Are you ready for Quibi?
What’s a Quibi? It is a new streaming video service for $5 per month (or $7 for no ads). But it’s not just another streaming service. This one is available only for your smartphone, enables you to choose the camera angle you wish to watch, and is owned and produced by celebrities, and offers programming that is no longer than 10 minutes, and packed with screen stars. The service has already produced a healthy number of episodes and will have 175 original shows in year one. Despite the pandemic, the service will launch next week. CNET
dis-rup-shun: I was on the fence about Quibi, but given the current appetite for entertainment, I think that Quibi is the luckiest company on the planet. There is no better time or circumstance than now to launch a very specialized video service that will give people a lot to talk about. Those that don’t understand the talk will be forced to subscribe to be a part of the new normal. Just look at the impact on our online lives that Netflix’ Tiger King is having, then imagine all the talk is about something that only costs another $5 per month. Quibi will be thanking the coronavirus.
Air pollution is down – way down
The European Space Agency satellites have noted a significant decrease in air pollution. Significant visual changes are seen over Wuhan, a factory city, and Italy’s Po Valley, where the Alps block smog from industrial centers around Milan. The pandemic shutdown is providing scientists with a glimpse of what a reduced pollution future will look like and where it will change the atmosphere most. Wired
dis-rup-shun: If we are tallying up wins from coronavirus, we can credit the atmosphere as a winner.
Microsoft is a coronavirus winner
Use of Microsoft’s cloud services, including Teams and Skype video conferencing applications has skyrocketed. Teams use in Italy for a one month period was up 775%. On the news of the company’s strong performance, the stock was up 7%. CNBC
dis-rup-shun: Let’s face it, the Internet is what is keeping our economy open during the pandemic. If our internet infrastructure collapsed, then we would devolve into a 1980s-like experience, with a bunch of smart devices that are computing islands. The companies that are keeping our lives together are the companies that make the devices, software, services and telecom infrastructure. Unless the company is involved in point of sale computing, the IT sector should be thriving in this time, and thank goodness for companies that make great, reliable products.
Free Zoom backgrounds
Need a less messy home office for your constant Zoom calls? A number of graphics providers have made backgrounds available for free — some animated. Sites are Unsplash, Canva, Modsy, and choices include PeeWee’s Playhouse, a confused John Travolta, and many others. The Verge
dis-rup-shun: It is nice to see that ingenuity is alive and well, jumping on the meteoric rise of Zoom and providing razors to go along with the free blade of Zoom conferences. Expect to see a list of video conferencing accessories, including software, devices, stands and microphones. We are an adaptive people.