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4 Ways Your Office Is Making You Sick & How to Fix It [Infographic]
We’ve all heard over and over again about the poor quality of the air we breathe outdoors. But what about the air we breathe inside — especially in places where we spend hours upon hours a day, like our offices?
Research shows the quality of the air in our offices may be getting worse thanks to toxic chemicals in carpets and on furniture, poor ventilation, and employees not washing their hands.
In fact, there have been so many illnesses reported in office buildings that the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that one in four new or renovated indoor buildings in the U.S. may be classified as “sick buildings.”
Luckily, there are things we can do to help keep sickness to a minimum, from dusting our desks with a damp cloth once a week to decorating with plants that are great at removing air pollutants, like Boston ferns or palm trees.
To learn more about why our offices are making us sick and what we can do about it, check out the infographic below we created in partnership with Market Domination Media. And don’t be afraid to speak up to your superiors, as fixing these problems will benefit them, too.
6 Ways to Increase Twitter Engagement
Do you want to encourage more interaction with your Twitter followers? Looking for ways to engage your Twitter community? In this article you’ll discover six ways to increase engagement on Twitter. #1: Offer Personalized Encouragement The best engagement is sometimes a simple response. Customers are thrilled when you devote time to interact with them. It’s a […]
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Eddy Cue says Apple News glitch has been miscounting users, do you use the app? [Poll]
It’s been an interesting day for user number stories out of Apple over the weekend. Early Sunday morning it was reported that Apple Music has reached 10 million paying subscribers, or half way to what Spotify currently claims, and a story published late Sunday night includes an interesting confession from Apple’s services guy Eddy Cue. The Apple exec told the WSJ that the company hasn’t been accurately counting the number of users actively using its new Apple News app.
“We’re in the process of fixing that now, but our numbers are lower than reality,” he said. “We don’t know what the right number is,” but he added that it was better to undercount than overcount traffic.
Despite the glitch, Mr. Cue said Apple is pleased with the product so far. He said most feedback from publishers has been positive. Usage has “scaled very fast…but it doesn’t mean we don’t all want more,” he said.
The lower-than-reality numbers have been shared with publishers that use the number to make decisions about using supporting the platform and optionally advertising through it.
While the admission of an error in the process is a bit odd, it partially puts Apple in a positive light as Apple News user numbers that may have not impressed partners can positively be revised once the tracking mistake is resolved. Three months ago when the tracking issue was presumably not known, Tim Cook confidently reported that iOS 9’s new Apple News app had drawn 40 million users during its first month as it expanded beyond the USA to the UK and Australia.
When Apple’s 40 million users figure was put out, it was widely questioned what actually counts as a user with some 9to5Mac readers sharing that the News app was rarely used although they may technically be counted as a user. Interestingly, Tim Cook is scheduled to address analysts and investors at the end of the month when Apple announces its quarterly earnings report from the holiday period. One thing to watch on January 26th is whether or not Apple once again tries to share Apple News user numbers.
In the meantime, let us know in our poll and in the comments below whether or not you actually use the new Apple News app introduced in iOS 9 as a replacement for the now retired Newsstand system:
Apple News has expanded beyond the USA and added new features since first debuting in September, and stories from 9to5Mac can be found through the app as well, so are you actively using Apple News or is it just another app in a folder on your iPhone or iPad?
Filed under: iOS Tagged: apple news, Eddy Cue, iOS 9, Newsstand
For more news on iOS, iOS 9, and Eddy Cue continue reading at 9to5Mac.
What do you think? Discuss “Eddy Cue says Apple News glitch has been miscounting users, do you use the app? [Poll]” with our community.
Apple Music reportedly tops 10 million paying subscribers
According to the Financial Times, Apple has passed 10 million paying subscribers for Apple Music. Apple Music launched in June 2015 with a three month free trial. Since the launch, Apple announced it has 6.5 million paying subscribers in October. In November, Apple launched Apple Music on Android which no doubt attracted a significant chunk of additional new users.
