uRaiders Of The Lost Walmart Will Upgrade Your PC At Reasonable Pricesr

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• The Raiders of the Lost Walmart are a fearless band of retail archaeologists who will stop at nothing to find uncover every retail antiquity that the world’s big-box stores have to offer. Whether it’s a rebate due in 2004 or a Game Boy Advance of ambiguous color, the Raiders have shared their findings with Consumerist so we can all…well, mostly we’ve just learned not to shop for electronics on clearance at discount stores.

  The first find isn’t all that ancient or unusual, but it’s also not going to move off the shelf at the posted price anytime soon.

  

  “I found this 2013 version of internet security software “On Clearance” for $4.97 off the other day at Wal-Mart,” reader Speak wrote in his field report. “It looks like a 1 year newer package, about 1 year later than the one shown in this post, but for the same price.”

  Meanwhile, this computer graphics card model dates back to 2006. That wouldn’t be so bad, but only if you had an older computer around that needs upgrading. However, Walmart isn’t about to discount technology on their shelves just for being nine years old.

  

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uYouTube Kids Accused Of Running Beer Ads, Crotch-Grabbing Lessons, Wine-Tasting Tipsr

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  The groups contend that the YouTube Kids app search function shows inappropriate material for children.

  Since Google launched the YouTube Kids app in February, the service has come under fire from consumer advocates for its advertising practices. Now, instead of focusing on the commercials shown through the service, several of those same groups are raising concerns with federal regulators over what they call disturbing and potentially harmful content for young children to view.

  In a letter [PDF] sent today to the Federal Trade Commission, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) and the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) asked the agency to investigate the app after they found videos shown on the service contain inappropriate content including explicit sexual language, profanity, and jokes about pedophilia and drug use.

  In the below video, using clips all allegedly pulled from YouTube Kids on the same day, the groups highlight videos that include, among others, a Budweiser beer ad, an instructional video on how to grab your crotch like Michael Jackson, a lecture about suicide, and footage from kids cartoon Animaniacs accompanied by a decidedly not-for-kids song from Family Guy:

  “Making matters worse, the design of the app appears to facilitate access to videos that are inappropriate for children,” the letter states. “As users of YouTube Kids search for material, the app begins to recommend similar videos, as the ‘Recommended’ function on YouTube Kids is apparently based on ‘Search’ history. When we were conducting our review, YouTube Kids actually began recommending videos about wine tasting on its app for preschoolers. Thus, the more inappropriate videos children search for, the more inappropriate videos they will be shown via the app’s ‘Recommended’ function.”

  The groups say they came across the questionable material after their first complaint to the FTC regarding concerns that YouTube Kids app was unfair and deceptive toward children and parents.

  “In subsequent research of YouTube Kids conducted by the Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood and the Center for Digital Democracy, we have discovered that Google’s deceptive practices toward parents are even more widespread and pervasive than we documented in our initial request for investigation,” the letter states.

  The groups contend that the allegedly inappropriate material is deceptive in light of Google’s public claims that the service is a safe place for children under five to explore.

  Additionally, the groups tell the FTC that Google is further engaging in deceptive practice because many of the inappropriate ads would violate the company’s own policies.

  “The YouTube Kids Advertising Policy states that ads for “Illegal or Regulated Products” such as alcohol are prohibited on the app,” the letter states. “As described above, CCFC and CDD found multiple videos for alcohol that appeared to be ads that previously aired on television.”

  A spokesperson for Google tells the Wall Street Journal that content for the app is chosen using a combination of automatic filters.

  If a user comes across content they feel is inappropriate they can flag the video and Google will manually review the video and remove it if it doesn’t fit the company’s guidelines, the spokesperson says.

  Today’s complaint from CCFC and CDD is the second the groups have signed onto in regard to Google’s YouTube Kids app. Back in April, the advocates, along with those from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Watchdog, and Public Citizen accused Google of violating Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair and deceptive marketing practices.

  According to that letter [PDF], the service violates multiple rules about youth-targeted advertising.

  The FTC tells the Journal that it has received both of these complaints about YouTube Kids, but says it couldn’t comment on whether or not the agency was investigating these allegations.

  Google’s YouTube Kids App Criticized for ‘Inappropriate Content’ [The Wall Street Journal]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uLawsuit: “Defective” Chicken McNugget Contained Bone Shards That Caused “Severe Injury” When Swallowedr

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  (Jeepers Media)

  A Chicago man says he had to take a trip to the emergency room after eating what he calls a “defective” Chicken McNugget caused him “severe injury” when he swallowed it. He’s filed a lawsuit claiming the food in question contained one or more sharp bone shards that didn’t feel so great going down.

  The lawsuit says the man bought McNuggets in May 2013 from a Chicago McDonald’s, and that one he bit into had at least one sharp bone shard, reports the Chicago Tribune.

  “The Subject Chicken McNugget constituted an unreasonably dangerous product when put to use for which it was intended, in that it could not be consumed with safety and without the risk of impaling and/or cutting the consumer in the mouth, tongue and/or throat, and potentially causing additional damage to the stomach, digestive track and intestines of the consumer, due to the sharp bone shards contained therein,” the lawsuit said.

  The lawsuit says McDonald’s workers didn’t inspect and test the McNugget in question for bone fragments before giving it to the plaintiff.

  McDonald’s didn’t return the Tribune’s request for comment, and neither did co-defendant Tyson Foods, the company’s chicken supplier.

