This piece, an artistic appreciation of computer screen savers, doesn’t hesitate to use three long words where one short one would suffice, and cites sources from Borges to Escher. Alongside that it retains an infectious enthusiasm for these artefacts of an earlier age of the web.
A look at the radical way in which Amazon is systematically turning each component of its business into an productised commercial venture with external clients – starting with their technology infrastructure, then their fulfillment service and so on. The objective goes beyond revenues and profit (though they come – Amazon Web Services has a $14bn annual run rate) to building a “moat” around their market position and ensuring that the pressure of servicing external clients keeps all units in Amazon lean and competitive.
A look at how the romance fiction genreÕs politics are evolving in the era of #MeToo and Trump.
A special issue of Wired contains several strong pieces looking at the complex freedom of speech trade-offs required in the new information era. Pieces include – the web infrastructure company Cloudflare being embroiled in a free speech debate when offering services to far-right extremists, Reddit as a case study for civil discourse online, a startup making smartphone-neutralising pouches, six stories of censorship, and a look at a database of extremists called Whack-a-Mole.
An archival interview of John le Carré covers his life, writing career and the world of spycraft he depicts in his novels.
Whilst tactics to save rare species on the verge of extinction are well established, we may be missing another even bigger issue – the massive reduction of numbers in common species – from the skylark, to the tortoise, to the vulture.
Entertainment meets accounting in this piece looking at a lawsuit brought by the creators of the cult classic This Is Spinal Tap. They initiated the suit when they were told that despite a healthy percentage share in earnings from their creation, they would be entitled to under $200 in royalties over a period spanning 20 years.
If civilisation falls then many of Silicon Valley’s elite will be well prepared – this article meets some of those getting ready with ammunition, motorcycles, food supplies and other wheezes to survive the ensuing chaos.
The challenge of keeping people cool in an age of increasing temperatures risks making us ever more reliant on resource intensive air conditioning that may also be perversely making places hotter for anyone that doesn’t have them.
The story of Nasa’s evocatively named Operation IceBridge.