Tag Archives: author_name|Lawrence Bonk

Apple is fighting Tencent and ByteDance over in-app payments in China

Posted on by

Apple has been pressuring ByteDance and Tencent to close loopholes in China that funnel customers to external payment systems for making in-app purchases, according to a report by Bloomberg. Anyone living in the West knows the drill here. Apple wants that 30 percent commission.

Reporting indicates this pressure campaign began in May. Apple allegedly warned Tencent that it would reject crucial WeChat updates if it didn’t eliminate the ability for users to make payments outside of Apple’s ecosystem. Tencent complied with the original request, issuing an update in July, but Apple went one step further.

WeChat is home to thousands of third-party mini-games and experiences. Apple asked Tencent to disable in-game chat between creators and players, as that's another theoretical loophole that could funnel users to third-party payment systems. Tencent has yet to agree to this request.

Back in June, Apple reportedly did something similar with ByteDance. It threatened to withhold updates of Douyin, which is basically the Chinese version of TikTok, unless it plugged any gaps that steer users away from that much-coveted 30 percent commission. According to Bloomberg, ByteDance has yet to issue a formal response.

These are aggressive moves on the part of Apple. China is the world’s largest smartphone market, sure, but the iPhone isn’t the dominant brand throughout the country. As a matter of fact, the phone failed to crack the top five in sales last quarter and the company recently experienced a 6.5 percent decline in profits.

It’s also worth noting that both ByteDance and Tencent aren’t happy corporate warriors looking out for the little guy. These massive companies levy their own commissions on creators and likely didn’t want Apple cutting into their bottom lines.

An Apple spokesperson was unusually blunt in a statement to Bloomberg, simply saying that company guidelines dictate that the sale of all digital goods must go through its system and that the review team has the power to reject app submissions that violate that policy. Neither Tencent or ByteDance issued a comment to Bloomberg. 

China, like the rest of the world, has been cracking down on walled gardens like Apple’s App Store. Despite the country’s hesitance to continue allowing closed ecosystems controlled by a single entity, Apple CEO Tim Cook is bullish about its prospects in China. “We continue to be confident in the long-term opportunity in China,” he said during a recent earnings call. “I don’t know how every chapter of the book reads, but we’re very confident in the long term.”

Apple is facing numerous legal hurdles all over the world regarding its Hungry Hungry Hippos approach to gobbling up commission fees. The European Commission issued a ruling that dictates it must allow app developers to steer users to payment systems and offers outside of the App Store. The company also faces potential fines from the EU, to the tune of ten percent of global annual revenue. As for the US, Epic sued Apple over its developer transaction fee policy and many other companies have expressed their own concerns. It's also worth nothing that Tencent owns a 40 percent stake in Epic Games. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-is-fighting-tencent-and-bytedance-over-in-app-payments-in-china-155949462.html?src=rss

TCL’s $20,000 115-inch QD-Mini LED TV comes with a ticket to the Super Bowl

Posted on by

TCL’s massive 115-inch QD-Mini LED TV is finally available to consumers, after being unveiled back in January. This is officially the world’s largest QD-Mini LED TV and can be purchased directly from TCL or via select retailers throughout the country.

The thing costs $20,000, which is around the price of 8,000 cups of coffee, but it does come with the option for some truly unique add-ons. Early buyers can choose from a selection of bonuses, which include a ticket to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.

There’s no airfare included, but Super Bowl tickets don’t come cheap. The promotion also provides just a single ticket, so there will be no loved ones to enjoy the experience with. On the plus side, you’ll get to hang out with a bunch of strangers who also spent $20,000 on a TV. TCL promises shared “unique experiences” with other financially irresponsible people who attend the championship game, but didn’t get into any details.

If football isn’t your bag, the company has a selection of other perks available. Purchasers can attend a movie premiere at the famous TCL Chinese Theatre (formerly Grauman's Chinese Theatre) which includes two round-trip plane tickets and hotel accommodations. This also features a walk on the red carpet and a private opera box.

Other options include a concert at SoFi stadium and a trip to LA to visit Activision to see how the Call of Duty sausage gets made. Finally, there’s an all-expenses paid trip to Las Vegas to attend the Consumer Electronics Show (CES.) We head there every year and it’s a sweaty, anxiety-filled mess. Go for the Super Bowl or movie premiere if you have $20,000 to drop.

As for actual TV specs, the TCL 115QM89 boasts Quantum Dot technology, a 6.2.2 channel speaker system and an AIPQ ULTRA processor for high-quality and crisp images. It also features 20,000 dimming zones to help shadows and highlights appear more defined. For the math wizards out there, that amounts to $1 per dimming zone.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tcls-20000-115-inch-qd-mini-led-tv-comes-with-a-ticket-to-the-super-bowl-191507877.html?src=rss

TCL’s $20,000 115-inch QD-Mini LED TV comes with a ticket to the Super Bowl

Posted on by

TCL’s massive 115-inch QD-Mini LED TV is finally available to consumers, after being unveiled back in January. This is officially the world’s largest QD-Mini LED TV and can be purchased directly from TCL or via select retailers throughout the country.

