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Showing posts from August, 2025

OTR Backup 09/01/2025

Cartoon: Active shooter drill A cartoon by Mike Luckovich. Related |� Republican has infuriating response to Minneapolis ... YES, MAPQUEST STILL EXISTS - HERE'S WHAT IT HAS EVOLVED INTO Why Chrome Incognito mode is not private browsing Many users think Chrome Incognito provides anonymity, but it doesn't, and we explain what it can and can't do Here We Go is my new favorite map app - Android Authority I tested the Here We Go navigation app to see if it could replace Google Maps with offline maps, clear directions, and better privacy. The Tragically Hip: Fully Completely Album Review | Pitchfork Each Sunday, Pitchfork take...

OTR Backup 08/31/2025

Cartoon: Adore and defend Think You're Safe on Public Wi-Fi? Not Without These 12 Must-Know Tips | PCMag AI is returning to Taco Bell and McDonald's drive-thrus - will customers bite this time? | ZDNET Is Gmail Biased Against Republicans? FTC Probes MAGA's Latest Conspiracy Theory Republicans are seeking justice for MAGA inboxes. Back to school: Which vaccines kids need in Ontario With schoolchildren headed back to classrooms across Ottawa, public health officials are reminding parents and caregivers of the importance of ensuring kids are up to date on their vaccines. ...

OTR Backup 08/30/2025

Think You See The World Clearly? 19 Viral Optical Illusions That Will Make You Think Again | Bored Panda Think you see the world clearly? Think again. Optical illusions aren’t just tricks for your eyes; they are cognitive distortions that make reality appear in a way that is not true. We’ve gathered 19 puzzles for your brain. Cartoon: Back to school A cartoon by Pedro Molina. Related |� What the f-ck is Melania Trump's 'AI challenge' for kids? Where to find e-reader books for free: Load up your Kindle with free e-books | Mashable While the library is everyone's go-to for reading books for free, you can find free books across the internet. Here are the best places to download free EPUB files for your e-reader, including Project Gutenberg and Libby. ...

OTR Backup 08/29/2025

Cartoon: Web's end Don't Want Gemini to Learn About You? How to Turn That New Feature Off - CNET Google's AI chatbot has a new feature that can learn from your past conversations to inform your future ones. You don't have to use it. Grok Review: The Spiciest Chatbot of Them All | PCMag I compared the 6 best AI image generators of 2025 (updated) | Mashable We tested Grok, Midjourney, ChatGPT, and Google Imagen 4 to find the best AI image generator. Compare the results for yourself. These 6 Linux apps could boost your productivity - and you might not have heard of them | ZDNET ...

OTR Backup 08/28/2025

Cartoon: Cheat to win These 5 lightweight operating systems can make any slow PC fast Don't let aging hardware force you into buying expensive upgrades. Reviving 15 Years of WordPress Content with NotebookLM - Wahl Network Using Python to convert WordPress XML Exports into text that NotebookLM can parse and query as a data source. 6 tricks that turn NotebookLM into a personal research assistant NotebookLM hacks that changed how I study and research 13 charming end of summer small town fairs to check out across Ontario We’re approaching the end of summer, and what better way to close the season than by visiting a local fall fair ...

OTR Backup 08/27/2025

Will Seattle be the next to have Trump-mandated troops? This free extension keeps Google Chrome off of my computer Your Grok Chats Could Be Showing Up in Google Search Results. Here's How to Stop It | PCMag This Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus is an excellent laptop for students - get $150 off in the Labor Day sales | TechRadar AI Says These Are the Catchiest Songs of All Time - CNET Tell me what you want, what you really, really want -- and why is it that one Spice Girls song? Here's when Toronto's last 8 p.m. sunset happens The last 8 p.m....

OTR Backup 08/26/2025

Cartoon: Trump rewrites history Lovable CEO: Computer Science Degree No Longer an Entry Ticket to Tech - Business Insider Kids heading to school means hard times for more London families as food insecurity rises I'm an Irishman in Canada — These are 8 huge differences between the two countries - Narcity I've been living in Canada since April 2024, and the months have absolutely flown by — I guess it's true what they say: time flies when you're having fun. During my time here, I've noticed numerous cultural quirks that distinguish Canada from my home country, Ireland. This Incredibly Simple Question Causes GPT-5 to Melt Into ...

OTR Backup 08/25/2025

Cartoon: The bad Kennedy Your jump from Windows 10 to Linux gets easier with KDE Plasma 6.4 | ZDNET Comet browser, Truth Social concerns and how to battle hallucinations: Perplexity's head of communications reflects | Tom's Guide These cities have the best quality of life in Canada | National These cities check all the boxes ✅ If You Want To Be Instantly Respected, Start Practicing These 10 Simple Body Language Tricks | YourTango Life coach and writer Alex Mathers explains how small shifts in body language can quickly change how others perceive you. Here are ten simple tricks anyone can practice to project respect and earn i...

OTR Backup 08/24/2025

Trump echoes Putin I found the ultimate MacBook Air alternative for Windows users - and it's priced well | ZDNET Free VPN apps found to have ties with Russia and China – and they're hiding in Google and Apple’s app stores | TechRadar Brave Is the Only Chromium Browser I Still Trust, and Here’s Why Finally, a Chromium browser that doesn’t feel like a sellout. New Ontario trail has a four-storey boardwalk to explore the forest The new 2025 ‘retire comfortably’ number is in. Here’s what Canadians feel they need — and why 95% of us are falling well short...

