Drive through many towns on the East Coast, and you'll see the same fossils of urban development: an old, blighted town center and a few miles away, a modern retail strip with ample parking, brightly-lit chain shops and, inevitably, a Starbucks [SBUX]. Take a look at new plans announced by Facebook on Monday, and its hard to escape the deja vu. Call it the Strip Mall Effect, and it's coming to the Internet.
The Keith Fink/Dov Charney (lawyer who confirms all bad lawyer stereotypes/American Apparel CEO) standoff just got uglier.
Marcel Wanders talked about the fairy tale that informed the design of the new Mondrian Hotel in Miami, and the fear he has to face down every time he begins a new project. John Maeda spoke of design's hidden return on investment -- its impact on an organization's human resources.
The occasion was Fast Company's Masters of Design gala, where Wanders and Maeda, both 2008 winners, held forth on the challenges and opportunities for design both in good times - and in rotten ones.
Listen in as they talk about Sleeping Beauty in South Beach, why digital design is often so unsatisfying, and the granny whose dying words to her granddaughter were, "F**k fear!"
There won’t be too many major decisions made at this week’s UN climate summit,
but observers will be able to hear the conversation shift and watch battle lines being drawn for the new year and beyond. 
These objects of perfection first became available this summer, when only tech gadget enthusiasts and real audiophiles (Will.i.am was rocking a pair on Larry King Live when King interviewed him about his Obama is President song, "It's a New Day") were first introduced to them.
When Mr. Coolhunting himself, Josh Rubin, first told me about his new gloves last month, I decided I wanted to give them a try before actually writing about them. I'm glad I waited.
When you go to bed at night, you probably have a wire mess going on next to your bed with your cell phone, MP3 player, bluetooth headset, and possibly even your laptop contributing to the mess. E-ZCharge is an inexpensive and simple way to solve the clutter.
We know the drill by now: every few months Apple rolls out some new iPod model, seducing us to trash our still-shiny-perfectly-brand-new one. We tend to think of this as progressive design. However, these days progressive design must also factor in a product's environmental spillover. Apple--and its exponentially rapid product rollouts--has been one of the worst offenders.
Yesterday Greenpeace unveiled its latest Guide to Greener Electronics.
In the gaming world, the only thing better than beating the game is beating others in said game. The feeling of omnipotent pwnage received from being the last man or woman standing after a frantic deathmatch keeps many players online looking for bigger and better competition. Most gamers simply play for bragging rights but Bringit.com wants players to put their money where their controllers are – literally.
Last week Amanda Fortini articulated what many women felt by the end of the election: "both Clinton and Palin came to represent—and, at times, reinforce—two of the most pernicious stereotypes that are applied to women: the bitch and the ditz."
