David Lidsky's Blog, page 4639

Google Maps Beams Driving Directions into Ford SYNC-Enabled Vehicles

Ford and Google have just made things a whole lot easier for the directionally-impaired with the "Send to SYNC" service--a feature that allows drivers to beam directions from Google Maps to Ford SYNC-enabled vehicles.

The service, set to launch later this month for 2010 and 2011 SYNC-equipped cars, allows users to send destinations from Google Maps to their vehicles using a "send" menu on the Maps site. Ford and Google use traffic information to calculate the optimal route in the cloud...

Fabien Cousteau Plants a Fish in Brooklyn

As the grandson of oceanographic explorer Jacques Cousteau and son of aquatic filmmaker Jean-Michel Cousteau, Fabien Cousteau has a large legacy to uphold. Now, just in time for World Oceans Day, the younger Cousteau is preparing to make his mark with Plant a Fish, a nonprofit focusing on worldwide ocean restoration. But before exploring the outer reaches of the planet's seas, Plant a Fish will work in Cousteau's home base: New York City.

Plant a Fish's first project, launched Monday, saw...

Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes on Competition From Apple, Netflix, Nintendo, and Redbox

Part II of Fast Company's interview with Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes.

Blockbuster has been taking lots of flack for the company's poor earnings, shareholder in-fighting, and inability to combat the success of Netflix and Redbox. Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes, whose brash style we recently analyzed, spoke with us about what he is doing to turn the struggling video-rental giant around. Part I of our interview focused on Keyes's views on the board of directors battle with Greg Meyer. In part II...

Using Laser-Scanning to Preserve Africa's Endangered Monuments

From Icon comes news of the Zamani Project, a fascinating research initiative in which University of Cape Town scientists render the African landscape in 3-D. Through photography, laser-scanning, and a slew of other mapping techniques we've never heard of (photogrammetry? say what?) -- they're compiling a uniquely comprehensive digital database of Africa's built environment, from Persian baths in Zanzibar to mosques in Timbuktu. It is the largest documentation endeavor of its kind.

iPhone 4 Could be A Game Console, A Golf Coach - What Else?

The combination of gyroscope, front-facing camera, and high-def video output heralds entirely new classes of smart-phone apps. But what kind?

As the hubbub over the iPhone 4 announcement dies down, you can't help but wonder: What sorts of new apps will the thing be capable of? Because, in addition to that sexy front-facing camera, there's the internal gyroscope, which will essentially make iPhone 4 the most sensitive, cheapest, smallest motion-sensor on the planet.

Steve Jobs, of course...

Four Companies to Watch in the Brave New Commercial Space Mission Era

[image error]

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launch on Friday did something much bigger than popping a dummy payload into space: it lit a fuse beneath the next era of space exploration, with commercial efforts alongside government ones. 

The Falcon 9's launch defeated the odds (which are historically stacked against successful first-launches of rockets) and really has stirred up a lot of excitement. And some negative commentary, since it signifies the first real step toward the President's view of a more...

Infographic of the Day: The Gulf Oil Spill Isn't the Biggest, but It'll Be the Costliest

FastCompany.com presents a new chart, putting the size--and cost--of the spill into perspective.

The myriad infographics we've seen about the BP Gulf spill have all focused on the absolute size of the disaster--and while it's certainly huge, size comparisons don't do justice to the real problem we're facing. That's why Fast Company created this graphic.

The BP Gulf oil spill is the worst ever when you combine its size and location. While it may not be the biggest, as you can see from the...

Almost Genius: A Helmet That Stinks When It Needs to Be Replaced

A safety invention geared to selling more bike helmets, with an ingenious form of planned obsolescence.

You can't fault Dr. Christof Koplin for a lack of imagination. An engineer at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Material--a clearinghouse for future-forward inventions--Koplin invented a type of foam that actually stinks when it's cracked. The benefit? Koplin suggests bike helmets that tell you when it's time for a new one.

Here's his logic: Bike helmets are supposed to be...

The Hub Bay Area: Where Change Agents Share Space and Ideas

Gathered around a large, sun-drenched table in the SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco on a Friday afternoon are financial advisors, activists, marketers, designers, coders, lawyers, and a half-dozen more local entrepreneurs. There are representatives from the microlending empire Kiva, social justice organization
MercyCorps and a solar-energy company based in India. At the table's head is David Bornstein, author of How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas...

8 Incredible Health Innovations That Transform Lives

This post was written by Jaymi Heimbuch for PlanetGreen.com

New technologies are helping close the gaps for those with physical disabilities.  Each day, the physical capabilities that technology gives us is
incredible, and we're not just talking about texting friends at
lightening pace, or the ability to see our energy consumption in real
time. We're talking about the abilities given to us by new tech in the
health industry, either to supplement or restore disabilities
experienced by people...