TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Bleeping Computer: Google Chrome emergency update fixes zero-day exploited in attacks. “Google has released Chrome 98.0.4758.102 for Windows, Mac, and Linux, to fix a high-severity zero-day vulnerability used by threat actors in attacks.”

KnowTechie: Apple is covering its ass by introducing new AirTag safety features. “Apple’s AirTags have been the target of some controversies over the last few months. Users have been complaining that the tracking devices are being used for malicious, stalking purposes. The company has responded with the announcement of several new upcoming AirTag safety features.”

USEFUL STUFF

MakeUseOf: 6 Free Tools to Improve YouTube Playlists and Create Playlists Without an Account. “Once you master the basics of making YouTube playlists, you’ll want to do more with these compilations. These tools let you do more with YouTube, like creating a playlist when you don’t have an account, copying someone else’s playlist to make it your own, search within any playlist, or even to create playlists with friends for a party.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Mashable: There were almost two internets. Then, the CIA destroyed one.. “In Mashable’s new three-part episode of our series on the digital age’s dark side, Kernel Panic, we explore a startlingly advanced computer network developed in Salvador Allende’s Chile of the 1970s. Called Project Cybersyn, the network was a centerpiece of Allende’s effort to modernize the Chilean economy. It was developed in parallel with the American networks that would become the internet, at a moment in time in which President Nixon was trying to undermine the Chilean economy and overthrow Allende, the first democratically elected Marxist leader in Latin America.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

BBC: Roblox: The children’s game with a sex problem. “A naked man, wearing just a dog collar and a lead, is led across the floor by a woman in a bondage outfit. Two strippers dance next to a bar. A group has gathered around a couple openly having sex, watching and occasionally commenting. One man is wearing a Nazi uniform. This isn’t happening in the real world, it’s taking place on a children’s gaming platform.”

CNN: Google’s advertising tech targeted in European publishers’ complaint. “Google (GOOG) on Friday was targeted in an antitrust complaint by the European Publishers Council over its digital advertising business, potentially strengthening EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager’s investigation into the issue.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Fox 17: New Mexico to house federal database on wildfire research and information. “Throughout the last few years, we’ve witnessed firsthand the devastation that wildfires can do in this country. However, when the fires aren’t active, there are people on the ground researching and studying ways to restore our forests, but also prevent devastation. Now, that information will be shared through a federal database based in New Mexico.”

Yale Insights: The Digital Tool That Helps Robert Shiller Understand the Past. “We asked the Nobel Prize-winning Yale economist to reflect on an unexpected source of research information and inspiration. He writes that Google Ngram Viewer can provide important insights about how people saw economic events as they unfolded.”

New York University: NYU team releases open-source database from Woven Planet to help visually impaired pedestrians navigate cities. “A new dataset released by a New York University Tandon School of Engineering research team and Woven Planet Holdings, Inc., a Toyota subsidiary dedicated to building the safest mobility in the world, promises to help visually impaired pedestrians and autonomous vehicles (AVs) alike better navigate complex urban settings.”

OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL

CNET: Three new Frank Lloyd Wright houses built for the internet. “Three houses Frank Lloyd Wright designed but never built have been brought to digital life. The home contractor review site Angi had the houses modeled, and it published the results online in January, as reported by Wallpaper Magazine on Wednesday.” Good afternoon, 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!