uToday In Weird Clothing Trends: Wearing Jeans Infused With Jade To Beat The Heatr

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  (Lee brand on YouTube)

  Because no one likes having heavy fabric clinging to sweaty, suffocating legs when it’s hot outside, many people turn to a clothing innovation known as “shorts” to give those limbs some breathing room when the weather is hot. But over in China, Lee jeans has decided to push another option — denim infused with crushed jade stones, a method that theoretically keeps wearers cooler.

  The Jade Fusion line launched in Hong Kong in May and is now spreading to the rest of China, reports Bloomberg, where customers may have a hard time getting their hands on a pair, as they’ve sold out in the first seven weeks.

  Here’s how it works: The jade fabric pulls sweat away from the body, where it quickly dries, creating a cooling sensation, Stephen Dull, vice president of strategy and innovation for VF Corp, the parent company of Lee, explained to Bloomberg. Or as the brand calls it, “denim refreshment.”

  “It’s not magic,” Dull said. “But it takes away of a lot of the smelly, icky, sweaty, sticky feeling you get when you wear denim in the heat.”

  This is part of Lee’s efforts to get people out of their soft and stretchy yoga pants and other leisure wear that’s become popular and back into jeans, even when it’s a bajillion degrees outside and the last thing you might want is heavy fabric smothering your legs into a sweaty denim hell.

  For now the Jade jeans are only going to be sold in China, Lee says. But who knows, the gemstone jean craze could eventually make its way to America. Not everyone likes wearing shorts no matter how hot it is, after all. Especially when the bright glow of pale legs finally seeing the light of day after a long winter in the dark is not something every person is uncomfortable inflicting on the world.

  Forget Shorts, Jeans Made With Jade Help Chinese Beat the Heat [Bloomberg]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uChrome Extension Lets Gmail Users Set Their Messages To Self-Destructr

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  (Dmail)

  In a world where sending instant messages is commonplace, the dark side of communicating at the touch of a button means we often regret the decision to send a photo or email, and just wish it would disappear. Although Gmail recently unveiled an “Undo send” option, for some that might be not be enough. For those folks, there’s a new Chrome extension that gives users the ability to have their emails self-destruct.

  The idea behind the extension, dubbed Dmail, isn’t new — Snapchat, for example, sends photos and videos into the Internet ether once they’ve been viewed for a certain amount of time — but it’s an attractive one, as it gives the sender control over how long their missive can be read.

  The extension adds a “Send with Dmail” button next to the usual “Send” button in Gmail, which differs from “Undo send” in that it allows users to set the time limits on their email as long as they want. Undo send only gives users up to 30 seconds to retract whatever message they regret immediately after sending.

  So if you don’t want your high school crush to be able to read that message you penned late one night after a few too many hard ciders for more than a minute, you can set that email to go poof after 60 seconds. Want it to linger for say, a day or a week? You can pre-set that timing too.

  If you’re not sure if you’re going to regret it (come on, you know you will) you can set it to “never” self-destruct, but then revoke it at a later date if you want.

  Dmail claims it will also unlock a feature that won’t allow forwarding, meaning only the person you sent your message to will be able to see it. That is, unless the recipient is familiar with copy and paste, and gets wise to your use of Dmail.

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uIt’s Official: FCC Gives Blessing To Marriage Of AT&T, DirecTVr

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  (jetsetpress)

  After the announcement earlier this week that the FCC commissioners were reviewing and set to vote on deal that would grant regulatory approval to the merger of AT&T and DirecTV, the agency made it official this afternoon by giving its conditional blessing to this $49 billion marriage.

  But like all marriages, this one will require compromise. Among the conditions put on the merger by the FCC:

  • Increased Fiber Deployment:
  AT&T is required to expand its fiberoptic service to 12.5 million customer locations, an increase of about 10 times that network’s existing footprint. The expansions are to occur in areas where AT&T had operated pay-TV services that competed with DirecTV.

  • Gigabit Service to Eligible Schools & Libraries:

  In areas where AT&T deploys fiber networks, it must also offer gigabit broadband service to schools and libraries eligible to receive money from the Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund.

  • No Using Data Caps Unfairly:

  Now that AT&T owns a pay-TV provider with around 20 million customers, it might be tempted to use data caps on broadband services to limit users’ access to streaming video services that compete with DirecTV’s business. The FCC is requiring the merged companies to refrain from imposing discriminatory usage-based allowances or other discriminatory retail terms and conditions on its broadband Internet service.

  • Internet Interconnection Disclosure Requirements:

  Though Internet service providers like to pretend they carry all your data from the source to your computer, they really only carry it the so-called “last mile” and rely on other networks to do the heavy lifting for most of that trip.

  But because ISPs control that last stretch of highway to the end user, they can effectively hold data hostage until content providers are willing to pay extra for it to reach the consumer in a timely manner. Just look at how Netflix speeds ground to a halt until it paid for better connections to multiple providers.

  As a condition of the merger, AT&T will have to submit its Internet interconnection agreements to the FCC so that the agency can review and monitor these deals to determine whether the merged company is denying or impeding access to its networks in anticompetitive ways.

  • Discounted Broadband for Low-Income Subscribers:

  AT&T will be required to offer an affordable, low-price standalone broadband service to low-income consumers in its broadband service area.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uComcast To Begin Testing Super-Fast Cable Broadband This Yearr

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  (honeylamb)

  Most talk of new high-speed broadband has revolved around Internet service providers laying new networks of fiberoptic cable to deliver download speeds of 1Gbps or more, but Comcast says it plans to start testing a system that could provide upwards of 10Gbps over coaxial cable lines.

  In yesterday’s call [transcript PDF] to discuss Comcast’s quarterly earnings, the company said it will begin “trialing and ultimately deploying DOCSIS 3.1 in our network, which will provide significant added capacity and lay the groundwork for future speed increases for our broadband customers.”

