Micron spends a few minutes with Steve Brown, aka “the bald futuristâ€, to glean his thoughts on what will be needed make autonomous driving a reality over the next 20-30 years.
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Donnerstag, 14. September 2017
One on One with Steve Brown, Futurist
Micron spends a few minutes with Steve Brown, aka “the bald futuristâ€, to glean his thoughts on what will be needed make autonomous driving a reality over the next 20-30 years.
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Feds Warn Lindsay Lohan, Sofia Vergara & Other Instagram Celebs To Stop Their Stealth Social Advertising
The Federal Trade Commission has warned dozens of advertisers against using Instagram “influencers” to push their products and brands without properly disclosing that money changed hands. Now the FTC is going after the celebrities themselves, issuing warning letters to folks that range from merely online-famous to bona fide superstars.
On Sept. 6, the FTC escalated its crackdown on stealth-advertisements by sending warning letters [PDF] to 21 celebrities including supermodel Naomi Campbell, actresses Vanessa Hudgens, Lindsay Lohan, Lucy Hale, Sofia Vergara, and reality stars — like Snooki from Jersey Shore and that Scott Disick guy who married the least-famous Kardashian sister — who show off clothing, food, alcohol, and other products or services through posts on Instagram.
The letters, which were obtained by consumer advocates through a Freedom Of Information Act request, require the influencers to provide the FTC with details on any “material connection” they have to the marketers of these products.
The influencers must also provide the agency with an explanation of how they will properly disclose paid relationships with brands in the future.
Déjà Vu
Each of the letters begins the same way, reminding the celebrities that this isn’t the first time the FTC has reached out about their proclivity to post photos of themselves enjoy things like high-end suitcases, skin treatments, sunglasses, watches, and other products and services.
Mary Engle, FTC associate director for the division of advertising practices, then reminds the influencers that if they are being paid by a brand to post such photos, they have to “clearly and conspicuously” disclose that relationship.
As the agency has made clear in the past, merely burying “#ad” among multiple other hashtags is not sufficient. The same goes for a disclosure at the end of a very long caption that is automatically truncated by the Instagram app.
While the FTC does not reiterate these points in the most recent letters — as none of the Instagram posts cited include the #ad hashtag — the agency does point out other ways in which the influencers failed to adequately disclose whether or not they were paid to post the content.
A Tag Is Not Disclosure…
In the case of Aliaume Damala Badara Akon Thiam — better known as the rapper Akon — the FTC points to two Instagram posts (that have since been deleted) involving Ratel Geneva watches.
“In both posts you are wearing a watch that you tagged as ‘ratelgeneve,’” the letter states. “The FTC staff believes that tagging a brand is an endorsement of the brand.”
If there is a material connection between Akon and the marketer of the tagged brand, then the posts should disclose that connection.
Similarly, in a letter to Naomi Campbell, the FTC questions whether the supermodel has connection to luggage maker Globe-Trotter.
The supermodel had posted a photo of three pieces of luggage, accompanied by the caption “#onthemove @globe_trotter1897 #wheretonext ?? #omitravelstheworld.”
The FTC notes that while the company is tagged in the post, there is not clear disclosure of whether the celebrity has a material connection to the luggage manufacturer.
Neither Is A “Thank You”
When it comes to singer/actress Ciara Wilson, the FTC reminded the celebrity that thanking a brand did not constitute the disclosure of any kind of relationship.
For instance, the woman recently posted a picture of three pairs of baby shoes, accompanied by the caption, “Thank You @JonBuscemi.” In the picture, Wilson tagged the shoes “buscemi” and “jonbuscemi.”
According to the FTC, the “thank you” is inadequate in disclosing a material connection because it does not sufficiently explain the nature of her relationship to the brand.
As with the Akon post, the FTC notes that simply tagging a brand is an endorsement of the brand.
Is It Enough?
As we previously mentioned, this isn’t the first time these influences have been contacted by the FTC.
In fact, the agency first contacted the celebrities and pseudo-celebrities, as well as brand marketers, back in March with friendly educational letters asking them to pretty please follow the rules when it comes to paid endorsements.
Three months later, the FTC sent warning letters to the brands reminding them that Instagram posts must adequately disclose any “material connection” between an advertiser and an influencer, and that these disclosures be “clear” and “conspicuous.”
While the letters didn’t go directly to the Instagram influencers, one might hope and/or assume that warning recipients — including brands like Adidas, Chanel, Dunkin’ Donuts, Puma, and Popeyes — might mean they would pass this concern on to the celebrities who stealth-advertised their products.
Whether or not that happened, we don’t know. But we do know that the FTC has now bestowed upon the influencers their own warning letters.
Public Citizen, which is part of the coalition that sought the FTC’s letters, notes that the agency’s latest step is a welcome one, but it’s not enough.
Kristen Strader, campaign coordinator for Public Citizen, said in a statement that the warning letters do not address the “rampant deception” on social media that is only growing.
Public Citizen, along with Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, and Center for Digital Democracy, found in a report [PDF] earlier this year that nearly every single influencer identified by the FTC continued to post Instagram ads without proper disclosures.