The thing costs $20,000, which is around the price of 8,000 cups of coffee, but it does come with the option for some truly unique add-ons. Early buyers can choose from a selection of bonuses, which include a ticket to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.

There’s no airfare included, but Super Bowl tickets don’t come cheap. The promotion also provides just a single ticket, so there will be no loved ones to enjoy the experience with. On the plus side, you’ll get to hang out with a bunch of strangers who also spent $20,000 on a TV. TCL promises shared “unique experiences” with other financially irresponsible people who attend the championship game, but didn’t get into any details.

If football isn’t your bag, the company has a selection of other perks available. Purchasers can attend a movie premiere at the famous TCL Chinese Theatre (formerly Grauman's Chinese Theatre) which includes two round-trip plane tickets and hotel accommodations. This also features a walk on the red carpet and a private opera box.

Other options include a concert at SoFi stadium and a trip to LA to visit Activision to see how the Call of Duty sausage gets made. Finally, there’s an all-expenses paid trip to Las Vegas to attend the Consumer Electronics Show (CES.) We head there every year and it’s a sweaty, anxiety-filled mess. Go for the Super Bowl or movie premiere if you have $20,000 to drop.

As for actual TV specs, the TCL 115QM89 boasts Quantum Dot technology, a 6.2.2 channel speaker system and an AIPQ ULTRA processor for high-quality and crisp images. It also features 20,000 dimming zones to help shadows and highlights appear more defined. For the math wizards out there, that amounts to $1 per dimming zone.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tcls-20000-115-inch-qd-mini-led-tv-comes-with-a-ticket-to-the-super-bowl-191507877.html?src=rss

A Manhattan Project nuclear weapons site is being turned into a giant solar farm

Posted on by

The US Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced plans to turn land that previously housed aspects of the Manhattan Project into a 1 GW solar farm. For the uninitiated, the Manhattan Project was a top-secret and successful effort to develop nuclear weapons during the 1940s.

This particular renovation is being conducted at the former home of the Hanford nuclear testing facility, otherwise known as Site W, which is in Washington state. This site housed the world’s first full-scale plutonium production reactor. Plutonium made at this location was used in the very first atomic bomb and the Fat Man bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.

The location certainly is intriguing, but so is the transformation project. This 580-square mile section of semi-arid desert could end up housing the largest solar project in the country, if built to the announced capacity. This record currently belongs to the Edwards Sanborn Solar and Energy Storage project in California, which generates 875 megawatts of solar power.

The DOE has teamed up with Hecate Energy to repurpose the 8,000-acre site. This is part of the Biden-Harris administration’s Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative that launched last year. This program is tasked with repurposing DOE-owned land for clean energy generation. This program has already added around 90 GW of solar capacity to the grid, which is enough to power 13 million homes.

This isn’t quite a done deal yet. The DOE and Hecate Energy still have to negotiate for a realty agreement and the government could cancel these negotiations at any time.

This is good news, but we still have some catching up to do with regard to Europe. The US produces around 5.6 percent of its energy via solar, but the EU recently shot up to 9.1 percent. However, trends are moving upward in both regions.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-manhattan-project-nuclear-weapons-site-is-being-turned-into-a-giant-solar-farm-173047830.html?src=rss

A Manhattan Project nuclear weapons site is being turned into a giant solar farm

Posted on by

The US Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced plans to turn land that previously housed aspects of the Manhattan Project into a 1 GW solar farm. For the uninitiated, the Manhattan Project was a top-secret and successful effort to develop nuclear weapons during the 1940s.

This particular renovation is being conducted at the former home of the Hanford nuclear testing facility, otherwise known as Site W, which is in Washington state. This site housed the world’s first full-scale plutonium production reactor. Plutonium made at this location was used in the very first atomic bomb and the Fat Man bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.

The location certainly is intriguing, but so is the transformation project. This 580-square mile section of semi-arid desert could end up housing the largest solar project in the country, if built to the announced capacity. This record currently belongs to the Edwards Sanborn Solar and Energy Storage project in California, which generates 875 megawatts of solar power.

The DOE has teamed up with Hecate Energy to repurpose the 8,000-acre site. This is part of the Biden-Harris administration’s Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative that launched last year. This program is tasked with repurposing DOE-owned land for clean energy generation. This program has already added around 90 GW of solar capacity to the grid, which is enough to power 13 million homes.

This isn’t quite a done deal yet. The DOE and Hecate Energy still have to negotiate for a realty agreement and the government could cancel these negotiations at any time.