Crossing ten million is a significant symbolic milestone, as it now means Apple Music is half as large as Spotify’s paid userbase.
The growth of Apple Music relative to Spotify is impressive; it took six years for Spotify to report 10 million paid subscribers. Apple Music has achieved that number in a little of six months. However, it is important to remember that much of Spotify’s business is derived from free users as most customers use the free ad-supported version.
Apple has relied on numerous exclusives with artists to push its streaming music service to customers. Most recently, in December, Apple offered Taylor Swift’s 1989 World Tour video as a free perk for Apple Music members.
Filed under: Apple Music, iOS, iOS Devices Tagged: 10 million, Android, Apple Music, iOS, Spotify, ten million
Continue reading more about iOS Devices, iOS, and iOS at 9to5Mac.
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Report: Apple making tool to let iPhone users easily transfer data to Android following EU telecom operator pressure
Apple launched a Move to iOS app in September, pictured, that enables Android users to quickly transfer documents, photos, contacts and other personal data to a new iPhone. This eases the pain for Android users to switch to iOS, which clearly benefits Apple. Interestingly, the Telegraph is reporting that Apple is now developing a similar tool that goes in the opposite direction, letting iPhone users more easily transfer to Android devices.
Why would Apple want to do something like this? The Telegraph explanation is that it is related to European competition fears. Mobile operators in Europe have complained that few users switch away from iPhone which inhibits negotiations with Apple over contractual terms.
The telecoms operators are concerned that Apple is artificially limiting competition by making it hard to leave the iOS ecosystem. Hence, it seems Apple has agreed to help in this area by making this transitioning tool. The report ‘says Apple has privately agreed’ to make the service, so a public launch is unclear.
Whilst it is unlikely Apple would honor the requests out of the goodness of their hearts, it is possible that the telecoms operators could have presented the issue as an anticompetitive complaint which could have let to legal action in court. This is just speculation, but it explains why Apple would be cooperative. In October, Apple said the rate of Android switchers was at the highest point ever for new iPhone sales.
The European Commission began an investigation in 2013 over Apple’s terms with mobile operators, but the investigation was dropped as insufficient evidence of illicit behaviour was found.
Apple’s Move to iOS app annoyed Android users, garnering thousands of 1 stars in the Google Play Store. Perhaps they would be more receptive to an app that sent users in the other direction …
Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS, iOS Devices, Tech Industry Tagged: android switcher, iPhone, Move to iOS
Check out 9to5Mac for more breaking coverage of AAPL Company, iOS Devices, and iPhone.
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The Best 5 Job Websites to Find and Hire Freelancers
Business landscape is rapidly shifting in one direction or another because of several drivers including globalization, a new knowledge-based economy, technological growth, and a new brand of consumers. Business demands can suddenly decrease or increase due to uncontrollable external factors. Small businesses do not have the resources for or need of taking and maintaining a large number of full-time employees, especially for projects that are temporary in nature. One solution is hiring talented freelancers in online job marketplace websites.
The Top 5
The freelance economy is growing. Studies have shown that in the near future, almost 50 percent of the full-time workforce will be made up of freelancers. We present here five of the most popular websites where project managers, recruitment officers and small business owners can find freelancers to fill up their team. No site is a perfect site, but most issues and problems can be addressed with adequate knowledge, preparation and clear communication between employers, freelancers, site administrators and support agents.
