David Lidsky's Blog, page 4816

Seinfeld Producer and Fake Steve Jobs Working on TV Pilot About Real Steve Jobs

It was only a matter of time. Dan Lyons, aka Fake Steve Jobs, is penning a comedy pilot about a tech mogul. Called iCON, the show has been commissioned by EPIX and will be directed by Larry Charles, the Seinfeld writer-producer who went on to direct Borat and Bruno.

The lead character in iCON is called Tom Rhodes and is said to be a hybrid of Jobs and other tech grandees. Charles described the show as "nothing less than a modern-day Citizen Kane," adding that it would be "a scabrous satire...

A New Link Added to the World's Largest Solar Pipeline: First Solar

We're written about Desertec, a solar pipeline spanning from North Africa and the Middle East to Europe, extensively. When the $555 billion project is completed, it could provide up to 15% of Europe's total electricity needs. The Desertec Industrial Initiative has plenty of big-name partners, including Deutsche Bank, Siemens, Schott Solar, Abengoa, and Cevital. And now First Solar, one of our Most Innovative Companies for 2010, has joined the ranks.

First Solar is the first pure...

Twitter Users Don't Read the News, Do Share Photos and Socialize

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Facebookers prefer broadcast media, while Googlers go for the dead-tree version--that was the upshot of some stats we posted earlier this month from Hitwise. Now analyst Heather Hopkins has added Twitter to her data to see where its users directed traffic to and, unsurprisingly, news and media was way down the list.

Social networks, photo and video sharing sites lead the pack, while news and media account for just 0.14 of one percent. While Twitter's share of the Internet has tripled in the...

"Citizen Architect": The Humble Origins of Socially-Responsible Design

A new documentary profiles the late Samuel Mockbee, founder of Auburn University's Rural Studio--which taught students by building houses in rural Alabama.

If you're reading this from Austin, make sure to check out the premier of Sam Wainwright Douglas's Citizen Architect, a documentary of Samuel Mockbee's revolutionary Rural Studio design program in Hale County, Alabama. Mockbee, who died in 2001, started Rural Studio at Auburn University in 1993 with fellow architecture professor Dennis K...

Sexting, Cyberbullying "Over The Line," Say Users of MTV's Online Morality Meter

"Someone made an AIM account and posed as me. They were telling everyone I was a lesbian!" "Me and my friends Photoshopped our other friend to make it seem like he had man-boobs." "My boyfriend texts other girls all the time and they send pics back and forth mostly naked."

Are these actions harmless, or do they cross a line? With half of all 14- to 24-year-olds admitting they've been digitally abused, it's a timely, integral question. And MTV is trying to help teens answer it--by asking...

Apple's Own iPad Peripherals Delayed 'Til May

Before we learned its launch date, we heard scurrilous rumors Apple's iPad was facing delays in its launch schedule. Now we discover that some of the very peripherals Apple itself was toting for the iPad are delayed until May. What gives?

Specifically, the 10W USB Power Adapter is delayed until May (meaning you'll probably only get a USB-to-30-pin cable in the box, and not the power brick that accompanies the iPhone) along with the iPad Keyboard Dock--the funky little wedge of white plastic...

Why the FCC's Broadband Plan Will Struggle to Connect with the Public

Today is when the FCC delivers its National Broadband Strategy to Congress. We've already had some sneak peeks at the deets, such kitting 100 million households out with super-fast speeds with either a free or lo-cost version, getting techno-illiterates up to speed with their computing skills.

Eric Schmidt posted a rallying cry on Google's blog yesterday, comparing the battle for connectivity to that of the Space Race, five decades ago. He called upon the private companies to make a big...

Why Do All These Classified "How to Stop Leaks" Documents Keep Leaking Onto WikiLeaks?

Last October, WikiLeaks got a hold of the U.K.'s Ministry of Defense's Defence Manual of Security, a 2,400-page, restricted document designed to help government officials "maintain information security in the
face of hackers, journalists, foreign spies, and others." And this morning, the site published a 32-page U.S. counterintelligence investigation, which included plans to "damage and destroy" WikiLeaks' "center of gravity." Why does this keep happening?!

Blame the molesAccording to...

Infographic of the Day: What the Census Said About Us...in 1870

As these stunning charts reveal, we were a young country and our government was just a shadow of its present form.

Maybe you noticed all those TV commercials for the U.S. Census? And maybe you've already gotten your Census survey in the mail? Yup, it's that time again. The Census Bureau has spent $333 million marketing the census, because the picture that emerges from the 2010 Census will shape the country for a decade--deciding how congressional seats are apportioned and how federal dollars...

Spring Design's Alex E-Reader Launches April 14 in iPad's Shadow

We've been keeping abreast of Spring Design's Alex e-reader as it's a promising little hybrid machine. It recently dropped out of the news though, prompting concerns about its future. All is well, however, and it'll go on sale in a month.

The Alex's dual-screen e-ink and full-functioning, full-color Android screen place it as a serious competitor for the Barnes and Noble Nook (which itself faces allegations of plagiarism from Spring Design,) and combined with both bricks-and-mortar and...