NEW RESOURCES

Intermountain Jewish News: Works of Yiddish author Chaim Grade digitized. “The Yiddish Book Center has digitized and posted works of the Yiddish writer Chaim Grade, one of the great masters of modern Yiddish literature. The newly digitized works are freely available online for the first time in the Yiddish Book Center’s Steven Spielberg Digital Yiddish Library.”

Google Blog: Learn with Google Arts & Culture. “Google Arts & Culture, in collaboration with more than 2000 cultural institutions, has long offered a range of tools and experiences to inspire those teaching virtually and everyone looking to learn online. To improve the experience and reflect how we’re all learning, today we’re launching Learn with Google Arts & Culture, a dedicated gateway for teachers, parents and students that brings together the stories, knowledge and treasures from cultural institutions around the world.”

New-to-me, from EMS World: Database of Key 9-1-1 State Legislation Now Available. “Since 2012, the 9-1-1 Legislation Tracking Database has served as a resource for states looking to improve their emergency communications operations or gather insight into neighboring legislative efforts. It allows states to easily compare recently enacted—or modifications to existing—laws involving 9-1-1.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Union of Concerned Scientists: Satellite Database Update: More than 3,300 Active Satellites Orbiting the Earth. “An updated version of the UCS Satellite Database, which includes launches through December 31, 2020, is now available on the UCS website. This update includes the addition to the database of 651 satellites and the removal of 66, for a total of 3,372 active satellites.”

Nunatsiaq News: Microsoft adds Inuit language to translation app. “The Inuit language just got a little bit more accessible. Microsoft has announced its Microsoft Translator app now supports Inuktitut. That means anyone using the app will be able to translate more than 70 language to, or from, the language.”

TechCrunch: Google to roll out slate of over 50 updates for Classroom, Meet and other online education tools. “Google today introduced a suite of updates for its online education tools whose adoption and further development have been accelerated by the pandemic, including Google Classroom, Google Meet and the next generation of G Suite for Education, now rebranded as Google Workspace for Education. In total, Google is promising more than 50 new features across its education products, with a focus on meeting educators’ and admins’ needs, in particular, in addition to those of the students.”

USEFUL STUFF

Digital Inspiration: How Spammers Avoid the Gmail Spam Filter through Google Forms. “Gmail is very effective at filtering spam emails but spammers seem to have figured out a new way to bypass the spam filters and send emails that land right in the user’s inbox. The emails are sent through Google Forms and because the messages originate from Google’s own email servers, they do not get caught in the spam filters.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

CNET: Facebook pulled news in Australia. Here’s why that matters everywhere. “Thanks to Facebook’s decision, people and publications in Australia can no longer post news stories. In fact, users can’t even see news stories. Posts from international publishers like the New York Times don’t appear in Australian feeds at all. The implementation has been chaotic. Facebook has accidentally blocked various government pages, including two official health agencies amid a pandemic. Some publications are blank not just in Australia, but around the world. Many of my US colleagues can’t see the posts on CNET’s Facebook page.”

BBC: Trustpilot removed 2.2 million bogus reviews in 2020. “Trustpilot has said it removed more than two million fake or harmful reviews over the past year. The business-review site said the vast majority were dealt with by automated software without human involvement. This marks the first time the Danish company has published a transparency report in its 14 year history.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Bleeping Computer: Fonix ransomware shuts down and releases master decryption key. “The Fonix Ransomware operators have shut down their operation and released the master decryption allowing victims to recover their files for free. Fonix Ransomware, also known as Xinof and FonixCrypter, began operating in June 2020 and has been steadily encrypting victims since.”

CNN: Capitol rioters boasted on social media. Now, they’re scrambling to scrub phones and pictures. “While scores of Capitol rioters flaunted their role in the January 6 attack, a growing number of insurrectionists are accused of covering their tracks by destroying cellphones, wiping social media posts and threatening witnesses.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

BNN Bloomberg: Google to Reorganize AI Teams in Wake of Researcher’s Departure. “Google will restructure its responsible artificial intelligence efforts to centralize teams under a single executive, according to people familiar with the situation, as the internet giant tries to stabilize groups working on ethics research and products after months of chaos.” Good morning, Internet…

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