#1 Toptal
Toptal is a San Francisco-based company that specializes in technical freelance talent such as software developers and designers. Freelancers that apply undergo a strict screening process where only the top 3 percent are hired. It is available in over 35 countries, mostly in the North America, Europe, and Middle East. It has received good reviews. Freelancers in Toptal tend to focus on larger projects and charge clients with higher rates compared to others. Read our review
#2 Freelancer
Freelancer is a publicly listed company with headquarters in Sydney, Australia. Among the five online job websites, it has the largest registered user-base of 17.6 million. Its services is available worldwide, but it is also promoting local services where demand will be matched first with service providers in the same area or region. The site is easy to use. Those wanting to hire or post a job can easily do this through an online form with many ready-made selections. Read our review
#3 Upwork
Upwork is the new name of Elance-oDesk merger that happened in 2014. The combined communities resulted in a network of more than 10 million registered freelancers, 4 million registered clients, and over $1 billion worth of work done annually. Some of the most hired talents in Upwork are those in the web and mobile development, design, writers, virtual assistants, customer service agents, sales and marketing, as well as accountants and business consultants. Read our review
#4 Guru
Guru is a Pittsburgh-based company that has allowed both business owners and freelancers to get work done in a way that suits them. It has one of the largest services offered by freelancers, about 3.4 million distributed in different categories such as web and IT services, design and multimedia, writing and translation, management and finance, sales and marketing, engineering and architecture, and many more. It is a site that uses a ranking performance score called Total Marketing Score that influences the order of quotes from freelancers. Read our review
#5 PeoplePerHour
PeoplePerHour is a company based in London, UK. It differs from the rest with services offered as small as 1 hour jobs. This is a great way to test and qualify the talent of freelancers. It minimizes the risk of mismatch or unsuitable hire. Although most platforms have a way to manage work, communication and payment, PeoplePerHour’s WorkStream provides better functionality in handling proposals, payment and messaging. Read our review
Flexibility of Freelancers
Aside from money savings, freelancers provide flexibility as they can work on demand as needed. Full-time project teams will take a longer time to build and train. Full-time employees will always be needed, but freelancers can help companies to adjust staffing needs as required by the business. Furthermore, freelancers are business owners (service providers) themselves, recognizing and sharing the same values as the employers and business owners that hire them. And the hiring process for finding suitable talent is now easier than ever with these online freelance job platforms.
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How to Choose Project Management Software
Project management software is utilized for project scheduling, planning, resource distribution and change management. It allows project managers (PMs), investors and users to control costs and manage costing, quality management and documentation and also may be used as an administration system.
Project management software should cater the following functions:
- Project planning
- Work Breakdown Structure and Task management
- Resource allocation
- Calendar and contact sharing
- Time and Cost tracking
- Document sharing and collaboration
- Bug and error management
This article provides a four step process for choosing the right project management software.
Step 1: Identify the tasks
Implementation of project management software and implementing project management are two different things. You should know what you are trying to accomplish. The best ways to achieve this is to identify two to three key problems that you need to solve and after that, produce a few key business cases that will help you solve these. A good vendor can guide you in creating business cases. You should also build the work plan that you will use to manage the project. Answer these questions for getting right software:
- What is the use of software?
- What problem will this software solve?
- What are the features and functions you require?
- What kind of project and resources you will manage with the tool?
- Whether commercially supported or open source or both options are to be explored?
Step 2: Create a list of products
Project management software can be divided into four main categories. Decide the suitable tool category, and then produce a list of products.
- Individual software: This can be a purchased tool used to manage individual projects
- Existing in-house software: This can be MS Excel which can facilitate project management.
- Medium-sized systems: These are tools used for small to medium sized organizations that have some of the features, but not all of the complexity as found in high-end system
- High-end systems: These are systems that are designed for a large organization for central project management.
Step 3: Implementation assessment
Once you are clear with your list of software tools, you can begin your evaluation process. Evaluate the requirement of your project and then:
- Ask your vendor to share a feature list.
- Communicate your important requirements and aims to the vendor, and find out what the vendor recommends.
- Ask for a personalized demonstration.
- Download a trial version of an individual product and run through the business cases and achieve your own hands-on assessment.
- Ask for a written cost proposal and the features provided.
- Do not forget to evaluate recurring maintenance and support costs.
