NEW RESOURCES

The state of Texas has launched the Texas Digital Archive. “The launch of the TDA comes as the result of the transfer of over six terabytes of electronic records from the administration of former Texas governor Rick Perry in early 2015. These records, along with select images from TSLAC’s historic prints and photographs collections, make up the foundation of an ever-growing digital research resource for all ages and for generations to come. In the coming months, TSLAC archivists will add more than 150,000 files created during its decade-long digitization program, including over 18 terabytes of digital audio files from the Texas Senate that date from 1972 to 2006.”

There’s a new browser in town… and it’s got ad-blocking technology baked right in. “Brave Software, the new startup from JavaScript creator and Mozilla cofounder Brendan Eich, is releasing today an early version of its new web browser that displays websites quickly, by blocking programmatic ads, and replaces them with Brave’s own ad inventory.” Cue the avalanche of lawsuits in 5…4….3….

TWEAKS & UPDATES

Google has begun rolling out its Wi-Fi network in India. “Google has started to roll out free, high-speed public Wi-Fi across India, with the first installation going live in Mumbai train station today.”

USEFUL STUFF

I know I’ve been mentioning these a lot lately, but they come in handy and until relatively recently screen recording has been a pain: 10 Free Screen Recorders from Inspiration Feed.

Ever wonder what exactly Tor is for? Digital Trends has a good overview.

If you’ve been curious about the new Peach social app, You’ll like this overview from TheNextWeb. “We decided to drive below the surface and investigate how Peach works, as well as share a super-early case study on how Product Hunt has been using the platform to engage with their audience.” Wow, that IS super-early…

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Decades of film taken by the US Marines is going to be digitized and preserved by the University of South Carolina. “The Marine Corps is sending the rare stockpile of films to specialists in South Carolina. Some of the images have been in storage for 70 years and offer viewers a gritty ‘you-were-there’ view of military life. Most films were not even seen by the combat photographers who shot them with hand-held cameras from the late 1930s through World War II, Korea and Vietnam.”

A Kickstarter campaign is underway to help create a Studs Terkel digital archive. “The WFMT Radio Network (spun off from the radio station in the 1970s) is launching a Kickstarter campaign Thursday. The goal is to raise at least $75,000. The loftier and ultimate goal is to create an easily accessible, searchable digital archive of the more than 5,600 programs Studs Terkel recorded for WFMT 98.7 FM between 1952 and 1997.” Some of the Terkel programs have been digitized, but not all.

Following the Yahoo soap opera? Yahoo is streaming its 4th quarter and full-year earnings on February 2nd (PRESS RELEASE).

SECURITY/LEGAL ISSUES

Linux has a pretty bad security bug, but it’s getting fixed. “The flaw, which was introduced into the Linux kernel in version 3.8 released in early 2013, resides in the OS keyring. The facility allows apps to store encryption keys, authentication tokens, and other sensitive security data inside the kernel while remaining in a form that can’t be accessed by other apps.”

RESEARCH AND OPINION

Researchers are using Twitter to teach sarcasm. SURE they are. “Turns out, unverified male users from U.S. timezones are more likely to be sarcastic. Who knew? By compiling both text and context signifiers, the researchers were able to train the computers to guess sarcasm at an 85 percent success rate.”

OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL

Ever wondered who your dog twin is? Ever wonder why I dare to imagine you engaging in such things as speculating about your dog twin? Twitter to the rescue!. “The man or woman (or genius dog???) who runs the account takes the selfie photos tweeted to it, and finds a photo of a dog that closely resembles the human subject. It will then tweet it back, using the simple phrase, ‘You Are Dog Now.'” Good morning, Internet…

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