by Ray

Free Shipping isn’t Really Free

How retailers hide the costs of delivery—and why we’re such suckers for their ploys

It was a pair of feather earrings that helped Ann Miceli get out from underneath strangers’ cars. For years, Miceli had worked as an auto mechanic and picked up shifts in her spare time at Indianapolis restaurants. One day, she came across those earrings, and “it kind of sparked something.” Miceli bought a pair, and then some supplies to make her own. She listed some of her creations in a shop on Etsy and named it PrettyVagrant.

That was in 2011. In the intervening years, Miceli has sold nearly 30,000 of her handmade earrings and feather hair extensions, all of which she assembles by hand at home. After a couple of years, Miceli quit her job as a mechanic. Etsy “has given me the opportunity to work from home and watch my grandkids,” she told me. Everything was humming along nicely until last summer, when the site began implementing a new search algorithm that gives priority to sellers who guarantee free shipping. Those who charged even a few dollars, like Miceli, were removed from their spots on the first page of search results. In August, Miceli’s revenue was down 40 percent from the previous year—a huge dip that she blames on the free-shipping finagling.

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by Ray

The Story Behind the Story

To begin with, it must be recognized that all legal travellers to-and-from nations of intelligence interest are subjects of inquiry by US intelligence services, principally the CIA and FBI. However, other instruments of government security such as DEA and the various military intelligence agencies, as well as other governmental services that have international briefs, are also authorized to gather appropriate, and ofttimes classified, information on activities of foreign and domestic travellers. In fact, depending on interest in and personal ability to proceed, all major nations, and to some degree and interest, even minor nations pursue the same activity.

In this regard, travel to and business negotiations with Russia by Donald Trump and his various representatives would naturally be a matter of interest for US embassy personnel assigned to track such contacts.  Continue reading →

by Ray

Facebook Must Be Accountable to the Public

A pair of Gizmodo stories have prompted journalists to ask questions about Facebook’s power to manipulate political opinion in an already heated election year. If the claims are accurate, Facebook contractors have depressed some conservative news, and their curatorial hand affects the Facebook Trending list more than the public realizes. Mark Zuckerberg took to his Facebook page yesterday to argue that Facebook does everything possible to be neutral and that there are significant procedures in place to minimize biased coverage. He also promises to look into the accusations.

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by Ray

Managing The Politics of Water

This year’s World Water Day, on March 22, provides an opportunity to highlight what in many countries has become a grim reality: The availability of fresh water is increasingly a defining strategic factor in regional and global affairs. Unless water resources are managed with extraordinary care, the consequences could be devastating.

Last year, the United Nations World Water Development Report once again highlighted how the growing gap between supply and demand could create conflict. The World Economic Forum has ranked water crises as the most worrying global threat, more dangerous than terrorist attacks or financial meltdowns, and more likely to occur than the use of weapons of mass destruction. And research by the Strategic Foresight Group has shown the importance of wise management: Countries engaged in the joint stewardship of water resources are exceedingly unlikely to go to war.

The Middle East serves as a tragic example of what can happen when regional cooperation is lacking. Iraq, Syria, and Turkey have fought over every cubic meter of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. All have lost as a result. Non-state actors control important parts of the two river basins. And water shortages have aggravated the region’s refugee crisis (itself the apotheosis of poor governance).

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by Ray

Career Advice No One Tells You

Most people have “okay” jobs.

We go to work, do what we have to do from 9 to 5, come back home, maybe hang out with friends, and do it all over again the next day.

There’s nothing wrong with this.

But some people perform at a totally different level.

They’re the people who land executive level positions by their early 30s while everyone else is still trying to “work their way up.”

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by Ray

Jackpot? How Much Do Contestants Really Win

Imagine you’ve made it to the final Tribal Council on Survivor. It’s time to determine the winner, and host Jeff Probst keeps pulling slips bearing your name. Finally, he announces that you are the champion. Congratulations, you just won… $580,000!

Wait a minute, Jeff. Hang on. Isn’t that prize short a few hundred thousand? I ate rancid sheep guts. I passed out from exhaustion. I earned my million bucks.

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by Ray

Apple Incapable of Decrypting iOS 8 User Data, Even for Government

As noted by The Washington Post, iOS 8 marks a new, more aggressive stance in protecting customer data from prying eyes, as Apple engineered an encryption system even it is unable to break.

In a document (PDF link) meant to guide law enforcement officers in requesting user information, Apple notes that it no longer stores encryption keys for devices with iOS 8, meaning agencies are unable to gain access even with a valid search warrant. This includes data store on a physical device protected by a passcode, including photos, call history, contacts and more.  Continue reading →

by Ray

10 Steps to a Better Home Wi-Fi

1. Check the placement of your access point (AP).
A location that is higher and to the center of the house should give the best coverage.

2. Survey and choose a wireless channel that is less occupied.
For 2.4 GHz networks consider using channels 1, 6, or 11, to avoid overlapping. As for 5 GHz, the channels are spaced further apart so overlapping is less of an issue.

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by Ray

Be Careful With Coin

Coin sounds like something people would want. It’s an electronic device in a plastic case the size of a credit card that will contain all your credit card information.

Coin, the San Francisco company promoting the device of the same name, promises to declutter your wallet because you’ll no longer need to carry all your credit and ATM cards. Enter your credit card numbers into the device. Then, when you want to pay for something, scroll through and choose the one you want — the Coin device is swiped just like a regular card. You can also use it in card readers like ATMs.

Coin is not handing the cards out for review because they are not in production yet. It promises to have them ready by this summer. The company is raising money to build them by asking people to pay in advance. (All the ads you see online, and there are loads of them, are paid for with investors’ money, not those orders, the company says.)

It is being sold for $105, though if you order before the end of this week it is $55. (The company hinted that it might extend the discount longer.) Continue reading →

by Ray

Stores Sniff Out Smartphones to Follow Shoppers

Indoor location technology brings Internet-style tracking to physical spaces.

You’ve just tossed a jar of peanut butter in your grocery cart when your smartphone buzzes. You glance down at the screen to see a message that seems downright clairvoyant: Buy some jelly. Get $1 off.

Convenient? Certainly. Creepy? Maybe.  Continue reading →