1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:14,760 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:17,720 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio 4 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:20,520 Speaker 1: and a love of all things tech. And when I'm 5 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 1: not staring at my producer, who is steadily nodding off 6 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:27,680 Speaker 1: at her chair falling asleep as I speak into this microphone, 7 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:31,120 Speaker 1: I want to talk to you guys about tech and 8 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:34,440 Speaker 1: critical thinking, compassion and things that are really important to 9 00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:37,400 Speaker 1: me and I hope are important to you. And I 10 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: think it's past time that we have an episode about 11 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 1: the coronavirus and the disease it causes. That would be 12 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:48,120 Speaker 1: COVID nineteen. And I'm sure most of you are tired 13 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 1: of hearing about this, but the effects of the pandemic 14 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 1: are immense, and the tech industry is definitely not exempt 15 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:58,680 Speaker 1: from those effects. So today we're going to talk about 16 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:02,240 Speaker 1: the virus itself, the disease it causes, how that's impacting 17 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 1: the tech industry and beyond. And there's some hopeful stuff 18 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 1: in here too, as we look at how things are 19 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: shaping up at the time of this recording, which I 20 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:15,800 Speaker 1: am doing on Friday, the thirteen March But let's start 21 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:18,959 Speaker 1: off with defining some terms, and will begin with the 22 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:22,240 Speaker 1: word virus, because heck, we've used that word to describe 23 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:26,640 Speaker 1: stuff like malware, right, computer viruses. What we call computer 24 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 1: viruses computer viruses because of how the malware can spread 25 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: in a way that's analoguess, it's not exactly the same, 26 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:38,720 Speaker 1: but analogous to how something like the coronavirus spreads in 27 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 1: the flesh and blood world. So what the heck is 28 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:46,000 Speaker 1: a virus? Well, viruses are actually something of a of 29 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:49,640 Speaker 1: a puzzler. They are small and simple, and people often 30 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 1: refer to them as infectious agents. I used to know 31 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:57,760 Speaker 1: an infectious agent. I won't reterm my calls now. But 32 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:01,480 Speaker 1: there was confusion over whether or not viruses qualify as 33 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 1: life forms. It's an ongoing discussion in science, and that's 34 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:09,960 Speaker 1: largely because viruses are far more simple than most things 35 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 1: that we would refer to as being alive. Uh. They 36 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:17,359 Speaker 1: require a host in order to multiply and to generate 37 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:19,680 Speaker 1: the energy that they need. In order to do this, like, 38 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:22,079 Speaker 1: they don't have that capability to do it on their own. 39 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 1: They first have to infect host cells and then hijack 40 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:30,920 Speaker 1: the host cells of capabilities in order to make more viruses. 41 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 1: So for some people that's enough to dismiss them as 42 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,240 Speaker 1: qualifying as a living thing. And no, it doesn't qualify 43 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: because it's unable to replicate itself without this host cell structure. 44 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:45,880 Speaker 1: But other people argue that it's not really as clear 45 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 1: as all that, And ultimately it also depends upon how 46 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:51,320 Speaker 1: we define the term life. As it turns out, some 47 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 1: of these terms are a little trickier to define than others. 48 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,800 Speaker 1: But we can get past this. We can describe what 49 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 1: viruses are in a more general sense, and viruses consist 50 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:06,320 Speaker 1: of a shell typically, and inside that shell is either 51 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 1: DNA or RNA and some proteins. The DNA or RNA 52 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:16,120 Speaker 1: contained the genetic information unique to that particular strain of virus, 53 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:19,560 Speaker 1: and that DNA or RNA is also what will start 54 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:24,280 Speaker 1: synthesizing the protein or proteins that the virus contains. Once 55 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 1: the virus infects a cell, so speaking of that virus 56 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: is attached to living cells to act as a host, 57 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 1: and then they essentially inject their innerds that nucleic acid 58 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 1: and protein into the host cell. The nucleic acid of 59 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:41,320 Speaker 1: the virus hijacks the host cell dedicates the cell's normal 60 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,840 Speaker 1: functions towards synthesizing proteins and nucleic acids to make more 61 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: of the virus, and it continues to spread that way. 62 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: We typically divide viruses into those that can infect animals, bacteria, 63 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:56,760 Speaker 1: or plants, but within those classifications or viruses that have 64 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: a limited range of potential hosts. So, for example, some 65 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:04,280 Speaker 1: viruses might be able to infect certain vertebrates but not others, 66 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:09,200 Speaker 1: so you can't necessarily have viruses transfer from one species 67 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 1: to another. That doesn't always work. Viruses are one type 68 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:16,800 Speaker 1: of infecting agent, but they're not the only one. There's 69 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 1: also bacterial agents, and those can infect humans and make 70 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:22,919 Speaker 1: them sick, and bacterial infections are the kind that you 71 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:26,520 Speaker 1: could treat with something like antibiotics. Those are designed to 72 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:32,800 Speaker 1: kill the bacteria, but antibiotics are not effective against viral infections. UH. 73 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:34,680 Speaker 1: This is also why it's important to pay attention to 74 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 1: the type of stuff you're using. When you're trying to 75 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:40,640 Speaker 1: sanitize stuff. What you want is something that is labeled 76 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:47,040 Speaker 1: as antimicrobial or antiseptic, not just antibacterial, because antibacterial may 77 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:50,679 Speaker 1: not have the ingredients needed to get rid of things 78 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:53,839 Speaker 1: like a virus. So generally speaking, the rule for the 79 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:57,480 Speaker 1: coronavirus is, if you're buying hand sanitizer, you want stuff 80 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:00,880 Speaker 1: that has an alcohol content of at least sixty percent 81 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 1: to act as an effective way to eliminate the coronavirus 82 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:07,400 Speaker 1: on surfaces or to clean your hands. That's also why 83 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 1: there have been some alcohol companies that have mentioned that, hey, 84 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:14,640 Speaker 1: don't try and use our stuff to clean your hands 85 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:18,440 Speaker 1: or to clean surfaces, because our alcohol content isn't high 86 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:22,240 Speaker 1: enough to guarantee that it actually eliminates the coronavirus from 87 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:25,159 Speaker 1: those surfaces, and you'll be wasting alcohol and you'll be 88 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:28,839 Speaker 1: getting sick anyway. This is also a good point to 89 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 1: say antibiotics because they are totally not effective against viruses. 