TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Read-it-later service Pocket is offering a Beta channel for early access features. ” Pocket touts Recommendations as one of the more notable early features Beta Channel users will get access to, but it isn’t limited to that. The public beta channel will be available on the web, Android, and iOS, and Pocket is encouraging its users to get onboard with it.” Recommendations? Ugh. I can’t keep up with the stuff I’m finding to read!

USEFUL STUFF

How-To Geek has a huge article on the Windows 10 privacy settings. “Windows 10 greatly increases the number of privacy options to twelve. In some cases, you can disable many things ahead of time by using the customized setup versus the express. There’s quite a bit to go over, so let’s carve into each category one by one and explain what you should expect to find, and some important things you need to know.”

From Free Technology for Teachers: Create a Random Name Selector in Google Sheets. Jimmy Morrison Pudge!

Evernote has apparently dropped the ability for nonpaying users to e-mail items to be saved, but Amit Agarwal, as always, has your back. “A good alternative is IFTTT. Assuming that you have activated the Evernote and Gmail channels in your IFTTT account, here are the 2 recipes that will help you email notes into Evernote but without having to upgrade to premium.”

From The Wall Street Journal: the best apps for visiting museums.

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

NARA wants comments on its relationship with Fold3 and Ancestry.com. “NARA has enjoyed a successful partnership with Ancestry since 2008. NARA has also partnered with Fold3, Ancestry’s sister site, since 2007. In the month of June alone, NARA records received 8.8 million views on Ancestry.com, and 2.5 million views on Fold3.com. We are renewing our partnership agreement with Ancestry.com and Fold3.com, and welcome public feedback.” Judging from my e-mail many of you have… ahem.. strong feelings about Ancestry…

Tinder? Being used as a platform for an exclusive music release? (PRESS RELEASE). mmmkaaaayyy…. “Starting today through Monday, August 3, Tinder users nationwide will discover a video message from Luke inviting them to be the first to experience his new track. Simply tap the banners on either the top or bottom of the card to receive an exclusive link. Fans will also have the opportunity to pre-order Luke’s latest album, KILL THE LIGHTS, out August 7. Tinder users should have the latest version of the app installed to catch the video.”

Google is getting the word out about Google Photos… with food trucks. I now feel totally okay complaining about the limitations of Google Sheets. “When you do these kinds of ‘on the ground’ things, you get to demo your product to people who wouldn’t necessarily have known about it. Food trucks always get people’s attention, so it’s tried-and-true genius. In essence: try our product, get some free food.”

VentureBeat goes hands-on with the new Yahoo Livetext. “The user interface is a lot like Periscope, but for one-on-one conversations. There’s not much to it, either. Users text as they normally would, and the text appears on the screen over the video. To make text smaller you can put in an ellipsis; to make it larger you can add three exclamation points. If you want to see your whole conversation, just tap your text.”

Did you know Google has a car company? “Google has set up its own car company. The tech giant has flirted with major car firms as it explores driverless cars but has also quietly set up its own auto company, according to documents obtained by the Guardian. Google Auto LLC is headed by Chris Urmson, project lead for Google’s self-driving cars. Urmson has been on a charm offensive with the world’s biggest automobile manufacturers. At the North American International Auto Show in January, Urmson announced talks with General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Daimler and Volkswagen.” Eww… “charm offensive” …

SECURITY/LEGAL ISSUES

The Mississippi Attorney General tried to get Google to censor its search results. “Mississippi’s top law enforcement official suspended the campaign against Google last December, after U.S. District Court Judge Henry Wingate in Jacksonville issued a restraining order prohibiting Hood from attempting to enforce a subpoena for ‘millions’ of documents from Google. That subpoena apparently sought information relating to copyright infringement by sites returned in Google’s search results, and infringement by YouTube uploaders.”

If I were Google these would be fightin’ words: “Android is the new Flash”. “Several years ago, Steve Jobs called out Adobe Flash as a trainwreck of security and performance problems, garnering him contempt from industry players deeply invested in the software platform. Today, Google’s Android platform is getting same brutal appraisal, but it’s coming from Android’s own fans.” Good morning, Internet…

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