The more intertwined technology becomes in our daily lives, the more important it is to safeguard all that information we keep on our devices. One way smartphone manufacturers have developed to do that is fingerprint scanning, as no two prints are identical. But a new study suggests that system might not be as secure as you think. [More]
copycats
YouTube Won’t Sell Ads On Channels Before They Get 10K Views
By 4.7.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
People who earn a living by producing videos and taking a share of YouTube’s ad revenue from them have a problem: YouTube’s ad sales system also incentivizes people to steal those videos and re-upload them on their own accounts. YouTube now hopes to slow those thieves down by requiring a new channel to have 10,000 total views before it can put advertising on any of its videos. [More]
Food Tampering Craze Hits Calgary As Copycats Join In
By 4.5.10
Maybe Calgary’s residents didn’t like being eclipsed by the Olympics, or maybe there’s just an awfully high number of bored crooks living there. Either way, the city has now reported 11 cases of food tampering, mostly involving shards of metal inserted into food items, in grocery stores across the city since January. [More]
Copycat Company Sues Original Artist To Void Copyright Claims
By 10.28.09
It’s a natural impulse to want to support the little guy, the David who faces down a powerful Goliath. That’s why it’s easy to get behind this guy’s claims that a copycat business is suing him to force him to abandon his own copyrights. Wtf!, you might say when you read something like that. Is that even possible? It is, and the story is more nuanced when you look at both sides, which makes it a good example of why it’s sometimes hard to be a “good consumer” when deciding where to spend your money.
Are Your Friends Making You Fat?
By 9.16.09
A new book out by Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler—Connected: The Surprising Power of Social Networks…— looks at the way personal relationships affect your life, including everything from your weight to whether or not you smoke or drink bad beer.
Seattle Coffee Shop Owner Says Starbucks Ripped Off Her Look
By 7.20.09
Starbucks, after finally coming to terms with the fact that it is soul-crushingly bland, has been trying to reinvent itself as… well, not Starbucks. They’re stripping the branding from a few of their stores and renaming them after the communities that they’re in –– but one local coffee shop owner says they’ve gone too far to try to blend in.
Copycat, Copycat: American Eagle Outfitters Wins Injunction Against Payless Shoes
By 7.16.08
Have you noticed that Payless Shoes is starting to sell American Eagle Outfitters merchandise? Well, they’re not. They bought a a footwear brand called American Eagle from another company and (allegedly) redesigned it to look like American Eagle Outfitters’ merchandise.
