Keeping up with corona: All COVID-19 trackers and apps in one place

We are in the midst of an unforeseen public health emergency. The Novel Coronavirus cases are spiking up in India as we speak and to tackle the situation, the Indian government has invoked the Epidemic Diseases Act and put the nation under a 21-day lockdown even as it ramps up hospital infrastructure and make test kits more widely available. But is the lockdown really working in flattening the curve? Amidst all the guidelines and directives that are coming from the government, there are also a few apps and websites that are keeping people informed about the latest updates and even if they have come in contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19. Let’s take a look —

India specific COVID-19 trackers

There are bunch of websites that are updating the rise in cases, recoveries and deaths and representing the situation in graphs, charts and more. Some are relying on official data from the government while some are making use crowd-sourced information to keep the public updated.

COVID19India.org

This tracker is now highly popular among the people. The admins keep it updated almost every hour with new information. It’s a volunteer driven initiative which uses state bulletins and official handles to update the numbers. The data is further validated by a group of volunteers and maintained in a publicly available spreadsheet and an API.

Furthermore, the tracker sometimes shows more cases than the official number. The reason for that, according to the FAQ on the website is that the MoHW numbers are updated at a specified time once a day.

An interesting and unique aspect of this tracker is its spread charts which shows how the virus is spreading from one person to the other.

Mygov.in/covid-19

This is an official COVID-19 tracker maintained by the Government of India. Like other trackers, this also provides real-time updates on COVID-19 cases in the country and breaks down the data into states and union territories. The website also provides helpful links for preventive measures along with details about the ongoing lockdown in the country.

This is also available as an app for Android and iOS users.

Coronatracker.in

Built by a few students in Goa last months, the unique aspect of this tracker is that shows the distance from the nearest COVID-19 confirmed case in India. Apart from that, this is an easy to use website to keep a track of new cases, recoveries and deaths. You can also see the rate at which infections are rising, as well as a state-wise division of active and confirmed cases.

COVID-19 apps

Trackers are a good way to keep yourself informed, but there are apps that will inform you if you have come in close range of a person who has tested tested positive for COVID-19, along with maintaining logs about yourself.

Aarogya Setu

The app has been developed by the National Informatics Center under MeitY and relies on your smartphone’s Bluetooth and location services to determine if you have come in contact with an infected person.

The app updates itself based on the level of risk you may be at. If there’s no risk, there’s option for self-assessment via a chatbot that lets you log any COVID-19 symptoms you may be experiencing. If you are at risk though, you have the option to call the helpline and schedule a test for COVID-19.

Apart from that, it also carries regular updates from MoHW and offers a bunch of helpful links.

CoBuddy

This is an app launched by a face recognition startup called FaceTagR which became popular among police forces trying to tackle Anti-CAA protests in the country. The app is basically for those who have been asked to quarantine themselves at home by the government. People with travel history, or who may have come in contact with infected persons. The app makes sure people quarantined are within their stipulated location, and can communicate directly with the authorities.

Testing and tracking apps from various state governments

Apart from this, many state governments have launched apps for residents in their respective states that help them report about possible cases and to find out if a COVID-19 positive patient is nearby. There are apps from state governments of Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala and more.

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Read the digital version of April 2020 Digit, FastTrack, SKOAR and dmystify today

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has ceased life to exist the way we know it. Most of you reading this are under lockdown. Self-isolation really is the only way to flatten the curve. The Digit editorial team too has been working out of our respective homes, and with the press closed, this is the fruit of our labour. Presented in an all new digital format right on Digit Geek.

The cover story of the month is about surviving the lockdown, the geek’s way. Life may look to have come to a standstill but this can also be a good time to brush up on some new skills. Ensure you keep the mind’s windows open and keep learning new things. Keep your kids occupied with fun activities and learn how you can help the elderlies by ensuring access to beneficial services and apps.

These are difficult times, but  somethings remain like it was.

