NEW RESOURCES

Canada now has a digital archive for political parties. “Professor Ian Milligan at the University of Waterloo is charting the content of millions of archived political web pages spanning the last decade, allowing the public to compare what Canadian political leaders and pundits said in the past compared to now…. A search comparing depression against recession, for example, shows parties and groups such as the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the Green Party and the Council of Canadians tended to describe economic downturn as depression, whereas the New Democrats, the Liberals and the Conservatives more typically use the term recession.”

All the White House photos (over 350 of them) from John F. Kennedy’s funeral have been digitized and are available online. “The 350 funeral photos span a period of three days, from November 23 to November 25, 1963. Events include: President Kennedy’s body returning to the White House, lying in repose in the East Room of the White House and lying in state at the U.S. Capitol; processions to the Capitol Building and St. Matthew’s Cathedral; the requiem mass at St. Matthew’s; the burial of President Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery; a post-funeral reception at the White House; as well as photos of the newly-redecorated Oval Office with President Kennedy’s effects, the caparison of the riderless horse Black Jack, and a night view of the eternal flame near the late President’s gravesite.”

The US Department of State has announced another digitization release. “The Department of State today announces the release of newly digitized versions of eighteen volumes from the Foreign Relations of the United States series, the official documentary record of U.S. foreign relations. These volumes cover events that took place between 1914 and 1947 and were originally published in print between 1928 and 1973.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Instagram is going beyond its iconic square. “Today, we’re excited to announce that — in addition to square posts — you can now share photos and videos in both portrait and landscape orientation on Instagram. Square format has been and always will be part of who we are. That said, the visual story you’re trying to tell should always come first, and we want to make it simple and fun for you to share moments just the way you want to.”

Oxford Dictionary has added a bunch of new terms. Man, Grexit got in there pretty quick, didn’t it? “Among the lessons about who we are right now: The addition of Mx., a gender-neutral honorific for those who do not want to be referred to as Mr. or Mrs., reflects today’s more thoughtful conversations about gender identity, spurred on by the likes of Caitlyn Jenner. Grexit, a term for referring to the possible exit of Greece from the European Union, points to how global our economy is becoming. And the addition of barbacoa illustrates how much people like Chipotle.”

Google is digitizing more material from India cultural heritage sites. “These organisations include the Salar Jung museum in Hyderabad, Victoria Memorial Hall in Kolkata, Dastkari Haat Samiti, Devi Art Foundation, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Academy of Fine Arts and Literature, Kalakriti Archives, Heritage Transport Museum, Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres & Ashrams and the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute.”

Ubuntu 15.10 Beta 1 is now available.

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Google Street View is apparently no match for tomatoes. “Google’s Street View team does an awesome job in getting just about everywhere these days, from the Great Barrier Reef to the top of Mount Fuji to inside the world’s largest passenger plane. However, a somewhat brave attempt to offer stay-at-home travelers an immersive view of one of the world’s most bizarre festivals ended in failure this week when the camera-equipped car ended up being overrun by revelers. Oh, and tomatoes, too.”

The government of Japan will create a digital archive of endangered languages. “The initiative is based on the outcome of a 2009 UNESCO study, which found that eight of the world’s roughly 2,500 endangered languages are from the Japanese archipelago. The most well known language featured on the list is that spoken by the Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido. The language is generally considered extremely close to complete extinction.”

Snapchat has added new channels to its Discover aspect.

Yahoo is teaming up with Girls Who Code. “Yahoo is partnering with Girls Who Code to develop new curriculum, based on the Tumblr and Flickr open-sourced APIs, that will roll out across 500 clubs this school year. Through these lessons, 6th-12th grade girls will learn to build queries to display the most popular content on Tumblr and Flickr – intermediate skills that build on students’ preliminary knowledge of website development.”

The Verge took a look at Google’s new router. Good morning, Internet…

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