TWEAKS AND UPDATES

The tech specs (specs? Get it?) for the 2nd version of Google’s Cardboard VR viewer have been released. “Google released specs for the initial version back in December. Now the specs have been updated for the new version, which accommodates 6-inch phones. Third-party companies can now build new headsets in accord with the new specs — and join the Works with Google Cardboard program.”

USEFUL STUFF

How-To Geek: How to use Google Photos to store an unlimited number of photos.

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

From FORTUNE: Should Twitter lose the 140-character limit? Well, it could provide some options in its API so third party programmers could — oh, right. Never mind. “is without a permanent CEO, it isn’t showing the kind of user growth that investors want to see, and as a result the stock has fallen to the point where it is below its initial public-offering price. So is now the time for radical action? Should it give up one of its most distinctive features, the 140-character limit? Some say it should. But doing so would be a significant risk, since it would mean losing one of the things that makes Twitter unique.”

Facebook Messenger is the second most popular app in the US. Behind? Facebook. “These two aren’t the only Facebook-owned apps on the list. Popular photo-sharing service Instagram is also on the list in 9th place with 38.7% reach. Interestingly WhatsApp is missing even though it recently announced that it now has more than 900 million monthly users across the globe.”

SECURITY/LEGAL ISSUES

Apparently even encrypted medical record databases can leak information. “The paper, due to be presented at the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security next month, shows how sensitive medical information on patients could be pilfered using four different attacks. Researchers discovered the sex, race, age and admission information, among other data, using real patient records from 200 U.S. hospitals.”

RESEARCH AND OPINION

Do you hate the new Google logo? This lady does. “We loved the old logo, and we loved what Google was. Whatever it’s up to, whatever its intentions, Google should want to keep our love. So in the name of love, Google, give us back our serifs. Let this sans-serif building-block refrigerator-magnet silliness be the New Coke to your Coke, the Qwikster to your Netflix, the Freedom Tower to your One World Trade. Go back to your beautiful old serifs, and we’ll be that much likelier to let your self-driving cars drive us around.” Sorry, with Google there’s a lot more important stuff to care about than the logo (can you tell I’m not a designer).

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