TecQ is our weekly round-up of technology stories
Smartphone Sales Begin in India As Lockdown Eases in Select Areas
The sale of smartphones has resumed in some parts of India as the government has decided to ease some of the norms it has imposed earlier on businesses.
Despite the relief, not all shops are open yet. To resume operations, retailers have to get permission from local authorities and also make sure they follow sanitisation guidelines laid down by the government. We managed to speak with some retail owners who said that business has resumed, but they still have to deal with a lot of problems.
Watch the full story here.
Is UV-C Light Effective in Destroying COVID-19?
In the race to find an effective solution that can sanitise large spaces from COVID-19, ultraviolet light seems to be a strong contender. Ultraviolet light of between 200-280 nm wavelength is known as UV-C and is known to be harmful to cell tissue.
Ultraviolet light of this wavelength is present in sunlight as well, but it is filtered out by the ozone layer in the Earth's atmosphere. UV-A and UV-B (320-400 nm), which are less harmful and closer to the visible spectrum of light are what pass through. These rays are responsible for giving you a sunburn.
UV-C light of specifically 254 nm in wavelength has been used to sanitise devices and kits for a while.
Watch the full video here.
Zomato Fires 13% of Workforce, Rest To Get 50% Pay Cut
Hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal on Friday announced that the company will lay off nearly 13 percent of its workforce – over 600 employees – via Zoom calls, along with salary cuts for the rest of the employees for at least the next six months starting June, with higher cuts going up to 50 percent for people in senior roles.
Read the full story here.
Facebook Acquires Giphy for $400 Million To Add It Into Instagram
Social media giant Facebook on Friday acquired the GIF-sharing service Giphy, which will now be a part of the Instagram team.
According to Axios, Facebook paid $400 million (Rs 3,035 crore ) for the acquisition. Facebook used Giphy's API for years, not just in Instagram, but in the main Facebook app, Messenger and WhatsApp.
Read more here.
Here’s How Aarogya Setu COVID-19 Tracker Works on Non-Smartphones
The Aarogya Setu app is a coronavirus tracking application launched by the government of India to keep a track of the number of cases in an area and curb the spread of the infection.
On smartphones, the Aarogya Setu app uses Bluetooth and GPS technology to keep track of the movement of an infected person and then alert citizens about areas that person has been to and demarcate them as vulnerable spots.
But what about non-smartphones? How does the Aarogya Setu platform work on feature phones without Bluetooth or GPS?
Click here to read how it works.
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