NEW RESOURCES

Now available: a map of indie game developers. It looks like this is a reboot of a site that was shut down in 2014. From the FAQ: “You can be added to the map as team or company if you’re an indie or an independent game developer (not owned by any other company) and you have already published at least a title or a playable build of your first game. Furthermore, a company/team website is required.” There are almost 200 companies listed at the moment.

Now available: an investor database for African entrepreneurs. “Allied Crowds has … a database of funding sources (including crowdfunding) outside the financial mainstream of banks and microlenders, which is searchable by location and the types of industry they operate in. There area 217 funds, prizes, VC organisations, angels and more in South Africa alone according to the list.”

Wow: what sounds like a combination portal / metasearch engine provides information on silk and silkworms. “Developed by researchers at Bioengineering Research Laboratory, Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati, the portal is called ‘SeriPort’…. It has 22 silkworm databases, 23 host plant databases, one pest and pathogen database and 24 combined databases.”

The Arizona State Archive has a new online finding aid. “Researching Arizona’s amazing history was just made easier with the launch of the Arizona State Knowledge Center, or ASK according to Secretary of State Michele Reagan. Building on her tradition to fundamentally transform the way the public accesses information, Secretary Reagan announced the launch of an innovative web based portal that allows users to explore the archival material housed at the State Archives. Visitors can search by term, check out Core Collections, or simply browse through the vast amount of resources.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

The Unhooking of Google+ marches on: Google Play has gotten rid of Google+ integration. “There was an entire Google+ focused ‘People’ section on the Play Store that showed apps and ratings from people you follow on Google+. The Play Store also allowed users to ‘+1’ apps on the Play Store, which served as a vote of approval from people you follow. Both features are being stripped out of Google Play, starting earlier this week.”

USEFUL STUFF

From MakeUseOf: How to Use Evernote with Google Calendar for Maximum Benefits.

Digging Instagram Stories? A Chrome extension lets you view them in your browser. Not clear how long it’s going to stick around before Instagram whacamoles it.

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

William & Mary: W&M professor uses Google Cardboard to bring religious sites to classroom in 3D. “Google Cardboard will be the first tool that [Mark] McLaughlin will use to offer an immersive experience in his classroom, though he’s explored other options for better visualization of sites, including geospatial analysis and 3D scanning, for years. Most options he found were either too expensive or far too cumbersome to pull off.”

SECURITY/LEGAL ISSUES

Got Windows? It’s patchapalooza time! “Microsoft’s August 2016 security updates are out, and there’s every reason to follow our oft-repeated advice to Patch Early, Patch Often. There are nine separate security bulletins this month, numbered from MS16-095 to MS16-103, with five of them flagged Critical – Remote Code Execution (RCE).”

Do you have a Volkswagen? Is it locked? Might wanna check. “Later this week at the Usenix security conference in Austin, a team of researchers from the University of Birmingham and the German engineering firm Kasper & Oswald plan to reveal two distinct vulnerabilities they say affect the keyless entry systems of an estimated nearly 100 million cars. One of the attacks would allow resourceful thieves to wirelessly unlock practically every vehicle the Volkswagen group has sold for the last two decades, including makes like Audi and Škoda. The second attack affects millions more vehicles, including Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Fiat, Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, and Peugeot.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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