The metropolis has been at a standstill since mid-March, causing many factories to close.

After nearly two and a half months of lockdown, Shanghai authorities have finally announced that the city will slowly begin to return to normal. This should ease the pressure on the global technology supply chain.

Shanghai lockdown has had a significant impact

Indeed, China’s highly restrictive “zero Covid” policy of imposing strict lockdown at the first sign of the disease was put in place in mid-March. Since then, almost all the inhabitants of the city are blocked in their homes without the possibility to go out, leading to a very worrying situation concerning the mental health of the Shanghai people.

As a result, many factories have had to close down; this has not only led to a drop in production, but has also caused great difficulties for logistics operators and exporters. As McKinsey reminds us, however, some factory employees, as well as those at the Shanghai container port, continue to work and in order to do so, never leave their workplaces, as was the case at the microchip manufacturer SMIC. Thus, while the global supply chain is slowed down, it is not completely stopped either.

Despite this, the consequences are many. The giants Foxconn, Tesla and Toyota have been forced to stop or slow down their production. For its part, Apple has decided to accelerate its withdrawal from China and transfer the majority of its factories to India and Vietnam.

Economic life in the metropolis is picking up

The Shanghai authorities have recently announced that they have controlled the spread of the virus. The districts that have not recorded any new contamination for 14 days will reopen and will have some restrictions imposed. In this context, local stores and shopping malls are slowly reopening, and many public transport services have also resumed service, reports The Register.

City officials explained that 1,700 key production-oriented businesses in the region have resumed work and production, as have 450 key financial institutions and 580 businesses important to foreign trade. Similarly, 88% of factories dedicated to the local e-commerce sector have reopened; companies such as Alibaba and JD.com were greatly affected by the lockdown in Shanghai.

Finally, the authorities have also announced subsidy programs for industries, including software development. Moreover, they hope that the containment will have accelerated the adoption by companies of digital management tools, which are considered more efficient than what was used before the pandemic.

If Shanghai begins to reopen, the effects of the lockdowns on the supply chain are likely to be felt for some time, especially as they come on top of the semiconductor shortage and the war in Ukraine, which is also causing significant supply problems around the world.

Starlink will gradually be deployed on the African continent. This is at least what Elon Musk confirmed in a tweet published last Tuesday. The businessman indicated that his satellite internet service, launched through SpaceX, his space exploration company, would go to serve anywhere in the world where it is legally allowed to do so.

He then specified that Africa was among the continents soon to be concerned … and indeed: three days later, he returned to the charge (still on Twitter) to specify that Nigeria and Mozambique had both given their approval for the launch of Starlink on their respective territories. Other African countries, including South Africa, should follow suit in 2022.

Starlink: an expensive service for Nigerian and Mozambican users
As TechCrunch points out, the agreement reached with the Nigerian authorities follows negotiations that began in 2021. We finally learn that in May, SpaceX had finally sent representatives to the NCC (Nigerian Communications Commission) to discuss obtaining a license for Starlink in the country.

Successful negotiations if we believe the local press, which confirmed Elon Musk’s statements. We learn that the license granted to Starlink by the NCC covers a period of 10 years and that it falls into the category of Internet Service Providers (ISP).

Starlink, which currently operates in about 30 countries, is expected to bring more competition to the Nigerian Internet access market. Currently MTN and Airtel are among the main local ISPs, but their competition has not resulted in a convincing improvement of the local Internet connection. This could change with the arrival of Starlink… even if Elon Musk’s service will suffer from a big handicap: its price… probably too high for the average user in Nigeria or Mozambique.

Many web site admins do not know which web hosting to choose in 2020. It is partly due to the technical nature of the subject, which requires some knowledge and experience.

Indeed, hundreds of quality web hosts are competing in this market, and the prices are very different between the various hosting solutions offered. It is why this article is aimed at all beginner webmasters who are still hesitating in their choice. Going back to a few web hosting basics, you should, after reading this article, be more aware of what is at stakes when picking a web hosting company.

What you need to create a successful website

As with any other subject, it is better to have a global vision of a situation to understand it. The creation of a website involves three critical elements on which you must be aware off. Thus, each new project launch automatically leads to the acquisition of a domain name. It is the address of your site, the one that your customers will visit you at – for example, www.mywebsite.com.