90 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:37,200 Speaker 1: It's a terrible idea to request them or for doctors 91 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:40,359 Speaker 1: to prescribe them in the wake of a viral infection, 92 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:43,240 Speaker 1: because not only are they not effective, but the more 93 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:47,039 Speaker 1: we use antibiotics, the more likely we are to develop 94 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:51,279 Speaker 1: strains of bacteria that are resistant to those antibiotics. This 95 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 1: leads to what we call superbugs. A superbug is a 96 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:59,720 Speaker 1: type of bacteria or bacterium I should say, that is 97 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 1: resistant to many of the ways we treat bacterial infections, 98 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:06,840 Speaker 1: and thus if it were to infect someone, it would 99 00:06:06,839 --> 00:06:10,359 Speaker 1: be very hard to eliminate that infection because the stuff 100 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:12,920 Speaker 1: we would usually use would be ineffective. That's why we 101 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:15,480 Speaker 1: want to limit our use of antibiotics and not go 102 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 1: crazy with them. Now. As I mentioned earlier, the coronavirus 103 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:22,159 Speaker 1: actually refers to a family of viruses. It's not just 104 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:25,640 Speaker 1: the infamous one that causes COVID nineteen that's disrupting the 105 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:28,200 Speaker 1: world as I record this. That's the one that's now 106 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 1: a pandemic. I'll define pandemic in just a moment. The 107 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:36,760 Speaker 1: virus family also includes stuff like SARS, another very scary virus, 108 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:40,360 Speaker 1: but it also has stuff like the common cold, which, 109 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:45,279 Speaker 1: while irritating, is not necessarily scary. It's more of an inconvenience. 110 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:49,440 Speaker 1: When we encounter a new virus belonging to this family 111 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 1: of viruses, we would call it a novel coronavirus, meaning 112 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:57,120 Speaker 1: a new one one that is uh now found to 113 00:06:57,200 --> 00:06:59,760 Speaker 1: be a human infecting virus that previously we had never 114 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:03,720 Speaker 1: really observed or identified. We've since given the name of 115 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 1: this particular novel coronavirus as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 116 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:15,240 Speaker 1: two or stars cove to cove would be capital C, 117 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:18,240 Speaker 1: lower case O capital V. Now I'm going to stick 118 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: with novel coronavirus or just coronavirus or virus for this episode. 119 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:25,120 Speaker 1: Just know that when I'm using those terms, I'm referring 120 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 1: to this specific viral strain, and people infected with this 121 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:35,360 Speaker 1: novel coronavirus develop a particular respiratory disease. That's what COVID 122 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:40,840 Speaker 1: nineteen is. COVID stands for coronavirus disease, and then the 123 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:43,280 Speaker 1: nineteen is for two thousand nineteen, because that's when it 124 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:45,560 Speaker 1: was first observed, right at the very tail end of 125 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 1: two thousand nineteen. And you might also hear another designation 126 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:51,400 Speaker 1: that means the same thing, which is two thousand nineteen 127 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 1: dash in c o V. But these are all just 128 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 1: ways of saying, we found a disease caused by a 129 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: virus that we previously didn't know about. It infects humans, 130 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 1: it affects us, and it's part of the coronavirus family 131 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:07,840 Speaker 1: of viruses, and also we found out about it back 132 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 1: in two thousand nineteen. That's what that name really tells you. 133 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 1: Doesn't tell you anything useful about the disease itself as 134 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:18,280 Speaker 1: far as symptoms or treatment. It just tells you what 135 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:21,160 Speaker 1: family it belongs to and when we discovered it. So 136 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 1: if none of that gives you useful information as far 137 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,600 Speaker 1: as how infectious the disease is, or how dangerous it 138 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:28,920 Speaker 1: can be, or what you should do to avoid it, 139 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:31,640 Speaker 1: or what you should do if you suspect you have it, 140 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:34,240 Speaker 1: or anything like that, we got to look beyond that. 141 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:36,760 Speaker 1: So let's get into some more details. And I promise 142 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:38,840 Speaker 1: I'm going to bring this around to tech, but I 143 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:41,439 Speaker 1: feel that as a person who has a platform that's 144 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:44,760 Speaker 1: capable of reaching people, I have a certain responsibility to 145 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:48,520 Speaker 1: share this information just in case you haven't encountered it 146 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:52,480 Speaker 1: on your own yet. So I apologize for those of 147 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:54,840 Speaker 1: you who have read up on this, or I've heard 148 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:58,960 Speaker 1: numerous other shows, or or you know, any other contact 149 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 1: you've had that's had a about this. But I want 150 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:04,080 Speaker 1: to make sure everyone has the information they need to 151 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:06,360 Speaker 1: kind of understand what this is and how to deal 152 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:09,040 Speaker 1: with it. Now, I'm gonna start by talking about the 153 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:12,480 Speaker 1: symptoms of COVID nineteen and how infectious it is and 154 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:14,880 Speaker 1: what the risks are as I think that's what causes 155 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:17,240 Speaker 1: a lot of anxiety in general, so it's best to 156 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:20,720 Speaker 1: cover it first. Now, the two basic symptoms for people 157 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:24,800 Speaker 1: who get COVID nineteen are a dry cough and a fever. 158 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:28,040 Speaker 1: There's sometimes also a shortness of breath. That's the third 159 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 1: one that's fairly common, and that's pretty consistent. Those are 160 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:34,880 Speaker 1: also symptoms that we tend to find in other diseases, 161 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:38,240 Speaker 1: so it makes it a little tricky to self diagnose. 162 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:42,000 Speaker 1: It turns out you might have the common flu, for example, 163 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 1: and not COVID nineteen, so you can't necessarily be certain 164 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:49,800 Speaker 1: you've got one thing versus another when the symptoms are 165 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:53,240 Speaker 1: so similar to each other. COVID nineteen is a pretty 166 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:56,720 Speaker 1: contagious disease, and it is most easily transferred when someone 167 00:09:56,840 --> 00:10:01,320 Speaker 1: with COVID nineteen is already really sick. And that's largely 168 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:05,000 Speaker 1: because the sick person tends to cough, and as they 169 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:09,960 Speaker 1: do so, they propel respiratory droplets into the environment, and 170 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:14,040 Speaker 1: the virus is inside those droplets. That being said, as 171 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:17,400 Speaker 1: I record this, we're still learning about this particular virus. 172 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:20,800 Speaker 1: Doctors estimate that the incubation period that would be the 173 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:23,679 Speaker 1: length of time between when a person is infected by 174 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:27,080 Speaker 1: the virus and when they actually start to exhibit symptoms 175 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:31,280 Speaker 1: of COVID nineteen can be anywhere between one to fourteen days, 176 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:35,520 Speaker 1: although most estimates focus on around being five days, so 177 00:10:35,559 --> 00:10:38,400 Speaker 1: it's possible that someone can be a carrier for the 178 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:42,320 Speaker 1: virus but not yet exhibit symptoms for a couple of days. 179 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:46,080 Speaker 1: People in close proximity or those who come into contact 180 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:49,560 Speaker 1: with surfaces that get those droplets on them, are in 181 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:52,280 Speaker 1: danger of catching this disease. This is why you hear 182 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:56,000 Speaker 1: so much about washing your hands and using hand sanitizer 183 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:58,640 Speaker 1: and not standing or sitting too close to people in 184 00:10:58,679 --> 00:11:01,200 Speaker 1: general as well. All is why you're told not to 185 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:04,240 Speaker 1: touch your face, you know, not to transfer this virus 186 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:07,280 Speaker 1: to say, your mouth, or your eyes or your nose. 187 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:10,880 Speaker 1: People tend to get infected after they touch surfaces that 188 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:13,800 Speaker 1: have these droplets on them, and then they end up 189 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:17,040 Speaker 1: transferring that to their face more often than not, so 190 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:19,520 Speaker 1: touching the face gives the virus the opportunity to infect 191 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:21,440 Speaker 1: a new person, and that just means that the virus 192 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:24,920 Speaker 1: can