Sunday
Apr192020

Microsoft's 'Planetary Computer' wants to help preserve biodiversity 

Photo by Belle Co for Pexels

Microsoft has plans to be carbon negative by 2030, and now it hopes to lend a helping hand to other interested third parties who are working to improve the environment. The Planetary Computer project wants to take data and process it through artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide satellite imagery, environmental and biological data and more to partners and customers. The hope is the data can be used for decision-making about environmental issues, both in the public and private sectors. 

Planetary Computer is more than a single machine. It is an extension of Microsoft's AI for Earth, which puts AI tools in the hands of its partners working on the ocean, wildlife, forestry, and agricultural endeavours. The company plans to invest more in areas like land cover mapping, land usage information, and species identification. The aim is that it can use and build its digital resources with more data that third parties can use to preserve wildlife and the environment.  

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Sunday
Apr192020

Spotify Premium users can now hide songs they don't like in playlists

Spotify is letting its Premium subscribers have more control over what they're listening to on the service. Both Android and iOS users can hide songs they don't want to hear in any playlist on Spotify. A new "hide song" option is available from the context menu of the specific tracks. The next time you listen to the playlist, it won't play the song you hid. You can choose to un-hide songs as well.

Source: MacRumors

Sunday
Apr192020

Netflix offers some of its documentaries for free on YouTube

Netflix is giving more people access to some of its more notable documentaries by putting these up on YouTube. The move was meant to help educators and parents access educational content from the streaming service. There are 34 episodes available on the Netflix U.S. YouTube channel, which include shows like 13thAbstract: Season 1ExplainedOur Planetand Zionto name a few. 

All the documentaries are in English, but they come with subtitles available in a dozen languages. Parents and teachers can check the ratings to see if it's appropriate to show to kids. There are educational resources on each show available in Netflix's Media Center.

Saturday
Apr182020

Canadian Reviewer Weekly Roundup – 4/12 – 4/18