David Lidsky's Blog, page 2779
March 1, 2016
Souq, The Amazon Of The Middle East, Raises $275 Million
The e-commerce giant's latest funding is the largest ever disclosed by a tech startup in the region.
The Middle East is a tough area to navigate for technology startups. With political instability, high tariffs, and widely differing national laws between the countries in the region, many tech companies—particularly online retailers—have floundered. That's why it's big news that Souq, which has been called the "Amazon of the Middle East" has just received a $275 million round of funding from international investors, reports the New York Times. The investment is a vote of confidence in the company that is operating in a space where so many others have failed.
February 29, 2016
Revealed: How The Bush Administration Argued Legal Loopholes for NSA Snooping
The U.S. government just released the May 2002 letter that justified intercepting phone and email records—and eventually NSA surveillance.
Nearly 14 years after it was written, the public can finally read the 22-page letter to a federal judge that justified intercepting phone and email records of millions of Americans—the extent of which eventually prompted Edward Snowden to leak details about the National Security Agency (NSA) data collection program.
Google's Self-Driving Car Collided With A Public Bus
The crash marks the first time Google's car was partially to blame for an accident.
Until recently, Google's self-driving cars had been involved in 17 minor collisions—none of which resulted in major injuries, and none of which were the fault of the autonomous vehicle.
The Last Film For Millions Of Classic Polaroid Cameras Is About To Go Away
FujiFilm winds down production of the film that extended the useful life of some of history's most inspired gadgets.
If you take photos with old Polaroid cameras, as I often do, you get used to answering a question that always gets asked in a tone of marveling disbelief: "You can still get film for that?"
How A 145-Year-Old Art Museum Stays Relevant In The Smartphone Age
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's redesigned website embraces a future in which we're all staring into our phones, even at the museum.
Walking around New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, you can't help but notice a pattern. Though the world's largest art museum welcomes diverse crowds of people daily, most visitors have something in common: They're holding smartphones.
Unpacking Apple's Written Testimony For Tomorrow's Hearing In Congress
Apple attorney Bruce Sewell calls on Congress to make law on encryption and "backdoors" and not let it be decided in the courts.
This morning, Apple released its prepared testimony for tomorrow's Congressional hearing on its current feud with law enforcement over San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook's iPhone.
John Oliver Finally Takes On Donald Trump, "America's Back Mole"
The presidential candidate, like an early cancer warning sign, finally became too big for the political satirist to ignore.
So far in this election cycle, comedian and host of Last Week Tonight John Oliver has chosen to ignore a certain presidential candidate rather than devote any time to taking him down. Apparently enough was enough on Sunday, as Oliver gave a scathing takedown of one Donald J. Trump.
NASA's New X-Planes Will Be Seriously Cool
One of the most interesting-looking planes is a hybrid-wing body aircraft with turbofan engines on top of its back end.
NASA will reportedly soon request money to build a new line of efficient and environmentally friendly X-planes.
Researchers Create Solar Cells So Thin And Light They Float On A Soap Bubble
MIT's new solar cells are the thinnest ever produced and could be embedded in everything from paper to spacecraft.
Researchers at MIT have created the thinnest and lightest solar cells ever made, according to MIT News. The solar cells are so thin and light they can sit on a soap bubble without popping it. Their physical size means that they have the potential to be used in everything from paper to clothing to air- and spacecraft. In wearables, the solar cells are so light they would be virtually unnoticeable by the wearer.
Developers Are About To Get Their Hands On Microsoft's HoloLens
The mixed-reality "holographic" headset and a half-dozen apps arrive on March 30.
More than a year after it was announced, Microsoft's augmented-reality headset, HoloLens, is about to get more real. Starting today, the company, which began letting developers register their interest in buying $3,000 HoloLens developer kits last October, is allowing them to place actual preorders. It says it will begin shipping HoloLens Development Edition on March 30, thereby hitting its goal of doing so in the first quarter of 2016.
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