Searching WikiLeaks for documents about a particular topic, event or individual just got a little bit easier. The whistle-blowing site now offers a search engine where you can query its entire database of published documents for a specific phrase or keyword of your choosing.
Just like Google, you can also refine the nature of your search for more accurate and focused results. Filters allow you to request that Wikileaks ignore documents with certain words, or only if your search terms appear within the body of the page. A series of check-boxes, meanwhile, gives you the ability to find files from a specific WikiLeaks release, such as the Kissinger Cables.
WikiLeaks was, until now, a daunting site for some people. A straight-forward search tool such as this one should go a long way to help newcomers leverage and learn from the mass of information that WikiLeaks now offers on the Web.
Rbutr has been working away for a number of years already, serving as a ‘peer review’ system for the Internet, letting users follow rebuttals for information contained within certain Web pages.
In a nutshell, Rbutr lets you follow inter-website disagreements. Found great evidence or counter-arguments to an online article? Rbutr helps you connects the dots.
Though Rbutr in its original guise was available for Chrome only, it has since been added to Firefox too. And now, Rbutr is making it easier to for anyone to access the service with a platform-independent toolbar, which is accessed simply by adding rbutr.com/ to the start of any URL. No plugins needed.
When you do this, it essentially reloads the whole page within a separate Frame which displays the rebutting pages and any disputes. Though it can be a little fiddly manually adding this to the start of any URL, it’s certainly a step forward for the technology in terms of making it accessible to those who prefer not to use Chrome or Firefox.
So now if you see any spurious claims made in online publications, you can prefix the URL with a few characters and see whether anyone has taken umbrage.
But it’s not just about sifting through spurious journalistic claims. It can be used for anything really – for example, a subject-specific book on Amazon can be appended with counter-claims from across the Web too, which in turn can be voted up and down. And these rebuttals can be rebutted too.
So Rbutr moves beyond the confines of a website’s comments section (if indeed it has one), and takes it cross-site and cross-platform. It also means it can’t be edited by a site’s owners.
A secondary (but important) advantage here is that it also helps you share nonsense content (e.g. articles that make very dubious claims) without contributing to its online kudos. Google and social channels use buzz around an article to rank it, so you could be helping promote an article’s claims – even if your intention was the exact opposite. By sharing the Rbutr link instead, you sidestep this altogether.
There have been many such tools in the past that do this, such as the now-defunct Istyosty, a proxy Daily Mail browsing service. And, of course, DoNotLink offers such functionality more broadly across the Web’s content.
Rbutr is an interesting proposition for sure, it’s just a shame it’s only as powerful as the number of people using it – a tonne of spurious online content remains unchallenged. But by opening things up to every browser, it has gone some way towards spreading the good word.
Vodafone today announced that it has 500,000 4G customers in the UK, only six months after launching its “Red 4G-ready plans”.
The milestone is notable because EE, the first 4G network in the UK, took a little over seven months to accrue the same number of subscribers. It’s perhaps unfair to compare the two though – since EE launched its 4G offerings in October 2012, there is now a better understanding among consumers about what to expect from a 4G service. There are also more 4G-compatible devices available in the UK, which only adds to the appeal of a 4G contract.
At the time, EE was an entirely new brand – although it had Orange and T-Mobile customers to draw from – while Vodafone has been able to lean on its existing reputation to attract new subscribers.
The carrier has also been wise to differentiate from its 4G competitors – which also include O2 and Three – by offering a free, two-year subscription for either Spotify Premium or Sky Sports Mobile TV.
Nevertheless, the take-up of new 4G Vodafone contracts shows that it hasn’t been affected by EE’s head start in the UK. The carrier is now able to deliver its 4G network to 36 percent of the UK population – including 208 cities, towns and districts – and is now targeting indoor coverage for 98 percent by the end of 2015.
Vodafone today announced that it has 500,000 4G customers in the UK, only six months after launching its “Red 4G-ready plans”.
The milestone is notable because EE, the first 4G network in the UK, took a little over seven months to accrue the same number of subscribers. It’s perhaps unfair to compare the two though – since EE launched its 4G offerings in October 2012, there is now a better understanding among consumers about what to expect from a 4G service. There are also more 4G-compatible devices available in the UK, which only adds to the appeal of a 4G contract.
At the time, EE was an entirely new brand – although it had Orange and T-Mobile customers to draw from – while Vodafone has been able to lean on its existing reputation to attract new subscribers.
The carrier has also been wise to differentiate from its 4G competitors – which also include O2 and Three – by offering a free, two-year subscription for either Spotify Premium or Sky Sports Mobile TV.
Nevertheless, the take-up of new 4G Vodafone contracts shows that it hasn’t been affected by EE’s head start in the UK. The carrier is now able to deliver its 4G network to 36 percent of the UK population – including 208 cities, towns and districts – and is now targeting indoor coverage for 98 percent by the end of 2015.
Is Excel the first and last application you use every day?
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An absolute unique group of Excel MVP’s will gather in Amsterdam to share their expert knowledge with you. The Excel MVP’s happen to be in Amsterdam for a meeting and we’ve succeeded in getting some of them to present at our event. There is not much chance on this happening again anytime soon, so make sure you register!
