David Lidsky's Blog, page 3043
February 27, 2015
Lunar's First Apple Watch App Is Part Sundial, Part Time Machine
Onetime is a slick app that lets you track multiple time zones as easily as tracing a finger through the sky.
It was the middle of the night, and John Edson's brain was frazzled with jet lag. He couldn't get back to sleep. The president of international design firm Lunar lives in San Francisco, but this was his fifth trip to Beijing in just a few months, and his circadian rhythm was all out of whack. "I woke up in the middle of the night, did some complicated mental math, and decided it was around 2 in the morning," Edson remembers. Plenty of time to get some shut-eye. So Edson popped a melatonin, shut his eyes, and just as he was drifting off, got a call on his hotel phone. "Mr. Edson. It's time for you to wake up."
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The Layman's Guide To Virtual Reality
So many companies, so many technologies. Who can keep it all straight? We can! Here's a plainspeak FAQ to get you up to speed.
Oculus. Facebook. Samsung. Microsoft. Sony. Google. Viewmaster. Virtual reality is coming, but it's a remarkably confusing market, filled with dozens of players, all fighting a war for your face, because the winner will stake a claim on the next era of computing, entertainment, and social networking.
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The Future of Consumer Tech Is About Making You Forget It's There
Microsoft, Samsung, GoPro, and others take their best guesses at the next five years of consumer electronics.
When Apple introduced the iPad 2 in 2011, it laid out a noble goal for the future of technology.
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Free App Friday: 5 Ways To Survive This Godawful Winter
Look on the bright side: Come July, we'll probably have only a few inches left.
I live in Boston, so you'll excuse me if I've been a bit surly lately. Every parking spot is marked with some jamoke's busted-up lawn chair, giant icicles are tumbling from rooftops like thunderbolts thrown by Zeus, and the mass transit system is pokier than a kiddie train at an amusement park. Except far less reliable.
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Take The Fast Company News Quiz
Show how much you know! Here's our quiz for February 27, 2015.
What happened 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. 
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Why Being A Mentor Is Worth The Effort
You know how having a mentor can help your career path, but what about the benefits of being the one who's passing on knowledge?
There is a common phrase in medical education that covers all of the steps of successful learning: "See one, do one, teach one."
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February 26, 2015
Gap Hires New Design Chief
After ousting creative director Rebekka Bay, Gap sort of replaces her.
Gap, the iconic American brand that's lost its way, is once again trying to find its creative center of gravity. Today, during new Gap Inc. CEO Art Peck's first earnings call, he announced Wendi Goldman would join the brand as its new executive vice president of product design and development. In the newly created position Goldman will lead the San Francisco-based company's global design team, while working closely with merchandising, product operations, and customer experience.
Facebook Rolls Out A Revamped Suicide Prevention Tool
Some might call it Facebook taking care of its data. We say it's the kind of empathy we need online.
Facebook is changing the way it deals with signs of suicide in its network. A tool that allows users to flag potentially suicidal posts will redirect to ping Facebook's own specialized team when signs of suicide are detected among users' posts—a potential step toward a more empathetic Internet.
A Defensive Google Consolidates In Europe
Facing legal challenges and calls for breakup, Google combines its myriad divisions in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
As European authorities continue to hound Google with allegations of privacy and antitrust violations, the search giant is combining its departments into one mega-regional body responsible for its activity in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Matt Brittin, who formerly headed up one half of Google's operations in Europe, will lead the company's newly unified efforts there, the Financial Times reports.
To Become A Grown-Up Business, YouTube Needs To Attract Grown-Up Viewers
The online video platform remains unprofitable, despite an audience of billions.
Young kids loop through their favorite Minecraft animations. Tweens follow makeup tutorials and play Taylor Swift music videos at full volume. But grown-ups—what in the world do grown-ups watch on YouTube?
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