NEW RESOURCES

From Spot .uz and translated from Russian: WIUT launched a website for monitoring food prices in Uzbekistan. “Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT) ​​announced the launch of an online tool for monitoring and analyzing food prices in Uzbekistan…. The site is available in three languages ​​- Uzbek, Russian and English. It includes data on 77 food products from dekhan markets since January 2019.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Search Engine Land: Google search retires Web Light, Google’s method to serve faster, lighter pages to people. “Google has retired Web Light, Google’s mechanism to serve pages and content faster, using a more lightweight version of that page, to those with slower internet connections.”

USEFUL STUFF

Spotted on Mastodon: a Chrome extension that automatically creates a local ChatGPT History. “To use the extension, simply open ChatGPT and start chatting 💬 as you normally would. The extension will automatically save your conversation history in your browser. You can access your saved history by clicking on the extension icon 🔍 in the top right corner of your browser. The extension rerenders your conversation in a style that closely matches ChatGPT, including code rendering & copying.” I installed and tested it. Works just as advertised.

Lifehacker: The 10 Best Chrome Extensions of 2022, According to Google. “Google annually goes though its web store to find the best and most popular Chrome extensions of the year. It’s no Spotify Wrapped, but it’s a good way to know what made this year special (as far as internet browsing is concerned, anyway). And in 2022, it’s no surprise that AI shows up in a lot of the extensions.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

Reuters: Belgian social media star uses power of visuals to demystify disability. “[Sarah] Talbi, 40, was born without upper limbs and grew up learning to use her feet and toes as hands and fingers. In recent years she has emerged as an influential champion of the disabled, meeting politicians, attending conferences and creating social media content to promote understanding, demystify disability and squash taboos.”

The Art Newspaper: Cologne museum to transfer 92-strong Benin bronze collection back to Nigeria. “The Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum, an ethnological museum that opened in 1906, says it will transfer ownership of 92 works; three items will be returned this month with 52 objects to be transferred from next year. The remainder will remain on long-term loan to the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum in line with other restitution agreements.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

FTC: $245 million FTC settlement alleges Fortnite owner Epic Games used digital dark patterns to charge players for unwanted in-game purchases. “How much money can a company take in by selling virtual costumes, dance moves, and piñatas shaped like llamas? It won’t surprise Fortnite fans to hear that the answer is billions, especially when, as the FTC alleges, Epic used a host of digital design tricks – dark patterns – to charge consumers for virtual merchandise without their express informed consent. What’s more, the FTC says when people disputed unauthorized charges with their credit card company, Epic locked their accounts, depriving them of access to content they had already paid for.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

The Verge: 13 predictions for tech platforms in 2023. “I like to end each year by asking you all for your predictions about the year ahead, and comparing them with my own. Before we do that, though, I think it’s only fair to check in on the predictions I made here last year about 2022. Overall, I think I did pretty well — which means I should probably try to make more daring predictions this year.”

The Conversation: How Gen Z is using social media in Iran’s Women, Life, Freedom movement. “In the first three months of the protests, demonstrations have taken place in almost all of Iran’s 31 provinces. People in 160 cities and 143 universities have taken part in demonstrations against the mandatory hijab laws. Many Iranians living abroad have also taken part in protests. These protests are part of a long history of women’s rights movements in Iran. But what makes this movement different is how young women are tapping into social media to elevate their own agency and challenge the country’s patriarchal laws.”

OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL

New York Times: Archaeologists Devise a Better Clock for Biblical Times. “”Many materials…record the reversals and variations over time in earth’s invisible geomagnetic field. When ancient ceramics or mud bricks that contain ferromagnetic, or certain iron-bearing, minerals are heated to sufficiently high temperatures, the magnetic moments of the minerals behave like a compass needle, reflecting the orientation and intensity of the field at the time of burning.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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