David Lidsky's Blog, page 3296
April 2, 2014
This Statistic Should Worry The Makers Of Wearable Devices
One-third of Americans ditch their wearable device within six months. Is it the current technology's limitations? Or are wearables simply not as disruptive as we might think them to be?
Last year for his birthday, we surprised my dad with a Nike FuelBand. On the official spectrum of tech-savvy (which I just invented), he'd probably rank just above the mean. He is, however, obsessed with taking care of himself, and enjoys toying around with shiny new gizmos, like super-powered veggie juicers. He loved it.
A Practical Guide To Becoming A Whole Developer
It's not good enough to be a great coder and a total asshole. Here's how engineers can learn to take a softer touch, especially with non-technical employees.
In the technology world developers are prized for their coding talents above all else. Little value has traditionally been given to their so called soft skills: communication, emotional intelligence, and the ability to work effectively with others. But as the pool of talented developers continues to grow, AngelHack CEO Sabeen Ali argues that it is soft skills that will make an individual developer more marketable in the future. She's created a curriculum called "The Whole Developer" which aims to get devs in touch with the softer side of things--making them better coders in the process.
Inside The Crazy Google Glass Fitness App That Makes You Run For Your Life
Need some motivation for your run? Now you can have zombies chase you.
If you're a runner, one of the easiest ways to keep track of your speed and distance is with a smartphone app like MapMyFitness or RunKeeper. These are particularly popular, because you don't even need to look down at your screen to check stats--a voice chimes in every few minutes (or at whatever interval you set) to let you know how you're doing.
April 1, 2014
Airbnb Says It Will Pay Hotel Taxes In San Francisco
Last week, the company also agreed to collect hotel taxes in Portland.
Cooperating with local regulators, home rental website Airbnb has agreed to pay San Francisco's 14% hotel tax, a week after the company said it would begin collecting hotel taxes in Portland.
Comedy Central's IOS App Lets You Watch Shows For Free Without Cable
Cord cutters will be able to watch shows like The Colbert Report and South Park on the go.
The great cable unbundling continues. Today, Comedy Central released a new app that lets viewers watch full episodes of The Colbert Report, South Park, and more on their iPads or iPhones for the very attractive price of absolutely free. Furthermore, cable subscribers will get access to a considerable trove of additional content: Full seasons of Chappelle's Show, Reno 911, and the like.
The Surprising, Mesmerizing Artistry Of Municipal Workers
Watching great painters at work with the street as a canvas.
Painting letters on streets doesn't sound like the most glamorous job. But, watching these municipal workers hand-paint the word "bus stop" on a London road shows that the work takes true artistic skills. In this video captured by Tom Williams, two men draw the words with surprising uniformity using very few tools. The final product isn't exactly perfect, but the process is mesmerizing:
When Gmail Launched On April 1, 2004, People Thought It Was A Joke
"[Google] could just be pulling the wool over our eyes."
Gmail is the webmail service of du jour for many people, and it's hard to imagine when it wasn't an indispensable part of the workday. But when Google launched the service on April 1, 2004, many people thought it was a hoax.
Attention Brands, You Should All Act More Like Denny's On April Fools' Day
Unlike so many other think-they're-clever companies, America's favorite diner off the highway opted out.
On this here April Fools' Day 2014, one brand has risen above the rest, approaching a day known across the Internet as "the worst" with the right attitude.
Apple's IPhone 6 Will Have A Far Larger Display, According To Reports
Reuters's supply chain sources would seem to confirm earlier iPhone 6 reports from the Wall Street Journal.
Will the iPhone 6 be bigger? In January, the Wall Street Journal reported Apple was working on two new iPhones, presumably to replace its current lineup. Both would have noticeably larger displays than the 4-inch screens on both the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. According to the Journal, one would be 4.5 inches, while the second version would be about 5 inches.
This Former Mozilla Engineer Turned London Into SimCity, With Real Data
A London startup aims to make big data accessible by all by turning the world into SimCity.
In 2012, people generated 2.5 billion gigabytes of new data every single day. Though this data likely holds the answers to many of our pressing environmental, health, and economic global problems, it also might hold the answers to your personal, individual, local problems--if only there were an easy way to interpret it.
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