David Lidsky's Blog, page 4706

Government in the Digital Age: How Anil Dash's Expert Labs Is Speeding Democracy

There's an episode of 30 Rock in which Jack Donaghy takes a job with Homeland Security and gives a stirring speech to Congress so that his office can get pens. Finally, a large box of pens arrives--but it's filled with only the caps. Government is, by its nature, slow and bureaucratic. But network technology can cut through that, and at the same time amplify our access to elected officials and Washington's entire decision-making process. That is the goal of Expert Labs, an incubator created...

Dirtiest Hotels of 2009: A Lesson in Sparking Curiosity

I got a broadcast email one day from TripAdvisor. I was just about to delete it when I noticed the subject line: The Dirtiest Hotels of 2009. That gave me pause. I read some of the quotes from people who'd stayed in these hotels: One said: "I have 30 bites from bugs in Room 919." And I had to click through. I had no choice. I had to know what the hotels were--and had I stayed at any of them? Are any of them in my hometown? You got me, TripAdvisor.

This ad worked because it made me curious...

iPhone 4 Firmware Reveals File-Sharing, Orientation Lock, and How to Close Multitasking Apps [Updated]

Apple's just released the latest developer firmware before the official iPhone 4.0 roll-out. This is geeky. What is not geeky is some of the secrets it reveals about the future iPhone workings. Apple seems to have utterly nailed it.

File sharing direct to iPhone

This is an oft-requested feature by the more traditionally minded iPhone user, used to managing files in folders on desktops rather than the iPhone OS's hidden file management layer, but it's going to be damn useful all the same...

Here's an Idea: Light Bulbs Make Us Better Thinkers

We have been trained so well to associate the light bulb with insight and creative thinking that simply sitting under one can inspire, well, insight and creative thinking. That's the conclusion researchers at Tufts University came up with after putting students through a series of experiments under both a bare incandescent
25-watt light bulb and an overhead fluorescent light.

In the first experiment, researchers sat students down in front of a screen that flashed 10 words linked
with...

Andre Kikoski's Gutsy Guggenheim Restaurant Design Wins James Beard Award

Andre Kikoski, who was brave enough to take on the challenge of designing a restaurant within Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece museum, the Guggenheim, was just named the 2010 James Beard Foundation Award winner for Outstanding Restaurant Design.

Kikoski's design for The Wright garnered raves for its ability to translate Wright's vocabulary into the small space, enhanced with a brilliantly colored aluminum wall sculpture by artist Liam Gillick. "Our use of color was muted and restrained,...

Environmental Organizations Drawing Up Subpoenas for BP, Halliburton Over Gulf Oil Spill Evidence

BP's massive oil spill off the Gulf Coast is a looming disaster for fishermen and conservationists alike. And while BP is paying for the cleanup, the company isn't exactly being transparent about what's going on at the Deepwater Horizon spill site. Earlier this week, BP and the United Commercial Fisherman's Association reached an agreement to cut out accident waivers from contracts given to charter boat captains hired
to perform work related to the spill. And now the
United Commercial...

The d.school's Beta Trade Show Features Ideas From 11 Entrepreneurial Teams

Last week, we saw how the Stanford d.school's new building was designed for innovation. This week, how the school converted into a trade show to give students an opportunity to showcase--and sell--their ideas.

Launch Pad is a class at Stanford's d.school taught by rock star entrepreneurs Perry Klebahn and Michael Dearing. Students are admitted to the class only if they have a business idea that can be prototyped and made actionable by the end of the quarter. At the mid-point in the quarter...

Ferrari F10 Steering Wheel Looks Like a Robot Barfed on It

Is this the worst interface ever designed?

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Every year, Ferrari fields a team in the Formula One championship, and dumps around $400 million into developing and racing the car. So you'd think that the steering wheel--perhaps the car's most crucial point of contact, where a human turns all that R&D into championship trophies--would be a masterpiece of interface design. And you would be wrong. But don't worry, there's probably a switch or knob on the Ferrari F10 steering wheel that lets you...

Crib Sheet: Tony Hayward, CEO of BP, Not Frodo

Ruddy of face, disarming of smile, sharp of mind, and now knee-deep in the dark brown stuff, Tony Hayward is, like his predecessor Lord Browne of Madingley, an internal promotion to the top job at BP. However, where John Browne is what can only be described as an old-fashioned aesthete, (interests: 17th- and 18th-Century Italian books, opera, pre-Columbian and Contemporary art) Hayward is a ma-hoosive sports fan, an occasional triathlete who prefers beer to Browne's Montrachet wine...

iPhone 4 Firmware Reveals File-Sharing, Orientation Lock, and How to Close Multitasking Apps

Apple's just released the latest developer firmware before the official iPhone 4.0 roll-out. This is geeky. What is not geeky is some of the secrets it reveals about the future iPhone workings. Apple seems to have utterly nailed it.

File sharing direct to iPhone

This is an oft-requested feature by the more traditionally minded iPhone user, used to managing files in folders on desktops rather than the iPhone OS's hidden file management layer, but it's going to be damn useful all the same...