NEW RESOURCES

CNBC: Global supply chain pressures may have peaked, a new index suggests. “The new metric, called the Global Supply Chain Pressure Index, documents disruptions to supply chains since 1997. The gauge has historically moved around its average. The jump in supply-chain pressures seen during the pandemic blew away past increases in the index, including one in 2011 when a tsunami whacked Japan’s production and a flood in Thailand hamstrung the globe’s ability to produce cars and electronics, according to Fed researchers.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

The Verge: Google fixes bug that stopped some Pixel phones from making 911 calls. “Google has fixed a bug that blocked some people from getting through to 911 when they dialed for help on Pixel smartphones. The problem was confirmed by the web giant last month after a woman described in a viral post on Reddit how the glitch prevented her from reaching emergency services when she thought her grandma was having a stroke.”

USEFUL STUFF

IGN: CES 2022 Schedule, Announcements, and How to Watch. “CES 2022 is surprisingly on track to be an in-person event that’ll run from January 5th to the 8th. The annual tech trade show is still set to be a huge event featuring the latest TVs, automotive tech, laptops, PCs, and a plethora of other gadgets. However, with many major exhibitors like Sony, Samsung, AMD, Intel, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft all pulling out of the show, this will be once again a mostly online show. Of course, that all means it’ll be that much easier for you to keep up with CES 2022 from the comfort of your home, here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming tech conference.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

CNET: Wordle: The wildly popular word game explained. “Wordle took the online world by storm in late 2021, and that momentum doesn’t look close to stopping in the New Year. Never heard of Wordle? You’ve probably seen it on social media recently, particularly if you frequent Twitter. Posts with boxes: Yellow boxes, green boxes, gray boxes.”

The Guardian: Fossil fuel firms among biggest spenders on Google ads that look like search results. “The Guardian analysed ads served on Google search results for 78 climate-related terms, in collaboration with InfluenceMap, a thinktank that tracks the lobbying efforts of polluting industries. The results show that over one in five ads seen in the study – more than 1,600 in total – were placed by companies with significant interests in fossil fuels.”

Independent Wicklow: Online archive for Rathnew Cemetery is near completion. “NEW signs have been delivered and are waiting to be installed as part of the online archives project for Rathnew Cemetery. The online archive will document over 6,500 burial plots and will include a digital map showing each plot and the number of the grave.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Reuters: German cartel office examining Google, considering cases involving Amazon, Apple, Meta. “Germany’s cartel office said it had determined that Alphabet and its subsidiary Google met the scale threshold required for it to be subject to the new expanded supervisory powers it has been given to regulate digital companies.”

Meduza: Google reportedly threatens to delete video from U.S.-based blogger after Russian censor flags it as ‘illegal gay propaganda’. “A U.S.-based Russian-language blogger says Google is threatening to delete one of his YouTube posts after Russia’s federal censor flagged it as prohibited content and a Russian court added it to Russia’s Internet blacklist. Court records from late November 2021 confirm that a judge in Vladivostok granted a request by Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor to ban a video uploaded to YouTube on June 11, 2019, by a man named Felix Glyukman because the content supposedly violates Russia’s law against ‘gay propaganda.'”

National Post: CBC, Bell among broadcasters urging Ottawa to force Google and Facebook to share revenue: documents. “Some of Canada’s largest broadcasters urged the federal government to force Google and Facebook to share revenue with them, arguing those funds are needed for their beleaguered local TV news operations.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

The Verge: Colonialism still influences the earth sciences today — and that’s a big problem for research. “Colonialism is so entangled in earth sciences that its ugly legacy still influences research today. Scientists are struggling to undo the damage that colonization has had on their fields, which have been dominated mostly by white men from wealthy nations over the years. The latest evidence is a study published last week that finds that 97 percent of fossil data in a major, global database comes from authors based in North America and Western Europe— indicating that scientists from western nations hold a global ‘monopoly over palaeontological knowledge production.'”

New York Times: Election Falsehoods Surged on Podcasts Before Capitol Riots, Researchers Find. “Researchers at the Brookings Institution reviewed transcripts of nearly 1,500 episodes from 20 of the most popular political podcasts. Among episodes released between the election and the Jan. 6 riot, about half contained election misinformation, according to the analysis.”

OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL

University of Waterloo: System recognizes hand gestures to expand computer input on a keyboard. “Researchers are developing a new technology that uses hand gestures to carry out commands on computers. The prototype, called ‘Typealike,’ works through a regular laptop webcam with a simple affixed mirror. The program recognizes the user’s hands beside or near the keyboard and prompts operations based on different hand positions.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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