NEW RESOURCES
A new database provides information on designers in Ireland. “Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, T.D., today officially launched Design Directory Ireland … the first centralised database of designers in Ireland across multiple disciplines. This new web portal is a comprehensive and searchable register of over 1,000 designers, design companies, architectural practices and makers in this country, and creates links for the Irish design community to businesses, other designers and to the public.”
LinkedIn has launched a new salary comparison tool. “On Wednesday, the social network for the professional opened up access to its new salary tool to its users in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. Now, professionals can look up aggregate data about the salaries of other users with the same job and in the same location to see how their own pay measures up.”
After all the Wells Fargo nonsense, the more tools like this the better. Citizens of New York City have a new tool to evaluate banking options. “The Comptroller’s team approached 74 FDIC-insured banks that do retail banking in New York City as customers, closely reviewing the information available on their websites, and speaking directly with branch staff. The team then analyzed basic checking accounts offered, including comparisons of fees, language access, online banking, mobile apps, wire transfers, and branch hours, among other services. From that, the team developed product summaries and asked each bank’s corporate offices to confirm their findings…. Comptroller Stringer has launched an interactive online search tool to guide consumers through a wide range of checking account features, including fees, online services, number of branches, languages spoken, and business hours.”
The state of Kentucky has launched a new Web site to help addicts find naloxone. “[The site] provides a map of more than 300 pharmacies across the state that stock the drug. People can enter their zip code and find the nearest pharmacy. Other locations -— such as health departments — will be added soon, state officials said Wednesday.”
The state of North Carolina has added to its digital archive almost 90 years’ worth of “Blue Books” from St. Mary’s School in Raleigh. (St. Mary’s used to be a combination high school / college – 11th and 12th grade high school, and then freshman and sophomore college – but switched to a four-year high school in 1998.)
TWEAKS AND UPDATES
Microsoft has launched a Slack competitor. “Microsoft on Wednesday took the wraps off Microsoft Teams, an addition to the Office package that will allow professionals to huddle virtually with colleagues in private chat rooms to talk about anything from work projects to where to get lunch. If you think Microsoft Teams sounds a little like Slack, the relatively new chat service that has pulses pounding among Silicon Valley investors and customers, you would be correct.”
Hey! LastPass is making some of its premium features free. “LastPass has added other paid features over the years that make the Premium subscription worthwhile, and under the new plan, the division between paid and free services makes a lot more sense. LastPass Premium users will still pay a subscription to access family password sharing, two-factor authentication methods like YubiKey and Sesame, encrypted file storage, fingerprint identification on desktop, priority customer support and an ad-free password vault. Free services will now include two-factor authentication, password generation and sync, and access from unlimited devices.”
USEFUL STUFF
I saw a press release for a service that looked like it would be perfect for genealogists. I haven’t tested it and they haven’t paid me a nickel – just looked interesting. Introducing Yours: Make a 1000-year Copy of Your Photos and Videos (PRESS RELEASE). “Yours.co today announced the launch of a new service that makes a permanent physical copy of photos and videos stored in the cloud. The offering automates the secure backup of data stored on Instagram, Flickr, Google Photos, Dropbox, Facebook and Google Drive. Each month, Yours.co burns your data to an MDISC, an archive-grade optical media disc that boasts a 1000-year shelf life. Yours.co then sends the discs to either a home address or secure storage facility to ensure that data is and remains yours. The company further offers a $10,000 guarantee to vault subscribers that photos and videos Yours.co burns to discs will remain accessible to them throughout their lifetimes.”
AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD
Skift: Google’s Travel Business Is Already Twice the Size of Expedia’s. “When is Google finally going to tie all of its travel products together and become an online travel agency to rival Expedia, the Priceline Group and, increasingly, Ctrip? Not anytime soon or even in the foreseeable future. We’ve been saying this for awhile — for years, actually — but now we can use some dollar estimates to back our theory and fine-tune it with comments on the subject that a Google executive made at the Skift Global Forum in Manhattan in September.”
Facebook had a great quarter. “The company continued its impressive growth streak, reporting $7 billion in revenue in a quarter for the first time, which topped the expectations of most analysts who predicted the social media giant would generate $6.92 billion. Even more surprising, the company’s profits were much better expected with earnings $1.07 per share versus an expected 97 cents.”
RESEARCH AND OPINION
New York Times: How the Internet Is Loosening Our Grip on the Truth. “Next week, if all goes well, someone will win the presidency. What happens after that is anyone’s guess. Will the losing side believe the results? Will the bulk of Americans recognize the legitimacy of the new president? And will we all be able to clean up the piles of lies, hoaxes and other dung that have been hurled so freely in this hyper-charged, fact-free election?”
Science Daily: Social media proves effective as a tool for antimicrobial stewardship. “A study by Jennifer Pisano, MD, and colleagues appearing in the American Journal of Infection Control, finds that social media platforms — including Facebook and Twitter — provide an effective method to reinforce antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP) and encourage the use of ASP resources to promote antimicrobial mindfulness among internal medicine residents. The strategy pioneered by the researchers successfully directed medical residents to the appropriate use of clinical pathways.” Good morning, Internet…
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