Step 4: Make a Selection
Make a selection as per your requirements. It is helpful to generate a matrix of the systems with important statistics about each system. In various groups, the project team makes the final recommendation and then redirects it to the purchasing or procurement department who in turn does the contract negotiation and legal detailing.
Conclusion
Choosing correct software to plan your project is very important. Do maximum web research as well as take maximum feedback from people who have already used these or are currently using them.
Procuring and implementing project management software is not impossible, and is a very supportive instrument that can help your organization work in a better way and in a structured manner.
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What Makes a Team Truly Great? 9 Defining Traits [Infographic]
This post originally appeared on Agency Post. To read more content like this, subscribe to Agency Post.
What makes a team truly great?
Is it the mix of personalities? Is it how teams are measured and rewarded? Does the team leader ultimately determine their success?
There is a lot of research and opinion on what ingredients are necessary to build a high-performing team because it is one of the most difficult things to do — you are essentially forcing people together — but it’s one of the biggest drivers of success in an organization. A poor performing team can negatively impact an entire organization, not to mention be the cause for missing goals or revenue targets.
Weekdone created the below infographic detailing some of the defining characteristics of great teams. Learn what you should look for in a high-performing team and how to recruit to create your own.
Guru – Hire Talented Freelancers for Different Project Needs
According to a 2013 Entrepreneur article, the freelance economy continues to grow tremendously, and more companies are expected to hire in the years to follow. Millions of freelancers are ready to take fractional jobs or full-time functional jobs that have been further broken down to smaller tasks. For small and big businesses alike, using an online platform where they can quickly find and test a professional service provider for their technical, creative or business projects is extremely helpful. Guru provides this platform where businesses and freelancers can connect and work together.
Introducing Guru
Guru is a privately held, self-funded online job marketplace company with headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. It was founded by Inderpal Guglani in 1998 as eMoonlighter.com. Guru was a rival site that was acquired by HR software company Unicru. In 2003, Unicru sold the Guru domain name and logo to eMoonlighter, which then renamed itself to Guru. Today, the site has over 1.5 million members all over the world, provided the platform to complete about a million jobs, and has facilitated the transaction of around $200 million between employers and freelancers.
How It Works
Businesses can post a job for free and wait for bids from freelancers. They can also search for services offered by freelancers that match their business requirements. They can explore and read the profiles of freelancers as well as browse their previous projects. Guru also has a recommendation score or ranking for each freelancer based on his or her ability to gain new business by submitting accurate and detailed quote, the ability to turn quality work into earnings, and the ability to retain clients over time. A freelancer has a Total Marketing Score based on their performance data that quantifies the quality of their work as well as the quality of the work experience they provided their clients. Quotes from freelancers appear in order by this score or ranking.
Business owners can collaborate with freelancers and keep track of their projects in the built-in Work Room in Guru. From within the site, they can build a team of freelancers, share files, create project milestones and finalize agreements. SafePay allows employers to pay all or part of the job to Guru only, and allow the payment to the freelancer only after employers approve of the work. A small payment processing fee is charged to employers. A feedback mechanism also adds more information for both employers and freelancers.
Hiring the Right One
Guru has a search engine that allows employers to find a freelancer or guru by job category. The different categories are web, software and IT; design, art and multimedia; writing and translation; admin support; management and finance; sales and marketing; engineering and architecture; legal services, and others. Employers can filter it down by location such as city, state, ZIP, country and region. They can narrow it down to freelancers with only 5, 4+ or 3+ stars, those only with a certain number of reviews, by rate, with a specified budget or those only with tested skills such as advanced Java test.
Problems and Solutions
As with any other freelancing site, problems arise especially pertaining to payment issues. Some complaints are about payments being processed even though work is incomplete. Also, freelancers have the ability to remove a certain number of reviews or feedback based on their blocking power, which depends on the amount of dollars the freelancer has spent on Guru for a certain period. Guru, however, provides employers with other resources and tips to make sure that their hiring for their projects goes smoothly, even the first time. Some of these tips include posting clear job descriptions; carefully assessing a candidate’s profile, portfolio, ratings and quote; and not making payment before receiving complete or agreed-upon work. For more tips and updates, visit their Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or LinkedIn sites. Feel free also to share here your experience if you have tried their services.
