uOculus Won’t Block Virtual Reality Porn On Headsetsr

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• While demos of virtual reality headsets have thus far stuck to immersive games and interactive clips that let you experience things like flying over a city or race through a jungle, some people are thinking about how the tech could be employed for more intimate purposes. And the folks at Facebook-owned Oculus VR are just fine with that.

  The Oculus Rift headset prototype helped kicked off the latest batch of VR headgear when it won Best of CES in 2014. The company was then snapped up by Facebook and its technology is already being used in headsets designed by others, like Samsung’s Gear VR. The consumer version of the Rift is expected to launch in the coming months.

  Some big-money electronics companies actively shy away from supporting erotic content and applications, but Oculus founder Palmer Luckey is taking an a hands-off approach when it comes to X-rated uses of his company’s devices.

  “The Rift is an open platform, we don’t control what software can run on it,” he explained during the Silicon Valley Virtual Reality Conference on Monday, according to Variety. “And that’s a big deal.”

  Variety notes that others on the same panel as Luckey were less willing to discuss the porn issue.

  Nick DiCarlo, the Samsung VP in charge of its VR business, noted that Milk VR, the company’s storefront for VR content, “is being programmed as a major media outlet.”

  So that’s probably a no on porn from Samsung. Of course, that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to watch adult content on the Gear VR, but that it likely won’t be sold through Milk.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uFacebook Might Let Businesses Contact Customers Through WhatsAppr

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• 

  (Sigma.DP2.Kiss.X3)

  When Facebook forked over $19 billion to buy WhatsApp last year, it wasn’t clear how the company planned to make money off the messaging service, considering it already had its own separate app. One possibility? Facebook is considering allowing businesses to contact users — for a price, of course.

  Facebook said that it may introduce business-to-consumer interaction that marketers would pay to get access to, reports Bloomberg. At 800 million users, WhatsApp is close to the 1 billion number Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg cited in the past as the level it could start to become a meaningful business.

  “We think that enabling that B2C messaging has good business potential for us,” David Wehner, Facebook’s chief financial officer, said at a technology conference Monday. “As we learn those things, I think there’s going to be opportunities to bring some of those things to WhatsApp, but that’s more longer-term than the near-term.”

  It’s unclear whether users would have to opt in to such an arrangement, or whether companies who’d paid their fee to Facebook could reach out to whoever they wanted.

  Facebook Might Consider Business-to-Consumer Chat for WhatsApp [Bloomberg]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uGoogle Reportedly Adding Buy Button To Sponsored Mobile Search Resultsr

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  (frankieleon)

  Searching for and buying a product with your smartphone is about to get a bit easier. Google is reportedly just weeks away from adding a “buy” button to mobile search results, a move that will increase the company’s rivalry with other online marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon.

  The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is attempting to simplify the smartphone shopping experience by allowing users to simply hit a buy button to complete a transaction straight from search results, rather than toggle between retailer websites.

  The new buttons will only accompany sponsored search results; the options that pop up on the page under the “Shop on Google” heading. Non-sponsored results supported by the traditional Google search algorithm will not include the new buttons.

  Clicking on the buy button will take a prospective buyer to another Google product page where they can pick sizes, colors, and shipping option.

  While the entire transaction will take place on a Google page, the products will continue to be provided by and sold from actual retailers.

  A person with knowledge of the new venture, tells the WSJ that Google will provide customers the same option to opt into marketing programs – such as emails and discounts – that would traditionally be seen on the retailers’ website.

  Google pages where purchases are completed will also be heavily branded for the retailer selling the products. Recommended purchases, often seen below a selected item will also come from the same retailer.

  The new system will function much like rival online retailers apps from Amazon and eBay, allowing users to store their payment information and shipping information making it easier to complete future purchases, even if they from a different retailer.

  Google won’t actually share the data with retailers. Instead, the company will get the funds from shoppers and passes it on to the retailer, the WSJ reports.

