NEW RESOURCES

University College of the North (link to a PDF): University College of the North Library Completes ‘Elder’s Traditional Knowledge’ Archive. “The University College of the North (UCN) Wellington & Madeleine Spence Memorial Library at the Thompson campus completed a 16‐week long digitization project to create an online archive titled Elder’s Traditional Knowledge. The project in partnership with the Keewatin Tribal Council was made possible through the Libraries and Archives Canada’s funding Listen, Hear Our Voices. The initiative preserves valuable audio and video recordings that reflect Northern Manitoba’s Indigenous culture, heritage, and language.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Engadget: The Morning After: Mastodon, an open-source Twitter alternative, is having a moment. “News of Twitter’s buyout has rattled some users, as Elon Musk indicated he plans to take a much more hands-off approach to content moderation. As is often the case when Twitter makes a change (or infers that one is coming), some users have threatened to leave the platform. Mastodon has been welcoming those that made the jump.”

The Verge: Snapchat’s Flying Camera. “Yes, Snap made a drone. Called Pixy, the small yellow puck takes off from your hand, follows you around, and captures video that can be sent back to Snapchat. It’s Snap’s attempt at making a drone that’s friendlier and more approachable than other products on the market — and it may hint at the more advanced, AR-powered future Snap is building toward.”

USEFUL STUFF

WIRED: How to Find an Online Book Club—or Start One Yourself. “THE GROWING POPULARITY of digital book club platforms makes it easier than ever to interact with other readers and discuss your favorite book’s plot twists, learn about trends or social issues with peers, or create a new book club of like-minded readers.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

Mashed: The Foodie Social Media App That Will Make You Forget About Twitter. “Since the news that Elon Musk was buying Twitter broke on Monday, there has been plenty of discourse on the Internet about what that means for the social media app. While the world collectively waits to see what changes will take place, maybe an edit button as some speculate, there’s a new social media app in town poised to capture our attention, and it’s designed specifically for foodies. Meet Pepper.”

Washington Post: On a roll: Preserving Black roller-skating history. “At a roller-skating rink, spinning your wheels is a good thing. Everything there is in motion: the wheels, the circling crowd, the rotating dancers (in singles and pairs). A crowded rink is a sweaty, wheeled armillary sphere. There is freedom in those joyous orbits. History, too.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

CNET: US Pledges to Keep an Open Internet With Dozens of Other Countries. “The United States, along with 60 other countries and partners, have pledged to keep an open internet in the face of ‘rising digital authoritarianism’, the White House said in a statement Thursday. The Declaration for the Future of the Internet includes commitments to protecting human rights, making internet connections ‘inclusive and affordable,’ and promoting the free flow of information.”

BNN Bloomberg: Alleged Russian Hackers Get Another Chance To Fight Google Suit. “Alphabet Inc.’s Google failed to persuade a judge to issue a default judgment against two Russians accused of operating a botnet that allegedly hacked into more than a million computers and devices worldwide. Google had requested that Dmitry Starovikov and Alexander Filippov be found liable without a trial, claiming they had failed to reply to the lawsuit within legal time limits.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Analytics India: Google Lens’ AI Factor. “Google Lens was launched by CEO Sundar Pichai at the Google developer conference in 2017. This announcement was part of the ‘AI first’ strategy, which was also announced at this conference. Pichai had then called it the key reflection of Google’s direction, highlighting it as an example of Google being at an ‘inflection point with vision’. He said, ‘All of Google was built because we started understanding text and web pages. So the fact that computers can understand images and videos has profound implications for our core mission’. In this article, we list out major AI breakthroughs that have been responsible for making Google Lens an efficient tool.”

OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL

Hack A Day: Drone Filming Chile’s Urban Bike Race Takes Some Fancy Radio Gear. “Drones have revolutionized the world of videography in perhaps the biggest way since the advent of digital hardware. They’re used to get shots that are impractical or entirely impossible to get by any other means. The [Dutch Drone Gods] specialize in such work. When it came to filming an urban mountain bike race in a dense Chilean city, they had to bust out some serious tricks.” An amazing 11-minute video with captions available; if you have any interest in drones or photography do yourself a favor and watch it. The last three minutes, where the drone follows a bike down the steep course, is unbelievable. Good afternoon, Internet…

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