“Until the FTC takes enforcement action against companies that facilitate influencer marketing, or influencers who post undisclosed ads, the culture around influencer marketing on social media will remain as it is – accepted consumer deception on behalf of profit-driven companies, without consequences,” Strader said.
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist
Apple's Face ID security questioned by the US Senate | Engadget Today
Minnesota Senator Al Franken has concerns. http://ift.tt/2y8jXuT Subscribe to Engadget on YouTube: http://engt.co/subscribe A lot of people quickly raised concerns about privacy and security the moment Apple revealed iPhone X and its Face ID feature. Edward Snowden, for instance, thinks it normalizes face scanning, "a tech certain to be abused." Now, US Senator Al Franken is pressing the tech titan for answers, penning a letter addressed to Apple chief Tim Cook with a list of questions concerning the technology's "eventual uses that may not be contemplated by" its customers. Get More Engadget: • Like us on Facebook: http://ift.tt/1k1iCZT • Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/engadget • Follow us on Instagram: http://ift.tt/1k1iCZV • Add us on Snapchat: http://ift.tt/1UqS18a • Read more: http://www.engadget.com Engadget is the definitive guide to this connected life.
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Nestlé Pays $500 Million For 68% Of Blue Bottle Coffee
There’s a very big difference between a cup of lukewarm Nescafé instant coffee and a cup of freshly roasted pour-over coffee, yet the same parent company will be able to bring give you both. Nestlé has reportedly paid around $500 million for 68% of the Brooklyn-based roastery Blue Bottle.
Acquiring millennials, er, coffee brands
Nestlé will have the option to acquire the remaining 32% of the company if Blue Bottle reaches certain unspecified goals, and says that the brand will be allowed to function independently. The company’s founder, a former professional clarinet player who turned his coffee-roasting hobby into a worldwide business, will stay on, as will the current CEO.
In an interview with the Financial Times, which broke the story, Nestlé marketing director Patrice Bula was pretty honest about why it acquired the company: It wants expertise in what’s currently considered premium coffee, and it wants to be part of a market that’s actually growing among millennial customers.
“We’re a brand-building company and we’re going to help [the Blue Bottle] team build the strongest possible brand for the millennials in the U.S.,” he told the FT.
No pods here (yet)
Blue Bottle is one of many third-wave coffee businesses, or “coffee for people who think that Starbucks is swill.” Even Starbucks itself is part of the boom, with its longtime CEO and founder Howard Schultz stepping back from running the company in part to help build its high-end Starbucks Reserve “roastery” shops.
Blue Bottle isn’t the first recent acquisition of a well-known third-wave coffee roasting business by a European conglomerate, either. JAB Holding Company, which also owns Keurig Green Mountain, Caribou Coffee, Krispy Kreme, and Panera Bread, got the prominent third-wave roasters Stumptown and Intelligentsia as part of its acquisition of the coffee chain Peet’s.
These transactions echo a trend in the beer industry, with large breweries scooping up craft beer companies across the country. Big Food is simply following its customers, buying up high-end coffee roasteries as Americans, or at least Americans with a lot of disposable income, become less interested in processed food.
Does this mean you’ll see Stumptown K-Cups doing battle with Blue Bottle Nespresso pods in your local supermarket coffee aisle? Probably not, if the brands are allowed to function independently within the company, and if they don’t want to alienate customers who prize coffee for its flavor and freshness.
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist
United Accused Of Stranding Woman In Wheelchair After Bumping Her From Flight
United Airlines is apologizing to yet another passenger, after a man said airline employees left his 77-year-old mother to her own devices after bumping her from her flight home to London.
According to WUSA-9, a Washington, D.C. man said he’d dropped his mother off at Ronald Reagan National Airport, where she was supposed to catch a flight to New Jersey before connecting to a London-bound flight.
His mother travels in a wheelchair and can be easily confused, he says, but he thought United would take care of her.
“They assist people in wheelchairs and get someone to wheel them through and basically take responsibility for that person until they arrive at their destination,” he told the news station, so he left the airport, trusting that United would make sure she got where she needed to go.
Cut to the wee hours of the morning, when the driver he hired to pick his mother up in London texted him to tell him she hadn’t arrived.
“I called the airline to make sure she was on the flight and they reassured me three or four times she was on that flight,” he said.
She wasn’t, however: After hours of phone calls, he says United told him that his mother had made it to Newark, but the airline had bumped her from her London flight. As for why, he’s not sure.
“Basically she was left at the gate for 12 hours. They offered her a hotel that was miles away,” he explained. “She had to get there on her own steam. There’s no way my mom could have pushed a wheelchair at her age, so she sat there. “
On Tuesday, United said it had apologized to the man and his mother.
“This never should have happened and we have spoken with our customer’s family to apologize,” the airline said in a statement to WUSA-9. “We are working with our team and our wheelchair assistance vendor at Newark to review what happened and to prevent this from happening again.”
In an additional statement to NJ.com, United added that it had offered the woman a hotel room and to take her there, but said that she had declined the offer of assistance.
The man says United called him Tuesday night to apologize, and offered his mother a $1,000 flight voucher.
