Google is being investigated in India for complaints about rigging search results. “Google is being investigated by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) after the agency received complaints that the search giant abused its dominant market position and rigged search results, reports The Economic Times. If found guilty, Google could face a fine of up to 10 percent of its income; the company posted a net income of more than $14 billion in 2014.”
Monthly Archives: August 2015
YouTube Changes Afoot
YouTube is apparently about to undergo some changes. “With the exception of a few video rentals, YouTube has always been a free, ad-supported service. But the company is about to get serious about subscription services, offering new ways for the users that create videos to make money. While two subscription offerings for the same service might seem odd to some — with one music industry source calling it ‘strange on top of strange’ — YouTube’s thinking was likened to that of a cable company offering different packages for sports and movies.” Here’s hoping YouTube cleans up its spam and gets some better search tools.
Turning Google Maps into Abstract Art
Hmm… turning Google Maps into abstract art. “A Boston-based coder has created a site that generates random Google Maps images that are assigned random color and zoom settings in a manner that creates a constant stream of stunning abstract art.”
Diario de Pernambuco is Partially Digitized
The Brazilian newspaper Diario de Pernambuco has been partially digitized. “The holdings of the newspaper that were digitized include November 1825 – September 1924 and these were contained on 276 reels of microfilm….The Diario de Pernambuco is acknowledged to be the oldest newspaper still in circulation in Latin America. The issues from 1825-1924 offer insights into early Brazilian commerce, social affairs, politics, family life, slavery, and other topics.”
Blab Is An Alternative to Google Hangouts
Brian Fanzo has a big writeup on an alternative to Google Hangouts called Blab. And he really, really likes it. “While we’ve only been using Blab.im for the last month or so, we have been so impressed that we’ve migrated our client-sponsored video Twitter Chatss off of Google Hangouts to Blab.im. There will undoubtedly still be some occasional use cases that will require our team to use Google Hangouts, including having more than four guests (which is never advisable) and the need for occasional private, off-air shows. However, when Google Hangouts were the only solution, it made sense to put up with its quirks and to try to ignore the fact that the team at Google didn’t care much about community. Now, when we have something like Blab.im to use that is the exact opposite, and brings a team wholly focused on creating a great user experience based on feedback from users—well, it’s a no brainer which we prefer.”
Strategies for Identifying Songs
Useful from Ubergizmo: strategies for quickly finding a song. “There are online web based service and applications as well that will help you identify a song with the simplest clue. Most of these apps/services are free to use, but some may offer a premium paid version with extra features. In this tutorial, we are going to list down apps/services that will let you identify a song using different factors.”
Phil Bradley Makes Custom Search for UK Newspapers
Phil Bradley, who is lovely, has make a Google Custom Search for UK newspapers. There’s one for national newspapers and one for 384 local newspapers.
Ideas for Google Classroom’s New Features
From Ditch That Textbook: 12 ways to use Google Classroom’s newest features.
British Library Rejects Taliban-Related Archive Because of Terrorism Laws
The British Library has declined to accept a Taliban-related digital collection because of terrorism laws. “Academics have criticised the British government for creating a ‘climate of fear’ after the national library declined to store the world’s biggest collection of Taliban-related documents over concerns it could be prosecuted under terrorism laws.”
UK Medical Heritage Libraries Project Digitizes 8 Million Pages
The UK Medical Heritage Libraries Project has reached 8 million pages digitized. Way to go y’all! “Our goal is to reach 15 million pages in early 2016. Each of the 10 partner institutions has contributed books and pamphlets from a wide range of medical and health-related areas, but each has a slightly different emphasis – University College London contributed a large number of ophthalmology books and pamphlets, while the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine naturally focuses on public health and tropical diseases. Military medicine is a top subject from both the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and the Royal College of Physicians of London, while cholera is well represented from Glasgow University Library and others.”
Google’s Inbox Gets Some Updates
Google’s Inbox has gotten an update. ” Google has recently announced that they have made some changes to the service and it will now be able to offer up better text formatting options. This includes the ability to create numbered or bulleted lists, write text that is bold, underlined, or in italics, and they will also be able to create links.” I must say this does not make me want to drop everything and try Inbox.
Google’s Self-Driving Cars Can Be Trolled By Fixed-Gear Bikes
Google’s self-driving cars can be trolled by bikes. “The self-driving cars are notoriously careful, and tend to brake when anyone else is moving forward into the vehicle’s path. In a track stand, a rider on a fixed-gear bike may shift ever so slightly forward and back in an effort to maintain balance.”
Twitter Turning Into a Hollywood Negotiation Tool
Twitter is turning into a Hollywood negotiation tool. “Twitter has long been part of the Hollywood swirl. Celebrities routinely use the messaging service as a marketing device. Then there are the VIPs who sometimes make news by tweeting out a random thought that proves offensive — Ashton Kutcher, we’re looking at you. But now Hollywood talent is finding an innovative new use for Twitter: as a tool in high-stakes negotiations. In particular, it can serve as a way for an aggrieved actor or director to take his or her case directly to the fans for the purpose of teasing out some more leverage in talks with a powerful studio.”
Google Improves Its Hurricane Information
Google is making some improvements to its hurricane alerts. “As the U.S. enters hurricane season again, Katrina remains a stark reminder of the devastation a storm like that can cause. We want to be as prepared and as helpful as possible for the next one—no matter where it hits, or how big it is. So we’re always working to improve our Crisis Response efforts to help people stay safe and informed during these events.” Now when you do searches you may see safety tips, forecasted hurricane tracks, etc.
An Alternative to GMail’s Canned Responses
Amit Agarwal, who is always on the case, has a writeup on Email Autoresponder, a Chrome add-on I’m pretty sure he put together. GMail has canned responses but they do have limitations. This new add-on is an attempt to address those limitations and make a more powerful tool. I’ll have to take a look – I’m constantly frustrated by GMail’s limitations after years and years of using Eudora.