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The massive economic disruption brought by COVID-19 has revealed that for many, economic security is an illusion. And our biggest vulnerability is housing costs - the biggest expense for most households.

This fact is pertinent when we consider the crucial task of how to create a more resilient and sustainable economy after the crisis.

We mustnt forget COVID-19 is actually a crisis within a much bigger and more complex crisis climate change and environmental degradation.

But housing costs make many of us utterly dependent on a return to business-as-usual, despite the catastrophic environmental consequences.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday flagged the first stage in loosened coronavirus restrictions, expected to boost Australias economy by more than A$3 billion a month.

But we believe bouncing back to a path of untrammelled economic growth is no solution at all.

Rich nations such as Australia must permanently reduce and stabilise economic growth and with it, resource and energy demands to maintain a liveable planet.

But here lies the tragic paradox. How can we deliberately orchestrate an economic slowdown, when the COVID-19 experience has caused so much personal pain and left many unable to pay rent and bills?

Read more: Want an economic tonic, Mr Morrison? Use that stimulus money to turbocharge renewables

Treasury forecasts suggest unemployment in Australia will jump from around 700,000 to 1.4 million as a result of COVID-19. Casuals, many of whom are not eligible for the JobKeeper payments, are already at serious risk of becoming homeless.

Governments and banks have taken immediate steps to keep people afloat, such as stimulus spending on unemployment benefits, a six-month freeze on mortgage repayments and a ban on certain rental evictions.

These stopgap measures show the emerging housing crisis is unprecedented and serious but they are merely band-aid solutions to personal economic insecurity.

Whats more, they ignore the obvious environmental devastation wrought by a growing economy. Its clear we must look for other solutions.

We propose that federal and state authorities offer unemployed people the opportunity to access public housing and a participation income.

The voluntary program would first be offered to eligible people either living in public housing, or at the top of the waiting list. If a pilot proved successful, and as public housing investment increased, the program could be offered more widely.

Participants would be paid a modest living wage in exchange for about 15 hours of local community service each week. This work could include growing food, maintaining the neighbourhood, helping to run sharing schemes such as a community tool bank, or even building new homes under expert guidance.

Read more: Why it doesn't make economic sense to ignore climate change in our recovery from the pandemic

The payment and associated activities would replace a persons unemployment benefits and job-seeking obligations.

Such a program would provide a secure home and livelihood to the poorest members of society. It would also provide real-world examples of alternative ways of meeting basic human needs, and governing access to land.

This proposal is built on the basic premise that land (just like air and water) was not created by the market and so should not be a commodity. Access to land for housing should be a human right granted to all, not just to those who can afford it.

A scheme such as ours could show how people are liberated from their reliance on economic growth when land is not commodified.

Urban commons, such as the R-Urban project in Paris, demonstrate how everyday citizens can create an alternative economy. There, several hundred people co-manage land that includes a small farm for collective use, a recycling plant and cooperative eco-housing.

Read more: Using lots of plastic packaging during the coronavirus crisis? You're not alone

This is not a new concept. Local collaboration on common land is humanitys oldest and most widespread mode of economic operation. For First Australians, it underpinned their way of life for tens of thousands of years.

And in Britain, people lived and locally collaborated on common land for many thousands of years before it became privatised.

Our proposal is about creating new futures based on common land, not a return to the past. It would initially involve the unemployed in public housing. But it could be expanded to include others alienated from the market: victims of the automation of jobs, the globalisation of labour such as manufactured goods being increasingly produced in developing nations or the decline in polluting industries such as fossil fuels.

Scaling up new land governance arrangements to the point where they influence the broader economy would require a huge expansion in public housing.

COVID-19 has highlighted Australias public housing shortage. Social welfare advocates, unions and the building industry have recognised the problem.

Reserve Bank governor Phillip Lowe says Australia must exploit low interest rates to invest in infrastructure. The stimulus following the Great Depression and the end of World War II offers a precedent: it led to the golden age of Australian public housing.

