NEW RESOURCES

The Orange County Library System in Florida has created a resource page after the horrible events that took place last weekend. Resources include grief counseling, memorial center locations, and municipal information.

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Google has updated its font site. “Google Fonts now has a brand new layout that displays font previews in a dynamic grid that resizes as you adjust your preferences. You can check out every style for each font, change the preview text and compare options side by side. ”

From The Jordan Times, an update on the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa project (EAMENA). “In less than two years, a team of archaeologists has amassed records for 90,000 Middle Eastern sites in an online database. The Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) project documents archaeological sites and assesses the threats to them in 10 countries, said project Director Robert Bewley from the University of Oxford’s School of Archaeology.”

You thought Facebook’s ads followed you around before? Check this out. “Facebook ads are typically meant to sell you something. Tracking whether or not they actually work can be tricky, since people use Facebook on lots of different devices and often shop somewhere else altogether — like in an actual, physical retail store. To fix that problem, Facebook on Tuesday released an ad update specific to offline shopping. Facebook advertisers can now include an interactive map displaying their physical store locations as part of a carousel ad so users can find, and maybe even visit, the actual stores.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

From VentureBeat: Why are bots so hot? This is actually part one of a four-part series, and well worth a read. “… how much of the bot craze is hype, and what’s worth paying attention to? The frenetic energy around this emerging ecosystem is well-placed but often confusing. After meeting with more than 50 founders in this space, I’d like to offer a structured explanation of the emerging conversational economy and to propose some opportunities (for both big companies and startups).”

The Memo has a comprehensive and somewhat breathless look at Epson’s answer to Google Glass. After watching the demo video, I’m a bit breathless myself. “Epson, a brand best known for its consumer printers, saw the potential and has quietly been working on something brilliant: the Google Glass we’ve been waiting for. Here’s the big difference – you won’t need to wear them all the time. Epson believes the future for augmented reality is professional and we couldn’t agree more.”

Are we getting ready for another Google algo-go-round? “I am seeing some really early signs from the SEO community chatter around a possible Google update. It is really early, so it may be nothing but I wanted to report it just in case.”

SECURITY/LEGAL ISSUES

What’s that, Lassie? Timmy fell down a well? No? Oh, another Flash zero-day security vulnerability for which there is not yet a patch? Gee, Lassie, I didn’t know you were such a tech. Tell you what, let’s throw Flash down a well.

And up next, Ransomware in smart TVs. This is me, sighing deeply. “Using multiple devices that run on one platform makes life easier for a lot of people. However, if a malware affects one of these devices, the said malware may eventually affect the others, too. This appears to be the case when we came across an Android mobile lock-screen ransomware, known as ‘FLocker,’ that is capable of locking smart TVs as well.” When our ancient CRT finally died, my husband called and asked if I had any advice about getting a new TV as I am our household geek. The first thing I said was, “Don’t let the salesman sell you a smart TV. You want a stupid TV.” So glad I did that.

Wow, sounds like free, nonauthorized livestreaming services are a bit dangerous. “Millions of people use free livestreaming websites to watch sports and other live events online, but this comes with a considerable security risk. Researchers from KU Leuven-iMinds (Belgium) and Stony Brook University have found that viewers are often exposed to malware infections, personal data theft, and scams. As much as 50% of the video overlay ads on free livestreaming websites are malicious.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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