Tuesday, July 13, 2021

North Carolina Government, Ransomware Payments, Edwin Edwards, More: Tuesday ResearchBuzz, July 13, 2021

North Carolina Government, Ransomware Payments, Edwin Edwards, More: Tuesday ResearchBuzz, July 13, 2021
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

State Archives of North Carolina: Senate Audio, 1993-2005, Now Available in NCDC, and CLIR Recordings-at-Risk Grant Expanded. “As discussed in our behind-the-scenes post on this grant, to make the audio searchable, we first had to listen to 400+ audio files pulled from 64 Dictaphone Veritrac tapes and match up what we were hearing with the information published in the Senate Journals, available through the State Publications collection on NCDC… Using them, we pinpointed the legislative days covered by each file, providing users with both dates and legislative days that they can use navigate the Senate Audio files for 1993-2005.”

Gizmodo: This Crowdsourced Ransomware Payment Tracker Shows How Much Cybercriminals Have Heisted. “The way it works is Ransomwhere keeps a running tally of ransoms paid out to cybercriminals in the bitcoin cryptocurrency. This is largely made possible because of the transparent nature of bitcoin: All transactions involving the cryptocurrency are recorded on the blockchain, a decentralized database that acts as a public ledger, thus allowing anyone to track any transactions specifically associated with ransomware groups.”

KATC: LPB, La. Digital Media Archives compiles a list of digital assets of Edwin Edwards. “With the passing of former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards, Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) and Louisiana Digital Media Archive (LDMA) have compiled a body of archived work highlighting Edwards’ political career. The digital archives include profiles, interviews, and debates and they are all available for the public to freely stream…”

NBC Boston: New Online Trail From Famous Vt. Cheesemaker Connects Consumers to Farms. “One of the best-known brands in grocery stores across New England and beyond has a new tool that aims to drive business to dairy farms that welcome visits. The Vermont-based Cabot Cooperative Creamery, which makes the famous Cabot Cheddar Cheese and other dairy products, is pointing consumers to where they can visit member farms — the ones that are set up for public visits.”

EVENTS

Government Accountability Office: Watchdog Turns 100 but Keeps Barking: Help Us Celebrate Our 100th Birthday—Virtually. “In celebration of our 100th birthday, we will host a virtual event on Wednesday, July 14, starting at 1 p.m. The online ceremony will mark a century of nonpartisan, fact-based work for Congress, which began at GAO on July 1, 1921. Our event will include video tributes from Members of Congress, historical perspectives from the current Comptroller General Gene Dodaro and 2 of his predecessors, as well as remarks from various GAO executives. We are excited to highlight the contributions of our diverse staff to our agency’s mission and future direction.” The event will be livestreamed on YouTube.

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Daily Dot: Twitter verified a number of bot accounts—raising questions about security (updated). “In a tweet thread on Sunday, Twitter user Conspirador Norteño, a data scientist focused on disinformation, highlighted six newly-created accounts that had all been verified. While it’s common for malicious actors to hack into already-verified accounts, the six users had all been created just 26 days ago. Not only that, the accounts shared nearly all the same followers and had not made a single tweet.”

AP: Cuba’s internet cutoff: The go-to tactic for global despots. “Cubans facing the country’s worst economic crisis in decades took to the streets over the weekend. In turn, authorities blocked social media sites in an apparent effort to stop the flow of information into, out of and within the beleaguered nation.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

ProPublica: A Banking App Has Been Suddenly Closing Accounts, Sometimes Not Returning Customers’ Money. “Chime, a ‘neobank’ serving millions, is racking up complaints from users who can’t access their cash. The company says it’s cracking down on an “extraordinary surge” in fraudulent deposits. That’s little consolation to customers caught in the fray.”

City A.M.: Rip-off travel ads ‘rife’ on Google as scammers exploit Brexit confusion. “Rip-off copycat adverts for travel documents are ‘running rife’ on search engines such as Google as unscrupulous sellers look to capitalise on confusion over post-Brexit travel arrangements.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Sydney Morning Herald: Privacy laws must change to protect kids from social media data harvesting. “One estimate suggests more than 72 million data points are collected about children by advertisers alone before they turn the ripe age of 13. So much what they say, think, do is being sneakily tracked and stolen without meaningful consent. But why does consent in this case matter? The perpetrators are some of the most powerful and wealthy companies on the planet.”