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
One on One with Jeff Bader, Micron
Micron interviews Jeff Bader, VP of its Embedded Business Unit for an overview of the company’s news release on Sept. 12, 2017 regarding advanced memory requirements for the next generation autonomous and connected cars
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MarkLogic Exploitation Demo
Walkthrough of exploitation of MarkLogic vuln discussed on the Talos blog
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Expect new Google Pixel phones on Oct. 4 (CNET News)
Google Pixel review - http://cnet.co/2e7KzSj Google has released a couple of teasers that almost certainly point to new phones early next month. Subscribe to CNET: http://cnet.co/2heRhep Check out our playlists: http://cnet.co/2g8kcf4 Like us on Facebook: http://ift.tt/1930vfU Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/cnet Follow us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2icCYYm Add us on Snapchat: http://cnet.co/2h4uoK3
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Pixel 2 is coming! Whats on your wish-list? (The 3:59, Ep. 284)
The Pixel launch has a confirmed date next month and Roger shares his impressions of the iPhone X, iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. Google Pixel 2: http://cnet.co/2x3Rsjk iPhone X price and features: http://cnet.co/2eXrynD iPhone X Face ID: http://cnet.co/2h6ED2t Good morning from CNET NY Studios while we record the daily news-bite podcast: The 3:59. Hangout while we cover a multitude of stories from around the tech world and then Alfred Ng and Roger Cheng will take your questions and comments in the chat. Watch more episodes of 3:59 on Youtube: http://bit.ly/29LVP7F Livestream: http://ift.tt/2sd94Yk Periscope: http://ift.tt/2qU1nTf Subscribe to the audio podcast: iTunes: http://apple.co/29T3fbf Google Play: http://bit.ly/2hkXp5P Feedburner: http://bit.ly/2tVTkqw Soundcloud: http://bit.ly/2hlanQK TuneIn: http://bit.ly/2uVg9vN Stitcher: http://bit.ly/2vfeHXE Cnet: http://bit.ly/2veEfEw Subscribe to CNET: http://bit.ly/17qqqCs Watch more CNET videos: http://bit.ly/1BQxrGw Follow CNET on Twitter: http://twitter.com/CNET Follow CNET on Facebook: http://ift.tt/UQQ9wc Follow CNET on Instagram: http://ift.tt/1YieDuO
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One on One with Doug Seven, Microsoft
Micron chats with Doug Seven, Microsoft’s Head of Azure IoT Mobility to learn more about securing the identity for next-gen autonomous and connected cars.
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Proposed Law Could Let Businesses Off The Hook For Complying With Disabilities Act
A new piece of federal legislation would delay consumers’ ability to hold businesses legally accountable for failing to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) — a move that some critics say could allow companies to never comply with the ADA in the first place.
Under current law, when a business fails to comply with the ADA, those affected by the failure have the option of taking that company to court. But the ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017 (HR620) would prohibit Americans from filing an ADA compliance lawsuit without first having gone through a lengthy process involving several new steps.
The bill was introduced earlier this year by Rep. Ted Poe of Texas, and now that it’s been approved by the House Judiciary Committee it could come up for a full House vote in the near future.
What Is ADA?
The ADA is a civil rights law — enacted in 1990 — that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, school, transportation, and public or private venues open to the general public.
Title III of ADA specifically addresses an individual’s access to public accommodations even when privately owned, such as retail stores, movie theaters, hotels, restaurants, and other businesses.
While the title sets the minimum standard for accessibility when it comes to remodels and new construction of these venues, it also requires businesses to remove barriers in existing buildings where it is easy to do so without much difficulty or expense.
Businesses are directed to make “reasonable modifications” to their usual ways of doing things when serving people with disabilities.
If a business does not abide by these rules, an individual can enforce their right to access by addressing the issue with the business, filing a complaint with the Dept. of Justice, or take the company to court.
What Would Change?
The ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017 would essentially shift the burden of compliance. Instead of businesses proactively complying with ADA, the bill would place the burden on the individual while providing the offending business with weeks, months, or even years to address the issue.
Instead of simply being able to file a lawsuit against a business, individuals would have to take numerous steps before they are able to take legal action.
Here’s how it would work: When an person encounters an obstacle or barrier preventing them access to a business, they are required to provide that business with written notice of the issue.
The business then has 60 days — about two months — to provide its own written response to the customer. This response must provide a description of what the company is doing to improve access and remove the offending barrier.
Once this letter is sent, the business receives another 120 days — about four months — to either remove the barrier or make “substantial progress” in removing the barrier.
Only if the business fails to provide written notice, or make progress after 120 days, can the consumer file legal action against the company forcing it to comply with ADA.
That’s A Problem
HR 620 incentivizes business to drag their feet in complying with ADA’s accessibility obligations and acts as a deterrent to people looking to enforce their rights, consumer advocates argue.
“The so-called ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017 is not what its proponents claim and will not achieve its stated goals,” the ACLU contends. “Instead, this bill undermines the very purpose of the landmark civil rights law and harms people with disabilities.”
If the legislation is enacted, compliance under the ADA will suffer and people with disabilities will be denied the access to which they are entitled to under the law, the group notes.
