Steampunk Tom Sawyer from Dogsupreme on DeviantArt

Not too long ago I mentioned the development of a database of aerial bombing campaigns called THOR. Some people were trying to find the database online. I tried to check into it further and didn’t get anywhere. This morning I found a press release from the US Air Force which included this sentence: “Although THOR is not yet ready for public release, Robertson’s primary goals during his time at the research institute are to finish collecting data from the Korean War and get the database up and running on the Internet.” So not ready for prime time, but keep your eyes out.

Google Play: now with gift cards.

More Google: The Opera Web Browser (my go-to for ages) is sticking with Google for default search until at least 2014.

Gmail! A very smart (and simple!) tip for filtering non-personal mail from your in-box.

YouTube has launched an elections hub. “You can watch all of the live speeches from the floor of the upcoming Republican and Democratic National Conventions, see Google+ Hangouts with power brokers behind the scenes, and watch a live stream of the official Presidential and Vice Presidential debates.”

Amazon has launched Amazon Glacier, a new data backup service. ” Glacier is intended for data you don’t need to get to often — database backups, images archives and the like. In the press release Amazon also says that Glacier data is intended to last, as in ‘centuries.'”

And just to make your afternoon weird, Steampunk Tom Sawyer. Yes, really. (Though apparently this is a thing.) He’ll let you whitewash his fence if you give him a copper ray gun. Good afternoon, Internet..