Nature: I critiqued my past papers on social media — here’s what I learnt. “On Good Friday this year, traditionally a time of self-reflection in the Christian calendar, I began critiquing my own scientific record — writing down something critical about each of my publications. Much of my career, my writing and now my podcast, ‘The Error Bar’, has been spent criticizing others’ work. In 57 tweets… I recalled the worst things about each of my publications.”

CNET: YouTube recommendations serve up most videos viewers wish they’d never seen, study says. “When YouTube viewers volunteered to report videos they regretted watching, 71% of them were recommended by YouTube’s own algorithms, according to a Mozilla study.” Good morning, Internet…

Do you like ResearchBuzz? Does it help you out? Please consider supporting it on Patreon. Not interested in commitment? Perhaps you’d buy me an iced tea. I love your comments, I love your site suggestions, and I love you. Feel free to comment on the blog, or @ResearchBuzz on Twitter. Thanks!



July 13, 2021 at 07:48PM
via ResearchBuzz https://ift.tt/3yRfU4t

Monday, July 12, 2021

Muslim Sources, Knewz, Google Photos, More: Monday Evening ResearchBuzz, July 12, 2021

Muslim Sources, Knewz, Google Photos, More: Monday Evening ResearchBuzz, July 12, 2021
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

J Source: New Database Aims To Amplify Muslim Voices In Canadian Media. “A new online expert database was launched in May with the goal of increasing Muslim voices featured in Canadian media. Naureen Aqueel, journalist and founder of Muslim Sources, said she hopes to grow the database to improve Muslim representation helping journalists diversify their sources.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Ars Technica: Rupert Murdoch’s answer to Google News is dead after only 18 months. “In August of 2019, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp announced that it was developing Knwez, its own ‘conservative friendly’ alternative to Google News. Knewz went live without much fanfare in January of 2020, and officially died today, less than eighteen months later.” As you might imagine, I see literally hundreds of headlines a day (possibly more. I try not to think about it.) I saw zero coverage of Knewz. Jelly got more coverage in the part of media that makes it to my Google Alerts.

USEFUL STUFF

Lifehacker: How to Hide Your Sensitive Pictures in Google Photos. “If, for some reason, you have taken photos on your phone that you don’t want just anyone to see, you may want to use some sort of privacy feature. While there are third party apps that can hide your intimate photos, Google recently announced a new feature to lock your private images directly in Google Photos.” This is not necessarily noods; you might have images of things like your driver’s license and passport in case they’re stolen.

Search Engine Journal: 5 Things Google Analytics Can’t Tell You & How to Get the Missing Info. “It’s important for marketers to be aware of Google Analytics’ limitations. Once you know what you don’t have, you can figure out how to get it. Here are the five main things Google Analytics can’t tell you and how to get the missing information, so you can make the right marketing decisions.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

South China Morning Post: China targets LGBT student organisations on social media in new wave of repression. “The WeChat accounts of dozens of LGBT student organisations across China were shut down permanently on Tuesday night in a sweeping wave of repression, sparking anger within the LGBT community. The accounts included those from top universities such as the Sex-Gender Study Community of Renmin University, Peking University ColorsWorld and the Shanghai-based Fudan University Zhihe Society.”

Go San Angelo: Nominations for national ‘I love my librarian award’ now open. “Has a librarian made a difference in your life? You can nominate them for the national ‘I Love My Librarian Award,’ which honors librarians across the country who are changing lives and improving communities. Each year, ten librarians are selected to receive a $5,000 cash award and $750 for their library in recognition of their public service.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Politico: ‘Nowhere to be found’: The internet industry’s D.C. powerhouse recedes. “Silicon Valley’s longtime voice in D.C. is in disarray. The Internet Association has been shedding staff, losing influence on Capitol Hill and shrinking to near-obscurity in media coverage of tech policy debates in Washington, even as the industry faces controversies ranging from alleged monopolization to privacy to how it treats its legions of workers.”

Engadget: Kaseya was warned about security flaws years ahead of ransomware attack. “The giant ransomware attack against Kaseya might have been entirely avoidable. Former staff talking to Bloomberg claim they warned executives of ‘critical’ security flaws in Kaseya’s products several times between 2017 and 2020, but that the company didn’t truly address them. Multiple staff either quit or said they were fired over inaction.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

The Atlantic: You Really Need to Quit Twitter. “I’m almost 60, and in these many decades I’ve seen people—some of them good friends—taken down by all kinds of things. Alcohol and drugs, mostly. A few years ago, I lost someone to heroin, and hundreds of us sat at his funeral in wordless communion. I know a couple of people who couldn’t shake gambling, and many plagued by food and sex and all the other great distractions. But in all these years—almost 60!—I haven’t had trouble with any of those things. Until now. You know what finally took me down? Fucking Twitter.”

