Tag: the guardian

  • How to read thousands of newspapers and magazines for free

    How to read thousands of newspapers and magazines for free

    Over recent months, I’ve not spent too much time reading ‘the news’. There’s a lot going on in the world and have found that on a day-to-day basis, ignorance is bliss, but I do want to dip my toe in the water every now and again.

    I especially have no mental space right now for “breaking news” of events happening on the other side of the planet – just give me the well-researched summary after the event, which is why I was happy to find there is a digital way to read printed newspapers and magazine for free: your local library.

    Deichman bibliotek, the municipal library that serves Oslo (Norway), gives you free digital access to over 7,000 newspapers and magazines from around the world, directly from your phone, tablet, or computer.

    I have been informed that students of the University of Oslo can also access the same service using your student membership.

    Whether you want to read the latest Aftenposten newspaper, go global with The Guardian, or catch up on what’s happening in the world of design with Wallpaper* magazine – you can read it all at zero cost!

    How to access:

    • Log in to Deichman online
    • Scroll down on “Min side” and click on “Gå til PressReader”
    • You are taken to pressreader.com and should have access!

    You can also download the PressReader app for iOS and Android and do a similar process on your digital devices. A full detailed guide on how to get started is on the Deichman guide to PressReader.

    “But I don’t live in Oslo…”

    Well, fortunately for you, you can most likely access the PressReader catalogue of newspapers and magazines for free through your local library or university.

    PressReader has a HotSpot map which lists all the organisations on there that will give you full or restricted access.

    A screenshot of PressReader's global HotSpot map. It's a map of the world with pins across almost all countries, listing the organisations that will give you free access to their service.

    “But I don’t have a library card…”

    Well, get one! Seriously.

    A lot of libraries now offer many digital services; from free ebooks and audiobooks, to free music streaming and free movie streaming, in addition to the standard lending of physical books, movies, video games and music.

    Oslo library even hosts classes to practice Norwegian, has a podcast studio, lets you borrow power tools or use their 3D printers.

    It’s a great community resource and doesn’t cost you a thing to sign up!

    ✌️

  • Links of the week: don’t touch your face, online card games, coronavirus painting

    Links of the week: don’t touch your face, online card games, coronavirus painting

    In a week where half the world is taking the advice of their respective governments and staying home a lot more, I have been sat at home coughing, fending off heavy headaches and wheezing my way around the apartment.

    I’ve not been tested, but can’t help but wonder if I have had the newly-famed COVID-19 or not. Either way, things will get better.

    In the meantime, here are some new things to look at with your eyes and minds:


    An animated gif showing coxy touching his face and a website alerting him not to.

    Don’t touch your face

    As this beautifully made Kurzgesagt video explains, touching your face is sending germs and viruses on a highway to the inside of your body. That is why the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommend that you don’t touch your face.

    But not touching your face is hard. I touch my face all the time without knowing it.

    Do Not Touch Your Face (dot com) is a website which checks your webcam and will tell you to not touch your face when you touch your face.

    The geeky rundown is that it uses machine learning based on TensorFlow.js code. You give the algorithm a one-time lesson on when you are touching your face and then it works it out itself from there.

    “No!”


    A photo of a sealed packet of cards from the A Game Of Thrones: A Card Game expansion pack

    Play the Game of Thrones card game online

    Quite a few times throughout the history of this blog, I have mentioned the card game A Game of Thrones. I love it and have spent way too much money on it.

    I recently discovered that there is a free online version of the game and so during the past week have played a few games.

    The design of the site is pretty confusing and the game isn’t the most straight-forward game to play. But once you’ve learned the ropes, it’s very fun.

    If, during these self-isolation times, friends of mine wish to hop on a Skype call and play through a game together – give me a shout.


    A screenshot of Brave web browser for computers

    Blocking ads but still rewarding content creators

    Whilst I’m a big advocate of Firefox web browser, I have been attracted by Brave web browser recently – purely for the integration of digital cash. It’s interesting.

    The app has a wallet for digital cash. You can top it up with money yourself or get paid BAT tokens (10 BAT is worth about $1.20 at the moment) for seeing adverts.

    The great thing about this is that if you have digital cash in your wallet, then each month the browser divvies up a handful of cash between the websites you have visited. Provided your favourite websites are signed up as content creators.

    There are many sites registered as content creators – including the likes of The Guardian, Wikipedia and Archive.org.

    This means that even though I’m blocking all the adverts The Guardian want to show me, I end up throwing The Guardian some BAT tokens out of my Brave wallet each month for the content I viewed.

    It’s clever. Maybe I’ll do a full blog post about it in future. In the meantime, you can check out Brave yourself.


    And finally;

    This painting depicts a coronavirus just entering the lungs, surrounded by mucus secreted by respiratory cells, secreted antibodies, and several small immune systems proteins.

    A painting of coronavirus from a molecular scientist

    The image used at the top of this page has been crafted by molecular scientist and artist David S. Goodsell. The painting depicts a coronavirus just entering the lungs, surrounded by mucus secreted by respiratory cells, secreted antibodies, and several small immune systems proteins.

    Goodsell has declared the image as “free to use” and published a super high-resolution version on a little thing you might have heard of before: the internet.


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