David Lidsky's Blog, page 3109
December 1, 2014
A New Milk Can For The Developing World, Funded By Bill Gates
In Kenya, milk often goes bad or is contaminated before it even reaches the market. A few simple design innovations could fix that.
When you buy milk in America, it generally comes from farmers with hundreds of cows. They do their own milking with mechanized equipment, and, generally, their own pasteurization and bottling. In Kenya, it's different. About 80% of the country's milk comes from small-scale farmers with a few cows, who milk by-hand. They don't do bottling and, instead of trucks to get to market, they go by bike or foot.
Why The Supreme Court Is Ruling On Facebook
The Supreme Court will decide what exactly constitutes a death threat on social media.
In 2010, a Pennsylvanian man named Anthony Elonis made an ill-advised move: He threatened to kill his estranged wife in a Facebook post. Elonis was sentenced to four years in prison, of which he served more than three years before release, and eventually appealed his case to the Supreme Court.
What It's Like To Live With HIV In Brazil, The World's Greatest HIV/AIDS Success Story
Brazil is a case study in how a nation successfully deals with an epidemic. But vigilance is slipping as a new generation grows up that isn't familiar with the realities of the disease.
Everything could have gone downhill, fast. When HIV first emerged in the 1980s, Brazil's infection rates quickly climbed. By the early 1990s, the country had similar infection rates to South Africa, which now has one of the highest rates of the disease in the world (including children, 18% of the population is infected).
TMI Is The Future Of Branding
"You cannot get away with bullshit anymore," says Landor chief strategy officer Thomas Ordahl. Enter TMI.
TMI: The phrase is inherently negative. It's not just information. It's too much! But according to branding and design firm Landor, which recently published branding trends forecast for in 2015, too much information is one of the hottest trends in the industry.
We're in a time of unprecedented corporate scrutiny.
In Melbourne, A New Floating Pool Will Let Workers Go Surfing On Their Lunch Breaks
It normally takes an hour for city residents to reach the coast. In Australia, that is unacceptable.
After New York City builds its water-filtering swimming pool in the East River, Melbourne may get the Australian version: a floating pool that lets office workers go surfing after work or on lunch breaks.
Take A Tour Of The World's Tiniest, Self-Proclaimed Countries
Most of us complain about politics, but have you ever thought of just starting your own nation? Meet the people who have—and who have succeeded.
If you're not happy with the current state of politics, you could always try starting your own country. Micronations—tiny self-proclaimed states ruled by self-proclaimed kings, emperors, and princesses—might not be recognized by the U.N., but they are definitely real. Photographer Léo Delafontaine spent months documenting a handful of the tiny countries in a new book.
Now You Can Buy Your Thin Mints Online, As The Girl Scouts Undertake A Tech Overhaul
Going from camping to coding, the Girl Scouts hope to boost cookie sales, but also membership and the tech skills of its members.
The number one reason that people don't buy Girl Scout cookies isn't because they're not craving a Thin Mint or a Samoa. It's because they don't know a Girl Scout.
5 Open Source Home Automation Projects We Love
The open source smart home space is starting to make sense.
With big-name companies like Google and Apple entering the space, 2014 has been the year of smart homes. But while Nest, SmartThings, and others represent the big heavy hitters in the field, a number of smaller, open source solutions are helping show exactly what the home automation field is capable of. And it doesn't just have to be controlling your thermostat.
November 28, 2014
Lost in Translation: What Surprises International Startups About Silicon Valley
Startup communities are booming around the world. But small differences can make for difficult conversations.
When Mike Judge described his fictional creation, the HBO show Silicon Valley, with its send-up of startup gurus, coding nerds, and Kid Rock-hosted launch parties, it sounded more like a documentary. "In a way, you just televise (reality)," he told Fast Company. "Then you get credit for satire, when sometimes all you're doing is putting it on TV."
The Co.Design Guide To Black Friday 2014
Two-sided colanders, digital notebooks, inexpensive standing desks: our favorite multifunctional goodies from 2014.
Products with just one function are so passe. In 2014, phones are also cameras and bracelets are also sleep trackers. Multifunctional products can save users space and money—why have three bulky things when you could lump them into one sleek thing? What follows is a guide to ten highly original multifunctional products we came across in 2014—a bicycle saddle that doubles as a bike lock, a colander that doubles as a bowl, and more. Their transformational abilities make us feel like stunned little kids watching magic tricks.
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