Techdirt: Juul Rented A Scientific Journal For a Month To Spread Glorified Marketing. “Juul is sparing no expense to try and convince the FDA to keep its products on store shelves. Buried in a New York Times report on the looming FDA decision was an interesting nugget: namely that the company had paid $51,000 for a month of favorable coverage in the American Journal of Health Behavior.” Good evening, Internet…

Do you like ResearchBuzz? Does it help you out? Please consider supporting it on Patreon. Not interested in commitment? Perhaps you’d buy me an iced tea. I love your comments, I love your site suggestions, and I love you. Feel free to comment on the blog, or @ResearchBuzz on Twitter. Thanks!



July 13, 2021 at 05:36AM
via ResearchBuzz https://ift.tt/2UJkXp7

Search Atlas, Atlantic Ocean, Linux Mint, More: Monday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, July 12, 2021

Search Atlas, Atlantic Ocean, Linux Mint, More: Monday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, July 12, 2021
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

Wired: A New Tool Shows How Google Results Vary Around the World. “Search Atlas makes it easy to see how Google offers different responses to the same query on versions of its search engine offered in different parts of the world. The research project reveals how Google’s service can reflect or amplify cultural differences or government preferences—such as whether Beijing’s Tiananmen Square should be seen first as a sunny tourist attraction or the site of a lethal military crackdown on protesters.”

British Library: One-Fifth of the World’s Surface. “One-Fifth of the Earth’s Surface is a digital audio-visual, multimedia web experience by artists Hakeem Adam and Maxwell Mutanda. Commissioned by Abandon Normal Devices and York Mediale, the work is, as the title suggests, an exploration of the ‘power of water as a dynamic and fluid archive’ with the Atlantic Ocean its main subject.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Neowin: Linux Mint 20.2 arrives, upgrade path made available too. “The Linux Mint team has announced the release of Linux Mint 20.2 ‘Uma’. Surprisingly, the upgrade path has also been opened up today. In the past, users normally had to wait a week or two before upgrades were allowed from older Mint versions but it looks like the team was confident enough to allow upgrades right away.”

Poynter: No, Facebook isn’t kicking people out for supporting the NRA. “Facebook doesn’t mention the National Rifle Association in its community standards, where it outlines rules about objectionable content such as hate speech and sexual solicitation. (Facebook does ban users from buying, selling or trading guns and some other regulated products on its platform.) The NRA’s Facebook page, followed by more than 4.7 million people, is active.”

USEFUL STUFF

Lifehacker: The Best Podcast Apps for Your iPhone and iPad (2021). “We’ve been on this beat for a while, and have a pair of definitive recommendations for the best apps to manage podcasts on your iPhone and/or iPad (and maybe even Android or desktop, too), as well as a few backup suggestions for those seeking a more novel podcast listening experience.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Mashable: GETTR, that site for Twitter rejects, is mad Twitter won’t let it import tweets. “GETTR, the Twitter clone helmed by Donald Trump’s former spokesperson Jason Miller, ran into additional trouble Saturday when it lost the ability to automatically import tweets directly from Twitter. So claimed Miller, who announced the latest setback for his fledgling social media platform via (where else) Twitter.” Twitter did not respond to a request for comment, so it’s not clear why this is happening.

Stuff (New Zealand): National Library signs ‘historic’ agreement to donate 600,000 books to online archive. “The National Library will donate 600,000 books that it was planning to cull from its overseas collection to a United States-based internet archive that will make digital copies of the works freely available online. National Librarian Rachel Esson announced the ‘historic’ agreement on Monday, saying books left at the end of the library’s review process would be donated to the Internet Archive, a digital library with the self-stated mission of universal access to all knowledge.”

