Wikipedia article of the day for August 1, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 1, 2020 is Brownsea Island Scout camp.
A boys' camping event at the site of the Brownsea Island Scout camp from 1 to 8 August 1907 is regarded as the origin of the worldwide Scouting movement. Held on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, southern England, it was organised by Robert Baden-Powell (pictured) to test his ideas for the book Scouting for Boys. Boys from different social backgrounds participated in activities themed around camping, observation, woodcraft, chivalry, lifesaving and patriotism. Up to the early 1930s, camping by Boy Scouts continued on Brownsea Island. In 1962, the island became a nature conservation area owned by the National Trust. The following year, Olave Baden-Powell reopened the island to the public, and in 1964 a formal 50-acre (200,000 m2) Scout campsite was established there. In 1973, a Jamboree was held on the island for 600 Scouts from seven nations. The worldwide centenary of Scouting was celebrated at the camp on 1 August 2007, the 100th anniversary of the start of the first encampment.

William English, Who Helped Build the Computer Mouse, Dies at 91

By BY CADE METZ from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2Pe9jMM

Florida Teenager Is Charged as ‘Mastermind’ of Twitter Hack

By BY KATE CONGER AND NATHANIEL POPPER from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2Xh4uqp

Microsoft Said to Be in Talks to Buy TikTok, as Trump Weighs Curtailing App

By BY MIKE ISAAC AND ANA SWANSON from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3ffa42U

Amazon Wins Without Even Trying

By BY SHIRA OVIDE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2PckpBV

I Tried to Live Without the Tech Giants. It Was Impossible.

By BY KASHMIR HILL from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2CZuNe2

Wikipedia article of the day for July 31, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for July 31, 2020 is Rodrigues rail.
The Rodrigues rail (Erythromachus leguati) was a flightless bird endemic to the Mascarene island of Rodrigues, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The rail was described as having grey plumage, a red beak and legs, and a naked red patch around the eye. The bird fed on tortoise eggs. It was described as being attracted to red objects, which humans exploited while hunting it. The Rodrigues rail is believed to have become extinct in the mid-18th century because of predation by introduced cats and destruction of its habitat by tortoise hunters. The bird was first documented from life by two contemporaneous accounts, first by François Leguat, a French Huguenot refugee marooned on Rodrigues in 1691, and then by Julien Tafforet, marooned on the island in 1726. Subfossil remains (pictured) were later discovered and connected with the old accounts in 1874, and the species was named E. leguati in Leguat's honour.

The Economy Is in Record Decline, but Not for the Tech Giants

By BY DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI, KAREN WEISE, JACK NICAS AND MIKE ISAAC from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/30eTE69

Big Tech’s Backlash Is Just Starting

By BY SHIRA OVIDE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3jTEKKz

Grilled by Lawmakers, Big Tech Turns Up the Gaslight

By BY KEVIN ROOSE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2BJv2cv

‘This Is a New Phase’: Europe Shifts Tactics to Limit Tech’s Power

By BY ADAM SATARIANO from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/39Cuth6

Wikipedia article of the day for July 30, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for July 30, 2020 is Ceilings of the Natural History Museum, London.
The decorated ceilings of the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, London, were designed by the museum's architect Alfred Waterhouse, and were unveiled at the building's opening in 1881. The ceiling of the large Central Hall (pictured) consists of 162 panels, 108 of which depict plants considered significant to the history of the museum, to the British Empire or to the museum's visitors. The remaining 54 are highly stylised decorative botanical paintings. The ceiling of the smaller North Hall consists of 36 panels, 18 of which depict plants growing in the British Isles. Both ceilings make extensive use of gilding for visual effect. Built of lath and plaster to save costs, the ceilings are unusually fragile and require extensive maintenance and restoration. Since 2016 the skeleton of a blue whale has been suspended from the ceiling of the Central Hall.

Lawmakers, United in Their Ire, Lash Out at Big Tech’s Leaders

By BY CECILIA KANG AND DAVID MCCABE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2DfEeFN

Democrats dig in with accusations of anticompetitive behavior.

By BY DAVID MCCABE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/338zkWe

Watch live: Lawmakers resume questioning of executives.

By Unknown Author from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2XaRZgd

Republicans immediately raise bias concerns about platforms.

By BY DAVID MCCABE AND CECILIA KANG from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/30afS9u

Lawmaker: Americans should not ‘bow before the emperors of the online economy.’

