Posted by Johnnie Sanchez on 2016-10-16
Germany Cautions Tesla Users About Using Autopilot Feature
After a fatal accident involving a Tesla car using Autopilot, concern over the use of the Autopilot feature and the way Tesla advertises the feature has risen. Germany, in particular, has sent out letters to owners of Tesla cars to caution them that the Autopilot feature is only meant for driver assistance and still requires the driver’s full attention. As accidents involving the Autopilot feature emerge, people worry that the Autopilot feature is being advertised as a way to allow the car to drive itself, even though that’s not the case. Although Tesla says that it describes this feature as a driver assistance that requires the driver’s attention, the question of how to make sure the driver is alert and attentive while using this feature still remains.
Pokemon Go Generally Didn’t Increase Sales for Local Businesses
The release of Pokémon Go garnered widespread popularity as it became one of the most downloaded apps in its first week and gained an estimated $500 million in revenue. As its popularity and success rose during the summer, so did inspirational stories that local businesses near PokéStops were seeing a boost in sales. Some businesses were reporting that they were seeing sales increase by 30%, while others reported that the game helped save their business. Although the narrative that seemed to correlate Pokémon Go to an increase in sales, that generally wasn’t the case. The narrative was based on anecdotes and data analysis that only included positive stories. Data was also gathered from the peak tourist time, which could explain some of the increase in sales businesses were seeing. When compared against each other, sales from business near Pokéstops and those who weren’t were not statistically different. This implies that while some business were able to capitalize off the trend, most didn’t see a significant sales boost.
Game Developers Choose to Not Put Anti-Piracy Software on Their Games
Artur Maksara and Tadeusz Zielinski, developers of Shadow Warrior 2, have chosen to not include the widely anti-piracy protection software, Denuvo, because they believe it would make their game worse. Although, anti-piracy systems have been a staple for game developers to protect their game and prevent it from being stolen, Maksara and Zielinski sees it as time taken away from improving the quality of their game. While they don’t support piracy, the implementation of anti-piracy systems requires time and resources to test and incorporate, which could be spent on the development of the game. They argue that “the best anti-pirate protection is when the games are good, highly polished, easily accessible, and inexpensive.”
Proposed Law Would Incentivize Electric Car Commuters
Ohio U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown has introduced the Electric Vehicle Credit Act, which would allow employers to give a $250 tax free benefit to employees who drive electric vehicles. Although employers would not be required to offer the benefit, the non-taxable benefit is an incentive to help encourage employees to switch to a cleaner form of transportation. Organizations, like the Electric Drive Transport Association, are in full support of this bill and believe that this bill will promote a step in the right direction.
Samsung Discontinues the Galaxy Note 7
Although the Note 7 had been well received upon initial release, several reported battery fires and explosions and failed attempts to send replacements have resulted in Samsung recalling the phone and discontinuing it. While there were few reported phone issues compared to the number that was sold, the risk that the battery could overheat and catch on fire was huge. With the possibility of people considering legal action against Samsung and the increasing distrust in the Galaxy brand, some analysts and consumers wonder if Samsung can recover from this incident. Although it may be able to bounce back from an estimated $17 billion in sales, the question is whether it can recover from the impact on its reputation.
The UK Government Cracks Down on Internet Abuse
For the past year, the UK government has made guidelines and police units aimed at targeting internet trolls, people who create website or fake online profiles to humiliate someone. Recently, they added a list of offences to prosecute those who encourage others to target and abuse users on social media websites, “dox” or share someone’s personal information to promote harassment, use derogatory hashtags, and commit online hate crimes against women and girls. These guidelines were enforced on Monday and aim to give prosecutors a better sense of what constitutes social media harassment.
PC Sales Continue to Fail
Low back-to-school and consumer demand has resulted in PC sales falling for eight consecutive quarters. Analysts Mikako Kitagawa speculates that “the extension of the lifetime of the PC caused by the excess of consumer devices” is part of the reason why PC sales have fallen so drastically. Compared to other devices, like a smartphone, PC aren’t being upgraded as routinely and some find smartphones and tablets to suit their needs more than a PC. The drop in sales doesn’t affect just PC. Desktop computers have also suffered a decline for the past two years ,while smartphones are growing at a slow rate.
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