Items tagged with (NASDAQ:AMZN)
The best deals don't always come during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, there are enticing bargains to be found all throughout the year. That includes right now. We've rounded up a handful of hardware being offered at delightful discounts, including some audio gear, a smart TV stick, a laptop, and a mesh Wi-Fi router system. Pictured above is a set of Bose QuietComfort earbuds with noise cancellation, on sale at Amazon for $199.99 (save 29%, $80 off). These Bluetooth buds are lauded for their noise cancelling abilities, as well their ability to deliver high-fidelity audio with volume-optimized Active EQ for a balanced sound profile. They're also comfortable. As for battery life, they're rated...
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This week has seen its share of headlines concerning data breaches and leaks. Late last night Twitch reported on its blog page that its data breach was "due to an error in a Twitch server configuration change that was subsequently accessed by a malicious third party.”" They went on to say that they are working with urgency to investigate the incident. It is interesting to note that Facebook also blamed its recent outage this week on server configuration changes. Many Twitch users woke up Wednesday, Oct. 6th, to reports that Twitch had been hacked and 125GB of data had been leaked. Twitch later confirmed those reports on its Twitter feed saying in part, "We can confirm a breach has taken...
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It hasn’t been a good week for some of the biggest names in tech. After having its dirty laundry aired for the world to see on Sunday night, Facebook (along with WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram) went down hard for nearly seven hours on Monday. Today, it’s Twitch’s turn to drown in its sorrows, as a new report claims that the video-sharing site was the victim of a massive security breach. A hacker who posted over at 4chan claimed to have obtained source code for the website, mobile, and console versions of Twitch. In addition, the hacker gleaned information regarding the unannounced “Vapor” digital storefront from Amazon Game Studios that would compete directly with...
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If the rumors are true, Intel will formally introduce its first desktop Alder Lake processors this month, including its next generation flagship CPU, the Core i9-12900K. This would be followed by retail availability next month. What will pricing look like, though? Well, some early listings have appear Amazon in different countries, perhaps revealing what is in store. Over at Amazon in the Netherlands, for example, there are three Alder Lake processors with product pages, Prices are in euros and are as follows... Intel Core i9-12900K: €864.92 (~$1,005) at Amazon Netherlands Intel Core i7-12600K: €641.38 (~$745) at Amazon Netherlands Intel Core i5-12600K: €323.83 (~$376) at Amazon...
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In August, there were several reports that Amazon's New World MMO, which was in beta at the time, had a penchant for killing EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 graphics cards. Considering that the cards retail for $1,499 and can sell for nearly $3,000 due to shortages, that's a lot of money going up in smoke. While the first fingers were pointed at the game itself, EVGA eventually raised its hand to admit that "poor workmanship" with some solder points surrounding the MOSFET circuits were responsible cooking GeForce RTX 3090 GPUs. New World is now out of beta and drawing large queues as gamers clamor to experience the game. Unfortunately, it appears that the game isn't done with killing GPUs, according to...
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Amazon’s New World may already be one of the most popular games of the year, but many players are struggling to actually play the game. Queue times have been prohibitively long. Thankfully, Amazon has put forward a solution. Amazon will be adding several worlds to their New World servers to cut down on wait times. New World players complained yesterday that they were being told they would need to wait days to play the game. Other players were unable to join the queue and players who experienced bugs were often forced to restart and rejoin the long queue. The issue initially impacted primarily players in the European Union, but began to affect players worldwide as each server went...
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Amazon held a virtual event today to announce a pile of new products. This is the second year running that the invite-only event has been online-only. Historically, Amazon hosts a little meet-and-greet to showcase its new stuff. Last year, we saw a lot of wacky stuff, including the Luna gaming service, Ring's until-today-absent Always Home Cam, and refreshed Fire Sticks and Eero routers. This year, Amazon has more goodies for devout Alexa believers. The Echo Show 15 is essentially an interactive, networked version of a smart picture frame. It's intended to be hung on the wall where users will be identified with "Visual ID" before using its 15.6" 1080p display to do all the usual things the Echo...