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Are Pessimists More Productive Than Optimists?
This post originally appeared on HubSpot’s Sales Blog. To read more content like this,subscribe to Sales.
This post isn’t for the person who wakes up each day holding a list of ideas that are going to shape the future of the world. This post isn’t for daydreamers or optimists.
Nope. This post is for people who go against the grain and think … well, a little differently.
There’s no arguing that positive thinking is a key to productivity. In fact, the results of positive thinkers speak for themselves.
But what about the people who are more … realistic? With a multitude of studies backing positive thinking as a key to being productive, is the converse true? Do pessimists get less done than their optimistic counterparts?
As it turns out, according to new research, pessimists might actually be more productive than their colleagues.
Can Optimisim Actually Hold You Back?
Research from New York University’s Gabriele Oettingen discovered that a little pessimism can improve productivity. Oettingen, who spent 20 years researching and testing her theory, found that optimism and positive fantasies didn’t help people reach their goals but instead got in the way:
Oettingen theorizes that fantasizing about what’s ahead results in losing track of goals. Optimists tend to daydream about the benefits of their goals without putting in the work to be successful, according to the research.
To be clear, Oettingen isn’t advocating for thinking negatively and moping around all day, but her research suggests that introducing a little pessimism can be beneficial. Oettingen uses a strategy known as W.O.O.P to harness the benefits of negative thinking for maximum productivity:
- W: Think about your wish.
- O: Think about your ideal outcome.
- O: Think about the obstacles in your way.
- P: Plan for those obstacles.
W.O.O.P requires you to think negatively about your goal, which helps you plan for the obstacles that lie ahead.
Positivity is great, but it’s not the be-all end-all. Thinking negatively can help us set realistic objectives and prepare for pitfalls as we ultimately reach for a goal. So when you have a less-than-stellar Monday, don’t be surprised if it’s one of your best days of work.
What do you think about this research? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Twitter Launches Conversational Ads: This Week in Social Media
Welcome to our weekly edition of what’s hot in social media news. To help you stay up to date with social media, here are some of the news items that caught our attention. What’s New This Week Twitter Introduces Conversational Ads: Twitter rolled out new conversational ads that “make it even easier for consumers to […]
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How to Implement Dynamic Pricing without Sacrificing Margins or Customers
Dynamic pricing has certainly been gaining traction in the online retail space. Popular in industries like hospitality and sports entertainment, dynamic pricing has led to the retail price tag’s obsolescence in those industries. Why? Because it is a symbol of static pricing, a tactic that holds many retailers back from success in the ecommerce landscape.
Retailers are no longer inhibited by physical price tags that require time and employees to manually change. That’s why dynamic pricing is a growing practice in online retail. Dynamic pricing is a pricing strategy that gives businesses the power to change their products’ prices in accordance with changes in the market and competitor prices.
Have you ever checked on the same flight twice in the same week and seen that the price had increased the second time? That’s dynamic pricing hard at work. However, dynamic pricing in retail does not hold the same frustration for consumers. It has led to an increase in competition online, which ultimately benefits online shoppers.
Consumers often benefit from dynamic pricing thanks to frequent price cuts. And if retailers have the data to engage in the strategy but can’t afford to compete with low prices, they find innovative ways to improve the customer experience with tactics such as live chat. Other retailers can occasionally reprice, but Amazon is still the reigning champion of dynamic pricing.
Amazon’s data-driven approach has allowed them to aggressively pursue (and succeed at) their loss leader strategy. By intelligently lowering their prices in order to compete against other retailers, they were able to capture huge market share, though margins had to be sacrificed along the way. The company really took the famous Jeff Bezos quote “your margin is my opportunity” to heart.
