David Lidsky's Blog, page 3327
February 21, 2014
Google Reveals "Project Tango," A Phone That Maps The World In 3-D
Google is looking for 200 developers who would be interested in developing applications for its pocketable 3-D-mapping technology.
When Google sold Motorola, it quietly retained the most interesting part: The Advanced Technology and Projects Group, otherwise known as ATAP. And now, we're getting whiff of what Google's futuristic R&D arm has been up to, with the public revealing of Project Tango.
7 Of The Best Error Messages On The Internet
Microsoft, Lego, and other seemingly faceless companies turn problems into personality.
Microsoft has long had trouble with the hardware of its otherwise (extremely) successful Xbox gaming consoles, from hard drive failures in the original Xbox to the now-infamous "Red Ring of Death" in its sophomore Xbox 360 to an easily broken disk drive in the new Xbox. But an easy and, dare we say, fun way to lessen the outrage of customers, aside from all the typical customer service and easy returns stuff, is to be funny. And it's in the error message that Microsoft has been setting itself apart from its competition.
Why Facebook Paid $16 Billion For An Ugly, Primitive App
The answer lies partly in design, but not in the way you might think.
Facebook agreed to pay some $16 billion for an app called WhatsApp this week, leading to widespread confusion and surprise among analysts (Forbes called it a "stunner," Reuters a "shocker"). Why would Facebook pay what is, objectively, an obscene amount of money for an app most Americans have at best barely heard of? (For comparison, Instagram and YouTube sold for $1 billion each, and the venerable and profitable Jim Beam bourbon company sold for only $13 billion.) And for those who have heard of it, why would Facebook pay so much money for a barebones, borderline-ugly chat app?
Can You Boost Your Self-Control?
Scientists debate whether we lose the ability to resist temptation over time, or just no longer want to.
As far as examples of willpower go, one of the most impressive you'll
ever find is the "incredible Buddha boy"chronicled in GQ a few years back by George Saunders. The boy had been meditating under a tree for seven months, evidently without food or water. It was a display of self-control so haunting that readers couldn't help but wonder how such a person could exist while the rest of us find it so hard--really, impossible--to rise from the couch and go to the gym, or read a book, or in some cases just reach the remote.
Graphic: Lunchroom Hours Leave Students Hungry
With NYC cafeterias serving lunches as early as 9 a.m., we might want to start calling them school brunches.
By limiting trans fats and doubling the fruits and vegetables served in school cafeterias, the Obama administration has significantly improved the quality of food served by our nation's schools. But when students eat lunch may matter just as much as what in preventing the dreaded end-of-day energy crash, according to a new investigation from WNYC and the Daily News.
Secret Anti-Microbial Gear For The Subway Protects You From Germs
Instead of sitting in disgusted silence on the train while your neighbor coughs all over you, try gravitytank's disease-repelling scarf and jacket.
If you've ever been crammed onto a crowded subway car at rush hour next to someone with a cough, you know what it's like to realize there's no way out: You're probably about to be covered in whatever gross bacteria they're carrying. Designers at gravitytank decided to tackle the problem of train car germs, along with other quirks of public transit, with a new line of conceptual designs intended for intrepid riders.
February 20, 2014
AT-AT Walkers And Futurama's Bender Sneak Into Thrift Store Paintings
Dave Pollot's upcycled paintings are the latest in the curious fad of sci-fi characters visiting painted lakeside cottages.
"This story, as with so many others, starts with a lady," says Dave Pollot. In Pollot's case, the lady is his girlfriend, and the story is how he came to start painting the likes of Bender from Futurama onto chintzy paintings found at thrift stores. "On one particular visit [to a thrift store], we both poked fun at some of the more (or less I suppose) 'interesting' artwork that lined the floors, and we joked that it might be fun to paint funny things into them," Pollot tells Co.Design. "The rest is history."
The Search For Talented Writers In The Prison System Is Changing It, Too
A digital publishing house is conducting a semi-legal, large-scale search for the next great incarcerated author. The reaction from authorities isn't what you'd expect.
Jack London, Ken Kesey, William Burroughs, Oscar Wilde, Malcolm X, Voltaire, Cervantes, E.E. Cummings, Martin Luther King, Mark Twain--all literary legends who spent time behind bars. Some only a few nights, others years. A few even penned classics while in the joint.
100 Years Of Olympic Posters: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
Thankfully, these posters are less tragic than the last century of Olympic logos.
Designing a poster for the Olympic Games must be a daunting task. How can a single image do justice to the superhuman feats of strength that define this epic international event? Over the past century, poster designers have attempted to capture the sheer awesomeness of the Olympics in an endless variety of ways. We've compiled the most intriguing examples here. And thankfully, for the most part, these designers did a much better job than the Olympic logo designers of the last century.
Elon Musk: An Apple-Tesla Merger is "Very Unlikely"
A deal might make sense on paper. But...
One of the big rumors floating this week was that Apple has shown an interest in possibly purchasing Tesla Motors. That bit of speculation came courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle, which reported that Tesla CEO Elon Musk had met with Apple's head of mergers, Adrian Perica, in Cupertino last spring.
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