Lily Hay Newman

Lily Hay Newman is interested in technology and eating lunch so she has hung around at Co.Labs, Gizmodo, IEEE Spectrum, Popular Mechanics, Discover and MetroNY. She writes about web apps and materials science more than sandwiches, but you never know when the tide will turn. Warble with her on Twitter.

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Tech

Does Nasdaq’s CEO Understand Computers At All?

The Nasdaq OMX is finally taking responsibility for last week’s outage. And there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for what happened. So why are the all the CEO’s quoted explanations so tech-illiterate?

Tech

Even The Laziest Developers Should Transition To IPv6 Now

We’re running out of IP addresses. A solution, IPv6, has been in the works for years, but too many companies and startups are relying on workarounds to delay it. Developers who embrace IPv6 sooner than later are making a better investment and may even gain a competitive edge–here’s why.

Tech

Want To Recruit Better Developers? Give Them Broken Code

Hiring the right programmers is key for development, but it can be a nightmare to find time to administer coding tests and interview candidates. So rather than relying on a scripted phone round that potential hires can easily game, the mobile consulting firm Mutual Mobile is implementing more pragmatic screening in which candidates have to fix a broken app and run it in order to get to the next round of interviews. That’s it.

Tech

Why Is Google Highlighting Long-Form Articles?

Google is now calling out long articles in a special box above search results. This is a rostrum that long-form journalism and essays have lacked since the dawn of the Internet age. But why is Google interested in specially indexing quality content? We suspect there may be a curation play at work.

Tech

An Anti-NSA Encryption Strategy Every Company Should Understand

An encryption method called “perfect forward secrecy,” which is known for its reliability in the security community, is rapidly gaining popularity now that government snooping abounds. Here’s how it works.

Tech

What You Learn About Google When You Buy Glass

I was a plus-one at the Glass concierge in New York City last week and watched a friend go through Google’s subtle indoctrination process. Okay, Glass–show me Google’s motivation for making this process so carefully orchestrated.

Tech

What Coders Should Know About Copyright Licensing

Developers may think that their GitHub repos don’t need a license. But unlicensed code is actually more copyright-restricted than if it were properly labeled “open source.” And if repos contain protected code or embedded licenses, there could be legal trouble down the line.

Tech

You Can Now Trade Guns For Laptops In Baltimore

“Stop Shooting, Start Coding” is part of a new initiative in Baltimore where local residents can turn in firearms and get a refurbished Dell laptop in return. We don’t know what’s more alarming–that people are so starved for computer access they’d give up self-defense, or that they simply have this many surplus guns.

Tech

Will Office Productivity Suites Suck Forever?

A couple of months ago we talked about iWork for iCloud looking awesome at WWDC–but now things are getting weird. When Apple opened the beta to everyone, “overwhelming response” forced them to lock it down again. And the lack of collaborative editing features is a pretty obvious Achilles’ heel. Why can’t Apple’s brand new cloud office suite compete?

Tech

Burned By Failure, Facebook Changes Its Philosophy On Testing

Facebook is letting anyone sign up for beta testing of future Android releases, even though they told us a few weeks ago that testing Facebook Home with a mere 60 users–and all Facebook employees at that–was sufficient to release a product for a billion people. Has the company changed its tune about secret testing?

Tech

Wait–Why The Hell Does Everyone Have iOS 7 Already?

Is iOS 7 the hottest album of the year? A Hollywood blockbuster? The new Air Jordans? Here in NYC, we’ve seen high school kids on the street rocking the developer preview–proof that OSes are becoming mass media like any other. (And here we thought we were so cool.)

Tech

You Won’t Believe The Talent This Apple Hardware Guru Poached For His Stealth Startup

Executives and engineers with experience at Palm, Sony, Apple, Netflix, YouTube, and Intel have joined together to build something they say will solve a problem for billions of people–and the rumors are, it’s an Android-based tablet. Here’s who’s been poached to join the startup, and what we know about them so far.

Tech

Google Is Learning How Smartphones Impact In-Store Shopping

Smartphones allow us to answer our own product questions about options, specs and, of course, price while we’re out shopping. And Google is trying to figure out what that means for marketing and purchase decisions.

Tech

This Lawyer Worked On The JOBS Act. Now He’s Starting A Crowdsource Platform

Nathan Bennett-Fleming says the bill isn’t perfect, but it makes progress by enabling small businesses to crowdfund for capital. He believes in the bill enough that he’s founded his own platform, Blackstartup, to bring crowdfunding to every neighborhood small business.

