NEW RESOURCES

Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF), and translated from Dutch by Google Translate: Online search platform for Flemish films flaminGO.pics launched. “With flaminGO.pics, the Flemish Audiovisual Fund (VAF) is today launching an online search platform that helps users worldwide to find out how to watch Flemish films legally on streaming platforms, in a cinema near them or at a film festival.”

UX Collective: The power of seeing only the questions in a piece of writing. “I’ve been watching how writers use questions lately, and thought: Hmmm, it’d be cool to see only the questions in a piece of prose. I probably started down this line of thinking because last fall I created a little web tool that removes everything but the punctuation from a piece of writing. That tool wound up being a pretty intriguing type of literary x-ray: I discovered, for example, that I use a ton of parentheticals (and way too many m-dashes). Since I already had the code for that, it wasn’t too hard for me to program a version focuses on questions instead.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

New York Times: 2020 Census Undercounted Hispanic, Black and Native American Residents. “Saddled with daunting logistical and political obstacles, the 2020 census seriously undercounted the number of Hispanic, Black and Native American residents even though its overall population count was largely accurate, the Census Bureau said on Thursday. At the same time, the census overcounted white and Asian American residents, the bureau said.”

The Register: Afraid of the big bad Linux desktop? Zorin 16.1 is here. “Zorin 16.1 has arrived, marking the first major update of the Linux distribution since August’s release. Unashamedly user-friendly, with an interface unlikely to scare off Windows or Mac users, the most eye-catching element of the update is LibreOffice 7.3, replete with better Microsoft Office compatibility, improved performance, and tweaks for dark mode fans.”

USEFUL STUFF

PCWorld: The best free backup software and services: Where is it safe to skimp?. “Finding a good free backup solution is easier than you’d think. A host of companies offer free online backup or free backup software—and perhaps surprisingly, nearly all of them are quite competent.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

National Security Archive: U.S. National Archives’ (NARA) Budget: The 30-Year Flatline. “While its budget has flatlined, the number of records NARA must preserve, particularly electronic records, has increased exponentially over three decades. The George H.W. Bush Library, for example, has 20 gigabytes of electronic records in its holdings, whereas the Obama Library has 250 terabytes.[2] This explosion of electronic records is a huge part of the growing backlog for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) requests at the presidential libraries, which constitute only part of NARA’s holdings.”

The Guardian: Google profiting from ‘predatory’ loan adverts promising instant cash. “Google is profiting from ads promoting ‘instant’ cash and loans delivered ‘faster than pizza’ despite a pledge to ​protect users from ‘deceptive and harmful’ financial products. The ads were served to people in the UK who searched terms like ‘quick money now’ and ‘need money help’​ and directed users to ​firms offering high-interest loans.”

Route Fifty: Rural County Puts Land Records on Blockchain. “A southwest Virginia county with about 40,000 residents situated near the Kentucky border is using blockchain for managing land records – the latest effort in 25 years of technological innovation.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

BBC: Will the US crack down on cryptocurrency?. “The US is moving to craft new rules to govern cryptocurrencies amid rising concerns that the fast-growing industry is a haven for criminals and poses risks to financial stability.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

United Nations News: Social media poses ‘existential threat’ to traditional, trustworthy news: UNESCO . “The business model of the news media is ‘broken’ and with it, our fundamental right to information is at risk, a new UNESCO report examining global trends in freedom of expression warns.”

NoCamels: Israeli Company That Developed AI Lifeguard Now Predicts Dangerous Flooding. “It’s hard to imagine with all the rain and sleet and snow this month in various parts of the world that spring and summer are just around the corner. Sightbit, the Israeli startup leveraging AI to alert lifeguards when swimmers are in danger, is ready, with its life-saving, preventative drowning tech already implemented and operating at full capacity at beaches throughout Israel, Europe, and the US. Along the way, the Beersheba-based company has received requests from some of the same customers that use its AI tech to come up with a way to deal with aquatic environments and situations, including floods.”

Chronicle (Luxembourg): Luxembourg, Wallonia Launch Web App for Forest Adaptation to Climate Change. “The Nature and Forest Agency of Luxembourg’s Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development has announced the launch of a new web application dedicated to forestry adaptation to climate change… Developed in partnership with the Walloon Region in Belgium, this is a decision-making tool for forest managers and owners in the context of forest adaptation to climate change.” Good morning, Internet…

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