Hey Portal, Facebook may want to reduce the losses now on the video device



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Imagine the politician who is caught in a scandal, breaking public trust, whether of a sexual nature, spending taxpayer money or simply doing something stupid.

The answer is usually immediate: quit. To resign.

So what about a company that has had a security breach after the other one and that seems to be unable to get around them? And when the company calls Facebook and is looking to sell you a new video chat device for the home with an integrated camera that can, believe it or not, "move into the kitchen … and get it right. adapt to the action "," Do you want to buy it?

Portal Dark A

Facebook Portal

Facebook

The story probably does not install much confidence. So, our friendly suggestion regarding Facebook, which will compete with Amazon's second-generation Echo Show video speaker and Google's new Home Hub, officially released on Monday, is simple: limit losses and dropouts.

Do not forget that Facebook recently revealed to nearly 30 million members of the social network that their names, addresses and other personal information had been stolen during the latest hacking attempt.

So, how to follow them? With an invitation to purchase the Portal video chat feature, available in mid-November, and starting at $ 199, a talking speaker sold as "private by nature". This week, well, Facebook admitted to saying who was calling you, where the callers lived, and how often you talked about Portal to sell ads based on that information, as well as to other people about them. Facebook platforms.

Exactly what every American wants for Christmas: a home electronic monitor.

Facebook has not responded to our multiple requests for comments.

Many consumers have refused to install Amazon Echo or Google Home at home because they feared having microphones in a device that could record our conversation. The defense of Amazon and Google has been that the units only record when you use the waking word "Alexa" or "Hey, Google".

Justin Brookman does not doubt companies about this. "They can not save everything today, but that could change over time, which is why I will not install one at home."

Brookman, director of privacy and technology protection policy for the Union of Consumers, is even more optimistic about talking video speakers.

"I just do not see the value" by agreeing to place units with cameras (Facebook portal and Amazon Echo Show) at home, he says. "They know me enough like that."

This was an important week for privacy, starting with the Facebook update on Recode, the Recode technology news site, which would monitor calls on the device and then on the 360-degree different position Apple on privacy, with an updated section of its website.

Apple has introduced new, easier-to-find tools to download the data that Apple collects – which is minimal – and to brag about its differences in consumer information. One of the new tools, included in an Apple operating system update for Mac computers, seeks to end the practice of companies following you with ads after your browsing by asking for permission before to allow them to install cookies on your computer.

Apple specializes primarily in the hardware industry, with more than 200 million iPhones sold per year, as well as iPads, Macintosh computers, Apple Watch and software such as iTunes movie rentals, Apple's subscription service Music and iCloud backup storage.

Facebook is a free social network that, instead of a paid subscription, works by selling advertisements. So, Apple can afford to take the high road.

The struggles of the social network are so big this week that she hired a former British politician to head her public relations department. Former British Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, has been named vice president of international affairs and communications, under the authority of Sheryl Sandberg, head of Facebook's operations.

"Our company is on a critical path," said Sandberg. "The challenges we face are serious and clear and we now need more opportunities than ever before to help us despite this period of change."

That's why we think that instead of trying to sell a product that clearly does not have privacy in mind for a skeptical audience, why not just work to solve the problems social network hacking, which have been launched continuously since the discovery of how the Russians have sown chaos in Facebook in the 2016 election and have not stopped since?

Good luck!

In other new techniques this week

-Apple has set October 30, before Halloween, the presentation of new products, namely iPads, updates of the range of MacBook computers and AirPods Bluetooth headphones. The company has also started pre-selling another iPhone, the iPhone XR this week. It will be officially on sale October 26 at $ 750, $ 250 less than the new XS and $ 350 less than the XS Max.

-Amazon has announced a new edition of the Kindle electronic reader, the Paperwhite, which is waterproof, as the previous edition, but more affordable, at $ 129. It will be available on November 7th.

-Google said that users of its popular Maps app can now share the status of their trip with other people in real time. Already available on Android since 2017, the feature aligns Google Maps on Waze (also owned by Google), and even on Uber and Lyft, all of which have allowed iPhone users to provide updates to allow others to follow their route. You can send the link via the Apple Messenger application, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp or several other third-party email applications that you have installed on your iPhone.

-The Lyft tourism company launched this week a subscription plan offering 30 trips to $ 299. Fine Print: The rounds cost $ 15 each, and if your turn exceeds the $ 15 level, you will have to pay extra.

This week's Talking Tech podcasts

-With the guitar, will travel: On the road, Talking Tech, with guitar singer Richard Smith.

-Apple XR: How does the latest iPhone stack with both introduced in September.

-Sears, where America had once bought its technology

-Support to customers: Apple, well Samsung, Microsoft not so good.

– The privacy fiasco of Facebook, namely Portal.

– The new waterproof Amazon Kindle.

– Why are the Lyft drivers canceling us and what to do?

Thank you for reading the Talking Tech newsletter. Subscribe here: http://technewsletter.usatoday.com. Listen to daily Talking Tech podcasts on Stitcher, Google and Apple Podcasts, and follow me (@jeffersongraham) on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Copyright 2017 USATODAY.com

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