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The big stores that track your every online move
A study by Princeton researchers came to light earlier this month, revealing that more than 400 of the world's most popular websites use the equivalent of hacking tools to spy on you without your knowledge or consent.
You can now replenish your Amazon Cash card at 7-Eleven
It can be tricky to shop these days without a credit or debit card, especially online. Amazon Cash is one way to do so, however, with an online account that you can refill with cash via a barcode you take to participating stores. Now 7-Eleven is in on the act, giving Amazon more than 30,000 locations people can use to refill their Amazon Cash account.
Spotify sells cosmetics now
Spotify is extending its merchandising partnership with Merchbar not just to include t-shirts from your favorite artists, but the makeup that they're using to look on-point this season. The first entry in this new business is a tie-up with beauty brand Pat McGrath Labs, which is selling a collection exclusively through the music service. McGrath is the makeup provider of choice for singer-songwriter Maggie Lindemann, and the pairing will offer lipsticks and lip pencils, as well as eye pallets and pencils. All users need to do is head over to Lindemann's artist page, and scroll down to her Merchbar to find what's on offer.
Your therapist will text you now
The smartphone in our pockets has redefined how we interact with people, engage with the world and get ourselves around. A constant connection to the world may be making some of us miserable, however, with a recent South Korean study suggesting that more than 10 percent of internet-using teens are at risk for depression. This may explain the explosion in the number of services, like Talkspace, that enable people to seek help with a mental-health professional online.
Hyundai hopes it can make online car shopping simpler
Dead-simple online shopping has spoiled us all, and Hyundai wants car shopping to feel just as painless. With its newly announced Shopper Assurance program (which launches first in Miami, Orlando, Dallas and Houston) potential car buyers visiting dealership websites will see more straightforward prices that factor in whatever company discounts and incentives may be applicable. According to a report from the AP, those local dealerships will also be encouraged to match prices ferreted out by resources like Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book. In theory, this means you'll get just as good a deal from the dealership down the road — if not a little better — than further-flung car sellers.
Futuristic racing game 'Lightfield' lands on PS4 and Xbox One
If you have a hankering for a different kind of racing game, Lightfield might pique your curiosity. You maneuver around by clinging to objects in a stylized, futuristic environment, with light trails streaming behind you. At any given moment, you can leap off the surface, parkour-style to find the fastest possible line to victory. Visually, it sort of looks like Tron meets Miami Vice, with pastel blue, pink and green colors trailing behind ships.
Lyft offers 400 scholarships for online self-driving car course
Online learning portal Udacity launched its first 36-week "nanodegree" course for self-driving car engineering last year. There's a new, introductory course available now as well, focused on bringing students with minimal programming into the larger program. Even better, Udacity has partnered with Lyft (which has self-driving plans of its own) to provide scholarships to the intro course in order to increase diversity to the program. 400 scholarships are available to US-based students with "varying levels of experience;" the application window closes October 1st.
Airbnb helps hosts in San Francisco get city approval online
Airbnb has had a bumpy ride in San Francisco. After the city passed a law that required all short-term rental hosts to register with the city, only a small percentage did (thanks largely to the onerous process involved), and many of those who didn't were hit with fines totalling $1 million. Differences were set aside in January though, when the parties agreed on a way to automatically register all hosts in the city. That service rolls out today, with hosts now able to apply directly through the Airbnb site for their Short-Term Residential Rental Certificate and Business Registration Certificate, instead of schlepping down to City Hall. New hosts will only be able to list their properties once they're registered, while existing hosts will have to input their registration number to keep their listings active.
Return to 'Smuggler's Run' in the next 'GTA: Online' expansion
For the next expansion to GTA: Online, Rockstar Games is looking to its past. "Smuggler's Run" will task you to move inventory for the perpetually paranoid Nervous Ron by land and air. "Smuggler's Run opens up the air corridors above Los Santos and Blaine Country, providing new business opportunities while introducing a range of planes, choppers and even ultralights as highly viable options for transporting criminal cargo across the state -- simultaneously opening up some creative new methods of dispatching any rival gangs along the way," a post on the Rockstar Newswire says.
