David Lidsky's Blog, page 3059
February 6, 2015
The First Ubuntu Phone Won't Rely On Apps. Here's Why That's Brilliant
Canonical wants to move us away from the app-centric mobile experience.
The mobile market is saturated. Any new entrants are doomed from the start. And if you need proof, just look at Windows Phone or BlackBerry. The problem is that you need an app ecosystem to gain market share, but you need market share in order to entice developers to your platform.
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How Burlington, Vermont, Became The First City In The U.S. To Run On 100% Renewable Electricity
A small, liberal population helps. But the lessons from Burlington could be applied anywhere—and save any city a lot of money.
When it flipped the switch on a new hydropower plant last fall, Burlington, Vermont, became the first city in the U.S. to run on 100% renewable electricity.
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This Book Cover Judges You Back
You can't open this book—literally—until you make it clear you don't have any preconceived notions.
I'll admit it: I definitely judge books by their covers. But this book might train those of us who are prone to snap judgments to become slightly better people. If you look at the book with anything other than a neutral expression, the cover refuses to open.
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How Star Wars Made $27 Billion
Think Star Wars made most of its money off the films? Think again!
Given the lasting relevance of Star Wars over the past four decades, it shouldn't shock anyone that the franchise has made a metric shit ton of money. But exactly how it made its money might surprise more than a few of you.
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A Map Of Every Patent Steve Jobs Touched
You might never be able to get inside the enigmatic Apple founder's head, but this could be the next best thing.
People are always trying to put themselves into the head of Apple founder Steve Jobs, to figure out how he thought. Unfortunately, Jobs was pretty inscrutable, but here's one fun way to at least figuratively get inside Steve's brain: to fly through a neuron-like mapping of Apple's many patents, many of which Jobs is credited with as an inventor.
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Would Sitting In A Fun Swing Make Your Stupid Meetings Less Boring?
Your meetings will always be dumb. But at least you'll be having fun.
It's hard to imagine that any meeting using The King Arthur Round Table could be dull. Even if the people were dull, and the subject was dull.
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The Billion-Dollar E-commerce Company You Know Nothing About
Zulily has defied the conventional wisdom—marketing to moms, sticking with flash sales, evading Amazon. Can it defy the doubting investors who think it can't last?
On a foggy January morning at Zulily headquarters in Seattle, a menacing little girl wearing a tiara is sitting in a little pink wagon in one of the hallways. She's throwing a tantrum, brandishing her sippy cup like a cudgel. Our eyes lock on my way back to the waiting area from the restroom, and suddenly I'm sucked into an impromptu staring contest, which, considering the home-field advantage of the competition, I feel I'm about to lose. I avert my eyes to the paper lanterns that drip from the lofted ceilings and the carnival-sized stuffed animals, rocking horses, and playhouses that line the walls. It's like the world's nicest Crate & Barrel swallowed a pediatrician's office.
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Free App Friday: 5 Cool Tools For Finding The Job You Really Want
Job listings, résumés, interviews, and more. Finding a new job isn't always easy, but these apps can help streamline the process.
Job hunting is like moving. It sucks, but you somehow seem to force yourself to do it every five years. These free apps can considerably improve the experience of finding a new work-home.
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Mars's Musical Dog, Magic Mike's Return: The Top 5 Ads Of The Week
Fitbit's charity drive, Gap's Instagram video microseries, a flowery preppy goth romance, and more.
Late last year Instagram unleashed video ads onto its filtered snapping masses, with Disney, Lancome, Activision, the CW network, and Banana Republic as the initial brands on board.
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Lessons From Google's First Rollout Of Google Fiber
In Kansas City startups are growing, cable companies are catching up, but the digital divide is as wide as ever.
Three summers ago, it was everywhere: An old-fashioned ice cream truck with peppy, electronic music blaring from its speakers. Covered with rainbow-hued rabbits, the truck wound through low-income neighborhoods of Kansas City, offering two premium products: KC favorite Shatto Ice Cream Sammiches, which usually go for $3.99 each, and Google Fiber, a product the city is newly famous for.
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