TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Google Blog: Think macro: record actions in Google Sheets to skip repetitive work. “We’ve been focused on making Google Sheets better for businesses for this reason, which is why we’ve recently added new features to help teams analyze and visualize their data. Today we’re adding more updates to Sheets, including a way to record macros in the cloud to automate repetitive tasks, as well as more formatting options.”

NPR: Story ‘The Man Who Spent $100K To Remove A Lie From Google’ Has Been Retracted. “NPR has retracted the story that was previously on this page because it did not meet our standards. ‘Fairness’ is one of our guiding principles, and to that end we have pledged to ‘make every effort to gather responses from those who are the subjects of criticism.’ In this instance, that did not happen.”

CNBC via Yahoo: Google is reportedly drafting ‘ethical principles’ for government work to calm worried employees. “Google cloud leader Diane Greene told employees that the company is drafting a set of ethical principals to guide the use of its technology in the wake of internal objections to its partnership with The Pentagon , according to a Defense One report.”

USEFUL STUFF

Gizmodo: 3 Simple, Free Apps for Accessing Your Home Computer From Anywhere. “You’re at work, or on the other side of the world, or both, and you need something from your computer at home—in years gone by, you would need an IT degree and an expensive software package to connect up to your home computer remotely, but now a number of apps will do the job, simply and free. Here are three of our favorites, and when you might want to use them.” One of them is TeamViewer, which I can recommend – we use it at work and it’s very handy.

MakeUseOf: How to Use Google Sheets to Keep Every Part of Your Life Organized. “You don’t need shiny new apps and websites if you’re looking to get your life organized. All you need is the trusty spreadsheet. With Google Sheet’s sharing capabilities and some solid, easy-to-use templates, you can stay on top of your budget, schedule, to-do list, and more.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Forbes: Instagram Worthy: How Social Media Has Reshaped Our Ideas On Attractive Design. “When it comes to designing office and living spaces, people are relying on two social media platforms. The highly visual nature of Instagram and Pinterest make them ideal places for finding design inspiration, even making purchasing decisions…. ‘Instagram worthy’ home is now a thing and a lot of younger consumers admit that they specifically seek out decor items that would look good on social media. Yet the impact of social media on our perception of ‘pretty’ doesn’t end here.”

Friday Fun from Business Insider: A dog in Japan photobombed Google Street View and the photos are hilarious. “Photobombing— it’s not just for people anymore, as Cincinnati’s celebrated hippo, Fiona, illustrated last fall. A curious dog in Japan who tailed a Google Street View truck is yet another animal to join in the trend. The pup followed the vehicle around the Kumage District in Kagoshima Prefecture, which is located in the southwestern part of the country.”

Times of India: Police to approach Google for removal of anti-India content. “The city police are all set to write to Google — the leading and largest search engine in the world — requesting it to remove objectionable content against India from the internet.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

CNET: Privacy imported: US weighs EU-style regulations to protect your data. “What if more privacy was the law? The European Union has already made it so with its General Data Protection Regulation, which gives users the ability to request information on who has their data, as well as the right to ask for copies of it or have it deleted. Until recently, it seemed like that law would have only limited benefits for people outside of Europe.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

TechCrunch: Who’s a good AI? Dog-based data creates a canine machine learning system. “We’ve trained machine learning systems to identify objects, navigate streets and recognize facial expressions, but as difficult as they may be, they don’t even touch the level of sophistication required to simulate, for example, a dog. Well, this project aims to do just that — in a very limited way, of course. By observing the behavior of A Very Good Girl, this AI learned the rudiments of how to act like a dog.” Good afternoon, Internet….

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