  DOCSIS (short for Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification) allows for high-speed transfer of data over existing cable lines. DOCSIS 3.1 is the latest version, released in 2013, and supports speeds of nearly 10 times the current 3.0 standard.

  As DSLreports.com notes, it’s highly likely that Comcast won’t push DOCSIS 3.1 to the limit but will instead use it to offer gigabit broadband service that is closer to what Google Fiber and AT&T’s Gigapower services are providing in the few markets they serve.

  Brian Roberts, Comcast’s CEO, labeled DOCSIS 3.1 a “quantum leap forward.” Comcast Cable president Neil Smit said the testing of this faster cable broadband will begin in the last quarter of 2015. The company says it plans to continue building out its fiber network.

  The question is going to be price. Comcast recently announced initial pricing for its Gigabit Pro fiber service: $300/month, plus upwards of $1,000 in installation and activation fees, which seems a deliberate statement to customers that this is a product intended for businesses and users willing to plunk down significant cash. We won’t know for some time if Comcast will target a similar market with its pricing for higher speeds achieved through DOCSIS 3.1.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uApple Once Again Removes The Competition, Yanks Nest Thermostats From Retail & Online Storesr

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  (SimonQ錫濛譙)

  As is Apple’s usual M.O. when it comes to launching products similar to those made by other companies but already being sold in its retail stores, the tech giant is cleaning house and removing the competition. In this case, it’s ditching Google’s Nest thermostat to make room for a device of its own. 

  Mashable confirmed today that Apple has removed Google’s Nest products from its online and retail stores as it prepares to start selling its web-connected home devices for the HomeKit platform.

  Now occupying the space once filled by Nest — you guessed it: Ecobee 3, Apple’s own HomeKit-enabled thermostat.

  Apple says it actually started to pull Nest from its arsenal earlier this month after nearly four years of carrying the device.

  The move also comes soon after Google announced it would create its own HomeKit-like platform called Brillo, Mashable reports.

  This, of course, isn’t Apple’s first time removing competing products from its lineup.

  Back in March, the company began ditching other fitness and health wearables like Jawbone Up and Nike+ FuelBand to make way for the Apple Watch. The company did the same thing last October when it began removing Bose products from stores after the purchase of Beats.

  Apple yanks Google’s Nest smart thermostat from website and retail stores [Mashable]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uSEC Investigating Beverage Giant Diageo Over Allegations It Artificially Boosted Sales Figuresr

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  (Ben Sutherland)

  When a company says it’s moving a whole lot of products, that could mean that its sales are booming. The thing is, just because a business might be shipping a lot of products, that doesn’t necessarily mean it actually sold as much as it’s sending to distributors. To that end, the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating beverage giant Diageo — the company behind brands like Smirnoff, Guinness, Johnnie Walker and more — for allegedly artificially boosting its sales by shipping excess inventory to distributors.

  Sending cases that distributors never ordered would allow the company to report increased sales and shipments, people familiar with the SEC’s inquiry told the Wall Street Journal.

  Diageo confirmed the SEC’s investigation with the WSJ, saying it had received an inquiry regarding its distribution practices in the U.S.

  “Diageo is working to respond fully to the SEC’s requests for information in this matter,” a company spokeswoman said.

  Though Diageo is a British company, North America is its largest customer, accounting for about a third of the company’s $15.9 billion in sales in 2014.

  SEC Investigating Smirnoff Maker Diageo [Wall Street Journal]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uAppeals Court Revives Texas Bank’s Lawsuit Challenging Constitutionality Of CFPBr

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  Adam Fagen

  This week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau celebrates its fourth anniversary of protecting consumers from harmful practices and shady characters in the financial sector. But instead of buying the regulatory arm a big ol’ birthday cake, a federal appeals court is gifting the Bureau with a revived lawsuit challenging its constitutionality.

  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed a trial court’s ruling that threw out a lawsuit filed by a Texas bank arguing the structure of the CFPB is unconstitutional.

  State National Bank, which originally filed the suit in June 2012, claims that independent government agencies must be headed by multiple members, rather than a single director.

  The CFPB, created as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act following the financial crisis in 2008, is headed by a single director – in this case Richard Cordray – who was appointed to the position by President Barack Obama in 2011.

  The panel of three judges ruled [PDF] Friday that State National Bank had legal standing to proceed with its case challenging the formation and operation of the Bureau, because the bank is subject to the agency’s oversight and regulations.

  “The Supreme Court has stated that ‘there is ordinarily little question’ that a regulated individual or entity has standing to challenge an allegedly illegal statute or rule under which it is regulated,” Judge Brett Kavanaugh, wrote in the opinion.

  “The Bank is not a mere outsider asserting a constitutional objection to the Bureau. The Bank is regulated by the Bureau. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the Bureau ‘shall regulate the offering and provision of consumer financial products or services under the Federal consumer financial laws.'”

  Despite the court’s ruling that the bank’s challenge had standing, the Wall Street Journal notes, it did not consider the merits of the bank’s constitutional claims, saying that a trial court should consider it first.

  The revived suit also challenges the constitutionality of Cordray’s initial appointment to the CFPB directorship. In early 2012, while the Senate was in recess, President Obama appointed Cordray to the post, bypassing the usual Senate confirmation process for high-level federal officials. In 2013, Obama renominated Cordray, who subsequently received Senate approval.

  One portion of the lawsuit that did not survive the appeals court was a challenge to the constitutionality of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, which monitors the stability of the U.S. financial system. The appeals court found that State National lacked legal standing to issue this challenge, as the bank has not been designated as “too big to fail,” which would have made it subject to additional regulation.

   

  [via The Wall Street Journal]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist