Andrew Cuomo
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New York caps the cost of broadband for low-income families
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill requiring all internet service providers (ISPs) to offer $15 per month broadband for low-income users.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will push for online sports betting
He said the state could become the country's biggest sports gambling market.
NY Governor Cuomo signs bill outlawing online scalpers
Getting tickets to Beyoncé and Hamilton is already hard enough but it can be nearly impossible if you're competing against the automated purchasers used by 21st century scalpers. These so-called "ticket bots" are specifically designed to get around the strict per-customer purchase limits on sites like TicketMaster and LiveNation, allowing a small handful of individuals to buy a lion's share of a show and then offer them on the resale market for a massive profit. But that's no longer the case in New York where, governor Andrew Cuomo recently signed legislation banning these robots.
Alt-week 7.14.2012: Bleeping sheep and ATLAS art
Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days. While there might not quite have been the epic science news that we had last week, that doesn't mean that there isn't plenty going on in the world of Alt. In this installment we get to see how CERN tricks out its offices, how one farmer tries to keep his flock, and learn about how the military will be high-tailing around the planet in just a few years. This is alt-week.
Intel settles antitrust lawsuit with New York attorney general, pays hardly anything
Intel's three-year tussle with the state of New York finally came to an end yesterday, with a settlement of relatively harmless proportion. Under the arrangement, Intel will have to shell out a mere $6.5 million to resolve a 2009 antitrust lawsuit filed by then-attorney general Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo, who has since ascended to the seat of governor, had accused the chipmaker of intimidating PC manufacturers and handing out billion-dollar kickbacks, as part of what he called a "systematic worldwide campaign" to assert its market dominance. The case has since been helmed by Cuomo's successor, current attorney general Eric Schneiderman, but its sails lost a lot of wind when U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark barred the state from seeking triple damages, limiting its claims to a three-year period, rather than the four-to-six that the state had been pursuing. As a result, Intel suffered only the slightest of financial blows.According to Reuters, the $6.5 million sum represents just five hours worth of profit for the company, which reported a net income of nearly $13 billion last year. Intel was pleased with the news, pointing out that the agreement doesn't require it to admit any wrongdoing. Schneiderman, on the other hand, seemed notably less enthusiastic, with office spokeswoman Jennifer Givner telling reporters that the state's lawyers still think they have a case against Intel, but "in light of the court's decision believe that no purpose is served by pursuing the matter further."
NY Attorney General investigating claims of profiling in iPad sales
For Apple to have said "no cash for iPads" is one thing -- but interviewing would-be NYC iPad buyers of Asian descent before they make their purchases? Another thing entirely. Ben Smith at Politico reports that Apple is offering "complete" cooperation in an investigation by the Civil Rights Bureau of the New York State attorney general's office, answering complaints from Queens residents that they were being treated differently than Caucasian customers when trying to purchase iPads at the Soho & 14th St. stores. Back in May, when the shoppers complained to their state Assembly representative, the iPad was still a US-only offering, and Apple had a keen interest in keeping iPads off the gray market. A source told Politico that there was a brief period where a questionnaire was used to try to discover when multiple-iPad purchases might be headed for overseas resale; the questionnaire was quickly discontinued. Richard Bamberger, communications director for NY's attorney general (and gubernatorial candidate) Andrew Cuomo, told Politico in an email that Apple has been "very cooperative" during the investigation. "The matter is still ongoing but we have every expectation that it will be resolved expeditiously and fairly," Bamberger said.
GameStop one of several retailers accused of deceptive advertising [update]
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/GameStop_accused_of_deceptive_advertising_among_others'; The office of New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo is investigating several well-known retailers, including GameStop, for deceptive advertising practices. According to the office's announcement, GameStop and 21 other businesses are directing consumers to fraudulent discount programs where they unknowingly share credit card information with a third party. These third-party programs then place recurring charges on customers' accounts. "Well-known companies are tricking customers into accepting offers from third party vendors," said Cuomo, "which then siphon money from consumers' accounts." Online movie ticket company Fandango has already agreed to stop the practice and pay $400,000 to a consumer redress fund. The Attorney General's office rightly warns that consumers should take care in reading all fine print when signing up for any kind of discount offer. Are there any Joystiq readers out there that have run into this problem with GameStop? (You might want to check your credit card statement before you answer that.) Update: For clarification, as some commenters have pointed out, the investigation applies to GameStop's online business, not its physical retail stores. [Via GI.biz (account required)]
New York attorney general files antitrust lawsuit against Intel
No matter how it tries, Intel just can't shake those pesky antitrust monkeys off its back: the attorney general of New York today filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the chipmaker, saying it unfairly prevented AMD from competing under state and federal law. That's pretty much what the EU just fined Intel $1.45b for in May and exactly what AMD itself is suing Intel for in Delaware, so we're guessing things are a little busy for Chipzilla's lawyers right now -- and it's just going to get worse, as the smart money says this is all just a precursor to the Federal Trade Commission dropping the hammer sometime soon. Hey, maybe this would be a good time to for Intel to distract everyone with some USB 3.0 chipsets?