University of Iowa Libraries: Brokaw’s Press Passes Grant Access to Unique History. “Beyond the hours of television appearances and bylines, there are unique ways in which we can come to learn and know about [Tom] Brokaw’s impressive list of journalistic endeavors. The Brokaw collection, located in the University of Iowa Libraries Special Collections & Archives, is one of those places where viewers can get a glimpse into the history of the world according to the accounts of one of America’s greatest journalistic icons.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

AP: In crosshairs of ransomware crooks, cyber insurers struggle. “Before ransomware evolved into a full-scale global epidemic plaguing businesses, hospitals, schools and local governments, cyber insurance was a profitable niche industry. It was accused of fueling the criminal feeding frenzy by routinely recommending that victims pay up, but kept many from going bankrupt. Now, the sector isn’t just in the criminals’ crosshairs. It’s teetering on the edge of profitability, upended by a more than 400% rise last year in ransomware cases and skyrocketing extortion demands. As a percentage of premiums collected, cyber insurance payouts now top 70%, the break-even point.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

EurekAlert: New electronic paper displays brilliant colours. “Imagine sitting out in the sun, reading a digital screen as thin as paper, but seeing the same image quality as if you were indoors. Thanks to research from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, it could soon be a reality. A new type of reflective screen – sometimes described as ‘electronic paper’ – offers optimal colour display, while using ambient light to keep energy consumption to a minimum.” Good afternoon, Internet…

Do you like ResearchBuzz? Does it help you out? Please consider supporting it on Patreon. Not interested in commitment? Perhaps you’d buy me an iced tea. I love your comments, I love your site suggestions, and I love you. Feel free to comment on the blog, or @ResearchBuzz on Twitter. Thanks!



July 12, 2021 at 11:28PM
via ResearchBuzz https://ift.tt/3e76AS3

Pensacola KKK, New Mexico Photographers, Florida Elections, More: Monday ResearchBuzz, July 12, 2021

Pensacola KKK, New Mexico Photographers, Florida Elections, More: Monday ResearchBuzz, July 12, 2021
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

Pensacola News Journal: UWF Historic Trust releases first academic report on Wentworth KKK documents. What’s next?. “A year after Pensacola learned that the beloved local historian T.T. Wentworth Jr. was a leader of the local Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s, the first academic report on the trove of Wentworth’s Klan documents is complete. The UWF Historic Trust released the preliminary report into the Wentworth Klan documents on Thursday and along with the report all 265 documents have been posted on the online digital archive.”

University of New Mexico: New Maxwell exhibitions examine work of two photographers. “During a recent exhibitions design class taught by professor Devorah Romanek, curator of exhibits at the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at The University of New Mexico, the works of two photographers who chronicled life in New Mexico captured the interest of two graduate students. The class projects, online exhibitions by Katie Conley and Paloma Lopez, are now available on the Maxwell website. They highlight the work of American photographers John Collier Jr. and Charles Fletcher Lummis.”

Florida Chamber of Commerce: Florida Institute for Political Leadership Launches First of its Kind Statewide Database of Upcoming Elections. “The tool, a first ever in Florida and offered exclusively by FIPL, allows users to see what elections are upcoming in their local area – from municipal-level government to state and federal elected positions. Users can filter results, narrowing down respective searches by county, category, next election year and type of elected office. Fipl.org/elections also provides contact information for state and county elections officials.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

BetaNews: Twitter will let you know why you’re not worthy (of being verified). “Being able to apply for Twitter verification is, of course, absolutely no guarantee of being verified, and huge number of people have been disappointed to be rejected. Unhelpfully, Twitter has — until now — failed to make it clear why a request for a blue badge has been denied. But now the company says it will be providing more detail.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

WFAA: What-a-creation: Iconic Texas fast food chain launches its own museum of art . “The Whataburger Museum of Art is an Instagram page featuring artwork created by fans of the quintessential Texas brand.”

Wired: Clubhouse Aimed to Foster Diversity. Is it Working? . “More than a year after its initial release in March 2020, the invite-only social media app is still technically in beta mode, but after a few appearances from the likes of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, everyone wanted in—and most of them got in. The audio-only platform that was almost built for a global pandemic has exploded to host about 10 million users in nine countries and the European Union on both iOS and Android.”

New Indian Express: Delhi government tie-up with Google to reduce bus waiting time. “The Delhi government is integrating public transit systems in the city with Google so that people won’t have to wait long for public buses, said Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot on Friday. With this integration, people will be able to trace buses for live location on Google map and plan their travel from next week, officials said.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Politico: Feds agree to pay $6.1M to create database for Capitol riot prosecutions. “The Justice Department has agreed to pay $6.1 million to a technology contractor to create a massive database of videos, photographs, documents and social media posts related to the Capitol riot as part of the process of turning relevant evidence over to defense attorneys for the more than 500 people facing criminal charges in the Jan. 6 events, according to a court filing and government records.”

