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Daily Archives: March 28, 2021

Five Tech Commandments to a Safer Digital Life

The New York Times – We can survive a world of ever-changing tech if we remember these principles. “…Vijay Balasubramaniyan, the chief executive of Pindrop, a security firm that develops technology to detect fraudulent phone calls, said we should always remember that any piece of our identity we post online could eventually be used by fraudsters to hijack our online accounts. “Your digital identity, which comprises all your pictures, videos and audio, is going to fundamentally allow hackers to create a complete persona of you that looks exactly like you, without you being in the picture,” he said. So here are some of the most important guidelines — like strengthening passwords and minimizing the data shared by your phone camera — to keep you and your loved ones safe for the foreseeable future. I refer to these as the five tech commandments in the hope that you will remember them as if they were gospel…”

How to Recognize Scam Sites That ‘Help’ You Schedule Your Vaccine

lifehacker – “As vaccine supply struggles to meet demand, grassroots social media groups known as “vaccine hunters” have sprung up all over the country, helping people find and book appointments. As helpful as these groups can be, they’ve also become the new favorite target for scammers. Here’s how you can protect yourself. How vaccine hunter… Continue Reading

MIT study finds labelling errors in datasets used to test AI

engadget: “A team led by computer scientists from MIT examined ten of the most-cited datasets used to test machine learning systems. They found that around 3.4 percent of the data was inaccurate or mislabeled, which could cause problems in AI systems that use these datasets. The datasets, which have each been cited more than 100,000… Continue Reading

NASA study says it’s the first to directly measure humans’ role in climate change

Observational evidence of increasing global radiative forcing. First published: 25 March 2021 https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL091585 “Changes in atmospheric composition, such as increasing greenhouse gases, cause an initial radiative imbalance to the climate system, quantified as the instantaneous radiative forcing. This fundamental metric has not been directly observed globally and previous estimates have come from models. In part,… Continue Reading

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 27, 2021

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 27, 2021 – Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly… Continue Reading

Remote working may not be the ‘new normal’ after all

Tech Republic: “Firms’ enthusiasm for scaling back on office space may have cooled slightly, with a new survey by professional services group KPMG suggesting that CEOs no longer intend to downsize their physical footprint after the COVID-19 pandemic. KPMG’s 2021 CEO Outlook Pulse Survey indicated that only 17% of chief executives plan to reduce office… Continue Reading

How Books Can Address Economic Inequality

Publishers Weekly – “Economists and political activists have been issuing warnings about growing economic inequality, or the widening economic disparity between social groups, in the U.S. for years. Economic inequality includes income inequality and wealth (or ownership) inequality, and its impact can be measured in how social outcomes for people differ based on their race,… Continue Reading

30 Of The Best Nature Photos From The Tokyo International Foto Awards

Bored Panda – “The Tokyo International Foto Awards acknowledges, commends, and promotes outstanding photography from all corners of the globe. TIFA connects photographers with the creative community in Tokyo, Japan, to provide them with an excellent platform to present their work to a new market. We encourage all photographers to participate in the TIFA photo… Continue Reading

Archives uncover forgotten names of Auschwitz inmates

Time of Israel: “Researchers find previously unknown identities of an estimated 4,000 prisoners and information about 26,000 others. Ninety percent of the notorious camp’s files were destroyed by its guards before they fled but a recently completed two-year collaboration with the Arolsen Archives in Germany is bringing new information to light. Ewa Bazan, an archivist… Continue Reading

Why noise pollution is bad for your heart

BBC Future – “The roar of traffic, aircraft and even ringing telephones are linked to negative health effects. Now scientists are starting to unravel what all this noise is doing to our bodies. In 2011, Germany’s Frankfurt Airport – the country’s busiest – unveiled its fourth runway. The addition sparked major protests, with demonstrators returning… Continue Reading