Link About It: This Week’s Picks
Facebook’s “dislike” button, a long-lost GoPro and the legends who shaped NYC culture in this week’s look at the web
1. Legendary Typographer Adrian Frutiger Has Died at 87
Typography legend Adrian Frutiger, best known for sans-serif design and for creating the typeface used in London’s street signs, died last week at the age of 87. Frutiger began his career at Paris’ Deberny & Peignot type foundry, where he designed and adapted fonts for phototypesetting machines. He later went on to create 30 different typefaces, including Univers, Avenir and his eponymous Frutiger—many of which have been used by Deutsche Bank, General Electric, Apple, Disney and CNN. He’s been hailed as “the best type designer of the 20th century.”
2. “Camera Restricta” Only Allows Unique Photos
Each day, millions of photographs are taken of the same landmarks, from the same angles. To combat this, German designer Phillipp Schmitt has rigged a camera to deny picture-taking when it’s in an over-photographed area. The device, called “Camera Restricta,” works by parsing through geo-tagged photos and unlocking its shutter when the count is low enough. Schmitt hopes to encourage photographers to capture unique perspectives the world instead of contributing to an already over-saturated database of cliché images. The camera’s software is currently open-sourced and is available on his website.
3. Lost GoPro Returns With Stunning Grand Canyon Footage
Over two years ago, a group of Stanford University students launched a GoPro—attached to a weather balloon and with a cellphone to track its landing location—into space. Bad cell coverage ultimately led the team to believe the GoPro was lost forever, until just recently when a woman stumbled upon the device and returned it to them—along with some amazing footage. The GoPro floated 19 miles above the Earth’s surface, capturing stunning images of the Grand Canyon and the Arizona desert all the way from the stratosphere. Watch the GoPro’s entire journey on Quartz.
4. Google Will Match Your Donation to Refugee Relief
Google has so far donated €1 million to Europe’s ongoing refugee and migrant relief efforts and now they’ve doubled down on their commitment to humanitarian efforts by pledging to match the contributions of others. Donate and Google will match it—all the way until the collective effort reaches its goal of €10 million total. Donations will be distributed among four different non-profits: Doctors Without Borders, International Rescue Committee, Save the Children and UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Head to google.com/refugeerelief to make your much-needed contribution.
5. Half of the World’s Marine Life is Gone
A recent study conducted by the World Wildlife Fund and Zoological Society of London has revealed that—between 1970 and 2012—nearly half of the ocean’s fish population was wiped out. The combined effects of overfishing and climate change have been especially damaging to tuna, mackerels and bonitos—reducing their populations by nearly 75%. Facing the stark reality of our dwindling marine life, the WWF is urging governments to address climate change and create more marine protected areas while encouraging consumers to seek out more sustainable seafood sources.
6. The People Who Defined NYC in the ’70s and ’80s
T Magazine recently gathered together some of the prominent musicians, writers, artists and others who gave rise to New York City’s legendary cultural scene in the 1970s and ’80s. Among the 28 faces are composer Philip Glass, model Iman, writer Fran Lebowitz and artist Chuck Close. While it was a time for joyful reflection of an exciting time in history, it was clear the decades had taken their toll—many artists who should have been in attendance sadly succumbed to AIDS. View the portrait of all 28 legends in T Magazine’s “They Made New York.”
7. Facebook’s “Dislike” Button Will Express Empathy
Ever since the introduction of the “like” button, Facebook’s most commonly requested feature has been its opposite: a “dislike” button. But instead of quickly complying, the tech giant has spent years trying to determine how to best execute the “dislike” feature—and it may soon be ready. CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently announced to a small audience that Facebook will roll out a new button that would give users the option to express empathy or show support for a friend when clicking “like” might be insensitive. Creating the button was “surprisingly complicated,” he admits.
8. The Art of Reconstructing an Ancient Human
An ancient human species called Homo naledi made headlines last week after bones were unearthed in an underground cave in South Africa. To visualize what the distant human ancestor may have looked like, paleoartist John Gurche was tasked with reconstructing the homonin based off of clues from its fossils. Comparing himself to a CSI investigator, he takes in every detail—from eye socket width to jawline strength—to make well-informed assumptions on nose shape, skin color and even hairline—and the finished product is incredibly lifelike. Watch Gurche as he rebuilds Homo naledi on National Geographic.
Link About It is our filtered look at the web, shared daily on social media and published weekly every Saturday morning.