We call on governments to be innovative and ambitious. Building a more resilient and sustainable future requires the courage to experiment with new housing and living arrangements. Now is the time to act.

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Coronavirus shows housing costs leave many insecure. Tackling that can help solve an even bigger crisis - The Conversation AU

The death toll in the United States from COVID-19, the deadly respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, rose above 75,000 Thursday.

About 26,000 of those, or just over one third, happened in the state of New York, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. But the death toll is rising in other states as the coronavirus pandemic goes on. New Jersey has reported 8,801 deaths, the second highest number in the nation. Massachusetts and Michigan have each recorded more than 4,000 deaths.

More than 1.2 million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Globally, the number of infections has climbed above 3.8 million and more than 267,000 people have died.

Health experts have repeatedly warned that the number of deaths and infections in the U.S. and other countries is likely higher than reported, due to lack of testing, differences in how deaths are recorded and other factors.

United States:

-New Jersey is sending National Guard troops to assist nursing homes hard hit by coronavirus. It wasn't clear what role the troops would play, but Gov. Phil Murphy said on Twitter that they would "assist in our COVID-19 mitigation efforts." The governor added: "We dont take this step lightly, but the crisis in our long-term care facilities requires us to take it." The state will activate 120 National Guard troops, The Associated Press reported. One facility in Andover, New Jersey, became so overwhelmed in April that police found a makeshift morgue on site with 13 dead bodies. Nursing homes nationwide have been wracked by coronavirus infections, and some are under investigation for failing to handle the outbreak appropriately.

-The number of people on ventilators in New Jersey declined and the number of patients in critical or intensive care units dropped to its lowest point since April 4, Murphy said.

-Most of the states that have started to reopen their economies or plan to do so soon do not meet criteriarecommended by the Trump administrationto resume business and social activities, according to a New York Times analysis. The guidelines for Opening Up American Again are presented as what states should consider before reopening, but they are not binding. They suggest states should have a downward trajectory of documented cases or of the percentage of tests that come back positive. In more than half of states easing restrictions, case counts are trending upward, positive test results are on the rise, or both, according to the New York Times.

-A 17-page report by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention team, titled Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework, was created to give more detailed step-by-step advice to local authorities on how and when to reopen restaurants and other public places, but the report has been shelved by the administration, The Associated Press reported. The Washington Post reported that an anonymous coronavirus task force official said the report was overly specific and the White House had asked for revisions.

-Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine will allow personal services like hair salons, barber shops, day spas, or nail salons to reopen beginning May 15. Outdoor dining will reopen on the same day, and dine-in service will resume May 21.

-Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo announced the state's stay-at-home order will expire Saturday. Social gatherings will remain limited to five people until May 22, Raimondo said. Employees of office-based businesses may go into work on a "very limited basis." Restaurants can now offer beer and wine with their takeout service.

-The NBA said franchises may open their facilities Friday in areas where local restrictions have been eased. On a voluntary basis, up to four individual players may use the facilities.

-The U.S. Labor Department announced another 3.2 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the past week. More than 33 million Americans have filed for benefits since the economy was largely shut down.

-Cell phone data shows an additional 62,000 people traveled to Georgia one week after the state allowed many businesses to reopen while they remained closed in nearby states, the Washington Post reports. University of Maryland researchers who analyzed the data said it shows that reopening some state economies ahead of others could potentially worsen and prolong the spread of the novel coronavirus.

-Moderna announced it has Food and Drug Administration permission to begin a phase two study of its coronavirus vaccine candidate with 600 participants soon, CNBC reported. The company, whose vaccine candidate was the first to enter a phase 1 human trial in March, said it is finalizing plans for a phase 3 trial as early as this summer. The first doses of the potential vaccine, which was developed by researchers at Moderna and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, are expected to be manufactured in July.

-Geneticists have determined that as the number of New York City coronavirus cases grew, infected people seeded outbreaks as they traveled to other parts of the country, the New York Times reports. Before officials imposed restrictions, the New York version of the virus helped to fuel outbreaks in Louisiana, Texas, Arizona and as far away as the West Coast.

