India is not done banning Chinese apps. The world’s second largest internet market, which has banned over 175 apps with links to the neighboring nation in recent months, said on Tuesday it was banning an additional 43 such apps. From a report: Like with the previous orders, India cited cybersecurity concerns to block these apps. “This action was taken based on…
Tag: shopping
Simple Search Is a Browser Extension That Gives You Google Circa 2010
A group of journalists has built a browser extension, called Simple Search, to show you what Google search would look like without the information panels, shopping boxes, and search ads. The Verge reports: Introducing the extension, Maddy Varner and Sam Morris describe it as a conscious throwback to an earlier version of Google search, before the integration of the Knowledge Graph…
42% of Amazon’s Reviews Might Be ‘Unreliable’
Long-time Slashdot reader AmiMoJo quotes Bloomberg: Fake reviews on Amazon.com Inc. during the pandemic have reached levels typically seen during the holiday shopping season. About 42% of 720 million Amazon reviews assessed by the monitoring service Fakespot Inc. from March through September were unreliable, up from about 36% for the same period last year. The rise in fake reviews corresponded with…
Dan Kohn, Executive Director of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, Has Died
Dan Kohn, leader of the Linux Foundation’s Public Health (LFPH) initiative and former executive director at the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), has passed away of complications from colon cancer. Linux Foundation Executive Director Jim Zemlin wrote yesterday (via LFPH): Dan played a special role at the Linux Foundation. He helped establish the organization that we are today and oversaw the…
Big Tech Continues Its Surge Ahead of the Rest of the Economy
While the rest of the U.S. economy languished earlier this year, the tech industry’s biggest companies seemed immune to the downturn, surging as the country worked, learned and shopped from home. From a report: On Thursday, as the economy is showing signs of improvement, Amazon, Apple, Alphabet and Facebook reported profits that highlighted how a recovery may provide another catalyst to…
Privacy Investigation Finds 5 Million Shoppers’ Images Collected At Malls Across Canada
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CTV News: Without customers’ knowledge, more than five million images of Canadian shoppers’ were collected through facial recognition software used by Cadillac Fairview, a parent company of malls across the country, according to an investigation by privacy officials. The federal privacy commissioner reported Thursday that Cadillac Fairview contravened federal and provincial privacy laws by…
The U.S. Health Department Tried to Offer Early Vaccines to Shopping Mall Santas
America’s national health agency “halted a public-service coronavirus advertising campaign funded by $250 million in taxpayer money after it offered a special vaccine deal to an unusual set of essential workers: Santa Claus performers.” The Wall Street Journal reports: As part of the plan, a top Trump administration official wanted the Santa performers to promote the benefits of a Covid-19 vaccination…
Microsoft Edge Gets Free 24-Hour Video Calls, Screenshot Tool, and Shopping Features
Microsoft today announced a slew of new features coming to its Chromium Edge browser. From a report: There are PDF improvements, a built-in screenshot tool, support for more themes, and new shopping features in time for the holiday season. But the most notable addition is the one powered by Skype because for better or for worse, 2020 is the year of…
‘Google and Facebook’s Ad Business Might Not Survive Amazon’
“There’s a relatively new, rapidly growing player in the online advertising world,” warns Medium’s new consumer technology site Debugger — taking a close look at the “Sponsored Products” listed first in the results of Amazon searches. “Given its unique business model, its history of swallowing whole industries, and its sheer size, Amazon has the potential to massively disrupt the online ad…
Serious Injuries At Amazon Fulfillment Centers Topped 14,000, Despite the Company’s Safety Claims
Even as Amazon spends tens of millions on new robotics and technologies to automate its warehouses, workers are still paying the price with more than 14,000 serious injuries — requiring days off or job restrictions — reported in fulfillment centers in 2019, according to a report from Reveal. TechCrunch reports: Overall, the company saw 7.7 serious injuries per 100 employees, a…