TWEAKS AND UPDATES

TechCrunch: Twitter tests a new way to label replies. “Twitter is testing a new way to make conversation threads easier to follow, with the launch of a new test that labels notable replies with special icons.”

The Verge: Twitter will soon offer more context about unavailable tweets. “Tweets can be unavailable for a variety of reasons: they might contain a keyword that you’ve muted, an account’s tweets could be protected, or a tweet may have been deleted.”

USEFUL STUFF

MakeUseOf: 5 Sites for Space Geek to Celebrate and Relive the First Moon Landing. “July 20, 2019, marks the 50th anniversary of the day man first stepped on the moon. Relieve this historical moment through live recreations, virtual museums, documentaries, and other cool web tools.”

Lifehacker: Watch the Best Episodes of a TV Series With ShowSkimmer. “The site ShowSkimmer is a new tool for finding the best episodes of a TV show. Search for a series, and ShowSkimmer will list the best 5, 10, 25, or 50 episodes, in chronological order. It’s a great way to watch a series while skipping all the forgettable episodes—which is especially good for long-running sitcoms with light plots and a lot of time to fill.” I have never seen an episode of Seinfeld, Friends, etc. Maybe I can use this and possibly catch up on all the cultural references I’m missing.

Wired: This Clever New Service Auto-Cancels Your Free Trials. “The Free Trial Card is a virtual credit card you can use to sign up for free trials of any service anonymously, instead of using your real credit card. When the free trial period ends, the card automatically declines to be charged, thus ending your free trial.”

Boing Boing: This AI turns your headshot into a portrait painted by a master. “AI Portraits does an amazing job of creating original portraits based on photos of faces.” I tried this with several images. Sometimes it was good and sometimes it was… not kind.

SECURITY & LEGAL

Boing Boing: Sony’s copyright bots remove a band’s own release of its new video. “The Sheffield-based experimental music act 65daysofstatic has a new album coming out in September, called ‘Replicr, 2019.’ Today, the band began its launch publicity by releasing a video from the album, only to have the video blocked on multiple services by copyright bots working on behalf of Sony, which distributed the band’s label, Superball.”

CNET: Equifax will pay $700 million for data breach, report says. “Equifax is reportedly close to reaching a $700 million settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission and other government agencies over its massive data breach in 2017. The money would also go towards resolving a consumer class-action lawsuit against the company, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday afternoon.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Los Angeles Times: Column: If a $5-billion fine won’t shake Facebook, what can bring it to heel?. “Facebook’s relationship with regulators is on everyone’s radar screen right now. The FTC action, which may not be formally made public for weeks, is only one reason. There are also the calls by prominent Democrats, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and other contenders for the presidential nomination, to break up Facebook and such other technology behemoths as Google and Amazon.”

CBR: NHS Data: A £9.6 Billion Treasure Trove?. “NHS data – held in some 55 million patient records – could be worth £5 billion each year to commercial partners, consultancy EY said in a new report published Friday, highlighting a further £4.6 billion in annual potential benefits to patients if the datasets of the single largest integrated health care provider in the world were put to use.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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