Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Star Technologist Who Crossed Google Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison


By BY KATE CONGER from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3frzwlS

Wikipedia article of the day for August 5, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 5, 2020 is Eurasian crag martin.
The Eurasian crag martin (Ptyonoprogne rupestris) is a small swallow with brown upperparts, paler underparts, and a white-spotted square tail. It breeds in mountains in southern Eurasia and northwestern Africa. It is larger and has brighter tail spots than the three other species in its genus. Many European birds are resident, but northern and Asian populations winter in north Africa, the Middle East or India. This martin builds a half-cup mud nest lined with soft material under a cliff overhang or on a building, and the female lays two to five brown-blotched white eggs, incubated mainly by her although both parents feed the chicks. The martin feeds on insects that are caught as it flies near cliff faces or over open country. Adults and young may be hunted by birds of prey or corvids, and may host blood-sucking mites. With its large and expanding range and population there are no significant conservation concerns. (This article is part of a featured topic: Crag martins.)

Apple Replaces Phil Schiller as Its Top Marketing Executive


By BY DAVEY ALBA AND BRIAN X. CHEN from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3kb1iqi

When Taming Big Tech Goes Wrong


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

Monday, August 3, 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for August 4, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 4, 2020 is James Thompson (surveyor).
James Thompson (1789–1872) was an American surveyor who created the first plat of Chicago (pictured), completing it on August 4, 1830. Born in South Carolina, Thompson moved to Kaskaskia in southern Illinois as a young man and lived in the area for the rest of his life. He was hired to plat settlements at both ends of the proposed Illinois and Michigan Canal in northern Illinois, including Chicago at the eastern end. Before Thompson's plat fixed its location, the word "Chicago" had been used for various places around the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. The plat named the streets in the area and allowed its residents to obtain legal title to their property. Chicago incorporated as a town in 1833 and as a city in 1837. In addition to his surveying work, Thompson served as a probate judge, county commissioner, and officer in the Illinois militia during the Black Hawk War. His grave, which was originally unmarked, was given a monument by the city in 1917.

F.T.C. Investigating Twitter for Potential Privacy Violations


By BY KATE CONGER from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2DzIlwM