Some number of years from now, the technology may exist for cars to drive themselves. This could save thousands of lives a year (90 percent of fatal car accidents involve human error).
But getting the technology right won’t be enough. Governments and courts will have to figure out lots of new legal and regulatory issues. One key question: If a driverless car crashes, who’s liable? (more…)
99% Invisible is, as producer Roman Mars tells it, a “tiny radio show about design, architecture & the 99% invisible activity that shapes our world”. Don’t let the “tiny” fool you: there’s nothing small about the ideas Mars explores.
Everything you ever wanted to know about the bygone Red Cars– the Los Angeles Pacific Electric Railway– and the way that rail line reshaped the destiny of LA. A story of conspiracies, strange marriages, and bad urban planning! Check out the episode page, it’s got a host of great images and more. No, really, check it out.
Side note: Roman can snark about the LA freeways all he wants, but at least we don’t have to deal with the Bay Area’s bridges. -NN
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Hip Hop Hijabis (Crowdfunding Campaign)
Billed as “two Muslim converts promoting women’s rights through music,” Hip Hop Hijabis is an in-progress film following two Jamaican-British rappers who converted to Islam eight years ago. The women met at a teen talent show in Bristol and since their conversions, they use their music to highlight Islam’s instructions with regard to the elevated status of women, defying the prescriptions of chauvinists within and outside the religion. They’ve got about $14k left to raise before February 20th. They’re running their campaign on Sponsume, which lets projects keep the money they’ve raised even if the project isn’t fully funded. -Nishat Kurwa (more…)
Mailbox (iOS app)
Some of the best things in life are combinations. Putting peanut butter and jelly together gave us the hallowed PB&J sandwich. When we added the MP3 player to the phone, Sony’s Walkman went the way of the dodo bird. When we combined vanilla and Coca-Cola, we got Vanilla Coke. Let’s not forget the genius who combined KFC and Taco Bell. And yet, there’s still something missing in my life.
The answer to my prayers will land on the iOS app store soon: Mailbox. The astute combinators at Orchestra figured out that people use their inbox as a to-do list; so they decided to merge my inbox with my to-do list. All I can say is that it’s about time. The email inbox hasn’t had a significant reinvention since back in the days of Compuserve, Prodigy, and AOL. It’s very difficult for me to reach Inbox Zero because I need to use it as a to-do list. So nothing gets removed from my inbox until I finish the task associated with that email.
I can only hope that Mailbox lives up to its combination predecessors. If so, expect a revolution. Reserve your place in line for a copy of Mailbox for iOS here. -Kurt Collins (more…)
AirHarp (Gestural Sensing Instrument)
Kinect has a new competitor in the gestural sensing technology market — Leap Motion. AirHarp is the result of a weekend hacking session with a Leap Motion dev board. As a musician, the main thing I was looking for watching the demo video is latency (response time). Lo and behold, AirHarp seems legit in that area. But until I see someone actually play a song, it won’t get more than cool points. -Brandon McFarland (more…)
We get it, you need to turn your brain off, and just want to look at some pretty pictures for a while.
So here’s the best of our galleries and photo heavy stories.
Remake Project: From Paintings To Photography
Rewilding: Primitivists Take it Back to Basics (Warning: “graphic” content.)
Brandalism: Reclaiming Outdoor Ads One Billboard At A Time
A Photographer Who Knows His Subject, Painted Ants
Rolling Stones Stories From British Press Archives Go Digital
FLICK (iOS App)
Do you remember the last time Yahoo! had a product coup? It was in the days before Google. Now, in what may be the greatest bit of timing in the history of the company, the Marissa Mayer-headed Yahoo! has unleashed a new Flickr app just as Instagram is having a PR implosion. Sure, you still need to pay if you want to see more than your latest 200 photos, but the fees are negligible if you’re even remotely serious about photography. Irony: a lot more of us are, thanks to Instagram. The Flickr app has a good suite of editing tools as well as those now-ubiquitous filters. No tilt-shift yet, which gives me the sads. Still, Flickr is suddenly the hot spot to be. - Noah Nelson (more…)
by Jamal Jackson
This week’s iTunes update to version 11 has completely revolutionized the user experience, making the application easier and smarter to use. What makes it different from the other software updates is that there are more dynamic and interesting changes. These changes have given a more unique look to your collection of media. There are fewer text tables (this is a good thing). Larger graphics make things better to view. (more…)
What’s a post-40 white male to do to get a job around here? If “here” is Silicon Valley, then shave your head, get an eyelid lift, and swap that button down for a slim fitting T-shirt.
That’s the transformation Randy Adams underwent as he pursued and secured the CEO position at Socialdial, and he tells Reuters he probably wouldn’t have gotten the job without it. (more…)
New York has launched a fellowship program to boost global entrepreneurship based in NYC.
The program is run in conjunction with Fordham University and was established by the New York City Economic Development Corporation. NYC Venture Fellows promises “executive-level mentoring, exclusive networking opportunities, and resources” to help its fellows grow scale their enterprises.
Last year’s fellows included the founders of Rent the Runway and Lot18, from “countries including China, Switzerland, and Ethiopia.”
The deadline to apply for this year’s fellowship is Friday.