-Neiman Marcus filed for bankruptcy on Thursday, making it the second major retailer after J. Crew to do so during the coronavirus pandemic.

-President Donald Trump said he will be tested daily for coronavirus after one of his valets tested positive for COVID-19. He said the episode underscored the fallibility of using testing exclusively to determine safety. "What happens in between when you got tested and just a couple of days later?" he asked, saying there were "a number of days missed" between when the valet was last tested and when he discovered he had coronavirus. Trump said he'd had "very little personal contact" with the man, a member of the U.S. Navy, who tested positive. Like the president, who has yet to be seen publicly wearing a face covering, the valets have not been wearing masks in the White House.

Worldwide:

-The Acropolis and other ancient sites in Greece will reopen May 18 and museums will end their lockdown June 15, The Associated Press reported. Visitor limits would be imposed at most of the reopened sites.

-Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon say the coronavirus lockdown restrictions in her country need to be extended to May 28 because any easing now would be very risky indeed. Sturgeon, the first minister, said her preference is that all four nations of the U.K. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland move at the same pace on easing the lockdown in order to present a consistent message. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce some minor easing of the lockdown for England on Sunday.

-Residents of Moscow are now required to wear masks and gloves when using public transit and visiting public spaces now that industrial plants and construction sites in the capital have been allowed to reopen, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

For the latest coronavirus information in your county and a full list of important resources to help you make the smartest decisions regarding the disease, check out our dedicated COVID-19 page.

The Weather Companys primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

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Coronavirus Updates: US Death Toll Tops 75,000; National Guard Troops Being Sent to Help New Jersey Nursing Homes - The Weather Channel

Last week, the Lancashire Post carried a feelgood yarn about a great British success story. Its plane sailing for BAE Systems with a little help from Carol Vorderman, ran the headline, accompanied by a picture of the smiling former Countdown maths whizz sitting in the cockpit of a plane.

Lancashires biggest private sector employer had designed and built a ventilator to aid treatment in the coronavirus pandemic, and theyd done it with a bit of help from the beloved TV personality, who said that her small private plane had delivered some of the vital components.

You had to read to the end of the article to find out that, in fact, the worlds sixth largest arms-producing company had simply manufactured 2,700 ventilator parts, and that ventilator design did not eventually go forward to full-scale production due to the drop in the need for ventilator technology.

All of which represents another great day at the office for the communications team of a company that made $21bn in sales in 2018 95% of them to military customers and whose Typhoon and Tornado aircraft have been key to devastating Saudi-led attacks on Yemen, which have killed thousands of civilians and contributed to what the UN calls a humanitarian catastrophe.

A key element of coronawashing is, of course, the performance being seen to be supportive in the face of a national and global tragedy

The word coronavirus has entered our vernacular in the space of a few months now its also swiftly become a shortcut to brand self-awareness and vague corporate caring, with many companies quick to jump on board. A Whos Who of polluters, tax dodgers and outsource vultures are urging us to #StaySafe, pumping out soft-focus branded content that makes Forrest Gump look like an episode of Chernobyl.

In a neoliberal society in which private companies need to project an image of public-spirited compassion, a global pandemic means back-to-back strategy Zoom calls for corporate communications teams. The mission objective is: how do we look like legends without impacting our profits?

More than that, these are often businesses that helped create and profit from the weakened public services and diminished standards of living that the outbreak of Covid-19 has served to expose, and which have hampered the UKs response. These feelgood pieces of PR, then, are exercises not just in making it look like corporations are fighting the crisis, but that they also are definitely not culpable in having helped worsen it.

We have become used to sportswashing, greenwashing, pinkwashing and even wokewashing. We are now in the first wave of coronawashing, in which corporations trip over themselves to clap for key workers, before packaging the footage up into moving nuggets of shareable content and promoting them on several social media platforms. In the background, these same companies are asking for government bailouts and taking advantage of a crisis to push for favourable legislation and the slashing of regulations that are more necessary than ever.

