What is happening? Some of tech’s biggest players are looking to slow the spread of COVID-19, known by many as the coronavirus, by urging employees to work from home.

Microsoft in a public bulletin on Tuesday recommended all employees in the King County area (the region near its Redmond headquarters) to work from home if their job allows for it through March 25. Those who are pregnant, have a compromised immune system, have an underlying health condition or are over 60 should also avoid

In a nutshell: We know people still use terrible passwords, and that’s a massive security risk. Companies are also at fault, with many using easily guessable default usernames and passwords in their devices—and hackers know it.

As a way of detecting patterns in cyberattacks, researchers from security company F-Secure set up a series of ‘honeypot’ decoy servers in countries around the world. Some of the most popular passwords that hackers tried appear in many worst passwords lists —“12345”

What just happened? It’s safe to say that Google Stadia hasn’t been an industry-changing revolution, especially as many of its promised features weren’t available at launch. But one of these—4K streaming support on the web—is now rolling out.

Until now, 4K gaming with Stadia had only been available by using a Chromecast Ultra with a television. Now, 9to5Google and some Reddit users have reported that it’s finally arriving on the web.

Web users

Why it matters: The coronavirus has already caused plenty of disruption to the tech industry, including the cancelation of many massive conferences. Following Las Angeles’ decision to declare a state of emergency due to the spread of the virus, the next big event to be affected could be E3.

E3 organizer the ESA has issued an updated statement following the declaration. Having earlier this week said that planning for the show was “moving full speed ahead,” it is now “actively assessing the latest information.”

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In a nutshell: Apple is feeling another effect of the coronavirus outbreak. This time, it’s the company’s stock of replacement iPhones that's been hit, with retail employees and technical support staff being warned that replacement handsets will be in short supply for the next two to four weeks.

According to Bloomberg , those with heavily damaged iPhones that require replacing will find there’s a limited supply of the devices over the coming weeks. Employees say that some stores are also noticing a shortage of individual parts

In brief: The music streaming market has a new entry called Resso, courtesy of the same company behind TikTok, which is currently the most popular app among Generation Z. The service is launching in India and Indonesia, but will soon reach other regions where it faces the same problem - a fiercely competitive streaming market.

Back in November, there were reports that ByteDance was looking to take on the likes of Spotify, SoundCloud, and Apple Music with its own music streaming service.

After the meteoric success of TikTok, the

What just happened? Scientists from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, have developed a new type of concrete from waste materials that can bend under load, potentially making it an ideal construction material in earthquake-prone regions.

The potential wonder material incorporates waste products like fly ash, a by-product of burning coal. It’s also said to require 36 percent less energy to create and emits up to 76 percent less carbon dioxide compared to conventional bendable concrete made of cement.

Furthermore, the use

Something to look forward to: If you thought Valve's return to the Half-Life franchise by way of Half-Life: Alyx would be short-lived, think again. In a recent interview with Game Informer, Valve legend Robin Walker confirmed that the Half-Life universe is very much alive once more, and the company is far from finished with it.

"Half-Life means a lot to us, and it's been incredibly rewarding to refamiliarize ourselves with its characters, setting, and mechanics