tips
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Amazon is being sued for allegedly 'stealing' driver tips in DC
The District of Columbia is suing Amazon for allegedly 'stealing' delivery tips to cover drivers' base pay.
Twitter brings its in-app tipping feature to Android
After introducing its "tip jar" feature to all iOS users over 18, Twitter has brought the feature over to Android as well.
Instacart takes steps to discourage 'tip baiting'
Instacart is implementing multiple measures to deter 'tip baiting,' including banning repeat offenders.
Nikon is streaming online photography courses for free this month
You might not be able to go out and shoot photos because of the coronavirus lockdown, but at least you can buff up your skills. Nikon USA is offering 10 classes from the its online school for free during the month of April. "Nikon's mission has always been to empower creators," the company wrote. "In these uncertain times, we can do that by helping creators stay inspired, engaged and growing."
Facebook’s new Messenger hub shares tips for staying connected virtually
Today, Facebook launched a new "Messenger Coronavirus Community Hub," which so far basically just explains how people, communities and businesses can use Messenger to stay connected during the coronavirus pandemic. If you already use Messenger, this isn't going to introduce any groundbreaking ideas or features. Instead, the hub will provide tips like how parents and educators, for example, can host virtual playdates or use voice and video calls to check in on students and colleagues.
Washington, DC sues DoorDash for allegedly misleading users about tips
DoorDash's change in tipping policy has come too late to avoid legal repercussions. The District of Columbia Attorney General has sued DoorDash over claims it not only stiffed couriers (aka Dashers) through its tipping practices, but misled customers about where tips go. As DoorDash used tip money to replace a courier's base pay rather than add to it, that worker's pay wouldn't change for any tip under $10 -- but customers didn't know that, according to the District. The messaging in DoorDash's app and FAQ was reportedly "ambiguous, confusing and misleading," leading customers to believe that delivery people were being paid extra like "any reasonable consumer" would expect.
Tipping point: The gig economy hits delivery drivers in their wallets
Tipping is ubiquitous to the American service industry with consumers encouraged to give "a little something extra" to their waiters, bartenders, and baristas, dry cleaners, dog-walkers and delivery drivers. But it wasn't always like this. The practice of tipping started in England and made its way to our shores at the turn of the 18th century where it met strident social opposition. Deemed the "vilest of imported vices" by an 1899 NYT op-ed, anti-tipping sentiment reached its peak in 1915 when six states outlawed the practice outright. Since then, tipping has grown into the status quo, so much so that restaurants are allowed to pay their tipped staff less than the federal minimum wage and nobody even bats an eye, though the practice is once again falling out of favor -- this time at the hands of the gig economy.
DoorDash CEO announces that now your tips will go to delivery workers
Earlier this year, news reports exposed that not only did DoorDash (and others, like Instacart) sometimes lower its payout to delivery workers when customers tipped, its payment system didn't make clear that this was happening. Last month it changed payouts to show how much of "Dashers" income came from the company vs. tips, but it still used customer tips to account for some of the guaranteed fee it would otherwise pay for a delivery, instead of simply adding them on to an already set rate. Tonight, after a New York Times reporter gave a first-hand account of what it was like to make food deliveries for DoorDash and UberEats via Bike -- and after UberEats sent an email to customer touting the fact that they know where their tips are going -- DoorDash Tony Xu announced his company will change its policy. Without getting into specifics, which he said will be announced "in the coming days," Xu tweeted that his company misunderstood "that some customers who *did* tip would feel like their tip did not matter." So now, "the new model will ensure that Dashers' earnings will increase by the exact amount a customer tips on every order." Or, the way you probably thought tips worked.
Amazon is reportedly using drivers' tips for their base pay
Amazon is pulling an Instacart and counting customers' tips towards Flex drivers' base pay, according to an investigation by LA Times. The Flex program, which you can think of as Uber for high-speed deliveries, promises contract drivers a base pay between $18 and $25 an hour. But based on the emails the Times reviewed and according to the drivers it interviewed, the e-commerce giant has been dipping into contractors' tips to be able to meet its minimum pay commitment.
Patreon’s 3 million supporters are good news for independent creators
Patreon has had one clear goal since it launched in 2013: to help artists, influencers and internet creators make money by letting them offer membership services directly to their fans. And that effort seems to be paying off. Today, Patreon announced there are now over three million people supporting creators on its site, of which there are more than 100,000 to date. What's also notable is that the company was able to accomplish this milestone in a rapid manner, going from two to three million supporters (aka patrons) worldwide in just one year.
AI service gives 'Overwatch' players in-game coaching
A typical Overwatch match is hectic and fast-paced. You can't exactly consult strategy guides in the middle of a manic team fight to figure out the best course of action, so you've probably had to rely on your own experience and knowledge of the game. Your Overwatch decision making might be about to get a boost though, as an AI analytics service called Visor could help you improve at the team-based shooter by analyzing what's happening in real time and providing in-game contextual tips.
