Den Mars-Hubschrauber der Nasa erwarten neue und nie zuvor getestete Aufgaben. Außerdem ist damit erstmals ein 3D-Bild erstellt worden. (Perseverance, Nasa)
Den Mars-Hubschrauber der Nasa erwarten neue und nie zuvor getestete Aufgaben. Außerdem ist damit erstmals ein 3D-Bild erstellt worden. (Perseverance, Nasa)
Leichte und billige Satelliten, die auch zu Mond und Mars fliegen können: Aerospace Corp hat den neuen Standardformfaktor Disksats entwickelt. Von Frank Wunderlich-Pfeiffer (Satelliten, Technologie)
Leichte und billige Satelliten, die auch zu Mond und Mars fliegen können: Aerospace Corp hat den neuen Standardformfaktor Disksats entwickelt. Von Frank Wunderlich-Pfeiffer (Satelliten, Technologie)
Earlier this year popular brands including Aukey, Mpow, RAVPower, TaoTronics, and Choetech started disappearing from Amazon, in what appeared to be a crackdown on review fraud. Now Amazon has confirmed that’s exactly what happened… and it happened to a lot more merchants than we realized. According to news reports, in the past five months Amazon […]
Now Amazon has confirmed that’s exactly what happened… and it happened to a lot more merchants than we realized. According to news reports, in the past five months Amazon has closed about 3,000 merchant accounts representing about 600 different Chinese brands that were found to have violated Amazon’s policies, particularly those related to pay-for-play reviews.
For example, many of these companies made a habit of offering to pay customers to leave positive reviews… or to remove negative reviews.
Sometimes there’d be a card included in the box for whatever item you just purchased promising a refund or a gift card in exchange for a positive review. Other times the company would reach out to customers who left bad reviews, offering a refund or another product in exchange for removing the review.
Both of those practices are against rules Amazon has had in place since 2016, but which were not actively enforced until recently. I know I’ve gotten a card or two promising a perk for a positive Amazon review (I’ve purchased a couple of RAVPower power banks and Mpow earbuds over the years, but honestly can’t remember which came with an incentive card).
Today is Amazon Prime Day.
Humble request:
If you get any insert cards in your new purchases (they don’t need to look this suspicious), please send me photos of them at sean@theverge.com for a story. pic.twitter.com/7337ookNPp
According to the South China Morning Post, “questionable practices like paying for positive reviews often go unchecked on Chinese e-commerce platforms,” which may help explain why companies who are used to doing business in China have continued to carry out those practices when selling to global audiences through Amazon.
In the meantime, some of the companies that have now been permanently banned from Amazon are apparently trying to expand their presence on other international marketplaces including eBay and AliExpress.
As for Amazon, the company tells The Verge that it “will continue to improve abuse detection and take enforcement against bad actors, including those that knowingly engage in multiple and repeated policy violations, including review abuse.” So it’s possible more merchants could be removed in the coming months.
Earlier this year popular brands including Aukey, Mpow, RAVPower, TaoTronics, and Choetech started disappearing from Amazon, in what appeared to be a crackdown on review fraud. Now Amazon has confirmed that’s exactly what happened… and it happened to a lot more merchants than we realized. According to news reports, in the past five months Amazon […]
Now Amazon has confirmed that’s exactly what happened… and it happened to a lot more merchants than we realized. According to news reports, in the past five months Amazon has closed about 3,000 merchant accounts representing about 600 different Chinese brands that were found to have violated Amazon’s policies, particularly those related to pay-for-play reviews.
For example, many of these companies made a habit of offering to pay customers to leave positive reviews… or to remove negative reviews.
Sometimes there’d be a card included in the box for whatever item you just purchased promising a refund or a gift card in exchange for a positive review. Other times the company would reach out to customers who left bad reviews, offering a refund or another product in exchange for removing the review.
Both of those practices are against rules Amazon has had in place since 2016, but which were not actively enforced until recently. I know I’ve gotten a card or two promising a perk for a positive Amazon review (I’ve purchased a couple of RAVPower power banks and Mpow earbuds over the years, but honestly can’t remember which came with an incentive card).
Today is Amazon Prime Day.
Humble request:
If you get any insert cards in your new purchases (they don’t need to look this suspicious), please send me photos of them at sean@theverge.com for a story. pic.twitter.com/7337ookNPp
According to the South China Morning Post, “questionable practices like paying for positive reviews often go unchecked on Chinese e-commerce platforms,” which may help explain why companies who are used to doing business in China have continued to carry out those practices when selling to global audiences through Amazon.
In the meantime, some of the companies that have now been permanently banned from Amazon are apparently trying to expand their presence on other international marketplaces including eBay and AliExpress.
As for Amazon, the company tells The Verge that it “will continue to improve abuse detection and take enforcement against bad actors, including those that knowingly engage in multiple and repeated policy violations, including review abuse.” So it’s possible more merchants could be removed in the coming months.
Valve announced this week that its prestigious Dota 2 tournament The International will require all attendees to be fully masked and vaccinated for entry.
As noted on the Dota 2 site, anyone attending the October competition at the National Arena in Bucharest, Romania, must be at least 10 days out from their final vaccination, and attendees will need to present proof of inoculation (which must be in either English or Romanian) along with a photo ID to gain access to the event grounds and tournament arena. All attendees must also wear a mask and proof-of-vaccination wristband along with their registration badges. Additional safety protocols will be put into place throughout the tournament.
Now in its tenth year, The International gathers together the best Dota 2 teams from around the globe to compete for a multi-million dollar prize pool. But over the past year, Valve has not had an easy time with COVID-related restrictions for its annual tournament. The company's initial plans to hold The International 10 in Stockholm were scrapped earlier this summer after the Swedish Sports Federation decided not to include esports in its officially recognized body—a move that meant anyone traveling for the tournament would be denied an entry visa.
The committee roundly rejected approving boosters for everyone 16 and up.
Enlarge/ Vials with COVID-19 Vaccine labels showing logos of pharmaceutical company Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech. (credit: Getty | Photonews)
A committee of independent advisors for the Food and Drug Administration has voted unanimously (18 to 0) in favor of authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 65 and older, as well as people at high risk based on an underlying medical condition and/or occupational exposure (e.g., healthcare workers). The booster doses are recommended to be given at least six months after completion of the primary two doses.
If the FDA moves forward with the advisory committee's recommendation—which it likely will—boosters will be offered to those two groups based on an Emergency Use Authorization.
Prior to voting in favor of authorization for the two groups, the committee rejected the idea of approving boosters for all people ages 16 and up with a resounding vote of 16 to 2 against.
Den Mars-Hubschrauber der Nasa erwarten neue und nie zuvor getestete Aufgaben. Außerdem ist damit erstmals ein 3D-Bild erstellt worden. (Perseverance, Nasa) 
Bisher galten die strikten Hardware-Anforderung von Windows 11 nicht für VMs. Das will Microsoft nun offenbar ändern. (
Leichte und billige Satelliten, die auch zu Mond und Mars fliegen können: Aerospace Corp hat den neuen Standardformfaktor Disksats entwickelt. Von Frank Wunderlich-Pfeiffer (
Apple zeigt neue Geräte und Windows wird schneller: die Woche im Video. (
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