By BY DAVID MCCABE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/39C0XYR

The C.E.O.s are testifying remotely, using Cisco’s Webex videoconferencing.

By BY KELLEN BROWNING from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2X5I2AI

Watch live: C.E.O.s begin to answer lawmaker questions.

By Unknown Author from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/30YIx0j

Big Tech’s rivals spoke out ahead of the hearing.

By BY MIKE ISAAC AND ERIN GRIFFITH from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3hZRqxR

Trump administration asks F.C.C. to narrow protections for tech companies.

By BY DAVID MCCABE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2CRkTLv

Commerce Department Asks F.C.C. to Narrow Protections for Web Platforms

By BY DAVID MCCABE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2X7segu

Don’t (only) blame Congress if this hearing goes off the rails.

By BY SHIRA OVIDE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2DgDAYC

Coming up: The C.E.O.s will face lawmakers at 1 p.m. Eastern.

By Unknown Author from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/30WIcLL

What to expect from the hearing.

By BY CECILIA KANG, JACK NICAS AND DAVID MCCABE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2D0Ccth

Congress Doesn’t Get Big Tech. By Design.

By BY SHIRA OVIDE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3hGSwOC

The C.E.O.s will testify remotely, using Cisco’s Webex videoconferencing.

By BY KELLEN BROWNING from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3ge8i36

Coming up: C.E.O.s face lawmakers

By Unknown Author from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2X7PYkQ

Big Tech’s rivals are speaking out ahead of the hearing.

By BY MIKE ISAAC AND ERIN GRIFFITH from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/39Dd5IS

Bezos gets his first experience in the hot seat.

By BY KAREN WEISE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3fb82ke

There are many investigations into the tech companies. Here’s where they all stand.

By BY CECILIA KANG from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2X6VO64

Today’s hearing has echoes of Bill Gates, 22 years ago.

By BY STEVE LOHR from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/307Er6U

Here’s what to expect from the hearing.

By BY CECILIA KANG, JACK NICAS AND DAVID MCCABE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3gc0yij

How to Fight Against Big Tech’s Power

By BY BRIAN X. CHEN from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/39Oo1Ut

A Handbook to Today’s Tech Hearing

By BY JACK NICAS, DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI, KAREN WEISE AND MIKE ISAAC from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3135WxY

Wikipedia article of the day for July 29, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for July 29, 2020 is Eris (dwarf planet).
Eris is the second-largest known dwarf planet in the Solar System, slightly smaller by volume than the dwarf planet Pluto, although it is 27 percent more massive. Discovered in January 2005 by a team based at Palomar Observatory, it was named after Eris, the Greek goddess of strife and discord. The ninth-most-massive object directly orbiting the Sun, Eris is the largest object in the Solar System that has not been visited by a spacecraft. It is a member of a high-eccentricity population known as the scattered disk and has one known moon, Dysnomia. It is about 96 astronomical units (14.4 billion kilometres; 8.9 billion miles) from the Sun, roughly three times as far away as Pluto. Except for some long-period comets, Eris and Dysnomia were the most distant known natural objects in the Solar System until 2018 VG18 was discovered in 2018. Observations of a stellar occultation by Eris in 2010 showed that its diameter was 2,326 ± 12 kilometers (1,445.3 ± 7.5 mi).

Misleading Virus Video, Pushed by the Trumps, Spreads Online

By BY SHEERA FRENKEL AND DAVEY ALBA from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2CZowin

Amazon Is Jeff Bezos

By BY SHIRA OVIDE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/30XjfzI

Their Businesses Went Virtual. Then Apple Wanted a Cut.

By BY JACK NICAS AND DAVID MCCABE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3jLGOEj

Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google Prepare for Their ‘Big Tobacco Moment’

By BY CECILIA KANG, JACK NICAS AND DAVID MCCABE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2BByuG1

Wikipedia article of the day for July 28, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for July 28, 2020 is Elasmosaurus.
Elasmosaurus was a large marine reptile in the order Plesiosauria. The genus lived about 80.5 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous. The first specimen was sent to the American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope after its discovery in 1867 near Fort Wallace, Kansas. Only one incomplete skeleton is definitely known, consisting of a fragmentary skull, the spine, and the pectoral and pelvic girdles, and a single species, E. platyurus, is recognized today. Measuring 10.3 meters (34 ft) long, the genus had a streamlined body with paddle-like limbs or flippers, a short tail, and a small, slender, triangular head. With a neck around 7.1 meters (23 ft) long, Elasmosaurus was one of the longest-necked animals to have lived, with the largest number of neck vertebrae known, 72. It probably ate small fish and marine invertebrates, seizing them with long teeth. Elasmosaurus is known from the Pierre Shale formation, which represents marine deposits from the Western Interior Seaway.

