Welcome to issue #7 of The Extra Mighell! A quick explanation for new readers - my last name is pronounced “Mile,” so hopefully the title makes more sense now.
The links here represent the stories of the past week that I found interesting or noteworthy but had no time to cover on the blog - that’s why they’re “extra.”
Another pretty quiet week in technology, so this issue is short. To check up the top tech stories of the week, and why lawyers should care, check out the Friday Tech Fix over on my blog.
On to the news….
This Week in Coronavirus
All you iPhone users out there, make sure to install iOS 13.5 - it’s now easier for you to unlock your phone while wearing a mask. All right Google, where’s the Android update? [Lifehacker]
Speaking of iPhones, apparently the computer system that’s responsible for grading all of the virtual AP exams being uploaded this week doesn’t really like the image format used by iPhones, and as a result a lot of students are failing their AP tests. [The Verge]
Following Twitter’s lead last week, Facebook announced that it expects half its workforce to work remotely permanently. This will not be the last - there’s a momentous change coming in company workforce structures. [NPR]
Productivity
If you’re a Google Chrome user, try out this great new feature allowing you to group tabs into groups that can be expanded or collapsed [How-To Geek]
New Apps/Tools
Note: the apps/tools I mention here are usually brand new as of this week, and I make no representations as to their ultimate usefulness or quality.
Replier is a super-simple but very cool app that helps when replying to emails. Just paste the email you’re replying to, select the parts of the email you want to include, type your replies, then copy and paste back into your email program. Try it.
The folks at form tool JotForm are offering a Zoom Scheduler designed to make it easier to schedule meetings with Zoom. Collect registrants through JotForm and sync them to Zoom with the new scheduler.
Fun and Games
I am completely addicted to Astronaut, which crawls YouTube and finds videos posted in the last week that have almost zero previous views. You may literally be the first person seeing this video. Okay, so the videos aren’t all that exciting, but it is fascinating nonetheless.
I mentioned a few weeks ago that people are finding creative ways to entertain themselves, and others, on Zoom. Now witness Eschaton, which describes itself as “a maze of rooms featuring dozens of NYC’s finest performers. Wander this shuttered nightclub where you can interact and find a new strange delight behind every doorway.” It’s only $10/person, and current performances are sold out through May 30. Give it a try?
Finally. Best. Meeting. Background. Ever.
Have a safe and happy holiday weekend. See you next week!
— Tom