Today in Tech

With more of us connecting with our healthcare providers virtually during the coronavirus pandemic, hackers may find it more appealing to attack medical or hospital systems. Increased amounts of data due to telemedicine and medical internet of things (IoT) devices must be secure to protect individuals’ privacy and for HIPAA compliance. Network World senior writer Jon Gold joins Juliet to discuss medical IoT security risks, why these attacks may or may not be especially prevalent now and how to mitigate IoT security risks.

Google and Apple delivered their contact tracing app API to public health agencies across the globe. The apps would allow Bluetooth pings between smartphones within six and a half feet of each other. And in theory, these apps would notify you if you had been in close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19. In practice, public health authorities will have to encourage around 60% people in a given state or country to download the app in order to meaningfully conduct contact tracing/exposure notification. Computerworld executive editor Ken Mingis and PCWorld/Macworld’s Michael Simon join Juliet to discuss Apple and Google’s unprecedented collaboration, privacy concerns and how state and federal governments will utilize the API. 

Apple’s newly launched iPad Magic Keyboard brings even more enterprise capabilities to the iPad Pro. But is it worth it? If a MacBook Air is cheaper than a souped-up iPad Pro and keyboard, which is the better buy? Computerworld executive editor Ken Mingis and Macworld writer Michael Simon join Juliet to debate the new Magic Keyboard. They go over their iOS 14 must haves, whether or not they’d use the keyboard and if it’s worth the price. Stick around for some 2020 Apple predictions, too, including a potential 5G iPhone, the iPhone 12 Pro and over-the-ear AirPods.

With more of us connecting with our healthcare providers virtually during the coronavirus pandemic, hackers may find it more appealing to attack medical or hospital systems. Increased amounts of data due to telemedicine and medical internet of things (IoT) devices must be secure to protect individuals’ privacy and for HIPAA compliance. Network World senior writer Jon Gold joins Juliet to discuss medical IoT security risks and how some device makers are utilizing IoT to give healthcare providers and private citizens alike valuable data about the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.

Computerworld contributor Preston Gralla and Executive Editor Ken Mingis answer viewers' questions about the latest Windows 10 release. If you have a question, post it as a comment.

The economic impact of COVID-19 has forced many businesses to readjust their budgets and cut costs where possible. That could mean halting PC and smartphone upgrades or pausing software rollouts. One IT sector that may experience growth during the recession is infrastructure. As cloud becomes central to business operations, enterprises may be unwilling to cut costs entirely. And cloud service providers are buying up more hardware to cater to existing clients that are now working in the cloud more and more often. Stephen Minton, IDC analyst and program vice president of the Customer Insights & Analysis group, joins Juliet to discuss 2020 spending predictions and when IT spending may return to normal.More about IDC’s IT spending predictions: https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS46268520IDC’s Coronavirus Index Report: https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=US46272920

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S. recently approved some wireless spectrum within the 6GHz band for Wi-Fi 6 use. This will nearly quintuple the existing Wi-Fi 6 spectrum. The version of Wi-Fi that will take advantage of this spectrum is called Wi-Fi 6E. Existing Wi-Fi 6 clients operate within the 2.4 GHz and 5GHz bands, so they will not be immediately able to access this new 6GHz band. Deploying Wi-Fi 6 may be appealing to enterprises’ employees now working remotely, many of whom are working off of Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 4 networks. Network World senior writer Jon Gold joins Juliet to discuss what Wi-Fi 6E, when to adopt the much-hyped Wi-Fi 6 and what it means for the future of networking.

More people are relying on video conferencing software to do their jobs and chat with friends and family. This uptick in use highlighted some security concerns like “Zoombombing” and the lack of end-to-end encryption in popular video conferencing/collaboration tools. CSO Online’s J.M. Porup joins Juliet to discuss what end-to-end encryption is, why it’s important for video calls and what privacy expectations users should have when using these tools.

The coronavirus pandemic forced IT teams around the world to adapt to serving an almost entirely remote workforce. But once we all return to work in an office, those lessons shouldn’t be forgotten. Jack Gold, president and principal analyst at J. Gold Associates, joins Juliet to discuss how IT teams can apply lessons learned during this mandatory work from home period to a pandemic disaster recovery plan. They also dive into how enterprises can prepare for potential quarantine periods in the future and which companies stand to fare the best amid the coronavirus crisis.

More and more tech companies are stepping up to the plate to assist frontline workers and healthcare organizations as the coronavirus continues to take its toll around the world. Computerworld’s Ken Mingis joins Juliet to discuss how tech companies are helping, from working with supply chains to donate PPE, to providing comprehensive statistics about the virus.