What to Do About TikTok

By BY SHIRA OVIDE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2EpBJ4o

Wikipedia article of the day for July 27, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for July 27, 2020 is Osbert Lancaster.
Osbert Lancaster (4 August 1908 – 27 July 1986) was an English cartoonist, architectural historian and stage designer. He became known in the 1930s for his books on architecture, aiming to amuse the general reader while demystifying the subject. Several of the terms he coined as labels for architectural styles such as "Pont Street Dutch" have gained common usage, and his books have continued to be regarded as important works of reference on the subject. In the Daily Express from 1938 to 1981 he drew the "pocket cartoons", a form he introduced to Britain. They featured a cast of regular characters, led by his best-known creation, Maudie Littlehampton, through whom he expressed his views on the fashions, fads and political events of the day. In 1951 he was commissioned to create costumes and scenery for a new ballet, Pineapple Poll. Between then and the early 1970s he designed new productions for the Royal Ballet, Glyndebourne, D'Oyly Carte, the Old Vic and the West End.

Don’t Ban TikTok. Make an Example of It.

By BY KEVIN ROOSE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2ZYhUtk

Wikipedia article of the day for July 26, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for July 26, 2020 is Carlos Castillo Armas.
Carlos Castillo Armas (November 4, 1914 – July 26, 1957) was a military officer and the 28th president of Guatemala. He came to power in a 1954 coup d'état backed by the US Central Intelligence Agency that overthrew the democratically elected President Jacobo Árbenz, and consolidated his position in an October 1954 election in which he was the only candidate. A member of the right-wing National Liberation Movement party, he was also the first of a series of authoritarian rulers in Guatemala who were close allies of the United States. Under Castillo Armas, the reforms of the Guatemalan Revolution were largely undone. Land was confiscated from small farmers and returned to large landowners, and thousands of people were arrested, tortured, or killed under suspicion of being communists. In 1957 Castillo Armas was assassinated by a presidential guard. His policies sparked a series of leftist insurgencies culminating in the Guatemalan Civil War, which lasted from 1960 to 1996.

Wikipedia article of the day for July 25, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for July 25, 2020 is Operation Cobra.
Operation Cobra was an offensive launched by the First United States Army under Omar Bradley against the German 7th Army commanded by Paul Hausser in the Cotentin Peninsula during the Normandy campaign of World War II. The attack commenced on 25 July 1944, having been delayed several times by poor weather. Supporting offensives had drawn the bulk of German armored reserves toward the British and Canadian sectors, and the lack of men and materiel available to the Germans meant they were unable to form successive lines of defense. After a slow start the offensive gathered momentum and by 27 July most organized resistance had been overcome and the Americans advanced rapidly. The German response was ineffectual and the entire Normandy front soon collapsed. Operation Cobra, together with concurrent offensives by the British Second Army and the Canadian First Army, was decisive in securing an Allied victory in the Normandy campaign and the loss of the German position in northwestern France.

Digital Habits Are Hard to Break

By BY SHIRA OVIDE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2BwckVC

How a Tech-Funded Think Tank Influences Global Antitrust Regulators

By BY DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2CzjNE0

Wikipedia article of the day for July 24, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for July 24, 2020 is Melanie Barnett.
Melanie Barnett is a fictional character on the American sitcom The Game, which aired on The CW and BET from 2006 to 2015. Portrayed by actress Tia Mowry (pictured), Melanie was introduced in a backdoor pilot on the sitcom Girlfriends as the cousin of Joan Clayton (Tracee Ellis Ross). Melanie chooses to support the career of her boyfriend Derwin Davis (Pooch Hall), a National Football League player, rather than attend medical school at Johns Hopkins University. The series focuses primarily on Melanie and Derwin's complicated relationship and her fears of his infidelity. Mowry left the series in 2012 upon learning that Hall had decided to leave the show and her role would be reduced. Both actors reprised their roles in the series finale. Mowry's performance received positive feedback from critics, who agreed that the role displayed her maturity as an actress. She received nominations for two NAACP Image Awards and a Teen Choice Award for the role.

Big Tech Versus Climate Change

By BY SHIRA OVIDE from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2BplIKF