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Amazon’s much anticipated video game New World has officially arrived. Players are eager to get their hands on the game after experiencing several delays and rounds of beta testing. Unfortunately, many New World players are either waiting a very long time or are unable to get in the queue at all. The complaints are primarily from New World players in the European Union where the game launched at 8am CEST. The launch capacity for each server has reportedly been capped at 2,000 players. For those lucky enough to get into the queue, anticipated wait times are being measured in days instead of hours. Other players have been unable to make it past the game's menu. Some players also have...
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Drivers contracted to make delivers for Amazon claim that special cameras installed in their delivery vans are unfairly dinging them for road violations that did not occur, resulting in loss of extra income and other bonuses that they might otherwise be eligible to receive. Amazon, meanwhile, says the cameras have led to fewer accidents and less instances of distracted driving. Amazon earlier this year partnered with Netradyne to install the camera systems into Amazon-branded delivery vans. Called "driveri," these are more than simple cameras. They're quad-camera systems with four HD lenses, including one that faces the road, another that faces the driver, and two side lenses that collectively...
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Kindle devices seemingly take a backseat to the Fire family of tablets when it comes to “flashiness,” but Amazon clearly hasn’t forgotten about its e-readers. Today, the company announced a major design overhaul for the Kindle Paperwhite, the first such update in three years. Amazon started its refresh with a larger e-ink display, which now measures 6.8 inches. The online retail giant claims that the display is now brighter than ever (10 percent uplift at maximum brightness levels compared to the previous generation) and is surrounded by smaller 10.2mm bezels. The display still provides 300 ppi for crisp text and is glare-free to improve legibility in a wide variety of lighting...
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Having a smart TV or streaming device in your home is nearly essential equipment these days, especially if you are looking to keep up with the plethora of content from Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and other networks. However, you do not have to break the bank to have this capability, thanks to some stellar Fire TV Stick deals on Amazon. Fire TV Stick Lite – The Baby Fire Stick If you want to save a buck and keep things simple, the Fire TV Stick Lite is the place to start. Dubbed the “most affordable Fire TV Stick,” it features the base streaming options from all the popular apps as well as live and free TV. The only catch with this device is that it streams in Full HD only, rather...
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Amazon just announced their first branded televisions: the Fire TV Omni Series and Fire TV 4-Series. They will be available this October in the United States direct from Amazon and long-time retail partner Best Buy. The Fire TV Omni Series “integrates the Fire TV experience and far-field voice technology directly into the TV.” This allows users to speak to Alexa regardless of whether the television is on or off. Users will be able to ask Alexa to find their favorite show, control playback, manage brightness and TV volume, and switch inputs. Users can set up a routine as well by saying commands like “Alexa, kick off my day.” Alexa will turn on the TV and lights in the home,...
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Labor Day weekend has arrived, and with it comes the usual crop of sales. Where do you begin? As always, Amazon is a great starting place, with its steady stream of bargains. This holiday weekend is no exception. We sifted through some of the deals and picked out some of the more interesting discounts on various electronics, like the super-affordable Windows laptop shown above. If it is an inexpensive Windows laptop you are after, then definitely check out this Teclast notebook, which on sale for $265.49 at Amazon (save $84.50). The low price comes by way of an initial discount, plus an additional $30 savings by checking the coupon box on the product page. What about the Teclast brand, though?...
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In the coming weeks, Amazon might introduce its own line of big screen televisions in the United States, perhaps under its Amazon Basics branding. This would be a significant move, and one that could potentially benefit consumers with aggressively priced alternatives to TVs offered by the usual suspects, including LG, Samsung, and Sony. While nothing has been announced, it wouldn't be surprising if this comes to fruition. The retailer already launched a line of Amazon Basics TVs in India last year, including 55-inch, 50-inch, and 43-inch models, all three of which boast a 4K resolution, 60Hz refresh rate, speakers with Dolby Atmos, and smart functionality provided by Amazon's Fire TV operating...
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After conducting a series of tests and close examinations, EVGA believes it has discovered the reason why some of its GeForce RTX 3090 graphics cards were giving up the ghost when running Amazon's New World MMORPG. What it boils down to, if EVGA's analysis is correct, is sloppy soldering on certain areas that would not necessarily be visible to the naked eye. For those who were affected, this had been a perplexing and frustrating issue. And to exacerbate the situation, not only is the GeForce RTX 3090 an expensive graphics card, it is also in short supply like practically every other GPU. Getting your hands on one means being very lucky with your timing (Best Buy had a couple of recent inventory...