  Cook County man sues McDonald’s over ‘defective’ McNugget [Chicago Tribune]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uNew FDA Rule Would Provide More Information About Antibiotics In Farm Animals, But Still Not Enoughr

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  (Teresa RS)

  After decades of inaction on the issue, the FDA is slowly taking actions that it hopes will curb the overuse of antibiotics in farm animals, which currently accounts for around 80% of all antibiotics sold in the U.S. The agency’s latest measure, if approved, will provide more information about how farmers are using these medically important drugs, but by the FDA’s own admission, it’s still not sufficient.

  Under the current rules, the FDA receives annual reports on the total amount of antibiotics sold and distributed for use in livestock. While that data helps to show how huge this market is, it fails to provide any sort of granular numbers on how the drugs are used.

  The proposed new rule would require companies to provide sales data in terms of the major food-producing animals that the drugs are being used on. Thus, the FDA would have some idea on how much of each of these drugs are going to cattle, pigs, chickens, or turkey.

  “The additional data would improve understanding of how antimicrobials are sold or distributed for use in major food-producing animals and help the FDA further target its efforts to ensure judicious use of medically important antimicrobials,” reads a statement from the agency.

  That statement also makes it clear that this data alone is inadequate to determine whether recent regulations are having any effect on the overuse of antibiotics.

  “While adding species-specific information will help provide a fuller picture, more detailed information is needed about on-farm use practices to adequately understand links between usage patterns and trends in resistance,” continues the statement.

  Susan Vaughn Grooters, policy analyst for advocacy group Keeping Antibiotics Working, notes that public health advocates have been asking the FDA to collect this data for years.

  “Had leadership acted sooner, we’d already be collecting species-level data by now, which is essential to help us measure the success of FDA’s voluntary guidance to industry,” she explains. “In light of the growing crisis of resistance, any effort to close this information gap is welcome — even if it is nearly a decade late.”

  Congresswoman Louise Slaughter from New York, a microbiologist and outspoken critic of antibiotics in farm animals, points out that the proposed rule doesn’t do anything to resolve the most pressing concern about using these drugs on livestock: the so-called “disease prevention loophole.”

  Under the FDA’s 2013 voluntary guidance for drug companies, drug makers were asked to stop selling veterinary antibiotics solely for the purpose of growth promotion. But since almost all of the affected antibiotics are also approved for medical use, farmers just changed their reason for buying the drugs from growth promotion to disease prevention.

  “Knowing how much of the drugs are being used in cattle or pork or poultry will be helpful in identifying the problem areas, but it won’t change the fact that we are frittering away one of our most precious resources for human health,” says Rep. Slaughter. “I will continue to call on the FDA to make all the changes necessary to meet their mandate of protecting the public health.”

  Slaughter has also reintroduced the Delivering Antimicrobial Transparency in Animals (DATA) Act, which directs the FDA to enhance its collection and reporting of antibiotic use in food animals.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uStarbucks & Spotify Team Up In Streaming Music Dealr

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  (Renee Rendler-Kaplan)

  Just two months after Starbucks stopped selling CDs in its stores, the coffee chain says it’s going to be filling customers’ ears with music another way, announcing a streaming partnership with Spotify that will let customers have a say in what’s being played.

  On Monday Starbucks announced a multi-year deal to work with Spotify to make playlists for its stores and promote the subscription streaming service at those locations.

  “By connecting Spotify’s world-class streaming platform into our world-class store and digital ecosystem, we are reinventing the way our millions of global customers discover music,” Howard Schultz, the company’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.

  Starting this fall, Starbucks employees and customers will be able to pick what songs are played in stores. Spotify will also be incorporating into the Starbucks mobile app. Spotify customers will also be able to collect Starbucks’ rewards points as part of the deal, which is the first time the company has allowed a third party to access its program.

  About 150,000 Starbucks workers will also get free access to Spotify’s premium service starting this summer, which usually costs about $10 a month.

  “We’re really making the barista the D.J. here,” Daniel Ek, chief executive of Spotify, said in a conference call according to the New York Times.

  Which could be bad for you if you already know and loathe your baristas’ taste in music based on the playlists they might already have going now. Better pack earplugs, in that case.

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uPostmates Underestimated Demand For Free Pizza In Minneapolisr

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  (Jeremy Segrott)

  If such a thing is even possible, the delivery company Postmates underestimated the general public’s hunger for free pizza. To promote the expansion of their company to Minneapolis and St. Paul, Postmates offered free pizza to anyone who was able to place their order at just the right time.

  Postmates is the company that provides delivery for restaurants and retailers that don’t offer their own delivery service: prominent partners include Chipotle and Starbucks, but the lure of Postmates is supposed to be delivery from anywhere. They claim to start in each new market with 100 freelance drivers and bike-riders who make deliveries, and the free food is a lure to get people to try the service.

  Instead, attempts to get pizza were, for some users, an exercise in futility. There are only so many free pizzas to go around. The Star-Tribune’s Kavita Kumar tried to place a pizza order and was unable to, and others shared the same frustration on social media.

  @Postmates #Minneapolis been trying to get my free pizza delivered all day and all I get is this… #failing http://pic.twitter.com/g0T4yStDCi

  — The Holocron (@The_Holocron) May 16, 2015

  There also seemed to be some confusion over what was being given away and when: the company launched in Minneapolis and Charlotte, NC on the same day, and I read the announcement to say that they were giving away pizza for two days in Minneapolis and ice cream for two days in Charlotte. People in Minneapolis interpreted this to mean that the ice cream was available to them, too.

  People clamoring for free stuff is quite different from ordering a burrito that comes with substantial service and delivery fees, though.

  Postmates overwhelmed at launch, can’t keep up with orders for free pizza and ice cream [Star-Tribune]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

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