TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Google Cache (which is still a very handy tool) has a new interface. “Google Cache pages have an updated header and now allow you to check the source code of the cached page. Google uses a different background color and more spacing.”

USEFUL STUFF

LinkedIn is offering free trials to Lynda.com. “The professional network is offering its users a free trial to Lynda.com — 30 days for those with premium accounts or 21 days for non-paying LinkedIn users.”

From the always-awesome Jessamyn West, using the Interent Archive’s image feed on Flickr. “Reference question of the day was about finding public domain images. Everyone’s got their go-tos. If I am looking for illustrations or old photos specifically I’ll often use other people’s searches on top of the Internet Archive’s content. Here’s a little how to.”

From Ubergizmo, just in case: How to delete your Google account.

Does Twitter’s new autoplay feature annoy the heck out of you? Does it make your timeline look like a fever dream? here’s how to turn it off.

Using Twitter to find a job.

SECURITY/LEGAL ISSUES

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has released its 2015 Data Privacy Report. “The EFF has awarded nine companies a full complement of stars (albeit some host little or no content so certain criteria may not apply). The nine are: Adobe, Apple, CREDO, Dropbox, Sonic, Wickr, Wikimedia, WordPress.com, and Yahoo. So there’s plenty of room for improvement across the tech industry generally.” AT&T and Verizon got slagged (big surprise there.)

Reddit is moving to fully-encrypt traffic.

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Should Twitter buy Nuzzel? No! They’ll mess it up.

RESEARCH AND OPINION

Big page sizes mean the Internet is getting slower. “According to new data from the HTTP Archive, the significant increase in size for the average webpage has contributed to significantly longer loading times, leading to significantly more frustrated consumers. With the average site now 2.1MB (up 100 percent from just three years ago), it is no surprise that the Internet is actually taking more time to deliver its results to you.”

Great editorial from The New York Times: Congressional Research Belongs to the Public. “Every day, the Congressional Research Service, a little-known government agency attached to the Library of Congress, churns out papers on issues as varied as the defense budget, the farm bill and nuclear weapons. They’re not classified. They’re nonpartisan. And unlike many government reports, they’re fairly easy to understand. Yet it’s hard for most people to get copies of reports produced by the Congressional Research Service, which operates as an in-house think-tank for lawmakers. That is absurd.”

OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL

Turning Wikipedia into a printed reference set…. as an art project. “The Wikipedia entry for ‘quixoticism’ runs only about 255 words. But if anyone could argue for a personal mention, it might be Michael Mandiberg. For the past three years, he has been fully engaged in a project that might make even the most intrepid digital adventurer blush: transforming the English-language Wikipedia into an old-fashioned print reference set running to 7,600 volumes.” (No, he’s not going to print out the whole thing.) Good morning, Internet…

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