A newly-open archive: Baseball Digest. From the front page: “As fans await the return of Baseball on the field, Baseball Digest has unlocked its archive and made its complete inventory of more than 800 issues from 1942 through 2019 available to baseball fans at no cost online. We hope during these unprecedented times this may, in some small way, help fill the void until we can all return to the ballpark.”
EurekAlert: Russian trolls on Twitter polarized vaccination during 2016 election cycle. “During the 2016 election cycle, politically polarizing tweets by Russian trolls about vaccination included pro- and anti-vaccination messages targeted at people with specific political inclinations through an assortment of fake persona types, according to a new analysis published this month.”
EurekAlert: D-Wave provides free quantum cloud access for global response to COVID-19. “D-Wave Systems Inc., the leader in quantum computing systems, software, and services, today announced the immediate availability of free access to its quantum systems via the Leap quantum cloud service for anyone working on responses to the COVID-19 crisis. Joining the effort are partners and customers including CINECA, DENSO, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Kyocera Corporation, KYOCERA Communication Systems, MDR/Cliffhanger, Menten AI, NEC Solution Innovators Ltd., OTI Lumionics, QAR Lab at LMU Munich, Sigma-i, Tohoku University, and Volkswagen, who will provide access to engineering teams with expertise on how to use the quantum computer and formulate problems, as well as help in developing solutions.”
The Guardian: Astrophysicist gets magnets stuck up nose while inventing coronavirus device. “An Australian astrophysicist has been admitted to hospital after getting four magnets stuck up his nose in an attempt to invent a device that stops people touching their faces during the coronavirus outbreak.”
Snopes: Did Johns Hopkins Publish This ‘Excellent Summary’ of COVID-19 Advice?. “This is not something produced by Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM). We have seen rumors and misinformation about COVID-19 citing our experts and circulating on social media, and we have received several inquiries from the general public about these posts. We do not know their origin, and they lack credibility.”
Neowin: Facebook removes multiple white supremacist accounts, groups, and pages. “Facebook’s continued fight against racism and social discrimination has led to the removal of dozens of Pages, Groups, and accounts associated with the Northwest Front. The Northwest Front is a group pushing for a white supremacist nation-state in the U.S. Pacific Northwest.”
CNET: Comcast launches home schooling resources on Xfinity. “Comcast has announced bringing 2,000 hours of kids’ shows and movies to Xfinity on Demand streaming video customers for free. It’s part of the internet provider’s aim of providing educational content available for children and parents self-isolating or quarantining at home during the spread of the coronavirus.”
CNET: Coronavirus unemployment: Everything you need to know about payments, applying and more. “If you’ve never lost a job or been furloughed, the COVID-19 outbreak might have changed that for you. More than 3 million Americans filed for unemployment the week ending March 21. But that number doesn’t reflect the magnitude of people who are financially suffering right now. Normally, filing for unemployment doesn’t account for those who are self-employed, part-time workers or independent contractors.”
ZDNet: Debian Linux readies an anti-coronavirus hack-a-thon. “Open-source programmers and engineers have been working on a wide variety of projects to beat coronavirus. These range from hospital management programs to speeding up drug development to building inexpensive ventilators. Now, Debian Linux, one of the oldest and largest Linux distribution communities, is throwing its programming resources behind a hack-a-thon trying to beat COVID-19. “
Malta Today: Can our cultural sector survive the pandemic?. “Government’s revised covid-19 economic recovery package did offer some relief to self-employed artists by even acknowledging them as members of Malta’s workforce, but in speaking to stakeholders in the industry TEODOR RELJIC finds that the onset of the virus may have brought to the fore some already existing challenges for creative professionals on the island.”
Tom’s Guide: Zoom vs. Google Hangouts: Which video chat service is right for you?. “Comparing Zoom vs Google Hangouts comes down to your priorities and needs for communication. They’re both video chat clients that have been widely popular for a while, and can both be found on a variety of platforms.”
ABC News: ‘Calling all scientists’: Experts volunteer for virus fight. “Michael Wells was looking for a chance to use his scientific training to help fight the coronavirus when — on the same day the pandemic forced his lab to temporarily close — he decided to create his own opportunity. ‘CALLING ALL SCIENTISTS,’ he tweeted on March 18. ‘Help me in creating a national database of researchers willing and able to aid in local COVID-19 efforts. This info will be a resource for institutions/(government) agencies upon their request.’ That’s how the 34-year-old neuroscientist at the Broad Institute and Harvard University launched a national effort to marshal scientists to volunteer in the fight against the virus.”
US News & World Report: Many Schools Are Not Providing Any Instruction Amid Closures. “WITH SCHOOLS CLOSED FOR more than 55 million children across the country – and shuttered for the rest of the academic year in seven states – school district leaders are scrambling to establish some kind of distance learning routine.”
CNET: Facebook rolls out tool to make it easier to help during the coronavirus outbreak. “Called Community Help and released in the US and four other countries on Tuesday, the online hub displays fundraisers and posts from Facebook users within 50 miles of their location who are requesting or offering assistance. Users can filter posts by categories such as supplies, transportation and business support, making it easier for them to connect with the right person or volunteer group. People on Facebook are already using features such as groups to help out, but the new Community Help tool will display all this information in one place.”
CNET: UK developing coronavirus-tracking app to ease lockdown restrictions. “A report by Sky News on Tuesday described how NHSX, the innovation arm of the UK’s National Health Service, has teamed with US company Pivotal to develop the app, which could be released when the British government eases the current lockdown restrictions. According to Sky, people will have to opt in to use the app, though the NHS hopes at least 50% of the population will choose to do so.”