Impact

At this new net-zero energy McDonald’s, on-site solar provides 100% of the power

Impact

Chicago’s COVID-19 recovery plan aims to go beyond the crisis to correct historical inequities

Impact

3 inspiring organizations that are actually making the world a better place for workers

Creativity

Disney World welcomes back guests with an ad that is more creepy than reassuring

Creativity

How the protest movement inspired streetwear legend Jeff Staple to branch out

Creativity

Inside the no-sleep hustle of Grammy-winning songwriter The-Dream

Co.Design

Macho ads that promote mask-wearing are a thing now

Co.Design

The ‘I Love New York’ logo is iconic. It’s also worth millions of dollars to New York state

Co.Design

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Lily Hay Newman

Does Nasdaq’s CEO Understand Computers At All?

The Nasdaq OMX is finally taking responsibility for last week’s outage. And there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for what happened. So why are the all the CEO’s quoted explanations so tech-illiterate?

Even The Laziest Developers Should Transition To IPv6 Now

We’re running out of IP addresses. A solution, IPv6, has been in the works for years, but too many companies and startups are relying on workarounds to delay it. Developers who embrace IPv6 sooner than later are making a better investment and may even gain a competitive edge–here’s why.

Want To Recruit Better Developers? Give Them Broken Code

Why Is Google Highlighting Long-Form Articles?

Google is now calling out long articles in a special box above search results. This is a rostrum that long-form journalism and essays have lacked since the dawn of the Internet age. But why is Google interested in specially indexing quality content? We suspect there may be a curation play at work.

An Anti-NSA Encryption Strategy Every Company Should Understand

An encryption method called “perfect forward secrecy,” which is known for its reliability in the security community, is rapidly gaining popularity now that government snooping abounds. Here’s how it works.

What You Learn About Google When You Buy Glass

I was a plus-one at the Glass concierge in New York City last week and watched a friend go through Google’s subtle indoctrination process. Okay, Glass–show me Google’s motivation for making this process so carefully orchestrated.

What Coders Should Know About Copyright Licensing

Developers may think that their GitHub repos don’t need a license. But unlicensed code is actually more copyright-restricted than if it were properly labeled “open source.” And if repos contain protected code or embedded licenses, there could be legal trouble down the line.

You Can Now Trade Guns For Laptops In Baltimore

Will Office Productivity Suites Suck Forever?

Burned By Failure, Facebook Changes Its Philosophy On Testing

Wait–Why The Hell Does Everyone Have iOS 7 Already?

Is iOS 7 the hottest album of the year? A Hollywood blockbuster? The new Air Jordans? Here in NYC, we’ve seen high school kids on the street rocking the developer preview–proof that OSes are becoming mass media like any other. (And here we thought we were so cool.)

You Won’t Believe The Talent This Apple Hardware Guru Poached For His Stealth Startup

Google Is Learning How Smartphones Impact In-Store Shopping

Smartphones allow us to answer our own product questions about options, specs and, of course, price while we’re out shopping. And Google is trying to figure out what that means for marketing and purchase decisions.

This Lawyer Worked On The JOBS Act. Now He’s Starting A Crowdsource Platform

Nathan Bennett-Fleming says the bill isn’t perfect, but it makes progress by enabling small businesses to crowdfund for capital. He believes in the bill enough that he’s founded his own platform, Blackstartup, to bring crowdfunding to every neighborhood small business.

Impact

At this new net-zero energy McDonald’s, on-site solar provides 100% of the power

Chicago’s COVID-19 recovery plan aims to go beyond the crisis to correct historical inequities

3 inspiring organizations that are actually making the world a better place for workers

Creativity

Disney World welcomes back guests with an ad that is more creepy than reassuring

How the protest movement inspired streetwear legend Jeff Staple to branch out

Inside the no-sleep hustle of Grammy-winning songwriter The-Dream

Co.Design

Macho ads that promote mask-wearing are a thing now

The ‘I Love New York’ logo is iconic. It’s also worth millions of dollars to New York state

NYC’s new Black Lives Matter mural is more than art. It’s the future of urbanism

Work Life

The most important startup rule: Play the long game

Can remote work really improve workplace diversity?

How COVID-19 made Kim Scott rethink one key aspect of Radical Candor