Ahval: Erdoğan to create social media watchdog against ‘misinformation’ spread – report. “The watchdog will be similar to Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), a regulatory body in charge of censoring and sanctioning broadcasts, Haber7 said, which has come under criticism for handing down a disproportionate number of fines to the country’s few remaining opposition outlets in recent years.”

New York Times: American Internet Giants Hit Back at Hong Kong Doxxing Law. “An industry group representing the largest American internet companies warned Hong Kong’s government that changes to the city’s data-protection laws could impact companies’ ability to provide services in the city.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

TNW: Study: Social media contributes to a more diverse news diet — wait, what?!. “New research has challenged the very existence of online filter bubbles. The study found that people who use search engines, social media, and aggregators to access news can actually have more diverse information diets. Researchers from the universities of Oxford and Liverpool analyzed web tracking data on around 3,000 UK news users.”

Mashable: Insect scientists want your help renaming bugs with racist names. “The [Entomological Society of America]’s Better Common Names Project is just what it sounds like: An effort to root out any examples of problematic names on the ESA Common Names of Insects and Related Organisms List. The effort starts with a task force that will be looking at: names containing ‘derogative terms,’ names for invasive bugs that include ‘inappropriate geographic references,’ and names ‘that inappropriately disregard what the insect might be called by native communities.'” Good morning, Internet…

Do you like ResearchBuzz? Does it help you out? Please consider supporting it on Patreon. Not interested in commitment? Perhaps you’d buy me an iced tea. I love your comments, I love your site suggestions, and I love you. Feel free to comment on the blog, or @ResearchBuzz on Twitter. Thanks!



July 12, 2021 at 05:10PM
via ResearchBuzz https://ift.tt/3e9QLKy

Friday, July 9, 2021

Cannabis-Friendly Jobs, New Jersey Traffic Stops, PrintNightmare, More: Friday ResearchBuzz, July 9, 2021

Cannabis-Friendly Jobs, New Jersey Traffic Stops, PrintNightmare, More: Friday ResearchBuzz, July 9, 2021
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

Philadelphia Magazine: Philly Entrepreneur Creates Search Engine for Jobs That Don’t Require Marijuana Testing. “Let’s say you’re on the hunt for a job. So you turn to any of a number of job search engines out there — maybe Monster, maybe Zip Recruiter, maybe Indeed — where you find dozens or even hundreds of jobs that might be a good fit. You go through the application process, only to find out later that your dream job requires drug testing. You, like so many Americans, are a regular marijuana user. This is the problem that the new job search engine Phynally seeks to solve. The Philadelphia-based company accepts job postings only from employers that don’t require job candidates to undergo drug testing for marijuana. The site went into beta mode in the spring and started accepting paid postings — there aren’t many yet — in June.”

NJ: Data detailing millions of N.J. State Police traffic stops available online for first time. “Residents can analyze and download information about more than 6 million stops, from the beginning of 2009 through the end of last year. The website does not name individual troopers or drivers, but it does explain why somebody was stopped, the driver’s race, if physical force was used and if any criminal charges were issued, among other details released Thursday.” I was able to access the data fine and I’m not in New Jersey; I think that’s just the way the story was written.

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

BetaNews: Microsoft’s KB5004945 update to fix PrintNightmare is breaking some printers. “The patch is not only ineffective — although Microsoft disagrees — it is also, very much in the tradition of patches for Windows, causing issues. People installing the KB5004945 patch report that they then have problems with printing.”

Tubefilter: TikTok Adds Fast-Forward, Rewind For Longer Videos. “TikTok appears to have quietly rolled out a seek bar that lets users fast-forward and rewind videos. Before now, the platform provided no way for folks to affect video playthrough. If they wanted to watch one specific part of a video again, they had to rewatch the entire clip.”

USEFUL STUFF

Digital Inspiration: How to Replace Accented Characters (diacritics) with English letters in Google Sheets. “The REMOVE_ACCENTED function for Google Sheets will replace all accented characters in the referenced cell, like the letters è, õ, ā, ĝ and so on with their normal Latin equivalents.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Washington Post: Why Palestinians are uniting around watermelon emoji. “Raising the red, green, white and black Palestinian flag is banned in Israel. So the watermelon — locally grown and similarly colored — has for decades served in Palestinian iconography as a subversive stand-in. In recent weeks, the watermelon has resurged on social media, as part of what some Palestinians say are efforts to preempt or circumvent online censorship and content moderation, in the face of heightened enforcement sparked by the Israel-Hamas conflict in May and the attendant wave of grass-roots Palestinian activism.”

