David Lidsky's Blog, page 4772

Snyder's Follows Frito-Lay's Lead, Offers Sustainable Packaging

Just a few weeks after Frito-Lay rolled out the 100% compostable SunChips bag, Snyder's of Hanover has announced sustainability packaging of its own. Like Frito-Lay, the pretzel maker has decided to use plant-based materials in some of its packaging. The polylactic acid resin (PLA)-based bags, produced by Clear Lam Packaging, replace petroleum-based plastic bags in Snyder's line of organic pretzels.

There are a number of advantages to the PLA bags, according to Greener Package. The 90...

First Android TV Beta-Testing, Available in September

Swedish firm People of Lava has won the race to manufacture the first Android TV. The Scandinavia will be available in three sizes--a 42-incher when it becomes available in September, followed by 47- and 55-inch versions, and will cost between $2,000 and $2,500 for the smallest size.

The HD, LED screen will be browser-enabled, meaning you'll be able to surf the internet and stream stuff like YouTube, Facebook and Hulu straight to the TV. There's also Google Maps, and the usual weather and...

Microsoft Dabbling with Cloud-Based 'Midori' OS?

Hints in the code of Microsoft's .NET Framework have led some to draw a surprising conclusion: Microsoft may be developing a new OS, based on its "Midori" tech demonstrator, that is a radical departure from its OS history. Long derided for being complacent about planning for the future of computing tech, it seems that MS really does have action plans in place.

SD Times has gathered some opinions around the few facts we know so far. Midori is a product of Microsoft Research's Singularity...

Exclusive: Facebook Whisperer Speaks About Why Facebook Threatened to Sue Him

Computer programmer Pete Warden speaks about the massive social network enlightenment that Facebook's datasets could herald--and why it all went off the rails.

Pete Warden's been called the "Facebook Whisperer," because of an unusual hobby he took up more than a year ago. Using simple web crawling software, he assembled a database of 210 million Facebook public profiles: Names, "fan" pages, friend listings, and locations. He then used that data to find, for example, where "God" was the top...

Work Smart: Freelance Survival Skills

More than 1 out of 10 adult workers are self-employed, and that number tends to go up in a recession. To anyone yoked to a traditional nine-to-five job, the idea of being your own boss and working from home might sound like heaven. The truth is, freelancing isn't easy. After seven years of self-employment, I've found the three biggest challenges 1099ers face are managing time, money, and expectations.

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The first question every employee asks when they find out you...

Frog Design Imagines Urban Food Systems of the Future

What if getting affordable, local food was as simple as going to the nearest corner store or stopping by a food cart on the way home from work?  Frog Design imagines that this is possible with Mobile Market and Stones Throw Harvest, two entries in the Digging Deeper SF competition. The San Francisco-based competition invited designers to "Design an urban agricultural product, system, retrofit, service
model, or communication campaign/platform that is simple to set up/manufacture/produce...

Doth Not an iPad Bleed? Blend? Break Under a Baseball Bat?

Those of us living in Europe have had to be somewhat sanguine about the hysterical iPad coverage. It's not that we're not fans, but we don't get our hands on the thing until the end of this month. So when I see stuff like this I feel a little sick to my stomach.

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Actually, no, allow me to go a little further. I hate this. Really hate this. Why are you smashing something up that people want? For starters, it's old, old stuff--when I worked for Gizmodo, we automatically...

Infographic of the Day: Tracking Taxis Across Manhattan

A beautiful time-lapse animation of taxi traffic in New York.

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So this infograhpic doesn't necessarily deliver a brand-new message, but it's pretty amazing nonetheless: The New York Times gathered GPS data from taxi cabs collected from January-March 2009, and mapped all the pick-ups and drop offs--thus creating a heat map of the city's pulse.

What's more, the map has been plotted over the course of the week, and you can watch a time-lapse view that shows activity ebbing and flowing in...

God, Guns, Graphics: Pentagram's Michael Bierut on Busted Christian Militia's Branding

What was the militia--now infamous after nine members were just arrested--trying to communicate about itself in its logo?

Last week, the
feds arrested nine members of the Hutaree, a right-wing Christian
militia accused of plotting to assassinate law enforcement officers in
Michigan. It was a frightening flashback to Oklahoma City,
proof that the crazies are alive, well, and heavily armed, and though
the Hutaree failed where Timothy McVeigh clearly succeeded, they have
one thing he...

Marcel Wanders' Dining Table in Paradise, Set with Monster Chairs for Muses

[image error]You can count on Marcel Wanders to unveil something eye-popping at the Milan Furniture Fair each year. Last year saw his Can-Can lamp for Flos -- a dome filled with a ruffled underskirt like a chorine in the Folies Bergere; in 2008, he fielded a shower stall paved with Bisazza tiles in which with bikini-clad models cavorted under a shower head embedded in a Swarovski crystal chandelier.

This year, the Dutch design superstar seems to be obsessed with his own mortality. In advance of the show...