David Lidsky's Blog, page 3284
April 15, 2014
Why Pinterest's Small GIF Performance Problems Matter Big Time For Team Morale
Sometimes solving small, nagging technical problems can bring devs and designers closer together.
This story contains interviews with Ludo Antonov and Cristina Petrovici, both growth engineers at Pinterest, and Silvia Oviedo-López, international operations manager at Pinterest.
April 14, 2014
Google Buys Titan Aerospace, The Drone Company Facebook Had Its Eye On
The Titan team will reportedly work closely with Google's Project Loon, which will blanket the world with Internet access using weather balloons.
The airspace wars are nigh. On Monday, Google reportedly agreed to buy Titan Aerospace, a company that specializes in high-altitude drones, for an unspecified price tag. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Titan team "will work closely with Google's Project Loon, which is building large, high-altitude balloons that send Internet signals to areas of the world that are not currently online."
Watch A Girl Grow From Zero To 14 In Four Minutes
Dutch photographer Frans Hofmeester released the latest montage of his 14-year-old daughter, whom he's filmed every week since birth, and it's both delightful and heartwrenching.
Trigger warning to parents: This video will delight and crush you all at once.
More Problems For Mary Barra: Documents Suggest GM Knew About Safety Issues In Recalled Cars
Files released by a House committee have lawmakers questioning if newly appointed CEO Mary Barra misled Congress in an earlier testimony.
When General Motors CEO Mary Barra testified in front of Congress earlier this month, she said she wasn't aware of a dangerous problem with the ignition switch on the Chevrolet Cobalt until December, two months before its recall. On Friday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee released documents that suggest she actually knew of safety issues with the Cobalt as early as 2011.
Airbnb Wants To Pay Hotel Taxes In New York, Too
New York could collect hotel taxes from Airbnb hosts starting July 1, potentially adding more than $21 million to state coffers.
First, Airbnb agreed to pay hotel taxes in Portland. Then it moved to do the same in San Francisco. The startup is now working to pass legislation in New York State that would allow it to collect a 14.7% hotel tax from hosts beginning July 1.
Cool UI, Crazy Price Tag: Unmonday's $1,000 Portable Speaker
To operate Unmonday's svelte Model 4.3 portable speaker, simply turn it on its side. Neat! Worth almost a grand?
Three years ago, the design team at Finnish company Unmonday scanned the portable speaker market for a model that could play on multiple channels and still look svelte on a mantel. They came up empty.
No, Bike Lanes Don't Cause Horrible Congestion
Bike lane alarmists, slow your roll.
As a fairly simple measure that saves lives, bike lanes sure do raise a lot of ire. In Brooklyn, the addition of a two-lane bike path along the western edge of Prospect Park in 2010 sparked a legal battle that's still, after four years, ongoing.
Super Slo-Mo Film Turns Commuters Into Dreamy Living Sculptures
A train station at rush hour turns into a mystical vision in this slow motion film by artist Adam Magyar.
Berlin-based artist Adam Magyar uses the power of slow-motion photography to turn our speedy cities into surreal dream worlds. For his latest video project, "Array #1," Magyar went to the packed Sindorim Station in Seoul during rush hour and took a high-speed video recording of people descending the stairs while transferring trains. Using software he created, he dragged down the film's speed down, so what you see is 56 times slower than reality. In the video, your average harried commuter appears to nod out in some sort of mystical trance, floating dreamily downwards. A blink or a scratch of the head turns into an epic, drawn-out event.
Meet The Mysterious Folk Artist Who Spent 30 Years Painting A Mountain
Salvation Mountain is considered a masterpiece of outsider art. A new short film sheds light on the man who spent three decades painting it.
On the dry border of Mexico, near Slab City, California, stands the massive mound of color that is Salvation Mountain. Painted biblical messages cover its rocky facade. The largest, in red capital letters under a white cross, reads "GOD IS LOVE."
Experience One Second Of 365 People's Lives
In January 2014, people around the world each shared one second of their lives. Here's the supercut.
In any given moment, the 7 billion people of Earth are arguing and laughing, booing and cheering, fighting and romancing. Someone out there is picking his nose. Someone else is biting on a twig. We're all a little strange.
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