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The OPLIN 4cast Posts

OPLIN 4Cast #687: Will new tech help advertisers grab our attention?

Posted in 4cast, and Advertising

If you’re like me, you probably rarely think about advertisements, other than to possibly figure out how to avoid them. But ads are everywhere, of course, and the entities that create and pay for them are constantly working to make sure that we see even more of them. To this end, companies are trying a variety of new tactics, many including new uses of technology

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OPLIN 4Cast #686: Connected cars know too much

Posted in cars

In libraries, we take pains to clear patron session data off of our computers. But are the auto dealerships and rental agencies as cautious? Turns out there’s no way to be sure that previous drivers of your rental car (or owners of your new used car) have deleted the apps and accounts that gave them access to the car’s data. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of problems that come when your car is part of the Internet of Things.

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OPLIN 4Cast #685: Netflix has competition now, but it isn’t chillin’

Posted in 4cast, and Netflix

While Netflix didn’t win big at the Oscars this year, it still has been making headlines. The streaming service has known for some time that the streaming wars would eventually heat up, and some recent news make it evident that Netflix is ready for the competition.

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OPLIN 4Cast #684: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Facebook

Posted in 4cast, and Facebook

January 28 was Data Privacy Day, and Facebook took the occasion to announce that it was putting its “Clear History” function, now rechristened Off-Facebook Activity Tool, into general release. Not a cure-all, but certainly a step in the right direction. Good thing we only have to think about data privacy on one day a year, right?

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OPLIN 4Cast #678: Will decentralizing Twitter solve its problems?

Posted in Twitter

A few weeks ago, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted that his company would fund an outside research team, called Bluesky, to develop an “open and decentralized standard for social media.” What does that mean, exactly? The best analogy might be email: in Gmail, for example, you aren’t limited to only sending email to other Gmail users; but because of the “Simple Mail Transport Protocol,” email works regardless of your client, and companies like Superhuman can build enhancements on top of email. So what if you didn’t need a Twitter account to tweet?

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