By requiring individuals to jump through numerous “procedural hoops” before filing a lawsuit, the ACLU believes that business will likely wait until they are confronted by a customer to take action to comply with ADA.
But even then, the business only has to show that it has made “substantial progress” in removing the barrier. However, the legislation does not specify what constitutes as substantial progress.
To that end, the ACLU argues that businesses could wait years without removing the barrier and face no penalty, as long as they can show substantial progress is made.
“By allowing a business an endless amount of time to become compliant with the ADA’s reasonable requirements, H.R. 620 removes any incentive for a business to proactively ensure that people with disabilities have access,” the group states. “Instead, the bill encourages businesses to just wait until an individual’s civil rights are violated before making any changes.”
Human Rights Watch argues that if the legislation is enacted many would likely give up on their plight to ensure access, rather than put themselves through so many hurdles and delays in complying with the ADA.
“The United States has the obligation to ensure businesses do not discriminate against people with disabilities,” Carlos Ríos Espinosa, Senior Researcher and Advocate of Disability Rights Division for HRW, wrote in a blog post on the issue.
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist
What does it take to make a great SSD?
Watch Micron VP of SSD Engineering, Currie Munce, describe what it takes to make a great SSD. Hint: It takes great NAND.
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Micron Insight from Silicon to Solutions
Micron Principal Solutions Architect, Brad Spiers, discusses the value of a partner that helps bring business insight to your data - from silicon to solutions.
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AMD's Vision for the Future of Technology
Immersive and instinctive computing has the power to transform all of our lives. This is what drives us to create technologies that help solve some of the world’s toughest challenges. Check out the latest opportunities at AMD: https://jobs.amd.com/ *** Subscribe: http://bit.ly/Subscribe_to_AMD Like us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/AMD_on_Facebook Follow us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/AMD_On_Twitter Follow us on Twitch: http://Twitch.tv/AMD Follow us on G+: http://bit.ly/AMD_on_GooglePlus Follow us on Linkedin: http://bit.ly/AMD_on_Linkedin Follow us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/AMD_on_Instagram ©2017 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD, the AMD Arrow Logo, and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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Olive Garden Offering Actual Trip To Italy Alongside This Year’s Pasta Pass
Attention, fans of carbohydrates! It’s time to warm up your online purchasing fingers. The Neverending Pasta Pass goes back on sale at Olive Garden today, but there’s a new twist this year: 50 passes will be available that entitle the bearer to neverending pasta for weight weeks, and a weeklong trip to Italy.
This is more of a sweepstakes than a travel deal, since the version of the Pass that comes with eight weeks of pasta, soft drinks, sides, and an all-expenses-paid trip to Italy costs $200, while the regular version that just has the pasta costs $100. You can try to buy both for half an hour beginning at 2 P.M. Eastern time today at PastaPass.com.
The normal version, as longtime Consumerist readers and fans of food-related publicity stunts know, is a card that entitles the bearer to as many lunch and dinner visits to Olive Garden for unlimited plates of pasta as they can stand during a two-month period.
Last year, the company put 21,000 of the passes up for sale, and told Consumerist that the passes “were claimed immediately.” This year, the company will sell 22,000 regular passes and 50 of the vacation version.
The trip is for two people, and has stops in Siena, Florence, Assisi, Rome, Vatican City, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The announcement doesn’t mention whether the guests will get to visit Olive Garden’s cooking school in Tuscany, which actually exists.
Brand Ambassadors
The Pass isn’t just a quick publicity stunt: It’s about people who genuinely like Olive Garden’s food serving as “brand ambassadors” and bringing their friends and family to dine with them. Those friends and family pay full price for their meals, of course. Pass holders visited the restaurant an average of 28 times over the eight weeks of the promotion.
Olive Garden sent along this useful chart to help you decide which pasta pass is right for you, if you do get the opportunity to buy a pass.
If you do have luck buying your own pass, with or without a vacation included, let us know how the sale went!
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist
Apple iPhone X: Why you shouldn't buy it (Top 5)
It's Apple's glimpse into the future of phones, but maybe you should think twice before committing to one. Subscribe to CNET: http://cnet.co/2heRhep Check out our playlists: http://cnet.co/2g8kcf4 Like us on Facebook: http://ift.tt/1930vfU Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/cnet Follow us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2icCYYm Add us on Snapchat: http://cnet.co/2h4uoK3
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Apple iPhone X: Why you should buy it (Top 5)
The newest iPhone is a big departure from older models. Here are some reasons to justify paying $1000 or more for one. Subscribe to CNET: http://cnet.co/2heRhep Check out our playlists: http://cnet.co/2g8kcf4 Like us on Facebook: http://ift.tt/1930vfU Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/cnet Follow us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2icCYYm Add us on Snapchat: http://cnet.co/2h4uoK3
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The Vergecast breaks down the iPhone X event
The day after Apple’s iPhone X event, Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, and Paul Miller brought The Vergecast to San Francisco in front of a live audience. Along with special guests Lauren Good and Casey Newton, they discussed the iPhone X, iPhone 8, and all of the other big announcements from the event. Subscribe: http://goo.gl/G5RXGs Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/lfcGfq Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/94XbKx Like The Verge on Facebook: http://goo.gl/2P1aGc Follow on Instagram: http://goo.gl/7ZeLvX Read More: http://www.theverge.com
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If Someone Calls You From Equifax To Verify Your Account, It’s A Scam
Now that Equifax is part of the mass public consciousness for failing to secure sensitive financial and personal information for about half of the adult U.S. population, soulless scammers are trying to prey on this heightened awareness by blasting out fake calls to people, asking them to verify their account information.