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Following call center company Teleperformance allegedly forcing employees to undergo AI camera surveillance, Amazon wants to monitor its own customer service employees. Soon, Amazon could use a system that captures all workers' keystrokes to run behavioral analysis and prevent malicious hackers or imposters from stealing data. In a confidential document acquired by Motherboard, Amazon reports that there have been several cases of customer data being accessed around the world. India ranks at the top of the list, with 120 security incidents, followed by the Philippines with just under 70, and the U.S. with approximately 40 security incidents. While each of these incidents are not explained,...
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Amazon has secured a lucrative contract dubbed 'WildandStormy' to supply its Amazon Web Services (AWS) to the United States National Security Agency (NSA), in a deal that could be worth as much as $10 billion when all is said and done. However, it might be premature for Amazon to celebrate the contract win—it's under legal dispute by Microsoft. If this situation sounds familiar, it's because Amazon and Microsoft already fought over a similarly massive contract to supply their respective cloud services to the government. Back in 2019, the US Department of Justice awarded Microsoft Azure for its Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, with the JEDI contract having a ceiling of $10 billion...
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Amazon is cranking out some excellent discounts on its Echo family of hardware and an insanely good deal on Apple's entry-level AirPods. We've rounded the deals up for you here, so let's dig in, shall we? The Echo Show 5 is currently discounted by $30, which takes its price from $84.99 down to $54.99. The Echo Show has a 5.5-inch display with a 960x480 resolution. This is the second-generation model that launched this year, which means that the onboard camera has been upgraded to 2MP (from 1MP), and it includes a physical privacy shutter. Amazon Echo Show 5 Alternatively, you can grab the Echo Show 5 Kids for $64.99, which is discounted by $30. As its name implies, the Kids edition includes parental...
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If you thought Amazon wanting drivers to submit to biometric surveillance was bad, these recent revelations take the cake. Colombia-based call center workers, who perform outsourced customer services for some of the largest companies in the US, are now reportedly being pressured into signing a contract allowing their employer to install cameras in their homes to monitor work performance. Teleperformance is one of the world’s largest call center companies with nearly 400,000 employees and clientele, including Apple, Amazon, and Uber, among others. Now, in a new ground-breaking report from NBC, six workers for the Colombian company, even working on contracts for these companies, have come...
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Battlefield 2042 is the next stop on the Electronic Arts/DICE Battlefield train, with a planned launch date of October 22nd. However, for those that want to relive some moments from recent entries in the Battlefield franchise, Amazon has you covered. Amazon is making both Battlefield 1 and Battlefield V free to download and keep forever as part of its latest Prime Gaming promotion. In the case of Battlefield 1, it is available for free now until August 2nd. Then, starting August 2nd, Amazon will make Battlefield V free to download through October 1st. To take advantage of these freebie offers, you'll need to be an Amazon Prime subscriber -- which is probably not a problem for most gamers out...
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What is the lowest amount you would sell your personal palm print for to a third-party? Amazon is offering $10 in promotional credit to anyone who scans their palm at a checkout-free store and links it to their Amazon account. In late 2020, the company introduced “Amazon One” as a “free, contactless service that lets you use your palm to pay, enter, or identify yourself.” This works because palm prints are like fingerprints in that everyone’s print is unique. As such, the palm prints can be scanned using Amazon’s “proprietary imaging and computer vision algorithms” to capture an image that is then tied to a user’s Amazon account. While...
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Legislators worldwide have had a microscope on Amazon for some time now, and it seems a weakness has been found. The European Union recently slapped the world’s largest e-tailer with the biggest-ever privacy violation fine of a whopping 746-million euro ($888 million). On July 16th, CNPD, or the Luxembourg National Commission for Data Protection, handed down the fine after a decision that blamed Amazon for processing personal data in a way that did not comply with EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The imposed fine of “€746 million and corresponding practice revision” was subsequently reported in a recent SEC filing from Amazon, where it was also noted that the...
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