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Major bicycle and components brand Specialized is marking its 50th anniversary with an ambitious initiative to get one million bikes back on the road by the end of 2025, regardless of brand. The program, dubbed Reduce, Reuse, ReSpecialized, kicked off with a day of free basic repairs on 26 October 2024, targeting common issues like flat tires and squeaky chains that often relegate bikes to garage storage.
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Marketing and Advertising
Bloomberg reports that Uber has started farming out independent contractors for data-labeling services as well as coders-for-hire. Uber describes its new Scaled Solutions division as a platform of analysts, testers and independent data operators, according to the companys website. Scaled Solutions began life as an internal team, handling large-scale annotation tasks for Ubers other services. Now its been expanded to provide coders and data labelers for outside companies like Pokémon Go developer Niantic Inc. and the self-driving trucking software firm Aurora Innovations. Aurora acquired Ubers self-driving Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) unit in 2020 and Uber is one of Auroras investors. Uber started recruiting workers this month for its Scaled Solutions division from India, the US, Canada, Poland and Nicaragua. Scaled Solutions also posted some corporate openings for positions in San Francisco, New York and Chicago. According to an onboarding FAQ reviewed by Bloomberg, contractor pay is distributed monthly and totals are based on the tasks that contractors complete. The company did not reveal any specific rates to Bloomberg for its new crop of freelance employees.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/ubers-latest-gig-economy-play-is-offering-out-coders-for-hire-215036314.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
The US Fair Trade Commission published a paper that found 89 percent of connected devices do not detail how long the item will receive software support. The study examined product websites looking for specifics about how long the company expected to support the device. Within the 11 percent of product sites that shared this information, the review found cases with ambiguous language as well as inconsistencies in where dates were displayed. As a secondary test, the researchers conducted basic Google searches for information about support dates and couldn't quickly find answers for 67 percent of the devices. "Consumers stand to lose a lot of money if their smart products stop delivering the features they want," said Samuel Levine, director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the FTC. "When shopping for smart devices, consumers should ask questions and consider how long their product will last." The 89 percent figure sounds like a pretty damning rate, but there is a major caveat to this research. The FTC only looked at 184 products, and they fell across a huge range of categories. The review excluded laptops, personal computers, tablets and automobiles, but any other "connected device" was covered. So while the real percentages are likely hazier than this report suggests, the FTC's point about considering ongoing product support is still a good one. It's becoming more common for smartphone manufacturers to say upfront how long they'll support the device; for instance, Samsung will keep the S24 line updated for seven years. The wave of right to repair laws that have been passed in a few states, most recently in California, could also point toward longer lifespans for hardware. However, that practice clearly hasn't spread to all personal and home tech. Today's paper from the FTC doesn't advise any action on the topic, but it does highlight a need to set expectations around how and when companies will offer support for their software-driven products.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/ftc-warns-that-companies-dont-disclose-how-long-connected-devices-will-be-supported-212432111.html?src=rss
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