TED 2014: Earth and Space

A closer look at Planet Labs' earth mapping project and the Large Synoptic Sky Survey

In years past, the topic of space has remained a constant theme at TED conferences, and at last week’s 30th anniversary series of talks in Vancouver, BC, the expansive and always awe-inspiring topic remained on the table. While much talk has centered around a certain legendary singing Canadian astronaut, we also learned about two new imaging projects that will give both the general public and …

Interview: Roger Linn

The iconic drum machine designer on the limitations of today's musical instruments and what he's invented in response

Without a multi-million dollar budget, high-tech research lab or an engineering degree, Roger Linn created the LM-1 Drum Computer in 1979, the first programmable drum machine that used digital samples of acoustic drums. Unlike other drum machines of the day—like the classic Roland TR-808—the LM-1 was the closest one could get to having an authentic drummer when you didn’t have a kit (or the skills) …

Mod Notebooks

A service that digitizes handwritten notebooks and syncs to the cloud

Writers and illustrators often fill notebook upon notebook with ideas, wordplay, sketches and doodles. Many are then lost to a drawer or a shelf, and the creativity stays locked away. Mod Notebooks has a brand new solution for salvaging those threads, beginnings and “what ifs.” Their new service provides you with a notebook—plain, ruled, or dot-grid, thread-bound and tablet-sized, with super thick paper. It’s classically …