Investing in meilleur hebergeur web is the second step in the process. It will store your site on its servers (storage of all your pages, photos, articles, customer information, etc.). Finally, the last step is to choose a CMS or content management system. WordPress, Prestashop, Joomla are some examples of well-known CMS, and allow millions of users to create a site without too many difficulties.

We sincerely recommend you to start by taking the domain name and web hosting within the same company. Note that the reverse is possible, but in this case, you will have to perform some manipulations in the DNS part to transfer your domain name… Some more worries, when you start, that can be avoided. Now that we have determined the three most important elements, it is time to focus more on web hosting and the resources needed to run your site decently.

Which resources are essential to define your web hosting needs?

It is one of the major questions for any web admin. And for a good reason, choosing the wrong web hosting can have unfortunate consequences on your business if it turns out to be not adapted to your real needs. The quality of your hosting provider will, among other things, affect the speed of your website, regardless of the number of visitors you get. Without going into technical details, you must take into account two main data to make your choice :

How many people visit your website each day?

How many requests are sent to the server for the most visited pages?

Answering these two questions can already guide you in your choice of a web host:

Shared: you share your web host with other sites. The costs are lowered, but this solution is not viable for sites destined to receive a lot of traffic.

VPS: if this system requires strong knowledge, the VPS will allow you to create several virtual servers, for a good quality/price ratio.
Dedicated: you are alone on your host and therefore take full advantage of its services while having the possibility to configure it according to your needs.

Cloud: you only pay for the space and ressources you need. It is a very flexible method, but make sure that your provider is able to ensure the security of your data since it is generally outsourced.

Note that some companies, such as PlanetHoster, offer innovative solutions that allow you to manage the allocation of resources in complete autonomy. Starting at only 6 euros/month, you are allocated a pool of predefined resources that you can distribute among your different sites as you wish. Their Hybrid Cloud plan offers even more power according to our tests!

Sony has decided to talk about its PS5 without waiting for a possible conference. The firm has decided to confirm several of the characteristics of its future console.

Interface designed for multiplayer games

Multiplayer games are becoming popular. Sony is finally allowing players from other consoles to come and play with PlayStation players. Sony, out of necessity, changed the philosophy of the console interface. Without showing screenshots for the moment, Sony explains that the interface will now offer players activities rather than forcing them to launch independently of the games.

For example, it would be possible to see quests offered by games, or multiplayer matches without having to start the games in question. Sony wants to reduce friction between several game sessions.

Partial installation of the games

Mark Cerny announced that PlayStation 5 will be able to manage a modular setup of the games, unlike the PS4. He explained that it would be possible “to install only the multiplayer mode of a game” or on the contrary, “only its single-player campaign.”

4K Blu-ray player

The PS5 will include a Blu-ray optical drive capable of reading 100GB discs. That is an element that the PlayStation 4 Pro was devoid of and that played in favor of the Xbox One X over the previous generation.

DualShock 4 controller with dynamic triggers

The prototype of the PS5 controller is very similar to the DualShock 4 that now comes with the PS4. Sony strangely does not confirm the name of the controller, even if we imagine that it should be the DualShock 5.

One of the exciting new features of the controller is the integration of adaptive triggers, i. e. dynamic triggers whose resistance can change depending on the context of the game.

The vibration greatly improved, and we are thinking here of the progress that has been made by brands such as Google and Apple in the field of smartphones. We also remember the Switch’s Joy-Cons’ HD Rumble feature, which has been adopted very little by game developers. The function built into the new PlayStation controller changes the sensations given by the controller under the fingers according to the game, for example, to feel the texture of material through the noise emitted by the controller’s loudspeaker and vibrations.

Finally, and this is news that will relieve all PlayStation players, the controller features a larger battery and a Type-C USB connector instead of a USB microphone. It leaves hope for increased range, although the new features of the controller could lead to increased power consumption.

Material Ray tracing

In April, Sony was unveiling some of the features of its new console. Through the voice of Mark Cerny, in charge of the console’s design, the brand had confirmed that ray tracing will come with the PS5 would mark the arrival of ray tracing. However, he had been unclear about the implementation of this ray tracing, while Microsoft promised for its Scarlett real-time hardware management of this technology.