Our test center was abuzz with 5G smartphones, a comeback from Onida, and a bunch of audio gear. Meanwhile, the SKOAR! issue is about all the games you can play during lockdown, including the adrenaline pumping FPS, Doom Eternal. Now’s the best time to pick up the slack on that backlog of games you’ve been sitting on. Or just get into gaming in general. This month’s FastTrack is on becoming a command line ninja. We cover the basics, and then some more, while Digit dmystify deals with something that’s been on our minds recently. What happens when we reach the line end of the line?

We wouldn’t have left you without your dose of Digit, FastTrack, dmystify and SKOAR! in this lockdown now, would we?

Read the April issue of Digit online at https://ift.tt/2yqk7Ch. Simply head over to the site, clock on My-Account or the little human in the top-right corner. Once you are logged in, head over to https://ift.tt/2X4hkck and enjoy your April issue along with the e-DVD.

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Huawei P40 Pro is the worlds best smartphone camera according to DxOMark

DxOMark has put the Huawei P40 Pro through its test labs and the phone has received an overall score of 128, the highest for a smartphone camera yet. This has been a trend for quite some time with Huawei smartphones, and while we did expect the P40 Pro to have an excellent camera stack, the impressive score does paint a very optimistic picture.

The final score of 128 is a combination of Photo and Video scores. The P40 Pro scores 140 and for video, it scores 128. Both the scores are the highest for a smartphone in their respective places. The Huawei P30 Pro, for context, scored 125 in Photos and 97 for Videos. The Huawei P40 Pro features the largest imaging sensor made by Huawei, on top of the fact that it's an RYYB sensor instead of RGGB. Huawei has used large-format sensors across the board, allowing it to achieve impressive photographic results. As noted by DxOMark, the P40 Pro exhibits its very wide dynamic range, along with good detail retention in medium to long zoom shots. However, despite the new multi-spectrum sensor for accurate colour sensing and white balance, DxOMark noted occasional instances of inaccurate colour reproduction and white balance. DxOMark also notes that the P40 Pro has excellent video recording capabilities, but the score does not account for the quality of the audio. One area where the phone excels in both photo and video modes is autofocus performance. DxOMark states that the camera has “excellent” AF tracking while shooting video.

DxOMark has had a questionable past, seeing how they also sell their tests to OEMs for tuning their cameras. A camera developed using DxOMark’s test setup is bound to score well, its sort of like taking an exam, when you’ve already had the question paper. However, in DxOMark’s defence, their tests are designed to be very stringent, so if a company can manage to meet even the bare minimum, it's still going to be an impressive camera stack. Of course, there have been multiple instances where we’ve disagreed with DxOMark’s findings, so while its good to know that the P40 Pro continues Huawei’s tradition of making great cameras in a smartphone. We are still going to test it for ourselves to see just how well the camera can do in the Indian test scenario, seeing how sometimes, algorithms are tuned using region-specific data.

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Asus announces Strix Scar and Stric G series refresh

Asus has been making big announcements all around, given that both Intel and Nvidia introduced new gaming-specific hardware as well. After introducing the new Zephyrus lineup, Asus gas also announced major upgrades to its Strix series. For starters, Asus has confirmed that they are dropping the Strix Hero lineup entirely, now leaving us with the Strix Scar and Strix G series of laptops. In India, Asus positions the Strix G series as entry-level ROG gaming machines whereas the Scar series is the high-performance beast. This year, Asus has globally announced the availability of ROG Strix Scar 15, ROG Strix Scar 17, ROG Strix G15 and ROG Strix G17.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 and Scar 17

The Scar series comes in 15” and 17” flavours, both powered by Intel’s latest 10th generation processors. While the Scar 15 will top out at the Intel Core i7-10875H, an 8 core/16 thread processor, the 17-inch Scar 17 also offers the top-of-the-line Intel core i9-10980HK to users. The Strix Scar series is aimed at those gamers who are aspiring to get into esports or are already engaged in them. As such, you’re looking at machines with a 300Hz refresh rate and Nvidia’s top-of-the-line RTX 2080 Super GPUs. The Scar also offers the new Keystone II which when attached to the computer, can instantly boost performance and also give access to an internal “shadow drive.” The Scar series also offers three NVMe slots, two of which can be configured in RAID 0 for storage of up to 1TB and the third slot is there for just expansion.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 & Scar 17