And so we have Holly Branson, doing her best Ivanka Trump, tweeting about Virgin ventilator design while her father, Richard, lord of the boomers, moves on from taking legal action against the NHS to pleading for government money.

Then we have HSBC, which, among much else, has been heavily fined in the US for facilitating tax evasion and money laundering and was found to have helped clients dodge millions in tax. The banking giant is now showing its caring side by filling newspaper advertising pages with messages of support in this time of crisis. Yet at the same time it has decided, at Ramadan, to block donations to a Palestinian aid charity.

Meanwhile, on YouTube, in a video entitled Thank You For Not Riding, plaintive piano lines soundtrack footage of ordinary people in their homes during pandemic. Its not until you get to the end of this moving tribute to the common man that you realise it was made by Uber, a company with a litany of questionable work practices, which is now using coronavirus sick-leave measures to argue against giving its drivers employee status.

Examples of coronawashing are everywhere. Amazon, the selfless buddy who does a favour for you behind the scenes and then tells you and all your mutual friends about it, was recently revealed as a mystery 250,000 donor to UK bookshops. Amazons CEO Jeff Bezos makesmore than $8m every single day. His company has been deemed worst for aggressive tax avoidance and has long been widely blamed for the destruction of the very independent bookshops it is now so generously and mysteriously donating to.

A key element of coronawashing is, of course, the performance being seen to be supportive in the face of a national and global tragedy. Primark donated care packs to staff at Londons new Nightingale hospital, established to treat coronavirus, but in Bangladesh it was cancelling production of $273m-worth of goods, leaving already immiserated workers destitute. (In the face of adverse publicity, Primark reversed its position.)

All of which recalls a line from, of all people, Peter Buffett, son of investor billionaire Warren. In an essay entitled The Charitable-Industrial Complex, Buffett described taking over some of his fathers philanthropic work and finding himself sitting around the table with power players searching for answers with their right hand to problems that others in the room have created with their left.

This is a neat description of the coronawashers: these corporations obviously werent responsible for the global pandemic, but they spent decades eviscerating the public sphere, which, in turn, has reduced the states ability to respond to large-scale problems. Now they hope to be patted on the back for throwing out some loose change and clapping the NHS (in an inspiring social media clip that you can like and share).

Oscar Rickett is a journalist and writer

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Coronawashing: for big, bad businesses, it's the new greenwashing - The Guardian

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) -- Not all nurses on the front lines of the COVID-19 battle are in hospitals or clinics.

Some make house calls to provide needed care.

Thats why one nurse was on the road when she suffered an unexpected expense.

An experienced hospice nurse, Cindy Crane travels a lot but she didnt know how to treat a bad drive.

What I should have done I guess is come turn here and go up to the clubhouse and ask them to help me get a cart to go chase down the offending golfer, Crane said.

A week ago Monday afternoon, Crane believes a golf ball shattered her side window as she drove south on 120th Street past a hole at The Knolls.

But she didnt stop at the clubhouse until two days later.

I was focused. I was focused on getting to my next patient, Crane said.

Omaha's golf director says Knolls staff would have gladly hopped on a cart to help track who might have hit a bad ball if Crane had stopped right away.

The hospice nurse has hundreds of dollars in medical equipment in the back of her car and shes worried that the shattered window isnt going to stand up to the weather much longer.

So the shattered window had to be replaced but with a $500 deductible, the cost of $467 came out of her pocket.

Even though I need new tires, Ill have to put them on the back burner, which is worrisome because I drive this car for my job, Crane said.

She doesnt golf but Crane learned one rule of the game: its not the course but the golfer who is responsible for damage and report it right away to have any shot at getting them to admit it.

Omaha's golf director says across the citys eight courses there are only a total of about five reports a year of an errant shot breaking a window.

The traveling hospice nurse sees a half dozen critical patients a day and thats why she didnt stop right away and report the damage to her car.