What if Microsoft was the Apple of the next decade?

While the apple company is struggling to renew itself after creating the iPhone, iPad, or MacBook Air, its “sworn enemy” is beginning to take its place in the hardware market, and 2020 could even be the Microsoft year. Why? Simply because the Windows publisher will launch two innovative devices, as only Apple seemed to be able to do.

It was during the presentation of its new Surface (Pro 7, Pro X, and Laptop 3) that Microsoft first unveiled the Surface Duo smartphone. It will take a year to see it on the shelves, but the promise is enticing. It is quite simply the realization of the Courier or Centaurus projects; many times announced and visible only in patent applications. This time, it’s real, and it’s a smartphone equipped with two 5.6-inch screens linked together by two 360° hinges that allow for multiple configurations.

An innovative keyboard

Depending on your needs, the Neo can be transformed into a tablet, book, or laptop, and to use it; you can use a Bluetooth keyboard or a stylus. The keyboard is innovative because it can be “glued” to the lower screen. It allows you to leave a touch area above the keys to access functions dedicated to open applications and software. And if you place it on the top of the screen, it is a touchpad that is available, thus avoiding using a mouse.

It’s the Duo but in the XXL version. The difference is at the software level since we discover Windows 10X, a new operating system, adapted for this type of device. During his presentation, Microsoft explained that the objective was to impose this new type of format, and other manufacturers could thus propose it to their catalog and customize it. Exactly as if it were a traditional laptop. For the moment, the Neo and Duo have no prices, and they are expected by the end of 2020.

A smartphone using Android

It can be placed flat with a display surface of 8 inches, more prominent than that of an iPad mini, for example, and the lower part can then be transformed into a virtual keyboard. The good news is that Microsoft has chosen to run it under Android and that we will be able to access all the usual applications to download from the Play Store. Some should have functions dedicated to this type of dual-screen display. By the time the Duo is launched, the Huawei and Samsung models will be on the market, and we will already have a taste of these adaptations.

The other major innovation is the Surface Neo, a kind of hybrid tablet, equipped with two 9-inch screens. Here again, the 360° hinges are located between the two, so it is not a foldable screen, but two independent screens. And here still, we find ideas borrowed from the Courier and Centaurus projects with a versatility that could appeal to the highest number of people.

That was the big question around the Mate 30, Huawei’s new high-end terminal and the first of the firm subject to restrictions imposed by the U.S. government.

No American company can, for now, supply components or software to the Chinese brand, which in practice, means that the new terminals may not have Android, Google’s operating system. Users won’t be able to access applications as famous as Maps, Gmail, or YouTube, to name a few. The ban does not affect the models of Huawei that are already on the market, but those that the Chinese giant launches from now on. And the Mate 30 is the first of them.

However, and in an unexpected turn of events, Huawei has managed to “skip the ban” and offer its users the same experiences and applications they had until now. And all without violating the restrictions imposed by Donald Trump. How?

Let’s start by saying that the new smartphone, which comes in two versions (Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro, plus two others with 5G) is probably the most powerful portable computer in the industry. The new terminals do not fall short in this area and thanks to its new intelligent processor, Kirin 990, get even more improvements, focused this time on video capabilities.

But let’s get back to the central question. No, the new Mate 30 doesn’t have an Android operating system, nor does it include Google Mobile Services, which allows downloads from the App Store. In other words, it will not be possible, for example, to upgrade to the next Android 10, nor will be pre-installed native Google applications such as Gmail, Maps, or YouTube. But that doesn’t mean we can’t get them.

Huawei insists that when the phone goes on sale, which will happen in the coming weeks, the user will find an easy path, which does not require technical knowledge, to reach, download and install all the “apps” to which he is accustomed.

Huawei has adopted a three-pronged strategy. In the words of Walter Ji, president of Huawei’s Consumer division, the company’s way of working has always been to “decide fast and move fast.” What Ji made more than clear is that Huawei is not going to stop, and is prepared to face any possibility.

Thus, if the United States finally lifts the ban, Huawei will continue as before. And Google is the most interested in this because otherwise, it would lose the 570 million users that the Chinese company currently has.

