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Monthly Archives: October 2021

4 things to know before googling health issues

Mashable: “After more than a year and a half of hobbling through a pandemic, we’ve learned to depend on public health information like never before. And we’ve become accustomed to getting it whenever — by scrolling on Instagram, reading a news article, Googling, or maybe all three. “Across all age groups, everyone is relying on… Continue Reading

New Database Reveals Fines for Environmental and Safety Infringements Lag Far Behind Those for Competition and Financial Offenses

Phil Mattera, Corporate Research Project: “Today the Corporate Research Project of Good Jobs First is launching Violation Tracker UK, a free public database that collects over 63,000 cases brought by more than 40 regulatory agencies in the United Kingdom– ranging from the Financial Conduct Authority to the Serious Fraud Office and the Environment Agency. It… Continue Reading

Need to remove an object from an image?

KnowTechie – “If you’ve ever had to quickly edit something (or someone) out of a picture, you know it is a frustrating task best left to the professionals. Well, now it is something you can tackle whenever you have a spare minute, with a new tool that lets you remove objects from a picture with… Continue Reading

Amazon Puts Its Own “Brands” First Above Better-Rated Products

New on LLRX – Amazon Puts Its Own “Brands” First Above Better-Rated Products – Investigative Reporter Adrianne Jeffries and Investigative Data Journalist Leon Yin document how the online giant gives a leg up to hundreds of house brand and exclusive products that most people don’t know are connected to Amazon. Continue Reading

The Supreme Court case that could gut America’s gun laws, explained

Vox: “For nearly all its history, the Supreme Court kept its distance from gun policy. Now it’s about to decide a case that could radically reduce the government’s power to regulate guns. The Second Amendment states explicitly that it exists to protect “a well regulated Militia,” and until fairly recently, the Court took these four… Continue Reading

I Set Out to Build the Next Library of Alexandria. Now I Wonder: Will There Be Libraries in 25 Years?

TIME – Brewster Kahle, Founder and Digital Librarian of the Internet Archive. Member, National Academy of Engineering, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Internet Hall of Fame< “When I started the Internet Archive 25 years ago, I focused our non-profit library on digital collections: preserving web pages, archiving television news, and digitizing books.… Continue Reading

Hiring in the Great Resignation – 2021 State of Tech Salaries

“We’re in the middle of the Great Resignation where employees are quitting their jobs at record-setting rates. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many entered a period of reflection, reevaluating their career paths with newfound perspective. Some people vowed never to work from an office again, while others sought out better benefits and work-life balance. This has… Continue Reading

New Deloitte report explains how Facebook and all tech companies have to change to be more ethical

Tech Republic: “A new report from Deloitte highlights the choice many tech companies are facing when it comes to business ethics. Is it possible to hold onto business as usual or is it time to make ethics at least as important as profits. The report released on Wednesday, “Beyond good intentions” spells out the contradictory… Continue Reading

Article – Current market rates for scholarly publishing services

Current market rates for scholarly publishing services [Free version 2; peer review: 2 approved] F1000 Research, 1 July 2021. Alexander Grossmann, Björn Brembs. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7824-7650 – “For decades, the supra-inflation increase of subscription prices for scholarly journals has concerned scholarly institutions. After years of fruitless efforts to solve this “serials crisis”, open access has been proposed… Continue Reading

The Law of AI

Jotwell Review by Margot Kaminski: Michael Veale and Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius, Demystifying the Draft EU Artificial Intelligence Act 22(4). Computer L. Rev. Int’l 97-112 (2021). [h/t Mary Whisner] “The question of whether new technology requires new law is central to the field of law and technology. From Frank Easterbrook’s “law of the horse” to Ryan Calo’s… Continue Reading

Winners of the 2021 Close-Up Photographer of the Year Competition

Kottke.org: “Contestants from 55 countries entered over 9000 photos in the Close-Up Photographer of the Year competition for 2021 and now the winners have been announced. I’ve included a few of my favorites above (from top to bottom): Pål Hermansen, Johan De Ridder, Håkan Kvarnstrom, and Bruno Militelli. Over 9,000 pictures from 55 countries were… Continue Reading

Securing your digital life, part one: The basics

Ars Technica – Sean Gallagher: “I spend most of my time these days investigating the uglier side of digital life—examining the techniques, tools, and practices of cyber criminals to help people better defend against them. It’s not entirely different from my days at Ars Technica, but it has given me a greater appreciation for just… Continue Reading