David Lidsky's Blog, page 4770

Gov 2.0 iPad Apps Are Lobbying for Your App Store Clicks

The United States government, or at least the governments of a few of its states, aren't about to let the launch of the iPad pass them by. Five so-called "eGovernment" apps launched alongside the tablet on Saturday.

[image error]Granted, the apps are all of a sort and aren't nearly as exciting as the blockbuster "Most Wanted" app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. But eGovernment developing firm NIC popped a few of its apps into Apple's early iPad app selection, and it's an encouraging sign of things to...

NASA Getting $2.4 Billion for Climate Change Research

The race to save our planet from climate change has often been compared to the space race in the 1960s, and for good reason--both races offer a time crunch, the threat of impending doom, and the promise that throwing money and resources at the problem might make a difference. So the Obama administration recently proposed a NASA budget that would give $2.4 billion to the organization's Earth Sciences division, which, as you might guess, studies the Earth from above.

VentureBeat reports that...

Yelp Tweaks Its System for Transparency--and Lawsuit-Dodging

Yelp has found a work-around for those wicked extortion rumors (and that pesky lawsuit). In a blog
post with the no-nonsense headline "We're Increasing Transparency
and Eliminating 'Favorite Review'," Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman explains its plans. The "transparency" part is met by allowing users
to see reviews that would otherwise have been obscured by the review
filtering system. Whereas the Favorite Review part sees this entire
segment of the advertising package deleted from Yelp.

As...

New York City Police and Fire Departments Now Equipped With Ultra-Modern, High-Tech Boats

When I say "woefully outdated," I'm not exaggerating: The new fireboat, to be christened the Three Forty Three (after the 343 firemen and women who died in the 9/11 attacks), is replacing a boat acquired in 1954, and a very similar boat to be introduced later this year will be replacing one christened in 1938. The boats were so old (say it with me: how old were they?) that parts had to be specially manufactured, because those models are so far out of production. There were serious...

HP Slate Less Expensive Than iPad, but With Less Battery Life Too?

Engadget got their hands on what seems to be an internal leak of a guide sheet comparing the HP Slate to Apple's iPad. The specs line up with what we'd all assumed (though in more detail than we had before), but the biggest piece of information is the price. With a base price of $550 for the 32GB version, the Slate would undercut the iPad significantly--except when it comes to battery life.

But these really are two very different products. Though they look quite similar, the iPad is...

New York City Police and Fire Departments Now Equipped With Ultra-Modern, High Tech Boats

When I say "woefully outdated," I'm not exaggerating: the new fireboat, to be christened the Three Forty Three (after the 343 firemen and women who died in the 9/11 attacks), is replacing a boat acquired in 1954, and a very similar boat to be introduced later this year will be replacing one christened in 1938. The boats were so old (say it with me: how old were they?) that parts had to be specially manufactured, because those models are so far out of production. There were serious...

Get Ready for a Tsunami of Political Ads on Facebook and Google

In a few months, you won't be able to check your news feed or your Gmail account without being bombarded with political ads. At least, that's what Facebook and Google are preparing for--and, understandably, hoping for.

While the 2008 election was really the first 21st-century election in terms of its use of new media and new technology, adoption and progression of those same technologies (and some new ones) are moving fast enough that the internet is even more ripe for advertising in 2010...

Chair Porn: Bernhardt Unveils Sexy New Chair by Noe Duchaufour-Lawrance (Video)

If you have five minutes, and want to watch one of the most enchanting videos ever documenting the birth of a chair, then grab your earphones and click on this preview of the piece that American furniture manufacturer, Bernhardt Design, will unveil in Milan next week. It's a mesmerizing look at what it takes to craft one of these things, and you'll never take a fine piece of furniture for granted again. I was on the edge of my seat, just waiting for one of those jig saws to skitter off the...

HP Slate Less Expensive than iPad, But with Less Battery Life Too?

Engadget got their hands on what seems to be an internal leak of a guide sheet comparing the HP Slate to Apple's iPad. The specs line up with what we'd all assumed (though in more detail than we had before), but the biggest piece of information is the price. With a base price of $550 for the 32GB version, the Slate would undercut the iPad significantly--except when it comes to battery life.

But these really are two very different products. Though they look quite similar, the iPad is...

NASA Getting $2.4 Billion For Climate Change Research

The race to save our planet from climate change has often been compared to the space race in the 1960's, and for good reason--both races offer a time crunch, the threat of impending doom, and the promise that throwing money and resources at the problem might make a difference. So the Obama administration recently proposed a NASA budget that would give $2.4 billion to the organization's Earth Sciences division, which, as you might guess, studies the Earth from above.

VentureBeat reports that...