NEW RESOURCES

Cult of Mac: Here’s almost every wallpaper Apple has ever made for Mac and iOS. “Do you want a blast of Apple nostalgia which takes you back to an earlier time in macOS or iOS history, but don’t want to go as far as actually using older hardware? If so, then you’re in for a treat, thanks to a new archive of classic Apple wallpapers which just popped up online. Dating back to the classic Mac days of System 7 and the original iPhone OS (remember when it wasn’t yet called iOS?), the archive boasts full resolution copies of most of the vintage Apple background images.”

Library of Congress: New Online: Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted. “Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903) is most famous as the creator in the late 1850s of New York City’s Central Park with Calvert Vaux. But Olmsted had an enormous and geographically widespread impact on America’s lasting ideas of what cityscapes should be.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

CNET: Chrome, Firefox rein in memory-hogging websites. “Good news: Mozilla’s Firefox and Google’s Chrome are working to reduce the amount of memory and other resources their browsers use. You might have noticed that browsers impose an increasingly onerous burden on your phone or laptop. Websites are getting bigger and browsers are getting features that make them more like full-fledged operating systems than mere document viewers.”

How-To Geek: You Can Now Schedule Custom Routines in Google Home. “A few months ago, Google added a feature to Google Assistant called Custom Routines that allows users to create strings of commands that can be executed with just a single phrase. Starting today, you can schedule those commands. The new scheduling option is found inside the Routines menu, though it’s worth noting that it’s only available for new routines, not ones that were created before the feature was live. That means you’ll need to recreate your existing routines if you’d like to schedule them. Bummer.”

USEFUL STUFF

MakeUseOf: The 10 Best Calming Apps to Relax, Destress, and Clear Your Mind. “It has probably happened to all of us at some time in our lives. The world can feel like it’s going 1 million miles a minute and you’re left in the dust. Whether work is is dragging you down and causing fatigue or something else in your personal life is causing stress, you’re not alone. And the good news is that there are a number of calming apps—on both iOS and Android—that can help you destress and clear your mind.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Christian Science Monitor: Across Africa, new battlefields for free speech take shape on social media. “Governments are increasingly aware – and often wary – of the power of social media. But so are citizens and activists, and across Africa, many are pushing back against online restrictions.”

NewNowNext: These Queer Artists Were Censored on Social Media. Now, They’re Fighting Back . “‘We removed your post because it doesn’t follow [Instagram’s] community guidelines. If you violate our guidelines again, your account may be restricted or disabled.’ That vague, fateful warning is one Gio Black Peter has received time and time again. To date, Peter, a queer New York-based visual artist, has cycled through 10 Instagram accounts, 15 Facebook pages, two YouTube accounts, and four Vimeo profiles. And he’s not alone: For queer fine artists‚ particularly those whose work includes nudity, censorship on social media is an unfortunate reality. These platforms—all vital networking assets and creative tools for working artists in the digital age—are notorious for their harsh censorship practices, especially when it comes to nudity.” The nudity in the images accompanying this article is blocked out.

Global Voices: Social media users are trying to combat harassment in Pakistan — but will state institutions do their part?. “In most countries around the world, gender-based harassment is an old problem. But in the digital era, with hashtag movements such as #MeToo, and social media platforms where evidence of harassment can go viral, the balance of power between harassers and their targets appears to be shifting.”

Quartz: Cycling referees are incorporating social media into video replay reviews. “The World Cup isn’t the only major sporting event to introduce video-assisted refereeing, better known as VAR, this year. The Tour de France, currently in its third and final week, is being officiated with the help of replay technology for the first time in its 105 year history. In addition to footage from TV cameras, race officials—known in cycling as commissaires—are using another lens to judge the race: social media.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

The Next Web: Google’s AR design guidelines aren’t complete shit, but should be better. “When Google and Apple announced their mobile augmented reality (AR) platforms last summer, they rocked the 3D world. Almost overnight, Google’s ARCore and Apple’s ARKit shifted the center of gravity for 3D UX design away from headsets like the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR toward already ubiquitous mobile devices.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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