Study Point

Issie Lapowsky / Protocol : Microsoft is pushing privacy bills, modeled on the Washington Privacy Act it failed to get passed twice, in Arizona, Hawaii, Illinois, and Minnesota   —  The company is pushing versions of the failed Washington Privacy Act in at least four states far from Redmond. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2ShaLzP

Ryan Kovatch / 9to5Google : Google is shutting down Shoelace, a hyper-local social networking app it had launched in New York City in July 2019   —  In July 2019, Google's experimental project incubator Area 120 launched a new local meetup app that would connect users in New York City. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3eX90ln

Ron Miller / TechCrunch : Cybersecurity firm Rapid7 is acquiring DivvyCloud, a cloud security and governance startup, for $145M in cash and stock   —  Rapid7 announced today after the closing bell that it will be acquiring DivvyCloud, a cloud security and governance startup for $145 million in cash and stock. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2y10G3o

Extensive contact tracing, isolating cases, and testing may reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus, and favour control of the COVID-19 outbreak, suggests a study carried out in China. However, the researchers from the Harbin Institute of Technology at Shenzhen, China, caution that the impact of contact tracing to rapidly isolate people who could be infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) depends on identifying asymptomatic cases. Published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal , the study of 391 cases and 1,286 of their close contacts found that contact tracing reduced the length of time people were infectious in the community over 4 weeks in Shenzhen, China. According to results from In Shenzhen, authorities identified whom to isolate based on their contact with confirmed cases, as well as isolating people who already had symptoms, the researchers said. The new study found that contact tracing increased the speed at which new cases were confirmed by two days —...

No-fuss, oven-ready meal kits. from CNET News https://ift.tt/2KJu7ty

OJ 287 is a black hole binary system that puts on an extreme light show every 12 years. from CNET News https://ift.tt/2Shw98q

Thuan Pham, hired as Uber’s chief technology officer by former CEO Travis Kalanick back in 2013, is leaving the company in three weeks, the ride-share giant revealed today in an SEC filing that came out as a piece in The Information reported that massive layoffs at Uber are being proposed to preserve some of the company’s dwindling capital reserves. The outlet suggests the discussed cuts could impact upwards of 20 percent of Uber’s 27,000 employees, roughly 800 of whom could theoretically come from Pham’s engineering team, which currently comprises 3,800 people. Said an Uber spokesman to The Information’s Amir Efrati: “As you would expect, the company is looking at every possible scenario to ensure we get to the other side of this crisis in a stronger position than ever.” Uber has been hard hit as much of the country and world remains at home, awaiting a vaccine for — or at least more testing around — COVID-19. Last Thursday, Uber said it expects an impairment charge of up to $2....