This morning, the Federal Trade Commission — which is currently investigating the data breach — posted a consumer fraud alert, warning Americans that Equifax is not trying to call you, no matter what some jerk on the phone claims.
READ MORE: 4 Things To Remember To Avoid Getting Scammed In Wake Of Equifax Breach
The FTC says that if you receive a call from someone claiming to be from Equifax, just hang up.
“Don’t tell them anything,” writes the FTC. “They’re not from Equifax. It’s a scam. Equifax will not call you out of the blue.”
Don’t press any buttons, give them any info. Just hang up and get on with your day.
To help the FTC catch these scammers, you should also report the bogus call via the FTC’s online complaint portal. Every little bit of information the FTC gets about these calls can aid in tracing them back to the amoral morons who think this is an acceptable way to make a buck.
If you are worried that there is some extraordinary reason that Equifax would be calling you out of all the 143 million people affected by this breach, you can always call the company back at 866-447-7559.
by Chris Morran via Consumerist
Facebook Launching Crisis Center To Put Safety Check, Fundraising In One Place
Facebook knows that when a natural disaster or other major crisis hits, many people turn to social media to connect with loved ones, ask for or offer help in their communities, and raise money for charitable causes. The company is now putting all of those tools in one place.
All together now
Following an earlier update that expanded Safety Check to allow users to offer and get help in a crisis, Facebook is now moving Community Help and Safety Check to its new Crisis Response feature.
In that area, users will also be able to create fundraisers and donate to support those affected by the crisis, as well as nonprofit organizations helping with relief efforts.
And in an effort to provide more information about crises, Facebook will show folks links, articles, photos, and videos of crisis-related content from public posts.
Making money on Facebook
Perhaps to prepare for the likelihood that some bad actors may try to take advantage of this new feature to make money off such crises, Facebook also introduced monetiziation eligibility standards this week.
“These standards provide clearer guidance around the types of publishers and creators that are eligible to earn money on Facebook, along with guidelines on the kind of content that can be monetized,” the company says.
With these new standards, content must meet certain guidelines. If users don’t comply with the standards, Facebook will notify them that it has removed the ads. Users can challenge the eligibility of their content through the appeals channel.
For example, tragedy and conflict content — focusing on real world tragedies, like natural disasters, crime, or medical conditions — may be ineligible, Facebook says, “even if the intention is to promote awareness or education.”
Other kinds of content that may get vetoed for monetization include misappropriation of children’s characters, debated social issues, violent content, adult content, prohibited activity (sale or use of illegal products, for example), explicit content, drug or alcohol use, and inappropriate language.
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
Meet ASUS ZenFone 4 Max 5.5
ZenFone 4 Max 5.5 are designed to be the perfect all-day photography companion, featuring a dual rear-camera system with a 120° wide-view camera, plus a high-capacity 5000mAh battery with ASUS PowerMaster technology for an incredible 46 days of 4G standby time. Learn More: http://ift.tt/2wcXL4P For more information head over to: United States: http://www.asus.com/us/ Canada: http://ift.tt/1UmU0KK Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/user/asusrog Join the community: Facebook: http://ift.tt/1FrqFgl Twitter: https://twitter.com/ASUSUSA Instagram: http://ift.tt/1FrqDoJ Google+: http://ift.tt/1FrqFgo Vine: https://vine.co/asususa
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Overwatch Razer DeathAdder Elite
Wield a weapon befitting an Overwatch elite with the new Overwatch Razer DeathAdder Elite: http://rzr.to/owdae A true 16,000 DPI optical sensor with an industry-leading resolution accuracy of 99.4% and an award-winning ergonomic design, this badass gaming mouse will bring you closer to the professional league. ----- SUBSCRIBE and get hooked up with exclusive content, codes. and giveaways. http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=cultofrazer Keep with the Cult: http://ift.tt/GUlBQr http://www.twitter.com/razer http://ift.tt/1jVFkG2 http://ift.tt/nZFRXg
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Shortage Of Insurance Adjusters May Delay Claims For Hurricane Irma Victims
If your home sustained damage from Hurricane Irma, you might have to wait just to get the insurance company to look at your property to see what repairs will and won’t be covered. Why? Because there aren’t enough claims adjusters to go around right now.
Claims adjusters are the folks used by your insurer to assess damage claims. Larger insurance companies have their own staff adjusters, but smaller insurers often turn to independent adjusters. And in times of widespread calamity, insurers of all sizes will turn to third-party adjusters.