If you’re a retailer considering dynamic pricing, there’s obviously one big question on your mind: how do you find the middle ground? You don’t want to frustrate customers like airlines sometimes do, but at the same time you don’t want to undercut all of your competitors and deplete your margins. The line between the two has grown thin, but walking it does not have to be an incredibly painstaking process. Here are three steps to help you find the middle ground to implement a successful dynamic pricing strategy.
1) Use Clean Competitive Data
A well-balanced dynamic pricing strategy starts with your competitor data. This pricing data helps you establish the range of prices you can use to stay competitive. Unfortunately, competitor data is not always perfect.
Missing or incorrect pricing data can be frustrating for retailers. Sometimes UPC numbers get fudged, and your pricing data actually pertains to the wrong item. If your data shows your competitor’s t-shirt at hundreds of dollars, they probably aren’t daring to make some extra money. You probably just accidentally matched your t-shirt with an expensive item!
According to WIPRO, 64% of retailers don’t actually have a well-defined policy for analyzing data. If you want to successfully carry out a dynamic pricing strategy, you can’t be a part of that percentage. Having a savvy business analyst can go a long way towards keeping your data clean and identifying these illogical errors to translate to the needs to your IT team for data cleanup.
Combining expertise between business and technical stakeholders will help you create a robust data cleansing service. The industry bests will collect as much raw data as possible, set up data cleansing, and then feed the “pure” data to their algorithms for optimization.
2) Test Your Prices
Once you have squeaky clean data, you can start working to discover the optimal price for your products. What works well for one retailer may not work at all for another. That’s because behind every purchase decision, there are several factors that help determine the optimal price, such as brand value, shipping costs, competitor prices, price elasticity, and more.
So how do you find the right price? Just as you would test a web page layout, you can actually A/B test your pricing strategies. Analyzing how different prices affect your bottom line, sales revenue, and conversion rates can help you find the optimal price for you and your customers.
You’ll quickly learn that you don’t always need to have the lowest price to win the sale!
Testing dynamic pricing strategies can lead to a 3% lift in profits in just two months, according to a test Wiser ran with one of our clients. This is from weekly and biweekly price fluctuations of elastic products. Price testing helps you find the price that is most appropriate for your brand and your customers. Using this type of data-drive strategy can help you make informed decisions about your pricing.
3) Be Dynamic, Not Discriminatory
There have been reports of certain retailers using demographics to determine prices throughout the day. For example, if they saw a shopper visit using an Apple laptop, the prices would be higher than someone using a PC. They have also increased the price for customers farther away from brick and mortar stores. While it is an opportunity, it’s pure price discrimination, and it’s wrong to use it on your customers.
Fluctuating prices between two customers is not only wrong, it can also be illegal. Instead of using individual customer traits and demographics to price your products, let the market and your internal business strategy dictate and justify prices. It’s like your entry-level economics class all over again. The market will determine the price, and it’s up to you to follow that price or alter it to make a sale.
An increasing number of retailers are taking hold of Amazon’s wisdom and are beginning to implement dynamic pricing strategies, for a good reason. Amazon has been the 800 pound gorilla in the room for too long, and dynamic pricing gives retailers of all sizes the opportunity to compete against a company as large and resourceful as Amazon.
It takes a lot of work, but when it’s implemented correctly, dynamic pricing can appease your customers by offering optimized prices in accordance with your brand without killing your margins. With the help of data cleaning and price testing, retailers can grow to be as competitive as Amazon while turning impressive margins for your business.
Apple developing revamped, cord-free Beats with charging case ahead of iPhone 7
With its resources from the 2014 acquisition of headphone maker Beats Electronics, Apple is prototyping a completely new set of Bluetooth earphones with the potential of launching the accessory alongside the iPhone 7 this fall. The new earphones are said to be completely wireless, which is to say that they do not even have a cable connecting the left and right ear pieces. Sources say that the headphones are similar in concept to the Motorola Hint headset (pictured above) and Bragi’s new Dash headphones that were shown at CES this week.
