Mashable: What do we owe our online dating matches?. “In an era where we’re finally recognising the more nebulous dating stages, like situationships and talking stages, we don’t seem to have come to a mutual understanding of how we end our online interactions when we decide they’re no longer for us. So, what exactly do we owe each other?”
Make Tech Easier: 5 of the Best Websites to Learn Morse Code Online for Free. “Despite modern communication methods, the art of Morse code remains a timeless and valuable skill. Fortunately, the Internet offers many accessible resources that can help anyone learn Morse code from the comfort of their own home. If you’re ready to begin mastering this skill, check out our recommendations for the best websites to learn Morse code.”
Wolfram Blog: Don’t Be Discreet and Learn Discrete Mathematics with Wolfram Language. “I am glad to announce the launch of Introduction to Discrete Mathematics, a free interactive course that aims to explore the world of integers and information. This course investigates the mathematical foundations of computation and information theory. It is designed to be compact and efficient, minimizing the number of redundant examples and amount of potentially distracting background material.”
National Security Archive: Henry Kissinger: The Declassified Obituary. “This special posting also centralizes links to dozens of previously published collections of documents related to Kissinger’s tenure in government that the Archive, led by the intrepid efforts of William Burr, has identified, pursued, obtained and catalogued over several decades. Together, these collections constitute an accessible, major repository of records on one of the most consequential U.S. foreign policy makers of the 20th century.”
Vice: It Sure Looks Like a Hacking Campaign Messed Up People’s Spotify Wrapped. “Every year, Spotify Wrapped provides a rundown of everything its users listened to over the past year. It’s a fun, and sometimes embarrassing, reminder of the music that dominated your life. Excitement turned to confusion this year when some users got their Wrapped roundup only to discover their lists taken over by an artist they weren’t listening to: Lil Durk.”
Reuters: Most online hate targets women, says EU report. “Women are the main targets of online hate, including abusive language, harassment and incitement to sexual violence, a European Union report said on Wednesday. This should encourage the EU and social media platforms to pay close attention to protected characteristics such as gender and ethnicity when moderating content, the EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) said in its report.”
GrepBeat: SaveOr Can Save Families Time And Turmoil From Cleaning Out Estates. “According to Durham-based startup SaveOr, all of our items can easily be categorized and tagged for family members, friends and charities to have after we’re gone, reducing the stress and difficulty for the family members and friends left behind of sorting through hundreds or even thousands of items. Founder and Duke University senior Matthew Scola created SaveOr after sorting through his great-grandparents’ house after they passed.”
New York Times: Snowplow Parents Are Ruining Online Grading. “I’ve spent the past couple of weeks talking to teachers about their experiences with online grade books like Schoology and Infinite Campus, and many of their anecdotes were similar to what Miller shared: anxious kids checking their grades throughout the day, snowplow parents berating their children and questioning teachers about every grade they considered unacceptable, and harried middle and high school teachers, some of whom teach more than 100 kids on a given day, dealing with an untenable stream of additional communication.”
Bleeping Computer: Google Chrome emergency update fixes 6th zero-day exploited in 2023. “Google has fixed the sixth Chrome zero-day vulnerability this year in an emergency security update released today to counter ongoing exploitation in attacks. The company acknowledged the existence of an exploit for the security flaw (tracked as CVE-2023-6345) in a new security advisory published today.”
The Verge: Google’s .meme domain is here to serve your wackiest websites. “If you ever wanted to make your website sound a little more silly, now’s your chance. Google Registry just released a new top-level domain that lets you slap a big ol’ .meme at the end of your website.”
Northeastern Global News: From the Ice Bucket Challenge to MrBeast — does ‘stunt philanthropy’ make the world a better place? . “MrBeast, or James Donaldson as he is known in real life, is arguably the poster child of stunt philanthropy. With more than 215 million YouTube subscribers, he is one of the platform’s largest content creators — and a self-described philanthropist… Patricia Illingworth, a professor of philosophy and business at Northeastern University and author of ‘Giving Now: Accelerating Human Rights for All,’ considers Donaldson in her philanthropy and ethics courses, and says the YouTube star may not be the force for good that many — Donaldson included — make him out to be.”
National Library of Australia: Making history with Trove. “Australia’s much loved digital library Trove is inviting community-led, volunteer-run and rural and regional collecting organisations across Australia to make their significant digital collections and data available and findable in Trove. Following the budget announcement in April 2023, the National Library of Australia has announced that these organisations will not be asked to pay to showcase their digital content in Trove.”
INTERPOL: INTERPOL unveils new biometric screening tool . “In mid-November, a fugitive migrant smuggler was subject to a police check… Wanted on organized crime and human trafficking charges since 2021, the smuggler presented himself as a fellow migrant under a false name, using a fraudulent identification document to avoid detection. The police check, however, was part of an INTERPOL operation that saw the Biometric Hub – a new tool that checks biometric data against the organization’s global fingerprint and facial recognition databases – used remotely for the first time.”
CBS News: How algorithms determine what we’re buying for the holidays — and beyond. “We’ve all been there: Scrolling through social media and spotting the ads recommending something you never knew you needed, whether it’s the perfect pair of shoes, a gadget to solve an annoying problem or the ideal holiday gift for your mom. As shoppers log on for Cyber Monday sales and the holidays approach, you’re more likely to see gift ideas inspired by and advertised by algorithms, experts in the field of algorithmic commerce and online shopping say.”
ABC News (Australia): Social media is starting to feel like a playground for adults, and yes, the games are just as repetitive. “More and more social media seems like an all-in adult version of children’s playground games, where nobody’s ever out, and where the game — and the joke — just goes around and around and never gets old. That new catchphrase that would run around the playground for a week or so before it’s replaced by another? That’s pretty much it.”
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