Thu. Jan 28th, 2021

Day: December 3, 2020

Alibaba and Ethiopian Airlines to launch cold chain exporting China’s COVID vaccines – TechCrunch

By Grace 2 months ago

China has pledged that it would be sharing its COVID-19 vaccines with other countries, especially those with which it has close ties. While the country is not ready to deploy its vaccines internationally, it is gearing up the infrastructure for mass distribution.

This week, Alibaba’s logistics arm Cainiao, announced that it has struck a partnership with Ethiopian Airlines to introduce a cold chain capable of transporting temperature-sensitive medicines from China to the rest of the world. The air freight will depart from Shenzhen Airport, which Alibaba says houses China’s first cross-border medical cold chain facility, twice a week to countries via Dubai and Addis Ababa.

“As soon as the vaccines are ready, we will have the capabilities to transport them,” a Cainiao spokesperson told TechCrunch.

Shenzhen is the home base of SF Express, another major logistics operator in China that has also been working on storing and shipping vaccines

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Open source predictions for 2021

By Grace 2 months ago

Jack Wallen dons his prognostication fedora to predict what he believes will be a banner year for open source.

Image: Pixabay

When I think of open source and 2021, a Saga song comes to mind: “On The Loose.” I believe no one can stop open source in the coming year–that’s how big it’s going to get. That’s saying something, given how enterprise businesses already depend on open source technology on a daily basis. The dependency we’re currently experiencing is nothing compared to what I predict for the coming year.

Of course, it’s not just about business, as I have one rather bold prediction for consumers as well.

What are these predictions? Let me warm up my crystal ball, dim the lights, drop the needle on some music to create the perfect ambiance, and gaze deep into the waters of the future.

SEE: Linux service control commands (TechRepublic Premium)

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How AI works: An introduction coming to a school near you

By Grace 2 months ago

Students from elementary to high school can take a course in AI and its societal and ethical implications offered within the year by the Microsoft and Code.org partnership.

Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto

The critical importance of tech skills across industries sends a clear signal: In order to meet the expectations of future administrators and employers, elementary to high school students will need to learn expertise unavailable to their parents’ generation. Today’s leading innovation technology is machine learning, and to address the need for this vital skill set, the latest offering from the longtime partnership of Microsoft and code.org is a new course in artificial intelligence (AI) and its societal and ethical implications designed for students in elementary and high school.

AI’s relevance cannot be understated, as it is the very basis for self-driving cars, but it also powers devices we’ve already become accustomed to, such as Amazon Alexa,

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