NEW RESOURCES

National Renewable Energy Laboratory: Collaborative Database Maps Lithium-Ion Supply Chain Landscape. “The Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain Database [is] an ongoing collaboration between NAATBatt International and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to identify every company in North America involved in building lithium-ion batteries from mining to manufacturing to recycling. First released in September 2021 and funded by NAATBatt International, this database is the first comprehensive directory of its kind. A recent update in 2022 significantly expands on the database.”

Manchester World (England): Manchester Voices: New Central Library installation celebrates diversity in Greater Manchester accents. “Researchers gained extensive insight into how different accents are perceived throughout Manchester. Participants were asked to mark on maps where they thought had the friendliest accent, the poshest and the most ‘authentic’ Mancunian, to name just a few categories. And the results are highlighted in a series of interactive maps available on the Manchester Voices website.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

How-To Geek: Opera Wants You to Come Back, so It Made a TikTok Sidebar. “Opera used to be one of the most popular web browsers around, but over time it has fallen behind Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Firefox. Now the browser is rolling out a new feature that could change all that: a TikTok sidebar. No, really.”

NBC News: MrBeast surpasses PewDiePie as the most-followed individual YouTuber. “Jimmy Donaldson, better known online as MrBeast, has surpassed Felix Kjellberg, also known as PewDiePie, to become the most-followed individual YouTuber in the world. Donaldson, who is known for doing expensive stunts and viral charity projects, officially reached 112 million subscribers as of Wednesday, according to his YouTube page.”

USEFUL STUFF

Lifehacker: The Best YouTube Extensions Everyone Should Use. “Like every other popular website, YouTube has its share of missing features and annoyances. We have to wade through clickbait thumbnails and endless ad reads that get in the way—fortunately, there are plenty of browser extensions that fix these issues, so you can focus less on problem-solving and more on video-bingeing. Before you download these extensions, keep in mind that installing too many extensions is bad for your browser. They can slow things down, and sometimes affect your privacy. Make sure you’re comfortable with the permissions each extension asks for and only install those you really need.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

Cape Talk: Robben Island calls on former political prisoners to maintain historic database . “The Robben Island Museum (RIM) is asking for EPPS or their relatives to update their contact details and other key information on the latest records held by the Department. Initially compiled in 1997, the RIM ex-Political Prisoner Database (EPPD) is a living document that requires public contribution and input to ensure it remains true to South Africa’s struggle heroes, both known and unknown.”

New York Times: Help! I Was Banned From Lyft and No One Will Tell Me Why.. “An app user was barred after just two uneventful trips, and the company wouldn’t explain or reinstate him. Our columnist gets him riding again, but transparency remains elusive.”

University of New Hampshire: UNH to Map Current and Planned Broadband to Improve Coverage in Granite State. “NH GRANIT, a mapping agency for the state based at the University of New Hampshire, is receiving close to a million dollars from the N.H. Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA) to inventory and map statewide broadband coverage that is currently available as well as what is proposed for the state’s businesses, educators and citizens.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Reuters: Collapsed FTX owes nearly $3.1 billion to top 50 creditors. “Cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which has filed for U.S. bankruptcy court protection, said it owes its 50 biggest creditors nearly $3.1 billion. The exchange owes about $1.45 billion to its top ten creditors, it said in a court filing on Saturday, without naming them.”

Deutsche Welle: El Salvador takes risks for Chinese investments. “This week, FTX, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchange platforms in the world, announced it had filed for bankruptcy. The news caused a sharp drop in the price of bitcoin over the past days — and caused all eyes to turn to El Salvador. The president of the Central American nation, Nayib Bukele, made bitcoin legal tender in 2021 and also invested a large part of the country’s fiscal reserves in it.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Using CFPB complaint data to help cities and counties protect the public. “We wanted to increase the impact of our complaint data by sharing it with cities and counties so they can increase their efforts to protect consumers at the local level. Engaging with local governments is a win-win for consumers and the CFPB. It helps protect as many consumers as possible from predatory lending, barriers to credit, and other consumer harms.”

The Guardian: Twitter fails to delete 99% of racist tweets aimed at footballers in run-up to World Cup. “New research shows the platform failed to act on 99 out of 100 racist tweets reported to it in the week before the World Cup…. Of those, 11 used the N-word to describe footballers, 25 used monkey or banana emojis directed at players, 13 called for players to be deported, and 25 attacked players by telling them to ‘go back to’ other countries. Thirteen tweets targeted footballers over their English skills.” Good morning, Internet…

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