NEW RESOURCES
UCLA: UCLA researchers digitize massive collection of folk medicine. “A project more than 40 years in the making, the Archive of Healing is one of the largest databases of medicinal folklore from around the world. UCLA Professor David Shorter has launched an interactive, searchable website featuring hundreds of thousands of entries that span more than 200 years, and draws from seven continents, six university archives, 3,200 published sources, and both first and second-hand information from folkloric field notes.”
Department of Energy Solar Decathalon: Visit Solar Decathlon’s First Virtual Village To Tour One-of-a-Kind, High-Performance Homes Online!. “The U.S. Department of Energy is excited to announce the opening of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® Virtual Village on Monday, April 12. The Virtual Village will showcase zero energy homes designed and constructed around the world by Solar Decathlon 2020 Build Challenge teams. Industry partners, schools, future collegiate teams, and the interested public are invited to participate in no-cost, virtual tours of the homes, hosted by participating teams.”
TWEAKS AND UPDATES
BetaNews: Microsoft releases optional KB5000842 update to fix lots of Windows 10 problems. “For Microsoft, March was marred by a string of problematic Windows 10 updates that caused a series of problems with printing and more. As we reach the end of the month, the company has released an optional patch which it will almost certainly be hoping proves less problematic.” Again.
9to5 Google: Google Discover is increasingly showing old news and content for some . “Over the past week or so, Google Discover users have been complaining about getting served news that is days old. For some, the entire feed is populated this way with no content that’s been published in the past few hours appearing. Refreshing the feed from the Google app does not load newer stories. Others are still getting up-to-date articles but have also noticed an uptick in older content.”
The Verge: Google is making some big upgrades to directions in Google Maps . “Google is announcing a bunch of new features planned for Google Maps, including a new tool to help with indoor navigation and suggestions for eco-friendly driving routes. The features announced today aren’t rolling out all at once, though; many aren’t available just yet, and it’s unclear when some will be available in some parts of the world.”
AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD
KFOR: Library of Congress agrees to change subject heading from ‘Tulsa Race Riot’ to ‘Tulsa Race Massacre’. “A task force at the University of Oklahoma has spearheaded an effort to change how the Library of Congress catalogs the Tulsa Race Massacre. Officials say Library of Congress Subject Headings are extremely important and are often used to find important resources on topics when searching online library catalogs. Following a proposal by a task force at the University of Oklahoma Libraries, the Library of Congress agreed that the term ‘Tulsa Race Riot’ was not completely accurate.”
Spotted (and backed) on Kickstarter: Scout. From the project page: “What is Scout? Scout is the world’s next great search engine. It provides organic results, has no ads, and gets smarter over time. Why should you join Scout? To join a new frontier in Search. Most search engines today make money off ads and this creates a privacy disaster. At Scout, your data will never be our business.”
The Guardian: BBC Four to become archive channel as cost-cutting drive continues. “BBC Four is to cease commissioning new programmes and become an archive-focused channel as part of the ongoing significant cost-cutting drive across the corporation. The originator of acclaimed shows such as Charlie Brooker’s Wipe franchise, the Emmy-nominated drama Burton & Taylor and the Bafta-winning comedy Detectorists, BBC Four will now be repositioned as the ‘home’ of archived content, the broadcaster confirmed.”
SECURITY & LEGAL
Department of Justice: Popular Instagram Personality Known as “Jay Mazini” Charged with Wire Fraud. “A complaint was filed in federal court in Brooklyn yesterday charging Jegara Igbara, also known as ‘Jay Mazini,’ with wire fraud related to a scheme in which the defendant allegedly induced victims to send him Bitcoin by falsely claiming to have sent wire transfers of cash in exchange for the Bitcoin. In reality, Igbara never sent the money, and stole at least $2.5 million worth of Bitcoin from victims. Igbara is currently being held on state charges in New Jersey and will make his initial appearance in the Eastern District of New York at a later date.”
BBC: ‘We have your porn collection’: The rise of Extortionware. “Cyber-security companies are warning about the rise of so-called ‘extortionware’ where hackers embarrass victims into paying a ransom. Experts say the trend towards ransoming sensitive private information could affect companies not just operationally but through reputation damage. It comes as hackers bragged after discovering an IT Director’s secret porn collection.”
ABC News: Virginia lawmakers ban police use of facial recognition. “Last month, Virginia lawmakers quietly passed one of the most restrictive bans in the country on the use of facial recognition technology. The legislation, which won unusually broad bipartisan support, prohibits all local law enforcement agencies and campus police departments from purchasing or using facial recognition technology unless it is expressly authorized by the state legislature.”
RESEARCH & OPINION
Engadget: Google AI is battling a ‘Great British Bake Off’ winner in a dessert face-off. “Baking is as much science as it is art. Perhaps to find out whether the former’s more important, Google Cloud AI is taking on a Great British Bake Off winner in a dessert face-off. Sara Robinson, an amateur baker and Google Cloud developer advocate, built a machine learning model that examined hundreds of baking recipes (including ones for traybakes, cookies and scones) to help her come up with a new one.” Good morning, Internet…
Do you like ResearchBuzz? Does it help you out? Please consider supporting it on Patreon. Not interested in commitment? Perhaps you’d buy me an iced tea. I love your comments, I love your site suggestions, and I love you. Feel free to comment on the blog, or @ResearchBuzz on Twitter. Thanks!
Categories: morningbuzz