Paleontologists in China have uncovered a nearly complete, fully articulated skeleton of Microraptor zhaoianus, a pigeon-sized, four-winged dinosaur that lived about 120 million years ago, and found an additional surprise preserved in its stomach: a previously unknown species of prehistoric lizard. Microraptor swallowing Indrasaurus wangi. Image credit: Doyle Trankina. The …
Read More »Yes, Google Listens to Some of Your Assistant Recordings. That’s Not Surprising.
The proliferation of smart speakers has made it easier to listen to tunes and control smart home devices, but they also raise some potential privacy concerns. After all, these are internet-connected microphones capable of listening to your conversations from a great distance. Amazon has been under fire for how …
Read More »Microsoft Includes Telemetry Update in Security Patches, Raising Fears About Company Motives
Several years ago, Microsoft changed how it delivered security patches to its older operating systems like Windows 7, 8.1, and Windows Server 2012. Under the rules for its “Security-only updates,” Microsoft only includes, well, security updates for these products when it releases its monthly patches. This week, Microsoft released …
Read More »Are your DSAs really outperforming standard ads? Find out with this ad copy length performance analysis script
I’m sorry to say it, but the rumors are true: size matters. Well, ad copy length does, anyway. Why else would Google keep increasing character limits? Their research found that the new expanded ads got 15% more clicks than other formats. But are you actually making use of the space …
Read More »Google shortnames and the case of the disappearing reviews
Late last month Google introduced a number of new GMB features, chief among them a short URL/shortname for businesses. However, last week SEOs started noticing that adding shortnames to their clients’ GMB profiles caused reviews to disappear or listings to be suspended. These are apparently two separate issues, according to …
Read More »Alexa, Google Home now battling perception of being ‘surveillance’ devices
Google acknowledged an earlier report from Belgian broadcaster VRT News about third-party subcontractors being able to access recordings of Google Home device owners. According to the report, the audio clips reviewed included enough information to reportedly determine the home addresses of several of the involved individuals. Clips used by speech …
Read More »Taking a Sabbatical Leave: A Sneaky Way to Get an Early (Temporary) Retirement!
Early retirement is something most of us dream about. But it is usually just that — a dream. However, have you considered a sabbatical? A sabbatical can be a meaningful and highly satisfying way to to get an early, albeit temporary, retirement. Sabbatical or Burnout? Sabbatical Meaning What Exactly? Sabbaticals, …
Read More »Kevin Durant Reaction To Leonard Recruiting.
The seemingly inevitable occurred at the turn of free agency when Durant and Irving signed with the Brooklyn Nets. Both players had other options, and KD turned down a particularly appealing one in order to play alongside Irving. The basketball world was sent into a frenzy in the days leading …
Read More »Snowball the Dancing Cockatoo Knows 14 Dance Moves, Study Reveals
Snowball is a male sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita eleonora). In 2007, he garnered YouTube fame for his uncanny ability to dance — including head bobs and foot steps — to the beat of the Backstreet Boys. According to a new study published in the journal Current Biology, Snowball has a …
Read More »Paleontologists Identify Oldest Known Ancestor of Mackerel Sharks
Mackerel (lamniform) sharks include some of the most iconic shark species, like the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) and the extinct Carcharocles megalodon, the biggest predatory shark that has ever roamed the world’s oceans. A team of paleontologists has examined the tooth mineralization processes in mackerel sharks and discovered a …
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