Read more:
Bad drive leaves hospice nurse paying for window smashed by golf ball - WOWT

The latest data from NetMarketShare shows that from March 2020 to April 2020, Linuxs desktop market share increased by 1.5%, and Windows share decreased by 2%.

For a long time, Linux has been regarded as the best substitute for the Windows system. However, although the data shows that Linuxs market share and installation rate are increasing significantly, as far as the Chinese market is concerned, it still takes some time to build a Linux distribution that can replace the Windows system.

Also Read: Huawei MateBook Series Linux Version Went On Sale

Liu Xinhuan, general manager of Tongxin Software Technology Co., Ltd. said in an interview, For a good operating system, you must have a long time to prepare psychologically. And to really compete with foreign operating systems, it will take at least 3 years, 5 years or even 10 years. So I think it is better to do our products well and do our own things, rather than staying in the verbal battle, because the final market still depends on product quality and service capabilities.

Tongxin Software has been in the research and development of operating systems in China. It focuses on the development and service of basic software such as operating systems. It has developed various operating system products based on the Linux kernel.

In fact, the pace of Linux replacing Windows in the Chinese market is still quite slow. StatCounter data shows that there are still not less than 86.67% of desktop computers still running Windows in the Chinese market. At the same time, Apple macOS accounts for 9.94% and Linux only accounts for 0.6%.

Liu Wenhuan said that from a relatively long-term perspective, the company hopes to gain more than one-third of Chinas market share in the field of general-purpose operating systems. In general, Linuxs desire to replace Windows in the Chinese market is not overnight.

See more here:
It Will Take 3-10 Years for Linux to Replace Windows in China - Gizchina.com

The ex-Reds star feels interest in the prolific RB Leipzig striker is purely down to Jurgen Klopp looking to add greater depth to his squad at Anfield

Liverpool are not looking for Timo Werner to replace anyone at Anfield, says John Barnes, with Jurgen Klopp considered to be looking to bring in competition for Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.

Talk of the Reds launching a big-money raid on RB Leipzig for the prolific Germany international striker has been stepped up ahead of the next transfer window.

Werner is seen by many as the perfect fit for Klopps system, with the 24-year-old boasting both end product and willingness to work hard for the good of a collective cause.

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It has, however, also been suggested that another option will be sought by Liverpool in the final third as interest is building in those already on their books.

La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona have been sniffing around Salah and Mane for some time, but Barnes is not expecting sales to be sanctioned on Merseyside.

He told BonusCodeBets of the Werner rumours: Hes not going to replace anyone.

Hes coming to be part of the squad, I dont think Klopps going to drop any of the front three for him.

Of course, I dont know if that is what may necessarily happen. If Salah, Mane or Firmino goes, we dont know, so I dont think hes coming in to replace anyone, hes coming to be part of a squad.

Pressed further on whether he could see any member of a fearsome front three moving on in 2020, former Reds midfielder Barnes added: Every player, regardless of who you are, can go at any moment.

I dont think theyre preparing for any of the front three to leave. If you can get a player of Werners quality to come in and one of the front three doesnt leave, its fine, they have a stronger squad.

I dont think theyre going to lose any of the front three, but in modern football, you can never tell.

If you get a chance to get a player who can fit into what you want, you should do it.

I dont think hes going to cost hundreds of millions or his salary will be that high and it wont be the case where he has to play every single game because hes going to cost 100m and hes being paid 300k a week.

This is also what hes [Klopp] looking for, players that will come and be happy to be there and not demand to play every week, theyre not superstars like a [Cristiano] Ronaldo or a [Lionel] Messi.

Werner has left the door open for a move to Liverpool to be made, as he readies himself for a new challenge, but the Reds are not the only side monitoring his situation and may face competition when the next market opens for business.

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Liverpool not looking for Werner to replace anyone Barnes expects Salah, Mane & Firmino to stay put - Goal.com

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic meansfootball's business model is about to change.