continue to perpetuate itself. Now that being said, if 193 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:28,040 Speaker 1: someone is sick, having them wear a mask can help 194 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:33,559 Speaker 1: them keep from spreading those respiratory droplets to surface around them. 195 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:36,679 Speaker 1: So masks are really great for people who are already sick, 196 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:40,520 Speaker 1: but they have a limited usefulness for people who are 197 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:45,040 Speaker 1: not infected. If you are healthy, wearing a mask does 198 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:48,520 Speaker 1: not guarantee that you will stay healthy. It doesn't limit 199 00:11:48,559 --> 00:11:52,360 Speaker 1: your exposure to the things that can cause the COVID 200 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:56,400 Speaker 1: nineteen disease. Uh. It might discourage you from touching your face, 201 00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:58,600 Speaker 1: which is a big part of it that actually, so 202 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:01,160 Speaker 1: it may help in that way directly. The mask itself 203 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:04,960 Speaker 1: isn't really providing super protection for you. It may just 204 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:09,240 Speaker 1: discourage you from doing things that could easily uh cause 205 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:12,320 Speaker 1: you to transfer the virus to your face. But it 206 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:16,959 Speaker 1: might also provide a bit of psychological comfort. And while 207 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:20,760 Speaker 1: it may not serve any real shield purpose for keeping 208 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:24,120 Speaker 1: you well, psychological comfort can go a long way too. 209 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:25,719 Speaker 1: I know a lot of us are feeling a lot 210 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:29,040 Speaker 1: of anxiety, and we're seeking out comfort wherever we can 211 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:30,840 Speaker 1: get it. As long as we're doing it in a 212 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:34,000 Speaker 1: way that is not increasing our odds of getting sick, 213 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:37,560 Speaker 1: I'm generally in favor of that. If it does increase 214 00:12:37,559 --> 00:12:39,080 Speaker 1: your odds of getting sick, not only are you not 215 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 1: really helping yourself, you're putting yourself more at risk. So 216 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:46,200 Speaker 1: the disease spreads quickly. But then how deadly is it? Well, 217 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:49,360 Speaker 1: it's a respiratory illness, and it's more dangerous for the 218 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:53,240 Speaker 1: elderly and for those with respiratory problems or for those 219 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:57,200 Speaker 1: who have compromised immune systems. If you are younger and 220 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:02,920 Speaker 1: generally healthy, catching COVID nineteen would likely be unpleasant, but 221 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:05,800 Speaker 1: potentially you could treat it through self care at home, 222 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:10,800 Speaker 1: essentially staying home, staying hydrated, and waiting for the disease 223 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:12,920 Speaker 1: to run its course, for your immune system to fight 224 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:17,520 Speaker 1: off the virus. But ideally a medical professional would make 225 00:13:17,559 --> 00:13:20,600 Speaker 1: the determination that you actually have the disease, that you 226 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:23,080 Speaker 1: have a testing kit of some sort, and that they're 227 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:25,360 Speaker 1: able to determine whether or not you have it. I 228 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:29,600 Speaker 1: don't recommend people just decide that they should do any 229 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:32,720 Speaker 1: sort of self care routine on their own without consulting 230 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:36,000 Speaker 1: a doctor or nurse or saying, oh, it's probably not 231 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:40,280 Speaker 1: the COVID nineteen. I should be fine. Getting tested is 232 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:42,640 Speaker 1: the most important part, and that's something that the United States, 233 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:45,600 Speaker 1: as I'm recording this is currently trying to get a 234 00:13:45,640 --> 00:13:49,840 Speaker 1: handle on because they were We were woefully unprepared, despite 235 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:52,880 Speaker 1: the fact that we had a little bit of a 236 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:56,280 Speaker 1: heads up in this virus as it was breaking out. 237 00:13:56,760 --> 00:14:01,080 Speaker 1: Now that being said, the World Health Organization currently estimates 238 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:04,679 Speaker 1: the mortality rate for COVID nineteen to be three point 239 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 1: four percent. That means three point four percent of the 240 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:12,640 Speaker 1: people who have been diagnosed with COVID nineteen have subsequently died. 241 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:16,800 Speaker 1: By comparison, the seasonal flu typically has a mortality rate 242 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:21,120 Speaker 1: of around one percent. So that tells you that COVID nineteen, 243 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:25,000 Speaker 1: based upon this estimate from the World Health Organization, is 244 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:29,520 Speaker 1: much more deadly. But that estimate doesn't necessarily reflect reality 245 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:32,440 Speaker 1: because we don't actually know how many cases of the 246 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:35,800 Speaker 1: disease there really are out in the world, and without 247 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:39,600 Speaker 1: knowing that, you can't really draw a conclusion about how 248 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:42,080 Speaker 1: deadly it is. Because if the disease is far more 249 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:45,680 Speaker 1: widespread than we thought, and the numbers of those who 250 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:48,320 Speaker 1: died are still you know, what we believe them to 251 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:51,480 Speaker 1: be now, it actually means the mortality rate is lower, right, 252 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:53,680 Speaker 1: because more people have the disease, but fewer people have 253 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:55,760 Speaker 1: died up from it. So we can't really make a 254 00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:59,680 Speaker 1: definitive conclusion. Now, more than eight percent of those who 255 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:04,040 Speaker 1: have passed away from this disease where sixty years or older, 256 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 1: and more than of those who have passed away had 257 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:11,840 Speaker 1: other health conditions like heart disease that likely played a 258 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:15,760 Speaker 1: part as well. So it is a very serious disease, 259 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:20,040 Speaker 1: but it tends to be deadly for people who are 260 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:23,480 Speaker 1: older or who have these underlying health conditions that can 261 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:26,320 Speaker 1: also play a role. And as you've likely heard, this 262 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:31,720 Speaker 1: particular virus was first discovered in Wuhan, China in December nineteen. 263 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:35,000 Speaker 1: I'll talk more about that process in just a moment, 264 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:45,160 Speaker 1: but first let's take a quick break. Doctors in Wuhan, 265 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:48,760 Speaker 1: China noticed an increase in the number of patients who 266 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:51,680 Speaker 1: are seeking treatment for a respiratory ailment that was similar 267 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: to pneumonia at the very end of and the Chinese 268 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:59,360 Speaker 1: government confirmed those reports on December thirty one, two thousand nineteen. 269 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:03,440 Speaker 1: A few days later, Chinese scientists announced they had identified 270 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:06,880 Speaker 1: a previously unknown virus as the cause of the disease, 271 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:11,120 Speaker 1: and that they believed the outbreak originated at a fish 272 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:14,960 Speaker 1: and poultry market in Wuhan. The Chinese media first reported 273 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:18,360 Speaker 1: on a death caused by this disease on January eleven. 274 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:22,600 Speaker 1: This was right around a really large holiday in China 275 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:25,400 Speaker 1: in which lots of people travel, and that gave the 276 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:28,280 Speaker 1: virus a ton of opportunity to spread to new hosts 277 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:31,680 Speaker 1: in the process. And I'll talk about how this virus 278 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:37,200 Speaker 1: spreads further in a bit. By January twenty, we started 279 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:41,080 Speaker 1: seeing confirmed cases of COVID nineteen outside of China. The 280 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:44,760 Speaker 1: first places to report their own cases where South Korea, Japan, 281 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:49,680 Speaker 1: and Thailand. On January twenty one, doctors diagnosed a man 282 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:53,440 Speaker 1: in Washington State in the United States as having COVID nineteen. 