Aphex Twin is the latest artist to open an online record store
Aphex Twin is opening an online record store. For his own music, of course. The Vinyl Factory reports that Richard D. James has started his direct-to-fans store with reissues of his back catalog including ... I Care Because You Do and newer stuff like Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2. More than that, there's a ton of digital-only and unreleased music on offer as well. What's available today isn't the half of it, though. "ALL Rephlex material will be going up here in due course+xtras," a note at the bottom of the site reads.
Facebook Live gets its first Emmy nod for an ACLU telethon
2017 is truly the year of online video services at the Emmys. Following announcements that Netflix, Hulu and Amazon all nabbed a hefty number of nominations, Facebook has revealed that some of its Live events also scored an Emmy nod. Stand for Rights: A Benefit for the ACLU With Tom Hanks, a telethon that put Facebook's donate button to good use, has been nominated for outstanding creative achievement in interactive media within an unscripted program.
Seminal sci-fi magazine 'Galaxy' is now free online
The next time you watch a big blockbuster sci-fi film like Alien: Covenant, you can thank the original pulp magazines. The written form of the popular genre got its start in comic book-sized magazines like Amazing Stories, Astounding Science Fiction, Galaxy Science Fiction, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. These publications, under the direction of influential editors like John W. Campbell, Jr., helped improve the genre from basic adventure stories to more thoughtful, well-written speculative fiction by authors like Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke. It's not an overstatement to say that these magazines created the current science fiction craze. Now, Galaxy Science Fiction, a magazine that published Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" and Alfred Bester's "The Demolished Man," is available for free online.
Nintendo Switch online features will cost just $20 a year
When Nintendo announced that the Switch would feature a paid online subscription model like Xbox Live and PlayStation Plus, it was vague on the details. We knew the service would cost less than the competition and offer some kind of subscription bonus, but the specifics weren't clear. Today, Nintendo filled in some of those details: starting in 2018, online services for Nintendo Switch will cost just $20 a year -- a fee that buys online play, voice chat and access to a "compilation" of classic Nintendo titles that have been modded for online multiplayer.
Chinese internet giant Tencent is building an eSports park
Chinese internet conglomerate Tencent has made some big moves to boost its profile among online gamers, not the least of which involved purchasing SuperCell, maker of the hit mobile game "Clash of Clans", for a reported $10.2 billion. On Tuesday, Tencent announced that it will be going even further and will construct an "esports-themed industrial park" in the city of Wuhu.
Pay pros for lessons on sucking less at video games
Losing to a 12-year-old in Super Smash Bros. can be a real downer, but there are a few ways to prevent that. You can challenge kids who aren't as good, practice and improve on your own, or, if you have a few bucks to spend, get a video game tutor from Japanese company GameLesson.
Brits can soon plead guilty and pay fines for petty crimes online
As part of new plans, UK criminals accused of minor offenses will soon be able to plead guilty and receive their sentence online. In a government report published today, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice acknowledged that letting defendants accept their conviction online and letting them pay a pre-determined penalty (including fines and legal costs) upfront would free up magistrates and courts so that they can focus on more complex cases.
Nintendo classics get online multiplayer on the Switch
The Nintendo Switch features a new, paid subscription model that grants players access to online multiplayer features -- and something extra. According to the Nintendo Switch Online Service website, anyone who subscribes will be able to download and play one classic game from the Nintendo Entertainment System or Super Nintendo Entertainment System per month, "with newly added online play."
How to save a few pounds buying Christmas gifts online
Before purchasing anything online, it's worth checking to see if you can knock a few pounds off the final price. It all adds up and you'll be amazed at how much you could actually slash from your overall Christmas shopping spend. Here are a few tips to help you do just that.
Facebook debuts a 'parent portal' to stop online harassment
Even ignoring the past few months' deluge of fake news or its ongoing inability to enforce its own community guidelines, Facebook has long had a problem with harassment, trolling and other unscrupulous behavior. Children have died due to the abuse they endure on the social network. That's why Facebook on Tuesday debuted its new Parents Portal, part of the site's Safety Center, to help adults help their kids not be complete tools while online.
ULA justifies pricey space launches with 'RocketBuilder' site
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V is the world's most reliable rocket, with a 100 percent mission success rate over 67 total missions. However, at a base launch rate of $109 million, it's a lot more costly compared to newcomer SpaceX, which has a starting price of $62 million. The raw launch is not the only cost, though, so ULA launched the RocketBuilder website to let potential clients, the press, academics and students configure a rocket like "building a car."