  Can Google Outsell Amazon and eBay? [The Wall Street Journal]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uBeaver Wanders Into A Lowe’s Store, Finds Nothing Usefulr

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  (Mike Mozart)

  If you find a trip to your local home-improvement superstore daunting and stressful, imagine being a young adult beaver preparing to build your first home. One of the rodents wandered into the chain’s location in Fairbanks, Alaska, and wandered the store’s aisles aimlessly. It was as likely to find twigs and mud as you are to agree on a paint shade for the master bedroom.

  While we’ve shared stories of animals wandering around stores, a manager told the Fairbanks News-Miner that one had never visited the one in Fairbanks before.

  A Department of Fish and Game employee brought the beaver to a wildlife biologist to be checked out, and the biologist released the animal in some wetlands that were nearby, but far from the Lowe’s store. It had most likely come from an area a few blocks away: beaver parents kick their adult offspring out so they’ll be forced to find a mate and build their own home. That’s probably what this beaver was trying to do, but they didn’t have the type of supplies that it was used to.

  If you’re visiting Alaska and happen to spot a beaver lodge with crown molding, you’ll know that the Lowe’s beaver is doing okay.

  A beaver walks into an Alaska hardware store … [News-Miner]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uPizza Hut Completely Screws Up Customer’s Order, Accuses Him Of “Getting Physical” With Driverr

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• Even the best pizza places will completely botch the occasional delivery order, but what sets a good one pizza joint apart from the bad ones is how it handles those gaffes. But it looks like one Pizza Hut decided that it is fine with being on the wrong end of that customer service spectrum.

  Consumerist reader James says he recently decided to order some pizzas and soda from his local Pizza Hut, so he went online and placed his order using his credit card.

  The first sign that things might not go so wonderfully: the soonest available delivery time was two hours out. James wasn’t bothered by the wait time, so he placed the order anyway.

  The pizzas eventually arrived, but the driver did not bring the soda that James had already paid for. At first, the driver claimed that it wasn’t on the order, but James pointed out that it was right there at the top of the form.

  The driver said he’d need to return to the store to get the soda, but James would need to pay for the pizzas first.

  This is where we point you back to the second paragraph in which we note that the order had already been paid for by credit card.

  James shows the driver the e-mail receipt for the order, showing that it had been pre-paid. The driver calls back to the store but his boss insists that it’s a cash order.

  Because it would be stupid to pay twice for the same order (which was also incomplete), James said no to the delivery.

  “He got angry and left, telling me it wasn’t his fault,” writes James, “which I agreed with.”

  And so James once again called Pizza Hut, hoping someone could sort this mess out. The call center “agent” he spoke to put James on hold while he called the actual local Hut.

  “He came back and told me that the manager told him that I got ‘physical’ with the driver and they would not deal with my problem in any way,” writes James. “This was so ludicrous, anyone who knows me knows I don’t get physical with anyone. Probably haven’t since the fifth grade.”

  Even though he was now persona non grata with the folks at the local Hut, the phone rep confirmed to James that the order had been prepaid online. However, the local store was refusing to cooperate because of this claim of James getting physical with the driver.

  “I told the agent to reverse the charge from my credit card and forget it,” says James. “He said a District Manager will have to call me back to determine how to handle it.”

  James never did hear back from this District Manager, but the charges were later reversed. No one from Pizza Hut has reached out to him about the situation.

  We’ve reached out to Pizza Hut HQ regarding James’s incident. We also asked why the phone number given in the online receipt connects you to a call center rather than the actual store. Pizza Hut has yet to respond to these queries, but we will update if the company writes back.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uCompany That Makes Wet Wipes Agrees Not To Call Products “Flushable” Unless It Can Prove Itr

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• 

  (C x 2)

  After please from sewage workers and hearing from plumbers who say flushable wipes are actually not flushable or good for sewer systems, one company that makes wet wipes for retail partners has agreed to stop marketing its products as safe for flushing, unless it can substantiate that claim.

  The Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with Nice-Pak Products, which makes wet wipes for reatil customers like Costco, CVS, Target and BJ’s Wholesale Club, wherein it agreed to stop advertising moist toilet tissues as flushable unless it can prove that they’re safe for sewer and septic tanks.