283 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:57,120 Speaker 1: The man had recently returned from Wuhan, China. On January 284 00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:00,840 Speaker 1: twenty three, the Chinese government began to take some pretty 285 00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:03,640 Speaker 1: extreme measures in an effort to contain the spread of 286 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:07,439 Speaker 1: the coronavirus. The government shut down all traffic going in 287 00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:11,200 Speaker 1: and out of Wuhan and suspended all mass transportation within 288 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:14,680 Speaker 1: the region. The World Health Organization declared a public health 289 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:20,280 Speaker 1: emergency of International concern on January as reports of the 290 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:22,720 Speaker 1: spread of the virus were on the rise. A couple 291 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:26,400 Speaker 1: of days later, on February second, a forty four year 292 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:29,199 Speaker 1: old man in the Philippines died after being infected by 293 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:32,439 Speaker 1: the coronavirus, becoming the first person outside of China to 294 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:36,720 Speaker 1: die after being infected. One story that got a lot 295 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:42,280 Speaker 1: of press, understandably so, focused on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, 296 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:44,840 Speaker 1: which was returning to Japan after a two week trip 297 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:48,320 Speaker 1: in Southeast Asia. The Jevities government required the passengers, of 298 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:50,959 Speaker 1: which there were more than thirty six hundred, to go 299 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:54,640 Speaker 1: into quarantine. A week later, the number of people who 300 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:58,439 Speaker 1: tested positive for COVID nineteen on that ship were in 301 00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:01,960 Speaker 1: the number of two hundred eighteen people. That made the 302 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:07,800 Speaker 1: Diamond Princess the largest site of infection outside of China itself. 303 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:11,440 Speaker 1: Kind of incredible to think that the two leading places 304 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:14,359 Speaker 1: where people were sick with COVID nineteen where China and 305 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:18,879 Speaker 1: this cruise ship. On February, the number of deaths in 306 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:21,640 Speaker 1: China due to COVID nineteen surpassed the number of people 307 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:24,000 Speaker 1: who had died in the two thousand two and two 308 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:28,119 Speaker 1: thousand three Stars epidemic. The country had more than forty 309 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:33,800 Speaker 1: thousand confirmed cases of infection by that point. On February, 310 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:36,280 Speaker 1: the Chinese government announced that the probable source of the 311 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:40,480 Speaker 1: virus outbreak came from the pernicious habit of eating wildlife. 312 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:43,800 Speaker 1: That's a quote from Chinese media. The initial outbreaks all 313 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:46,320 Speaker 1: seemed to stem from that fish and poultry market in Wuhan. 314 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:50,560 Speaker 1: On Ferry twenty feet, Iran announced that they there were 315 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:53,640 Speaker 1: two confirmed cases of people with COVID nineteen in that country. 316 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:56,800 Speaker 1: Later that same day, the government announced that those two 317 00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:59,879 Speaker 1: patients had passed away, and the outbreak in Iran would 318 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:03,720 Speaker 1: later become one of the worst that we've seen outside 319 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:06,880 Speaker 1: of China. Another place that had a really severe outbreak 320 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:09,879 Speaker 1: and continues to be dealing with that is Italy. In 321 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:14,080 Speaker 1: mid February, Italy had five confirmed cases, but by February 322 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:17,720 Speaker 1: the number had grown to one fifty, so it was 323 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:21,320 Speaker 1: growing super fast, super early. By the end of February, 324 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:24,600 Speaker 1: cases in Europe were spiking as people were traveling from 325 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:28,080 Speaker 1: areas of infection back home, spreading the virus as they 326 00:19:28,119 --> 00:19:31,280 Speaker 1: did so. On February twenty nine, the US media reported 327 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:34,359 Speaker 1: on the first death in America following infection, and the 328 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:38,000 Speaker 1: global number of cases had reached around eight seven thousand. 329 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:41,719 Speaker 1: The virus continue to spread rapidly, and on March twelve, 330 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:46,920 Speaker 1: twenty twenty, the World Health Organization proclaimed COVID nineteen a pandemic. 331 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:51,399 Speaker 1: So what does that actually mean. Well, an epidemic is 332 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:53,760 Speaker 1: when you have a lot of cases of a specific 333 00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:58,399 Speaker 1: infectious disease in a particular place during a particular time frame. 334 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:02,840 Speaker 1: So if a massive number of people caught the flu 335 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:05,840 Speaker 1: in New York City at the same general time, like 336 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:09,399 Speaker 1: let's say it's in uh, you know, January, then you 337 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:12,040 Speaker 1: would say there's a flu epidemic in New York City. 338 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:14,280 Speaker 1: It's kind of a way to describe the severity of 339 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:17,760 Speaker 1: an outbreak. A pandemic is when you have epidemics of 340 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:22,000 Speaker 1: the same infectious disease, but they spread across countries or 341 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:25,480 Speaker 1: even continents. It's a way of classifying the scope and 342 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:30,040 Speaker 1: scale of the threat. And there's something else I need 343 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:32,480 Speaker 1: to talk about. So the spread of COVID nineteen is 344 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:35,440 Speaker 1: a huge problem. For one thing, it poses a real 345 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:39,399 Speaker 1: threat to the elderly and to those with other medical conditions. 346 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:42,919 Speaker 1: So while a relatively healthy person like myself might be 347 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:46,880 Speaker 1: able to weather getting sick and then make a full recovery, 348 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:49,400 Speaker 1: I would pose a threat to others if I were 349 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:52,359 Speaker 1: to try and go about my normal routine. While I'm infected, 350 00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:56,480 Speaker 1: my activities could lead to some vulnerable person becoming infected, 351 00:20:56,520 --> 00:20:59,480 Speaker 1: whether directly from me or perhaps someone else I encounter, 352 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:02,560 Speaker 1: So I have a responsibility to do all I can 353 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:05,840 Speaker 1: to make sure that doesn't happen. And the other thing 354 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:08,399 Speaker 1: to keep in mind is that the economic impact of 355 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:12,840 Speaker 1: the outbreak has been really dramatic on communities all the 356 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:17,040 Speaker 1: way up to on the global scale. This disease is 357 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:20,480 Speaker 1: disrupting businesses all down the line, from giant corporations to 358 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:23,880 Speaker 1: independent small businesses. So it's not an overstatement to say 359 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:26,840 Speaker 1: that the COVID nineteen pandemic is going to cause many 360 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:30,240 Speaker 1: businesses to shut down. That's something we can't really ignore either. 361 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:34,159 Speaker 1: One way to mitigate the spread of this disease is 362 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:38,680 Speaker 1: through what everyone now calls social distancing. Sometimes they jokingly 363 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:42,479 Speaker 1: talk about social distancing essentially means that what it sounds like, 364 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:45,320 Speaker 1: you don't hang out super close to other people, and 365 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:49,399 Speaker 1: if it's possible, you don't really go into large shared 366 00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:51,440 Speaker 1: public spaces with a lot of folks, like you don't 367 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:54,320 Speaker 1: go to a lot of big gatherings of people. And 368 00:21:54,359 --> 00:21:57,040 Speaker 1: this removes people from areas where the virus can easily 369 00:21:57,119 --> 00:22:00,040 Speaker 1: spread from person to person. It decreases the length of 370 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:02,960 Speaker 1: the outbreak as a result, because the virus won't have 371 00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:06,679 Speaker 1: the opportunity to spread person to person if people aren't 372 00:22:07,119 --> 00:22:10,600 Speaker 1: gathering together. And that's what we've seen in China. The 373 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:14,080 Speaker 1: government imposed some pretty extreme restrictions in an effort to 374 00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:18,639 Speaker 1: reverse the trajectory of this disease, and it worked. It 375 