Since independent adjusters get paid on a per-job basis — and on the size of the claim — they are often traveling to areas that have been newly ravaged by disasters, working 12-plus-hour days and seeing as many homes as possible. So when Hurricane Harvey hit Texas and Louisiana, a number of adjusters from Florida went west to deal with the massive amount of post-storm claims.
Problem is, notes the Wall Street Journal, that many of those Florida-based adjusters are still out of state working on the Harvey aftermath, meaning there is a shortage of adjusters immediately available to assess Irma-related claims.
The Journal also points out that the lack of readily available independent adjusters is particularly a problem in Florida because the state’s home insurance market is heavily populated with smaller and mid-size insurers.
While homeowners might feel like their insurer is deliberately delaying sending out a claims adjuster, the reality is that the sooner an insurance company looks at a damaged property, the better it is for the insurer. If you think a home with a roof ripped open by a falling tree looks bad on day one, imagine how it looks after two weeks. Not only will that claim be more costly to the insurer, but the delay increases the likelihood that the homeowner could get litigious.
“An insurance claim isn’t a bottle of wine,” an insurance company defense attorney to the Journal.
According to the Journal, Florida insurers are in a game of tug of war, offering increased compensation to attract adjusters and get these claims sealed up now. At the same time, insurers in Texas are tugging back in an effort to hold on to the adjusters working on Harvey claims.
“Right now, anyone with a license to adjust claims can get a job and some company will try them out,” one adjuster for an independent company tells the Journal. “They’re paying more for adjusters to work Irma than they’ve ever paid insurance adjusters ever.”
by Chris Morran via Consumerist
Equifax Says Site Vulnerability Behind Massive Breach; FTC Confirms Investigation
It’s been a week since credit reporting agency Equifax admitted it had lost sensitive personal data for 143 million American consumers — one of the worst data breaches yet. Now, the company says it knows how the intruders got in… and it’s through a bug that was first identified six months ago.
The Problem
Equifax updated its breach information page this week to identify the vulnerability malicious actors were able to use to get access to all that juicy private data.
The issue was in the Apache Struts framework, code used to develop and run Java-based apps for web servers. Loads of companies, including other banks and credit reporting agencies, rely on versions of Apache Struts to work.
Ars Technica reported on the vulnerability in early March. Means of exploiting the vulnerability were “trivial, reliable, and publicly available,” Ars noted at the time, making the flaw high-impact, high-visibility, and leaving major sites vulnerable to an increasing wave of attacks.
By the time Ars ran that story on March 9, Apache had already issued a patch. And yet by the time the big breach began two months later, in mid-May, Equifax had apparently still not updated, since its systems were vulnerable to that flaw.
Ars notes that applying this particular patch is “labor intensive and difficult,” due to the way the software works. But clearly the worse-case outcome of not doing it has proven to have massive consequences for not only nearly half the entire U.S. population, but tens of millions of people around the world as well.
The Investigation
In an extremely unusual move, the Federal Trade Commission has confirmed that it has opened an investigation into the circumstances of the Equifax breach.
“The FTC typically does not comment on ongoing investigations. However, in light of the intense public interest and the potential impact of this matter, I can confirm that FTC staff is investigating the Equifax data breach,” an agency spokesman told media.
MORE: How much control do you have over your private data?
The FTC is responsible for overseeing business compliance with laws that require credit reporting agencies to keep non-public personal information, well, non-public. So although it’s exceedingly rare for the Commission to confirm an investigation has been opened, it’s also unsurprising they would do so in this case.
Virginia Senator Mark Warner on Wednesday sent a letter [PDF] to the FTC requesting it launch an investigation into the massive data breach.
“Aspects of this breach raise questions about the data security practices of Equifax that implicate the FTC’s existing authority,” Warner wrote. The Senator also called out several of “Equifax’s post-breach actions,” including poor site management of the breach notification portal, weak user PINs for credit freezes, and confusing notification to consumers who just wanted to know if they were hit.
“Taken as a whole, and given past breaches by other major credit bureaus, these lapses may potentially represent a systemic failure by firms currently incentivized to collect and store highly sensitive identification and financial data for Americans,” Warner said. “I fear that firms like Equifax may illustrate a set of institutions whose activities, left unchecked, can significantly threaten the economic security of Americans.”
In the wake of consumer complaints and media coverage, Equifax says this week it has updated call center support, added clarification about mandatory binding arbitration, and revamped the way it issues PIN codes to consumers placing freezes on their credit.
We’ve asked Equifax for a comment and will update if we hear back.
by Kate Cox via Consumerist
Applecare+ Now More Expensive For Big Glass iPhones
On Monday, Apple announced a new batch of iPhones. What the next-generation iPhone 8 and the next-next-generation iPhone X have in have in common is glass all around, on both front and back, making them extra slippery. Apple has raised the price of its Applecare+ extended warranty and limited accidental damage program for some users.
Pricier coverage for more slippery phones
All that extra glass means that Applecare+ is part insurance and part extended warranty, and both cost more for devices that are more expensive. The plan for customers purchasing new normal-sized iPhone 8, 7, or 6s costs $129.
