David Lidsky's Blog, page 3248
June 3, 2014
Stanford Scientists Are Studying Altruism In The Free Pizza Subreddit
You can request a pizza on Reddit, and a kind soul might decide to buy you one. But what kind of requests motivates such a random act of cheesy kindness?
You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you can get free pizza on Reddit. And there, in the Random Acts of Pizza subreddit (tagline: "Restoring Faith in Humanity, One Slice at a Time"), Stanford computer scientists say they've found the perfect conditions for a natural experiment in human altruism.
June 2, 2014
Six Things We Learned From Our iBeacon Prototype
We learned the potential (and limits) of iBeacon building something called Social Jukebox.
To help us better understand and appreciate the opportunities and constraints of the iBeacon profile we decided to create a small prototype using iBeacons. We called it Social Jukebox, an autonomous jukebox that automatically adapts the playlist based on audience preferences. Here we briefly describe how Social Jukebox works and what we learned from the prototype.
Apple Introduces Health App, A Centralized Hub For Biometric Data
New features in iOS 8 point to a new era focused on health tracking.
Ever since Tim Cook took over at Apple, analysts have been calling for the Next Big Thing, a category redefining product like the iPhone or iPad. Today onstage at the Worldwide Developer Conference (which we're liveblogging!), Apple unveiled new software for iOS 8 that gives us some rather prescient breadcrumbs concerning where the Tim Cook era is headed.
Apple Changes OS X's Main Font For The First Time Ever
Following the lead of iOS, Apple's desktop operating system says goodbye to Lucida Grande, and hello to Helvetica Neue.
Since the introduction of OS X in 2001, Lucida Grande has served as its main system font. But after taking the wraps off OS X 10.10, aka Yosemite at today's Worldwide Developers Conference, it looks like the operating system's new system font is going to be Helvetica Neue.
App Store Outlaws: 10 Developers Who Fought Apple And Lost
These developers got their apps booted from the App Store--But not for the reasons you might expect.
Whether it's violating the Human Interface Guidelines, calling undocumented APIs, running adult content, or engaging in other sanctioned business, there are lots of ways to run afoul of Apple's App Store developer rules. We found 10 odious cases where Apple took action to allegedly protect users from malicious third parties (or themselves).
A Web App Where Emojis Fly At Your Face
Flying toasters. Saxophone emoji. Teeth-gritting smiley face emoji. They are all here.
Remember that old screensaver where you're zooming through space and stars and stuff come flying at your face? What if that stuff was actually emoji? That's the unlikely, ridiculous question asked and answered by developer OKFocus with its new web "app," emoji.zone (which is also its URL, now that .zone is an acceptable domain).
The Next Phase Of Google's Project Loon Might Be A Billion-Dollar Army Of Satellites
Google is reportedly planning a new initiative worth at least $1 billion that will launch satellites into orbit to spread wireless access around the globe.
The right to blanket the globe in connectivity is quickly becoming a rush for the sky.
Abstract Photographs Explore The History Of Light Therapy
A Danish photographer uses the healing methods of 19th-century Nobel Prize-winning doctor Niels Finsen to make art.
If the sun could paint a self-portrait, it might look like one of the images in Danish photographer Nicolai Howalt's new series, "Light Break: Wavelength." Resembling abstracted starbursts, eclipses, or minimalist tie-dye, these gorgeously colored compositions blur the line between photography, science experiment, and visual art.
NASA Moon Imaging Channels Van Gogh's "Starry Night"
And they want you to vote on your favorite moon art.
For the past five years, we've had a satellite in orbit around our moon, scouting the surface through radiation, infrared, ultraviolet, neutrons, radar, and good old-fashioned sunlight. It's all in service of a map: NASA is mapping out the most compelling scientific possibilities to explore further.
"2001: A Space Odyssey" Reduced To Its Color Palette
Nigel Dennis reimagines everything from Spike Jonze's Her to Radiohead to iOS 7 as color palettes.
A color palette defines everything you do: eating granola, watching Mad Men, and flipping through album covers and sliding out a record. The designer Nigel Dennis, clearly a considering guy, decided to trade on his ordinary experiences and use them to define a project he calls "The Day's Color." He distills a random experience from each day of his life into a simple collection of seven hues. Each day, he uploads these palettes to a website. In short, it's a celebration of color.
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