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:21,840 Speaker 1: was really extreme, but at worked. We started seeing the 376 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:25,480 Speaker 1: number of new cases of COVID nineteen in China go 377 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:29,800 Speaker 1: down day to day as opposed to increase. So while 378 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:32,280 Speaker 1: there were still people who are catching the disease or 379 00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:36,080 Speaker 1: exhibiting the symptoms of COVID nineteen are being diagnosed as 380 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:40,120 Speaker 1: having COVID nineteen, that number was decreasing day by day. 381 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:41,960 Speaker 1: That's what you want to see, you want to That's 382 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:44,199 Speaker 1: why they talk about flattening the curve. You want to 383 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:49,760 Speaker 1: get away from having a larger number the next day 384 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:52,159 Speaker 1: than you had the day before. And that brings us 385 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:56,040 Speaker 1: to the concept of teleworking, which plays very directly into tech. 386 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:58,720 Speaker 1: Tech is one of the things that enables the possibility 387 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:02,040 Speaker 1: of teleworking for people. There's been a lot of companies 388 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:04,960 Speaker 1: that are offering at least some employees the option to 389 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:08,680 Speaker 1: tell a work. Some companies are mandating that employees stay 390 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:11,680 Speaker 1: home and tell a work. I think anyone who can 391 00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:15,000 Speaker 1: tell a work should do it. Not just so that 392 00:23:15,119 --> 00:23:18,640 Speaker 1: these teleworkers can avoid getting sick, but that is really important. 393 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:22,000 Speaker 1: I don't want anyone to get sick. But also there 394 00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:26,359 Speaker 1: are millions of people who will not have this luxury. 395 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:30,400 Speaker 1: They will not have the option to tell work. They 396 00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:34,640 Speaker 1: there are companies that might not offer them the opportunity. 397 00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:37,720 Speaker 1: They may not offer paid sickly, they may not allow 398 00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:41,159 Speaker 1: workers to stay home and still collect a paycheck. And 399 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,440 Speaker 1: so the economic realities mean that many of these people 400 00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:47,760 Speaker 1: can't afford to not go into work. If they don't 401 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:49,280 Speaker 1: go into work, they don't get paid. If they don't 402 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:51,879 Speaker 1: get paid, they can't pay their bills. A lot of 403 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:54,280 Speaker 1: people are in this position. So for those of us 404 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:57,920 Speaker 1: who can tell a work, we absolutely should do that. 405 00:23:58,080 --> 00:24:01,880 Speaker 1: In part to protect all the who don't have this option, 406 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:06,400 Speaker 1: we should reduce the chance that an already vulnerable population 407 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:09,679 Speaker 1: gets exposed to this virus. Stopping the spread of the 408 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:13,480 Speaker 1: disease is a collective effort. So those of us privileged 409 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:17,639 Speaker 1: with options have a responsibility to take those options on 410 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:21,119 Speaker 1: behalf of the people who don't have that choice. All 411 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:24,960 Speaker 1: right now, now I'm done being on my soapbox. Let's 412 00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:30,320 Speaker 1: turn specifically to tech. Meanwhile, there are chief information officers 413 00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:33,200 Speaker 1: and chief technology officers and companies all around the world 414 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:37,520 Speaker 1: who are scrambling and working very hard to try and 415 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:41,680 Speaker 1: create solutions for employees so that one they can stay 416 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:44,080 Speaker 1: safe and too that the company can remain in business. 417 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:47,240 Speaker 1: I don't want to suggest that all companies are in 418 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:51,560 Speaker 1: their hearts, you know, deeply concerned about the fate of 419 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:53,880 Speaker 1: their employees. I'm sure many of them are, but I'm 420 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:56,520 Speaker 1: sure there's some companies that are mostly concerned with how 421 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,760 Speaker 1: can we make sure this has the smallest economic impact 422 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:02,840 Speaker 1: on our business as possible, And that's how they're framing it. 423 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:05,600 Speaker 1: Either way, there are a lot of smart people out 424 00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 1: there trying to come up with solutions to let people 425 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:11,520 Speaker 1: work from home and not be around everybody else. So 426 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:14,080 Speaker 1: how has the spread of COVID nineteen impacted the tech 427 00:25:14,119 --> 00:25:17,840 Speaker 1: world in particular? Well, it's been pretty dramatic. I guess 428 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:21,120 Speaker 1: I could say there's some effects that are definitely very 429 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 1: very visible, such as large conferences and festivals canceling or 430 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:27,440 Speaker 1: postponing until later in the year. But that's just part 431 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:29,480 Speaker 1: of it. We're going to start with that though, because 432 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:32,720 Speaker 1: they are high profile examples of how the coronavirus is 433 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:35,159 Speaker 1: disrupting the tech industry. And keep in mind, a lot 434 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:37,480 Speaker 1: of this is going to apply to industries as a rule, 435 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:41,280 Speaker 1: not just the tech world. Lots of industries have canceled events, 436 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:43,920 Speaker 1: and we're seeing it go well beyond that now. Obviously, 437 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:47,440 Speaker 1: sporting events have been canceled, Musical festivals have been canceled, 438 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:49,879 Speaker 1: so this goes well beyond just the tech world. But 439 00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:52,600 Speaker 1: one of the earliest events to get the acts was 440 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:56,320 Speaker 1: the twenty twenty Mobile World Congress or m w C. 441 00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:00,679 Speaker 1: The organizers announced that their decision in early February, at 442 00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:03,600 Speaker 1: a time when some parts of the world, particularly parts 443 00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:06,320 Speaker 1: of the United States, you had people wondering what the 444 00:26:06,359 --> 00:26:10,200 Speaker 1: big deal was. You had folks saying like, I don't 445 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:13,000 Speaker 1: see how risky this is to me. It seems weird 446 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:15,520 Speaker 1: that you would cancel this event. It was supposed to 447 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:21,000 Speaker 1: take place between February and February in Barcelona, Spain, but uh, 448 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:23,639 Speaker 1: it didn't got canceled. In The Mobile World Congress is 449 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:26,880 Speaker 1: a trade show that focuses on the mobile communications industry, 450 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:30,679 Speaker 1: so stuff like smartphones, which I would argue makes it 451 00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:36,040 Speaker 1: really really imperative to not hold that event. People handling 452 00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:39,320 Speaker 1: a smartphone could end up passing the virus from one 453 00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:41,680 Speaker 1: person to the next, or till lots of people because 454 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:44,760 Speaker 1: these smartphones would be handed around like craziest people are 455 00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:48,240 Speaker 1: taking looks at the newest and latest and greatest technologies. 456 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:51,359 Speaker 1: That also reminds me that when you're cleaning your hands 457 00:26:51,359 --> 00:26:55,159 Speaker 1: and stuff, you also want to occasionally really clean your smartphone, 458 00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:59,320 Speaker 1: like really use an antiseptic cleaner to to clean that screen, 459 00:26:59,359 --> 00:27:04,440 Speaker 1: because that is a magnet for um for for bad stuff. Anyway, 460 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:06,960 Speaker 1: the g s m A, which is the organization that 461 00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:11,320 Speaker 1: organizes the Mobile World Congress, called it off no pun 462 00:27:11,359 --> 00:27:15,000 Speaker 1: intended after several high profile companies had already pulled out 463 00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:18,399 Speaker 1: the event out of concern regarding the virus. So in 464 00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:20,080 Speaker 1: some ways you could say the g s m A 465 00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:22,399 Speaker 1: was being really proactive, and otherwise you might say that 466 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:25,600 Speaker 1: they didn't have much of a choice because some very big, 467 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:29,160 Speaker 1: big companies had already said that they weren't going to attend. 