WSJ via MSN: “For nearly a decade, workers in a warehouse in Seattle’s Denny Triangle neighborhood have shipped boxes of shoes, beach chairs, Marvel T-shirts and other items to online retail customers across the U.S. The operation, called Big River Services International, sells around $1 million a year of goods through e-commerce marketplaces including eBay,… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: E-Commerce
Amazon is filled with garbage ebooks. Here’s how they get made.
Vox: “…It’s so difficult for most authors to make a living from their writing that we sometimes lose track of how much money there is to be made from books, if only we could save costs on the laborious, time-consuming process of writing them. The internet, though, has always been a safe harbor for those… Continue Reading
96% of US hospital websites share visitor info with Meta, Google, data brokers
The Register: “Hospitals – despite being places where people implicitly expect to have their personal details kept private – frequently use tracking technologies on their websites to share user information with Google, Meta, data brokers, and other third parties, according to research published today. Academics at the University of Pennsylvania analyzed a nationally representative sample… Continue Reading
Automated Large-Scale Analysis of Cookie Notice Compliance
USENIX Association Report (PDF) Analysing Cookie Notice Compliance – We show that 56.7% of cookie notices do not include an option to opt out of consent, that more than 65.4% of websites with an opt-out option collect users’ data despite explicit negative consent, and that 73.4% of websites do so even when users do not… Continue Reading
It’s Time to Switch to a Privacy Browser
Wired: “Google’s admission that, yes, it does track you while you’re in Chrome’s Incognito mode, is just the latest in a long line of unsettling revelations about just how keenly Big Tech keeps an eye on our movements every time we connect to the internet. Billions of data records will now be deleted as part… Continue Reading
Navigating the Challenges and Opportunities of Synthetic Voices
Axios: “The New York Times plans to make the vast majority of its articles available to users as narrations read via an automated voice, executives tell Axios. Why it matters: The move will help position the Times as one of the biggest audio news companies globally. The company published 2,300 audio recordings, including podcasts, in… Continue Reading
American Astronomical Society Warns of Counterfeit & Fake Eclipse Glasses
“With the April 8th North American total solar eclipse just over two weeks away, counterfeit and fake eclipse glasses are polluting the marketplace…With millions of North Americans only now becoming aware that a solar eclipse is imminent and seeking to get their hands on eye protection, it is critical that everyone understand how to spot… Continue Reading
ReviewMeta.com a Must-Have for Amazon Shoppers
“Have you ever purchased a 5-star product on Amazon that turned out to be a complete piece of garbage? Sadly, virtually everyone has had this frustrating experience… and more than once! One of the reasons people love shopping on Amazon is that you can see all of the product ratings and reviews left by other… Continue Reading
The Incognito Mode Myth Has Fully Unraveled
Wired: “If you still hold any notion that Google Chrome’s “Incognito mode” is a good way to protect your privacy online, now’s a good time to stop. Google has agreed to delete “billions of data records” the company collected while users browsed the web using Incognito mode, according to documents filed in federal court in… Continue Reading
Why Tech Companies Are Not Your Friends
The New York Times – Lessons From Roku [unpaywalled]- “Roku recently changed its policy to make it even harder for customers to take legal action. It’s a reminder of how we need to protect ourselves….In reality, the tech products we buy can evolve to keep protecting those interests — and the hoops we have to… Continue Reading
We tested Amazon’s new shopping chatbot. It’s not good.
Washington Post via MSN: “Amazon is experimenting with an artificial intelligence chatbot to help you figure out what to buy. Instead of sorting through thousands of options for vacuum cleaners, you can ask the chatbot to recommend the best models for hardwood floors or for sucking up pet hair. The chatbot called Rufus, which Amazon… Continue Reading
Perplexity brings Yelp data to its chatbot
The Verge: “Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas tells The Verge that many people are using chatbots like regular search engines. It makes sense to offer information on things they look for, like restaurants, directly from the source. So it’s integrating Yelp’s maps, reviews, and other details in responses when people ask for restaurant recommendations. “Our underlying… Continue Reading
