David Lidsky's Blog, page 2919
August 12, 2015
The World's First 3-D Printed Violin Sounds Pretty Groovy
Stradivarius + 3-D Printing = 3DVarius
For whatever reason, violins are often at the forefront of futuristic design. But no matter how crazy a violin looks, the only thing that really matters is how it sounds. So while the 3Dvarius, the world's first 3-D printed electric violin, probably isn't as good as the Stradivarius after which it is named, the fact that something printed from a CAD file could come anywhere close to mimicking its namesake is notable.
The Inside Story Of How The Ultimate "Bye, Felicia" Got In "Straight Outta Compton"
F. Gary Gray, director of Friday and Straight Outta Compton, explains the phenomenon of "Bye, Felicia" and the moment it hit its pinnacle.
It's the perfect dismissal. It's an evergreen burn. It's a formal refusal to engage with someone who's beneath contempt. Somehow, "Bye, Felicia," a minuscule line from the movie Friday, became imbued with a sticky staying power that's resonated for 20 years. Now it's about to rocket to new zeitgeisty heights. When the eminently memeable insult makes a cameo in Straight Outta Compton, it's a masterstroke of coincidence, legacy-building, and fourth-wall breakage that requires a ton of unpacking.
How To Reinvent The Mouse Cursor For The VR Age
The Oculus Rift won't kill off the cursor, says Tomás Dorta of Hyve3D. Instead, it'll make your smartphone a mouse.
The mouse cursor—that oft-pixelated, 2-D arrow that's constantly hovering over your computer screen—hasn't really changed much since it emerged from the labs of Xerox Parc. But the mouse cursor is getting long in the tooth. On mobile touch screens, it's already obsolete. And as for the virtual interfaces of tomorrow, well, how can a 2-D pointer control virtual 3-D worlds?
August 11, 2015
IBM's Watson Can Now Help You Kick Ass In Fantasy Football
Big Blue's cognitive computing platform is being integrated into a new app from Edge Up Sports to provide deep fantasy football analysis.
Looking for a little competitive edge in your fantasy football league this year? How about a little help from IBM's Watson?
Instagram Is The Social Network Of Choice For Musicians
A new report indicates that major acts are racking up Instagram followers at a rate six times as fast as they were a year ago.
According to a new report, the number of followers musicians have on Instagram is growing at a staggering rate. Pandora-owned Next Big Sound released a new paper on Tuesday that says musicians accumulated 283 million new followers in May this year, up from 51 million last June.
Gwyneth Paltrow Wants To Help You End Your Tragic Addiction To Takeout
Weeknight meals in half an hour can be done, with the help of her trusty new cookbook.
While most people know Gwyneth Paltrow through her acting career, it's her lifestyle brand Goop that has been taking up most of her time lately—she recently told Fast Company that she considers Goop her main business, and is undertaking a major effort to scale up.
Researchers Hacked The Brakes Of A Corvette With Text Messages
Internet-enabled dongles could give hackers access to a car's brakes.
Security researchers have discovered a way to cut the brakes of a car by hacking into it through an Internet-enabled dongle. A team from the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) gained access to the onboard computer of a 2013 Corvette by sending text messages to a plugged-in gadget that measures a car's location and speed for insurance companies.
Rite Aid Will Now Support Apple Pay And Google Wallet
One of America's largest drugstore chains is reversing its decision regarding Apple Pay starting this week.
Rite Aid, which incurred considerable customer wrath last year when it nixed support for Apple Pay at checkout, has backpedaled. The drugstore announced that, as of next Saturday, it will again accept Apple Pay and Google Wallet. Rite Aid's decision is bad news for CurrentC, a clunky retailer-backed rival to Apple Pay and Google Wallet that has yet to launch.
This "Climate Portal" Lets You Experience Desert Heat And Arctic Winds
Want to get in the mood for your trip? Sample the weather at your destination inside these weather-simulating chambers at Stockholm's Arlanda Airport.
International airports aren't known for their atmosphere, but in Stockholm's Arlanda Airport, you can experience the climates of far-away places just by walking into a room.
StumbleUpon Fails To Secure New Funding, Lays Off "Dozens Of Employees"
The social media site is cutting its staff down to about 30 people.
StumbleUpon, the once-popular discovery engine that lets users "stumble" onto new web content, has hit another road bump. According to VentureBeat, the company is now downsizing even further following a number of layoffs issued in 2013.
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