Fixing the News and Freaky Avatar Assistant

On this podcast, Cathi Bond talks about Jimmy Wales' idea for Wikitribune: journalism that's crowdfunded, where the community decides what stories professional journalists will research and cover (via Wired UK). Nora Young talks about SK Telecom out of South Korea. They're partnering with a VR developer to come up with a hologram avatar that lives in a cylindrical "HoloBox" in your home (via PSFK). Is this just the natural progression of Alexa, Siri et al on your smart speaker? Nora also mentions the Super Monster Wolf (via BBC). It's a novel idea for a scarecrow designed to frighten wild boars away from crops in Japan. It has flashing red eyes, and a range of howls! Why not get one for your next party?