Monday, July 6, 2020

Palantir Technologies Files to Go Public


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Wikipedia article of the day for July 7, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for July 7, 2020 is Maya (M.I.A. album).
Maya is the third studio album by British recording artist M.I.A. (pictured), released on 7 July 2010 on her own label, N.E.E.T. Recordings, through XL Recordings and Interscope Records. Songwriting and production for the album were primarily handled by M.I.A., Blaqstarr and Rusko in Los Angeles. The album centres on the theme of information politics. Elements of industrial music were incorporated into M.I.A.'s sound for the first time. In the album's first week of release, it entered the UK Albums Chart at number 21, becoming M.I.A.'s highest-charting album in the UK. It also became her highest-charting album in the US, reaching number nine on the Billboard 200, and debuted in the top 10 in Finland, Norway, Greece and Canada. M.I.A. promoted the album by performing at music festivals in the US and Europe and by releasing a series of tracks online, including "XXXO", "It Takes a Muscle" and "Born Free". (This article is part of a featured topic: M.I.A. albums.)

YouTube’s Power of the Purse


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Facebook Temporarily Stops Hong Kong Data Requests


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Sunday, July 5, 2020

Uber to Buy Postmates for $2.65 Billion


By BY MIKE ISAAC AND ERIN GRIFFITH from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3ivXS0p

Wikipedia article of the day for July 6, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for July 6, 2020 is HMS Levant (1758).
HMS Levant was a sixth-rate 28-gun frigate of the Coventry class, launched in 1758. Principally a hunter of privateers, she was also designed to be a match for small French frigates, but with a broader hull and sturdier build at the expense of some speed and manoeuvrability. Assigned to the Jamaica station in 1759, Levant defeated nine French vessels in three years at sea and was part of the British expedition against Martinique in 1762. The frigate was decommissioned in 1763, returned to service in 1766 for patrol duties in the Caribbean, decommissioned for a second time in 1770, and reinstated at the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. Sent to the Mediterranean and based at Gibraltar, Levant captured or sank a total of fourteen enemy craft over the next three years, including an 18-gun American privateer. The ageing frigate was removed from Navy service in 1779 and broken up at Deptford Dockyard in 1780, having secured a total of 31 victories during 21 years at sea.

Saturday, July 4, 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for July 5, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for July 5, 2020 is Black currawong.
The black currawong (Strepera fuliginosa), also known as the black jay, is a large passerine bird endemic to Tasmania and nearby islands in the Bass Strait. One of three currawong species, it is closely related to the butcherbirds and Australian magpie in the family Artamidae. It is a large crow-like bird, around 50 cm (20 in) long, with yellow irises, a heavy bill, and black plumage with white wing patches. The sexes are similar in appearance. Three subspecies are recognised, one of which, S. f. colei of King Island, is vulnerable to extinction. The black currawong is generally sedentary, although populations at higher altitudes relocate to lower areas during the cooler months. The habitat includes densely forested areas as well as alpine heathland. It is rare below altitudes of 200 m (660 ft). Its omnivore diet includes a variety of berries, invertebrates, and small vertebrates. Less arboreal than the pied currawong, the black currawong spends more time foraging on the ground. It roosts and breeds in trees.