OTR Backup 08/23/2025

Cartoon: Empty suit A Huge Number of Grok AI Chats Just Leaked, and Their Contents Are So Disturbing That We're Sweating Profusely Hundreds of thousands of Grok chats are visible on Google — and many show the chatbot clearly breaking its own guardrails. Google reveals how much energy a Gemini query uses - in industry first | ZDNET Software for a student computer: Part 2 For many secondary and post-secondary students this will involve setting up a new laptop or desktop computer. Joining these students will be the ranks of people who are purchasing new Windows 11 laptops and desktops to replace their aged Win 10 computers when Microsoft ends support for Win 10 in October. ...

OTR Backup 08/22/2025

Funny random pics Cartoon: Isn't it ironic? A cartoon by Clay Jones. Google's Smart Home Devices Are Finally Getting Gemini's AI Skills - CNET Try asking your thermostat to make up a bedtime story. How to Spot and Avoid Phishing Scams With AI Search Results Learn how AI-powered search results can lead to phishing sites and discover essential tips to protect yourself from malicious URLs. Google Docs Is Getting One Of NotebookLM's Best Features Read More: https://www.bgr.com/1945928/google-docs-gemini-create-audio-versions-documents/ Rhode Island Jud...

OTR Backup 08/21/2025

Russia wants the band back together | August 19 editorial cartoons | The Week Discover the privacy-first browser that finally convinced me to leave Chrome behind for good I have too many issues with Chrome to keep using it Data centers consume massive amounts of water – companies rarely tell the public exactly how much In 2024, one data center in Iowa consumed 1 billion gallons of water, enough to supply all the state’s residences with water for five days. Scammers are sneaking into Google's AI summaries to steal from you - how to spot them | ZDNET Teachers' top ask is class size, not money, local union rep says The Element...

OTR Backup 08/20/2025

Questionable Content - X vs O The End of Handwriting | WIRED For years, smartphones and computers have threatened to erase writing by hand. Would that be so bad? Google issues 'red alert' warning to 1.8 billion users over 'new wave of threats' - The Mirror US Google has issued a 'red alert' warning to its 1.8 billion account holders over a new artificial intelligence hacking scam reportedly being exploited by cyber criminals Grammarly's new AI agents can detect AI text and find citations for you - automatically | ZDNET Poilievre's byelection win sets the table for his return to Parliament this fall - Elliot...

OTR Backup 08/19/2025

Cartoon: If Trump were in Zelenskyy's place... Changing these 12 settings on my Android phone extended its battery life by hours | ZDNET How to use Google Drive as a backup for everything | Popular Science Drive is for more than just documents and spreadsheets. Moving to Canada no easy road for these people fleeing Trump's America for political reasons 5 reasons I swapped Google Keep for this open-source app - Android Authority I've used Google Keep and OneNote extensively, but this open-source software is just faster, cleaner, and better at serious note-taking. ...

OTR Backup 08/18/2025

Cartoon: Lost in translation 5 questions to ask yourself when buying a PC, from someone who reviews them for a living | Tom's Guide Here's Who Would Buy Chrome If Google Is Forced to Sell - Business Insider 5 smart display features I didn't know I needed until I tried them These smart display features proved surprisingly useful after I tried them 5 helpful Chrome features for students These Chrome features and tips for students can help you learn more easily while staying organized and focused, too. This AI Tool Helps You Write Books You Can Sell and It’...

OTR Backup 08/17/2025

Trump, Putin and a bear go into the Alaskan wilderness … Latest AI-Powered Glasses Help Blind People Navigate the World With Ease 13 Free Certificates To Help You Land A Job In 2025 Looking for a better job opportunity in 2025? These 13 free certificates and courses can help you get hired faster and bump up your pay by as much as 15%. Paint the world Wplace is the Google Maps for pixel art, and I can't stop exploring it | Creative Bloq I'd pay for a decoy PIN and profile on my Android phone, and I'm not alone Some custom ROMs let you erase th...

OTR Backup 08/16/2025

Oh, Hoppy Day: The 95th Anniversary of Flip the Frog’s Debut | AI Data Centers Are Massive, Energy-Hungry and Headed Your Way - CNET Behind your ChatGPT and Gemini queries, there's a land grab happening to keep up the fevered pace of gen AI's growth. The consequences are significant. Perplexity explores buying web browsers to expand reach Google Street View comes to Nepal You can now virtually explore the stunning landscapes and vibrant culture of Nepal in Street View. Wander the lively streets of Kathmandu, discover the serene beauty of … I stopped wasting time hunting for notes — thanks to NotebookLM The easiest way to or...

OTR Backup 08/15/2025

Cartoon: The Putin-Trump summit 14 essential apps to help you survive and thrive in college Here are the must-have apps every college student should download How students' privacy could be a casualty of schools' rush to AI Why Perplexity is going after Google Chrome - and yes, it's serious | ZDNET Gemini just got two of ChatGPT's best features - and they're free | ZDNET Man has recorded his mood every 15 minutes for 7 years - Upworthy "The search for that formula is what keeps me going." ...

OTR Backup 08/14/2025

Cartoon: Authoritarian art Sorry, Microsoft: your latest attempt to get people to switch over to Edge in Windows 11 is crossing a line | TechRadar I hate Google Search's AI overviews, so I replaced them with Brave I've gone from avoiding AI summaries to actually using them to help me get a quick overview of topics and finding links to the best sources. AI Models Least & Most Likely to Invent Information I found a Google Maps alternative that won't track you or drain your battery How to turn your beginner AI prompts into powerful results | Digital Tre...