This is good news, but we still have some catching up to do with regard to Europe. The US produces around 5.6 percent of its energy via solar, but the EU recently shot up to 9.1 percent. However, trends are moving upward in both regions.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-manhattan-project-nuclear-weapons-site-is-being-turned-into-a-giant-solar-farm-173047830.html?src=rss

SiriusXM is launching a standalone podcast subscription service

Posted on by

SiriusXM just announced a standalone podcast subscription service called SiriusXM Podcasts+. The platform will be available via Apple Podcasts starting August 5 and will offer a “premium listening experience” for some of the “biggest shows across the SiriusXM Podcast Network.”

Subscribers will enjoy an ad-free experience, bonus content and early access to new episodes of popular shows. None of the content is exclusive, however, as you’ll still be able to check out these podcasts via numerous other platforms.

At launch, the platform will be home to some of the bigger names in the space. There’s Smartless, the one with Jason Bateman and Will Arnett, and other programs from the same production team. Other included podcasts include Literally! with Rob Lowe, Andy Cohen’s Daddy Diaries Podcast and Last Podcast on the Left. The company says that more programs will join the platform later this year.

Though tied to Apple Podcasts at first, the company says it expects the “subscription will expand to other platforms in the coming weeks.” At launch, it’ll be available in over 60 countries. SiriusXM Podcasts+ will cost $6 per month or $45 per year.

SiriusXM has become a major player in the podcast space, which makes sense given that satellite radio talk shows are basically podcasts by another name. This move could continue that trend.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/siriusxm-is-launching-a-standalone-podcast-subscription-service-152534504.html?src=rss

Etsy just announced a loyalty program that’s (sort of) similar to Amazon Prime

Posted on by

Etsy just announced an upcoming loyalty program for buyers called Etsy Insider. This is the first-ever program of its type on the platform and the company begins testing in September. Select customers will receive an invite for the service as it gets closer to launch.

So what do you get? It’s sort of like Amazon Prime, but without the streaming video and all of that other stuff. Etsy Insider offers free shipping and access to discounts. Pricing has yet to be announced, but COO Raina Moskowitz says the monthly fee will be close to the cost of a latte. So, anywhere from $3 to $9, I guess.

The company hasn’t decided if this program will go beyond the testing phase, as it all depends on how users respond to it. Etsy says this is part of a larger effort to change how consumers think of the platform.

“We want people to start their shopping journey on Etsy rather than come to Etsy when they’re just looking for something very specific,” Moskowitz said in an interview with AP. This is a very good point, as I’ve never, ever thought of heading to Etsy unless I had something very specific in mind, like a Depeche Mode drink coaster or something.

The company has also been plagued with sluggish sales of late, which forced massive layoffs that impacted 11 percent of employees. Etsy has reported merchandise sales are down over five percent this year when compared to the same period last year. The stock price has also dipped, losing nearly 78 percent of its value since late 2021. To be fair, the stock price rose significantly throughout the early days of COVID-19, as new customers flocked to the service. The bubble burst just as people started going outside more.

Etsy has also been facing tons of new competition. This includes Amazon Handmade, the retail giant’s take on the crafting space, and Temu. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/etsy-just-announced-a-loyalty-program-thats-sort-of-similar-to-amazon-prime-173842311.html?src=rss

Lawsuit alleges StubHub deceives customers into paying extra for tickets

Posted on by

The Washington DC Superior Court has filed a lawsuit against ticket-seller StubHub that accuses the company of hiding all kinds of fees from consumers until the very last moment. The suit calls out the “deceptive practice of charging hidden junk fees” and refers to it as a “classic bait-and-switch scheme.”

Anyone who has purchased a ticket via StubHub, or many of its rivals, are probably intimately familiar with the sticker shock that arrives at check out. The added fees can boost the total cost of a ticket by up to 40 percent, the lawsuit alleges. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb says this is due to “a series of deceptive, manipulative, and unfair practices.”

These practices include the aforementioned bait-and-switch. The company allegedly advertises “deceptively low” ticket prices, adding extra charges after the consumer has clicked on multiple pages. Throughout this whole process, StubHub displays a countdown timer, urging users to act swiftly and, thereby, accept those added fees without really thinking about it. Schwalb calls this a “dark pattern” that creates a “false sense of urgency.” This is otherwise known as drip pricing.

The fees themselves are also said to be attributed to vague and cryptic policies, like “fulfillment and service.” These policies lack adequate explanation and the associated fees vary wildly, according to the suit. The lawsuit points out that StubHub doesn’t disclose how these fees are calculated or what they’re even for.

The complaint goes on to allege that StubHub has sold 4.9 million tickets and accrued over $118 million in hidden fees just in Washington DC by relying on the above methods. This lawsuit doesn’t crunch the numbers for other cities, like New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago, though I have a hunch that those residents also attend ticketed events in large numbers.

