Telehealth veterinary clinic thrives during quarantine
A coronavirus win is the increased use of telemedicine. In New York City, pet clinic BondVet is experiencing a 200% increase in appointments over the web. In 50% of the telehealth visits, vets resolve the issue after prescribing medicines and treatments over the video appointment. Each 20 minute visit which costs $50. CNBC
dis-rup-shun: A brilliant use of video teleconferencing, BondVet is helping set a new standard for pet care which won’t go away after the pandemic. After all, a vet visit often relies on the same pet owner’s description of the animal’s maladies that a televisit requires, so in many cases being in-person may not add value.
Chrome bars ads that hijack your CPU and power
Chrome is releasing a new browser extension that blocks CPU hijacking ads. Chrome estimates that these ads are rare — somewhere around 0.3 percent— but account for up to 28 percent of CPU usage and 27 percent of network data overall. These annoying ads that use your computer to mine cryptocurrency use up CPU, battery, electricity and network bandwidth. Wired
dis-rup-shun: If you have wondered why certain web searches, especially after leaving the site up and running while you are doing other things, result in your PC working extremely hard (fan running, CPU activity high), it is likely that your computer has been temporarily hijacked by a crypto currency miner program hidden in an ad. It’s like AirBnB on your computer without permission, or any compensation. Clever, but devious.
The perils of moving from Mac to PC
Scandalous, but true. Some Mac users have gotten fed up with paying a premium for computer hardware that is poorly made. Some of these users have been lured back to Windows by well-made PCs at amazing prices. Wired reports on the perils and pleasures of experience by a Mac user who decides to venture to (or back) the Windows world.
dis-rup-shun: The bottom line seems to be that Mac software is easier to use, more seamless, and less vulnerable to malware. PC hardware, by and large, provides more hardware features for less money. Apple simply needs to pour a great deal of effort into fixing some poor hardware in order to protect the Macintosh premium experience.
Record spending on video games
Americans spent $10.9 billion on video games in the first quarter, up 9% from 2019. Hardware sales totaled $770 million, with Nintendo’s impossible to find Switch in the lead. Top titles purchased were Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Doom Eternal, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto V, Minecraft, MLB The Show 20 and NBA 2K20. The Verge
dis-rup-shun: There are many silver linings in this very dark and sad time, and the games industry is certainly one. Will the renewed interest in gaming last as other activities hopefully come online by the end of Q2? Perhaps increased game engagement will lead to a sustainable new level going well past the end of the pandemic.