The coronavirus lockdown is making the internet stronger than ever

Here are the states that will have the worst hospital bed shortages 

The Download Your daily dose of what’s up in emerging technology 04.08.20 Good morning! Today: the internet is thriving during lockdown, and which states will have the worst hospital bed shortages. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. Why the coronavirus lockdown is making the internet stronger than ever   What’s happening: Just like that, our internet connection has become an umbilical to the outside world. We now depend on it to do our jobs, to go to school, and to see other people. It is our primary source of entertainment. And we’re using it a lot: traffic in the US has gone up by a quarter since January. The spike in demand is being taken seriously, with Netflix, YouTube, Facebook, and the newly launched Disney+, all cutting the picture quality of streamed video in Europe. How’s it coping?: It’s showing some signs of strain, but despite the odd hiccup, the internet is doing just fine. In fact, the covid-19 crisis is driving the biggest expansion in years. For example, to make sure they meet demand, internet giants like Netflix and Equinix, which operates 200 data centers around the world, are rushing out upgrades as quickly as possible. What else?: There are still a handful of stumbling blocks that could slow the upgrade. For example, crucial parts of the internet still require a human touch. And the supply chain from China has been disrupted. But overall, the internet is emerging stronger than ever. Read the full story.  —Will Douglas Heaven Here are the states that will have the worst hospital bed shortages A coming storm: We all know by now that flattening the curve is one of the most important things we can do to mitigate the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic. China and Italy provided a grim picture of what happens when you’re unsuccessful: overwhelmed hospitals are forced to choose which patients receive life-saving resources, overworked doctors are more likely to get sick, and the death rate, by consequence, increases dramatically. Many hospitals in the US are about to face the same fate. Some data: We have charted how many times each state's maximum projected need for ICU beds will exceed its available capacity. You can see that Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island will be the most overwhelmed. Fortunately, other states that continue social distancing as they are should avoid the worst fates. Go and see the graphs for yourself. —Karen Hao We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.)   + Remember the two hamsters trying to share one wheel?   + Dogs delivering wine. The best sort of good boys.   + Some kids are not enjoying being home schooled.   + Record-breaking marathoner Eliud Kipchoge exudes style and wisdom in this interview.   + How to pass time in a pandemic. The top ten must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 New York has now lost more people from covid-19 than 9/11 But Wuhan, where the pandemic started, has lifted restrictions on movement. (AP)   + Governor Cuomo says he thinks the spread of the virus is slowing. (Reuters) 2 We’re interneting differently thanks to coronavirus We’re connecting with others and entertaining ourselves, but turning away from our phones. (NYT $) 3 Testing and tracing seems to be the only way out of this pandemic But it needs to be done without permanently curbing our right to privacy. (The Atlantic)   + Engineers are working on an app to do just that. (NBC)   + Location tracking may be pointless anyway. (Gizmodo) 4 People are cashing in on 5G coronavirus conspiracy theories And, disappointingly, celebrities are giving them a big boost. (Buzzfeed)   + How these utterly bonkers ideas seeped into the mainstream. (The Guardian)   + YouTube has tightened its rules after an interview with David Icke attracted tens of thousands of viewers. (BBC)   + Fear over wireless technology is as old as the tech itself. (Slate) 5 What it’s like to work as a doctor in an intensive care unit right now In many hospitals the biggest problem is a lack of staff. (The Guardian) 6 Taiwan’s government has banned Zoom Over security and privacy issues, and the fact some chats are routed through China. (TechCrunch) 7 Amazon isn’t sure what “essential” means Currently, its definition seems to include rubber chickens. (The Markup)    + The pandemic has messed up global supply chains. Blockchains could help. (TR) 8 Facial recognition startup Clearview AI has deep links with the far-right  Starting with the founder. (Huffington Post) 9 Fewer than half of kids are participating in online learning This is a particularly big problem for poorer children. (NYT $)   + Inequality is worsening Detroit's coronavirus crisis. (New Yorker) 10 Jack Dorsey has promised $1 billion for coronavirus relief It’s about a quarter of his net worth. (The Verge) Do you see hype in tech when others see hope? Or vice versa? MIT Technology Review wants contrarians for our Global Panel. Join today. Quote of the day “I’m seeing the world again through the eyes of a child. I see how beautiful everything is, how amazing everything is, and I’m just blown away by being here.” —Hylton Murray-Philipson tells Sky News how he feels after surviving four days on a ventilator in intensive care due to coronavirus. Please send hamsters to hi@technologyreview.com. Follow me on Twitter at @charlottejee. Thanks for reading! —Charlotte Was this newsletter forwarded to you, and you'd like to see more? 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