David Lidsky's Blog, page 4643

Starling, the David of Social TV Apps, Facing Down Google and Comcast's Goliaths

People have long been aware that, during big TV moments--epic sports contests or the finale of Lost, for example--the Twittersphere rapidly fills up with TV-related hashtags. Last week Google Ventures invested in Miso, a social TV app that allows users to comment on their TV shows as they happen. Miso, however, is not the only fish in the social TV app sea. As well as Comcast's Tunerfish, there is Starling, a startup that launched back in April at MIPtv in Cannes, whose aim is "enhancing the...

Studio 360 Wants YOU! To Redesign Uncle Sam

He's a bit scary, overly hairy, and he doesn't quite reflect the way American looks today, does he? As an icon created to help recruit young soldiers into military service, we'd say our patriotic persona Uncle Sam needs an upgrade. (This particular version was created by James Montgomery Flagg in 1916.) A few months ago we helped the public radio show Studio 360 get the word out about their challenge to Redesign Valentine's Day, and this week, they're launching another holiday redesign...

An Interview With Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes, Part I

Blockbuster last week urged its shareholders against granting Greg Meyer a seat on the board of directors. Meyer, a large shareholder in the company himself and the former CEO of kiosk company DVDXpress, filed a Blockbuster restructuring plan Thursday that would dramatically reinvent the struggling video-rental giant. Heads of Blockbuster have refused to seat Meyer on the board, and have called his plan inadequate. We have already spoken with Meyer about Blockbuster's brash management...

"Made In Midtown" Examines the Design and Manufacturing Impact of New York's Garment District

You don't have to be a New Yorker to guess the the story of the city's legendary Garment District. The tiny swath of New York's Midtown once produced 90% of all clothing sold in the United States, but has been jeopardized by the rise of overseas manufacturing and encroaching development. While the area is still a hotbed of innovation, manufacturing and trade, the Garment
District's location in the city--and its reputation as a design powerhouse--relies on a unique formula of affordable real...

The Downturn's Upside: 4 Design Firms Founded During the Recession

Traces of a tight economy were evident in the number of low-priced offerings at this year's International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF). But you could also see the recession in a fresh crop of designers who have come from disciplines ranging from architecture to electronics and engineering. This lot is looking for the economy's hidden opportunities, pursuing risks they might not have if the recession hadn't forced them try something a different. Here's a tour of four new firms who...

Apple WWDC 2010 Rumor Round-Up [Updated]

In a few hours from now Steve Jobs will kick off the 2010 World Wide Developers Conference--one of Apple's premiere events. Fast Company.com will be liveblogging the keynote (10am PST), so check back then. In the meantime, here are our our guesses as to what's in store.

The new iPhone for 2010

Whatever you think about the Gizmodo iPhone "leak" saga, it's done at least one thing for us: It's pretty much 100% confirmed that this year's revision of the iPhone is the hardware Gizmodo showed the...

iFive: China, BP, Twitter, 2010 Fifa World Cup, Modern Archaeology

While you were sleeping, innovation was doing push-ups, stretches and some cardio.

1. China first. While Foxconn raises its workers' salaries by an additional 70%, to go with last week's 30%, as long as certain conditions are met, shares in Hon Hai, the plant's parent company, have dropped. It doesn't necessarily mean that they'll be able to afford an iPad (it's addictive!) whose launch date in China has been leaked as August. Meanwhile, The Guardian has a shocking report on the state of...

Smartphone OS Stats Show Android Users Love Their Phones, but iPhoners Love Theirs More

[image error]Nielsen's smartphone numbers show a lot of interesting and often unexpected findings in demographics. (Though not sales--iPhone's still drastically outselling everyone but BlackBerry in the States.) Despite the hypermasculine branding of the country's most popular Android phone (the Motorola Droid) which was expected to appeal mostly to young men, the gender split is about equal among Android and iPhone users. In fact, while both platforms skew male, Android is slightly more female-heavy...

HP to Announce "Printers Built for the iPhone Age," Without Irony

Print is becoming a near-synonym for things outdated--books and newspapers are struggling, tablets are finally getting to consumers, and all things ink-on-paper are starting to see the beginning of the end. It's not here yet; ebooks represent a mere 5% of book sales in 2010, for one thing. But certainly the writing's on the wall.

Not so, says HP. According to the New York Times, HP will announce tomorrow a new initiative on printers that will focus, and I am not making this phrase up, on...

Will the London Olympics Live Up to Its Green Ambitions?

Everywhere you look, London's 2012 Olympics have scrapped or hedged on some aspect of their environmental goals, casting doubt on whether there's even such a thing as Green Games.

Last month, it was the little wind farm.
A week ago, the waste management infrastructure. Now,
it's a 427-foot wind turbine once slated for Olympic Park. Everywhere
you look, London's 2012 Olympics have scrapped or hedged on some
aspect of their environmental goals, casting doubt on whether there's
even such a...