State Dept. cables newly released by WikiLeaks show that U.S. diplomats served as deal-brokers, pressuring world leaders to purchase billions of dollars worth of Boeing jets (instead of European competitor Airbus). "To a greater degree than previously known, diplomats are a big part of the sales force." Here's the actual cable, and here's the NYT article.
Wikileaks: cables show that US diplomats are key part of Boeing sales force
Why e-sports careers are shorter than those of athletes
E-sports stars have short careers—shorter than sports stars. The general assumption is that the coordination and focus required selects for youth even more than athletic performance does, but medical experts say that's not at all true. Instead, the Washington Post's Jonathan Lee traces more complex causes: success leads to an entrepreneurial track promoting gamer bric-a-brac;… READ THE REST
Amazon to close 68 stores, including all bookstores
Amazon is to close all its "physical" bookstores among dozens of others, reports Publishers Weekly, ending a six-year experiment even as other brick-and-mortar efforts thrive. Many industry observers believed Amazon's goal in opening the stores was to experiment with new shopping technologies, showroom its book and book-related offerings, and examine consumer behavior. Indeed, after the… READ THE REST
Epic Games is buying Bandcamp
Fortnight publisher Epic Games has acquired Bandcamp, the online platform that transformed the independent music business in wonderful ways. "The products and services you depend on aren't going anywhere, we'll continue to build Bandcamp around our artists-first revenue model," said Bandcamp co-founder/CEO Ethan Diamond in a statement. From The Verge: Epic describes Bandcamp as committed… READ THE REST
Got a home repair project? This HD endoscope camera can give you a closer look
As much as you hate it, sometimes we have to search for things in places we never want to go, like the kitchen sink's drain, the dusty attic, or the spider-web-laden area underneath the house. Your shrieks might just bring music to their ears! But as much as we don't want to see what's in these… READ THE REST
With Buildix Pro, you don't have to be a pro developer to make a killer website
Whether you have your own cookie business or run a celebrity gossip blog, having an unimpressive landing page can really slow things down. Sure, hiring a professional developer to create a website would be awesome, but their rates can be pretty steep, and that's not something you want to budget for these days. Just because… READ THE REST
Send untouched files and useless apps to the dump with this app for Macs
How much of your Mac's storage space is actually stuff you use? Odds are good a significant portion of your hard drive is filled with untouched downloads, duplicate files, and apps you forgot existed. You may not have noticed it, but the gradual slowing of your computer could be due to all those files just sitting… READ THE REST
