It’s been nearly 20 years since Sony first introduced its AIBO robot “dog” (pictured above) and more than a decade since it stopped making new ones, sending AIBO off to live at the grandparents’ robot farm upstate. But the dream of a mechanized, artificially intelligent canine-ish companion has apparently not died, with a new report claiming that Sony is looking to unleash a new robotic puppy on the world as soon as this coming spring. [More]
Walmart Looking Into Incident After Video Shows Brawl Between Walmart Worker, Customer
By 10.24.17
Sometimes shopping can be frustrating, but that’s no reason to let an in-store experience come to blows. That’s why Walmart is promising to look into what led to a physical altercation between a customer and a store employee in Tennessee. [More]
New York State Bans E-Cigarettes From Public Indoor Spaces
By 10.24.17
In a move that will push e-cigarettes outside with regular cigarettes, New York has banned vaping in any public indoor space that already prohibits traditional smoking. [More]
Home Depot Skipping Pumpkin Sales In Some Hurricane-Affected Spots To Focus On Recovery
By 10.24.17
It’s almost Halloween, which means everyone you know is probably posting adorable photos from the pumpkin patch. But folks looking for pumpkins to carve before the trick-or-treaters arrive may not be able to find the orange gourds at Home Depot locations in hurricane-ravaged Texas and Florida this season, as the retailer says it’s cutting back on pumpkin sales to let some stores focus on storm recovery. [More]
Amazon App Will Soon Let You Place Takeout Orders At Some Restaurants
By 10.23.17
In its never-ending quest to stick its fingers into as many pies as possible, Amazon will soon allow customers in some areas to place orders for takeout food with local restaurants from inside the Amazon app. [More]
NYC Finally Phasing Out MetroCards, Will Let Riders Pay Transit Fares With A Tap
By 10.23.17
While a number of other U.S. cities’ mass transit systems have already moved beyond plastic swipe cards and now use fobs or other smart keys, New York City with more than 450 subway stops, nearly 250 miles of track, and around 600 buses, has not made that next-gen leap. But now the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will finally begin to phase out the use of MetroCards over the coming years. [More]
Hawaiian Stores Reporting An Uptick In Spam Thefts
By 10.23.17
While we know that common items like detergent, pregnancy tests, weight loss pills, and diapers, and even baby formula can be popular with shoplifters, stores in Hawaii are facing a new trend in thievery: Cans of Spam are flying off shelves as folks with sticky fingers try to make a quick buck. [More]
Amazon Customers Surprised To Receive 65 Pounds Of Marijuana They Did Not Order
By 10.23.17
If you’ve recently misplaced a few bricks of marijuana, you may want to talk to Amazon: Customers who ordered a few storage bins were shocked to find their package arrived with a little extra something tucked in — 65 pounds of pot. [More]
British Airways Apologizes After Bed Bugs Bite Passengers On Overnight Flight
By 10.23.17
There are the travel nightmares that you can walk away from after you leave the plane, and then there are those that stick with you. Literally: British Airways has apologized to a family who claim they had to endure an overnight flight while being bedeviled by bed bugs. [More]
Google’s Alphabet Takes Aim At Uber With $1B Investment In Lyft
By 10.19.17
A long time ago, in a ride-hailing era that now seems far away, Google and Uber were friends, with the internet giant plugging $258 million in Uber in 2013. Four years later, the two sides are embroiled in a legal battle over self-driving cars, and the tech company is pouring money into Uber’s biggest rival, Lyft, instead. [More]
Is Tootsie Roll Losing The Candy Aisle Battle Because It’s Stuck In The Past?
By 10.19.17
You may not know how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop lollipop, but anyone who’s ever gone trick-or-treating knows Tootsie Roll well. That could be a problem for the candy company, according to a new report that says the confectioner is relying too much on nostalgia at the cost of innovation. [More]
Passenger Sues Airline For Serving Him Sparkling Wine Instead Of Champagne
By 10.19.17
Sure, you may have a preference when it comes to ordering fancy drinks on a flight, but would you be ticked off enough to sue over bubbly that is not actually Champagne? [More]
Blue Apron Laying Off Hundreds Of Employees In “Realignment” Effort
By 10.19.17
As e-commerce giant Amazon and major grocery chains across the country crowd into the meal kit service arena, it seems Blue Apron may be feeling the heat: The meal kit company announced Wednesday that it’s laying off 6% of its workforce as part of a companywide “realignment” effort. [More]
Why Does Capital One Need My Income To Sign Into Website?
By 10.19.17
By now you’re probably used to going to your bank’s website and being upsold on everything from car loans to mortgages to retirement accounts before you can move on to see how your money is doing. But have you ever gone to your bank’s site only to be told you must update your income with the bank before going any further? [More]
Why You Need A Medication Checkup
By 10.18.17
With half of Americans regularly taking prescription medication — four, on average, according to a nationally representative Consumer Reports survey of 1,947 adults — a medication “checkup” can reduce your risk of side effects and interactions, and stop you from taking unnecessary pills. [More]
Apple’s New Self-Driving Car Technology Spotted In The Wild
By 10.18.17
Apple’s efforts to get into the self-driving car industry have been shrouded in layers of mystery and speculation for years. But at long last, physical proof that a car does indeed exist has been spotted the wild, after Apple took its autonomous driving tech out for a spin on California streets this week. [More]
5 Potentially Harmful Chemicals Now Banned From Kids’ Products
By 10.18.17
Almost a decade after the Consumer Product Safety Commission was ordered to study the potential health affects of phthalates — chemicals often used in plastic products for children — and make recommendations on what further steps should be taken, the agency has voted to approve a final rule that prohibits manufacturers from selling items that have more than a minimal level of five of these chemicals. [More]
Google Pulls Calorie Counting Feature From Maps App After Backlash
By 10.18.17
If you use Google Maps, you may have noticed a new feature recently: One that tells you how many calories you’ll likely burn walking to wherever it is you’re going. Google has now pulled that tool, after users complained that it often wasn’t correct, and criticism over the fact that it showed users how many mini cupcakes worth of calories they could burn on their route. [More]
