David Lidsky's Blog, page 3122
November 13, 2014
Samsung Galaxy Note Edge Review: A Little More Than A Gimmick, A Little Less Than A Breakthrough
The best thing about this phone isn't the curved screen—it's the fact it's a Galaxy Note.
At the CES conference back in January 2013, Samsung showed off a prototype smartphone with a striking feature. In effect, it threw the cell phone industry a curve.
Rdio Seizes On Spotify's Misstep, Announces Price Drop
Unlimited Taylor Swift—and 30 million other songs—for a family of two, starting at the price of a movie ticket.
This week's news that Taylor Swift pulled her albums from Spotify over concerns about artistic and financial integrity has been a real boon for subscription-based music-streaming services that are not Spotify Premium. While conspiracy theorists can point to the recent past and chance it that 1989 and the rest of Swift's discography will return, it's hard to ignore that other services like Vevo (another ad-based distribution system, albeit one that's as much about the video as the bass), Rdio, and Beats have not been affected.
Lyft Sets Its Sights On Commuters With Employee Perks
Partners include Adobe, Yelp, Stripe, Postmates, and Thumbtack.
Close to 30 companies now offer Lyft as a perk for their employees. The ridesharing service unveiled a new program Thursday that will let employers dole out credits for employees' commutes and other work-related transportation.
DreamWorks Animation Discussing Deals With Hasbro, Hearst
Get Ready for Nerf vs. Jenga: The Movie
According to a report from Deadline.com, DreamWorks Animation, the studio behind such franchises as Shrek and Madagascar, is in talks to shake things up with a pair of moves: a merger with Hasbro and bringing Hearst Publishing into the fold on an online video project.
Nomenclature For Relatives Is Super Confusing, Here's A Chart To Fix That
Finally find out how you're related to your second cousin once removed.
Most of us have had a few moments of doubt when trying to decipher just how we're related to that daughter of our mother's cousin or our grandpa's brother's son. Are they second cousins? Third cousins? What does "removed" even mean? Well, now there's a handy chart.
Inside NY.gov's First Redesign In 15 Years
New York just redesigned its website—for the first time in 15 years.
Until this week, the New York State government hadn't updated its website since 1999, thus fulfilling all the stereotypes about outdated and out-of-touch government services. The font was tiny, the design non-responsive, and the navigation a total nightmare. Someone looking to do a simple task might have to jump between multiple different government sites with different structures to collect all the information. It was exactly what people expect a government entity to be: inefficient.
"Smart" Drugs Don't Work If You're Already Smart, Study Says
New research shows that alertness drug Modafinil can impair cognition in test takers.
Fighter pilots and emergency room workers often take the drug Modafinil to stay awake and alert, but can it really make you sharper? A new study shows that people who attempt to boost their cognitive abilities with Modafinil—a la Bradley Cooper's character in Limitless—could be doing more harm than good.
Facebook's New Privacy Policies Hint At Its Future Plans For Your Credit Card
Facebook is laying the groundwork for future transactions.
A few weeks ago a developer spotted a screenshot hidden in Facebook Messenger's code that seemed to suggest the social network was experimenting with peer-to-peer money transfers. Along with the hiring of PayPal president Davis Marcus to lead up mobile messaging, all signs seemed to point to the fact that Facebook would eventually make it possible for friends to send each other money, like Venmo or maybe Square Cash.
Amazon To Open Office In Austin, Adding 250 Local Tech Jobs
Will they get Franklin BBQ to adopt delivery drones?
According to a report in the Austin American-Statesman, Amazon is opening a new office in the Texas capital that will add up to 250 jobs to the local economy. The company is expected to sign a lease shortly on a 76,000-square-foot space and inhabit it by mid-2015. Over 20 Amazon jobs in the Austin area are now listed on the company's site.
Taylor Swift's Team Calls BS On Spotify's Revenue-Sharing Numbers
Spotify said Taylor Swift would have made $6 million this year. But her label reveals that number is much smaller.
The Taylor Swift-Spotify drama is like a sad country love song scribbled on the back of a napkin. On Monday, a heartbroken Spotify launched back at Taylor Swift with a lengthy blog post, criticizing her for the decision to remove her albums from its music library. The central tenet articulated by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek was that Spotify does pay artists, and if the megastar had chosen to stick with the streaming-music service for the year, Swift was on pace to make $6 million.
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