David Lidsky's Blog, page 4547

Greening One of the World's Greenest Places: Yellowstone National Park

Even if you've never set foot in Yellowstone National Park, you know its iconic natural splendors: Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs, and the like. What you may not know -- even if you've been there -- is that Yellowstone is the largest essentially untouched ecosystem in the lower 48 states. And while its status as a national park means its "protected," that doesn't mean its 2.2 million acres are safe. 

Far from it, in fact. 

Think about it. Perched astride the Continental Divide in the...

Apple Brings In-Browser Apps as "Extensions" to Safari

Apple's newest incarnation of its Web browser, Safari 5.0.1, has a new extensions feature along with it, bringing a whole new level of in-browser widget power, including HTML5 goodness.

The new Safari 5.0.1 version includes the usual raft of performance improvements, UI adjustments and bugs, including that pretty enormous "auto-fill" security loophole from the other day. its biggest treat is the addition of Safari Extensions and the associated Extensions Gallery. This has been available to...

WANTED: Panasonic's "World's First" 3-D Consumer Camcorder

Roger Ebert hates 3-D, and Avatar gave me a headache. But it's the hottest video trend in 2010 and likely 2011. Scores of movies (including good ones, like Toy Story 3) are leading the way in the high-end bracket, but 3-D televisions are starting to trickle down to the masses, and Nintendo's 3DS might be the first massively successful 3-D gadget on the market. It remains to be seen if anyone actually wants 3-D in their home, but there are going to be lots of ways to do it regardless.

That's...

Rainn Wilson and "I'm With Coco's" Aviv Hadar Sue Each Other Over Soul Ownership

A legal dispute between the comedian's metaphysical social network and the Web development firm Think Brilliant reveals a new software product code-named Ziphook.

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Rainn Wilson, perhaps best known as Dwight Schrute on The Office, just filed a counterclaim against Think Brilliant, a Web design startup founded by Aviv Hadar. We've profiled Hadar in the past--he was the one who created (and subsequently made lots of money from) the "I'm With Coco" logo--and in that profile, we quoted none other...

Seventh Generation to Sell Products in Walmart Stores, Hell to Sell Ice

Hell must be a little icy this time of year. That's the only conclusion we can come to with this week's news that Seventh Generation and Walmart are forming a strategic partnership that will see the non-toxic cleaning product company sell its products at at 1,500 Walmart stores and on Walmart.com.

But while Seventh Generation co-founder Jeffrey Hollender has said in the past that "hell would freeze over before Seventh Generation would ever do business with Walmart," the two...

Groupon Resellers Offer Cure for Buyer's Remorse

When deals-crazy consumers find themselves with too many spa coupons but too little time, they turn to Groupon-reselling sites DealsGoRound and CoupRecoup.

With deal-a-day sites like Groupon and Living Social, impulse purchases are the norm. But after a few massages or "sunset cocktail cruises," the inevitable buyer's remorse sets in.

Enter DealsGoRound and CoupRecoup, sites designed to be Craigslist-like marketplaces for groupons, a generic derivation of deals-pioneer Groupon.com used to...

Intel's Silicon and Laser Hook-Up Means Speedier Data Transfer, Reliant on Fiber

Imagine a world where it takes just one second to download a terabyte of data. Well, that world just got a little bit closer, with Intel's breakthrough, known as silicon photonics, in data transfer methods. It works using a combination of lasers (wooh! Lasers!! And all that!!!) and chips to convert data into light signals, send them up a fiber optic cable, then convert the light signals back into its original data form. So does this really mean high-definition movie downloads in less than a...

iFive: Gulf Oil Dissipating, Vedanta Dismisses Amnesty Report, New Kindle Imminent, Facebook Movie Script, Kindergarten Tops

While you were sleeping, innovation was stepping into the canteen, piling a plate of vegetarian pasta and  dessert of Black Forest Gateau onto its tray and then deciding to swap nourishment for a spot of secretary and the boss roleplaying with Kanye.

1. Some good news in the Gulf: the oil on the surface of the water seems to be dissipating more quickly than anticipated, although there's no clue as to what's happening beneath the waves. Meanwhile, Tony Hayward will not be appearing before the...

WANTED: Panasonic's "World's First" 3D Consumer Camcorder

Roger Ebert hates 3D, and Avatar gave me a headache. But it's the hottest video trend in 2010 and likely 2011. Scores of movies (including good ones, like Toy Story 3) are leading the way in the high-end bracket, but 3D televisions are starting to trickle down to the masses, and Nintendo's 3DS might be the first massively successful 3D gadget on the market. It remains to be seen if anyone actually wants 3D in their home, but there are going to be lots of ways to do it regardless.

That's where...

Disney Officially Acquires Zynga Competitor Playdom

[image error]It's been rumored for awhile now--our iFive roundup last week noticed a flurry of chattery on the subject--but now it's official: Disney is entering the social web gaming battle by purchasing Playdom.

Playdom is one of the biggest players in the burgeoning and buzzworthy social gaming community. Started by two UC Berkeley grads, Playdom's games like Mobsters and Wild Ones have led to its being crowned with the marginally impressive title of "largest social game developer on MySpace." More...