Yet the price goes up along with the sticker price of your phone. It will cost $199 for two years for the home button-free iPhone X, and $149 for the iPhone 8 Plus, 7 Plus, and 6s Plus. The longest that any plan will cover you for is two years.
Apple raised the price of the plan but lowered customers’ share of certain repairs a few years ago, making screen and battery replacements cheaper for customers who are still covered.
Apple doesn’t think it’s optional
While Applecare+ is optional, it’s a useful extra purchase if you tend to drop or smash phones often. It’s also not optional if you take part in Apple’s direct Upgrade Program, since the company packages the plan into the monthly price of for leasing (but not really leasing) a new iPhone.
Spread out over 24 months, a plan that costs $20 or $70 more isn’t that much of a difference, but it all contributes to making the price of a new iPhone creep upward.
However, you should also check with your carrier: For some customers, carriers’ own insurance plans might be a better option. Know how you use your devices and how you tend to break them.
(via Engadget)
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist
175K Dressers Sold At Target Recalled For Tip-Over Hazard
Just a week after more than 1.6 million topple-prone dressers sold at Walmart were recalled, Target has issued a safety campaign of its own, recalling 175,000 potentially dangerous dressers.
Target announced Wednesday the recall of its Room Essentials four-drawer dressers after receiving reports that two children were injured when a piece of the furniture tipped over.
According to a notice posted with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the unstable dressers pose a serious tip-over and entrapment hazard if they are not anchored to the wall.
In all, Target is aware of 12 reports of dressers tipping over or collapsing, including one incident in which a piece of furniture tipped over on two three-year-old children. Thankfully, so far, no injuries have been reported.
The affected Room Essentials dressers contain four drawers and come in three colors: black, espresso, and maple
Measuring about 42 inches tall by 31.5 inches wide, the dressers were sold exclusively at Target and Target.com from Jan. 2013 to April 2016 for about $118.
Recalled dressers can be identified by the following model numbers printed on the furniture packaging:
• 249-05-0103 (black)
• 249-05-0106 (espresso)
• 49-05-0109 (maple)
Consumerist has reached out to Target for details on how to determine if a dressers is recalled if the packaging has been thrown away. We’ll update this post with more information.
Consumers who have the furniture in their homes are urged to stop using dressers that are not properly anchored to the wall and place it into an area that children cannot access. The dressers should be returned to Target for a full refund.
Owners should return the recalled dresser to any Target store for a full refund. Customers with questions can contact Target at 800-440-0680 or online at www.target.com.
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist
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Everything you wanted to know about the #iPhone8, #iPhone8plus, #iPhoneX, #4KTV, and the new #Applewatch, but were not nerd enough to ask. PopSci tech editor Stan Horaczek and assistant tech editor Rob Verger talk all things #Apple. . . . EDITOR/CAMERA TOM McNAMARA . . . FOLLOW POPULAR SCIENCE http://www.popsci.com Facebook: http://ift.tt/1mDk8YO Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/popsci Instagram: http://ift.tt/2ieE7iU Snapchat: http://ift.tt/2fSZV2X Pinterest: http://ift.tt/2idLrLJ
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‘South Park’ Screws With Viewers’ Google Home, Echo Devices
Fans of the show South Park who watched the season premiere last night got more than the usual fart jokes and foul-mouthed rants: Amazon Echo and Google Home devices were woken up throughout the episode, triggered by commands from the characters. Of course, hilarity — or headaches, depending on your point of view — ensued.
Before we proceed, it’s worth noting that South Park contains a great deal of extremely not safe for work language, so you’ll probably want to put on headphones, turn down the volume, and read this out of earshot of your boss and/or children.
In one example in the episode, Cartman conducts a veritable potty-mouthed orchestra, getting a group of Echo and Home devices to repeatedly trigger each other to say things about human genitalia.
For the most part, it seems viewers were pretty amused by the stunt, posting clips on Twitter showing their devices adding things like “titty chips” and “hairy balls” to their shopping lists, or setting an unwanted alarm for (gasp) 7 a.m.
People who owned both devices had double the laughs:
While others sat back and watched Alexa go (again, beware foul language):
Who else’s Alexa’s keep going off every time Cartman says something on the Alexa during this South Park episode
#SouthPark21 http://pic.twitter.com/strwnTST23
— Kenny Eaton (@Kenny_623) September 14, 2017
Watching the new @SouthPark episode & my Alexa went off
— Jessica Plunkett (@Jesserican) September 14, 2017
Google Home was also feeling spunky, owners say:
OMG. Thanks @SouthPark for setting off my Google Home.
— Brandon J Alexander (@UNCgrad_99) September 14, 2017
We’ve reached out to Google and Amazon for more information on how this could happen, and whether the companies have plans to deal with these kinds of situations going forward. We’ll update this post if we hear anything back.
Of course, this isn’t the first time TV content has messed with voice-activated devices. Back in April, a Burger King commercial for the Whopper forced Google Home devices to chime in with information about the burger. Soon after, Google blocked the ad from triggering Home devices, but Burger King found a way around it again.
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
Did TransUnion Increase Cost Of Credit Monitoring In Wake Of Equifax Breach?