“We are disappointed that the DC Attorney General is targeting StubHub when our user experience is consistent with the law, our competitors’ practices, and the broader e-commerce sector,” John Lawrence, StubHub’s deputy general counsel, wrote in a statement to The Verge.

To the point of being “consistent with the law,” Schwalb claims that StubHub has violated the District of Columbia’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA). The aforementioned drip pricing strategy isn’t allowed, as the law requires merchants to provide factual information regarding consumer goods sold in the city. The AG has asked the court to financially penalize StubHub and for an injunction to stop the allegedly deceptive practices.

“Hidden fees in the ticketing industry have truly gotten out of control. The price that is advertised is the price that we should pay—full stop,” wrote National Consumers League CEO Sally Greenberg in a press release that accompanied the lawsuit.

This is just the latest attempt to dissuade ticket sellers from using junk fees to line their coffers. The federal government, under President Biden, has been trying to tamp down these practices since 2022, when Ticketmaster caused a straight-up fiasco by promising more Taylor Swift tickets than were actually available and adding plenty of junk fees. In 2023, the FTC proposed a rule to ban junk fees. There will be a decision issued on this by the end of the year.

The House also passed a bill back in May to force ticket sellers to display the actual prices at the start of the purchasing process and not at the very end. Finally, the DOJ took legal action against Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation earlier this year, accusing it of monopolistic practices that result in high ticket prices.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lawsuit-alleges-stubhub-deceives-customers-into-paying-extra-for-tickets-162722604.html?src=rss

Microsoft is dropping ads from Skype

Posted on by

Skype is going ad-free, as indicated in a blog post by Microsoft. The latest update removes all ads from the entire platform, including Skype channels and the main chat interface. Microsoft said this move was a response to feedback and an attempt to make the “Skype experience cleaner and more user-friendly.” This is certainly welcome news, considering every other company seems newly obsessed with ads.

The “today” section of Skype will remain, along with the pre-existing newsfeed. There just won’t be any ads to accompany that feed. Users can also delete the newsfeed tab by heading to the settings menu.

This update also includes a little something for all of the AI-heads out there. Skype will offer a revamped AI image creation system on the desktop app. This lets people access the image creator from the chat window or the top bar. There’s a “more intuitive and visually appealing” interface and pictures now expand when clicked on. Otherwise, it’s just your standard image creator.

Redesigned image creator.
Microsoft

Finally, the latest update brings integration with the authenticator OneAuth to the iOS app. This already existed on Android. OneAuth replaces the old sign-in system, so users will login automatically if they’re already signed into other Microsoft apps like Teams. It’s pretty handy because there are already way too many passwords floating around our craniums. Who among us can remember exactly how many numbers or exclamation marks to put after the same word we’ve been using as a password since 2002?

The update is available to everyone enrolled in the Skype Insider Program, so sign up if you aren’t. It begins rolling out today but will take a few days to reach every user. Microsoft urges consumers to keep checking if it doesn’t show up right away.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-is-dropping-ads-from-skype-143155507.html?src=rss

Nothing just announced the Phone 2a Plus, a minor refresh of a pre-existing model

Posted on by

Nothing just announced a relatively surprising hardware update for its Phone 2a smartphone. The Phone 2a Plus is a modest upgrade, but still significant, being as how the original 2a was just released back in March.

Most notably, the 2a Plus has a faster chip than the OG 2a. The original’s Mediatek Dimensity 7200 Pro maxed out with a clock speed of 2.8GHz. The 2a Plus boasts a Mediatek Dimensity 7350 Pro that can hit 3.0GHz. Beyond that, the new model features a slightly quicker wired charging speed, at 50W instead of 45W.

A phone from the back.
Nothing

That’s about it. Every other aspect is nearly identical to the 2a. It has the same camera system, the same battery, the same display and similar aesthetics. This isn’t a bad thing. We loved the Phone 2a in our official review, calling it “a budget phone that's packed with personality.”

Now onto the bad news. This phone will technically be available to US customers via the company’s beta program, though there are some caveats. American customers can only buy the gray version and not the black one. Even more important, the 2a Plus doesn’t offer true 5G connectivity with many of the major US carriers. This includes both AT&T and Verizon.

The Nothing Phone 2a Plus costs $400 and that gets you 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. Nothing Beta members will be able to order the phone on August 3. UK residents can scoop it up directly from the company on the same day. Nothing says we’ll have to wait until September to find out more details regarding global availability.

The OS in action.
Nothing

The company also released a few tidbits about the upcoming Nothing OS 2.6. There will be an updated Game Dashboard with new features and the ability to block third-party app notifications.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nothing-just-announced-the-phone-2a-plus-a-minor-refresh-of-a-pre-existing-model-093049030.html?src=rss