David Lidsky's Blog, page 4599

Two Possible Causes for Android's Losing App Store: Spam, Low Quality Apps

Apple's app store may be market-leading, but Google's Android system is fast closing in, thanks to the sheer number of different Android phones on sale. But is Android's app market actually a safe or successful place under Google's management?

Some thinkers credit Google's app environment as being more attractive than Apple's, largely due to its unrestricted open design. And Apple's App Store ecosystem, with its shuttered doors and central approval/censoring system has certainly attracted its...

Virginia Tech's Prefab Lumenhaus Wins Solar Decathlon Europe

The prefab homes of the future won't just be relatively cheap and easy to build on the fly--they'll also be  ultra-sustainable. For evidence of what these homes will look like, we need only direct our attention toward this year's European Solar Decathlon, which asks teams to "clearly demonstrate that solar houses can be built without sacrificing
energy efficiency or comfort, and that they can be both attractive and
affordable."

This year's winner of the 10-day competition was Virginia...

Famous Architects Design Monuments to Vice in Virtuous Singapore

Michael Graves and Moshe Safdie try out some (classy) sin-city indulgences on one of the most uptight places around.

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After a 45-year ban on casinos, Singapore is getting back into the gambling business by rolling the dice on a couple starchitects. Their mission: Keep sin classy.

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So we have one casino from Moshe Safdie, the Israeli-born Boston architect most famous for designing the cubist-like Habitat 67 housing complex in Montreal and another from Michael Graves, whom you might recall from...

Work Smart: Best Telecommuting Tools

Just because you're not physically located in the office doesn't mean you can't be a present, productive, member of your team. These days, working remotely is easier, cheaper, and more necessary than ever. More companies allow employees to work from home, or hire remote staff, and more tools are available to make co-working and maintaining a virtual presence easier too. Here are a few of my favorite telecommuting tools.

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My friend Rael lives in Portland and works...

Why We (Shouldn't) Hate HR

I spend much of my time giving talks to companies, trade associations, and professional societies from the worlds of marketing, IT, and human resources. And whenever I talk to an HR audience, there's someone after the event who wants to talk to me about an article we published in Fast Company way back in 2005. The essay, designed to stir up discussion, was titled "Why We Hate HR"--and it's left a mark. To this day, human-resource executives want to praise it, denounce it, dissect it, and...

Join Us for the Boston Fast Cities Breakfast!

Want to see how an innovative city of the future is created? Join us for our Fast Cities panel on June 29 at the Museum of Fine Art in Boston. A variety of speakers, including Fast Company's own Jeff Chu, William McAvoy, Director of Development, Museum of Fine Arts, and Catherine Peterson, Executive Director, ArtsBoston.

The event, which runs from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the MFA, is entirely free. And yes, that includes a complimentary breakfast. Check out the RSVP details below, and we hope...

Cloud-Based Music Streaming Service mSpot Latest Name in a Crowded Market

As the tech giants are ramping up their cloud-based music streaming services--HP last week bought Melodeo, Apple has Lala (although as yet there is no clue as to what they're going to do with it) and both Microsoft and Google have apps for both their smartphone OSes--here comes someone else. Although it may not have the clout of these last four, mSpot is out of its month-long private beta today.

Unlike Spotify, whose long-awaited US launch seems to be running into licensing problems with the...

Why FIFA Refuses to Sanction Goal-Line Technology [Updated]

Technology is everywhere in soccer. From hi-tech fabrics, divot-defying cleats, and dynamic new ball technology, sports firms such as Adidas and Nike are constantly pushing the boundaries for new and innovative products. And the matches you see on TV are the best yet, with FIFA, who owns the television rights, sticking cameras everywhere they can possibly stick them so that TV spectators can enjoy the hits--and misses--from every conceivable angle.

There is, however, one blind spot. And

Exclusive: The New Touching Stories App Brings Four Interactive Films to the iPad

How many times when you've been watching a movie have you just wanted to reach out and poke an annoying character? Maybe help a fleeing victim by making them run just a little bit faster? A new interactive experience by production company Tool of North America uses the capabilities of the iPad to allow viewers to do just that as they interact with--and seemingly change the outcome of--live-action video. Part video game, part immersive entertainment, Touching Stories is available today as a...

Social Networking Affects Brains Like Falling in Love

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Photographs by Bryce Duffy

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Photographs by Bryce Duffy

Neuroeconomist Paul Zak has discovered, for the first time, that social networking triggers the release of the generosity-trust chemical in our brains. And that should be a wake-up call for every company.

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Photographs by Bryce Duffy

The essence of affection. The cuddle chemical. In other words, oxytocin.This hormone, produced daily by your brain and mine, is the reason I'm on my back, trying to remain perfectly still inside a...