Ever since April 1, 1922 when our print forerunner, The Consumerist Bugle-Gazette, ran an April Fools’ Day cover story that unwittingly — but accurately — announced the death of exiled Austrian Emperor Charles I, we’ve not tempted fate and avoided such tomfoolery. But others aren’t burdened by these ghosts of Aprils gone awry. [More]
Google Has Already Disabled Its “Mic Drop” April Fools’ Day Gmail Prank
By 4.1.16
There’s a difference between a dumb April Fools’ Day joke that isn’t funny or doesn’t trick anyone, and an April Fools’ Day joke that makes people angry and results in a $517 billion company having to apologize. [More]
Facebook, Reddit, Wells Fargo, Bank Of America CEOs Among Those Urging North Carolina To Repeal New Anti-LGBT Law
By 3.31.16
Earlier this month, in a hurried legislative process, North Carolina lawmakers passed HB2, a bill that overrides and prevents local governments from establishing anti-discrimination rules against gay and transgender people. This morning, advocacy groups delivered a letter to NC Gov. Pat McCrory signed by top executives from more than 100 companies, all calling for the state to repeal the law. [More]
Government Has Used 1789 Law To Compel Apple & Google To Unlock More Than 63 Smartphones
By 3.30.16
The high-profile legal standoff between Apple and the FBI recently came to an end when the government unlocked a terrorist’s iPhone without Apple’s assistance, but new data confirms that this single showdown is just one of dozens of cases where the federal government has successfully used a more than 225-year-old law to compel Apple or Google to aid authorities in bypassing smartphone security measures. [More]
Report: YouTube Working On Live-Streaming Video App
By 3.24.16
YouTube might be stepping up to bat against Twitter’s Periscope and Facebook Live with its own foray into the live-streaming video world, according to a new report. [More]
YouTube Stops Complaining About T-Mobile’s Binge On, Joins Program
By 3.17.16
Remember all those years ago, when YouTube publicly railed against T-Mobile’s Binge On program, saying the wireless company may have violated FCC rules by throttling all video traffic? And then it led to a war of words, culminating in the T-Mobile CEO cursing out his critics on Twitter and accusing the Electronic Frontier Foundation of taking money from his competition? That was only a matter of weeks ago, but it’s all water under the bridge because YouTube has agreed to be part of Binge On after T-Mo made changes to give content companies more control over streaming quality. [More]
What’s Taking So Long With that Email? Google Adds Smart Reply To Messages
By 3.16.16
Not sure how to reply to that email about your upcoming class reunion from Karen? Don’t worry your pretty little head, Google has apparently has the answer: the tech company has rolled out a “smart reply” service for Gmail that provides users with a set of predetermined, quick replies. [More]
Man Learns About Ex’s Pregnancy & Friends’ Erotic Reading Habits Via Google Play
By 3.11.16
Sharing your review of an app — for good or bad — can help others decide if they should spend the money to add the service to their smartphone or assist developers in fixing bugs and otherwise improving their product. While these are all commendable and expected consequences, there are some ramifications to sharing that info you might not think about: that the products you review will be showcased to your friends, and that can sometimes provide unexpected or unwanted details of your private life. [More]
Here’s What It Looked Like When Google’s Self-Driving Car Hit A City Bus
By 3.9.16
If you’re the kind of person who likes watching high-speed car crashes and riveting action sequences with lots of big explosions, then watching a video of Google’s self-driving car hitting the side of a municipal bus last month is not for you. [More]
DMV Report: Google Self-Driving Car Hit City Bus While Changing Lanes
By 2.29.16
Google has been quick to point out in the past that its self-driving cars haven’t been at fault for any of the accidents they’ve been involved in. In what could be the first incident that’s the driverless car’s fault, a California Department of Motor Vehicles report says a Google Lexus hit a city bus while in autonomous mode. [More]
WhatsApp Ending Support For Some Older Devices By End Of 2016
By 2.29.16
If you own an older Nokia or Blackberry smartphone and are an avid user of WhatsApp, you might want to think about your phone’s future: the messaging service plans to end support for several operating systems by the end of the year. [More]
AT&T Sues Louisville To Make City Less Attractive To Google Fiber
By 2.26.16
Google hasn’t even decided whether or not it will bring its high-speed Fiber broadband and TV service to Louisville. The Kentucky city is currently listed as merely a “potential” Fiber market. But that hasn’t stopped AT&T from suing Louisville administrators in an effort to make sure that Google will have a tougher time if it chooses to launch there. [More]
Google Now Promoting Search Results For Sites With Fast-Loading Mobile Pages
By 2.24.16
Last fall, Google announced AMP — the Accelerated Mobile Pages project — in an effort to nudge content publishers to design mobile websites that load as quickly as possible. Now that a number of publishers have sped up their mobile sites, Google has begun tagging some search results that lead to faster pages. [More]
Google Shutters Comparison Shopping Website
By 2.23.16
Less than a year after Google jumped into the insurance business with the launch of comparison tool Google Compare, the company has decided to scrap the service. [More]
Motorists Love Waze; People Who Live On Side Streets Not So Much
By 2.17.16
The app Waze, which Google acquired back in 2013, is a navigational aid that’s sometimes useful, and sometimes leads to a car full of Consumerist editors driving in circles for a solid twenty minutes. You don’t have to use the app to be annoyed with it, though: some people are annoyed that the app sends people through their neighborhoods in the name of finding the fastest and most efficient route. [More]
Google Shutting Down Picasa Photo Service
By 2.12.16
Nearly 12 years after acquiring Picasa, Google announced plans to shut down the service, asking customers to use its new Google Photos service instead. [More]
Not Sure If That EMail Is Authenticated Or Secure? GMail Will Start Warning You
By 2.11.16
A solid 25 years into the all-digital era, email continues to evolve. So this week, one of the world’s biggest providers is adding a few small features to help protect consumers. [More]
Regulators: Google’s Computers Can Be Considered Drivers In Autonomous Vehicles
By 2.10.16
Just a month after federal regulators took steps to ease restrictions for self-driving cars, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has let one tech company know that its artificial intelligence system could be considered an actual driver under federal law. [More]