If, on the other hand, the ban is prolonged, Huawei has its operating system in the oven, Harmony, which could see the light of day with the next generation of terminals next year.

But while the question is debated, Huawei could not stop and has launched a third solution, which is the one that incorporates the new Mate 30.

Called HMS (Huawei Mobile Services), this is a merger between the free version of Android (Android Open Source, which is not subject to embargo or prohibitions), and the exclusive customization layer of Huawei, EMUI, which goes for its version 10.

The terminal, by itself, is not limited in any way, so that any user could search online, on their own, any application and install it without a problem. Many of them are already available in Huawei’s shop, App Gallery, which is included in the terminals and already has 11,000 different applications.

However, and to avoid users having to carry out too complicated operations, the terminals will be prepared so that anyone can easily access all the applications. Even register it with Google. The phones are also compatible with Google Mobile Services, although it is not pre-installed.

The company ensures that everything that is installed on the phones will work correctly. In short, the new Mate 30 is still an Android terminal, although with the restrictions indicated. And in the future, everything will depend on how events unfold. In any case, we must recognize that the solution adopted by Huawei has been brilliant.

Apple is working on a new feature for iOS 13 that would allow it to find objects through its Find My application, which so far offers the option of searching only for people and devices. This new feature could be integrated into a tag tracking system. This rumor is provided by the MacRumors portal, which has found a new button in the “app” in which “objects” can be read, and which appears next to “people” and “devices.”

When you click on this button, a map is displayed at the top of the screen where a dot indicates where the object the user is looking for is located. You can also see a menu at the bottom where images of several items (keys, suitcase, and bicycle) appear. On the other hand, the “me” icon of the application goes to the top right of the screen.

The middle highlights another button that appears when you click on “objects” where it says “add B389”. It is the codename that has internally received this possible new feature that Apple is working on. It is a service similar to that offered by Tile, an application that puts a physical tag on the object so that the user can know its location at all times. It then adds it to the “app” and activates it by joining the two devices together. Thus, if the object is lost, the user can find its exact location through the application.

In the case of Apple, a message appears that says, “Keep track of all your daily items,” and describes it as “tag all your daily items with B389 and never lose them again. On the other hand, according to the media cited, the construction of iOS 13 indicates that the user will receive a notification when separated from the tagged object. And that, if necessary, users can click on a button in Find My, which will make the object’s physical tag start to sound noisy to make it easier to find the lost object.

If the object cannot be found, the tag can be set to “lost mode,” so that if another iPhone user finds it, they will be able to access the owner’s phone number and contact the owner. Furthermore, in this case, the affected person will receive a notification immediately indicating that his object has been found.

The new functionality also allows you to set “safe locations” so that a user is not notified if an object is left at one or more specific locations. Besides, they will be able to share the location of their belongings with their friends and family. Finally, the media has pointed out that augmented reality would also play a role in this new function, being able to incorporate Apple ARKit tools. Thus, the construction of iOs 13 includes the figure of a red 3D globe that, they say, could help users mark the point where they have lost an object after having scanned their room with their iPhone. It also includes a 2D orange balloon image.

The user will be able to more or less restrict the influence of a person seeking to harm him by approving or not his comments and thus making them visible or not for others.

Instagram announced on Monday to implement new tools to fight online harassment to ensure a “safe environment” for its users. Among these new features is a warning, generated by artificial intelligence software, that will be sent to people who want to publish offensive comments about the popular image sharing application.

The goal here is to limit the influence of a person seeking to harm others.

“This intervention allows people to reflect and cancel their remark, and it allows the recipient to avoid receiving this harmful comment,” explained Adam Mosseri, the boss of Instagram. Another tool called “restriction” aims to reduce a possible flow of negative remarks about the account of a user who is a victim of harassment.

This feature is intended for a reluctant user, for fear of escalating the situation, to block or unsubscribe from a stalker’s account.

The user will be able to more or less restrict the influence of a person seeking to harm him by approving or not his comments and thus making them visible or not for others. “Restricted people will not be able to see if you are active on Instagram or if you have read their direct messages,” explained Mr. Mosseri.