WSMV: ‘How to’ videos of false positive Covid tests removed from TikTok. “Faking a positive Covid test to get out of school is what some students in the United Kingdom are doing and they are putting their fake COVID tests on social media. TikTok blocked the hashtag ‘fake Covid tests’ because some TikTok users in the United Kingdom were posting videos of how to create a fake positive COVID test.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

The Indian Express: Facebook asked to appear before Delhi assembly panel, Supreme Court refuses to quash summons. “‘Developments around the world… reflect rising concerns across borders… whether the liberal debate which… platforms’ like Facebook ‘profess to encourage has itself become a casualty’, the Supreme Court said Thursday while refusing to quash the summons issued by the Delhi Assembly’s Committee on Peace and Harmony to the social media giant in connection with the 2020 Northeast Delhi communal riots.”

New York Times: Four States Start Inquiries Into Recurring Donation Tactics of Both Parties. “Four state attorneys general have begun looking into the online fund-raising practices of both political parties, specifically seeking information about the use of prechecked boxes to enroll contributors in recurring donation programs that spurred a wave of fraud complaints and demands for refunds last year.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Brookings Institution: Facebook’s FTC court win is a much-needed wake-up call for Congress. “Three elements in the court decision bolster the case for change by revealing how US antitrust law as conceived and practiced today is unable to cope with the growing challenges of Big Tech. The many references in the opinion to ‘lawful monopolies’ underscore that current antitrust doctrine, a durable monopoly is not illegal. Indeed, current doctrine also encourages companies to treat the goal of a permanent lawful monopoly as an incentive to develop an attractive new technology or service.”

Akron Beacon Journal: Study: LeBron James has received 4 times more abusive Twitter messages than any other athlete. “Athletes often take abuse on social media. But a new study by Pickswise — a sports betting website — says Akron native and NBA star LeBron James takes much more than any other athlete in the world. The study says James received 122,568 abusive messages, which is an average of nearly 336 per day.”

OTHER STUFF I THINK IS COOL

KRON: San Jose airport launches new free digital library for travelers. “All passengers, regardless of age, can download up to four e-books using a smartphone, tablet or laptop. Once downloaded, readers can access the text offline almost anywhere they are traveling to during their loan period of three weeks. The digital library has a collection of bestsellers, fiction and non-fiction, as well as children’s and young adult books that are available in English and Spanish. The collection is updated monthly.” Good afternoon, Internet…

Do you like ResearchBuzz? Does it help you out? Please consider supporting it on Patreon. Not interested in commitment? Perhaps you’d buy me an iced tea. I love your comments, I love your site suggestions, and I love you. Feel free to comment on the blog, or @ResearchBuzz on Twitter. Thanks!



July 10, 2021 at 12:33AM
via ResearchBuzz https://ift.tt/3xwDNyc

Thursday, July 8, 2021

The Baptist Standard, Remote Work, Bon Scott (AC/DC), More: Thursday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, July 8, 2021

The Baptist Standard, Remote Work, Bon Scott (AC/DC), More: Thursday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, July 8, 2021
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

Baptist Standard: Around the State: Standard digital archive project continues. “More than 2,315 digitized issues of the Baptist Standard—including some dating back to 1920— now are accessible online here. The digital archives project is made possible through a partnership involving Baylor University Libraries, the Baptist General Convention of Texas and Baptist Standard Publishing, and it is funded through the gift of an anonymous donor.”

Kim Komando: Looking for a change? Check this site to find cities that will pay you to move. “If you work from home, where you live is entirely up to you. Several cities have caught on to this trend and decided to use it to their advantage. If you are a remote worker, you might like to move to an exciting new location and be paid to do it. There is a new website that lists opportunities for relocation for remote workers. Keep reading for your best options and tips to live the most exciting remote work life possible.”

The West Australian: Bon Scott: Family of AC/DC powerhouse launches first official website . “Bon Scott’s family will launch the first official website celebrating the late, legendary AC/DC singer tomorrow on what would have been the hell-raiser’s 75th birthday. The Bon Scott Estate has invited fans to send stories and tributes about the Fremantle-raised singer…. which will already be populated with testimonials from friends, famous musicians and other notable people when the site goes liveon Friday.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

BetaNews: Tor Browser 10.5 is here… and it kills off support for older Onion services. “Perhaps most apparent in Tor Browser 10.5 is the improved experience of connecting to Tor. While the Tor Network has undeniably rocketed in popularity, there are still plenty of people who like the idea of the security and privacy it offers, but feel uncomfortable with getting started. In particular, this latest version of the browser makes life easier for people forced to use censored connections.”

