David Lidsky's Blog, page 2916
August 14, 2015
Vail Debuts Internet Of Things-Enabled Ski Slopes
Vail Resorts' smartphone app will provide skiers with real-time information about lines at the lifts.
This winter, Vail Resorts is trying something different on its ski slopes: Crowdsourced, real-time wait times for ski lifts offered via smartphone app. Vail Resorts says that an update to its EpicMix smartphone app will collect data from the RFID-enabled season passes skiers carry at the resort. It's one of the most ambitious efforts yet to bring Waze-style crowdsourced location data into the sports and vacation spheres.
Comcast Is Starting A Video Platform That Will Challenge Facebook And YouTube
The new service, called Watchable, will reportedly bring content from Vox, BuzzFeed, and other publishers to Xfinity boxes.
Comcast is currently working on a new digital video platform called "Watchable," with plans to launch later this year with some major partners. According to Business Insider, the service will stream through Xfinity boxes, likely include advertising, and repackage content already available online.
Samsung Debuts World's Largest Hard Drive
The PM1633a is nearly 60% bigger than the largest drives currently on the market.
Samsung has launched the world's largest hard drive, a staggering 2.5-inch 16 terabyte flash drive that's almost 60% bigger than the largest drives currently on the market. Aimed at enterprise consumers, the drive's price has not been disclosed yet.
Apple Releases New Diversity Numbers, Shows Incremental Improvement
Still, its U.S. workforce is largely made up of white men.
A new snapshot of Apple's diversity numbers makes clear that the global innovator still has work to do, despite improvements made to diversify its ranks since last summer's report.
From App To Architecture: How Curbside Designed And Built Its "Pickup Pod"
It's made of fiberglass. It's designed to be mass-produced. It's smartphone-enabled. And someday, there could be thousands of them.
I'm standing in a cavernous, hangar-like building in American Canyon, California, 40 miles north of San Francisco in the Napa Valley. Inside the 35,000-square-foot structure is another structure—a gleaming blue-and-white kiosk whose most striking feature is a 20-foot spire topped off by a light-up panel shaped like an upside-down teardrop. I've never seen quite anything like it. Nor has almost anyone else: It's the only one in the world, and it was built in secrecy by a small team inside this facility.
How Do You Make Projection Mapping Even Trippier? Just Add 3-D Glasses
Take The Fast Company News Quiz
What happened this week? Here's our quiz for August 14, 2015.
Did you follow the news this week? Research says that one of the best ways to solidify new information is to be tested on it. Here's a chance to bolster your knowledge of current events—and earn a special emoji badge. 
How London's New Night Tube Map Was Made
Updating the world's most iconic transportation map ... after dark.
The London Underground, or "the Tube" as it's colloquially known, is the oldest metro system in the world. It began its life in January 1863 with a single underground line running between Paddington and Farringdon—about four miles—in central London. On its opening day it carried over 38,000 passengers via steam locomotives and wooden carriages illuminated by gas-light.
Jump forward 152 years and the single line London Underground has grown exponentially–-and organically-–trying to keep pace with the global metropolis London has become. Today the London Underground comprises 270 stations across 250 miles of track. Its annual number of passengers exceeds 1.2 billion per year, millions of those journeys made by tourists who would never consider visiting London without taking a ride on the Tube, that rickety central nervous system of the capital. Indeed, the Underground is now as synonymous with "London" as Big Ben or Buckingham Palace. It is also one of the most well-known and recognizable public transport systems in the world–even to those who have never stepped foot in the capital, thanks to one thing: the design of its map.
Does Your Dog Really Need This Excessive, Techy Collar?
Short answer: No.
File the Buddy—a souped-up dog collar—under egregiously excessive design. Chances are your dog doesn't need an activity monitor, GPS tracker, temperature and light sensors, and OLED display around its neck. But if you want your pooch to "express its unique character through light," as the designers tout, perhaps this Kickstarter is for you.
August 13, 2015
Tech Giants: Here's What The FTC Means By "Competition"
The Federal Trade Commission (sort of) explains how exactly it defines anti-trust behavior.
This may be good news for leading tech firms: For the first time in more than a century, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has defined what "competition" means and what constitutes "anti-competitive behavior." The decision is significant for companies like Google, Facebook, Intel, and Apple, which have all received unwanted scrutiny from the FTC—though it may not clear things up as much as they would like.
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