Gizmodo – “YouTube’s copyright filter is a labyrinthine nightmare called Content ID. Content ID works by scanning all the videos on YouTube and comparing them to a database of material submitted by copyright holders—often music labels and movie and TV studios—which have been given the ability to add things to the database by YouTube. Once… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: December 2020
26 of the Most Fascinating Books WIRED Read in 2020
Wired – “One of the best things about working at WIRED is the number of topics we get to be interested in. That range really shows when you look at the book excerpts we’ve published this year. We are allowed to interrogate park benches and poker statistics, census machines and cosmic rays. The books that… Continue Reading
The Most Influential 80-Plus-Year-Olds in America
Slate – Here are the top 20: “…To pick our 80 octogenarians (and nonagenarians and centenarians), we tried to measure influence broadly. We especially weighed significant achievements after 80 and current relevance, though lasting impact is important too. The list is limited to Americans (sorry, Pope Francis), but we used some editorial discretion for people… Continue Reading
Congress passed $900 billion coronavirus relief bill
Axios – “The House on Monday released the text of a $900 billion coronavirus relief package and $1.4 trillion government spending bill that Congress expects to pass before the holidays. The House will move quickly to pass the bill on Monday night, with the Senate likely to stay late to vote in the early hours… Continue Reading
IMF – Your Credit Score Should Be Based on Your Web History
Gizmodo: “With more services than ever collecting your data, it’s easy to start asking why anyone should care about most of it. This is why. Because people start having ideas like this. In a new blog post for the International Monetary Fund, four researchers presented their findings from a working paper that examines the current… Continue Reading
The smart way to tame your email in 2021: Embrace a little chaos
Fast Company, JR Raphael – “I spend more time thinking about email than any reasonably sane human should. From advanced Gmail settings to intricate tab training techniques, I’ve tried just about everything under the sun (and then some) to keep my inbox under control. Now, as another new year approaches, I’m taking on a strategy… Continue Reading
GPO To Close Brick and Mortar Bookstore in Washington DC
“The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) will permanently close its brick-and-mortar bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW in Washington, DC on January 4, 2021. After lengthy consideration, GPO, in consultation with the Joint Committee on Printing and its congressional oversight committees, determined that the bookstore is no longer financially viable due to changes in… Continue Reading
This New Interactive Map Will Answer All Your COVID-19 Travel Restriction Questions
thrillist: “Although the CDC is advising against all travel due to the latest COVID-19 surge, that’s not to say folks won’t hop a flight this holiday season. And while we should do what Dr. Fauci says, if you’re planning to jet off and see the fam, you might want to check in on local restrictions… Continue Reading
What Restaurants and Maps Can Tell us About Billions of Dollars of Covid-19 Relief Funds
bellingcat: “In the wake of the first wave of coronavirus and subsequent lockdowns in early 2020, governments around the world scrambled funds to support furloughed workers and keep businesses afloat. These programs distributed a huge amount of money and succeeded in many of their goals. Not only that, they did so in rapid time. However,… Continue Reading
How U.S. agencies’ trust in untested software opened the door to hackers
Politico – The government doesn’t do much to verify the security of software from private contractors. And that’s how suspected Russian hackers got in: “The massive monthslong hack of agencies across the U.S. government succeeded, in part, because no one was looking in the right place. The federal government conducts only cursory security inspections of… Continue Reading
Civil rights groups move to block expansion of facial recognition in airports
The Verge: “A coalition of civil rights groups led by the American Civil Liberties Union have filed an objection to the proposed expansion of Customs and Border Protections facial recognition at land and sea ports. The National Immigration Law Center, Fight for the Future, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation are also participating in the motion,… Continue Reading
House watchdog details extensive meddling with CDC Covid-19 reports
New documents show political appointees sought to influence at least 13 reports as they ignored warnings from career officials: “The House panel probing the Trump administration’s coronavirus response released new documents detailing political appointees’ extensive efforts to modify or scuttle scientific Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, as it also ordered top Trump health… Continue Reading