468 00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:31,720 Speaker 1: And at some point you have have to ask yourself, 469 00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:35,639 Speaker 1: do I have enough exhibitors here to hold an event. 470 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:40,320 Speaker 1: Either way, they made the decision to cancel. It's not 471 00:27:40,359 --> 00:27:42,640 Speaker 1: an easy one to make. We saw the same thing 472 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:46,199 Speaker 1: happen to E three. That's a trade show that was 473 00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:49,760 Speaker 1: supposed to happen later this year and now has been canceled. 474 00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:52,240 Speaker 1: That video game trade show is the one that takes 475 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:55,520 Speaker 1: place in Los Angeles, California, each year, and that conference 476 00:27:55,560 --> 00:28:00,240 Speaker 1: was already struggling after some changes to its format. There 477 00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:03,560 Speaker 1: was a data breach scandal in which thousands of attendees, 478 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:07,679 Speaker 1: including developers and journalists, had their personal information leaked on 479 00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:10,720 Speaker 1: the internet. Some of those people ended up having to 480 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:14,520 Speaker 1: change their phone numbers and get new email addresses as 481 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:16,520 Speaker 1: a result of that because they were getting harassed, and 482 00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:20,520 Speaker 1: essentially it was equivalent to getting docked. It was terrible, 483 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:23,760 Speaker 1: and there was also a general trend of companies declining 484 00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:26,239 Speaker 1: to participate in E three in favor of holding their 485 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:30,440 Speaker 1: own events, either in person or online. So the coronavirus 486 00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:32,560 Speaker 1: was another blow to E three, and there was a 487 00:28:32,560 --> 00:28:35,640 Speaker 1: lot of talk in the that, you know, the companies 488 00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:38,240 Speaker 1: that were still planning on attending, we're starting to think 489 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:41,520 Speaker 1: about withdrawing. And so the e s A, the organization 490 00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:44,680 Speaker 1: that throws Z three that organizes it, made the decision 491 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:48,840 Speaker 1: to cancel the conference entirely this year. That's actually led 492 00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:51,480 Speaker 1: to a lot of folks in the games industry and 493 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:55,120 Speaker 1: the game's journalism industry to wonder if E three will 494 00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:57,600 Speaker 1: be able to recover from this, because again, it was 495 00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:00,320 Speaker 1: already the subject of controversy and scrutiny leading up to 496 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:04,480 Speaker 1: the cancelation, So there's some people wondering will it come 497 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:07,440 Speaker 1: back for one or is this the nail in the 498 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:12,080 Speaker 1: coffin Sticking with games, companies like Sony and Facebook and 499 00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:14,760 Speaker 1: a few others pulled out of the Game Developers Conference 500 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:17,800 Speaker 1: or g d C, and as that name implies, this 501 00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:20,800 Speaker 1: is an annual conference that brings together game developers from 502 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:24,360 Speaker 1: around the world. The g d C event typically includes 503 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:27,840 Speaker 1: an award show, some networking events, and some workshops where 504 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:31,400 Speaker 1: developers can learn new skills and share their expertise. The 505 00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:35,120 Speaker 1: organizers decided to cancel the planned in person g DC 506 00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:39,680 Speaker 1: event for and instead pivot into a virtual conference where 507 00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:42,280 Speaker 1: developers will be able to connect in online sessions. Then 508 00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:44,640 Speaker 1: they later announced that they planned to hold an in 509 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:48,200 Speaker 1: person event in August in San Francisco as a sort 510 00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:52,600 Speaker 1: of makeup date for the original g d C. Speaking 511 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:56,920 Speaker 1: of developer conferences, Apple has also canceled their in person 512 00:29:57,080 --> 00:30:00,880 Speaker 1: Worldwide Developer Conference or w w d e C. That's 513 00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:05,600 Speaker 1: one of the big events that Apple holds each year. Now. Ostensibly, 514 00:30:05,960 --> 00:30:08,760 Speaker 1: the w w DC is meant to give developers hands 515 00:30:08,800 --> 00:30:12,040 Speaker 1: on time with Apple technologies so that developers can go 516 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:16,200 Speaker 1: on to make the next generation of OS and iOS apps, 517 00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:18,400 Speaker 1: and that definitely happens, and it is a big deal. 518 00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 1: But Apple also uses the w w d C to 519 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:26,120 Speaker 1: unveil cool new products and features and technologies, so there 520 00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:29,840 Speaker 1: is a big pr element to this event as well. 521 00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:33,240 Speaker 1: But then it's Apple. And besides, everyone does this now 522 00:30:33,320 --> 00:30:36,440 Speaker 1: to some extent, so I can't really, you know, throw 523 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:40,000 Speaker 1: shaded Apple, because plenty of other companies like Google do 524 00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:43,000 Speaker 1: the same thing. Like the g d C, Apple has 525 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:45,720 Speaker 1: moved its plans to an all online format. All the 526 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:47,920 Speaker 1: way that they pitch it sounds like that was the 527 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:50,880 Speaker 1: plan all along. It wasn't, but that's how it's coming 528 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:54,360 Speaker 1: across in some of the the press releases. The Apple 529 00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:58,280 Speaker 1: event doesn't happen until June, which when you think about 530 00:30:58,320 --> 00:31:00,600 Speaker 1: that that this is an event that wasn't even scheduled 531 00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:03,000 Speaker 1: to happen until June. You can realize that this is 532 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:05,200 Speaker 1: a nod to the fact that we really don't know 533 00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:07,800 Speaker 1: how long it's gonna take for us to get a 534 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:11,520 Speaker 1: handle on this coronavirus outbreak, which is a sobering thought, 535 00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:13,920 Speaker 1: you know, the possibility that we could still be dealing 536 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:18,000 Speaker 1: with it as late as June. Of One enormous event 537 00:31:18,040 --> 00:31:21,800 Speaker 1: that got the axe was south By Southwest in Austin, Texas. 538 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:25,000 Speaker 1: This ten day festival is famous for bringing in thousands 539 00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:27,920 Speaker 1: of people into the city and has tracks of programming 540 00:31:27,960 --> 00:31:32,160 Speaker 1: for the tech sector, for filmmakers, and for music, and 541 00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:34,720 Speaker 1: the organizers had to make this tough decision to cancel 542 00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:39,200 Speaker 1: the whole thing. And this was an enormous blow to 543 00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:42,400 Speaker 1: Austin and to the folks who were banking on south By, 544 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:45,280 Speaker 1: as the cool kids say, as a way of getting 545 00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:50,280 Speaker 1: attention and investments. South buys where Twitter got its first 546 00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:53,120 Speaker 1: serious attention, you know, before anyone knew what it was. 547 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:56,880 Speaker 1: It kind of got a splash at a south By. 548 00:31:57,080 --> 00:32:01,120 Speaker 1: Numerous apps, some of them are worth billion of dollars today. 