Here are top five trending news from the world of technology
1
Tom Cruise to collaborate with NASA for an outer space short film
Hospitality superstar Tom Cruise will soon onboard a NASA spacecraft and stay at an international space station. All this for a short film that dwells into the outer space and the spellbinding universe. NASA has confirmed about Tom Cruise featuring in the movie. And the grapevines have it that Elon Musk’s SpaceX is also likely to be part of this project.
2
Airbnb hit by COVID-19 blues
With coronavirus pandemic hitting the hospitality industry very hard, Airbnb has decided to furlough 25% (nearly 1,900 employees) of its global workforce. The company, which mainly provides homestays for tourists, cited decline in revenue and cost-cutting measures for the mass layoff. The hospitality major refused to disclose per country breakdown of the layoff.
3
Facebook is creating a smaller & lighter Quest VR headset but….
According to Bloomberg, Facebook’s Oculus unit is preparing to roll out a version of the Quest VR headset. Unlike its processors, the new Quest VR headset will be smaller, lighter and offer faster image refresh rate. However, this VR headset is unlikely to be released this year. Due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the launch date of the upcoming Quest VR headset has also been reportedly pushed to 2021.
4
California Sues Uber and Lyft and the reason isn’t frivolous
Classifying drivers as ‘contractors’ may not appear as a serious offence for common people. But in the eyes of California’s newly passed law, Uber and Lyft’s recent act of passing of drivers as contractors is indeed an serious offence. This is why the California state has sued both ride hailing majors under the pretext that Uber & Lyft classified drivers as contractors because it allegedly wanted to evade workplace protection and deny workers benefit.
5
France is miffed with Apple Inc
Tech giant Apple has apparently earned the wrath of the French government. The French government on Tuesday accused Apple of undermining its attempts to combat COVID 19 by not making iPhones that are compatible to “StopCovid” app. StopCovid app is sponsored by the French government.