Deseret News: FamilySearch wants to build on success with another free, all-virtual RootsTech in 2022. “Empowered by its success earlier this year, FamilySearch is planning to take a similar approach with another free, entirely virtual RootsTech in 2022. The worldwide online event is scheduled for March 3-5, FamilySearch announced in a news release Wednesday.”

USEFUL STUFF

Lifehacker: You Should Let the BookTok Teens Find Your Next Read. “If your reading habits have grown a little stale, but you don’t want to be sold to by a publishing newsletter and you don’t have the time for a book club, you should give BookTok a try—this burgeoning corner of the social media world is full of readers with opinions. Here’s a primer on how to make the most of ‘BookTok.'”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Washington Post: From corporate America to conspiracy theory promotion: How a Minnesota man made a career out of anonymously amplifying dark plots. “Sean G. Turnbull displays many of the hallmarks of a successful upper-middle-class family man, a former film producer and marketing manager for one of the country’s largest retail corporations who lives in a well-appointed home in this Minneapolis-St. Paul suburb. Former colleagues describe him as smart, affable and family-oriented. But for more than a decade, the 53-year-old has also pursued a less conventional path: anonymously promoting conspiracy theories about dark forces in American politics on websites and social media accounts in a business he runs out of his home. His audience numbers are respectable and his ad base is resilient, according to corporate records and interviews.”

CNET: Google’s ‘hypocritical’ remote work policies anger employees. “As Google employees around the world make plans for post-pandemic work at the tech giant, Laura de Vesine won’t be among them. For months, de Vesine, a senior site reliability engineer, went back and forth with the company over a potential relocation. Fed up with Google’s inflexible policies, she handed in her notice. Her last day is Friday. For de Vesine, Google’s attempt to corral its employees after a year of remote work has been marked by indecision and backpedaling.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

TechCrunch: SoftBank buys perpetual Yahoo trademark license for $1.6 billion. “The extremely descriptive Z Holdings owns SoftBank’s internet businesses in Japan, most notably Yahoo Japan, whose web portal remains the country’s most trafficked news website. Under its most current agreement with Verizon Media (formerly Oath, formerly AOL + Yahoo), Yahoo Japan paid a regular royalty for the rights to use the Yahoo brand name in Japan and associated technologies. Those royalties will now stop in lieu of a one-time upfront payment.”

Stanford Medicine: Stanford researcher’s cryptography can preserve genetic privacy in criminal DNA profiling. “Crime scene DNA analysis can help identify perpetrators, but current methods may divulge the genetic information of innocent people. Cryptography can protect genetic privacy without hampering law enforcement, Stanford researchers say.” Good afternoon, Internet…

Do you like ResearchBuzz? Does it help you out? Please consider supporting it on Patreon. Not interested in commitment? Perhaps you’d buy me an iced tea. I love your comments, I love your site suggestions, and I love you. Feel free to comment on the blog, or @ResearchBuzz on Twitter. Thanks!



July 9, 2021 at 12:45AM
via ResearchBuzz https://ift.tt/36oAX2k

Anglo-Saxon Literature, White Castle Hamburgers, South Carolina Landmarks, More: Thursday ResearchBuzz, July 8, 2021

Anglo-Saxon Literature, White Castle Hamburgers, South Carolina Landmarks, More: Thursday ResearchBuzz, July 8, 2021
By ResearchBuzz

Good morning. Elsa will be rolling through and smacking us around later today. I’m trying to get as much done in advance as possible but we may have a publishing delay here and there. Stay cool. Love you.

NEW RESOURCES

University of Exeter: Oldest book of English literature in the world available to browse online for the first time. “One of the oldest books of English literature in the world – created more than 1,000 years ago – is now available for anyone to browse online for the first time. The Exeter Book is one of the four most significant verse manuscripts to survive from the Anglo-Saxon period and contains the vast majority of all surviving Old English poetry. Its origins are a mystery.”

New-to-me, from Richland Source: an online archive devoted to White Castle Hamburgers. “Over 600 museum objects are cataloged and stored at the museum collection facility, including the first spatula used by co-founder Walt Anderson to cook White Castle hamburgers…. We have digitized a selection of the White Castle Archives that is available online in the Ohio Memory digital library.”

