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Facebook Can't Find Enough Local News for its Platform

Andrew Orr ·

Facebook is in a bit of a dilemma when it comes to news. Back in November it launched a feature called Today In, which would give people local news in their area. But the company is having trouble filling Today In with enough news, and this is because Facebook is a big contributor to the demise of news.

Today In may be live in 400 cities, but it’s unavailable across large parts of the country that perhaps most need it, namely, those with few or no local newspapers. Of course, Facebook contributed heavily to death of so many local news outlets as a large portion of advertising spending shifted from legacy media to the web, leading to dwindling newspaper revenue. Facebook isn’t the only reason hundreds of outlets have bitten the dust. Consolidation and mergers have played a role, but the likes of Facebook and Google have certainly been key factors.

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Use iNaturalist to Identify Flora and Fauna

Andrew Orr ·

I’ve used iNaturalist for a couple years and think it’s a great tool. Two features that help the app stand out from competitors are 1: The machine learning it uses. Once you take a picture, it can automatically suggest what species you’re looking at. 2: With every photo you upload and tag with location and other metadata, you’re contributing to real science. iNaturalist shares data with scientific data repositories like the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

The app is a joint initiative between The California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society and works sort of like a Shazam for Nature in that it lets you snap a shot of something you come across and instantly get an answer for what that planet, animal, or bug might be.

Podcast

Augmented Reality, Practical Robots, and Modern Cabling, with John Kheit - ACM 505

Bryan Chaffin · · 4 Comments

Bryan Chaffin and John Kheit don their futurist caps and look for the killer app in Augmented Reality. Spoiler: they have different ideas on what form it might take. They also explore the near-term future of practical robots, starting with today’s vacuumbots. They cap the show looking at the slow pace of progress when it comes to modern cabling. Let’s get that Cat 8 and 40 GB/s throughput!

TMO Deals

The Mixvibes DJ Software Bundle: $49

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal on the Mixvibes DJ Software Bundle. This package includes three apps for Mac (and Windows) aimed at DJs: Cross DJ, Remixvideo, and Remixlive. Together, they can help DJs mix music, mix videos, and create beats and loops. This bundle is $49 through us.

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Beto O'Rourke and the Cult of the Dead Cow

Andrew Orr ·

Beto O’Rourke is a Democratic candidate for the 2020 presidential race. In a recent interview he revealed he was part of the Cult of the Dead Cow, the oldest hacking group in the U.S.

The hugely influential Cult of the Dead Cow, jokingly named after an abandoned Texas slaughterhouse, is notorious for releasing tools that allowed ordinary people to hack computers running Microsoft’s Windows. It’s also known for inventing the word “hacktivism” to describe human-rights-driven security work.