David Lidsky's Blog, page 2766
March 16, 2016
Nike Introduces HyperAdapt, Its First Self-Lacing Shoe For Consumers
At a splashy event in Manhattan, the sportswear giant also introduced the Nike+ app and anti-clog technology for soccer cleats.
Nike ushered in the "era of personalized performance" with several new products, including a personal fitness app and what it is calling the first self-lacing shoe for the consumer, during a showy product launch event in New York City on Wednesday afternoon.
E-Commerce Gets Its Own Consumer Price Index
Adobe launches a new service to track inflation and deflation, in near real time, for certain online purchases.
Inflation can be a troublesome phenomenon, even when the rate is low. That 2% raise you got this year? If the inflation rate is 2.1%, as it was in 2012, you just lost money. While inflation has been quite low lately—just 1.4% in January—individual sectors see big swings up and down. The U.S. government's consumer price index (CPI) measures these economic oscillations by surveying what Americans in urban areas pay for staple products like food, clothing, and medical care.
A Radical Approach To SXSW: No Booze
As a health reporter, it's about time I practiced what I preach.
For most attendees, SXSW involves a heady mix of networking, BBQ, and back-to-back parties. Hangovers are a given, sleep is optional, and recovery can take up to a week.
Instagram Will Become More Like Facebook, With Algorithmic Feed
Instagram's new feed will prioritize content that is of interest to you, by way of an algorithm. Sound familiar?
Facebook-owned Instagram is tweaking your Instagram feed—with an algorithm, of course—to better customize it to your browsing habits and interests, Instagram announced Tuesday. For now, the New York Times reports, Instagram will only be testing the new format, which will rank posts from friends and other content that matters to you at the top of your feed—a break from the reverse chronological feed Instagram has offered since its inception.
"To improve your experience, your feed will soon be ordered to show the moments we believe you will care about the most," the company wrote in a blog post announcing the change. "The order of photos and videos in your feed will be based on the likelihood you'll be interested in the content, your relationship with the person posting, and the timeliness of the post. As we begin, we're focusing on optimizing the order—all the posts will still be there, just in a different order."
Intrusive Thoughts: An Entrepreneur Takes On The Pain And Stigma Of Mental Illness
Aaron Harvey is using his digital know-how to build awareness of Pure OCD.
It started when I was 13 years old. My mom was throwing a party and called us inside from playing basketball to join the fun. As I entered my bedroom to put away the ball, I saw a young child sleeping in my bed. Careful not to wake him, I tiptoed toward the bathroom. And that's when it happened: I had a violent thought about harming the child, too terrible for me to share here. It felt like a thousand razor blades took flight in my stomach.
Merrick Garland Is Obama's Nominee To The Supreme Court
The 19-year-veteran of D.C. federal district court has mixed record, conservative on criminal law but liberal on free speech issues.
Merrick Garland, President Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court, is considered a neutral judge and among the most unlikely choices to fuel an overly contentious confirmation battle.
Ford Tests Data-Driven App To Tell You Where To Park
The app will merge crowdsourced data on open spots and official parking regulations to help you find a space.
A pilot app from Ford will merge crowdsourced data and information on parking regulations to help guide drivers to a place they're able to park, the company said.
Microsoft Previews Actiongram, Its HoloLens Movie Maker App
The app allows users to make videos of people interacting with holograms.
Microsoft's developer kit for its HoloLens augmented reality viewer ships at the end of the month and in the meantime the company has been busy showing off the types of experiences developers can create on the platform. The latest in-house HoloLens app Microsoft has previewed is called Actiongram and allows users to create videos of themselves and others interacting with holographic characters.
Google Reveals How Many Requests To Its Sites Are Now Encrypted
In its transparency report, the company says that 77% of its sites now encrypt data.
Google has announced that it's added a new metric to its transparency reports today covering the hot-button issue of the moment: encryption. Specifically, the new metric reports on the use of HTTPS encryption on requests sent to its servers.
March 15, 2016
Apple Says The Feds Don't Understand Tech Issues In The iPhone Encryption Case
In the latest volley of filings to the court, Apple attorneys responded to arguments in the Justice Department brief filed last week.
Apple filed another legal brief today in its standoff with the FBI over iPhone encryption, this time responding to a set of accusatory arguments made in a Justice Department brief last week.
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