NEW RESOURCES

Western Illinois University: WIU Archives Announces Online Abraham Lincoln Collection. “In celebration of President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, the Western Illinois University Archives announces its online Abraham Lincoln Collection. Last year, Julia Thompson of the Malpass Digitization Department, approached Archives staff about putting some of its rare books online for patrons.”

San Diego State University: Climate Data at Your Fingertips . “While Julien Pierret was conducting research for his Ph.D. in climate data, he was playing around with a web graphics library and looking for a reason to learn about it. ‘I’m a child when it comes to exploring different tools and wanted to incorporate this into my Ph.D.,’ he admitted. His exploration eventually evolved into a web-based tool – four-dimensional visual delivery or 4DVD – that offers convenient, open access to climate data for regions across the world. ”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

SlashGear: IMDb’s free streaming service is adding major TV shows. “IMDb TV, Amazon’s free streaming video service, is adding a large number of television shows, including a number of popular offerings. More than 20 of the shows are scripted titles owned by Disney, including hits like Desperate Housewives, Ally McBeal, Lost, and Malcolm in the Middle. Some of these shows will only be available to stream through IMDb TV.”

Reuters: Google seals takeover of Looker after UK green light . “Alphabet Inc-owned Google (GOOGL.O) said on Thursday it has completed its $2.6 billion buyout of privately held big-data analytics firm Looker Data Sciences after winning clearance from Britain’s competition watchdog.”

Grand Island Independent: Phase one of Hall County Newspaper Digitization Project completed. This is Grand Island, Nebraska. “The newspapers included in the first phase include: Platte Valley Independent (1870-1884); Grand Island Times (1873-1892); Grand Island Independent (1884-1900); Wood River Gazette (1884-1892); Doniphan Eagle (1892-1895); Staats-Anzeiger und Herald (1894-1918); Wood River Interests (1894-1919); and Wood River Sunbeam (1906-2003).”

USEFUL STUFF

Lifehacker: How to Force Yourself Off Your Computer. “Whether we’re not paying attention or we just don’t want to deal with the world, we all have those moments when we realize … we’ve been on the computer all day. When this happens, you can beat yourself up for your lack of willpower (or sheer laziness), or you can turn to an application for help.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

BetaNews: Avast under investigation for the sale of personal data to third-parties. “It’s fair to say that Avast has been engaging in some rather sketchy behavior over the past couple of years. These include a privacy controversy with CCleaner back in 2018, and then a couple of weeks ago it was revealed that Avast Free Antivirus was sending browser history to marketers. After attempting to defend its data gathering and sharing practices, Avast finally apologized and shut down its marketing analytics subsidiary Jumpshot with immediate effect. But it seems that isn’t the end of the matter as far as the Czech authorities are concerned.”

Krebs on Security: Dangerous Domain Corp. com Goes Up for Sale. “As an early domain name investor, Mike O’Connor had by 1994 snatched up several choice online destinations, including bar.com, cafes.com, grill.com, place.com, pub.com and television.com. Some he sold over the years, but for the past 26 years O’Connor refused to auction perhaps the most sensitive domain in his stable — corp.com. It is sensitive because years of testing shows whoever wields it would have access to an unending stream of passwords, email and other proprietary data belonging to hundreds of thousands of systems at major companies around the globe.”

TorrentFreak: YouTuber Who Slammed Copyright Lawsuit Against Katy Perry Hit With Copyright Complaint From Perry’s Publisher. “Katy Perry’s writers lost a $2.8m lawsuit against Christian rapper Flame last year over the use of a handful of notes. Musician Adam Neely published a hit video on YouTube slamming the lawsuit but in a bizarre twist, Perry’s publisher Warner Chappell has now filed an infringement complaint against Neely. Not only have they claimed all of the advertising revenue from his video, they’ve turned the entire matter into an unbelievable trainwreck.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Phys .org: Young people are talking politics on TikTok. Is this a good thing?. “A report by the Wall Street Journal contends that young people are flocking to TikTok to express their political views, promote their favorite candidates, and react to political news. While this appears to be a good thing at face value, some in the field of law and politics are concerned that, as has happened with Facebook and Twitter, TikTok could be used to spread false information ahead of the presidential election.”

The Next Web: AI will never replace good old human creativity. “The European Patent Office recently turned down an application for a patent that described a food container. This was not because the invention was not novel or useful, but because it was created by artificial intelligence (AI). By law, inventors need to be actual people. This isn’t the first invention by AI – machines have produced innovations ranging from scientific papers and books to new materials and music. That said, being creative is clearly one of the most remarkable human traits. Without it, there would be no poetry, no internet, and no space travel. But could AI ever match or even surpass us? Let’s have a look at the research.”

EurekAlert: I spy with my digital eye … a tiger’s breathing, a lion’s pulse. “A pilot study undertaken by researchers from the University of South Australia at Adelaide Zoo, has developed a new way to undertake basic health checks of exotic wildlife using a digital camera, saving them the stress of an anaesthetic. Filming animals using a high-resolution digital camera installed on a tripod could offer another way for veterinarians to take an animal’s pulse or check its breathing rate.” Good morning, Internet…

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