It’s expected that the in-development accessory will include a noise-cancelling microphone system, enabling phone calls and communication with Siri even without Apple’s prior in-line microphone and remote. In order to fit inside of the user’s ear, Apple will likely develop different sized ear sleeves for the hardware, similar to the approach used by Motorola and Bragi. Bragi’s headphones include a built-in button to answer calls, so Apple’s could have a control for managing calls and activating Siri.
The headphones are planned to be a premium alternative to a new version of the EarPods, and are highly likely to be sold separately from the iPhone 7; a comparable model from Bragi will retail for $300. As has been previously rumored, sources confirm that the iPhone 7 will not include a standard headphone jack and will instead require headphones to connect via the Lightning connector or wirelessly over Bluetooth. The ability for headphones to connect over Lightning has been included in iOS since 2014, and new EarPods will support this.
The latest version of the new wireless Apple/Beats headphones in development do not include any ports for charging, in contrast to the mini-USB port on the current wireless Beats. Instead, the new headphones are likely to come with a carrying case that doubles as a rechargeable battery to juice up the headphones when they are not in use. Apple first tested the battery case waters last month with an iPhone 6 battery case. While Apple hopes to launch the new earphones this fall, the hardware is still in development and could be delayed by battery life concerns. As the design requires twin wireless chips and separate batteries, sub-4-hour battery life without use of the case would be expected.
The iPhone 7 is likely to debut this fall, but sources say that Apple has not yet finalized the design of the handset. Case makers tell us that Apple is currently testing three different designs for the iPhone 7, including a completely new, thinner look as well as a backup design that looks substantially like the iPhone 6s. Since 2014, the Apple-owned Beats division has released Apple Music as well as minor updates to existing headphone lines, so this new wireless pair will mark the first major hardware launch of the merged companies.
Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: Apple, Beats, Bluetooth, headphones, iPhone 7, Lightning, Thinner, Wireless
For more information about iOS Devices, Apple, and Bluetooth continue reading at 9to5Mac.
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Judge rejects class-action over AppleCare’s subpar replacements, calls lawyer ‘manifestly incompetent’
Remember that class-action lawsuit alleging AppleCare+ customers were being given subpar replacement products? This week a federal judge rejected the case while calling the plantiffs’ lawyer “manifestly incompetent” and suggesting the counsel orchestrated the entire case.
ArsTechnica reports the judge’s rejection this week claimed the lawyer encouraged the plaintiffs to purchase AppleCare plans and record interactions with Apple employees “for the purpose of initiating this lawsuit.”
But none of the plaintiffs were disgruntled consumers who went looking for a lawyer after getting bad service. Galindo was a paralegal for Renee Kennedy, the lawyer who filed the lawsuit, and Adkins had also worked for Kennedy in the past. Kennedy gave them both “monetary gifts to thank them for their excellent work,” and both women used those “gifts” to buy AppleCare Plus, referred to as “AC+” in court papers.
While the case isn’t entirely over, it won’t be a class-action and therefore will likely be on a much smaller scale than it might have been otherwise (if it doesn’t eventually get thrown out altogether).
Under Apple’s current policy for AppleCare plans, the company promises to “exchange the Covered Equipment with a replacement product that is new or equivalent to new in performance and reliability, and is at least functionally equivalent to the original product.” It’s not always the case — the judge found one plaintiff in the case was actually given a brand new device as a replacement — that’s another way of saying you might get refurbished replacement units (or parts for repairs).
Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Apple, AppleCare, Class action, Lawsuit, Refurbished
For more news on AAPL Company, Apple, and Lawsuit continue reading at 9to5Mac.
