The big picture: Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos this week announced the launch of a global initiative to help fight the devastating impact of climate change on Earth. The Bezos Earth Fund will empower scientists, activists and non-governmental organizations to both amplify know methods and explore new ways to combat what is described by some as the biggest threat to our planet.

Bezos in announcing the initiative on Instagram said he is contributing $10 billion to start with and will begin issuing grants this summer.

Climate change aside, the

Why it matters: As per usual, the Epic Games Store's free giveaways change this week. Along with card game Faeria, users can get their hands on Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate for absolutely nothing, starting from February 21 up until the 28th.

AC: Syndicate is certainly an improvement over the much-maligned AC: Unity. And while it pales in comparison to Origins and Odyssey, exploring Victorian London can be fun, as you lead your gang and fight to grow your influence.

Why it matters: While smart speakers continue to make their way into more households, there's increased concern that our recorded conversations could be heard by strangers. Those fears won’t be helped by the admission of a former Amazon executive, who says he turns off his Alexa smart speaker whenever he wants a “private moment”

Robert Fredrick, who was once a manager at Amazon Web Services, told the BBC’s Panorama program that he always turns off his Alexa speaker when discussing anything private or sensitive.

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What just happened? It appears that foldable phones still have a durability problem. An owner of the Motorola Razr, which launched less than two weeks ago, has reported a screen peeling problem that not only looks bad but is also affecting the touchscreen functionality.

The Motorola Razr has been met with mostly poor reviews since launch, and news that one of the phones is experiencing screen peeling won’t help its reputation. The device had been owned by Input for a little over a week before Raymond Wong noticed a problem with

What just happened? Analysts have already predicted that the novel coronavirus would see iPhone shipments fall, but the disruption could be worse than first anticipated. In Apple’s latest investor report, the company has warned that it doesn’t expect to meet its previously announced quarterly revenue guidance because of the outbreak.

Renowned Apple analysts Ming-Chi Kuo earlier this month slashed his first-quarter iPhone shipment forecast by 10 percent due to disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak in China, where most of the company’s products

Why it matters: Apple users have long enjoyed being able to use iMessage from their Macs. Microsoft and Samsung are trying to emulate that by enabling RCS support in Windows 10. This would allow owners of Samsung devices to send RCS messages to other devices that support the protocol. While it's limited to Samsung devices, support for other Android devices should come soon.

Rich Communication Services (RCS) is supposed to replace the outdated SMS with one that's similar to internet-based messaging services like iMessage or

Why it matters: EU's Margrethe Vestager will soon reveal the bloc's plans to bolster its technological capabilities and keep up with China and the US. In the meantime, Big Tech is lobbying for a softer approach in deploying AI without many regulatory barriers, but given Vestager's track record of hammering big companies with hefty fines, they're going to be stuck with a choice between

In brief: TCL planned on showing off a prototype smartphone at MWC that extends the main screen using a slide-out display. Unfortunately, MWC 2020 was canceled due to coronavirus fears, but some reportedly leaked photos show what we might be able to expect.

As folding phones gain popularity, TCL is reportedly working on a prototype smartphone that features a slide-out screen, notes CNET