watchdog
Latest
France fines Google $167 million over unpredictable advertising rules
After a four-year investigation, France's competition watchdog is fining Google €150 million ($167 million) for opaque and unpredictable advertising rules, Reuters reports. The investigation began after French company Gibmedia accused Google of suspending its Google Ads account without notice. According to Reuters, the French regulator alleges that, by changing its terms of use and rules at will, Google abused its market power. Google plans to appeal the decision.
Google ordered by French regulators to revamp privacy policy or face fines
Google has been under the gun in the EU for a while now about its privacy policies, particularly in France, which is fairly hardcore about such matters. In fact, the nation's CNIL computer watchdog has just ordered Mountain View to change its practices or face an initial maximum fine of €150,000 (around $200,000), followed by a penalty of up to €300,000 for further non-compliance. Google has just three months to fall in line, and the French regulator's ruling could just be the beginning; it investigated the search giant at the EU parliament's behest, meaning nations like Italy, Spain and the UK could follow suit. For its part, Google -- which is no doubt very sensitive to such matters at the moment thanks to the NSA saga -- said it "respects European law" and will continue to work with French and EU authorities on the matter.
Samsung responds to GS4 storage complaints, might free up space through 'further software optimization'
After being taken to task by the BBC's consumer rights show, Watchdog, Samsung says it's looking into reducing the memory footprint of its TouchWiz features on its flagship Galaxy S 4. A spokesperson told CNET UK that Samsung, "appreciate(s) this issue being raised," and that it is "reviewing the possibility [of] securing more memory space through further software optimization." The 16GB GS4 offers only 9.5GB of space for users to fill, but at least we know it's a possibility: Google announced yesterday that Samsung's Galaxy S 4 will arrive in an entirely vanilla Android guise this June. We've got the full statement from Samsung after the break.
Samsung Galaxy S 4's storage to be investigated by BBC Watchdog
We've seen Microsoft's Surface RT face similar accusations, but this time it's the turn of Samsung's Galaxy S 4 and how much space you'll actually get from that advertised 16GB of storage. The BBC's consumer rights show, Watchdog, will be focusing on the smartphone in next week's episode, and the fact that almost half of the phone's memory is already occupied by Samsung's own software and apps. According to UK retailer Clove, there's just 9.5GB of storage left for customers to fill. It's not the only Android phone with storage space less than advertised -- visit our More Coverage link to see how the Droid RAZR Maxx's 16GB of storage magically transforms into 8GB of usable space. While the smartphone maker argues that the phone does offer an expansion option in the form of a microSD card slot (up to 64GB, no less), some apps still seem to prefer to reside on built-in storage over anything removable -- Amazon's Cloud Player comes to mind. Host Anne Robinson hints at the end of this week's episode: "It [Samsung] claims that its brand new Galaxy phone has an extra-large memory, but what did it forget to mention?" Although we might have spoiled that question for you already, check the teaser after the break. Brits can tune in for the show at 8PM GMT next Wednesday.
Shocker! UK regulator finds average broadband speeds are 'less than half' those advertised
You don't have to go to the lengths of compiling a statistical project to know that advertised and actual broadband speeds are two pretty disparate entities, but it does help. Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, recently took a thorough look at 11 broadband packages, which collectively account for over 90 percent of all British broadband subscriptions, and found that actual download throughput was less than half (only 45 percent) of the advertised "up to" speed. The worst offenders were resellers of BT's ADSL lines, with Orange dipping below 3Mbit on its 8Mbit lines and TalkTalk occasionally offering only 7.5Mbit to users paying for a 24Mbit connection, while Virgin's cable connectivity won out by sticking most loyally to its listed rating. What Ofcom proposes for the future is that all these service providers start offering Typical Speed Ranges that more accurately reflect the bandwidth a potential subscriber would be buying into -- a proposal that might actually have some teeth as the British Advertising Standards Authority is currently in the midst of a review specifically concerned with broadband advertising practices. Transparency in the way we're sold broadband? That'd make a welcome change!
EnergyStar program certifies 'gasoline-powered alarm,' other imaginary abominations
It'd be pretty difficult for you to reach Engadget without having seen the EnergyStar logo on something along your way here. Whether it was as part of your motherboard's bootup sequence or on the box of your new TFT monitor, EnergyStar certification has become a de facto standard for most electronics being manufactured nowadays. What you might not have known -- but probably could have guessed -- is that the process for obtaining that sticker is far from bulletproof. The American Government Accountability Office has recently done a bit of spy work by putting forward imaginary products and false claims to the validating authority, and regrettably found its bogus items "mostly approved without a challenge." The auditors' conclusion was that the program is "highly vulnerable to fraud," and the stuff they've had certified would seem to corroborate that verdict. Hit up the Times article for the full story of governmental incompetence while the Department of Energy -- the body responsible for running the program -- tries to get its act straightened out. [Thanks, Adam]
Sony Optiarc garners unwanted attention from DOJ for possible Blu-ray or DVD price fixing
In a filing with the Tokyo Stock Exchange this morning, Sony has revealed a request for information from the US Department of Justice regarding its optical drive production arm, Sony Optiarc. While the same filing indicates the Japanese giant's belief that this information gathering is part of a wider investigation into competition in the optical drive market, we've yet to hear of any other companies facing the same request. If you were feeling disgruntled with the pace of Blu-ray price drops, this might just be your moment of vindication... or it could be a storm in a teacup. There's really not enough information to tell either way right now, but if we know anything about the DOJ, it's that it loves shaking down naughty corporations. We'll keep a careful eye on this as it develops.
