Marketplace Tech

As we learn more about how COVID-19 spreads, it’s clear that air flow is a big deal, and that’s why masks are effective at slowing infection. That’s a problem for offices and commercial buildings and some homes, because over the last couple of decades buildings have less ventilation. Instead, they recirculate air to save energy by not letting that cooled or heated air escape. But these buildings also end up recirculating viruses, especially if heating and cooling systems aren’t paired with really good filters that remove viral particles from the air. Molly speaks with Jeffrey Siegel, a professor of engineering at the University of Toronto who specializes in indoor air quality.

As we learn more about how COVID-19 spreads, it’s clear that air flow is a big deal, and that’s why masks are effective at slowing infection. That’s a problem for offices and commercial buildings and some homes, because over the last couple of decades buildings have less ventilation. Instead, they recirculate air to save energy by not letting that cooled or heated air escape. But these buildings also end up recirculating viruses, especially if heating and cooling systems aren’t paired with really good filters that remove viral particles from the air. Molly speaks with Jeffrey Siegel, a professor of engineering at the University of Toronto who specializes in indoor air quality.

Epic, Apple and Google are in a feud over the game Fortnite. In mobile apps, whenever you buy a digital item, like an e-book, avatar skins or weapons, Google and Apple charge a 30% fee on that purchase. Recently, Epic started letting players buy in-app purchases on their credit cards so Apple and Google wouldn’t get the fee. Apple and Google both yanked Epic’s game Fortnite from the App Store and Google Play. Epic sued, saying these digital fees are antitrust violations. Molly Wood speaks with Nicole Carpenter, the deputy news editor at the gaming news site Polygon. She says this is about more than just Fortnite, especially on iOS.

Epic, Apple and Google are in a feud over the game Fortnite. In mobile apps, whenever you buy a digital item, like an e-book, avatar skins or weapons, Google and Apple charge a 30% fee on that purchase. Recently, Epic started letting players buy in-app purchases on their credit cards so Apple and Google wouldn’t get the fee. Apple and Google both yanked Epic’s game Fortnite from the App Store and Google Play. Epic sued, saying these digital fees are antitrust violations. Molly Wood speaks with Nicole Carpenter, the deputy news editor at the gaming news site Polygon. She says this is about more than just Fortnite, especially on iOS.

The Republican National Convention starts Monday night. It’s expected to be part-virtual and part-in person. The Democratic National Convention last week was pretty much entirely virtual. It included a number of pre-produced speeches, some live elements and some long pauses and awkward transitions — but it was generally considered a success. And since these days all kinds of conferences and conventions are going virtual — events that are big moneymakers for organizers and cities — Molly wondered, was the DNC a model for tech conferences in the future? Molly speaks with Maggie Reardon, a senior reporter for CNET. She said the Democrats pulled off a pretty good show.

The Republican National Convention starts Monday night. It’s expected to be part-virtual and part-in person. The Democratic National Convention last week was pretty much entirely virtual. It included a number of pre-produced speeches, some live elements and some long pauses and awkward transitions — but it was generally considered a success. And since these days all kinds of conferences and conventions are going virtual — events that are big moneymakers for organizers and cities — Molly wondered, was the DNC a model for tech conferences in the future? Molly speaks with Maggie Reardon, a senior reporter for CNET. She said the Democrats pulled off a pretty good show.

Facebook this week removed thousands of groups, pages and accounts on Facebook and Instagram belonging to the right-wing conspiracy movement QAnon. QAnon has maybe millions of followers who believe, among other things, that a satanist cabal of pedophiles is conspiring to bring down President Donald Trump. The group was identified as a possible domestic terrorism threat by the FBI in 2019, but a QAnon supporter recently won a Republican primary in Georgia, and Trump praised the group earlier this week. Molly speaks with Kevin Roose, who is following this for The New York Times.

Facebook this week removed thousands of groups, pages and accounts on Facebook and Instagram belonging to the right-wing conspiracy movement QAnon. QAnon has maybe millions of followers who believe, among other things, that a satanist cabal of pedophiles is conspiring to bring down President Donald Trump. The group was identified as a possible domestic terrorism threat by the FBI in 2019, but a QAnon supporter recently won a Republican primary in Georgia, and Trump praised the group earlier this week. Molly speaks with Kevin Roose, who is following this for The New York Times.

Since March, the number of people downloading the safety-awareness app Citizen has doubled. Citizen gathers local reports from emergency scanners — crimes, fires, weather hazards, protests — and lets users upload video of what’s happening. It also recently added COVID-19 contact tracing to the app. Citizen says it keeps people safe and informed. But, like with Nextdoor, Ring and other safety products and services, there are fears of unintended consequences, like paranoia, surveillance, endangering yourself to videotape an incident and the racism that can be inherent in crime reporting. Molly spoke with Andrew Frame, the founder and CEO of Citizen. She asked him how he responds to critics who say the app makes people more paranoid about their communities.

Since March, the number of people downloading the safety-awareness app Citizen has doubled. Citizen gathers local reports from emergency scanners — crimes, fires, weather hazards, protests — and lets users upload video of what’s happening. It also recently added COVID-19 contact tracing to the app. Citizen says it keeps people safe and informed. But, like with Nextdoor, Ring and other safety products and services, there are fears of unintended consequences, like paranoia, surveillance, endangering yourself to videotape an incident and the racism that can be inherent in crime reporting. Molly spoke with Andrew Frame, the founder and CEO of Citizen. She asked him how he responds to critics who say the app makes people more paranoid about their communities.