EVENTS

Smithsonian: Smithsonian American Art Museum Presents a Series of Virtual Programs as Part of the 2021 National Cherry Blossom Festival. “The Smithsonian American Art Museum is collaborating for the eighth year in a row with the National Cherry Blossom Festival for a series of virtual cherry blossom-themed public programs from March 20 to April 11. The museum’s virtual suite of cherry blossom family activities and celebrations is part of its popular online Family Zone series, designed to spark learning, creativity and appreciation for the arts.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Neowin: Microsoft is testing a built-in ‘Math Solver’ in its Edge browser. “As spotted by Reddit user Leopeva64-2, a new configuration called ‘Show Math Solver button’ may show up in the Settings > Appearance section for Edge Canary. Clicking on it will add a button next to the omnibox pane at the top.”

Lifehacker: How to Filter Spotify Playlists by Genre or Mood. “Odds are good that your ‘Liked Songs’ playlist on Spotify is a mishmash of genres and artists that don’t exactly flow together…. Thankfully, Spotify is adding a new way to filter your Liked Songs playlist via genre and mood tags, meaning you can temporarily pare down your collection to only the songs that fit the vibe you’re after.”

Tubefilter: The Podcast Academy Unveils 164 Nominees For First Annual Ambies Awards. “The nascent Podcast Academy has announced a full list of 164 nominees for its first annual Awards for Excellence in Audio, aka the Ambies. The Ambies, streaming live on YouTube and Twitch May 16, will dole out awards across 23 categories plus a Governor’s Award, with winners being decided by voting members of the Academy.”

USEFUL STUFF

The Verge: The best free password manager. “There are many good password managers available that charge a monthly fee, but for this guide we’re going to be focusing on free services. All of them have paid subscription tiers, but for most, the free tier offers the essential core features of a password manager.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

BBC: Myanmar coup: YouTube removes channels run by army amid violence. “YouTube has removed five channels run by Myanmar’s military amid ongoing violence following a coup last month. The video-sharing platform said on Friday that it had removed the channels in line with its community guidelines.”

ABC News (Australia): Lost Sole Database an Instagram tribute to abandoned, unpaired shoes found around the world. “Of all the sights she has seen on her travels around the world, it’s stumbling upon abandoned, unpaired shoes that fascinates Jemma Smith….The 31-year-old first became intrigued by the random soles about 10 years ago while doing an internship in Spain. Eventually her fascination morphed into the Lost Sole Database on Instagram — a place where friends and travellers also share their finds.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

TechCrunch: Hackers release a new jailbreak tool for almost every iPhone. “An iPhone hacking team has released a new jailbreak tool for almost every iPhone, including the most recent models, by using the same vulnerability that Apple last month said was under active attack by hackers.”

AFP: Google flags higher ad rates in France, Spain after digital tax. “Google has told customers that it will raise the rates for advertisements on its French and Spanish platforms by two percent from May to help offset the impact of a digital tax on profits. France has collected the levy since 2019, and Spain since this year, under pressure from voters to make US tech giants pay a greater share of taxes in countries where they operate.”

12 News: What the new Texas social media censorship bill means. “Conservatives in Texas have grown increasingly frustrated with social media companies in the wake of the presidential election. This new bill would allow any Texan who believes they have been canceled, censored or de-platformed to file a lawsuit against companies like Twitter and Facebook. But would this hold up in court?”

RESEARCH & OPINION

9to5 Mac: Alphabet’s X team working on wearables: ‘Wolverine’ to enhance hearing, face-worn ‘Heimdallr’. “Apart from the Fitbit acquisition, Google’s only in-house designed wearables are the second-generation Pixel Buds and Glass Enterprise Edition. A new report today says Alphabet’s X Moonshot Factory is working on wearable earbuds codenamed ‘Wolverine’ that enhance your hearing.”

PsyPost: Men and women favor different camera angles when posting selfies on Instagram, study finds . “According to new findings published in PLOS One, men and women differ when it comes to their preferred camera height for taking selfies. Moreover, these preferences vary depending on whether the selfie is being shared on Instagram or Tinder.” Good morning, Internet…

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