Sony attacks BBC Watchdog's PS3 hardware failure report
Tonight's episode of the BBC consumer advocacy program Watchdog will scrutinize a phenomenon which a few of you might be familiar with -- the PlayStation 3's "Yellow Light of Death." However, before the episode hit the airwaves, Sony UK Managing Director Ray Maguire issued a six-page response to the Watchdog team, picking apart the program's investigative methods and questioning their findings. During the episode, the Watchdog team sends Sony a technical report for three PS3s which had succumbed to hardware failure. This is one of Sony's biggest issues with the report -- Maguire explained, "The testing concerned a sample of only three PS3s, which cannot, on any basis, be deemed to be representative of a UK user base of 2.5 million." According to Maguire, Sony's got some numbers of its own for hardware failure rates. With a quick search of the company's warranty database, Maguire found that, "fewer than one half of one per cent of units have been reported as failing in circumstances where the yellow indicator is illuminated." You should be able to watch the controversial episode on the Watchdog site within the next few days (or after the break) -- but GamesIndustry has the entire transcript of Sony's letter for your immediate perusal.
BBC Watchdog gets to the bottom of Xbox 360 disc scratching
We've all known about a busted Xbox 360's ability to not only self-destruct, but to also trash any games you place into the console. Bumps, vibrations, or any kind of movement while a game is being played can bring about a quick death to that particular disc, and now the problem has reached the doorstep of BBC Watchdog, who decided to conduct some tests of their own.Taking a new Xbox 360 and one that had been known to cause the circular disc scratch, BBC Watchdog placed each console on a level surface with a vase of water next to it to help monitor movement. Then, the tests began, starting with small vibrations to simulate walking around the house. Both consoles passed, but when the strength of the vibrations was increased to the level of a book dropping on a table, the older Xbox 360 put a big ring on the disc inside of it, whereas the new unit performed swimmingly.As always, the emphasis is on keeping the Xbox 360 on a level, safe place when playing. We understand that hardware malfunctions can be a touchy subject, but throwing a tantrum with a disc in the tray might be a bad idea.
iPhone users reporting reboots due to high App count
Recently, TUAW has received numerous tips about near random iPhone boot loops that force users to restore their units. This forum thread suggests that these reboots may be due to the iPhone's onboard watchdog system. The iPhone has to create a new Application Map whenever you load or unload apps to the system. Should the time to create that map exceed two minutes, the phone enters an endless boot cycle. The solution proposed on the thread isn't of much general use -- it requires jailbroken shell access. You may want to limit the number and scope of Apps you load to your phone (i.e. cut down on those tip calculators and sudoku apps that we know you're secretly addicted to) to achieve the same, stable results. Fewer apps mean a shorter time to generate that map and a better likelihood that your phone will work with greater reliability. Thanks, Goran
BBC's Watchdog keeping an eye on 2006
The BBC's Watchdog consumer report program has discovered a shocking issue with Brain Training: apparently there are some problems with the voice recognition! The game doesn't always understand you when you say "blue" or "yellow!" Have you guys heard about this?What you may not have heard about is that this is now being interpreted as discrimination against people with certain regional dialects. "I'm going, 'yeller' and everyone's saying to me you need to be a bit posher. You need to say, 'yellow' and as soon as I did, it picked it up," reported Michelle Livesey. Host Nicky Campbell then suggested that the game was discriminatory against people with Northern and Scottish accents. Nintendo responded to the report with a statement explaining that they recognize the issue, and that voice recognition in the Stroop test is only a small, optional part of the game.Yet again we find ourselves taken aback by the mainstream media's treatment of gaming. Had Livesey done even the most casual of Googling, she would have learned that the Brain Training voice issue is the "Take my wife, please" of DS game jokes (meaning it's ancient). It's not enough that they presented a well-known problem with a two-year-old game as news, but they seem to have attempted to ignite some sort of controversy over it, without actually doing any research or knowing what they were talking about. People across the United States have the same problem, but to our knowledge nobody accused Nintendo of discriminating against most Americans. We're just going to choose to believe, without having heard the program, that Campbell's comment was facetious in nature. For our sanity.[Via CVG]
BBC show tackles 'clapped-out old banger' Xbox 360
The BBC's show Watchdog premiered an episode last night focusing on the "clapped-out old banger" known as the Xbox 360. The main subject of the piece was Alex Ainsow. After the warranty ran out on his Xbox 360 he says it wouldn't stop crashing. He paid £85 ($166 USD) to have it repaired and then his refurbished Xbox 360 lasted three days.The show concludes with Microsoft offering Ainsow a new system and some games to shut up. According to the BBC, Microsoft says most people with an Xbox 360 have an outstanding experience, and there's no system issue. The show says that they've received 248 complaints about the Xbox 360 and are receiving more as the system goes out of warranty.After the break we have the last part in the epic YouTube saga of Rob, who was contacted by Watchdog, and his one two defective Xbox 360s.
Misleading TV ads face UK ban
Game ads have been showing pre-rendered CGI images, rather than in-game footage, for a while -- but the UK advertising industry has only just caught on. After complaints that Call of Duty 2's graphics didn't match up to the advertising, games ads have been hastily slapping a disclaimer on and hoping the advertising authorities will look the other way.The Broadcast Advertising Clearing Centre and Advertising Standards Authority are investigating, but something seems fishy, with the BACC claiming that advertisers aren't revealing the CGI nature of the footage. It's a well-entrenched advertising trick, but now that the authorities are aware of it, they might try and stop it. Actual in-game footage would give commercials a credible touch, but since TV advertising is only one of many channels used to promote games, advertisers don't seem too worried about the potential ban of CGI yet.