New-to-me, and apparently revamped to all our benefit, from The Post and Courier: South Carolina nonprofit creates archive of Palmetto State landmarks. “Today, its website features entries on over 2,000 landmarks. Most are still standing, but the project also catalogues locations that have fallen to ruin or disappeared. In addition to photographs, entries include write-ups adding historical context to the sites, along with addresses, links to similar landmarks and information about any other notable places nearby.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Bleeping Computer: Microsoft’s incomplete PrintNightmare patch fails to fix vulnerability. “After the update was released, security researchers Matthew Hickey, co-founder of Hacker House, and Will Dormann, a vulnerability analyst for CERT/CC, determined that Microsoft only fixed the remote code execution component of the vulnerability.”

CNET: TikTok has a new resume feature for job seekers. “The pilot program lets job seekers post video resumes to TikTok for positions with partner companies like Chipotle, Target and Shopify. Users are encouraged to ‘creatively and authentically showcase their skillsets and experiences, and use #TikTokResumes in their caption when publishing their video resume to TikTok,’ the company said in a release.”

Mashable: You can now be a cat in Google Meet calls . “Google has integrated a bunch of new filters and masks into Meet, making it a bit more like Google Duo (which Meet is replacing anyways) and very much like the Snap Camera app on Zoom. These include new, animated backgrounds such as an undersea environment with bubbles and jellyfish swimming around (additions to the three launched in April), as well as changing your head into the head of a cat, elephant, dinosaur, and more.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Kotaku: Watch A Living Google Map Destroy Geoguessr. “Part of what makes Havrd and others who play Geoguessr at that level of difficulty so good is that they’re able to absorb a staggering amount of contextual clues that non-players wouldn’t think to look for. There are the obvious clues like road signs and landmarks but to get world-record-holding levels of good good, runners have to think creatively. Everything from the local flora to the silhouette of the Google Maps car can tell a player where exactly they are. According to Havrd, he knows when he’s in Kenya because their Google Maps cars have ‘snorkels’ on them. He knows he’s in Nigeria from the orientation of the red and blue lights on the police cars that escort a map car.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Associated Press: Trump files suit against Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. “Former U.S. President Donald Trump has filed suit against three of the country’s biggest tech companies, claiming he and other conservatives have been wrongfully censored. But legal experts say the suits are likely doomed to fail, given existing precedent and legal protections.”

Engadget: 36 states launch antitrust suit against Google over the Play Store. “Politico reports 36 states and Washington DC have banded together to sue the company over its handling of the Play Store. They say Google’s control over the marketplace violates US antitrust law. The bipartisan group of attorneys general behind the suit filed the case in the same California federal court where Judge James Donato is scheduled to hire Epic’s suit against Google over Fortnite’s removal from the Play Store last year.”

Ars Technica: No, open source Audacity audio editor is not “spyware”. “Over the fourth of July weekend, several open source news outlets began warning readers that the popular open source audio editing app Audacity is now “spyware.” This would be very alarming if true—there aren’t any obvious successors or alternatives which meet the same use cases. Audacity is free and open source, relatively easy to use, cross platform, and ideally suited for simple “prosumer” tasks like editing raw audio into finished podcasts. However, the negativity seems to be both massively overblown and quite late.” Unlike many outlets, the Ars Technica comment section is usually worth a read. It’s definitely the case with this article.

RESEARCH & OPINION

PsyPost: New study sheds light on what Instagram reveals about a couple’s relationship. “People’s relationship tends to be more visible on Instagram when they and their partner have higher relationship satisfaction, investment, and commitment, according to new research published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. When people perceive themselves as having access to higher quality alternative partners, however, their relationships tended to be less visible on the social media platform.”

The Conversation: It’s not just bad behavior – why social media design makes it hard to have constructive disagreements online. “My colleagues and I investigated how the design of social media affects online disagreements and how to design for constructive arguments. We surveyed and interviewed 257 people about their experiences with online arguments and how design could help. We asked which features of 10 different social media platforms made it easy or difficult to engage in online arguments, and why. (Full disclosure: I receive research funding from Facebook.) We found that people often avoid discussing challenging topics online for fear of harming their relationships, and when it comes to disagreements, not all social media are the same.” Good morning, Internet…

Do you like ResearchBuzz? Does it help you out? Please consider supporting it on Patreon. Not interested in commitment? Perhaps you’d buy me an iced tea. I love your comments, I love your site suggestions, and I love you. Feel free to comment on the blog, or @ResearchBuzz on Twitter. Thanks!



July 8, 2021 at 05:28PM
via ResearchBuzz https://ift.tt/3xsSzWy