Big transfer fees and long contracts are set to be replaced by swaps, free-agent agreements and loan deals.

For the first time, we will see every major club looking to trade smart, with part-exchange deals expected to become more common than ever before.

It means deals like the one that saw Alexis Sanchez and Henrikh Mkhitaryan swap clubs in 2018 will become run of the milland it opens up a whole new world of transfer gossip.

The next transfer window will open as soon as the 2019/20 season is concluded, and here we take an early look at four potential swap deals in the offing.

Thomas Partey-Alexandre Lacazette

Mikel Arteta wants to reshape his squad this summer but also has some cost-cutting measures to adhere to.

To keep this brief, sources close to the situation insistArsenal will mainly be looking at free agents and swap deals when the market reopens.

There needs to be some smart negotiating, particularly if they want to land Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid. Insiders say they are keen to sign a central midfielder and that Partey is top of the list.

Now they need to find a way to make it happen.

AlexandreLacazette has been mooted by the Telegraph's Mike McGrath (h/tfootball.london) as the man who could open the door for Partey's switch, although the Frenchman played down the chances of him moving to Atleti.

It's feasible Arsenal would look to include him as a makeweight in the deal, but if not, there are six other first-teamers set to go on the market whom they could offer.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Matteo Guendouzi andShkodran Mustafi are names who might be interesting to Atletico.

So keep an eye on this one. Somehow, Arsenal aim to make Partey's signing happen.

Leroy Sane-David Alaba

Bayern Munich are stepping up their pursuit of Leroy Sane, whom they have wanted for the past year.

The deal was initially expected to make Manchester City close to 100 million, but the coronavirus pandemic has changed the thinking in Germany, and an initial offer of just 40 million (35 million) is being discussed instead.

It's a huge valuation decrease and not one that City will agree to. The bid will need to be raised or rolled into a part-exchange deal.

It has been suggested to B/R by two sources that versatile Bayern star David Alaba has emerged as a player who could become part of a swap deal. He's being pursued by Inter Milan, but this move would suit both Bayern and City.

His versatility appeals to Pep Guardiola at a time when he is looking for signings at left-back and centre-back, and a swap could finally help Sane get the move he wants.

Aaron Ramsey-Paul Pogba

Juventus still want to sign Paul Pogba; they just can't meet his 100 million valuation in this market.

Manchester United are planning to wipe the slate clean and expect Pogba to be part of their project for the next year under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but they will still be met with offers in the coming months.

One suggestion from Fabrizio Romano for CalcioMercato (h/tThe Sun'sJoshua Jones) is that Aaron Ramsey, who only moved to Juve from Arsenal a year ago, could be offered to United in order for Pogba to head back to Turin.But our sources say that particular scenario is unlikely, as Ramsey is determined to become a key member of the Juve squad.

That does not mean the idea of a swap deal is dead, as B/R understands there is a possibility that Adrien Rabiot might yet be used in discussions to take Pogba away from United.

United have a long-term admiration for Rabiot, so that could become interesting.But at this moment in time, it looks like Pogba is stuck at United a while longer.

Declan Rice-Eric Dier

West Ham United are being forced into a situation wherein they might have to listen to offers for any member of their squad, and that means even Declan Rice is up for grabs.

The Guardian's Jacob Steinberg reported that the England international will cost 70 million, but that price tag is unrealistic for buying clubs.

Spurs are interested in the player, and a report in 90 Min suggested Eric Dier could become part of a deal to take him to White Hart Lane.It carries some weight, as Spurs are also looking for a bit of an overhaul and would be willing to let Dier leave.

But insiders close to West Ham say it's not something they would be interested in. Tottenham would have to offer a different player, as well as cash, if there were any chance it could happen.

Manchester United and Chelsea are also interested in Rice, and while they won't meet his valuation, either, there is a possibility they will propose another option that may suit West Ham.

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Big European Swap Deals Analysed Ahead of the 2020 Summer Transfer Window - Bleacher Report

ONE day in November 1953, a chief glazier, Mr Arthur Howe, was photographed applying the finishing touches to an inscription in a new, 13ft-tall window destined for the north wall of the choir at the medieval Glasgow Cathedral.

