MakeUseOf: “Key Takeaways Alexa only starts listening when it hears the wake word, but there have been cases of it misinterpreting sounds and recording conversations. You can stop Alexa from listening by pressing the mute button on your Echo speaker, but this means it won’t respond to voice commands. To enhance your privacy, choose less… Continue Reading
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Author Archives: Sabrina I. Pacifici
Why You Keep Getting Useless Alerts on Your Phone
WSJ via MSN: “…A new type of notification is showing up on your phone’s lock screen and home screen, and within your social-media apps. It nudges you to view new posts or prompts to engage with trending topics, using language like “a friend posted a story,” “a group posted two links” or “people are reacting”… Continue Reading
Neck lamps are a bookworm’s best friend
The Verge: “As convenient as e-readers are, I can’t quit actual books. Maybe it’s their reassuring weight, the satisfying crinkle of their pages, their beguiling musk; but there’s something addictive about that combination of paper, ink, and glue. Despite this — and as much as it pains me to say it — physical books aren’t… Continue Reading
Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, February 3, 2024
Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, February 3, 2024 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on… Continue Reading
Natural soundscapes from all over the world
“Earth.fm is a non-profit, growing library of 700+ immersive natural soundscapes from all over the world. Inspired by the life-changing teachings of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, our aspiration is to help each other wake up to the miracle of Mother Earth and do everything in our power to support her. Listen to any episode… Continue Reading
Police Departments Are Turning to AI to Sift Through Millions of Hours of Unreviewed Body-Cam Footage
ProPublica: “…Axon, the nation’s largest provider of police cameras and of cloud storage for the video they capture, has a database of footage that has grown from around 6 terabytes in 2016 to more than 100 petabytes today. That’s enough to hold more than 5,000 years of high definition video, or 25 million copies of… Continue Reading
Google Search’s cache links are officially being retired
The Verge: “Google has removed links to page caches from its search results page, the company’s search liaison Danny Sullivan has confirmed. “It was meant for helping people access pages when way back, you often couldn’t depend on a page loading,” Sullivan wrote on X. “These days, things have greatly improved. So, it was decided… Continue Reading
New York State Passes Law That Could Have Counted Trump’s Actions as Rape
Mother Jones: “On Tuesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation broadening the state’s definition of rape, eliminating the penile penetration requirement. The bill, “Rape Is Rape,” expands the law to include nonconsensual anal, oral, and vaginal sexual contact. Starting in September, New York will be like many other states: The penal code will not limit rape to… Continue Reading
A Search Engine That Finds You Weird Old Books
Clive Thompson: “(tl;dr — if you want to skip this essay and just try out my search tool, it’s here.) Last fall, I wrote about the concept of “rewilding your attention” — why it’s good to step away from the algorithmic feeds of big social media and find stranger stuff in nooks of the Internet.… Continue Reading
Is There Lead in Your Reusable Water Bottle?
Wired: “Stanley, maker of reusable water bottles and cups, seems to be in hot water. Just a few weeks ago, people were lining up to buy the giant collectible Stanley cups, but since then there’s been a U-turn. Videos of Stanley cup owners testing theirs for lead with at-home kits raised alarms this week. Some… Continue Reading
AI-powered robocalls soon to be illegal
“FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel today proposed that the FCC recognize calls made with AI-generated voices are “artificial” voices under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which would make voice cloning technology used in common robocalls scams targeting consumers illegal. The rise of these types of calls has escalated during the last few years as this… Continue Reading
Searchable database of Jewish last names of families who lived in Cairo, Baghdad, Damascus and Alexandria
Searchable database of Jewish last names of families who lived in Cairo, Baghdad, Damascus and Alexandria. Source: Avotaynu Online • The names were collected from multiple sources by Jacob Rosen-Koenigsbuch and first published on the website of Avotaynu Online. Continue Reading
