Roundup: YouTube filters pirates, diesel generators are hot, and more

1) Google releases “anti-piracy” filter for YouTube
2) Diesel generators in internet data centers have “joined Silicon Valley and the Rust Belt at the hip”
3) AOL cuts 2,000 jobs
4) Discovery Communications acquires HowStuffWorks.com

Google releases “anti-piracy” filter for YouTube — The technology works by creating a database of images from copyrighted videos and then matching them against uploads. Videos that contain matching images will be blocked. The catch? Copyright owners who want to protect their content have to feed it into Google’s database in order for the system to work. This comes from the Merc.

“Web 2.0 has joined Silicon Valley and the Rust Belt at the hip” — Large internet companies like Google are purchasing more diesel generators to supply backup power for their data centers from the likes of industrial-machine manufacturers like Caterpillar (photo) and Cummins. This growing demand is causing a power-generator shortage; Nick Carr has more.

AOL cuts 2,000 jobs — The company is trying to reinvent itself as a full-service advertising company, a big change from its previous incarnation as internet service provider. The letter from the CEO here.

Discovery Communications acquires HowStuffWorks.com — The WSJ reports that the owner of the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet TV stations spent an impressive $250 million to buy the popular website because its own online strategy was falling short. The company will use HowStuffWorks.com’s foundation of 3.8 million unique visitors to push its 100,000 hours of video content onto the web, and has already started to do so. The marriage makes sense: HowStuffWorks has been a text-based site, and the new mass of material enriches its offerings. Hopefully, HowStuffWorks will maintain some of its dinky charm.