TWIT 766: Zoom, But Use Protection

Beep boop - this is a robot. A new show has been posted to TWiT…

What are your thoughts about today’s show? We’d love to hear from you!

Very brave of Georgia, I really respect her for having the courage to put her email address out there for people who may need help. I hope she doesn’t get to much hate mail or trolls spamming her.

As to payouts etc. Germany has set aside 1.5 billion (1.5 US trillion) Euros to help businesses small and large. The money is to be used to keep the company afloat and the employees paid - they will provide 80% of the normal wages for workers that have to sit at home. The reasoning is, you can pay the people now, but if you let the businesses go to the wall, what will they do when we come out the other end?

The EU has put aside an additional 0.5 billion (0.5 US trillion) Euros for countries in need. Some southern countries are seriously talking about a basic income going forward. They also want “Corona Bonds” and not loans, whereas the richer countries are against bonds, because they would be liable if the poorer countries forefeit on their loans.

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What the government need to consider is whether easing the burden on the NHS is worth the social cost. I just wonder what impact the social distancing and lockdown are having on peopls’ mental heath.

If the app Google are proposing weren’t voluntary then I would consider it a small price to pay in order to get society back to normal.

The idea of a universal basic income is one I can only see myself supporting if they do it instead of the benefit system but how do we afford it without massive tax rises, which I doubt people would be too happy about?

A bit surprised that testing for antibodies was not brought up as a way out of the current stay-at-home status. I’m reading, hearing on podcasts, and in conversations with acquaintances that COVID has been in the US longer than we think and many people have had it starting in late November. My gut feeling is our herd immunity is much higher than expected.

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This has some value, but how much is still unknown. It has not yet been conclusively proved that you can’t catch it more than once. It’s not believed to be mutating quickly, but look at the flu, which is also a corona virus… it mutates enough each year that you can get reinfected each year. The scientists need enough time to gain a better understanding of covid-19, but at this time I think they are more focused on finding a vaccine and any possible treatments for those most stricken.

I am not trying to spread any rumours… but what if those with no seeming underlying health issues that get so severely infected that they die are the ones that get infected more than once. Like they had a nearly symtomless encounter the first time, but on the second go they get overwhelmed. That’s most probably hogwash, but right now I don’t think the scientists know enough about how this bad boy works.

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About Apple TV+ content. Sounds like I’m the only that has enjoyed some shows. My litmus test is probably pretty low compared to real critics: I stayed awake. :grin:
My wife and I have watched The Morning Show, Servant, and See. Just watch the first episode of Home Before Dark. I’d recommend all of them.

For all Mankind is excellent.

Little America and Mythic Quest on Apple TV+ are both excellent. For a basically free service just starting up, Apple has had enough interesting productions for a service just starting up. It took quite awhile for Netflix to get to House of Cards. Hulu has become Disney’s home for all the Fox content, so everything that is on FX networks ends up there. All the not-totally-family-friendly content from FOX like The Orville and other niche-type content that Fox was doing has moved to Hulu and it is totally worth the few extra bucks a month to get Hulu without ads.

This was a great panel! I’d only heard Georgia on the iMore podcast, and this seemed to really bring out her personality. I enjoyed the discussion on streaming. I’m 60, and haven’t been to a theater for at least 10 years. The people kicking my chair, and making noise with their pretzel bag they snuck in drove me away.

Anyway, the problem we have with cord cutting is that Comcast is the best internet provider in our area. We used to have access to everything Comcast provided. Then they started developing extra levels, which has taken away channels we used to watch (TCM, Cinemax, Starz). We also use Netflix, AppleTV+ (free since I bought an 11ProMax), Amazon Prime, Hulu (shared with family). The problem is if we wanted to get Comcast internet, and drop the subscriptions, our bill would be nearly what it is now. As Leo has always said, they ain’t stupid, and they know you still need the internet.

We would like to subscribe to CBS All Access, and maybe another one or two services, but by the time we add it all up, we are approaching $300 a month.

Being able to pick and choose is something everyone has wanted. Yet, there has to be a line that gets drawn financially. When you begin the cord cutting with a $125+ monthly internet bill, it limits your subscription choices.

I’m very tempted to watch Justified for third time.

Good write up on Apple+Google contact tracing API. You will need a doctors “key” upon positive diagnosis to send your data to The servers. So there can be limited spam? https://tidbits.com/2020/04/10/apple-and-google-partner-for-privacy-preserving-covid-19-contact-tracing-and-notification/

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That would be a good improvement for sure. Still unclear why sick people will make time to self-report… unless there’s something in it for them, most people will feel they have bigger issues to deal with?

I think Apple and Google are only providing the API. So govt and health authorities will have to built the app around it. I would reckon they would make it compulsory for positive patients to submit or the doctor will do it for them.

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You must own a phone… I don’t see that working for poor people, homeless people, or other sects of society (like the Mennonites and others that shun technology.) If it doesn’t cover everyone all I foresee is incomplete results, which still look mostly like a failure IMHO.

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I’ve only listened to part f the show so far, but I laughed at the video / recording of Leo sewing.
“Crikey, is that what Lisa sounds like? Americans are so strange,” I thought - only to find out, no, that was on double time!

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45% is a good start. According to Statista

The one show on Apple TV Plus that I actually like is the Amazing Stories Reboot… But they only made 5 episodes for this season.

If we’re going to take pandemics and world health seriously after this (here’s hoping), maybe a dedicated device might work for developing nations. Something looking like a pager with Bluetooth LE that’s dedicated to this contact-tracking function only.

Quite surprised at the amount of cynicism/push-back on the panel actually.

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Leo on er, rectal biometrics, “…this is a fundamental debate…”. Freudian slip much?

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And for those without electricity, how would they charge those devices?