David Lidsky's Blog, page 2833
December 8, 2015
Today in Tabs: The Worst Are Full Of Passionate Intensity
The blood-dimmed tide is looser, at least.
As you surely know by now, Donald Trump, losing ground to the more mainstream-plausible but no less crazy Ted Cruz in Iowa, said something stupid to regain control of the news cycle, and everyone went along with it. And here I am doing the same. Trump said he wants to ban all Muslims from entering the country (including, he clarified, American citizens who happen to be abroad), which is obviously absurd, impossible, and wildly unconstitutional. It's not a real proposal, any more than his followup suggestion that he would get Bill Gates to "clos[e] that internet up in some ways." Or if he had said that he wants to make his pal Tom Brady King of the Moon, or replace Mexican day laborers with the Wee Fairy Folk. These ideas all exist in a big stupid heap at the far right end of the policygibberish spectrum.
Facebook, Twitter Would Be Forced To Report Terrorist Activity Under Proposed Bill
Privacy advocates worry the law would hamper free speech.
ISIS and other militant groups use social media to disseminate propaganda, recruit, and organize. In the wake of deadly shootings in Paris last month and California last week, both of which have been treated as terrorist attacks, U.S. lawmakers have moved to enlist technology companies to assist law enforcement in fighting terrorism.
Some Twitter Users See Non-Linear Timelines
For some users, Twitter has become unstuck in time.
Twitter is testing the biggest change yet to the way users experience the site. The social network began a limited rollout of non-chronological timelines, which means some users are seeing tweets displayed in an algorithmic, non-linear fashion, somewhat similar to Facebook's News Feed.
Google Pixel C Review: A Really Nice Android Tablet, But Not a Productivity Powerhouse
Google does its own tablet hardware, including a keyboard add-on that's clever—but it's a bit on the cramped side.
"Be together, not the same." Google has been using that tagline in ads for Android for more than a year now, helpfully pointing out that its mobile operating system has been embraced by vast numbers of companies that use it to build an array of devices aimed at different sorts of people. Unlike—cough, cough—Apple's iOS.
Apple's New Battery Case Looks Like An Orthopedic Shoe For Your iPhone
Apple's lumpy take on the widely adopted Mophie battery case has a distinctive bulge.
Though the iPhone slims down with each iteration, it's no secret that the device's limited battery life leaves a lot of people in the lurch. With the release of its new iPhones this fall, Apple made no effort to improve the battery; in fact, the company did the exact opposite, decreasing the battery capacity to make room for flashy features like 3-D touch.
Pentagram Unleashes A Tirade Against Corporate Jargon . . . In A Rap Video
It's high time to close that kimono and trash it, friends.
There's a plague afflicting offices around the world and we've all heard its symptoms: ideation, creavation, low-hanging fruit, and blue-sky thinking. It's corporate jargon—and it needs to die. But there's hope: Pentagram is crusading against all the cliches and doublespeak, first by skewering corporate jargon in its 2014 holiday card and now in a new rap video.
Britain's Top Art Prize Goes To A Design Collective
It's the first time the award has been granted to a group of designers.
Last night, the London-based architecture and design collective Assemble was awarded the U.K.'s most prestigious art prize. It's the first time that the Turner Prize, now in its 31st year, has gone to a group of designers, rather than an individual or pair.
December 7, 2015
Google's New Update Will Merge Your To-Do Lists With Your Calendar
Reminders, the company's latest mobile-first update, seamlessly integrates to-do lists into Google Calendar.
If you've missed important to-dos in the past because you forgot to add it to both your calendar and to-do list, time to breathe a sigh of relief: Google just made it simpler to track both events and to-dos in one place.
Without Taylor Swift And Adele, Spotify's 2015 Top Charts Are Mostly Male
Spotify's top artists of 2015 include Drake, The Weeknd, and Maroon 5.
Spotify may not be seeing spectacular dips in music streaming since Taylor Swift abandoned the platform and Adele decided not to stream 25, but its year-end lists are feeling the blank spaces.
A Consulting Firm Hired By Uber Found That Its Drivers Are Very Happy
The company released the results of a survey Monday morning that paints a selective portrait of its drivers.
Uber released a survey on Monday whose findings tend to support its position in misclassification lawsuits and regulatory battles. The survey found the ride-hailing company's drivers are happier than ever and most work part-time, but it has also been criticized for excluding key data points like driver earnings and how many drivers work full-time—omissions that are less surprising when you consider that the study was conducted by a brand strategy firm.
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