David Lidsky's Blog, page 4736

Infographic: The Road to a Facebook IPO

At the f8 developer's conference, the biggest question in the air is money. And lots of it.

As Mark Zuckerberg prepares to step onto stage at f8, the Facebook developer's conference, the question that has to be on everyone's minds--including Zuckerberg's--is how much money this whole thing's worth. And we may soon find out, given all the coy teasers about a Facebook IPO. With that in mind, let's take a look back at this infographic produced by Gigom last December, detailing the rise--and...

Washington Post Google Maps Tracking Rapist

The police and press, usually uneasy bedfellows (see the fifth season of The Wire), have turned to crowd-sourcing in an attempt to solve a series of rapes and assaults that has left authorities in four states baffled. It's probably the largest crime to be tracked via Google Maps so far, and, if successful, it will act as a blueprint for future three-way collaborations between law enforcers, the fourth estate, and the public. But, given the whole innocent-until-proven-guilty concept, could...

BMW Checks In for Private-Jet Design

A swank interior that applies BMW's car know-how.

Private jets are basically a middle finger to the environment, but we suppose that if they're going to be made, they should be well-designed.

And to that end, Embraer, the Brazilian small-plane maker, has tapped BMW DesignworksUSA to design the interiors of its Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 luxury executive jets. (Is there any other kind?)

The collaboration represents six years of work, and the designs don't much resemble a BMW--rather, they're a...

Live from Facebook's F8 Conference: Real-Time Check-In Data

Speculation about a location-aware feature grows, thanks to a convention gimmick.

f8--the always growing convention for Facebook developers--is going on now, and a kicky little conference gizmo has speculation raging that Facebook is about to announce some sort of location-aware capability.

Everyone attending the show is getting RFID tags (including our own Dan Nosowitz), so that you can check into the various booths on site. That enrolls you on the event's fanpage, so that you can follow it...

The Sims Lets You Drive an Electric Renault Prototype

Renault may have discovered the secret to making electric vehicles more palatable for the masses: Stick them in video games. The automaker's Twizy Z.E. concept vehicle isn't going on sale in Europe until next year, but Sims players can soon download the car as part of the upcoming Electric Vehicle Pack, a free add-on that also includes solar panels and windmills--all of which cut down on weekly virtual household bills.

Why put branded EVs in a best-selling game? Stephen Norman,
SVP...

Wired Broadband Could Get a Lot Faster

Think ADSL broadband is old hat and fiber is the future? Think again: Researchers at Alcatel Lucent have worked out how to get data rates of 300 Mbps over normal copper telephone wires. That, in case you didn't know, is fast.

Most broadband that comes to your home over telephone wires uses an electromagnetic/signal processing trick called asymmetric digital subscriber lines--ADSL. With tweaks to the technology, this system can be pushed to achieve data rates as high as 24 Mbps, but typically...

Jazz Hands, Cargo Couch, Entrails Lamp: The Most Hideous Designs From Milan 2010

The ugly stuff you don't see on all the design blogs.

Infographic of the Day: Here's the Keys to the World Bank's Data Vault

Thousands of datasets--which used to cost thousands of dollars to access--and now free and easily browsable on the web.

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Big news today for data geeks and anyone with any interest in world development: The World Bank, which exhaustively compiles worldwide data on quality of life and economics, is throwing open all of its data to the public. Formerly, getting that data required an extremely expensive subscription. As a bonus, the data is presented in a fancy-dancy new visual interface. Here...

Work-Life Balance Digitally Destroyed: One in Three Permanently Connected to Employer

If you're the sort who takes a sneaky peek at your work email on your BlackBerry while in the bar with pals in the evening, don't feel too guilty.

Web conferencing company InterCall (arguably biased toward reporting people are connected more to work) reports that 30% of U.S. workers who employ technology as part of their jobs feel the need to maintain a digital link to their employer at all times. Weekends and vacations, too. It's not even just about curiosity or misplaced work-place...

WANTED: Henge MacBook Dock

Plugs can be finicky, especially when you need to connect more than one. It's easier to just plop a gadget into a dock than connect a power cord, audio out, video out, USB, and whatever else you'd otherwise need to connect. Using a dock also reduces clutter on your desk, and, from a purely aesthetic perspective, just looks more neat. I've got a dock for my smartphone and one for my portable media player but not for the most-used gadget of all--my MacBook.

When I work, I like to plug my...