Dumb laws in new york

Avid steamer “TheGrefg” Martínez recently set a new viewing record on the Twitch platform. Image: courtesy of Twitch and David “TheGrefg” Martínez via AFP Relaxnews While Twitch has seen a significant increase in viewer numbers over the last 12 months, this trend appears to be digging in for 2021. David “TheGrefg” Martínez has set a new record for the video streaming platform, attracting more than 2.4 million simultaneous viewers in his latest live broadcast. The Spanish Twitch player who counts 6.3 million subscribers captured the attention of new viewers by introducing his new avatar for “Fortnite”: a red-haired character available from Jan. 16 on Epic Games’ flagship game store. This announcement was followed live by more than 2.47 million people on the video streaming platform, according to data from the TwitchTracker website. This audience peak allowed David Martínez to beat the record set by Tyler “Ninja” Blevins in March 2018. At that time, more than 616,000 curious ... » Learn More about Twitch sets new records as the pandemic continues

MANILA, Philippines –  A job searching website believes that the COVID-19 pandemic, which has infected over two million people in the world, would introduce changes in labor practices, especially in the use of work-from-home schemes. According to Jobstreet, more employees would push for increased benefits and for possible work-from-home methods as it appears to be a more viable option even after the various lockdowns end. “Since the implementation of community quarantine, we have already seen drastic changes in the workforce […] JobStreet.com believes there will be many changes that are bound to stick as we take on learnings from this outbreak,” a statement from the site’s management said. “Remote work is the future — and we are seeing it now more than ever. Because of the mandatory home quarantine, most companies have been forced to shift their gears and adopt digital ways,” they added. Jobstreet also sees the outbreak as an opportunity for workers to seek mandatory health ... » Learn More about Work from home seen as another new normal in post coronavirus life – JobStreet

PLDT Inc. and subsidiary Smart Communications have blocked some 3,011 sites featuring the sexual abuse and exploitation of children in compliance with the orders of the National Telecommunications Commission, a statement on Wednesday showed. “When users try to open these malicious materials that are on our network blacklist, our child protection platform will automatically redirect them to a landing page that informs them that the files they’re trying to access violate the country’s antichild pornography law,” said Angel Redoble, PLDT first vice president and chief information security officer. Another key partnership was with the United Nations Children’s Fund, which paved the way for the roll out of its own child safeguarding policy. —MIGUEL R. CAMUS TOPICS: ... » Learn More about PLDT group blocks 3,011 child porn sites

Experts discuss how cybersecurity policies and strategies are formed in the Asia Pacific during the 2nd Asia Pacific Online Policy Forum hosted by Kaspersky on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. MANILA, Philippines — Cybersecurity experts underscored on Tuesday the pressing need for building capacity and investing in education to make the cyberspace more secure. During the 2nd Asia Pacific Online Policy Forum organized by Kaspersky, Dr. Greg Austin, Professor of Cybersecurity, Strategy and Diplomacy at the University of New South Wales in Australia, pointed to the need to attract more cybersecurity experts. Attended by more than 1,000 participants including executive officers from various sectors and top government officials, the forum focused on how policies and strategies are shaped in APAC and how policymakers should act ahead of cybercriminals. “Globally, we are not making enough cybersecurity professionals,” Austin said. “Most countries are not prepared to make investments in ... » Learn More about Experts underscore need for getting more cybersecurity professionals in APAC

MANILA, Philippines – Individuals will have to surrender more personal data as an offshoot of the coronavirus pandemic in the coming year and companies and governments will have to redouble their efforts to protect that information, according to a global cybersecurity firm. In particular, Palo Alto Networks said efforts to improve contact tracing — necessary to rein in the spread of COVID-19 — will take on greater importance in 2021 as the private and public sectors strive to reopen economies and national borders. “Despite the data privacy conversation circulating for several years – with wariness around the use of data by some big tech companies and general data protection regulation compliance continuing to be a challenge for companies – it is contact tracing that has really made individuals sit up and take notice of data privacy,” the company said. Rigorous contact tracing and timely access to accurate and complete data have proven to be a key factor in “flattening the curve” ... » Learn More about Stronger cybersecurity urged to protect personal data

