Sure, it might seem social networking giants like Snapchat and Instagram continuously mimic each other in a phenomenon we’re calling “samification,” but now it looks as if a seemingly unrelated app is dipping its toes in the social pool, too: Google is adding a more social, sharable function to its Maps app. [More]
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Selfies In The Voting Booth? Not So Fast.
By 8.29.16
When exercising your right to vote for the next President of the United States it might be tempting to document the once-every-four-years event with a selfie. But before you hit the camera button, you should know your state laws, because in some areas of the U.S. the now-popular voting booth selfie is illegal. [More]
Facebook Lawsuit Over Scanning Of Private Messages Moves Forward, But Plaintiffs Will Receive No Money
By 5.20.16
Way back in late 2013, a lawsuit accused Facebook of scanning links in users’ private messages and turning them into public “Likes,” from which the company earned revenue. This week, a federal court certified the class action, giving it the green light to move forward, but none of the plaintiffs should expect to see any money if they prevail at trial. [More]
Why Won’t The FBI Tell Apple How It Unlocked iPhone?
By 4.26.16
A month ago, the FBI dropped its legal effort to compel Apple to unlock a dead terrorist’s iPhone after a third party provided the agency with a way to bypass the device’s encryption. While the federal law enforcer is okay with using what it learned to aid other criminal investigations, it doesn’t look like the FBI is jumping at the chance to let Apple in on the secret. [More]
Foodservice Employees: Have You Ever Gone To Work Sick? Tell Us About It
April 21, 2016
Every day, countless American workers go to their jobs knowing they have a cold, flu, or some other communicable illness, but not all of these people have work that puts them in contact with other folks’ food. If you’ve worked in foodservice and gone to a job while still ill, we want to hear your story. Were you concerned about losing your job if you didn’t show up? Does your employer not offer sick leave? Could you not afford to lose those few hours? Whatever your reason, we’d like to hear your story. Email us at tips@consumerist.com with “SICK AT WORK” in the subject line. All details would remain anonymous, and no names or other identifying information would be published. [More]
Elderly Shopper Punched In The Face Over Nutella Samples At Costco
By 9.22.15
One would think combining free sample day and Nutella would create the ideal shopping experience. That certainly wasn’t the case at a California Costco where an elderly shopper was punched in the face was punched in the face in the name of free chocolate hazelnut spread. [More]
Amazon Puts A New Limit On How & Who You Can Share Prime Benefits With
By 8.3.15
Amazon appears to be reining in the number of people who share some of their Prime member benefits with others. In a rather stealth move over the weekend, the e-commerce giant reduced the number of people that could share a Prime member’s perks from four to just one other member of their household. [More]
The Pros & Cons Of Windows 10 Sharing Your WiFi Passwords With Your Contacts
By 7.29.15
All around the world today, Windows users are updating their operating systems to Windows 10, better known as Microsoft’s attempt to atone for the sins of Windows 8. However, the newest version of Windows has a feature that is either — depending on who you speak to — a huge privacy concern, or maybe not that big a deal. [More]
20% Of Young Adults Are Using Someone Else’s Netflix, HBO Go Passwords
By 7.10.15
Are you piggybacking on the Netflix, HBO Go, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc, account of a friend or family member? A new report claims that you’re part of the 6% of U.S. households that are costing these companies $500 million in revenue this year. [More]
Ford Launches Peer-To-Peer Car-Sharing Program
By 6.24.15
Between Uber, Lyft, Sidecar, ZipCar and Car2Go there’s no shortage of ride-sharing and car-sharing services out there to meet your specific needs. But having options is great, too, and with that in mind Ford announced the launch of its own car-sharing program that lets owners of its vehicle rent out their rides. [More]
Judges Question FCC’s Need To Share What Comcast & DirecTV Pay To Broadcasters
By 2.20.15
Those following the merger of Comcast with Time Warner Cable and AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV may remember that the FCC had hoped to make some of the cable companies’ confidential contract information available to parties with a direct interest in these deals. In November, a federal appeals court preliminarily sided with the broadcasters and temporarily blocked the FCC from sharing this info, and this morning the court heard arguments from both sides on whether or not these contracts should be kept under lock and key for good. [More]
Uber Promises To Share Trip Data With Cities While Guarding Customer Privacy
By 1.13.15
On the one hand, the more information about how its traffic works a city can get, the more material it has to improve parking, or transit in that area. But on the other, customers who use ride-sharing services like Uber might balk at the idea of information about their trips being shared outside the company. Uber is pledging now to both share data about rides with U.S. cities as well as safeguard customers’ privacy. [More]
Toyota To Offer Royalty-Free Use Of Fuel Cell Patents To Jump-Start Production Of “Hydrogen Society”
By 1.5.15
Toyota didn’t exactly announce any new products at its CES press conference on Monday, but the company did give a gift to its competitors: royalty-free use of its hydrogen fuel cell patents. While some companies might feel the need to fiercely guard such game-changing technology, officials at Toyota say sharing the information could mark a turning point in automotive history. [More]
Spotify Launches Family Plan That Allows Users To Share A Discounted Subscription
By 10.20.14
As competition heats up in the world of streaming music, Spotify is following the lead of other streaming services like Netflix with a new family plan. The option allows up to five family members to subscribe together for a monthly discounted rate. [More]
Tesla Opens Patents For Rivals To Use In Attempt To Speed Up Electric Car Adoption
By 6.12.14
For the most part inventors hold their patents near and dear to their hearts, not allowing others to cash in on their ideas. That’s not the case for Tesla CEO Elon Musk. [More]
Comcast/TWC Reveal Plan To Hand Over 4 Million Customers To Charter
By 4.28.14
As expected, Comcast and Time Warner Cable confirmed this morning that, through a combination of customer swaps and spin-off, shed themselves of around 4 million customers who will land, at least in part, in the lap of Charter Communications. [More]
Steam To Let You Share Games With Others For No Extra Charge
By 9.11.13
How do you legally “share” a game in the digital age when no physical media exists? Microsoft thought it had a possible answer for the upcoming Xbox One by allowing users to pass a game along, but the limitations were too strict and the company eventually backtracked in response to negative feedback. Now the folks at video game marketplace Steam have come up with what may be a more appealing solution — the ability to share a game with up to 10 other people. [More]
Facebook Provided User Info In 79% Of Requests From U.S. Government
By 8.27.13
Earlier today, Facebook released a report on governmental data requests made during the last six months, showing that there were between 11,000 and 12,000 requests made by the U.S. government during that short period of time, and that the website shared at least some information in nearly 4 out of 5 requests. [More]
