In a surprising turn of events, Amazon and Whole Foods Market announced this morning that they are merging; Amazon will acquire the high-end organic food company for approximately $13.7 billion cash. Whole Foods is retaining its CEO, cofounder John Mackey, and they will continue to operate their stores independently. The company’s headquarters will remain in Austin, Texas. Developing… Source: Business Wire
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Amazon is buying Whole Foods for $13.7 billion
Some Spotify listeners got more than just free music with their ad-supported software. Multiple users report that the streaming service was serving malware-laden ads that would pop up your default web browser in a bid to compromise your system. Reportedly, some of these didn’t even require your input to do damage. And they weren’t specific to any one platform, either — Linux, Mac and Windows users all saw the same behavior, although it’s not clear that the hostile code could damage all three platforms. In response, Spotify tells us that this was the result of an “isolated issue” with an ad, and that it has since “shut it down.” Only a “small number of users” ran into the malware, it says. You can read the full statement below. With that said, it’s bound to be slightly embarrassing when the company ran into a similar issue in 2011. It’s also a reminder of one of the smaller perks of paying for a subscription service: when you don’t get ads in the first place, you’re not at risk of receiving rogue ads. “A small number of users have experienced a problem with questionable website pop ups in their default browsers as a result of an isolated issue with an ad on our free tier. We have now identified the source of the problem and have shut it down. We will continue to monitor the situation.” PSA: uninstall Spotify free, their ads are plagued with malware right now. pic.twitter.com/DUOqDrnDUZ — Volp (@VolpRS) October 5, 2016 Via: The Next Web , 9to5Mac Source: Spotify Community , Volp (Twitter)
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Spotify ads briefly served malware to your PC
Automatic makes devices that track your driving style and trips, quantifying that information for you in a companion app. These gadgets also do thing like tell you why your check engine light is on before you pay a few hundred dollars to a mechanic. Today the company announced its latest-gen adapter, the Automatic Pro . The $130 dongle has an unlimited, no subscription 3G connection — a departure from previous models that used your phone’s Bluetooth connection to talk to the company’s servers. The new always-connected adapter also comes with a new companion app. In addition to fancy new animations while a car is driving, it also has customizable notifications, deeper integration with online scripting service IFTTT (If This Then That). The new application only works with the Automatic Pro. Owners of the first and second generation adapters will continue to use the legacy app. Getting the company’s adapters on a cellular network without charging customers a subscription has been part of Automatic’s plan since day one. “People don’t want another subscription, ” Automatic Co-Founder Ljuba Miljkovic said. “We knew we always wanted to go cellular because of all the benefits of cellular. Now it’s an exciting time because we’re finally able to do that.” So whether you want to track your trips, quantify your driving style, or just be able to figure out why your check engine light is on, the new Automatic Pro now does it even when you’re not in the car. Source: Automatic
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Automatic’s new car adapter uses 3G without a subscription
Hulu is eliminating the ad-supported free streaming service it has offered over nearly a decade. The platform is opting instead to team up with Yahoo with a special distribution deal that’s spawning Yahoo View , a new TV streaming service with a small selection of what Hulu previously offered free viewers. Yahoo View will feature the five most recent episodes of shows selected from ABC, NBC and Fox eight days after their original air date. Additional series and a sampling of clips, anime and Korean drama will be made available as well. Yahoo View is available to pore over now if you’re interested in giving it a go over subscribing to Hulu. Going forward the streaming service will continue to offer the same two subscription plans: $7.99 a month with commercials and $11.99 a month without ad-supported viewing. Yahoo is currently being acquired by Verizon as part of a $4.8 billion deal, which isn’t expected to close until the end of 2016 or the first quarter of 2017. The partnership with Hulu should no doubt draw some support for Yahoo, especially since Hulu’s former free content enthusiasts will need to seek a new home for their streaming fix. Via: Variety
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Hulu is ending the free version of its streaming service