You can now tip your Uber driver in select cities
Uber has been trying to win back the hearts and minds of its drivers and riders lately. With board members resigning, the CEO stepping down, and apology emails to drivers in NYC, the beleaguered ride-sharing company needs a couple of wins. Last month, the company promised some changes to make driving for Uber better, including tipping. Today, Uber is taking the feature live in 121 different cities in the US and Canada.
BBC iPlayer: tips, tricks and other useful features
Researched and written by Nicholas Fearn The BBC has been at the forefront of broadcasting and entertainment since it launched in March 1922. Just over a decade ago, the broadcaster launched iPlayer, which quickly became one of the most popular ways to download and stream TV and radio shows in the UK. Available on a variety of smartphones, tablets, laptops and TVs, the platform allows you to catch-up on the BBC's extensive range of programming. Of course, it's come a long way since its launch in 2007. Not only has the BBC continued to add new shows and channels to iPlayer, the app itself has also undergone numerous redesigns and received new features over the years. More recently, it's placed an emphasis on 4K Ultra HD content, and BBC Three has become a digital-only channel. If you're new to the service or just want to watch the latest episode of Eastenders, here are some tips and tricks to get the most out of the BBC's popular streaming service.
Apple clarifies how tips should work in iOS apps
After a recent crackdown on tips within various live-streaming and messaging apps -- particularly in China -- it looks as if Apple has finally made it official. If an iOS app allows tipping now, it will have to do so as an in-app purchase. That means that Apple gets 30 percent of all "tips" processed this way.
The best commands for Google Home
Researched and written by Libby Plummer The Google Home speaker finally went on sale in the UK in April and while it's a neat little smart speaker, it has some catching up to do. The Amazon Echo has already managed to garner more than 10,000 skills and the Home has very few. While the search giant works with developers to build up its selection, there are still some very useful things you can do with the smart speaker. Here's a selection of what we think are the best.
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.
Twitch lets viewers tip more broadcasters by 'Cheering'
To entice top broadcasters to its streaming service (and make a cut from their tips), Twitch recently introduced "Cheering." It lets viewers spend actual cash to purchase "Bits," which they can then lavish on streamers by sending animated chat "emotes." The streamer gets to keep that money, minus Twitch's hefty 30 percent cut. Cheering has been in beta for just 100 broadcasters, but the Amazon-owned company announced that it's now available to all 11,000 or so partner streamers in the US and UK.
Twitch introduces 'Cheering' emotes for tipping streamers
Twitch, the popular game-streaming site, has a funding problem. Not related to the company -- it's owned by Amazon and is just fine -- but its streamers. Like on other video platforms, creators are paid based on ad views and subscriptions, and by all accounts not at a very high rate. While popular streamers make a living -- helped in part by sponsorship deals and the like -- it can be hard for smaller channels to make ends meet. That's why the sub-economy of donations and tips exists, and today, Twitch is trying to formalize that economy with a new feature it calls "Cheering."
Uber affirms tipping drivers 'is not expected or required'
In most parts of the world, tipping for certain services has been a long-standing tradition. Still, Uber made sure that was never the case between its riders and drivers, unless a yellow taxi was involved. But after a recent $100 million class-action settlement in the US, speculation grew that Uber would start encouraging tips. Not so fast. Today, in a Medium post and an email sent to users, Uber clarified that tipping isn't expected or required, citing a hassle-free experience as to why it doesn't give riders the option to add a tip to their fares.
Mac 101: Option-select those columns
It's fitting that this is my last Mac 101 tip for TUAW, because it's one of the first "whoa, how did you do that?" tricks I learned as a desktop publishing newbie way, way back in the day. Like, Word and PageMaker on System 5, 1988-vintage back in the day, when I was learning how to write, edit and lay out the entertainment section of Carnegie Mellon's campus paper The Tartan from my patient (mostly) mentor and boss, Bruce Kasrel. Say someone has sent you a Word file with tabular data in it. Unfortunately, they haven't used actual tabs -- that would be too easy (one could copy and paste into Excel or Numbers). No, in this case they've created the columns with spaces, and the data you actually need (like a set of prices, or dates of events) is in one of the columns. Rather than laboriously copying and pasting a row or cell at a time, try this: hold down the Option key and drag just around the "column" that you want to copy. Watch how the selected area behaves like a marquee in a drawing app, rather than a normal word processing/sequential selection. Take a moment to enjoy your secret knowledge. If that's not exciting enough, try this on for size: the same trick works in Adobe Reader, so if you need to extract a column of data from a table in a PDF, give the option-select tip a try. For more option key goodness (and there are a lot of good things it can do!) check out this rundown over at Cult of Mac. (In other tech news from my alma mater, today we learned that CMU and Uber are teaming up to develop the future of autonomous taxis. "Welcome, Mr. Jetson, sit back and enjoy the ride.")
