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Earlier this week we wrote about what Amazon is recording and storing for their use when you talk to Alexa on your Amazon Echo device. We also told you how to delete those recordings. Today we’re going to give you some real-life examples of how such recordings are being used in criminal proceedings. And of course the same can be true for Google Home recordings, Fitbit tracking, and any other smart device that tracks your movements or records your voice (or both).
Usually we are writing about how to add or enable new skills and party tricks for Alexa to show off with your Amazon Echo. However, it may be that you want to remove skills from your Alexa’s list of skills, and don’t want to have to go through the agonizing 4-step process required through the Alexa app in order to disable each and every skill.
The nettersphere is a’twitter with chatter about Amazon’s new free sample program, and people are wondering both how to get free samples on Amazon, and also how to stop getting free samples if you don’t want them. Here’s everything that you need to know.
Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday and the holidays in general, tis the season for online shopping. Have you ever read an Amazon review, and then later searched for that same review, only to not be able to find it? Frustrating, isn’t it? Here’s how to search for a particular review on Amazon.
Countless Amazon customers woke up this morning to an email from Amazon telling them that “our website inadvertently disclosed your name and email address due to a technical error.” And, in fact, that’s just about all the email said, other than “the issue has been fixed” and that there is no need for the customer to take any action.
If you’ve ever tried to buy the latest Apple products on Amazon, particularly products like an iPhone or an iPad or an Apple Watch, or a related accessory by Apple, you may have been frustrated at the limited availability. While older models and refurbs were often available, the latest and greatest was never before sold on Amazon. That all changed this past week, as Apple and Amazon reached an agreement that allows Amazon to sell current Apple products.
This week Amazon opened its second 4 Star by Amazon store (the first is in New York City) at the Park Meadows shopping center in Lone Tree, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. It’s interesting to note that Denver got its Amazon 4 Star store even before tony Berkeley, California, which is slated for the third 4 Star store in the near future. (List of Amazon 4-Star store locations below.)
If you have a Roku, Apple TV, or Amazon Firestick, or other Internet television device, you may have come across Amazon Prime Video Channels such as CBS All Access, HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, and Starz. And you may have been tempted to try the 7-day free trial of one or the other of these channels, and now you want to know how to cancel that subscription before it actually charges you the $4.99 to $14.99 per month (per channel). Here’s how to cancel that Amazon Prime Channel subscription.
As the holiday season approaches, the low unemployment rate has employers – especially those involved with retail – scrambling to hire workers. Amazon has figured out a novel way to bring in more new employees: pay them more. And so, Amazon announced today that effective November 1, 2018, all U.S.-based Amazon employees, across the board, will be earning a minimum of $15.00 per hour.
In case you were wondering whether Amazon might be slowing down in any way – they’re not. In fact, in addition to their looking for the location for their second headquarters, they have announced that they are opening seven new fulfillment centers in August alone! Salt Lake City, Orlando, Las Vegas, Aberdeen MD, Shelby Township MI, and Troutdale OR are all seeing a new fulfillment center open this month, and Las Vegas has not one, but two new Amazon fulfillment centers opening in August. Separately, Amazon has also announced a new perk for Prime members: you can now place an order with Whole Foods through the Prime app, and it will not only be waiting for you when you arrive, but a Whole Foods team member will bring your order out to your car!
We’ve all done the in-store/Amazon price matching game: perusing the aisles of a nearby retailer and then whipping out our smartphones to see if we can find better online prices at Amazon. Well Target wants everyone to know how to get Amazon prices at Target: just ask. They have announced that they will match prices of Amazon, all year round. And Target is not stopping with Amazon, they will also price match qualifying merchandise to the prices advertised on the websites of Best Buy, Toys R Us {Ed. note: as of March, 2018, Toys R Us is closing for good}, and Walmart!
Last week it was announced that Amazon is acquiring online pharmacy PillPack for just under 1billion (yes, with a ‘b’) dollars. Most online pundits are comparing the Amazon PillPack deal to other players in the pharmaceutical industry. But quick, what other giant retailers offer furniture, clothing, household goods, groceries, and prescriptions? Right, Walmart, Target, and Costco.
Some legal experts are saying that it’s time for Amazon to be broken up into separate entities under antitrust laws, pointing to Amazon’s ripping off of vendors in the Amazon Marketplace as an example of Amazon’s reach having gone too far.