For some reason, BlackBerry refuses to go quietly into the night, still trading on the goodwill of smartphone early adopters from a decade ago. The last thing we heard was that TCL had halted production of BlackBerry-badged Android phones.
But no, the story doesn’t end there, he says, unable to comprehend the affection someone must still hold for BlackBerry.
BlackBerry OnMobile
On Wednesday, security tech startup OnwardMobility announced it’ll release a new 5G BlackBerry smartphone, with a physical keyboard, which could arrive in the West as soon as early 2021. Like the TCL episode, it sounds like a similar branding exercise, but if you want the keyboard, this could be your only choice.
— Mat
Google services ran into some trouble overnight
Everything from Gmail to YouTube tossed up error messages.
Starting around midnight ET, many people reported issues connecting to the G Suite services, but especially Gmail. Twitter and DownDetector immediately spiked with reports, and eventually Google’s status page revealed they are investigating the problem. The most recent update said all users should have their issues resolved soon, so things may be back to normal by the time you wake up and start reading this.
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Zoom calls are coming to Amazon, Google and Facebook smart displays
The Zoom domination continues.
In 2020, Zoom has taken over as an essential part of work, home and social life. Pretty soon, it’s moving beyond laptops, phones and tablets as it gets support on smart displays from Amazon, Google and Facebook. Facebook’s Portal devices are getting some other key work-from-home tweaks, too, but, right now, it’s all about Zoom.
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Recent damage to the Arecibo telescope could keep it offline for months
Crews are still assessing the damage.
UCSF
During a NASA meeting earlier this week, Lindley Johnson, director of NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, said the massive radio telescope could be sidelined for months. Johnson revealed that a broken cable did not snap, as previously reported, but came out of a socket in a nearby support tower, causing a nearly 100-foot-long gash, which has disabled the dish.
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