David Lidsky's Blog, page 2882
September 28, 2015
Silent Circle Wants To Be Your Go-To For Secure Android Phones
Enterprise privacy firm Silent Circle says its new Android phone can shield government officials and corporate users from hacks.
Silent Circle, a company that makes secure smartphones and communications products, just launched its latest product: an Android smartphone designed for privacy obsessives. The Blackphone 2 is a $799 device with access to the Google Play store—more or less designed as a personal phone that is secure enough for work purposes.
Whole Foods To Lay Off 1,500 Workers
Over the next two months, Whole Foods will ax 1.6% of its workforce, in an effort to reduce prices for customers.
Something curious was buried in Whole Foods' latest regulatory filing: The high-end supermarket is letting go of about 1.6% of its workforce in the coming months. On Monday, Whole Foods said it would cut 1,500 jobs over the next eight weeks.
Today in Tabs: LIFE DISCOVERED ON MARS
It's just Matt Damon though.
a.footnote {vertical-align: super; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;}No, not really, but if they do find that the seasonal brine seepage NASA just discovered on Mars supports extraterrestrial life, I'll have been the first to report it. And if not, hey, who believes anything they read in Tabs?
NASA: "There Is Liquid Water Today On The Surface Of Mars"
According to NASA, the presence of flowing water on Mars could lead scientists to find life on the planet.
Researchers working with NASA have detected signs of water on the surface of Mars. The discovery, which stems from photos taken by a high-resolution camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, strongly suggests that Mars has liquid water even in the present day. This is huge news for space agencies worldwide, and could make it easier to look for signs of life on the red planet.
Yelp Elects Its First Chairwoman
Board member Diane Irvine is replacing Yelp's former chairman, Max Levchin, who stepped down in July.
Yelp now ranks among just a handful of tech companies to have appointed a woman to the role of chairperson. On Sunday, USA Today reported that the reviews site had named its first chairwoman: Diane Irvine, who has been on Yelp's board since 2011, is filling the spot left by the departure of PayPal cofounder Max Levchin, who resigned in July following an underwhelming second-quarter earnings report.
Hitachi Says It Can Predict Crimes Before They Happen
Not quite Minority Report, but monitoring everything from weather to Twitter may be able to predict where and when crime will occur.
"No doubt the precogs have already seen this," says Chief John Anderton (played by Tom Cruise), head of Washington, D.C.'s experimental "Precrime" crime-prediction department in Minority Report, the 2002 Steven Spielberg movie based on Philip K. Dick's 1956 short story (which is also now a new Fox TV series).
"Quantico" Makes TV History By Introducing The FBI To Bollywood
Quantico creator Josh Safran had no intention of making broadcast history when he picked Priyanka Chopra to star in his show.
Named after FBI headquarters in Virginia, Quantico follows a class of incredibly good looking agents-in-training who get entangled in suicide, backseat sex, nervous breakdowns, and a horrific terrorist attack within the series's first 48 minutes. Galvanizing the action is troubled recruit Alex Parrish, played by Priyanka Chopra—the first Indian actress to star in an American network drama.
This VR Headset Lets You Experience Nature Through Animal Eyes
With an animal's senses, it turns out life in the forest is pretty mind-blowing.
Marshmallow Laser Feast's VR headsets aren't meant for the living room, but rather the middle of the forest. Resembling round diving helmets with viewports of moss, they let you experience the forest through the eyes and ears of animals when placed over your head. This, it turns out, is trippier than it seems.
Dubbed "In The Eyes Of The Animal," participants are capable of experiencing the forest, just as some of the native animals do. Since the likes of foxes, birds, and forest deer see things in different wavelengths and fields of vision than we do, "In The Eyes Of The Animal" uses VR to mimic that experience. In addition to letting you see the forest through an animal's eyes, Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF) also leverages binauraul sound design to put you in an animal's ears. Participants can even "feel" the sounds of the forest thanks to Subpac, a wearable subwoofer.
Why Greenpeace Is Building Its Own Team Of Investigative Journalists
The environmental activists now have a new weapon in the fight against polluters.
It's no secret that while the economics of journalism have been rough over the last decade, investigative journalism has especially struggled. Rounds of layoffs at traditional newsrooms have left stretched staffs with fewer resources for special watchdog projects. Digital media startups and nonprofits are now doing more investigations, but many are still small and finding their way.
Tristan Walker's Walker & Company Raises $24 Million, Scores Target Distribution Deal
Investors in the Series B funding round include Institutional Venture Partners, John Legend, Google Ventures, and Magic Johnson.
Walker & Company Brands, the health and beauty startup founded by entrepreneur Tristan Walker, announced today a $24 million Series B funding round and a deal to distribute its Bevel shaving system in select Target stores, as well as through the retailer's website.
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