549 00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:05,520 Speaker 1: We're first really unveiled at a previous South Buy and 550 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:09,760 Speaker 1: filmmakers compete to have their works screened at this festival, 551 00:32:09,920 --> 00:32:11,840 Speaker 1: and that's a big deal because if you land it, 552 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:15,400 Speaker 1: if you get a screening for your film at south By, 553 00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:18,960 Speaker 1: there's the possibility that a distributor might pick up your 554 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:21,920 Speaker 1: movie and give it a wider distribution and then suddenly 555 00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:25,440 Speaker 1: millions of people can see your film. So having the 556 00:32:25,520 --> 00:32:29,840 Speaker 1: festival get canceled means these filmmakers lose out on that opportunity. Now, 557 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:33,360 Speaker 1: all that being said, I think canceling the event was 558 00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:36,320 Speaker 1: the right thing to do because we're in a pandemic, 559 00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:39,120 Speaker 1: even though it means that you know, musicians would lose gigs. 560 00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:43,040 Speaker 1: Austin is going to have a major setback because a 561 00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:47,080 Speaker 1: lot of businesses depend upon South Buy for helping out 562 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:50,800 Speaker 1: with their annual revenue. So it shows that just because 563 00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:53,680 Speaker 1: the decision is the right one, because public health is 564 00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:56,480 Speaker 1: most important, it doesn't mean that the decision is an 565 00:32:56,520 --> 00:32:59,960 Speaker 1: easy one. And I don't want to say like, well, 566 00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:02,640 Speaker 1: of course they went with this or that should have 567 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:05,320 Speaker 1: been the case all along. It's not that easy of 568 00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:08,800 Speaker 1: a decision as it turns out. All right, I'm going 569 00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:11,200 Speaker 1: to take another quick break because I'm getting tongue tied. 570 00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:13,080 Speaker 1: But when we come back, we'll talk about a few 571 00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:16,320 Speaker 1: more cancelations and then other effects that the coronavirus has 572 00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:26,320 Speaker 1: had on the tech sector. Okay, guys, we're not done 573 00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:29,600 Speaker 1: with cancel culture just yet. And no, I didn't come 574 00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:31,640 Speaker 1: up with that joke. That joke has been done a 575 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:34,400 Speaker 1: billion times. You're probably all tired of it, but I 576 00:33:34,480 --> 00:33:36,680 Speaker 1: figured I had to get my version in there too. 577 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:41,080 Speaker 1: So Google has canceled both the Google News Initiative Global 578 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:45,160 Speaker 1: Summit and the Google Io Developer Event. I O is 579 00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:48,920 Speaker 1: uh the one where Google will unveil new products, new 580 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:53,560 Speaker 1: services and give developers sort of a boot camp approach 581 00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:56,959 Speaker 1: to how to use Google technology to build apps and 582 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:00,560 Speaker 1: stuff like that. Facebook canceled a marketing of event and 583 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:02,840 Speaker 1: then went on and took a bigger step and canceled 584 00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:07,560 Speaker 1: their F eight conference, So that's not happening anymore. IBM 585 00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:10,440 Speaker 1: s Think Conference, which I have attended in the past, 586 00:34:10,640 --> 00:34:14,040 Speaker 1: has also been canceled, although now IBM plans a digital 587 00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:17,279 Speaker 1: event in its place. I haven't heard more about that yet, 588 00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:21,200 Speaker 1: but I'm excited to learn exactly what that means. Just 589 00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:24,359 Speaker 1: before I came in to record this episode, I saw 590 00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:28,480 Speaker 1: news that Microsoft has now canceled it's Build conference also 591 00:34:28,560 --> 00:34:31,279 Speaker 1: for developers. That one was originally scheduled to happen in 592 00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:35,160 Speaker 1: Seattle on May nineteen through the twenty one, and there 593 00:34:35,200 --> 00:34:40,000 Speaker 1: are lots of others. There's the Adobe Summit, which takes 594 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:42,040 Speaker 1: place in Las Vegas at the end of March. Now 595 00:34:42,080 --> 00:34:44,959 Speaker 1: it's going to be an online only event. There's def 596 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:48,000 Speaker 1: Con China, which was supposed to happen in Beijing in April, 597 00:34:48,040 --> 00:34:50,919 Speaker 1: but now that's being postponed. Uh. There's the Red Hat 598 00:34:50,960 --> 00:34:53,960 Speaker 1: Summit twenty twenty that's been converted into an online event. 599 00:34:54,200 --> 00:34:57,319 Speaker 1: The list goes on and on. Now there are a 600 00:34:57,360 --> 00:35:00,719 Speaker 1: few conferences that, at least as of the time of 601 00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:05,279 Speaker 1: this recording, are still scheduled. Some were already slated for 602 00:35:05,400 --> 00:35:08,080 Speaker 1: later in the year, so presumably will be on the 603 00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:10,280 Speaker 1: other side of the pandemic by then and it won't 604 00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:13,840 Speaker 1: be an issue. These include things like the Cisco Live event, 605 00:35:13,920 --> 00:35:16,840 Speaker 1: which happens at the end of May in Las Vegas, 606 00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:20,960 Speaker 1: which might be a bit ambitious, or the Oracle Code 607 00:35:21,120 --> 00:35:25,160 Speaker 1: one event that's currently scheduled for September. By the time 608 00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:28,160 Speaker 1: you hear this podcast, some of those details may have changed, 609 00:35:28,280 --> 00:35:31,239 Speaker 1: so if you were planning on attending a specific conference 610 00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:34,440 Speaker 1: or event or festival, make sure you look into it 611 00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:37,560 Speaker 1: to see if it's still scheduled or maybe if something 612 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:40,440 Speaker 1: has changed. And of course the tech events again are 613 00:35:40,480 --> 00:35:43,520 Speaker 1: just one victim of the spread of COVID nineteen. Lots 614 00:35:43,520 --> 00:35:46,360 Speaker 1: of other large gatherings, from music festivals to sporting events 615 00:35:46,520 --> 00:35:50,799 Speaker 1: have likewise been canceled, postponed, or otherwise affected. So those 616 00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:56,120 Speaker 1: are the big, big profile ways that the COVID nineteen 617 00:35:56,200 --> 00:36:00,279 Speaker 1: disease and the coronavirus have impacted technology, but there are 618 00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:03,759 Speaker 1: lots of other ones that may not be quite as 619 00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:07,240 Speaker 1: visible depending on where you are. For example, over in China, 620 00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:09,920 Speaker 1: this was very visible if you were in China, stores 621 00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:12,799 Speaker 1: were closing, some of them were closing before any sort 622 00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:16,160 Speaker 1: of mandates were being listed from a government perspective, But 623 00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:20,080 Speaker 1: we're coming from a corporate perspective. Apple, for example, closed 624 00:36:20,120 --> 00:36:24,839 Speaker 1: its stores in Chinese cities fairly early on, but let 625 00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:27,120 Speaker 1: me get back to that a little bit later. And 626 00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:32,200 Speaker 1: you also saw companies like Tesla, Samsung, Microsoft, and Google 627 00:36:32,239 --> 00:36:36,280 Speaker 1: closing offices and manufacturing facilities in China, and an effort 628 00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:39,680 Speaker 1: to mitigate the spread of the disease and this is 629 00:36:39,719 --> 00:36:44,200 Speaker 1: where we get back into the whole issue with supply chains. Now, 630 00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:47,000 Speaker 1: I've talked about supply chains a lot in recent tech 631 00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:52,200 Speaker 1: stuff episodes, but generally speaking, we're talking about the sequence 632 00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:56,719 Speaker 1: of components and events that have to happen in order 633 00:36:56,800 --> 00:37:01,399 Speaker 1: for us to get access to the X that we want, right, 634 00:37:01,480 --> 00:37:05,720 Speaker 1: because different parts of those products are made in different 635 00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:09,600 Speaker 1: manufacturing facilities, many of them, in fact, I'd argue most 636 00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:12,239 Speaker 1: of them are in China. So if you look at 637 00:37:12,280 --> 00:37:16,440 Speaker 1: a smartphone, then a couple of manufacturing facilities are going 638 00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:19,040 Speaker 1: to be responsible for the vast majority of all the 639 00:37:19,080 --> 00:37:23,240 Speaker 1: pieces that come together to make that smartphone work. And 640 00:37:23,840 --> 00:37:27,080 Speaker 1: while most of those facilities are not located in Wuhan, 641 00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:30,799 Speaker 1: they're actually located in other areas of China. It was 642 00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:35,240 Speaker 1: this disease was still impacting the whole operation of getting 643 00:37:35,239 --> 00:37:40,839 Speaker 1: those components manufactured and assembled into final products. So part 644 00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:44,280 Speaker 1: of that was because the disease was, you know, going 645 00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:48,440 Speaker 1: outside Wuhan, although China was doing its best to contain 646 00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:51,719 Speaker 1: the disease as fast as possible, and that meant that 647 00:37:51,880 --> 00:37:54,720 Speaker 1: companies needed to shut things down in order to prevent 648 00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:58,319 Speaker 1: the spread from getting even worse. Another part of it 649 00:37:58,440 --> 00:38:03,120 Speaker 1: is that Wuhan is part of the the shipping chain 650 00:38:03,719 --> 00:38:07,279 Speaker 1: for stuff coming out of China. So while it wasn't 651 00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:10,000 Speaker 1: necessarily being manufactured there, a lot of the shipping goes 652 00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:14,680 Speaker 1: through Wuhan, and with so much of the population essentially 653 00:38:14,719 --> 00:38:18,200 Speaker 1: out of commission, that meant that it can no longer 654 00:38:18,239 --> 00:38:21,560 Speaker 1: really fill that role. The result for the rest of 655 00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:25,480 Speaker 1: the world is that we either have seen or we 656 00:38:25,560 --> 00:38:30,279 Speaker 1: will see shortages in certain products as we wait for 657 00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:34,200 Speaker 1: this supply chain and shipping chain to ramp back up 658 00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:38,480 Speaker 1: after the you know, the outbreak has sort of subsided 659 00:38:38,520 --> 00:38:42,520 Speaker 1: in China, so it's kind of a on a delay 660 00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:44,480 Speaker 1: timer if you think about it, because it's going