 

Asus ROG Strix G15 and G17

The Scar G series globally will be available in a similarly spec’d performance package as the Scar series. That is, processor selection going up to i7-10875H, GPU selection going up to Nvidia RTX 2080 Super and display with refresh rates as high as 240Hz on the 15-inch model and 144Hz on the 17-inch models. With the Strix G15, Asus has also introduced an Electro Punk variant, inspired by cyberpunk elements such as neon colours. The Electro Punk variant is black coloured, with pink trim for a rather unique look.

Asus ROG Strix G15 Electro Punk

You can see the basic specs of all the Strix laptops in the chart below.

The above specifications are for the global product lineup, and from the past, we’ve learnt that Asus brings specific SKUs to India only, slotting their various gaming laptops into tiers. This makes sense since it would be weird to have a Scar 15, G15, Zephyrus S15, all with the same specs, but with variable pricing. As of now, there is no official word on when the new Scar and G series laptops will come to India and at what price points.

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Lenovo Legion 5i, Legion 7i First to Get Nvidia's Advanced Optimus Technology

Nvidia made several announcements and one of the significant ones was the new Advanced Optimus Technology.

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Googles local community app Neighbourly is shutting down on May 12

Google may be one of the worlds largest tech companies but that doesn't mean that every product or service it released has been a success. From social networking platform Google Plus to the Daydream VR headset and even the Allo app, Google has a long list of products and services it has discontinued. Google even discontinued devices like the Nexus Player, Nexus phones and Nexus Tablets. Today, another service is entering its final days before shutting down. Google’s local community app - Neighbourly.

Google Neighbourly app was launched in 2018 and will shut down on May 12 2020. Users will be able to download their data till October 12 2020. For those unaware, the app lets users get local information, be it the safety of a particular area or the best food in a particular restaurant. Users can also be a part of multiple neighbourhoods in case they live and work away from home. The Neighbourly app was launched in India in May 2018. At launch, it was available only in Mumbai. Since then, Google expanded Neighbourly to Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Mysore, Vizag, Kota, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kochi, Coimbatore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Indore and other cities in the country.

With the shutting down of Neighbourly, users of the app will have to go back to the good old days of asking people about relevant local information. However, since we are in a time of social distancing, people may resort to just Googling the information. Surprisingly, Google says the reason for discontinuing the app is because it hasn't grown as the company hoped it would. 

There is an interesting website called Killed by Google which lists all the services, apps and products that Google has killed. In other Google news, the company has limited YouTube streaming to 480p in India. You can read more about it here.

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Coronavirus effect: Tata Sky launches emergency credit facility to encourage people to stay home

After a notification from TRAI asking telecom operators to help customers tide over the lockdown with minimal hassle, DTH players like Tata Sky have come up with special offers to encourage people to stay home.

Tata Sky announced it is now offering emergency credit facility for free to its customers. The company has also made ten of its interactive content services free for subscribers.

What is Tata Sky’s emergency credit facility

The emergency credit facility is for those who are unable to recharge their account because of the inability to find a dealer to do it for them. For these subscribers, Tata Sky is offering a balanced loan for a specified time period. The balance credit under this loan will be debited from the user’s account as soon as they re-activate the service, without any interest charged. The loan is aimed at non-tech savvy viewers who may find it difficult to recharge their accounts under present circumstances.

How to avail the emergency credit facility?

To avail the service, send a missed to Tata Sky on 080-61999922.

Ten free interactive channels

Tata Sky is also offering free access to ten interactive channels on the network. That includes Dance Studio, Fitness, Smart Manager, Vedic Maths, and more. The channels can be accessed from the Tata Sky set-top-box or from the Tata Sky app, available on Android, iOS and Windows.

Previously, Tata Sky also started offering its Fitness services for free to encourage people to stay home during the lockdown.

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