With more than 143 million consumers’ personal information now circulating on the dark web thanks to the massive Equifax data breach, there’s no doubt many of these victims are turning to the other two major credit bureaus — TransUnion and Experian — for credit freezes and monitoring services. But is one of these agencies cashing in on the Equifax hack by raising the price for its services?
That’s the accusation some long-time TransUnion customers are throwing out after finding their TrueCredit monitoring service bill increased by 50% this month — just days after Equinox’s breach came to light.
An Inconvenient Increase
Reader Frank tells Consumerist that he was shocked to see his monthly TrueCredit monitoring service tab jump from $9.95 to $14.95.
Of course it’s not uncommon for companies to increase the fees on their services over time or at the end of a promotional period.
However, in Frank’s case, a promotional price wasn’t in play, as he’s had the service since 2003, and always paid $9.95/month. Additionally, he says he hadn’t received any kind of notice from TransUnion that the cost of the service would be increasing.
The abrupt change and the timing of the increase were concerning to Frank.
“I find it interesting that they decided to raise the cost by 50% on existing customers at precisely the time that Equifax disclosed their breach,” he tells Consumerist. “It seems like the moral equivalent of price-gouging for water during a hurricane.”
When he reached out to TransUnion’s customer service about the issue, he received a less than helpful answer. He was told that the company had increased the service cost without notice. If he didn’t like it, he could cancel the service for a full refund of the month’s fees.
Consumerist has reached out to TransUnion about the increase and the blunt response Frank received. We’ll update this post when we hear back.
Where’s The Freeze?
Frank isn’t the only TransUnion customer to run into issues with the company’s services following the Equifax breach.
Several Reddit users shared their dissatisfaction with the credit reporting agency this week, claiming that TransUnion was pushing them into credit monitoring service rather than simply freezing their credit.
A credit freeze — generally free for identity theft victims — prevents lenders and others from accessing a consumer’s credit report in response to a new credit application. With a freeze in place, even the bona fide account holders will need to take special steps if they want to apply for any type of credit or unfreeze the account.
Related: My Identity Was Stolen, Then TransUnion Let The Fraudster Unfreeze My Accounts
One user says he noticed a change on the TransUnion website Wednesday morning while providing links to family on how to freeze their credit in the wake of the Equifax breach.
“I froze my credit the day after news about the Equifax breach broke, and it looks like TransUnion has since changed their site to push people away from freezing their credit in favor for their own product called TrueIdentity,” the user claims.
The Redditor says the company’s website previously provided easy to follow instruction for placing a credit freeze and had no mention of TrueIdentity.
Now, however, if someone wants to place a credit freeze they must traverse through a page of information about credit and fraud, then click on the “about credit freeze” button. The next page, once again, tries to convince customers to enroll in TrueIdentity.
The user says that the new language related to the credit freeze is passive and dissuasive, “A credit freeze may be available under your state law.” Conversely, the language related to the TrueIdentity service appears phrased for action, “Lock your credit information by enrolling in TrueIdenity.”
While TrueIdentity is free of charge and allows customers to lock and unlock their credit, a premium version of the service is $10/month.
“This is such a blatant attempt by TransUnion to take advantage of the Equifax breach for their own financial gain,” Reddit user Equisux wrote. “It’s a shitty thing for TransUnion to do, and people should be aware that they are being led away from putting an actual credit freeze on their account.”
No Freezes Here
Other consumers note on the thread that they have had a difficult time enrolling in credit freezes through the company.
Redditor InformalProof reports that after going through the steps on the phone to obtain a credit freeze he was told that the credit card number “you entered is not a valid credit card number.” He was then put on hold and hung up on.
“This happened to me yesterday, right after I entered my numeric address,” Redditor Dr_Iridium wrote. “They ‘could not verify’ and transferred me to an agent but I was hung up on in the process.”
It is possible that TransUnion’s credit freeze phone system — which is automated — is overwhelmed given the extent of the Equifax breach.
Consumerist has reached out to TransUnion for information on both the website changes and difficulties in enrolling in credit freezes. We’ll update this post when we hear back.
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist
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Support: Setting up Data Fields on a Forerunner 630
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Support: Birdseye Purchase & Activation
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iPhone's quick charging, Samsung's foldable phone
The biggest stories in tech include info on the new iPhone's quick charging abilities, Facebook's banning of monetizing off seedy content and new rumors of Samsung's long-teased foldable smartphone. Subscribe to CNET: http://cnet.co/2heRhep Check out our playlists: http://cnet.co/2g8kcf4 Like us on Facebook: http://ift.tt/1930vfU Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/cnet Follow us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2icCYYm Add us on Snapchat: http://cnet.co/2h4uoK3
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Spotlight Jim 15s EN (9x16)
From author to TEDx speaker to entrepreneur, Jim Stolze has gained a wealth of experience. He has shared the stage with leaders in industry including Tim Cook (Apple), Eric Schmidt (Alphabet) and professor Hans Rosling (most viewed TED speaker of all time). Jim is an experienced presenter who understands the passion and perils required on stage. Learn how to deliver engaging presentations no matter the size of the audience you’re addressing…
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