David Lidsky's Blog, page 4678

As Consumers Steer Clear of Mobile Music Downloads, iTunes Continues to Run the Show

New data released last night by ComScore shows that we might be waiting a while for the much speculated about mobile version of iTunes (or else, it'll pop up in Vietnam).

Consumers, it seems, are continuing to manage their media content via their desktop computers. So, is that good news for music streaming services such as Spotify and MOG, who have been bombarding the market with mobile apps and social media-style features? Yes ... and no. Yes, in that the iNoon showdown with Apple in the...

Live-waving Today's Google I/O Keynote

Google's annual developer conference Google I/O kicks off today in San Francisco, we're on site with live coverage of the opening keynote as it happens. Watch the live video stream on YouTube in one window, and join me, Kevin Marks, Adam Pash, and Leo Laporte in live text commentary via Google Wave right here.

Will the search giant launch Google TV? Google Storage? Android 2.2? More nifty developer tools? Follow along right here to find out.

[Note to Safari, IE users: Try Firefox if this...

The New Plan for Project Plans: Less Planning

When is project planning a hindrance to a business? When it comes at the expense of real engagement. Seth Kahan explains, in this excerpt from his book, Getting Change Right.

[Editor's Note: Seth Kahan has been an expert blogger at FastCompany.com for several years now. We were thrilled when his posts landed him a book deal. Below is an excerpt from his book, Getting Change Right: How Leaders Transform Organizations from the Inside Out.]

The biggest drain on momentum and brainpower in...

ICFF: The Best Branding Behind the Brands

It's fair to say that 99 percent of people on the planet would see ICFF as 145,000 square feet of "unnecessary." However, for the remaining one percent of us who love design, it is an annual bazaar of the new and notable from the commercial and domestic landscapes that is not to be missed.

The booths are beautiful, the products are beautiful and the people are beautiful. But, all of this can be utterly exhausting so I found it helpful to attend the fair on a mission.

This year I decided to...

Crib Sheet: Steven Chu, Secretary of State for Energy

When you've got one of the world's biggest man-made disaster zones on your doorstep, it pays to have an Energy Secretary like Steven Chu. Possessor of an enormous brain, he excels at distilling the big picture of climate change into something that just about everyone can understand. It's all about the small things, he says, exhorting the American people to insulate their homes correctly, and suggesting unorthodox, yet simple ideas like painting roofs white in order to reflect sunlight into...

Switch: Shrink The Change with One-Minute Praisings

What do you dread at work? Maybe it's filling out expense reports. Making a cold call to a new lead. Giving a performance review to your employee Chester, who's prone to tearing up at the first hint of negative feedback. Whatever it is, you avoid it. You procrastinate. You check Google News, you check your fantasy football stats. You check Google News again.

There's a way out, though. Let me show you how it works in the context of housecleaning, which is something that I absolutely dread...

Tethering Pops Up in Newest iPhone 4 Beta

iPhone OS 4.0, which will ship with the next version of Apple's iPhone (and, later, the iPad), has been available to developers in beta form for a while now, in three consecutive versions. The newest, iPhone 4.0 Beta 4, just came out today, and it's got some new features we haven't seen before, as discovered by Gizmodo.

First is aesthetic--utilities like the calculator and compass are by default grouped into a "Utilities" folder on the homescreen, and there are a bunch of new wallpapers...

Infographic: Android's Uptick in the Giant Shadow of Dumbphones

How fast is Google's mobile platform rising in popularity? And does it make a dent in the greater dumbphone world?

[Click for full size image:] 

Android made news recently when it surpassed the iPhone in marketshare. In the first quarter of 2010, Apple secured a 21% market share, Android surged to 28%, and RIM's BlackBerry held strong at 36%. But what, exactly, does that mean in the greater scheme of mobile phones?

Infographic by the team at cxo.eu.com

Some details.

Android handset...

Report: BPA Levels in Canned Beans, Soups Are Five Times Higher Than Previously Thought

At this point, no company wants to be caught with a BPA-filled product. The chemical, which is found in food and drink can linings, water bottles, computers, and other products containing plastic, can cause numerous health problems--it mimics estrogen, for example, and that can lead to infertility and even cancer. Now the National Workgroup for Safe Markets has come out with a report (PDF) claiming that canned foods, many of which are labeled as "healthy" or organic, contain an average of...

Facebook and Zynga Make Up, Sign Five-Year Agreement for Social Time-Wasting

We reported a couple weeks ago that Facebook was in a "standoff" with Zynga, its most popular developer and maker of immensely popular (and immensely feed-clogging) games like Farmville and Mafia Wars. The battle was over Facebook's decision to turn all in-app currency into Facebook's own credit system--and more importantly, the little detail that Facebook would snatch 30% of all the money spent on Facebook apps.

Looks like the two came to some kind of agreement, though in an official...