David Lidsky's Blog, page 2642
September 1, 2016
What Happened When I Redesigned My Workday To Start At 5 A.M.
The main upside, says one Buffer employee, isn't about early birds catching worms—it's about the power of choice.
The main upside, says one Buffer employee, isn't about early birds catching worms—it's about the power of choice.
I work for an incredible company, with teammates scattered around the globe. Most of us tend to work nine to five–ish hours, and up until a few months ago, I did, too. My schedule was pretty standard:
Ditch Your Book Club: This AI-Powered Memoir Wants To Chat With You
Amy Krouse Rosenthal's interactive Textbook uses smart bots to engage with readers in real time. A new tech lit is born.
Amy Krouse Rosenthal's interactive Textbook uses smart bots to engage with readers in real time. A new tech lit is born.
Do you ever feel like your book and your phone are at odds with each other? You begin a new read, only to become distracted—by the ding of an email, a text notification, or the desire to Wikipedia something that piqued your interest in the very book you're reading. Before you know it, the book is abandoned in favor of the device.
Just As You Feared, Hating Your Job Is Also Wrecking Your Health
New research suggests troubling links between job dissatisfaction and physical and mental health troubles.
New research suggests troubling links between job dissatisfaction and physical and mental health troubles.
You know that saying, "This job may be hazardous to your health?" Those words, according to a recent study, might not solely apply to careers spent around toxic waste or malfunctioning equipment—they could very well describe any career that's leaving you unsatisfied.
August 31, 2016
A Tax Expert Takes Tim Cook's EU Letter Apart Point By Point
Cook blasted an EU ruling that Apple used Irish subsidiaries to avoid billions in taxes, but his defense is only one side of the story.
Cook blasted an EU ruling that Apple used Irish subsidiaries to avoid billions in taxes, but his defense is only one side of the story.
Apple's business structure and tax practices in Europe were around long before Tim Cook became CEO. He didn't invent those things, but he's vigorously defending them. His arguments in media interviews sound compelling, but they present only one side of a hot-button issue that's easily relatable to the overarching wealth distribution and fair taxation themes of election cycles in both the U.S. and Europe this year.
Why Facebook's Trending Topics Spam Problem Can't Be Solved With Algorithms
The decision to nix Trending's human editors has proven controversial in mere days—but Facebook has long put too much faith in automation.
The decision to nix Trending's human editors has proven controversial in mere days—but Facebook has long put too much faith in automation.
When Facebook unceremoniously fired the team of human editors responsible for curating its Trending section, surely it didn't expect to be betrayed by its algorithm so quickly. Facebook laid off all the Trending curators on Friday, under the guise of wanting to reduce bias and "make the product more automated." The Trending team is being repopulated with engineers, who will oversee the algorithms charged with sussing out Trending content.
Samsung Unveils Its (Large) New Gear S3 Smartwatch
The Gear S3 runs Samsung's Tizen OS and comes in two flavors—one with its own cellular radio and one without.
The Gear S3 runs Samsung's Tizen OS and comes in two flavors—one with its own cellular radio and one without.
It was almost three years ago that Samsung released the first Galaxy Gear smartwatch. That device had an awkward design and a clunky UX, and its design wasn't fashioned after traditional wristwatches. It wasn't treated nicely by the media, and sales were disappointing. What a difference three years makes.
These Tech Workers Don't Need To Know How To Code, And Neither Do You
Knowing how to code can take you far, but it's not necessary in order to work in the sector.
Knowing how to code can take you far, but it's not necessary in order to work in the sector.
Many years back, the battle cry began: Learn To Code! That call has only become louder since, with numerous bootcamps touting the idea that if you learn the basics of computer programming, you will almost certainly be guaranteed a sweet gig. Indeed, Bloomberg Businessweek devoted an entire issue to explaining precisely what code is.
Stride Health Launches An App That Tracks Uber Drivers' Expenses
When drivers need support, Uber points them to third-party tools. Stride Drive is the latest.
When drivers need support, Uber points them to third-party tools. Stride Drive is the latest.
Technically speaking, participants in the so-called gig economy are tiny businesses, which means their jobs don't come with luxuries (formerly known as social safety-net components) such as health insurance, retirement savings plans, or tax withholdings. Stride Health is one company that hopes to help them fill in some of those gaps.
The Future Of Action Cameras Comes Into Focus With Garmin's VIRB Ultra 30
With voice control, sensors galore, and image stabilization, this aspiring GoPro competitor offers a tantalizing (if imperfect) model.
With voice control, sensors galore, and image stabilization, this aspiring GoPro competitor offers a tantalizing (if imperfect) model.
Action cameras are hard to use. GoPro's top-of-the-line Hero4 Black, for instance, has three buttons that you have to push in different sequences just to navigate the settings. The only indicator of where you are is a 0.8-inch monochrome screen, à la gadgets from the early 2000s. In fact, action cameras—typically ensconced in hard-to-reach spots like the top of your bike helmet—are inherently difficult to control. Try pressing the "record" button while barreling down a mountain trail, and the resulting video could be of you flying off your bike and into a tree.
Is This Sustainable Village The Future Of Retirement?
Serenbe, a planned sustainable community, is a new village designed to help its residents gracefully age in place.
Serenbe, a planned sustainable community, is a new village designed to help its residents gracefully age in place.
Fifteen years into an unplanned second career as a real-estate developer, Steve Nygren has timed his latest project perfectly. Nygren is the cofounder and developer of Serenbe, a visionary New Urbanist community in Chattahoochee Hills, outside Atlanta. Since breaking ground in 2004, Serenbe has grown to include two villages of about 500 residents. Praised by urban planners, architects, and sustainability geeks alike, Serenbe is, by most accounts, a nice place to live. (You do have to be comfortable with a certain Truman Show vibe, though.) Homes, priced from $300,000 to more than $1 million, sell briskly. Now, with construction of Serenbe's third village—or "hamlet" in the local parlance—Nygren aims to make Serenbe a great place to grow old. And maybe a model for a new kind of retirement community.
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