
A dual-band router comes with 2 SSIDs (WiFi signals). One will be for 2.4 GHz and the other for 5 GHz. Basically, this offer is their take on providing a solution for slow internet. I mean there are times when I am inches away from my router and the connection is no better. Using a dual-band router would mean a solution for it.
When you are near to the router, you can switch to 5 GHz, which as mentioned above is much faster due to less congestion than the 2.4 GHz WiFi. And as your distance from the router increases, you can seamlessly switch to 2.4 GHz, which is available for a much larger range. However, the switching of the network needs to be done manually.
Obviously, there is going to be a pricing difference for first-time customers and those who want to renew their current status and take advantage of the offer. And naturally, we’ve compiled the price list for you, so do check them out!
For New Users:
40 Mbps (2 TVs)
Price
3 months
Rs. 5,800
12 months
Rs. 18,900
40 Mbps (3 TVs)
Price
3 months
Rs. 6,200
12 months
Rs. 19,900
60 Mbps (3 TVs)
Price
3 months
Rs. 8,100
12 months
Rs. 27,000
Set-up Charges
3 months
12 months
Drop Wire
Rs. 500
Free
Fiber Router Rental
Rs. 1,000
Rs. 1,000
Refundable deposit
Rs. 500
Rs. 500
NetTV
Activation charge
Deposit
Primary TV
Rs. 500 + VAT
Rs. 500
Secondary TV
Rs. 500 +VAT
Rs. 500
For Existing Customers:
An existing customer who uses 40Mbps or above internet package can upgrade to the Dual-band router by paying an additional Rs. 1000. And since the router itself costs above Rs.5000, it’s a wise decision to upgrade.
Is World link 5G offer with its dual-band routers the solution for bad internet connection?
Using a dual-band router would be one of the solutions to get the most out of your internet connection. After all, the speed of the internet depends upon a lot more things than just the router. One has to be wary of the router positioning, number of users connected, signal range and a host of other things. So, don’t just depend upon the dual-band router for a better internet.
Moreover, not all devices support 5 GHz Wi-Fi. Before, ordering the router be sure that your devices are compatible with it. On your laptops and desktops, first, confirm whether your adapter supports 802.11a or 802.11ac. Or simply Google your Network adapter name and you’ll find out about the compatibility. The same goes for your smartphones too. Check for 802.11ac or WiFi 5/WiFi 5G compatibility for your device by visiting their official website. Alternatively, it’s probably written somewhere behind the box that your device came with.
Also, check out 
