As my quarantine hits day 40, I've settled on a routine for checking on the coronavirus data that floods the internet every day. Instead of looking at multiple sites, I go to Bing. Yes, Bing.
It's messy online. One site shows you the rate of new cases, the other recovery and fatality rates. Over there, logarithmic graphs of total cases.
To cut through all the noise, I go to a site I never used before the pandemic broke out. Everyday I refresh the Bing tab that I opened on my laptop around March 18 and haven't closed since. I was working remotely in Peru when the coronavirus was classified as a pandemic. I soon realized I was going to be here longer than I had planned.
The Bing COVID-19 Tracker is impressively organized, easy to use, and clear. And it surfaces relevant news articles, thanks to Bing, Microsoft's oft-forgotten runner-up to Google Search.
The layout is what distinguishes it from other trackers. It features a map view, overview graphs, comparison graphs, and color-coded relevant numbers, but not enough to overwhelm you. I can quickly type the name of a city, state, or country to find out how it's doing. A separate graphs tab provides more options.
Google has some impressive data, like its community mobility reports that show how people in cities and countries are moving around. But when it comes to global coronavirus stats, it's lacking. Something about it is overwhelming and difficult to parse. To look up Peru I have to scroll through a pulldown menu of countries.
For specific counties in California, I'll peek at a New York Timesinteractive map, but for my day-to-day overview of how we're doing in the U.S. and where I'm quarantined (still in Peru), I refresh my Bing tracker.
There's even a handy comparison tool to stack different countries, like China, Spain, and Italy, onto one graph. You can look at active or total cases, and, somewhat morbidly, deaths. Every graph offers an "expand" button, so you can see what's going with a fullscreen view. Each day the main tracker page lists the increase in number of active cases, recoveries, and deaths, so I can see the daily increase. Since I'm stuck in Peru, I set it the country to one of my "saved locations."
Most coronavirus trackers are very U.S.-centric, with impressive breakdowns by state and major cities. But for the rest of us who want to see the available data — no matter how incomplete and inconsistent — for where we are holed up, we need something more global.
Johns Hopkins University coronavirus map was a favorite tool in the weeks leading up to the outbreak in South America, but once cases arrived and then grew it wasn't as easy to navigate and interpret numbers as the Bing tracker. With a strict quarantine in Peru, any improvements in the data could nudge the government to let people exercise outside, go out after 6 p.m. (there's a curfew in place), or start deliveries from restaurants since only grocery stores and pharmacies are currently open. So I'm closely monitoring the situation.
And like that, Bing is now part of my daily internet life.
文章
19414
浏览
97225
获赞
23431
Twitter may be developing a new layout that makes it look more like Facebook
Twitter may soon make photos just a tiny bit wider on mobile.Noted tech detective Jane Manchun WongSecurity experts warn that 'high tech' voting and elections don't mix
When it comes to securing the vote, officials keep pushing for the latest and supposedly greatest inThe presidential candidates sure use a lot — a whole lot — of em dashes
The 2020 Democratic presidential candidates — bless their hearts — have a real affinityOnline learning: 5 skills for kids trying to do digital homework
Not everything went smoothly when The Harbour School in Hong Kong turned to virtual learning in NoveReddit adds a TikTok
The new hotness in social media these days is losing hours to endlessly scrolling feeds of short vidBoris Johnson will need some ice to recover from this woman's ruthless burn
Boris Johnson may be the new Prime Minister of the UK, but that doesn't mean everyone's happy aboutUber suspends another driver account due to coronavirus fears
The first and only confirmed Covid-19 coronavirus patient in London was diagnosed this week. And itThe tech product that made Bloomberg rich is a symbol for his campaign
As billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg attempts to buy (and meme) his way iDisappearing WhatsApp messages roll out to iOS beta users
Eight months after launching self-destructing posts on Android, WhatsApp is rolling out the same feaA black cat ran onto the field during Monday Night Football and stole the show
Football got an upgrade on Monday night when the Dallas Cowboys traveled to MetLife Stadium to playInvestigation reveals driver in fatal Tesla crash playing phone game
Federal investigators found that a man who died in a Tesla crash was playing a video game at the timTrump has started a meme fight with Nickelback and the band is winning
It's 2019 and in a giant plot twist the band Nickelback has found itself at a pivotal moment in itsThe COVID tech that dominated CES 2021
With virtual booths and digital portals taking the place of convention center halls and showcases, CApple's new MacBook Air features Touch ID, Magic Keyboard for $999
The MacBook Air is back. And unlike last year's underwhelming refresh, the new Air packs some excitiRihanna strutting in slow motion while smoking a joint is a sight to behold
Rihanna could literally sneeze and I would scream out the words "iconic!" and "goddess!" and "queen!