David Lidsky's Blog, page 4854

Eye Candy: Olafur Eliasson's Amazing New Art Installation

Using just a series of colored lights and basic principles of optics, Eliasson makes magic.

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The artist Olafur Eliasson--probably best known for installating four 90-foot artifical waterfalls on New York's rivers--is out with his newest work, Multiple Shadow House. It's a doozy.

On view (for free) at the Tonya Bonakdar Gallery through March 20, it consists of a simple series of rooms, each one lit by a bank of lights. Here's the optical trick: The individual lights are all different colors...

Infographic: Google's Cash and Culture

The good folks at Pingdom scoured the interwebs for facts and figures about Google, and collapsed them all into this sprawling, informative chart--it contains everything from how they make all that cash, to the composition of their workforce, to tidbits about Google's culture (a new Googler: Noogler. Cute.):

That's just about half of the full graphic. For the rest, click here]

The Connection Between Google's Chinese Cyber Attackers and the U.S. Govt.

Here's one for the conspiracy theorists among you (you know who you are...and so do the guys in the van out front): That Chinese cyberattack late in 2009, targeting Google and other big names, was enabled by U.S. warrantless search legislation.

This is a classic case of wrong-headed government thinking, designed to supposedly boost public safety, resulting in genuine disaster: The crack through which Chinese cyberattacks broke into Google last year, causing no end of ongoing trouble, was...

Spy vs. Sly: Bronx Principal Proves Not Every Teacher Is a Webcam Privacy Violator

There's a new online brouhaha over alleged laptop-spying by a teacher, following the recent horrid remote-spying case in Pennsylvania. But it's really a fuss over nothing--just normal teaching methods aided by 21st Century tech.

The debate rages on over the earlier case in the Lower Merion School District, with deflecting defensive maneuvers by the school itself, and news that the FBI is now investigating. It's all going on amid a public and very heated argument about the rights to privacy...

Obama's "Director of Game Changers" Talks Energy Breakthroughs

When the Soviet Sputnik beat American satellites into space in 1957, the U.S. tried to reclaim its technological edge by creating the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which pursued high-risk, high-payoff tech breakthroughs. DARPA contributed to the creation of GPS, speech-recognition algorithm ... and the internet.

One could say the U.S. is facing three energy Sputniks now—its
foreign-oil dependence, its diminishing technological lead, and climate change. Energy Secretary Steven...

The (Mobile) Empire Strikes Back: Nokia Chief's Strategy for Smartphone War

Nokia boss Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo has been talking about how his firm plans to fight back in the ongoing cell-phone wars--and he sees the future in the Internet. In an interview with BusinessWeek, the 56-year-old Finn is bullish about the woes affecting the company which, ironically enough, began life as a paper company back in 1865. "We're now in a combination of several industries: mobility, Internet, PCs, media, content," is how he describes Nokia's reach.

So, not just a handset maker then...

Could Another 9-11 Be Mitigated by a $16 Billion National Public Safety Broadband Network?

While cable and telephone networks are busy renewing their national U.S. cable grids with fabby new tech, the government is being left behind...but not for long: The FCC wants a $16 billion national network for emergency service use.

The actual National Broadband Plan isn't due for a full unveiling until mid-March, but FCC chairman Julius Genachowski is so keen to get the ball rolling on a national broadband network for emergency uses that he's revealing this part of the plan early. The idea...

PlanetSolar: World's Largest Solar Boat Finally Unveiled

On Thursday, the covers were taken off PlanetSolar, a multi-hulled vessel, powered entirely by up to 500 square metres of photovoltaic solar panels. It is considered to be the world's largest solar boat.

The 31-meter-long and 15-meter-wide craft is expected to be able capture 103.4 kW of solar energy to drive its engine which apparently only needs 20kW, to achieve an average speed of eight knots (15kph or 9mph). Although it is hoped it can also attain a top speed of roughly twice that...

Hipstamatic iPhone App to Spawn a Million Terry Richardsons

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Keen iPhone snappers amongst you who hanker after analog pics might be interested in this cute little $1.99 app. The basic Hipstamatic package includes three lenses and a trio of films, all with a standard flash, and enables you to shoot Virgin Suicides-inspired shots and then upload your now beautifully retro pictures straight onto Facebook.

You can buy additional Hipstapaks--the Williamsburg, Portland, and Shubuya--for 99¢ each. The only downside is that you can't use the existing iPhone...

Why You Should Start a Company in... Los Angeles

It used to be, if you were serious about starting a tech company, you went to Silicon Valley. But emerging entrepreneurial hubs around the country are giving startup aspirants options. In this series, we talk to leading figures in those communities about what makes them tick.

Red-carpeted premieres, sun and beaches, smog, Pauly Shore. Okay, maybe not Pauly Shore. But let's face it, when you think of Los Angeles, Internet startups are not the first things that spring to mind.

The city has...