David Lidsky's Blog, page 2855
November 3, 2015
Today in Tabs: Hearts of Darkness
My fav will go on.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and wicked beyond compare. Who can understand it? (Please heart this)
Slack's Newest Feature Lets You Call A Lyft From Within Slack
Slack's new and improved slash commands make it easy to integrate third-party apps like Foursquare and Lyft.
Over the last several months, team messaging app Slack has focused more and more on becoming a platform. Rather than building a million standalone features, the company has aimed to make it simpler for developers to build bots and third-party integrations within the Slack interface. Today, Slack announced the latest update to serve that purpose: easy-to-install slash commands.
Ario Smart Lamp With Sunlike Hues Aims To Improve Your Sleep
An Internet-connected lamp, now on Kickstarter, automatically changes brightness and light color depending on the time of day.
Ario, a company founded by a former Microsoft employee and a Large Hadron Collider engineer, is launching its first product, a smart lamp, on Kickstarter today. While it looks like any other sleek industrial lamp, the smart lamp connects to the Internet, so its LED bulbs can mimic the sunlight exactly as it should be shining at your time of day, in your location. Exposure to this natural hue and time-appropriate serving of sunlight will, Ario alleges, make you healthier and more energetic.
What's Missing From Amazon's New Parental Leave Policy
Amazon's new extended paid leave policy is generous, but putting a policy in place doesn't guarantee that staff will be encouraged to use it.
Amazon made a big announcement yesterday about parental leave. This comes after the firestorm following the New York Times article on Amazon's office culture (including how unfriendly it was to new parents).
Amazon To Open A Brick-And-Mortar Bookstore
Amazon, which put scores of bookstores out of business, is now opening a 5,500-square-foot bookstore in Seattle.
Amazon, the company that helped put so many brick-and-mortar bookstores out of business, is… opening a new brick-and-mortar bookstore. The new storefront, Amazon Books at University Village, will stock approximately 6,000 titles and is located in an upscale shopping center between branches of Banana Republic and Restoration Hardware.
Apple TV Pushes Apps Forward, But TV Is Leaning Back
Despite providing a level playing field for apps, the new Apple TV will thrive on video, indulge in games, and dabble in everything else.
Apple held off on putting apps on Apple TV as it watched Amazon enter the streaming TV box market and Google bounce back from the disastrous Google TV with Chromecast. But it didn't completely sit out the opportunity for TV-based apps. It had learned a number of lessons from consumers projecting apps to previous Apple TVs via AirPlay. Meanwhile, while Apple TV didn't offer a developer-accessible OS, the device's interface to many popular streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and Pandora lived in the blur between channels and apps.
RelayRides Takes A Page From Airbnb, Rebrands As Turo
Peer-to-peer car renting company RelayRides wants you to pick its cars for the driving experience.
Sure, you might use Airbnb because it's the cheapest option in the city where you're traveling. But Airbnb has taken great efforts to brand itself as an option for finding unique travel options (1,400 castles and counting!) and connecting with locals.
Activision To Buy Candy Crush Creator For $5.9 Billion
The acquisition of King Digital Entertainment by Activision Blizzard marries a mobile gaming giant with a behemoth video game publisher.
Activision Blizzard, the company behind video games like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, just inked a deal to acquire King Digital Entertainment, the maker of wildly popular mobile game Candy Crush Saga. The acquisition will cost Activision a whopping $5.9 billion, and could cement the company's position as a leading game creator—one that has yet to make its mark on the mobile front.
November 2, 2015
MIT Researchers Say Their Drones Can Safely Navigate Forests At 30 MPH
Many inexperienced drone pilots crash their new toys in trees. This drone could make that a problem of the past.
An MIT researcher says he's developed a system for flying drones safely around areas thick with trees, and to do so at speeds of up to 30 miles an hour.
Pandora's "Serial" Deal Is Great News For Podcast Nerds And Internet Radio
Pandora will stream the second second season of Serial, introducing millions to the new podcasting renaissance.
It seems like such a no-brainer, it's hard to believe it didn't happen five years ago: Internet radio service Pandora is moving into podcasts. The 10-year-old company said it will distribute the second season of the wildly popular podcast Serial when it debuts (the premiere date has yet to be announced). Pandora listeners can start catching up on season one on November 24.
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