to 661 00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:47,840 Speaker 1: take a while for those effects to get to the 662 00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:50,520 Speaker 1: point where we can notice them. And honestly, right now 663 00:38:50,560 --> 00:38:54,400 Speaker 1: we've got other concerns on our hands which we should 664 00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:58,239 Speaker 1: be washing. But you get it right, like you could 665 00:38:58,239 --> 00:39:01,120 Speaker 1: expect there to be shortages and things like computers or 666 00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:06,520 Speaker 1: smartphones or tablets or other electronics because the places that 667 00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:10,320 Speaker 1: are responsible for putting them together have been shut down 668 00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:14,680 Speaker 1: for a couple of weeks. So that's one way that 669 00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:20,720 Speaker 1: we've seen the impact on the tech industry. Um another 670 00:39:20,840 --> 00:39:23,360 Speaker 1: is that a lot of companies have put in travel 671 00:39:23,400 --> 00:39:27,240 Speaker 1: restrictions to parts of the world, including China. In fact, 672 00:39:27,280 --> 00:39:31,520 Speaker 1: primarily China. That was more of an effort to prevent 673 00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:37,360 Speaker 1: the outbreak from expanding beyond China. Unfortunately, that didn't really 674 00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:39,719 Speaker 1: matter because if you look at the timeline, there are 675 00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:42,120 Speaker 1: there are tools online, by the way, where you can 676 00:39:42,160 --> 00:39:46,120 Speaker 1: look at the spread of the disease as an animated map, 677 00:39:46,360 --> 00:39:51,480 Speaker 1: and it's remarkable how quickly it spreads. So as it 678 00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:57,880 Speaker 1: turns out that limiting employees traveling to China probably helps 679 00:39:57,960 --> 00:40:01,200 Speaker 1: slow down the spread of the disease, but it didn't 680 00:40:01,200 --> 00:40:03,719 Speaker 1: stop it. I mean, it's everywhere now, and in fact, 681 00:40:03,800 --> 00:40:07,560 Speaker 1: that's one of the reasons why I find travel bands 682 00:40:07,680 --> 00:40:12,800 Speaker 1: at this point point to be a little um useless, 683 00:40:12,920 --> 00:40:16,560 Speaker 1: not even counterproductive. It's not necessarily counterproductive. Maybe in some 684 00:40:16,640 --> 00:40:20,800 Speaker 1: cases it is, but it's it's more like the saying 685 00:40:20,880 --> 00:40:23,400 Speaker 1: of you shut the barn door after the horse has 686 00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:29,160 Speaker 1: already gotten out. Well, that's saying, you know, summarizes it right. 687 00:40:29,200 --> 00:40:32,239 Speaker 1: The problem is there. The problem. The problem is that 688 00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:34,840 Speaker 1: the horse is no longer in the barn. It doesn't 689 00:40:34,840 --> 00:40:37,359 Speaker 1: help you to shut the barn door after the horse 690 00:40:37,400 --> 00:40:41,840 Speaker 1: has already gotten out well. The disease is now worldwide, 691 00:40:42,400 --> 00:40:47,000 Speaker 1: so banning travel to certain areas doesn't necessarily stop the 692 00:40:47,040 --> 00:40:51,359 Speaker 1: spread the disease. Social distancing will do much more than 693 00:40:52,320 --> 00:40:58,000 Speaker 1: just you know, trying to feel like that that you know, 694 00:40:58,520 --> 00:41:00,200 Speaker 1: you don't go to China anymore, you don't go to 695 00:41:00,239 --> 00:41:05,120 Speaker 1: Europe anymore. That's not going to be nearly as effective. Now. 696 00:41:05,280 --> 00:41:08,920 Speaker 1: I did say at the beginning that there's some better news, 697 00:41:08,960 --> 00:41:11,279 Speaker 1: and part of that better news is that, as I 698 00:41:11,320 --> 00:41:15,840 Speaker 1: said earlier, China has observed a decrease in the number 699 00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:18,440 Speaker 1: of cases day to day, like a number of cases 700 00:41:18,760 --> 00:41:23,680 Speaker 1: diagnosed day to day, and it indicates that the country 701 00:41:23,880 --> 00:41:27,960 Speaker 1: has started to really get a grip on the disease 702 00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:32,480 Speaker 1: outbreak and that it may be on the downside of 703 00:41:32,520 --> 00:41:36,560 Speaker 1: an epidemic, and that as a result, some companies like 704 00:41:36,640 --> 00:41:41,960 Speaker 1: Apple are starting to reopen their operations because the risk 705 00:41:42,120 --> 00:41:45,839 Speaker 1: of the spread of infection has now declined. We are 706 00:41:45,920 --> 00:41:51,440 Speaker 1: seeing it kind of fade away, so that that's encouraging, 707 00:41:51,600 --> 00:41:53,839 Speaker 1: not just because we're going to have our tech. I mean, 708 00:41:53,880 --> 00:41:57,400 Speaker 1: that's kind of superficial to say, like, oh good, I 709 00:41:57,480 --> 00:41:59,880 Speaker 1: will be able to get my smartphone or whatever. But 710 00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:03,839 Speaker 1: more that we know we can defeat this if we 711 00:42:03,880 --> 00:42:06,520 Speaker 1: take the proper precautions, if we take the right course 712 00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:11,440 Speaker 1: of action. Unfortunately, that means having to disrupt our lives 713 00:42:11,680 --> 00:42:15,040 Speaker 1: in the short term, but it means that we decrease 714 00:42:15,160 --> 00:42:18,000 Speaker 1: the length of time that we have to deal with 715 00:42:18,040 --> 00:42:21,759 Speaker 1: this in the long term. So if we do practice 716 00:42:22,080 --> 00:42:26,040 Speaker 1: this social distancing, if we do practice good hygiene, if 717 00:42:26,080 --> 00:42:29,040 Speaker 1: we do make sure that we sequester ourselves, if we 718 00:42:29,200 --> 00:42:31,440 Speaker 1: if we pick up that we've got some symptoms and 719 00:42:31,440 --> 00:42:33,720 Speaker 1: then we go get tested and it comes up positive 720 00:42:33,719 --> 00:42:37,239 Speaker 1: as COVID nineteen, if we quarantine ourselves so that we 721 00:42:37,320 --> 00:42:41,719 Speaker 1: don't infect others, we can slow down and stop the 722 00:42:41,800 --> 00:42:47,080 Speaker 1: spread of this virus and thus reverse this course of action. 723 00:42:47,719 --> 00:42:50,319 Speaker 1: If we don't do that, if we continue to try 724 00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:54,000 Speaker 1: and go on as business as usual, and we're like 725 00:42:54,160 --> 00:42:56,000 Speaker 1: keep a stiff upper lip and you know, you go 726 00:42:56,080 --> 00:42:58,879 Speaker 1: to work even if you're sick. If we try and 727 00:42:59,120 --> 00:43:02,440 Speaker 1: muscle through that, and some of us don't have the 728 00:43:02,480 --> 00:43:04,960 Speaker 1: options of others as I mentioned earlier, But if we 729 00:43:05,040 --> 00:43:07,560 Speaker 1: go with that route, then we're just going to see 730 00:43:07,560 --> 00:43:11,279 Speaker 1: this outbreak get worse and worse until it gets about 731 00:43:11,280 --> 00:43:14,280 Speaker 1: as bad as it possibly can be and while many 732 00:43:14,320 --> 00:43:16,520 Speaker 1: of us, in fact most of us will be able 733 00:43:16,560 --> 00:43:18,200 Speaker 1: to get to the other side of it after just 734 00:43:18,239 --> 00:43:20,239 Speaker 1: being sick for a couple of weeks, a lot of 735 00:43:20,320 --> 00:43:24,479 Speaker 1: people won't and that and that alone should be enough 736 00:43:24,520 --> 00:43:27,239 Speaker 1: for us to say, we need to make sure we're 737 00:43:27,280 --> 00:43:30,680 Speaker 1: making the right choices so that we are not putting 738 00:43:30,680 --> 00:43:33,840 Speaker 1: other people in danger. So that's what I wanted to 739 00:43:33,880 --> 00:43:37,920 Speaker 1: really stress. And we're going to continue to see the 740 00:43:37,960 --> 00:43:42,880 Speaker 1: repercussions of this illness throughout all of the economy, not 741 00:43:42,960 --> 00:43:45,800 Speaker 1: just the tech sector. But it's going to be something 742 00:43:45,840 --> 00:43:48,640 Speaker 1: that is uh going to be felt for a long 743 00:43:48,719 --> 00:43:54,279 Speaker 1: time because it's going to start companies having deeper conversations 744 00:43:54,280 --> 00:43:56,759 Speaker 1: about what to do in these sort of events, to 745 00:43:56,800 --> 00:44:00,680 Speaker 1: have kind of a disaster preparedness policy and play so 746 00:44:00,840 --> 00:44:05,160 Speaker 1: that employees can remain safe and productive. If you don't 747 00:44:05,160 --> 00:44:07,960 Speaker 1: have safe employees, then you can't do your business anyway. 748 00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:09,920 Speaker 1: So even from a business perspective, if you just want 749 00:44:09,920 --> 00:44:13,120 Speaker 1: to be cynical, it makes sense. It also means that 750 00:44:13,160 --> 00:44:17,279 Speaker 1: we're getting people discussing things like like healthcare policies here 751 00:44:17,320 --> 00:44:20,560 Speaker 1: in the United States. That is a huge topic of discussion. 752 00:44:20,600 --> 00:44:23,359 Speaker 1: As we are also in an election year, and in 753 00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:27,880 Speaker 1: an election year, you've got candidates who are arguing about 754 00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:34,360 Speaker 1: the best approach toward healthcare. This particular outbreak has highlighted 755 00:44:34,440 --> 00:44:39,640 Speaker 1: some let's call them deficiencies in US healthcare policy. And 756 00:44:39,920 --> 00:44:43,240 Speaker 1: there's not not total agreement on what the right course 757 00:44:43,239 --> 00:44:45,400 Speaker 1: of action is, but a lot of people say something 758 00:44:45,440 --> 00:44:48,040 Speaker 1: needs to be done. An increasing number of people say 759 00:44:48,080 --> 00:44:51,480 Speaker 1: that tech may play a part in that when we 760 00:44:51,560 --> 00:44:54,600 Speaker 1: finally see some changes coming down the line. It certainly 761 00:44:54,600 --> 00:44:58,600 Speaker 1: has the capacity to But ultimately, I want all of 762 00:44:58,640 --> 00:45:00,719 Speaker 1: you guys out there to be safe. I want you 763 00:45:00,760 --> 00:45:04,000 Speaker 1: to be healthy. I want you to be as careful 764 00:45:04,040 --> 00:45:07,080 Speaker 1: as you can be in an effort to not get 765 00:45:07,120 --> 00:45:09,480 Speaker 1: sick and not to spread the disease to other people. 766 00:45:10,080 --> 00:45:13,680 Speaker 1: And I want you to send me ideas for future episodes, 767 00:45:14,080 --> 00:45:16,960 Speaker 1: things that maybe are a little more lighthearted or just 768 00:45:17,120 --> 00:45:19,360 Speaker 1: something that you've always been curious about in the world 769 00:45:19,360 --> 00:45:21,640 Speaker 1: of tech. So if you have a suggestion for a 770 00:45:21,719 --> 00:45:24,839 Speaker 1: future topic of tech Stuff, reach out to me on 771 00:45:24,840 --> 00:45:27,759 Speaker 1: Facebook or Twitter. The handle we use at both is 772 00:45:27,880 --> 00:45:31,200 Speaker 1: text stuff h s W and I'll talk to you 773 00:45:31,280 --> 00:45:40,160 Speaker 1: again really soon. Tex Stuff is an I Heart radio production. 774 00:45:40,400 --> 00:45:43,200 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i 775 00:45:43,320 --> 00:45:46,560 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to 776 00:45:46,600 --> 00:45:47,520 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.