The inscription read: This window, dedicated to the Glory of God, is the gift of James Haldane Calder MacLeod, 1953, to replace Munich glass given by Graham Somervell of Hamilton Farm, 1861.

Watching Mr Howe at work was the windows designer, Mr Edward Liddall Armitage, who was based in stained-glass studios in Wealdstone, Middlesex.

Referring to the subtle colours in the window, this papers London correspondent reported: Small and brilliant fragments of red, blue, and gold pick out here and there the general pattern of the new window ... but the effect of the whole is of a cool glaucous translucency.

The grey and austere light entering through it will, it may be hoped, fall not inappropriately on the stones within, and will show their stern contours as they have scarcely been seen for a century; nothing could prettify Glasgow Cathedral, and no one would wish to see it attempted, but there is much to be said for seeing, in something less than Stygian gloom, the formidable virtues that are there.

Two years earlier, in June 1951, a photographer from The Bulletin visited the Cathedral as workmen erected stained-glass windows that depicted incidents in the life of St Mungo.

The windows, presented by Mr Andrew MacGeorge, replaced the family window of the Earls of Glasgow, which were said to have fallen into disrepair.

Read more: Herald Diary

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Those were the days - Throwing light on Glasgow Cathedral's 'Stygian gloom' - HeraldScotland

Linux has long been considered the best alternative to Windows, and the latest data shows its market share and adoption is massively improving.

But as far as China is concerned, building a Linux alternative to Windows could even take 10 years, Liu Wenhuan, the general manager of Union Tech explains.

Union Tech is the company that builds UOS, a Linux-based operating system that is supposed to allow China to abandon Windows as part of a long-term plan whose purpose is to reduce reliance on foreign software.

It will take at least 3, 5 or even 10 years [for us] to truly compete with foreign operating systems, Liu Wenhuan was quoted as saying by ABACUS.

Indeed, the development of Chinas Windows replacements progresses at a rather slow pace. However, Union Tech is currently in talks with local companies to bake support for their software and devices in the new Linux operating system, and the Chinese authorities hope Windows could eventually be replaced on some 30 percent of the devices operated by the government.

Of course, this is only possible in the long term on state computers, as home users are more likely to stick with Windows, especially for gaming.

According to StatCounter data, no less than 86.67% of the desktop computers in China are currently running Windows, while 9.94% of them are powered by Apples macOS. Linux is only said to be running on 0.6% of the devices.

Whether or not Linux would replace Windows in China is something that remains to be seen, but theres no doubt it does have what it takes to be used as a daily driver. And living proof is the number of organizations that have already transitioned to Linux worldwide and which dropped Windows for a wide variety of reasons, including the licensing costs.

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Linux Needs at Least 10 Years to Replace Windows in China - Softpedia News

A Cache Valley handyman is trying to raise funds for a Preston woman in horror story living conditions.

Joseph Little, who operates Jumping Joe Handyman Services in Nibley, isn't content to just fix Preston resident Janet Stricko's floor, he wants to see her living conditions improved period.

To do that, he's embarked on a fund-raising campaign to obtain the funds needed to improve her living space. On Friday and Saturday, May 8-9, Little, his friends, and his family, will be at the Stokes Parking Lot selling cookies, brownies, suckers, lemonade, and other snacks to raise funds for Stricko's home repairs. Some of her friends, church members and leaders are also helping, he said.

"Hopefully, the community can rally around and help this lady," said Mayor Dan Keller. He has been trying to help the situation by researching health and welfare programs that can benefit Stricko.

Littles' wife, Kaylyn, has also created a GoFundMe page for the same reason. It can be found atgofundme.com/f/utpkt-janet. To date, 32 donors have raised $2,917 of the $10,000 estimates is needed to help out Stricko.

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Handyman to hold fund-raiser to help Preston woman - The Herald Journal