  “The evidence didn’t back up Nice-Pak’s claims that their wipes were safe to flush,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “If you claim a product is flushable, it needs to flush in the real world, without clogging household plumbing or sewer and septic systems.”

  The FTC’s complaint had said that Nice-Pak was in violation of the FTC Act by misrepresenting that a certain formulation of its wipes: 1) are safe for sewer systems; 2) are safe for septic systems; 3) break apart shortly after being flushed; and 4) are safe to flush.

  According to the FTC, Nice-Pak also provided the means and materials for retailers and others to market the moist tissues under their own private labels and make similar unsubstantiated claims.

  It’ll be up to Nice-Pak now to show that the wipe will disperse in a “sufficiently short amount of time” after flushing to prevent clogging and/or damage to household plumbing, sewage lines, septic systems, and other standard wastewater treatment equipment.

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uNHTSA Probing Fiat Chrysler’s Response To At Least 20 Safety Recalls, Schedules July 2 Public Hearingr

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  (bluwmongoose)

  Federal regulators are once again expressing their displeasure with Fiat Chrysler’s slow-moving response to fixing millions of Jeeps that can explode following low-speed rear-end collisions. Today, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced it plans to take the car manufacturer to task not only for its leisurely pace on the Jeep recalls, but for nearly 20 other safety recalls.

  The Wall Street Journal reports that regulators plan to hold a July 2 public hearing to determine whether Fiat Chrysler failed to address safety defects and issue required notices on 20 recalls covering more than 10 million vehicles.

  NHTSA also issued a special order on Monday requiring executives of Fiat Chrysler to provide documents and other information about the company’s recall performance to the agency by June 1.

  The agency’s latest probe into the company includes a variety of recalls dating back as far as 1993 for issues such as ignition switches that can move, cutting off power to safety systems and assembly problems that can harm power steering capabilities.

  The July hearing will involve testimony from NHTSA staff, representatives from the automaker and the public, Reuters reports.

  “Significant questions have been raised as to whether this company is meeting its obligations to protect the drivers from safety defects, and today we are launching a process to ensure that those obligations are met,” NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said.

  If evidence presented at the hearing shows Fiat Chrysler failed to meet recall obligations laid out by federal law, regulators say they could require the automaker to repurchase or replace affected vehicles or take other action.

  In recent months, the car manufacturer has faced increased scrutiny from federal regulators related to its slow-pace in fixing nearly 1.5 million model year 1993 to 2007 Jeeps with the potential to explode in low-impact rear-end crashes.

  Last month, Rosekind said the pace of remedying the issue was getting worse.

  “The numbers came out, they’re horribly low,” he said. “Those translate into lives at risk, and more lives have been lost and people hurt. That’s unacceptable.”

  Last summer, Chrysler reported that only about 8.6% of the 1.56 million Jeeps involved in the initial recall had been fixed. Earlier this month the manufacturer said progress has increased, with nearly 25% of the recalled Jeeps now fixed.

  But that’s still not enough progress for regulators, especially when considering the average completion rate for a vehicle recall after a year an a half is 75%.

  The agency and Chrysler have been involved in a bit of back-and-forth with regard to more than one million Jeep vehicles with rear-mounted fuel tanks that sit too low and put the vehicle at risk of catching fire if involved in a rear-end explosion.

  For nearly three years, Chrysler has maintained that the millions of Jeeps do not have a safety defect, despite safety documents showing the issue has resulted in nearly 75 deaths.

  During the summer of 2013, the car manufacturer and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration agreed to a remedy for the issue that involved equipping vehicles with a trailer hitch that could reduce the risk of fires.

  Officials with Chrysler have said dealers would inspect the recalled Jeeps to determine if there was a need to install the trailer hitch assemblies.

  Regulators Probing Fiat Chrysler Recall Performance [The Wall Street Journal]
  UPDATE 1-NHTSA announces July hearing on Fiat Chrysler recalls [Reuters]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist