NEW RESOURCES

The first global topographic map of Mercury is now available. “The first topographic map of Mercury was released today by the U.S. Geological Survey, Arizona State University, Carnegie Institute of Washington, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and NASA. This high-resolution map provides the first comprehensive view of Mercury’s entire surface, illustrating the planet’s craters, volcanoes and tectonic landforms.”

USEFUL STUFF

From Practical ECommerce: 12 Apps for Streaming Live Video.

From Lifehacker: the best resources for getting started with 3D printing. “To help get you started, here’s a breakdown of some of the most fundamental resources to consider when starting out with 3D printing–no experience or spending required. By using the tools outlined here once or twice, you will have a better understanding of 3D printing terminology, how 3D designs are created, and where to get your 3D prints made.”

From Genealogy’s Star: Scanner vs. Camera or DPI, LPI, MP, and Other Acronyms for Genealogists. ‘Online’ and ‘cloud’ computing invites all genealogists to be involved in media from posting photos online to Instagram to uploading copies of documents as sources to online family trees. Scanners and digital cameras have become ubiquitous. But little is being said and even less is being written about the quality of the digital images that are being posted by the millions and billions. It has apparently been years since I have written anything about the jargon associated with the making of digital images so I thought it about time to return to this subject.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Wow. Has Twitter cut off US intelligence agencies’ access to its firehose? “Twitter said it has a long-standing policy barring third parties, including Dataminr, from selling its data to a government agency for surveillance purposes. The company wouldn’t comment on how Dataminr—a close business partner—was able to provide its service to the government for two years, or why that arrangement came to an end.”

Interesting: using Facebook to find new writing voices. “Satyanand Nirupam is keenly reading new posts on his Faceboook timeline at his first-floor office in Daryaganj. The posts he is reading are random jottings — candid everyday moments captured by youngsters in simple, conversational Hindi. For Nirupam, editorial director with Rajkamal Prakashan, one of the country’s oldest and biggest publishing houses, Facebook is where he scouts for new writers and writings these days.”

SECURITY/LEGAL ISSUES

Well this is different: a ransomware strain promises to donate your paid ransom to charity. “CryptMix demands approximately 5 Bitcoins (approximately $2,200) from victims, more than the going rate. Marks are given the consolation that their money will ‘go towards a worthy cause’, at least if the boiler-plate ransomware demand from the self-styled ‘Charity Team’ is taken at face value.” Ransomware authors aren’t the highest on my credibility index.

RESEARCH AND OPINION

Trump, Clinton, Trump, Clinton. Well, pfft. The most popular presidential candidate on Instagram is Bernie Sanders. “No, Donald Trump does not have the most-liked post of the election. He’s not even in the top 10. The honor goes to Bernie Sanders, who swept all 10 spots when it comes to posts with the highest number of Instagram responses, according to data provided by the photo-sharing app. The top post (see below) has 119,000 likes. He might not be competing with Instagram’s top users — the Kardashian/Jenner clan regularly net millions of likes — but that’s pretty good for a politician.” Note this is not an endorsement. I’d like to vote “none of the above”…

More Instagram: researching road rage on Instagram. “In a recent study, the Auto Insurance Center analyzed 65,535 Instagram posts hashtagged #RoadRage with the hopes of discovering where, when, and why drivers in the U.S. were most upset. As it turns out, August is the worst month when it comes to angry drivers. With summer vacations often leading to more cars on the road, motorists have more fodder for their fury. July comes in at a close second, again lending to the notion that driving in the summer is the worst.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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