That’s what Twitter paid to acquire the live-streaming app Periscope earlier in the year. The app launched Thursday, riding a new wave of smartphone live-streaming. Kai Ryssdal talked with Marketplace Tech host Ben Johnson about the streaming resurgence, its commerce and drawbacks.
That’s how much you’ll spend on 4 weeks worth of Soylent, a milkshake-like product that claims to provide the nutrients of a full meal with minimal effort. Marketplace Morning Report host David Brancaccio got to try some of the stuff, and said the flavor was unremarkable. Robert Rhinehart, the creator of the product, said that’s the point. Rhinehart’s goal was to create a product that removed some of the complexities of meal preparation from his daily life.
The average mall vacancy rate in American malls at the end of last year. That comes from a report often cited to show malls are dying, including in this blog. CityLab puts the stats in context, arguing that the death of the American mall has been greatly exaggerated.
The approximate cost of a “notel,” a portable media player that is gaining popularity in North Korea, Reuters reports. It’s a combination TV/radio/DVD player with USB and SD ports, and it can be charged from a car battery. It’s essentially the perfect device for North Koreans looking to get around censorship laws; some will reportedly watch banned media via USB with a state-approved DVD in the player to camouflage their use. Notels are pouring into the country from China via the black market, so many that the government recently started selling its own modified versions.
That’s how many agents the FBI has that are authorized to fly its fleet of drones. This was just one of the frailties revealed in a report released earlier this week on the FBI’s drone program. But you already knew that, didn’t you? So why not head over to Silicon Tally, our weekly quiz on the week in tech, and prove your news savvy.
Correction: A previous version of this post misstated how much Twitter paid to acquire Periscope. They paid $100 million.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