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VW says Apple stopped it from demoing wireless CarPlay at CES
CarPlay in iOS 9 adds several new features including wireless connectivity over wired Lightning connections, but current cars don’t yet support the new protocol that offers the better experience. None of the new aftermarket displays from Pioneer, JBL, and others from this year support wireless CarPlay, and automakers like Ford and Chevy that are rolling out CarPlay support this year are focusing first on the wired experience and not talking about wireless yet.
CarPlay partner Volkswagen, however, apparently did plan to demonstrate their integration of wireless CarPlay with their concept infotainment system, but pulled the demo from CES this year at Apple’s request, Car and Driver reports:
“We wanted to demonstrate wireless CarPlay and the owner of CarPlay technology didn’t allow us to,” Volkmar Tannerberger, head of electrical and electronic development at Volkswagen, told Car and Driver.
While hunting the CES floor for any demos of wireless CarPlay this week, I ran into a couple of CarPlay engineers from Apple and asked if anyone was doing wireless yet. I’m generally happy with CarPlay these days aside from a few missing features like sending voice messages, but wireless CarPlay would greatly improve the experience and several readers have asked me about it. Their answer was that the protocol is out there and that it’s up to partners to use it, making the VW incident all the more curious.
Filed under: CarPlay Tagged: CarPlay, Volkswagen
For more news on CarPlay, Volkswagen, and CarPlay continue reading at 9to5Mac.
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New to Search Advertising? Here’s How to Avoid 7 Common Mistakes [SlideShare]
There are two types of search advertisers: those who have failed and those who are going to.
At HubSpot, we embrace failure — it’s often an important step towards success. That being said, we don’t ever go out of our way to fall on our face. Instead, when attempting something new, we try as hard as we can to learn from others who had failed before us.
When it comes to search advertising, it’s the little things that can have the biggest impact — the way you combine ads and inbound, your landing page design, the metrics you’re measuring, etc. So to help you master search advertising faster — and avoid failure in the process — we’ve compiled some of the most common mistakes we’ve seen marketers make in the SlideShare below.
Check it out as you launch your next search ad campaign to ensure you’ve covering all the bases.
What are your favorite search advertising tips? Share them with us in the comments section below.
9to5Toys Lunch Break: 12-inch MacBook 512GB $1,300, Car Bluetooth Receiver $16, Mac App Bundle $20, more
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Filed under: iOS Devices, Tips and Tricks Tagged: 9to5Toys, Amazon, app deals, Aukey, Best Buy, Bluetooth, Daily Deals, free apps, Gold Box, Mac App Bundle, MacBook, video games
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Apple registers three car-related domain names, hinting at its electric vehicle project
While ‘Apple Car‘ is still a highly rumored project that really gained momentum last year, Apple hasn’t officially acknowledged its electric vehicle project publicly yet. Instead, Apple executives have cleverly referenced the rumors during media events while Tim Cook has resisted denying the project. The biggest tease to date comes in the form of new car-related domain names registered to the company that are likely related to the so-called Project Titan.
First discovered by MacRumors, Apple Inc. is the company behind three new car-themed domain names registered last month and revealed today. All three domain names, which include apple.car, apple.auto, and apple.cars, are currently inactive and do not point toward any Apple websites, but the WHOIS registration ties Apple to the domain names which only adds to the likelihood that Apple’s moving forward with its car project.
Aside from Apple’s rumored plans to produce a car in addition to iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches, the company does already have technology in the car space with its iPhone-based CarPlay infotainment feature. CarPlay puts optimized versions of the iPhone’s Messages, Phone, Maps, and Music apps on screens in cars using Siri voice control as the input method.
Apple’s newly registered car-related domains do not point to Apple’s CarPlay site which lists partnered automakers and supported apps, however, which further suggests the new domains are either continued teases or actual domains Apple plans to use in the future. Another possibility is that Apple has picked up the new domain names to prevent others was cashing in on them in the future, but either way the evidence that Apple is developing an electric vehicle is only growing and will surely continue this year.
Filed under: Apple Car Tagged: Apple Car, CarPlay, Project Titan
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