Marketplace®

Daily business news and economic stories

Episodes 3591 - 3600 of 4266

  • Comcast is now available for users of Xbox Live, the online service for Xbox users. And when you’re a Comcast customer and watch Comcast shows, that won’t count against your Internet usage for the month. Watch all you want, watch TV all day long if that’s what you choose to do, you never have to worry. Which sounds great, unless you want to watch something other than Comcast. Plus, is Twitter’s random unfollow feature a bug or a feature?

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  • Fight it if you want, but the robots are coming. Marketplace’s David Brancaccio is embarking on a deep investigative experiment in participatory journalism called Robots Ate My Job. “I am now trying to see if a guy can drive clear across the country and never have to do business with any other human being,” he says. We talk to him about the challenges so far. Also, the Instagrammiest Instagram, brought to us by comedian Rob Delaney.

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  • This much we know: the National Security Agency is building a large structure in Utah and it’s called the Utah Data Center. Exactly what’s going on with the facility beyond that point remains a point of contention. A recent Wired Magazine cover story says that the Utah Data Center is being built for surveillance within the United States. In other words, it’s there to facilitate domestic spying. We talk to the writer of the story and gather the details. Also, sonnets made from tweets.

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  • Fish: A Tap Essay is a new app created by author Robin Sloan. It’s not a game — it’s an essay. Words. Thoughts. Robin puts a few words on each screen, maybe a sentence or so, and then you tap to move on to the next set of words, the next thought Robin wants you to consider. Robin had noticed that there were plenty of chances to “like,” or “plus 1,” or “star” or “fave” things on the web on social media. And it’s easy to pass those things you like on to friends, but the like never turns into love. Also, the city where you are most likely to lose your cell phone.

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  • A hacktivist is someone who busts into a computer network motivated more by political ideology or in the service of a cause than just to steal something for financial gain. The hacking collective known as Anonymous is perhaps the best known of hacktivist groups, and in the last several months, their efforts have expanded and inspired many spinoff groups of like-minded mischief makers. Now, a new report says hacktivist hacks now outnumber traditional for-profit cybercrime attacks.

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  • Soon after the new iPad hit the street, reports started coming in that the device got a lot hotter than anyone was expecting. Not talking figuratively here — the actual temperature on the device. Now, Consumer Reports has stepped in and done some actual testing in a scientific lab to see exactly what’s going on. Also, another edition of the Robot Roundup.

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  • Google has stepped in on the ongoing legal action between Hotfile and the Motion Picture Association of America. The MPAA wants Hotfile shut down because, it claims, Hotfile is trafficking in pirated content like movies and TV shows. But Google filed a brief that said Hotfile shouldn’t be held accountable for what people do on the site, just as Google shouldn’t be held accountable for what people put on YouTube, which Google owns. It’s certainly good to have a friend in Google.

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  • YouTube is proving to be increasingly influential in this year’s presidential campaigns. YouTube videos differ from political ads in a couple of crucial ways — make a spot on YouTube and it can be up and running within minutes and pretty much for free; plus, videos you see on a computer screen are likely to be more positive and friendly than the attack ads you’d see on television. Also, a better system for online security, and the return of NetZero.

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  • Several Internet service providers (ISPs) are set to take on a graduated approach to combating online piracy starting this summer. It calls for copyright holders to detect the specific web addresses of people believed to be trafficking in copyrighted material illegally. That information is then passed along to the ISP, who in turn issues a warning to the customer. And if you continue — more warnings! Also, the latest findings from our ‘According To A Recent Study’ file.

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About the show

Every weekday morning, Marketplace Tech demystifies the digital economy. The radio show and podcast explain how tech influences our lives in unexpected ways and provides context for listeners who care about the impact of tech, business and the digital world.

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