TWEAKS AND UPDATES

La Prensa Latina: Sao Paulo’s Portuguese language museum returns 6 years after devastating fire. “The Museum of the Portuguese Language, an institution housed in this Brazilian metropolis’ Estacao da Luz station, went up in flames in late 2015. It is now opening its doors to the public once again six years later in the heart of Sao Paulo, offering a historically rich and socially inclusive tour of the world’s fifth-most widely spoken language.”

USEFUL STUFF

The Verge: How to use the Green Screen effect on TikTok. “The effect is a great way to spice up a video and provide an interesting visual. I use it regularly on The Verge’s TikTok so the audience can see whatever object or topic I’m discussing. Even though I usually rely on the basic green screen option, which adds a photo to the background, there are plenty of different effects to choose from. Here’s how you can do it in TikTok.”

CNET: How to turn off Google Assistant and improve your privacy. “Google Assistant may be overly sensitive to voice cues, or you may want to turn it off for privacy-related reasons. Whatever the reason, you can turn off Google Assistant in a few quick steps.”

I found this article thanks to its mention of TreeSheets, and I found out about TreeSheets thanks to DrWeb! MakeUseOf: The 8 Best Free Alternatives to Google Keep. “As the next-generation workforce moves towards a fully paperless and eco-friendly home or office, online note-taking apps become essential. Since Google Keep’s release in 2013, it has become one of the best online note-taking apps to date. However, the robust growth of cloud computing paved the way for many alternatives to Google Keep online notepad app. The following list of note-taking apps can suit your work style. Choose the one that best suits your needs.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Popular Science: Inside the ambitious video game project trying to preserve Indigenous sports. “With some games already lost, in 2007, the UN formally recognized the right of Indigenous people ‘to maintain, control, protect and develop’ traditional games as part of a broader declaration on human rights. That cleared the way for a UN-sponsored initiative that aims to document, digitize, and distribute hundreds of competitive pastimes in the Open Digital Library on Traditional Games, or ODLTG. The sheer scope of the project is difficult to absorb. Organizers will catalogue every game that exists, and every game that ever existed—and that’s just to start.”

BloombergQuint: Olympic Fame Used to Fade Quickly, But Instagram Changed That. “Much like other athletes, Liukin experienced how fleeting Olympic stardom can be. It’s especially difficult for standouts in sports that really only break through into the mainstream every four years during the games. But an increasing number are staying relevant long after becoming national heroes by parlaying their fame through social media. When the world’s premier athletes leave Japan after the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics this August, those who’ve managed to capture the attention of fans will have a small window to figure out what to do with their newfound followings.”

BBC: Zuckerberg wants Facebook to become online ‘metaverse’. “Mark Zuckerberg has laid out his vision to transform Facebook from a social media network into a ‘metaverse company’ in the next five years. A metaverse is an online world where people can game, work and communicate in a virtual environment, often using VR headsets.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

AP: Microsoft says it blocked spying on rights activists, others. “Microsoft said [July 15] it has blocked tools developed by an Israeli hacker-for-hire company that were used to spy on more than 100 people around the world, including politicians, human rights activists, journalists, academics and political dissidents.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

ScienceDaily: Wearable devices can reduce collision risk in blind and visually impaired people. “A new randomized controlled trial shows wearing a vibrating collision device can reduce collisions in people who are blind and visually impaired, adding a potential new tool that can be used by these populations in addition to a long cane, to ensure independent travel safety.”

Texas A&M: Big data-derived tool facilitates closer monitoring of recovery from natural disasters. “By analyzing peoples’ visitation patterns to essential establishments like pharmacies, religious centers and grocery stores during Hurricane Harvey, researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a framework to assess the recovery of communities after natural disasters in near real time. They said the information gleaned from their analysis would help federal agencies allocate resources equitably among communities ailing from a disaster.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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