BATTERYFORPC BLOG
Coronavirus: The school of Mum and Dad
All schools in the UK closed their doors on Friday, and there's no timetable for when they might re-open. Parents, who may need to work and juggle childcare, will have to fill the gap. While no-one expects them to replicate school, there is plenty of online help to stave off boredom. Will schools provide the resources? If your school already puts work online, using Google Classroom or simila ... Read more
2020-03-22 20:39:45
IT systems 'exploited by coronavirus scammers'
Criminals exploiting the coronavirus outbreak have compromised council computer systems, a council has warned. Middlesbrough Council said local authorities were being targeted with fake emails. In a communication to workers it said Rotherham Council's IT system had been compromised by an email with "COVID-19" in the subject field. The council's IT department cautioned staff to report ... Read more
2020-03-20 20:24:08
Coronavirus: Elon Musk 'child immunity' tweet will stay online
A tweet by entrepreneur Elon Musk suggesting children are "essentially immune" to coronavirus did not break Twitter's rules, the company has said. This week, Twitter pledged to remove misinformation and tweets denying scientific facts about the virus. It even cited claims about child immunity as an example of misinformation that it would remove. But even though children can catch and ... Read more
2020-03-20 20:22:26
Coronavirus: Smartphone sales collapse amid pandemic
Sales of new phones have collapsed in the biggest fall since the invention of the smartphone. Research firm Strategy Analytics said shipments in February fell by 38% year-on-year. The outbreak of the coronavirus in China had a huge impact, report author Linda Sui said. "Some Asian factories were unable to manufacture smartphones, while many consumers were unable or unwilling to visit retai ... Read more
2020-03-20 20:21:52
Coronavirus: BT has 'plenty of capacity' despite Netflix quality cuts
BT says its broadband infrastructure has plenty of "headroom" to cope with increased demand as more people stay home due to coronavirus. The company said that since Tuesday, data use on its network had increased by between 35-60%. On Thursday, Netflix said it would lower the picture quality of movies in Europe, to reduce data use. But BT said daytime and evening usage was still much l ... Read more
2020-03-20 20:21:28
Coronavirus: How to clean your smartphone safely
While you may want to clean your smartphone, some substances can damage the device.
Dr Lena Ciric, a microbiologist from University College London, says you can effectively clean your phone using just household soap and water.
Video journalist: Chris Fox
EASY STEPS: What can I do about the virus?
A SIMPLE GUIDE: What are the symptoms?
2020-03-19 21:26:53
UK mobile networks face problems
The UK's mobile networks have experienced problems with their services. EE told the BBC it was something "affecting all operators and we are working closely to fix it". The problem has been blamed on "interconnect issues" between the operators. "We don't believe it is connected to the rise in home working [due to the coronavirus]," added EE. O2 had posted on its w ... Read more
2020-03-19 21:26:30
Netflix to cut streaming quality in Europe for 30 days
Netflix will reduce the video quality on its service in Europe for the next 30 days, to reduce the strain on internet service providers. Demand for streaming has increased because large parts of Europe are self-isolating at home due to the coronavirus outbreak. The video-streaming provider said lowering the picture quality would reduce Netflix data consumption by 25%. But it said viewers would ... Read more
2020-03-19 21:26:07
Game-playing robot admits mistakes, plus other news
BBC Click’s Kitty Knowles looks at some of the best technology news stories of the week including:
The UK government rules Chinese firm Huawei will be allowed to be used in non-sensitive areas of the country’s 5G mobile network
Yale University develops a game-playing robot capable of admitting its mistakes to help humans communicate better
Weather data helps to create 3D-printed sweets in Japan
2020-03-19 21:25:37
Apple's new iPad has built-in laser depth-scanner
Apple has announced its first mobile device to feature laser-scanning technology, which the firm says will aid augmented reality apps. The iPad Pro's Lidar scanner will allow the shape and location of objects in a room to be detected. This should mean graphics and real-world views can be mixed together more accurately than before. The announcement came via a press release rather than a media ev ... Read more
2020-03-18 20:17:38