NEW RESOURCES

The state of Kentucky has launched a new database for lost and abandoned horses. “The state veterinarian’s office has launched a Stray and Abandoned Equine Database with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture where people can browse listings of horses that have been found.”

A collection of records for London synagogue seatholders (1920-1939) has gone online. “Revealing details of positions held by forebears, researchers will be able to track ancestors who became wardens, council members, or served on committees of their synagogue, as well as seatholders in synagogues from around the capital city. These fully indexed records allow family historians to search by name, keyword, synagogue and address and with one click see an image taken from the pages of Seatholders for Synagogues in London.”

The World of Fine Wine magazine has launched a digital archive. “The World of Fine Wine, and the publishers Progressive Media International, have worked with digital content specialists Exact Editions to digitise the archive, making the resource readily available to print and digital subscribers alike. The extensive archive makes for a valuable resource; available for universities, corporations and other organisations, who can take out a specialist network subscription utilising Exact Editions IP authentication technology, say the company.” It’s 48 issues over 11 years.

A new online directory intends to aggregate business and service information for transgender people. “…a non-profit advocacy group in Chicago has created an online database to help transgender people find businesses and service providers that are not just friendly, but understanding of their needs. Most of the online directory is comprised of healthcare services, and it includes a rate and review function, as well as the ability to search for businesses and providers by location.The directory, called RAD Remedy — RAD stands for Referral Aggregator Database — is online, but still in development mode.”

There is now a map of Meerkat streams. “The app, which is hosted on Github, takes advantage of Meerkat’s API, which the company released in May. It’s very similar to the Global List already available in Meerkat’s competitor, Periscope: it groups streams in aggregate, so you can see from a zoomed out view how many are streaming in that area. But Meerkat Map actually breaks down further when you zoom in, so you could narrow down to the city level where streams are coming from. Which is either neat or completely creepy, depending on how you look at it.”

USEFUL STUFF

From Hongkiat: 10 URLs to Find Out What Google Knows About You.

From Digital Trends: How to download a Vimeo video.

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Google Maps now has a timeline. “Have you ever wanted a way to easily remember all the places you’ve been — whether it’s a museum you visited during your last vacation or that fun bar you stumbled upon a few months ago? Well, starting today, Google Maps can help. We’re gradually rolling out Your Timeline, a useful way to remember and view the places you’ve been on a given day, month or year. Your Timeline allows you to visualize your real-world routines, easily see the trips you’ve taken and get a glimpse of the places where you spend your time. And if you use Google Photos, we’ll show the photos you took when viewing a specific day, to help resurface your memories.”

Instagram is now allowing more search functionality from the Web. “You can now look up anything from hashtags, locations and usernames right from the desktop. Tags and locations are getting their own pages too, so you can see the most popular related images.” I’ll work with it, but right now I really like Websta and Worldcam, though Worldcam has occasional API issues.

SECURITY/LEGAL ISSUES

A woman who was recruited by Google and rejected by Google four times has joined an age discrimination lawsuit. “According to the lawsuit, a Google recruiter contacted [Cheryl] Fillekes in 2007 for possible employment in either Google’s engineering and testing group or its software development group. There were a series of phone interviews and an in-person interview at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California. In 2010, a different Google recruiter contacted her and said that from her previous interview scores, she was an ideal candidate. This happened again in 2011 and late 2013. In each case, a Google recruiter contacted her and there were a series of phone interviews, concluding with in-person interviews, but no job offer.” Sue them for wasting your time!

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

A rumor is running around that Google is going to sell custom e-mail addresses for a monthly fee. “As you can see in the screenshot above, the prices start at $2 a month which will give users their own custom Gmail address, letting them choose “you@youraddress.com”, subject to availability of course. However for $2, that’s all you will be getting and you won’t be getting additional storage. However if you want added storage, you can pay $5 a month which is more or less the same feature, but with 30GB of email storage, online support, and access to business tools.”

RESEARCH AND OPINION

From Stanford: Google Glass and the Elderly. “Glass will probably find its largest and most loyal customer base in communities dealing with old age. After all, there is a very large population of aging Baby Boomers set on a collision course with all the ills and predicaments that come with age. As Google Glass evolves, evaluation of its adoption to elder care service is vital for further program design and development. This study uses examples and surveys to evaluate the variables influencing the use of technology service programs by the elderly. A questionnaire survey was used to explore the technology acceptance of the elderly in a Google Glass based program. In addition, open-ended questions were used to elicit qualitative information regarding the experience of technology use. The results revealed elderly with higher social welfare statuses, better health conditions, and more frequent tech usage are usually more open to the idea of using Google Glass.” Good morning, Internet…

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