A host of more affordable 5G smartphones should be coming in 2021. Image: IStock/alexsl via AFP Relaxnews. 5G going truly mainstream, ecological awareness, the conquest of space and the breakthrough of cryptomoney are some of the main trends awaiting the world of high-tech in 2021. 5G for everyone With the first commercial offers making their appearance over the last year or so in many regions and the majority of the next smartphones coming onto the market will be 5G compatible, a large part of the population is eager to take advantage of this new generation of ultra-fast mobile network. The 5G rollout will continue throughout various territories in more areas, not just main cities, and will have an impact on businesses with more augmented reality experiences and interactive shopping being available as a result. As more consumer devices enable 5G connectivity, this will mean a greater range of services available to users in their homes and as citizens of “smart cities.” ... » Learn More about What we’re betting on in tech for 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant changes when it comes to the role of managers in businesses. Image: Unsplash via AFP Relaxnews. Whether it’s managing workers remotely, rallying teams while lending an attentive ear to each individual, or juggling time spent in the office and time working remotely, COVID-19 has reshuffled the cards when it comes to the role of managers working in businesses worldwide. What if, in the coming year, lessons learned in the pandemic were taken onboard to make way for a more horizontal approach to management, drawing on the idea of permaculture in the workplace? Welcome to Episode 5 of ETX Studio’s “After Calendar” of incoming trends for 2021. “Before, managing was about motivating teams and moving forward together to achieve results. Today, you have to manage fragility. It’s new emotional territory in the workplace. At any time, you know that your troops can crack. And you yourself are shaken up by the context, the uncertainty. So ... » Learn More about 2021: The year of ‘perma-management’?

Image: Panasonic via AFP Relaxnews TVs are the stars of this 2021 edition of CES, an exceptionally 100%-virtual edition due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The big trend this year is artificial intelligence taking a primordial role in the quality of the image. Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, all the sector’s giants are displaying their own more or less “intelligent” innovations. Sony is making a splash with its new range of TVs equipped with its Cognitive Processor XR chip. With it, Sony promises televisions with cognitive intelligence, i.e., capable of instantly understanding the behavior of the viewer, where his or her gaze is directed and the resulting image and sound needs. The models equipped with this chip thus anticipate the viewer’s gaze according to the type of image displayed, in order to systematically highlight the focal point, the place fixed by the eye. The integrated artificial intelligence is then responsible for immersing the viewer in the scene as realistically as possible ... » Learn More about When AI meets the TV set

For leaders in both the public and private sectors, this is our moment of truth. In a matter of weeks, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has completely eroded our notion of normalcy. Businesses are suffocating with ceased opera­tions, disrupted supply chains, and an unpreceden­ted surge or drop in demand for which nobody has adequately prepared. When our management team sat down to create EON’s COVID-19 business continuity plan in early March, the sheer scale and unprecedented nature of this crisis meant we had no one to look to who can say they have “been there, done that.” So we chose to rely on our human instincts and our expertise as communicators. We find ourselves grappling with a multitude of questions to which we don’t have concrete answers. How might we ensure business agility and productivity to survive this crisis? How might we play a more valuable role in our customers’ lives given the current situation? But also, how can we continue to provide ourselves, our ... » Learn More about How leaders can carry our nation through this pandemic

Property developer DoubleDragon Properties Corp. has priced the initial public offering (IPO) of its real estate investment trust (REIT) right at the maximum of P2.25 per share, finalizing the size at P14.7 billion, or the largest REIT offering in the country so far. At P2.25 a share, the projected dividend yield as stated in the REIT plan is 5.07 percent for 2021 and 5.45 percent for 2022. Gerry Valenciano, president of PNB Capital, one of the underwriters, said the offering had been oversubscribed by 1.78 times the base offer. This robust demand allowed DDMP (DoubleDragon Meridian Park) REIT to price the maiden offering at the top end of the range. “Throughout the book-building period, we received overwhelming demand and interest from high-quality local institutional investors,” he said. DoubleDragon chair Edgar Sia II said the overallotment option had been fully exercised. The base offer consists of 5.94 billion common shares with an overallotment option of up to 594.25 ... » Learn More about DoubleDragon sets REIT right IPO price, size