NEW RESOURCES

Analytics India: Google Releases Wikipedia-Based Image Text (WIT) Dataset. “Google recently released a Wikipedia-Based Image Text (WIT) dataset, a large multimodal dataset created by extracting various text selections associated with an image from Wikimedia image links and articles. It was conducted by rigorous filtering to retain high-quality image-text sets. ”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

CNET: Brave browser adds private videoconferencing with $7 premium option. “Expanding its paid services push, browser maker Brave on Wednesday launched a videoconferencing service called Brave Talk designed to protect privacy better than existing options like Zoom. It’s free, though a premium option costing $7 per month adds features like recording video and supporting groups of three or more.”

Search Engine Journal: Google Working on Indexing Instagram & TikTok Videos. “Google is negotiating deals with Instagram and TikTok to index their content in search results, according to a new report. The Information has the early details of Google’s talks with Facebook and ByteDance — parent companies of Instagram and TikTok respectively.”

BetaNews: Ubuntu Linux 21.10 ‘Impish Indri’ Beta is here. “Today, Canonical releases the official beta version of the upcoming Ubuntu 21.10 Linux distro. Code-named ;Impish Indri,; the operating system features Linux kernel 5.13. Also notable, the Firefox browser that comes with Ubuntu 21.10 is a Snap rather than a typical deb — this may prove controversial for some.”

USEFUL STUFF

Input Magazine: How to scan objects in 3D with your iPhone. “With Apple rolling out Object Capture on MacOS and including advanced LiDAR sensors on the current generation of iPhone, it’s clear that the company is taking 3D scanning seriously. If you’ve never made a 3D scan before it might seem like a daunting process, but this guide will get you up and scanning with your iPhone in no time.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Associated Press: Neo-Nazis are still on Facebook. And they’re making money. “It’s the premier martial arts group in Europe for right-wing extremists. German authorities have twice banned their signature tournament. But Kampf der Nibelungen, or Battle of the Nibelungs, still thrives on Facebook, where organizers maintain multiple pages, as well as on Instagram and YouTube, which they use to spread their ideology, draw in recruits and make money through ticket sales and branded merchandise.”

The Guardian: ‘A race to the bottom’: Google temps are fighting a two-tier labor system. “Workers have characterized temp positions in the tech industry as a shadow, second-tier workforce who are drastically underpaid compared with direct employees doing the same or similar work and are often lured into the positions with the implication they could eventually be offered a permanent position directly with the company. By seeking to unionize these positions, many of these workers are hoping to improve their circumstances.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Reuters: Google CEO sought to keep Incognito mode issues out of spotlight, lawsuit alleges. “Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai in 2019 was warned that describing the company’s Incognito browsing mode as ‘private’ was problematic, yet it stayed the course because he did not want the feature ‘under the spotlight,’ according to a new court filing.”

Washington Post: When the FBI seizes your messages from Big Tech, you may not know it for years. “In the last six months of 2020, Facebook received 61,262 government requests for user data in the United States, said spokesman Andy Stone. Most — 69 percent — came with secrecy orders. Meanwhile, Microsoft has received between 2,400 and 3,500 secrecy orders from federal law enforcement each year since 2016 — or seven to 10 per day — according to congressional testimony by vice president of customer security and trust Tom Burt. Google and Apple declined to disclose the number of gag orders they’ve received. But in the first half of 2020, Google said U.S. law enforcement made 39,536 requests for information about 84,662 accounts — with many of the requests targeting multiple accounts. Apple said it received 11,363 requests.”

The Star (Malaysia): Personal data of 106 million visitors to Thailand exposed online. “The personal details of more than 106 million international travellers to Thailand were exposed on the web without a password last month, Comparitech researchers report. The database included full names, passport numbers, arrival dates, and more.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Penn State News: Digital marketing campaigns focused on auto recalls can improve consumer safety. “Regulator-initiated digital marketing campaigns aimed at urging consumers to comply with automobile recall requests can improve compliance, saving money and possibly even lives, according to a Penn State Smeal College of Business-led research team.”

OTHER STUFF I THINK IS COOL

Architectural Digest: Katy Perry Has a Genius New Way to Help You Pick Your Paint Color. “Choosing a paint color the old-fashioned way is notoriously daunting—staring at a huge wall of paint chips can quickly go from exciting to exhausting. But Katy Perry—in collaboration with Behr Paint and Spotify—has just launched a new tool that just might eliminate the fatigue. Called Music in Color, it’s an inventive website that allows you to input a song of your choice and receive a color recommendation based on that song.” Good morning, Internet…

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